UK: Transport for London has awarded a joint venture of Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure and VolkerFitzpatrick a contract to build an extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking line which will enable London Overground services to serve the Barking Riverside development area.
The contract announced on December 21 covers works for the 4·5 km extension including reconfiguration of Network Rail’s Ripple Lane freight yard, construction of a viaduct over the Ripple Lane yard, continuation of the viaduct for a further 1·5 km over Renwick Road and into the Barking Riverside area, and construction of a terminus station.
Preparatory work is to get underway immediately, with main construction scheduled to start in early 2019 for opening in late 2021. A service of four electric trains per hour is planned.
The majority of the funding for construction is coming from the Barking Riverside Ltd joint venture of the Greater London Authority (49%) and London & Quadrant New Homes (51%), with additional funding from TfL’s Growth Fund which supports transport schemes that have a direct impact on unlocking housing and employment growth.
‘Awarding this contract to build the London Overground extension is the next exciting step in the Barking Riverside development, which will enable the delivery of up to 10 800 new homes and the creation of new healthcare and leisure facilities’, said Gareth Powell, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport.
Barking Riverside Ltd Managing Director Matthew Carpen said the rail link would be ‘the single most important part of unlocking the true potential of this amazing riverside site, allowing residents and visitors to go to and from central London in as little as 22 min and firmly putting Barking Riverside on the map’.
