Wolverhampton Railway Station: New vision revealed as part of £150m project

A wall of grass, computerised billboards and high-rise offices all feature in new artist’s impressions of Wolverhampton’s £150 million interchange project.

The images have been released by Wolverhampton council as contractors prepare to demolish the city’s existing railway station in May.

Galliford Try, who were responsible for building the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, have already started preparing the site for demolition.

Trees at the end of Railway Drive will be removed before Christmas.

This will be mitigated, the council says, by the installation of a giant green wall in front of the existing multi-storey car park and new tree planters, with plans for further planting on site.

Huge electronic information and advertising boards, along with street food outlets and a cycle hub, also feature.

Along the canal, with the historic Chubb Buildings to the right of the frame, there will be extensive offices, a skyscraper and a mixture of retail and food outlets all leading to the new railway station.

In September it was revealed that the cost of revamping the station had rocketed by £23m.

The project includes the already completed new entrance from Corn Hill, multi-storey car park extension, and Midland Metro line extension works to and from the railway station along Railway Drive.

Cabinet member for city economy, Councillor John Reynolds, said: “The Wolverhampton Interchange Partnership has worked hard to get to this point.

“Everything is now in place to begin the main station works early next year and people will soon start seeing big changes on site.

“We can all look forward to the emergence of an iconic railway station befitting of the city.

“There is £3.7 billion of investment currently on site or in the pipeline across Wolverhampton.

“As part of this regeneration it is crucial visitors to our city get the best first impression possible and their travel experience is enhanced – this new state-of-the-art station will deliver that.”

Last week it was revealed that the West Midlands railway network has been put in the hands of West Midlands Rail – a consortium of 16 local councils, working with the Department for Transport.

This will bring a near £1bn investment in regional services over the next eight years.

Tweeting about the news on Monday, Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Andy Street said: "Excellent news that the replacement of Wolverhampton station will begin in May.

"The funding of £50m from the @WestMids_CA agreed last week will be vital. The future is undeniably bright for the city of Wolverhampton."

The new station building is expected to be completed in 2020.