Network Rail has completed a £6.7 million upgrade of Surbiton station with the construction of a new deck and staircase to help reduce overcrowding and improve passenger safety.
On Friday 17 May, representatives from Network Rail were joined by colleagues from South Western Railway (SWR) and Kingston Council alongside Sir Ed Davey MP for a small celebratory event to mark the completion of station upgrade.
The new deck has been added to the existing footbridge at the ‘London end’ of platforms 3 and 4, along with eight additional ticket gatelines, accessed by a new staircase. These upgrades are expected to make passenger journeys at the station as much as 31% faster.
Construction involved using a 60-tonne mobile crane that was built in the Southern car park with the majority of work completed at night when no trains were running. During this upgrade, the station has remained open and passengers and local residents have continued to have full access to the station footbridge.
Surbiton is the fifth busiest station on Network Rail’s Wessex route with 6.61 million entries and exits and acts as a key interchange for passengers travelling to and from London with 434,021 passengers changing between services at this station.
This large number of passengers often causes congestion on platforms 3 and 4, heading away from central London, during evening peaks as passengers queue to exit the station using a single set of stairs. At times, these queues can prevent trains from leaving on time and cause delays to South Western Railway (SWR) services towards Guildford, Hampton Court and Woking.
The station building is also a famous local landmark thanks to its art deco style, dating back to its rebuilding in 1937 using designs by the chief architect of the Southern Railway, James Robb Scott.
In October 1983 it was made a Grade II listed structure by Historic England, marking it as an ‘important building of special interest’. Network Rail has worked closely with a number of partners, including the Railway Heritage Trust and Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to ensure the upgrades remained in keeping with the station.
Mark Goodall, Network Rail Wessex route director, said: “I’m delighted to officially open the new deck and staircase at Surbiton station which will help passengers travel through the station more quickly and comfortably while also improving safety.
“Surbiton is an iconic grade II listed station that is well used by passengers and this £6.7 million investment represents three years of hard work that will help ease congestion for the six million passengers who use the station each year.
“I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in delivering this important project and look forward to seeing passengers benefitting from this investment, and the station and railway continuing to play an important role in the community.”
Jerome Pacatte, South Western Railway’s head of stations and revenue protection, added: “Surbiton is an important location on our suburban network, not least because of the large number of customers who start and end their journeys here each day, and so we are very pleased to see this important addition to the station which will make a big difference to those journeys.
“We also know just how much pride the local community has for the historic station building, so it’s great to see the new facility complements its eye-catching, art deco design.”
Image credit: Network Rail
