Chester Station Upgrade

[LNW-GW Joint]

Network Rail has deposited plans with the council for upgrade works at Chester station (Grade II* listed).
They appear mostly to be in the passenger areas, including the concourse, PIS, seating etc.
Regular users will know that these are the very areas that were upgraded under ATW stewardship from 2003 onwards.
So the impression I get is that those upgrades, mostly finished in Arriva green, were unsatisfactory and need to be replaced.
The PIS installed around 2005 is about the worst in the area, with some screens placed unreadably on the wrong side of the gate line.
Unusually, they show "next train" as a mix of arrivals and departures, even if it's the same train.

The main structural changes were quite well done (roof, bridge, lifts, east side access, parking etc, some of which was externally funded), but the deterioration of the "Arriva" extensions is marked.
No mention is made of the potential extra island platform which figures in regional plans (a P8 to host the Merseyrail services, allowing P7 to be used more by TfW).

Chester suffers from the way the original station was butchered after WW2, removing several roof sections leaving gaps in the canopies.
P2 has no canopy at all, as the roof of the old 3-platform GWR station roof was removed and the facilities reduced to a single bay platform.
There are still messy remnants of the former Post Office route to the sorting office, disused for two decades.
Users will also know that the diagonal gate line forces poor use of the available space, but whether any of that will change we'll have to see.
Presumably NR has some funding for this work in CP7.
Also, presumably TfW will take the opportunity to eliminate the Arriva green branding in favour of its own red and cream.

MSN

Plans have been lodged for a major revamp of Chester Railway Station.
Network Rail has submitted a proposal to Cheshire West and Chester Council to carry out a number of changes and improvements due to some parts of the Grade II* listed station being "in a poor state of repair".
The plans include a new customer information and ticket desk, customer information screens, ticket machines, a changing places toilet, concourse seating and signage.
Also proposed is the refurbishment of the platform 4/7 toilets and waiting room as well as the concourse toilets. A new concourse clock and CCTV would be installed along with new benches across platforms 3, 4b and 7, a water refill unit in the toilet lobby area, and cycle locking stands and repair station located to the western concourse entrance.

 

[Pacef8]

The ticket office should be where wh smith is . Ditch the coffee shop for a good waiting room . Add another for merseyrail . Canopy the whole station and get rid of the pigeons and cramped gate line. Add a walkway with no steps in a arc .

 

[Bletchleyite]

The Costa used to be the booking office, interestingly. But booking offices are on their way out, so there'd be little sense in converting it back. And it's very popular so it's not going away, nor should it.

The main thing I don't like about it is the copper roofed bits added in the Arriva era, they really look out of place.

 

[Pacef8]

I would also add better disabled access . Everything feels cramped and put in as an afterthought . If you are in a rush getting to a platform is a problem . The stairs are a deathtrap as well.

 

[6Gman]

The Costa used to be the booking office, interestingly. But booking offices are on their way out, so there'd be little sense in converting it back. And it's very popular so it's not going away, nor should it.

The main thing I don't like about it is the copper roofed bits added in the Arriva era, they really look out of place.

The booking office has been in at least three different positions during my lifetime (and I'm not exactly ancient!).

The current arrangement is the worst!

 

[yorksrob]

I quite like the station, but the footbridge does get a bit busy. Are there any old subways that could be opened up I wonder ?

 

[Winthorpe]

I quite like the station, but the footbridge does get a bit busy. Are there any old subways that could be opened up I wonder ?

Subway® might open up in the revamped station

 

[MichaelTrains]

The worst experience is waiting on platform two in the rain.

Especially when it's a busy service heading along the North Welsh coast.

 

[Tezza1978]

Am a regular user of this station (we as a family have Chester Zoo memberships!) Gateline is very cramped and queues build up - surely it could be better organised?? The main concourse toilets are very scruffy too so pleased they will be refurbed. Signage throughout the station is poor too and could definitely be improved.

 

[Llandudno]

Chester station is crying out for decent real ale bar like at Huddersfield, Sheffield, York etc.

The current cafe/bar which is in a prime position is dreadful!

 

[yorksrob]

Subway® might open up in the revamped station

Ah, well I wasn't thinking of that type

 

[Parallel]

The ‘Waiting room’ on platform 3 is so small, it’s laughable. I think it has about 3 seats in it!

It’s a messy station that has been butchered through the years unfortunately. The massive turquoise copper walls are quite hideous - and that’s coming from someone who quite likes teal.

I also have no idea why TfW don’t programme the three screens on the concourse properly. One shows about 3 departures, one shows about 3 arrivals and the other just says ‘Welcome to Chester’. Surely they could be programmed more efficiently?

