The RailStaff Awards 2024

Sharon Willis-**HAS LEFT**

Said the following about Thameslink Programme:

“Summary of entry:

• The government-sponsored c.£7 billion Thameslink Programme will help London's rail network meet the huge rise in demand that has been seen in recent years, created to sustain and enhance London’s reputation as a leading global destination for residents, tourists and business people.

• The Thameslink Programme has created infrastructure capable of running 24 trains per hour (one train every two and a half minutes) through the central Thameslink core (Blackfriars to St Pancras) at the busiest times.

• The project has seen the complete redevelopment of London Bridge station and the surrounding railway. Described as being similar to ‘performing open heart surgery on someone running a marathon’, the redevelopment occurred in three distinct stages, meaning the station remained open throughout construction, despite being completely demolished and rebuilt from the ground up.

• With two levels, the ‘old’ station featured a low-level series of nine terminating platforms and six, high-level platforms servicing north to south through trains; the remodelling programme switches this to nine through-train platforms and six terminating, allowing more trains to carry on across London and opening up new journey opportunities for passengers.

• The programme covered the complete replacement of track and signalling equipment, as well as the building of other critical infrastructure to relieve congestion and unlock the bottlenecks that have existed for many years, particularly at Bermondsey and London Bridge station.

• The introduction of two new tracks at Borough Market and a new dive-under at Bermondsey enables Thameslink and Southeastern services to be segregated. This removed the previous conflicts, reducing delays and building resilience on the eastern approaches to London Bridge.

• The frequency of services will increase in stages until the final 24 tph service becomes operational in December 2019.

• The major challenges in delivering this project while keeping open Britain’s fourth busiest station, (54 million passenger journeys per year) necessitated a partnership approach between the four key delivery stakeholders: Network Rail, Costain, Balfour Beatty and Siemens – known collectively as the London Bridge Area Partnership (LBAP).

• Every single interface date between the delivery partners has been met on time, every commissioning and track and signalling stage has been delivered on time and in every case, the full functionality of the revised layout has been delivered.

• The completion of this work has provided South London with a rail terminus which is fit for the 21st century, giving a step increase in passenger capacity and a vastly improved environment through which to travel. It will also enable the application of ETCS (European Train Control System) which will further increase capacity through the centre of London, in the years to come.

• The project itself has also left a legacy within the area, with apprentices and graduates given training on a substantial live project, giving them the skills to move onto further projects in the rail industry and beyond.

Award entry

The government-sponsored Thameslink Programme will help London's rail network meet the huge rise in demand that has been seen in recent years. One of the most significant challenges ever undertaken by Network Rail, the Thameslink Programme is a multi-faceted, c.£7 billion pound project created to sustain and enhance London’s reputation as a leading global destination for residents, tourists and business people alike.

The ultimate aim of the Thameslink Programme was to create infrastructure capable of running 24 trains per hour (one train every two and a half minutes) through the central Thameslink core (Blackfriars to St Pancras) at the busiest times. The additional capacity provided by Thameslink services should also indirectly help to relieve pressure on other parts of London’s transport network, particularly the Victoria and Northern lines.

The desired benefits could not be fully realised without the redevelopment of London Bridge station and the surrounding railway. Described as being similar to ‘performing open heart surgery on someone running a marathon’, the redevelopment of London Bridge station itself has occurred in three distinct stages, moving south to north, meaning the station has been able to remain open throughout construction, despite being completely demolished and rebuilt from the ground up in each phase.

With two levels, the ‘old’ station featured a low-level series of nine terminating platforms and six, high-level platforms servicing north to south through trains; the remodelling programme switches this to nine through-train platforms and six terminating, allowing more trains to carry on across London and opening up new journey opportunities for passengers. This will also mean fewer trains are delayed outside the station waiting for a platform to become available. There will also be more trains to more destinations, including a connection to Crossrail services at Farringdon providing links across and beyond London in all directions.

