New Civil Engineer
Matthew Jones
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Railtrack accused of 'talking down' Liverpool to Lille freight project
11-Nov-1999
CENTRAL RAILWAY, the group bidding to build a £3bn dedicated freight line from Liverpool to Lille, this week accused Railtrack of 'talking down' its project to potential investors. -
Gibb to survey 10 high-risk dams
28-Oct-1999
NEWS -
Railtrack pledges better supplier relations for increased safety
28-Oct-1999
NEWS -
Doubts over 'common' track layout
14-Oct-1999
News -
M4i chief slams 'obsolete' ICE 7th edition contract
7-Oct-1999
NEWS -
Army called in to speed up WCML
30-Sep-1999
NEWS -
Confusion over DETR transport studies
30-Sep-1999
NEWS -
Railtrack accused over abandoned WCML 'piggyback' scheme
9-Sep-1999
RAILTRACK WAS accused this week of failing to carry out a proper feasibility study before dropping plans to upgrade the West Coast Main Line for 'piggyback' freight wagons. -
Residents revolt over 'ill-conceived' parkway station
9-Sep-1999
THE GOVERNMENT'S integrated transport policy is being used as a smokescreen for an 'ill-conceived' £13M railway station, residents of a Nottinghamshire village claimed this week. -
Damning Railtrack survey 'unlikely to see light of day', say angry suppliers
2-Sep-1999
NEWS -
Damning Railtrack survey 'unlikely to see light of day', say angry suppliers
2-Sep-1999
RAILTRACK SUPPLIERS this week reacted angrily to news that a report criticising the company's procurement techniques would not be made public. -
'Lack of resources' could lead to repeat of Ashford collapse
2-Sep-1999
BUILDING INSPECTORS have warned that they will be unable to prevent fatal collapses of buildings resulting from 'cowboy alterations' without a significant boost to their resources. -
Locals claim new A30 stretch is 'too noisy'
2-Sep-1999
RESIDENTS IN Devon are calling for an 11km stretch of the new A30 to be resurfaced less than a month after it opened. -
Engineers race against time to prevent dam collapse in Nepal
19-Aug-1999
NEWS -
THE WEEKEND AWAY BIKE AND TRAIN
19-Aug-1999
INTEGRATED TRANSPORT -
Virgin train incident sparks urgent checks of rail network
19-Aug-1999
A CRACKED RAIL which was 'almost impossible to detect' with current inspection techniques has been blamed for the near derailment of a 130km/h Virgin train and looks set to spark a nationwide investigation, NCE learned this week. -
Arup and Taywood fund fact finding mission to Serbia
5-Aug-1999
ENGINEERS FROM Ove Arup and Taylor Woodrow went into war-ravaged Serbia this week on a fact finding mission 'for the collective good' of UK construction firms. -
Injaka inquiry stalled
5-Aug-1999
THE INQUIRY into the Injaka Bridge collapse in South Africa has stalled after the bridge's designer, VKE Engineers, called for a two month postponement. -
TBM failure costs £1.5M
5-Aug-1999
SEVERN TRENT Water is facing a bill of £1.5M and a delay of four months after a Lovat tunnel boring machine broke down with suspected bearing failure on a sewer scheme in Birmingham. -
BNFL:'Giant turkey' or business proposition? Semi privatisation beckons for BNFL as it seeks to be a world leader in nuclear reprocessing and decommissioning.
22-Jul-1999
Last week Secretary of State for Trade & Industry Stephen Byers shocked the anti-nuclear lobby by announcing that he plans to introduce a public private partnership deal to nuclear clean-up and decommissioning company British Nuclear Fuels. -
Crane crash no bar to Cardiff lift
22-Jul-1999
CARDIFF MILLENNIUM Stadium contractor John Laing this week confirmed that installation of retractable roof panels will continue as normal, despite the collapse of a massive crane during a similar procedure in the United States. -
Dorrell in sewer row
22-Jul-1999
FORMER HEALTH Secretary Stephen Dorrell MP has intervened in a row between a retired civil engineer and his local council over sewer ownership. -
Prescott: fashion victim?
15-Jul-1999
ANALYSIS -
Railtrack fines to fund track upgrades
15-Jul-1999
NEWS -
Would-be mayors slated for carping over Tube upgrade plan
15-Jul-1999
NEWS -
Britain freezes Turkish dam cash
8-Jul-1999
NEWS -
Don't expect big Kosovo contracts, warns Battle
8-Jul-1999
NEWS -
Army seeks bids for £100M Kosovo field camp initiative
24-Jun-1999
THE BRITISH ARMY is inviting tenders for a £100M scheme to build and manage temporary military field camps throughout central Kosovo. -
There may be trouble ahead
24-Jun-1999
LONDON UNDERGROUND -
British engineer is first into Kosovo to assess the damage
17-Jun-1999
THE FIRST engineer to start assessing the scale of damage in Kosovo has spoken exclusively to NCE of his dramatic entry to the country ahead of the British Army convoy. -
Who is really at the wheel?
