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Diamond Jubilee puts London’s newest infrastructure through its paces ahead of the Games - 29 May 2012
With more than a million people expected to descend on London to attend the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, some of the capital’s newest infrastructure improvements will be put through their paces ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
In addition to the work carried out to directly support events at the Games, a number of improvements have been made to some of London’s public spaces and those transport systems which are expected to draw a large proportion of the 5.9 million visitors expected over the summer.
Atkins has worked on a number of these projects:
- We were part of the team involved in the upgrade of the North London Line (NLL). The scheme overhauled the line’s track, stations, signals and communication systems to increase capacity, comfort and reliability. The NLL will help transport up to 500,000 people a day to London 2012 venues.
- We provided design and programme management, technical support and risk analysis throughout all phases of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) Three-Car Capacity Enhancement Project to increase capacity by 50% as well as lengthen platforms at over 20 stations. The DLR will act as a key transport artery during the London 2012 Games, serving competition venues including the Olympic Park, ExCeL Exhibition Centre, Greenwich Park and the Royal Artillery Barracks.
- The innovative makeover we designed for Oxford Circus in central London allows pedestrians to walk safely across the intersection in all directions for the first time. Oxford Circus is one of the world’s most congested intersections, with more than 80 million pedestrians crossing it each year.
- We developed the concept for the radical overhaul of London’s Piccadilly Circus and its surrounding streets, including the return of two-way traffic for the first time since the 1960s. Restoring two-way traffic has opened up a key gateway to St James’s Park, the Mall and Horse Guards Parade, which will host the beach volleyball event.
- Atkins developed an aviation strategy which will enable the safe arrival of 150 international heads of state for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games during London’s peak tourist season.
Chris Greenwood, director in Atkins’ highways and transportation division, said: “Major events in 2012, such as the Games and Diamond Jubilee celebrations, have been a catalyst for big improvements to the capital’s infrastructure. These projects are an important part of the legacy, and will bring long-term benefits for a wider group of people who live, work or visit London but were not able to attend official celebrations this summer.
“For example, Oxford Circus is a major draw for visitors to London and is used by tens of millions of pedestrians each year. As a key Underground station in the centre of the West End and route to and from Stratford on the Central Line, the redesign by Atkins has created more space, reduced congestion and provided a safer crossing, all of which will help retain London’s standing as one of the most popular cities in the world.”
For Atkins’ news and updates on delivering the London 2012 Games follow Twitter at @Atkins_2012, or like us on Facebook at Atkins 2012.
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Notes to editors:
Atkins (www.atkinsglobal.com) is one of the world's leading engineering and design consultancies*, employing some 17,700 people across the UK, North America, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe. It has the breadth and depth of expertise to plan, design and enable some of the world's most technically challenging and time critical infrastructure projects.
*It is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK (New Civil Engineer Consultants File 2012) and the 13th largest global design firm (Engineering News-Record 2011).
Recent projects include:
- Major infrastructure works, such as the design and programme management of the civil works for the Dubai Metro red and green lines in the UAE;
- Key rail projects – providing architectural and engineering design services on Crossrail, Europe’s biggest civil engineering project in London, UK, and designing stations, tunnelling and track systems for Gautrain, South Africa’s first high speed line;
- Renewable energy schemes – transformer platform design for the Thanet offshore wind park in the North Sea;
- Multi-year architecture-engineering construction management services for the US National Park Service, including projects such as rehabilitation of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and Administrative Complex at California’s Death Valley to meet the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification standards;
- High profile transport planning and urban design – our innovative scheme to deliver a diagonal crossing at Oxford Circus in London, UK, has helped tackle the problem of pedestrian crowding;
- Water and environmental projects – critical programme management of storm protection works in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Southern Louisiana in North America, providing expertise in coastal restoration, engineering, environmental and GIS support to rebuild defenses and protect habitats;
- Multidisciplinary building design – Northwood Primary School in Darlington, UK, is an exemplar project which raises standards for environmental design and community engagement.
Atkins was named among The Sunday Times 25 Best Big Companies to Work For 2011, won Consultancy of the Year in the CIBSE Low Carbon Performance Awards 2010, received the first ever certification of the Carbon Trust Standard awarded to an engineering consultancy in the construction sector, and was included in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2011 and The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers 2010. Atkins was also construction and civil engineering sector winner for the fifth consecutive year in the Target National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2010 and was awarded a RoSPA Gold Award 2011 for excellence in control of health and safety in the workplace.
Atkins is the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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