We’re proud to have won five prizes at this year’s National Railway Heritage Awards as we continue to fund and support work to protect railway heritage for communities across Britain.
Network Rail is the custodian of a railway that dates to Victorian times, with striking and historically important bridges, stations and buildings all over the country.
We’re grateful for the recognition at the NRHA held online on 2 December, presented by Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail.
The NRHA has awarded prizes in recognition of restoration and the re-use of parts of railway-built heritage since 1979.
It’s the only awards body dedicated to rewarding and encouraging best practice in the restoration and maintenance of our Britain’s railway heritage.
Our five nods comprised:
- the Arch Company Award for Urban Heritage for Berwick-on-Tweed station railway station, alongside train operator London North Eastern Railway
- the Costain Structures Award for rail bridges in Manchester
- the London Underground Operational Enhancement Award for Stirling railway station, alongside contractor Story Construction
- the Railway Heritage Trust Conservation Award for Morpeth station, with Greater Morpeth Development Trust and train operator Northern
- the Network Rail Community Award Award for Goostrey station.
Click here for the full list of winners
Victorian Manchester bridges restored
The restoration of three railway bridges in Manchester is one of our most high-profile heritage achievements in the past year.
We returned the bridges to their Victorian splendour as part of the Great North Rail Project to improve railway travel in the North of England.
We painstakingly restored the Grade II listed, 175-year-old bridges to ensure busy passenger and freight services could run reliably through Manchester Victoria station for decades.
We unveiled a plaque in Great Ducie Street in Manchester in October last year to commemorate the £3.2m work by Network Rail, in partnership with the Railway Heritage Trust.
The Great Ducie Street before and after restoration
Morpeth Railway Station
Andy Savage, executive director of the Railway Heritage Trust – funded by Network Rail – officially opened Morpeth railway station on 8 September.
The building originally opened in 1847 and was designed by local architect Benjamin Green who was also responsible for numerous civic and public buildings, including many railway stations on the East Coast Main Line.
Conservation included re-instating historic chimney stacks, repairing stonework, and repairing and exposing the roof structure.
Napper Architects delivered the work, which included collaboration with Network Rail, the Railway Heritage Trust, Northumberland Council, Greater Morpeth Development Trust, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, train operator Northern, contractor STP Construction and project manager Vextrix.
Read more:
- The Architecture the Railways Built – interview with presenter Tim Dunn
- The Architecture the Railways Built – The Ffestiniog Railway
- The Architecture the Railways Built – Ribblehead Viaduct
- Incredible Windrush generation images brought to life
- Film: Discover the Network Rail archive
- 180 years of railway time