Osborne complete £10million upgrade of Dartford Station for Network Rail

Osborne has completed a major upgrade of Dartford railway station in Kent, providing a new state-of-the-art transport interchange serving three million people a year.

The new, three-storey station incorporates a new ticket office, retail outlets, improved passenger facilities and staff accommodation. Osborne has been working on this upgrade since it was initiated by Network Rail in September 2011.

The work that was undertaken consisted of the construction of the new station building, extending and strengthening all four platforms and rewiring and relighting the existing station.

Improved facilities for customers include retail stores and new ground floor toilets, as well as new waiting facilities on platforms one and two. Other new passenger facilities include automatic ticket gates, display boards, three ticket counters, additional parking bays, extended canopies over platforms one and two and new weather shields on platforms three and four. The opportunity was also taken to carry out landscaping works to the grounds outside the station.

John Dowsett, Osborne Delivery Director said: “This brand new station environment with its modern facilities will help make rail travel a more pleasant experience for the local community. Rail passengers in Dartford will benefit from the vastly improved facilities that this investment in the town’s railway station has delivered.”

A Network Rail Spokesman said: “This station is a fantastic contrast to what came before and provides a great first impression of the town. We are really pleased with the design, which puts it among the best-looking stations in Britain, and it gives a step-change in facilities for passengers and also staff.”