Thursday 14 Feb 2019
Friends, Romans, Passengers, lend me your ears: Stratford-upon-Avon station is getting a refurb
- Region & Route:
- North West & Central
The busiest railway station on the Shakespeare line is getting an upgrade, with £1.5m of improvements being made at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.
Project partners Network Rail, West Midlands Railway and Warwickshire County Council are working to give Stratford-upon-Avon station:
- new waiting and seating areas,
- better retail facilities,
- accessible toilets, and
- biking racks.
Rod Sillence, sponsor for Network Rail, said: “Much ado about nothing this is not. The £1.5m of improvements at Stratford-upon-Avon will give station-users a more pleasant experience.”
The work is part of Britain’s Railway Upgrade Plan and starts on Friday 15 February, when a temporary ticket facility will be set up outside the station.
Major construction will begin on 21 March, with the project expected to be finished in July.
No impacts to Shakespeare line train services are expected during the station upgrade.
Brenda Lawrence, head of stations for West Midlands Railway, said: “The investment at Stratford-upon-Avon will significantly improve the experience for our passengers.
“People may see some changes around the station over the next few months while work takes place, so we advise those travelling to allow a bit of extra time to get to and from the platforms. However, trains will continue to operate as normal and ticket purchasing facilities will remain in place throughout the work.”
Cllr Jeff Clarke, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning, said: "Warwickshire County Council is happy that Stratford-upon-Avon Station is getting the refurbishment it needs, including a new booking hall, waiting room and increased facilities. Warwickshire County Council aims to ensure that passengers and visitors get the best and easiest travel experience when visiting our County.
“Once complete, Stratford-upon-Avon station will better serve the local residents and thousands of visitors who come to Stratford every year to see the many sights in the town."
The project is being funded by £1.3m from the Department of Transport’s National Stations Improvement Programme fund.
Warwickshire County Council, the local transport authority, has contributed a further £220,000.
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About Network Rail
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.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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