28.08.20
New train maintenance facility to be built in Kent
Balfour Beatty have begun demolition work at the old Chart Leacon depot in Ashford, which closed in 2014, to make room for a new train maintenance facility.
The new facility is set to include five new railway sidings, where trains can be stored and undergo light maintenance.
50 new jobs will be directly created in the town alongside various other indirect jobs associated with activities on the site.
Along with the sidings to store trains, Network Rail is also building offices and other facilities for staff.
Previous employees at the site, which opened back in 1961, when electric trains began running to Ashford, were given exclusive tours of the depot before the work formally started.
One of the visitors was 95-year-old Jim Skinner, who started on the site in 1961 in the very first intake of staff. He got to sit in his old office for one last time.
Network Rail Southern Region’s Investment Director Paul Harwood said: “Although it may seem strange to be talking about improving the capacity of the railway during COVID, we know the passenger numbers will grow again and this is a great opportunity for us to build for the future.
“Before COVID we were running more trains than ever before and one of the aspects we are really short of in Kent and South East London is places to keep them and look after them when they’re not running. By purchasing the whole site at Chart Leacon, as well as building five new sidings, we’re not only helping run a more reliable railway for today, but safeguarding the site for future railway use.”
Images: Network Rail