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Brent Cross West Station

Project information

Location

Brent Cross View location on Google Maps

Expertise

RailRail infrastructure

Status

Completed

Barnet council awarded VolkerFitzpatrick the contract to build Brent Cross West rail station in London on the Midland Main Line and Thameslink routes.

Client

Barnet Council

Value

£70m

Duration

Three years

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The new station

Brent Cross West, opened in December 2023, is the first major new mainline station in London in over a decade, with Thameslink trains connecting central London to Brent Cross in as little as 12 minutes.

The new station is essential to unlocking wider development in the area and has been designed as a gateway to a new neighbourhood called Brent Cross Town.

  • The expansive station is approximately 7,000 square metres and the building measures 16 metres high (at its tallest point)
  • There are four platforms (two islands) – two for ‘slow’ trains and two for ‘fast’ trains
  • Platforms are 255m long – eight car trains will stop at the platforms
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  • Two thirds of each platform is covered by unique, steel canopies that have been specially designed for Brent Cross West
  • There is step-free access from street level to the platforms
  • On the western entrance, around 48,000 bespoke handmade bricks have been laid by hand to ensure they meet strict quality and design standards
  • The pedestrian and cycle overbridge will connect the areas of Barnet and Brent via the Midland Main Line for the first time in 150 years
  • There is cycle storage in both entrance buildings with capacity for 30 bicycles in the west, and for 70 in the east
  • A new transport interchange is also under construction with three bus routes proposed to stop directly outside the station.
  • There is one waiting room at each end of the each platform
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The process

The works included the demolition of a disused train storage shed, construction of the new train station, construction of four platforms (two for stopping trains, two as emergency platforms for fast trains which need to stop), and installation of a new pedestrian footbridge with lift and escalator access.

Following full planning permission being granted in May 2020, work commenced with the demolition of a large disused train storage shed, before main construction of the station began in the early to mid-summer 2021.

Community benefits

Over £15 million in social value was created during the project. The VolkerFitzpatrick Brent Cross West team and subcontractors were involved in lots of local activities to support the community during the build of the station. They raised money, collected food donations, renovated community centres, landscaped charity farmland, and more.

Supporting educational establishments

Giving a real perspective on construction, students from Barnet and Southgate College were given presentations, took part in interactive talks and were taken on site visits by our team and subcontractors. The team also supported Women into Construction with mock interview sessions with local women.

The educational establishments supported included: Whitefield School, All Saints Primary School Cricklewood, Barnet and Southgate College, Open Doors and Women into Construction.

Employing local people

102 Barnet residents were employed to deliver the station works programme, with 20 percent of the workforce from Barnet or neighbouring Brent and Camden boroughs. The project supported five young people through the government’s Kickstart scheme and two apprenticeships. Local businesses were supported (where possible) with over £4,770,000 spend. This included family-owned social enterprise Tarem Services for pest control and manual labour supply, and businesses owner Emma Blackman who has run the staff canteen

Community centres, food banks and charities

Throughout the build, the organisations supported included: GROW charity, North Road Community Centre, Action Barnet, Childs Hill Food bank, Homeless Action Barnet, local Job Centres, and Save the Children.  

  • GROW/Totteridge academy - fundraising efforts (£1,000) and over 70 hours of volunteer work (with ASM Rail) helped transform the GROW charities six-acre farm with a new biodiverse pond, landscaping and planting.
  • North Road Community Centre - the team volunteered 62 hours and £320 of paint to renovate the center
  • Save the Children - a 24-hour bike ride raised £3,600
  • Homeless Action Barnet - a football match raised £820
  • Child's Hill Food Bank - 300kg of food was donated and £600 in cash.
  • All Saints Primary School Cricklewood - the team helped the school remove a heavy disused recycle bin as it was causing problems with rodents on the school grounds

 

Regenerating Brent Cross and Cricklewood

The new station sits between Cricklewood and Hendon stations on the Midland Main Line. Brent Cross West station includes a new overbridge that gives pedestrians and cyclists the ability to cross this part of the Midland Main Line for the first time since it was built more than 150 years ago, linking communities on both sides of the station, and making it much easier to get around the area.

Providing the gateway to Brent Cross Town

The station is an essential part of the Brent Cross Cricklewood Regeneration Programme, providing the gateway to Brent Cross Town, the 180-acre, £8bn net zero park town that is being delivered by the partnership between Barnet Council and Related Argent. Brent Cross Town will deliver 6,700 new homes, a new business and innovation district with workspace for 25,000 jobs, a new high street and aims to be net zero by 2030.

Brent Cross West station, the first major new mainline station in London in over a decade, will be transformative for northwest London, better connecting Brent Cross with the rest of the capital and unlocking wider development in the area. The station will serve as a gateway to a Brent Cross Town, a brand-new neighbourhood delivering new homes, creating jobs, and aiming to be net zero by 2030. Investment in London and in London’s transport network is critical in driving economic recovery in both the capital and the rest of the country. That’s why I’m delighted about the opening of this new station and development, which supports my aim to continue building a better, more prosperous London for everyone.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan

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