9 June 2010
Harlow Town station - which celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer - is currently being transformed through a partnership between National Express East Anglia (NXEA), Harlow Renaissance and Essex County Council, as part of a £390k investment project to renew and improve the station buildings and environment, and provide easier access for customers.
Work is underway to refurbish the station over-bridge to help provide improved access to the station platforms and passenger lifts for disabled customers and for those with pushchairs and heavy luggage, etc. The work will see the area transformed with new floor tiles, panelled and re-decorated walls and ceiling and new lighting.
The external canopies and facia boards at the front of the station are being replaced and renewed, and 8 new parking bays for disabled passengers are being provided adjacent to the station forecourt.
The improvement programme is on schedule for completion later this summer and follows the recent completion of the first phase of NXEA’s £3m scheme – as part of the company’s Service Improvement Plan - to build a new multi-storey car park increasing the total car parking capacity at Harlow Town station to parking for 700 cars.
Andrew Chivers, Managing Director of NXEA said:
“We are delighted to work in partnership with Harlow Renaissance and Essex County Council on the improvement scheme at Harlow Town helping to provide much better access for our customers and a greatly enhanced environment, transforming the look and feel of the station in its fiftieth year. I am very grateful for the support of our partners which has enabled this project to proceed.”
Andrew Bramidge, Chief Executive of Harlow Renaissance said:
“As a gateway into Harlow, the station presents the first image many visitors will have of the town therefore its appearance is of the upmost importance to help deliver a positive and welcoming impression. Over the past 50 years hundreds of thousands of people have come through the station doors and we are incredibly pleased that the partnership has been able to undertake this rejuvenation to improve the travel experience for everyone who passes through.”
Notes to editors
Harlow station was opened in 1842 as Burnt Mill railway station, to serve the small village of the same name. On July 13, 1960 the station was renamed Harlow Town and enlarged to serve the post-war new town of Harlow. The station itself is now a Grade II listed structure.
The Department for Transport announced in April 2009 a major boost to rail capacity on National Express East Anglia services to and from London Liverpool Street. This will be achieved through the construction of 120 new rail carriages and the transfer of 68 additional modern refurbished carriages to provide a total of 188 extra carriages to be added to East Anglia services. The 120 new carriages will be introduced on Stansted Airport and Cambridge – Liverpool Street services from later in 2011. The 68 refurbished carriages will be introduced on the Great Eastern mainline route through North Essex into Liverpool Street with most improvements expected to be introduced from December 2010. The capacity enhancement project also includes work to improve car parking capacity at key locations, including Harlow Town.