When long-term drainage failures forced a speed restriction at Kilsby Tunnel on the West Coast Main Line, CRSA needed a partner who could mobilise fast and deliver precisely. Vital stepped in, working within tight access windows and balancing critical freight and passenger movements to get the job done.
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14 Days. One Tunnel. No Compromise.
CRSA needed a partner who could step in, mobilise fast, and deliver with precision when the Kilsby Tunnel on the West Coast Main Line was forced into a speed restriction due to long-term drainage failures. Vital responded. Under tight access windows, with high-stakes division between freight and passenger services, we delivered.
Context
14 days. Full closure. 1,000s of sleeper changes. Zero compromise..
The Challenge
From constraint to delivery.
The Kilsby Tunnel had been a bottleneck for years: drainage failures, flooding risk and reduced line speeds hampered both passenger and freight services. The challenge? Keeping the tunnel flowing.
When the COVID-19 enforced reduction in train traffic opened a unique access window, CRSA moved swiftly. Vital supplied a full spectrum of labour – site supervisors, engineering supervisors, tunnel attendants, machine controllers and skilled track & drainage operatives.
Works included welfare-drainage renewals inside the tunnel, full track renewal, and removal of speed restrictions.
This wasn’t business as usual. This was high-tempo, critical delivery.
How We Made It Work
When the main line can’t wait, Vital answers.
- We embedded into the CRSA delivery team, joining daily coordination and aligning with Network Rail’s access regime.
- Planning was condensed: what normally takes months was achieved under tight timescales.
- Multi-skill resource: supervisors, tunnel-specific controllers, drainage operatives, track-specialist crews – all aligned under one delivery plan.
- COVID-19 protocols managed alongside rail-risk and tunnel-risk activity: social distancing, dedicated transport routes, safe systems of work.
- Safety and compliance non-negotiable: full management presence, HSE audits, “one team” mindset across supply chain.
This wasn’t simply delivering labour. It was delivering certainty where delay wasn’t an option.
Precision, partnership, pace.
The Results
The drainage and track renewal inside Kilsby Tunnel were completed safely, and the speed restriction lifted, restoring full line speed for one of Europe’s busiest mixed-use lines.
Despite the COVID-19 environment and significant access constraints, the works were completed with zero compromise to safety or operations.
“A well-run site with Covid 19 procedures in place throughout which were clearly advised/identified.”
– Jane Hepburn, Vital HSE Advisor
When the railway stays live and the access window is narrow, only one thing matters: delivery you can rely on.
- Agile planning and rapid mobilisation unlock opportunity in constrained windows.
- Multi-skill resource delivered under one management framework cuts interface risk.
- Health-&-safety, COVID-19, tunnel access, track risk: all must be managed concurrently, not sequentially.
- A partner who acts as part of the client team (not just supply) makes the difference.
Because when the network must stay moving, you don’t just deploy labour. You deploy trust. Vital delivers that.
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