Datum engineers created a bespoke emergency monitoring solution to the £140 million Liverpool rail upgrade.
They created a remote monitoring system to a wall positioned above the main line that services 15 million commuters every year.
Engineers at Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd working on the Liverpool rail upgrade feared the wall could collapse after discovering mortar had been washed away by water.
They contacted geotechnical and structural monitoring leaders Datum for advice and within 24 hours the team had created a remote monitoring system which allowed Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd engineers to take steps to make the wall safe.
A Datum spokesman, said: “The retaining wall was above the main line in and out Liverpool Lime Station and it had suffered a large amount of water damage over its lifetime, with mortar being completely being worn away in some locations.
“The wall had been reviewed by designers on the construction work and there was concern about a potential risk to trains traveling beneath.
“We attended the scene and provided an immediate structural assessment and created a monitoring solution which was agreed with Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd and Network Rail and was installed the same day.
“Datum engineers installed four wireless TiltMates to provide immediate and continuous monitoring of the condition of the wall and an alarm system designed to send notifications if movement exceeded trigger levels.
“Our monitoring solution enabled Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd engineers to begin remedial works to make the wall safe and continue with the main redevelopment.”
The Datum engineers remote monitoring solution involved the adaptation of the TiltMate, a highly precise wireless infrastructure movement monitoring system.
The TiltMate is used throughout the transport and construction sectors and allows for long-term monitoring of any structure. It incorporates a specially designed mounting beam and anchor system which is deployed quickly and effectively onto any surface to provide solid and permanent contact.
Data is streamed from the TiltMates continuously and interpreted via Datum’s innovative software suite Datum Monitoring, which also sends alerts to users whenever upper or lower limits are reached.
A spokesman for Buckingham said: “As part of the remodeling works we have REB compounds to build at street level, and this REB site at Pembroke Street is built on a redundant bridge that crosses the railway cutting.
“The wing wall in question was partially covered with debris and we needed to create apertures through the wall for new vertical cable risers, to get cables from track level into the REB.
“The wall was in such poor condition that we immediately turned to Datum Group to install monitoring equipment for us, based on long-term working relationships we have built with Datum.
“Within 24 hours we had monitoring in place and temporary works in place to ensure the safe passage of trains, and we are designing plans to take down and rebuild the wall. Our sincere thanks to Datum for their swift response and professional staff”.
The work at Liverpool Lime Street is part of a £340 million investment in the Liverpool area. Two new platforms will be created between the existing platforms seven and eight, with other platforms being lengthened and widened.
Upgrades to track, signaling and platform upgrades will enable longer trains and more frequent services, as well as the launch of new services to Glasgow.
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