Published on: Friday, 22 May 2020
Last updated: Friday, 22 May 2020
Greater Anglia has revealed plans to redevelop Wickford railway station to improve facilities for customers and get the station ready for the introduction of its new trains.
The existing station building is due to be demolished and replaced with a bigger building with more and better customer facilities, subject to planning consent.
The work, which is part of a £4m scheme, is being done to prepare for new longer trains which are due to start entering passenger service later this year and the project includes extending platform 1 to make it long enough for the new trains.
Ideas for improvements include
• A new ticket office, with two ticket office windows
• A new upgraded accessible waiting hall, with charging points and seating
• New male and female toilets
• New and improved accessible toilets
• New and improved customer information screens and CCTV
• A new shop where customers can buy food and hot drinks
Greater Anglia has submitted plans to Basildon Council to demolish the existing station building.
If permission is granted by the council, work will take place in phases, including the installation of a temporary ticket office, to ensure minimal disruption to customers. Work is expected to start this summer and be completed next spring.
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."
Greater Anglia is replacing every single one of its existing trains with brand new trains, which will all be longer with more seats.
All new trains will have USB and plug points, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, improved passenger information systems and accessible seating areas and toilets. They are greener, cleaner and better for the environment.
Bombardier is building 111 trains for Greater Anglia which will run between London Liverpool Street and Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
The Bombardier trains will have underfloor heating – a first for UK trains – which will work with an overhead heating and ventilation system to improve passenger comfort and increase foot room for passengers sitting in window seats.
The first of the new Bombardier trains is expected to come into service this year and are currently undergoing performance and safety tests across the Greater Anglia network.