New Street Station, Birmingham
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The busiest train station outside London has received a £600 million facelift, with Schlüter-Systems’ first-class products specified for the new flooring that will be used by over 140,000 commuters every day.
Once named one of the most hated buildings in the country, Birmingham New Street Station is now bigger, brighter and better, with the first half of the new concourse now open to passengers, marking the completion of the first phase to transform the station.
Walked over by hundreds of thousands of people every day, the new concourse which is already one-and-a-half times bigger than the old concourse, also boasts new tiled flooring throughout. So, with such a large surface area to cover, the project’s architects specified the market leader in tile protection, Schlüter-Systems, to ensure passengers experienced an environment that was not only modern and pleasant, but also secure and protected.
Installing hundreds of movement and expansion joints, products from the Schlüter®-DILEX range provided the perfect solution for secure edge protection for a surface such as the station’s tiled flooring. Exposed to continuous pedestrian traffic each day, the flooring is protected from any movement by using the stress-relieving expansion joints of the Schlüter®-DILEX range, providing practicality whilst retaining an aesthetically pleasing design to fit in with the Birmingham’s new modern design.
Lauren Broadfield, Communications Manager at Network Rail said: “Over 140,000 people travel through New Street station every day and the flooring in the old station just wasn’t fit for purpose with it becoming very worn and contributing to the whole building feeling outdated and undesirable to spend any time in.
“We opened the first half of the new concourse at the end of April this year and the new flooring is key to the improved overall look and feel of our new station. The safety of everyone who uses New Street is of paramount importance to us and thanks to the installation of high quality movement joints, within the tiled flooring, we are able to provide passengers with the ultimate security and guarantee the long-term integrity of the installation.”
She adds, “We’re delighted with the finish that contributes to providing a world class environment at the new station which is what our passengers deserve.”
With New Street receiving its first major redevelopment in over 40 years, it was essential that this new gateway to the city possessed a high level of quality throughout its new refit right down to the flooring.
Carl Stokes, Head of Marketing and Customer Service at Schlüter-Systems Ltd, explained why Schlüter®-DILEX was the perfect choice when it came to this large-scale project. He comments, “There are few greater tests for our products than at a hive of activity such as Birmingham New Street due to the extremely high level of mechanical stresses caused by the millions of pairs of feet, bags and trolleys that pass through every year.
With this in mind, protecting the flooring against cracks, bulges and pressure from pedestrian traffic is of the utmost importance. Debonding from the substrate can often occur if the proper prevention isn’t in place and so we provide joints that ease the pressure, which work to the best of their ability beneath the surface, whilst the tile installation still remains appealing and flawless above.”
