STATION MODERNISATION AND EQUIPMENT
The upgrading of Balham station has forced contractors to work in a confined area and plan carefully. Pieter Wilke, Southern’s senior project manager, explains how the works are progressing.
C
ontractors working on a £1m project to upgrade Balham station
in south London have had to set up their construction site within the area they are refurbishing, as there is absolutely no ‘spare’ land on which to base themselves.
The works, which began on schedule in early April, have been split up into four phases, and necessitate the building of a new entrance to allow the existing booking hall area to be rebuilt.
Pieter Wilke, Southern’s senior project manager, updated RTM on the progress of the works.
He said: “Work started on schedule and we’re on site and currently working on Phase 1 – the new, secondary entrance.
“There will be massive advantages to passengers. Balham is an important interchange station, especially because of its links with the Underground, and we are seeing a continuous growth in footfall. It means the current layout, with a very tight booking hall area, with a gateline on top of the ticket office, on top of the entrance, on top of the link with the Underground, just doesn’t allow for passenger flow.
“The secondary entrance will provide an alternative for Southern passengers, with another area where they can enter and exit from. Currently it’s Station Road only, in and out, but you will now be able to use Balham High Street as well, which will be fully gated. When the secondary entrance is operational, that will then allow us to refurbish the booking hall area, then make the station more accessible, and lastly to undertake some platform updates and minor refurbishments to tidy up the station as a whole, rather than leaving a patchwork of improved and unimproved areas.”
A temporary ticket office and relocated gatelines will allow contractors to completely overhaul the booking hall and ticket office, which is “really very antiquated”, Wilke said, and struggling to cope with passenger numbers – footfall was around 2.55 million in 2009/10.
He added: “It is uncomfortable to use for both passengers and staff. That’s where accessibility comes into it – we’re installing height adjustable DDA compliant
windows, a level ramp entry from Station Road directly into the station and overall, passenger flow will be vastly improved in the area.”
How much demolition work is having to be done as part of the project?
“There will be some demolition work that will take place in the new entrance area, and involves breaking up the existing floor surface at the rear and in the subway, then also providing major structural support for the proposed canopy to protect the new gateline and the new ticket vending machines.
“Further demolition works also take place in the booking hall, creating an additional entrance with a level access ramp, opening up the hall area, replacing steel screens with new toughened windows and relocating the existing gateline – improving passenger circulation. There will also be a complete resurfacing, with a concrete base and tarmac on top to take the main structure that will go under the canopy. We’ll also be installing cycle shelters at the back.”
The works are part of the National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP), the DfT-funded programme initially designed to enhance around 150 medium-sized stations across England and Wales.
TIMELINE
Phase 1: New secondary entrance – by June 26
Constructing a secondary entrance, new gateline, ticket vending machine and cy- cle shelters.
Phase 2: Underpass & Ramp – by August 16
Relocation of existing gateline and ramp works, temporary ticket office set up.
Phase 3: Ticket Hall Works – by end of September
Refurbishment of booking hall area.
Phase 4: Platform stairwell and plat- forms – by end of October Stairwell/platforms; deep clean includ- ing painting and decorating, overall completion.
Southern and Network Rail’s contractors on the Balham station works are AECOM for project management, with Osborne Rail as the principal contractor.
Wilke said: “Balham is a very British station - there are unique challenges in terms of retaining operations while not disrupting the connection with the Underground and the passengers currently using the station.
“The site does not lend itself to a construction site set-up. You can picture what the contractor is going through, working within a very limited area, bounded by a main road. We don’t necessarily have extra land or excess Network Rail land to use: everything is currently station, so the construction site set-up is within the area of refurbishment. The contractor had to come up with a unique plan to manage that. The bulk of their stuff was off-site so they have had to tightly manage the scheduling of the receiving and removing of materials.”
Will the improvements allow Balham to cope with continuous growth in passenger numbers?
Wilke explained: “The project, first of all, was to address a station that seriously needed refurbishment and in the process to address passenger flows, which has health and safety implications in terms of getting a large number of people through during peak periods. It’s also been done with growth in mind; Southern has got, as part of our franchise, a commitment to grow our stations. One of the areas we want to grow is the leisure market, so what we’re doing at the station at the moment will help us soak up those numbers as we grow.
“By the end of October we will have a completely refurbished Balham station, with two entrances. At that point though, the secondary entrance is seen to be a peak-hours facility, so initially it will only be open until about 10am in the morning, and from about 4-8pm in the evening.
“That’s the current operational plan. But it’s set up for the future, so depending on the growth in passenger numbers, that could become a full-time entrance.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit
www.southernrailway.com
rail technology magazine Apr/May 11 | 69
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