New train station planned for Rochester

A new station for residents in Rochester could help improve train services.

Network Rail plans to move the current station to a new site to allow more passengers to use the station, and allow for a more reliable, quicker service.

The current station, just off Rochester High Street, has few car parking spaces and platforms that can only accommodate 10-carriage trains.

With regeneration on Rochester Riverside already underway, passenger numbers are expected to rise by 30% over the next few years, meaning the current station will be inadequate to support the growing population.

Addressing these figures, Network Rail have proposed to move the current station to Corporation Road Car Park as part of a £25million investment in rail infrastructure.

With more car parking spaces and longer platforms accommodating for 12-carriage and more passengers, it is hoped the plan will prove a hit with the local council and local people.

Councillor Rodney Chambers, Medway Council Leader and Regeneration Lead, said: “If this proposal gets the go ahead it will lead to a new, better train station for Rochester

“It will result in a quicker, more reliable service with more space for passengers,” he added.

The station would be closer to the main town centre then the current station, with a new subway planned to link the station to the shopping parade. Train users would also benefit from being closer to the main bus routes running through the town.

If approved, the station would take up 1/3 of the land on Corporation Road, and would be scheduled to open in 2015.

It is believed Network Rail will submit a planning application for the proposals later this year.

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia