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Thursday 1 Apr 2010

RAIL TUNNEL IN CORNWALL NAMED IN TRIBUTE OF SPERRITT

Region & Route:

Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

A newly-built railway tunnel has been officially named after a late Cornish railway veteran, Frank Sperritt, by Network Rail.

Former colleagues from Network Rail and families gathered at Sperritt tunnel today to unveil the official nameplate, commemorating Frank for his 42 years of distinguished service to the railway in the West Country.

As an experienced signalling engineer, Frank was well respected by colleagues within the company and the industry.  He was instrumental in modernising the signalling infrastructure in West Country and had also won an award for his involvement in compiling the signalling maintenance testing handbook – often cited as one of the bibles of modern railway signalling. 

Dave Gill, Network Rail’s signal section manager and Frank’s former supervisor, said: “Frank was very dedicated to his job and applied the skills of his job professionally with utmost pride. He brought to the company a strong expertise in the field of signalling technology and his contribution was invaluable.”

Frank was a railway enthusiast and first began his career on the railway as an assistant technician.  He quickly rose through the ranks owing to his diligence. 

His tireless quest to acquire new technical skills and expertise quickly opened up opportunities for him to work on major re-signalling schemes across the region.

Sperritt Tunnel was built two years ago as part of the Dobwalls highway bypass scheme in Cornwall.  It is the newest rail tunnel in the region with the mainline between London – Penzance running through it.