Key role for BBRP in Swiss tunnel project - Balfour Beatty Rail

Quarterly news for Balfour Beatty Rail Projects
All Points Issue 14: Summer 2008
Key role for BBRP in
Swiss tunnel project
BALFOUR Beatty Rail will be a major
player in the construction of what
will be the world’s longest land rail
tunnel – the Gotthard Base Tunnel in
Switzerland.
The £800 million contract for the rail
systems work was awarded by AlpTransit
Gotthard AG to Transtec Gotthard AG,
which comprises BBR, Atel
Installationstechnik, Alcatel-Lucent,
Thales Rail Signalling Solutions ad Alpine
Mayreder. The entire project will cost
around £760 million.
The Gotthard tunnel will bypass the
existing high-level Gotthard tunnel to
provide a direct high-speed route for
passenger and heavy freight traffic,
reducing the current 3 hour 40 minutes
travel time from Zurich to Milan by
approximately one hour.
The BBR part of the joint venture
comprises of Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH,
based in Munich, and Balfour Beatty Rail
Projects.
The project will involve the design,
installation and commissioning of rail
infrastructure equipment for the tunnel
and includes the equipping of both the
single track tunnels, each 57 kilometres
long, as well as the adjoining open North
and South sections totalling
approximately 11 kilometres up to the
connection with the existing rail network.
Continued page three
In this issue
Trouble-shooting tasks for two engineers
BBRP answer prayers of Gretna church
Five staff are on top Down Under
PICTURED on the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge after a guided ascent are five intrepid BBRP
employees, left to right, Gillian Cochrane, Graham Shaw, Dafydd Roberts, Ben Kirk-Willey
and Simon Battersby. For the full story of their climb to the 134m-high summit of the
world-famous iconic bridge – SEE BACK PAGE.
SHEQ Manager scoops top safety award
Rugby project team run out winners

Contract is a
tribute to staff
dedication
SECURING prestigious contracts
like the Gotthard Base Tunnel in
Switzerland is tremendous news
and a tribute to the dedication and
commitment of everyone at BBRP.
However, we will not be resting
on our laurels and there are many
exciting new opportunities on the
horizon. I look forward to
updating you on our latest tenders
as they progress.
Congratulations to John
Cavaciuti, SHEQ Manager for the
Deep Track Renewal section of
the Metronet programme, on his
achievement in winning the
Balfour Beatty Rail 24/7 Safety
Shield against stiff competition.
John’s innovative “See It, Sort
It” campaign has had impressive
impact on safety awareness –
encouraging Track Alliance staff
to be on constant alert for any
potential health and safety
hazards. (See page six).
Thanks to all those who were
able to attend the SHEQ updates
which I hope you found both
informative and enjoyable. Safety
is critical to our business and we
constantly want to promote a
culture of “safety first”.
I was delighted to host the first
of a series of breakfast meetings
which are giving employees the
chance to meet the new
executive team.
The recent events around the
company were a great success
and gave rise to some very good
ideas which will be actively
implemented.
Other members of the executive
will be hosting similar breakfast
meetings at other offices across
the country. For more information
and to register visit our intranet or
the website
www.newrailprojects.com.
2
By Managing
Director
Richard
Adams
Engineers Ignacio
Fernandez, left, and
Nicolas Jaramillo pictured
on site in Australia .
Civil Civil Civil engineers engineers engineers relish
relish
relish
globe-trotting careers
TWO globe-trotting civil engineers have
proved that a career with BBRP can open
up opportunities to travel the world. Nicolas
Jaramillo and Ignacio Fernandez, who are both
from South America, worked on the successful
Santiago Metro project in Chile – and from there
they have moved across continents and several
time zones to Australia.
They now have key roles in the £87 million
Strategic Alliance Contract-Northern Contract to
upgrade the existing 800km rail corridor between
Sydney and Brisbane being carried out for the
Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) by
Transport Express Joint Venture (TEJV), a joint
venture between BBRP (operating as Balfour
Beatty Australia) and Laing O’Rourke Australia.
