‘Lessons learned’ after station collapse - MP

An MP says he is satisfied that lessons have “been thoroughly learned” after the collapse of part of a roof at a Cheshire railway station three years ago.

Mid Cheshire MP Andrew Cooper said a report from the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) found the cause of the collapse at Northwich Station to be a lack of vegetation control.

He said he had met with representatives from Network Rail, the ORR and Northern and he was “pleased” with outcomes agreed on by all parties.

Mr Cooper added that Network Rail had pledged to look for a specialist contractor to bring forward works on the station.

The MP said that ORR had decided not to bring any prosecutions relating to the collapse in May 2021.

He added that Network Rail inspections found there may have been an error in the original construction of the station.

“Network Rail explained the actions they have taken to improve and change their procedures since the gable end collapsed and I am satisfied lessons have been thoroughly learned,” he said.

“At the meeting, Network Rail advised that they are now looking at September 2025 as their ‘fallback’ date for the fit-out of the ticket office after I previously expressed unhappiness at the speed with which this was taking.

“They are now intending to look at contracting someone who specialises in retail fitouts should their framework agreement enable this, which would allow them to significantly bring forward the start date.”

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