New railway station a hit with passengers

The new Perry Barr station has been open six months and is already proving a hit with passengers, new figures reveal.

West Midlands Railway, which operates the station, estimated that there have been more than 40,000 paying passenger journeys to or from the station since its shutter doors opened on 29 May.

That figure does not include the thousands more whose travel was included with their Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games tickets and passed through on their way to Alexander Stadium.

Galliford Try, the firm which built the station under contract from Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), has also revealed that more than 1,000 people, many of them local, worked on the one-year construction scheme.

The £30 million project delivered both a brand-new station building, complete with lift access to platforms, and a new bus interchange and public space outside the neighbouring One Stop Shopping Centre.

The development also provided dozens of training opportunities for local unemployed people, offered seven apprenticeships and a T-level placement and gave work experience for those that have recently left the armed forces to help them back into work.

Among them was student Esme Baraclough, who had given up studying for a chemistry degree at university and was looking for a change of direction.

She volunteered on site for two weeks ' unpaid work experience, working alongside a quantity surveyor.

Having impressed colleagues, she secured a position on site as an apprentice quantity surveyor and continues to work with the company.

She said: “I spent time with the team at Perry Barr looking at all of the different disciplines but the one that stood out for me was Quantity Surveying.

“I feel extremely privileged for the experience as it got me into my new career which I am now loving. ”

Children from local schools and colleges were also engaged throughout construction with visits and designs for the site hoardings.

These included a site visit for James Brindley School, a specialist academy for pupils who have difficulty accessing mainstream school.

Matt Bradley, head of stations for West Midlands Railway, said: “It was fantastic to see the station so busy during the Commonwealth Games and since then it has been great to see how the local people have gone about embracing this fantastic new community facility. ”

The station was part of the wider regeneration of Perry Barr which continues following a successful Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The station is set to become even busier as thousands of people move into the new homes being built in the area.