Nicolas, originally from Colombia, worked in
the UK and progressed his career through the
Balfour Beatty graduate training programme. The
fact he speaks fluent Spanish was one reason
why Nicolas was given the opportunity of
working on the Santiago contract.
Ignacio, from Bolivia, graduated in South
America and was already in Chile when BBRP
recruited him as a member of the Santiago Metro
project team.
The two engineers are working separately on a
number of different areas of the ARTC project,
including concrete re-sleepering, loop extensions
and bridges.
Nicolas and Ignacio complete their two-year
secondment to Australia at the end of this year.
During their time “Down Under” both have
married and become proud fathers.
John Latham, International Contracts Director,
who met Nicolas and Ignacio during his recent
visit to Australia, said: “They are relishing the
challenge of the project and they are also
enjoying life in Australia.
“Everyone was impressed with the work
Nicolas and Ignacio did for us in Chile, a project
that led to a new posting in another part of the
world.
“They are a good example of how working on
an overseas project for BBRP can lead to
opportunities for further world travel.”
Ignacio, for example, will take up an
appointment in Spain with Balfour Beatty when
his posting to Australia comes to an end, while
Nicolas is also looking forward to fresh
challenges with BBRP in another part of the
world.

Two-man
team
brings
many
benefits
IT comprises just two people, but BBRP’s
Production Support Team has a significant
impact on the work of rail projects
throughout the Balfour Beatty Group.
Adrian Green and Ken Powell bring their
combined engineering experience to a troubleshooting
role in which they come up with
innovative solutions to problems encountered on
site by front line staff.
The aims behind everything the Production
Support Team does is to ensure the highest
standards of safety, increase production, reduce
costs and whenever possible reduce time scales
for projects in order to give BBRP the competitive
edge.
Adrian, who comes from the aerospace industry,
and Ken, who was in the automotive industry, first
worked together as part of the Production Support
Team on the West Coast Route Modernisation
programme joint venture based at Stafford.
The pair then brought their impressive problemsolving
skills to Midland House, Derby. As well as
benefiting BBRP projects, Adrian and Ken also
provide a railway-related consultancy service for
other Balfour Beatty companies.
In addition to on-site work, the Production
Support Team carries out studies in order to
Continued from
page one
Balfour Beatty’s responsibilities
for the installation programme
include total project
management, complex logistics,
trackwork, overhead catenary
and part of the medium voltage
Trouble-shooters
Adrian Green, right,
and Ken Powell on
site at Rugby.
improve methods of production. For instance, they
have recently undertaken Phase 1 of a track
welding process improvement study for Balfour
Beatty Rail Services.
Another recent success story was helping
Balfour Beatty Plant and Fleet Services to develop
methods of utilising the New Track Construction
(NTC) machine in order to achieve maximum
production levels.
Adrian and Ken also took their expertise to
Australia where the £87 million Transport Express
Joint Venture (TEJV) is playing a key role in
upgrading the 800km north-south rail corridor
between Queensland and New South Wales.
The Production Support Team worked on the
innovative Pony Express re-sleepering machine
supply lines for the tunnel works
and a wide range of other rail
control technology.
On-site installation work is
expected to start at Biasca,
adjacent to the south portal, at
the end of 2009.
The construction period will be
about seven years and
commercial rail services are due
to start through the tunnels in
2017.
Balfour Beatty Chief Executive
Ian Tyler said: “We are delighted
that our consortium has been
selected to carry out this major
long-term project which will
utilise a number of Balfour
during the early stages of the project on the North
Coast Line to increase the machine’s production
rate.
Currently Adrian and Ken are working on
engineering issues surrounding the installation of
concrete track form for the Gotthard Tunnel project
in Switzerland.
Ken said: “Every project we work on brings a
different type of challenge, which makes the job
very interesting. Much of what we do entails
methodology – the introduction of practices that
improve the way we do things.”
