PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
The biggest railway recycling centre in the country has opened in Cambridgeshire, designed to handle more than 40% of Britain’s used track materials annually.
Over 500 miles of used rail, 800 switches and crossings and 50,000 tonnes of contaminated ballast will be processed at White- moor Yard each year.
The new Network Rail facility cov- ers 40ha of formerly derelict rail- way land, and its own foundations were constructed using more than 125,000 tonnes of recycled rail- way ballast.
Network Rail said the centre will save hundreds of thousands of tonnes of materials going to land- fi ll, remove 2,500 lorry journeys from the roads annually, and help cut the cost of Britain’s railways
the railway or sold on at a profi t.”
Project manager Neil Hewitt, from principal contractor Spencer, said: “Not only are we proud to have been involved in a scheme with such ambition – we are proud to have delivered it on budget and on time.
“Much of the work was carried out during a period impacted by heavy rains and a very diffi cult winter.
by more than £7m each year – including £5m in saved landfi ll taxes.
Martin Elwood, director of Net- work Rail NDS, said: “Rail travel is the greenest form of public trans- port so Network Rail must take the lead in making our industry greener still.
“Our work to maintain, renew and enhance the railway means we have to deal responsibly with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste every year. Our facility at Whitemoor Yard will play a mas- sive role in minimising both the fi nancial and environmental im- pact of this waste, creating new products which can be used on
“Nonetheless the strong team- work between all companies working on the site made sure this recycling centre became a reality by summer.”
The facility should help Network Rail hit its target to reuse, recycle or recover 95% of construction and maintenance waste by 2014.
Balfour Beatty awarded Net- work Rail contract
Balfour Beatty Rail has been
awarded a seven-year framework agreement with Network Rail Na- tional Delivery Service (NDS) for the supply of on-track machines.
The national contract, which in- cludes tampers and ballast regu- lators, is estimated to have a po- tential value of £110-£120m.
Network Rail has awarded one of the biggest contracts as part of the Reading station upgrade works.
The contract for large parts of the station rebuild, which involves the construction of two new entranc- es and fi ve new platforms, worth around £80m, has gone to a joint venture between Costain and Ger- man fi rm Hochtief.
The fi rst new platform, on the Gat- wick to London Waterloo line, is scheduled to open in early 2012 with the others following in 2013.
Network Rail project director Bill Henry said: “This is just one part of a massive upgrade of the rail- way through Reading. We’ll work closely with our contractors to make sure we get the job done with as little disruption as possible to the railway and people using the station. The fi ve new platforms will increase capacity, enable us to get more trains through and mean better journeys for passengers, making the station more acces- sible, modern and to improve the experience of 14 million people who travel through it each year.”
108 | rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 11
The wider Reading upgrade also includes the construction of a new footbridge, the demolition and re- placement of the current depot, the construction of a viaduct and grade separation of the fast and freight tracks, and the rebuilding of two rail bridges to the west of the station.
Network Rail has recently an- nounced that contractors would fi nish the project by 2015; a year earlier than originally planned.
For more on the Reading project, see page 112.
Balfour Beatty Rail managing di- rector, Peter Anderson, said: “We are delighted that we have been awarded this seven-year contract and very much look forward to continuing our long-term relation- ship with Network Rail.
“The agreement further highlights the benefi t in investing in new ma- chines for the future and we are pleased to see our investment making such a positive impact to the infrastructure.”
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