Sunderland railway station.



I mean, it's fine, architecturally bland but a good improvement to the concourse. But a huge opportunity missed, for yet another generation, to open up the platform levels to natural light. That roof is dismal, windowless and with fussy girders like a warehouse or leisure centre something. Could they not have done better than this?

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Compare Łódź Fabryczna in Poland - a slightly larger station redeveloped with as much glass as possible, and crucially, the platform levels receiving tons of natural light despite being subterranean. Scale this down and you'd have a magnificent station. We don't need all that floor space shown above and all you'd need to do is demolish two additional buildings. Unfortunately Sunderland Council authorised that bland brown-clad redevelopment that houses Poundland and Kwik Tan, when a bit of foresight would have been to clear it, move those god-awful shops somewhere else, and open up the roof again. The Market Square passage through to Fawcett St could easily be dispensed with or made into a raised walkway, as an architectural feature. But even with both of those buildings still in place over the north end of the platforms, we still had a better station in the 1980s than we do now, let alone the 1930s.

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I mean, it's fine, architecturally bland but a good improvement to the concourse. But a huge opportunity missed, for yet another generation, to open up the platform levels to natural light. That roof is dismal, windowless and with fussy girders like a warehouse or leisure centre something. Could they not have done better than this?

Logon or register to see this image



Compare Łódź Fabryczna in Poland - a slightly larger station redeveloped with as much glass as possible, and crucially, the platform levels receiving tons of natural light despite being subterranean. Scale this down and you'd have a magnificent station. We don't need all that floor space shown above and all you'd need to do is demolish two additional buildings. Unfortunately Sunderland Council authorised that bland brown-clad redevelopment that houses Poundland and Kwik Tan, when a bit of foresight would have been to clear it, move those god-awful shops somewhere else, and open up the roof again. The Market Square passage through to Fawcett St could easily be dispensed with or made into a raised walkway, as an architectural feature. But even with both of those buildings still in place over the north end of the platforms, we still had a better station in the 1980s than we do now, let alone the 1930s.

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the bit they are redeveloping doesn’t actually sit on top of the platform does it?

I think exemplar you’ve given is the right thing and I think Is the ambition they reference as part of the 6 year plan. I don’t think could deliver that ambition with the current funding they’ve managed to get nor in the timescales as they’d have to be able to acquire the sites you mention and extinguish or relocate the various businesses. The other factor is that there is no money set aside to fund the reinstatement of the additional tracks. Ultimate goal is to put a better station entrance off High Street West. Whether they ever get funding for it is anyone’s guess.
 
I'll believe it when I see it - I must have seen half a dozen revamps in my adult life which supposed to have cost millions and you be hard pressed to say where, glass wall, platform lifts which were frequently broken, new tiled platforms, platform artwork of things left on the metro - they are taking the piss. Add the standard of the rolling stock and services and it's just not good enough. The artists impressions suggested that we were going to get an avant-garde station which soon degenerated to a Tesco-like shed and now looks like the new Wickes on Chester Road.
If the new bridge cost £170m, a £16m accountancy exercise will get very little. The local MP said in her election literature that she was a campaigning MP and this was one of her 'projects' it will be interesting to see if she endorses this.
 
the bit they are redeveloping doesn’t actually sit on top of the platform does it?

I think exemplar you’ve given is the right thing and I think Is the ambition they reference as part of the 6 year plan. I don’t think could deliver that ambition with the current funding they’ve managed to get nor in the timescales as they’d have to be able to acquire the sites you mention and extinguish or relocate the various businesses. The other factor is that there is no money set aside to fund the reinstatement of the additional tracks. Ultimate goal is to put a better station entrance off High Street West. Whether they ever get funding for it is anyone’s guess.
Not much of the platforms, no, and you'd need a much longer stretch of open air to transform it completely, but it would be a start.

But thinking within the small amount of money available here, making that flat roof glass and even partially opening up that floor (that's a huge amount of floor for a rather small footfall) would create a gallery and a pool of light that would make a huge difference to the underground portion of the station, particularly the Metro end. The northbound track runs roughly through the middle of that floor, and the southbound about under the far wall.

Once that was done, and you got another tranche of funding, you'd take out the overlying buildings and critically their foundations which are supported on wide concrete pillars. You used to be able to see these behind the old platform 3 on the west side, the old P4 became a parcels platform which is still there, covered up by the light wall and cluttered by concrete foundations. The light wall is mounted on the platform face of what used to be P3 and the northbound line has been shifted across to run against it to accommodate a widened island platform. You could even bring back that far platform to life as a terminating platform for GC trains, with a bit of trackwork and a bit of funding.
 
