Funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, Dundee-based engineers and students will be preparing activities and learning information packages for use in class and online to explain the processes involved in the building of Dundee’s new railway station.
Resources for the classroom
Free online activities and class materials will be released with each stage through our website at
www.abertay.ac.uk/open/engineering
These will have background information about what’s happening at the Railway Station, images and associated learning activities aimed at each level of the curriculum. Corresponding Es&Os will be highlighted for each learning unit.
We will also send out posters for display in classrooms to highlight the STEM subjects and raise awareness of career prospects in engineering for your pupils.
“Scotland needs to find more than 147,000 extra engineers by 2022 in order to tap into rising demand worth billions of pounds to the economy”
Engineering UK 2015 ‘The State of Engineering’, produced for the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET)
Delivery points and stages of the learning programme:
| Learning programme delivery dates | Construction / Deconstruction dates | Building phases and learning contexts |
| October to December 2015 | 2010 to 2013 | Preconstruction phase. Dundee Railway Station is part of Dundee City’s 30 year Waterfront Regeneration project. Engineering content: The Victorian Railway tunnel which runs under the Central Waterfront development zone presented engineers with complex deconstruction challenges when bringing down the existing buildings. In addition, the road network through the central zone has to be reconfigured frequently to allow each stage of the area’s deconstruction and reconstruction to be carried out considerately and effectively. Learning opportunities will focus on the planning, design and costs of different options to the old railway station in Dundee. |
| Dec 2013; Dec 2014 | Removing the old Railway Station building. Engineering content: The focus of this milestone will be the problematic removal of the building with live railway lines running underneath the station. Learning opportunities will provide a summary of the advance works that have been carried out to bring the students up to date on the background of the project including: utility diversions, stage 1 demolition of road over rail bridges and construction of new bridge structure and road, diversion of pedestrians and vehicles, construction of extended lay-by and bus area, construction of the temporary station facilities prior to demolition of the existing concourse building, Rail Maintenance Offices and bridge deck. | |
| Sept – Jan 2016 | Installing services. This topic will focus on how services are installed with the focus on the future needs of the railway station and how these predictions are made. The new infrastructure network currently being implemented as part of the £0.5 billion redevelopment of the Central Waterfront will include: the highest specification digital communication, an integrated transport hub at the new rail station and updated utilities. |
| January to June 2016 | Jan – Aug 2016 | Building the foundations for the new Railway Station. Engineering content: Foundations at this site will be problematic as this land was reclaimed c1900. The bearing pressure is inconsistent. This milestone will focus on ground engineering design and why piled foundations have been specified in this build project. Particular attention has to be on preserving the integrity of the railway abutment walls and working with live rail traffic, whilst installing rotary percussion bored piles |
| Feb to Aug 16 | Bridge Construction, Ground Floor Structure & Platform Works. Engineering content: Installation of pre-fabricated steel beams, permanent deck formwork, steel reinforcement and in situ concrete over a live railway line. | |
| Aug 2016 to Jan 2017 | Building the superstructure of the railway station and hotel above. The new station concourse will consist of a triple-height arched space, framelessly glazed at both ends. The arched form responds to the structural requirement to span across the railway bridge below. Engineering content: will address construction considerations, materials and support requirements in building such an open expansive supporting structure over a tunnel, with the additional complexities of operating the build over live railway lines. | |
| Oct 2016 to July 2017 | Temporary Works. Engineering content: Construction of a multi storey building in close proximity to the railway and within a constrained site creates significant potential risks to both employee health and safety and for the protection of the railway infrastructure. The sequencing of the construction of the steel frame building is critical to ensure that at all times throughout the works the temporary structure is safe. Significant temporary measures will be required to be designed and installed throughout the course of the construction. | |
| April 2016 | Sustainability. Sustainability of buildings during construction, service and demolition is a major part of the design of any building. This session will include the three main pillars of sustainability in the construction context. | |
| Oct 16 to Sept 2017 | The External Building Cladding & Internal fit out Engineering content: incorporation of utilities, avoiding clash with steelwork, floors, walls and ceilings how 3D modelling helped to reduce delays and decrease fabrication costs on site. Ensuring the hotel rooms are constructed to provide the specified sound acoustic performance requirements. | |
| Health & Safety will be covered in each section of the project. Introducing the importance of health and safety on site using topics such as the protection of the public and traffic management. Situated in the middle of one of Dundee’s busiest roads, traffic management of this site is a major part of the planning. | ||
