Spectacular new images of Wolverhampton bus station

Passengers mill about in the shadow of a brand new ticket office and a striking building housing a restaurant and trendy coffee shop.

These computer images, created for the Express & Star, show how Wolverhampton's new £22.5m bus station is expected to look when it is complete.

Work has been under way to replace the old station since April 3 with the new station set to open next summer.

It will have 19 stands for buses and two along Pipers Row for coaches and will cater for up to 200 services an hour. A total of 43 CCTV cameras will watch over.

One of the innovations is glass doors that can only be opened if both bus and passengers are present.

Included in the design is the listed Queen's Building, formerly the main entrance to the bus station.

But the building, opened in 1849, will not form part of the station itself.

Instead developers Neptune want to attract top name restaurants or a coffee shop to attract the passengers and those arriving in Wolverhampton for entertainment and shopping.

There will also be space for retailers.

Passengers will no longer have to cross in front of buses using zebra crossings as they did at the old station.

Instead, the W-shaped building will keep them inside at all times.

Chris Perry, head of operations at transport authority Centro, said: "We have completely removed all pedestrian crossings from the bus station.

"We hope it will be a key part of attracting people into Wolverhampton through the bus station."

Neptune is also building a two-floor office block next to the Queen's building which could also become shops or a leisure complex.

The images also provisionally show how some offices in the background could look.