I'll believe it when I see it - I must have seen half a dozen revamps in my adult life which supposed to have cost millions and you be hard pressed to say where, glass wall, platform lifts which were frequently broken, new tiled platforms, platform artwork of things left on the metro - they are taking the piss. Add the standard of the rolling stock and services and it's just not good enough. The artists impressions suggested that we were going to get an avant-garde station which soon degenerated to a Tesco-like shed and now looks like the new Wickes on Chester Road.
If the new bridge cost £170m, a £16m accountancy exercise will get very little. The local MP said in her election literature that she was a campaigning MP and this was one of her 'projects' it will be interesting to see if she endorses this.

The new bridge was about £50m - £60m less than that
 
I'll believe it when I see it - I must have seen half a dozen revamps in my adult life which supposed to have cost millions and you be hard pressed to say where, glass wall, platform lifts which were frequently broken, new tiled platforms, platform artwork of things left on the metro - they are taking the piss. Add the standard of the rolling stock and services and it's just not good enough. The artists impressions suggested that we were going to get an avant-garde station which soon degenerated to a Tesco-like shed and now looks like the new Wickes on Chester Road.
If the new bridge cost £170m, a £16m accountancy exercise will get very little. The local MP said in her election literature that she was a campaigning MP and this was one of her 'projects' it will be interesting to see if she endorses this.
It seems like for all the money that has been spent on it in bits and pieces renovations, they could have just done it once and done it properly.

That's not even including the £170m for a bridge nobody needed and another £31m for another bridge nobody needs.
 
It seems like for all the money that has been spent on it in bits and pieces renovations, they could have just done it once and done it properly.

That's not even including the £170m for a bridge nobody needed and another £31m for another bridge nobody needs.

but the £170m was predominantly money applied for a new bridge and road, it couldn’t have just been used on the station, moreover the council don’t own the station building do they? It’s owned by network rail i think.

the £31m for the new bridge is another question all together but has probably been about for as long as a plan for a new station entrance.

I’m not overly bothered about there being loads of natural day light down there, albeit it would be better than now, it just needs to be more like a metro station finish, at least it would look clean and be lit properly.
 
Not much of the platforms, no, and you'd need a much longer stretch of open air to transform it completely, but it would be a start.

But thinking within the small amount of money available here, making that flat roof glass and even partially opening up that floor (that's a huge amount of floor for a rather small footfall) would create a gallery and a pool of light that would make a huge difference to the underground portion of the station, particularly the Metro end. The northbound track runs roughly through the middle of that floor, and the southbound about under the far wall.

Once that was done, and you got another tranche of funding, you'd take out the overlying buildings and critically their foundations which are supported on wide concrete pillars. You used to be able to see these behind the old platform 3 on the west side, the old P4 became a parcels platform which is still there, covered up by the light wall and cluttered by concrete foundations. The light wall is mounted on the platform face of what used to be P3 and the northbound line has been shifted across to run against it to accommodate a widened island platform. You could even bring back that far platform to life as a terminating platform for GC trains, with a bit of trackwork and a bit of funding.

but by making the roof glass, there would be issues with cost compared to a normal roof? On going maintenance etc. Perhaps they explored or started with that as an option and the budget was being exceeded so was Value Engineered - construction prices have gone through the roof, up by 50%-200% in some cases.

also by taking a large proportion of the floor out of the southern entrance to provide light for the north bound track what would you be left with at ground level? In fairness you don’t really want people loitering at station level. Much better for them to be sat at ground floor level and then take the short journey down before a train arrives.

if they can take out the overlying retail units above and make that whole section glass that would provide sufficient amount of day light to the station level, personally don’t think you need more from the current entrance. That obvious assumes they can secure the funding to deliver something like that.
 
Something like that polish station would look nice for the new north entrance if they demolish up to what used to be Bonmarch and Peters, as that side should be the showpiece side, to me the south entrance should be a metro station for most and marked up as such.

While it is nice to see the above ground level being improved without major money spent on the platform level, it is nothing more than polishing a turd.
 
It’s an enclosed glass box isn’t it? Why would pigeons be inside? they’d have to fly through a door like any or most buildings, or even through the railway tunnel, up the stairs and into the space. The structure really isnt much different to some leisure schemes or any industrial warehouses.

Ok they might get in from time to time but can’t see them being settled in there. If it becomes an issue there are many ways to stop birds nesting or sitting on the structure.
Having used sunderland railway station loads over the years, never mind pigeons, the seagulls would hang around the entrance - miilligans did not help. I quite like the glass but the roof lacks any imagination and that polish railway station shows what is possible; hoping the north end is better.
 
Hope they incorporate an escalator , exsisting one been goosed for two years and lie after lie from the so called powers that be.
 

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