Pioneering tunnel cleaning equipment
Back in 2014 we designed and built a bespoke tunnel cleaning attachment which won a national rail award for innovation. While the equipment was revolutionary at the time, it had limitations so we kept working on improvements. We’re now thrilled to be using our third machine for tunnel lining cleaning that can also be used for graffiti removal and platform cleaning.
The traditional method of removing decades of tunnel soot involves water or compressed air coupled with manual scraping, which is ineffective, inefficient and difficult to control and capture waste.
Our new equipment fixes directly to a road and rail vehicle and cleans all areas of tunnel linings contaminated with soot build-up and has an inbuilt tilt and rotation system, allowing placement at any angle to sweep tunnel walls, roof areas, vertical walls and platforms. It’s entirely self-contained and incorporates an industrial vacuum to collect detritus for safe disposal as well as specially arranged brushes to prevent damage to the brickwork.
It quickly and easily exposes long-hidden brickwork for inspection and for preparation before brickwork repairs or for any other work such as the installation of overhead electrification. And, by removing potentially harmful contaminants before our people enter the worksite, ensures that engineers are able to safely and properly inspect structural elements to determine the best construction solutions, minimising delays or abortive works once schemes have started.
The improved maneuverability allows us to clean in and around overhead line equipment and we’ve upgraded the dust extractor which is now smaller and lighter but fitted with 15 kilowatt fans and H14 standard HEPA filters to collect and store the soot and debris.
The machine provides us with exceptional cleaning rates and there is the potential for this system to be used for other applications such as the removal of spalling brickwork, calcite lining and poor quality concrete applications.
The innovative new machine is quicker, easier and more user friendly reducing costs, lessens the risk of damage to the tunnel lining during cleaning and crucially provides a safer and cleaner working environment.
