strood & higham tunnel lining project

Client: Network Rail

Date: 2003 - 2004

Project Value: £36 million

Services Provided:

• Project Environmental Management

Project Overview:
The lining of the Strood and Higham tunnels represented an extremely important and sensitive project for Network Rail. In the past the tunnels had suffered numerous chalk falls, which culminated in a train derailment in 1999 and a speed restriction being imposed.

The successful lining of both tunnels would allow safe passage of train services, enabling the line speed to be increased back to 70mph, in turn improving the train service to passengers.

The tunnels were located in a semi rural area, very close to residential properties and above an Environment Agency designated Ground Water Source Protection Zone 1.

Nationally and Internationally protected Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a RAMSAR (wetlands of international importance designation) were also located in close proximity, connected to the tunnels via a watercourse. Finally, there was a high probability of protected species such as bats on or near to the site.

This environmentally sensitive area required the successful management of a range of environmental issues including pollution prevention and control, contaminated land, noise and nuisance and ecology. This sensitivity required the management of a number of stakeholder expectations including consultation with many different regulatory bodies. Given that the section of line had to be closed for 12 months and a temporary bus route used by passengers during the construction works it was paramount that no unforeseen issues were to arise during delivery which could affect the programme and jeopardise the re-opening of the tunnels on time.

Delivery:
Due to its importance and sensitivity, Network Rail needed a trusted partner who could provide a complete end-to-end service on environmental management. Having worked with Schofield Lothian across numerous past projects, Network Rail knew we had the experience and knowledge to deliver the whole brief, from preliminary assessment at planning stage through to site monitoring. In addition we had experience of managing a whole range of environmental issues that could arise in such a sensitive project.

The specific activities of the project required initial enabling works to be carried out before the civil engineering works to actually line the tunnels could start. In addition the installation of a permanent drainage system was required to reduce the potential for flooding. Finally, both tunnels required the track to be renewed.

Our brief was to identify any environmental issues for the project and develop a management strategy, along with a monitoring strategy for delivery by both the project team and the contractors. This required our team to be on site 1-2 times per week during delivery to provide specific advice and undertake monitoring.

In addition, the Schofield Lothian team provided:

• Preliminary environmental assessments at the early planning stages to identify environmental risks and opportunities, including site ecology surveys
• Production of Project Environmental Strategy
• A review of tender returns relating to environmental management at the procurement stage
• Liaison with regulatory bodies such as Local Authorities, English Nature (now Natural England) and the Environment Agency at planning & delivery stages
• Site inspection and monitoring throughout delivery stage
• Contractors Audits

Benefit to the Client:
The Environmental issues were handled professionally and kept pace with the needs of the programme and, as a consequence, this section of line was re-opened on time. The project was subsequently commended at the National Rail Awards.

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