AN URGENT safety probe halted construction work on the £400 million revamp of New Street Station after scaffolding collapsed in high winds, it has been revealed.
Around 250 workers were laid off for two-and-a-half weeks to enable an investigation to take place after Network Rail ordered a suspension of all construction activity.
Contractors were warned that the safety measures surrounding the scaffolding which collapsed – on the south side of the station complex near Station Street – were “unacceptable.”
Ben Herbert, Communications Manager for Network Rail, said: “We stopped work on January 12. There were things we were not happy with, and rather than let them escalate, we wanted to take action immediately.
“There was an incident with some scaffolding which partly collapsed. It happened in the middle of the night in a non-public area and there was no injury.”