AS TRAVELLERS scurry, eyes downwards, through the ugly, cramped confines of New Street Station, they may care to dream of what might be.
And, if their imaginations need any stimulation, the photographs of London's new St Pancras Station will help.
For £800 million has been lavished on St Pancras to make it a fitting gateway to the capital.
The contrast could hardly be greater - St Pancras's glass and iron elegance at odds with the concrete clumsiness of New Street, its light and airy ambience a world away from the subterranean gloom of New Street.
A decision will be made this summer about whether the government will stump up the £600 million needed to transform Birmingham's main railway station.
Ministers and their officials should not spend too long considering the issue. Of course the money must be found.
New Street is quite probably the worst major station in the country. It is overcrowded, unwelcoming and not fit for purpose.
It is outrageous that Brummies and this city's visitors should be expected to tolerate such ramshackle conditions.
Let us have a slice of the cake, please!