Investigating Busway faults - the costs so far...

The Cambridge News has used FoI powers to extract from the County Council the costs, over the past 3 years, of "investigatory works" on outstanding faults. This is before any money''s spent on fixing them. Of course, it's possible that some or all of the costs might be recoverable from BAM Nuttall. The story includes, inevitably, a quote from Cllr Mike Mason.

Figures exclude legal costs.

The Cambridge News story can be read here.

Busway damage - even more pictures

Here are some I took today in the Histon area.

This one looks as if it has already been patched:

Here is an example of what you get in the middle of every long concrete beam. There is a stress crack, which suggests that the beams are flexing every time a bus goes over them. If water gets into these cracks, and we have hard frosts in the winter, I can see the concrete disintegrating even more:

More patching:

Typical example of flaking of the concrete at  a beam end. Presumably this is caused by friction of the guided wheels:

An example disintegration of the vertical surface of the  guide 'rail'. Maybe it's cosmetic. Maybe it's more serious:

Flaking of the guide rail:

Shows the disparity in gap widths between the two running tracks:

Busway damage - pictures

I've been out a couple of times in the past few weeks, and here are some of the shots I took (all taken from the bridleway).

Damage falls into various categories:

a) kerb damage

b) beam-end damage

c) step-damage (rubber pad fall-out)

I've also included some examples of pock-marking and surface stones, which might in the long-term cause issues of unevenness.

Kerb Damage:

i) to kerb-top

 ii) to side-wall (location west of Histon)

These are more extreme examples, but in general I wonder how long it will be before the kerb-wall starts to become as rough as the main running-way. The kerbs are smooth at the moment, but will the guide-wheels start to wear out much faster once the surface they run on becomes rough?

Beam-end damage - caused by expansion in hot weather

i) just east of Histon Stop - this one had only just occurred when I saw it

 ii) this type of damage possibly caused by small stones falling off and getting jammed between the beam ends, then causing further damage as and when the beam expands with heat.

Step-damage (rubber pad fall-out)

location: Trumpington

Pock-marking:

 Now some areas where the top surface has worn away, exposing more aggregate. How long will it be before these stones start popping out, and if so, will it produce an uneven surface over time?

 ...or, like this bit (with different concrete construction), will none of them pop out?

Comments appreciated!

Track faults

I was sent a couple of photos of faults on the busway track which are reproduced here.

This one shows an irregular crack developing in the concrete near the corner with the cross beam:

Photo by Stephen Lawrence

And this is a 'step fault' where the track panel on the right has settled by perhaps 0.5cm compared with its neighbour:

Photo by Stephen Lawrence

I'll be happy to post more photos of damage to the busway track, so please send them in.

However the blog can only include photos that are taken from the public footpath/cycle track or bus stop platforms i.e. do not trespass on the track itself

More on the busway track faults

Cambridgeshire County Council's Cabinet has approved a report on the £20 million of faults that have been identified on the guided busway track.

The faults potentially affect every track beam between St Ives and Cambridge, and the 'serviceability and longevity' of the busway are now being questioned.

It is possible that legal action may be taken against the company that built the busway, BAM Nuttall.

See article in Cambridge News.

Track problems?

Here are a couple of photos of  'excavations' at Oakington. Is this something to do with the faulty track that we have heard about recently?

Busway track in need of major repairs

A report published by Cambridgeshire County Council has revealed that the busway track is in need of around £20 million worth of repairs, according to an article in the Cambridge News.

The faults are in the bearings which support the concrete track beams, and in the foundations of the beams. There are mid beam cracks which are bigger than permissible.

As these problems arise from the way the track was constructed, legal action against  BAM Nuttall, the engineering firm which built the busway, is being considered.

Repairs to track near Histon

Regular travellers on the busway will be aware that, a short distance east of Histon busway stop, there have been some irregularities or 'dips' on the track. Buses give a lurch as they go over these dips. This problem has existed since the busway opened, if my memory serves me correctly.

Some repair work has been carried out, and currently there is a 5mph speed restriction for east-bound buses.

When I travelled back from Cambridge on Sunday, my west-bound bus was still faced with poor track at this location.

These two photos show the  the point near Histon where one of the westbound dips is. It's difficult to capture in a photo but the slight change of alignment can be detected on the right hand edge of the track.

Link to Cambridge News Article here includes a slideshow with close-ups of the faulty track.