UK's busiest train station reveals new multi-million renovation with huge grand terminal and outdoor gardens
The iconic station is in need of a high-tech revamp to ease congestion
RAIL REVIVAL UK's busiest train station reveals new multi-million renovation with huge grand terminal and outdoor gardens
THE UK's busiest train station is set to receive a stunning multimillion-pound revamp - which will include a grand terminal and outside gardens.
London Liverpool Street connects over 100 million people annually - and this new renovation is set to improve passenger experience for years to come.
4
A groundbreaking revamp is set to transform Liverpool Street station
Credit: Network Rail
4
The new station will cater over 200 million passengers for the decades ahead
Credit: Network Rail
4
The new open aesthetic will make the station more spacious
Credit: Network Rail
Incredible concept photos showed what the state-of-the-art station would look like once the face-lift is complete.
They included cutting-edge architectural feats such as new pedestrian routes, bold station interiors, a picturesque balcony and a stylish entrance.
The groundbreaking plans for the new upgrade will make the station future-proofed and ready to accommodate over 200 million people for the decades ahead, according to Network Rail.
Their application to give the iconic station a colossal transformation has recently been approved by City of London.
The new vision will see the station become more spacious, better connected between its different lines, and much more accessible.
Chief Executive of Network Rail, Sir Andrew Haines, said: 'The station proposed in this application is absolutely what London needs.
"An accessible, inclusive, world-class multi-modal transport gateway to the heart of London - designed to serve the City, all Londoners, and everyone who travels through it."
The historic station is in much need of an upgrade, as since the last major renovation, its passenger numbers have tripled.
There is a lack of step-free access and the basic facilities can make transport difficult.
It is also plagued by heavy congestion at peak times.
Science and Industry museum manchester
Long and windy passages can also confuse travellers trying to get from one line to another within the huge station.
The much-needed revamp is set to alleviate these issues while giving Liverpool Street a stylish and modern aesthetic.
London's Transport Commissioner Andy Lord said: 'Network Rail's vision for the station gives us an opportunity to work together to provide the excellent levels of customer satisfaction we want everyone to experience as they travel across our networks.
"We welcome that these plans include a comprehensive step-free solution for those using the Underground.
He added: "At the heart of these plans is an unshakeable commitment to safety, top-tier performance, and delivering a transport system for London that is not only efficient, but environmentally sustainable."
The revolutionary scheme will also help boost long-term economic growth across the City of London.
According to Network Rail, the station's transformation could increase the City of London economy by up to £4.6billion per year.
This would come thanks to increased visitor numbers and a small tax change which would draw in more cash.
Liverpool Street station opened i n 1875 and ever since it has grown in parallel with London's iconic Square mile.
Network Rail said: "It is essential that the station is modernised to meet the demands of a 21st-century transport network and continue supporting the economic vitality of both London and the wider UK."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
10 hours ago
- BBC News
Blackfriars Bridge undercroft could be skatepark or energy hub
A former rifle range and undercroft by Blackfriars Bridge could find a new use as a skatepark or energy site has been occupied since 2017 by Bazalgette Tunnel Ltd for the construction of the Thames Tideway will now return to either the City of London Corporation or Transport for London once it is determined which of the two bodies is the legal Water will manage the foreshore, which will include a café. The shooting range was shut down to allow for the construction of the tunnel and sits beneath the undercroft.A report by the corporation noted the undercroft was "historically associated with antisocial behaviour" and has been inaccessible, with hoardings around it for proposals have been put forward for the redevelopment of the site:A dedicated space for skateboarding and wheeled sportsAn energy centre delivering low-carbon heat Commercial options, such as kiosks and food and drink outletsA corporation spokesperson said the site was still being used to store materials related to the Tideway Tunnel.A further report detailing costs for each of the reuse options is to be presented to the City of London Corporation committee in early 2026.
