Chorley Rail Cutting

The Challenge

The project presented considerable challenges as this contract had been initiated in 2016 and the development of the design had involved significant ground investigations over several years before the designers were able to submit a plan for approval by the Principal Contractor & Network Rail.

Access to site on the Downside was restricted as most of the site had no crest area for the safe operation of soil nail drilling plant. The railway had OLE cables which were very close to the base of the slope meaning that the works had to be carried out on rail possessions or blockades.

Due to delays VA was not engaged until after the site had been taken over by the Principal Contractor this then required a fast-track mobilisation in order to commence the site works in accordance with the programme.

The safe and efficient delivery of the project required close co-ordination and collaboration between the Murphy & VA project & site management teams.

The works required the installation of :

• 1850 no. 5-7m soil nails

• 160 Platipus Earth Anchors

• 10,000m2 of Maccaferri MacMatR

• Slope and base drains

• Platipus Plati-drains

• 2 sets of Evergrip GRP access steps

• GRP & Galvanised Steel Handrails

• Inclinometers

• GRP Retaining Walls

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The Vertical Approach: Safety, Quality, Innovation & Agility

Safety

VA developed an induction & training programme to ensure that all personnel engaged on the site could work safely within the complex operational environment. The use of daily briefings, lessons learnt, and safety stand down days ensured that any improvements or changes to operational procedures and safe working practices could be rapidly disseminated across the teams.

In order to safely work on the site with trains continuing to run a temporary catch fence was designed and installed by the company using Rail possessions and blockades, this system ensured the safety of the trains & the  travelling public.

The site was closely monitored by Network Rail and was awarded a Community & Safety Banner in recognition of the achievements of all the companies & personnel involved in the project.

Quality

In conjunction with Murphy the company developed a comprehensive Inspection & Test Plan [ ITP ] that controlled all aspects of quality for the works. The monitoring of this was undertaken by the site and project managers in conjunction with Network Rail who were closely in all aspects of the project.

Innovation

Working closely with the scheme designers, the principal contractor’s & Network Rails’ engineers was key to ensuring that the design meet the high standards required for the project to successfully remediate the issues of potential slope failure that had been present on the site for decades. To maintain the quality of the installation to continue to meet these standards and the continued design changes the company used its contract management APP based system to give all the engineers live drill logs, grout cube & Soil Nail test data so that they could monitor ground conditions and re-design and change soil nail lengths and spacings to suit.  

Agility

The project involved complex planning and co-ordination of VA site operations with our Road Rail Vehicle suppliers for the rail possession and blockade works that were critical to the delivery of the project.

Access to the work site was restricted and to undertake the works on the Downside required a forward-thinking approach to plant, manual handling and safe operation for all personnel involved in the project.

The use by VA of Primavera P6 Project Management programme was key to the co-ordination of all parties operations and allowed this to be built into the Network Rail master project management system that utilises  Primavera P6.

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Outcome & Feedback

The project was extended from the original scope to include significant additional works including GRP handrails, access steps and extended work areas. Its successful delivery has stabilised a rail cutting that has been a risk for the railway for many years. And as mentioned prior, the project was recognised for its huge achievements by Network Rail, resulting in being awarded a ‘Pride in our Safety & Welfare Standards’ banner.

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