Wigan-Bolton electrification. Construction updates only please

[WatcherZero]

I expected to see this a lot further on by now, a lot of structures are noticeably done but there isnt much to show lineside.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Possible when the piling is 100% complete Man Vic to Stalybridge (+Guide Bridge etc) , they will move to Wigan - Bolton.

 

[jonesy3001]

Possible when the piling is 100% complete Man Vic to Stalybridge (+Guide Bridge etc) , they will move to Wigan - Bolton.

It's going to be a different company doing the piling works on the bolton to wigan line, ready power I believe the name is.
Was chatting to a fella who works for lundys on LinkedIn about the piling works and he said it's a different company doing the electrification works.

 

[59CosG95]

It's going to be a different company doing the piling works on the bolton to wigan line, ready power I believe the name is.
Was chatting to a fella who works for lundys on LinkedIn about the piling works and he said it's a different company doing the electrification works.

Indeed, I believe SPL are doing Wigan - Bolton; they must have ReadyPower as piling subcontractor.

Edit: SPL have started work, in the Wigan NW area.

Derek Allan on LinkedIn: #teamcollaboration #splpowerlines #electrification #networkrail

Saturday saw SPL Powerlines undertake their first construction shift on the new electrification project Wigan to Bolton. Assisting their delivery partner…

www.linkedin.com

 

[snowball]

Simultaneous with completion of Stalybridge even though it's different companies. That can't be a coincidence, it must be planned for some reason. Perhaps to enable workers laid off by one company to go and work for another?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

That can't be a coincidence, it must be planned for some reason.

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

[The Snap]

Simultaneous with completion of Stalybridge even though it's different companies. That can't be a coincidence, it must be planned for some reason. Perhaps to enable workers laid off by one company to go and work for another?

A lot of the guys are casual workers anyway when it comes to railway piling (ie: the machine drivers, machine controllers etc). They hop from one company to another from weekend to weekend, depending where the work is.

 

[CAF397]

Buckingham Group Contracting has ceased trading. They are currently doing the Hindley station Bridge rebuild and are looking to appoint Administrators.

It is with immeasurable regret that the Buckingham Board has to announce that rapidly escalating contract losses and a sharp reduction in liquidity, together mean the Company is unable to continue trading at this current time.

As a result of the recent challenges, the board has filed a Notice of Intention to appoint Administrators to protect the business whilst we explore a sale of all or part of the business in a very short period (days/weeks).

This will surely impact the planned opening of Ladies Lane in September.

Company Status and Next Steps 17 August 2023 – Buckingham Group Contracting

www.buckinghamgroup.co.uk

 

[507020]

Buckingham Group Contracting has ceased trading. They are currently doing the Hindley station rebuild and are looking to appoint Administrators.

This will surely impact the planned opening of Ladies Lane in September.

All the more reason why Network Rail should do this kind of work in house. No wonder there’s been little to no progress on this project for a while now.

 

[jonesy3001]

What's the progress on the piling works or haven't they started that yet?

 

[Foggycorner]

some new piles have been put in outside wigan north west station and what look like ground survey squares have been cleared on the way to hindley but are now begining to be overgrown again

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Buckingham Group Contracting has ceased trading. They are currently doing the Hindley station Bridge rebuild and are looking to appoint Administrators.





This will surely impact the planned opening of Ladies Lane in September.

Company Status and Next Steps 17 August 2023 – Buckingham Group Contracting

www.buckinghamgroup.co.uk

Railway contracts usually profitable so ought to be able to find a buyer for the railway arm. NR also dealt with Carillion failure pretty well but for sure will be some delay but potentially a matter of weeks as administrators usually have feelers out in these situations

 

[WatcherZero]

Staff on the Hindley bridge downed tools on Friday and no work was done over the weekend Network Rail is saying they will create contingency plans to keep the 1st September reopening date. (I imagine thats likely to be offering to advance payments to cover the last week of works)

Buckingham Group say they have lost money on Coventry major earthworks and the Anfield, Northampton Town and Birmingham City Stadium redevelopments. Not the first time they have run into issues, they booked at £14.2m loss on Fulhams Craven Cottage stadium work two years ago after a supplier went under.
They were also working on the Whitley Bay T&W Metro station canopy refurbishment

 

[Gricer99]

There's no way the bridge was close to re-opening to traffic on September 1st. This was taken in the evening of August 17th. All the plant has gone and you can clearly see there is a huge amount of work still to do!

 

[WatcherZero]

Crowning the top of the old walls, levelling over the new storm drain and road surfacing, theres less work to do than you would think.

 

[Gricer99]

Crowning the top of the old walls, levelling over the new storm drain and road surfacing, theres less work to do than you would think.

