Tuesday 29 Jul 2008
STATION WORKS START AT CORBY
- Region & Route:
Another major hurdle has been cleared in the effort to give Corby the station it needs and deserves. Network Rail has appointed Dean and Dyball to construct the new station and they are starting work today.
Corby has been until now the largest town in Britain without a railway station. Corby will be benefiting from a brand new £10.22m station which will link the town with the railway network and London. A range of partners are behind the scheme, including East Midlands Development Agency (emda), Network Rail, East Midlands Trains, English Partnerships and North Northants Development Company.
Dyan Crowther, Network Rail Route Director said: “More people are using the railways than ever before. This new rail link will give the people of Corby the chance to get out of their cars and take the greener option of the rail. We look forward to working with Dean and Dyball on this exciting project for Corby.”
English Partnerships Area Director Graham Dobbs said “Corby Station is prime example of a scheme that will benefit the community as a whole. Without the commitment of all partners to making Corby a better place, this project - just one of many facilitated by English Partnerships in the area to improve access to the town and open up development opportunities, would never succeed.”
Dean & Dyball began setting up on site last week and will commence work today. Track work took place in June this year to replace track, sleepers and ballast to prepare for the new station. The construction work will run until late November 2008.
David Horne, Commercial Director for East Midlands Trains said: “It’s great news that the station build is underway. We’re looking forward to bringing a long awaited rail service to Corby by the end of the year. East Midlands Trains will be doing all it can to attract more passengers to make the switch to rail. With fast direct links to London and passengers arriving at St. Pancras, the home of Eurostar and gateway to the continent – there has never been a better time to try our services.”
East Midlands Trains will manage the station and their first train will leave Corby on 14 December 2008.
Simon Evans, Chief Executive of North Northants Development Company, said:
"This is a further important step forward for the residents and businesses of Corby. All the partners involved in this project have shown great commitment to delivering the new station on time and we are now just months away from what will be a hard won but historic day for the town."
Notes to editors
About North Northants Development Company - http://www.nndev.co.uk North Northants Development Company (NNDC) is supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the East Midlands Development Agency and English Partnerships, as well as by the local authorities and Northamptonshire County Council. The NNDC area covers the whole of North Northamptonshire and includes the districts of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough. About emda emda is investing almost £5m into the Corby train station development. emda is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development. Working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations the aim is to deliver the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) ‘A Flourishing Region’, which sets out regional priorities until 2020. The RES, coordinated by emda, highlights the themes of productivity, sustainability and equality and builds on the previous two strategies; ‘Prosperity Through People’ and ‘Destination 2010’. In early 2007 the National Audit Office announced emda had received the highest possible grade of 'performing strongly' in an independent assessment of our work - scoring 22 out of 24. For more details visit www.emda.org.uk English Partnerships is the national regeneration agency helping the Government to support high quality sustainable growth in England by creating well-served mixed communities where people enjoy living and working. In collaboration with the Housing Corporation, the Academy for Sustainable Communities and Communities and Local Government we are establishing the new Homes and Communities Agency that will begin operating in 2009. For more information please visit www.englishpartnerships.co.uk.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office -London North Eastern & East Midlands route
01904 383180
mediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
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.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk