London Underground (LU) has awarded Morgan Est, part of Morgan Sindall plc, a two-year, £33 million programme of civil engineering and building works to improve station access and relieve pedestrian congestion at Shepherd’s Bush Central Line Station. This contract has been awarded through the five-year Alternative Provider Framework Agreement Morgan Est has with London Underground.

The work complements a larger project between London Underground (LU) and developer Westfield which, in addition to upgrading and remodelling the station’s ticket hall and other transport improvements in the area, includes a new £1.6bn retail and leisure development in White City. The development will bring much welcomed regeneration and economic improvement to the area.

The numbers using the station will increase by 40 per cent when the development opens. The congestion relief and step free access scheme will make an important contribution to the success of the White City development.
The Shepherd’s Bush project, which includes building two new shafts, new access tunnels, mechanical, electrical and communications fit outs, plus finishes to the new infrastructure, will be jointly delivered by Morgan Est’s rail team, led by Danny Duggan and Morgan Est’s market leading tunnelling team.

This is a technically difficult job which involves tunnelling and ground stabilisation works in a live environment between the station’s existing running tunnels and under a busy bus station without disrupting services. Currently, passengers can only access the Central Line platform from one end; the completed works will provide passengers with access routes from each end.

Morgan Est, which is now the UK’s only civil engineering contractor with an in-house tunnel design team, has most recently completed a £180 million programme of tunnelling projects at Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 5. This includes the new Piccadilly Line and Heathrow Express tunnel extensions. The company is currently carrying out a £55 million tunnelling scheme at King’s Cross St Pancras Station with joint-venture partner Beton-und Monierbau to provide additional underground pedestrian links.

“We are delighted to have secured the Shepherd’s Bush project at a key phase in the programme of planned improvements in preparation for the opening of the White City development,” says Mark Cutler, managing director of Morgan Est. “This is a complex and sensitive works programme which requires an experienced management team to deliver it. Morgan Est has the opportunity to demonstrate its unique, integrated civils and tunnelling capability in the rail environment

The project is due for completion in 2008.