STATION REVAMP IS ON TRACK
03 March 2008
Train bosses have promised a lighter and cleaner Derby railway station that will have a more European feel.
Network Rail recently began work on a long-awaited £18m revamp of the station.
Workers moved in with bulldozers last month to demolish parts of the station, particularly its ageing canopies.
The canopies were condemned in 2005 after engineers discovered faults in the concrete.
Some of the city's most influential people have now been given details about the transformation of the station at a breakfast briefing.
It was organised by Network Rail and run in conjunction with Marketing Derby.
Speaking at the briefing, which was held at the Midland Hotel, in Midland Road, and was attended by about 80 people, Mark Tarry, Network Rail's area general manager, told businesses and other key organisations what they could expect once work was completed.
He said: "I think what we will be left with is a modern, light, clean, train station, which will have something of a European feel about it.
"The station is the gateway to Derby and I'm convinced that once the work is completed we will have a station which will meet the needs of the 21st-century rail passenger and will have a better fit with the aspirations of the city as a whole."
Mr Tarry said that before the main refurbishment work had begun, Network Rail had removed a section of the station canopy as a test.
He said: "We wanted to know what we were dealing with before the work got into full swing.
"The canopies were originally put up in the 1950s and we wanted to make sure that we could replace them in a way that would cause minimal disruption to train services."
Mr Tarry said the work was being carried out in four phases. Work has started on phases one and two, which involves clearing platforms two and three of the canopies, benches and information screens.
The only items left will be the existing footbridge and the buildings underneath, which were only put in three years ago.
The platforms will be resurfaced, new equipment and canopies brought in and lifts installed.
Once completed, demolition work will then start on other platforms - phases three and four of the refurbishment.
Mr Tarry said that he expected phases one and two to be completed by December this year, and the remaining phases to be finished by June 2009.
Tim Shoveller, managing director of East Midlands Trains, which manages the station, said: "Working together with the city's business community, we will be able to have a station which will contribute to Derby's economic growth.
"Personally, I'm very pleased to see that the demolition work has started."
Councillor Chris Williamson, leader of Derby City Council, said that as well as revamping the station, the authority would be looking to improve links between the station and the city centre.
At a meeting tonight, the city council's cabinet is set to agree on spending £8m over the next three years to develop the Castleward Boulevard scheme, which is designed to link the station with the city centre.
John Forkin, director of Marketing Derby, which has worked with Network Rail and East Midlands Trains, as well as other partners including the city council and Derby Cityscape, to bring about the revamp, said: "The work on improving the station is just the start.
"We have a much wider vision for the improvement of the area around the station."
Article Courtesy of Robin Johnson Derby Evening Telegraph