Paddington Bakerloo Line Link Construction

Project Details

Project Description

LBA Role

Project Highlights

Location

Paddington

Client

Costain/Skanska JV for TFL

Date

Jan 2015 to Oct 2017

Project Type

Rail Station Construction

Skills

Survey and Monitoring
Management
Construction Management
Design Management
CDM Advice
Engineering Surveying

Value

£40M approx

Project Description

The Paddington link tunnel, linking the new Crossrail station and the LU Bakerloo Line platforms.

Paddington is one of the busiest stations on the Tube network and to alleviate the demand additional passengers place on existing infrastructure once Crossrail arrives, it was necessary to build a new link between Crossrail and the Bakerloo line.

Around 85,000 passengers interchange to and from the Bakerloo line each day and it was anticipated this would increase to over 115,000 when Crossrail starts serving Paddington in 2019.

The new link will be completed by the end of 2018 in time for Crossrail opening.

To help ease the flow of passenger numbers, a new 130m long pedestrian tunnel running 25m below the Network Rail concourse was constructed. This offers passengers a smooth interchange between the underground station and Crossrail, without conflict with other commuters and passengers travelling to Bristol, the West Country and South Wales from the Network Rail concourse.

The subway has been routed to minimize impact on the existing station facilities.  

Among the complexities of the job, an existing underground switchroom was demolished to make way for an escalator barrel. A new switchroom was created off-line and the necessary equipment installed and tested before the original room was demolished.

The design of the route was developed during the ‘Innovatiove Contractor Engagement’ pre-tender period.  The final route mimimised impact on the Bakerloo Line escalators, with the tunnel passing beneath the lower machine chamber only, rather than beneath the escalators themselves. The engineering team were able to mitigate the impact by underpinning the chamber from within the new tunnel, meaning that the escalators could remain in service throughout the construction and cause far less disruption for passengers.

LBA Role

LBA provided the tunnel constructability expertise during the design process, and the tunnelling, survey and monitoring, design management and assurance expertise during the tender period.

Following the award of the contract to Costain Skanska, LBA were integrated into the Joint Venture team and supported the project with the following areas of expertise:

  • Design Management, Management of the design into construction 
  • Surveying and Monitoring management and implementation
  • Engineering and tunnel Surveying
  • CDM Advice – Ensuring all design risks were assessed prior to handover to construction 
  • Fire Safety Support – Providing Fire Risk Assessments including interfaces with adjacent projects
  • Construction Management of the Fit Out and final Handover
Project Highlights

LBA provided experienced staff in key roles to enable the project team to deliver the project ahead of programme, successfully managing the interfaces between the existing LU operational station and the Paddington Crossrail station.

Providing weekly and daily Monitoring Reports to LU and NR to enable construction to continue without disruption to their operational railways.

Accreditations and Affiliations