BirminghamLive readers can enjoy a rare glimpse inside one of Birmingham’s oldest train stations.
We were allowed into the iconic Curzon Street station in the city centre, more than half a century after it was closed.
The striking Grade 1 listed station, known to many in Eastside section of the city centre, will form part of the new HS2 Curzon Street development which is set to open in 2026.
HS2 heritage specialists and archaeologists were on hand to give guided tours of the building and talks about the work starting soon in nearby Park Street burial ground, on Saturday.
A mobile recording studio was set up to capture people’s stories and memories of the local area.
Mike Lyons, HS2 Programme Director for Phase One West Midlands said: “HS2 is proud to be able to team up with the Heritage Open Days festival to open up the Old Curzon Street station for local people to explore what’s inside this iconic building.
“Birmingham is rich with history and heritage connected with the development of the railways and the Industrial Revolution.
“We wanted to share this with local people and also take the opportunity to capture and record their stories of how the local area has changed over the years as part of our oral history project.
“It’s fantastic to celebrate the development of Birmingham during a key period in Britain’s history as we now move ahead to develop the new Curzon Street station as a prominent landmark for the city.”
Once re-oepened, the HS2 Curzon Street development will connect eight cities and serve around 300,000 people daily.
The station closed to passengers in 1893 but remained open for goods until 1966.
The National Trust’s Heritage Open Days is England’s largest free festival of history and culture, bringing together over 2,500 organisations, 5,000 events and 40,000 volunteers.
