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Monday 30 Apr 2007

PRESTON MP 'UNVEILS' NEW STATION INFO SYSTEM

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Mark Hendrick MP was at Preston station last week to officially 'unveil' new station information screens, which passengers have been benefiting from since the beginning of the year. Network Rail and the Department for Transport have jointly invested £6.6 million to make brand new customer information screens available at 17 stations on the West Coast Main Line. Gary Openshaw, Area General Manager for Network Rail said: "Timely and accurate information is crucial for travelling passengers and those meeting friends and relatives or business colleagues. With these new screens the future (of train travel) certainly is bright and quite definitely orange." The new screens use the latest display technology, a mixture of orange LED displays in strong sunlight areas and flat screens in waiting rooms. Both meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act because they are clearer to read and have large characters. The existing equipment was over 20 years old and needed to be updated. Some of the equipment was prone to failure and spare parts were difficult to come by as they were no longer manufactured. The new equipment is much more reliable and user friendly. Welcoming the investment, Mark Hendrick MP said: "It is really pleasing to see Preston station benefiting from these improvements. The new screens are definitely a step forward from what went before and should make a real difference to everyone using the station." The new screens are available at various points in Preston station, including each platform; at each entrance (including the car park entrance); the waiting room and in the subway. Chris Coleman, Regional Director North for Virgin West Coast, said: "We know from feedback from customers that station improvements are welcomed by rail users who have also benefited from investment in trains. The much clearer information displays and other station enhancements help make rail travel even more attractive." In addition to this investment, Network Rail has spent £750,000 on a scheme to repair the station roof which was prone to heavy leakage during wet weather spells. This was because it was extremely difficult to access the roof and maintain the guttering. The roof scheme, which began in August, was designed to improve access to the roof and to keep the guttering clear. It was successfully completed earlier this year and complements the recent investment that Virgin has made to the station, which includes re-painting parts of the station and some refurbishment work in the waiting room. Network Rail has also recently announced plans to improve car parking at Preston, which will see the number of car parking spaces almost doubling from 470 to 799 spaces.