Keltbray completes record cable installation in Severn Tunnel

In Wales, the Severn Tunnel has reopened to trains after a six-week closure for rail electrification works, which saw Keltbray Electrification install 14,000 metres of high voltage cable at record speed.

“Over 12 shifts we installed 14,000 metres of high voltage cable. This speed is unrivalled in the UK and a fantastic achievement. It is the result of innovation, the ‘can do’ attitude of our people and great supplier support,” explained Project Director for Keltbray Aspire, Warren Jones (pictured second left).

This work is part of a wider £2.8bn scheme to electrify the main line from London to south Wales, where Keltbray is engaged as a strategic delivery partner to ABC Electrification as part of the company’s works on the National Electrification Programme (NEP).

Over a five-year period, Keltbray is providing conventional concrete auger and CHS piled foundations and installing the new Series 1 overhead line equipment using bespoke road rail vehicles and resources from the Keltbray Aspire direct delivery electrification team.

Warren said: “We at Keltbray are proud to be part of this major electrification programme, which is set to revolutionise the railways and bring electrification to Wales for the first time. Our job is to support the Network Rail and ABC Electrification teams by contributing to the facilitation and installation of electrification on the South Wales Mainline from the Severn Tunnel, through Newport and Cardiff, and then to Swansea.”

Keltbray Aspire has a team of directly employed people engaged on the contract; most of whom have been recruited from the South Wales area to manage, plan and execute the works much of which takes place during night possessions to minimise disruption for passengers: “We are committed to investing in the communities where we work, and so have recruited a majority of our Lineworkers locally. Many of them have been made redundant from the power industry and have transferrable skills. This allows us to train them quickly and efficiently, and leave a legacy in Wales for existing and future electrification works,” concluded Warren.

About Keltbray

Keltbray Group is the UK’s leading specialist business, which offers engineering, construction, demolition, decommissioning, remediation, rail and environmental services. The company dates back to 1976, employs more than 1,000 people, and is a key player in developing and maintaining Britain’s built environment. Keltbray provides services to meet the needs of diverse and complex projects, and its well qualified people take pride in delivering projects safely and efficiently, on time and to budget, and with care for the environment and our communities. Keltbray has contributed to a range of high profile construction projects including The Shard, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stadium, St Pancras International, Crossrail, Earls Court and Battersea Power Station.