New look railway in Wolverhampton finally unveiled

The second half of Wolverhampton’s new Railway Station has today (Monday) opened to the public.

Following the completion of main construction on Phase 2 in March, this section of the station building has now been fully commissioned and authorised by the rail authorities.

The station is part of the dramatic transformation under the city’s award-winning £150million Interchange scheme, which delivers improvements to bus, Metro, cycle, and train connectivity.

Since May last year, phase 1 of the station has been open to the public, with train services running. It includes six ticket vending machines, new British Transport Police, toilet, accessible and baby changing facilities, three retail units ready to be fitted out, train crew accommodation, and a spacious concourse.

Phase 2 includes three more retail units ready to be fitted out and a customer lounge and dedicated customer help point.

City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor Stephen Simkins, said: “A lot of hard work has been put in by everyone on the Interchange scheme, and it is great to see both phases of our new railway station up and running.

“The station is symbolic of the multi-billion-pound regeneration that is taking place in our city.

“It has been a long-held ambition to build a railway station befitting of our great city and connect train, Metro, cycle and bus in one place to provide a gateway to Wolverhampton that everyone can be proud of.”

The works compound in front of the new station will remain in place to enable Midland Metro Alliance (MMA) to complete the final section of the Wolverhampton city centre Metro extension to the station plaza, creating a fully integrated transport hub with the neighbouring bus station.

Once the city centre Metro extension is complete, West Midlands Metro will serve two new tram stops; one at the city’s bus station on Pipers Row and one at the railway station, allowing people to change between other modes of transport easily.

This represents the culmination of years of hard work by all the Wolverhampton Interchange Partners. They have delivered a first-class facility, supported by the City of Wolverhampton Council, West Midlands Combined Authority and the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership.

Paul Brown, MMA Construction Director, said: “I am thrilled that these works, to lay the final section of track for the new line, are now underway and people can see how much closer we are to finishing. The team have worked extremely hard since returning to the city in March, and I am proud of what has been achieved during these challenging times.

“We will have a presence in the city centre into the winter and will continue to work closely with the City of Wolverhampton Council, Wolverhampton Business Improvement District and our partners at Transport for West Midlands to minimise impact wherever possible.”