Lift shafts have been successfully installed at Tilehurst station near Reading as Network Rail’s project to improve accessibility moves closer to completion.
Three lifts are being added to the footbridge that was built during the Great Western Electrification programme in 2013.
When complete this winter, the work, being carried out by Network Rail’s contractor, Dyer and Butler, will provide step-free access to all four platforms for the first time.
Three 12m-high shafts, each weighing seven tonnes, were lifted into place by a 350-tonne crane. They were carried from the station car park to platforms one, the island platform two and three, and platform four, which was logistically challenging. Steel spans to provide a walkway between the lifts and the current bridge were also installed.
Work will now continue to clad the lift shafts and spans and to install the lifts inside the shafts.
The work is being completed in many small stages to keep passenger disruption to a minimum. Four lines with overhead power run through Tilehurst and power to at least one of those lines must be always kept on to keep trains running further along the route.
Network Rail lead portfolio manager Alex Phillips said: “This is an important milestone for us and completes a complicated phase of the project.
“Moving material and machines across four lines of electrified railway has needed patience. Platform four is also very close to the River Thames, which really limits our team’s space to work.
“But we’re a step closer to making Tilehurst easier to use than ever before.”
Dyer and Butler regional manager Russell Richards said: “Our teams have put in a lot of hard work over the last eight months in reaching this important milestone. Much of the work during this period is not visible as it’s buried beneath the existing platforms and forms the foundations for the lift towers.
“All this work has been delivered within a busy station, while maintaining uninterrupted passenger flows and having no impact on trains. We look forward to the next phase of the project including the installation and commissioning of the lifts.”
Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Climate Strategy and Transport John Ennis said: “It is great that work is progressing well to install the new lifts at Tilehurst railway station. The lifts will make a big difference to residents who have mobility issues, local parents with push chairs and passengers with heavy luggage who use the station.
“The Council is pleased to continue working with our railway partners to improve station facilities for Reading residents as part of our commitment to provide realistic sustainable transport alternatives for travelling into and around Reading.”
Image credit: Network Rail