Adrian added: “Helping people in our business
to develop methods that improve safety, client
satisfaction, productivity and cost effectiveness is
extremely rewarding.”
Consortium secure Gotthard Base Tunnel contract
Beatty’s multi-disciplinary rail
skills. We believe that our
high-speed, high-performance
rail experience is second to none
and will continue to prove
attractive to rail network owners
around the world as rail
infrastructure investment
accelerates.”
3

4
Track unit go ‘back in
time’ for project at
national tram museum
A section
of the new
tram track
installed by
BBRP.
WHILE the BBRP Track Unit’s impressive portfolio of
completed projects includes modern tramway systems
like Manchester Metrolink and Sheffield Supertram, the
Sheffield-based team recently went “back in time“ to
carry out track work at the home of the world famous
National Tramway Museum at Crich, Derbyshire.
The £50,000 project at the museum, which is home to
more than 50 trams dating back as far as 1885, was
centred on Wakebridge and Cliffside, two locations on
the line used by trams to transport visitors over the
cobbles of a period street to a valley with breathtaking
views.
At Wakebridge a section of ageing track was replaced
by plain-lining the existing turnout with curved rail,
while at Cliffside the turnout was completely replaced
with a refurbished layout.
Components, which included unusual 18-metre
sections of grooved track, were manufactured by Balfour
Beatty Track Systems, formerly Edgar Allen.
Jonathan Marshall, Senior Quantity Surveyor with the
Track Unit, said: “We worked to a tight schedule of five
weekdays for each location, so that the Tramway
Museum could open for the weekend in between and the
whole project was completed in time for the Easter
holiday rush of visitors.”
Altering the skyline as
landmark bridges idges appear
IT’S not every year that a new
landmark appears on the London
skyline – but no less than FOUR
have gone up in the space of just
five weeks!
They are all bridges that will
form part of the route of the
completed East London Railway
(ELR) – the massive project that will
be the cornerstone of the capital’s
Overground railway network which
Transport for London (TfL) has
planned for around London.
The four milestone structures
were erected between late March
and early May as part of the £363
million ELR contract awarded to the
Balfour Beatty and Carillion joint
venture.
With Carillion, the JV is
responsible for major civil
engineering work such as new
bridges, new stations and a new
depot at New Cross Gate, as well
as railway works involving track,
signalling, telecommunications and
electrification.
This is how the joint venture
successfully spanned their
carefully synchronised bridge
programme to keep disruption
caused by road closures to a
minimum:
29 March: The 35m-long
bowstring arch bridge that weighs
320 tonnes and will carry the line
over the five lanes of Shoreditch
High Street was lowered into place
by a Gottwald AK680 crane, the
largest mobile crane in the UK.
The lift commenced at 7.30am on
the Saturday morning and the
bridge was located on its bearings
by 10am.
It was bolted down by
mid-afternoon and
Shoreditch High Street
was reopened at 5pm.
The whole lift was a
race against the weather
as it was dependant on
wind speeds not
exceeding 27mph.
Fortunately the calm
conditions lasted until the
lift was complete, but wind speeds
picked up later in the day.
12 April: The 28m-long singlespan
three-girder bridge was
assembled and erected over Surrey
Canal Road. The crane used was a
Liebherr LTM 1100G, the largest
telescopic mobile crane in the
country. The bridge will carry both
the ELR’s north and south-bound
services between Surrey Quays
and New Cross and New Cross
Gate stations. The site of the bridge
has a long history with the first
Welcoming the new disabled access at the All Saints
Scottish Episcopal Church at Gretna are, left to right, Rev
Martin Callaghan, BBRP Engineering Manager Martin Godley,
David Kitchen of Network Rail, Story Rail Site Manager Mark White
and congregation members Margaret Little and Olive McKinnell.
The bowstring arch
bridge at Shoreditch is
lowered into place by
the largest mobile crane
in the UK. Inset, the
bridge in position.
bridge being constructed
in the 1800’s when it then
spanned the Grand
Surrey Canal.