I quite like the island platform as it’s spacious and has better waiting facilities (arguably still a bit on the small side) though the signage for platforms 5 and 6 could be better. The toilets on the island platform are a bit grim though and need replacing and maintaining properly.

I don’t think there’s much wrong with the CIS screens on the platforms personally - they’re the same ones Avanti have at their stations. Announcements are often lacking though as TfW seem to have silenced delay and cancellations from automatically playing and the system isn’t very good at announcing through trains.

I also don’t mind the cafes and find they offer a fair amount of choice but a small pub would be a good option.

 

[VideozVideoz]

I quite like the station, but the footbridge does get a bit busy. Are there any old subways that could be opened up I wonder ?

The footbridge is quirky because people coming up from the west side of platform 5, meet people head on coming up from the barriers. And then the ppl coming from the barriers then have to cut across through a gap in the railings to access the stairs that lead to the east side of platform 5. Hard to explain, you have to visit it.

 

[Bevan Price]

I quite like the station, but the footbridge does get a bit busy. Are there any old subways that could be opened up I wonder ?

No - I don't remember any subways, but there used to be three footbridges, the existing one, plus one at the east end, and another at the west end which also connected to the long-gone exit to Hoole Road.

 

[yorksrob]

The footbridge is quirky because people coming up from the west side of platform 5, meet people head on coming up from the barriers. And then the ppl coming from the barriers then have to cut across through a gap in the railings to access the stairs that lead to the east side of platform 5. Hard to explain, you have to visit it.

No - I don't remember any subways, but there used to be three footbridges, the existing one, plus one at the east end, and another at the west end which also connected to the long-gone exit to Hoole Road.

So there's room for another footbridge perhaps.

 

[507020]

Will this actually be a significant upgrade, or just an undoing of successive downgrades which the station has suffered since nationalisation? There is certainly space for an extra island platform at the expense of some of the sidings, but would it be better to improve some of the facilities on the existing platforms?

I haven’t got the longest list of complaints about the station. The toilets seem adequate but the gate line is definitely too narrow and what I have to say is that when attempting to navigate the station for the first time, it was quite difficult to find anything. All I want to know is what was where the double arrow now is on the frontage before that symbol was devised, but how does this project compare to those at e.g. Stalybridge/Huddersfield as part of TRU?

 

[jamieh27]

The ‘Waiting room’ on platform 3 is so small, it’s laughable. I think it has about 3 seats in it!

It’s a messy station that has been butchered through the years unfortunately. The massive turquoise copper walls are quite hideous - and that’s coming from someone who quite likes teal.

I also have no idea why TfW don’t programme the three screens on the concourse properly. One shows about 3 departures, one shows about 3 arrivals and the other just says ‘Welcome to Chester’. Surely they could be programmed more efficiently?

I quite like the island platform as it’s spacious and has better waiting facilities (arguably still a bit on the small side) though the signage for platforms 5 and 6 could be better. The toilets on the island platform are a bit grim though and need replacing and maintaining properly.

I don’t think there’s much wrong with the CIS screens on the platforms personally - they’re the same ones Avanti have at their stations. Announcements are often lacking though as TfW seem to have silenced delay and cancellations from automatically playing and the system isn’t very good at announcing through trains.

I also don’t mind the cafes and find they offer a fair amount of choice but a small pub would be a good option.

Yes TfW seems to have no delay or cancellation announcements, not sure if its to do with Ruth being replaced soon. Chester is a good station but does need better facailities.

 

[JD2168]

Chester when I used it last year was okay the gate area seemed a little cramped for a well used station. The footbridge steps seemed a little bit steep & could have with being wider overall for the amount of passengers. The information office seemed in a strange place would have expected it to be near the gate area.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Chester when I used it last year was okay the gate area seemed a little cramped for a well used station. The footbridge steps seemed a little bit steep & could have with being wider overall for the amount of passengers. The information office seemed in a strange place would have expected it to be near the gate area.

That's because the station used to be a lot more open, but barriers went up in various places as well as the gate line, separating the "paid" and "unpaid" areas, and putting the lifts in the "paid" section.
The ticket office went in the larger area at the east end of the concourse, and has an excess fare ticket window on P3. It's also where the bike racks are, and access to the east car park through the side entrance.
Then they put a useless set of shops in between the ATMs and the ticket office.
I mean who needs a betting shop on a station?
There did used to be a pub in the main building near Costa, don't know if it survived Covid.

 

[The Prisoner]

The Town Crier over the road isn't terrible, but not the best beer choice.

The gate line is a farce and I am glad it is being upgraded - when a London train does bother to arrive (hi Avanti), or if a Merseyrail arrives at the same time as a TfW the 4/5 gates can't cope and the staff open them and wave everyone through. Can't be great for revenue protection.

