East Kent railway stations set to benefit from £4.4 million improvement programme
Southeastern and Network Rail have announced a £4.4 million package of improvements across the network, with East Kent stations set to benefit from improved customer access, information, and upgrades to station buildings.
Canterbury East will have access ramps refurbished, with the passenger information point on platform 2 relocated to a more suitable location for the new footbridge, lifts and night entrance. New small ramps will make access to the waiting room easier for people using wheelchairs, mobility scooters and pushchairs. An additional passenger information point and customer information displays will also be installed.
Design work is underway at Canterbury West to ease congestion at the busy station while passengers using the Faversham station will see it redecorated.
At Herne Bay, the station’s building, booking hall and platforms will also be redecorated and celebrate its distinctive architecture and heritage of the station. The work will also include the removal of the small step into the waiting room on platform 1 ahead of the planned Access for All work to make the station step-free. The waiting room at this station will be re-opened for passenger use with improvements to heating and lighting. Herne Bay’s toilets will also be refurbished with an improved accessible toilet, while additional customer information displays will be added at the out-of-hours entrance close to where the new footbridge will be located. A new customer help point will be added on platform 1.
Further work at Margate will see a refurbishment of the booking hall and general decluttering, as well as historic restoration and improved staff accommodation to improve visibility for passengers. This will include work on the exterior of the building to return it to its original appearance and bring a retail unit back into use.
David Wornham, Passenger Services Director for Southeastern, said: "We want the best possible facilities for our customers across our network, which is why we’ve targeted our investment at stations where work to improve accessibility is about to begin or has recently been completed as a result of government investment under the Access for All scheme. "Making stations step-free isn’t just about new lifts and footbridges, but often also about the smaller but just as important items such as removing barriers to the use of waiting rooms, and ensuring that customer help points and information screens are in the right places. "Where possible, we’re also taking the opportunity to spruce up paintwork and improve the ambience of these stations, as well as taking the opportunity to plan for the future as people return to the railway."Fiona Taylor, Network Rail Kent route director, said: "We are delighted to be making a significant investment into improving a number of stations across Kent and south east London in partnership with our colleagues at Southeastern. "We are committed to improving the facilities at our stations and want our passengers to have the best possible experience when travelling by rail. Many of these improvements will contribute towards passengers enjoying smoother, more pleasant journeys and improve many of the station facilities passengers should be able to expect on a modern fit for purpose railway. "The accessibility of the railway remains a key focus and it’s great that much of this investment will go towards making the railway even more accessible including refurbishing accessible toilets at many of these stations and installing new and refurbishing existing ramps. This will be complimented by our plans to make a number of these stations fully accessible through the Government’s Access for All programme."