Monday 4 Sep 2006
MAJOR INVESTMENT TO REJUVENATE RUGBY
- Region & Route:
Passengers at Rugby are set to benefit as Network Rail begins a project to improve facilities at the station and relieve a historic rail bottleneck. The £190 million investment is part of Network Rail’s £8 billion upgrade of the West Coast Main Line. The project includes: · A new station entrance with a purpose-built ticket hall and facilities for a café · Two new platforms will be constructed while the subway to access the platforms will be completely refurbished · New lifts to all platforms will allow full access for disabled passengers · New look customer information screens using the latest display technology on platforms and waiting areas · More capacity for services stopping at Rugby, and capability for high speed trains to pass through at 125mph, relieving the current bottleneck which restricts services to 75mph. The track layout through the station will be remodelled and improved while the flyovers to the north and south of the station will be completely refurbished Tom McCarthy, Network Rail’s Programme Director, West Coast, said: “The improvements at Rugby are an integral part of the project to upgrade the West Coast Main Line and provide a better service for passengers using the route. Passengers at Rugby will notice some changes around the station as work gets underway but we will work with train operators to ensure they stay informed and disruption is kept to a minimum.” Jeremy Wright MP for Rugby & Kenilworth visited Rugby Station this week to see the plans for himself and added: “I am pleased to see work starting on the renovated and more attractive station Rugby needs for the benefit of commuters and visitors to the town.” Work begins on 13 September and the station will remain open throughout the project. Hoardings will be erected at the station entrance as the new ticket hall is constructed while there will be some changes to the traffic management system at the front of the station. The first phase of the station reconstruction will be completed by Summer 2007 with the project to improve the track layout complete by December 2008.
Notes to editors
The station will remain open to passengers throughout the project. To minimise disruption, hoardings will be erected at the station front and a passageway will be constructed to allow all station users easy access. Changes to traffic management at the station: Initial works will see Station Terrace become a one-way street with traffic diverted around the Cattle Market via Craven Road. The parking facilities to the front of the station, including all drop off, disabled, mother and toddler parking will be maintained. The short stay and additional Taxi spaces will be located further along Station Road opposite the bus depot. Access in and out of the Virgin long stay car park on Station Terrace from Mill Road will be maintained as this section of the road will remain two-way to allow passengers easy access to the car park. The new customer information screens at Rugby use the latest display technology, a mixture of orange LED displays in strong sunlight areas such as platforms and flat screens in waiting rooms. The new screens meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act because they are clearer to read and have large characters. Built in the 1800’s, the West Coast Main Line has developed into the UK’s busiest mixed traffic railway (responsible for 43% of Britain’s UK freight traffic) and is recognised as a leading European rail artery. Responsible for over 2,000 train movements each day, the route also caters for over 75 million passenger journeys per year The West Coast Main Line comprises some 1,660 track miles, 2,800 signals including 13 major junctions and 10,000 bridge spans The modernisation project is costing £8 billion and in September 2004 a 125mph railway with tilting train operation was introduced, with additional line speed improvements further north this year. The project is scheduled for completion 2008/2009
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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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