HS2 is donating thousands of pieces of ballast to the Bluebell Railway in West Sussex as the rail industry unites to mark 200 years of rail travel.
Some 4,000 tonnes of ballast – enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool - was used by HS2 in specially constructed sidings while tunnelling work was carried out at West Ruislip.
The West Ruislip sidings were used to bring 59,000 concrete tunnel ring segments, which were used to construct the Northolt Tunnel West. The segments were produced by PACADAR UK on the Isle of Grain, Kent, with many brought to site by rail taking approximately 16,000 lorries off the road. Excavation of the 5-mile twin bore tunnel is now complete.
The donation of ballast to the Bluebell Railway was organised by Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture (SCS JV), the company responsible for building tunnels beneath London for HS2.
It was officially handed over to the volunteer-led heritage organisation, which runs steam trains across 11 miles of track, on 29 April.
The donation forms part of the ongoing Railway 200 campaign highlighting the global boom of rail travel over the years since the first ever public train journey in 1825 from Stockton to Darlington.
By reusing the material, it eliminates the need for unnecessary treatment and transport of the material for waste disposal.
The ballast will be used to reopen platform 1 at Horsted Keynes station (perhaps better known as Downton Abbey station), which has been out of use since 1914.
This means that when the platform is brought back into service in May, the Bluebell Railway will have four operational platforms at Horsted Keynes. The newly reopened platform 1 will also be used for the Railway 200 National Exhibition Train 'Inspiration', which will visit the Bluebell at the end of July.
The donated ballast will also be used to relay an adjacent siding, which will be used as a display area for railway vehicles for the entire event throughout the summer.
Arlo Dew, Senior Project Manager at HS2 Ltd, said:
“This donation of ballast shows the continued importance of industry partners working together to help and promote rail travel not only for future generations but also to help educate those about its proud heritage.
“While we’re busy constructing Britain’s modern high-speed rail line, we’re pleased to be able to help play a part in helping to the Bluebell Railway which has a proud track record as a tourist destination showcasing how train travel used to be back in the day.
“We look forward to seeing the four platforms in operation and the exhibition come to fruition and we’re pleased to have been able to play a small part in helping to bring these exhibits to life.”
Martin Baughurst, Project Director for SCS JV, said:
“Our team at West Ruislip worked closely with the volunteers at the Bluebell Railway, jointly developing the logistics plan to safely transport the ballast to the Railway 200 exhibition area. We’re extremely proud to support the celebration of 200 years of train travel in the UK and look forward to seeing visitors learn about rail past, present and future.”
The Bluebell Railway continues to be a popular tourist attraction and connects Sheffield Park and East Grinstead in Sussex. It was one of the first preserved heritage lines in the country, starting train services in August 1960.
Neil Glaskin, Chairman of Bluebell Railway said:
“We are very grateful to HS2 for making this ballast available to us. It represents a crucial contribution to our Railway 200 event, which runs from June to September, and there is sufficient remaining to help us relay a section of our running line this autumn.”
As part of the Railway 200 celebrations this year, HS2 will be taking part in two special events at Bluebell Railway showcasing the future of Britain’s rail network.
From Wednesday 4 June to Wednesday 2 July, visitors to the venue can visit a marquee to find out more about the HS2 project with some interactive science and engineering-based games.
Every Monday-Wednesday throughout the four weeks, there will also be a careers fair that our graduate and apprentice team will be attending to talk to young people about HS2 jobs.
