Project to install lifts at Manningtree will mean better access for rail passengers

Passengers using Manningtree rail station will benefit from the installation of two new passenger lifts, once work is completed later this summer.

The £3 million project to improve access for customers at the station has passed a key milestone with two lift shafts winched into place.

Abellio Greater Anglia is now over halfway through the project – which recently saw the lift shafts and their components winched into place using a 100-tonne crane.

The work was carried out between 0500 Saturday 14 May and was completed by 1500 Sunday 15 May, utilising a period when the station was closed for track improvement work, thereby minimising disruption to passengers.

Once the key sections were safely secured, the project team installed the roofing and cladding on the lift towers.

Completion of this significant improvement to Manningtree station will provide improved accessibility for rail passengers, with much easier access between platforms 1&2 and 3&4 at the station, creating better journeys for those with mobility problems, pushchairs and heavy luggage, as well as making connections much easier.

Abellio Greater Anglia’s Asset Management Director, Simone Bailey, said, “The overnight installation of the lift structures represents a key milestone in the project and I now look forward to its completion later this summer, when passengers will be able to enjoy much easier access between the platforms at Manningtree.”