Ally Pally friends team up with Great Northern to brighten their local station

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Great Northern station staff and volunteers celebrated the launch of the ‘Friends of Ally Pally Station’ station partnership at Alexandra Palace on Saturday, 4 June.

Local eatery Our Cottage gave away delicious food and drink next to their new herb garden, and the community came out in great numbers to join in and listen to live music on both platforms.

All the local councillors joined in, as did MP Catherine West, representatives from Sunshine Garden Centre, the Palace Gates Residents Association and many more.

Alexandra Palace station manager, Duncan Primrose, has been working with local volunteers, including Michael Solomon who has spearheaded this initiative. They are encouraging others to get involved and inject some colour into the station by sponsoring or donating a plant or planter to the station and commit to maintaining it.

Duncan said: "It was a great day. Our aim is to make the station look bright and friendly while bringing the local community together."

A total of 28 planters have been donated so far and station staff including Dexter Carrington and Theresa Lungay have committed to lending their ongoing support to ensure they are maintained appropriately and are encouraging any green-fingered users of the station to join the project.

ENDS

Notes to editors

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.

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