Crossrail Canary Wharf Station (below-ground box)
Canary Wharf, London, UK · 2009-2015 · £500 million (total for station, with £350 million from Crossrail budget and £150 million from Canary Wharf Group)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchInnovative use of anchored cofferdams and modular offsite techniques for construction within a dock. - Creation of a new public space (Crossrail Place) above the station, featuring a roof garden. - Demonstrated complex engineering solutions for underground construction in challenging marine environments.
Key engineering challenges
Construction of a large station box within a dock, requiring a cofferdam and dewatering. - Managing water ingress and hydrostatic pressure during construction. - Building below an existing body of water (North Dock). - Integration of the station with a five-storey mixed-use over-site development (Crossrail Place). - Robust structures to withstand ship impacts.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Crossrail Ltd; Canary Wharf Group
- Lead contractor
- Canary Wharf Contractors Ltd
- Lead designers
- Arup (engineering); Foster + Partners (Crossrail Place over-site development)
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- Station box 260m long, 25-30m wide; 18m below water level; built within a dock; approximately the same size as One Canada Square laid on its side.
- Disciplines
- Civil engineering; structural engineering; geotechnical engineering; marine engineering; architecture; construction management
- Standards & frameworks
- Crossrail project standards; UK building and railway standards.
Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icL1JY9W4hk; https://learninglegacy.crossrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/7K-005-Design-of-Canary-Wharf-Elizabeth-line-station-and-oversite-development.pdf; https://www.expandedltd.com/expanded-structures/our-projects-expanded-structures/canary-wharf-crossrail-station-box/; https://www.steelpilinggroup.org/project/rail-case-study-canary-wharf-crossrail-station/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canary_Wharf_railway_station; https://www.architonic.com/en/pr/crossrail-place-at-canary-wharf/5104009/; https://www.arup.com/en-us/projects/crossrail-elizabeth-line/; https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/crossrail-place-canary-wharf/; https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/elizabeth-line-opening-8-civil-engineering-challenges-overcome-during-13-years-of-construction-24-05-2022/; https://www.istructe.org/journal/volumes/volume-96-(2018)/issue-7/design-of-canary-wharf-elizabeth-line-station/; https://www.scribd.com/document/165864724/Crossrail-at-Canary-Wharf