Train operator c2c has submitted multi-million pound plans to revamp Barking station – taking it back to a previous design.
Trenitalia-owned c2c announced its plans to transform the rail hub on Thursday with a promise to deliver substantial benefits for passengers and residents.
It expects the proposals to provide increased capacity for growing numbers of passengers, reduce existing congestion, and celebrate the architectural heritage of the only Grade II-listed 1950s railway station in London.
c2c managing director, Julian Drury, said: “We now intend to restore the modern Barking station to its former glory.”
Construction could begin as early as October if the plans get the thumbs up from Barking and Dagenham Council planning chiefs.
Proposed improvements in the multi-million pound scheme, designed by the architects Weston Williamson and Partners, include a complete redesign of the station’s concourse.
This would see construction of a second row of gates with six extra added – a 75 per cent increase which c2c said will ease peak-time queues for passengers. The additional gates return the design to how it was when the station was rebuilt between 1959 and 1961.
The plans would also see a doubling of the size of the station entrances aimed at improving the flow of people into the station and connecting the station more fully with Station Parade.
Original architectural features at the Grade II-listed station – which was reopened by the Queen in 1961 – are also set for a spruce up if the plans are approved.
Other changes include increased shop space, new station toilets and the station’s lift being renewed.
Mr Drury, said: “These are our plans for a much-needed transformation that delivers economic, social and heritage benefits to both passengers and local residents.
“They will improve capacity, ease current congestion and deliver better facilities for customers.
“With so much growth planned in the borough and the new railway link being built to Barking Riverside, this will create the 21st-Century station the town requires.”
He added that the original design of Barking station reflected the flagship Roma Termini station in central Rome and thanked the Italian owners for the investment.
c2c has also submitted an application to the Department for Transport’s Access for All fund for a separate station improvement scheme that would see the installation of additional lifts to platforms.
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