£4.5 million overhaul of Tring station starts next month to provide step-free access for everyone

Friday, 22 February 2019

Work will start next month to install new lifts, ramps and a footbridge at Tring station to ensure step-free access across all five platforms for the first time.

The £4.5m upgrade to make the station accessible for everyone begins on March 4 and will be complete for London Northwestern Railway passengers by the Autumn.

Tring station in Hertfordshire is on the busy West Coast main line, with important commuter links to London, Birmingham and Crewe.

The investment has come directly from the Department for Transport’s 'Access for All' programme, which was launched in 2006 to improve accessibility at railway stations nationwide.

It forms part of Network Rail’s five-year, multi-billion-pound Railway Upgrade Plan, which is the biggest investment in the railway since Victorian times.

Local people are being invited to a drop-in session to see the plans and meet those behind the project on:

• Wednesday 27 February, between 6 and 7.30pm, at Pendley Manor Hotel, Cow Lane, Tring, HP23 5QY.

Harpreet Singh Moore, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “The accessibility improvements form part of our Railway Upgrade Plan. Network Rail will unlock the railway network for many people in and around Tring, allowing them easy access to travel that was previously not possible.

“We are working closely with the station operator, London Northwestern Railway, to ensure our work brings as little disruption as possible to neighbours and passengers.”

Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani said: “We are determined to improve access to our rail network and our ongoing Access for All programme has provided step free, accessible routes at more than 200 stations.

“There is however, more to be done and through our Inclusive Transport Strategy we have committed a further £300m to extend the programme until at least 2024.”

Richard Brooks, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, said: “Improving accessibility at Tring is a key part of our plans for local rail users as we continue to respond to the popularity of rail travel across the region.

“We have ordered new trains, which will give us capacity to take 10,000 extra passengers in and out of London each day by 2021.

“Everyone is welcome to travel with us and we are constantly looking at ways to make it easier and simpler for passengers to use our services.”

Find out more here: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/passengers/station-improvements/access-for-all/

ENDS

About West Midlands Trains

For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email [email protected]

West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.

• London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.

• West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.

For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.

West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 70 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.

The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com

If you have been sent this press release, this is because we believe this to be of interest to you.

To sign up for all future releases, visit our newsroom and subscribe to our updates. You can unsubscribe to our releases at any time.