Following the derailment disaster that occurred August 2020, QuadConsult was appointed by Adler & Allan Environmental Consultancy to provide Civil and Structural consultancy services for one of the biggest environmental recovery efforts Network Rail has ever been involved with.

The southern end of the Heart of Wales line, connecting Swansea to Shrewsbury, was closed from August 2020 to March 2021 after a freight train pulling 25 wagons derailed while passing the small Carmarthenshire village. The wagons caught fire before around 350,000 litres of diesel spilled into the ground, causing major concern for the surrounding wildlife conservation area and waterways.

Ground teams from Network Rail, Natural Resources Wales, Adler & Allan and partner agencies spent 37,500 working hours protecting the local environment, removing the huge wagons from the site and repairing a large stretch of damaged railway.

QuadConsult provided:

• Resident Engineer on-site support
• Design Services including earthworks specification and benching requirements for contaminated area
• Waste Transfer Bund and Interceptor design
• Detailed volumetrics and sections
• Structural bridge inspections
• Resident Surveyor on-site support and setting out services (provided by QuadConsult associated business Corner Point Surveys Ltd)

In total 30,000 tonnes of contaminated soil was removed beneath 150 metres of track and trackside to a depth of 2 metres and width of 20 metres, replaced with new clean material, and compacted to Network Rail and Coal Authority approval.