Kentish Express Ashford & District
Work starts on station footbridge
Builders have started work on a £2.8 million footbridge over a village railway line – more than a decade after residents campaigned for safety improvements.
Network Rail is installing the permanent structure over the tracks at Hamstreet station.
The new footbridge will replace the temporary scaffold bridge that was installed in 2014 after repeated incidents and near misses involving young people on the tracks.
Peter Davison, a former Ashford Borough Councillor who has campaigned for improved safety at the crossing for more than a decade, said: “I’m very pleased because a number of people who travel across are elderly or infirm.
“The bridge is fairly high because it’s on the line that takes stuff down to the nuclear power station, so the added lifts are very welcome.
“The design is not ideal. The little station is an architectural gem but the tyres that make the lift work must be practical, but they do not match the design of Andrea Palladio!
“I’m not surprised at the cost – you can’t go over a railway line for less than £1m.
“But we are very pleased to have it, it’s a good day for Hamstreet.”
Mike Smith, Network Rail’s route enhancement manager, said: “This is great news for passengers who use Hamstreet station and also anyone who wants to cross the railway in the village.
“As part of our Railway Upgrade Plan we are not only making the railway safer but much more accessible too.”
A spokesperson for Southern, which operates the station, added: “Passengers using Hamstreet station have been waiting for this for some time now, so this is great news.
“We are delighted that work has begun on what will be a massive improvement for everyone who needs to cross from one platform to another and we look forward to its completion.”
The work is expected to be completed before the autumn when the accessible lifts are installed.
There will be no direct access between the two station platforms until April 2017, although a full pedestrian diversion will be in place via Ashford Road during this time.