Off-site construction specialist, Yorkon, a member of the Portakabin Group, has handed over five ancillary buildings as part of the new £54m Reading Train Care Depot and working for main contractor VolkerFitzpatrick. The facilities form part of Network Rail’s Reading Area Redevelopment Scheme.
Yorkon has provided a three-storey depot administration building, two ancillary buildings for train maintenance and cleaning staff, a security gate house, and a further train care accommodation building. The steel-framed modules for each building were manufactured off site at the Yorkon production centre in York to minimise disruption on this very busy site.
The buildings, which are now occupied by First Great Western, were designed to stringent Network Rail standards and to meet the specific project requirements. The main office building features an architectural ‘butterfly wing’ roof and a rainscreen cladding system finished in white with bands of bright green for a distinctive appearance. The other buildings have mono-pitch roofs and rainscreen cladding in other colours.
Commenting on the project, Ian Simmons, Project Manager at VolkerFitzpatrick, said, “The new depot is located on a track-side site so it was a major benefit to have each building structure and envelope all in place in a matter of days and much more quickly than with a site-based construction solution. This reduced risk and improved safety – key factors when the site is located next to a live rail line. The approach allowed work to continue inside the buildings in a much safer environment.”
The new 6,500sqm depot, built by VolkerFitzpatrick, is now fully operational, and was moved to the west of Reading Station. The existing depot has been demolished to make way for new lines to accommodate freight traffic which will pass under the main lines to continue through the station area without impacting on other trains. Built with enhancements to allow for future stabling and servicing of electric trains, the depot will provide capacity for 147 vehicles.
The depot maintains and services the existing rolling stock and will provide future capacity for the expansion of the rail network in the South West, which will include the new Intercity trains.
Yorkon is a market-leading supplier of off-site building solutions across the public sector, which includes transport, airports, health and education. It provides bespoke steel-framed buildings, which are manufactured and fitted out off site in significantly less time, with less disruption and less impact on the environment. Its projects have been recognised by numerous awards and accolades for design, build quality, project performance and health and safety.
For further information about Yorkon off-site solutions for design and build projects, call 0845 2000 123, email [email protected] or visit www.yorkon.info
