Network Rail has awarded a design contract for the Stalybridge to Huddersfield section of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) to the leading international engineering consulting group COWI.
The Transpennine Route Upgrade is a major programme of improvements to the line between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
The Upgrade is being carried out in a number of sections, but when they have all been completed, train services between Manchester and York will be shorter, greener, and more frequent .
COWI will be tasked to develop engineering solutions for the section between Stalybridge and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire that will minimise the disruption caused by the construction to adjacent communities.
The solution should also reduce the time to construct the line and its overall costs and ensure that sustainability and safety is maintained.
There are three Victorian -era tunnels along the section of the line covered by the contract: Stalybridge tunnel, Scout tunnel, and Standedge Tunnel.
Experts with specialised experience in working with historic tunnels and their construction methods will be used for the tunnelling works.
These include making the tunnels suitable to accommodate W12 gauge clearance and overhead live wires, and the installation of 1.7 kilometres of track slab that will facilitate the lowering of the track.
Taken together, these changes will allow the tunnels to be used by freight trains with a larger gauge clearance than currently possible.
COWI will also be responsible for enhancing the off-track drainage to increase the line's resilience against floods.
In addition, COWI will use specialist teams to carry out geotechnical work that will focus on retaining walls and ensuring the stability of earthwork.
We are looking forward to collaborating closely with TRU and its supply chain through its new hub and spoke model. The work presents unique challenges due to the age of the infrastructure, requiring a balance between modern engineering solutions and the preservation of historical integrity.
Our teams have been working on the TRU project for over seven years so we are delighted to continue our involvement on this additional section of the programme
Andy Sloan, Managing Director, COWI in the UK
If they are lowering the deck on 3 tunnels this will mean the line will be shut for the best part of a year, will it not ?
Tell you how to cut costs
Just leave as is you are meddling with not just the rail tunnel but more importantly the canal tunnel
Back in BR days this would of all been done “In house”. Just goes to show what happens when you let good people go. As Gerrard Fiennes quoted “When you re- organise, you bleed”.
You would have thought that this design work should have been done years ago!
I would have thought that the design has already been done. How could the contractor quote for the job otherwise?
This article mentions little about passengers who will use the service? Surely its not all about engineering? Will Cowi be ensuring that the upgrades allow passengers with restricted access such as those with disabilities will be able to use the service? This is not currently possible at Greenfield for some services.
Access to Greenfield for wheelchair passengers is a separate development which is already under consideration from my understanding