Published on: Thursday, 30 July 2015
Last updated: Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Passengers using Prittlewell station will soon benefit from a more welcoming and attractive station environment as train operator Abellio Greater Anglia begins a complete refurbishment project.
Work is underway to refurbish the station, which was built in 1889 and serves over 80,000 passengers every year.
Abellio Greater Anglia will carry out repairs to the station canopy and platforms, a complete repaint, lighting improvements, the construction of a new, improved waiting room and the installation of a new ticket vending machine (TVM).
The new waiting room will see the dividing wall between the existing booking hall and waiting room removed to create a larger, brighter space. The new waiting room will benefit from DDA compliant push button automatic doors, a train departure summary screen and energy-efficient heating, as well as new flooring and seating and redecoration in Abellio Greater Anglia colours. It will also offer passengers the opportunity to charge laptops and mobile phones and work while they wait with a specially-made wall-mounted work top with plug sockets and three bar stools.
The waiting room and platforms are also benefiting from new wooden style benches which replace the older style metal benches. The new seating, supplied by Macemain and Amstad, will improve the appearance of the platforms and is compliant with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act to ensure ease of use by those with mobility issues.
A new ticket vending machine will also be installed at the station and means that passengers will be able to purchase their train tickets before they travel and even collect tickets which they have bought online.
The station entrance will be repainted along with the footbridge and all timber, steel work and lighting columns around the station. The existing lighting in the station will also be upgraded where required.
Neil Grabham, Head of Customer Service - East, said, “This is a really exciting project for the station which will deliver a much-improved, more comfortable waiting environment for our passengers and will restore the station to its former glory. Investing in upgrades to stations across the network is extremely important to Abellio Greater Anglia, demonstrating our commitment to providing excellent facilities and service to our customers. I would like to thank customers for their patience while the work is being carried out.”