COVENTRY station is on track for its first major upgrade since it was built half a century ago – although the cost has risen by £11million in borrowing to £82million.
Images of how it will look show a more open concourse with more routes to a bus interchange and a second station building near Central Six car park.
It will have a modern glass second footbridge and extended canopies, and an additional 644 multi-storey car park.
Working is currently taking place on an underpass to connect the old building to the new one under Warwick Road.
A start date will partly depend on securing extra money from the Department for Transport, or from the West Midlands Combined Authority’s funds allocated for transport as part of its ‘devolution deal’ with government.
The new package includes prudential borrowing of £10.9million. Around £27million was already allocated for the scheme.
The grade II listed current building was built in 1962 and is considered of historic architectural merit, but old fashioned.
Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council cabinet member for jobs and regeneration, said: “We have a listed building that hasn’t had modernisation for over 50 years. It’s high time we did something with it. It’s the fastest growing station outside London.
“Coventry deserves better than we have. Birmingham New Street has had hundreds of millions of pounds spent on the station.
“It’s often the first impression that visitors get of Coventry and at the moment it’s not great.”
He said he was “confident” the government would not go ahead with proposals, mooted in a national public consultation, to reduce fast intercity trains stopping at Coventry station from the current three an hour.
The new station building near Central Six car park will serve platforms including and new bay platform for the long-awaited NUCKLE improved passenger service between Coventry and Nuneaton, stopping at the Ricoh Arena.
As the Coventry Observer revealed earlier this month, the bay platform and NUCKLE has been further delayed for more than year to Spring 2019.
Subject to funding approval, it is expected that all works on the Coventry station masterplan will be completed by 2021.
