An unveiling of the plaque awarded to Network Rail for the splendid work carried out to the station canopies and platform areas at Kettering as part of the Midland Main Line Electrification Works – which won the Greater Anglia Award as the vest entry in the 2022 National Railway Heritage Awards – took place on Tuesday 24 October. The plaque was unveiled jointly by Andy Savage MBE, Chairman of The National Railway Heritage Awards and by Cllr Emily Fedorowycz, Mayor of Kettering.
The event was attended by representatives from award winners, Network Rail, represented at the unveiling by Colin Ramshall, Senior Portfolio Manager who spoke on behalf of the winners.
Other groups present included station operators, East Midlands Railway, and also Kettering Civic Society, who are great champions for the architecture of the station. The Civic Society also provided some welcome refreshments in the office that they occupy on the station.
Andy Savage MBE spoke on behalf of NRHA and also on behalf of Greater Anglia as sponsors of this particular award. In his speech he praised the level of detail applied in the restoration of the platform canopies, and the sympathetic installation of the overhead electrification through the station. He also noted the value the awards trustees and committee place on the support given by sponsors of the awards, and thanked Greater Anglia for their continued support.
The NRHA was also represented at the event by Malcolm Wood, Awards Manager and Trustee, Robert Hayward, Awards Manager and Trustee, and by Claire Pickton, who is one of the valued volunteers who assist with the Awards ceremony in London each December.
The plaque at Kettering following its official unveiling with, from left, Councillor Emily Fedorowycz, Mayor of Kettering, Ian Boyes, Amey Rail Project Team, Colin Ramshall, Network Rail, Senior Portfolio Manager, and Andy Savage, Chairman of the National Railway Heritage Awards.
The meticulous restoration of the platform canopies at Kettering station in Northamptonshire, which had to take account of the 25kV overhead, was the winner of the Greater Anglia Award for the best entry in the 2022 competition.