Modernisation
Arial view of a Balfour Beatty rail site compound at Linekilns, Wallsend shows the scale of work
A fine balance While the vast majority of investment in Metro over the next decade will be spent on infrastructure, Nexus is also committed to refurbishing stations, primarily to improve accessibility. Although the whole of Metro has been
wheelchair accessible since it opened in 1980, modernisation is a chance to reach higher modern standards. The major station at North Shields has
been completely rebuilt and enlarged to provide modern standards of accessibility, staff facilities, enhanced retail space and an appropriate gateway for the town centre’s retail core. It stands on the site of several older buildings presenting its own unique engineering challenges. Most of all, North Shields had to
remain open as much as possible for its 1.5 million passengers a year during 18 months of demolition and construction. Government investment comes with a
requirement on Nexus to deliver a target spend each financial year while ensuring efficient delivery so the money does not run out before the whole programme is delivered. It is a fine balance – in the last year
will remain invaluable in the decades ahead as Nexus ensures its infrastructure is managed effectively.
Dedicated team work
A second strength of the programme has been Nexus’s decision to work with a small number of framework contractors and consulting engineers. By working intensely and regularly
on projects, framework contractors have been able to build familiarity with the assets quickly – as well as a good relationship with the Nexus project directors and managers overseeing the work. They have also been able to adapt to the distinct operational practices on Metro infrastructure while bringing innovation. Nexus itself has had to go through
huge organisational change to support this ambitious delivery. The Nexus
Rail engineering section was, before 2010, structured primarily to fulfil a maintenance function, not a long-term programme of asset renewal involving many times its previous workload. A dedicated renewals team has been
created with project managers recruited from across the UK rail industry and within the organisation. This has been further enhanced by Nexus’ decision in 2009 to set up a graduate programme attracting the best new young engineers. A new Project Management Office
has also been established to ensure strategic oversight and efficient control of hundreds of active projects at any time. Its role is both to help manage cost against budget and ensure that projects proceed smoothly through design and delivery stages in order to meet targets agreed with the Department for Transport.
we managed 36 separate possessions including one ‘Major Line Closure’ of 23 days and a second of six days, while protecting major events and weekends before Christmas when retailers rely on Metro to deliver footfall. Detailed sales and travel data is used
to plan works to minimise the impact on the passenger, and thus the impact on fare revenue, which Nexus retains. Some work has been planned in after
9pm on evenings instead of the standard weekend to impact fewer passengers. Even the choice of which evenings to use can be driven by an analysis of ticket machine sales, as they differ between the line to the airport and the line to the coast, for example. North East England was the birthplace of the railways and we are honoured to operate over some of the very earliest alignments. These routes are embedded in the community, and we must never forget that as we take forward our ambitious modernisation programme.
FEBRUARY 2013 PAGE 59
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