As part of Network Rail’s substantial Railway Upgrade Plan to increase capacity across the Great Western Main Line, the significant re-signalling project between Paddington and Reading is continuing to make significant progress.
New cabling is currently being installed as part of a variety of infrastructure projects between Paddington and Heathrow junction. These infrastructure projects include Crossrail works on the Elizabeth Line, the upgrading of the signalling infrastructure from track circuits to axle counters and the safer faster isolation works.
Colas Rail is supporting the signalling infrastructure upgrade works through telecoms, civils, electrification and power support. The project aims to deliver a more reliable railway for London and all passengers travelling to the West and Wales, ultimately putting the passenger first. Many of the cable routes on this section of the infrastructure are reaching capacity and therefore are being upgraded by Colas Rail to accommodate the extra cable required.
As part of the installation process, Colas Rail has commissioned Anderton Concrete, market leader in the supply of cable protection products to the UK’s rail industry, to supply over 6000 metres of precast concrete troughing to successfully increase cabling capacity.
Facilitating the seamless transition from existing ground routes to new routes, the Anderlite C / 1 / 43 straight concrete troughs have been manufactured in half lengths of 500mm to increase on-site efficiencies. The troughing lids have been manufactured at a standard length of 1metre to provide further cost and resource benefits.
Over 3000 metres of troughing has already been installed by Colas Rail’s engineers, with the project predicted to be finalised by this summer.
Daniel Clouth, Project Manager at Colas Rail Ltd., said: “A project of this scale and nature requires optimum communication and collaboration from all parties to ensure its successful delivery. It is therefore crucial that the level of materials we require are on site at the key access points, when we need them.
“Having worked with Anderton Concrete across previous rail projects, we were confident that the team could deliver the volume of troughing we required, whilst also taking a bespoke approach to the specification of the product to ensure on-site efficiencies were increased.”
With the UK’s railway network experiencing a doubling of passenger levels over the last 20 years, Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan will deliver a more reliable railway that ensures new trains can run alongside existing rail services to deliver quicker and easier journeys for passengers.
Neil Cross, National Sales Manager for Anderton Concrete, said: “As a longstanding partner of Colas Rail, it has been fantastic to collaborate with them for the re-signalling of the Great Western Main Line.
“With this project, it was imperative we could meet tight deadlines and supply high volumes of product with just a few days’ notice. As Anderton Concrete is at the heart of building for the UK, our extensive range of precast concrete products are manufactured at our headquarters in Cheshire, which places us in a strong position to guarantee that our troughing solutions can be on site in the shortest lead times, without compromising on quality.”
Anderton Concrete’s extensive portfolio of troughing, signal bases and complementary rail products are designed to comply with Network Rail standards and as a result, have full Network Rail Approval status, Certificate No. PA05/00318 & PA05/05810 and RISQS accreditation.
As the durable Anderlite concrete troughing range is up to 30% lighter than traditional materials, it offers increased installation and sustainability benefits to reduce manual handling concerns, associated cost and resource implications and the overall environmental impact of the project.
For further information on Anderton Concrete’s standard and bespoke manufacturing capabilities and market leading offering, please visit: www.andertonconcrete.co.uk or call 0333 234 3434.
For more information on Colas Rail Ltd, please visit www.colasrail.co.uk or email [email protected].
