Network Rail has installed an ‘innovative and near maintenance-free’ footbridge on the East West Rail route in Bicester. It is made from fibre-reinforced plastic and expected to need much less maintenance than conventional steel or concrete materials.
Socotec UK has completed ground movement monitoring where HS2 contractor Align JV has tunnelled under the M25 motorway. This included automated patch scanning before, during and after the driving of the tunnels, with monitoring prisms, wireless tilt sensors and boreholes containing automated extensometers also used to support the monitoring of ground movements.
The UK Rail Research & Innovation Network has launched a Technology & Innovation Hub at Unipart Rail’s headquarters in Doncaster. This will support the rail sector in using academic research and innovation to solve strategic industry challenges and in developing the next generation of products and services, with a particular focus on supporting SMEs. The hub is supported by universities including Huddersfield, Southampton and Birmingham, and organisations including Network Rail, RSSB and the Railway Industry Association.
In a letter to TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes regarding the financial irregularities which led to DfT’s decision not to extend Govia’s Southeastern contract, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps says ‘at this stage, I have no reason to believe this activity is part of wider-industry practice. My officials will be examining the outcome of the ongoing investigation and I will consider what further steps may be appropriate. The outcome of the investigation is likely to also be a relevant factor in respect of decisions on the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise.’
Mechan has supplied lifting jacks for South Western Railway’s Bournemouth (12 jacks) and Salisbury (four) depots. These have an identical moving anvil and castor wheelbase arrangement, enabling them to be switched between sites if needed, and can be daisy chained together in any configuration and controlled as a synchronised set.
Christine Fernandes, Business Development Lead at CAF, has been appointed Chair of Women in Rail, with Shona Clive, project lead of the rail cluster at Scottish Engineering, as Vice-Chair. ‘With one of the aims of GB Railways being to create a more inclusive and diverse workforce, what an exciting time of big change and opportunity to help improve gender balance and diversity across the rail sector’, said Clive.
Govia Thameslink Railway has appointed Carl Martin as Accessibility Lead. He has been a wheelchair user since losing the use of his legs in a motorcycle racing crash five years ago. ‘With one in five people having some form of disability, I want to build on that to help people gain independence through our rail service by highlighting the assistance we have available to remove those obstacles’, he said.
Ben Higgens has joined Rail Forum Midlands as Engagement Manager, Rail Infrastructure, while Sam Pardoe has been recruited as Communications & Membership Support Co-ordinator.
Following the discovery of a structural fault on the unique Vaxon Bridge over the Stainforth & Keadby Canal in North Lincolnshire, Network Rail has launched a full inspection and started work to install a live monitoring system to allow it to develop detailed designs for long-term repairs, including work to realign some of the moving equipment. In the mean time the sliding bridge will open for boat traffic on alternate days. The bridge ‘is a fascinating, one-of-a-kind piece of engineering, but that means when something goes wrong, it can take a little longer to fix’, said NR North & East Route Director Matt Rice on September 28.
In its report into a cement train derailment at Sheffield station on November 11 2020, RAIB makes four recommendations to Network Rail concerning the implementation of processes for identifying high derailment risk locations; the implementation of safety-critical changes to its processes; standards governing fitment of check rails; and track geometry data formats. There are three learning points for track maintenance staff alerting them to the need for effective management of gauge in tightly curved track, the limitations of geometry alerts provided by static measuring equipment, and the importance of monitoring geometry trends for the identification of track deterioration.