The redevelopment of the University of Birmingham’s dedicated railway station has faced yet another delay, with completion now scheduled for autumn 2023.

University Station, Britain’s only main line station to serve a university, is being fitted with a new station building, wider platforms and a new entrance area and approach. The development is planned to increase capacity from 500,000 passengers a year to 7 million.

The station’s redevelopment was originally announced in June 2019, with the main aim of the project being to increase passenger capacity ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The University was host to the Games’ Squash and Hockey events, as well as housing an Athlete Village on the Vale student accommodation.

However, the development has been behind schedule, being delayed first until spring 2023, and now until autumn. Although the West Midlands Combined Authority was able to secure £54 million in funding, including around £12 million in government levelling-up funds, inflation has meant that Transport for West Midlands (TFWM) has struggled to keep up with construction costs.

Although the exterior of the station building is largely complete, the interior sections are yet to be finished. Along with inflationary pressure, TFWM has blamed supply network issues in sourcing the necessary internal cladding. Although trains have been operating as normal throughout the redevelopment, it has come as a frustration that the project will open up to 15 months behind the planned completion date.

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