Rail station waiting rooms in Essex refurbished

A programme to upgrade rail station waiting rooms on the Greater Anglia network saw three in Essex refurbished last year.

Greater Anglia spent £190,000 on improving waiting rooms at Audley End, Cheshunt and Tottenham Hale to improve accessibility and make them more comfortable for passengers while they wait for trains.

Each waiting room has received new seating, flooring, and redecoration throughout as well as more energy efficient heating and air conditioning.

Wide automatic doors have also been installed at Tottenham Hale and Audley End to help make the waiting rooms more easily accessible for those with mobility issues, pushchairs and luggage.

They also offer passengers the opportunity to charge laptops and mobile phones and work while they wait using the stations’ free fast Wi-Fi.

Each waiting room also benefits from new information screens and state of the art CCTV thanks to a network-wide technology upgrade carried out by the train operator last year.

Simone Bailey, Greater Anglia’s Asset Management Director, said, “The aim was to deliver more accessible, comfortable waiting rooms and better facilities for our customers to improve their experience of travelling by rail and to encourage passengers to return once the current pandemic restrictions end.”

“Investing in upgrades to stations across the network is extremely important to Greater Anglia, demonstrating our commitment to providing excellent facilities and service to our customers.”

Current Government advice is to stay at home unless you need to travel for permitted reasons including work and medical appointments.

Greater Anglia continues to ensure that rail travel is safe for staff and passengers with an enhanced cleaning regime, on stations and trains, concentrating on high-touch areas such as push buttons, grab rails and door handles.

The train operator has also introduced a wide range of measures to make it easier for customers to maintain social distancing at stations and on trains – including floor markings, one-way systems, new signs and queuing systems.

It is now mandatory for customers to wear a face covering when using public transport, to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. Children under the age of 11 and people with a disability or illness which means they cannot wear a face covering are exempt from wearing them.

Photo credit: Greater Anglia

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