DUO washing plant proves best for Network Rail

Following a successful tender DUO (Europe) Plc have been awarded the contract to supply and operate a complete wash and water treatment plant to process spent ballast for Network Rail (NR) in Cambridgeshire.

As part of their infrastructure investment and commitments for the future to renew, maintain and enhance the rail infrastructure the NR site at Whitemoor Yard, March, Cambridgeshire, will receive up to 150,000 tonnes of hazardous spent track ballast per annum nationally; material that until recently was sent to landfill.

Currently dry crushing and screening non-hazardous spent track ballast on site, the NR’s dedicated recycling team had the enviable task of seeking economical and environmentally friendly methods for washing and successfully removing hazardous material from the spent ballast too dirty to re-use. This process allows the NR team to reintroduce the washed material back into the railway infrastructure, with any surplus sold into the market place.

After some considerable market research and close scrutiny of all available washing systems, Network Rail made the decision to invest in DUO washing technology.

The full wash and water treatment plant proposed by DUO is due to be installed in the first quarter of 2011. The NR team considered that DUO could supply and operate the plant with competence and provide a processing operation that was totally flexible in dealing with any future production requirements, in terms of an increase in tonnage and the processing of different products.

Within the tendering process the DUO team specifically designed the water treatment element to guarantee the cleanliness of the product and ensure that the hazardous chemical element would be contained in the silt.

The plant, which utilizes the latest technology available on the market, includes a Powerscreen Finesmaster 60 Compact sand plant, a 120r Logwasher and a state-of-the-art plate press.

DUO (Europe) plc, 4 Rye Hill Office Park, Birmingham Road, Allesley, Coventry CV5 9AB; tel: (0845) 22 22 386