GrantRail
Encyclopedia
VolkerRail is part of VolkerWessels
UK, a multi-disciplinary construction and civil engineering group. VolkerRail specialises in providing railway infrastructure services across the UK and Ireland.
The company continued to expand and formed various subsidiaries; GrantPlant Ltd, GrantRail Signalling Ltd, GrantRail Power Ltd, ALH Rail Coatings Ltd, and GrantWeld Ltd established in 2002. In September 2006 GrantRail also acquired Matrix Power Ltd, which specialised in electrical and power sectors and could privde support for the Power side of the business.
In late 2008 VolkerWessels bought Corus' half to take full ownership of the company. Following this, the company became VolkerRail on Monday 2 March 2009. Similarly all the divisions were also renamed to reflect the new order.
In February 2010 Gren Edwards stepped down after 18 years at the helm. This news was followed by an announcement of a major restructuring of the business and large scale redundancies.
Hull Docks has been an ongoing project to upgrade the Hull Docks Branch (Engineers' Line Reference HJS) to treble the lines capacity as the amount of rail traffic through ABP's Hull Docks site increases. The branch is part of the old Hull and Barnsley Railway
and was originally built, primarily, for the export of coal via the docks in Hull. Much of the increased rail traffic is, ironically, imported coal.
Work has also seen many structures along the line upgraded to cater for heavier trains. Included in this part of the project is Hull Bridge, the former Hull and Barnsley swingbridge, known officially as HJS-22. The structure dates from 1885 when the line originally opened. Other work has included multiple earth works and a greatly improved and upgraded signalling system to cope with the increased traffic.
However despite cost overruns the line speed is still restricted to below 10 miles per hour (16.1 km/h) at the Hull swing bridge and as of 2011 the work remains unfinished.
's Scunthorpe works. This is a very long standing contract and is a legacy of British Steel
's ownership of Grant Lyon Eagre and subsequently Corus' part ownership of GrantRail.
Work undetaken encompasses all aspeects of permanent way work. As well as usual maintanence tasks VolkerRail also undertake renewals and some small scale new build work - larger scale projects are put out to tender although the largest rail project, The Rail Service Centre for handling Continuous Welded Rail trains, was also undertaken VolkerRail (though as GrantRail at the time).
As rail is now produced on site Tata supply this for renewals work and it allows rails of 120', rather than the usual 60' lengths, to be used and reduce the number of rail joints. Due to the changing nature of a steel works and the traffic requirements there is a small amount of recovery work for sections which are no longer in use.
This contract is unique within VolkerRail as members of staff undertake re-railing activities in the event of a derailment.
VolkerRail Plant provides specialist plant and equipment for the renewals and maintenance of the railway infrastructure. The company has a range of equipment ranging from large Kirow cranes to welding machines.
The company’s stock list is as follows:
VolkerRail Plant is a large part of the National Tamping Contract for Network Rail
. The company is providing switches and crossing tampers so that Network Rail can fulfil their obligations on renewal and maintenance on the rail infrastructure.
VolkerRail's joint ventures include work on the west coast mainline, major involvement in WARM (West Anglia Route Modernization), and the switches and crossing for NET (Nottingham Express Transit). At present VolkerRail are still extending their partnerships and are currently involved in many Joint Ventures.
The GTJV is a joint venture between VolkerRail and Trackwork. The Joint Venture (JV) was awarded a £150 million contract from Tube Lines in 2003 to provide track renewal for 155 km of line. This was the largest contract awarded by Tube Lines and a further £55 million will be provided for plant, materials, and tube lines management support. Tube Lines are committed to investing a billion pounds into the London Underground and this was the first contract.
GTJV beat its main rival Jarvis in order to win this contract. Jarvis themselves were a shareholder in Tube Lines Company. A spokeswoman from Tube Lines said there was no pressure to award the contract to one of its own shareholders. “The bid process is independent and transparent. GrantRail-Trackwork was chosen because it was the best tender.” GTJV will be responsible for replacing or refurbishing 35 km of track on the Jubilee line and 60 km of track on the Northern and Piccadilly Lines. The replacement of around 50% of the track will make the lines more reliable, faster, and smoother. The project lasted for seven and a half years and ended in 2010.
VolkerRail is also involved in a Joint Venture with Skanska known as the Skanska GrantRail Joint Venture (SGRJV). The JV has been awarded the two main construction contracts; Package 8, January 2007, and Package 6, June 2007, of the DLR extension to Stratford International. These two packages are part of the expansion of the DLR for the 2012 Olympic Games.
SGRJV was chosen over Hochtief, Carillion, and Amec to win the package 8 contract. The £39 million project involves the construction of two platforms on the north bound of Stratford station, the shell and foundations of the new DLR station at Stratford International, and track alignment work for the new rail link. The expansion package should be completed by 2009.
Package 6, worth £67 million, will provide the Stratford International extension, which will run to Canning Town and be connected to the Beckton and future Woolwich Arsenal DLR routes. The work will include the conversion of the line between Canning Town and Stratford to Docklands Light Rail Operation, upgrading existing stations to DLR standards, construction of four new stations, and interface with new signalling installation construction. The Package should be complete by mid 2010.
