Bam's Highland rail upgrade tackles make-or-break 10 days

1 10/4/2017 Bam's Highland rail upgrade tackles make -or-break 10 days | Features | Construction 's Highland rail upgrade tackles make -or-break 10days4 October, 2017 By Daniel KempLong-term frameworkSpeedier journeysBuilding offlineBlockade pinch pointsBam Nuttall s early engagement on a vital part of line between Edinburghand Inverness enabled it to fine-tune a high-pressure 10-day possession ofthe : Aberdeen to Inverness Improvement Project Phase One Main contractor: Bam Nuttall Client: Network rail Value: 35m approx. Start date (main works): February 2017 Finish date (follow-up works): December 2017 We ve been looking at this project for about two years, designing and planning it, explains Bam Nuttall project manager Gerrie Van Saasen.

2 [It s] geared around getting the points in [for the new railway] over five weekendpossessions, and then during the blockade we tie it all in. Construction News is visiting Bam Nuttall s site at Forres in Moray, around 40 km east s building a new station and extending the platform at Elgin the next station on theline to the east as well as carrying out other upgrades to track and project is phase one of the Aberdeen to Inverness Improvement Project, which isthe first major intervention to be carried out under Transport Scotland s HighlandsEnhancement Programme, an eight-year framework launched by Network rail with theaim of improving connectivity between Scotland s central belt and the frameworkThe overall HEP is being procured as a nil-value eight-year framework.

3 With the option ofa two-year extension and Bam Nuttall is acting as main contractor, carrying outupgrades to the 174 km line between Aberdeen and 's Highland rail upgrade tackles make -or-break 10 days | Features | Construction I ve never been in this position before with a 10-year framework, says Bam Nuttallframework director Jerry Dickson. [It] allows you to get in early and deliver schemes from as early as the optioneeringstage. We and Network rail feel that early engagement, adding extra resources andtime up front, will prove cost-effective later, as you can squeeze the design andconstruction period where the majority of the cost is. Bam Nuttall Highlands Enhancements Programme Forres station May 2017 2 Forres station in May 2017 This is how Bam Nuttall has worked on the Aberdeen-to-Inverness project, gettinginvolved as early as 2015 to help with outline designs, before moving on to detaileddesign and construction.

4 Collaboration has not just been a buzzword here; it s been absolutelyessential Jerry Dickson, Bam NuttallThe contractor is working alongside a number of other partners to deliver the scheme,including signalling contractor Siemens, track upgrade contractor Babcock rail , anddesigners Aecom and CH2M. Collaboration has not just been a buzzword here; it has been absolutely essential, MrDickson says. We have a steering group with directors from each of the partners and Network rail ,and as Bam Nuttall we act as the integrator for the programme, design and construction we re the glue that gels everything 's Highland rail upgrade tackles make -or-break 10 days | Features | Construction Our strength is in the strength of our partners.

5 Speedier journeysCareful planning from the outset has certainly been needed, with the projectrepresenting a major undertaking the like of which has not been seen on the region srailways for some existing line between Aberdeen and Inverness is primarily single track with somepassing loops, with most stations only consisting of a single translates into journey times of around two hours and 25 minutes between the twocities, with an irregular service of every two hours on Scotland s High Level Output Specification for Control Period 5 specified aseries of improvements to be delivered on the line by 2019. These include:Introducing a half-hourly service between Aberdeen and Inverurie, on the easternend of the line, including infrastructure capacity for a new station at , as a minimum, existing freight access rights on the infrastructure capacity for a new station at Dalcross, which would serveInverness some additional peak services between Inverness and Elgin, on thewestern end of the Aberdeen-to-Inverurie upgrade is set to deliver most of the journey timeimprovements, double-tracking 26 km of the line, with work set to start on that in 2018and complete before CP6 it is the latter element of work on the western end of the line that is currently underconstruction.

6 With Bam Nuttall putting in nearly two years of planning and preparation fora 10-day blockade that begins on 6 October. This marks the most critical period of theimprovement 's Highland rail upgrade tackles make -or-break 10 days | Features | Construction Nuttall Highlands Enhancements Programme planning roomExtensive planning was undertaken to avoid clashes during the 10-day blockadeThe contractor is carrying out a range of track and signalling upgrades, as well asimproving two stations at Forres and Elgin, removing a level crossing at Forres andupgrading another at is projected that these improvements will lead to a new hourly service betweenInverness and Elgin from December 2018, a later last train back to Inverness inresponse to passenger demand.

7 And increased reliability generally on the addition it will allow for once the upgrades to the east are complete more throughservices to the central belt via Aberdeen, and new Elgin-to-Aberdeen early-morning aswell as late-evening offlineThe track layout at Forres, where CN is getting a tour, has allowed the station upgrade tobe delivered in an unusually convenient , the railway previously branched south, with trains running on the now-defunctHighland Railway to Perth via Boat of Garten. This legacy means the track curves to thesouth at Forres before straightening again, forming a semi-circular shape in the line fromeast to improve signalling and reliability, the team logically chose to straighten the track atForres, presenting them with the opportunity to build the new station in its entirety offline , track and all.

8 The team has installed a double loop to create two platforms atForres, replacing the single-platform station. The existing line forms a bit of a bubble, Mr Van Saasen says. So we ve been able todo it all offline, which is unusual, and it s day-shift work as well. For me, this is paradise. There is also a level crossing immediately to the east of the station, providing access toa number of businesses on the northern side of the line, including Benromach part of efficiency and safety upgrades, the team is removing this level crossing,replacing it with a bridge over the railway to the west of the new has also been able to build this bridge in advance, away from the live track, with itsnew road surfaced.

9 We ve been able to do it all offline, which is unusual, and it s day-shiftwork as well. For me, this is paradise Gerrie Van Saasen, Bam NuttallPlanning for the scheme has centred on a 10-day blockade of the line, beginning on 6 October, which will see the team remove the old track, demolish the existing station,connect up the offline rail in the new station at the Forres, and test and commission allof the up to this, the team has used five disruptive possessions. In each possessionwe targeted one of the points two at Forres and two at Elgin and then a short one toget the GSMR mast up in Elgin for the signalling, Mr Van Saasen 's Highland rail upgrade tackles make -or-break 10 days | Features | Construction And then during the blockade, you ve already got the connections and the pointsconstructed, so you just put the line in in-between.

10 It is all geared around getting thepoints in [during possessions], and then during the blockade we tie it all in. Bam Nuttall Highlands Enhancements Programme Elgin double loopBam Nuttall is building a double loop in the track at Elginzoom inzoom outAt Elgin, the existing station s single platform will be extended, while the town s levelcrossing will be renewed to make it work here on the live rails has had to be carried out during night shifts, withjust four hours of productive work each night. You ve basically got a seven-day week, with four hours a night, Mr Van Saasen says. You get your blue-collar labour in about two hours before the shift, set up and ready,and as soon as the bell dings you start for four hours and just have to move as quicklyand safely as possible, getting as much done as you can.