Construction &
Engineering Contact

[ High Speed 1 (CTRL) · Folkestone (Dollands Moor) to St Pancras · 2000 – 2010 ]

High Speed 1: Dollands Moor to St Pancras, from formation to slab track

My role: track and formation engineering on Contract 550; Project Engineer on Contract 434; Head of Engineering on Contract 104.

Programme
Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1), Sections 1 and 2
Contracts
C550 track & formation · C434 Ashford · C104 St Pancras
Roles
Track engineering through to Head of Engineering
Period
2000 – 2010

Challenge

The UK’s first high-speed line, built new from the Channel Tunnel to London. Formation and ballasted track at 300 km/h tolerances through Kent, a live interface with the existing railway at Ashford, then a new high-speed terminus throat built in slab track inside the St Pancras station box while structures, station fit-out, OLE and signalling worked in the same space.

What I did

Contract 550, AMEC SPIE: the main track and formation contract through Kent, from formation and trackbed to ballasted high-speed track. Contract 434, Mowlem: Project Engineer at Ashford, tying the new line into the existing railway. Contract 104, Carillion: Head of Engineering at St Pancras: survey control and setting-out for slab track and S&C, top-down and bottom-up slab construction, design coordination with the structures and station teams, engineering assurance and handover records.

Outcome

A decade on high-speed rail, from formation in the fields of Kent to slab track at the buffer stops. Track delivered to tolerance and handed into commissioning. This is where the habit of checking buildability and interfaces before signing anything comes from.

[ From site · High Speed 1 (CTRL) ]

Track slab on jigs inside the St Pancras train shed
Track slab on jigs inside the St Pancras train shed
Gauge frames holding line and level before the pour
Gauge frames holding line and level before the pour
Rail clamped in the setting jig
Rail clamped in the setting jig
Slab reinforcement and rails under the new roof
Slab reinforcement and rails under the new roof
The St Pancras throat under construction
The St Pancras throat under construction
Cast-in dowel: the holding-down bolt screws into it, so bolts can be changed without breaking out the slab
Cast-in dowel: the holding-down bolt screws into it, so bolts can be changed without breaking out the slab
0+0000+0500+1000+1500+200S&C SET-OUT PLAN · SLAB TRACK · SCALE 1:250SLAB JOINTTOEX NOSEIPSO 01SO 02SO 03SO 04TOE TO NOSE 60.6 m6501435SWITCH BLADE · R1200STOCK RAIL CONTINUOUSCAST CROSSING 1:18.5CHECK RAILS BOTH SIDESBEARERS → PLAIN LINE SLEEPERSAA1435300400TRACK SLAB · C40/50BUILT TOP-DOWN ON JIGSSTRUCTURAL SLAB · STATION BOXBASEPLATE · RESILIENT PADSECTION A–A · SCALE 1:20NOTES1. ALL DIMENSIONS IN MILLIMETRES UNLESS STATED.2. SET OUT FROM SURVEY CONTROL, NOT FROM ADJACENT STRUCTURE.3. TOLERANCES TO HIGH-SPEED TRACK SPEC.4. TRACK SLAB POURED AFTER LINE AND LEVEL ARE SIGNED OFF ON THE JIGS.5. UIC60 RAIL AT 1:40 INCLINATION.STH CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERINGHIGH-SPEED S&C · SLAB TRACKILLUSTRATIVE · NOT FOR CONSTRUCTIONDRG STH-HS1-01REV A
S&C set-out plan and slab track section · illustrative · swipe to see the full drawing →

Personal experience as an employee of AMEC SPIE (Contract 550), Mowlem (Contract 434) and Carillion Rail (Contract 104) on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. STH Construction & Engineering was not the contracting party.

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