Art goes down a storm at Cuffley station

Passengers travelling through Cuffley station will have their journey brightened thanks to new artwork produced by local school children.

On Monday members of Great Northern, children from Cuffley school, proud parents and the local parish council came together to celebrate the installation of two large art displays at the station. The pieces showcase eight designs produced by the children to mark the 100th anniversary of the downing of an airship over the village during the First World War.

Councillor Peter Dace explained: "In 1916 the UK was being terrorised by airships and no one believed they could be shot down. The first pilot to achieve this was William Leefe Robinson and he did this over Cuffley in the early hours of 3rd September that year. This year we commemorated this important event with the children producing excellent art for the occasion. The Parish Council is pleased to see this now being displayed at the station."

Great Northern's Group Station Manager, Karen Sherwin, added: "I am delighted with the new artwork. My thanks to Cuffley school for the amazing pictures and the local team for arranging them to be displayed. We are really proud to have them at the station and they definitely brighten the subway."

The school worked with local Station Manager, Martin Brown, to organise the display, replacing other art which has been on show for the last 10 years. As a thank you to the school the station team presented the eight youngsters, from year 5, with a small Christmas present while 18 boxes of colouring materials will be delivered to the school as well.

The council and school will even work together to reunite the old art from the subway with the children who produced it previously. Martin is also working with others from the community to provide art for the remaining four frames in the subway.

Ends

For more information email press.office@gtrailway.com or call

Southern and Gatwick Express press office: 0203 750 2030

Thameslink and Great Northern press office: 0203 750 2031

Govia Thameslink Railway

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services as follows:

Thameslink – services between Bedford and Brighton, Luton/St Albans and Sutton, Wimbledon and Sevenoaks

Great Northern – services between London and Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn

Southern – services between London and the Sussex coast (Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis, Hastings) and parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire (Ashford International, Southampton, Portsmouth)

Gatwick Express – Fast, non-stop direct services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria

GTR is now the largest rail franchise in the UK in terms of passenger numbers, trains, revenue and staff: GTR carries about 326 million passenger journeys per year, employs around 6,500 people and generates annual passenger revenues of approximately £1.3bn.

The GTR investment programme for stations includes funding for more CCTV, toilet refurbishments, new retail facilities, help points and car park improvements – as well as plans for increased motorcycle storage and improved transport integration.

southernrailway.com, gatwickexpress.com, thameslinkrailway.com greatnorthernrail.com