STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR STATION

Tuesday 9 Sep 2003

STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR STATION

Region & Route:

Network Rail is taking a step in the right direction for train passengers in Adlington by sorting out the problem of the undulating Manchester-bound platform. The surface is uneven and at different levels, which can make it difficult to get on and off trains for the elderly and anyone with children. Now Network Rail has authorised its contractor Serco to rebuild the platform at a cost of £180,000 and work is due to start next month with completion early in the New Year. When rebuilt, the platform will be the same height from the trains all along its length, will have new coping stones laid along the edge with tactile paving behind this to aid those with sight difficulties (tactile paving has raised knobbles that can be easily be felt through footwear and this warns passengers when they are nearing the edge of the platform). The rest of the platform will be surfaced with new tarmac. A Network Rail spokesman said: “This demonstrates our commitment to continue rebuilding the railway. The Chorley-bound platform is acceptable but the one used by passengers travelling towards Bolton and Manchester was definitely in need of attention. When the work is finished I hope passengers will be pleasantly surprised with the results.”

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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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