Osborne completes Catford Bridge work

Osborne engineers have now completed the replacement bridge work at Catford.

The landslide occurred approximately 500m along the line from where the new Catford Bridge was being constructed. This undermined the tracks, causing Network Rail to impose a 5mph speed restriction. To rectify this problem, Osborne acquired an emergency 52 hour line blockage from Network Rail that would enable us get customers back on the move and for the main body of work to continue efficiently and safely.

The permanent solution to the landslip was to install 40m of sheet piles along the length of the slip and backfill behind it to reinstate the bank.

Osborne successfully met the 52 hour deadline. In its initial re-opening, the line speed remained restricted, however trains were quickly able to run at maximum speed again, fully demonstrating the success of our solution. As such, we ensured that our customer’s services were kept moving and commuters faced as minimal disruption as possible.

The final works included placing the piling cap and removing the piling mat, and removing the type one temporary road.

John Dowsett, Osborne Delivery Director said: “To complete that volume of work in 52 hours at such short notice, and with such difficult access and logistical issues, was a great achievement. There was a lot of hard work and commitment to getting this piece of the railway back up and running safely, including all of the advanced planning, surveying, design and enabling works that needed to be completed before we could then re-start the bridge work.”