London Bridge Rail Station

The multi-million pound refurbishment of London Bridge station – which brings an estimated 56 million passengers into the city each year represents a huge undertaking by Network Rail to create new connections and increase peak hour services by 30%. The project is part of the government-sponsored Thameslink Programme.

As well as extensive works taking place on tracks and platforms above ground, vital installations have been carried out to protect plant equipment stored in buildings beneath the station. The equipment’s safeguarding against ingress and damp is crucial to every aspect of the refurbished station’s function, hence the importance of specifying a high-calibre waterproofing system. The Sika®-1 Pre-Bagged Waterproofing System was ideal for the task.

Selected by contractors, Costain, for the project Aquarend, waterproofing and damp treatment specialists, began the first stage of the station’s waterproofing works in June 2015. It involved providing a watertight barrier for the transformation of the London Dungeons – one of the capital’s most popular tourist spots – into electrical rooms designed to power the entire station. With an eight-week deadline to complete the installation of the Sika®-1 Pre-Bagged system to six metre-high jack arches which span the 3,000m2 ‘dungeon’ site, time was of the essence for contractors.

Comprising watertight renders and a screed produced using Sika®-1 Waterproofing Liquid, and Sika®-1 Pre-Batched Mortars, the Sika®-1 Pre-Bagged Waterproofing System is designed for optimum application performance and durability. This proven, watertight solution ensures specifiers meet the requirements of a project with just one system – and it requires no ongoing maintenance. A pre-bagged render product, it comprises a blend of kiln-dried specially-graded aggregates and cements, as well as a liquid waterproofing admixture. The admixture is mixed into the render, which bonds monolithically to the prepared substrate, blocking all gaps and capillaries to provide an impregnable and invisible seal. This process essentially means the system becomes as one with the structure.

With up to six teams carrying out waterproofing work at any one time off six-metre towers, the London Bridge project continued at apace. The additional manpower was augmented by a well-executed works programme that involved coordinating traffic and passenger flows around the station to ensure minimal travel disruption during refurbishment. The logistical diligence and technical expertise in terms of workmanship enabled contractors to complete the arches’ waterproofing within the client’s agreed timeframe.

Having completed the Sika®-1 Pre-Bagged Waterproofing rendering works, the contractors were requested to install the resin floor installation. Sikafloor®-264, a two-part epoxy roller and seal coloured coat provided the ideal hard-wearing surface, not least for its superb anti-slip properties – a must for working areas where the highest health and safety standards have to be maintained.

The London Bridge refurbishment is due to be completed in May 2018. To date, an estimated 5,000m2 of Sika®-1 Pre-Bagged Waterproofing, and 6,000m2 of Sikafloor®-264 have been installed throughout the station. The revamped terminus with its increased service capacity will simplify and speed-up journey times into the capital for millions of passengers each year; a journey made all the more assured thanks to the robust, reliable qualities of Sika’s waterproofing system in safeguarding the technology that will master the new-look station.