PARKING CHANGES AT MILTON KEYNES CENTRAL STATION

Tuesday 26 Jun 2007

PARKING CHANGES AT MILTON KEYNES CENTRAL STATION

Region & Route:: | North West & Central; | Southern

As the £200m work to remodel track and upgrade signalling at Milton Keynes Central progresses, Network Rail is advising station users of temporary changes to the parking at the station. Leaflets with details of the changes are being distributed over the next few weeks at the station. To allow engineers to build a new northbound fast line and platform, some parking facilities to the south of the station along the back road will be temporarily closed from 14 July 2007. A new temporary car park has been built opposite the National Hockey Stadium, off Eldergate. In addition footbridge 165A which crosses the south end of the platforms and the A5 from Station Square to Common Lane Loughton needs to be extended. This work involves partial demolition and reconstruction of the existing footbridge, which requires the bridge to be closed. The reconstruction work is expected to be completed by the end of the year, but in the meantime an alternative route will be signed via Lincelade Grove to cross the railway at the next bridge to the north of the station. The £200 million Milton Keynes and Bletchley project will bring benefits to passengers in the form of additional and more reliable services. It will increase capacity and improve rail links into the growing town of Milton Keynes. Improvements will include:

A third fast line and platform, which will enable consecutive trains to call at Milton Keynes during peak times with reduced effect on line capacity
A new platform capable of handling future services to and from Bedford – and possibly in the future trains from Oxford or Aylesbury
Improved reversing facilities for slow line trains

The work at Milton Keynes is part of Network Rail's West Coast Modernisation programme with extensive work taking place along the line until December 2008.

Notes to editors

The £200 million Milton Keynes and Bletchley project includes funding of £23.6 million from the Department for Transport and £8.3 million funding from Milton Keynes Council (of which £5 million from the Milton Keynes infrastructure tariff and £3.3 million from section 106 from Milton Keynes Council).

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