Sheffield Super Trams

Background

The tram system in Sheffield was first installed in 1994, with much of track comprised of embedded rail. This rail had a limited life expectancy and therefore needed to be replaced after almost 20 years of service. The upgrade work had a budget of £32 million with the new rails to be made from harder-wearing steel with a lifespan of up to 30 years. This project would secure the long term viability of the tram system for Sheffield and the surrounding area.

Over the duration of this project, more than 12km of track was replaced

The Project

Work began in March 2014 with track replaced Park Grange Road, Granville Road, Ridgeway Road, City Hall, Shalesmoor, Albert Terrace and Ripley. Phase 2 would continue until 25 August 2015 with track replacement in the Park Square, Castle Square, Hillsborough, Sheffield Station, City Road and Gleadless Townend areas.

Corecut was contracted by Volker Rail Specialist Businesses Ltd in to carry out precise Floor Saw Cutting to divorce the existing rail from the concrete slab. Works involved an exact saw cut 47mm inside the rail with a depth of 175mm. This allowed the rail and rubber bed to be removed without using excessive amounts of liquid rubber to re-bed the rails. This challenging task involve cutting around arcs while maintaining the required tolerances using the skill of our highly experienced operatives. Corecut’s work on this project utilised the latest in Floor Sawing technology to provide an innovative solution.

There are 29 kilometres of track for Supertram and 48 tram stops

Corecut Operations Director Ewan Crocker said: “Our experienced Floor Sawing operatives have completed the works to date on time and to extremely tight tolerances working closely with Volker Rail site team.”

Find out more about our Floor Sawing and Concrete Cutting Services.