Haigh Rail Limited is delighted to share exciting news for its Haulage Division – Haigh Haulage – with the unveiling of a new Scania eight wheeled rigid wagon. The wagon has a 71 tonne/metre FASSI crane and full 360 degree lifting capability due to front legs being fitted. The wagon also has slue locks installed for working railway lineside/adjacent line open working.

All drivers at Haigh Rail Limited are fully trained with PTS, CPCS, ALLMI crane training, First Aid and ALO training. Haigh Rail Limited also has lift planning and Appointed Person capability should clients require this support.

The new wagon is fully compliant with all the latest safety and environmental features including cyclist cameras, recording cameras, Euro 6, side restraints and is available nationwide for all rail related projects, with cable A frames for cable distribution.

For more information and to work with our professional team, please contact our Haulage Manager – duncan@haighrail.com or call 01772 458000 for further details.

Haigh Resourcing – Haigh Rail Limited’s civils and vegetation management division – has completed a rope access core drilling and vegetation clearance project using its IRATA certificated teams.

This latest site at Lower Wharf Street, included vegetation clearance of a redundant subway and 2No 75mm Cores to a depth of 3 metres. The subway itself was situated beneath track level, so Haigh Rail Limited cleared all vegetation to expose the subway shaft. Our IRATA Level 3 Operative then set up anchor points off the palisade fence, to enable our IRATA Level 1 Operatives to descend safely and set up the core drilling rig.

An endoscopy of each hole was undertaken, the core holes were then reinstated and a report provided for the TRU project, including a detailed analysis of each core sample.

Haigh Rail Limited’s Civils Division undertakes core drilling for rail clients throughout the UK. The team is additionally IRATA (Industrial Rope Access Trade Association) certificated, which has allowed us to recently complete a complex site at Ashton Viaduct on the Transpennine Route Upgrade. The location had no access beneath the viaduct, so all works had to be carried out with rope access. 

Haigh Rail successfully delivered 12no 75mm cores at a depth of 3 metres on the North and South elevations of the viaduct. Possession of the line was taken to enable our IRATA Level 3 Operative to set up anchor points to the rails. IRATA Level 1 Operatives then descended down into position and set up the core drilling rigs. On completion of each core, our operatives used an endoscope to record the backing material of the structure. Once the endoscopy was complete, reinstatement of the core holes commenced. 

All core samples were sent off for analysis, so that a full report could be produced for the client. Works were successfully carried out during a 27hr blockade.

Haigh Rail Limited is delighted to have been given the opportunity to sponsor and support St Peter’s GAA U15 Gaelic football team. The club is based in Manchester and only re-started its underage teams earlier this year. The team will be based at Sedgley Park RUFC and will be proudly wearing their new kit every second weekend from September 21 to May 22 across pitches and clubs in Greater Manchester (looking superb – being the usual top quality from O’Neill’s).

MD Chris Haigh added: “As a corporately responsible business, we are delighted to be supporting the Greater Manchester community and the young people in it. We wish them all the very best for the coming season”.

Haigh Rail Limited has passed its annual RISQS audit this week – a key accreditation that is held by the business in order to deliver its contracting services in permanent way, welding, minor civils, minor building and vegetation management – as a key supplier to the UK rail industry.

Chris Haigh, Managing Director, has this to say:
“A very successful outcome, with lots of positives too. Many thanks to all concerned, in particular our HSQE team for their support. This added to our Trackside PCL renewal, demonstrates our ability to deliver projects throughout their lifecycle, safely and with quality outcomes.”

This stringent annual audit of its management systems allows Haigh Rail Limited to provide evidence that both the company and its project delivery meet the necessary health, safety, operational and competence requirements of the UK rail industry.

Haigh Rail Limited has recently been successfully re-assessed by the Welding Fabricator Certification

Scheme (WFCS). Haigh Rail’s Welding Division were able to satisfactorily demonstrate welding fabricator compliance with BS EN ISO 3834 “Quality Requirements for Welding”.  Accredited by UKAS, this certification provides independent verification of our company’s welding and fabricating capabilities, providing evidence of compliance with European and International Standards.

