New Wickford station building to be built from September four years after original was demolished

Construction of a new station building at Wickford is due to begin in September, four years after the previous building was demolished.

The structure at Wickford, on the line between London Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria, was pulled down in 2021 so the bay platform could be extended an accommodate five-car Class 720 EMUs on the Southminster branch.

Since then, customers at the Essex station have had to use temporary buildings, but a replacement containing a ticket office, toilets, waiting room and platform awning is due to be completed by autumn 2026.

The appointment of a contractor was announced in March, before Greater Anglia confirmed timescales on May 12.

The operator’s Infrastructure and Projects Director, Andrew Goodrum, said: “We are pleased to confirm the planned timescales for the Wickford station upgrade scheme and look forward to delivering the improvements for customers and the local community."

GA had cited COVID and wider funding challenges for the delay to replace the original building which has led to frustration from locals including Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois (Conservative).

Earlier this year Francois expressed his frustration with the project, saying there had been close to “three years of endless excuses, missed deadlines and broken promises” and that he was losing faith with the operator’s management.

However, he was now “delighted” work would soon be starting.

“I spent three years lobbying to get this project underway and I am very pleased that, working with Greater Anglia, we are now going to produce a station with a ticket office fit for the 21st century. This is what my constituents fully deserve,” he said.

The new buildings at Wickford won’t contain a footbridge with lifts, although the plans make provision to allow for the future installation of lifts to get over the footbridge.

“A number of my constituents have contacted me to express their dismay that the proposed design does not include wheelchair-accessible facilities, such that people would still need to negotiate the old footbridge to reach the London-bound platforms,” Francois said in the House of Commons.

He said GA had previously applied for an Access for All grant but was unsuccessful.

Francois added: “While such facilities would clearly be desirable, especially for my disabled constituents, given all the previous delays to the project, the absolute priority must be getting the rebuild under way. If we could eventually achieve full disabled access, that would be the icing on the cake.”

Responding in Parliament earlier this year, transport minister Simon Lightwood said the changes at Wickford were essential but recognised the frustration over the amount of time taken to replace the station building.

On accessibility, he added: “The plans for Wickford station improvements also make provision to allow for the future installation of lifts; any future funding would, of course, be subject to the ongoing spending review.”