HS2 starts work on Curzon Street platforms

Work to lift more than 500 concrete beams which will support the seven platforms at Birmingham’s high-speed terminus is now under way.

The 450-metre station will be constructed on a viaduct-like structure supported by 188 concrete piers, set to form a 144,000 sq ft deck which will support the platforms and connect to the viaducts coming into the station from the east.

HS2 says the start of construction on platforms at Curzon Street underlines the scale of the progress being made on the station, even though the railway will now not open prior to 2036.

The project is now around a third of the way through construction, an assessment which includes all structures, stations and the fit out of the systems required to run the railway.

“We’ve been making good progress with the construction of the station, but up to now, it’s mostly been beneath the ground – focused on the piling and foundations that will underpin the building,” said HS2 Ltd’s project client director for Curzon Street, Jonathan Berry.

A tram corridor is also being constructed underneath Curzon Street station. Credit: HS2

“That’s why it’s great to see the first beams in position as we begin to assemble the enormous deck that will support our seven high speed platforms.

“Once complete, Curzon Street will become a new gateway to Birmingham, offering easy access to the city centre and connections to onward destinations, via tram, bus and rail, improving journeys and supporting growth across the West Midlands.”

The support beams, which are between 7 and 34 metres long and weigh between 14 and 58 tonnes, are being manufactured in a factory in Ireland by Shay Murtagh Precast before being delivered to Birmingham by road.

More than 2,000 piles have already been sunk up to 24 metres deep by contractor, Mace Dragados, and 47,000 cubic metres of material have been excavated to create a level base for the platforms.

Construction teams will also soon begin moving into a new temporary office block being constructed opposite Millennium Point, which HS2 says will be the nerve centre for the next stage of the Curzon Street project.

Last month, the government announced that the first phase of the project would be delayed until 2036, with the line not becoming fully operational between Birmingham and London Euston until 2040 at the earliest.

Updated estimates place the cost of the scheme between £87.7bn and £102.7bn – more than double earlier estimates given in 2019.