The Brent/Cricklewood sidings have been used as a marshalling yard for trains since the 1860s when the Midland Main Line was built. The sidings were originally used to split and organise huge shipments of coal for the capital and elsewhere, which helped power homes and industry. More recently, the sidings have been used for marshalling, servicing and holding passenger trains. But these sidings are being remodelled as part of the station project, creating space for the Brent Cross West to be built.

Construction of the sidings began in October 2018, with the sidings from the south side coming in to commission eight months later. From March 2021 trains have been able to 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.

As well as constructing a train stabling facility we have also constructed pedestrian and drivers’ walkways, pedestrian access gates, vehicle restraint barriers, overhead line equipment, noise barriers, lighting columns and realigning existing Midland Main Line railway tracks to serve the new train station.

In December 2019, we opened a new train operators’ compound (office space) that can accommodate up to 80 drivers, crew and presentation staff.

The new compound was constructed off-site, to reduce the amount of disruption and noise experienced by local residents.

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