The Effect of Slips, Trips, and Falls

Slips, trips, and falls might sound like everyday occurrences, but within the rail industry, they can trigger a chain reaction of problems.  Whether it’s a passenger slipping on a platform, a staff member tripping on uneven flooring, or a contractor falling while maintaining equipment, the consequences can be severe.

Human Toll

Slips, trips, and falls can lead to injuries ranging from minor sprains to more serious fractures or head injuries. Each incident not only affects the individual involved but also their colleagues, family, and the overall morale of the workforce.

Operational Disruptions

Even a brief halt in rail operations can have a cascading effect on schedules and customer satisfaction. If a worker or member of the public is injured, investigations and medical attention can disrupt regular activities.

Financial Impact

In addition to potential compensation costs, slips, trips, and falls can result in legal liabilities, increased insurance premiums, and potential compensation claims. These financial repercussions can strain resources that would be better utilised for other safety improvements.

Public Perception

Safety incidents reflect poorly on the rail industry’s reputation. A high-profile slip or fall can erode public trust and deter potential passengers from choosing rail as their mode of transport.

To address the issue effectively, it’s essential to understand the risk factors that contribute to slips, trips, and falls in the rail environment:

• Weather Conditions: Rain, snow, ice, and even leaves on the tracks can create slippery surfaces, increasing the chances of accidents.
• Platform Design: Poorly maintained platforms, uneven flooring, and inadequate lighting can create hazards for both passengers and staff.
• Maintenance Areas: Work areas, maintenance pits, and equipment can become slippery due to oil, grease, and other substances.
• Human Factors: Fatigue, improper footwear, and distractions can heighten the risk of slips, trips, and falls.

How can SOCOTEC UK help?

As a leading provider of testing, inspection, and certification services, SOCOTEC UK is dedicated to enhancing safety across various industries, including rail. Our expertise can make a significant impact on reducing slips, trips, and falls within the rail sector:

• Comprehensive Site Assessments: SOCOTEC’s professionals conduct thorough site assessments to identify potential hazards, from platform conditions to maintenance areas.
• Surface Testing: We offer slip resistance testing in line with European Standard EN 13036-4:2011, to ensure that platform, concourse and other surfaces such as those in workshops etc meet safety standards, even in challenging weather conditions.
• Training and Awareness: SOCOTEC provides training programmes to educate rail personnel about risk factors, prevention measures, and best practices.
• Ongoing Monitoring: Regular monitoring and assessments ensure that safety measures are continuously effective and that potential hazards are promptly addressed.

Slips, trips, and falls might seem minor, but their impact on the rail industry is far from insignificant. By addressing these safety concerns, we can create a safer environment for rail workers and passengers alike. SOCOTEC UK’s commitment to providing tailored solutions and expertise can help the rail industry mitigate risks and maintain its reputation for safety and reliability. Together, we can ensure smooth rail operations while putting safety first.

Stay Tuned for Our Annual Rail Environment Forum (REF) Invitation for 2023

Additionally, we invite you to keep an eye out for our upcoming REF invitation for 2023. This forum serves as a platform to exchange insights, share best practices, and collaboratively address safety challenges. At SOCOTEC UK, we believe that continuous learning and collaboration are key to fostering a safer rail industry for all.

Attend SOCOTEC’s next Expert Webinar

Effluents – Do you consent? – This webinar will focus on trade effluents and will take place on Wednesday 20 September 2023 at 11 am. Jonathan Harries, Technical Manager for SOCOTEC Environmental, will deliver the talk.

Click on the link below to sign up via our dedicated webpage. A link to join will be delivered via email on the morning of the webinar.

Register your interest

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Mike joins the multi-disciplinary engineering specialist from Network Rail, where he has served as a route delivery director for the last six years.

In his new role, he will drive Spencer Group’s rail division forward as it delivers transformative projects across the UK.

Reflecting on his appointment, Mike said: “I’m delighted to be joining Spencer Group, which has a reputation for innovation and engineering excellence. I’ve spent the last six years with Network Rail, developing supply chain strategy and delivering projects – and will draw on this experience to grow and align Spencer’s rail division.

“My focus will be on the upfront development side of the business, and on realising the full potential of its internal design capabilities. I’m committed to ensuring that we truly align with and understand our clients, avoiding change and unnecessary delays in delivery.

