Successful Project Trial
Following successful Project Product trials at Felixstowe Branch Line Capacity Enhancement, RIVVAL attained Full Network Rail Product Approval certification (certificate ref. PA05/06747, dated 18/08/2020) for their GRP 6m span elevated troughing system. The trial scope at Felixstowe covered installation of two miles of elevated 6m span trough over various terrains during September 2018.
The VolkerFitzpatrick Felixstowe Installation team found significant improvements; the 6m length GRP troughing is much lower in weight than concrete based products, reducing the number of lifts required during installation, consequently resulting in decreasing installation time by up to 60 per cent and safety benefits of ease of manual handing and significant reduced risk of trapped fingers. The elevated troughing on 6m span posts protects the cables no matter the angle of the side of the embankment or cutting, the troughing is safely above it all.
Comments from the VolkerFitzpatrick Felixstowe Engineers;
“The product is rigid, durable and very resilient. Even in bad conditions such as poor handling and rain the RIVVAL Elevated Troughing has remained intact from when the troughing was manufactured; for example when dropped in wet conditions, then still no damage was caused to the troughing. Even dropping the troughing on hard ground such as concrete or ballast led to no cracks appearing.”
• “The users were more than happy when installing the product due to the following factors: Ease of install: the troughing was easy to install and only required a small excavation for the post and fixing of brackets, The troughing also managed to stay clear of debris throughout the installation, meaning access to cables will be ideal once they have been pulled.
• Ease of handling: a 6m length of troughing could be handled easily by 2 operatives whereas compared to traditional troughing the same length would require more than double.
• Ease of cutting: users found it quicker and easier to cut the troughing where required compared to other elevated troughing products.”
• “The troughing is easy to set out and looks good when installed”