ST ALBANS ABBEY RAIL USERS GET THE HUMP

Thursday 2 Jul 2009

ST ALBANS ABBEY RAIL USERS GET THE HUMP

Region & Route:: | Eastern

Passengers using St Albans Abbey station will soon need to find a new form of step exercise as a new addition to the platform makes it easier to get on and off trains.

Jerry Swift, head of corporate responsibility at Network Rail, explains: “At the moment passengers with small children and pushchairs, the elderly or those with heavy luggage can find getting on and off trains difficult at St Albans Abbey. Now we think we have found the solution.”

Working with Hertfordshire County Council, the Department for Transport and train operator London Midland, Network Rail has designed a variable height platform to help bridge the gap between the platform and trains. The station becomes the second in the country to get a modular Easier Access Area, otherwise known as a ‘Harrington Hump’ after the station in Cumbria where a successful trial of the system took place earlier this year.

The beauty of the scheme is its simplicity. Rebuilding the platform to bring it up to modern standards would have cost around a quarter of a million pounds and given the number of passengers who use St Albans Abbey station, it could be years before funding becomes available. A hump can be designed, built and installed for around a tenth of the cost of raising an entire platform while still providing easier access for all.

The hump has already been built off-site and will be installed during 15-17 July.

Notes to editors

An official opening ceremony is planned to take place on Tuesday 11 August. For more information please contact Network Rail media relations (details below). About the hump: • The Harrington Hump is made from glass-reinforced polymer – more commonly known as plastic. • It comes in sections, has ramps and can be built to any length and a variety of heights. • The hump will make life easier for passengers in St Albans Abbey and Aberdovey, Wales; more orders are expected. • It's manufactured by Pipex Structural Composites. Additional contacts: • Hertfordshire County Council press office – Jo Brown, 01992 555582 • London Midland press office – Richard Lakin, 0121 654 1198

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - South East route
020 3357 7969
southeastroutecomms@networkrail.co.uk

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.

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