Our elevated GRP cable troughing ARCOSYSTEM® is proving to be a reliable and cost-effective choice as work on the major Transpennine Route Upgrade East project takes shape.
The multi-billion-pound Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is designed to transform rail travel across the north of England, modernising connectivity and boosting economic growth between York, Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester.
As well as improving the travelling experience for users, the project is trialling greener ways of working with innovative equipment and products that are more efficient and sustainable.
Our ARCOSYSTEM® cable troughing, manufactured from pultruded glass-fibre reinforced polymers for long-term durability in all environments, is currently being installed along a section of the East route in Castleford.
The job has been a huge success, in no small part due to the lightweight design of ARCOSYSTEM® that allows the troughing to be fixed to posts mounted as far as six metres apart, saving significant time and costs during installation.
“ARCO is a pleasure to use. Its simplistic 6-metre span makes it the most cost-effective elevated route to instal in a possession.
“ARCO assisted greatly on the Castleford project as the terrain varied from cutting to embankment constantly. The 6-metre spans aided with the reduction in post foundations compared to more traditional methods.”
The ARCO route at Castleford is nearly complete. All that remains is an additional 1,000-metre section close to the River Aire that is going to use Anchor Systems’ screw piles due to its position on a steep embankment.
The lightweight nature of the ARCOSYSTEM® troughing in combination with its bespoke range of steel bracketry provides enhanced flexibility during installation, ensuring height and directional adjustments can be made with ease. As well as being post-mounted, the troughing can be attached to walls, the ground, or clamped to trackside features such as railings, bridges, hillside slopes, HEA beams, noise barriers, or rock walls.
The solid composite construction of the system, meanwhile, provides reliability in all environments, including areas affected by snow drifts, with a working temperature range of between -40˚C and +80˚C.
There are different sizes of ARCOSYSTEM® available to cater for a variety of projects and locations. Size 2 was used in Castleford, and more images of that job can be viewed here.
J Murphy & Sons Ltd is the principal contractor and civil engineering partner on the TRU East Alliance, working alongside Network Rail, VolkerRail, Siemens and SYSTRA.
This article was originally published by Complete Composite Systems (CCS).
