Brent Cross West, opened in December 2023, is the first major new mainline station in London in over a decade, with Thameslink trains connecting central London to Brent Cross in as little as 12 minutes.

The new station is essential to unlocking wider development in the area and has been designed as a gateway to a new neighbourhood called Brent Cross Town.

Construction works:

The works included the demolition of a disused train storage shed, construction of the new train station, construction of four platforms (two for stopping trains, two as emergency platforms for fast trains which need to stop), and installation of a new pedestrian footbridge with lift and escalator access.

Following full planning permission being granted in May 2020, work commenced with the demolition of a large disused train storage shed, before main construction of the station began in the early to mid-summer 2021.

The new station:

• The expansive station is approximately 7,000 square metres and the building measures 16 metres high (at its tallest point)
• There are four platforms (two islands) – two for ‘slow’ trains and two for ‘fast’ trains
• Platforms are 255m long – eight car trains will stop at the platforms
• Two thirds of each platform is covered by unique, steel canopies that have been specially designed for Brent Cross West
• There is step free access from street level to the platforms
• On the western entrance, around 48,000 bespoke handmade bricks have been laid by hand to ensure they meet the strict standards and quality of design
• The pedestrian and cycle overbridge will connect the areas of Barnet and Brent via the Midland Main Line for the first time in 150 years
• There is cycle storage in both entrance buildings with capacity for 30 bicycles in the west, and for 70 in the east
• A new transport interchange is also under construction with three bus routes proposed to stop directly outside the station.
• There is one waiting room at each end of the each platform

Social value:

Over £15 million in social value was created during the project. The VolkerFitzpatrick Brent Cross West team and subcontractors were involved in lots of local activities to support the community during the build of the station. They raised money, collected food donations, renovated community centres, landscaped charity farmland, and more.

Giving a real perspective on construction, students from Barnet and Southgate College were given presentations, took part in interactive talks and were taken on site visits by our team and subcontractors. The team also supported Women into Construction with mock interview sessions with local women.

Throughout the build, the organisations supported included: GROW charity, North Road Community Centre, Action Barnet, Childs Hill Food bank, Homeless Action Barnet, local Job Centres, and Save the Children.  

The educational establishments supported included: Whitefield School, All Saints Primary School Cricklewood, Barnet and Southgate College, Open Doors and Women into Construction.

• 102 Barnet residents were employed to deliver the station works programme, with 20 percent of the workforce from Barnet or neighbouring Brent and Camden boroughs.
• The project supported five young people through the government’s Kickstart scheme and two apprenticeships.
• Local businesses were supported (where possible) with over £4,770,000 spend. This included family-owned social enterprise Tarem Services for pest control and manual labour supply, and businesses owner Emma Blackman who has run the staff canteen. 

The connections:

The new station sits between Cricklewood and Hendon stations on the Midland Main Line.

Thameslink trains connect Brent Cross West station to central London in as little as 12 minutes, with up to eight trains an hour at peak times. There are direct connections to Luton Airport as well connections to Elizabeth Line services via Farringdon station.

Brent Cross West station includes a new overbridge that gives pedestrians and cyclists the ability to cross this part of the Midland Main Line for the first time since it was built more than 150 years ago, linking communities on both sides of the station, and making it much easier to get around the area.

The station is an essential part of the Brent Cross Cricklewood Regeneration Programme, providing the gateway to Brent Cross Town, the 180-acre, £8bn net zero park town that is being delivered by the partnership between Barnet Council and Related Argent. Brent Cross Town will deliver 6,700 new homes, a new business and innovation district with workspace for 25,000 jobs, a new high street and aims to be net zero by 2030.

For more information, please visit: https://transformingbx.co.uk/transformation/brent-cross-west/new-station/