This week, colleagues from across the rail industry and leading organisations from the Bishopsgate community gathered to pay tribute to celebrate the milestone 150th Anniversary of London’s Liverpool Street Station.
Peter, Lord Hendy of Richard Hill, in his capacity as current Chair of Network Rail and as a former Commissioner of Transport for London spoke to the theme of ‘past, present and future’. He stressed the role this station has played in UK infrastructure, supporting the economic prosperity of the City of London and the wider UK. He also referenced the earliest known photograph of passengers taken at the Station in 1884.
Former Station Managers, Kate Warner (2004-2007) and John Newland (1986-1995) spoke about their pride at being responsible for the Station during their careers, but also reminding guests assembled that the Station essentially remains about people – in fact, more than 80 million people pass through the station annually! They recalled the many extraordinary human experiences which take place at the station – supporting countless marriage proposals and even a number of births!
John, who famously wore a bowler hat and a rose in his lapel when on duty spoke about the day Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited on 5th December 1991 to officially unveil significant improvement works at the Station. He quoted the Queen as saying “How on earth was all of this achieved without stopping train services for a single day”. He replied “Teamwork, Your Majesty”.
It is abundantly clear that teamwork remains alive and well at Liverpool Street Station today, not only amongst the remarkable team of professional who keep the station in good working order whilst the building around it struggled with modern day demand, but also in the way that the community comes together to support these types of community events – the Andaz Hotel on Liverpool Street supplying the chair, the Combat2Coffee team providing refreshments, etc.
My thanks to Station Manager Bronnie Clarke and all of the team at Network Rail for the role they play in making Bishopsgate the beating heart of the City of London. Here’s to the next 150 years!
