£1m revamp for Bishop Auckland Station (From The Northern Echo)

£1m revamp for Bishop Auckland Station

6:37pm Monday 1st March 2010

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Bishop Auckland Station is in line for a £1m upgrade under budget proposals agreed by Durham County Council.

The ageing station, which will see a dramatic rise in through traffic with new passenger and freight services coming from the Weardale Railway, is one of a number of key regeneration projects identified by the authority at its budget setting meeting last week.

Built in 1986, the station building has no waiting room, toilet or ticket office.

In December, Bishop Auckland residents formed a voluntary trust to campaign for better facilities, while the Heritage Line Community Rail Partnership and Bishop Auckland Town Council are also looking for improvements.

Visitors to a proposed eco village at Eastgate would pass through the station, while many more thousands of rail fans could travel the line between the Weardale Railway and Locomotion: the National Railway Museum at Shildon, County Durham.

Bishop Auckland councillor Sam Zair welcomed the upgrade. He said: "The station is the first place people see when they come to Bishop Auckland and it needs to create a good impression.

"It is time we spent some money offering modern facilities for passengers."

Councillor Rob Yorke, chairman of the Enterprise Agency for Wear Valley and Teesdale, said: "This is all part of moves to regenerate Bishop Auckland and the wider area. It is positive for all businesses in the town."

A County Council spokesperson said: "For the station to play the important role we want it to play, we will work with rail industry partners and the newly appointed Community Rail Partnership officer to develop a detailed spending plan for the £1m investment.

"It is anticipated at this stage that improvements in both the line and facilities at the station building itself, including an expansion of platform provision, would be required to bring the station up to required standards.

"With the right action plan we would hope Bishop Auckland will be one of the many communities to benefit, in time, from the prospect of jobs at the Eastgate Renewable Energy Village in Weardale and the many other employment and tourism opportunities the Heritage Line can offer."

The council agreed a council tax rise of 1.9 per cent, its lowest increase in a decade.

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