FUGRO BEGINS MAJOR TRACK SURVEY IN WALES

Fugro has been awarded a contract by Network Rail to survey a major part of the rail network in Wales. The project will see the Geo-data specialist using its RILA system to accelerate data capture and deliver a clearly defined health and safety benefit by removing a “boots on ballast” interface.

The track survey will cover more than 850 route-miles across Wales and the border counties of England. The resulting asset information and track position data will be used by Network Rail to support a new train introduction programme and validation of track position on route sections throughout the country.

Fugro’s unique RILA train-borne survey equipment will be deployed in collaboration with TfW Rail Services on its in-service passenger trains throughout Wales; operating to the existing timetable removes the requirement to create additional track access capacity on the network. This collaborative approach means there is no need to use dedicated locomotives.

Jeroen Huiskamp, Fugro's Global Director Rail, said, "We are delighted to have been awarded the contract which is a testament to RILA's clever train-borne survey solution, the hard work of our team and strong relationship with Network Rail. With RILA we have revolutionised the way railway data and asset information are collected. We can deliver data faster with less disruption to normal rail services and can increase the safety profile considerably for track survey works."

The project includes the proposed and current Transport for Wales (TfW) Rail Services operational and diversion routes including data acquisition on parts of London North Western (LNW) and Western Routes. The new contract award builds on the success of the survey of the Core Valley Lines undertaken for TfW Rail Services by Fugro in late 2018.

Fugro’s RILA survey work began in February and provides a holistic view of the network to high levels of accuracy. The processed information will form baseline asset data that Network Rail can use for a range of route maintenance applications including, but not limited to, topographical survey extraction, determination of heights and staggers on electrified routes section, vegetation analysis, ballast profiling and ballast volume validation.