Published on: Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
The Rt. Hon. Simon Burns MP, Minister of State for Transport and Member of Parliament for Chelmsford officially opened Abellio train operator Greater Anglia’s new £680k CyclePoint at Chelmsford station today, Wednesday 17 July.
Chelmsford is the first station in the region to benefit from CyclePoint which is a unique concept brought to the UK from the Netherlands by Abellio which combines secure cycle parking with increased capacity for cycles, supported by retail, cycle-hire and maintenance facilities in a single location for all cycle-related activity and parking at a station.
Cycles UK is Greater Anglia’s commercial partner for the Chelmsford CyclePoint, with cycle parking equipment provided by Falco. The total cycle parking capacity at Chelmsford station has increased by over 40% with parking for almost 1,000 cycles in the new facility.
Located on a new site adjacent to Day’s Yard, between the station and the station car park, CyclePoint represents a significant investment of £680k by Greater Anglia, with support from the Department for Transport (DfT), Essex County Council and Network Rail. CyclePoint is the first stage of the project to improve and upgrade passenger facilities and the customer experience at Chelmsford over the next 12 months, with a further £3.2m being invested to transform facilities at the station, as part of a separate National Stations Improvement Programme and Network Rail Development Fund project.
The Rt. Hon. Simon Burns MP, Minister of State for Transport said: “When people travel we want them to use sustainable means wherever possible. Used in combination, bike and rail offers one of the most environmentally friendly forms of travel. That is why DfT have provided £200k funding towards this innovative new cycle hub which will give people more options to make greener travel choices. I am pleased that Abellio are using their experience and knowledge in the UK to introduce more ground-breaking cycle facilities. This is the sort of thing we need to be doing across the country to make it easier for people to cycle to and from the station.”
Ruud Haket, Managing Director for Greater Anglia said: “I am delighted that the Minister of State for Transport joined us to open Greater Anglia’s first CyclePoint at Chelmsford, the second busiest station on our network.
“Abellio and Greater Anglia are committed to providing a new approach to cycling at the interface with rail stations, by creating new secure parking hubs with retail partners such as CyclePoint and other exciting new options including hire schemes through our Bike & Go concept, which is developed on the successful Dutch model.”