Booth Industries’ work on HS1 showed its ability to deliver safety-critical systems for major transport infrastructure. HS1, legally known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, was a 67-mile high-speed railway connecting London with the Channel Tunnel.
Booth Industries was contracted to design, manufacture and install cross passage bulkhead and door assemblies for each cross passage along the line under the Thames and beyond. The company also supplied assemblies for track-level ventilation shafts. These systems were essential to tunnel safety. They provided an escape route for passengers during an incident and gave emergency services a two-way access route to the affected area.
The technical requirements were significant. The cross passages and doors had to be large enough for evacuating passengers and emergency teams, while also acting as fire barriers between tunnels. They had to prevent smoke from entering the non-incident tunnel and seal one tunnel from another so that the non-incident tunnel could be pressurised in an emergency.
The systems also had to support daily railway operations. They needed to protect specialist equipment, allow access for services including electrical cables and water pipes, and protect maintenance staff from train-induced airflows while working in cross passages.
Booth drew on its engineering, design, manufacturing and installation experience to deliver the contract. The cross passage doors and bulkheads were installed, accepted and assured in line with the project programme. That outcome showed the company’s ability to execute on complex projects where delays, defects or maintenance issues could carry significant operational and financial consequences.
More than 15 years later, the doors were still protecting the cross passages as required in the harsh underground rail tunnel environment beneath the Thames. They had done so with minimal maintenance and strong reliability.
Avingtrans plc (LON:AVG) has a proven strategy of “buy and build” in highly regulated engineering markets, a strategy it has named “Pinpoint-Invest-Exit”.
