Jenny Hamilton, Lead Sponsor at Transport for London (TfL) has been recognised with an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for her work master-planning some of London’s busiest and most complex Tube stations, helping millions get around the city with ease.
Jenny, who is from Canterbury and started working at TfL in 1990, has helped guide major engineering projects through from beginning to end to ensure their success. She has led on the development of a number of landmark London Underground stations, including Bank, Elephant & Castle and Paddington. Jenny also took the lead in the delivery planning of Victoria, Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street stations, which both originally opened in 1900, to connect to the 21st century designs of the city’s newest railway, the Elizabeth line.
Through her work, crowded passageways that had become an accepted part of travel at several stations were removed, improving the daily commute for millions of Londoners and increasing station capacity across several stations. Wayfinding at stations was also improved, making it easier for customers to navigate through stations and helping to reduce journey times.
Her work has also particularly helped those with accessibility needs find step-free routes from street to train – journeys which may have been impossible before her innovative design solutions.
Ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games, Jenny was key to the development of the Hammersmith and City line station at Paddington, integrating the station with the improved taxi ranks and helping the millions of people coming to London to travel through easily to make London the first public transport Games.
At Bank, in the face of financial pressures when it may have been easier to rely on tried and tested measures that wouldn’t have delivered the benefits to their fullest, Jenny went the extra mile to bring customers the best transformation of the station. By helping to develop and then leading a brand-new pioneering procurement process where the supply chain was incentivised to think innovatively, she achieved significant journey-time savings for customers and relieved congestion, whilst removing £100m of costs from the overall station project. The moving walkway at Bank now provides fast and efficient interchange between the Central line and Northern line and wouldn’t have been possible without the process she designed.
Most recently, she has been leading work to integrate TfL’s services into the new proposed HS2 station at Euston where, working with a range of partners, she provides valuable advice, insight, creativity and experience which will undoubtedly help achieve the best, affordable solution.
Jenny Hamilton, Lead Sponsor at Transport for London, said: “I am very happy, but also honoured to receive this award and I would like thank all the amazing people I have worked with across TfL who are vital to the successfully delivery of these schemes. It is a privilege to work on these projects and to then get this recognition for what I’ve done is such a surprise. I’ve spent most of my career in sponsorship, and I see my role as being about making stations safer and more accessible. Our stations see thousands of people travelling through them every day and I’m really happy to see so many enjoying the results of what I do.”
Andy Lord, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “I’m incredibly proud that Jenny has been awarded this commendation for her tireless work to improve our stations and help make London better for everyone. Millions of people who travel from across the capital every day have Jenny to thank for her tireless efforts to make Tube and rail journeys easier and more accessible. Her work to promote inclusive design solutions to make stations as accessible as possible in the face of challenges, including financial, is second to none.
“Her positive and determined approach, always looking to go above and beyond, is known by all who work with her, and this commendation is richly deserved.”
Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “I’m delighted that Jenny’s incredible work throughout her TfL career has been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours. Her dedication to making it easier for people to travel around our transport network has led to transformed stations and millions of improved journeys. From Bank to Bond Street, she has delivered projects with accessibility and inclusion at their heart, in the face of multiple challenges. Huge congratulations to Jenny on this fantastic achievement.”
