More car parking spaces for Stafford railway station

More car parking spaces for Stafford railway station

Virgin Trains in partnership with Network Rail is doubling the number of car parking spaces available for rail passengers at Stafford station. When the new car park completed it will provide an additional 272 car parking spaces. The new 522-space car park is expected to be completed in late 2010.

Work is due to start on 26 October and passengers are advised that there will be a significant reduction in existing car parking spaces to allow construction of the new car park.

Virgin Trains Station Manager for Stafford Sheila Breeze said: “we would advise that the remaining spaces in the station car park are expected to be taken by 06:00 on weekdays and would ask customers to consider using the alternative car parking facility that is being provided on Doxey Road with a regular complimentary shuttle bus linking Doxey Road car park and the railway station.”

Mrs Breeze added: “we would also urge all customers who travel to Stafford station by car to allow extra time for their journey to the station, to ensure that they are still able to catch their intended train.”

David Golding, Network Rail's Route Enhancements Manager said: "More passengers are now travelling by train than ever before and the demand for rail travel is set to continue to rise. We predict that a large proportion of these extra passengers will drive to the station, putting more strain on the car park. We need to increase the number of parking spaces to cater for this demand so, working with Virgin Trains, we are now half-way through a £90 million to transform parking at many of the stations on the west coast main line."

The shuttle bus between Doxey Road car park and the rail station will operate between 05:30 and 00:30 on weekdays and between 08:00 and 00:30 at weekends.

The work at Stafford is part of a joint project between Virgin Trains and Network Rail to improve car parking at all 17 stations on the West Coast route which are managed by Virgin Trains. The other stations involved are: Lancaster, Penrith, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Carlisle, Oxenholme, Runcorn, Crewe, Stockport, Macclesfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Preston, Wolverhampton, Birmingham International, Coventry and Rugby.

Virgin Trains and Network Rail are working closely with Passenger Focus to minimise the inconvenience to customers during the work to improve car parking at Stafford station.