Network Rail Press Releases...
MORE SPACE FOR WATERLOO COMMUTERS AS FIRST STAGE OF REDEVELOPMENT COMPLETES
Tuesday 29 May 2012 01:00
· First stage of £10m improvement project completed
· Improved access and less congestion for 300,000 passengers each day
· New 220m balcony and escalators
Hundreds of thousands of commuters will benefit today from reduced congestion at Britain’s busiest railway station as the first stage of a £10m improvement project at Waterloo nears completion.
From today, commuters passing between Waterloo and Waterloo East stations will be able to use four new escalators connected to a 220-metre balcony which runs almost the full width of the station. This new access route between the two busy stations, which are used by a combined 300,000 passengers a day, removes the previous bottleneck and forms part of a wider plan to provide more space for passengers at concourse level.
The scheme is also creating 20,000 sq ft of new retail space at first floor level, accessed by the balcony. When complete, passengers will benefit from a wider choice of places to eat and shop. Ten new brands including Carluccio’s, Corney & Barrow and Thomas Pink will be opening in July, in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The work at the station, which started in April 2011, has already seen the removal of a number of retail units from the main concourse, further helping to relieve congestion for people using the station.
The balcony is part of Network Rail’s on-going programme of investment at stations to boost capacity, improve passenger flow and providing better customer information by installing a new announcing system.
Tim Shoveller, managing director of the Network Rail and South West Trains alliance, said: “Waterloo is the busiest station in Britain with more than 90m passengers a year. As the number of people using the station continues to rise, we need a radical solution to provide the space and facilities that passengers need. The new balcony will help ease congestion and improve the journeys of millions of people each year.”
David Biggs, director of property at Network Rail, said: “Following the successful launch of the new western concourse at King’s Cross earlier this year, we are continuing to invest in our stations to improve the facilities, layout and retail environment for passengers.
“The Waterloo balcony project is part of Network Rail’s wider retail strategy to create destination stations for both rail passengers and non-travelling customers, providing a sustainable source of income which can be re-invested directly into the rail network.”
Waterloo station is a major transport hub for the UK connecting London to popular destinations such as Bournemouth, Poole, Southampton, Portsmouth, Reading and Windsor.
A team of 150 specialist builders are working round the clock to complete the project on schedule and on budget.
It’s the first step in the expansion of Waterloo to improve station capacity with future aspirations to integrate the former Eurostar platforms in order to utilise all existing space available at the station.
The station – parts of which are grade two listed – opened in 1848 and this represents the first major investment at Waterloo in almost a century.
LONG DISTANCE PUNCTUALITY - NETWORK RAIL RESPONSE TO ORR DECISION
Tuesday 29 May 2012 10:01
Responding to the ORR’s call for Network Rail to improve its long distance performance, David Higgins, chief executive of Network Rail, said:
“We welcome the ORR’s recognition that we, and the train operating companies, have already done much to improve long distance punctuality in this control period – which is currently running at a record level of 89.2 percent for the past year – and we accept the challenge to deliver an even better service.
"We are determined to do all we can to achieve that through balancing the continued growth in demand with passengers’ desire for improved reliability in terms of punctuality.”
PASSENGERS SET TO BENEFIT AS TEN MORE STATIONS SECURE SHARE OF £100M IMPROVEMENT FUND
Passengers are set to benefit from a further £15m of improvements to stations across England after the latest round of successful bids for rail industry funding was announced today.
The 10 successful projects include new and extended car parks, station redevelopments and new retail space and will be delivered by Network Rail, train operating companies and other bidders in and around stations.
The schemes form the third and final wave of successful bids for a £100m station improvement fund, launched in 2011 by Network Rail, the Department for Transport and the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). To be eligible, proposals must have a benefit to passengers and also reduce the overall public subsidy for rail by generating a financial return to the Department for Transport.
Rail Minister Norman Baker said: "This is great news for passengers. If we are to encourage more people to travel by rail in the future then stations must be easier to get to and have better facilities.
“These projects will ensure that travelling on a train is a positive experience both during a journey and at the start and end of a trip so I am delighted to be able to announce this additional funding."
Robin Gisby, managing director, network operations at Network Rail, said: "This is a fantastic example of the rail industry, local authorities and other organisations working together to improve the passenger experience without increasing the burden on the taxpayer.
"This third and final wave of successful bids means we have now allocated almost £100m towards projects which will improve passengers’ experience of travelling by rail and help us deliver a better value for money railway."
Alec McTavish, director of policy at ATOC, said: "The whole industry is committed to working together more effectively to deliver a more efficient railway. This funding scheme is exactly the sort of vehicle that brings the benefits of closer working to the fore.
"The benefits to passengers of the scores of improvements being made to stations, depots and other facilities are clear, but equally important in this scheme are the benefits to taxpayers. The improvements made now will raise the value of rail franchises overall, which will generate more money for the Government and reduce the need for taxpayer subsidy in the future. We have been pleased and impressed at each stage of this programme with the innovative approaches from bidders in finding ways to make passengers’ and taxpayers’ money go further."
The first successful bids were announced in August 2011, with funding totalling £21m allocated to 16 projects. The second wave in November 2011 saw 21 successful bids with total funding of £57m allocated.
In addition to the 10 projects announced today, four further bids have had funding ring-fenced, pending clarification on certain aspects of the projects. Once funding for these bids has been finalised a decision will be taken by the panel on how to proceed with the fund’s remaining monies.
Throughout the bidding process there has been no cap on the maximum value of proposals and bids have been welcomed from third party organisations as well as the rail industry. The proposals were assessed by a panel including the Department for Transport, ATOC and Network Rail.
