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£1.2 million improvements at Newark Northgate station




Newark MP, Robert Jenrick and Managing Director for Virgin Trains East Coast, Mr David Horne
Newark MP, Robert Jenrick and Managing Director for Virgin Trains East Coast, Mr David Horne

A plaque has been unveiled to celebrate a total of £1.2 million worth of improvements at Newark Northgate train station.

It was unveiled by Mr David Horne, managing director for Virgin Trains on the east coast and Newark MP, Mr Robert Jenrick.

The latest improvement that has recently been completed at the station is a brand new forecourt which provides parking spaces for short stays, a waiting area only, a new bus stop with digital displays and a taxi rank.

The car park has also been completely resurfaced with more disabled spaces and number plate recognition technology.

They have cost around £500,000 to be completed.

Work was started on the forecourt in late September, 2017, and has taken around 6 months to complete.

It follows other improvements that have been carried out including a new bicycle hub, a refurbished customer information office and wifi accessibility throughout the station.

Mr Horne said: "It has brought the whole area up to date and provides a better gateway to Newark.

"The improvements provide the standard which customers are looking for and gives them a more attractive station and a warm welcome to the town.

"We have already had some positive feedback and it makes the pain customer's have had to endure while the work was being carried out all worth it."

Newark MP, Mr Jenrick, said: "Newark Northgate is absolutely essential to the local economy and has been now for over 100 years.

"I'm delighted to see the improvements that have created a much smarter and safer environment for the hundreds of thousands of people who use the station every year as a gateway to the town and further afield such as Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire."

Mr Horne said all of the work that had been carried out along the East Coast route, including the work at Newark, is to prepare for the arrival of the Virgin Azuma trains which are set to launch later this year.

The Azuma trains are set to boost capacity and reduce journey times along the main route.

Work has already begun on the trains in Japan and they will be built at Hitachi's factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

They will completely replace the existing trains on the route.

The fleet will provide an extra 12,200 seats and provide a faster, more reliable and more economically friendly service for passengers.

Virgin East Coast trains claim that up to 22 minutes will be cut from some journeys as they will accelerate from 0-125mph around a minute quicker than current trains.

The word Azuma is the Japanese translation of "east".

Mr Horne said: "The work we are carrying out here and along the whole of the East Coast line really represents the effort we are putting in to improve the experience for all of our customers.

"As a daily user of Newark station myself I'm personally delighted with the improvements as I'm sure our customers are."



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