Network Rail has finished replacing glazing panels as part of its major roof refurbishment project at London’s Liverpool Street station.

The work was undertaken while the station was closed over five weekend days in March, with the main concourse becoming an exclusion zone.

Liverpool Street is Britain’s busiest station, with more than 98M journeys made between April 2024 and March 2025, according to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Work crews earlier finished replacing the discoloured, lichen-covered panels above platforms 1-10. These span an area of 11,000m², the equivalent of 8.8 Olympic-size swimming pools. Thousands of old panels have been swapped out over the last year.

“Much more natural light is already flooding into the station, with the full effect to be seen once all the scaffolding is taken out,” Network Rail said in a statement.

“The new panels, along with drainage improvements across the roof, will also help to keep everyone moving safely by reducing leaks onto the concourse and platforms.”

The Liverpool Street roof refurbishment project will continue this year, with works including drainage improvements, scaffolding removal and replacing the decorative wooden valance at the end of the trainshed after a full restoration.

Lichen-covered panels were replaced above platforms 1-10.

The contractor for the project is Morgan Sindall Infrastructure.

Network Rail also delivered extensive track upgrades during the March closure weekends, boosting reliability for Greater Anglia, Stansted Express, Elizabeth line and London Overground Weaver Line services. This included:

Improved track drainage at Liverpool Street and Harold Wood
Fixed overhead line faults at Liverpool Street and Shenfield
Repairs to the underside of the road-over-rail bridge at Forest Gate station
Replacing worn-out track crossings at Stratford, Shenfield and Ingatestone and replacing 1.5km of aging track at Ilford and Gidea Park

Mark Walker, Network Rail Anglia infrastructure director, said: “We completed a huge amount of work over these March weekends that we simply couldn’t have got done during regular overnight maintenance.

“We’re really sorry for the disruption to services, but these upgrades will help us to deliver a better, brighter and more robust railway for passengers travelling to and from Britain’s busiest station.”

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