Design for new £26m train station in Rochester unveiled - What do you think?

THIS is what Rochester's new railway station could look like.

The design for a new £26m train station in Corporation Street was unveiled by Network Rail today.

The station, due to be completed in winter 2015, will feature three platforms which will be built to accommodate trains with up to 12 carriages.

It will also include accessible toilets with baby changing facilities, cycle racks, step-free access and more car parking spaces.

The station is part of a wider £135m investment in Kent's railways by Network Rail, thought to be the biggest since the Victorian era.

The firm also plans to extend platforms at Strood station, as well as adding another platform at Rainham station. 

Network Rail's route managing director for Kent, Fiona Taylor, said: "The proposed new station will deliver a huge boost to Rochester and Medway. 

"It will provide passengers with improved facilities and give better access to the town centre and surrounding area.

"The new station will be able to accommodate longer trains than the current station, helping boost capacity and providing more seats for passengers. An integrated transport hub will provide better links to other types of public transport.

"The development will also help kick-start the wider regeneration of the Riverside area, which is an important part of the development of Rochester."

Medway Council leader and regeneration lead, Cllr Rodney Chambers, said: "If this proposal gets the go ahead it will lead to a new, better train station for Rochester which will result in a quicker, more reliable service with more space for passengers.

"Rochester – like the rest of Medway – is benefitting from regeneration and more and more people are viewing it as a place to buy a family home and commute from.

"The number of rail passengers is forecast to grow significantly and freeing up this space for a new station will not only improve the service for commuters and other passengers, but also make sure it grows with future demand.

"It would also result in the train station moving closer to the centre of Rochester, and the places that visitors come to, and give local people a newer, better station that is easier to get to and has better links with local bus services."

Network Rail is due to submit a formal planning application to Medway Council this spring. 

Local residents and passengers can find out more about the proposal at Rochester station, where rail representatives will be on hand from 7am to 10.30am and 4pm and 6.30pm between Wednesday 10 April and Friday 12 April.

Details will also be available at a display at Medway Council offices at Gun Wharf, Chatham, on the same dates.

You let us know your views when the plans were initially announced, but what do you think of the proposed design? Will it fit in with Rochester's historic sights? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or emailing [email protected].