Tuesday 16 Mar 2010
NEW STATION AT UCKFIELD OPENS FOR PASSENGERS
- Region & Route:
- | Southern
Construction of the new station building at Uckfield is complete and it is now open for passengers to use. This brand new, much awaited station has been built as part of the Department for Transport’s National Station Improvement Programme (NSIP), and will bring noticeable and lasting improvements for the thousands of passengers who use the station each year.
Through NSIP, the temporary station at Uckfield has been upgraded with a modern building, increased seating for passengers, more bicycle parking facilities, a small retail facility, additional shelters on the platform and improved access for passengers with reduced mobility. The new building is also easier for railway staff to maintain, and provides more resistance to vandalism.
Southern Managing Director, Chris Burchell said: “Our Uckfield passengers have finally got the station they expect and deserve. This superb new station will provide them with excellent facilities and the station itself will contribute greatly towards the town, which is expanding fast. This new station should more than meet the requirements of both the town and our passengers for many years to come.”
Network Rail Sussex Route Director, Fiona Taylor said: “With record levels of punctuality and a major programme of investment underway to enable longer trains to run, providing more seats for passengers, we can now put increased focus on improving stations. The new facilities and modular design building at Uckfield are a great example of how the rail industry is working together to bring Britain’s stations into the 21st century.”
Charles Hendry MP said: “I am delighted that Uckfield has finally got the station facilities it deserves and I am very grateful to Southern for investing the funds to provide this excellent new station. Rail travellers will now have extra seating and more shelters which will be greatly welcomed. In recent years, we have seen a greatly improved train service and now we have a modern station.”
The original Victorian station was opened in October 1858, when Uckfield was the terminus of the branch line from Lewes. In 1868, the line at Uckfield was extended north to Tunbridge Wells. When the Uckfield-Lewes section of the line was closed in 1968, the writing was on the wall for the old station and in 1991, the station building was closed. It quickly fell into disrepair and became a victim of vandalism and arson attacks. Eventually, the station was demolished in December 2000.
Leading up to the closure of the old station, its replacement was being constructed on opposite side of the road in order to improve access to it. It was a portakabin-type structure which was intended be temporary. This second station incarnation became unfit for purpose in 2008 and was replaced by a second temporary station building. Meanwhile, plans to build a new station on the site were in place, and shortly after the installation of the second temporary building, construction on the new station began.
Notes to editors
1. The new station building has been constructed using a stainless steel column and roof structure. This framework is clad with terracotta-finish panels, similar to those used at Mitcham Eastfields and Greenhithe.
2. NSIP is a joint rail industry investment initiative which responds to the key needs of passengers, to provide safe, secure and comfortable stations, and provide suitable information.
3. In addition to the many passenger benefits, Rail infrastructure owner, Network Rail estimates that the maintenance costs at the station could be reduced by up to 75%, as a significant proportion of these costs were used to mend and patch-up the old building. These cost savings can now be invested elsewhere within the railway network.
4. The modular building design has already proven a success after a similar project at Mitcham Eastfields won ‘Rail Station of the Year’ at the 2009 London Transport Awards, and was highly commended in the ‘Station Excellence’ category at the 2009 Rail Business awards.
About Southern
Southern provides services in south London and between central London and the south coast, through east and west Sussex and Surrey and parts of Kent and Hampshire.
Some fast facts about Southern:
· We have over 4,000 employees
· The service is provided by a fleet of 300 new and refurbished trains
· We provide over 2,000 train services each day
· We carry around 165,000 passengers each day
· Southern manages 157 stations, 112 of which have secure stations status
For more information about Southern, visit southernrailway.com
About Govia
Southern is owned by Govia, the partnership between the Go-Ahead Group and Keolis. Govia is the most enduring partnership between transport operators delivering rail franchises in this country. Govia is the UK’s busiest rail operator, responsible for almost 30 per cent of UK passenger rail journeys through its three rail companies, Southern, Southeastern and London Midland. Govia has retained the South Central franchise which commenced on Sunday 20th September and runs until July 2015. Further information on Govia is available at govia.info
Southern also operates Gatwick Express. For more information, log on to gatwickexpress.co.uk
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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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