Monday 26 Oct 2009
WAGONS ROLL OUT RENEWALS IN RECORD TIME
- Region & Route:
- National
A ground-breaking project by Network Rail to significantly reduce disruption caused by renewals work reached a major milestone as engineers replaced a set of points within record-time.
Over the weekend, engineers were able to demonstrate that a set of points could be replaced within 21 hours, rather than a whole weekend, in trials of a new design of wagon that allows pre-constructed track panels to be brought directly to site and slotted quickly into place.
Network Rail’s new fleet of tilting wagons, used for the first time this weekend at a renewals site at Bamfurlong, Lancashire, are able to tilt their loads so that the pre-constructed panels of track, which are normally too wide to be carried by rail, can be transported directly to site. When the wagons arrive, the decks are moved back to a horizontal position for the panels to be unloaded and slotted quickly into place.
This milestone forms part of Network Rail’s modular switches and crossings programme which is targeted on eight hour windows to renew a set of points, significantly reducing disruption at weekends.
The project focuses on carrying out as much of the construction work as possible away from the track to limit line closure times. Points are fully constructed and tested in factory conditions before being taken to site in modular panels to be installed quickly. Being factory built also improves their reliability and durability.
Simon Kirby, Network Rail’s director for infrastructure investment, said: “Our aim is to renew the railway without passengers realising we have even been there, the only indication being smoother and more reliable journeys.
“The introduction of new technology like our tilting wagons, and the development of better ways of working, will enable us to do more of our work at night, to help keep more of the network open at weekends when passengers want to travel.”
Notes to editors
Network Rail has ordered 26 tilting wagons in total from Kirow, a German plant manufacturer.
The track panels used to replace points have a bearer (sleeper) length of up to 3.7metres, which is too long to fit within the network’s W6a gauge. The wagons’ decks can tilt their loads up to an angle of approximately 60 degrees enabling the panels to fit within the width of the railway.
The wagons’ decks are 22.5m long. This length is sufficient for the majority of the switches and crossings on the network. For longer panels, the deck can be extended to allow panels of up to 26.5m to be carried.
As part of the renewals work at Bamfurlong, three crossovers (points) are being installed in total, two using modular methods, one using conventional. Around 500 yards of plain line will also be replaced.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - National
020 3356 8700
mediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk