HS2: Work on Birmingham Curzon Street station gets under way

Construction work has started on the Birmingham terminus of the HS2 line.

Curzon Street is a key part of phase one of the high-speed rail project, linking Birmingham and London.

The station is set to take five years to build, with the first services expected to run between 2029 and 2033.

Phase two of the route, between the West Midlands and Manchester, was scrapped by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October.

Mr Sunak said £36bn of funding from the cancelled northern leg would instead be put into alternative transport projects.

Curzon Street will be the first new inter-city terminus station built in Britain since the 19th Century.

Major earthworks will be carried out at the site from this month, with construction of the main building due to start in the summer.

The project is set to create hundreds of jobs and apprenticeships during construction, as well as Restart scheme opportunities for unemployed people.

Once complete, HS2 is expected to cut Birmingham-to-London journey times from one hour, 21 minutes to 52 minutes.

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