NETWORK RAIL APPOINTS AWARD WINNING ARCHITECTS IN MULTI-MILLION NEW BUILD

Wednesday 22 Apr 2009

NETWORK RAIL APPOINTS AWARD WINNING ARCHITECTS IN MULTI-MILLION NEW BUILD

Region & Route:: National

GMW, the award winning architects behind the redevelopment of Tower 42 (the Natwest Tower) and numerous projects at Gatwick North and South terminals, have been appointed by Network Rail to design its new 400,000 sq ft national centre in Milton Keynes.

Back in October Network Rail announced the news that it was bringing together its national teams from various offices across the country (such as London, York and Manchester) to a new central location in Milton Keynes. The move is designed to better equip these teams to support the delivery arm of the company – its routes and areas – in providing a better service for customers, passengers and freight users.

The move is also expected to save the company millions of pounds as the amount of office space it rents will be reduced in multiple locations.

Iain Coucher, Network Rail’s chief executive, said: “The new national centre is one cornerstone of our ambitious £35bn five-year plan for Britain's railways. Bringing together our national teams is critical if we are to better support the work of the delivery arm of our company in providing a better service for passengers and other rail users.

“Our success in delivering a better railway over the past five years brings with it new challenges – tougher targets and greater expectations from our customers and passengers. It also brings with it the opportunity to find smarter and more innovative ways of working and to take bold decisions that will pave the way for the future success of the industry.”

Up to 3,000 posts will be based at the new centre that will be up and running from 2012.

Communicating this big change to our people started in October last year and will continue as our plans for the new centre develop and evolve.

Notes to editors

- Parts of the business have taken the opportunity to move to the Milton Keynes area this year. This follows separate consultations with employees and the Trade Unions. There are no plans for anyone else to move to Milton Keynes during 2009, with the majority expected to move during 2011/12. Once further progress has been made, Network Rail will consult further with employees and the Trade Unions - The proposed building is 400,000 sq ft in size and will be located adjacent to Milton Keynes railway station. It is currently the site of the disused national hockey stadium, that will be removed later this year.

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About Network Rail

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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