Metro buildings
Attractive, inclusive and efficient transport is fundamental to urban growth, regeneration and socioeconomic vitality.
Whether a project is a new build or work on existing assets – and no matter its scale – success depends on providing benefits to three key stakeholder groups: infrastructure owners, local communities and commercial investors.
We help you to reconcile your drivers, aspirations and requirements, to create metro buildings that travellers enjoy using, that are efficient to operate and maintain, that are safe and resilient, and that support commercial success.
What can we do for you?
Our metro buildings portfolio spans all forms of mass transit, including railway, metro, light rail, tram and bus stations, operational buildings – depots, plant houses and tunnel portals, for example – and transport oriented commercial development.
Our capability builds on over a century of experience in planning, designing, procuring, constructing, operating and sustaining transport systems worldwide.
Enable and celebrate journeys
We have longstanding relationships with the world leading architects in this sector. With available funding always front of mind, the transport buildings we design continuously set new standards for operational efficiency, safety and passenger experience. We connect transport systems, enabling transfers between different modes of travel, including walking and cycling. Allied with urban design and placemaking expertise, we aim to make every station a pleasure to use, a celebration of travel and, for some users, a destination in its own right.
Provide safety and efficiency
From fire engineering and platform edge protection to surveillance and communication, we bring a holistic understanding and skill set to the design of transport buildings. Using visualisation and with expertise in stakeholder engagement, we consult emergency services in developing solutions, providing reassurance that the building can be quickly evacuated while giving emergency crews rapid access. For owners and contractors, our designs create buildings that are easy to monitor, manage, clean and maintain. We aim for long life, adaptability and resilience, so that buildings remain operational and reliably pay back investment.
Create a sense of place
Stations are focal points. As transport systems expand and passenger numbers grow, they are becoming ever more important as nexus points in people’s lives. In addition to architectural expertise, we bring urban planning and placemaking to help owners integrate stations and operational buildings with their surroundings, enhance local identity, and open up social and economic opportunity. Many of our transport building solutions are keystones for urban regeneration and the creation of socioeconomic uplift.
Social inclusion
We help our clients create stations that are accessible to all and exclude nobody. Using our industry-leading expertise in stakeholder engagement, we have advanced standards for station design that take into consideration the needs of people with wide-ranging physical and mental conditions, of all ages and diverse identities.
Diversify and increase revenues
Through-stations, interchanges and terminals occupy prime sites. We work with owners to unlock the potential for private commercial development that will bring new revenues – by designing stations that provide attractive opportunities for retail and hospitality; by assembling land, planning and obtaining permissions for development next to stations; and by designing structures that will enable air-rights development above stations.
Regional connector, Los Angeles, USA. As detailed designer, we had to navigate the challenges of earthquake risk and tangles of existing utilities to deliver three new underground stations and transform journeys for LA Metro passengers.
Engineering metro buildings for efficient urban mobility
We have worked on projects for national governments, regional, local and metropolitan transport authorities, owners and operators.
Our multidisciplinary services span civil, building and railway systems engineering, management and assurance. Not every project needs every discipline – but they are available, should you require them.
In addition to the innovation and excellence that come with our core engineering and management capabilities, we can add value for you in the following ways.
Our experience
In cities worldwide, our predecessors designed and oversaw construction of the first transport systems – underground metros, trams, suburban and intercity rail routes, roads and highways. In many cases we have remained involved in projects to expand, improve and maintain those systems ever since. That deep reservoir of knowledge is of huge value as we help you address new challenges, wherever you are.
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Cardiff bus station, UKOur client’s aspiration was to create an exemplary public transport interchange, enabling seamless transfers from bus to train. Opened in 2024, the bus station has an indoor passenger concourse and lounge area, with seating, public toilets, a family room and facilities for baby changing. There are also serviced retail units. Access to the 14 bus stands is via automatic doors. Bus drivers have their own dedicated facilities and welfare area, while the client’s offices, meeting rooms and a bus network control centre are housed at mezzanine level.
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Elizabeth Line, London, UKOur 30-year journey to bring London’s newest rail line into operation included the design of three stations at Paddington, Liverpool Street and Woolwich Arsenal. Paddington required relocation of the existing taxi rank and improved connections with London Underground lines, as well as advanced anti-terror engineering solutions. Liverpool Street involved the creation of majestic and flowing underground spaces – setting a new paradigm for underground station design. And Woolwich was designed to unlock development of the surrounding area.
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Northern Line extension, London, UKThe 3km extension to the Charing Cross branch of London Underground’s Northern Line connects an area previously poorly served by public transport. The extension created two new stations at Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station – both strengthening the sense of place, while providing structures for oversite development that generates revenue.
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Ontario Line, Toronto, CanadaAt 15.6km long and with 15 stations, the line is the biggest of four current subway expansion projects for Toronto. We have helped prepare the way for its construction by defining and de-risking the works, as well as setting out stretching requirements for sustainability, quality and value for money. Many of the new stations will be hubs for economic and social regeneration in the surrounding area.
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Rail projects in Melbourne and regional Victoria, AustraliaWe are partners in a joint venture delivering multiple rail projects in and around Melbourne. These include a metro tunnel that consists of twin 9km rail tunnels from the west to the southeast of the city, five new underground stations and a new train-tram interchange. We’re also working on the Suburban Rail Loop, the new 90km rail line and stations that will connect people to key destinations across Melbourne. It also aims to transform the city to provide more diversity in jobs, additional housing options, and green and open space in well connected neighbourhoods.
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Regional connector, Los Angeles, USAAs detailed designer, we had to navigate the challenges of earthquake risk and tangles of existing utilities to deliver three new underground stations and transform journeys for LA Metro passengers. Our scope of work also included three new underground stations.
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Sydney Metro, AustraliaOver the next decade, the metro system will grow to encompass 46 stations and 113km of track, helping the city’s residents go about their daily lives quickly and conveniently and enabling further expansion of the conurbation. Our role has evolved from designer and technical adviser to trusted delivery partner. On the Northwest Line we provided detailed design for eight new stations – three underground, three open cut and two elevated. Our team on the City and Southwest Line are responsible for the design and technical services for six underground stations in the city centre.
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Thomson-East Coast Line 4, SingaporeTEL4 spans 10.8km and consists of seven new stations, bringing a TEL station to within a ten-minute walk for around 235,000 additional households. Our teams worked for more than 12 years on the project, and we were principal designer for four of the new stations. These were designed with accessibility and inclusivity front of mind, including more lifts and station entrances, to benefit those who face mobility challenges.
STEPS
STEPS was the first solution to map people in motion, from transportation interfaces to stadium evacuation. STEPS realistically simulates pedestrian movements to test design layouts and operational plans. It enables users to understand how people will act in daily situations and in emergencies.
