The first train has arrived at Hutchison Ports London Thamesport with primary tunnel precast rings for the Thames Tideway Tunnel project in London. The Thames Tideway ‘Super Sewer’ will upgrade London’s current sewer network to cope with demands well into the 22nd century and reconnect the city with the iconic River Thames.
6,000 precast rings will initially be transported by rail from the manufacturing plant in Lincolnshire and will eventually leave the port by barge and road, destined for the main East and Greenwich sections of the Tideway project.
Commenting on the first train move, Paul Davey, Head of Corporate Affairs Hutchison Ports UK, owners and operators of London Thamesport, said:
“We welcome this first train move for Tideway at our London Thamesport facility. The first of many, this move demonstrates clearly London Thamesport’s prime advantages as a multi-purpose cargo handling port. With an excellent combination of deep-water and multimodal rail, barge and road connections to London and the South East, London Thamesport is ideally located to serve the construction sector and major infrastructure projects.”
The main works contractor for the Tideway East project, CVB, is a joint venture comprising, Costain, VINCI Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche. Neil Grosset, Deputy Project Director CVB on Tideway East, said:
“CVB is delighted to be delivering primary precast tunnel rings into London Thamesport by rail for the East sections of the Thames Tideway Tunnel. With approximately half the rings being loaded to barges using the port’s ship to shore quay cranes for final delivery to the TBM site in Greenwich, this will enable us to provide an efficient, reliable, robust and cost effective solution whilst simultaneously delivering a significant reduction in the CO2 levels generated from the project.
“We look forward to working in partnership with the excellent London Thamesport team who have demonstrated their experience and capabilities in successfully handling similar major infrastructure and construction related projects across London and the South East. With the combined benefits of rail, barge and road connections, together with its ideal location, London Thamesport offered us a winning all-round solution which exactly meet our needs for this important project.”
The train is operated on behalf of CVB by DB Cargo.