May 4: Bridge GE19, an 84m-long
steel Warren Truss structure with a
42m-long launching nose and
weighing 1,400 tonnes, was
launched into place using strand
jacks.
BBRP has answered the prayers of
residents and churchgoers at
Gretna by playing a major role in
providing a disabled access ramp
at the town’s All Saints Scottish
Episcopal Church.
Plans for the amenity had been
drawn up for some time, but lack of
funds held up the project until
BBRP staff working on the Gretna
to Annan Redoubling Scheme for
Network Rail stepped in to help.
Funded jointly by Network Rail
and Balfour Beatty Rail Projects,
BBRP sourced the necessary
materials for the handrail and
paving, and the ramp was
constructed by Story Rail, a
The bridge, which will carry the
new line over the six main line
tracks into Liverpool Street Station,
was secured in place almost 24
hours early, ensuring the busy
railway lines were re-opened on
time for rush hour travellers after
the Bank Holiday.
10 May: The New Cross Gate
Flyover, a 75m-long steel Warren
sub-contractor on the Gretna to
Annan Redoubling Scheme, along
with repair work to surrounding
paths.
All Saints is widely used as a
meeting place for local clubs and
societies, as well as a venue for
special events in the area.
Rev Martin Callaghan, minister of
All Saints, said: “The new ramp
will benefit all the community, not
just members of the congregation.
“We are very grateful to Balfour
Beatty and the other companies
involved. This is a valuable addition
to the church and our community,
and will be of enormous benefit to
those with mobility problems who
Truss structure that spans the
London to Brighton mainline just
north of New Cross Gate Station,
was installed in its permanent
position.
The new structure will carry the
ELR’s north-bound services off the
Network Rail main line and back on
to the existing ELR alignment and
towards Surrey Quays Station.
Prayers answered as BBRP provide
a disabled access ramp to church
use the building.”
Martin Godley, BBRP Engineering
Manager for the Gretna to Annan
Redoubling Scheme, said: “We
were very pleased to be involved in
a project that will benefit so many
people in the community.”
● The £13 million Gretna to
Annan Redoubling Scheme in
Dumfriesshire will double the
existing 13km of single track
between Gretna Green and Annan
Stations, removing a considerable
bottleneck and increasing capacity
for passenger trains as well as
freight movements of coal from
Scotland to England. The project is
set to complete later this summer.
5

Campaign yields
impressive results
at Track Alliance
JOHN Cavaciuti’s front line “ears and
eyes” initiative beat off strong
competition to bring the 2007 Balfour
Beatty Rail 24/7 Safety Shield to BBRP.
The SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment and
Quality) Manager for the DTR (Deep Track
Renewal) section of the Metronet programme
to upgrade and replace two-thirds of London
Underground structure won the prestigious
accolade for his innovative “See It, Sort It”
campaign.
The annual award recognises
individuals or teams across Balfour
Beatty Rail (BBR) for their
contribution to safety, over and above
their normal duties – and the judges
chose John’s entry out of the 35 high
quality nominations submitted by
companies from across BBR.
“See It, Sort It” is an on-going, high
profile campaign that encourages
Track Alliance staff to be on constant
alert for any potential health or safety
hazards and empowers them to make
necessary changes themselves or
report the matter promptly so action
can be taken.
The campaign logo appears on e-mails,
newsletters and posters as a constant
reminder, and the message is spread at
regular face-to-face meetings between site
staff, managers and SHEQ advisors.
In just twelve months “See It, Sort It” has
yielded some impressive results – for
instance, incidents notified under RIDDOR
(Reporting of Injuries, Disease and
Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) are
down by 50 per cent. So are lost time
accidents – and they are still falling!
John said: “The campaign encourages
everyone on Track Alliance sites to be the
eyes and ears of the operation to help make
it as safe as possible for everyone. They have
responded magnificently and have really
made a difference.
