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Wednesday 30 Jun 2021

Heritage award plaque unveiled at Stirling station

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Representatives from the National Railway Heritage Awards (NRHA) were at Stirling station today (Wednesday, June 30) to present an award to Network Rail, Story Contracting and Transport Scotland for their work to refurbish the footbridge and install the lift.

The NRHA accolade was awarded to the Stirling station project team in a virtual ceremony in December 2020 but, due to coronavirus restrictions, the presentation of the award plaque has only now taken place.

 In the £4m investment, the station’s original 28-tonne historic lattice footbridge was carefully removed in August 2018 and underwent significant refurbishment before being reinstalled in May 2019, along with a new lift to create step-free access to all platforms.

The enhancement was part of the wider project to electrify the Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa route as part of a Scottish Government-funded investment delivered by Network Rail.

The NRHA awards are dedicated to encouraging and rewarding best practice in the restoration and continued upkeep of railway and tramway buildings and structures. Stirling Station footbridge was presented in the ‘London Underground Operational Enhancement Award’ category.

Alastair Macfarlane, head of engineering and asset management at Network Rail, said: "We are delighted to win this award which recognised the hard work the team put into preserving this important heritage structure, while making the station fit for purpose for all our passengers to use.

“Scotland’s Railway is for everyone and our stations are the gateway to the rail network.  It is important that they are not only welcoming and friendly but also that they don’t present any physical barriers to those seeking to travel by train.

“Making more stations step-free and improving accessibility is just one way we are building the best railway Scotland has ever had.”

Theo Steel, National Railway Heritage Awards chairman, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to see the progress at Stirling station and to join the team today to recognise the outstanding work that has been undertaken here.”