London’s newest station opens as part of major railway upgrade
London’s newest station, Meridian Water in Enfield was opened yesterday (3 June 2019) by Rt Honourable Chris Grayling MP Secretary of State for Transport and Heidi Alexander, Deputy Mayor of London for Transport.
Representatives from Network Rail, VolkerFitzpatrick, Enfield and Haringey councils and Greater Anglia, who will manage the new station, also joined the official opening.
Meridian Water is at the heart of a £6bn development of the area being led by Enfield Council which will see 10,000 new homes and the creation of thousands of jobs. It replaces the existing Angel Road station, providing improved accessibility for passengers with stairs and lifts for step-free access across the railway and to the enclosed concourse that features a bespoke golden panel design.
The station is part of the Lee Valley Rail Programme and has been delivered by Network Rail and principal contractor, VolkerFitzpatrick.
A package of upgrades to this part of the West Anglia line that runs from Stratford to Meridian Water, include:
- 5.5km of new track to enable two more trains per hour to run between Stratford and Meridian Water from this September.
- Improvements at Tottenham Hale station including a new platform and a new accessible footbridge with lifts and an escalator, reducing congestion around the station.
- Upgrades at Northumberland Park station, including building an additional platform and new step-free footbridge across the railway for passengers and the community.
- Refurbishing or replacing several rail bridges, upgrading signals, installing power cables and additional overhead power lines.
Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, said: “As part of our commitment to modernise the rail network, I am delighted to announce the opening of the new, state of the art Meridian Water station.
“By working closely with Enfield Council and Network Rail, we have provided significant investment to improve this vital rail link, which will allow more people access to the railway and facilitate the council’s plans to increase housing in the area.”
Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “The delivery of the Lee Valley Rail Programme is the culmination of years of hard work. Reducing congestion at busy stations and building a brand new one for the people of Enfield will transform journeys as our network gets busier.
“This collaborative programme shows how the rail industry can work together with external partners to fund and deliver rail upgrades that will not only benefit passengers by improving their travelling experience but also benefit the communities where they live through regeneration.”
John Cox, VolkerFitzpatrick’s manager director of rail said: “We are very pleased to play our part in delivering this significant piece of transport infrastructure. A great example of collaborative working with our client Network Rail and most importantly, delivering an exceptional safety performance.”
Lee Valley Rail Programme
Northumberland Park has a new platform served by the third track. An accessible footbridge with ramps has also been constructed and opened to facilitate a safe place for passengers to wait for their trains particularly during event days at the nearby stadium on White Hart Lane. The ramps provide an accessible route across the railway for wheelchair users, bicycles and buggies while a lift will be available to serve the new island platform.
Tottenham Hale station is a busy interchange between the main line services and the Victoria Line. For that reason, a new accessible footbridge with stairs, lifts and an escalator to ease congestion and provide better passenger flow around the station has been built. A new platform has also been constructed and will serve the additional services using the new track.
To see how the construction of Meridian Water station, watch the time-lapse video below. The time-lapse spans March 2018 to May 2019.