“Though I put the idea together, everyone
else – the SHEQ team, senior management
and most of all the guys on the ground – has
ensured it is a success. This award is really
for all of them.
“Many of the changes implemented as a
6
result of “See It, Sort It” can be picked up
and used by other parts of the BB business.”
He added: “The competition was very
strong – there were some really excellent
and innovative ideas.”
BBRP – who fielded a total of four
nominations in the 24/7 Safety Shield – was
victorious thanks largely to John’s wealth of
experience he brought to the company after
more than 30 years working on the
permanent way with both London
Underground and Metronet, mainly on the
track renewal side of the operation.
In order to win the Shield, John had to
make a 15-minute presentation to the panel
of judges comprising Balfour Beatty senior
management including Manfred Leger,
Balfour Beatty Group Managing Director
responsible for Rail, and Richard Adams,
Managing Director of BBRP.
This was followed by a lengthy question
and answer session.
As well as winning the Shield, John was
presented with a £1,000 cheque for the
John Cavaciuti is presented with
the 24/7 Safety Shield award by
Manfred Leger, Balfour Beatty
Director responsible for Rail.
‘Ears and eyes’
initiative wins
safety award
NSPCC (his chosen charity) by Manfred
Leger. His prize also included a £500 Red
Letter Day voucher which John plans to use
for a day trip to Paris with his wife Trish, who
works for BBRP in an administration support
role at the Ruislip depot where her husband
is also based.
In a normal working day, the SHEQ team
deals with related reports of operations
carried out the previous night or work about
to be done, carrying out risk assessments
and reviewing method statements plus
providing technical support and guidance to
the Track Alliance team.
And of course there is no shortage of
safety issues in the DTR section where the
constricted dimensions of the 12ft 3inch wide
tunnels mean that much of the work entails
manual handling in a constant temperature of
96F and where dust and noise levels have to
be carefully monitored.
“Every day is different and can bring a
fresh challenge,” said John. “That’s what I
love about the job.”

Design Design Design team team team are are are winners
winners
winners
THE OLE (Overhead Line
Equipment) design for the
penultimate phase of the
Rugby Station Remodelling
project has been completed and
delivered to Network Rail by
BBRP’s Electrification Design
Group at Stephenson House,
Kirkby.
The team has been involved in
the Rugby project – a key
element of the West Coast Route
Modernisation programme –
since 2006. The Rugby Station
Remodelling Project’s scheme
objectives were to bring a life
expired asset up to modern
standards, to provide improved
journey time, increase capacity
and long term sustainability.
Originally the BBRP
Electrification Design Group was
contracted to provide outline
wiring designs for high speed
crossover arrangements to
support work undertaken by
on on on Rugby Rugby Rugby contract
contract
contract
Station remodelling project delivered to Network Rail
Network Rail’s multi-disciplinary
design consultant.
However within a few months
of starting the work, Network Rail
extended the Group’s scope to
provide a complete OLE design
for the project, including staging
designs, technical field
engineering support and 3D
modelling support services.
The project is one of the
largest undertaken by the
Electrification Design Group in
recent years. The team consisted
of around 20 engineers and
draughtsmen at its peak, and to
date it has delivered more than
2,000 design documents to
Network Rail.
One of the biggest challenges
for the BBRP team was to
develop a staged design that
would allow the station to remain
open during the construction
phase of the project.
Complex permanent way
arrangements on the Rugby
Project necessitated innovative
OLE designs. In particular a
special high speed wiring
configuration suitable for a
125mph “split equal” turnout
arrangement had to be
developed. This 125mph “split
equal” wiring configuration is the
first such wiring arrangement
installed on the UK rail network.
Other special high speed
configurations were necessary
for crossover arrangements at
the High Oaks and Hillmorton
Junctions.
Key in developing these high
speed wiring configurations was
the BBRP DYNAMICS V5
programme that was used to
simulate the dynamic response of
the wiring and confirm that it was
in accordance with the design
criterion. 3D modelling
techniques were also used in this
process.
