Iconic brutalist Birmingham New Street signal box moves final trains before decommissioning

Take a look inside Birmingham New Street's iconic Brutalist signal box, which will be decommissioned on Christmas Eve after 57 years of controlling the city's trains.

Birmingham New Street Station's famous Brutalist pre-cast concrete signal box will move its final train tomorrow, on Christmas Eve.

The site will be decommissioned, bringing to an end its 57-year role controlling millions of trains arriving at and departing from New Street station.

For the last two years all of the 1960s' signalling equipment at the station has been converted to digital technology.

With no rail services on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, control from a new state-of-the-art West Midlands Signalling Centre will begin from Tuesday 27 December to complete a £700 million signalling upgrade - which has taken 17 years to complete.

What did it do?

It started operating in 1966 and signallers inside directed up to 1,200 trains every day.

It uses a huge telephone exchange linked to mechanical relays controlling signals and points, with staff manually setting safe routes for trains through Birmingham New Street station.

When it first opened it controlled trains between Hampton-in-Arden, through Birmingham and towards Stourbridge and was one of four power signal boxes in the region.

But since 2005 the other boxes closed and the panels in the Birmingham PSB got smaller as sections of the signalling system were modernised.

Much of the equipment has been working constantly since it was installed with some components never needing any maintenance.

However the 1960s technology has become increasingly difficult to maintain with spare parts often in short supply, so since January 2021 all of Birmingham New Street's signalling equipment has been converted to digital in line with the rest of the region.

What's so special about the building?

It was given Grade II listed building status in 1995 because of its ‘dramatic and exceptional architectural quality’ and ‘strongly sculptural form’.

What will happen to it now?

As it's a Grade II listed building, it will be repurposed. Network Rail says it could potentially be used for training rooms on the signalling floor and the relay room.

The lower floors already house some maintenance teams so it will remain a Network Rail building and in regular use.