[title]
Richmond train station, as any train aficionado will likely already know, is one of London’s most gorgeous rail hubs. Dating back to the late 1930s, it was designed by James Robb Scott in Art Deco style and its façade is crafted out of Portland stone. It’s a pretty glorious structure – but in recent years it’s been looking a tad run-down.
But that won’t be the case for much longer. Richmond station is getting a makeover that’ll see some of its most gorgeous historic features properly restored.
The project is a collaborative effort from South Western Railway and the Railway Heritage Trust, and it’ll involve several different bits of refurbishment. The project will focus on cleaning the Portland stone façade, repairing the timber entrance doors and polishing the bronze work, as well as repairing flagpoles and refurbishing customer toilets.
The makeover of the Grade II-listed southwest London rail station will cost about £325,000 and be funded by SWR, Network Rail and the Railway Heritage Trust. Here’s a before-and-after of the cleaning of the stone façade.
And here’s what the station doors look like, post-polish.
What’s more is that SWR has said it wants the refurb to be extended in the future. It hopes that it’ll be able to restore or replicate original features that were covered over during Richmond’s last major refurbishment in 1985. In order to do this accurately, the project intends to use the station’s original, hand-drawn plans.
Further improvements are dependent on additional funding being made available, but this round of improvements is set to be complete by the end of the year.
Did you see that you can get a first look inside the Piccadilly Line’s new air-conditioned, walk-through trains?
Plus: a brand-new cycleway is coming to northwest London.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.