Interchange Station itself will be made up of two 415-metre long island platforms, offering four platform faces, as well as two central high-speed through lines for non-stopping services. The station will be linked to the NEC, Birmingham International Station and Birmingham Airport via an Automated People Mover (APM) carrying up to 2,100 passengers per hour in each direction. In addition to the APM, the station will be fully integrated with local buses, taxis and private vehicle options.
Interchange focuses on sustainability, maximising natural daylight and ventilation and a station roof design which can capture and reuse rainwater. The station will be built to achieve a ‘BREEAM excellent’ standard and zero carbon emissions from day-to-day energy consumption. The designs have also now incorporated sunken rain gardens in the public plaza and an outdoor terrace to the station concourse. Another key change is the creation of a dedicated pedestrian access into the station from the east of the railway, along with cycle access to the new station from the north, west and south-east, through a mixture of dedicated routes.