Media centre

Thursday 14 Jul 2005

£12 MILLION STATION IMPROVEMENTS IN EAST OF ENGLAND

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

Rail passengers across the East of England are now enjoying a range of new station facilities, thanks to the recently completed ‘Modern Facilities at Stations’ (MFAS) project, funded by the Strategic Rail Authority and delivered by Network Rail. A total of £12 million has been invested into 38 stations across Greater London, Essex, Suffolk, Herts, Beds and Cambs, providing new facilities such as: waiting rooms and shelters; CCTV cameras; customer information screens; baby changing facilities and modern toilets which are suitable for disabled access. Jon Wiseman, Network Rail Route Director said: “The successful delivery of this project on time and under budget is evidence of the rail industry’s commitment to improving the journey experience for rail passengers.  Comfortable stations with modern facilities are an important part of Network Rail’s continued programme to re-build Britain’s railway.”  The MFAS programme was designed to provide enhancements at stations with high passengers numbers but limited facilities.  Essex was the county to benefit most from the scheme in the region, with more than £5.6 million invested into new facilities at 18 stations.  Commented David Quarmby, Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority: ”This is an excellent example of the industry working together to produce real benefits for passengers. We would also like to thank all those within the industry for their commitment and support and also passengers for their patience during the improvement works.” Over the last two years, the MFAS scheme has invested a total of £25 million into 68 stations nationwide, providing new facilities with minimal disruption to passengers or train services.  Station improvements in the East of England can be broken down as follows: Essex:                         £5.6 million investment across 18 stations Greater London:          £2.8 million investment across 9 stations Hertfordshire:              £1.6 million investment across 5 stations Bedfordshire:              £1.2 million investment across 3 stations Cambridgeshire:         £0.7 million investment across 2 stations Suffolk:                        £0.2 million investment across 1 station The new station facilities will be enjoyed predominantly by passengers using ‘one’ train services on the busy railway lines into and out of London Liverpool Street.  The 30 stations to benefit from improvements on these routes are owned by Network Rail and operated by ‘one’, who have now taken responsibility for the day to day management of the new facilities. Kerri Worrall, ‘one’ Communications Manager, said: “Stations in the East of England have benefited hugely from this investment scheme.  The new facilities at 30 stations operated by ‘one’ – including new shelters, CCTV, information screens, toilets and help points - will be of great benefit to passengers using the stations, creating a more secure, comfortable and welcoming environment for customers as they wait for trains."