Detail Design

West Coast Route Modernization: Risks and Rewards
The West Coast Main Line, stretching from London to Glasgow and Edinburgh, is one of the world’s busiest railway lines. On behalf of Network Rail, operator of the UK’s rail infrastructure, Bechtel is managing a challenging project to modernize the line and make it possible for tilting trains to ride the rails at up to 200 kilometers per hour. The challenge is to update track, crossings, and signals without impeding the flow of passenger and freight traffic. To do all that, Bechtel is helping manage work at dozens of sites simultaneously, taking advantage of the latest rail-maintenance technology to speed the process, and performing work at night and during weekends, when traffic is lightest. Even then, however, work areas are only meters from speeding trains, a reminder that safety is paramount. Here is a window into how this gets done, and what safety precautions are in place to protect workers as they do their jobs.

To view a graphic glimpse of West Coast Route Modernization, click here to download a PDF (9,417KB) version of the illustration.

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