Edinburgh Tram

Client: 1st in Rail
Category: Civil Engineering

Edinburgh Tram

We were approached for these works because we have a reputation for delivering challenging bespoke designs. We were initially contracted to design the foundation for the mast, and then later with the construction of the foundation and the mast itself and associated OLE support and registration equipment.

The key challenges were delivering the project quickly – due to the imminent demolition, and critically making it a temporary design that wouldn’t damage the existing infrastructure – the street upon which it needed to be installed. Additionally, the area was highly constrained, located on a busy road in a pedestrianised area. This caused a number of difficulties for a temporary design for example, the foundation could be struck by a car or vandalised by revellers.

Our solution was to construct the foundation using three prefabricated reinforced concrete crash barriers, together with a bespoke steel grillage which connected the blocks to the mast. The barriers sat directly onto the road surface, avoiding damage to the existing infrastructure. The grillage was prefabricated and designed to bolt directly to existing holes in the barriers. This design was non-standard, but innovative, and it simply accounted for the issues involved.

It was delivered quickly, and constructed simply. The new foundation, mast and cantilevers were installed at night during the few hours in which the tram system is not operational. The new structure was put in place and conductor wires were re-registered and handed back without operational impact.

Project Description

The OLE for Edinburgh Tram is supported in places by cross span wires attached to adjacent buildings. The demolition of a building next to the Tram meant the OLE required an alternative method of support for an 18 month period. It needed the design and construction of a new temporary mast and foundation.