The chief executive of Crossrail has heralded the safety record of the project's Woolwich station site as a "tremendous achievement."
Mark Wild singled the Greenwich station, currently under construction, out for high praise after it marked five years without a single reportable incident on site.
Many of Crossrail's other station sites have been dogged with reported incidents, injuries and near misses in recent years, and Mr Wild called it "a tremendous achievement for all those involved and is testament to our collaborative approach in keeping our workforce safe.”
In his latest update, Wild reported two more incidents; one at Bond Street and one at Paddington.
“An operative at Bond Street incurred injury to two fingers while using a concrete planer. The second was on 24 November, an operative at Paddington accidentally cut a cable which tripped the circuit breaker, luckily no one was injured,” Wild added.
“We currently have around 2,500 people now working on our sites to deliver the Elizabeth line and the success of this programme is, and always has been, dependent on our ability to ensure zero harm to all those working on the project.”
As revealed by NCE in November, construction-related injuries on the Crossrail project have increased during the Covid-19 pandemic after showing improvement.
Crossrail safety bosses admit initially switching their focus away from standard safety protocols to preventing the spread of the virus.
Crossrail Ltd health & safety director Carole Bardell-Wise told NCE that implementing Covid-19 measures “had distracted from the risks on site”.
Reportable or Riddor injuries and lost time case (LTC) injuries had been showing a year-on-year improvement before the Covid-19 pandemic, but a “few recent incidents” have meant the rate of decline is now roughly the same as at the start of 2019/20.
Despite the recent increase in construction-related injuries, the overall figures for 2020/2021 are still considerably lower than in 2016/2017, when Crossrail Ltd initially identified an issue with its health and safety protocols.
Crossrail, also known as the Elizabeth Line, is a new major railway construction project underway in central and greater London, including in Woolwich and Abbey Wood.
The project has been dogged by delays and is far over budget, but could open by Christmas 2021.
The historic site of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich was once a walled off private world that saw the manufacture of guns and explosives, munitions testing, a military academy and the production of medals and other civilian goods.
Today, the new station is a key part of a new masterplan on the Royal Arsenal site which includes 3,750 new homes and new cultural, heritage, commercial and leisure quarters.
The Government states that the new Elizabeth line station will help to transform Woolwich, supporting regeneration, reducing journey times and creating new transport links for local people.
The project states that a 276 metre-long box station now sits below a major housing development site.
The minimalist, straightforward design will provide entry into the station from a single 30 metre wide bronze clad portal. Natural light will enter through the main entrance and ceiling into the ticket hall, whilst a connection to daylight is present below ground on the platforms.
The station entrance opens out on to Dial Arch Square, a green space, flanked with a series of Grade I and II listed buildings. In addition to enhancing the experience in and out of the station, the urban realm design also helps connect the station with the wider town centre.
In addition to the station improvements, Crossrail worked with the Royal Borough of Greenwich on proposals for improvements to the area around the station.
Crossrail safety bosses admit initially switching their focus away from standard safety protocols to preventing the spread of the virus.
Crossrail Ltd health & safety director Carole Bardell-Wise told NCE that implementing Covid-19 measures “had distracted from the risks on site”.
Reportable or Riddor injuries and lost time case (LTC) injuries had been showing a year-on-year improvement before the Covid-19 pandemic, but a “few recent incidents” have meant the rate of decline is now roughly the same as at the start of 2019/20.
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