Didcot Parkway - station, facilities, services, improvements, events and incidents (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[DidcotPunter]

And will probably be knocking around in another 10 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the First Great Western press release:

First Great Western welcomes ^9.5m Growth Fund allocation for Didcot Parkway car park upgrade

Train operator First Great Western has welcomed the allocation of ^9.5 million towards a new multi-storey car park and covered walkway at Didcot Parkway station, as part of funding from the Government^s Local Growth Fund.

The funding will help realise the first stages of a 10-year masterplan for improvements to the station that has been drawn up between First Great Western, OxLEP, Oxfordshire County Council and South Oxfordshire District Council. The plan details the expansion and improvement of the station, as a key gateway to Science Vale and Enterprise Zone, to better meet the needs of passengers and the communities it serves.

First Great Western Managing Director, Mark Hopwood said: ^We have been working with the local authorities and LEP^» (Local Enterprise Partnership - about) for some time to draw together our ten-year vision for the station, and today^s announcement is a key stage in the realisation of that vision. The Great Western rail network is seeing more than ^7.5 billion of investment over the coming years, and it is great to see local communities seizing this as an opportunity to help harness further funding that will directly benefit the local economy.

^FGW^▸ (First Great Western) has recently delivered a 710-space multi-storey car park at Bristol Parkway on time and on budget for the Department for Transport. We look forward to working with our partners to secure the balance of funding needed and finalise arrangements for the creation of a similar facility at Didcot.^

[ChrisB]

Oxfordshire County Council have a meeting at Didcot Cornerstone Centre this evening to introduce their new Local Transport PLan revision 4, from 7pm to 8.30. Sure this will get a mention....

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Oxford Mail:

^Rail station revamp offers a better welcome to Didcot^


Taking shape: The revamp of Didcot Parkway railway station as work nears an end

Completion of an ^8m scheme to redevelop the forecourt at Didcot Parkway rail station is set to be completed in the next fortnight.

The transport hub, the county^s busiest station after Oxford, has been reorganised to make it safer for cars, buses, cyclists, taxis and pedestrians to use.

Town councillor Margaret Davies said: ^People in Didcot have been very patient. When they started work in 2012 the estimated finishing date was September 2013, but with such a major project you can expect some delay.^

Work on the new interchange will be completed in the next fortnight, according to Didcot West county councillor Nick Hards.

A new sign has just gone up to welcome commuters and other visitors to the station^s transport interchange and Mr Hards said contractor Birse was now putting the finishing touches to the scheme.

He added: ^I expect the forecourt to be complete in the next fortnight. It^s all looking very impressive and it will be a much better welcome to Didcot. There will be some resurfacing work on Station Road in October but that should be everything. I would like to see some maps go up showing visitors where everything is in Didcot, including the Cornerstone Arts Centre. There are plans for a new hotel on the Didcot island site opposite the station and that would be another big improvement.^

Demolition work started on the forecourt in April 2012 and the scheme is nearing completion despite the discovery in June of buried asbestos, which increased the total cost of the scheme by ^1.3m.

Dave Pryor, of Pryors Taxis in Didcot, said: ^It has been quite chaotic over the past couple of years but we are due to have a completed station any day now ^ they are just finishing it off. Buses will move into the central section ^ it^s imminent and will be a big improvement. A new taxi rank with a bigger capacity has been running since April.^

The station is owned by Network Rail and run by First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) but Oxfordshire County Council has provided most of the funding as the highways authority. Work inside the station, including the renovation of the ticket office, has been completed by First Great Western and Network Rail.

FGW spokesman James Davis added that a scheme to deck parking areas in the Foxhall Road car park behind the station, backed by City Deal funding from central government, was due to be carried out at a date to be fixed.

A scheme to redesign the forecourt at Didcot Parkway was first mooted in 2001. It was not until 2011 that Oxfordshire County Council was ready to go ahead with the current scheme, but the start date was put back twice while First Great Western and Network Rail made sure all the correct paperwork was in place.

Some 2.8m passengers used the station in 2012/2013.

The scheme had an extra ^1.3m added to its budget, bringing it to ^8m, after asbestos was found.

Work started in September 2012, and was expected to be finished within a year, but various delays put back the construction by a year, including unexpected problems with ground conditions.

[FremlinsMan]

Buses moved back to using the extended central section (i.e. outside the station forecourt) Tuesday or yesterday. This means that buses are now completely separated from buses and private cars, which always used to be a problem (most evenings were bad, Fridays particularly so),

From the Oxford Mail:

^Rail station revamp offers a better welcome to Didcot^


Taking shape: The revamp of Didcot Parkway railway station as work nears an end

Completion of an ^8m scheme to redevelop the forecourt at Didcot Parkway rail station is set to be completed in the next fortnight.

The transport hub, the county^s busiest station after Oxford, has been reorganised to make it safer for cars, buses, cyclists, taxis and pedestrians to use.

Town councillor Margaret Davies said: ^People in Didcot have been very patient. When they started work in 2012 the estimated finishing date was September 2013, but with such a major project you can expect some delay.^

Work on the new interchange will be completed in the next fortnight, according to Didcot West county councillor Nick Hards.

