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In early June, the result of a year's worth of labour finally came to fruition as the southern concourse at Nottingham Train Station opened to the public for the first time. For those of you who kept up with the developments over the past year, you will be aware that I have been keeping a close eye on this project, tracking its progress and providing updates at pivotal times. There were few more important moments in the stations re-development than this very day. Nottingham Station is being linked up directly to the tram network, offering passengers the ease of walking off a tram and straight onto a train or vice-versa. After the addition of lines two and three of the tram, footfall at the station will increase from its current 7 million to a staggering 10 million per annum - an impressive statistic. The southern concourse is a vital piece in this jigsaw and is a complete new build, adding a modern, contemporary feel to the building. From the moment you walk through the brick archway in the porte cochere, you're transported into a clean and airy space, where people traffic from the tram will eventually fill on a daily basis. Within the southern concourse you now find new toilet facilities as well as escalators leading down to ground level onto Queen Street. There's also stairs and escalators leading up to the tram lines and level 3 of the multi-storey car park and immediately in front of you, a footbridge leading to level 2 of the car park. The southern concourse effectively ties everything together. You can park your car in the car park, venture into town or further afield on the tram or venture to somewhere else within the UK from a platform. It really is an impressive addition to the station, built predominantly of glass to maintain a connection to the existing building and the outside world as well as leaving exposed brickwork down one side from the original station building to complete an open plan feel. The views from the top level are fantastic, looking down onto platform level, along the tram bridge at eye level, and offering a panoramic view of Nottingham city centre's skyline above. You can't fail to be impressed by what the team at East Midlands Trains has created. All the hard work has paid off, and effectively, this is the final major part from East Midlands Trains. All that remains now is for NET lines two and three to be finished and the new transport hub of Nottingham will be complete. Having been so close to the project since its commencement last July, which was in fact just after the time that I started working for Experience Nottinghamshire, and seeing its completion a year on, it really makes you step back and stand in amazement at what has been achieved in a relatively short space of time. It's been a pleasure to see the developments and to watch the transformation of a building that tells many a tale - from its hosting of a gig by the Clash in 1985, to the great floods of Nottingham back in 1947. Nottingham Station now has a new chapter to its illustrious history, one of modernisation and transformation, making it one of the leading stations in the UK; just as it was over 100 years ago when it first welcomed trains into the city. To look back on the developments on site, you can visit any of my previous blogs from Nottingham Station which can be found below:

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