Bridge over train tracks to ease level crossing gridlock ‘not impossible’

Network Rail is to hold talks with city leaders over the future of Canterbury West railway station, the Gazette can reveal.

Ambitious plans to bridge the tracks and allow passengers in from Roper Road are “not impossible but can’t happen overnight” the company now says.

Two weeks ago we reported how the rail operator was accused of ignoring calls to discuss solutions to the gridlock at the St Dunstan’s level crossing.

Rail managers have since been in touch with the council and a meeting is being pencilled in.

Central to any discussion will be the future of land on Roper Road, which is owned by Network Rail.

Being able to get to the station from this land – possibly by extending the footbridge – would allow thousands of commuters to avoid the level crossing and Station Road West.

Transport campaigner Jeremy Baker has repeatedly raised the issue with the city council.

He said: “I think pedestrian access to the station from Roper Road is crucial. It would allow people to gain access from the north, from the university for example, without using the level crossing. It could also relieve pressure for the existing booking hall and forecourt accessed by Station Road West.

“The ability of people to be dropped off and picked up on the north west side would save a lot of trips for people trying to cross to and fro and being potentially delayed in queues.”

Last month the council signed off on setting aside £5m to convert the 141-space public car park in Station Road West into a two-deck multi-storey.

While welcoming the plans, some members raised concerns over increasing strain on the level crossing area in St Dunstan’s, which is already routinely gridlocked.

Chief executive Colin Carmichael had said various attempts at contacting the operator to look at solutions had so far been snubbed.

“Network Rail are infamously difficult to do business with,” he said.

“Even our member of parliament has been unable to make progress in getting Network Rail to the table.

“The idea of a crossing across the line is another of the issues that we want to try to raise. If we ever get them to the table – that’s one of the issues we need to raise.” Network Rail owns two key parcels of land in Roper Road, running parallel to the station and separated by a line of track.

One is the site of former car sellers, Kent Cars of Canterbury Ltd.

The other accommodates a rail depot, which sits directly in line with the footbridge and could provide an entrance should the footbridge be extended in its current form.

Documents lodged with the city council in January show that the national rail operator is suggesting the former car