Kettering railway station now has a plaque to recognise its achievement as ‘Best Overall Entry’ at the 2022 National Railway Heritage Awards.

The plaque was unveiled at the entrance to Kettering station yesterday, Tuesday, 24 October, by the Mayor of Kettering, Cllr Emily Fedorowycz, Colin Ramshall from Network Rail, and Andy Savage, Chair of the Railway Heritage Trust.

Also at the unveiling were representatives from the station’s operator East Midlands Railway (EMR), Kettering Civic Society, and the National Railway Heritage Awards.

The Best Overall Entry award was in recognition of how the station’s platform canopies had been carefully restored and modified by Network Rail so that they blended in safely after overhead electrification was installed through the station.

The platform canopies were restored as part of a £2.5m project, and Network Rail worked closely with the Railway Heritage Trust to restore both Kettering station and the nearby Wellingborough station. Among the work carried out was restoring lost historical details from the original features such as the finials and filigree gable ends, and repairs to the columns and roofs.

Colin Ramshall, Senior Portfolio Manager for Network Rail’s East Midlands route, said: “Our project team faced stiff competition to win this award in December and we were thrilled to come out on top, reflecting the hard work and dedication shown in this restoration project.

“It has been great to unveil this plaque which will serve as a permanent reminder of the award-winning work carried out by Network Rail at the station and may even encourage passengers to look at the beautiful station around them while waiting to board their train.”

Dave Meredith, Customer Services Director for EMR said: “This plaque is testament to the hard work carried out by Network Rail to restore the historic platform canopies at Kettering station.

“A well-deserved award win to modernise the infrastructure, whilst keeping its impressive original features that our customers can appreciate as they travel around Kettering station.