Work starts on longer new station platform
GIFTS IN WILLS FUND OVER A THIRD OF CANCER RESEARCH UK’S LIFE-SAVING WORK – AS MORE THAN 50 DIAGNOSED WITH THE DISEASE EVERY DAY IN WALES
CONSTRUCTION of a new and longer platform at Swansea railway station is under way.
The new platform four will be 260m long, 13m longer than the original, to allow Great Western Railway’s (GWR) new Intercity Express trains to arrive and depart from it. It follows a month of demolition work to remove and recycle the old one.
The scheme forms a key part of plans to modernise the station and improve the experience for passengers.
The work is scheduled to be completed in May.
To make way for the new structure, contractors Alun Griffiths Ltd have removed 2,400 tonnes of demolition waste from the site.
The first phase of construction is nearly complete, with 71 concrete piles being put into the ground to form the foundations of the new platform.
Work has also started on the rebuilding of the two walls that run underneath the platform.
Then using 42 tonnes of steel, a new frame will be put in place, which will support 179 concrete slabs to form the new platform surface.
Finally, two waiting shelters, lighting and PA system will be installed.
Kevin Collins, project director for Wales at Network Rail said: “This new platform is a key part of the plans to modernise Swansea station, as it will be able to accommodate longer trains, with increased capacity and better facilities for passengers.
“I would like to thank the local community for their understanding during this period of disruption and look forward to it opening in May.”
For safety reasons, some of key aspects of work need to be done at night and during weekends when the trains aren’t operating through the station and efforts are being made to minimise disruption.
Passengers are reminded to allow extra time to check for any platform alterations that may be in place.
Swansea is one of the first stations to undergo work as part of the Transport for Wales (TFW) improvement programme.
WATCHING her son being diagnosed with cancer just weeks before his wedding had a profound effect on Linda.
Linda, from South Wales, was looking forward to the wedding and was excited that she would also soon be a grandma.
“My son was diagnosed with testicular cancer when he was 26. He was about to get married and was going to be a father too,” she explained.
“He had surgery a week before his wedding and went on honeymoon not knowing the type or severity of the cancer, so not knowing if he would need chemotherapy on his return. That was 19 years ago, and he and his wife now have two children.”
Since then, her dad has died from cancer and her husband Mike was diagnosed with prostate cancer six years ago.
Those three experiences have shaped her decision to leave a gift to Cancer Research UK in her will.
“After my son’s treatment, I wanted to say, ‘Thank You’. He had benefited from research and treatment which had taken place sometime before his diagnosis. I wanted to help pass that gift on to others in the future so that they could benefit in the same way,” she said.
“So, we pledged a gift in our Will and set up a regular donation to Cancer Research UK. I see a legacy (a gift left in your Will) as a celebration of the progress which has been made by research, while it also recognises how much more work needs to be done. It means we can be optimistic about future diagnosis and treatment.”
“Going through cancer can be such a traumatic and dark time for a family, but leaving a legacy feels a very positive way of doing something about it. No gift is too small – every gift helps, and I would say to others ‘Do this and be part of this progress too’.”
“When I hear about a news story about research or hear a survival story, I feel involved. I get so much out of supporting and seeing where the money goes. Together, we are greater than the sum of our parts. I can’t do the research myself, but I stand alongside the researchers and I am part of the progress that is being made.”
HOW YOUR GIFT CAN HELP FUND VITAL RESEARCH INTO CANCER
Professor Duncan Baird is the research lead at the Division of Cancer and Genetics at Cardiff University.
Professor Baird and his team are studying special DNA structures found inside our cells, known as telomeres, and the role they play in cancer.
Telomeres are the caps at the ends of chromosomes, which are the long strings of DNA inside our cells that contain our genetic informations. They’re a bit like the plastic cap on the end of a shoelace.
“Our lab has developed the highest resolution approach available to measure how long telomeres are,” he explained.
“We have also defined the length at which telomeres become dysfunctional and chromosomes start to become damaged.”
“Our results have shown that telomere length can be used to define both the prognosis and the response to treatment, of patients with several different types of cancer, including chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, myelodysplasia, multiple myeloma and breast cancer.”
“We have developed our technology for clinical application, and we are in the process of bringing this technology to cancer patients and the pharmaceutical industry.”
“My lab is currently supported by Cancer Research UK via a five-year programme grant.”
“This long-term funding provides stability and allows people in the lab to develop more ambitious programmes
of work than they could if they were employed on standard three-year research contracts. Cancer Research UK funding is fundamental to everything we do.”
“Both my parents died of cancer.
For both it was very sudden. My mother in particular went from diagnosis to death in a matter of months and had no opportunity to say goodbye to any of her family.”
“It’s for the many people like my parents that I want to keep contributing to our collective understanding of cancer.”
“It’s sobering to think that a large proportion of the funding that keeps our laboratory going, has come from those who have sadly passed away, but have committed to giving to Cancer Research UK, leaving their money to go towards the combined efforts of the research community in to finding more effective therapies for cancer patients.”
Gifts in Wills fund over a third of our life-saving research. These vital legacies, together with the commitment of the researchers to finding new breakthroughs, are so important to one day beating cancer. To find out more, get your free Cancer Research UK Gifts in Wills guide at cruk.org/pledgewales
Together we will beat cancer.