Thameslink station platforms extended by 50% in under 48hrs

Passengers at Elstree & Borehamwood station can look forward to longer trains and more seats after two of the station’s platforms were extended by more than 70m each in a single weekend – work which would have taken up to six months using conventional methods.

Time-lapse: Modular platform extensions, Elstree & Borehamwood

The upgrade at Elstree & Borehamwood station used a modular system pioneered in Germany, with teams of engineers lifting 22 pre-cast platform sections – each measuring 6m by 3m and weighing 14 tonnes – into place along the Midland Main Line.

Andrew Parker, Network Rail project manager, said: “In just one weekend, using innovative modular design and technology, we’ve boosted capacity at Elstree & Borehamwood for passengers so they can benefit from longer trains and more seats in the years to come.

“Carrying out this work so quickly with minimal disruption to passenger services makes life easier for the travelling public and helps keep costs down for the rail industry.”

The platforms were extended as part of the £6bn Thameslink Programme to improve services on the line from Bedford to Brighton via central London.

Platforms at stations along the Thameslink route are being extended by a combined 4km –longer than the runway at Luton airport. Network Rail has already completed over 70% of this work, ready for the introduction of 50% longer trains in December 2011 and the introduction of a new trains in 2018.

Longer trains formed of additional existing carriages will begin calling at stations between Bedford and St Albans from December this year, which is expected to reduce the number of people on board services for Elstree & Borehamwood. The first longer 12-carriage trains are expected to start calling at the station in December 2018 once a fleet of new trains has been built and delivered into service.

David Statham, projects director for First Capital Connect which operates Thameslink route services, said: “This December we’ll use additional existing carriages to introduce our first handful of 50% longer 12-carriage trains.

“These will be targeted to relieve the busiest services that run fast between Bedford and Brighton, providing, in turn, some relief to those services calling at Elstree & Borehamwood.

“From December 2018 a brand new fleet of trains will be fully online, allowing 12-carriage trains to call at Elstree & Borehamwood for the first time, providing still further relief for congested services.”