Tuesday 18 May 2004
NETWORK RAIL UNVEILS £7 MILLION SCHEME FOR SHEFFIELD STATION
- Region & Route:
Work is continuing apace to transform Sheffield Station and its surroundings as Network Rail and contractor C Spencer Ltd begin a £7 million scheme of platform and canopy works on 24 May to improve the station environment for passengers. The work has been funded as part of a £12.8 million grant from the Strategic Rail Authority’s (SRA) Rail Passenger Partnership (RPP) scheme.
Work includes:
· Construction of a new waiting room for platforms 6 and 8
· Refurbishment and renewal of remaining platform canopies (some work was carried out when the new footbridge was constructed)
· Renewal of platform surfaces and drainage
· Renewal of platform lighting
· Provision of new seating and cycle racks
- more -
Sheffield - 2
Work will be carried out in three phases:
· Phase 1 (May 2004 to December 2004) – Platforms 2, 2c, 3, 4 and 5
· Phase 2 (January 2005 to June 2005) – Platforms 6, 7 and 8 including the construction of the new waiting room
· Phase 3 (June 2005 to October 2005) – Platforms 1a and 1b
The programme of work has been designed so that only one platform is out of use at any one time to cause minimum disruption to passengers. However, while the work is taking place, some platform alterations will be necessary, and passengers are advised to check their platform number before travel, either on the station information monitors or with a member of station staff.
Richard Fenny, Regional Director, Network Rail said: “Network Rail is committed to providing a safe, reliable and efficient railway infrastructure. Stations are the gateway to travel by rail and form a vital part of the journey experience for passengers. I am delighted our partnership with Midland Mainline, South Yorkshire Transport Executive, Sheffield City Council, Sheffield One and the SRA is working to benefit passengers.
Paul Bunting, Managing Director for Midland Mainline said: “ We are extremely pleased to be involved in bringing this £7 million scheme to life. A better station is all part of attracting more people onto the rail network, and with Midland Mainline’s recent punctuality improvements, together with a £19 million train refurbishment programme and a redeveloped station, we are certain that rail travel will become the first choice travel option.”
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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