Middlesbrough train station is all set to get a £50million makeover (Image: Ian Cooper)
A UK station is all set to get a £50million with authorities planning “bigger and better” elements for its improvement. Middlesbrough railway station will look completely different by the end of the project’s completion, in a major boost to the troubled town, which is one of the most dangerous places to live in Britain.
The figure was shared by the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) after a Freedom of Information request which asked the authority for details and costs of ongoing transport schemes, .
TVCA, the primary funder of the project alongside contributions from Network Rail, emphasised that both the ongoing and completed phases of work at the station have been delivered “on budget and in line with the original estimates.”
However, the latest phase of the long-running project—to construct a third platform—has undergone a “significant expansion,” according to a spokesperson for the mayoral authority.
This expansion accounts for the increased costs and is described as being “bigger and better.”
Middlesbrough railway station (Image: Ian Cooper)
The spokesman said: “The fresh plan now also includes extra track and signalling to allow trains to access carriage sidings directly from platform two.
“This allows trains terminating at Middlesbrough to move out of the platform and wait before they’re needed again. This boosts the station’s capacity.”
According to the spokesman, the increase is being met by a new funding allocation provided last year from the latest round of the Government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) scheme, which had provided “more certainty and control” over the project.
Don’t miss… [REVEAL] [SPOTLIGHT]
Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald described the “really positive” work completed on the station to date, while also calling for a more ambitious approach to its exterior design.
He said: “Some of [what] is being delivered is really positive, and a new platform three is critical to the expansion of services at Middlesbrough. The sums of money are important – what we have been asking for in Middlesbrough is modest in comparison to the spending at Reading of £897m and of course the major rebuilds in London in recent years, such as at King’s Cross.”
Mr McDonald, Labour ’s former shadow transport secretary, added: “While the expanded services and station improvements have taken longer than anyone would have wanted, they need to be completed and we must push on with our ambitions for a more striking northern elevation on Bridge Street West to face into Middlehaven. The elevation has been described by one architect as a ‘long wall with a mousehole’ and we need a much greater statement presentation to help develop the full potential of Middlehaven.”