S Lucas’s involvement in the huge transformation project taking place at Birmingham’s New Street Station has expanded further just as the rebuilding programme reaches its halfway point.

We have been working for the delivery partner and principal contractor Mace, advising the architects and specifiers on the most appropriate surface treatments to use in this major rebuilding project. As a result Muralplast’s MSP, our multi-surface paint, has now been used on 15 new elevator pits as well as the car park ceilings at New Street. This follows on from the earlier widespread use of MSP for “blacking out” the concrete soffits, pipework and metalwork exposed above the suspended, sculpted ceiling in the new station.

MSP is a water-based surface treatment with very high adhesive qualities. It is flame repellant and our advisers produced a bespoke formula to meet the exacting standards required for Network Rail Section 10 specifications.

In April, the station will 'switch over' when the existing concourse and entrances which have been in use since the 1960s will close and passengers start to use the first half of the brand new concourse. Over 140,000 passengers use New Street every day making it the busiest station outside London and the busiest interchange station in the UK with a train departing every 37 seconds.