Fowad : Site Engineer -
Summer Placement
MEng Civil Engineering,
University of Birmingham
When you're working on renovating and upgrading one of the oldest of London's underground lines, you have to expect the unexpected. But before we could even start clearing the site for the new maintenance facility for the East London Rail Line, we'd been told that there were stories about unexploded WWII bombs on the site. It may sound a bit far fetched, but safety's so much a part of our culture we just couldn't take any chances. So we had to call in specialists to make sure there was nothing sinister lurking a few metres down. Then we could get on with the business of removing all the soil so we could start the piling wall. It's a huge amount of material - which just shows how big this project is.
It's going to be a new maintenance facility for the East London Line. And that's part of something bigger still for Balfour Beatty - helping to upgrade and modernise whole chunks of the rail network.
I'd been looking for a placement before I started my third year at university, but I wasn't expecting anything this hands-on. I was given more responsibility almost weekly. It can be tough working nights and weekends - I had to do this on my previous placement with Balfour Beatty - but on a functioning railway, that's how it has to be.
Having such regular contact with so many different teams, both on site and here in our office in Moorgate, is brilliant experience. And I've found that people really respond to your enthusiasm. If you really want to go for something, learn something new, you're actively encouraged. I know it'll make a big difference to how I approach my third year. And with my Balfour Beatty sponsorship, the money will certainly come in handy too.
I could be anywhere by the time the project finishes in 2010, which is perfect for me. I've always wanted a career that opened up the possibility of working in different countries and cultures. I'll still be tempted to come back and see the East London Line project when it's finished though. It'll just be great to see the new rolling stock setting off from New Cross Gate and think to myself: "I played a part in that."
