Route Sections 1 – 3 has been progressed through detailed design stage, with AFC to be completed, having started in January 2017 with an initial contract value of £410,214. Route Sections 5 – 9 were awarded in June 2017 with a value of £1.46 million.

Due to design changes outside of WHRSL control we have had to revisit the packages to address these emergent changes in parallel with meeting the required programme dates, these changes had led to an increase in the total order value to circa £2.48 million.

Throughout the project WHRSL have maintained a constant level of support and quality.From an engineering perspective, WHRSL have applied a pro-active approach to resolving issues and means of improving processes adopted on the project. Examples in the CME project include:

• Working with Driescher to develop a switch base that is compatible with Series 1 infrastructure.
• Made 3D cells from scratch and produced designs that are BIM level 2 compliant.
• The RS3 3D model was poor quality, WHRSL ensured that the information for each structure was correct, cross referencing the 3D model with AFC cross sections, As-built cross sections, and OCR site survey information information. This helped reduce additional costs that could be incurred by incorrect allocation due to the poor details in the 3D model.

Collaborative working is a definite advantage for this project. There are a large number of interfaces from AUC/JV who are the main contractor, the new switch manufacturer Driescher to the multiple OLE design companies. Working closely with the Network Rail team, WHRSL have been able to produce designs onto structures that are at multiple stages of the project life from outline design through to installed and commissioned structures.  Through our knowledge of basic design we have been able to develop the Driescher product to fit onto Series 1 equipment.

For Route Section 6P the working relationship we have with the concerned parties for the project is strong. In particular we have found that we have been able to work with Network Rail in a means where commercial items are dealt with in parallel to resolving the engineering activities they relate to, as opposed to only once the formalities are in place. This has been achieved following the development of trust and therefore results in a benefit to the programme as commencement and completion of items needed are not delayed which aids achieving the common goal of completing the project on time, safely and to the highest standards of quality.