High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain's Future - Consultation
After the Olympics, the M25 Widening and CrossRail, the next major infrastructure project in the UK is likely to be ‘High Speed 2’ (HS2), which could see trains running from London to Birmingham at 250mph, with scope for a Y-shaped extension to the more northern cities of Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Using the map link below, you can view the proposed line of route between London and the West Midlands:-
http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/in-your-area
High-end instrumentation such as Leica Geosystems TS30/TM30 0.5” instruments would be required to meet the incredibly high tolerances required to set out the high-speed track. Furthermore, the use of Amberg’s GRP trolley systems could ensure cant, gauge, track-geometry and clearance profiles.
It is likely that a SnakeGrid style coordinate system would be developed, as well as monitoring schemes for structures and natural hazards. Indeed SnakeGrid was used for both the ECML and the WCML. Quote; “Over the 630 km length of the ECML, a grid was designed that gave scale factor and height distortion of less than 11 parts per million (ppm) along the whole track. Within a few kilometres either side the distortion is less than 20 ppm.”
Striving to provide the most up-to-date products, consultancy and support, SCCS look forward to assisting future construction projects in the UK and the wider world.
More info can be found at http://highspeedrail.dft.gov.uk/high-speed-rail .