The PIS are really poor, so an upgrade very welcome.

I really do think using P4 for Merseyrail arrivals (it has a third rail) as well as P7 would help operationally as the arriving ME services can wait 5 minutes plus outside the station for the next Liverpool service to clear the platform. p4 only has a couple of services an hour at best (often only one) so could be used for this. Connectivity to Liverpool is excellent.

Biggest shame is how poorly Chester is served other than Liverpool. For a regional centre and tourist destination you have a limited choice of destinations reachable by a succession of two and three car DMUs, plus a wholly unreliable Avanti service that occasionally makes it to London.

The services to Leeds were a step in the right direction, but take twice as long as driving.

Ah for the days of a Holyhead to Newcastle service properly connecting the city to the North.

 

[childwallblues]

Yes the gateline is too narrow considering the amount of passengers going through. Planners forget that every oap in Merseyside gets free travel by train to Chester and lots of them take advantage.

 

[Sheridan]

I really do think using P4 for Merseyrail arrivals (it has a third rail) as well as P7 would help operationally as the arriving ME services can wait 5 minutes plus outside the station for the next Liverpool service to clear the platform. p4 only has a couple of services an hour at best (often only one) so could be used for this. Connectivity to Liverpool is excellent.

I don’t think platform 4 does have third rail. And its usage varies greatly throughout the day, some hours it may only have two services booked, others as many as 5.

 

[jamesst]

The Town Crier over the road isn't terrible, but not the best beer choice.

The gate line is a farce and I am glad it is being upgraded - when a London train does bother to arrive (hi Avanti), or if a Merseyrail arrives at the same time as a TfW the 4/5 gates can't cope and the staff open them and wave everyone through. Can't be great for revenue protection.

The PIS are really poor, so an upgrade very welcome.

I really do think using P4 for Merseyrail arrivals (it has a third rail) as well as P7 would help operationally as the arriving ME services can wait 5 minutes plus outside the station for the next Liverpool service to clear the platform. p4 only has a couple of services an hour at best (often only one) so could be used for this. Connectivity to Liverpool is excellent.

Biggest shame is how poorly Chester is served other than Liverpool. For a regional centre and tourist destination you have a limited choice of destinations reachable by a succession of two and three car DMUs, plus a wholly unreliable Avanti service that occasionally makes it to London.

The services to Leeds were a step in the right direction, but take twice as long as driving.

Ah for the days of a Holyhead to Newcastle service properly connecting the city to the North.

Platform 4 has no live rail im afraid, its been an aspiration ever since the line was electrified but so far has come to nothing.

 

[sefyllian]

Full plans are here. Some fairly minor changes really. Gateline is expanded and parallel to platform rather than diagonal, and new ticket desks under the stairs (which will block the archway entrance sometimes used when the station’s really busy). Plus some changes to toilets, waiting rooms and staff areas. Also looks like the bookies and current travel centre are merged to create a single larger “retail space”.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A TVM on the inside of the gateline? That's interesting. I assume it will be set up to ease issue from a different origin and replace the excess fares window?

 

[zwk500]

A TVM on the inside of the gateline? That's interesting. I assume it will be set up to ease issue from a different origin and replace the excess fares window?

It's not a new concept, MKC has one on the footbridge for people who've arrived from non-barrier stations (or gatelines left open) to purchase a ticket for the gates. It saved me once when I picked up the wrong smartcard, although I have no doubt it sells a disproportionately high number of Bletchley-MKC tickets.

 

[sefyllian]

A TVM on the inside of the gateline? That's interesting. I assume it will be set up to ease issue from a different origin and replace the excess fares window?

The new ticket office (on right of image above) seems to have windows on both sides of the gateline so presumably also available there instead of the current window.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The new ticket office (on right of image above) seems to have windows on both sides of the gateline so presumably also available there instead of the current window.

Does it? I'm not sure that "office room" is a sales window, just a dispatcher's office or similar? Not to say there won't be a ticket machine sat on the desk in there.

 

[zwk500]

I really do think using P4 for Merseyrail arrivals (it has a third rail) as well as P7 would help operationally as the arriving ME services can wait 5 minutes plus outside the station for the next Liverpool service to clear the platform. p4 only has a couple of services an hour at best (often only one) so could be used for this. Connectivity to Liverpool is excellent.

Personally I think better value would be to create an inset bay at the west end of P7, like at Birmingham New Street. 7 is currently c.300m long, so a 4-car with stopping margin 3 times fits quite nicely. If any Chester-Manchester services are longer there's always the bays.

 

[Sheridan]

A TVM on the inside of the gateline? That's interesting. I assume it will be set up to ease issue from a different origin and replace the excess fares window?

There’s already a TVM inside the gateline, by the excess fares window.