FIRMS are bidding for the contract to rebuild a south Essex train station ticket office, with the development set to include;  ticket vending machines, ticket gates, a waiting room and customer toilets.

Bosses at Greater Anglia insist they are working to deliver the new ticket office at Wickford Station "as quickly as we can" after the former building was demolished in 2020. In April, Mark Francois, the MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, said the Government had agreed to fund the multi-million-pound project in south Essex. 

Mr Francois received a letter from Rail Minister Huw Merriman, stating that the Department for Transport will fund the rebuilding of the station which was halted due to the Covid pandemic. 

Bosses at the train company say works are set to be completed in two years' time and that the former building had to be removed to allow for new trains and a platform being extended. The station currently has rows of hoardings with a temporary ticket office.

A Greater Anglia spokesperson said: "We are working to deliver planned improvements at the station as soon as possible, with new modern facilities to succeed the old station building – which was taken down to enable the operation of new, better, and longer trains on the Wickford to Southminster line, by extending the bay platform at the east end of the station. Without this, the new trains could not have been introduced on that route. 

"We have secured planning permission and made provision for the next stage of the process in our business plan for the current financial year (2024/2025). The project is on course with bids to undertake the work due for submission before the end of this year. 

"Once bids are received, and subject to them being compliant with both the approved plans and the funding provided, a contract will be awarded and a final programme for the delivery of the scheme and provision of the new facilities will be confirmed, but the work is due to start within the current 2024-25 financial year and be completed in the 2025-26 financial year.

 "We are fully committed to finishing the station upgrade, which will include a new ticket office, ticket vending machines, ticket gates, a waiting room and customer toilets, as quickly as we can.

 "We will keep customers updated about ongoing progress on the station improvement scheme via our usual channels."