Birmingham City Council has approved planning for the scheme, which is part of a £31 million ($42.5 million/€36.2 million) transport interchange linking bus and rail services in the area.

British construction group, Galliford Try, secured the contract with work beginning in March.

"With up to one million spectators expected over the 12 days of the Games, it is vital that our public transport network offers easy, safe, and reliable services," said Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands.

"This new Perry Barr bus interchange, alongside the new station, will help us do that.

"Not only will the Games help to show the leading role the West Midlands is playing in public transport investment to tackle climate change, but the transport infrastructure investments we’re making - such as this new interchange - will help leave a legacy of improved transport for future generations."

Transport for West Midlands described the existing Perry Barr rail station as "one of the most unattractive in the region."

Updated plans for its redevelopment were submitted to Birmingham City Council in December, after the original designs were compared to a shoebox, a Nintendo console and a drive-thru Starbucks by unimpressed railway engineers and local politicians.

The project will also feature an improved facade to the One Stop Shopping Centre along with an expanded public space.

As well as serving conventional services, the bus station will be used by the Sprint rapid transit system during the Commonwealth Games.

Sprint is a bus priority corridor which will help to reduce traffic congestion and give people an alternative to driving.

It is hoped it will also help to tackle climate change as Transport for West Midlands are striving for the region to reach zero net carbon emissions by 2041.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to run from July 28 to August 8.