Leighton News - Leighton Holdings

Logistical challenges overcome
on Hong Kong railway
It’s not an easy task to build six kilometres of new railway
when you are allowed on site for only two hours a day.
That was the dilemma facing the team which
is now completing Leighton Asia’s HK$260
million ($65 million) contract for Hong
Kong’s MTR Corporation.
Works under the contract comprised the
design, manufacture, supply, delivery,
installation, testing and commissioning for
the trackwork, overhead line system and
noise barriers for the Tung Chung Line
between Olympic and the Lai King South
tunnel portal.
The problem was that the work area was
immediately adjacent to the very busy Lantau
and Airport Railway, and Leighton’s teams
were only allowed to work on site in nontraffic
hours – effectively from 2 am to 4 am.
Project manager Chris Blair said that, to take
maximum advantage of the restricted work
hours, his team prioritised and arranged the
activities to optimise what could be achieved
in the daytime.
“Working at night required strict noise
mitigation measures, such as using quiet
plant and working behind acoustic blankets
and acoustic enclosures,” he said.
“Because of the risk of tools and equipment
being left on the adjacent rail lines (creating
the potential for a train disaster), a checklist
system was initiated to ensure that absolutely
everything was removed from the site before
trains started operating again after 4 am.”
Included in the contract was the erection of
about 6.5 kilometres of noise barriers along
the existing railway, along a nearby highway
viaduct and also along the new track. Their
design was also a challenging task.
The alignment of the existing railway and
viaduct moves upward and curves in some
sections. Therefore, few of the noise panels
were of a standard size and shape, and many
detailed design and fabrication drawings had
to be prepared before they could be
produced. For safety reasons, to minimise
the noise impact and to reduce the number
of lifting activities required, the noise
barriers were pre-assembled and then lifted
into place.
Material procurement was also a logistically
difficult task. Leighton sourced materials
from more than 200 overseas suppliers.
Efficient coordination was required to
ensure that the materials were delivered
when needed.
Despite these limitations, all physical works
were completed in mid-February, allowing
the energisation of the overhead line system
to take place about two months ahead
of schedule.
Chris Blair said that a feature of the contract
was the partnership agreement between
Leighton, MTR and other track stakeholders.
“We all pledged to work together in a
collaborative and safe manner, and find a
balanced and harmonious way to complete
the project,” he said.
Cooperation and coordination was also
required with contractors working on the
West Rail project, which interfaces with
Leighton’s site. <
Leighton’s team prioritised activities to
optimise what could be achieved during
daylight hours.
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