Train doors to close forty seconds before departure for all Birmingham New Street services

Train doors at Birmingham New Street are to close up to forty seconds before departure to help services leave the station on time.

The new timings, a ten second increase for some services, was agreed between Network Rail and the train operators to help keep passengers on the move and on time.

It will come into place tomorrow (Sunday, November 10) and be in use across all services on all platforms.

Steven Ireland, head of stations, security and customer relationship management for Network Rail’s Central route, said: “This change will help passengers have a more reliable and on time journey from Birmingham New Street.

“At this time of year, when we see an increase in visitors for the Christmas markets and events across the city, the station and platform can get really busy. While only a 10 second increase for some services, that extra time allows for everything to be in place to allow the train to leave on time and help to reduce any delays to passengers.”

Birmingham New Street is the busiest station outside of London and welcomes around a million passengers every week.

On weekends, in the build-up to Christmas, an average of 175,000 people use the station each Saturday and Sunday on their way to and from the Christmas market, shops, bars, and restaurants in the city centre.

The change from 30 to 40 seconds is being introduced to ensure passengers are safely on board in plenty of time to then allow the train to depart on time.

Passengers are advised to be ready for the new changes by factoring in the extra seconds into their travel plans and to always check their journeys.

Lucy Wootton, head of Grand Railway Collaboration which represents the five train operators which serve Birmingham New Street, said: “At the moment, the time at which the doors close is inconsistent across services – some are 30 seconds and some are forty seconds.

"A consistent door closure time of forty seconds before departure will make it easier for passengers to plan their journeys and will help to allow more services and passengers leave the station on time.”

The five train operators which provide services in and out of Birmingham New Street are West Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway, Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales.

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