Peckham Rye station forecourt upgrade underway

Work has begun to demolish a decrepit building outside Peckham Rye station to create a more welcoming entrance to the station.

According to Network Rail “a ‘hidden’ corner of Peckham Rye station’s booking hall will be revealed for the first time in 30 years as part of the major works, creating more space for customers in what is becoming an increasingly busy station – one of the busiest interchanges in south London.

The main ticket vending machine will then be relocated into this corner of the booking hall, previously containing cash machines, creating more space for passengers in the Booking Hall and paving the way for further improvements over the next 12 months including additional station entrance doors and more ticket gates.

Work will begin in June to install foundations for a future replica of the station canopy that was removed in 1961. This work is being completed ahead of Southwark’s Council separate work to install the surface of their new public square in front of the station.

Passengers will also benefit this summer from additional information screens that will be located further along the platform on platforms 1 and 2 that will encourage passengers to use the full length of the platform to make journeys easier and reduce crowding on board trains.

Next year, Network Rail will resolve some narrow sections on platform 3 and 4 and refurbish the platform canopies, creating more space and improving the environment for passengers waiting for trains.”

Cut backs

It all sounds very nice in the press release (cut and pasted by your usual London outlets) though what they or NR don’t mention is that a larger project to install step-free access at the busiest station in the whole country without it was recently cut by this government.

That project would have been transformative but the DfT under Reeves and the Treasury blocked it last year. It’d been in the works for years and the Tories were set to go ahead with it.

And still this government wonder why they’re losing seats left, right and centre. Less pro-public transport than the Tories.

Comment

As for the shit hole now coming down I for one won’t miss it – or at least how its been for the past 30 years.

I still have vivid memories of arriving at the station when aged 14. After going downstairs the only way out was through the grotty old building, where four boys about my age clocked me. An utter bleak space tailor made for jacking people.

I knew I was going to be robbed (I’m from an estate and know the score. I’m no muppet on that front having been around similar scenarios for years) and had to leg it upstairs when they all started to approach and chased. Another train approached and I jumped on ending up miles out of the way.

I’ve been back more than a few times  since through the building and it’s always a shit-tip. I’m sure some will moan but maybe the same people who whinge should have looked after it?

Then again it’s often wealthy people who bemoan changes though never grew up in places where you were regularly likely to be robbed as a kid and have zero experience of the place outside of their own comfortable bubbles so I treat their comments with more than a healthy distain.

I’ve little time for people who cosplay as poor and complain but have zero life experience and treat everything as a jolly old experience. And God knows Peckham is full of them.

So bring the dump down and make a better place where people can approach and leave the station through a half decent place. One where if you are likely to be robbed you still have a few exits anyway.