Major HS2 update for Birmingham terminus at Curzon Street

Long-awaited construction work to build the Birmingham terminus on the HS2 line is set to get under way today (Wednesday, January 24).

Curzon Street is an important part of phase one of the high-speed rail project, with the first services expected to run between Birmingham and London between 2029 and 2033.

Today will therefore mark a major milestone for both Birmingham and HS2 as construction on the new rail hub begins. The station, found close to the Eastside and Digbeth areas of the city, will be net zero carbon in operation and the first brand new intercity terminus station built in Britain since the 19th century.

Starting this January, major earthworks will be carried out to prepare the site for piling and foundations work in the spring. Construction of the main station building is then due to start in the summer.

The project is set to create hundreds of jobs during construction, including new apprenticeship positions and Restart scheme opportunities for unemployed people. Those behind the HS2 project also say the station will provide connectivity to nearby areas to enable wider regeneration by linking together the learning and creative quarters, new residential developments and the city centre.

They add that ‘it will provide seamless connections to the local transport networks and improve the surrounding area with new public spaces’.

Phase two of the route up to Manchester was controversially scrapped back in October by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said money would be spent on alternative rail, road and bus schemes instead.

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, he said the costs of the project had soared and added that it had been repeatedly delayed. The right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change direction,” he said.