Ground strengthened for high-speed trains

Ground strengthened for high-speed trains

In the rolling landscape east of the Scottish capital, near the village of Dolphingstone, there is a constant bustle of activity. On behalf of Railtrack [since the beginning of October 2002, Network Rail], Nuttall is working on the construction of a new section of track in connection with remedial works on the East Coast Main Line.

At this point, the railway crosses an old mining area, and there have been several instances of subsidence since the beginning of this year, as a result of which trains are only allowed to travel at 30 instead of 200 kilometres per hour. Nuttall – one of the three contractors responsible for structures maintenance & renewals in Scotland under a framework contract with Railtrack – was given the order to design and construct a new section of line. For this project – worth almost €65 million – Nuttall formed a consortium with the company’s own subsidiary Ritchies.