Creative AfA Delivery Overcomes The Challenges of Small Heritage Stations
There’s an old joke about somebody giving directions and starting with the phrase: “Well, I wouldn’t start from here…” Sometimes Access for All (AfA) projects feel like that. Stations selected for full step-free access upgrades should be chosen on the basis of which ones will deliver the biggest benefits in terms of increased access and […]
Okehampton Interchange opens: 164,000 new passengers anticipated
Okehampton Interchange, the Dartmoor Line’s newest station, has begun serving passengers, improving connections between West Devon, Torridge and North Cornwall with Exeter and beyond. The station is expected to support 164,000 passenger journeys in its first 12 months, strengthening local access to jobs, education, healthcare and wider opportunities. Octavius delivered this scheme as design and […]
Okehampton Interchange: Enabling regional growth, at speed
About the project Okehampton Interchange is a new-build station, necessary to support local authorities’ regional growth strategies. Octavius is the project’s design and build contractor, which was awarded under Network Rail’s Wales and Western Framework. Part of Devon’s Dartmoor Line, in form and function Okehampton typifies a new generation of stations being created across the […]
Local heroes: Why a caring contractor is essential
The contractor is the public face of the client, so it is critical to choose a trusted ambassador Principal Contractors and their supply chains frequently deliver localised transport infrastructure projects in close proximity to the communities they serve. This is why it is essential to choose a delivery partner able to demonstrate that they put […]
Harmonising delivery: The importance of the integrator
Diverse stakeholders are a hallmark of the transformative projects many combined authorities are looking to implement, so a delivery partner able to integrate and align competing priorities with project goals is key to success. A complex matrix of network users, stakeholder agencies and suppliers is often a defining feature of combined authority transport infrastructure projects. […]
Multi-modal projects need multi-disciplinary leaders
Ensuring the optimal delivery of integrated infrastructure, that achieves combined authorities’ goals, requires a delivery partner who intrinsically understands not only the bespoke challenges of delivering individual modes of transport – but also the complexities involved in how the modes interface with one another and come together to create seamless journeys for passengers. Creating safe, […]
Bentley Station AfA – Derogation reduces cost and carbon
About the project “As part of a value engineering exercise, Octavius proposed the opportunity to deliver an uncovered footbridge structure, to make the project more affordable in the face of increasing material costs and affordability challenges. Octavius and design partner Arcadis produced a proposal that was better value for money and saved on embodied carbon. […]
Stoneleigh Access for All: The same but different
About the project Stoneleigh – in Epsom, southwest London – is one of Surrey’s busiest stations. Stoneleigh Access for All (AfA) made the bustling station accessible for users with mobility challenges and easier to navigate for rail users with children, heavy luggage or shopping. Unique surroundings and location Covered footbridge, three lifts, three sets of […]
Motspur Park Access for All: More than an AfA
About the project It’s not only people with mobility challenges, buggies and heavy luggage who benefit from Motspur Park Station’s Access for All (AfA) project. For those living either side of the line to London Waterloo at Motspur it is now easier to cross the tracks. In addition to providing step-free access to the station’s […]
Barnes Access for All: Established solution, site-specific challenges
About the project Octavius completed the project to make Barnes Station accessible to all users in 2025. The work followed the proven Access for All (AfA) formula of providing two footbridges, three lifts and three staircases. As with all AfA projects successful delivery was about ensuring this established solution could be made suitable for station-specific […]
DLR lift renewals: Smart sequencing to maintain step-free access
About the project Smart sequencing has been the key to success for Octavius’ Docklands Light Railway (DLR) lift renewal programme. Throughout the work the focus has been on passenger experience, ensuring step-free access was always available, on all routes, for the mass transit system’s users. Achieving this required developing a detailed understanding of the network […]
Charfield Station New Build: Enabling an attractive alternative to car travel
About the project Charfield is among a host of new railway stations nationwide being built by local authorities to meet their transformative regional transport needs. With South Gloucestershire Council leading on the scheme, Octavius is working on behalf of Network Rail and alongside Great Western Railway to deliver the project. South Gloucestershire village, Charfield, sits […]