Case study: Preventing potential derailment at DIRFT
Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) plays an important role in supporting carbon emission reduction targets for transport and logistics companies.
The intermodal rail-road facility, based in Daventry, Northamptonshire, helps to take trucks off the road. The busy rail freight terminal has daily services linking Southampton and Felixstowe ports to the railway, so it’s crucial that this piece of private track is kept in good, safe working condition.
Proactive inspection
NRL’s experienced team supported representatives from the terminal (DIRFT) to propose inspection regimes, drawing up a plan to proactively monitor the infrastructure. During this inspection visit a derailment hazard was identified and NRL’s team recommended immediate action.
Plans were redrafted to allow the works to take place, and within 5 days of the initial visit NRL mobilised a team on site to start work, each with experience of rolling contact fatigue treatment and derailment hazards. Together with all the necessary equipment.
Safely completing work on site
Following a comprehensive site induction, NRL’s team were issued work direction from our management team and a line blockage was implemented by the facility signalling operations box so that work could be safely completed on the affected track.
Works began with the removal of the P8 failure, together with a weld repair carried out by NRL’s welding sub-contractor. This involved building up the switchblade, grinding out the P8 and then blending in the works, to allow the switch to pass the inspection in line with standard NR/L2/TRK0053.
Working meticulously, the team successfully completed the remediation works, allowing the line blockage to be safely removed for the track to promptly become operational again.