HomeRail NewsPutney station on track

Putney station on track

Listen to this article

Putney Station is one of the busiest suburban commuter stations in London, with 18 trains per hour passing through it at off-peak times alone. More than 11 million people used the station in 2012-13, making it busier than the stations of several large cities.

The station opened when the Nine Elms to Richmond line came into service on 27 July 1846, and was rebuilt in 1885-6 when the tracks were quadrupled. 130 years later, Spencer Rail began work on an £8 million improvement programme in October 2012. The redevelopment, scheduled for completion by Spring 2014, is being funded under the Department for Transport’s Access for All initiative.

Challenging access

Since the start of the project, Spencer Rail has been working on site to install three new lifts, expand the concourse area, build new ticket gates and install new toilets. Now, as the project nears completion, Spencer Rail has carried out one of the most significant parts of the project. A temporary footbridge with staircases, which was installed to maintain access to all platforms throughout the works, was removed three weeks ahead of schedule.

Half goneAfter serving passengers for 55 weeks, the bridge was removed early despite delays at the start of the project due to access problems. Project director Neil Stuart said: “This was without doubt an immense achievement and a crucial milestone on the way to a vastly improved Putney Station.

“Construction access to the station was restricted by surrounding residential properties and the volume of passengers using the station is high, which presented our  rail team with a logistical headache. The team therefore installed the bridge manually, without the use of any large machinery.

“The Putney project is one of the most logistically challenging Access for All schemes that we have faced but we are now well on course to complete the works in the coming weeks.

“We have worked on a number of Access for All programmes across the country and this is another project we will be able to look back on fondly. However, there are still some works to complete before we leave the site and the team will be working hard to ensure we do not run over our deadline.”

Disassembling the bridge

Work began to deconstruct the bridge at 02:00 on Sunday 23 February and was completed in time for the Monday morning rush hour.

Alex McDermott, senior project manager at Spencer Rail, said: “It is the end of an era at Putney Station.

“As those who know the station will be only too well aware, this was not the location for a set-piece spectacular, where the construction team brings in a huge crane and local residents gaze in wonder as the span is lifted away in a matter of minutes.

“Putney Station is surrounded by private property so bringing in large plant is out of the question. The routine, now familiar to this team is hard, manual effort – and lots of it.”

The teams, which included more than 70 people, arrived on site ready to start at 02:00 but were delayed due to having no access to the track at that time. However, temporary scaffolding was erected on the first pair of tracks at 06:00 and the first span was down and tracks clear by 08:30, putting work back on schedule.

The teams worked through the day to take down the second span and most of the staircases, with passenger walking routes being diverted to the new stairs. Platforms were repaved and new lights were also fitted as part of the work.

New lifts and staircases

The primary objective of the works is to provide step-free access from the ticket office and concourse to the platforms at Putney Station for all passengers, in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. A secondary benefit of the scheme will be the increased concourse area, which will alleviate congestion at the gate-line.

PutneyStation-47 (1) [online]As part of the work, a dispersal bridge has been installed which spans all tracks and includes three new lift shafts and staircases. A 16-person lift now goes to each platform – platforms two and three will share the same lift. In addition, there are alterations to communications and passenger information systems and extensive new lighting, and there will be two new public toilets and one for staff.

The concourse now has a masonry and glazed façade and all structures are covered by metal profiled sheet roofing. It will be increased in size
by removing the existing rear wall (the east face) and extending the floor space by approximately 14 metres to the rear of the building. This will make room for the gate-line to be moved away from the front entrance, thereby improving passenger flow at busy periods.

There have been significant alterations at platform level as well. On Platform 1, the old platform canopy was demolished in order to make room for the new staircase.

The existing platform building and canopy on Platforms 2 and 3 were partially demolished as part of the works, as were the existing staircase and rooms beneath on Platform 4. The new lift motor room has been located under the new staircase.

What’s left to do?

With the project team working towards a completion date of 16 May, Spencer Rail is now putting the finishing touches to the station. There is still a lot to do, including the completion of floor and wall finishes (mainly tiling) and the roof cladding. The lifts have to be commissioned, as do the new lighting, toilets and CCTV. The previous customer information screens and PA system has to be reinstated.

Structurally, arches between the ticket office and the concourse will be opened up by removing several piers and the temporary access ramp will be removed so that the canopies and platform surfaces can be made good.

