From HS2

HS2 Works Notification:

Rail segment delivery and siding test at West Ruislip Portal site

We’re writing to update you on some planned works that we will be carrying out in your area.

In December we told you about overnight deliveries of tunnel segments by train to the West Ruislip site.

At that time, we expected the deliveries to start from 9 January, but they are now due to start from 16 January 2023.

Please see details of the works here:

https://www.hs2.org.uk/work-items/rail-siding-test-and-segment-delivery-to-west-ruislip-portal-site/

Our work is subject to change – for live traffic information go-to one.network and please check on-the-road signs.

We have constructed a rail siding at the West Ruislip site for these segments to be delivered by train. We are now ready to test the rail siding, which will help to ensure that our system works and to allow us to monitor noise levels.

We plan to carry out the first test on the night of Monday 16 January 2023, with a subsequent test on the night of Wednesday 18 January. If these tests are successful, we plan to run the train five nights each week although there may be periods when this extends to seven days. We will notify you of any changes before they happen.

We would like to apologise in advance for any disruption or inconvenience this may cause. Every effort is being taken to ensure that these works are carried out in the least impactful way. We will ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum.

How the segment delivery by train might affect you

From January 2023, these segments will be delivered by rail to our newly built siding at the West Ruislip site.

One train will arrive at West Ruislip each night delivering 20 rings, each comprising of 7 segments. There will be a slight overlap and we will continue with lorry deliveries in the short term until we have built up a stockpile of segments. That will mean 45 lorries are removed from roads in the local area.

The volume of rail traffic on the Chiltern Line, through West Ruislip, means that our train can only deliver segments at night. Our train will arrive at West Ruislip station around 11pm. The locomotive will then divide the train into two parts and shunt them into the siding. Our locomotive will then shut down while the gantry crane unloads the segments.

The locomotive will restart at around 6am, shunt the train back into one piece prior to departure at around 7am. Most of the time the trains are at our West Ruislip site they will be stationary while they are being unloaded.

During the unloading process, the locomotive engine will be shut down. It will only start up again shortly before its departure time in order to build up brake pressure.

We will ensure that adequate noise monitoring is in place. We will provide 24/7 engagement coverage via the HS2 Helpdesk to our site to ensure immediate investigation and resolution of any queries or complaints that may be made.