RBWM working with rail firms to find solution to Maidenhead station drop-off and pick-up issue

The council and rail companies are working together to find a solution to issues with a lack of drop-off and pick-up facilities on the Maidenhead railway station forecourt.

Representatives from Network Rail, Great Western Railway (GWR), Transport for London (TfL) and RBWM gathered at Maidenhead Town Hall alongside the town’s MP, Josh Reynolds, this month for the first meeting of the new Maidenhead Railway Board.

The board, set up by Mr Reynolds, aims to bring figures together in a ‘coordinated approach’ to discuss issues facing the station.

Points covered during the meeting on Friday, January 16 included issues with lifts, pick-up and drop-off facilities, train timings, station improvements and the possibility of introducing battery-operated trains onto the Maidenhead branch line.

Pick-up and drop-off

Mr Reynolds said parties agreed to go away and discuss whether there were any ‘quick solutions to the problem’.

He added the council suggested re-purposing some of the staff parking for pick-up and drop-off.

Zach Bailey, GWR regional development manager, said: “GWR is working with The Royal Borough council to progress improvements to Maidenhead station.

“This includes reviewing options to reorganise the main forecourt area, and a possible scheme to improve the ticket hall at the station. These plans are however subject to securing the future funding required from stakeholders.”

A Royal Borough spokesperson said the council is ‘pleased’ to be working with partners regarding the forecourt and is hopeful of working together to ‘improve accessibility’.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “While we are not currently funded for further enhancements at the station, we welcome engagement from third parties who may be interested in exploring opportunities to improve the forecourt area.”

Train timings 

Over the last year, the Elizabeth line has delivered 84 per cent of services within three minutes of their scheduled time at Maidenhead, which is ‘broadly in line with the national average’, said TfL.

This is ‘lower than the Elizabeth line as a whole’ as stations in the west are ‘heavily impacted by the performance of Network Rail Western’.

Production is underway for 10 more Elizabeth line trains, which will serve the new station at Old Oak Common when it opens.

A TfL spokesperson said: “On the Elizabeth line, delays and cancellations occur for a number of reasons, many of which are out of our control. We work closely with Network Rail, which is responsible for the maintenance of the track, signals and other infrastructure, as well as the freight industry, to ensure any delays and cancellations are kept to a minimum wherever possible.”

Lift issues

Concerns have been ongoing over lift breakdowns at the station, particularly repeat problems with the lift serving platforms 2 and 3.

Network Rail previously said the issue was related to water pooling at the station during heavy periods of rainfall.

Mr Reynolds said he was ‘quite firm’ about the need to ensure there were ‘proper investigations’ to find out why this is happening ‘because we need to get it fixed properly’.

A Network Rail spokesperson apologised for the ‘inconvenience’, and added: “Our contractors have carried out extensive clearance of the drainage channels to assist with the removal of surface water and we continue to work with our industry partners and the lift manufacturer to identify and implement a robust solution to the issues caused by water ingress.”

Mr Reynolds said he is also trying to secure a meeting with rail minister Lord Hendy to discuss funding for upgrades at the station.