Ardgay Station set for £1.35 million upgrade

[och aye]

While I'm not suggesting that this upgrade work isn't necessary, at first glance it does seem to be quite a large amount of money to be spending on a station that handles under 6,000 passengers a year. However it does seem like this will have a net positive benefit on the Far North Line as a whole by reducing delays according to the article.

Ardgay Station set for £1.35 million upgrade​

Ardgay Station set for £1.35 million upgrade

The nine-week platform renewal project will improve safety, accessibility, and reduce train delays.

www.northern-times.co.uk

Ardgay railway station will undergo a major upgrade this month as part of a £1.35 million investment by Network Rail aimed at improving passenger experience, safety, and service reliability.

From Saturday, October 18, engineers will begin a full renewal of Platform 1, a project expected to last approximately nine weeks. The platform will be shortened from 194 metres to 150 metres—a move designed to speed up boarding and improve overall train punctuality on the line.

According to Network Rail, the current platform length often causes delays, as passengers must walk further to reach the correct train carriage doors. By optimising the length and layout, trains will be able to stop in a way that allows more direct and efficient boarding.

Tactile paving will also be installed as part of the work, improving accessibility for visually impaired passengers and aligning with national accessibility standards.

 

[kkong]

At first glance, it's not clear why it should cost anything like £1.35m and take nine weeks to demolish and re-build this platform.

 

[The exile]

Surely some details must have been simplified out here as all that is needed to shorten a platform is a fence (as in countless examples around the country) Guessing that possibly the work requires the platform to be shortened at the end where the current entrance is?

 

[3RDGEN]

The planning application is available here; "https://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SZYKASIHG9700" - 25/02788/LBC - Renewal of Platform including installation of gate and steps - Ardgay Railway Station.

It gives some more detail, the platform is Cat C listed.

 

[3RDGEN]

The work is now completed, including photo of new Platform 1;

"https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/platform-1-upgrade-complete-at-ardgay-station" - "A £1.35m project to rebuild platform 1 at Ardgay Station has been successfully completed, delivering a more convenient boarding experience for passengers. Previously, trains stopped at a point on the platform that required passengers to walk a considerable distance to board, increasing the time it took for services to call at the station. The nine-week project involved carefully deconstructing the platform and rebuilding it at a reduced size. Tactile paving was also installed to support visually impaired passengers."

 

[Ginaro]

If two car trains are stopping at a point on the platform that is far away from the footbridge, surely you just move the stopping board so they aren't using all the platform?

 

[alistairlees]

If so few people were using it (18 a day on average?), how can it have had much impact on performance? Why not just use signage to indicate where to stand? Or move the stopping point to where the customers were already standing?