'Monstrous' £35m rail station dubbed 'mugger's paradise' and 'dangerous white elephant'

A brand new railway station that opened this week after costing more than £35m to build has been dubbed a "mugger's paradise" and a "huge waste of money".

Thanet Parkway station, at Cliffsend, Kent, opened on Monday (31 January) to great fanfare.

But critics described the project - whose original budget was just over £10m - as a "dangerous white elephant" that hasn't cut journey times into London as expected.

Writing in the Isle of Thanet News, county councillor Karen Constantine criticised the station for being unstaffed, having no toilets and being "one of the least welcoming railway stations I've ever visited".

"The truth is if I use this station to travel to London, by the time I’ve left my home, got in my vehicle, driven to Parkway and parked and then got on a train journey, door to office or door to theatre it’s actually going to take me longer," she said.

"Not only this the cost of car parking at the station means it’s actually more costly.

"On the platform today, I felt very unsafe. I simply can’t imagine using this station at any time of the day let alone at night where I fear I would feel very isolated. This is a muggers paradise.

"I failed to see what we’ve gained from this monstrous, dangerous white elephant."

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She criticised the council for failing to "put the brakes on" the project when it could have done.

Her comments came after fellow county councillor Barry Lewis told Kent Online used the same description of a "mugger's paradise" to described the station as he expressed concerns over unmonitored CCTV and a lack of workers.

"For vulnerable people - especially women on their own - it will be a dangerous place," he said.

"CCTV that is unmanned only records crime - it doesn’t stop it."

But authorities have fought back against criticisms, saying the station has security lighting, cameras, and “remote assistance” for passengers - also announcing that it will be staffed on weekdays for the next six weeks and that staffing would be kept under review.

Kent County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, David Brazier, said the station would make it "quicker and easier for people in local communities to get to and from London, reaching the capital in 70 minutes, serving thousands of trips a year", which would help to "unlock the true potential of this part of east Kent, boosting the county as a great place to live, work and visit".

David Wornham, Passenger Services Director for Southeastern, said the station - the first to open in Kent for eight years - would support new housing and new business opportunities.

"As customers get used to using Thanet Parkway, it’ll be staffed on weekdays between 08:00 and 16:00 for the next six weeks and we’ve committed to keeping the staffing of the station under review," he said.

"There will also be regular patrols by Southeastern staff and British Transport Police officers and Kent County Council have 24-hour security on site for a minimum of 12 weeks.

"The station has 11 Help Points, from which customers can summon assistance, and security have access to CCTV that can help deter crime and provide evidence to support investigations by us and the Police.

“In terms of the station’s connections to other parts of the network, at peak times the station will be served by two trains every hour. Outside of peak times, Southeastern will initially run one train an hour with a view to increasing frequency to match demand."