Engineering Focus

Last week I wrote about the “ Building the North's New Railways ” report which was launched at an event hosted by the Northern Rail Industry Leaders. Within the piece I described some of the challenges that are facing the industry, as set out in the report and how the industry is looking to work together in order to deliver rail upgrades across the North. In this blog I want to look more broadly at what a “Northern Powerhouse Railway” may look like and look at the wider transport planning framework as set out by Transport for the North. First of all I should point out that the headline £70bn figure for transport investment between 2020 and 2050 covers both rail and road upgrades and is formed in part by money that it is already assumed will be invested in the North over the period. TfN assumes that £39-43bn will be invested in the North based on current levels of committed investment outlined in the Highways England Road Investment Strategy and Network Rail’s Control Period.

We want a faster, more reliable, high capacity railway in the North and " we deserve it " the words of Mike Hulme Co-chair of the Northern Rail Industry Leaders speaking today at the launch of the "Building the North's New Railways" report. I'm certain these words will resonate with any commuters from the North who perhaps looks to South at projects like Crossrail and think, why haven't we got a Crossrail of the North? As a passionate campaigner and supporter of the railways, but still, somewhat of an outsider, it was fascinating to hear what each of the speakers had to say as to why the North does not yet have its own Crossrail. I came away with a clearer understanding of the challenges facing the industry which could act to stifle investment in transport in the North, but also a sense that we are at the cusp of a seismic shift in the future of the railways right across the North. Mike Hulm, Co-chair of NRIL But first I want to skip t

On Friday 15th of February 2019 the Beluga XL made its first visit to Airbus'  Broughton manufacturing facility in the UK. This was in fact, the first time the new replacement for the existing Beluga aircraft had visited the UK since it first rolled off the production line in January 2018. Since 2018 the Beluga has undergone ground testing culminating in its maiden flight in July 2018 after which it underwent a rigorous flight test certification campaign. Beluga XL F-WBXL is the first of 5 super transporters to be built in order to carry aircraft sections between the various manufacturing facilities spread right across Europe. The new Beluga XL aircraft will work alongside the existing Beluga fleet until they are finally withdrawn in 2021. Once the Belgua XL is fully commissioned it will become a regular visitor to Broughton as has its predecessor for more than 20 years. The Broughton facility manufactures wings for all of Airbus's commercial aircraft including the A350 and

Progress is finally beginning to be made on the multi-million pound Northern Gateway scheme for which outline planning permission was first granted for housing development, a hotel and technology park back in 2013. Since then the only visible sign of progress was the completion in 2016 of an access road leading from the B5441 Welsh Road, for which £3.1m was awarded by the Welsh Government. Since then it appeared as if the project had stalled and the road sat unused, however work to clear the land ready for development is now well underway. A key part of the North Gateway scheme is a 140-acre development lead by Praxis Real Estate Management Ltd. The scheme has outline planning permission for the development consisting of B2 general industrial units and B8 Storage or distribution units, with industrial units ranging in size from 50,000 sq ft up to 1,000,000 sq ft. [click to enlarge]  D Morgan PLC which had previously constructed the link road is now the principal contractor f

[Updated September 2020] It is often inferred incorrectly by some news outlets and opponents of HS2 that it is " just a line from London to Birmingham ", notwithstanding the fact that legislation is currently making its way through parliament for HS2 to reach Crewe by 2027 and Manchester and Leeds by 2033, it has, in fact, always been the case that HS2 will benefit towns and cities north of Birmingham, and indeed north of Manchester and Leeds, with benefits reaching as far north as Preston, York, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Technically speaking phase one should be described as a dedicated high-speed railway from London Euston, to a junction which joins the West Coast Main Line (WCML) located at Handsacre, north of Lichfield, with a high-speed spur to Birmingham City centre. Why is this definition important? Because first and foremost it more accurately describes what is currently being constructed, but also, critically it highlights the potential for services to tra