£50m revamp for 'worst stations' (BBC News 17/11/09)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From The BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Ten railway stations in England most in need of modernisation are to get £50m to carry out urgent improvements.

Manchester Victoria, Clapham Junction in south London and Crewe, in Cheshire, were among those with the worst customer satisfaction ratings.

The money will be spent on improving facilities such as car parks and shops.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis, who is due to make a lightning tour of all 10, said rail operators would be required to ensure minimum standards in future.

'Left behind'

Last week, rail operator Network Rail announced plans to spend ^3.25bn to improve more than 2,000 stations across England and Wales by 2014.
   
But the government's railway "champions" - former Virgin Trains chief executive Chris Green and Town and Country Planning Association president Sir Peter Hall - have identified 10 that are in need of the most urgent work.

In a report released on Tuesday, they described the 10 as having been "left behind".

Many were large Victorian buildings that were difficult to develop or had little commercial appeal, they said, and all had customer satisfaction ratings of less than 50%. Manchester Victoria was judged to be the worst followed by Clapham Junction and Crewe, with all three suffering from overcrowding.

Also on list are Barking, Stockport, Warrington Bank Quay, Preston, Wigan North Western, Luton and Liverpool Central.

The champions argued that Scotland had avoided the problem of poor stations by organising funding more effectively over a number of decades.

'Journey experience'

"Stations cannot be seen in isolation - they are part of the total journey experience," their report said. "Stations are deeply entwined with their local community and effectively act as the gateway to both town and railway. They leave passengers with their lasting impressions of both - a dilapidated station is bad business for both town and railway." The report added that the last decade "has seen the rail industry focus successfully on restoring reliability and investing in a record number of new trains". Its authors went on: "The next decade should build on this foundation to deliver the total journey experience - but to do this it will have to focus more on its stations."

Lord Adonis agreed that while train travel itself had "improved a good deal in recent years... more needs to be done to improve conditions and services for passengers at stations. I want every station to be a good station - a hub of local community life and somewhere that you wouldn't mind spending time, with adequate facilities," he said.

More CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision)

"I support the report's recommendations of minimum standards for stations - classed by size - in terms of information, car and bike parking, facilities and environment.

   
PRIORITY STATIONS
Manchester Victoria
Clapham Junction
Crewe
Barking
Stockport
Warrington Bank Quay
Preston
Wigan North Western
Luton
Liverpool Central

"I intend to make these minimum standards a requirement in future rail franchise agreements with train operating companies."

Network Rail said it would work closely with the Department for Transport to begin a programme of improvements at the 10 stations as soon as possible.

Among the changes announced last week were improved passenger information systems, new toilets and waiting rooms, better lighting and more use of CCTV.

[JayMac]

Over to the forum:

What stations in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) land are overdue a revamp? My vote goes to Bristol Temple Meads - can we have a Marks and Spencer please?

[Mookiemoo]

Over to the forum:

What stations in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) land are overdue a revamp? My vote goes to Bristol Temple Meads - can we have a Marks and Spencer please?

WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains)
Newport - most definitely Newport

[matt473]

It may be time for Swansea to have some work done as it really needs a waiting room and a general tidy up, especially if it is the terminus for HST2 in South Wales.

[John R]

Over to the forum:

What stations in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) land are overdue a revamp? My vote goes to Bristol Temple Meads - can we have a Marks and Spencer please?

I'd rather a decent booking hall if there's any space going spare.

[devon_metro]

Paignton, Teignmouth, Dawlish - all dumps.

[Henry]

 Although any spending on the railway system is a good thing, I note that none of the SW stations are on the list.

 Perhaps NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are looking to invest in certain stations so as to attract lucrative franchise aggreements may I suggest.
 So the footbridge at Teignmouth will have to wait.

[paul7575]

 Although any spending on the railway system is a good thing, I note that none of the SW stations are on the list.

I reckon you need to have a Labour MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) who's seat is unsafe (eg Barking) for this round of handouts...

