Hyder Consulting lands Crossrail advisory role

Hyder Consulting, the international advisory and design consultancy, has been selected to advise on London’s £16billion Crossrail project - Europe’s largest infrastructure initiative.

The company was selected for all six of the categories it applied for on Crossrail’s Design Framework Agreement covering tunnels and shafts, stations, portals, rail systems, communications and control systems, materials and workmanship specification.

It will also be working on a seventh in partnership with international architect and engineering firm BDP, which has been selected for the architectural component design category.

Hyder was chosen thanks to its UK and international rail expertise - over the last ten years, the company has worked on some of the world’s most exciting projects.

They include Hong Kong’s HK$57.7bn KCRC West Rail Heavy Rail Line, Germany’s multi-billion euro Nuremberg-Ingolstadt high-speed railway line and Taiwan’s $13bn high-speed line between Taipei and Kaohsiung.

Hyder is also working with Taylor Woodrow on the complex design for the provision of step free access at London’s Baker Street Station, which has been identified by the Olympic Delivery Authority as a strategic transport interchange for the London Olympic Games in 2012.

Mac Alghita, Sector Director for Rail at Hyder Consulting, said: “Crossrail is a major exercise requiring expert pre-planning and design skills across an exceptionally wide range of engineering requirements.

“Our selection to a record number of categories on Crossrail’s framework is a major endorsement of Hyder’s rail capabilities - and testament to the expert thinking and hard work of our consultants working around the world to deliver major rail projects on time and within budget.

“Crossrail is of vital importance to London’s future transport network and we are looking forward to playing our part in delivering this ambitious and exciting project.”

The Crossrail project will provide a major new railway link connecting central London, the City and Canary Wharf to Heathrow, and to commuter areas east and west of the capital.

At the heart of the project is the construction of a new 16km (10 mile) tunnelled route across London which will allow suburban east-west rail services to run through central London.

Major works are expected to begin in 2010, with the first service trains expected to run in 2017. The government claims that Crossrail will underpin a £20bn boost to the UK economy.