Following significant investment by the Scottish Government, Network Rail, as part of the wider Scotland’s Railway team, has delivered a new station at East Linton, bringing back rail services to the village for the first time in almost 60 years.
AECOM was appointed by contractor BAM Nuttall to deliver the detailed design of the station, footbridge, car park and access road, as well as the associated retail power and lighting and telecoms infrastructure. We also delivered the detailed design of the track and overhead line equipment (OLE) alterations needed to facilitate the installation of the station.
“The project team has worked hard to deliver this new station, which will expand the rail network and connect Scotland’s Railway to new communities.”
Managing Director of Scotland’s Railway
The new station has 114 parking spaces, including blue badge priority parking, and 18 electric vehicle charging points. It is fully accessible with lifts and a footbridge connecting both platforms with access for pedestrians and cyclists.
Design innovation to minimise passenger disruption
A significant challenge to the scheme was to design a new station that could be installed in line with available access on the East Coast Main Line.
Through collaboration with the contractor and their supply chain partners, we designed the track adjustments, OLE modifications and a steel / concrete composite station platform structure that could be installed with minimum disruption to existing services of this key rail corridor.
To achieve this, early in the design programme, we proposed to amend the design solution from a concrete construction to a modular steel / concrete composite solution. This meant that the existing cable route could remain, and the signalling staging works could be significantly reduced.
Minimising waste
This modular form of construction allowed us to incorporate reclaimed oil and gas pipes as the piled foundations for the station and footbridge.
We also designed an OLE arrangement that modified the current OLE masts to make them suitable for the amendments needed to introduce the station, reducing the additional materials and disruption that would have been needed if new masts were to be installed.
Challenging the scope to ensure efficiency
We applied Minimum Viable Product principles to our designs, and through continued interrogation of the requirements, the team was able to:
- streamline the telecoms work by challenging the need to reroute cables
- challenge design norms and de-risk the OLE work
- understand the loading requirements on the lighter, more streamlined platform construction, working with the specialist piling contractor to simplify the piling method and reduce the number of piles
- work with the steelwork fabricator to optimise modules for fabrication and installation during the GRIP5 design phase – rather than after it.
Wider benefits of new station
This fully accessible station is expected to support economic growth in the area by enabling residents to access an expanded range of employment and leisure options. It is hoped that the construction of the new station, and the improved connectivity it will bring, will act as a trigger for more investment and further development in the community.
Image courtesy of Network Rail