Carstairs Junction is a Maintenance Delivery Unit for Scotland's rail network. The site was earmarked for renewal to improve line speeds on the west coast main line and on the routes between Glasgow and Edinburgh by Network Rail.
In 2019 the contract to develop the site was won by Rail Alliance Systems Scotland, led by Babcock International, In 2019 CPR won the civils packages to construct three Maintenance Delivery Unit compounds.
The site was a mix of gravel track, vegetation, marshland, and a mound of spoil. Each compound required significant areas of the vegetation to be cleared. The site is adjacent to an operational railway track and overhead lines so CPR's experienced rail teams created an ALO safety plan to de-mark and clear a 3m safe guarded green working zone to protect persons onsite.
- De-vegetation and excavation of 19,500m3 to create just one of the site compounds, car park area, access road and laydown area
- Construct 3675sqm concrete footprint for 2 storey office area
- Installation of curved multi-duct and junction boxes within the marsh area adjacent to the site.
A sample of some of the works involved includes,
This busy site with frequent heavy traffic and proximity to the railway line required special safety measures. Communication of those measure to everyone onsite was paramount. CPR put a number of measures in place to ensure communication was of the highest priority including,
- Daily Task Briefings and White Board Briefings with mandatory staff sign-in
- Authorised personnel radio and mobile telephone comunications
- Installation of additonal concrete safety barriers
- Removal of line-of-sight vegetation
- Installation of additional warning road signage on approach to the site for vehicles or machinery entering and leaving the site.
- Erection of acoustic barriers
The works were carried out over approximately 12 months, and much of the groundworks were completed during winter. This added some complexity due to weather conditions. The works were completed and signed off in April 2020.
