With populations growing, roads are more congested than ever before and governments and councils are turning to public transport for commuter and tourism travel and freight distribution.
Modern, reliable rail systems are the obvious answer.
From station builds in urban environments to tracklaying through 800 kilometres of large rock cuttings and desert sand dunes, Laing O’Rourke has turned its hand to many exciting engineering challenges and is well placed to help meet the world’s transport needs.
Through its heritage companies, Laing O’Rourke’s expertise spans decades and many team members have worked in rail for most of their lives.
The company’s rail project range in the UK covers the gamut of engineering activity, from track work, as seen on the Manchester Metrolink, to the construction of stations, including Ashford International, built by John Laing in the 1990s, and Eurostar’s home, St Pancras International.
Now, there’s Crossrail, a major new network that will run 118 kilometres from Maidenhead, about 42 kilometres west of London, to Shenfield in Essex, via 21.5-kilometre twin-bored tunnels running under London.
Laing O’Rourke’s construction work on the project’s Canary Wharf station includes the first of the major station boxes to be constructed.
Subsidiary company Expanded Piling began work on the cofferdam wall in which to sit the station in 2009, with Giken silent piling rigs installing 292 tube piles to five-millimetre accuracy.
Also in London, Laing O’Rourke is reconstructing two stations: Farringdon (in a joint venture with Costain), one of the first major Thameslink projects, and Cannon Street.
All disciplines covered
Laing O’Rourke’s latest projects in Australia also demonstrate the breadth of the company’s capabilities.
In Western Australia, demand for heavy haul infrastructure remains high. The company has just completed double tracking work on the BHP Billiton iron ore railway, a job manned at one point by 600 people.
Meanwhile, in Sydney, work as part of the Novo Rail alliance to improve commuter journeys covers everything from transmission lines and re-signalling complex junctions to level crossings and new depots and substations.
“We have skills in project managing all disciplines of railways,” says Rob Boulger, global rail leader, “and integrating them into a single delivery model. We’re a one-stop shop for clients.”
Innovative planning methods
Work in congested urban areas requires great attention to logistics, explains Rob.
“We need to prepare extremely well to work in short windows. We might only have a weekend or overnight occupation of the line. We need to get in when trains stop running and get out before commuters go to work.”
Laing O’Rourke plans in meticulous detail using time-location charts on linear projects and, on more complex urban projects, 4D or 5D Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools to link spatial integrity and construction needs.
Teams programme activities in 15- or 20-minute periods, if not down to the minute, and carry out risk mitigation to plan their response to ensure railways open on time.
“Whenever you have possession of railway, you have to get the most out,” says head of rail for Europe Paul Copeland. “Planning is critical to ensure everything is done safely and on time; the idea of disruption to passengers can’t even be entertained.”
Offsite manufacturing
On many projects, the most effective and efficient delivery method is proving to be Laing O’Rourke’s Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) approach. One such DfMA success story is the Manchester Metrolink, which incorporates precast depot facilities, platform sections, lift shafts and stairs.
As a major partner in the M-Pact Thales consortium currently expanding the network by three times its size, Laing O’Rourke is part of the largest single public transport investment project in the UK outside of London.
The new South Manchester tram line welcomed its first passengers in July.
“In the light rail environment, we’re effectively building modular stations,” says Paul, “but I don’t see why DfMA can’t be transferable into heavy rail. It’s safer, quicker and better quality, and less affected by weather.”
Return to Hong Kong
In South-East Asia, Laing O’Rourke is having something of a rebirth, having worked many years ago on track and overhead line projects in Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan. Upon a return to the market in 2009, Laing O’Rourke targeted Hong Kong.
The company is bidding on rail projects, but it is in transportation infrastructure where things have taken off, with three contracts for MTR, the city’s rapid transit railway system.
Most recently, Laing O’Rourke secured Contract 901, a four-year programme to extend and improve rail infrastructure at Hong Kong’s Admiralty station, including an interchange concourse, circulation area and supporting facilities, excavation of new platforms and rail tunnels, the construction of four new platforms and the relocation of existing passenger entrances.
Laing O’Rourke secured this bid, in part, by proposing alternative solutions to add value.
“The industry in Asia is conservative,” says James Purkis, business development manager for South-East Asia. “Contractors often do what they’re asked to do and simply price against the brief. Laing O’Rourke has used its Engineering Enterprise approach in Hong Kong with an open mind, offering innovative alternative solutions. MTR is happy to listen to new ideas and work collaboratively.”
Time to unlock potential
Now is the time for Laing O’Rourke to shout louder about its rail expertise. Globally, opportunities abound. With cities and populations growing and roads becoming gridlocked, suburban railways will be called for. “We’re seeing a renaissance worldwide,” says Paul.
Spend on rail in Australia ramped up five years ago. British experts kept busy in the UK for the ten years following the privatisation of British Rail in 1996 – many of whom were Australians who had travelled to the UK for the boom – found themselves in the southern hemisphere.
In that time, Laing O’Rourke has expanded geographically, having returned to Victoria, where it last worked 15 years ago, while Adelaide is an entirely new territory.
Across Asia, with large cities planning major investments in their transportation systems, there is a burst of Metro-style work. Laing O’Rourke has an advantage here, with its experience covering the full remit, from cut-and-cover tunnelling work to station builds.
In the UK, positive changes are arising from the devolution of Network Rail into regions and closer relationships with the train operators. This will lead to more collaborative working through the supply chain for contractors and create opportunities for companies like Laing O’Rourke.
In the future, train operators may be funding more infrastructure schemes themselves and will no doubt be looking for innovative offerings to upgrade stations and improve the customer experience.
“In the UK, rail has the single largest secured budget,” says Paul. “And globally there’s a political will to continue spending in rail. It meets long-term infrastructure objectives. From a construction perspective, the future is good.”