TRACK & WORK SITE TECHNOLOGY
Renewals record smashed on the Metropolitan Line
Steve Naybour, business improvement manager for Track Partnership, a strategic alliance between London Underground and Balfour Beatty Rail, discusses recent Metropolitan Line work.
T
rack Partnership recently carried out the biggest ever 52-hour weekend closure on
the Metropolitan Line, with 1,200 metres of ballasted track renewals and 300 metres of drainage works at four different sites across the line.
At Wembley Park station, nearly 300 metres of track was renewed through platform 2.
The volume of undetected cables at
the north end of the platform was such that a substantial section of track had to be dug out by hand.
More than 600 metres of track was renewed between Rayners Lane and West Harrow and a further 300 metres between Neasden and Wembley close to the Neasden dip.
Between Ickenham and Hillingdon, more than 300 metres of deep-dig drainage pipe was installed using a large ‘Unimog’ tractor and one Transplant train.
These mammoth renewals could not have been achieved within one closure without the deployment of two major innovations: the Mobile Flash Butt Welder, which welds four times faster than other welding equipment; and Balfour Beatty Rail’s Front Shovel Excavator,
which lifted and
removed life-expired track twice as quick as conventional methods.
This represents tangible evidence that we are maximising delivery like never before, with all fronts working seamlessly as one London Underground track renewal team. Two years ago, any one of these four sites might have made up our entire weekend’s work. It is also great value as a return on the pain of a weekend closure.
Track Partnership has now become so
efficient that in just three weekend closures in January 2014, it delivered the equivalent of 50% of the total output of the first year of the framework – 3.4km of new track.
This not only represents increased value for London Underground but importantly, it also means less disruption for passengers.
Track Partnership delivers track and drainage upgrades to the London Underground network to ensure its life-expired track infrastructure is replaced to keep London moving.
Track UK Rail Industry Awards’
Projects – Medium’ category for its Hainault Loop upgrades on the Central Line,
delivered
with a 40% reduction in disruption. Read more about the Awards on pages 20-61.
Steve Naybour
www.bbrail.com FOR MORE INFORMATION
64 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 14
Partnership was shortlisted in the ‘Outstanding
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