London & South East

Paddington Station project is on track for success

Crossrail Paddington

The construction of a new Crossrail station at Paddington Station will vastly update existing services and provide both daily commuters and international passengers arriving from Heathrow Airport with a state-of-the-art transport experience.

The existing Paddington Station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex served by four underground lines – Bakerloo, District and Circle, Hammersmith & City and Departures Road south – whilst the northern perimeter is bounded by the Grand Union Canal.

Opened in 1854, the station was first served by underground trains in 1863 and was the original western terminus of the Metropolitan Railway, the world’s first underground railway. As the existing station is a Grade I listed building, Crossrail is forbidden from altering any part of the listed structure without prior permission from English Heritage.

Work on the new Crossrail station began in October 2011 and will comprise the construction of an underground box directly under Departures Road and Eastbourne Terrace. In total, the box will measure 260 metres long, 25 metres wide and 23 metres deep.

The main concourses will be located between the two entrances and their gatelines, whilst two banks of escalators will lead to platform-level. Lifts will also be provided from ground to concourse and concourse to platform level.

Crossrail Paddington

There is a single island platform at track level for eastbound and westbound trains, separated at each end by the evacuation and ventilation cores. Each of the cores has incorporated a pair of staircases, intervention lifts, tunnel draught relief and three sets of tunnel ventilation fans, whilst Automatic Screen Doors (PEDs) extend the length of the 200-metre long platforms.

A glass canopy has replaced the existing Grade I listed canopy and protects the concourse area from the sunlight.

It has been estimated that construction will generate 160,000 cubic metres of concrete and 15,000 tonnes of reinforcement.

In order to enable the excavation of the 260-metre long station box, Westminster Council has agreed to a full closure of Eastbourne Terrace for two years.

The full closure of the road commenced on 12th February 2012 and will continue until 2014. Closing Eastbourne Terrace will allow for the establishment of a larger worksite and a two-year reduction in the time taken to construct the station whilst alleviating the overall impact on commuters, businesses and residents.

Crossrail Paddington

Whilst construction takes place, all traffic – including buses and taxis – will be diverted to alternative routes. In addition, Transport for London will closely monitor the situation in order to assess the impact, aid traffic flow and limit disruption to the surrounding area.

The existing taxi rank on Departures Road will also be permanently closed and taxis will be relocated to a newly constructed facility to the north of the mainline station. Passengers will be able to access the station from the taxi deck via lifts and escalators.

The new Crossrail station at Paddington Station is scheduled for completion in 2017.

 Ardent Services Ltd

Formed in 1998, Ardent Services Ltd specialises in fire protection and general builders work services for rail and infrastructure sectors.

Ardent Services Ltd is UKAS 3rd party accredited by FIRAS alongside their PROMAT licensee and Approved Installer status for Fire Protection. The company are also LINKUP Audited annually for Builders Work activities. Ardent Services Ltd’s Fire Protection expertise include diaphragm and tunnel walls, hoardings, ceilings & partitions, duct work, glazing, steelwork protection & Durasteel systems. The company also have in-house trades to carry out minor builders’ packages that invariably arise as part of their works.

With an extensive background in construction projects for rail services Ardent Services Ltd has completed over 150 rail projects including Blackfriars and Kings Cross for Network Rail and Elephant & Castle and Warren Street for London Underground. Projects range from 100k to 2m.

On the Crossrail Paddington (C272) project Ardent Services have been involved during the early stages of the project engaging with Mott MacDonald’s & Weston Williamson through the design process to the construction phase sub-contracted with Carillion. With Blackfriars nearing completion for Ardent Services, they are also deployed at Tottenham Court Road and Farringdon Phase One.

Ardent Services Ltd Operations Director, Jonathan Davey, said:

“Working on a Crossrail project health and safety is of paramount importance and we are committed to meeting all of the requirements as set out by Crossrail. Their commitment along with Carillion to the Fair Payment Charter ensures we have the capital to invest in health and safety from the start of these demanding and complex projects.

“We are working with our suppliers to ensure the creation of local jobs and adherence to the principles of the Cross Rail Skills pledge and CBH scheme.

“As a consequence of a Crossrail initiative all our delivery vehicles have been upgraded to increase protection to cyclists and vulnerable road users.

“At Ardent Services our ethos is quite simply in our company name.”

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Roma Publications