National photography competition seeks finest rail views

From the Network Rail press release:

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The search to find the best photography of the British landscape and that of the rail network is on. Entry for the Take a view - Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards 2011 is now open.

For the second year, Network Rail is supporting this national competition where amateurs and professional photographers can showcase the very best imagery of Britain^s beautiful rural and urban scenery and compete for the top prize of ^10,000. The competition, now in its fifth year, is the idea of renowned landscape photographer, Charlie Waite, and the best images will be showcased at an exhibition at the National Theatre in London.

An additional prize will be given for the best photography of Britain^s rail network ^ The Network Rail ^Lines in the Landscape^ Special Award. The winner will receive a weekend break and a guided tour of the Severn Rail Tunnel^s Sudbrook Pumping Station, including travelling down the 180ft lift shaft to the complex of underground culverts, sub-tunnels where you can safely observe the trains as they pass.

David Higgins, Network Rail chief executive said, ^Every day for over a century the railway has helped people travel across the length and breadth of Britain. Those journeys can take people across spectacular structures such as the Forth Bridge and Ribblehead viaduct and where people can experience truly amazing views of the countryside and our cities.

^Network Rail has the special duty of protecting and promoting this legacy as well as building a modern rail network for the 21st century. We are proud to continue to support this competition, and even more so to have a special award for the best photography of our rail network. Travelling by rail is becoming ever more popular, and we hope that, through this competition, even more people will recognise its importance in Britain today.^

Awards founder, Charlie Waite added ^Train travel really is one of my favourite things. The longer journeys give you time to think and reflect, very like the quiet time that you can experience when creating a photograph. The ever-changing and inspirational views from the window provide the perfect break from daily life and the constant maintenance needed to keep the infrastructure in good repair is easy to forget. Looking through the railway images last year was a great pleasure and I am really looking forward to seeing this year^s entries.^

Last year, the Lines in the Landscape award received over 500 entries from all over the country, and Network Rail is keen to encourage more interest this year. The winner of the 2010 award was Chris Howe from Hitchin in Hertfordshire with a photograph of a speeding train going through Grindleford station in the Peak District. Just this month Chris took up his prize of a guided tour across the Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland ^ something only possible owing to the current upgrade works.