17-Jun-1999
Local authorities remain cautious about how much London's new Mayor will be able to improve transport in the capital. -
Arup's Thompson to lead British engineers to Kosovo and Serbia
10-Jun-1999
NEWS -
Kosovo building boom looks like a mirage A reconstruction bonanza in Kosovo and Serbia looks unlikely despite last week's fragile peace deal.
10-Jun-1999
ANALYSIS -
Race to check Swiss tunnels after Neuchatel closure
10-Jun-1999
NEWS -
Railtrack may run risk over punctuality fines
10-Jun-1999
NEWS -
Pre-fab homes planned for refugees
3-Jun-1999
THE UNITED Nations Commission for Refugees this week finalised plans to house more than half a million Kosovan refugees in Albania this winter. -
Fresh fears for refugees as water supply may be cut off
31-May-1999
A STATE owned water authority in northern Albania has threatened to cut supplies to refugee camps over the summer after claiming it will not have enough water for its regular customers. -
Refugees face a harsh winter act now if aid engineers don't
31-May-1999
Winter is still five months away but aid engineers in Albania are becoming acutely aware that planning to shelter thousands of Kosovan refugees in tented camps must start now. Matthew Jones reports. -
Drive for punctuality threatens planned work warns Railtrack
20-May-1999
RAILTRACK warned this week that planned maintenance and renewal work could be at risk unless the Rail Regulator gives it more time to meet its passenger train punctuality targets. -
Injaka inquiry gets expert reports
20-May-1999
SOUTH AFRICAN Department of Labour officials are scrutinising two expert reports into the cause of the Injaka bridge collapse which killed 14 people last year (NCE 16 July). -
BNRR faces fresh eco-protests
13-May-1999
NEWS -
HSE warns piling firms
1-May-1999
PILING FIRMS were warned last month to comply with health and safety legislation or risk having work halted by government inspectors. -
R&D task forces too costly for construction
22-Apr-1999
THE GOVERNMENT'S flagship research and development programme is likely to be shunned by construction, the ICE warned this week. -
Shape up or stop piling, warns HSE
22-Apr-1999
PILING FIRMS were given a final warning this week to comply with health and safety legislation or risk having work halted by Government inspectors. -
Rail builders investigated after monorail crash
15-Apr-1999
GERMAN POLICE and state prosecutors are investigating a construction firm and utility company on suspicion of manslaughter through culpable negligence following a fatal accident on the Wuppertal suspended monorail this week. -
Trunk roads to be downgraded
15-Apr-1999
TWO FIFTHS of England's trunk road network will be re-classified as local roads and transferred to local authorities, roads minister Lord Whitty confirmed this week. -
True flood costs underestimated
25-Mar-1999
GOVERNMENT RULES for justifying spending on flood prevention schemes seriously underestimate the cost of floods, insurers claimed this week. -
Private finance, public problems
18-Mar-1999
PFI contractors should re-examine the risks they take on in the light of problems on the Midland Metro. -
Big bill for late Midland metro
11-Mar-1999
MIDLAND METRO builder and operator Altram is facing a liquidated damages bill of £5.5M plus escalating costs after client Centro revealed the project will open 10 months late. -
More haste, less speed
11-Mar-1999
Work to decide on vital targets for sustainable construction is being rushed. -
All aboard for BOOM town
4-Mar-1999
Extended train operating franchises could help boost rail infrastructure investment -
China's ancient roads
4-Mar-1999
CIVIL ENGINEERING -
Mayor 'will lack power on rail plans'
4-Mar-1999
LONDON'S NEW mayor will be 'impotent' to influence rail decisions and so will fail to achieve an integrated transport system in the capital, transport experts claimed this week. -
Rail deals signal work bonanza
4-Mar-1999
THE RE-OPENING of rail franchise negotiations will lead to a boom in infrastructure investment, train operators claimed this week. -
Railtrack ignoring freight needs, claim operators
4-Mar-1999
RAIL FREIGHT operators claimed this week that they had not been properly consulted by Railtrack over their future capacity needs. -
£1M study to avert 'water wars'
25-Feb-1999
THE INSTITUTE of Hydrology has criticised a United Nations report on world water resources and called for Government backing for a new £1M study to identify potential 'water war' flash points. -
BHS chief calls for one-stop-shop drainage
25-Feb-1999
THE INSTITUTION of Civil Engineers Water Board is to call for a Government review of urban drainage legislation in the light of last Easter's floods. -
Bridge installations revive Honduras
18-Feb-1999
US MARINE Corps engineers are expected to complete the installation of a Bailey-type bridge in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa this week, re-opening one of the city's busiest routes for the first time since Hurricane Mitch. -
Hyder denies sale of consulting arm
18-Feb-1999
HYDER THIS week denied rumours that its consulting business is up for sale, despite City predictions that the division's profits are set to halve. -
Fears grow over WCML deadlines
11-Feb-1999
'There are real concerns over whether Railtrack will meet the May 2002 deadline. Things will have to move pretty quickly now; we have got to start seeing some action.' -
Are the regions being
4-Feb-1999
The government is rethinking the viability of regional Eurostar services from the north of Britain. -
Government restricts transport hypothecation guarantee
4-Feb-1999
NCE conference - Partnership solutions for integrated transport -
Partnerships : a fair deal?
