Costain develop London Bridge
As our population increases, the UK is demanding more from its rail infrastructure than ever before. It is estimated that we make 2.5 billion rail journeys every year, which is set to rise to over 3 billion by 2020. The current network is beyond capacity and increasing demand will see growth in electrification, high-speed rail and the introduction of digital railway, making for a better connected nation.
BEBP have close links with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) who are the largest provider of apprentices for the construction industry. CITB partnered with Costain to arrange a site visit for careers advisers and teachers to their London Bridge station development project on 26th October. Louise and Max (BEBP) were met by Graham Dean from Costain and given personal protection equipment and a health and safety induction. After that, they were taken behind the scenes to see how this mammoth project is coming together with the wide range of trades involved. The project started in 2011 and is due to finish early next year with over 800 staff working 24/7at a cost of £2 short of one billion pounds.
The group were shown details of how the original station and a second station were built together incorporating platforms at different levels which was a significant engineering challenge as Costain needed to retain the design of the existing brickwork and take into account the listed buildings status. Platforms have all been made larger and many new shops and restaurants will be in place by June 2018 when the project finishes.
Costain are keen to work with young people to motivate and encourage them by offering placements for students aged between 14-18 who are looking to gain experience in engineering and the construction environment.
