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Tuesday 16 Apr 2013

Improvements will mean a better railway in Gravesend

Region & Route:

| Southern

Work is due to start at Gravesend station next month as Network Rail continues to improve the railway in Kent.

The work is part of a major upgrade to accommodate longer 12-car trains which will provide more seats and extra space for passengers.

Passengers will benefit from a brighter and more pleasant station with improved facilities. The station will be fully accessible and a new footbridge, with lifts, will provide step-free access to all platforms. To accommodate the longer trains, an additional platform will also be built.

Funding for the £19m project is coming from the government’s Access for All programme and Network Rail.

To complete the work, a 15-day closure of the station will take place over the Christmas and New Year period later this year. The closure, which will take place between 22 December and 6 January, is needed to enable the complicated track layout changes and main station construction work to take place.

Network Rail is working with train operator Southeastern to minimise the impact this improvement work will have on passengers’ journeys. Information about alternative travel arrangements will be published as soon as it is available.

Fiona Taylor, Network Rail’s route managing director for Kent, said: “While passenger numbers on the railway increase year-on-year, we continue to invest to provide the facilities and capacity to meet this demand. Gravesend station will be vastly improved and the reconstructed platforms will mean longer trains can be accommodated, providing more seats for passengers.

“It is a complicated project which requires the station to be closed for 15 days to carry out the work to the track and station. We recognise that this will cause some disruption to passengers’ and we have timed the work to take place over what is traditionally a less busy time on the railway. We are working closely with Southeastern to minimise the impact as much as possible and I am confident the long-term benefits to passengers will outweigh the short-term disruption.”

Sarah Boundy, head of customer services for Southeastern said: “We welcome the project at Gravesend which will enable us to run longer trains to meet the growing demand for our services. Our priority however, while the works are underway over the Christmas and New Year period, is to ensure customers using our services through Gravesend are still able to make their journeys. We’re currently looking at all our options to best manage the service during the blockade, and as soon as we have more detailed plans we’ll be sharing them with passengers – most likely sometime after the summer.”

Work at Gravesend station, which will be carried out by C Spencer Ltd, will start in May 2013 and be completed in May 2014.