Infrastructure News
TRANSPORT FOR London has awarded a £196 million contract to build an extension of the London Overground to Barking Riverside to a joint venture of Morgan Sindall and VolkerFitzpatrick (MSVF).
The 4.5km extension is a key enabler in the Barking Riverside development, where one of London’s most significant housing developments is planned on a 180-hectare site. The extension will support up to 10,800 new homes.
Preparatory work was due to commence immediately following the contract award in December, with main construction set to start in early 2019. Passenger services will comprise an extension of the existing quarterhourly Gospel Oak to Barking service and are due to begin in late 2021.
MSVF will be responsible for delivering the 4.5km link from the Tilbury loop line between Barking and Dagenham Dock stations. Network Rail’s Ripple Lane goods yard will be reconfigured and a viaduct built to connect the branch to the Tilbury loop, with foundations constructed between HS1 tunnels. The viaduct will continue for a further 1.5km over Renwick Road and into the heart of Barking Riverside, where a new terminus will be built within the town square.
MSVF beat rival bidder Balfour Beatty to the contract; Carillion was also shortlisted before it went into liquidation in January 2018. Developer Barking Riverside Ltd, a joint venture between the Greater London Authority (49%) and London & Quadrant New Homes (51%), is to provide the bulk of the funding for the extension, with the remainder of the cost met through TfL’s growth fund.
