Covered by a giant atrium allowing natural light throughout, the new concourse is three and a half times bigger, providing more space for the 170,000 passengers who use the station every day. It has all the facilities you would expect including waiting areas and shops.
All 12 refurbished platforms are clearer with more space and are easily accessible via 15 new customer lifts, 36 new escalators and numerous staircases.
Cross Country Trains are asking customers who are travelling to or from Birmingham New Street, or making a connection there, to familiarise themselves with the new layout and entrances and allow a little more time than usual when passing through. Customers are being reminded that Automatic ticket gates will be in operation and to have tickets ready when entering and exiting the station.
The redeveloped shopping centre above, aptly named Grand Central, includes a flagship John Lewis store - the biggest outside London, and will open on Thursday 24 September - four days after the new Birmingham New Street station was officially unveiled.
A video has been produced showing a fly through fly through of the new station.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ydt5bUSbP8
The strange thing is that connectivity is covered by showing the taxi rank and the tram stops. Trams currently don't visit the New Street area but buses do. There is only a fleeting glimpse of a bus in spite of the fact that buses bring many more passengers to Birmingham than cabs or trams. As usual it's a case of the bus being regarded as the poor relation. Birmingham would be lost without them!
Taxis are shown
So are trams
Spot the bus
