Burnham Waves Goodbye to Restricted Access

An exercise in value engineering by HBPW and Buckingham Group was instrumental in securing a major Network Rail contract that has subsequently given Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) a major boost at one of the south’s busiest stations.

Burnham Station is located between Slough in Berkshire and the Buckinghamshire town of Taplow, serving the Up and Down relief lines for the Great Western Main Line.

However, the station building and its two operational platforms are located on a raised embankment, approximately 4.5m above the surrounding land area which has, over the years, created major access issues for a range of people from mothers with prams to the disabled and elderly infirm.

Partner, Paul Monaghan, takes up thestory: “There was no lift at Burnham Station and pedestrian access to theplatforms and main building was from the station drop off area via a subway andstaircase. There was a situation where some people – unable to physically use Burnhamstation – had to travel to the next stop then take a taxi back. Consequently,one of our engineering goals was to facilitate the construction of a new liftshaft in order to provide step-free access to platforms.”

A piled wall was required to support excavation for the new shaft, lift lobby and staircase and initial thinking had been to use sheet piling. However, research  by HBPW determined than a contiguous bored pile wall was not only stronger but took considerable cost out of the project and improved construction methodology, a key factor in winning HBPW / Buckingham the tender bid.

“There have been a range of works at Burnham station,” added Paul, “including widening the access staircase. We also increased the size of the individual steps to 300mm, and all of this was done whilst maintaining full operation capacity at the station, thanks to a series of innovative temporary works measures.”

The Government’s ‘Railways for All’strategy, originally launched in 2006, committed politicians to spending £370m on a programme of station accessibility improvements across the rail network.

Branded as ‘Access for All’ the scheme has been managed and delivered by Network Rail in line with the Equality Act 2010.

Focussing on the provision of step-free, accessible routes to and between platforms at priority stations, the programme has been designed to deliver significant benefits for disabled people and Persons with Reduced Mobility. Burnham Station was one of over 200 priority stations selected for improvements. l