BALFOUR Beatty Rail Plant (BBRP), based at Hither Green, operates a pair of New Track Construction (NTC) machines built in America during 2004 by Harsco Track Technologies, Nos. 6100944/954. These are full possession-only sets and are coupled to YJA-F self-powered wagons Nos. DR 78701/702, delivered by Harsco to design code YJ025A. Tare weight is 72 tonnes. In recent months the machines have been employed on East West Rail tracklaying.
Most of the NTC machinery is, however, modular and mounts on standard FEA intermodal flats supplied by Polish builder Wagony-Swidnica. For example, the sleeper handling gantries carried on FEAs Nos. 640571/575 (design code FE 004G) transfer new steel or concrete sleepers to truss beams that drop them to the track; the truss beams being carried by FEAs Nos. 640572/576 (design code FE 004C). Once lowered to the trackbed, the sleepers are aligned and spaced, then clipped to the new rail which is pre-delivered. Up to 12 sleepers a minute can be installed, which is equivalent of around 1200 yards of track per possession.
Balfour Beatty has its own fleet of twin-set sleeper wagons, FEAs Nos. 640501- 514 (design code FE 004B). However, the NTCs can also work in conjunction with Network Rail’s own fleet of KRA sleeper carriers, Nos. NR 97101- 132, which were built in 1999- 2000 by RFS(E) at Doncaster to design code KR 001A.
Gart Renewals operated a third NTC machine (No. 6100930), although this is no longer active in the UK. Unlike the BBRP sets, this was powered on-site by a bulldozer. It also worked alongside the KRA fleet.