In June 2008 the M-Pact Thales consortium was awarded Greater Manchester’s Metrolink
phase 3a extension project contract, worth over £350 million. This consortium is composed of VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, and Thales. This major expansion scheme will input almost 32 km of new Metrolink tram lines with new routes and stops. The consortium is currently carrying out preparatory surveys, exploratory works, and detailed civil engineering for the project. Actual construction will begin at the end of this year and the project will be completed in spring 2011. This extension should take five million car journeys off the local roads each year, with the number of tram passengers increasing from the current 55,000 a year to more than 90,000 a year.
VolkerWessels
VolkerWessels N.V. is a major European construction-services business with Dutch-based headquarters. It is privately owned by the Wessels Family , CVC Capital Partners and management .-History:...
UK, a multi-disciplinary construction and civil engineering group. VolkerRail specialises in providing railway infrastructure services across the UK and Ireland.
History
VolkerRail began life as a British Steel subsidiary known as Grant Lyon Eagre Ltd. The company can trace their roots as a contractor in the industry right back to 1935. In 1996 Grant Lyon Eagre Ltd teamed up with Railbouw, based on their existing partnerships, specifically the track renewal works for the London Underground, and became GrantRail.The company continued to expand and formed various subsidiaries; GrantPlant Ltd, GrantRail Signalling Ltd, GrantRail Power Ltd, ALH Rail Coatings Ltd, and GrantWeld Ltd established in 2002. In September 2006 GrantRail also acquired Matrix Power Ltd, which specialised in electrical and power sectors and could privde support for the Power side of the business.
In late 2008 VolkerWessels bought Corus' half to take full ownership of the company. Following this, the company became VolkerRail on Monday 2 March 2009. Similarly all the divisions were also renamed to reflect the new order.
In February 2010 Gren Edwards stepped down after 18 years at the helm. This news was followed by an announcement of a major restructuring of the business and large scale redundancies.
Nuneaton Remodelling and Resignalling
In June 2006 VolkerRail won the contract to complete the £20 million upgrade of the Network Rail track in the Nuneaton area. This was the final conclusion of a three stage development that began in 2002. The Nuneaton contract brought together the expertise of VolkerRail Projects, VolkerRail Power, VolkerRail Signalling and VolkerRail Plant to oversee the multidisciplinary design and support. The project was set for 24 months and required the installation of 36 new point ends of switches and crossings, the recovery and plain lining of 37 switch and crossings units, installation of significant lengths of plain line track, signalling mechanical installations, design and erection of 100 new overhead line (OLE) structures, and 19 km of new OLE conductors. This new upgrade would allow Network Rail to increase its line speeds and capacity enhancements between Euston and Glasgow.Bicester DSDA
VolkerRail Projects recently completed the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Bicester Modernisation project in Oxfordshire. The project began in late 2007, with the aim of bringing the east sidings up to modern standards. The 1940s 75 lb flatbottom rail placed on light weight concrete sleepers would be taken out and replaced with 1st generation steel sleepers bedded in ash ballast. The project took place in Bicester MoDs’ Barracks, which operates a non-explosive military storage and distribution hub. This meant that any member of staff that was working on the project had to be security vetted by the MoD before they would be issued the permits to access the site. Members of staff were also subjected to the strict security requirements of working in an operating barracks. However as a result there was the added benefit of being protected by armed guards.Nottingham NET project
VolkerRail also designs, constructs, and maintains tram lines. The company has been involved in five of the six projects in the UK. One of these was Nottingham’s Express Transit (NET) project. This is the transit system that supports the largest city in the East Midlands. VolkerRail were responsible for track installation in both on and off street allowing them to use the embedded rail products of their subsidiary company ALH Rail Coatings. They completed 7.5 km of on street track and 15.4 km of off street track, of many various types, from ballasted track to direct fix track. Also in the project there were multiple crossovers, crossings, and turnouts. The project was completed in 53 weeks and had a value of £10 million.Hull Docks
Hull and Barnsley Railway
The Hull Barnsley & West Riding Junction Railway and Dock Company was opened on 20 July 1885. It had a total projected length of 66 miles but never reached Barnsley, stopping a few miles short at Stairfoot. The name was changed to The Hull and Barnsley Railway in 1905...
and was originally built, primarily, for the export of coal via the docks in Hull. Much of the increased rail traffic is, ironically, imported coal.
Work has also seen many structures along the line upgraded to cater for heavier trains. Included in this part of the project is Hull Bridge, the former Hull and Barnsley swingbridge, known officially as HJS-22. The structure dates from 1885 when the line originally opened. Other work has included multiple earth works and a greatly improved and upgraded signalling system to cope with the increased traffic.
However despite cost overruns the line speed is still restricted to below 10 miles per hour (16.1 km/h) at the Hull swing bridge and as of 2011 the work remains unfinished.