The successful Electrification Design
Group pictured at Stephenson House.
Signal sighting issues
necessitated that the BBRP OLE
design team develop six special
OLE portals with cross track
spans ranging from 45 to 51
metres.
These six OLE structures are
believed to be the largest OLE
portals to be installed on the UK
rail network.
The portals were designed at
Stephenson House, procured by
Network Rail through the BBRP
materials supplies business also
based at Stephenson House and
manufactured by Balfour Beatty
Rail Track Services in Darlington
– providing the client with a
complete “one stop shop” design
and procurement service.
Currently the Rugby OLE team
at Stephenson House is working
on the OLE design for the final
phase of this complex project on
which they have successfully met
many challenges.
7

ATEAM of engineers from BBRP
joined up for a taste of life in the
Army and came out victors of a
gruelling battle of wits and physical
fitness.
The “Engineering Stretch” event at
Hightown Barracks, Wrexham, was
organised by the Institute of Mechanical
Engineers (IMechE) and Royal Electrical
and Mechanical Engineers (REME) to
promote understanding between the
Army and the engineers, who are
members of IMechE.
BBRP staff in the winning team
representing IMechE were Paul
Newcomen, Kieran McLeod, Barry Calder
and Mark Parry. They were joined by one
member from Honeywell and another
from Liverpool University.
They fought off stiff opposition from
five other teams, including one from the
Army Officer Training Corps, in a series of
practical challenges aimed at team
building and cohesion. Their “mission
impossible” tasks included:
● Firing live rounds at a target while
working out theoretical ballistic problems.
● Using problem solving techniques to
winch a 20-tonne truck from a ditch.
● Driving a tank-type vehicle round an
obstacle course.
● A classroom exercise to plan a
tactical mission to rescue top secret
documents from a crashed plane on an
enemy-occupied island.
● Filling up a fuel pipe with a number
of holes to uncover a secret set of
instructions
● Recovering one barrel full of fuel
and another full of water, plus a container
of ammunition from a 20 sq ft minefield
using a bench, two tyres, two ropes and
two pick axe handles.
With the Balfour Beatty team emerging
as winners at the end of the contest,
each team member was presented with a
trophy to mark their achievement.
Paul Newcomen, Senior Design
Engineer, said: “It was a very enjoyable
day and everyone who participated took
away some good memories. As well as
problem solving and leadership skills,
Engineering Stretch was also about
forming good relationships and providing
a good understand of military
engineering.”
8 Published by Balfour Beatty Rail Projects Limited, Room B203, Midland House, Nelson Street,
Derby DE1 2SA. Tel: 01332 262057 Fax: 01332 262295 email: isha.hibbert@bbrail.com
Engineering
Stretch winners
with their trophies, left
to right, Mark Parry, Paul
Newcomen, Barry Calder
and Kieran McLeod, and,
above, Mark, Paul and
Kieran pictured at
the event.
Engineers play the
Army game INTREPID FIVE
scale Sydney
Harbour Bridge
THE sky was the limit when five BBRP
employees took a break from work on the
£87 million Northern Improvement Strategic
Alliance Contract in Australia for a spot of
sightseeing – on the top of the iconic Sydney
Harbour Bridge.
Perched on the 134m-high summit of the
world’s largest single span arch bridge, the
perfect Australian autumn day gave them a
breathtaking bird’s eye view that took in
Sydney Opera House, Sydney Heads, the
Olympic Village and Kirribilli House, the Prime
Minister’s official residence.
The intrepid group are part of the Transport
Express Joint Venture (TEJV) playing a key
role in the major upgrade of the existing
800km rail corridor between Brisbane in
Queensland, and Maitland, 180km north of
Sydney, New South Wales, for the Australian
Rail Track Corporation (ARTC).
They had to take alcohol tests and climb
practice ladders as part of the preparation for
the guided ascent of the sweeping curve of
the world-famous structure which has a
300-year design life and was built by British
company Dorman Long.
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