The disused Lafarge industrial site in Northfleet is being redeveloped as part of the Thames Gateway development.
Lafarge and Crossrail have entered into an agreement for Crossrail to lease land at Lafarge’s Northfleet site to use as a temporary tunneling logistics facility.
The site has been chosen because it is located on the River Thames with deep water wharfage and links to the national rail network offering Crossrail a unique location and facility for sustainable transportation, storage and manufacture of non dusty products.
The site will support tunneling activities, with the main function of receiving, handling and transhipment of 1.5 million tonnes of clean excavated material.
Balfour Beatty Rail is now reinstating the freight rail link into the Northfleet site, which, when completed, will be used to bring the material excavated from the boring of the tunnels for Crossrail for processing on site and all reusable materials will be recycled.
Balfour Beatty Rail is providing all elements of the terminal and reconnection to the North Kent Lines, including design and construction of Civils, P-Way, Signalling, Telecoms and M&E.
The length of the rail link is around 2.25km and in total 4.75km of new track will be installed.
The proposals for the 104-acre facility in Northfleet have been developed by Lafarge to represent an important first step in the regeneration and redevelopment of industrial sites on the Northfleet Embankment.
The masterplan for the site will ultimately create a new riverside neighbourhood quarter for Northfleet with good links to the existing community around the site; deliver a diverse mix of new jobs and housing complementary to those planned elsewhere such as at Ebbsfleet Valley; encourage rail distribution of aggregates; and connect the Northfleet community to the River Thames.
Commenting Peter Anderson, Balfour Beatty Rail Managing Director said:
“We are delighted to have secured this important redevelopment project for Lafarge, a long term partner of Balfour Beatty and look forward to providing an important strategic link for Crossrail.”
Commissioning for the project is scheduled for 1st Feb 2012.
