Between 3rd and 19th July 2024 South Rail Systems Alliance (SRSA) – comprised of Colas Rail UK, Aecom and Network Rail – installed more than 7,097 metres of new track on the Severn Tunnel down line, starting at the England entrance and moving through to Wales.
With a phased renewal programme, the team completed the renewals in approximately 700 metre sections so that a conveyor belt of activities could progress seamlessly through the tunnel using multiple engineering trains and work fronts. In total the team handled:
- 7,097 metres of new track system installed
- 66 x 216 metre rails
- 10,800 sleepers
- 22,000 tonnes of new ballast
- 24,000 tonnes of extracted spoil.
SRSA head of operations Wales & West, Shaun Hodges said “Meticulous planning and delivery work by our Kings Norton team, what we completed over 16 days is an incredible achievement. Excelling at track installation is what we do best.”
Network Rail’s track programme director, Brian Paynter, added: “This is the longest single mobilisation conventional track renewal that anyone that I can remember, with the added complexity of working in what used to be the longest underwater tunnel in the world.”
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