Roof refurb reaches milestone at Liverpool Street

The final replacement roof panels have been installed at Liverpool Street station as part of wider improvement works.

Around 11,000 square metres of glass‑reinforced plastic (GRP) from the old Victorian train shed and 770 panels on the concourse have been replaced as they were deteriorating, causing leaks and at risk of breaking.

The refurbishment of the roof forms part of a wider package of Network Rail engineering upgrades affecting routes into and out of the Grade II listed terminal, which has been closed repeatedly this month, with more closures planned.

Jonathan Fernandez, director of the Liverpool Street Station project, described the completion as a "very important milestone".

Teams have been replacing roof materials originally installed in the 1970s on the train shed, which had exceeded their intended lifespan.

"Those panels really only last about 40 years maximum. These panels were covered in lichens, so the station was very, very dark," Fernandez said.

"So there were two issues really: one, the light within the station, and two, the panels become quite brittle, and therefore they're at risk of failure and causing issues with water ingress into the station."

On the newer concourse side of the roof, Georgian wire glass has been cracking due to thermal movement.

Fernandez said quite a few panels had been assessed as medium to high risk and could "either cause water ingress into the station or they have a risk of failure," which increases the level of maintenance needed to keep the public safe.

The renewal has been carried out under heritage requirements, with new GRP panels matched to the originals and replica units installed where the Georgian wire glass previously stood.

London Liverpool Street has already been shut on 15 and 21 March, with further full‑day closures planned on 22, 28 and 29 March.

Fernandez apologised for the closures but explained how the works have been "concentrated" into a shorter time span for the benefit of passengers.

The work at the station is expected to finish by November, with most maintenance beyond the closing dates taking place on a Sunday overnight or out of sight of the public.

The wider Network Rail programme includes track and rail renewals near Ilford and Gidea Park, drainage improvements, platform and station works at Stratford, Rayleigh, Wickford and Hockley, as well as infrastructure work at Ilford depot.

It further covers overhead line renewals, redundant structure removals, surveys and inspections, vegetation management, litter clearance and general maintenance.

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