With the new bridge open and the temporary one removed, life is getting back to normal for travellers from Putney. All the work has been carried out without any additional closures other than those already planned for the whole line so, apart from having to use a temporary footbridge and make a few detours, passengers haven’t been unduly inconvenienced. Step-free access will be fully in place by the middle of May and the team from Spencer Rail will be satisfied with a job well done.

Previous article
Next article

11 COMMENTS

  1. At my own debrief following the tender, I was told that critical to the sucess of Spencer’s bid was a commitment to deliver on time and with far fewer possessions than NR had offered or other contractors required. It’d be good to hear from the team how they managed to deliver on that commitment.

    It’d also be good to hear whether there was congestion on platform 1 during the work – as several contractors feared there would be with the client’s scheme – and if so how the situation was mitigated.

  2. I am pleased to be able to confirm that the Putney project was completed with no disruptive possessions of its own. The only disruptive access used was by piggy-backing on to possessions booked for other works.
    The width of Platform 1 is a fixed constraint but congestion was managed down to an acceptable level. One means employed was to move the stopping position for 8-car trains to the London end of the extended platform, which discouraged passengers from waiting at the narrowest, Country end.
    Neil Stuart

    • Neil, I assume you mean that all work requiring a possession was completed? The station is far from complete, even the extended new section requires second fix all the way to finishes, and that is without opening up the existing concourse and relocating the gate line. I sincerely hope that the station frontage and external canopies are being refurbished? I have found it very difficult to find information on what the full extent of the final project is going to be- are you able to provide a link?

  3. The project is not complete. The inside of the station is a mess with cladding not finished, tiling and a lot more! Spencer Rail have disappeared and not completed the project as far as I can tell. as above is not complete -Spencer Rail is now putting the finishing touches to the station. There is still a lot to do, including the completion of floor and wall finishes (mainly tiling) and the roof cladding. The lifts have to be commissioned, as do the new lighting, toilets and CCTV. The previous customer information screens and PA system has to be reinstated.’

  4. Graham, Spencer Rail has not disappeared as you have stated in your comments. There is a strong presence at Putney however most of the remaining works are to completed on nights when the station is closed and line blocks are n place to carry out works safely and with minimal disruption to the station. As you may or may not be aware companies are asked to complete additional works whilst a project is ongoing of which Spencer Rail have therefore
    some of the unfinished works that you see did not form part of the original scheme.

  5. I’d be interested to know who was responsible for the design of the new works. We have a long tradition of high quality railway architecture in this country but the ‘improvements’ at Putney station are absolutely dreadful. When we are building Crossrail in London – a railway fit for the 21st century – it’s astonishing that Network Rail can commission such a shoddy piece of architecture.

  6. Let’s not nitpick over detail as to whether Spencer Rail are on site or not or whether some works were not part of the original scheme. It is now August and there are still no lifts operating at Putney Station. It is a cool August, but August is not Spring. Lifts were definitely not additional work – the whole point of this extremly disruptive project was to provide lifts. Locally, the project is a laughing stock and rumour has it that the lifts’ need for a transformer was “overlooked”.

    If anyone involved with the project would like to respond, perhaps they could make clear when the revised completion date now is, in particular, when will there be working lifts at Putney Station?

  7. Spencer Rail were installing 3 lifts at Putney this article tells us. But there are still no lifts working at Putney nor any indication of when, if ever, there will be. When will there be working lifts?

  8. It’s now the end of August and the station still looks a right mess. There are no lifts, the barriers haven’t moved and the façade looks as tatty as ever. I understand that the completion date was extended to the end of summer which I think most people take to be next week. Without intending any sarcasm I hope it’s finished by Christmas as I’m sure many will welcome the lifts during that busy period.

  9. There is still no lift at the end of September, you can not see through the windows to see if the train is still at the platform ( the boards are useless for that as they are never accurate, especially in morning rush hour). I cannot even remember when the station was running properly, it has been years. I am glad you guys made a lot of money though, that makes it all right. Passengers haven’t been unduly inconvenienced? Are you kidding?

  10. I posted 3 months ago and there really has been no progress. The station is incomplete. The lifts don’t work, the ticket barriers are unmoved and generally the place is a mess. Who’s fault was it to forget to install power supply for the building?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.