Worst train stations to get £50m revamp
Government announces plans to pump £50m into ten worst train stations
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Tuesday, 17, Nov 2009 11:54
By Sarah Garrod
The ten worst railway stations in England are to gain £50 million worth of urgent improvements from the government.
The money will be used at Clapham Junction, Barking, Stockport, Manchester Victoria, Preston, Wigan North Western, Liverpool Central, Warrington Bank Quay, Crewe and Luton.
Transport secretary Lord Adonis announced the funding following the independent Station Champions' report on the state of facilities for passengers across the country.
He said he would support minimum standards for all stations, highlighted in the report.
The transport secretary is today embarking on a whistle-stop tour of the ten stations, which will benefit from the new £50 million fund.
Last week, Network Rail announced plans to spend £3.25 billion to improve more than 2,000 stations across England and Wales by 2014.
Lord Adonis said: "I want every station to be a good station - a hub of local community life and somewhere that you wouldn't mind spending time, with adequate facilities. I support the report's recommendations of minimum standards for stations - classed by size - in terms of information, car and bike parking, facilities and environment."
Station Champions' Chris Green and Professor Sir Peter Hall will be joining Lord Adonis on his tour. They said in the report: "Stations cannot be seen in isolation - they are part of the total journey experience.
"Stations are deeply entwined with their local community and effectively act as the gateway to both town and railway. They leave passengers with their lasting impressions of both - a dilapidated station is bad business for both town and railway."
The plans have been welcomed by the Railway Forum, with director-general Paul Martin, saying: "One of the key indicators for the industry is measurable public satisfaction. Currently 80 per cent of passengers express overall satisfaction with their journey experience but the physical station buildings only attract 50 per cent levels of satisfaction (although it is acknowledged that the larger stations do have higher levels of passenger satisfaction).
"Many of the stations served by Britain's railways date from the nineteenth century and whilst there are obviously some architectural masterpieces, many do require substantial work particularly in terms of meeting modern standards of accessibility."