Railtrack plc

Three Kent stations receive regeneration boost
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date 25 November 1997
source Railtrack plc
type Press release

Construction workers have descended on three more Kent stations as Sittingnbourne, Selling and Teynham receive £625,000 work as part of Railtrack's station regeneration programme.

At Sittingbourne £210,000 is being spent replacing the sheeting to the canopies, repairing the footbridge and in under taking some structural work to the station building.

Around £140,000 is being spent at Selling where repairs will be carried out to the platforms and footbridge while vegetation will also be cleared.

Teynham station will receive £275,000 as repairs are carried out on the platforms and the footbridge is replaced.

Chris Jago, Director Railtrack Southern, said: "The work at these stations and others across the country is designed to bring stations to a standard that we and our train operator colleagues can be proud of.

"The travelling public who use these stations should be able to feel they are part of a caring, clean, environmentally-friendly organisation. The station should enhance the start and finish of their journey."

When Railtrack was formed, it inherited stations in various stages of repair and disrepair. The £1 billion regeneration programme, which will be carried out over a period of five years, plans to take in all of the UK's railway stations as part of Railtrack's commitment to create a railway fit for the 21st Century.

"The aim of the programme is to enhance the rail travel experience," said Mr Jago. "The station environment is the litmus test of our stewardship of the railway for both the traveller and local community. We want the judgement to be positive and it is our intention to deliver," he added.

Already several Kent stations have received work since Railtrack launched its station regeneration programme in May. Workers have arrived at 14 stations only recently as places such as Adisham, Bat & Ball, Eynsford and Snowdown receive work. Workers have already been and gone at Dartford and Chatham where £580,000 and £568,000 was spent respectively.

To be able to deliver such a massive programme of station work in Kent, Railtrack has embarked on a pioneering concept of delivery with its construction partner, Kier Construction Limited.

Jim Thompson, Kier's Project manager said of the work, "Kier Construction is keen to demonstrate to the users of Sittingbourne, Selling and Teynham stations its commitment to delivering this work both safely and with a minimum of disruption. It is a source of pride to Kier that our excellent record in the construction business is carried through to the people of Kent as we play our part in the railway renaissance."

Railhub Archive ::: 1997-11-25 RTK-003