Projects & News - WSP Group

In the third part of our serieson refurbishment, we look at the workof redesigning busy city railway stations.Platform for improvementCapital ConnectionThe group’s rail business hasexpanded in the UK over the pastfive years using its existing buildingsexpertise on station related work.Winning the outline design contractfor Birmingham New Street Stationwas the first big step in this process.“WSP is now considered a leadingNetwork Rail station designer,”Our targetis to becomeone of the UK’sleading railwayconsultantsrailway stations in the UK. AnotherGrade II Victorian structure, the wroughtiron structural skeleton of the archedbarrel roofs will be strengthened andgrit blasted to protect it from corrosion.During the refurbishment, some11,000 sq m of elevated protectiondeck separate the work area from thepublic area. A further temporary stagingplatform complete with a tower cranehas been erected over an existingelevated car park to handle themovement of materials to and fromthe roof safely. A multi-disciplinary teamis working on this 18-month project.Reading StationWhen it comes torefurbishment ofstations in Londonand its immediatenetwork, WSP has animpressive andgrowing portfolio.explains Dave Darnell, Directorof WSP Rail. “Our target is to buildon our station capability and emulateWSP Sweden’s multi-disciplinaryrail capability to become one of theUK’s leading railway consultants.”Crystal PalaceStationWhen the East London Line Extensionopens, it will be from the renovatedCrystal Palace station. The existingGrade II listed station is an imposingexample of Victorian railwayarchitecture, built in 1854 following theGreat Exhibition. From May 2010 it willbecome one of the two southern terminiof the East London Line, connectingwith the London Overground network.WSP is providing full engineering designfor station enhancements, which includenew stairs, lifts and walkways, a newticket office and a state of the art fabricroof to the platforms.Victoria StationWSP is design consultant to NetworkRail’s Contractor May Gurney for theroof refurbishment of Platforms 1-8of Victoria Station, one of the busiestAn important railway hub servingPaddington and West London,Reading Station is in the early stagesof a comprehensive £500 millionredesign process to expand bothtrack and passenger capacity.The team from WSP is workingin partnership with Corus, Grimshawand Turner & Townsend on a schemethat will add several new platforms,provide a new 30m wide pedestrianbridge spanning the entire stationand refurbish the subway system.Paddington StationAs well as being the terminus for theHeathrow Express, Paddington willbecome an interchange on the £15.9bnCrossrail project. Following the detailedroof survey and the design of theambitious renovation of the station’sGrade I listed fourth roof span, WSPhas been appointed to design a backuppower supply that would allow thestation to remain open and operationalin the event of its main power supplyfailing. The initial surveys involveda comprehensive programme of siteinvestigations and inspectionsundertaken by a multi disciplinary WSPteam working under track possessionsand often during night time closures.Contact: Dave Darnell, WSP UKTel: +44 (0)12 5631 8712Email: dave.darnell@wspgroup.comVictoria Station Crystal Palace Station09