Challenge

ACO Water Management was challenged by the Midland Metro Alliance (MMA) to develop a new drainage access system to help ensure both construction and day-to-day services were safely and easily maintained as part of a £1.35b transformation of the West Midlands light rail network. This ambitious 10-year plan aims to link Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull via an expanded tramway.

With safety and maintenance a key consideration around an operational service, ACO Water Management has been involved with the project since the early stages in 2017.

Centenary Square, Birmingham has seen the installation of a number of standard and bespoke channel drainage solutions together with the ACO TramDrain 200 system. However, it was at Bilston Road in Wolverhampton, part of the Wolverhampton City Centre Metro extension scheme, where technical support and a bespoke solution were first required.

Keeping the project running

When designing modern tramways, one of the biggest challenges is designing systems which keep disruption through maintenance to a minimum. Selecting products which last despite ongoing vibration and contact with potentially corrosive substances (as with all transport routes) is vital to the long-term success of the project.

During the construction phase of Bilston Road, it became clear that the existing cast iron access drainage system (which is required to drain the rail profile) being used was difficult and therefore time-consuming to install and did not suit the long-term requirements of the MMA team due to potential wear from ongoing contact with aforementioned substances.

To resolve this problem, the MMA approached ACO Water Management in search of an access drainage solution to drain the rail sections that could replicate all design elements of the original system, but with a faster installation process and that would stand up to the demands of heavily used roads when compared to previous options.

Objective achieved thanks to ACO

The new solution has completely eliminated the original issues raise by the MMA. Natalie Cropp, Sustainability Manager for the Midland Metro Alliance, explains: “Using this new unit has made it easier to manage quality of installation on site, maintain encapsulation and increase the ease and therefore speed of installation.” To enhance future projects, ACO Water Management has now developed a mould that can be used by anybody that has a requirement for it including the Midland Metro Alliance team. The long-running West Midlands Metro project could now choose for the system to be rolled across the network as the track is extended further.

Natalie added: “One of the benefits of the new system is that it could be used as part of our track design for future projects. Thanks to the ACO Rail Drain Access Point, we know that installation will be fast and maintenance has been streamlined which will assist in making similar projects more efficient.”

Peter Bembridge concludes: “We’re delighted that we have been able to support the Midland Metro Alliance on what is a hugely significant project in the West Midlands. Ensuring projects run smoothly throughout and that infrastructure lasts are both of paramount importance for any contract and we are proud to have achieved these goals by working collaboratively with the Midland Metro Alliance.”