4-Feb-1999
Local authorities are still wary of private bus operators. But partnerships are an alternative to legislation. -
Experts cast doubt on Thaumasite report
28-Jan-1999
CONCRETE EXPERTS have questioned the main conclusion of the Government's official report into Thaumasite Sulphate Attack published this week. -
MPs demand regional Eurostar services
28-Jan-1999
THE REGIONS have been 'cheated' of Eurostar services to the Continent, MPs claimed yesterday. -
No gain in motoring pain, claim drivers
28-Jan-1999
MOTORISTS WILL reject the government's integrated transport initiatives to cut air pollution and road congestion, according to a survey published yesterday. -
City revolts against loss of transport powers
21-Jan-1999
THE CORPORATION of London has told transport minister Glenda Jackson that it will resist plans to hand strategic planning and transport powers to the proposed Greater London Authority. -
Crossrail rebirth delayed
21-Jan-1999
CROSSRAIL PLANS are being delayed by government ministers because they fear the decision will damage partial privatisation of the London Underground, a senior Corporation of London source claimed this week. -
Flange failure blamed for Injaka bridge collapse
21-Jan-1999
SHEAR FAILURE at temporary supports is being blamed for the catastrophic collapse of a partially constructed concrete box girder bridge in South Africa last July. -
High?
21-Jan-1999
Are expectations too; Railtrack and the privatised water utilities have both had difficulty getting their multi billion pound post privatisation infrastructure programmes off the ground. Matthew Jones looks at whether Railtrack could have learned from the -
Charges calculated to drive out London cars
14-Jan-1999
MOTORISTS ENTERING central London could face tolls of £7.50 and a 200% increase in public parking charges by 2008 if new recommendations are accepted by the planned Greater London Authority. -
Engineers face green challenge on £130M German flood barrier
7-Jan-1999
ENGINEERS ARE struggling to keep a £130M flood barrier project in north west Germany alive after piling work was halted by environmental objections at the end of November. -
Midland metro delay clocks up damages
7-Jan-1999
TROUBLED LAING-LED consortium Altram is losing up to £20,000 a day in liquidated damages after failing to open the £145M Midland Metro line on time. -
Poor track top target for 1999
7-Jan-1999
RAILTRACK IS set to re-target its track maintenance and renewals programme in an effort to cut train delays and improve safety. -
Pollution hampers Honduras clean up
1-Jan-1999
In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch, Matthew Jones visited Honduras and reports on the work of engineers involved in the clear up. -
Pollution experts fly in to Honduras
10-Dec-1998
WORLD BANK funded pollution and contamination experts arrived in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa this week to help minimise the spread of disease in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. -
Rail manuals reworked to aid literacy
10-Dec-1998
BALFOUR BEATTY Rail Renewals is to carry out a review of its safety and standards manuals after finding that almost a quarter of its workforce has difficulty with reading and writing. -
SRA could damage Railtrack transparency
10-Dec-1998
A LEADING transport academic warned this week that the proposed national Strategic Rail Authority could allow Railtrack to 'play political games' to achieve higher profits. -
Bridges not cash plea to beat Honduran corruption
3-Dec-1998
HONDURAS LAST week appealed for 'bridges not money' to head off fears that financial aid for the Hurricane Mitch disaster relief effort will be siphoned away by corrupt officials and businesses. -
Military muddle After Hurricane Mitch an American military task force arrived in Honduras in a blaze of publicity, promising to hit the ground running. But it has been slow to repair roads and bridges
3-Dec-1998
The tyres of my Chevrolet scrunch to a halt outside Soto Cano airbase some 80km north of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. It is 6.50am, I am 10 minutes early, and the jumpy young Honduran soldiers guarding the gates are in no mood to let me in. 'You must have a pass,' they bark. 'Pull up over there.' -
An amicable split? Breaking the privately financed upgrade of London's Underground into three packages looks increasingly likely.
26-Nov-1998
Railtrack's declared interest in upgrading only the Metropolitan, District and Circle lines on London's Underground network comes as no -
An amicable split? Breaking the privately financed upgrade of London's Underground into three packages looks increasingly likely.
