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An update on the staircase failure at Biggleswade station earlier this year

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Wednesday, 16 July, 2025
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Image of Richard's letter to Network Rail

Many will remember the failure of the station steps at Biggleswade Station earlier this year that led to several days of disruption through restricted access to the platforms.

This prompted Richard Fuller MP, in conjunction with Cllr Hayley Whittaker and Julian Vaughan of the Biggleswade Rail Users Group, to investigate further to establish why this had happened and what steps would be taken to prevent a reoccurrence, not just in Biggleswade but at other stations as well.

Following correspondence and meetings, Network Rail informed Richard that they visually inspect all stations on a annual basis and follow up with a more detailed exploration if anything is discovered that could pose a risk to the travelling public and this is allocated a 'risk factor' on an ascending scale from 1 - 25. 

A visual inspection took place at Biggleswade station on January 13th 2024 and identified some corrosion which was assigned a risk factor of 6, however, that report concluded 'no recommendations' and 'no reported significant defects affecting the serviceability of the asset or the operational railway'. Less than a month later however, the steps to platforms 1 and 2 failed resulting in a second and more detailed investigation. This second report showed 'extensive corrosion' which had caused a steel bracket to give way and highlighted other areas of advanced corrosion. A temporary fix was applied with more substantial repairs planned within 6 months, however, these were not fully completed leading to the second steps failure at the beginning of 2025.

Richard said:

I accept Network Rail's explanation that corrosion can often be hidden under dirt and paintwork, and also that extensive salting to remove ice build ups in winter means that platform materials can degrade extremely quickly and suddenly. Nevertheless, the January 2025 failure might have been avoided had the previously recommended solutions been fully implemented. 

Following a video call with Network Rail I followed up with the letter attached below for some further clarification and received the following response:

  • The January 2024 level 6 defect refers to corrosion across the structure. This included the stair bracket that subsequently failed.
  • The remedial measures implemented after the February 2024 failure would've involved immediately propping any vulnerable staircases. Long-term repairs were planned to be completed in a six-month timeframe.
  • After the inspection report was submitted, a risk score of 8 was assigned. This score was due to the immediate repairs undertaken to stabilise the structure.
  • The next visual inspection has been completed, and the report is currently being finalised. I have discussed sharing this report with you once it is submitted.

I have asked for a copy of the recently conducted inspection and will share that when received. 

For more information about the staircase failure in January, please visit https://www.richardfuller.co.uk/news/update-biggleswade-railway-station

 

 

Attachments

Attachment Size
Richard Fuller's letter to Network Rail re Biggleswade station Steps April 2025 (183.35 KB) 183.35 KB
Reply from Network Rail 2 April (135.94 KB) 135.94 KB
Inspection 13 January 2024 (908.71 KB) 908.71 KB
Inspection report February 2024 (6.22 MB) 6.22 MB
Richard's letter to Network Rail March 2025 (190.03 KB) 190.03 KB

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ConservativesPromoted by Katherine Arnold on behalf of Richard Fuller both at NBCA, Biggleswade Conservative Club, St Andrews Street, Biggleswade SG18 8BA
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