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Wednesday 4 Sep 2024

Dumfries station £3.6m accessibility project celebrates official opening

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Scotland’s Railway and local community members gathered to mark the official opening of Dumfries station’s brand-new footbridge and lifts on Tuesday (September 3).

Passengers with impaired mobility or those travelling with luggage, children or bicycles can now safely walk or wheel over the railway at the station via the new footbridge, with the lifts providing step-free access to and from the platforms.

Representatives from the Network Rail project team who built the new infrastructure were joined by ScotRail’s station staff, Transport Scotland, members of the community and friends of the railway.

They gathered under the canopy of the B-Listed station, which has been shortlisted for the National Rail Awards ‘medium-size station of the year’ 2024, to mark the occasion.

A commemorative plaque was unveiled during the event, and it will be mounted near the new structures in the coming weeks.

Jeremy Spence, route delivery director, Network Rail, said: “Dumfries is a very special station, and so in keeping with that, the footbridge we have installed here is a bit different to ones we have elsewhere. It includes a saltire design on the bridge parapet and curved detail on the bridge deck as a nod to the original bridge at the station.

“Open railings on the staircase and a sandstone cladding on the lift towers also complement the station’s features.  We are very proud to complete this project which provides modern accessibility improvements while celebrating Dumfries’s heritage.

“By making rail travel more accessible for more people, we can encourage more passengers to use public transport and hopefully more people in and around Dumfries to travel by train.”

The 51-tonne superstructure, which was installed in a major overnight operation in April, was fabricated by M&S Engineering in Annan. Owner Stephen Monk also attended the ceremony with colleague Gary Jamieson.

During the works at the station, the project team also established a relationship with the volunteers from the Dumfries station gardeners’ group and representatives from local access groups who joined the celebration.

Recently, the team carried out work to upgrade the outdoor play area at Langlands School.

Steven Jewell, depute headteacher, Langlands School said: “It was a real pleasure to work with the team who have installed at slide and shed at the school which will benefit the young people, some of whom were at the official opening event.”

The project was delivered in collaboration with Story Contracting in what is their 12 Access for All scheme with Network Rail.

Paul Shopp, project manager, Story Contracting, said: “Our whole team worked diligently to ensure the project was completed safely and efficiently, and we are delighted to see the positive impact it will have.

“Alongside the engineering works, it was rewarding to collaborate with the local community during the project through volunteering and STEM sessions and to help improve the outdoor play area at Langland School.”

After the formalities, Daniel, owner of the Station Café, provided refreshments for guests.