26-Nov-1998
Railtrack's declared interest in upgrading only the Metropolitan, District and Circle lines on London's Underground network comes as no -
An amicable split? Breaking the privately financed upgrade of London's Underground into three packages looks increasingly likely.
26-Nov-1998
Railtrack's declared interest in upgrading only the Metropolitan, District and Circle lines on London's Underground network comes as no -
Railtrack shies away from deep Tube tunnels
26-Nov-1998
LONDON UNDERGROUND's network of tunnels and track looks almost certain to be broken up when operated in the private sector, following an admission this week by Railtrack that it only wants to run the shallow sub-surface lines. -
After the deluge
19-Nov-1998
The international community must take swift action to re-open flood hit roads in Central America. -
Code cracking
19-Nov-1998
New European standards are set to improve the way that concrete structures are repaired. Matthew Jones reports. -
De-trunking Whitty
19-Nov-1998
Lord Whitty sets out his plan Government proposals to hand A roads back to local authorities are causing concern among council engineers. Matthew Jones talks exclusively to the roads minister about the plans. -
Missing link
19-Nov-1998
The A12 Hackney to M11 link road should soon bring to an end almost a century of traffic jams in the East End. Matthew Jones reports to start our highway management special feature. Photographs by David Jones. -
UK halts aid to stricken Honduras
19-Nov-1998
BRITAIN THIS week called off its military rescue operation in hurricane-ravaged Honduras, despite pleas for Bailey bridges to restore vital transport links. -
An amicable split?
12-Nov-1998
Breaking the privately financed upgrade of London's Underground into three packages looks increasingly likely -
Railtrack shies away from deep Tube tunnels
12-Nov-1998
LONDON UNDERGROUND's network of tunnels and track looks almost certain to be broken up when operated in the private sector, following an admission this week by Railtrack that it only wants to run the shallow sub-surface lines. -
RedR spreads net for hurricane aid team
12-Nov-1998
HURRICANE MITCH has prompted Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief to launch an appeal to engineers for help with immediate aid efforts in storm-devastated Central America. -
1 National Cycle Network, 184M
5-Nov-1998
With 3,200km of the National Cycle Network already complete, civil engineering charity Sustrans is well on the way to achieving its target of 4,800km open by June 2000, and reckons it could do even better. -
Eurostar regional routes to be ditched
5-Nov-1998
EUROSTAR'S NEW management consortium plans to tell Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott next week that regional services to Manchester and Birmingham are 'not economic' without substantial government subsidy. -
The price of speed Are companies offering 'hurry up' cash for projects shooting themselves in the foot, and how much influence should they be allowed?
5-Nov-1998
Last week five wealthy companies and their landlord, Canary Wharf Limited, clubbed together to offer 'hurry up' cash to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to help speed up work on the Rotherhithe Tunnel. -
BAA makes plans for Terminal 5 despite inquiry
6-Aug-1998
AIRPORT OPERATOR BAA plans to pre-empt the outcome of the UK's longest running public inquiry by taking key design decisions for Heathrow Terminal 5 at the end of this month. -
HK pile fraud: man jailed for bribe attempt
6-Aug-1998
AN INDUSTRIAL diver has been jailed for 20 months for attempting to bribe an Ove Arup works inspector during a piling contract in Hong Kong. -
Protesters win right to see secret BNRR clauses
6-Aug-1998
SECRET CLAUSES in the concession agreement for the planned Birmingham Northern Relief Road can be shown to anti-roads protesters, a High Court Judge ruled this week. -
Sending the wrong signals Next week Railtrack publishes its third Network Management Statement. But has it lived up to last years promises?
19-Mar-1998
The last few weeks have not been happy ones for Railtrack. First a leaked letter from the Health & Safety Executive to the Scotsman newspaper set off a round of stories over the persistently poor and unsafe condition of railway lines. Then it emerged that the company is looking to make a 25% saving on its annual track maintenance budget. -
Sending the wrong signals Next week Railtrack publishes its third Network Management Statement. But has it lived up to last years promises?
19-Mar-1998
The last few weeks have not been happy ones for Railtrack. First a leaked letter from the Health & Safety Executive to the Scotsman newspaper set off a round of stories over the persistently poor and unsafe condition of railway lines. Then it emerged that the company is looking to make a 25% saving on its annual track maintenance budget. -
Penalty clause throws doubt on BNRR legality
22-Jan-1998
THE £400M BIRMINGHAM northern relief road could face the axe if a High Court action succeeds in ending secrecy surrounding the scheme. -
Hong Kong airport opening delayed by rail link
15-Jan-1998
CHEK LAP Kok airport will open in July, three months late, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Donald Tsang announced on Tuesday.
