Central Station new entrance finally opens after seven-year wait, as taxi rank relocation dropped

The new western entrance to Newcastle Central Station, opposite the Centre for Life (Image: Newcastle City Council.)

A new entrance to Newcastle’s Central Station has finally opened, almost seven years after plans for a multi-million pound makeover were unveiled. 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 £4 million works have been 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