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Wednesday 23 Dec 2020

Businesses and rail companies come together to bring Christmas cheer to Romford train station

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

Romford Business Improvement District (BID), Network Rail and TfL Rail have come together to light up the town’s train station for Christmas.

The lights were paid for by Romford BID, which is funded by local businesses to deliver improvement projects for the town centre.

In previous years the station has provided a less festive welcome than the rest of Romford, which is impressively decorated with the London Borough of Havering’s Christmas lights. In 2020, Romford BID decided to provide some extra festive cheer to passengers and local residents with lights around the station and in Victoria Road.

In order to install the lights and decorations, Romford BID had the assistance of two rail companies.

For the lights on the bridge wall opposite the station, they got help from Network Rail, who own and operate the railway infrastructure all over Britain.

Whenever companies, community groups or members of the public are carrying out activities on or near the railway, they have to contact a special team within Network Rail which helps to make sure that the works are delivered safely. The team reviews plans and supervises works to protect the people involved in the project, as well as passengers and railway workers.

For the garland and lights on the station itself, Romford BID worked with TfL Rail, which runs the two separate lines that will become the Elizabeth line. TfL Rail also manages many of the stations which are served by its trains, so carried out its own risk assessments and checks to make sure the decorations were safe to install.

Julie Frost, director of Romford BID, said: “The council does a fantastic job lighting up the town for Christmas, and we wanted to play our part by giving the area around the station and Victoria Road a festive boost. It’s been a tough year for our businesses and for many people who live and work in Romford, so we were looking for an opportunity to provide a bit of cheer.”

“I have to say that it was a pleasure to deal with both the rail companies. I contacted TfL Rail first to see what they thought of our idea to light up the station. They were very enthusiastic and sorted out their part of the paperwork without delay. They also knew exactly the right people to speak to at Network Rail, who were equally efficient and guided us expertly through the process of getting the risk assessments done and the community rail licence sorted.”

Kathryn Charlton-Colbear, Network Rail asset protection manager, said: “Our aim is to provide the best possible support to people working on or near the railway. It’s always extra rewarding to work on a project which will really benefit the community, and in this case we were delighted to help Romford BID in collaboration with TfL Rail.”

Katrina Treacy, customer and community engagement manager for TfL Rail, said: “This year it’s been extra important to think creatively about how we support the communities where our trains run. Giving Romford BID a hand with their lights was a pleasure. It’s also great to see the railway industry coming together to help out, which we also saw at Liverpool Street, where our successful Food Bank Express project was also supported by Network Rail, British Transport Police and London Overground. Working together we can make an even bigger difference in our communities.”

Passengers and passers-by have been enjoying the Romford station lights since 22 November but, following the recent tightening of coronavirus restrictions, potential visitors are now being urged not to make any special trips to see them. Instead, Romford BID is encouraging people to look out for their new developments later in 2021, which include a new app and an arts and lights trail.