#44965 - Transpennine Route Upgrade - W2BC Tunnels - ES5-8

Description

The W2BC is part of the wider set of enhancement schemes across the North of England, referred to as the Transpennine Route Upgrade. The key objective of these schemes is to facilitate the economic growth of the North of England through the provision of increased capacities and journey time improvements to rail services whilst achieving value for money. The W2BC Project involves works of a multi-disciplinary nature between Stalybridge and Huddersfield. Project Scope of works includes: - Line speed increases - W12 gauge clearance throughout including 3x tunnels - Substantial changes to 4x stations - Significant volumes of track renewals - Signalling work - Full route electrification and additional capacity provided by a new third line from Standedge to Gledholt. Stalybridge and Scout Tunnels require significant lowering and the installation of slab track to enable W12 gauge clearance. This is specialist due to the temporary work requirements to ensure stability of the tunnels throughout the scheme and logistical constraints due to the location of the tunnels.