Supplying Timber Issue 9 0 - Autumn 2025 - Flipbook - Page 52
———— CASE STUDY ————
BUILDING BETTER TRAIN
STATIONS: WHY TFL CHOSE
TIMBER OVER STEEL
Buckland Timber has been working on major redevelopments for
Transport for London. Here, they explain why glulam and CLT was chosen
for the projects instead of the more usual steel and concrete approach.
USING TIMBER
of Transport for London’s
broader strategic approach
to incorporating more timber
into their projects. Colindale
was actually conceived 昀椀rst,
but the timber elements of
Surrey Quays ended up being
completed ahead of it – both
part of TfL’s recognition that
timber creates calmer, more
welcoming environments that
can genuinely reduce commuter
stress levels.
Surrey Quays sees almost 昀椀ve
million entries and exits annually
(that puts it in the UK’s top 100
busiest stations), while Colindale
handles more than seven million
passenger trips a year. These
aren’t quiet suburban stops –
they’re really busy commuter
hubs.
↑
W
e were
commissioned
by Morgan
Sindall Infrastructure for
Transport for London (TfL)
on two separate projects to
help redevelop busy railway
stations.
All our projects matter to us,
but working on these largescale infrastructure jobs brings
something extra. When you’re
helping to create spaces that
millions of people will use every
year, you want to get it right.
These two stations are part
Image: Colindale
Station features
six 25-metre span
arches.
SUPPLYING TIMBER
52
AUTUMN 2025
Why timber?
You might wonder why timber
would be used for something as
demanding as a train station,
when most people expect to see
steel and concrete in transport
infrastructure. But glulam
and CLT aren’t just beautiful
materials, they’re seriously
practical too.
For Surrey Quays, we were
commissioned to complete
a Stage 5 design for a new
entrance to Platform 2, with a
distinctive two-stepped roof.
We used European Larch glulam
beams in a lattice pattern on
the upper roof and a run of
straight beams on the lower
roof, with European Spruce CLT
decking on both. The result?
A space that feels welcoming
rather than industrial.
The Colindale project was
even more ambitious – six
stunning 25-metre span arches
for the new ticket hall, plus
a northern canopy. All were
completed using a combination
of European Larch and Spruce
glulam with CLT panels.
