Nat McArdle

Said the following about Keltbray / Amey Combined OLE Team for TRU Project:

“TRU is the upgrade and electrification of the existing TransPennine route between Manchester Victoria and Leeds. Under an Alliance delivery model, Amey and Keltbray are working together to design and deliver this project.

Keltbray are responsible for the main construction and site engineering duties, whilst Amey is overseeing CRE and Integration roles being undertaken. We have successfully fostered a partnership approach, collaborating ideas, sharing resources via CDE and streamlining approach to embed a One Team ethos between Amey and Keltbray. This has been fundamental for the efficient delivery of TRU.

From Manchester to Leeds, TRU has been divided into four subsections, W1 to W4. Enhancements within W1-W4 are being delivered progressively to enable the phased realisation of electrification, line speed improvements and improved resilience.

Our first major milestone will be met with the completion of sections W1 and W2A , from Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge Tunnel face. Our installation works comprised of:

• 216 Masts – STC, SSA & DC

• 162 Twin Track Cantilevers

• 100 Portal structures of various sizes

• 25600m of Earth Wire

• 48 wire runs (32455m) of Contact Wire

• 48 wire runs (30219m) of Catenary Wire

During Week 44 of our Programme, we have scheduled an electric test train to run from Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge and return. All works are to be complete by Week 50 and forecasted to be within budget. Due to the complexity of OLE projects, achieving to programme will be a challenging yet highly commendable feat.

Innovation in Design and Delivery

We have seized opportunities to innovate where feasible throughout delivery of TRU. This is exemplified in the development of CAD QA compliance tool and plug-ins, increasing design efficiency against industry standard software. We can reduce the need for rework and improve quality of clash detection and resolution.

Challenges were presented from programme requirements dictating piled foundations to be introduced within former mining areas. This is due to the significant risk posed for safe mine working, ultimately being deemed unacceptable as a foundation solution without mitigation. To address this and support the works to be classified as acceptable, we led a mining mitigation strategy across the entire West of Leeds footprint. Additionally, we supported pioneering research investigating the extent to which ground-borne piling vibrations dissipate with depth. Results showed the displacements incurred due to piling are sufficiently small enough to be deemed as acceptable by Network Rail Mining Engineer and Route Teams. This subsequently positioned us at the forefront of industry leading work, whilst also producing a cost saving.

We led the largest Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) application in Network Rail history for the £1b intervention between Huddersfield and Dewsbury (Project W3). The TWAO for this work was delivered in part during COVID-19 lockdown periods. The design and consents team developed and adopted new digital tools and methods to manage the volume of documents required for an application of this magnitude whilst adopting fully remote working.

CDE: Materials and Suppliers

We have introduced a digital / web-based system to aid materials acquisition. This is pivotal as our CDE for material ordering, material control and the requisition of materials. This enables the smooth transaction between design importation into the system and accessibility for the end user, ensuring continuous updating of the latest design information.

We also use this for assigning works, shift reports and the quality control paperwork. This allows multiple users from both the Team, Designer and Client to see in real time the progress of the works.

Notable achievements

• Value Adding Design and Engineering Services: The TRU programme is being delivered to outputs defined in an overarching Client Requirements Document. The Alliance team translated this into intervention level Route Requirements. Compliance evidence is recorded against each requirement.

The design has been developed with passive provision for ETCS. We produced a set of ETCS design rules that can be easily interpreted. This work will be adopted by the NR UK Digital Railway Team, demonstrating industry benefits extending beyond TRU through Arup’s technical ability to distil complex concepts into a readily understandable product.

• New Entrants to the Rail Industry: We are simultaneously actively increasing capacity through a rolling programme of Entry into Service (EiS) events, addressing the skills gap shortage.

• Resilience in delivery: Significant disruptive events, such as COVID-19 and Industrial action taken onto Network Rail, have occurred over the duration of works, causing adverse knock-on effects to working conditions and supply chain. Despite this, we have still met every major Programme milestone since installation works has commenced.

This is a testament to our Team’s overall effort and our robust programming and planning. Throughout our partnership, we have ensured transparency within communications via targeted meetings and a drive to deliver safely whilst maintaining quality.“