IRO Young Professionals visit to the East London Line Extension Project on the 14th April 2008
On Monday 14th April, 15 members of the Institution of Railway Operators Young Professionals section enjoyed a fascinating visit to the East London Line Extension Project. Interest in the visit was great as the opportunity to see a new railway being constructed in central London is rare.
The visit started at the Bishopsgate site office with a briefing about the project from Chief Engineer, Barrie Noble. He took us through the various construction stages and work sites and answered our questions. We then all donned our PPE, received a safety briefing and jumped onto a mini bus, which took us up to the site of Dalston Junction station.
Here the construction engineers explained how the station would be built and the technical challenges faced. It was interesting to learn about the liaisons required with the highways authorities to close roads during construction, the passive provision for Crossrail 2 and the potential for future reinstatement of the Dalston Eastern Curve.
Heading back southwards we drove past the site of the future Hoxton and Haggerston stations before being dropped off in Shoreditch next to the huge bridge that will span the Great Eastern Main Line. The engineer explained how the bridge would be pushed over the GEML during the May Day Bank Holiday possession and the key interface with Network Rail.
The visit concluded with a look at the site of the new station at Shoreditch High Street and how it will be linked to the new bridge recently put into place over the road.
The visit was extremely successful and IRO YPs would like to thank Barrie and his colleagues, who took time out their day to show us around and answer our questions and also Parsons Brinckerhoff, who facilitated the organisation of the visit.
Alex Hellier, Deputy Chairman of the IRO Young Professionals Southeast Area
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