Getting the East London line railway project, UK, into passenger service

Abstract

The success of a large infrastructure project is primarily measured from the way it is brought into use. The Heathrow Terminal 5 construction was considered to be a very successful project in the way it was delivered; however, it is remembered unfortunately for the serious operational issues that occurred in the first few days of use by staff and passengers. The East London line railway project, UK was a £1 billion investment by Transport for London to add a fifth line to the already existing London Overground system that Transport for London created in 2007. This paper addresses how the TfL project team used system engineering principles drawn from international industry standards with the objective to plan, define, deliver, commission, assure and transfer into successful operations and maintenance. It concludes from the successful delivery of the resulting project that system engineering principles should be used throughout such a project to ensure there is proper control through the project life cycle and provide certainty of outcome.