Salisbury station 'green' travel upgrade officially opens

Representatives of South Western Railway (SWR), Wiltshire Council, Wiltshire College and University Centre and Co Bikes were at Salisbury station recently for the launch of the station's new cycle hub, which is the first phase of forecourt improvements which SWR will be part-funding through their Customer and Communities Improvement Fund.

The hub is a joint project between SWR, DfT, Wiltshire Council and Co Bikes with 74 cycle parking spaces and an e-bike docking station. It was officially opened by Cllr Tom Corbin, Mayor of Salisbury, who is also a SWR train driver.

SWR is working to increase the sustainable onward travel options at its stations and this new £360,000 addition to the station is an example of the growing number of convenient green options for transport across the SWR network, especially in the West of England, as it joins the e-bike facilities available at Cranbrook, Honiton, Pinhoe, Exeter Central and Exeter St Davids stations.

Working to offer opportunities for imaginative partnerships that can help to reduce the number of unnecessary car journeys is important to SWR and so the Company is very pleased that Wiltshire College and University Centre is installing a Co Bikes docking station at its Salisbury Campus to improve the green travel offer for students and staff arriving at the station. This is hopefully the first of many across Salisbury and the surrounding area to link up with the station.

Andrew Ardley, SWR's Regional Development Manager for the West of England, said: Rail travel is one of the most environmentally friendly mass transport options and so SWR is delighted that this project is now a reality, giving customers using Salisbury station sustainable and practical travel options for their onward journey as well as a secure place to store their own bikes. This scheme is only the first stage of a much bigger improvement planned for the forecourt.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport, said: We're really excited that the new cycle hub and e-bike docking station is now open providing visitors and residents viable, environmentally friendly alternatives to the car for their journey to and from Salisbury railway station.

A key part of our business plan is investment in cycle routes to connect our local communities and to provide options for different modes of transport. To outline our commitment to this, we have put in a Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) bid for a further three e-bike hubs in Salisbury.

Helen Scholes, Marketing and Partnerships at Co Bikes commented: We're delighted to launch our first e-bike hub in Salisbury in partnership with South Western Railway. Our data shows that, of all the e-bike trips taken this year, over a third started or ended at a train station, demonstrating how well bike share and train integrate with one another.c and I look forward to working with Wiltshire Council on further hubs around the city.

Steve Campion, Deputy Principal Corporate Resources at Wiltshire College and University Centre, said: We are excited to be able to offer our growing student population at our newly refurbished Salisbury campus a sustainable way to travel around the city. The e-bike option provides a 9-minute connection from campus to station, using Salisbury's established cycle network. This will also help support the health and wellbeing agenda that we promote to all our staff and students.