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date 18 October 1999
source First Great Eastern
type Press release

note Release: 64/99

ERIC PICKLES, MP, INSPECTS IMPROVEMENTS

First Great Eastern said today (18 October) that a further £40,000 is to be spent on upgrading Ingatestone station bringing the total investment at the station to around £200,000 in a little more than a year.

The biggest expenditure has been on the car park extension which has been equipped with closed circuit television and high quality lighting. A new waiting shelter has been installed and the station repainted. A host of minor improvements have been carried out such as the provision of seating for people with mobility problems and cycle storage facilities.

Showing Eric Pickles, MP, the improvements at the station, Theo Steel, Great Eastern's sales and marketing manager said: "The investment in facilities at Ingatestone demonstrate our commitment to the village.

"The next phase of our investment will see visual displays giving trains running information, a customer help point which can be used by people who require train running information when the station is unstaffed and a public address system which will be operated remotely by the signalling system."

Mr. Pickles was also joined by Great Eastern's public affairs manager Peter Northfield who condemned what he described as "ill-informed speculation" about the future of the station. "The suggestion that we wish to close Ingatestone station is frankly ludicrous and has no basis in fact. It is worrying that such nonsense is aired in the media and at Council meetings by people who clearly have no knowledge of the industry." Theo Steel explained to Eric Pickles that First Great Eastern had invested in CCTV at Brentwood and had spent around £70,000 on minor improvements.

The new information systems will also be installed at Brentwood and Shenfield where Railtrack has completed a total upgrade of the station as part of its Station Regeneration Programme. First Great Eastern has installed a new shop front in the ticket office at Shenfield and made further small improvements to passenger facilities. In total almost £1 million has been invested in the three stations by various parts of the industry.

Both Brentwood and Shenfield have benefited from better public transport integration and it is now possible to purchase through tickets for travel by rail and bus on board buses in the area. This is the first time First Great Eastern and First Thamesway have offered such comprehensive facilities. ENDS

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Railhub Archive ::: 1999-10-18 FGE-001