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Monday 22 Aug 2005

NEW-LOOK KILBURN STATION OPENS ITS DOORS TO PASSENGERS

Region & Route:

| North West & Central

| Southern

Kilburn High Road station reopened to passengers today after the completion of a £1.25 million programme of repairs and refurbishment, following a fire in September last year.  Passengers were able to use train services this morning for the first time in nearly a year and were greeted with a new-look booking hall, new footbridge and improved platform facilities.  Peter Strachan, Network Rail Route Director, said: “The fire at Kilburn High Road caused considerable damage and inconvenience to passengers and we are grateful for their patience while we undertook the major project to restore the station.  The good news is that passengers will now benefit from a newly designed station and a full range of facilities.” Work on site began almost immediately after the fire, with the initial focus on securing the remaining station structure.  However, the extensive damage to the station footbridge meant it had to be completely demolished, requiring the station to be temporarily taken out of use.  Mark Steward, Route Director for Silverlink Metro said: “I am delighted, and know my customers will be, that the station has now re-opened. It has been a long time since our trains were last able to call there, but it has been worth the wait. The work carried out by Network Rail has resulted in a much more attractive station environment. Now that the restoration is complete Silverlink will be installing the most up to date ticket machines, both in the ticket office and the booking hall where the new self-service machines will offer a wide range of tickets and accept credit cards. I would like to add my thanks to those of Peter Strachan of Network Rail, for the patience our customers have shown while the work has been carried out.” A dedicated project team developed detailed proposals to redesign the booking hall and install a new footbridge; construction started in May 2005 and continued throughout the summer.  Extensive repairs were required to the brick supporting structure before the mammoth task of lifting the completed footbridge into place using a 280 tonne crane. Another key part of the project was the £30,000 refurbishment of the station booking hall, funded by Camden Council.  The new design features improved lighting and a suspended ceiling to stop the previous problem of nesting pigeons in the open rafters of the building. Further improvements for passengers include the resurfacing of the station platforms and the installation of a new waiting shelter. Kilburn High Road station reopened to passengers at 5am this morning (Monday 22 August) with a full timetable of Silverlink services calling at the station.