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Early Stage Railway Design

With decades of experience in transport engineering consultancy, and a wide variety of international projects, we are pleased to have been asked to provide independent technical advice or review for early stage transport schemes from the very large (£multi-billion) and very small (sub £10k).  We have worked for public and private sector organisations providing insight and proactive support in the delivery of their projects, particularly:

 

  • Concept design, pre-feasibility and feasibility of new or modified railway routes 

  • Concept design, pre-feasibility and feasibility for new railway stations

  • Multidisciplinary design coordination, interface management and Contractor's Engineering Manager (CEM) roles

  • Independent technical review of early stage railway projects

Our Approach

Where we provide technical advice, our clients say we are professional, knowledgeable, insightful, trustworthy and innovative.  In other words, we have the solid technical background and experience to provide robust solutions, but are flexible and foward-thinking enough to find new and better ways of doing things where appropriate.  

 

It is that mix of both analytical and creative thinking together with a friendly style of engagement that marks us out as an organisation people lie to do business with.  It means we get to the solution quickly and identify opportunities others have missed.  Much like musical improvisation (from whence the name 'Cadenza' comes), it is a matter of working within defined parameters and using available resources in new ways to achieve something better.

In reviewing the work of others, we provide a valuable independent second opinion to our clients.  This provides reassurance where all is well, and early warning when it is not - and for a fraction of the cost of discovering it later.  When reviewing the work by others, we strive to be fair and constructive, where possible working with the subject of the review to resolve outstanding issues satisfactorily for the client's benefit.

Our Experience

Our technical advice or review has been sought in the development of new transport schemes, particularly railways (of all types) around the world (some of which we are not able to disclose for reasons of confidentiality).  Recent projects have included:

  • Technical design lead for Kilborn Consulting team developing a new station design for the Wixams development in Bedfordshire, and providing a technical response to the East West Rail 2019 consultation on behalf of Bedford Borough Council

  • Technical advisor role to the AECOM team delivering the Strategic Outline Business Case and Outline Business Case for the Northumberland Line

  • Crossrail 2 central section: Independent technical review of the underground stations and tunnel section of this £20bn+ infrastructure project under London.

  • High Speed 2 ("HS2") depot relocation: Independent review of HS2's proposals to relocate the Heathrow Express depot at Langley, culminating in nomination as the client's railway technical expert at the HS2 Select Committee of MPs.

  • Technology solutions feasibility study: Provision of transport expertise to assist the client in selecting appropriate technology solutions to replace a short railway link.  Options considered included: heavy rail, light rail, Automatic People Movers (APM), Personal Rapid Transit (PRT), Group Rapid Transit (GRT), guided bus, cable car and others.

  • High Speed 3 / Trans-Pennine route options: Development of initial alignments and preliminary assessments to confirm achievement of target journey times..

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