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Thursday 26 Jun 2003

LORD MAYOR UNVEILS LATEST ‘GONG’ FOR PICCADILLY STATION

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Lord Mayor of Manchester Cllr Audrey Jones today (30 June) unveiled a plaque as the latest in a long line of awards that Manchester Piccadilly station has received since undergoing its £100m redevelopment over the last five years. The plaque is sponsored by Modern Railways magazine as part of the National Railways Heritage Awards and was won for the sympathetic restoration of those parts of the station that are a listed structure. Appropriately, the plaque will be fixed to a wall that forms part of the listed building within the new Fairfield Street entrance where the old blends perfectly with the new. The station has already won seven awards – including Loo of the Year - and there are four others pending, all of which give an indication of the high regard that the rail, architectural and heritage industries have for the redevelopment work. Speaking at the unveiling, Modern Railways correspondent Tony Miles said: “The transformation of Manchester Piccadilly into a brighter, safer and more accessible station has given the city a fitting gateway to the rail network and especially one of Britain's premier routes to London. Modern Railways is delighted to be associated with this project, in particular the new Fairfield Street entrance which has made excellent use of the spare land to the east of the station.” - more - Award – 2 Network Rail architect Steve Warbis added: “We are extremely proud of our station redevelopment at Manchester Piccadilly and very grateful to have received this award. The station redevelopment has brought previously inaccessible historic areas back to life and now successfully combines the finest aspects of the original 19th century station with the radically modern station architecture of the 21st century.”