MEDIA INVITATION: TOP RAIL ACCOLADE FOR NEWCASTLE STATION

Monday 21 Mar 2005

MEDIA INVITATION: TOP RAIL ACCOLADE FOR NEWCASTLE STATION

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Date: 23 March 2005 Time: 11.45 am Location: Newcastle Station Event: David Clelland MP unveils a Railway Heritage Award at Newcastle Station Media contact: Carolyn Watson, 01904 522825 You are invited to join David Clelland MP as he unveils a plaque to mark a prestigious Railway Heritage Award for the multi – million pound refurbishment of Newcastle Central Station. Network Rail received the award for the project, which has taken more than seven years to complete and included:

Refurbishment of the main station roof and portico
Improvements to platforms including installation of new lighting
Restoration of 80 rooms and 120 ceilings to their former glory using original materials

Dyan Crowther, Route Director, Network Rail said: “We are privileged to be the custodians of some of the most historic structures in the country. This duty also presents us with significant challenges to restore and preserve these structures for the long term. “Network Rail is delighted to receive this award which is testament to the dedication of those involved in the project.”

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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