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Network Rail invited members of the railway press to join Network
Rail's Route Director Dyan Crowther and First Capital Connect's Managing
Director Elaine Holt to officially open the extended and refurbished
King's Cross Power Signal Box on 15 September 2006.
Network Rail has invested £3 million in the project which will
allow Network Rail's signalling staff and First Capital Connect's
controllers to be co-located in the same room. The new set-up will
allow them to build on their excellent working relationship and to
further combine their efforts in delivering good performance and a
safe and reliable railway for passengers.
Dyan Crowther said: "I am delighted to officially open the extended
and refurbished King's Cross Power Signal Box. This investment is
a massive boost for the staff of Network Rail and First Capital Connect.
They will be working in world class facilities, aiming to provide
a world class service for passengers, who can travel knowing Network
Rail and First Capital Connect are working side-by-side to keep the
East Coast Main Line running smoothly".
Elaine Holt said: "I am pleased to join Network Rail to open
the King's Cross Power Signal Box. This represents a large investment
from Network Rail, resulting in greatly improved facilities for our
staff, and it will enable First Capital Connect staff and Network
Rail staff to work much closer together to deliver a more reliable
train service to our customers".
Work to extend and refurbish the signal box began on site in November
last year and the project has been completed on time and on budget.
The extended signal box now boasts new ergonomically designed workstations;
a new fully equipped incident room; state-of-the-art telecommunication
and I.T. facilities; and work is also continuing to gradually replace
the existing signalling panels. All of the work was planned and carried
out around the live signalling environment, avoiding the need to move
staff and cause disruption to services.
King's Cross Power Signal Box controls the signalling along the East
Coast Main Line as far as Peterborough and is manned by a dedicated
team of 20 signalling staff and 40 controllers.
Report by Chris Nevard
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