Central Rail Systems Alliance

🌱Crewe Trilink BHIL Delivery Team Volunteer Day: Giving Back to the Community 🍃 On Wednesday, 20th November, our Crewe team had the privilege of spending the day volunteering at the historic Priory Church of St Mary in Tutbury, Burton-on-Trent. With no funding currently available for the upkeep of the church grounds, a dedicated local volunteer group, the “Holy Mowers,” works tirelessly to restore the area. We were thrilled to lend a hand for the day, supporting this incredible community effort. Our team of 8 got stuck into clearing vegetation, removing brambles, uncovering long-hidden graves, litter picking, and tidying up the grounds. Despite the snowy weather, spirits remained high, thanks to the warm hospitality of the church. Locals stopped by to express their appreciation, and our efforts even made it onto local social media! A big thank you to the “Holy Mowers” for their continued dedication and for letting us contribute to such meaningful work. Volunteering is a great reminder of the impact we can make when we come together as a community. 👏 Central Rail Systems Alliance Network Rail Balfour Beatty plc AtkinsRéalis TSO UK #Teamwork #Volunteering #CommunityImpact #GivingBack #CreweTrilink

An Apology and a Gesture of Support for Rail Commuters at Rugeley Town ☕️ We want to sincerely apologise to all passengers affected by the recent incident during our planned works, which caused delays and disruptions on the network. We understand how disruptive such events can be to your day, and we deeply regret the inconvenience caused. This morning, the Central Rail Systems Alliance team at Rugeley Town took a small step to show our appreciation and support for your patience offering free tea and coffee to commuters before their journeys. While we know it doesn’t undo the disruption, we hope this gesture demonstrated our commitment to putting passengers first during challenging times. A huge thank you to our team and supply chain partners—including Vital Human Resources (Rail, Resources, Solutions, Security) and Story Contracting Limited —for stepping up to deliver this initiative and supporting our efforts to care for the communities we serve. At CRSA, we remain dedicated to safety, reliability, and ensuring our passengers feel valued. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work hard to improve your journey. #Apology #PuttingPassengersFirst #RailTeamwork #SafetyFirst #CRSA

🚆 Delivering Improved Rail Infrastructure at Caledonia Sidings, Birmingham. 🚆 Over the past few weeks, significant work has been underway at Caledonia Sidings in Birmingham, focused on a vital Switches & Crossings (S&C) Renewal project. Our S&C Crewe team successfully renewed three units of S&C and 200 metres of Plain Line track within the Cemex Aggregates Terminal Sidings at Small Heath—also known as Caledonia Yard. The existing infrastructure was life-expired, unable to maintain geometry, and ill-equipped to handle the increased tonnage brought about by heightened HS2 activity. Refurbishment alone wasn’t sufficient to extend the life of these assets. This presented an opportunity to re-align Hand Point No.5 and Siding No.7 onto a new formation, reducing the tight radius curve into the Cemex Terminal and significantly lowering derailment risks. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the outstanding collaboration between Central Rail Systems Alliance, Network Rail, and our dedicated supply chain partners, including A P Webb Plant Hire Ltd, Vital Human Resources (Rail, Resources, Solutions, Security), COLAS and Shannon Rail Services Limited A big thank you to everyone involved in delivering this critical renewal—an important step in ensuring safer and more reliable rail infrastructure. #collaboration #railway #construction

Today is International Men’s Day 🌎 It’s a day to celebrate the positive contributions men make in our workplaces, communities, and families. At the Central Rail Systems Alliance (CRSA), we take pride in the dedication, leadership, and hard work that men bring to the construction and rail industries. Today is an opportunity to recognise these efforts and reflect on how we can continue to support and empower one another. Let’s use this day to: 👉Celebrate the achievements of men in our lives. 👉Foster inclusive environments where everyone can thrive. 👉Reflect on the importance of positive role models. Together, we can create a culture of recognition and respect—not just today, but every day. #InternationalMensDay #ConstructionIndustry #CRSA #Leadership #Support #Recognition

Successful Delivery by the Central Rail Systems Alliance🚆👏 In Week 33, the CRSA Aston Purple Team successfully delivered works at Little Heath Lane—a CAT 250y fully welded project on the Down Fast of the West Coast Main Line (ALO). The team handed back on Monday at the booked speed of 60mph and returned that night to complete the job, enabling a handback at an impressive 90mph Tuesday morning. Most importantly, this achievement was delivered safely with zero accidents or incidents—a testament to the team’s commitment to excellence and safety. Well done to everyone involved for another milestone delivered with precision and care! 💪🦺 #CRSA #RailSafety #Teamwork #ExcellenceInDelivery

