Central Station see its 'western gateway' open

A NEW entrance to Newcastle's Central Station has finally opened, almost seven years after plans for a multimillion-pound makeover were unveiled.

- DANIEL HOLLAND Local Democracy Reporter [e-mail]

Council bosses and rail chiefs cut the ribbon on a heavily-delayed new western gateway to the train station opposite the Centre For Life on Wednesday morning.

Designs for an overhaul of the North East's busiest railway station were revealed in February 2019, but the £4m works have taken far longer than planned and it has now also been confirmed that some major changes are being scrapped.

City leaders had originally planned to pedestrianise the Orchard Street tunnel, where taxis queue, and mount a major rejig of Central Station's taxi rank and car parks.

It was proposed that taxis would be relocated to the existing short-stay car park at the front of the station and queue up Bewick Street, with the short-stay area moved into the current long-stay car park.