THE NEW Bromsgrove railway station will be officially opened today with a special ceremony from 10.30am to 11.30am.
To mark the momentous occasion, a plaque will be unveiled by Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid, who is also the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
There will also be a brass band performance and an appearance from Bromsgrove Town Crier Kevin Ward.
Among those attending will be Coun Ken Pollock, Worcestershire County Council Cabinet Member for Economy, Skills and Infrastructure, Coun Richard Worrall, the Chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Transport Delivery Committee, Richard Dugdale, Network Rail’s Senior Sponsor and Francis Thomas, the head of corporate affairs at London Midland.
The new £17.4million joint station, undertaken by Worcestershire County Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority (previously known as Centro), and delivered by Network Rail, opened to commuters on July 12.
It has a manned ticket office, automated ticket machines, passenger waiting room, travel and ticket information, toilets and new car parking areas, featuring 350 standard bays, disabled parking, electric vehicle charging stations and car share bays.
There is also be a taxi rank, bike lockers and bus stops where the 42 and 43 services link the station with the town centre and Redditch and the 145 (Rubery-Barnt Green-Bromsgrove-Droitwich) and 318 (Bromsgrove-Belbroughton-Stourbridge) also stop there.
The station concourse is fully accessible, with stairs and lifts to platforms.
Mike Ponsonby, the chairman of Bromsgrove Rail User Group (BRUG) who will be speaking at today’s event, said: “I want to thank everyone involved in the project which is the first new station to be built in 176 years.
“It is a fabulous achievement and is a massively important development for the people of Bromsgrove.”
