Track maintenance operatives working for UKDN Waterflow (LG) Ltd have been praised for the sensitive way they worked with householders while inspecting two culverts on a main railway line.
Network Rail commissioned the company, part of Lanes Group plc, to investigate track flooding problems associated with two culverts on the Brighton Main Line at Hassocks, in West Sussex.
Before starting the work, UKDN Waterflow (LG) Project Manager Gavin Robson, pictured, visited nearby homes to advise residents about the work, and note their wishes for how it should be carried out.
On the day the work was carried out, he then made sure the agreed arrangements were followed to the letter. While the UKDN Waterflow (LG) team was there, one impressed resident emailed Network Rail, praising their behaviour.
She said: “I woke up this morning, they were all in position, no engines running. [Gavin Robson] had done exactly as he promised. My husband even heard him tell one of his workers, ‘You can’t park here. You have already been told.
“We are here today in harmony with the workmen. I think the key is communications and respect to us. I just wanted to say, this crew are top notch.”
Gavin Robson was pleased to be forwarded the email, to see that the resident was happy. He said: “We see good relations with stakeholders, like residents and businesses, as being as important as the technical aspects of the job.
“It helps us, because we often have to return to locations regularly if they present long-term maintenance issues, and it helps Network Rail in their wider management of rail services on behalf of passengers.”
UKDN Waterflow (LG) Network Rail Manager Eamonn Maloney said: “Gavin and his team did a great job of upholding the standards and values we always strive to set when working for Network Rail.
“Good community relations pay huge dividends in the long-term when carrying out often challenging rail maintenance tasks. Acting as good neighbours is also just the right thing to do.”
During a 12-hour possession, a team of 15 UKDN Waterflow (LG) drainage engineers and track operatives carried out CCTV surveys and water jetting to clean and inspect two culverts and associated track drainage at the location.
They also uncovered and rehabilitated an associated manhole in a road layby close to the track, reinstating asphalt around the manhole once the work was complete.
Gavin Robson said: “Our surveying and site inspection work has given Network Rail a much better understanding of how track drainage works at the location, and what remedial action is needed to improve it.”