There were over 100 ‘recycled’ passenger information displays among the range of products provided for the revamped Birmingham New Street station by Infotec Ltd.

Officially opened on September 20, the £750m redevelopment is one of the biggest refurbishment projects in Europe and has seen a newly created atrium, enlarged concourse, and improved platform access introduced.

Over 170,000 passengers use New Street every day, more than double the number it was designed to accommodate, and the number is expected to continue to grow. It is vital, therefore, that customers are provided with clear, up-to-date information about services to keep them moving.

In helping meet this need, Infotec has provided P1035 platform displays, P1015 summary displays, plasma replacement displays and two main board spans, each made up of 14 units. The main boards have been installed on the eastern and western concourses, while other displays are in booking halls, waiting rooms and on the new Navigation Street bridge.

An important and interesting part of the work has involved 106 LED cassettes that Infotec supplied for New Street in 2010 as replacements for Ferrograph cathode ray tube (CRT) displays. At the time, these were installed into the old CRT housings as a temporary solution.

As part of the redevelopment the cassettes were recovered by Atkins and returned to Infotec’s Ashby-de-la-Zouch headquarters for cleaning, refurbishment and setting in new housings to match the entire project. In effect, Infotec has recycled them, helping to reduce costs, increase efficiency and create environmentally ‘friendly’ displays.

Another important feature of the Birmingham New Street passenger information displays is that, as a result of the station being subsurface, all the designs meet the Section 12 fire regulation. This is the same standard used on the London Underground, and which has also been included in Infotec designs for projects such as Glasgow Subway and Mexico City Metrolink.

The innovative work carried out by Infotec for the Birmingham New Street contract will not be obvious to the travelling public, but what customers will see are attractive, reliable displays in a wonderfully transformed station.