A £550m redevelopment of the station named Gateway Plus opened in September 2015; it includes a new concourse, a new exterior facade and a new entrance on Stephenson Street.

[8] The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion chapel, on the corner of Peck Lane and Dudley Street, which had only been built six years before,[9] was also demolished.

When completed, New Street had the largest arched single-span iron and glass roof in the world, spanning a width of 211 feet (64 m) and being 840 ft (256 m) long.

Cowper's single-span design, was therefore adopted, even though it was some 62 feet (19 metres) wider than the widest roof span at that time.

[6] The main entrance building on Stephenson Street incorporated Queens Hotel, designed by John William Livock, which was opened on the same day.

The hotel was expanded several times over the years and reached its final form in 1917, with the addition of a new west wing.

If the reader notices the turmoil and bustle created by the excitement of the arrival and departure of trains, the trampling of crowds of passengers, the transport of luggage, the ringing of bells and the noise of two or three hundred porters and workmen, he will retain a recollection of the extraordinary scene witnessed daily at Birmingham Central Railway Station.The roof of the original station was strengthened with additional steel tie bars during 1906–07, as a precaution following the collapse of a similar roof which killed six people at Charing Cross station in 1905.

[11] On completion, New Street had nearly doubled in size and became one of the largest stations in Britain, covering an area of over twelve acres (4.9 ha).

[23] Queens Drive was lost in the 1960s rebuild, but the name was later carried by a new driveway, which served the car park and a tower block, and is the access route for the station's taxis.

During the Second World War, Cowper's roof sustained extensive bomb damage as a result of air raids during the Birmingham Blitz.

It was replaced with austere canopies over the platforms, made from surplus war materials, which remained in use until the station was rebuilt in the 1960s.

[27] The rebuilt New Street station was opened on 6 March 1967 to coincide with the introduction of electric expresses on the West Coast Main Line.

[28][29] The new station was designed by Kenneth J. Davies, lead planner for British Rail London Midland Region.

[28] The platforms were covered over by a seven-acre (2.8 ha) concrete deck, supported by 200 columns, upon which the concourse and other buildings were constructed.

[32] The station and the Pallasades were partly integrated with the Bullring Shopping Centre via elevated walkways above Smallbrook Queensway.

Also above the station was a nine-storey office block called Ladywood House,[33] and a multi-storey car park dating from the 1970s.

In a 2007 survey, it scored a customer satisfaction rate of only 52%, the joint lowest of any Network Rail major stations along with Liverpool Lime Street and East Croydon.

[45] In books on railway station architecture, it was described by Steven Parissien as a "depressing underground bunker" and by Simon Jenkins as "hideous".

A Sutton Coldfield model railway enthusiast, Don Jones, built a scale model of the entire 1960s station and surrounding buildings including the Rotunda, the old Head Post Office and the signal box, at OO scale; open days were held to raise funds for local charities.

[55] A further £100 million came from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and channelled through Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency.

[58] The approved plans for the redevelopment included:[59] The fact that the proposed Gateway development would leave the railway capacity of the station more or less unaltered has not escaped attention.

In July 2008, the House of Commons Transport Committee criticised the plans; it was not convinced they were adequate for the number of trains which could use the station.

[63][64] The refurbished Pallasades Shopping Centre was renamed Grand Central and included a John Lewis department store.

[65] During heavy winds on 30 December 2015, several roof tiles blew off, landing in the adjacent Station Street, which was therefore closed by the police as a precautionary measure.

Still in existence, but out of use, is the "Royal Mail tunnel" which connected the "b" end of the station platforms to the former sorting office (now called The Mailbox) alongside Suffolk Street.

The tunnel to the former Head Post Office at Victoria Square is bricked up, with the subway between the platforms remaining in use for railway staff.

The booking office and barriers are operated by Avanti West Coast, with customer service or floor walker staff provided by CrossCountry and Network Rail.

The basic Monday to Saturday off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is as follows: Avanti West Coast CrossCountry West Midlands Railway London Northwestern Railway Transport for Wales COVID-19 travel restrictions introduced in 2020 resulted in a reduction in normal service patterns.

The stop was temporarily, before extension to Broad Street, a terminus of West Midlands Metro Line One, and provides a link to Snow Hill station and onwards to Wolverhampton.

[84] Birmingham Snow Hill station is 1,100 yards (1,000 m) away;[83] it is either a ten-minute walk away to the north, or can be reached via a short tram ride on the West Midlands Metro.