Acocks Green Station Update

Work continues on the lift installation at the station, with the start of work to build the bridge out from the existing building and the tower blockwork starting to go in.

Acocks Green Station Lifts Update

Final designs for the lift installation at Acocks Green are now on display at the station. The roof caps have been changed to pitched, the towers are slightly lower, the panelling on the side is a little less 'silo-like' and there is good visibility across the whole length of the walkway because the sides are glazed. Apparently been a real challenge to find glazing that would meet the design brief and satisfy the tough safety demands of Network Rail.

The floor plans show the station now (top) and on completion. The new access to the walkway is on the right hand side as you come into the building, between the stairs to the car park and the booking office machines.

The need was amply demonstrated as I got off the train - helped a mother up the stairs with her pushchair. She can't wait for the work to be completed. 

It looks as though the steelwork will arrive on site during July and work will continue across the summer with completion in September. There will be delays as some of the work depends on having the tracks beneath taken out of service. This has been one of the causes of delay so far, as the Chiltern Line has been a diversionary route for other lines and gaining possession hasn't been without problems. 

Hopefully, things should pick up pace now. 

Incidentally, in answer to a question earlier - the lifts are 16-person lifts with walk through access, so they are perfectly capable of taking a bike, should you wish to. 

Also, two dates for the diary for residents immediately around the site. The heavy work of installing the foundations and the piledriving is all complete, but on the 17th and 26th of July, the steel sections are scheduled for installation and that will involve night work and a big crane. The noise will be nothing like that of the foundation work, but there will be some. 

Acocks Green Station Update

I've just dropped by the consultation session on lift installation planned for Acocks Green station and I can now add an artist's impression of what you will see from the roadside. Two caveats on this - firstly, the facing is brick in this picture, which has been ruled out of the finished article on the grounds of cost (CENTRO are cutting back as well). Secondly, the pitched roof style is much more in keeping with the design of the station rather than the curved design shown in the other artist's impression - although the design drawings have a third plan - a flat roof with a fall to allow water to run off.

There is also the point that the photo on which the design is based is taken from a low angle on the opposite side of the road, minimising the visual impact from this quarter view. From the design drawings, the top of the towers are slightly above the level of the pitch roof of the two "wings" of the station building, but not above the height of the central pitched roof. In reality, the only visibility of the towers is going to be from station/car park level or from the brief quarter views approaching the station along Yardley Road - they will be invisible from the front of the station.

The walkways are glazed and uncovered, to ensure visibility and the whole arrangement is covered by CCTV cameras to improve security - so much as we can expect since the station staffing was slashed.

The towers are available in a range of colours - the grey has been chosen as a relatively unobtrusive colour for the flat metal facing. While I was there, there were certainly mixed views over the design, although most people who attended seemed to think that the addition of lifts was the most important aspect of this development. I've asked that CENTRO look at fitting the pitched roof shown on the top picture, as this would chime nicely with the existing roof of the station and they have undertaken to look into that. It is a particularly affordable solution, as the towers are largely pre-fabricated and can be installed with the minimum of track possession required. The height allows clearance of existing trackside lighting, but also for any potential future electrification of the line.

Acocks Green Station Access Improvements On Track

Here's an artist's impression of the new lift access towers for Acocks Green station, as the improvement plans start to move into delivery, as promised over a year ago (and it does bear a striking resemblance to the towers installed at Selly Oak. It may have taken seven years to get it done, but we're finally on the way.

The project is expected to start on-site in December and completion is due in Spring 2014. The design provides for step-free access from the car park and the booking hall through to the platforms - ideal for those with mobility problems, prams and wheelchairs.

CENTRO advise that the station should remain open throughout the work, although there may be minor problems when some of the heavy lifting or plant installation work is carried out - advance warning will be given for that. Similarly, although most work will be carried out during the normal working day, there may also be a need to work at weekends or overnight and this will also be advised to local residents who might be affected.

On Tuesday 26 November, between 3:30pm and 6pm, there will be a team from London Midland, CENTRO, Network Rail and the contractors (J Murphy & Sons) at the station to show plans and answer any queries that you might have. You can also contact Network Rail on 08457 11 41 41 if you have any questions or concerns.

