STATION MODERNISATION
When completed the Thameslink programme will have brought improvements to 50 stations and 225 kilometres of the rail network from Bedford to Brighton. Rail Technology Magazine finds out more about two of the main station refurbishments taking place as part of the project - Blackfriars and Farringdon
T
he Thameslink programme is truly massive in scale and
complexity. The various projects which make up the programme are well underway with key output one in the implementation phase.
“This means that in terms of our major construction works, we have completed the demolition of the old station at Blackfriars,” says Network Rail major programme director Thameslink, Jim Crawford.
“In addition to this, last year we put in place a 350 tonne bridge deck in readiness for track slewing which is due to take place this Christmas.
“We have also carried out approximately 50 per cent of the all of the deck refurbishment on the Blackfriars bridge in readiness for when we slew all of the tracks which are currently on the western side of the station onto the east side of the station. We have also just completed all of the piling work at Blackfriars, in both the south and north stations, which is another big milestone for us.
“We have now begun to erect the first section of steel framework for the roof and this means that the new profile of the station roof that spans the River Thames is starting to emerge.
One of the main challenges the team face while carrying out the work at Blackfriars is keeping the station open to passengers and rail services, apart from each weekend when a planned possession takes place and the
Oct/Nov 10 station is closed.
“This means that we can only carry out complex construction work at weekends and bank holidays as Blackfriars is still very much an operational station. The next big milestone at Blackfriars will be at Christmas when in the construction programme we begin major work on the western side of the rail bridge, following the relocation of the tracks and cabling from this side to the eastern side .
Another significant part of the Thameslink project is the work taking place at Farringdon station near the Bank district in east London.
“The Farringdon project has been very much in the demolition phase for the last twelve months, which has involved the deconstruction of a twelve storey office block and this has opened up the site significantly. We are now in the process of piling, in readiness for the new superstructure to be put in place in October, just as this magazine goes to print.
“Again, the Farringdon project is now very much in an implementation phase, but unlike Blackfriars, which involves a complete rebuild of the station, Farringdon is more of an extension to an existing LU and mainline station which is still very much in operation. However, I am pleased to say that both projects are going to schedule.”
Another element of key output one is centred around work on rail systems and station
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