36 | the rail engineer | february 2013
bridges & tunnels
(Centre) Patrick Vallely stands in front of his project.
Factair also supplied air-fed respiratory protection for staff involved in particularly dusty operations such as ballast tipping. The kits supplied for this are sophisticated incorporating hard hats and both eye and ear protection in the one system. Finally, Factair provided an air quality monitoring service during the works. Staff were on duty throughout, monitoring
oxygen levels and checking for toxic and pollutant gases including carbon monoxide. They also recorded temperatures, air speeds, dust concentration and more, taking over 3,000 readings in all. Their reports provided their client with evidence that the appropriate duty of care had been exercised in respect of their staff, sub-contractors and others who might be affected. Some 7,200 tonnes of new ballast, 2,300 new sleepers and 3,304 metres of new rail were used in the project, together with 840 tonnes of pea gravel and 660 tonnes of sand and the renewal of 1000 metres of drainage. A total of 1,800 yards of track were relaid, 850 on one line and 950 on the other.
The project’s critical path was closely monitored by the project team throughout the possession and corrective action was taken immediately when necessary to keep the works on time. Network Rail had an operations delivery manager (ODM) on site throughout to assist when there were any railway operational issues, and this proved to be a valuable contributor to the successful achievement of the work and the handback of the possession nearly two hours early on Wednesday 2 January. An additional challenge for Patrick and his colleagues was a planned visit by the Secretary of State for Transport, the Right Honourable Patrick McLoughlin, accompanied by Network Rail’s CEO Sir David Higgins and track programme director Steve Featherstone. This too went well and the visitors were apparently suitably impressed. The TSR has now been removed as the clearances have been restored to the norms required for the route. The new track and drainage will ensure better track quality, now and for the foreseeable future, with a reduced maintenance requirement and greater reliability. Shugborough is well and truly sorted.