Grays Station To Go Step-Free
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
Grays station is on the list.
These pictures show the station.
Note.
- The stopping trains from London arrive in a long bay platform 3.
- There are exits on both sides of the tracks.
- There is a subway under the tracks.
- There is a bridge over the tracks outside the station.
- The station only handles four trains per hour in both directions.
This Google Map shows the layout of the station.
Note that the main platforms can take twelve-car trains.
Installing Step-Free Access
According to a station guy, it will not be easy to add lifts to the subway and a step-free bridge will be installed.
- The subway is narrow and two wheelchairs probably couldn’t pass.
- There also appears to be enough space for a bridge.
- The bridge could probably be placed either side of the main station building.
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Grays station?
Installing such a bridge, would not need the subway to be closed, so overall the station could handle more passengers needing to cross the tracks.
This would not appear to be the most difficult of installations.
St. Erth Station To Go Step-Free
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
St. Erth station is on the list.
These pictures show the station and the current bridge,
Note that the bridge is only used to access trains going West to Penzance.
This Google Map shows the station.
The three tracks from the station are as follows.
- To Penzance in a South-Westerly direction.
- To Plymouth in a North-Easterly direction.
- To St. Ives in a Northerly direction.
The bridge over the main line stands out in white in the bottom-left corner of the map.
Installing The Step-Free Access
As the station is Grade II Listed care must be taken in installing the step-free access.
- The current elderly steel bridge could be replaced with a modern one with lifts. This could be too drastic for the Heritage Lobby.
- But It does look that a modern bridge could be installed towards the Eastern End of the station.
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at St. Erth station?
This bridge has the great advantage, that it can be installed without closing the existing bridge.
Catford Station To Go Step-Free
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
Catford station is on the list.
This pictures show the current state of Catford station.
Note.
- The railway line is on an embankment, with a bridge over the road.
- There are steep stairs to both platforms.
- There are small shelters on both platforms.
- There is a small station building by the subway under the tracks.
I suspect that a lift on either side of the tracks will need to be installed.
This Google Map shows the station.
It looks like it will be rather a tight squeeze to fit the lifts around the stairs and the current station building.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rebuild of the current station building and the stairs, to create space for the lifts.
The route between Catford and Catford Bridge stations used to involve a walk along the A205, but now there is a level walk through a new housing development, which also has a small supermarket.
You enter Catford Bridge station, directly onto Platform 1.
This Google Map shows the two stations and the walking route between them.
I estimate that it is less than a hundred metres.
Adding step-free access at Catford station will not complete the project.
Look at these pictures of Catford Bridge station.
To cross the tracks at the station, there are two bridges; the road bridge and a footbridge at the station.
Neither of the bridges are step-free.
It would be difficult to add lifts at the A205 end of the station, as there is little space. It would also mean passengers would be walking along the A205, with all its traffic and associated pollution.
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Catford Bridge station?
It could replace the existing metal bridge!
Anniesland Station To Go Step-Free
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
Anniesland station is on the list.
The Services shown in Wikipedia are comprehensive and numerous considering that the station has just two through platforms and a bay platform.
These pictures are of the station.
This Google Map shows the layout of the station.
Note.
- The two main Glasgow stations are to the North.
- The two through platforms are numbered 1 and 2 and go under the footbridge in the middle of the image.
- The bay platform is to the North of the station building and is mainly served by a shuttle to Glasgow Queen Street station. I wrote about this shuttle in Anniesland And Glasgow Queen Street Via Maryhill In A Class 230 Train.
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
Could a factory-built bridge like this be used at Anniesland station?
I suspect it will be possible, but the site is rather cramped!
Conclusion
A step-free footbridge would make the lot of passengers changing between platforms 1 and 3 much better.
Bridlington Station To Go Step-Free
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
Bridlington station is on the list.
In Bridlington Station – 13th March 2019, I showed this picture, that I had taken on my visit.
The bridge connects the Northbound platform to the Southbound and bay platforms and the main part of the station.
This Google Map shows the location of the existing bridge clearly.
It should obviously be made step-free to make all three platforms easy to access for all travellers.
- Should the old bridge be totally replaced or should new lifts be added?
- Should the bridge be moved from its current position?
- Should the bridge be raised to allow for possible future electrification?
- Should a fsctory-build standard bridge with lifts be instaled in a different position?
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Bridlington station?
I suspect that it could be fitted on the Western ends of the platforms, leaving the original bridge in place during construction to keep the station open.
After installation of the new bridge, the original bridge could be demolished, shut off or refurbished as appropriate.
Note that the town of Bridlington is getting a makeover.
- New and an increasing number of trains will be calling at Bridlington station to serve residents, commuters and visitors.
- A modern step-free bridge which welcomes travellers to the town or speeds them on their way, could be just the ticket.
I have a feeling this step-free bridge could deliver good value to Bridlington, the train operating companies and travellers to and from the town.
Stowmarket Station To Go Step-Free
This document on the Government web site is entitled Access for All: 73 Stations Set To Benefit From Additional Funding.
Stowmarket station is on the list.
In Roaming Around East Anglia – Stowmarket Station, I said this.
The station is Grade II Listed, has the capability to handle the long London-Norwich expresses and probably only needs a step-free footbridge to be ready for the East-West Rail Link.
This picture shows the bridge.
Step-free access would create an easy interchange between stations.
- On the Great East Main Line between Stowmarket and Norwich.
- On the East-West Rail Link between Stowmarket and Cambridge/Peterborough and further West.
Journeys like between Diss and Bury St. Edmunds, Newmarket, Cambridge and Peterborough will be so much easier.
Greater Anglia is already planning to increase services on both routes, so the step-free bridge will be well used.
Installing Step-Free Access
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Stowmarket station?
- I think this could be possible, if the existing bridge were to be removed.
- At least there is a level crossing by the station, which could be used as an emergency means of crossing the railway.
I very much favour this approach. which surely could be installed on a weekend possession.
Now That’s What I Call A Footbridge!
This article on Global Rail News is entitled Network Rail Launches Footbridge Design Competition.
This is the first two paragraphs.
A competition for new footbridge design ideas has been launched by Network Rail and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Entrants are asked to design fully accessible footbridges that can be used across Britain’s rail network and that further improve the legacy of rail pioneers.
Hopefully, something better than some of those on Britain’s rail network will be designed.
I was in Wales last week on the Ffestiniog Railway and saw this bridge.
Surely, someone can come up with something like this, that meets all the regulations and looks a lot better, than Network Rail’s standard offering in green-painted steel.
My father used to build structures like this with timber and bolts to create extra floors and storage in his print works in Wood Green. From about the age of seven, I was his little helper.
Perhaps, thirty years later, I had a barn built at a house I owned. The architect had the building designed in a similar manner.
Someone, ought to enter Network Rail’s competition with a similar design.
The Anonymous Widower 