MERSEYTRAVEL’S Liverpool South Parkway interchange has won a coveted national award for excellence in the UK Rail Business Awards.

The multi-million interchange, which opened in June 2006, was chosen from a host of major national projects to be named winner of the NCP-sponsored Station Excellence of the Year award.

The HSBC Rail Business Awards 2006 are the highlight of the UK rail calendar, recognising the cream of the country’s rail industry and rewarding excellence in business, technology and engineering, safety and security, stations and trains, creativity and individual achievement.

Councillor Mark Dowd, who collected the award, said:- “These awards are one of the best we could get. We were up against some very stiff competition.

We are delighted that, nationally, people are sitting up and paying tribute to Liverpool South Parkway, which is, without doubt, one of the most modern interchanges in Europe.”

Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General of Merseytravel, who was also Engineer in Charge of the construction of the interchange said:- “Liverpool South Parkway is one of our brightest success stories. This award is further recognition of the importance of Liverpool South Parkway to the local community and our public transport system.”

The stunning eco-friendly interchange, created by Merseytravel, provides fast and efficient links to one of Europe’s fastest growing airports - Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The vital hub provides a huge boost to public transport in South Liverpool, providing access to up to 11,000 jobs planned for the area and contributing to the continued transformation of the Speke and Garston Pathway areas.

The award winning interchange is linking thousands of commuters with developing business and retail zones, with more than 5,000 passengers a day.

Liverpool South Parkway includes a single booking and passenger information office and enquiry point for bus, rail and airport journeys; a bus station and taxi rank, a high frequency bus shuttle to Liverpool John Lennon Airport and a 240 space Park-and-Ride car park free to users of the facility.

The sustainability elements of LSP and the integration of various forms of transport are some of the best examples of their type in the country.

Waste blast furnace slag, instead of cement, as well as recycled aluminium and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood was used to build the interchange. It also contains a giant rainwater harvesting system, saving 700,000 litres of mains water per year, geo thermal heat pumps for heating and solar photovoltaic cells on its south facing windows, which provides some of the electricity supply to the building.