The benefit for certificated companies under the WFCS include:

• clear, high profile independent verification of compliance with BS EN ISO 3834
• independent confirmation of competence for its welding and fabricating capabilities
• welding quality management and fabrication capability assessments carried out by specialist assessors
• increased national and international business potential through demonstrated compliance with the welding quality requirements of a wide range of emerging International and European product standards
• compliance with EU Directives and European and International Standards

Mick Downing, Haigh Rail Director and Professional Head of Welding added the following comment:

“Delighted with the confirmation of our re-assessment, with no non-conformances and not a single observation relating to our processes, records and procedures – a fantastic effort. Special thanks to Martin Allen for being lead RWC, working with TWI Certification’s Lead Assessor and providing the necessary evidence to enable another successful result for Haigh Rail Limited.”

Haigh Rail Limited is pleased to announce that its Trackside Principal Contractors Licence (PCL) has been assessed and renewed by Network Rail until October 2023. This allows the company to continue to deliver in its own right as a main contractor on Network Rail UK controlled infrastructure not only managing their own works, but also other suppliers and sub-contractors works too.

Following the completion of a comprehensive audit, Network Rail were satisfied with Haigh Rail’s approach to both railway assurance and the management and delivery of railway works.

Haigh Rail’s Managing Director, Chris Haigh, commented, saying:

“With direct contracts with Network Rail, our strategy is to manage and deliver fully managed projects throughout the country. With strategically placed depots in the Midlands, the North East and the North West and works being successfully delivered from Watford in the South to Carlisle in the North, we are geared up and ready.

“This renewal is testament to our wholehearted commitment to rail assurance. Railways are at the very core of our business and our people.

“We look forward to future collaboration with Network Rail and our rail industry partners to extend our core permanent way, civils and vegetation management offering – demonstrating further how our directly employed and managed workforce are capable of delivering rail projects effectively.”

Haigh Rail’s Track Division, supported by its in-house Welders, have been busy over the last few months and it shows no signs of abating either.

The in-house team has been installing Hollow Bearers and installing and recovering IBJ’s in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Manchester.

The P-Way team has also been planning the conversion of a large number of Point Ends, as well as the abandonment of a number of S&C units in the North West.

Haigh Rail have a long established track renewal and maintenance delivery arm for track covering renewals, maintenance and engineering services, including a supporting welding division. The engineering team, led by Dan Foster, deliver the following services for permanent way projects:

• S&C Plain Lining and New Track Installation
• Hollow Bearer Installation
• Plain Line Installation
• Point Condition Surveys
• IBJ (Insulated Block Joints) and HB Surveys (Hollow bearer)
• IBJ Installation and Recovery
• Stressing/Tamping/Handback Works
• Track Monitoring

Haigh Rail has successfully completed 500m of Palisade fencing. The package of works included a fully managed service offering covering vegetation clearance, removal of existing fencing and installation of new Palisade.

Works were delivered with a managed road closure in place and involved significant hand excavation due to the close proximity of services.

Specifically, the scope of works covered:

• Vegetation clearance of hedge row and trees
• Stumps being cut flush with ground level
• The existing fence was dismantled and removed from site
• Hand digging of holes due to services
• Installation of new palisade
• Grading the verge and tidying the road prior to the road closure being lifted

Chris Haigh, MD of Haigh Rail added:

“This is another great example of Haigh Rail’s capability. These railway project works were expertly managed and delivered considerately by our in-house Fencing and Vegetation Management teams.”

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Haigh Rail has supported the successful commissioning of Ditton, over a busy bank holiday weekend for the team. Ditton is the final stage of the Weaver to Wavertree Resignalling Scheme, where Haigh Rail has been engaged as a delivery partner since 2017 for their client Siemens.

