The AVA Footbridge and Lift System prototype heralds a new railway footbridge design and construction, revolutionising the procurement, manufacturing, and installation of railway bridges.

The AVA Footbridge and Lift System prototype heralds a new era of railway footbridge design and construction, revolutionising the procurement, manufacture, and installation of railway bridges. This groundbreaking project is the result of a collaboration between Hawkins\Brown, Expedition Engineering, Walker Construction, Network Rail, McNealy Brown, and ARX. As an assured Network Rail design, it can be installed at any London railway station. Transport for London has also visited the demonstrator and the AVA lifts are now being installed at Seven Sisters station.

AVA’s development was driven by a clear need to enhance productivity in delivering footbridges across the network. Traditional footbridges often fell short of Network Rail’s goals to reduce capital expenditure, installation time, and carbon footprint, posing challenges to the ‘Access for All’ programme.

Designed with a focus on modern manufacturing methods and construction, AVA moves towards the principles of ‘Industry 4.0’ digital technology. Its full potential will be realised through batch production and economies of scale as production ramps up.

Featuring a distinctive modular design, an integrated lighting system, and an exposed bead-blasted stainless-steel finish, AVA is a high-quality architectural piece suitable for any station environment. Its layout is configurable, allowing for various bridge and lift arrangements to meet specific site requirements, and its span and height are flexible, with customisation options including the addition of a roof. The use of stainless steel for both structure and cladding extends the design life of the footbridge to 120 years, requiring only minor maintenance. This significantly reduces early-stage degradation, minimises disruption to passengers, lowers whole-life carbon footprint, and cuts down overall lifecycle costs.

Andrew Davies, Partner and Infrastructure lead, Hawkins\Brown
The challenge for the AVA Consortium was to design a footbridge that could be installed anywhere – from dense inner-London sites to rural towns, and villages in conservation areas. Our vision was for a simple, low impact, timeless and most important, modular system that could adapt to any environment. Built to last and capable of being mass-produced.
As lead architect, my role was to ensure the design put people and accessibility first. Its configurable layout allows for various bridge and lift arrangements to be simply installed in sites that were unsuitable for more conventional bridges, connecting communities and helping to make them stronger and more vibrant. It’s integrated lighting system and clear sight lines make everyone feel safe and comfortable.
AVA is a game-changer, fully adaptable, quicker, cheaper, longer lasting, and with a better carbon performance, it will enable far more access-for-all schemes to be realised than ever before.