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Kidderminster Station Re-build

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Old Hill Bank

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Work starts in November 2018 to provide Kidderminster with a national rail station fit for purpose. During the circa nine month construction period there will be reduced facilities at the station. Train services will continue to operate as normal and the adjacent SVR operation is unaffected. Some detail in the link below.

https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20624/kidderminster_station_improvements
The station is to undergo a dramatic redevelopment , including a new glass-fronted station twice the size of the existing building. Facilities will include a new café or shop, toilets and indoor seating and waiting areas
 
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WYSH

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Good to see some much needed investment for Kidderminster station. I was there earlier this year and the whole station felt very tired.
 

aylesbury

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Been through there several times and it is very tired hope it will be good design but the SVR will still be the best of the two a worthy departure point.
 

xc170

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Why is kidderminster station not fit for purpose? It has a ticket office, lifts, level access etc.

Using your logic then, why did NR bother rebuilding Birmingham New Street?

A run down station is no welcome to a town...
 

DarloRich

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Using your logic then, why did NR bother rebuilding Birmingham New Street?

A run down station is no welcome to a town...

Funny. I was there the other week and it didn't look run down. Your statement about new street is preposterous

Still no idea why it isn't fit for purpose
 

MidnightFlyer

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Why is kidderminster station not fit for purpose? It has a ticket office, lifts, level access etc.

Because the station building has barely enough room to swing a cat in? The present set up is wholly unsuited to the existing footfall of the station itself and is an abysmal gateway to the town, however nice the SVR job next door is. Whilst the proposed solution is somewhat over the top and extravagant in my opinion (I much prefer functionality over image), it is hopefully a lot more fitting to what the station needs in 2018: waiting facilities, modern ticketing set-ups, something a bit better retail wise than a hole in the wall, improved staff accommodation. Probably all the same reasons the similar 1970s facilities have vanished at Cwmbran, Accrington and Lichfield TV amongst others, and been replaced with modern equivalents.
 

satisnek

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Hopefully it will look better than the artist's impression (i.e. with a bit of colour and not ghostly white!) and it would be nice to think that the budget will stretch to a (matching?) canopy on Platform 2.
 

DarloRich

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Because the station building has barely enough room to swing a cat in? The present set up is wholly unsuited to the existing footfall of the station itself and is an abysmal gateway to the town, however nice the SVR job next door is. Whilst the proposed solution is somewhat over the top and extravagant in my opinion (I much prefer functionality over image), it is hopefully a lot more fitting to what the station needs in 2018: waiting facilities, modern ticketing set-ups, something a bit better retail wise than a hole in the wall, improved staff accommodation. Probably all the same reasons the similar 1970s facilities have vanished at Cwmbran, Accrington and Lichfield TV amongst others, and been replaced with modern equivalents.

None of that makes it not fit for purpose. TBH I am not bothered about the improvement work. It is the phrase "not fit for purpose" I disagree with. If Kidderminster is "not fit for purpose" we need to close loads of stations! It is local government hyperbole.
 

MidnightFlyer

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None of that makes it not fit for purpose. TBH I am not bothered about the improvement work. It is the phrase "not fit for purpose" I disagree with. If Kidderminster is "not fit for purpose" we need to close loads of stations! It is local government hyperbole.

Take 'not fit for purpose' in a loose sense for my use of it in my post! Obviously it is fit for use by strict interpretation, but then again so is practically every station before its refurbishment - even the old New St could still operate as a railway station with all the usual provisions, however it is infinitely better now than it was before, even if some quarters like to wibble about its numerous retail provisions. I agree that the Council is likely overstating matters, but transport and regeneration is one of the classic areas local authorities like to get giddy about, so I can see why they are playing it up.

I personally am more concerned about Worcestershire County Council's exploits a few miles down the road in a field near Pershore ;)
 

xc170

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Funny. I was there the other week and it didn't look run down. Your statement about new street is preposterous

No, not preposterous, okay maybe an extreme comparison, but still valid.

From the tone of most of your posts though, I shouldn't disagree with you and just respect your vastly superior opinion, sir.
 

yorksrob

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I must admit, when I was there about a year ago, I didn't even register that it had a station building. I think I was expecting some sort of lavish Great Western affair.
 

Aictos

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One question I do have about the rebuild though remember I'm not familiar with the layout but will the finished layout still allow though services to/from the SVR or is it just the station building itself that's been remodelled and the platforms themselves stay as they are?
 

Old Hill Bank

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One question I do have about the rebuild though remember I'm not familiar with the layout but will the finished layout still allow though services to/from the SVR or is it just the station building itself that's been remodelled and the platforms themselves stay as they are?
There are no track or signalling alterations so SVR access/egress will stay the same.
 

DarloRich

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No, not preposterous, okay maybe an extreme comparison, but still valid.

From the tone of most of your posts though, I shouldn't disagree with you and just respect your vastly superior opinion, sir.

no - it was entirely preposterous. You were trying to compare a major ( the major?) railway nexus in the county badly in need of improvement due to the fact it serves about 40m people a year with a small station in a half horse town no one would visit unless they were:

a) a carpet fetishist
b) off to see a non league football team
c) off for a pleasant ride on a steam train.

Lets try and get a grip here. However as I said my issue is with the statement that the station is currently "not fit for purpose". That is wibble.
 

DelW

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It might have been nice to rebuild it in a style which matched the SVR station across the car park. But of course current architectural fashion is huge glazed areas, so it'll probably be roasting in summer and freezing in winter, plus NR will never clean the glazing so it will always look dirty. If anyone thinks I'm overly cynical, visit Newport station, rebuilt in 2010 (and which is also very leaky with puddles everywhere when it rains) and see what that's like :(
 

NewSt

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Sorry to open up an old thread, but have we got any updates on progress in the refurbishment?
 

Cherry_Picker

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Structurally the main station building on the down (Birmingham bound) platform seems complete but it's still behind hoardings, or at least it was a week or so ago when I was last up there so it's hard to see inside. It's significantly bigger than the old building which had such a small capacity that people would spill onto the street outside when there was a queue for tickets. It's mostly made of glass and one side looks tall enough to host a mezzanine though I strongly suspect it's all just to let light in.
The new overbrige has been open and in use for a while now.
 

R G NOW.

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Kidderminster had an excellent building in the 1960's before BR pulled it down in the 1970's and replaced it with the bus station type building. Now I am glad to see it being replaced. I cannot see,why in the 70's so many stations were destroyed, being replaced with concrete or block shelters, now many are being rebuilt. What a waste of money it is, now were having to find more to put things back.
 

NewSt

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Structurally the main station building on the down (Birmingham bound) platform seems complete but it's still behind hoardings, or at least it was a week or so ago when I was last up there so it's hard to see inside. It's significantly bigger than the old building which had such a small capacity that people would spill onto the street outside when there was a queue for tickets. It's mostly made of glass and one side looks tall enough to host a mezzanine though I strongly suspect it's all just to let light in.
The new overbrige has been open and in use for a while now.
They're still scratching away at it - it looks like the interior fitout is taking place but the roof hasn't been completed yet??

Thanks for the updates, hoping it shouldn’t be too long now until it’s finished as I’d like to check it out!
 
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