Media centre

Wednesday 16 Dec 2009

LONGER TRAINS FOR HARPENDEN A STEP CLOSER WITH XMAS BRIDGE UPGRADE

Region & Route:

| Eastern

The prospect of longer trains for Harpenden will move a step closer over Christmas as Network Rail carries out a vital upgrade to the railway bridge over Station Road.

As part of the £5.5bn Thameslink programme upgrade, Network Rail is extending the platforms at Harpenden station to allow 50% longer, 12-carriage trains to stop at the station from 2012. To provide the necessary space to extend the platforms, the existing bridge which carries the railway over Station Road needs to be widened.

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail route director, said: “The congestion-busting Thameslink upgrade will give passengers what they want – longer trains and more space. Our work to extend the platforms at Harpenden station is right on track and the next step is upgrading the bridge which will give us the space we need to complete this important work.”

David Statham, Thameslink programme director of train operator First Capital Connect, said: “Platform lengthening at Harpenden is just part of the massive programme of work that is well under way on the Bedford to Brighton route giving customers better stations and, ultimately, longer trains.”

Network Rail engineers have been on site since August carrying out a programme of preparatory work prior to lifting in the new platform structures over Christmas. The new bridge sections and platform extensions are scheduled to be complete in May 2010.

To allow Network Rail engineers to work safely, Hertfordshire County Council has agreed to some overnight lane closures of Station Road between 14th and 27th December – however two-way traffic flow will be maintained. Short-term lane closures may also be required on Christmas day and Boxing day.

To cope with the extra passengers that the new, longer trains will bring, Harpenden station is also getting a new footbridge with three lifts, providing step-free access to all platforms. Platform canopies will also be extended to improve shelter from the elements.

At neighbouring Luton and St Albans, work to improve the stations as part of the Thameslink upgrade is also well under way: 

• At Luton, the railway bridge over Old Bedford Road is being replaced this Christmas with a new, wider bridge to enable the platforms to be extended. Network Rail is also installing a new footbridge and lifts which will provide step-free access to all platforms
• And at St Albans, which recently underwent a £5m upgrade, work to extend all four platforms is on schedule for completion by next May.

By 2015 the Thameslink route will be serviced by an entirely new fleet of next generation 12-carriage trains.