Mike added: “I’ve spent most of my career as a contractor – but, after joining Network Rail, I gained invaluable client-side experience. Six years later, I’m confident that I understand the organisation’s requirements – and the needs of other rail clients. I began my rail career with Spencer Group and know that meeting these needs is in its DNA. Now, I’m really looking forward to shaping and building our rail offering with the help of my team.”

With 27 years of industry experience, qualified engineer Mike is well-equipped to lead Spencer Group’s rail division – a business he first joined in 1996. Over the course of 11 years, he helped to grow it into a Tier 1 contractor and was made a main board director.

During this time, Mike drew heavily on the skills he had acquired as an engineer on complex heavy civil engineering projects.

Helping to deliver highways and bridges, he also developed a solution-driven style and straight-talking approach.

After leaving Spencer Group in 2007, Mike became a private consultant – and was later offered the role of rail director at Story Engineering. By 2015, the business had become a well-established Tier 1 contractor and increased its turnover by 300 per cent.

During Mike’s tenure, it was also named Supplier of the Year by Network Rail.

He joined Network Rail in 2017, after a stint as infrastructure division lead at Wood Group. Serving as a route delivery director for the UK’s infrastructure owner and manager, Mike was responsible for the safe and efficient delivery of major projects.

Commenting on Mike’s appointment, Spencer Group Managing Director Gary Thornton said:

“I’m thrilled to welcome Mike to Spencer Group as our Managing Director of rail and to help drive forward our ambitions in the sector. Mike brings with him decades of valuable experience both contractor and client-side working for Network Rail and in his previous experience with Spencer Group.

“Mike’s strong engineering background places him ideally to lead our team and build on our already fantastic reputation for project delivery in the rail industry.”

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HS2 is asking for members of the public, living in Ealing, Brent and beyond, to help us chose names for the next two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will dig HS2 tunnels under the capital.

In early 2024, HS2 will launch the two machines that will construct the Northolt Tunnel East travelling through Brent and Ealing. The TBMs will set off towards Greenpark Way in Greenford, travelling 3.4miles from HS2’s Victoria Road site, near to new Old Oak Common station.

Before the TBMs set off, they are given names. As per convention, they will be named after influential women and HS2 is asking the public to vote for two names from a shortlist of five with connections to Ealing. TBM naming helps communities remember and celebrate great local woman from all walks of life.

The names on the shortlist are:

• Amy Barbour-James (1906 -1988) – Amy was born in Acton to Guyanese parents and was active in the civil rights movement. She was involved in the African Progress Unionand the League of Coloured Peoples, becoming secretary of the latter in 1942.
• Lady Anne Byron (1792 – 1860) – Lady Byron was an educational reformer and philanthropist. In 1834 she established the Ealing Grove School – the first school for the working classes, in an era when education was mainly for the wealthy.
• Brigid Brophy (1929 – 1995) – Ealing born Brigid was a British writer and campaigner whose work focused on social reform, homosexual parity, animal rights and humanism. She helped establish the Public Lending Right, allowing authors to claim a payment every time their book was borrowed from a public library.
• Emily Sophia Taylor (1872 – 1956) – Emily was a midwife, providing services for women who could not afford care, and became Ealing’s first female mayor in 1938. She was an active member of the Education Committee and the Child Welfare Committee and helped establish the Perivale Maternity Hospital in 1937.
• Susan Mary Smee (1859 – 1949) – Susan became Acton’s first female mayor in 1924, the first Justice of Peace and the first curator of Gunnersbury Park Museum. She is described as a pioneer who helped other women to follow her example.

The selected names will be displayed on the side of the TBMs which are to be lowered into a shaft ready to tunnel in the Autumn. Before launch, there will be a ceremony to bless the TBMs featuring a statue of St Barabara, the patron saint of tunnelling, conducted by a local priest.

Speaking about the naming, HS2’s Head of Community Engagement, Maddelyn Sutton, said:

“As HS2 construction begins to reach its peak, we are preparing to launch our next duo of tunnel boring machines in London. Giving the TBMs names with local connections is a great way for us to celebrate the achievements of women and for the local community to get involved in this once in a generation infrastructure project.”  

Both TBMs are170 metres long and over 1,700 tonnes in weight. They will be operated by HS2’s main works civils contractor building the London Tunnels, Skanska Costain STRABAG Joint Venture.

The tunnel they are building will be 8.4miles in total, stretching from Old Oak Common station to West Ruislip. The other 5miles of the tunnel is under construction with two further TBMs, Sushila and Caroline, already one mile into their journey.

