Displaying items by tag: rail

UK: Civil engineering joint venture Balfour Beatty Vinci has poured 1Mm³ of concrete in its on-going erection of structures for West Midlands sections of the HS2 Birmingham-London railway. Aggregate Industries, Cemex UK and Tarmac all supplied concrete for the works. Aggregate Industries’ concrete features in the Delta Junction interchange between HS2’s lines to Birmingham, London and Interchange Station in Solihull, outside Birmingham. The junction includes 13 viaducts across the valleys of the River Cole and River Tame. Meanwhile, Cemex UK’s concrete features in structures in Birmingham and Staffordshire and Tarmac’s concrete in structures in Birmingham and Warwickshire.

Altogether, HS2 railway structures in the West Midlands will require 1.9Mm3 of concrete, over 50% that of the entire project total, over a 90km stretch. 11 ready-mix batching plants serve the stretch, two of which are semi-battery-powered. Balfour Beatty Vinci and its suppliers have also made use of electric concrete mixer trucks for deliveries. They crossed the 1Mm³ milestone while building the 165m-long, four-track Chattle Hill railway bridge over the A446 road in Delta Junction. The bridge will use 10,200m³ of concrete.

Algeria: China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and Cosider Travaux Publics have commissioned a new concrete railway sleeper plant in Tindouf. The Global Times newspaper has reported that the plant will supply the upcoming 575km-long Western Algeria Railway Mining Line project. The railway will conform to local European-based standards, while incorporating Chinese heavy-haul systems and materials.

General manager Xu Huaxiang said "This sleeper factory is the first standardised concrete sleeper plant built by a Chinese company in the Sahara."

UK: Holcim has completed its acquisition of rail ballast recycling specialist Land Recovery. Land Recovery produces raw materials for use in ready-mix concrete, precast concrete and other building materials from recycled rail ballast. Holcim says that the acquisition advances its own aim of recycling 10Mt of construction-demolition materials (CDM) in 2024. In 2023, Land Recovery recycled 300,000t of CDM. It employs 85 people across the UK.

Russia: Belarus-based Belarusian Cement Company plans to establish a building materials production and logistics hub in Moscow. Among other materials, the hub will produce dry mixes using cement imported from Belarus, as well as producing ready-mix concrete, autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks and reinforced concrete goods. Business World News has reported that the facility will be equipped with rail and road terminals.

Belarusian Cement Company said "The creation of this facility will secure permanent availability of Belarusian Cement Company products directly in the sales region and will enable more advantageous logistic conditions for Russian partners. Belarusian Cement Company will be able to significantly expand its capabilities for delivering products to consumers that have no access to the railway grid and will be able to introduce a more convenient and accessible level of client service."