Werrington Grade Separation Project

Overview

Network Rail and Morgan Sindall – Werrington Grade Separation

The rail environment is unique in its requirement to minimise disruption to the operational rail network for major infrastructure projects. Werrington Grade Separation presented a unique technical challenge to install a very high skew structure under the East Coast Main Line to facilitate freight movements across the fast lines of the ECML with minimal disruption.

The method selected for this was using a curved portal structure, constructed offline of the ECML, and pushed into place during a 9-day partial closure of the ECML lines. A reduced operational service was maintained via the Stamford and GNGE Lines during the partial closure.
The unique feature of this structure was its curved nature. Selected to follow the line of the track on a constant curve, the 11,000T structure was built 160m away from its final resting place on a slab then jacked into place during the partial closure utilising slide tracks pre-installed within tunnels installed in advance. The presenter will describe the background to the challenge and present some of the key features of the construction and installation.