Knight Fencing improves accessibility at Gloucester Railway Station

Gloucester Railway Station is more accessible and safer for users thanks to Knight Fencing.

As part of this train station accessibility project, we recently supplied and installed bespoke railings and handrails at the station as part of a £6 million redevelopment project. The project is being managed by Gloucester City Council and Great Western Railways.

Gloucester Railway Station is undergoing wide-ranging redevelopment. This includes improvements to the design of the station, forecourt and pedestrian underpass. Our work was focused on the refurbishment of the underpass.

What did we do at Gloucester Railway Station?

The old Victorian-era underpass wasn’t accessible for wheelchair users and it was very difficult to use for people with pushchairs. It also had poor lighting, which meant it wasn’t always safe to use, particularly at night. The objective was to make the walkway fully accessible and safer.

In order to improve overall train station accessibility, we worked with rail industry engineering company CK Rail on the design and installation of railings and handrails for the north and south entrances of the new step-free station underpass.

What were the challenges and how did we meet them?

The project threw up a couple of key challenges. Firstly, the new underpass required very specific vertical bar railings and handrails. With no off-the-shelf materials meeting the requirements, we worked with our specialist fabricator to manufacture bespoke vertical bar railings and hand rails suitable for train station accessibility needs.

Secondly, it was a very busy site, with a large number of contractors working alongside each other as part of the wider station improvement project. This meant we had to be flexible and agile, and respond quickly and innovatively to developments and issues in order to create and install the vertical bar railings and handrails that were wanted.

What was the feedback on the new underpass?

As you can see from the photo gallery below, the step-free, lighter and safer underpass at Gloucester Railway Station, with its bespoke galvanised and powder-coated vertical bar railings and handrails, has been successfully completed.

And we’re delighted to say that Gloucester City Council and Great Western Railways are very happy with the finished underpass, including the railings and handrails. We received particular praise from both for our approach and efforts and the standard of our work.

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