Firm lands £35m rail contract

A factory near Worksop has secured a £35 million contract to build a new station for Crossrail, Europe’s largest construction project.
The major structural components for the new Crossrail station at Custom House in East London will be manufactured off site at Laing ORourkes state of the art facility Explore Industrial Park in Steetley.The major structural components for the new Crossrail station at Custom House in East London will be manufactured off site at Laing ORourkes state of the art facility Explore Industrial Park in Steetley.
The major structural components for the new Crossrail station at Custom House in East London will be manufactured off site at Laing ORourkes state of the art facility Explore Industrial Park in Steetley.

The Laing O’Rourke facility, based at Explore Industrial Park at Steetley, will manufacture the major structural components for the new station, called Custom House, before they are transported to East London and re-assembled.

Once in operation the Crossrail route will pass through 37 stations and run 73 miles from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through 13 miles of new tunnels below central London, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. The whole Crossrail project comes with a pricetag of nearly £15 billion.

But when it opens in 2018 it is expected to increase London’s rail capacity by 10 per cent, supporting regeneration and cutting journey times across the city.

New Crossrail stations will be constructed at Paddington, Bond Street, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich.

Preparatory work at the Custom House station site in east London recently started, and the first station components are set to be manufactured at Steetley in June.

The £100 million Laing O’Rourke plant at Steetley employs 364 people, with around 80 per cent of workers living within a 25 mile radius.

The Crossrail contract will continue at the site for at least two and a half years.

“Laing O’Rourke has won a number of major Crossrail contracts including construction of Custom House station,” said Roger Robinson, chief executive for Laing O’Rourke in Europe.

“Components for the new station will be manufactured at our plant at Steetley in north Nottinghamshire and then transported to London for assembly on site.”

“This station contract has secured work and supported jobs at the plant.”

“By constructing a Crossrail station off-site in this way, Steetley will be playing a unique role in delivering London’s major new railway.”

Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail chief executive, said: “I’m delighted that this part of the country continues to secure work on the Crossrail project.”

“As Europe’s largest construction project, Crossrail is providing a huge boost for the UK economy.”

“Around £5 billion worth of contracts have already been awarded, generating many thousands of opportunities for firms around the UK, creating jobs and safeguarding employment across a whole range of sectors.”

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