Greater Anglia have unveiled plans to redevelop Wickford railway station to improve facilities for passengers, and to get the station ready for new trains.
The existing station building will be demolished and replaced with a bigger building with better facilities.
The work, part of a £4m scheme, is being completed to prepare the station for longer trains that will start entering service in 2020.
Ideas for station improvements at Wickford include
• A new ticket office
• A new upgraded accessible waiting hall
• New toilets
• New accessible toilets
• New customer information screens and CCTV
• A new shop
Greater Anglia has submitted plans to Basildon Council to demolish the existing station building.
If permission is granted, work will take place to install a temporary ticket office to minimise disruption to passengers.
Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia’s Asset Management Director, said: “We are investing in Wickford to make it better for our customers. The proposed work will transform the station, bringing in new facilities for the 2.2 million people who use the station each year. We are transforming the railway in East Anglia, with a complete fleet of new trains and £60 million worth of improvements to stations. This work is essential to allow us to run our new, longer trains to and from Wickford and it is a good opportunity to also upgrade customer facilities at the station. We will share plans in due course and welcome any customer feedback.”
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Responses
Aha! Penny just dropped…the Up and Down bay platforms will need lengthening to take the 5-car units. In addition, by demolishing the old social club on the Up side a third through platform could be laid, giving greater flexibility and able to take 10-car units. As Capt.Mainwaring might have said “I wonder who would spot that, Cpl.Jones..”
New trains yes, longer platforms needed? Nope. Wickford, in common with all stations on the Southend Vic line take existing 12-car trains. I’m no dinosaur but agre with other correspondents that demolition is not acceptable; as I travel round Britain I see many sympathetic yet efficient station renovations to met modern expectations. What it does need are lifts between Up & Down platforms and more provision for set-down/pick-up.
Does Basildon Borough Council know what they are doing if they are funding money to be used on Wickford station redevelopment and to work with Network Rail and Greater Anglia. Sounds exciting.
This is sad. Why demolish an attractive building? As Henry Allum says why not extend it. This could be done in either in the same style, brickwork, tiles etc. or in a complementary style. Recent station buildings and infrastructure generally leave a lot to be desired.
I am so angry. Network Rail have are already doing this to another station in East Anglia and now Wickford. This has architectural merit than the vacuous rubbish that they will put up in its place that will be souless and without any beauty at all. I despise these people. Dis we learn nothing from the Enlightenment and 1960’s?! This is disgusting. We are already creating a souless society that knows nothing of its history. Clearly these millenials are the ones in charge of these sorts of decisions. Thise with no education or geounding in history and classical civilisation care for nothing.
Apologies for the typos. My blood is boiling and my typing is far too fast as a result. Just look back at history and we lament and moutn the loss of all such buildings demolished. We will never build anything beautiful again, so demolishing all that is left of beauty is so frustrating.
I’m very disappointed to hear the historic station building at Wickford is due to be demolished. I understand it needs to be modernized but demolition isn’t the answer. The current station building could be extended and upgraded for today’s needs. To simply just remove this piece of history is short sighted and will be regretted in the future.
What about replacing the footbridge and to a new one with lifts so that it can be step-free accessible. And disabled people with wheelchairs and for parents who have babies on pushprams who want to access the platform on the other side rather than carrying it upstairs or to take the long way round.
It’s good that Wickford railway station needs a lot of revamp as well to extend the bay platforms to accommodate the Class 720 Aventra trains that are formed as 5-Car and 10-Car units. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_720
Perhaps other stations on the Southend Victoria Line including Rayleigh, Hockley, Rochford and Prittlewell stations could also do with a new footbridge with lifts. As Billericay, Southend Airport and Southend Victoria stations that are step-free stations.
And even Ingatestone, Hatfield Peveral and Marks Tey stations on the Great Eastern Main Line that might also could do with a new footbridge+lifts to make those stations step-free accessible.
Instead of demolishing the station building. Why not demolish the railway bridge going over the high street road and to expand platform 1 with a new bridge and new sets of points and rewiring the OHL that Network Rail have replaced the overhead wires. And the footbridge to be replaced by a new footbridge+lifts. Plus the front car park and rear car park needs a improvement and a new road surface.