BROMSGROVE's new railway station is now not expected to open until next year due to construction delays.

In March, the Advertiser reported that the £17 million station - which includes four platforms, a staffed ticket office and a passenger waiting room - was on track for a November opening.

But in their latest update Network Rail and Worcestershire County Council are reporting the station will not open to passengers until spring 2016, blaming the delay on two issues.

The first is that contractors encountered problems with contamination as the new station is being constructed on a former oil terminal.

Buried cables, pipes and services were discovered while the ground contamination had been more widespread than planned.

The decontamination process is now complete, but took longer than expected.

Issues with the design of the planned footbridge and lift structures for the station is the second reason for the delay.

These have had to be redesigned to be 40 centimetres higher than the original design by contractors to conform with Europe-wide rail industry safety regulations for footbridges over electrified railways.

The electrification project is expected to be completed by May 2017, and the new station is being prepared for this.

Richard Dugdale, Network Rail project sponsor, said: “It’s unfortunate that the delays in construction and the safety related design changes mean the station will open later than originally forecast.

"The new station will, however, be well worth the wait and will be a great departure point for the transformed new train service for Bromsgrove."

Bromsgrove MP and Business Secretary Sajid Javid has written to residents living near the station, voicing his disappointment at the delays.

In the letter he writes: "The new rules mean that passenger footbridges must be a minimum of 3.5 metres above any live electrification infrastructure.

"I'm told that the change in height is to protect passengers from possible electrocution, for example by selfie sticks or helium balloons.

"Network Rail inform me that the bridge design was already approved in principle in September 2014, but the new safety standard didn't come into UK law until March 2015.

"However, designers, Mott Macdonald, concluded that the change in standards was so significant in terms of health and safety of the public, that it could not be ignored.

"I am not happy about the delay, but I'm sure you will agree with my conclusion that the safety of residents must come first."

• Worcestershire County Council's update also says the current station will remain open throughout the construction, and will only close once the new station opens.

The update says there should be "very little impact" on rail services during this period.

The authority reports work to change the mini roundabout junction, near the station next to the Ladybird pub, into a traffic lights controlled section will be taking place in the near future.