AIBU to let you know Birmingham New Street Station is....

[Bea]

... Absolutely stunning!!
Anyone who had to go through the old New Street Station knew how grim it was and didn't help the reputation of Birmingham but if you could see it now!...
Hats off to all the builders architects etc! It is amazing!!

www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/grand-central-birmingham-opens-public-10121923

I often have to go through New Street en route to other places and frankly at platform level and as an experience for a traveller it is just as bad as ever it was. They just built a load of shops on top of it

This. I've travelled regularly through New Street before & during the renovations. Platform experience has rarely improved, except for the lifts and escalators to the platforms. Now people need to learn to stand on the right and let those of us who need to run up & down to change platforms (last minute train change announcements AKA "New Street Shuffle") get past.

It's all very well for day trippers to enjoy the shops & cafés. Those of us who actually work & use trains for work & travel need platforms and a railway station, not more banal chain cafés.

Looking forward to seeing it. I spent my teen and student years living in Birmingham, fond memories if wandering through the old dingy bullring down the ramp with mark one and that other shop with the huge basement of cheap clothes down through the markets to the rag market and St Martins. I remember when the Palisades was all shiny and new and the excitement of it though still preferred the dingy back streets with that cavernous record shop (can't remember the name) and all the old market stalls. It's changed beyond recognition, I was walking up new street recently and got a bit lost, the old subterranean concourse at the end by the old Lewises has gone, there's this whole new section I just couldn't reconcile all round colmore circus.

They're knocking down the old central library? :( loved it there. Many hours of study.

I like that it's all lovely now but I do get nostalgic for the dingy brum of my youth.

Looking forward to seeing the new station without all the temporary panelling and never knowing what platform you need.

Beta you do know that they are nearly 50 miles apart and separated by the pennines? I would suggest you take a trip up to Manchester and suggest that Manchester and Leeds are a single conurbation. I suspect your next scrape and polish would be performed as an epidural.

I know what you mean Beta - utter shit hole outside of the city centre. Just look at this picture - who do they think they are trying to fool with all those flowers and pretty crap? Not you, that's for sure.

Bham is my second home for me having been to university there. I can't wait to come back and see it. I understand that they wanted to do more with the platforms but can't because of the narrowness of the site so they were constrained (friend worked on the project) so they did revamp the platforms and added more lifts to provide better access for disabled people etc. It is a huge achievement to have done what they have whilst keeping the station open so that in itself is a great success.

Beta, you're right The rest of Birmingham is an absolute shithole Passing through somewhere does not give you a good enough insight into a city that your comments are justified. Birmingham, like any large city, has good bits and bad. However, a lot of money has been invested into improving Birmingham, to boost the local economy.

The number of people I know who speak quite convincingly of Birmingham's shithole status, without ever having visited the place, is astounding.

As for Manchester-Leeds conurbation, are you on crack? They're completely different cities, different counties.

That looks suspiciously like Solihull High Street,99percentchocolate.
It is the gravest sin to confuse Birmingham and Solihull

There are very pretty bits of Birmingham.There are very grotty bits of Birmingham.
The two are exemplified in New Street Station-above stairs, pretty; below stairs (platforms), grotty.

I can see an argument for Manchester being the second city. I really can. But Leeds-Manchester? Leeds isn't even a big city in it's own right. And Sheffield is much bigger and closer to Manchester. Weird.

There are some horrid bits of Brum. I hope regeneration can continue outwards to them. But not Solihull. I really don't like Solihull.

Just had a look. I take it back now it's finished it is an incredible edition to Brum. Well done to everyone involved. It is sublime.

I was going to pop in on my lunch break on opening day but there was a huge queue! Monday!

I know I'd far rather go to the Bullring than to the Arndale centre, which really is the armpit of the world imvho.

This is the second 'new' Bullring/New Street that I remember - I'm still mourning the demolition of the beautiful Snow Hill (in 1968..!) and I'm going in with DD to do some shopping soon; I'm really looking forward to seeing the new development, as I love the Bullring - at last, someone had the sense to see that if you leave some room around St Martins it looks stunning - and the new Library (friend worked in the old one, and it was utterly vile for the staff - all form and no function) as well as all the Symphony Hall/Broad Street development. It's a lovely city, so John Lewis is the cherry on the top (I'm not fond of Selfridges - too open and noisy )

I think they have improved the lighting on the low level platforms, it looks like bright LEDs, but still work going on. I wonder if there is going to be more general lighting or they concluded waste of money lighting over the running rails where your train is going to stand.

For all of you disagreeing Birmingham is an economic wasteland. I suggest you get out of the central area and travel around or even just go to the top of a tall building and look outside the centre - like I have very often. I visit Birmingham as well as travel through it and around it. It is an economic deadzone. They never show you pictures of the real Birmingham outside the centre.

Yes I know Manchester and Leeds are separate places. I was born up there and lived there. But now the Leeds-Manchester corridor is a real economic growth area. Its a continuous corridor of towns and cities joined together by the M62. Really serious wealth creation going on. The Northern Powerhouse is a real thing. It is very similar to the M4 corridor.

I suspect you'll find people disagreeing with you are the people that know Birmingham well - that's how we know you are wrong.
Those of us that live and work here obviously travel all around the City all the time. Again, how we know you are so very wrong.

Yep, I work in the city and you're talking rubbish. The fact that you were born/lived Leeds, Manchester, wherever shows obvious bias.

I live in South Birmingham, in an area that is apparently the best to live in in the country. It is not an 'economic deadzone'.

Birmingham an economic dead zone? Is that why the M6 is rammed? Or why there's a metal basher every 50 yards from Wombourne to Walsall?

Problem is the powers that be in Birmingham run a constant PR job to keep the locals believing how great the place is but in reality it is a warren of vested interests holding it back.

Metal bashing!? Give me strength. There is no future in that at all. If you want hi tech engineering go down to the hub around Oxfordshire.

Seriously. Don't believe the PR. Birmingham only exists as any form of economic power because of the flow of central Govt money.

South Birmingham is great. All the best people live there.

Oh dear! This was not meant to be a city bashing thread!
Just a shout out to the wonder of modern architecture and a hats off in admiration to all involved!
All cities have their good points and bad points! And there is always room for improvement!! (although some posters are talking rubbish! "urban decay" "economic deadzone"????)
Please! Ladies (and gentlemen)... Let's all agree to disagree and just stay calm!! (this is AIBU... I know I'm asking a lot! )
Birmingham!? Manchester?! Leeds! I have strong connections to all. .. And have their good points and crappy points!
Just saying!...

to be fair there are some bloody grotty bits of Solihull as well

Birmingham is actually doing well economically - it's daft to argue otherwise

But even though I live and work there I still think our second city should be Liverpool - because I was born there and I love it!

Makes me very happy to see positive things about Birmingham.

As for being an economic deadzone I'm fairly sure HSBC wouldn't have decided to relocate their commercial banking HQ here if that was the case.

Can we still bash Solihull though?

I do believe hsbc have chosen to move their entire operation from London to Birmingham