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- The Guardian
Smithfield and Billingsgate market redevelopment plans begin – but traders' future in doubt
Smithfield and Billingsgate food markets in London will be turned into new homes and a cultural destination under plans by their owner – but the future of the meat and fish traders housed on each site remains in doubt. A council within the City of London Corporation, which is responsible for running the capital's Square Mile, has voted to task a team to oversee the regeneration of 28 hectares (70 acres) of land across Greater London. However, it has not allocated any new money for the project. The corporation decided in a separate vote last November to permanently close Smithfield and Billingsgate when it pulled the plug on a planned £740m relocation to a new site in the east of the capital at Dagenham, blaming rising costs. The markets will continue trading in their current locations until 2028, but the closure will mark an end to centuries of meat and fish trading in the city. The corporation, which is exceptionally wealthy compared with typical UK local authorities, has faced a backlash over the decision and objections to the plans to permanently close London's ancient food markets and build on the sites. The corporation has previously offered compensation to Smithfield and Billingsgate traders and said it would help individual businesses to find new locations, but the newly created team will also be tasked with helping to find a new site for the meat and fish markets. Chris Hayward, the corporation's policy chair, said: 'A bright future lies ahead for these markets, and their redevelopment will contribute billions of pounds in economic growth, thousands of new jobs and thousands of new homes.' The redevelopment of the Smithfield and Billingsgate sites will add £9.1bn in gross value added (GVA) to the UK economy in the coming years, according to the corporation's calculations. The history of a food market around Smithfield – close to Farringdon train station – goes back more than 800 years. The London Museum is in the process of moving to part of the site. The corporation wants the new team, which will mostly include current corporation staff, to oversee a masterplan for the remainder of the site and its Victorian listed buildings, which will aim to turn it into a cultural hub, potentially housing bars, restaurants and venues. Greg Lawrence, the chair of traders at Smithfield market, who has worked on the site since he joined at the age of 16 in 1966, said: 'Smithfield market is a very special place. It will be emotional to leave the site, it has been people's lives.' Despite this, he is in favour of the markets moving to a new, modern location. 'We have outgrown it now, there is no room for anyone to expand or grow,' he said. The 5.6-hectare Billingsgate site close to the Canary Wharf financial district has been earmarked for housing, and the corporation believes 4,000 new homes could be built there. The corporation's new team, which will comprise 11 members, will also be responsible for working with local representatives to work out how to redevelop the 17-hectare site at Dagenham Dock, in one of London's most deprived boroughs, where it had intended to build a new market complex. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The corporation spent just under £230m of the project's £741m cost before it cancelled the Dagenham move late last year, including buying and cleaning up the site. It blamed inflation and rising construction costs for the decision. It will use the remaining £511m to fund other major projects including a law court complex it is building for the Ministry of Justice at Salisbury Square, which the Guardian understands is over budget. The corporation manages assets worth billions of pounds, and collects £1.3bn in business rates annually, most of which it passes to central government. While the corporation is the owner and operator of the Smithfield and Billingsgate sites, it does not have the power to autonomously close them down and use the land for other purposes. The capital's ancient markets were established by acts of parliament and can only be shut when parliament passes a private bill. This process has been complicated by the objection of three fishmongers from Ridley Road market in east London, who say they depend on Billingsgate for their business and will go bust if it closes down. They say they have the support of a small group of MPs who are opposed to the closure. Alicia Weston, the founder of the food poverty charity Bags of Taste and a spokesperson for the fishmongers, said the new plans appeared to be 'a positive move towards what the fishmongers have always wanted. They have asked for a suitable replacement for Billingsgate to be up and running before the closure, so they can go and buy their fish every day.'
Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
More than 2,000 TfL staff earned over £100k last year
More than 2,000 members of staff at Transport for London (TfL) earned over £100,000 last year, it has emerged. The number of employees on six-figure salaries in 2024-25 surged by 900 since last year, according to the network's annual accounts. Andy Lord, the TfL commissioner, received £639,164 in total remuneration, including performance-related pay and a retention bonus. This is an increase of almost £115,000 compared to the previous year, with his bonus reaching £187,902. The network, which is overseen by Sir Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, defended Mr Lord's salary by saying that an equivalent role in the private sector would pay significantly more. A spokesman said that it was 'essential that we continue to attract and retain staff across all disciplines'. More than 100 managers on the Tube saw their salaries hit six figures due to two pay rises, one of which was backdated from the previous year. TfL employs more than 28,000 staff and has an annual budget of around £9 billion. It made an operating surplus of £166 million in 2024-25. But the network missed its own targets for passenger numbers and income from fares. It attracted fewer customers on buses and the Docklands Light Railway than the previous year, and the number of Tube passengers grew more slowly than hoped. The service has recently come under fire for its lack of action over fare evasion after Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, confronted fare dodgers at Stratford station. Keith Prince, transport spokesman for the City Hall Conservatives in London, told The Standard: 'To see the number of TfL staff earning six figures balloon – at a time when Tube trains are covered in graffiti and the police face devastating cuts – smacks of tone deafness from Khan's TfL.' Gareth Bacon, the shadow transport secretary, said: 'If the mayor stays on these tracks, passengers will be left paying even more for less – stuck on overcrowded, graffitied platforms, as Transport for London's £13 billion debt continues to spiral. 'Sadiq Khan's TfL is a six-figure gravy train hurtling off the rails with bonuses for the bosses and delays for the rest of us.' Earlier this month, a group of Londoners filmed themselves removing graffiti from inside Tube trains as they were fed up of the vandalism being ignored. The group, founded Joe Reeve, 28, said they were 'doing what Sadiq Khan can't' by cleaning up Bakerloo Line carriages. It comes as London Underground drivers – who are already comfortably inside the top 10 per cent of all salaried employees in Britain – are threatening to go on strike if bosses refuse to pay them £76,000 a year. The Telegraph understands that TfL has offered Tube drivers a 2.8 per cent pay increase. But a union newsletter seen by The Telegraph said: 'We demand a pay rise that protects us from the real cost of living. As always, RMT bases our pay negotiations on the retail price index (RPI).' A spokesman for TfL said: 'TfL is a complex £9bn billion-a-year turnover organisation that is central to the success of London and the UK – getting millions of Londoners and visitors to where they need to go each day, and delivering complex engineering projects across the city to improve transport for everyone. 'We are investing billions in improving the transport network and now, for the second year in a row, have achieved an operating surplus for operations. 'This means that our revenues cover the costs of running the existing transport network, with any surplus directly invested back into the transport network.' They added: 'In a highly competitive market, in which comparator companies pay their top executives significantly more than TfL, it is essential that we continue to attract and retain staff across all disciplines of the organisation, which includes ensuring that pay increases are achieved across all levels of colleagues.'
