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Wednesday 24 Feb 2016

HRH The Duke of Kent officially opens Rochester station

Region & Route:

| Southern

Rochester’s new train station was officially opened by His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent today (Wednesday 24 February).

The bigger, better, £26m station was completed in December, with more than 250,000 journeys having been made through the new station to date.

The Duke of Kent arrived by train and was welcomed by Southeastern, Network Rail and Medway Council. His Royal Highness was given a brief tour of the station, where he met a number of people involved in the project before unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion.

Alasdair Coates, Route Managing Director, Network Rail, said: “It was an honour to welcome The Duke of Kent to Rochester station to officially open this fantastic new station today.

“Our investment in Rochester, as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan, will not only deliver big benefits for passengers using the station, but also provide a welcome boost to the wider Medway region.”

Southeastern managing director, David Statham, said: “I am very pleased that The Duke of Kent came along to Rochester today to mark this significant opening.

“This great new facility has been put in place to ensure Rochester has a station fit for the future as it and the wider Medway area continue to grow. The station is also much closer to the historic High Street than the old station, which is great for Rochester and for the thousands of visitors that arrive each year.”

Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said: “It has been a privilege to have His Royal Highness, The Duke of Kent, officially open Rochester Train Station today. This newly renovated station is a great leap forward for residents, commuters and traders in Rochester, who can now benefit from having a fantastic railway station on their doorstep.

“The station is also an important step for Medway as a whole and will complement many of the exciting regeneration projects currently underway including, the Rochester Riverside development and the emerging multi-storey car park. These projects, alongside the newly opened Rochester Station, will be a huge economic boost for the borough."

Built by Network Rail and operated by Southeastern, the station’s bright and modern environment and its central location with good transport links mean that visitors to the town enjoy a much better welcome.

In addition, the new station is linked to the riverside at Rochester via a subway, opening up the area and making it more suitable for development. A new multi-storey car park will open this year, making Rochester one of the most attractive commuter stations in Kent.

The station is designed to allow 12-car trains to call at the town, and since it opened in December five extra trains to London now call at the station in the morning.

Vital work to improve the railway in Kent continues this Easter. Network Rail will install and bring into use new signalling equipment to help provide a better, more reliable service for passengers.

More pictures to follow.