More information on HS2’s TBM naming can be found here and more information can be found on HS2 at https://www.hs2.org.uk/. The voting is open from Monday 21^st August until Monday 4^th September 2023.

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HS2 has completed the first of 32 giant piers for the first Water Orton Viaduct as work ramps up to build the Delta Junction, the project’s most complex network of structures in the West Midlands.

HS2’s main works contractor for the West Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) is building the 1,400 metre long northbound and southbound structures, which will connect HS2’s Birmingham Curzon Street Station with Crewe and Manchester.

They are part of the Delta Junction, which is a triangular section of the high-speed railway made up of 9 precast segmental viaducts, embankments, and other bridging structures, with around 10km of track crossing a network of motorways, roads and rivers.

Reaching 20 metres tall at its highest point, the two Water Orton Viaducts will be amongst the tallest structures along the HS2 route, taking trains over key transport corridors including the M42, the Birmingham to Peterborough rail line and the River Tame.

The pier was built in situ with a bespoke formwork designed specifically for the project, and with a fully prefabricated reinforcement cage, assembled in the rebar factory located near Coleshill.

The piers will support the deck, which will be built using an innovative construction method and bespoke machinery. The deck segments will be produced at HS2’s nearby outdoor purpose-built Kingsbury factory near Lea Marston. The factory is making a total of 2,742 segments for the entire Delta Junction, generating over 6km of post tensioned viaduct. The segments will be transported to site using haul roads to reduce HS2’s impacts on local roads.

To reduce environmental impacts, HS2’s engineers have incorporated Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS) – a by-product of the steel manufacturing industry – into the structures as an eco-friendly concrete alternative to a traditional concrete mix, reducing carbon use by more than 60%. 

HS2 Senior Project Manager for Delta Junction, Sam Hinkley said:

“This is another key moment for HS2 in the West Midlands as work ramps up on one of the most complex sections of the whole route. The Delta Junction is HS2’s key interchange where the new zero-carbon high speed railway will connect between London, the Midlands and the North.

“Minimising disruption to local communities in this area has been a key consideration in our planning, including the use of innovative pre-cast construction techniques, and haul roads to take lorries off local roads.”

After the piers are constructed, the viaduct spans will be built by raising each segment from a temporary suspension tower erected on top of each pier. When each span is complete, the suspension tower will be disassembled and moved further along the viaduct to build the next span.

An innovative ‘match-casting’ technique means that each viaduct segment is cast against the following segment in a production line, creating a seamless viaduct deck when installed. Each segment is uniquely precise and adjustable by as little as 5mm. This approach – where each segment is poured against the previous one – ensures the whole arch fits perfectly when assembled on site.

David Waite, Construction Director at Balfour Beatty VINCI said:

“Witnessing the removal of the shuttering to reveal the first completed pier for Water Orton Viaduct was an important occasion for the 1,100 people who make up the Delta workforce.

“With the production line at the Kingsbury pre-cast factory now in full swing, we will start to see the viaduct take shape over the coming months, with the first span due to be completed early next year.”

Once built, the area underneath the viaduct will be landscaped to provide a connected and accessible area with tree planting, new wildlife habitats, footpaths and cycle routes.

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Over the last two years, the UK steel industry has benefitted from a pipeline of orders worth over £170m from HS2’s construction partners building the first phase of the high-speed railway linking London and the West Midlands.

As the backbone to HS2’s two-decade construction programme, over one million tonnes of steel are forecast to be needed for standard construction materials, a further 200,000 tonnes for steel rail, switches and slabtrack, and an additional 15,000 tonnes for rolling stock. 

Visiting CELSA Steel UK’s Cardiff headquarters, a UK steel provider to HS2, Ruth Todd Chief Commercial Officer at HS2 Ltd said:

“HS2’s vast demand for steel over the next 20 years, as we extend Britain’s new railway to Manchester and the East Midlands, is a lifeline for this vital UK industry and stimulates future growth potential.

“As I’ve seen here today, HS2’s supplier contracts with CELSA Steel UK are already supporting hundreds of jobs in Cardiff, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Furthermore, the recyclable and retraceable products they supply aligns to our commitment to cut carbon in construction, as we strive to ensure HS2 is one of the most environmentally responsible infrastructure projects ever delivered in the UK.”

