Ship to Shore

July 8th 2010

Special barges on the River Thames are being used to carry material to and from the Blackfriars station project.

Network Rail estimates the fleet will take more than 2000 lorries off central London streets over the next two years. 14,000 tonnes of materials to build the station's new bridge deck, longer platforms and roof will be brought in by river. At the same time, more than 8,000 tonnes of deck and pier demolition materials will be removed. Barges arrive on a daily basis.

Says Jim Crawford, Network Rail's project director, ‘The landmark Blackfriars station will be the first in the capital to span the Thames, providing a direct link to the cultural centres of the South Bank for the first time. Working directly above the Thames, delivering and removing materials by barge, makes a lot of sense to us both practically and environmentally.'

The congestion-busting barge operation began as a trial earlier this year and was developed with the Port of London Authority (PLA), Livett's Launches and Balfour Beatty. Materials destined for Blackfriars are loaded onto barges at Thames Warf, near Blackwall, opposite the O2 Arena. Each barge takes approximately 75 minutes to reach the site where the new steel work will be lifted by crawler crane onto the bridge deck.

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