Media centre

Wednesday 5 May 2010

BARD’S RAIL STATION IS AS YOU LIKE IT

Region & Route:

Passengers waiting for trains on platform 1 at Stratford’s railway station now have a new canopy to protect them from the elements, after Network Rail completed a £560,000 refurbishment project.

Jo Kaye, Network Rail’s route director, said: “Stratford station is strategically very important. Not only is it at the end of one of the main commuter routes to Birmingham city centre but it is also within walking distance of all the Shakespeare-related tourist attractions.

“Nearly 950,000 people use the station each year, many of whom will be foreign visitors, and now they have a clean, bright – and perhaps more importantly given the British weather – dry canopy to wait under.”

London Midland commercial director Alex Hynes said: “This is great news for passengers and timely as London Midland and Centro are providing more services between Birmingham and Stratford in the new May timetable.”

“Our latest figures are our best ever for punctuality and customer satisfaction and with the extra Saturday services we hope to see more passengers enjoying the improvements at Stratford.”

The station is located within a conservation area so Network Rail had to apply to the council for consent to carry out the work, which had to be sympathetic to the existing station structure.

The work entailed removing the old glazing panels and metal sheeting from the canopy and adjacent roofs. The exposed steelwork was repaired and replaced as necessary before new glazing was installed.

At the same time, a new safety access walkway was fitted to the rear of the canopy and handrails were positioned round skylights and the edge of the flat roof sections to make future maintenance inspections easier.

Timber and steelwork repairs were carried out both internally and externally in such a way that the need for further major maintenance work will be at least 25 years away.