Curtins was commissioned by National Museums of Science and Industry to undertake the civil and structural engineering on the £20 million refurbishment of The National Rail Museum in York. £200,000 development funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) will help them work towards this aim.

The venue is one of the most visited Museum's outside of London and the busiest and largest railway museum in the world. Its refurbishment is expected to increase visitor numbers from 800,000 per year to over one million.

As part of the project, the display area in the existing Great Hall has been completely redesigned and a new mezzanine floor level has been installed across a large area of the building, which allows visitors to overlook the three main areas of the hall. The new layout is expected to improve orientation through the area. Curtins has worked closely with the architect and exhibition designer to maximise the impact of the exhibition. A key feature of the display will be the replica of The Rocket, which is suspended over the Great Hall.

Other elements of the design include the introduction of other facilities into the Great Hall, including corporate event zones, a 200-cover café area and retail space.

Access into the museum is fundamentally changed by the construction of a new covered footbridge over Leeman Road, which links the main City Entrance onto the new mezzanine floor level. As a consequence, a single main visitor entrance area is created.