HIRD Group
HIRD Group: Delivering Innovation, Sustainability and Longevity as Standard
This article first appeared in the Railway-News magazine, Issue 3 2022.
The HIRD Group is a collection of companies delivering a wide range of sustainable and innovative solutions across the UK and European rail industry and beyond.
Comprised of HIRD Rail Services (HRS), HIRD Rail Development (HRD), Trough-Tec Systems (TTS) and HRD BV, the Group provides market-leading solutions to the rail industry that improve efficiencies and provide longevity. Possessing specialist industry knowledge, the HIRD Group develops ground-breaking solutions from inception to installation, working closely and collaboratively with its clients from design to delivery.
Across the group we supply:
- Our range of ‘STB’ Insulated Rail Joints, supplied pre-installed in rail or as kits for installation at site
- Pre-curving and twisting of rail to a variety of rail profiles
- Cold Bolt Hole Expansion (CBX) kits, a preventative system to reduce rail breakages, track-related incidents and derailments
- End Post Life Enhancement kits, used for the rapid and cost- effective, in-service repair of insulated rail joints
- The PRISMA range of anti-trespass, suicide prevention systems
- Green Trough cable management and anti-slip walkway systems c/w optional handrail
As a group and as individual companies we are consistently and constantly identifying and delivering new ways of improving our products to ensure our clients see tangible benefits across safety, efficiency and sustainability measurables. This simultaneously supports our ethos of supplying only the best products that have been developed and designed in collaboration with our customers.
One such example of this is the HRS Coated Insulated Block Joint (IBJ) the design of which includes a hard wearing, electrically resistant, durable waterproof coating capable of extending IBJ life expectancy to over 15 years. This protective coating was subject to a thorough and extensive programme of testing that comprised:
- Extensive laboratory life-cycle testing
- Sample testing in our state-of- the-art purpose-built coating facility in Doncaster (UK)
- In-track testing on European customers’ rail infrastructure
