Published on: Tuesday, 5 July 2022
Last updated: Wednesday, 6 July 2022
Above: The new shelter at Braintree station. Credit: Greater Anglia
Greater Anglia has invested over £1 maillion in upgrading waiting shelters, toilets and benches at rail stations across East Anglia.
A total of nine new waiting shelters have been installed, eight of them replacing old ones at Braintree Freeport, Brandon, Great Chesterford, Hatfield Peverel, Harlow Mill and Wrabness, and at Alresford, an additional new shelter has been installed.
Toilet facilities have been refurbished at Audley End, Chelmsford, Cheshunt, Hockley, Manningtree, Marks Tey, Shenfield and Thorpe Le Soken.
The upgrade included new tiling, hand dryers and decoration and at some stations new sinks and worktops.
Over 450 platform benches have also been upgraded, and some old style metal benches have been replaced with timber ones which are more comfortable and improve the appearance of the platforms.
The new benches – which would be the equivalent of a kilometre long if placed end to end – have supplemented and/or replaced older benches at 76 stations (listed below), across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
Greater Anglia’s Director of Asset Management, Simone Bailey, said: “These upgrades provide a better station environment and improved comfort for passengers, as we welcome people back to the railway.
“It’s part of an ongoing programme of station upgrade projects which has also included car park re-lining and wider station presentation standards across our network to ensure our facilities are in excellent condition for our customers.”
Above: The new shelter at Brandon station. Credit: Greater Anglia
Above: The new shelter at Harlow Mill station. Credit: Greater Anglia