CELSA Steel UK is the UK’s largest manufacturer of steel reinforcement and a driving force behind new sustainability standards for the industry. 750 staff work at the two Cardiff-based sites where recycled scrap metal is melted in an electric arc furnace to produce 80% less carbon emissions than basic oxygen steelmaking. The molten steel is then turned in to billets and rolled to make reinforcing bar (rebar) for use on HS2 construction sites.

CELSA Steel UK transports high volumes of its materials and products by rail, not road, for the bulk of their journeys, including the scrap metal collected from its scrapyards in Cardiff, Swansea, Rotherham, Bristol and Sunderland.

Gabriella Nizam, Head of Sustainability and Strategy at CELSA UK said:

“HS2 recognise the value of CELSA Steel UK’s low carbon steel, and we’re delighted our products are supporting the construction of a railway that will deliver zero carbon journeys for millions of people.

“Our steel is produced in an Electric Arc Furnace, with 98% of our raw material being UK sourced scrap metal. Our commitment to circularity combined with our sustainable production process, establishes us as a leader in environmentally friendly steel production in the UK. While our steel is already low carbon, we are striving to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 and becoming a net positive company by 2050.”

The rebar, manufactured in Cardiff, is transported to UK sites managed by British firm ROM GROUP, part of the CELSA GROUP, where it is cut, shaped, and bent to meet the bespoke requirements set by HS2’s construction partners.

Over the last two years, almost 20,000 tonnes of ROM/CELSA’s recycled British steel has helped to build HS2, and the orders keep coming. A 2,000-tonne order is a ‘big deal’ for the 100-strong team working at ROM Ltd.’s Sheffield factory, and around 140,000 tonnes of future orders are already in the pipeline from just one of HS2’s four civils construction partners.

The current scale of demand means ROM Ltd.’s Sheffield Brightside facility is almost exclusively supplying rebar for HS2. The potential to deliver a further 140,000 tonnes from the site, for just one HS2 contractor, would account for around 80% of the site’s total output over the next three years.

Brian Traynor, Managing Director of ROM GROUP said:

“HS2 brought some much needed demand for ROM GROUP during the pandemic, as the orders kept on coming.  We’ve subsequently invested over £2million in new equipment at our Sheffield facility to ensure we can maintain demand and sustain future growth.

“There’s a great sense of pride in seeing the steel our workforce has precision cut and bent being used to build the railway, and we hope that continues into the next decade and beyond as HS2 heads north.”

The boost in HS2 orders is also being felt at ROMTECH’s prefabrication facility in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. To date, more than 8,000 tonnes of rebar, manufactured at CELSA’s Cardiff mill, has been welded by a team of 40 specialists to create bespoke prefabricated piling cages each weighing up to ten tonnes and spanning two metre widths.

From the East Midlands factory, each piling cage is labelled and shipped to HS2 construction sites where they are used to strengthen the ground ready for the construction of bridges, viaducts, and tunnels along the route linking London and the West Midlands.

Gareth Stace, Director General of UK Steel, said:

“We are proud that UK-made steel is being used to build HS2. With the potential for two decades more orders, HS2’s investment in UK recycled steel should be emulated by many other major infrastructure projects.

“By buying UK-made steel, HS2 boosts supply chains and jobs across the country, from Wales to Yorkshire. Choosing domestic steel also means HS2 hits corporate social responsibility obligations and cuts even more carbon emissions by transporting the recycled steel by rail.

“HS2 is core to the fabric of the UK steel industry, which has around 40,000 employees and feeds into an extra 50,000 supply chain and community jobs.”

To date, over 3,000 UK-based businesses have won work on HS2 and £23 billion has been contracted into the supply chain. A workforce of nearly 30,000 are in jobs supporting HS2’s vast construction programme, and thousands more are employed in offices and factories across the UK supplying the materials, products and services needed. HS2’s construction programme is a shot in the arm for UK plc, and the Government’s commitment to extend the railway to the north provides a promising future for British industry and future job creation.

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The operation – which utilised the latest low-carbon design – involved excavating 14,000 tonnes of earth, building a 140 metre retaining wall and moving a 2,600 tonne bridge deck 130 metres into place under the South Staffordshire freight railway.

The work was carried out during a 10 week blockade. It was completed Balfour Beatty VINCI, and designers Mott MacDonald as part of a Design Joint Venture with SYSTRA (MMSDJV), together with teams from 18 specialist supply chain companies.

