Costs may mean station will not reopen as planned

FEARS have been raised that soaring costs and building delays mean improvements to St Austell railway station may not be completed as planned.

But project managers say the new taxi rank should be open by the end of this week, and the bus station should be open early in September.

A spokesman for Cornwall County Council, which is heading the consortium behind the multi-million pound project, said minor snagging works to the taxi rank would be completed in the next few days, and work on the last two bays of the bus station will start this week.

The bus companies have said they consider it inappropriate to use the bus area until all seven stands are available.

Work on the project to modernise the station started in April last year and was expected to take about six months, However, delays have been caused by a variety of problems, for example what was found underneath the site, including fuel tanks and asbestos waste, all of which had to be removed by specialists.

The consortium behind the scheme also includes the Department of Transport, First Devon and Cornwall, Network Rail, First Great Western, the Railway Heritage Trust, the South West Regional Development Association and Restormel Borough Council.

It was originally estimated to cost £2.4 million, but the partners have since admitted they have lost track of the project's soaring costs.

The delays have created another financial headache, in that part of the funding for the scheme is from the European Objective One fund and works supported by these grants have to be completed by December this year.

A main aim of the project is to make the station more accessible, including by building a new footbridge over the railway line and installing lifts to make it easier for passengers to cross over the line.

But though the pits for both of the lifts have been dug, it's now a race against time to see if the bridge will be completed before the European deadline.

A spokesman for Cornwall County Council said: "The lift pits for the new bridge are nearing completion and are expected to be completed within the next few weeks and it is intended that the bridge will be completed in the future.

"A programme for completion of the bridge is being discussed between key partners, but no firm date as yet can be given. However it is intended by all concerned that this project will be completed."

Passengers will be relieved at news of the taxi rank and bus station's opening, but concerned about the possible fate of the bridge. One disgruntled passenger told the St Austell Guardian: "The whole scheme was meant to make it easier for passengers – it's been anything but. And it just beggars belief that the new bridge might not go ahead."