Maintenance at Tata Scunthorpe
VolkerRail also undertake the Permanment Way maintanence at TataTata Steel
Tata Steel is a multinational steel company headquartered in Jamshedpur, India and part of Tata Group. It is the world's seventh-largest steel company, with an annual crude steel capacity of 31 million tonnes, and the largest private-sector steel company in India measured by domestic production...
's Scunthorpe works. This is a very long standing contract and is a legacy of British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
's ownership of Grant Lyon Eagre and subsequently Corus' part ownership of GrantRail.
Work undetaken encompasses all aspeects of permanent way work. As well as usual maintanence tasks VolkerRail also undertake renewals and some small scale new build work - larger scale projects are put out to tender although the largest rail project, The Rail Service Centre for handling Continuous Welded Rail trains, was also undertaken VolkerRail (though as GrantRail at the time).
As rail is now produced on site Tata supply this for renewals work and it allows rails of 120', rather than the usual 60' lengths, to be used and reduce the number of rail joints. Due to the changing nature of a steel works and the traffic requirements there is a small amount of recovery work for sections which are no longer in use.
This contract is unique within VolkerRail as members of staff undertake re-railing activities in the event of a derailment.
VolkerRail Plant Ltd.
VolkerRail Plant provides specialist plant and equipment for the renewals and maintenance of the railway infrastructure. The company has a range of equipment ranging from large Kirow cranes to welding machines.
The company’s stock list is as follows:
- Three Matisa B45 Tampers and five Matisa B41 Tampers and two Matisa R24S Ballast Regulators
- One Kirow 1200 crane with 125 tonne lifting capacity, one Kirow 810 crane with 100 tonne lifting capacity, and two Kirow 250 cranes with 25 tonne lifting capacity, panel handling beams and hydraulically operated loose sleeper lifting beam
- Four Colmar Road/Rail Vehicles
- Two Beavers Inside Possession Only Tamping Machine
- Mobile Flash Butt Welders
- Gauge Corner Restoration Welding Machine
- Sky High - Mobile Elevated Working Platform (MEWP)
VolkerRail Plant is a large part of the National Tamping Contract for Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
. The company is providing switches and crossing tampers so that Network Rail can fulfil their obligations on renewal and maintenance on the rail infrastructure.
Joint Ventures
VolkerRail's joint ventures include work on the west coast mainline, major involvement in WARM (West Anglia Route Modernization), and the switches and crossing for NET (Nottingham Express Transit). At present VolkerRail are still extending their partnerships and are currently involved in many Joint Ventures.
London Underground (GTJV)
The GTJV is a joint venture between VolkerRail and Trackwork. The Joint Venture (JV) was awarded a £150 million contract from Tube Lines in 2003 to provide track renewal for 155 km of line. This was the largest contract awarded by Tube Lines and a further £55 million will be provided for plant, materials, and tube lines management support. Tube Lines are committed to investing a billion pounds into the London Underground and this was the first contract.
GTJV beat its main rival Jarvis in order to win this contract. Jarvis themselves were a shareholder in Tube Lines Company. A spokeswoman from Tube Lines said there was no pressure to award the contract to one of its own shareholders. “The bid process is independent and transparent. GrantRail-Trackwork was chosen because it was the best tender.” GTJV will be responsible for replacing or refurbishing 35 km of track on the Jubilee line and 60 km of track on the Northern and Piccadilly Lines. The replacement of around 50% of the track will make the lines more reliable, faster, and smoother. The project lasted for seven and a half years and ended in 2010.
Docklands Light Rail (DLR) (SGRJV)
VolkerRail is also involved in a Joint Venture with Skanska known as the Skanska GrantRail Joint Venture (SGRJV). The JV has been awarded the two main construction contracts; Package 8, January 2007, and Package 6, June 2007, of the DLR extension to Stratford International. These two packages are part of the expansion of the DLR for the 2012 Olympic Games.
SGRJV was chosen over Hochtief, Carillion, and Amec to win the package 8 contract. The £39 million project involves the construction of two platforms on the north bound of Stratford station, the shell and foundations of the new DLR station at Stratford International, and track alignment work for the new rail link. The expansion package should be completed by 2009.
Package 6, worth £67 million, will provide the Stratford International extension, which will run to Canning Town and be connected to the Beckton and future Woolwich Arsenal DLR routes. The work will include the conversion of the line between Canning Town and Stratford to Docklands Light Rail Operation, upgrading existing stations to DLR standards, construction of four new stations, and interface with new signalling installation construction. The Package should be complete by mid 2010.
M-Pact Thales Consortium
In June 2008 the M-Pact Thales consortium was awarded Greater Manchester’s Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
phase 3a extension project contract, worth over £350 million. This consortium is composed of VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, and Thales. This major expansion scheme will input almost 32 km of new Metrolink tram lines with new routes and stops. The consortium is currently carrying out preparatory surveys, exploratory works, and detailed civil engineering for the project. Actual construction will begin at the end of this year and the project will be completed in spring 2011. This extension should take five million car journeys off the local roads each year, with the number of tram passengers increasing from the current 55,000 a year to more than 90,000 a year.