This contract is part of a bigger project to renew the Saint-Pol railway hub, which includes three lines from Saint Pol-sur-Ternoise to Arras, Béthune and Etaples in the Haut-de-France region.

The contract awarded to Colas Rail is for track renovation on the Saint-Pol – Béthune line so as to remove the current speed limits and make the line operational for a longer period.

Colas Rail is in charge of managing the project and the track works in cooperation with TSO. The overall renovation of the rail track components will include replacement of the track, ballast and sleepers over a 27 km section, renewal of level crossings and installation of new a signal system.

The site teams will use a P95T machine to renew the rails, ballast and sleepers so as to:

•    work at an increased rate: between 600 and 800 linear metres a day, increasing production speed by some 200% in comparison with the use of gantry cranes to lay the tracks.
•    minimise the impact on the tracks: this method involves fewer cuts in long welded rail and hence fewer aluminothermic welds on the completed track.
•    make it easier to adjust the spacing between sleepers by means of the machine settings
•    simplify site logistics, as sleepers can be loaded and unloaded at a rear base using the storage capacity of special sections of the train. This saves space beside the line, which is particularly useful in view of the limited space available on a single track.

In this way, the tracks will be laid to a high level of quality and precision.

A Colas Rail subsidiary, Colas Rail Sécurité Ferroviaire, will be in charge of railway safety on the project in cooperation with FVF, a subsidiary of TSO.

The line will be closed for one year to allow for the modernisation works.