‘Grotty’ Tube from Gloucester railway station to close for nine months for refurbishment – Gloucestershire News Service | So Good News

The “cavernous” underpass linking the Great Western Road with Gloucester railway station is to be closed for nine months in the New Year for refurbishment work to be carried out, it has been announced.

Great Western Railway says work will start in January and will include removing all steps, installing better lighting and widening the northern entrance to remove a blind corner.

The work is part of a wider project at the station in partnership with Network Rail, Gloucester City Council, GFirst LEP and Gloucestershire County Council.

They added: “Also included in this phase will be station improvements for bus and pedestrian access,” a spokesperson said.

“Network Rail will also work with the track boards in the ceiling of the Tube so that it can be fully furnished to make it brighter, lighter and more comfortable to use.

“The work on the subway will provide a significant improvement for users. Unfortunately, it is not possible to stay open during work on it, and this will mean a five-minute alternative walking route around the station.”

The long-awaited project to make the Tube more attractive and safer for pedestrians follows Gloucester City Councilor Richard Cook declaring early last year that “a cleaner, better underpass with security cameras and a non-leaking roof” was on the way decades of concern about the condition of the underground passage.

Two years ago, Lib-Dem councilors in the city called for the underpass to be prioritized as part of the planned £6m upgrade of the railway station.

The underpass, which they described as ‘grotty’, has been the scene of several reported assaults and sexual crimes in the past.