A £180 million rail milestone was reached at the weekend when the installation of new sidings were completed as part of a package of railway works to facilitate the new Brent Cross West station.

The construction of the sidings began in October 2018, with the sidings from the south side coming in to commission in June last year. From this weekend the trains can now enter the sidings from both the north and south ends of the track, and a level crossing has also been installed, allowing staff to cross the tracks safely to get to and from the trains.

The crossing by the new sidings at Brent Cross West station

With up to 300 people working on sidings construction at any time the project has been a massive undertaking which has almost 800,000 hours of labour clocked up on the project. This work was carried out by Amey and project managed by Mace on behalf of Barnet Council.

Forthcoming work to facilitate the new Brent Cross West station will include moving existing rail lines and rebuilding sections of the track in April and May. The installation of the first part of the station’s eastern over bridge will take place in May. The entire programme is on track to be completed in May 2022, with construction running to schedule despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new station is at the heart of the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme. It will provide a gateway to Brent Cross Town, a new neighborhood for Barnet that will bring thousands of new homes, jobs, improved schools, leisure, retail and cultural facilities to the area.

Read more about the new station here.

The crossing by the new sidings at Brent Cross West station