Paul

[JayMac]

 Although any spending on the railway system is a good thing, I note that none of the SW stations are on the list.

I reckon you need to have a Labour MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) who's seat is unsafe (eg Barking) for this round of handouts...

Paul

Ah.... but Crewe is on the list.

[Lee]

Over to the forum:

What stations in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) land are overdue a revamp? My vote goes to Bristol Temple Meads - can we have a Marks and Spencer please?

WOS^» (Worcester Shrub Hill - next trains)

Couldnt agree more. Worcester Shrub Hill is one of my favourites, but it always reminds me of a sleeping giant that could do with some help to wake up.

We had a nice wander there a couple of months back. Off the train at Foregate Street, look around the Cathedral, walk up to the bridge, bimble down the riverside, Cathedral ferry (a rowing boat in reality), then along the canal to Shrub Hill.

Magic. Well it does the job for me, anyway...

Its even got an unsafe Labour MP^▸ (Member of Parliament)  

[paul7575]

Er... except when you are trying to unseat someone in a supposed 'railway town', and you need to bribe the electorate...

Paul

[Bob_Blakey]

This will almost certainly turn out to be a serious waste of scarce finances due to the unwillingness, and in some instances inability due to ludicrous 'listed building' regulations, of Network Rail /TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s to rebuild from the bottom up rather than just refurbish.
Exeter St Davids is a perfect example - once you get through the relatively modern looking booking area, you are effortlessly transported back to the early 1900's which is when the last major alterations were made.
Having seen some photographs I would venture to suggest that copying the work just completed at Derby would be a useful way forward.

[JayMac]

This will almost certainly turn out to be a serious waste of scarce finances due to the unwillingness, and in some instances inability due to ludicrous 'listed building' regulations, of Network Rail /TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s to rebuild from the bottom up rather than just refurbish.
Exeter St Davids is a perfect example - once you get through the relatively modern looking booking area, you are effortlessly transported back to the early 1900's which is when the last major alterations were made.
Having seen some photographs I would venture to suggest that copying the work just completed at Derby would be a useful way forward.

Network Rail are able to grant themselves planning permission without recourse to a Local Authority, and if they so chose they can bypass listed building rules, but imagine the outcry. Some of our Victorian railway stations are indeed no longer fit for purpose, but I'd rather see repair and dynamic use of the existing infrastructure ^ la St Pancras International, than tearing down and rebuilding from the bottom up. Euston is a classic example of how not to do it.

[inspector_blakey]

It may be time for Swansea to have some work done as it really needs a waiting room and a general tidy up, especially if it is the terminus for HST2 in South Wales.

Wholeheartedly agree... I've spent many festive hours there after missing west Wales connections - it always seems to be late at night in the depths of winter, never on a warm summer's evening. On these occasions the existence of the late Fishguard boat train is an irritation, because without it I'd be sitting in a warm taxi to my destination...

Apart from one occasion when a friendly duty manager unlocked some secret (warm!) waiting room for me, each missed connection has resulted in an hour or so freezing off my proverbials on the platform with no hope of anywhere warm to sit or even a cup of tea. If you're lucky, there might be something in the vending machine but don't bank on it. It really is a bit lacklustre considering it's the main station in Wales's second city!

[Btline]

Worcester's facilities are woeful! We need a new or refurbished City Centre station, then a parkway at Shrub Hill.

Of course, we almost had one. But Tesco did their bit for the community by scuppering it (and probably scuppering many other businesses in the area).

But more could be done with what there is. A clean would help. Then ticket barriers, better stairs, HST^▸ (High Speed Train) length platforms, extended canopies, more seating. Rename Worcester Central.

Shrub Hill needs pulling down (not the building) and starting again. It is a decaying ruin. Remove the through tracks, use the space for a bigger "concourse" and three through platforms. Ticket barriers installed. Rename Worcester Parkway.

Or shut and flatten Shrub Hill and build Parkway at Norton.