Crossrail: Maidenhead railway station could see revamp works

Councillors heard at a Maidenhead town forum that Network Rail is in discussions with agencies, such as Great Western Railway (GWR) and the Department for Transport, about improvement works at the 19th-century station.

With more trains and commuters soon to be stopping off at Maidenhead because of Crossrail, it was heard an additional staircase to platforms two and three are being considered among other suggestions.

Network rail representative Louise Gurney said at the meeting on Thursday, May 12, that the station is already “congested” with a lot of pinch points and does not have “the greatest layout”.

READ MORE: Theresa May officially opens revamped Maidenhead Station's forecourt

Other works include redesigning and widening the southern entrance and a potential reconfiguration of the northern entrance layout, such as adding more gate lines.

Ms Gurney said: “We recognise, as an industry, there are some serious capacity issues at Maidenhead. Therefore, we are looking at those options to try and alleviate those issues, but at the moment, it’s a funding issue and that’s what we’re working towards to put a case forward to say that’s a real priority for passengers. We need to find the funding.”

Earlier last year, Maidenhead’s MP Theresa May opened the station’s revamped £3.75m forecourt, which saw 312 cycle storage spaces, new paved plaza, and landscaping.

The forecourt was officially opened in October 2021

The Maidenhead railway bridge could see a new lick of paint after councillors called it “shabby” and “tired” looking.

St Mary’s ward councillor Gurch Singh (Lib Dem) said: “It [the railway bridge] is ugly and it does let the borough down.” He also said the amount of bird poop below the bridge and on the railings “does not give a great impression” of the town.

However, Edward Goose, GWR’s regional growth manager, said due to budget cuts, they will need to find alternative funding sources to conduct this work. He also said if they team up with the council, funding could be made “easier”.

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He said: “If we shake enough sofas between us, we’re more likely to find stuff fall out and go together to the government to look for leverage funding to do that.”

The rail representatives also said as part of their review of the station, they will look into improving the passenger pick-up and drop-off at the forecourt as well as possibly adding or moving the current cycle storage nearer to the northern entrance to deter bicycle thieves.