This critical performance objective required numerous interim goals to be met before it could be achieved, with the programme covering the complete replacement of track and signalling equipment, as well as the building of other critical infrastructure to relieve congestion and unlock the bottlenecks that have existed for many years, particularly at Bermondsey and London Bridge station.

The introduction of two new tracks at Borough Market and a new dive-under at Bermondsey enables Thameslink and Southeastern services to be segregated. This removed the previous conflicts, reducing delays and building resilience on the eastern approaches to London Bridge and, from 2018, will allow 16 Thameslink trains per hour compared to just one before work started, as well as a significant increase in number of Southeastern services. The frequency of services will then increase in stages until the final 24 tph service becomes operational in December 2019.

The major challenges in delivering this project while keeping open Britain’s fourth busiest station, (54 million passenger journeys per year) necessitated a partnership approach between the four key delivery stakeholders: Network Rail, Costain, Balfour Beatty and Siemens – known collectively as the London Bridge Area Partnership (LBAP). Through a series of forums from director level to construction management on site, the partnership set ambitious targets to ensure delivery of the programme on time, setting the highest levels of safety performance and meeting budget.

What the Project Entailed

The Thameslink Programme was meticulously planned throughout, with three distinct ‘Key Output’ phases. Key Output 0 in 2009 saw the closure of the Moorgate branch at Farringdon, to allow Farringdon’s platforms to be extended and allow 12-car trains to run. This phase also closed the terminal platforms at Blackfriars, ready for that station to be rebuilt during Key Output 1.

Key Output 2, (the subject of this award submission), delivered the new station at London Bridge, probably the most visible part of the whole project, as well as extensive changes to track and signalling in the surrounding area. Building what was essentially a completely new station whilst ensuring that 54 million passenger journeys per year through London Bridge are not disrupted has been one of the major challenges facing the Thameslink Programme team.

Many alternative approaches were considered to integrate the demolition and reconstruction of the station with the complete remodelling of the track and signalling on its eastern and western approaches. However, given the intensity of the programme, and the scale and complexity of the challenge facing the team, it was recognised from the outset that an innovative, completely collaborative partnership was the only way Network Rail could maintain a demanding schedule of interface dates of ‘give-gets’ between delivery partners. Achieving the delivery of this scope on time and to budget required the successful integration of plans, designs, organisations, business cultures, knowledge and commercial and risk strategies - across a wide range of disciplines and suppliers.

The London Bridge Area Partnership (LBAP) has worked in close collaboration throughout and has delivered 128 stages of construction since 2012, a staging plan that took over three years to perfect. This accommodated the re-signalling, track remodelling and construction of London Bridge station, construction of the Bermondsey Dive Under to the east and Borough Viaduct to the west – all while continuing to operate over 80 trains per hour alongside the construction sites. This staging strategy formed the blueprint for delivery and each stage of the programme created the next worksite for one or all of the station, track and civil engineering teams.

Over 18 months of enabling work was required, including complete diversion of all the signalling and power cables out of the existing station to facilitate the demolition of the station, without ever incurring a service-affecting failure, no small feat in itself!

To this date, every single interface date between the delivery partners has been met on time, every commissioning and track and signalling stage has been delivered on time and in every case, the full functionality of the revised layout has been delivered.

In itself this is an incredible achievement in such a short period of time, but the real success of the programme has been the ability of each partner to work collaboratively with a high degree of professionalism, sharing problems, managing risks collectively and working as one team to drive efficiency and deliver for passengers – all as a result of detailed, meticulous planning.

Numerous innovations and creative solutions have been found during the course of the project to drive efficiency, reduce costs and make sure milestones have been met on time, particularly as part of the London Bridge redevelopment.

New trackside signalling technology, developed by Siemens, has increased the speed of signal and point operation to meet the performance demands of the new train services; this has already demonstrated much greater levels of performance and reliability.

Access, reliability and safety have also been significantly improved, by building the majority of trackside equipment underneath the railway. Remote condition monitoring and diagnostics have been installed to improve reliability and response time which has markedly improved train performance through London Bridge since 2015.

