University Station scoops three top regional civil engineering awards
Friday 20 September, 2024
The redevelopment of University Railway Station has picked up three prestigious civil engineering industry awards including project of the year.
The project led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) won Large Project of the Year, Teamwork, and Overall Project of the Year at the ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) West Midlands Awards.
This comes a week after the station won Medium Station of the Year at the National Rail Awards.
The redevelopment saw the tiny and overcrowded 1970s station building replaced with modern, spacious and much improved set of buildings, bridges and platforms.
Construction challenges included working over the busy cross-city line while the existing station remained open and bridging the Birmingham to Worcester Canal alongside. The historic Metchley Roman Fort site also had to be incorporated in the design.
This three-year project brought together 13 different organisations, with one unified aim and approach to transform the railway station into a world-class facility for the local community, serving both the University of Birmingham campus and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Anne Shaw, executive director for TfWM, said: “The project was complex and constantly challenging but the team worked together to overcome these hurdles and deliver a world-class station and fitting gateway for those visiting the university and hospital.”
Mal Drury Rose, executive director with WMRE added: “The University project richly deserves this award and the industry recognition. The investment from TfWM together with West Midlands Train’s new 730 fleet and future investment in Midlands Rail Hub will provide a step change for passengers, improving capacity, reliability and meeting future growth on the Cross-City line.”
The project was led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), and the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) working with partners SLC-AECOM, The University of Birmingham, the NHS University Hospitals Birmingham Trust, Birmingham City Council, the Department for Transport, Network Rail, West Midlands Trains and CrossCountry Trains, and construction and design contractors VolkerFitzpatrick, Mott Macdonald and Associated Architects.
