Structures

Structures examination update: progress made

Colin Wheeler In the last edition of RailStaff I expressed disappointment at the lack of reportable progress following the exchange of correspondence on this issue...

Non-compliance with structures examinations “Network Rail not good enough!”

Colin Wheeler I had optimistically hoped to write in this edition describing the process and timescale agreed between the Office of Rail & Road (ORR)...

An open letter to Network Rail

Colin Wheeler An open letter from John Larkinson, the chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), to Andrew Haines, chief executive of...

XEIAD training academy – one year on

In December 2021, RailStaff spoke to civil engineering consultancy XEIAD as it prepared to launch its new Training Academy. Just over a year later,...

Engineering Success

The rail industry’s army of engineers keep the rail network running day and night, 365 days a year. Since the first days of the...

Great Musgrave – The inside track

Graeme Bickerdike There are hundreds of old railway bridges much like the one at Great Musgrave in Cumbria’s Eden Valley. The structure emerged from the...

Elevator award

HS2 Ltd has confirmed that TK Elevator has been awarded the framework to deliver around 300 state-of-the-art lifts and escalators for the four major...

“Wrecking Ball Act” threatens future of historic bridge

Unrest is brewing in an East Sussex village over National Highways’ plan to infill a historic railway bridge within a conservation area. The state-owned roads...

Ribblehead viaduct repairs complete

Iconic structure benefits from sensitive remedial works over harsh winter. Since November 2020, 100ft high scaffolding towers have moved across seven of the viaduct’s 24...

One of the country’s most hit railway bridges is repaired and strengthened allowing Cambridgeshire road to reopen

Stonea road in Cambridgeshire reopened this week after one of the country’s most hit railway bridges was repaired and strengthened, following a crash that...

Buckinghamshire footbridge to be replaced

A picturesque footbridge over the Chiltern main line in Buckinghamshire is to undergo a major overhaul to make it safer and more reliable for...

Successful Christmas engineering works in south London and Sussex

Engineering work on the railway over Christmas and the New Year has delivered vital rail upgrades across Sussex and south London. On the Brighton main...

Railway heritage at risk from Highways England’s “wrecking ball”

Hundreds of potentially useful disused railway structures are threatened with demolition or infilling by Highways England under plans described by one campaigner as “finishing...

Major overhaul for Lancaster’s listed footbridge

Lancaster stations’ Grade II footbridge is being refurbished as the city’s railway station evolves for the future. The historic footbridge, which spans platforms 3 –...

Five platforms for Stevenage

A new fifth platform has been constructed at Stevenage station as part of the Stevenage Turnback project. This will allow services from Stevenage to run...

Footbridge repaired and refurbished at Elmers End

Elmers End station footbridge, which links Platforms 2 and 3, has been refurbished at a cost of £600,000. Extensive steel work repairs have been carried...

Grade II listed footbridge reopens at Prudhoe station

The Grade II listed footbridge at Prudhoe station has been opened for passengers after a major project to strengthen, clean and repaint it.  Work began...

Moving a signal box overnight

A disused signal box in Lowdham, Nottinghamshire, has been moved to a new location just 100 metres from its original location, so it can...