A Weekend in Warwickshire

[glencairn]

A few photographs of Leamington Spa and Birmingham New Street Stations.

SAM_0851.JPG (134.21 KiB) Viewed 1913 times

SAM_0852.JPG (165.76 KiB) Viewed 1913 times

SAM_0858.JPG (157.5 KiB) Viewed 1913 times

SAM_0863.JPG (142.97 KiB) Viewed 1913 times

Glencairn

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Ah the revamped New Street, the concourse flooded with light seems to have come at the cost of doubling the area of the platforms roofed over. The black hole at the heart of Brum.

[b308]

It's not added that much, BS, and the platforms were always a bit dismal... However taking out a lot of the buildings on the platforms has changed them a lot, platforms 8/9 being a good example and at least they've used nice light colours on the panelling as well as cutting back on other bits!

The whole point is that people wait upstairs on the concourse and only go down when the train is due... Easier to suggest than get people to actually do I'm afraid!

On the whole it's a far nicer place than it was before and I'd suggest it's lost it's "black hole" nickname...

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Perhaps the middle of winter is not the best time to judge it, Waiting at the top is fine in theory, especially with the late platform changes, but it can still be a skirmish with people all in a hurry to get up or down at the same time. New Street is definitely cramped when compared to other large through stations, like York, Carlisle or Waverly. Mind you Carlisle has had it's own chaos zone between the entrance and the coach stands while the C&C has been closed.

[glencairn]

Waiting upstairs seems a good idea, but chaotic getting down the stairs to the platform for a train.

I did not know which platform, the train I was waiting for, was going to arrive at until it had actually arrived. Then a mad dash down the stairs. In no time at all the train was on its way. I hope it was an isolated occasion because Heaven knows how disabled people would cope in such a situation.

A few more photographs --

SAM_0853.JPG (134.77 KiB) Viewed 1890 times

SAM_0859.JPG (96.94 KiB) Viewed 1890 times

SAM_0860.JPG (142.79 KiB) Viewed 1890 times

SAM_0864.JPG (137.91 KiB) Viewed 1890 times

At Birmingham International --

SAM_0866.JPG (85.21 KiB) Viewed 1890 times

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I did not know which platform, the train I was waiting for, was going to arrive at until it had actually arrived. Then a mad dash down the stairs.

With the old circulation area between the barriers and the stairs it was relatively easy, If you were waiting for a cross country or West Coast train and there was any doubt as to which platform it would be, you watched out for the red coats, if they hadn't gone down you stayed up top, but now XC uniforms are harder to spot and you can't see all of the stairways at once.
See you had chance to see Intenational's horizontal lift

[glencairn]

See you had chance to see Intenational's horizontal lift

Glencairn