GNER anounced on 14 September a £2.4 million improvement scheme which will transform facilities for passengers at Newcastle Central Station.

Work will start later this month, with completion due in January 2007. Extensive new retail and leisure facilities will form the centrepiece of the development, while a new entry point will be created to serve the fast-growing area to the west of the station.

Much of the reconstruction work will be focussed on the west end of the station, restoring accommodation which has remained empty for many years. Railway staff offices also based in the development area will be relocated to upper floors.

A new entrance from Neville Street, to the west of the existing station portico, will lead into an attractive glazed arcade. A total of eleven retail units, facing both Neville Street on the outside of the station and the main concourse on the inside, will add substantially to the range and quality of shopping and catering on offer.

New toilets will also be provided on the main concourse of the station … while existing toilets and passenger waiting rooms on platforms 3 and 4 will be upgraded. GNER chief executive officer Jonathan Metcalfe said: “We are delighted to confirm the start of work on this impressive project which will dramatically improve passenger facilities at Newcastle. Newcastle Central Station is a highly important gateway to the city and the North East region for the many thousands of rail passengers who use it each day. The improvement will mean better comfort and choice for passengers. It will create a station fit for the 21st century, whilst maintaining its proud heritage”.

Special listed building planning approval for the scheme has been granted by Newcastle City Council, after the authority was satisfied that GNER’s plans would sensitively preserve the best architectural features of the station.
Welcoming the development, Councillor Pauline Allen, Executive Member for Culture, Heritage, Libraries and Sport, said, “As well as being the first building many visitors to Newcastle see, Central Station is one of its most important.
“Ever since it was opened in 1850, having been designed by two of the city’s most important sons, John Dobson and Robert Stephenson, it has stood as a proud symbol of the City’s engineering heritage. It well deserves its Grade 1 listing and I am delighted that this sensitive project will see more of this fine building brought into public use.”

Full access to the station, travel centre, existing retailers and all platforms will be maintained throughout the construction work. A communications plan will keep station users fully updated as the scheme progresses.