There's that small hill of rubble on the north east side to safely remove and then they have to build new walls to mate up to the new bridge. There's also the pavements, curbing and traffic control signs to do.

 

[td97]

Not sounding promising in the short term

A spokesperson said: "We are assessing the impact on the Bolton to Wigan electrification scheme after the contractor Buckingham Group announced it was appointing administrators last week. All work is paused while the future of the firm is decided. In the meantime Network Rail is drawing up contingency plans on how projects can progress based on the possible outcomes of the administration process."

Bolton to Wigan railway electrification work on pause after contractor stops trading

Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd revealed its intention to appoint administrators in a statement last week and it stopped trading at the same time.

www.theboltonnews.co.uk

 

[DJH1971]

Not sounding promising in the short term

Bolton to Wigan railway electrification work on pause after contractor stops trading

Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd revealed its intention to appoint administrators in a statement last week and it stopped trading at the same time.

www.theboltonnews.co.uk

Wonder if this will be the nail in the coffin?

I sure hope not.

 

[jonesy3001]

Hopefully a new contractor can be found, surely they cannot leave platforms and bridges undone.

 

[roy.hocknull]

Rumour has it Murphys have been appointed.

 

[DJH1971]

Rumour has it Murphys have been appointed.

Had a feeling they would be approached

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Rumour has it Murphys have been appointed.

Welcome to the forum. Your first post I see.

 

[roy.hocknull]

Welcome to the forum. Your first post I see.

Thank you, i have been an observer from afar for a while now. I have a vested interest in this being completed.

 

[Snow1964]

This is New Civil Engineers summary of effect on scheme of Buckingham Group collapse

Network Rail has confirmed that its £78M project to electrify the railway between Bolton and Wigan has been paused due to contractor Buckingham Group entering administration.
Buckingham Group announced on 17 August that it is no longer able to continue trading due to “rapidly escalating contract losses and a sharp reduction in liquidity”. It specifically blamed interim cash deficits incurred on three major stadium and arena contracts and a substantial earthworks contract in Coventry due to unexpected impacts such as extreme inflation.

This was likely to cause upheaval on contracts that it was part-way through delivering and Network Rail has confirmed that the Bolton to Wigan electrification scheme has been impacted.

It said in a statement: “We are assessing the impact on the Wigan to Bolton electrification scheme after the contractor Buckingham Group announced it was appointing administrators last week. All work is currently paused while the future of the firm is decided. In the meantime, Network Rail is drawing up contingency plans on how projects can progress based on the possible outcomes of the administration process.”

The electrification project is a £78M investment in overhead line equipment (OLE) and signalling improvements between Wigan North Western station and Lostock Junction in Bolton.

The works include installing 450 OLE stanchions, overhauling 17 bridges and modifying two level crossings.

Demolition and replacement of Ladies Lane Bridge in Hindley (pictured above) over the railway started at the end of June and the road was due to reopen on 1 September. Network Rail has confirmed that it is “working as quickly as [it] can to establish a way forward and [is] still aiming for the road closure to be removed on time”.

This is intended to futureproof the route and ensure that it is ready for Northern’s longer, electric trains when they are introduced on the route.

Northern has been contacted for comment.

£78M Bolton to Wigan electrification indefinitely paused due to Buckingham Group collapse | New Civil Engineer

Buckingham Group announced on 17 August that it is no longer able to continue trading due to “rapidly escalating contract losses and a sharp reduction in

www.newcivilengineer.com

 

[Gricer99]

This is New Civil Engineers summary of effect on scheme of Buckingham Group collapse

£78M Bolton to Wigan electrification indefinitely paused due to Buckingham Group collapse | New Civil Engineer

Buckingham Group announced on 17 August that it is no longer able to continue trading due to “rapidly escalating contract losses and a sharp reduction in

www.newcivilengineer.com

J. Murphy have been appointed and have been doing assessments. They seem to think that it will reopen sometime in September.

 

[Viscount702]

Did the platform extensions get completed as planned.

 

[InOban]

Murphy may merely be assessing the value of the work completed and remaining, so that the administrator can be correctly paid.

 

[507020]

Murphy may merely be assessing the value of the work completed and remaining, so that the administrator can be correctly paid.

Would Network Rail appoint them merely for this, when there is an obvious need for all outstanding work to be completed? The road bridge can not be left closed or in unfinished condition for much longer.

 

[InOban]

Would Network Rail appoint them merely for this, when there is an obvious need for all outstanding work to be completed? The road bridge can not be left closed or in unfinished condition for much longer.

They will certainly be in prime position to complete the work, but the state of the works will need to be assessed first.

 

[Gricer99]

Just took some photos. They are really cracking on with the work now.