In order to meet the needs of London's commuters Transport for London (TfL) awarded a £196 million contract to a joint venture of Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure and VolkerFitzpatrick (MSVF) to extend the London Overground to Barking Riverside railway line.

The extension is an integral part of the Barking Riverside development, a significant housing development on a 180-hectare site on the northern bank of the River Thames made up of 10,800 new homes and leisure facilities.

Work on 4.5km extension of the line from the Tilbury Loop Line between Barking and Dagenham Dock stations to Barking Riverside includes reconfiguration of Network Rail's Ripple Lane goods yard to allow it to connect to the Tilbury Loop.

In addition, the construction work being undertaken will include a viaduct over Ripple Lane yard, which will be built over the Tilbury Loop, foundations between the HS1 tunnels, and a second viaduct for a further 1.5km over Renwick Road and into Barking Riverside and finally a new terminus station within the Barking Riverside town square.

Once completed, the railway line extension will allow residents of Barking Riverside to reach central London in 22 minutes.

Due to the limited site access available, with work needed to be carried out beneath an existing bridge, MSVF approached Martello Piling to provide a solution. This came in the form of Martello's bespoke MP4004 piling rig.

Working adjacent to the Network Rail OLE lines and within 4.6m of headroom, Martello installed a total of 12no. 1,050mm diameter rotary bored piles to 21m. Polymer support fluid was used during casing installation to prevent the migration of water into the bore until the pile is sealed into clay. Using the MP4004, Martello was able to install a number of the piles during the week without causing disruption to the operational railway with the remainder being constructed during planned weekend railway possessions.

Using Martello's low headroom piling rig allowed for the piles to be installed prior to demolition of the existing bridge structure, saving programme time for MSVF and keeping disruption to the local area to a minimum.

The London Overground extension to Barking Riverside is an important part of TfL's Business Plan and the Mayor's Transport Strategy which plans to create a fairer, greener, healthier and more prosperous city by improving public transport and encouraging active travel.

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