The new modern Perry Barr station has been open six months tomorrow and already it is proving a hit with passengers.

West Midlands Railway, which operates the station, estimated that there have been more than 40,000 paying passenger journeys to or from the station since its shutter doors opened on May 29, 2022.

That figure does not include the thousands more whose travel was included with their Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games tickets and passed through on their way to Alexander Stadium.

Galliford Try, the firm which built the station under contract from Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), has also today revealed that more than 1,000 people, many of them local, worked on the one-year construction scheme.

The £30 million project delivered both a brand-new station building, complete with lift access to platforms, and a new bus interchange and public space outside the neighbouring One Stop Shopping Centre.

The development also provided dozens of training opportunities for local unemployed people, offered seven apprenticeships and a T-level placement and gave work experience for those that have recently left the armed forces to help them back into work.

Among them was student Esme Baraclough, who had recently given up studying for a chemistry degree at university and was looking for a change of direction. She volunteered on site for two weeks’ unpaid work experience, working alongside a quantity surveyor. Having impressed colleagues, she secured a position on site as an apprentice quantity surveyor and continues to work with the company.

She said: “Being given work experience at the station was an amazing opportunity and it gave me a great insight into the world of construction.  It inspired me to want to pursue a career in construction. 

“I spent time with the team at Perry Barr looking at all of the different disciplines but the one that stood out for me was Quantity Surveying.  I feel extremely privileged for the experience as it got me into my new career which I am now loving.”

Esme Baraclough on site

Children from local schools and colleges were also engaged throughout construction with visits and designs for the site hoardings. These included a site visit for James Brindley School, a specialist academy for pupils who have difficulty accessing mainstream school.

Simon Courtney, managing director of Galliford Try West Midlands and South West  said: “It was a great honour to deliver the new Perry Barr Station and we are not only proud to have achieved this on time, but also to have been able to support so many people into work and training opportunities. People like Esme who we were delighted to take on following a short work experience placement.

"While we know that the bricks and mortar station building is a lasting legacy for the area, we would like to think that during construction we made a similarly lasting impact on the community through jobs, apprenticeships and engagement.”

Led by TfWM and the WMRE, partners in the project included Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Railway, Network Rail, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The project was delivered by SLC-AECOM with Galliford Try.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “We knew that the old, unwelcoming and dark station was putting people off rail in the area and that’s why we made demolishing the site and replacing it with a new modern facility a top priority. Now these passenger numbers, six months after opening, show that we absolutely made the right decision.

“The new station was built in time for the Commonwealth Games, but the fact that more people are using the station for their day-to-day travel shows that it is having a much wider and longer lasting benefit for the area – just as we had planned.

“This is on top of the huge employment benefit the project brought, with Galliford Try revealing they had more than 1,000 workers working on this project – many of whom will now go onto a long and successful career in our region’s construction industry.

“All in all the new Perry Barr station has been a real success story, and my thanks to everyone who played their part in making this happen.”

Matt Bradley, head of stations for West Midlands Railway, said: “Through this investment Perry Barr has been transformed from one of the most outdated stations on the network to one of the smartest.

“It was fantastic to see the station so busy during the Commonwealth Games and since then it has been great to see how the local people have gone about embracing this fantastic new community facility.”

The station was part of the wider regeneration of Perry Barr which continues following a successful Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The station is set to become even more busy as thousands of people move into the new homes being built in the area.

Cllr Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “The ongoing regeneration of Perry Barr is so impressive, and it is now one of the best connected areas in the region, with great public transport links.

“The new station has made a huge difference to the area, as is shown by the increased numbers of people using it, not just for rail passengers but to the wider community.

“As the new housing delivered by the council in Perry Barr begins to be occupied in the near future, the station will play an even more important role in the connectivity of the area as the long-term Perry Barr Masterplan becomes reality.”