Removing a notorious rail bottleneck
20 million passengers use Reading station annually; this is predicted to double by 2030. A significant development was needed to meet future demand while also maintaining normal operations.
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Network Rail
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Complex project delivery
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Hochtief
Key benefits
Completed 1 year
ahead of schedule
Minimal number of train delays
Customer satisfaction from the public and train operating companies
Collaboration
We delivered a series of successful blockades culminating in a milestone four-day (109-hour) blockade during Easter 2013, allowing Network Rail to re-sequence the project, accelerating it to one year ahead of schedule. This required extensive collaboration between the various stakeholders.
The station renewal was part of a much larger project to improve the wider rail network in the Reading area, previously a bottleneck in the region’s rail system. The aim of the project was to create new capacity at the station, which is one of the busiest outside London, with some 20 million passengers a year passing through. Among other aspects, six new platforms were created and others refurbished as part of the project.
Reading station redevelopment has become one of those exemplar projects that is lauded industry-wide for good practice and the lessons that can be learnt.
*Photographs by kind permission of Network Rail
We sat in the same office as Network Rail and a number of sub-contractors, which immediately reduced the amount of correspondence, improved daily communication and helped us become a team.
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