Hull-based Spencer Group has finished the first phase of a £36m enhancement project at the Tyseley rail maintenance depot in Birmingham.
A significant section of existing track has been moved to make way a 30m extension to the existing Underframe Cleaning building. Upon completion of the building, a new track layout was built, including a large section of embedded track to allow emergency vehicle access.
The next phase of the project has started, and will see mechanical and electrical works to the existing depot buildings including ventilation, shore supplies and mobile gantry cranes.
The final phase is the most extensive, and will involve a 100m extension to the existing depot building, providing four car stabling of trains on two roads. This package includes new pits to both roads 11 and 12, along with mechanical and electrical services.
Tony Wells, Pre-construction Project Director at Spencer Group, said: “We’re delighted to be delivering this project following a successful tendering process and it’s a really collaborative development which we’re excited to be working on.
“Before we got to this stage, we worked hand-in-hand with the client to develop the scheme through a period of early contractor involvement (ECI), which allowed the project to be fully developed and costed.”
Richard Watson, Project Director at Spencer Group, added: “Tyseley is a busy depot, particularly at night, which is why the extension is needed to accommodate longer trains.
“We have a fantastic, experienced team working on the project. Having worked with West Midlands Trains before, we’re building on our already strong relationship with them.
“We constructed a storage building on the same site about three years ago and completed fuelling aprons on the carriage sidings on tracks 13, 14 and 15. This included new canopies, pits and a new fuelling system, providing a covered area to refuel the trains.”