At the end of July, the 2,600 tonne bridge deck, which had been cast on land adjacent to the railway was moved 130 metres into position using self-propelled modular transporters. Since then, each side of the bridge was backfilled, the rail tracks were reinstated, with the railway line was successfully handed back to Network Rail on Wednesday 16 August and now reopened.

The 25 metres long and 18 metres wide Streethay overbridge sits within HS2’s Streethay cutting and will enable HS2 trains to travel under the existing railway between Birmingham and Crewe. Through design development, Mott MacDonald engineers were able to reduce the total length of wall structures for the railway at Streethay from 1.6 kilometres to 420 metres, meaning 80% less concrete is needed – saving around 420,000 tonnes of carbon, supporting HS2’s ambition to cut carbon on the project.

The Streethay bridge sits on top of the larger 420 metre long retaining wall structure which will have two additional bridges crossing it – the south bound A38 slip road bridge, and the Rykneld Bridge which carries the A38 north bound slip road and the A38 north and south bound carriageway.

At its peak, over 150 people worked on the complex construction operation, with teams from 18 specialist companies, delivering design, surveys, piling works, bridge build, concrete pouring, crane operations, reinforcements, modular transportation, track and systems removal and reinstatement.

The work was delivered in parallel to the construction of the nearby Fulfen Wood bridge, which involved moving a giant 6,200 tonne single span structure under the West Coast Main Line – the UK’s heaviest drive to install an intersection bridge.

David Millar, Rail Interface Manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI said: “The successful delivery of this complex and challenging piece of engineering near Lichfield is another proud moment for Balfour Beatty VINCI on the HS2 project.

“It’s only been possible thanks to the skill, dedication and support shown by the project team over the past few years, including our supply chain. Together, we’ve had to work around existing transport infrastructure, including the South Staffordshire freight railway and the A38, making this achievement even more rewarding.”

Caroline Warrington, Senior Project Manager at HS2 Ltd said: “This is a fantastic example of a project within a project at HS2, pulling together teams from 18 specialist supply chain companies from the West Midlands as well as other regions, to deliver a complex construction operation. These are some of the many companies that are helping to build Britain’s new zero carbon railway, supporting thousands of jobs right across the country.

“Unlike the Fulfen Wood bridge structure, which was constructed entirely off site, the Streethay bridge walls under the railway embankment had to be constructed during the blockade. This required a 72 day blockade, making it more of a marathon than a sprint!”

Mark Jordan, Mainline Design Director at Mott MacDonald Systra Design Joint Venture: “We’re immensely proud of the collaborative effort to get the design for this critical structure and operation ready for HS2. It’s no small task to coordinate milestones like the Streethay bridge, with expertise from our geotechnical and structural engineering teams delivering design to meet the interfacing requirements of both HS2 and Network Rail, and innovation to enable off-site construction and transportation of the 2,600 tonne structure by Self Propelled Modular Transport.”

Prior to the railway blockade, retaining walls were installed on either side of the railway, enabling the areas to be excavated. The bridge deck was constructed on land adjacent to the existing railway, 130 metres from its final position.

Once the railway was closed to freight trains, the track and embankment were removed. Bachy Soletanche Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering joint venture then installed an additional 76 secant piles measuring 1.3 metres diameter and 30 metres deep, linking to the piles they installed prior to the blockade, to create two retaining walls which act as the walls for the bridge.

A concrete capping beam was installed over the retaining walls, then the bridge was moved into place using self-propelled modular transporters with 344 wheels. Concrete was poured to attach the deck to the capping beam, the embankment was backfilled using 2,500 tonnes of structural backfill, on either side of the bridge, before the railway line was reinstated.

The next works in this area include the construction of two HS2 over bridges which will run under the A38.

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Working on behalf of Balfour Beatty VINCI, a team of 20 demolition experts from Solihull-based firm Armac Demolition have worked 24/7 to remove a 4,000 tonne two-span bridge over the M42 to make way for the HS2 railway in the West Midlands.

The team used eight 50 tonne excavators and two 40 tonne excavators to remove the 40 metre long, 10 metre wide bridge during a planned 56 hour closure of the motorway. Six articulated dumper trucks transported the excavated material to a local stockpile where it will be crushed and reused on HS2’s haul roads and working areas.

The whole job was completed sooner than anticipated, which meant the M42 could be reopened 14 hours ahead of schedule, shortening the closure to 42 hours and reducing disruption to road users.

