Government white paper includes £550m funding for Birmingham New Street and £425m redevelopment of Reading station
New railway stations will be built at Birmingham New Street and central London under plans announced in the government’s Transport White Paper.
The first tranche of funding for the £550m redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station was announced. Network Rail will contribute £128m towards the project, which includes the construction of a concourse fives times bigger than the current space and a glass roof. The scheme’s partners are looking for a total of £300m public funding for the scheme, which is due to open in 2013.
The green light was also given to the £3.55bn cross-London Thameslink programme, which will see new stations at Blackfriars and London Bridge in the City of London. Completion of the project as a whole is scheduled for 2015, with the bulk of improvements made in time for the 2012 Olympics.
Reading station will also see a £425m redevelopment, with the construction of new platforms and tracks, and Farringdon station in London will see extensive improvement work. A total of 150 stations will be upgraded by 2014.
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