PLANS are afoot to improve the frontage of York Railway Station, to make it easier to use for buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians.

The station building itself will not be greatly altered (though the station facade will be 'restored sympathetically', the council says). But the way the land in and around the station's front entrance is used will be.

As well as demolishing Queen Street Bridge to create more space for the road leading to the station, the proposals - which are currently being revised following public input - include reorganising the layout of Tea Room Square and both sides of the station front. The short-stay car park will be relocated away from Tea Room Square to the south side of the station's frontage, so that both short-stay and long-stay parking will be accessed from Queen Street. There will also be a new taxi and drop-off area, a new pedestrian crossing, and relocated bus stops (though no bus station).

These changes should go some way towards reducing the frustration felt by pedestrians, cyclists, taxis and motorists alike as they struggle to get into and out of the station, all getting in each-other's way - though many, including the York Bus Forum, remain disappointed at the lack of plans for a proper bus station.

Before any work is done, however, it is worth pausing for a moment to remember just how special and beautiful this station is, for all its faults. It may be a daily frustration trying to use it. But there is a reason why, in Simon Jenkins' book Britain's 100 Best railway Stations, it was one of only ten to be awarded five stars.

Designed by North Eastern Railway architects Thomas Prosser and William Peachey to replace the old railway station that stood inside the city walls (where the city council's headquarters is now), the station opened on June 25, 1877. It had 13 platforms, and at the time of opening was the largest railway station in the world.

But it is the design of the station which, if you only have time to pause and admire it, can take the breath away. The whole station is built on a gentle curve. This makes the 800 foot-long train-shed roof, held 42ft above the platforms by iron columns, into a thing of beauty - what you could only call engineering art.

Press photographers have, of course, photographed it extensively down the years. But for some reason, a series of photos taken in the 1970s and 1980s seem to capture the station's beauty most powerfully, lingering on the seductive curves and intersections, the gleam of light on roof and column and platform.

We've chosen a selection of those photographs to show you today. And, just so that you don't accuse us of going all sentimental, we've also included a photograph that reminds us of the station's perennial flaws. It shows the short-term car park in February 1984. But the tone of the hand-written sign will be familiar to anyone who has had the temerity to try to wait in the car park to pick up an arriving passenger.

"These parking bays will be suspended from 1700 hours, Saturday 11/01/84," it says. "Cars remaining after that time will be removed."

Lovely.

Stephen Lewis

Stephen lewis