30 December 2014
NEW NETWORK RAIL STRUCTURE A 'PERMANENT BLIGHT' ON PERTH STATION
Transform Scotland nominates Perth Station footbridge for 'Zit Building' prize at The Carbuncle Awards
Transform Scotland [1] have today (Tues 30 Dec) announced its nomination of the new footbridge at Perth Railway Station for the Zit Building Award in this year’s Carbuncle Awards. [2]
Paul Tetlaw, Transform Scotland's rail campaigner, said:
"It’s an off-the-shelf structure that has desecrated the station environment, imposed from London by ‘standards bound’ Network Rail designers and has no fit with the largely Victorian surroundings. To add insult to injury, it’s virtually unused, as the alternatives within the station building are vastly more convenient for the overwhelming majority of passengers.
"This tacky and inappropriate new structure is thought to have cost in excess of £1m – money which would better have been spent on opening a new station in nearby Newburgh, which has none, with cash left over for a feasibility study of recreating a direct Perth-Edinburgh link, as advocated by our Inter-City Express campaign.” [3]
Paul Tetlaw continued:
“The new structure also causes inconvenience for passengers when the weather is poor. Because it partly obscures the platform-end signal, trains now stop much further along the platform nearer the footbridge, which means that a large part of a 3-car train is now beyond the roof canopy of Perth station – so on wet days, everyone tries to cram into the coach still under the canopy, sometimes causing delays to train departures.
"Lessons need to learnt from this sorry episode, which will permanently blight the Perth Station environment. Planners should be realistic in what they can expect in a working, albeit listed, railway station, and Network Rail has to be more responsive to local circumstances in its treatment of listed structures."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Transform Scotland
Transform Scotland is the national sustainable transport alliance, bringing together rail, bus and shipping operators, local authorities, national environment and conservation groups, businesses and local transport groups - see <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/members.aspx> for details.
[2] Carbuncle Awards Submission
See <http://www.urbanrealm.com/carbuncles/2014/nominations/6/The_Zit_Building_Award.html>
[3] Inter-City Express Campaign
See <www.transformscotland.org.uk/intercityexpress>
END OF NEWS RELEASE