Context

StronGuard™ RCS crash-tested palisade fencing was installed at Swanbourne railway station.

Once a quaint stop along the historic Bicester to Bletchley line, the station ceased operations in 1968 and met its demise in 2020 to pave the way for the transformative East West Rail project.

East West Rail is a major railway development project in the UK aimed at creating a strategic rail link between the country's eastern and western regions. The project involves reopening and upgrading existing railway lines, as well as constructing new sections of track to connect cities and towns along the route.

The main objective of East West Rail is to improve connectivity, support economic growth, and provide better transportation options for passengers and freight across the regions of East Anglia, the East Midlands and Oxfordshire. Once East West Rail is fully operational there will be four trains per hour to meet the projected passenger numbers for the connection.

The East West Rail project has been divided into several phases, with each phase focusing on different sections of the route. The major upgrade of the existing railway line from Oxford to Bicester was completed in December 2016, and services are already running on this section of the line. Upgrades are now taking place on the section between Bicester and Bletchley which is due to be open by 2025.

Project detail

In tandem with the East West Rail initiative, thousands of metres of palisade fencing has been installed to fortify the perimeter against trespassers. Following the lessons learnt from the Selby Rail Crash, the Department for Transport issued guidelines on ‘Managing Accidental Rail Obstructions by Road Vehicles’. To safeguard the infrastructure, passengers, and rail personnel, East West Rail has deployed over 300m of StronGuard RCS fencing, renowned for its crash resistance, on the first two sections. StronGuard RCS is standalone crash-rated fencing, accredited by PAS 68 standards to be capable of halting a 7.5-ton vehicle traveling at 30 mph.

Mitigating RVI at Swanbourne Old Station

As the old tracks make room for the new, the road that was previously Swanbourne Old Station’s approach remains, roughly 15m from the railway line is a single-track, national speed limit lane. Following one of the bends the road heads directly towards the new railway tracks before a second sharp bend.

In the spring of 2023, constrained by space limitations, East West Rail replaced aging post and wire fencing with StronGuard RCS along a roadside near the former Swanbourne station to protect the new line from the risks associated with a road vehicle getting onto the tracks.

In January 2024, the efficacy of StronGuard RCS was put to the test when a vehicle collided with it. While details surrounding the incident remain sparse, the crucial outcome is clear: the fencing prevented the vehicle from accessing the tracks, averting potential damage and harm.