SouthWesternRail
Project Details
Client
South Western Rail
Services
Resin Flooring
Scope
Refurbishment works spanned four South Western Railway (SWR) sites, servicing over 200 stations and catering to 235 million annual passenger journeys. The total floor area renovated measured 25,000 m2.
MJF's Role
Refurbishment works spanned four South Western Railway (SWR) sites, servicing over 200 stations and catering to 235 million annual passenger journeys. The total floor area renovated measured 25,000 m2.
Meticulous site surveys and evaluations were required. Considerations included area use, service requirements, traffic levels, and budget constraints.
MJF Specialist Flooring oversaw project management and execution across all four depots. Our responsibilities encompassed removing existing coatings, surface preparation, and phased installation of screeds, epoxy flooring, MMA flooring, wall coatings, line marking, and hatching.
Challenges and solutions
South Western Rail previously encountered significant failures with their seamless resin coatings, largely due to inadequate advice during specification, and the subsequent disappointing results delivered by a previous contractor. Consequently, many train care depots faced a pressing need for refurbishment.
Understanding the gravity of the situation, we undertook site visits to assess the individual requirements, the substrate conditions, and the environmental factors.
These insights culminated in the creation of tailored project specifications and comprehensive photographic reports to ensure the best possible outcomes.
Given the extreme nature of the environments where our skilled-in-house team was working, mandatory Track Safety Training had to be undertaken to work safely on the rail network.
Project Outcomes
All sites underwent surface preparation using HTC diamond grinding equipment, including intricate areas addressed with hand tools, to remove existing coatings and ready the concrete for resin system installation. All covered walkways, or ‘roads’ as they are referred to by depot staff that run between tracks, as well as the sunken floors located in inspection pits were specified with the vebrodeck ID system.
This system features a 1.0 mm polyurethane primer (vebro PU SC DPM), followed by layers of solvent-free epoxy coating (vebro EP Universal) with quartz broadcast for enhanced traction, all in RAL 7037 Dusty Grey. Inspection pit walls received two coats of water-based epoxy sealer in RAL 9010 Pure White.
Semi-exposed ramps utilised the vebrodeck MMA ED system for added UV resistance, incorporating an MMA primer (vebro MMA Damp Primer), flexible membrane (vebro MMA Membrane), and aliphatic MMA topcoat (vebrodeck MMA Topcoat), also in RAL 7037 Dusty Grey.
Linemarking and demarcation were completed with vebro EP Universal LM, a solvent-free epoxy line-marking paint. A universal legend system was adopted to denote different hazard levels.
At Clapham Traincare Depot, repairs to failing concrete included vebroscreed Max, a liquid admixture designed for rapid drying and high strength in various screed applications. The results speak for themselves, a highly efficient, durable and effective system that is not only aesthetically appealing, but visually increases staff and passenger safety.
