As a passenger who regularly uses Chester-le-Street station it’s been an inconvenience, but it isn’t that bad as there is another route that doesn’t involve too much extra walking. What I found more frustrating was that there was no prior notice to the public that this was happening, the first I knew of this was when I turned up at the station to find the bridge was suddenly no longer there!
I had wondered why the car park had been turned into a works compound a few weeks ago, now I know!
There appears to a be a series of these footbridge refurbishments happening in the north, the footbridges at Wigton and Prudhoe have both been removed for refurbishment and later reinstalled in the last few years.
I do think that the overbridge should be replaced/renovated. It is the most direct way & quickest to Platform 2 from the Town Centre. There are now 5 weekday commuter services using this platform to Newcastle. The alternative road route by the A1 is overloaded with the morning traffic sometimes tailed back miles to Chester-le- Street!!
I have found the bridge well used when returning from cricket. There is an international match on 29 June. Addditional well used services to/from Newcastle were laid on by Northern in 2018 & 2019 for these.
Is the western access from Station Approach using the foorbridge steps still open? This is an area of dense housing near to Platform 2.
The steps have gone too, the only access to platform 2 currently is the ramp.