MP slams Network Rail over comments of taking ‘great care’ of …

Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury has released pictures of large roots growing within the structure of the collapsed Northwich[1] Station after becoming incensed at Network Rail comments.

Mr Amesbury read that Victorian canopies at Wilmslow Railway Station had received a £1.6m facelift with a Network Rail spokesman quoted as saying: “We take great care to look after our heritage buildings”.

The spokesman continued: “This work at Wilmslow shows how we’re committed to keeping the railway fit for the future while respecting its past.”

Mr Amesbury has now released pictures of roots within the brickwork of the Victorian Northwich Station that were exposed after the station collapsed in May 2021.

He said: “I’m very pleased Wilmslow Station has undergone a refurbishment. But these photos, taken by my team when I visited Northwich Station shortly after it collapsed, betray the reality versus Network Rail’s claim to care about its heritage buildings.

The Google Street View of Northwich Railway Station The Google Street View of Northwich Railway Station

“The locally-Listed Northwich station, which opened on January 1, 1863, was neglected to the point that it fell down. It’s only by some miracle nobody was killed or seriously injured.”

The MP said he was ‘growing impatient’ with how long the ongoing investigation by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) was taking.

He added: “I don’t know whether roots within the structure caused it to collapse but it surely can’t be right and why was it not picked up during a routine inspection of the building? In addition, a Google StreetView image taken in November 2020 shows vegetation growing from the roof!”

Like Wilmslow, Northwich station features a Victorian canopy but the current rebuild of the collapsed station does not include the restoration of the section brought down in the incident.

Large roots growing within the structure of the collapsed Northwich Station Large roots growing within the structure of the collapsed Northwich Station

Mr Amesbury added: “I’d like to see some ‘levelling up’ with the Victorian canopy restored at our heritage station of Northwich as well, for the benefit of my community and my constituents.

“In relation to Network Rail’s claim to be committed to making the railway ‘fit for the future’, how about making the far platform accessible to the elderly and disabled? I want to see more action and hear less guff from Network Rail.”

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References

  1. ^ Northwich (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)
  2. ^ Sign up for CheshireLive email direct to your inbox here (www.cheshire-live.co.uk)

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