Header image credit: Network Rail
This week saw the National Rail Awards 2023 take place in London, with Story Plant being involved in three of the projects that took home awards on the night. The three projects were:
- Liverpool Central High Neck Tunnel Repairs – Infrastructure Achievement of the Year – Network Rail Works Delivery NW&C
- Blackford Rail Freight Facility – Freight and Logistics Achievement of the Year – Highland Spring Group
- Metro Flow – Major Project of the Year – Buckingham Group Contracting and Nexus
Liverpool Central High Neck Tunnel Repairs
Image Credit: Network Rail
First up, Network Rail Works Delivery NW&C were awarded Infrastructure Achievement of the Year for their Liverpool Central High Neck Tunnel Repairs project, which saw a £3.5m investment to carry out waterproofing and strengthening the ceiling of the 130-year-old tunnel between Liverpool Central and Brunswick stations. The works made use of a range of Story Plant machines, including our MEWPs and Colmar T10000 RRV Crane to help build the scaffold, named ‘the dancefloor’, which allowed works to take place without disrupting passengers.
You can read more about the High Neck Tunnel project on Network Rail’s website by clicking here.
Highland Spring Blackford Rail Freight Facility
The second project to be recognised was Highland Spring Group’s Blackford Rail Freight Facility, which collected the award for Freight and Logistics Achievement of the Year. The facility was introduced to provide sustainable transportation for Highland Spring Group and reduce their carbon footprint by decreasing the amount of HGV’s travelling through the local village by 40%. Story Scotland were appointed to carry out the rail elements of the works, with Story Plant providing the required plant and attachments to successfully complete the scheme.
The works included installing 1000m of plain line using serviceable sleepers and new 60ft rails to form the two sidings lines, as well as installation of new buffer stop, a 1.4m long Rosehill Crossing spanning both sidings lines and installation and profiling of 1400t of ballast throughout the sidings. The project was also one of the first schemes to utilise our Liebherr R920 bugs, fitted with a sleeper layer attachment to provide engineering efficiencies to the scheme. Watch the video below to learn more about the project.
Metro Flow Project
Last but not least, Buckingham Group Contracting and Nexus’ Metro Flow project was awarded Major Project of the Year, whilst also being Highly Commended in the Infrastructure Achievement of the Year category. The Metro Flow project saw the upgrade and electrification of an existing freight line in South Tyneside, making it capable of carrying Metro services. This has the potential to boost the capacity by up to 24,000 extra passenger journeys every day.
Header image credit: Network Rail
