Liverpool Central station has won a top national award following a £20m upgrade.
Central, the busiest underground station outside London, picked up the Station Excellence accolade at the Rail Business Awards – presented for ‘the introduction of the most successful new idea or outstanding business performance at a UK passenger rail station’.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Chair of Merseytravel – one of the three partners in the refurbishment programme – said: “We knew that the upgrade had been a success in terms of enhancing the experience for the travelling public of the city region, and we are delighted that the station’s excellence has been recognised.”
Maarten Spaargaren, Managing Director of Merseyrail, added: “Liverpool Central is a station that Merseyrail, Merseytravel and Network Rail are extremely proud of.
“The station is now fit for the future and in keeping with Liverpool as a progressive and developing city in the heart of Merseyside. Passengers remain extremely satisfied with the improvements to their experience when travelling through our flagship station."
Karen Hornby, area manager for Network Rail, said: "Central had not had any significant refurbishment work for 35 years and as more and more passengers use the rail network, upgrading the station was essential.
"This was a challenging project, but one which was delivered on time, giving passengers a bright, modern station which is fit for the twenty-first century.”
Every year, around 18 million passengers use the station. The regeneration programme saw the complete closure of the station for four months and work continued for several more months before it was fully reopened in October last year.
The judges praised the partners for the award-winning project. They said: “This scheme pushes all the right buttons. So much has been done to improve the passenger experience and make travelling by train a pleasure. It’s also pleasing to see the extent to which partnership working secured a successful outcome.”
