Sunderland Central Railway Station was originally opened in 1879 in the golden age of the railway, but history was not on it’s side with the elliptical arched roof badly damaged by WWII bombs in 1943. Following several later redevelopments and deterioration, a new station has now been built on top of the old Victorian abutment walls using the project teams innovative engineering skills and experience.
To construct the new station and track side works, should have warranted the full closure of the station which would have had considerable economic and social impact to the community of Sunderland and the wider transport network. However BAM developed a public first safety strategy that enabled the station to stay in operation supporting the City and key events such as football matches and concerts.
Maintaining the stations critical life safety infrastructure was key to the team’s strategy of ensuring business as usual for the station. Whilst under construction, key existing features such as the smoke ventilation fans, substations, fire escapes and fire alarm / PA systems serving the sub-terrain station were successfully maintained. The retention of these features then created the opportunity of providing a more sustainable design solution with the re-use and refurbishment of major components, ultimately reducing the carbon footprint of the new station.
Three Winning Facts:
- Built with infrastructure expertise and innovative ideas, with the propping of the new station on the old Victorian abutment walls.
- Built Locally with the people of Sunderland, with a Social Local Economic Value of 38.9% and £6.7m invested in the local supply chain of Sunderland
- Built over a live station, maintaining high levels of safety and avoiding disruption to the public, passengers and train network.
