L.B. Foster's work on London’s New Elizabeth Line

L.B. Foster Telecoms (TEW Plus) Ltd has worked with a variety of Tier 1 contractors across six central Elizabeth Line stations, including Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel.

At its peak, L.B. Foster Telecoms (TEW Plus) had a team of over 500 people working across the project. The company’s principal contractor partners at each station were:

• Paddington - SRW (part of the Skanska Group of companies)

• Bond Street - CSJV (Costain Skanska Joint Venture)

• Tottenham Court Road- Laing O’Rouke

• Farringdon - NG Bailey

• Liverpool Street - Laing O’Rourke

• Whitechapel - BBMV (Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall, VINCI Construction joint venture)

• Plumstead – ATC (Alstom TSO and Costain joint venture)

The scope of works required at each of the new Elizabeth Line stations was varied and included a combination of integrated telecoms and safety solutions, from design capability and project management, to the installation and testing of:

• Station Information Security System (SISS)

• Building Management System (BMS)

• Fire Detection and Suppression Systems

• Public Address and Voice Alarm (PAVA)

• Closed-circuit Television CCTV

• Radio systems for staff and emergency services

• Cabling

• Bracketry

• Customer Information Screens (CIS)

• Driver Only Operation (DOO)

• Help points

• Media screens

L.B. Foster Telecoms (TEW Plus) Ltd started work on the Elizabeth Line project at Tottenham Court Road station in 2015, subsequently growing our footprint on the project to encompass a further five central stations. Working on such a large and complex project demanded exceptional planning and logistics coordination, as well as a large pool of skilled and flexible resource on which to draw as required and at different locations across the capital.

Designs, project management and resource planning were coordinated from L.B. Foster Telecoms (TEW Plus) Ltd’s city offices in Moorgate, close to the Elizabeth Line Liverpool Street project itself, as well as from its Cheshunt facilities in Hertfordshire.

Daily, weekly and monthly project meetings with each tier 1 contractor partner enabled changes to designs to be developed, configured and approved quickly as required with minimum disruption or delay to the overall project. The team’s positive ‘can do’ attitude to finding solutions helped L.B. Foster Telecoms (TEW Plus) Ltd develop a reputation as the go-to fixers at each of the project sites.

Throughout the project, L.B. Foster Telecoms (TEW Plus) Ltd has earned a reputation as a ‘safety first’ contractor. In 2018 the company had over 500 people on the project, working a total of 869,760 hours without a single RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) incident.

"We foster a positive safety culture, characterised by open communications, mutual trust and shared values. This includes fostering a safety-conscious work environment in which we all openly report and pursue safety issues or concerns without experiencing a negative reaction”