Official opening of upgraded Colchester station

Listen to this article

The Mayor of Colchester Councillor Helen Chuah has officially opened the newly upgraded Colchester North station.

The station has been significantly improved by operator National Express East Anglia (NXEA) with investment of £2.2m as part of the National Stations Improvement Programme, and with contributions from Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council through the Station Travel Plan and Cycle Colchester programmes.

The contractor for the improvement works at Colchester is Spencer. The much improved facilities include:

  • Reinstatement of the former main entrance on the south side of the station, and provision of a new ticket office and booking hall
  • A new and relocated Customer Service office and new WH Smith shop
  • New, extended canopy on the walkway to Platform 3 and additional waiting shelters
  • Improved south side forecourt with better vehicular access
  • A new cycle parking facility on the south side and additional parking for cycles on the north side of the station provides capacity for 350 cycles
  • Improved signage, lighting and CCTV
  • Improved pedestrian access and parking for taxis, new bus shelters and an electronic information terminal on the north side forecourt.

Andrew Chivers, Managing Director, National Express East Anglia said:

“The completion of this significant and welcome investment in improving customer facilities at Colchester station is the second improvement scheme we have delivered in Essex as part of the National Stations Improvement Programme.

“At Colchester we have worked to meet our customers’ aspirations for better ticketing facilities, improved access and more cycle parking.”

Councillor Lyn Barton, Portfolio Holder for Renaissance at Colchester Borough Council said:

“We are pleased to have worked with our partners to help deliver the fantastic improvements at Colchester station.

“The Station Travel Plan partnership has been able to pull together different projects to give station users better access to the station.

“We hope the improvements will encourage station users to consider how they travel to and from the station to help reduce congestion and pollution in Colchester.”

John Slade, Operations Director for Spencer said:

“We are proud that thanks to a strong partnership between ourselves and National Express, we have been able to deliver significant improvements to this station whilst it was fully operational.

“Everyone’s hard work has paid off, with an improved station which will serve the community well.

“I am sure commuters will appreciate the new look, as well as the extra facilities which mean this much-loved station will be able to cater for the practical needs of any traveller.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Rail News

ORR review leads to 50% reduction in maximum fees for ticket refunds

New rules will mean that from 2 April the maximum fee that train operators and ticket retailers can charge...

More like this...