CRSA Eastern Team’s Safety-Focused Site Visit at Hemsworth 🚧🤝 Recently, CRSA Eastern, led by Phil Parr, conducted a site visit to our Hemsworth location, just northwest of Doncaster, during a weekend deployment for plain line works with our valued supply chain partners. This visit emphasised our ongoing commitment to safety, as supply chain representatives who regularly participate in our Eastern safety meetings joined us. Their dedication to maintaining high safety standards across all projects was evident throughout the tour. Our workforce demonstrated exemplary collaboration and commitment, ensuring that all site operations were conducted safely and efficiently. We appreciate the involvement of our key supply chain partners, including: • Vital Rail • ISS Ltd • Story Plant Limited - our equipment supplier for this deployment • Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland Thank you to everyone who participated and to Mark Hardeman and Phil Parr for their leadership in promoting safety and teamwork on-site.

Today is #RemembranceDay and we celebrate and remember all our armed forced community, past, present and future.   Recently, employees from the Central Rail Systems Alliance collaborated with the South Rail Systems Alliance and #volunteered at the RoyalBritish Legion Industry by preparing and packing ‘Tommy’ light products to meet high demand for its 2024 Remembrance Campaign, which included a number of veterans within both teams.    The Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI) manufacture a range of products mainly around the image of ‘a Tommy’ – so called after the name Germans would call out across the trenches to speak with their opposing British soldiers. Remembrance is in commemoration of 886,000 British Military Personnel who died in the First World War, and have since given their lives whilst serving in the British Armed Forces. This helps to support and employ disadvantaged veterans of the armed forces.   The Alliance teams continue to collaborate by sharing lessons learnt and providing practical support to each other’s innovation projects. This is a great example of comradeship, collaboration and marks Remembrance Day brilliantly. Lest we forget. #armedforces #remembrance #britishmilitary Nick Matthews Richard Ballintine Adrian Fricker Stuart Horder

Now it’s darker earlier in the evenings, our teams work in the dark a lot during the day and the night, making their jobs a lot harder, especially when we add in the cold or wet weather. ✨🌑 Over the weekend our teams working on the North East Route were deployed over two work areas to undertake a track renewal of 1265 and 1264a points, either end of Platform One by Eaglescliffe Station. Works were successfully completed on time, incident and accident free and handed back at line speed of 60/70mph on the Up Main Line.  

The CRSA champions young people joining the rail industry, supporting them in their career and also developing their skill set and confidence.   Bobby Rodger, part of our Early Careers Programme, is a OHL technical #apprentice and wants to become an Electrification Overhead Line specialist.   Bobby attended the Network Rail training centre for the 2024 Practical Electrification Challenge, which provides an invaluable understanding of the complexities of electrification work and will support his professional development as he continues learning and developing his career.    This is a fantastic session collaborating with the PWI, Furrer Frey, our Alliance partners and other industry specialists.   Bobby’s confidence is growing and he’s also gaining invaluable experience at York Station with the CRSA, which has contributed towards his progression and sureness to support others with a complex build of cantilevers.    This is a shining example of how we can develop young talent within the UK rail industry. #earlycareers #ukrailindustry #skills #rail

As part of rail investment in Bradford City of Culture 2025 to improve rail journeys in and around the north west, works at Bradford Station includes the construction of a new platform 0, one turnout, one crossover, approximately 1,000 yards Plain Line, overhead line, E&P Distribution Network Operator (DNO) changeover and signalling upgrades. As part of the works, the CRSA has been busy working on the new platform and electrification assets at Forster Square Station. Stage 4 of the works is currently underway, and the project is progressing in line with the programme. Over the past 11 months, OLE and signalling has been installed and last weekend saw stage 4 testing being carried out to power the new signalling layout. Platform infrastructure and associated signalling assets are still being completed. The works will increase rail services, reduce delays, improve asset reliability, resilience and provide better connectivity for the city. 💪 🏙️ 🚄 #Bradfordcity #Bradfordregeneraiton #Bradford #CityofCulture25 #connectivity #bradfordstation Paul Kealy Phil Parr