Maidenhead Sidings, Berkshire, UK

Project Overview

This £4.5 million sidings project features a number of Dura Composites GRP Modular Access Platforms, GRP Dura Grating and GRP Dura Slab Walkways and was completed 18 months ahead of schedule as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan.

Modular & non-conductive, our solutions are faster & safer to install.

Maidenhead sidings have been a key part of Network Rail’s electrification of the Great Western Main Line in preparation for Crossrail and are now used by a number of eight-carriage electric Elizabeth Line trains.

The £4.5 million sidings were opened in July 2017, 18 months ahead of schedule as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan and feature a number of our GRP Driver Hop Ups and trackside walkways.

The precision engineered Glass Reinforced Polymer solutions were installed by Balfour Beatty Rail and were the perfect fit for the OLE (Overhead Line Equipment) environment thanks to their non-conductive and lightweight properties and their ease of manoeuvrability, meaning works could be easily undertaken without impacting on operational safety or the running of services which rely on these facilities every day.

In this project, our GRP trough covers helped ensure that rail cables are protected against theft or vandalism whilst remaining easy to access for maintenance & inspection. Our refuge platforms and driver-hops ups also provided safe access to trains, equipment and other trackside areas and is a safer alternative to steel in OHLE or third rail environments, posing no risk of electrical shock and removing the requirement for earth-bonding.

All components of our efficiently-designed structures are individually tested to ensure performance, and can be pre-assembled in our state-of-the-art UK Fabrication Centre, where we are certified to ISO-9001 – the International standard for Quality Management.

Our Specialists

We’re helping to answer the major challenges facing Britain’s railway network such as capacity, reliability and efficiency. Talk to our experienced team about how you can tap into our specialist knowledge and engineering capability for your project.