Armac was working for HS2’s civils contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI to deliver the operation during the closure of the M42 near HS2’s Interchange Station construction site in Solihull.

HS2 Ltd and Balfour Beatty VINCI worked closely with National Highways and their supply chain to enable the demolition works, with all existing motorway technology diverted or removed prior to the demolition. In the last year, Balfour Beatty VINCI have also diverted power and telecommunications cables away from the structure ahead of the demolition.

The bridge, which carried the A452 over the M42, was removed to allow for a new twin box structure to be constructed, which will carry the high speed line over the motorway in the future. HS2 has built a new, improved road structure and roundabout which now carries the A452, and in future will also enable access to the new HS2 Interchange Station.

Oliver Shore, Construction Director at Balfour Beatty VINCI said: “It is through relentless collaboration with HS2 and National Highways that we have achieved this latest milestone in less than two days, overcoming technical and logistical challenges along the way.

“The demolition of the existing M42 bridge will kickstart the next phase of works, with our attention now turning to the construction of the new twin box structure which is designed to carry Britain’s new zero carbon railway – HS2 – over the motorway.”

Ian Clarke, Senior Project Manager at HS2 Ltd said: “This is another fantastic milestone for our civils team in the West Midlands, as construction of HS2 moves on at pace. The team did a brilliant job to get the demolition finished way ahead of schedule, meaning the motorway could be reopened much earlier than anticipated.”

“In this region, over 9,750 people are working on the many complex and exciting feats of engineering to build HS2 over the existing network of roads, railways, rivers and canals – creating our new zero carbon railway to connect London, the Midlands and the North.”

National Highways Senior Network Planner, Frank Bird said: “We’d like to thank motorists for their patience while the work took place and for following our diversion routes during the closure.

“This bridge demolition was a really big project and we have worked closely with HS2 over the past few months to plan the closure of the M42 and to try and limit disruption during the work.

“Given the complexity of the work involved, we’re really pleased to see the work completed ahead of time and it’s testament to the hard work of those involved that we could open the road earlier than planned.”

Noel McLean, Technical Director from Solihull-based Armac Demolition said: ‘’Armac were delighted to be working again in collaboration with our HS2 partners Balfour Beatty VINCI on the first of three major bridge demolition projects in this section. The detailed planning that had been put into the project over the last 12 months by Balfour Beatty VINCI and Armac resulted in an excellent performance over the weekend.

“A safely executed project, completed well ahead of the closure schedule, and not a single mark on the carriageway. Great performance by all involved – looking forward to the next one.”

From the full closure of the M42 at 00.25 on Saturday 12 August, a team of 30 people removed the motorway vehicle restraint system and installed protective matting. The 20-strong demolition team then moved in to remove the bridge deck, wing walls, central pier and abutments between 07.30 and 17.00 on Saturday 12 August.

The matting was removed, carriageway cleaned, and central reservation and verge restraint systems reinstated, ready for the motorway to be re-opened at 15.00 on Sunday 13 August.

Coming up next, the Balfour Beatty VINCI team will now start to construct the huge twin box structure, which will carry HS2 trains over the M42. The structure, measuring 300 metres length by 25 metres width will cover around 130 metres of the M42 and will be built in position whilst maintaining three lanes of traffic flowing on the M42.

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HS2 has completed a ‘marathon’ construction operation at Streethay near Lichfield as part of an innovative project to pave the way for Britain’s new high-speed line.

The operation – which utilised the latest low-carbon design – involved excavating 14,000 tonnes of earth, building a 140 metre retaining wall and moving a 2,600 tonne bridge deck 130 metres into place under the South Staffordshire freight railway.

The work was carried out during a 10 week blockade. It was completed by HS2’s civils contractor in the West Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI, and designers Mott MacDonald as part of a Design Joint Venture with SYSTRA (MMSDJV), together with teams from 18 specialist supply chain companies.

At the end of July, the 2,600 tonne bridge deck, which had been cast on land adjacent to the railway was moved 130 metres into position using self-propelled modular transporters. Since then, each side of the bridge was backfilled, the rail tracks were reinstated, with the railway line was successfully handed back to Network Rail on Wednesday 16 August and now reopened.

The 25 metres long and 18 metres wide Streethay overbridge sits within HS2’s Streethay cutting and will enable HS2 trains to travel under the existing railway between Birmingham and Crewe. Through design development, Mott MacDonald engineers were able to reduce the total length of wall structures for the railway at Streethay from 1.6 kilometres to 420 metres, meaning 80% less concrete is needed – saving around 420,000 tonnes of carbon, supporting HS2’s ambition to cut carbon on the project.

