Job Done: Roof Refurbishment Brightens Up Britain’s Busiest Station

The completion of a major two-year project at London Liverpool Street railway station has finished with a complete re-roof of the Victorian building.

Engineers at Britain’s busiest station, counting 98 million passenger entries and exits last year, have finished replacing the old glazed roof panels.

The roof’s glazing panels were discoloured and lichen-covered on the 19^th century trainshed, blocking light to the platforms below.

The area spans platforms 1-10 – an expanse of 11,000m², the equivalent of 8.8 Olympic-sized swimming pools. With the roofing work complete, natural light is now flooding back into the building through the refurbished roof.

In meter readings taken by the project team, average light levels on platforms 1-10 are now between 11 and 56 times higher than before work started, bringing the heritage architecture to life for a new generation of commuters.

The project also involved replacement of 770 glass panels over the concourse, alongside major drainage improvements across the roof, including new guttering and increasing the rainwater capacity.

Watch the timelapse video of the replacement of glazing panels:

Decorative Timber Valence

Engineers also carried out a full restoration of the decorative timber valance at the front of the trainshed, to the same design as was installed when the station was first constructed in 1874.

The design echoes the traditional daggerboards of Victorian station canopy roofs, with each timber slat terminating in a perforated and shaped end-point.

Over 800 timber slats were restored or newly crafted at a workshop in Bristol with each slat individually numbered so it could be reinstalled in exactly the right place.

The valance had been deteriorating before the project began, but is now back to its former glory, helping to improve the station’s appearance amongst the other buildings in the City of London.

A Roof to Do it Justice

Using innovative sliding scaffolding decks high above the ground allowed the majority of Morgan Sindall Infrastructure’s work to take place during normal operating hours. The suspended decks also eliminated the need for scaffolding on the concourse and platforms, meaning that the project didn’t get in the way of passengers.

Credit: Palmers

Martin Beable, Chief Operating Officer for GBR Anglia, said: “This project has lit up our previously dingy trainshed, delivering a major improvement for passengers while keeping disruption to a minimum. Liverpool Street is Britain’s busiest station and one of the rail network’s most historic and iconic landmarks. It now has a roof to do it justice.”

The roof project team will remain on site to finish demobilising over the coming weeks.

>> Read more about railway station roofs in the news