Award for railway station project

The first hourly London service left Corby railway station in February

A project to bring a new railway station to a town in Northamptonshire has been given an award.

In February the station at Corby ran the first direct service between the town and London for 40 years.

The Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT) named Corby Railway Station as the winner of the Award for Effective Partnerships.

The £8.3m station was praised for being built on time, on budget and to a very high standard.

Construction of the station began in February 2008 and was completed in December 2008.

'Pivotal project'

Corby was for many years the largest town in Britain without a station.

The IHT praised the way key funder Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)and site owner and consultants WYG worked on the project.

The IHT Awards celebrate innovation and rewards examples of best practice that can be followed by other professionals in the transportation industry.

An interim service run by East Midlands Trains began in February 2009 and the full service, including a direct hourly service between Corby and London St Pancras, was officially launched in April 2009.

Richard Brown, regional director at WYG Engineering, said: "Although this award has been made to the Homes and Communities Agency and WYG Engineering, delivery of the project has been a team effort.

"To be involved in such a pivotal project in the regeneration of Corby has been a real privilege and we are all very proud of the resulting development."