HIDDEN GEM: This is a view of the Grade IIlisted entrance to Curzon Street station building in Birmingham on October 13, which has been covered in scaffolding as part of its upgrade and incorporation into the city’s new HS2 station.
Curzon Street opened in 1838 and was used by the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway for scheduled trains until 1854, for excursion trains until 1893 and for goods traffic until 1966.
PHIL MARSH
A SCALED-down, 10-platform design to be constructed in a single stage, is expected to ease pressure on the budget for the Euston phase of the HS2 project.
In his six-monthly report to the House of Commons on October 20, HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson confirmed the change to what had previously been planned as a two-stage project consisting of 11 platforms.
The revision was made in response to a recommendation from the Oakervee Review, an independent report produced for the Government examining ‘whether and how’ to proceed with HS2, which was published in February last year.