Apology as station revamp drags on

Contractors moved into Rotherham’s central station in July 2010 as part of an £8.5m scheme to improve access to the platforms and create what councillors said would be a gateway to the town.

The station has remained open during the work, but there are a number of restrictions for passengers, particularly disabled people, who have to travel out of their way because of limited access.

At present, people with disabilities have to travel to Meadowhall, which has full disabled access, to catch services heading south.

The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), which is funding improvements, apologised for the delay.

The project was due to be completed in December 2010, but yesterday managers said the work will not be completed until at least the autumn.

Blueprints for the station showed new lighting, CCTV, a new waiting room, passenger information screens, a ticket office and shop as well as improved access for disabled passengers.

SYPTE customer experience director David Young said: “It is taking longer than what we want and for that I apologise, but the difficulty was taking forward this exciting project in a live railway environment.”

The transport executive said any additional costs from the project overrunning would be met by the contractors.

SYPTE had been given help from regeneration bodies to finance the scheme, with Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) both contributing towards the £8.5m cost.

Rotherham Council has also contributed to the improvements of the canal area close to the station, and links are planned to the new football stadium which was recently given planning consent.