Alkmaar North Station: more accessible and highly sustainable

It was with this in mind that the railroad manager, in cooperation with NS and K_Dekker bouw & infra, among others, started the modification of nine stations in 2015. Currently, the more than 40-year-old Alkmaar Noord station is undergoing a major overhaul. When the work is completed on schedule in the summer of this year, the train station will have undergone a complete and at the same time sustainable metamorphosis.

ProRail wants to make rail travel in the Netherlands as easy as possible for as many people as possible. "To make stations accessible to travelers with disabilities, we are, for example, constructing ground-level platforms and providing stair railings with Braille information," says Lieke Rubers, active within ProRail as project manager for stations. "By 2022, at least 90 percent of travelers must be able to find their way to stations without assistance. The dot on the horizon is 2030. By then, all NS stations must be independently accessible to everyone." 

Wink to the Alkmaar main station

One of these, the severely outdated Alkmaar Noord station, is the scene of a large-scale renovation until the middle of this year. In fact, the train station located on the Amsterdam Central-Den Helder and Alkmaar-Hoorn routes is being completely rebuilt from scratch after being completely demolished. This is all being done according to drawings by the Amsterdam architectural firm VenhoevenCS, which also designed Alkmaar Central Station at an earlier stage. The nod to this previously completed job cannot be missed, Rubers believes. "The design of Alkmaar North Station is based on Alkmaar's main station. And this is reflected in the use of materials and colors, among other things. All this should culminate in a modern train station that is optimally accessible for every traveler." To achieve that, there will be new stairs, ramps and two glass elevators that will improve accessibility to the platforms. At the same time, the station building and platform tunnel will have an open and transparent appearance. For example, spacious platform roofs with glass waiting rooms underneath will be realized. Amenities that will offer passengers more comfort and shelter. New furniture will also be installed and the tunnel under the tracks will receive a thorough overhaul.

Sustainability high on the agenda

ProRail attaches great importance to sustainability. Around the implementation of the project in Alkmaar Noord, to which the Municipality of Alkmaar is making a (financial) contribution, this is once again evident. "In addition to energy-efficient LED lighting for the station building and platform tunnels, 170 solar panels are being provided on the roof that will generate more than 90 percent of the energy required," explains construction manager Esther Versteegh on behalf of ProRail. "A score that will make the station building virtually energy-neutral. In addition, much of both construction and demolition waste and existing materials will be reused. The residues that are not suitable for a new round after sorting will be processed in a Waste-to-Energy Plant. The resulting heat is used to heat schools, greenhouses and residential areas."

Within the triangle, cooperation runs smoothly

At ProRail, they are very enthusiastic about the cooperation with contractor K_Dekker bouw & infra and the other construction team partners and stakeholders. "On our way to improving the accessibility of the stations, we have been working together for several years," Versteegh said. "So we know each other well and know what we can gain from each other. That is also apparent again during this project. Once again we have challenged K_Dekker to come up with a proposal that meets our objectives and ambitions across the board. And once again they succeeded. The partnership is becoming more and more solid. That is partly to Antea's credit. This consultancy and engineering firm not only takes care of the architectural design review and execution supervision, it also acts as an advisor and sounding board for us. In short, within the triangle formed by K_Dekker, Antea and ProRail, cooperation runs like clockwork. And what also counts: all three of us learn from each other every day. That benefits the course of the project and the result in abundance."

Diverse tinted project 

The construction work that K_Dekker bouw & infra is currently performing in Alkmaar fits perfectly into the varied order portfolio of the progressive and multidisciplinary specialist. Based on the contract signed with ProRail in 2015, the company, which operates out of Warmenhuizen and Amsterdam, is also ensuring that train passengers in the cheese city can reach the station and platforms without any problems. Rick Bleeker acts as project manager on behalf of K_Dekker. "ProRail's assignment was clear," he reflects. "They not only wanted an accessible station, the structure also had to have a sleek and open character. We were able to meet these requirements in full, both in terms of the design made and the execution. We also had to focus heavily on sustainability, including recycling existing materials and demolition waste as much as possible. That, too, worked out exceptionally well."

Prefab

Creatively translating an architectural design into an optimal realization process and a feasible, sustainable result is something clients can confidently leave to K_Dekker bouw & infra.     

The company's versatility, ample innovative capacity and craftsmanship provide a solid foundation for this. These are aspects that are seamlessly linked to the embraced core values: together, success, progressive, inspiring and proud. Even in the case of Alkmaar Noord Station, where both construction and civil engineering disciplines converge, the construction and infrastructure company succeeds with flying colors. "Together with our partners, we looked at how we could complete the assignment as quickly and efficiently as possible and with minimal inconvenience to the surrounding area and train traffic," says Bleeker. "This approach led us, for example, to completely prefabricate the four canopies, each measuring 22 by 8 meters, in close consultation with the Municipality of Alkmaar in the parking lot next to the station. Everything is in place: the steelwork, the flashing, the wooden slats, the security cameras and the lighting. In short, they are completely finished. And we also went for prefabricated production of the elevator wells. To this end, we built a concrete plant especially for this project at our yard in Krabbendam, located a 15-minute drive from Alkmaar."

Successful cooperation

Although the entire construction project spanned almost a full year, the clever prefabrication of the covers next to the station as well as the pre-planned train-free periods ensured that the entire physical execution took only about 20 weeks. The highlight of this was the assembly of the platform canopy, an action item that could be ticked off at the end of last March. However, the relatively short production period does not take away from the fact that the construction of the station did not present any challenges for K_Dekker. Quite the contrary. "During the demolition work, the installation of the sheet piling for the elevator tubs and the assembly of the canopies, no trains could run at the station and a predetermined out-of-service period applied. For us, this meant that we had to complete this work in a very short period of time. That created quite a bit of time pressure. But we managed it all just fine," said a proud Bleeker. "Something to which both the excellent cooperation with ProRail and the Municipality of Alkmaar and the mutual trust certainly contributed." 

Curious about the progress of the construction of Alkmaar North Station? Follow the livestream via https://live.netcamviewer.nl/ProRail-Station-Alkmaar-Noord/1161

The versatile builder

Building is second nature to K_Dekker bouw & infra. And tackling is in its DNA since its establishment in 1963. These are characteristics that are reflected in every project carried out by the company, which operates out of Warmenhuizen and Amsterdam. K_Dekker can rightly call itself 'the versatile builder'. By combining innovative drive and craftsmanship with a no-nonsense work mentality and a large dose of creativity, the construction and infrastructure specialist manages to surprise again and again with gems of projects. Wonderful results that fill both the client and the K_Dekker professionals themselves with pride.