Extensive ground engineering works are under way on the West of Leeds section of the Transpennine Route Upgrade to manage legacy risks from historic industrial activity beneath and adjacent to the railway. Contractors are deploying a mix of ground investigation, grouting, soil stabilisation and structural retaining solutions to deal with old mine workings, made ground and buried obstructions that could compromise track formation and structures. The interventions aim to secure long-term track geometry, reduce differential settlement and maintain line availability during and after capacity and electrification upgrades.

Ground investigation techniques typically used for highways and foundations have been deployed in a 1960s missing person cold case, with RSK geophysicists leading the subsurface search. The team is combining ground-penetrating radar (GPR) with intrusive investigation methods such as boreholes or trial pits to characterise stratigraphy and detect potential burial anomalies. The work shows how standard site investigation tools can be adapted for forensic applications, including in constrained or previously disturbed ground.

Coates has expanded its engineered dewatering capability with a new fleet of electric BBA Pumps, including PT200 D265 (8″/200mm), PT150 D185 (6″/150mm) and PT100 D130 (4″/100mm) units for urban construction sites. The electric configuration targets groundwater control on projects from small residential excavations to complex basements, water assets and civil infrastructure in dense urban areas where diesel emissions, noise and access constraints are critical. For geotechnical and civil contractors, the range allows closer-to-face installation and longer runtimes on grid power, simplifying dewatering design and temporary works planning.