Strood’s new railway station has officially opened today (December 11th) as part of Medway Council’s plans to regenerate the area.
The new station has a bright modern design with a much larger booking hall, a new waiting room and better facities for passengers.
New railway station for Strood
The new station building with a new ticket hall, a better retail offer and a new forecourt to signficantly improve the customer experience, is part of a £2.59 million upgrade and is the first new station building delivered by Southeastern.
The new station is part of a town centre regeneration project in receipt of a £9million Local Growth Fund allocation, care of South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), and the National Station Improvement Programme (NSIP) which saw Rochester station open in it’s new capacity in 2015.
A place for growth
Strood lies within the Thames Gateway, a designated area for the growth of new communities, with Medway highlighted in the Delivery Plan as a strategic location for investment.
In early 2014 Medway Council put together a package of schemes, part of a Local Enterprise Partnerships bid for the governments Local Growth Fund (LGF). A total of £68.1million was granted to the Kent and Medway.
£28.6million was allocated for six successful Medway schemes and DfT approved a business case submission for Strood, with a an allocation of £9m:
Chatham Town Centre and Public Realm Package (£4m LGF)
A289 Four Elms Roundabout to Medway Tunnel Journey Time and Network Improvements (£11.1m LGF)
Medway City Estate Connectivity Improvement Measures (£2.0m LGF)
Medway Cycling Action Plan (£2.5m LGF)
Strood Town Centre Journey Time and Accessibility Enhancements (£9.0m LGF)