Network Rail are thanking passengers from Stoke-on-Trent for their patience during the repair works on the cities Avanti West Coast managed station, after its closure due to roof damages needing urgent maintenance works.
Engineers were called to action to quickly secure loose decorative stonework above platform one and the ticket hall. These damages were found during a routine inspection on Tuesday 2nd August, leading to immediate action that saw a crane installation so structural teams could remove the ‘finials’ on the Grade II listed building.
The rapid response showed the serious health and safety risk that could have led to grievous passenger injury if left in its state. This instance has also highlighted the importance of regular, thorough station inspections to ensure passenger safety as they traverse the rail network.
The stonework in question has been removed for restoration, seeing temporary repairs being made to allow the station’s main entrance to reopen after high winds disrupted the progression of the architectural removal.
Alistair Bush, Network Rail senior asset engineer, said:
“When we discovered the loose finials, we acted as fast as we could to start the necessary repairs. I appreciate this has caused disruption to passengers accessing the station and caused platform changes, so I’d like to pay tribute to everyone for bearing with us. Stoke station is a beautiful example of railway architecture and we’re now working hard with heritage experts to make sure our repairs are done sensitively while at the same time keeping the station accessible for passengers.”
Laura Harper, Avanti West Coast station manager at Stoke-on-Trent, said:
“We would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding while Network Rail carried out urgent repairs to stonework on the station’s roof. The stonework is a heritage feature of Stoke-on-Trent station, and we’ll continue to work with Network Rail as they restore it to ensure access to the station can be maintained.”
Plans are being drawn up with heritage experts on how the permanent repairs can be conducted while causing the least disruption to trains.
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