Pokesdown Station

[Sealink]

After BCP Council.withdrew.funding for renewing the lifts (out of service for 40 years) the scheme is now going ahead.

BBC News - Pokesdown railway station to get lifts after years of campaigning - BBC News

Pokesdown railway station to get lifts after years of campaigning

Pokesdown station is to receive £2.6m from the government to part-fund the project.

www.bbc.co.uk

After years of setbacks, a railways station has finally received funding to have its lifts reinstalled.

Pokesdown Station, near AFC Bournemouth's Vitality Stadium, has been without a lift for more than 40 years and campaigners have been calling for them to be brought back since 2010.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council withdrew its support for the project last month - saying it could not justify the expense.

But Tom Hayes, MP for Bournemouth East, said he has persuaded the Treasury to part-fund the project for what he calls a "truly accessible Pokesdown station".

The £7m scheme has repeatedly stalled due to reported financial issues but a £2.6m investment from the government means work can go ahead and could be finished by 2027.

 

[Snow1964]

Pokesdown station is a 1930s rebuild by Southern Railway (hence the 1930s modern brick ticket office building). Prior to the rebuild it had an island platform.

Rebuilt 2 new outer platforms were constructed, flanked by concrete retaining walls, and I think lifts date from this time. Almost certainly they were originally for parcels etc (station didn't handle goods, was separate goods station nearer Boscombe)

The island platform was removed and 2 through centre tracks added during rebuild. These were then removed when line was resignalled (from memory in 1971 or 1972), all 4 tracks had been electrified just few years earlier.

With the fast tracks gone, the tracks had to be slewed to reduce kink and some of the platform was built out, other parts abandoned. The cutting is relatively deep and without the lifts there are long flights of stairs.

Bournemouth FC have plans to rebuild stands at their stadium which is near the station (but opposite side to the entrance). Stadium only holds 11,286 and they want to add about 9000 capacity. The current station with relatively narrow single flights of stairs to each platform wouldn't be able to cope with match crowds.

 

[Dougal2345]

There seem to be two 'safety staff' (not sure of their exact job title) on the platforms most of the time in recent years- I don't know if they're there into the late evening? If not presumably the lifts will get vandalised fairly quickly...

As an aside, what's the new two-storey building being constructed beyond the London end of the up platform?

 

[sabanda]

I hope they’re more effective at preventing vandalism than they are when it comes to giving out travel advice - I once had one rather forcefully insist that I board a train which didn’t stop at my intended destination, telling me that my original train had been cancelled. I politely declined, and said train arrived on-time a couple of minutes later.