Providing vital access in Crossrail expansion project

Stoke Poges, Berkshire

Project Overview

Location	Stoke Poges, Berkshire
Sector	Rail
Products	Bridging & Site Access

As part of the Crossrail West Outer Track Infrastructure Works project, a 73 mile (117km) new railway line in London, Network Rail built a new bridge over the line at Stoke Poges, near Slough. The new bridge accommodates overhead cables needed to introduce greener and more reliable electric trains.

The original Horlicks Bridge, along with many others along the route, was not high enough to allow room for the overhead electric cables, so needed replacing.

The challenge

We were contacted by Balfour Beatty Rail Limited to provide a temporary bridging solution to support existing services during the reconstruction of the Horlicks Bridge at Stoke Poges near Slough, Berkshire.

Site restrictions in this busy area presented a challenge with limited space to pre-build the structure.

Crossrail West Outer Works

As part of the Crossrail West Outer Track Infrastructure Works, Network Rail replaced Horlicks Bridge at Stoke Poges near Slough to allow clearance for new overhead electric cables.

Supporting Essential Services

The original bridge was too low for electrification, requiring reconstruction. We were appointed by Balfour Beatty Rail Limited to provide a temporary bridge to maintain existing services during the works.

Overcoming Site Constraints

With limited space in this busy location, careful planning was required to deliver and install the temporary structure safely and efficiently.

Our solution

We provided a temporary bridge spanning 50m. The Mabey Universal Vehicle Bridge standard components were used to create an 11 bay reinforced box bridge. The bridge provided a 2.4m wide platform allowing for services to be laid across. The design of the bridge had a support load of 5kN/m to allow for the services plus pedestrian loading for access.

The structure used standard bridge panels as bracing and to provide support for the decking minimising cost and build time. The bridge was supported on 2 No. 3m x 3m Mat 125 towers, 5m high. Using the MU bridging system in reinforced box configuration allowed pre construction of the structure in the minimum time prior to the lift in.

Learn more about temporary bridging

A large 750Te capacity crane was successfully used to lift the bridge into position over the 4 track section of the line with less than 3 hours in which to lift it into position. Stiffness of the structure was critical and had to be kept to a minimum due to the delicate nature of the multiple services that are carried on the structure and their limited clearance over the railway deflections.

Mabey Hire CEO comments: “We’re delighted to have been involved in this part of the Crossrail Project. It’s a key project for Network Rail and will significantly enhance public transport in London and the South East. Working alongside Balfour Beatty Rail, Mabey Hire’s temporary bridging expertise will allow for significant improvements to be made to the rail services in the Slough area.”

Crossrail is due to be completed in 2021, with the new line being officially named Elizabeth line.

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