Wednesday 10 Sep 2003

NETWORK RAIL UNVEILS MULTI MILLION POUND ROOF AT WATERLOO

Region & Route:
National
On Friday 17 October, Network Rail will hold a ceremony to mark the completion of the recently refurbished train shed roof at Waterloo Station. Waterloo has probably the largest train shed roof in Europe, measuring 28,000 sq m, which is the equivalent to over seven football pitches.  The refurbishment and repair of the roof, which was a huge feat of engineering, took over two years to complete.  During that time, over 24,000 panes of glass and 19km of guttering were fitted and 675 tonnes of trusses were cleaned and repainted - all without causing disruption to the thousands who use the station each day. The result is a much drier, brighter and more pleasant environment for passengers.  In addition to the new roof, Network Rail also refurbished the canopies and the addition of new lighting along the platforms. The ceremony will take place on 17 October 2003 at Waterloo Station.  Guests should arrive at 10.45 and from 11.00 there will be the opportunity for interviews and photographs.  At midday, John Armitt, Chief Executive Network Rail, Richard Bowker, Chairman and Chief Executive, SRA, Deborah Richards and Sir Peter Mason will make a short presentation and speeches, which will be followed by the unveiling of the plaque.  Lunch will be served afterwards. For more information or to reserve a place at the launch please contact Katie Burns or Laura Dobson in the Network Rail Press Office on 020 7557 8292.

Contact information

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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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