Media centre

Wednesday 15 Mar 2017

Stevenage station gets ready for new Azuma trains

Region & Route:

| Eastern

Network Rail will begin a project to extend platforms at Stevenage station, as part of the Railway Upgrade Plan.

Platforms one, two, three and four are being extended to allow all carriages of Virgin’s new Azuma trains to fit into the station. The new trains, which will have faster acceleration, provide more seats and the potential to reduce journey times, are due to be introduced on the East Coast Main Line in 2018.

The upgrade begins on Monday, 20 March and will be completed on Thursday, 15 June and will cost over £800,000. There will be no disruption to passenger services whilst the work takes place.

The project follows two other platform extensions which are currently underway at Durham and Northallerton stations in the North East.

Aidan Talbott, principal programme sponsor for Network Rail, said: “The work we are carrying out at Stevenage station is an important part of our Railway Upgrade Plan and will allow all carriages of the new Azuma trains to fit into the station.

“It is a vital piece of enhancement work to the railway and will bring even greater benefits for passengers travelling on the East Coast Main Line. The work is part of a wider project of improvements and we have recently begun similar projects at both Durham and Northallerton stations.

“I’d like to thank passengers for their patience whilst this work is carried out.”

A spokesperson for Virgin Trains said: “Our Virgin Azuma trains, which will be introduced from next year, will help us to transform the customer experience, creating more capacity, and faster and more comfortable journeys on our east coast route."

ENDS

• Network Rail workers will be on site from Monday, 13 March.
• The work will finish on Thursday, 15 June but Network Rail workers will remain on site until Friday, 23 June to demobilise from site.