Over the weekend, Haigh Rail’s in-house Track and Welding Divisions installed and recovered several Insulated Block Joints (IBJ’s) including all welding and stressing – during this project Haigh Rail has installed 31No new and recovered 222No IBJ’s.

The entire track scope of works has included S&C Abandonments – a set of traps which were plain lined – and track circuit works covering heavy maintenance, including the renewal of ballast, sleepers and components. Haigh Rail’s works have also included 14No Point End conversions from HW and Mechanical POE to Clamp Locks.

Haigh Rail also installed final OLE bonding in 16No locations along the route and undertook some last-minute bonding changes too, when the final MOD was issued.

Haigh Resourcing, the Civils Division of Haigh Rail, were also involved, successfully completing 4No LOC recoveries along the route and then making good the areas that were recovered.

The Civils team also undertook a strip out of Ditton Signal Box Panel – once it was fully decommissioned by the Siemens T&C team.

Haigh’s Vegetation Management team were also involved, carrying out de-vegetation works in multiple areas around PZTs, LOCs, and signal and speed board sighting areas. They also completed some further preparation works in advance of an upcoming piece of work.

These multi-trade works were fully co-ordinated by Haigh Rail’s management and supervision and the company is pleased to say that there were no accidents or incidents.

Managing Director, Chris Haigh, was heavily involved in this weekend’s work and send his praise to all involved:
“A great team effort, with Haigh Rail and Siemens teams working in harmony – planning work together, collaborating effectively and delivering safely.”

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Haigh Rail are delighted to announce the migration of our safety accreditation to the new 45001 standard and have further merged this with our Quality (9001:2015) and Environmental (14001:2015), to create an integrated management system solution in order to maximise business benefits.

Through alignment of this new standard and our OH&S management system with other ISO management systems we have in place, Haigh Rail has streamlined its processes in order to increase efficiency and save time and money.  This new standard will help to deliver the following benefits:

• Increasing our organisational resilience through proactive risk prevention, innovation and continual improvement
• Strengthening of legal and regulatory compliance
• Greater brand responsibility by committing to safe, healthy and sustainable work
• A single occupational health and safety system for our businesses, supporting all our divisions in the management/delivery of track, welding and civils & labour contracts

This would not have been achieved without the hard work many, but in particular our HSE and Compliance Team of HSEQ Manager, Duncan Murray and Compliance Advisor, Steve Simpson, from Simpson Consulting.

Speaking on the news, MD Chris Haigh, said:

“Health, Safety and Compliance are central to our business. Transitioning to the new ISO 45001 standard is a testament to our dedication to the safety and wellbeing of our staff and any other interested parties.”

Haigh Rail’s Civils and Labour Division – Haigh Resourcing – is progressing well with a significant fencing scheme covering 42km in the Midlands for a large Tier One organisation.

Director Keiran Clarke and his Senior team of Senior PM Grant Gleave and Contracts Manager Ed Anderson, have all been involved in planning and managing the works to date. The continuity of also being involved from the tender stage, has provided the senior team with full insight of the project, enabling swift mobilisation and facilitation of the contract, which has enhanced the overall progress and the quality of the works to date.

Haigh Rail is responsible for all site engineering for setting out the fencing line, the provision of site management, site supervision and providing skilled and competent fencing teams.

Managing Director Chris Haigh added:

“Great progress to date from the team, the quality of the works is of the highest order. This is testament to the approach we take across the lifecycle of any project and the meticulous planning and preparation that goes into every scheme we deliver.”

The company are specialists in the supply and installation of Railway Boundary, Security and Temporary Fencing for Network Rail, TFL and Light Rail systems, as well as Fencing installations for other transport infrastructure and construction sites.

They have vast experience installing the following products on railways, other transport infrastructure and construction sites throughout the UK.

• Boundary Fencing
• Security Fencing
• Railway Fencing
• Temporary Fencing
• Gates
• Handrailing