Prefabrication has been used across the whole project to both reduce the time taken to install and construct the station and equally to reduce the number of deliveries required as part of the project, helping reduce the impact on our neighbours at London Bridge and elsewhere. Further benefits have been the reduction in time spent working at height and the benefit of higher quality standards. Much of the benefits of prefabrication has been achieved through the early involvement of the supply chain in supporting the completion of the main design, providing efficient and effective solutions for the client.

Prefabricated solutions include the brickwork on the station façades; several key station service routes, 15 platform canopies with fully integrated MEP installations; 154 new sets of points; the REBs which house new signalling equipment; the canopies on the new platforms and even the Automatic Train Operation (ATO) signalling equipment.

More than 80% of the ATO testing happened off-network, with only the final 10% of tests taking place on Thameslink’s core route under London, vastly reducing the disruption passengers might face.

A series of inter-organisational working groups were also established to collaborate on areas of programme, safety, route access, design, social and environmental sustainability, commercial behaviours and construction.

Each of the supply chain partners has agreed to a series of incentivised milestones that they have to achieve, were they are only rewarded if everybody achieves their milestones, bringing cross-fertilisation and cross-alignment of incentives – either everyone succeeds together, or fails together. This has driven behaviours around how the various supply chain members work together to achieve delivery targets, with the key contractors focused on achieving that schedule and supporting each other.

With successful milestone delivery being the crux of the collaboration, a dedicated integrated schedule board was established to ensure maximum value leverage from the programme. LBAP has also sought to use technological systems and platforms that allow and facilitate collaboration. The dedication and output of these teams has meant that every major milestone on the programme has been achieved.

The entire Thameslink Programme operates in a culture of openness, honesty and transparency – with the spirit of collaboration evident in a true one-team approach. At every level, the teams are committed to continuing to successfully deliver a world-class solution for London’s travelling public.

Programme Objectives

The ultimate objective of the programme was to provide infrastructure that is capable of running 24 trains per hour - one train every 150 seconds - through the central Thameslink core (from Blackfriars to St Pancras) during peak hours.

However, this target could not be achieved without the redevelopment of London Bridge station and the surrounding area. Described as being akin to ‘performing open heart surgery on someone running a marathon’, the redevelopment of the station has occurred in three distinct stages, enabling the station to remain open throughout the construction works, despite the whole station having effectively been completely demolished and rebuilt from the ground up.

The critical performance objective required a huge number of interim goals to be met before it could be achieved, with the component parts of the project encompassing the replacement of all track and signalling equipment, together with the building of other critical infrastructure to relieve congestion and unlock the bottlenecks that have existed for many years, particularly at Bermondsey and London Bridge station.

Success quite simply has already seen the opening of the new London Bridge station and will subsequently see the delivery of a safe, reliable and efficient service that provides additional capacity to passengers across in to, out of and across London.

From the outset of the programme, the LBAP recognised its responsibility to deliver sustainably, and committed to LBAP has been committed to understanding, measuring and reducing its carbon footprint, identifying the carbon hotspots and implementing associated reduction measures.

The Thameslink Sustainability Strategy was developed and has been delivered collaboratively by all the programme’s partners and contractors. By taking a constructive and supportive approach to the work, contractors have been able to positively contribute to the strategy. Priority areas were determined through each contractor having a ‘Sustainable Delivery Statement’, and the activities have flowed from these.

LBAP teams have held resource efficiency workshops to address sustainability at design stage, with its achievements including a reduction in the amount of concrete used in the construction of REBs by approximately 46 tonnes, and a reduction in the number of piles required in the design of the Bermondsey Dive Under from 1,600 to 1,000. The workshops also led to the existing signal gantry posts being reused to reduce material use, installation time and create less waste, an innovation that has won sustainability awards.

Another initiative (just one of many examples) that was implemented for construction-related emissions followed a review of stores utilisation at the New Cross Gate site to see how transport emissions could be reduced. As a result, carbon saving estimated at 13,440 kg of CO2e per year were achieved during the Thameslink programme – equating to 67,200kg CO2e over the life of the programme.

