Service
Railway Project Management
Programme and delivery management for works alongside the operational railway, including the planning and use of possessions, isolations and night-time working. We coordinate contractors, designers and Network Rail so that access windows are used for what they were booked for.
What it is
Delivering next to a live railway is a scheduling problem before it is a construction problem. Access is granted in windows, those windows are booked well in advance, and they close whether or not the work inside them finished. A possession or isolation that is handed back with the work incomplete is not a delay of a few hours; it is a wait for the next window.
Project management in this environment means front-loading everything that can be done in advance — approvals, materials, plant, competent staff, method statements — so that the access window is spent doing the work and nothing else.
When you need it
Typical triggers for this work:
- Works require a possession, an isolation, or both, and someone has to plan and book them.
- Night-time or weekend working is unavoidable and needs coordinating with several parties.
- Contractors, designers and Network Rail are each working to a different version of the programme.
- A rail-interface work package needs day-to-day management that your own team does not have capacity for.
- A previous access window was lost and the reasons need addressing before the next one.
What Kanoni does
- Build and maintain a programme that reflects approval lead times and access availability, not just construction durations.
- Plan, book and coordinate possessions, isolations and night-time working with Network Rail.
- Run the readiness process before each access window so the work can actually start on time.
- Coordinate contractors, designers and Network Rail through a single point of contact.
- Report progress, risk and change, and manage the close-out of the works.
What you get
- An access-aware programme with the rail constraints and approval lead times built in.
- Booked and coordinated possessions, isolations and working windows.
- Readiness reviews and a documented go / no-go position before each window.
- Regular progress and risk reporting, and a managed close-out.
No two schemes are the same. The scope above is the shape this work usually takes; what your scheme actually needs depends on the site, the works and what Network Rail asks for. We would rather establish that in a conversation than guess at it.
Other services
Related questions
Frequently asked
What does a Network Rail asset protection review look at?
Broadly: what the works are, how close they come to railway assets, what could go wrong, and how that is controlled. Reviewers typically consider ground movement and its effect on earthworks and structures, loading and vibration, work near overhead line equipment or conductor rails, crane and lifting arrangements including any oversail of railway land, temporary works, drainage and surface water, method statements, and whether possessions or isolations are needed.
How does CDM 2015 apply to works near the railway?
CDM 2015 applies as it does to any construction project: the client appoints a principal designer and a principal contractor where more than one contractor is involved, and duty holders must plan, manage and monitor the work. Working next to an operational railway adds interface risks such as moving trains, overhead line equipment, conductor rails, restricted access and night working, and those need to be reflected in the design risk management and the construction phase plan.
How early should a rail consultant be involved in a scheme?
As early as possible in the design, ideally at feasibility or pre-application stage. Asset protection conditions can influence the position of a building, the choice of foundation, crane locations, permitted working hours and the programme. Establishing those constraints after the design is fixed, or after planning permission is granted, often means redesign.
Who pays for Network Rail's time on a third-party scheme?
The third party promoting the works. Asset protection agreements are cost-recovery arrangements, so the developer or contractor funds Network Rail's review, supervision and any protective measures required. That cost is best allowed for in the project budget from the outset rather than treated as a later variation.
Talk to us about project management
A short conversation early is usually enough to tell you whether this is a formality on your scheme or something that needs designing around.
- Telephone+44 7944 004747
- Emailcontact@kanoniconsultancy.co.uk
- ResponseWithin one working day