RPS was asked to Support the East Midlands Route’s Extreme Weather Resilience Plan. This meant considering the impact of extreme ice, snow, wind, flooding, and heat on railway assets such as Track, OHL, P&D, vegetation, and earthworks. The scope was to identify the most cost-effective way to reduce the impact of Extreme Weather by identifying criteria which must be met such as a minimum Critical Rail Temperature (CRT).
Once identified, RPS gathered historical data on Flood Sites, ADAS Surveys, Track CRT’s, Earthworks sites and OHL balance weights to determine where the route’s key risks were and create plans to remove or mitigate them. RPS’s graphic design team produced a map of the route with the key flood risk sites such as Draycott which could be used to easily deploy MOM’s in the case of heavy rainfall. Criteria for extreme weather were identified and a plan of action was created which enabled a countdown checklist before extreme weather arrived. This included items such as checking PPE, walking routes, salt supplies and pump functionality as well as painting of areas with low CRT and finally reducing the Rail Capacity using the Key Route Strategy (KRS).
RPS used data recorded by the RAM team and a mathematic formula to identify OHL balance weights that would fail below 30 degrees and build a plan to rectify these. This gave direction to the Engineer and gained the support of the HOM and Route Director who were able to provide additional funding through an emergency single action tender on the most critical assets. RPS liaised with Kettering depot who did not yet have a functioning asset in order to provide further support to the Bedford team. The result was an effective plan to tackle the key 27 Balance weights which needed maintaining and remove the risk of de-wirement.
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