Acocks Green Railway Station

A very interesting meeting yesterday afternoon with representatives from CENTRO and Mott Macdonald, who have been retained as consultants on the project to improve the accessibility at Acocks Green Station under the long running Access for All programme, which was an initiative of the last Labour government. Since the original proposals back in 2007, the scheme has undergone some delays and they now at the stage where they are ready to put a preferred option to Network Rail for approval. I'm grateful to Julia at the Acocks Green Focus Group for arranging this meeting and there were a number of interested participants there, including members of the Arden Road residents' group and the Acocks Green Neighbourhood Forum.

Sadly, I can't bring you pictures of the designs, but I'll try to summarise them.

Acocks Green station - street frontage

Option 1 proposed putting a lift into the main station building, just behind the street door that leads down to the platform (on the left of the picture), with the shaft dropping down to a platform extended under the station building and the lift requiring users to turn right in the lift to exit to platform level. There would be a new lift tower dropping straight down beside the stairs to the car park and the existing roof line would be disrupted over the platform lift as well, to house the machinery. The left hand entrance would be bricked up and there would be a 'pinch point' for users of the stair case.

This option would require closure of the station for some weeks and would also have to be done at times when the contractors could take 'possession' of the line to allow them to work safely when no trains were running, which would mean a good deal of expensive overnight working.

Although superficially attractive, this wouldn't be in keeping with attempts to preserve the street scene with a conservation area. Further, the risks involved with the construction - Victorian buildings like this were not built to modern structural standards and the work involved underneath the station building would entail quite high risks.The 'pinch point' at the top of the stairs was also a problem, as it would funnel users through a narrowed entrance and would be a hefty change for existing users of the station.

Acocks Green station - view of platform & car park

Option 2 would install a new crossing, with a lift tower rising from the car park just beyond the end of the existing stairs (shown to the right) and a footbridge across to a new tower on the platform, again just at the end of the existing stairs. There would also be a new walkway running out from the station building to join the car park tower allowing access from the road level.

The advantages of this is that it would not require closure of the station and the least possible disruption to passenger use. Effectively, much of the tower work is pre-fabricated and installed to the site as an item. There would be no effect on the street scene, as the only changes to the existing building would be to build a new exit out of the rear of the building to the lift tower. It would preserve the most attractive part of the station - the ticket office building and the platform level has already been updated with modern furniture, so the new additions would not be out of keeping with that part of the station.

Lift and footbridge at Canterbury West

These two pictures to the left show similar constructions already in use - but I would stress that this is for illustration only. No final design has been prepared.

Lifts and footbridge at Selly Oak station

Option 3 was actually the original proposal submitted back in 2007 and would require some fairly hefty reconstruction, with passengers entering the station as now through the street exits and all being directed to a new bridge walkway constructed on the rear of the building with a lift down to the platform at the end or a right turn down onto a new flight of uncovered stairs. Similarly, there would be new stairs built on the car park side, wrapped around a new lift tower. This would also require a long term closure of the station - for up to 14 weeks and would be dependent on line access as well. There would also be the same concerns about integrating with the existing Victorian build as with Option 1. Also, this option does not now have support from either Network Rail or London Midland.

The preferred option is the second one, with the new build directly onto the platforms. While the meeting was in agreement that this was the best of the three, there were a number of issues raised about the finish of the towers - should they be distinctive and modern, to demonstrate the best of how the Victorians built for rail and how we do it in 2012 or should an attempt be made to keep them in the same style as the current building? Should the bridges be open, enclosed or glazed, with the implications for cost and user safety? The current plans envisage either open or enclosed walkways, although we are assured that these will be 'winterised' to cope with bad weather.

The final design is yet to be prepared and I intend to ask the contractors to return to talk to us - probably at a Ward Committee meeting - prior to submitting a planning application. I've stressed that getting public support would be beneficial, as we are lucky enough to have a number of local groups that take a real interest in the development of our area.

The next steps is for CENTRO/Mott McDonald to submit this outline to Network Rail for approval, which should be completed by August 2012. The proposals will then be put out to competitive tender and the project should have a contractor and detailed plans prepared for submission to Birmingham City Council by around Spring 2013, with construction likely in late 2013 or early 2014. Work has to be completed by May 2014.

Whatever happens, I'll keep you up to speed on how things progress.