SPL Powerlines UK is one of the leading rail electrification businesses in the UK. The company is an experienced overhead line contractor capable of carrying out all aspects of overhead line construction and maintenance – from foundation level to commissioning, or any mixture of these disciplines, on all rail networks.
Initiated by Network Rail, SPL Powerlines is working on the Midland Main Line Electrification (MMLE) upgrade project, a £1.5bn improvement scheme which includes electrification of the line, upgrades to bridges and tunnels, remodelling of stations along the route, and line speed enhancements.
These vital upgrade works are designed to increase passenger capacity on the MMLE route as well as reducing journey times. Once complete, the track’s carbon footprint will be lessened by up to 11,000t, thanks to the introduction of ‘greener’, electric trains.
As with many large infrastructure programmes, the scale of the works required the capture and management of vast amounts of assurance and asset information. Ensuring this data was structured, traceable and aligned with project requirements was critical to maintaining quality, compliance and long-term asset integrity.
“7 million checks were completed using eviFile to fully achieve compliance. The big game changer for us is live data on project health – How many are being installed? How many being signed off? – It’s so much more powerful utilising all that data in real-time”
Simon Skinner, Engineering Director, SPL Powerlines