A new sign has just gone up to welcome commuters and other visitors to the station^s transport interchange and Mr Hards said contractor Birse was now putting the finishing touches to the scheme.

He added: ^I expect the forecourt to be complete in the next fortnight. It^s all looking very impressive and it will be a much better welcome to Didcot. There will be some resurfacing work on Station Road in October but that should be everything. I would like to see some maps go up showing visitors where everything is in Didcot, including the Cornerstone Arts Centre. There are plans for a new hotel on the Didcot island site opposite the station and that would be another big improvement.^

Demolition work started on the forecourt in April 2012 and the scheme is nearing completion despite the discovery in June of buried asbestos, which increased the total cost of the scheme by ^1.3m.

Dave Pryor, of Pryors Taxis in Didcot, said: ^It has been quite chaotic over the past couple of years but we are due to have a completed station any day now ^ they are just finishing it off. Buses will move into the central section ^ it^s imminent and will be a big improvement. A new taxi rank with a bigger capacity has been running since April.^

The station is owned by Network Rail and run by First Great Western (FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) but Oxfordshire County Council has provided most of the funding as the highways authority. Work inside the station, including the renovation of the ticket office, has been completed by First Great Western and Network Rail.

FGW spokesman James Davis added that a scheme to deck parking areas in the Foxhall Road car park behind the station, backed by City Deal funding from central government, was due to be carried out at a date to be fixed.

A scheme to redesign the forecourt at Didcot Parkway was first mooted in 2001. It was not until 2011 that Oxfordshire County Council was ready to go ahead with the current scheme, but the start date was put back twice while First Great Western and Network Rail made sure all the correct paperwork was in place.

Some 2.8m passengers used the station in 2012/2013.

The scheme had an extra ^1.3m added to its budget, bringing it to ^8m, after asbestos was found.

Work started in September 2012, and was expected to be finished within a year, but various delays put back the construction by a year, including unexpected problems with ground conditions.

[ChrisB]

This means that buses are now completely separated from buses and private cars, which always used to be a problem (most evenings were bad, Fridays particularly so),

I guess you mean Taxis & cars?

[FremlinsMan]

This means that buses are now completely separated from buses and private cars, which always used to be a problem (most evenings were bad, Fridays particularly so),

I guess you mean Taxis & cars?

Yes! 

[didcotdean]

Some people in cars haven't got used to not being able to drop people off directly in front of the station as they used to and are therefore driving into the now bus only area. Hopefully the habit will be broken before too long.

[bobm]

It certainly is an improvement for bus users



There are properly defined bays - and more stops.  It was always a bit of scrum there, particularly as buses going in both directions on the same route call at the station leading to some confusion on occasions.



The dropping off point is now to the left of the station entrance - and popular with cyclists too!

Still a little bit of finishing off to do - but certainly a much better layout.

[TeaStew]

Some people in cars haven't got used to not being able to drop people off directly in front of the station as they used to and are therefore driving into the now bus only area. Hopefully the habit will be broken before too long.

Reminds me of when they redid the Chippenham station forecourt/parking/whatever you want to call it - made it a bus and taxi only one way loop up to the front doors where people used to be able to drive up pretty much however they pleased. Saw lots of cars not knowing/not reading to begin with but now 8 years on(ish? About 2006 I think it happened) I rarely see one. I think it dropped off fairly rapidly if I recall correctly.

Looks nice though, I do like a bit of nice new paving. 

[grahame]

Reminds me of when they redid the Chippenham station forecourt/parking/whatever you want to call it - made it a bus and taxi only one way loop up to the front doors where people used to be able to drive up pretty much however they pleased. Saw lots of cars not knowing/not reading to begin with but now 8 years on(ish? About 2006 I think it happened) I rarely see one. I think it dropped off fairly rapidly if I recall correctly.

The 20 minute / railway business parking at Chippenham is very close indeed and much better to use than trying to drop people off on the loop would be - an excellent example of a carrot rather than a stick, and I'm not surprised at the rapid uptake of the facilities when they were added.   As a previously-regular, now-occasional user of the pick up / drop off facilities there, it's just as quick (even in a rush for a train) to go into the new area, and the driver can help into the station / with ticketing and luggage up and over. 

[didcotdean]

The short term / pick up car parking in the west car park of Didcot is considerably more than there used to be under the previous arrangements but the covered way to the station building which was part of the original scheme has not been done, as mentioned earlier, as a result of cost overrun. This may now happen in the next upgrade scheme though.

[FremlinsMan]

There were two large lorries containing Panalux lighting equipment and 2-3 smaller vans parked in the delivery bays of the new forecourt. I didn't spot any cameras or film crew - does anyone know what's going on?

[ray951]

Apparently filming a new Agatha Christie drama staring David Walliams for the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) at Didcot Railway Centre.
They have been there all week and given the amount of equipment and people (at the station  and at the football club) looks like they might be here for a while.

[didcotdean]

Yes Endor Productions have put up directions signs all over Didcot to stop their people getting lost.

Walliams is playing Tommy Beresford.