Media centre

Friday 17 May 2024

Stairway to Surbiton complete with overcrowding delays set to reduce

Region & Route:

Southern: Wessex

Network Rail has completed a £6.7m upgrade of Surbiton station with the construction of a new deck and staircase to help reduce overcrowding and improve passenger safety.

This morning (Friday 17 May) representatives from Network Rail were joined by colleagues from South Western Railway (SWR) and Kingston Council alongside Sir Ed Davey MP for a small celebratory event to mark the completion of station upgrade, with Sir Ed helping cut the ribbon to officially open the new deck and staircase.

The new deck has been added to the existing footbridge at the ‘London end’ of platforms 3 and 4, along with eight additional ticket gatelines, accessed by a new staircase. These upgrades are expected to make passenger journeys at the station as much as 31% faster.

Construction involved using a 60-tonne mobile crane that was built in the Southern car park with the majority of work completed at night when no trains were running. During this upgrade, the station has remained open and passengers and local residents have continued to have full access to the station footbridge.

Surbiton is the fifth busiest station on Network Rail’s Wessex route with 6.61m entries and exits and acts as a key interchange for passengers travelling to and from London with 434,021 passengers changing between services at this station*.

This large number of passengers often causes congestion on platforms 3 and 4, heading away from central London, during evening peaks as passengers queue to exit the station using a single set of stairs. At times, these queues can prevent trains from leaving on time and cause delays to South Western Railway (SWR) services towards Guildford, Hampton Court and Woking.

The station building is also a famous local landmark thanks to its art deco style, dating back to its rebuilding in 1937 using designs by the chief architect of the Southern Railway, James Robb Scott.

In October 1983 it was made a Grade II listed structure by Historic England, marking it as an ‘important building of special interest’. Network Rail has worked closely with a number of partners, including the Railway Heritage Trust and Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to ensure the upgrades remained in keeping with the station.

Last September, the station also benefitted from a collaborative project between Network Rail, SWR, Richmond and Hillcroft Adult Community College, London School of Mosaic, Surbiton Art Trail, and Friends of Surbiton Station, to install 10 detailed mosaics inspired by the poet William Blake on the station footbridge.

Mark Goodall, Network Rail Wessex route director, said: “I’m delighted to officially open the new deck and staircase at Surbiton station which will help passengers travel through the station more quickly and comfortably while also improving safety.

“Surbiton is an iconic grade II listed station that is well used by passengers and this £6.7m investment represents three years of hard work that will help ease congestion for the six million passengers who use the station each year.

“I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in delivering this important project and look forward to seeing passengers benefitting from this investment, and the station and railway continuing to play an important role in the community.”

Jerome Pacatte, South Western Railway’s Head of Stations and Revenue Protection: “Surbiton is an important location on our suburban network, not least because of the large number of customers who start and end their journeys here each day, and so we are very pleased to see this important addition to the station which will make a big difference to those journeys.

“We also know just how much pride the local community has for the historic station building, so it’s great to see the new facility complements its eye-catching, art deco design.”

Sir Ed Davey, MP for Kingston and Surbiton, said: “I’m delighted to have officially opened the new Surbiton staircase, as part of the congestion relief scheme, today.

“This investment by Network Rail into our community will make a significant difference to constituents and the millions of people who use Surbiton station, particularly during the busy evening peak times, which would see congestion on some platforms as a result of the large number of passengers simultaneously trying to exit the station via a single staircase.

“The introduction of a new deck, staircase and eight additional gate lines will help speed up the time it takes for all constituents and commuters to exit the station and improve the safety and overall experience for those using this historic and important station.”