Blackfriars Station redevelopment site welcomes All Party Group
Blackfriars Station redevelopment site and Network Rail welcomed the All Party Group to guide them through complexities of the project and detail its impact on one of the busiest train stations in London once the project is completed.
Members of the group included Lord Kennedy of Southwark, Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP, Kelvin Hopkins MP accompanied by Peter Hansford, ICE President and Miranda Housden, Director, ICE London .
The visit included a presentation from Howard Elliot, Senior Programme Engineer and Mark Burton, Programme Engineering Manager for the project. The presentation included information on the challenges of redeveloping one of the busiest combined mainline and underground stations in London. It was one of the final chances to see the station before its closure for almost two months. This presentation gave an interesting and insightful look into the future of Blackfriars station.
When Blackfriars re-opens in spring 2012 it will be a brand new station and the first in London to span the River Thames, with a new entrance on the South Bank. As part of the £5.5 billion Thameslink project the new station will provide an improved track lay out, longer platforms for longer trains whilst preserving the historic architecture of Henry Marc Brunel, son of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.