Lanes Rail Division rises to challenge to reduce track flood risks

Lanes Group has supported railway improvements to minimise flood risks by relocating a track drainage pump in work that also involved removing asbestos piping.

The company’s rail division completed the project for main contractor Osborne after just 48 hours of planning and within one seven-hour track possession.

Lanes Rail Division Network Rail Manager Eamonn Maloney said: “Rail improvement projects can require contractors to mobilise quickly. You have to take opportunities when they arise.

“Our ability to respond quickly to meet the timeframe Osborne faced to complete this task demonstrates our ability to complete non-standard improvement works under challenging circumstances.”

Osborne, which holds a CP5 framework contract for Network Rail’s Wessex Region, called in Lanes to relocate the drainage pump 40 metres along the track at Fulwell tunnel near Twickenham, West London.

Repositioning the pump would help improve the efficiency of track drainage along a stretch of line that had experienced repeated localised flooding, putting service reliability at risk.

Eamonn Maloney said: “A complication was the presence of redundant asbestos piping, which was fragile and at risk of breaking, right above the new location selected for the pump.

“To deal with this issue, we brought in one of our rail maintenance sub-contractors, who are licensed to carry out asbestos removal.”

While the asbestos removal contractors cleared the piping, the Lanes Rail Division team cleared 1.5 tonnes of gravel covering the catch pit, from which the pump had to be removed.

A new 1.5m-deep concrete catch pit was created at the new location, and the pump – a nine inch electric submersible pump with a float switch – was installed, and connected to the permanent power supply running along the cess.

Eamonn Maloney said: “Lanes Rail Division’s experience in managing a wide range of rail maintenance contracts means it is well placed to handle non-standard track
drainage improvement projects like this.

“Our project managers are experienced at putting together and managing multi-discipline rail improvement teams, which means we’re not fazed by complex tasks, whether small like this one, or larger ones.”

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