The team cleared overgrown plants and litter to make way for fresh planting

Staff at New Southgate alongside the newly planted area (credit Govia)

Rail operator managers put on their gardening gloves to give New Southgate Station a makeover as part of their team ‘away day’.

The group from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which operates Great Northern and Thameslink services through the station, cleared overgrown plants, litter and general detritus to make way for fresh planting and flooring to breathe fresh life into the green spaces.

At New Southgate’s western entrance, the team removed three tonnes of waste, making 80 trips between the van and the site with materials and tools.

They planted 19 bay trees, 14 rotund folias and seven Japanese azaleas, using eight 50-litre bags of manure, two 50-litre bags of compost, six tonnes of gravel and one tonne of top soil.

Business development manager Andrew Sidgwick, who led the ground force at New Southgate, said: “Our teams are heavily involved in change projects that support our company values to improve the experience of the passengers who use our services.

“I am really pleased with the end results in such a short period of time. It was also heart-warming to hear feedback from people using the station and local community who were grateful for the work we were doing.”

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