Our elevated Rapid Route ARCOSYSTEM design was the ideal choice during a cable troughing installation in a flood-prone area in Cornwall, England.
As part of the £56.8m SRSA (South Rail Systems Alliance) Reliance Mid Cornwall Metro upgrades project, a section of rail track in Goss Moor required urgent attention. The original concrete troughing method used for cable containment had become unsuitable due to persistent water runoff from the adjacent country park/nature reserve. This led to regular flooding, jeopardising the safety and reliability of the local railway infrastructure.
To mitigate the issue, the contractor, Colas, working on behalf of Network Rail, needed a cable route management system that could elevate critical high-voltage and power cabling above the flood-prone area. The initial requirement was for 120m of system coverage, which was later extended to 150m due to the speed and ease of installation observed on site.
CCS partners Anchor Systems and Scott Parnell provided a Size 2 Rapid Route version of our cable containment product ARCOSYSTEM to meet the challenges of the site. This GRP-constructed elevated solution proved ideal for installation in difficult terrain and delivered several critical benefits:
Flood mitigation: The elevated design prevented future water ingress and damage to the cable infrastructure.
Speed of Deployment: A one-day on-site training session was followed by just two installation days, including loading of cables.
Adaptability: The system’s flexibility enabled on-site adjustments, with the initial 120m plan swiftly expanded by an additional 30m without design changes.
Minimal ground disturbance: Using Anchor Systems’ ground screw foundation technology, each bracket was quickly and securely installed without the need for excavation or concrete.
This installation demonstrated the practicality of the Rapid Route system for challenging environments, offering a fast, efficient, and durable cable management solution for the rail sector.
ARCOSYSTEM is manufactured from pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymers (GRP/FRP) in association with our Swiss partners Castioni Kabelführungssysteme GmbH. The composite construction provides a lightweight design that allows on-site operatives to make simple height and directional adjustments to the troughing. The Rapid Route system uses Anchor Screws developed by Anchor Systems for better and swifter accuracy at 6m centres, replacing the need to excavate and use cast in-situ posts to support the troughing.
For further information about ARCOSYSTEM, get in touch with our technical experts at CCS, while the product’s UK rail stockist is Scott Parnell.
Further images of ARCOSYSTEM can be viewed here.
This article was originally published by Complete Composite Systems.
