Tuesday 6 Nov 2007
STATION TRANSFORMATION WELL UNDER WAY
- Region & Route:
Work is well under way at Southport station as Network Rail cracks on with the job of renewing the roof over the platforms and concourse area.
The £3.5 million project will be complemented by further investment in new lighting, floor tiles, glazed screens and toilets.
As well as the Network Rail work, Merseyrail is about to unveil its latest M to Go unit and British Transport Police has plans for a new police station to accommodate its Northern Line neighbourhood policing team and Southport based officers. The police station will be located in the old station café, which will be refurbished.
Patrick Cawley, Network Rail’s Territory Buildings Engineer said: “Southport is one of the key stations for commuters in the North West, with direct services to Liverpool, Wigan and Manchester. As well as regular travellers, we anticipate there will be thousands more using the station when the Open Championship comes to Royal Birkdale golf club in July 2008.
“What they will see is a station that befits the gateway to one of the world’s most famous seaside resorts.”
Bart Schmeink, Merseyrail's new Managing Director, said: "All the improvements that Network Rail and Merseyrail are funding will change Southport station beyond recognition. It will make a huge difference and bring the station up to the standards that our customers have a right to expect from a modern public transport network."
While the Southport to Wigan railway line was closed recently for track renewal, Network Rail’s project team took advantage of there being no trains to start erecting scaffolding and crash decks underneath the station roof. This will allow the existing roof to be stripped off and completely renewed.
Work has also started on new tiling for the concourse, and plans for the station include completely new toilets incorporating facilities for ladies, gents, disabled and baby changing.
New lighting will be installed in a false ceiling over the concourse area.
There will also be a new glazed screen across the end of the platforms to form a barrier from the elements and make the concourse area more passenger friendly.
All the work is expected to be completed in time for the Open Championship.
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.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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