GB Railfreight to bury ‘time capsule’ at site of new Peterborough office

14th August 2020

GB Railfreight and Lindum took part in a joint event on 30 July to bury a ‘time capsule’ at the site of the new office to mark the next phase of construction.

The time capsule contains a message from GBRf Managing Director John Smith, while Lindum included a photo of the project team and the architect plans for the site. In addition, the team at GBRf put into the capsule copies of a selection of Thursday’s newspapers; a GBRf tie and hi-viz vest; photos of all the GBRf staff involved in the project; the latest NOW CD, a compilation of tracks from 2020;  a ‘price list’ of a selection of items at this time in 2020; a copy of the GBRf 20th anniversary photo book – the anniversary of which fell last year; the latest copy of GBRf News, the company’s internal magazine; and other GBRf merchandise.

GBRf announced the investment of £3m for a new office and training centre in Peterborough in January having been granted planning permission in December 2019, with Lindum appointed to undertake the construction of the three-storey office building.

Although the opening of the office has slightly been delayed to April 2021, both Lindum and GBRf identified the issues brought by COVID-19 in a timely manner and have safely continued with the development of the site, throughout the pandemic.

John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight said:

“At the start of the year we announced that, to meet increasing demand for our services, GBRf was expanding operations by investing in new offices and training facilities. Today we take another step towards seeing that turn into reality.

“Today’s ceremony marks a significant moment, and what a year it’s been. When we look back in years to come, we will be able to reflect on what a seismic year 2020 was. Hopefully it will also be the year GBRf truly kicked on and continued to be one of the fastest growing companies in the transport sector, despite the difficulties the UK economy faces at this time.”

General Manager of Lindum Peterborough Darren King said work on the project was going well. He said:

“It’s great to be here today to celebrate how this building is progressing. As a Peterborough-based business, it’s very reassuring to see a power-house company like GBRf recommitting to the city with this kind of investment.

“We are also delighted to be involved in the burial of the time capsule and are grateful to GBRf for inviting us to contribute. One day in the future, it will offer a fascinating insight into life in 2020, which has certainly been a year like no other.

“We have produced a memory stick to be included in the capsule. It includes some information about Lindum, profiles of the project team and an explanation about how this project was affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. It should make for interesting reading one day!”

Image: GB Railfreight