From a community engagement perspective, the programme has also delivered a wide range of outcomes, including:

• 88 apprenticeship places

• 75 previously unemployed Southwark residents entering and remained in employment for at least 6 months

• 193 job opportunities shared with local residents

• 16 NVQ qualifications gained by local residents

• Over 200 short courses and CSCS courses run for local residents

• More than 40 careers events run for young people and job seekers

• Over 350 opportunities for new jobs or skills provided to local people.

• 429 community engagement events benefitting over 5,400 people

• 50 work placements provided

• Over £1.8m spent with local suppliers

• 175 different organisations/companies/groups have benefitted from this community engagement programme

• Improvements to parks, open spaces and embankments in 11 areas

• Developed a long-term relationship with a local school which provided many opportunities to provide a positive impact via Health, Safety and Environment engagement programmes, reading and maths mentoring, STEM activities, parent workshops and donations of office furniture and gardening equipment.

Programme Outcomes

Over the course of the programme, the LBAP has delivered:

• The remodelling of London Bridge station and opening of a huge, bright new concourse with better retail, passenger and staff facilities (including an integrated control centre and staff welfare area) and better connections to onward transport including the Tube station and bus station

• Complete demolition and reconstruction of 15 new platforms and canopy modules

• Over 150 switch and crossing units

• 38km of track completely re-laid

• Over 100 stages of railway systems work (plain line renewal, signalling renewal, location cabinet moves, train describer works)

• Eight major signalling commissionings

• Bridge strengthening across the network to compensate for increased capacity

• Construction of a new grade-separated junction at Bermondsey and the commissioning of South Bermondsey turn-back

• Doubling of Tanners Hill fly-down at Lewisham

• Automatic Train Operation / European Train Control System in the core section between London Bridge and St Pancras (the first time this has been used on an operational railway in the UK)

• New sidings for new rolling stock in six locations

• Connections to new train maintenance depots at Three Bridges and Hornsey

All of this has been achieved while maintaining a healthy train service in to and out of London Bridge.

We are also proud of our community and are working hard to communicate with and mitigate the impact of our works on local communities by employing community liaison officers, working with our communications team and requiring construction sites to register with the Considerate Constructors scheme and attain scores at least equivalent to excellent and aim for an exceptional standard.

The LBAP has also:

• Organised fundraising and collections for charities including the Manna Centre for homeless people in London Bridge as well as national/international charities

• Supported artists with material donations and sponsoring local festivals

• Supported the creation of community spaces such as Whites Ground Community Garden and The Greenwood Theatre pocket park

• Delivered 89 apprenticeships to local people

• Created 12 retail locations in the station dedicated to local/start-up businesses

• With regard to the supply chain:

• 63% of the direct awarded value has been won by local businesses

• Approximately 44% of businesses winning Thameslink direct contracts are SMEs

• Information is shared about procurement processes and forthcoming contract opportunities with supply chain development programmes in the local area including Supply Southwark and Supply Cross River

• Engagement with SMEs to de-mystify the process of registering and becoming approved

The completion of Key Stage 2 has provided South London with a rail terminus which is fit for the 21st century, giving a step increase in passenger capacity and a vastly improved environment through which to travel. It will also enable the application of ETCS (European Train Control System) which will further increase capacity through the centre of London, in the years to come.

The project itself has left a legacy within the area, with apprentices and graduates given training on a substantial live project, giving them the skills to move onto further projects in the rail industry and beyond.

Collaboration has been the key to the success of the project with all partners acknowledging that without collaboration the delivery of London Bridge would not have been possible. This learning and the associated attitudes have been communicated through the organisations involved and best practice has been promoted and will be applied in other major Infrastructure works over the years to come.

Over the course of the project a number of collaboration surveys were undertaken at six monthly intervals. These clearly demonstrate a change in the collaborative behaviour in all areas of the programme.“