Preston station’s new look

Friday, 12 December 2025 at 17:26

By Paul Faulkner

Almost 200 new signs are to be erected in and around Preston railway station in an attempt to reduce the confusion caused by the current mix of “inconsistent” signage relied upon by travellers.

Avanti West Coast, which operates the busy interchange, has unveiled plans to remove all 261 signs that are currently dotted around the station and its car park – with 196 new ‘wayfinders’ to be installed.

The company says the new signage will be “clearer and simpler to follow, improving navigation around the station”. It will “direct customers to all access routes, including the lifts, footbridges and subway” – and serve to improve health and safety by making escape routes, exits and help points “more visible” across the station.

As part of facelift, eight new floor-mounted ‘totem’ signs will be installed on the concourses, along with 37 wall-mounted pointers.

Avanti undertook an audit of the station’s signs in January 2024, which found that they were “insufficient due to their lack of consistency [and] redundancy”, with some being associated with former railway companies and others missing altogether.

This was “the cause for confusion of passengers and users navigating through the station”, the company says.

In an application for permission to carry out the necessary work to replace the signs throughout the Grade II-listed building, the company says 65 will be removed completely in order to “declutter signage throughout the station to make the legibility of [it] as clear as possible for passengers and station users”.

The remaining 196 signs to be replaced have been designed to “improve…accessibility” – and include 63 signs within the car park.

Avanti says that the changes will be implemented “sympathetically, minimising impact on the historic fabric” of the building.