The Streethay bridge sits on top of the larger 420 metre long retaining wall structure which will have two additional bridges crossing it – the south bound A38 slip road bridge, and the Rykneld Bridge which carries the A38 north bound slip road and the A38 north and south bound carriageway.

At its peak, over 150 people worked on the complex construction operation, with teams from 18 specialist companies, delivering design, surveys, piling works, bridge build, concrete pouring, crane operations, reinforcements, modular transportation, track and systems removal and reinstatement.

The work was delivered in parallel to the construction of the nearby Fulfen Wood bridge, which involved moving a giant 6,200 tonne single span structure under the West Coast Main Line – the UK’s heaviest drive to install an intersection bridge.

Caroline Warrington, Senior Project Manager at HS2 Ltd said:

“This is a fantastic example of a project within a project at HS2, pulling together teams from 18 specialist supply chain companies from the West Midlands as well as other regions, to deliver a complex construction operation. These are some of the many companies that are helping to build Britain’s new zero carbon railway, supporting thousands of jobs right across the country.

“Unlike the Fulfen Wood bridge structure, which was constructed entirely off site, the Streethay bridge walls under the railway embankment had to be constructed during the blockade. This required a 72 day blockade, making it more of a marathon than a sprint!”

David Millar, Rail Interface Manager at Balfour Beatty VINCI said:

“The successful delivery of this complex and challenging piece of engineering near Lichfield is another proud moment for Balfour Beatty VINCI on the HS2 project.

“It’s only been possible thanks to the skill, dedication and support shown by the project team over the past few years, including our supply chain. Together, we’ve had to work around existing transport infrastructure, including the South Staffordshire freight railway and the A38, making this achievement even more rewarding.”

Mark Jordan, Mainline Design Director at Mott MacDonald Systra Design Joint Venture:

“We’re immensely proud of the collaborative effort to get the design for this critical structure and operation ready for HS2.  It’s no small task to coordinate milestones like the Streethay bridge, with expertise from our geotechnical and structural engineering teams delivering design to meet the interfacing requirements of both HS2 and Network Rail, and innovation to enable off-site construction and transportation of the 2,600 tonne structure by Self Propelled Modular Transport.”

Prior to the railway blockade, retaining walls were installed on either side of the railway, enabling the areas to be excavated. The bridge deck was constructed on land adjacent to the existing railway, 130 metres from its final position.

Once the railway was closed to freight trains, the track and embankment were removed. Bachy Soletanche Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering joint venture then installed an additional 76 secant piles measuring 1.3 metres diameter and 30 metres deep, linking to the piles they installed prior to the blockade, to create two retaining walls which act as the walls for the bridge. 

A concrete capping beam was installed over the retaining walls, then the bridge was moved into place using self-propelled modular transporters with 344 wheels. Concrete was poured to attach the deck to the capping beam, the embankment was backfilled using 2,500 tonnes of structural backfill, on either side of the bridge, before the railway line was reinstated.

The 18 companies which delivered the project were:

• J. Murphy & Sons constructed the bridge deck and the concrete elements during the blockade
• Bachy Soletanche Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering JV (SB3) undertook all piling works, both before and during the blockade
• The bridge parapets were made by Explore precast
• Podtrak and RSS Infrastructure delivered rail systems work
• Balfour Beatty VINCI delivered earthworks
• Pile break-down was by Pile Breaking Solutions
• Trackway supplied by TPA
• Jacking the structure and modular transportation by Mammoet UK
• Survey works track monitoring by Aecom
• Crane supply by King Lifting supported by BBV lifting teams
• Concrete provided by CEMEX
• Reinforcement by ROM – specialist reinforcement manufacturers
• Temporary works by RMD
• Permanent works design by Design JV (Mott Macdonald and Systra)
• Temporary works design by Taylor Woodrow

The next works in this area include the construction of two HS2 over bridges which will run under the A38.

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Designed by ARUP and fabricated by Thompson’s Project Management, the 51-metre weathered steel bridge will enable buses from Broadway Roundabout to access new facilities at Belfast Grand Central Station by passing over the new rail tracks.

Team members from GRAHAM (which was awarded the contract in 2022), ARUP, and Translink crossed the new bridge on a bus as part of the opening ceremony, celebrating the completion of this key stage in the multi-million-pound Belfast Transport Hub regeneration project.

