DELIVERING EUROPE’S BIGGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
Network Rail’ s Infrastructure Projects division is playing a key role in delivering L on don’s new £15bn railway by upgrading existing lines to the east and west of the capital that will be used by Cross rail trains from next year.
“Network Rail is responsible for delivering £2.3 billion worth of work above ground, where the Cross rail route utilises existing parts of the network .”
This has proved to be an incredibly successful year for Network Rail’s Crossrail surface works, with several milestones being reached on one of the largest projects ever undertaken by IP.
Apart from the 26 miles of tunnels constructed by Crossrail Ltd beneath central London, Network Rail is responsible for delivering £2.3 billion worth of work above ground, where the Crossrail route utilises existing parts of the network.
This includes modifying and enhancing 28 existing stations, mostly on the Great Eastern Main Line between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, and the Great Western Main Line between Paddington and Heathrow Junction and Reading. A shorter section on Crossrail’s south-eastern arm runs from the eastern tunnel portal at Plumstead to Abbey Wood, where a new interchange is being built with Southeastern services on the North Kent Line.
On all three sections, NR’s involvement is now at an advanced stage, and the new concourse at Abbey Wood is due to open to Southeastern passengers in October, when the Elizabeth Line platforms will also be handed over to Crossrail Ltd to begin testing.
Meanwhile, the first of 70 Bombardier Class 345 Aventra trains on order for Crossrail entered service with TfL Rail between Shenfield and Liverpool Street in June.
Elizabeth Line services will begin running from Paddington to both Shenfield and Abbey Wood in December 2018, and also to Heathrow from Paddington main line station. The full service to Crossrail’s western extremity at Reading will follow in December 2019.
Minimising Disruption
In order to minimise disruption to the operational railway, much of the construction work has been concentrated into a series of overnight weekend and Bank Holiday blockades. This included a ten-day closure last December, during which IP completed its largest ever Christmas programme of works, worth some £30 million.
On the western section, NR was required to upgrade the Great Western Main Line to accommodate Elizabeth Line services, but also the new Intercity Express Programme fleet due to start work in October. Infrastructure work was also needed to enable the introduction, on January 3, of GWR Class 387 electric multiple units between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington.
Services into Paddington were therefore suspended to allow NR and its main contractors Carillion, Balfour Beatty, Alstom and Taylor Woodrow to install overhead line equipment (OLE) and for extensive resignalling. A number of platforms were also lengthened, and the station’s main footbridge was raised to provide sufficient clearance for the OLE.
Moving further west, a new junction and the necessary signalling was installed at Old Oak Common, where a new depot and sidings have been built. A new dive under was also fully commissioned after a four-year construction project that will significantly reduce conflicting movements with slow moving freight traffic entering and leaving Acton Yard.
The final stages of Stockley flyover, where the line to Heathrow diverges from the Great Western Main Line, were also completed and new switches and crossings were installed at Hayes & Harlington and Maidenhead.
Finally, the last 25kV AC wires were erected between Stockley and Maidenhead ahead of their energisation in May, when GWR’s EMU services were extended from Hayes & Harlington.
Great Eastern
Meanwhile, on Crossrail’s eastern side, engineering was completed at 13 locations by NR, Costain and Alstom ahead of the first TfL Rail Aventra trains entering traffic between Shenfield and Liverpool Street in June.
Overseeing the Crossrail works was NR’s former Crossrail Programme Director Matthew Steele, before he became IP Commercial &
Development Director in the summer.
Last Christmas he was responsible for the deployment of more than 4,400 people working on sections of tracks being used by 250 machines and 74 engineering trains bringing in everything from ballast to track panels.
He says: “We packed that blockade with more work and resources than ever before. It took a colossal amount of planning, and the engineers rehearsed the scenario for nearly six months to ensure a safe and punctual handover of the line back to the operators.
“Working around an operational railway is expensive and can be disruptive, so I think blockades are a more efficient way to reduce that. There is short term pain but the long-term gain is massive.
“You can now get a 110mph air-conditioned Class 387 train into Paddington where you used to be on a 75mph Turbo. That was delivered in May, ahead of schedule, because of what we did at Christmas. That is probably my single proudest achievement at Crossrail because of the immense challenge to get the electrification in by resignalling, lifting bridges, upgrading the power supply and rewiring almost everything.
“But we shouldn’t forget all the smaller bolton projects such as building West Ealing Sidings which, if you don’t complete, you cannot run those services.”
Although needed for Elizabeth Line services beginning in December 2019, the re-modelling of Maidenhead was brought forward by 18 months to enable GWR to extend its EMU services ahead of schedule and deliver benefits early for passengers.
Steele says this demonstrated not only the strength and flexibility of his delivery team, but also how well IP understood the operational environment and the needs of its customers.
He adds: “As programme manager, I spent as much time with Route MD Mark Langman as I did with the TOCs, so I could understand how I was disrupting their businesses. Ultimately, I needed access to complete the works, and we prided ourselves on having excellent relationships with our stakeholders.
“We also had some excellent contractors, and maintained a strong relationship with our client [Crossrail Ltd] on the delivery of the work. Accelerating the work was of mutual benefit because we got it done earlier and have brought the assets into use.”
GWR is expected to extend its EMU services to Didcot in January 2018, and to Reading in December 2018, ahead of Elizabeth Line services beginning a year later.