EWELL WEST STEPS UP TO MEET PASSENGER NEEDS

Friday 28 Aug 2009

EWELL WEST STEPS UP TO MEET PASSENGER NEEDS

Region & Route:: | Southern: Wessex; | Southern

Network Rail has completed a £1m upgrade at Ewell West station to enhance platform accessibility, improve the overall appearance of station facilities and provide a better environment for passengers and station staff.

The improvement works included the installation of tactile paving to assist the visually impaired, re-surfacing the platforms, raising the platforms by 25cm to reduce the stepping distance between trains and the platform edge and putting in new fencing and drainage. In addition, new white lighting was installed on the platforms, under the canopies and around the station building to create a better ambience and enhance public safety and security.

Speaking at the official opening, Richard O’Brien, Network Rail’s Wessex route director, said: “The station has been at the heart of the community for over 150 years during which time the railway has evolved into a modern, high-frequency commuter service. This upgrade means the station will be better suited to the needs the 21st century passenger, improving the travelling experience for thousands of regular train users.

Chris Grayling, MP for Epsom and Ewell, “This project has been the best possible way to mark Ewell West's 150th birthday this year. The raised platform will make a real difference to many passengers, and will transform the station."

Stewart Palmer, Managing Director of station operator South West Trains, added: “We are very pleased with the improvement work that has been undertaken at Ewell West. It has enhanced the overall look of the station and will provide improved surroundings for our passengers.”

Notes to editors

Railways first came to Britain almost 200 years ago. Different stations were built by different railway companies to suit the trains of that era and there was no uniformity in their design. Consequently, the height of the platforms varied considerably. This left a legacy of some stations on the modern-day railway which are more difficult than others for the elderly, mobility impaired, parents with children or people with luggage to use.

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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