The 1500-tonne bridge will enable GRAHAM’s client, Translink, to deliver the next phase of its transformative project, creating a modern, high-quality integrated transport hub in central Belfast (and at the heart of a new city neighbourhood, ‘Weavers Cross’).

Once complete, the hub will dramatically improve local and international connectivity, enhancing bus, coach, and rail links across Northern Ireland and beyond.

As well as social and economic benefits, it is expected to have a positive environmental impact, reducing air pollution and congestion by encouraging more people to use public transport in the region.

Commenting on the completion of the Belfast Transport Hub Busway Bridge & Ramps Project, Andrew Henry, GRAHAM’s Contracts Director, said: “We’re pleased to have completed this package of works, safely and efficiently delivering a sustainable new bridge which provides a gateway to the new station and will facilitate the construction of the wider transport hub.

“Like the other projects we have collaborated on with our valued client, Translink, the hub will have significant social, environmental, and economic benefits for the communities it serves. Our team is proud to have played a part in shaping transport in the region, and to have been among the first passengers to cross the bridge.”

Philip Brown, Head of Major Projects, Translink, says around 400 bus services will travel across it on a daily basis when the new hub opens:  

“This busway bridge is an integral part of the bus infrastructure planned for the world class Belfast Grand Central Station. Its development has been visible to anyone arriving into Belfast Great Victoria Street Station by train or using the Westlink over the past number of months and we are delighted to officially mark its opening and the return of this bus passenger priority lane through the site.  

“From today, passengers will see around ten-minute reductions on journey times when travelling on services that use this direct bus lane and busway bridge to and from Europa Buscentre. We’d like to thank them for their patience and flexibility while we worked to complete this part of the construction programme.  

“Its completion also enables wider station construction works to progress efficiently. I would also like to thank and congratulate the entire project and operations teams for their hard work to deliver this milestone and also acknowledge the Department for Infrastructure for their essential funding to deliver this project,” said Philip.

Crossing the newly realigned railway lines, the bridge comprises two 150-tonne steel girders, which were transported to site and lifted into place in October 2022. 

It is the first bridge on Northern Ireland’s transport network to be fabricated from weathering steel, a corrosion-resistant material that does not need to be painted. As a result, the sustainable structure has a 120-year design life, while requiring nominal maintenance.

Social value was also a priority for the GRAHAM team, and over 300 weeks of apprenticeships were supported during the project alongside local suppliers and businesses.

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Ellie Burrows has been appointed as the permanent regional managing director for Network Rail’s Southern region. Ellie has been in the regional managing director role for the Southern region on an interim basis since January this year.

Ellie Burrows said:

“I’m absolutely delighted to have been appointed as the permanent managing director for Southern region. I’ve had such a warm welcome since starting on an interim basis in January and I’m really grateful to have been involved in some exciting industry achievements, including the King’s coronation, the celebration of 75 years of Windrush, the 175th anniversary since London Waterloo station first opened and lots more.

“We’ve overcome some significant challenges over the past few years and my focus is on working with our industry partners even more closely to make sure we’re investing our money wisely, so we can give our passengers a safe and high-performing railway that they can rely on. 

“I’m committed to making Southern region a safe, caring and inclusive place where our people are proud to work.”

Eastern region managing director Rob McIntosh has been appointed as the new regional managing director for the North West & Central region. Rob will move over to the region on 4 September, and the recruitment process for a new Eastern region managing director is progressing well.  

Rob McIntosh said:

“I’m very much looking forward to working with colleagues, partners and stakeholders to deliver a better service across the North West and Central region. 

“Whilst running a safe, reliable service for passengers and freight is at the core of what we do, our commitment extends beyond that to making a real difference to the communities and economies we serve.”

Andrew Haines, chief executive, said:

“Many congratulations to Ellie on her permanent appointment. Ellie is a fantastic leader in Network Rail and has done a great job during her seven months in leading Southern, including building deeper relationships with the regions stakeholders.

“I am also really pleased that Rob has agreed to transfer to our North West & Central region. Rob has valuable experience across the industry and I know he will provide excellent leadership to regional colleagues as they navigate their future challenges as well as continue to work with partners in strengthening regional connectivity.

“Wishing both Rob and Ellie the best of luck in their roles and I look forward to continuing to work closely with them as we all work to deliver a safe and reliable rail service across Britain.”

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