Penge West Station

1.01.00am GMT Sat 7th Jan 2006

Since the fire last April the station has not been repaired.

Commuters have had to put up with no power, no CCTV, no ticket machine and icy platforms. A Crampton Road resident told Sonia Whitaker before Christmas that there was no one to de-ice the platforms before 10.30 am. He could not get his season

ticket from the machine so had to queue in London for 45 minutes. The reason for the delay and inconvenience?

Southern, as leaseholders of the station, wanted to make some improvements to the old building.

But the landlord, Network Rail, vetoed this idea because the insurers would only pay for making good the damage caused by

the fire.

Lib Dem Crystal Palace Councillors have at last got some good news. Action is now planned for Penge West. The station will

not be demolished but will be extensively repaired. 'An effort will be made to restore power at a certain time of day so the CCTV

will be available and tickets can be issued. The station manager will be asked to de-ice the platforms regularly until the building is

fully restored.