WORK is drawing to a close on a sleeper renewal project that has involved weekly use of a UTAS (Universal Track Access System) and road plates supplied by the Rapid Rail Access division of specialist temporary access solutions supplier TPA.
Contractor Specialist Engineering Services (SES) has been renewing hundreds of timber sleepers, as well as recovering scrap rail, from multiple tracks of the Scottish Central Mainline at Stirling Middle Junction since last summer.
The TPA UTAS, and three steel road plates supplied through sister company Groundforce Shorco, were required as there was no permanent RRAP at the access point to enable the on/off tracking of the contractor’s RRV – a 28-tonne Liebherr A900C ZW/1384 wheeled excavator. In addition, the road plates helped to protect the troughing.
The works are predominantly Saturday night shifts, usually between 11pm and 9am, although SES typically have to wait for overhead isolations and line closures and therefore do not get on track until about 2am. They are then clear by 7am on average, having replaced approximately 10 sleepers.
SES lift planner (Scotland) Dave McNee said, “Although the works have been pretty straightforward, every Saturday night can be different, but TPA have always been ready, especially when sometimes there have been last-minute works and I need a UTAS RRAP and road plates. It’s never an issue to get these at short notice.”
