SYSTRA’s transport advice supports Sunderland’s Crown Works Studios development

SYSTRA’s transport advice supports Sunderland’s Crown Works Studios development

SYSTRA’s Signature Team have been instrumental in supporting the new 38-acre Crown Works Studios in Sunderland, which will unlock significant economic investment and regeneration for the immediate and wider area.

Commissioned by the developer FullwellCain, SYSTRA experts provided transport planning advice and the technical reports to accompany the planning application, and also prepared the preliminary design of roadworks and road infrastructure. Working closely and collaboratively with a team of planners, architects and engineers, SYSTRA’s Development Planning Team from the company’s Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester offices, were instrumental in supporting the application through the planning process.

Drawing upon local knowledge, their skills and expertise from around the UK, SYSTRA’s team delivered a complex analysis of traffic movements and their impacts on the local area. They worked closely with Sunderland City Council’s Highways Department and National Highways to provide a series of traffic impact mitigation proposals and the detailed formal Environmental Impact Assessment.

“Our local knowledge, experience and professionalism has helped create a vision for Sunderland that will allow its people and economy to thrive, and we’re all really invested in seeing the studio flourish in the years to come.”

Sunderland City Council has now approved the £450m Crown Works Studios, which is expected to generate £336m in GVA per year for the UK’s economy. The site is located at the former Pallion shipyard on the south side of the River Wear and is set to become the biggest film studios in Europe.

The Crown Works Studios development will provide a new home for Britain’s flourishing creative sector as the state-of-the-art facilities will be capable of attracting major international TV and film productions. The studios will create more than 8,000 new jobs in the region and around 21,000 jobs across the UK’s creative sector.

*Image source: Crown Works Renders – 4D Studio Architects

SYSTRA builds on sustainability commitment with Net Zero Bridges Group membership

SYSTRA has joined the Net Zero Bridges Group, furthering its commitment to sustainability.

The transport engineering business, which has a Signature Team in the UK & Ireland dedicated to best practice and innovation in bridge design, is now part of the network committed to reducing the sector’s carbon footprint as quickly as possible.

In order to be admitted, SYSTRA signed up to the ‘UK Civil Engineers Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency’ declaration, signalling that the commitment is at the heart of its mission.

David White, Sustainability Director at SYSTRA, added: “Our bridges team brought clear passion and energy to the opportunity to join the Net Zero Bridges Group, demonstrating their commitment to carbon reduction in their work.

“We look forward to seeing what further opportunities, peer-sharing and best practice membership brings in driving down carbon in bridge construction – for the benefit of ourselves, our clients, our wider stakeholders, and the planet.”

Through the Net Zero Bridges Group, SYSTRA will help shape best practice and accelerate progress towards net zero carbon bridges by sharing knowledge and ideas. The group also holds a carbon database to understand trends and support decision-making, which SYSTRA will be feeding into.

Bridge experts at SYSTRA have worked on a number of significant projects, including for HS1, Ebbw Vale and, most recently, South Lanarkshire Council.

Find out more about SYSTRA’s bridge experts.

SYSTRA publishes its Sustainability Report 2023

Each of our subsidiaries has proposed a plan to reduce its carbon emissions, and we are involved in a Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approach to reduce our emissions in the short term.

Another major lever for action is our sustainable design and construction framework, which focuses on issues relating to biodiversity, choice of materials, air quality and water management.

As for our employees, we are proud to see that they are involved in local communities, particularly through their participation in community projects.

Sustainability Report 2023

Find out how SYSTRA makes a difference.

A new solidarity bridge built by SYSTRA in Rwanda

The project brought together 4 women and 6 men, SYSTRA employees, from Brazil, India, Canada, France, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Dubai. Their assignment? To build the Rusumo bridge in northern Rwanda. This is the second project carried out by the SYSTRA Group with the NGO Bridges to Prosperity in Rwanda, following the construction of the Shyagari bridge in 2022.

In this remote region, half an hour’s walk from the main road, the dirt tracks are particularly dangerous during the rainy season, particularly because of the Nyirakibuye river, which floods whenever there is heavy rainfall. The construction of a bridge across the river has made it possible to provide children with safe access to two schools, tea plantation farmers with safe access to the two local markets, and pregnant women with safe access to the local maternity clinic. It has also brought the districts of Rulindo and Gicumbi, which are separated by the river, closer together.

A challenging assignment carried out in 15 days

The SYSTRA team brought together people from all walks of life, engineers, and support staff, of all ages and of seven different nationalities. Around twenty Rwandan workers from Bridges to Prosperity, under the direction of project manager Jean-Pierre Hategekimana, took part in all phases of the project with our colleagues: pulling the suspension cables, assembling the prefabricated deck elements, launching and fixing the metal decking, filling and concreting the support pits, and painting and installing the cladding.

Despite the difficult weather conditions, the bridge was inaugurated on schedule, within the exact dimensions envisaged in the plans, and without any major incident during construction.

The assignment in a few figures:

• 59 metres long
• 59 prefabricated metallic structures suspended by 4 cables
• 118 metres of metallic lining
• 89 fixed planks
• Resistance of the structure to over 120 tonnes of weight
• 30 minutes walking distance to get to the work site
• 121,195 steps taken during the 10 days of construction
• 10 certified maintainers among the workers on the site to ensure the bridge’s maintenance (25-year guarantee)

A project which serves:

• 4,340 locals from 943 households
• 37% are schoolchildren (1,606 children aged between 7 and 16)
• 451 women with safe access to maternity treatment
• An increase of 30% in income for tea planters once the bridge is complete, thanks to improved access to the markets in Miyove and Kisaro
  

colleagues who participated from the UK & ireland

More about Bridges to Prosperity

Darren Kirkman appointed to Transport Planning Society Board

Darren Kirkman, an Associate Director with SYSTRA’s consultancy business in the UK & Ireland, has been appointed a Board member for the Transport Planning Society (TPS). Darren has been a TPS member for six years and a former North West of England regional representative for the society.

At SYSTRA, Darren is currently part of the team advising the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on its ‘Levelling Up Fund’ development, as well as conceptualising mobility hubs for England’s Economic Heartland. Darren recently developed the London Borough of Newham’s sustainable transport strategy.

On his appointment at the TPS AGM earlier this month, Darren said: “I’ve worked in transport planning for almost 20 years and felt it was a good time to give back to the profession.

Sebastien Dupont, Managing Director (Consultancy) at SYSTRA, added: “Darren is a highly motivated transport planner and project manager focused on urban development and infrastructure projects.

“Darren’s understanding of policy and strategy development gained from his time at MerseyTravel and Transport for Greater Manchester are second to none; his proven success in supporting authorities on business case bids are testament to his expertise.

“We are extremely proud of Darren’s appointment as the TPS plays a vital role in shaping the future of transport planning and its impact on society.”

2023: A Year In Review

Hs2 Successes

SYSTRA have been a key player in HS2, here are just some of the impressive milestones over the past year:

• The world’s longest box slide was completed at Marston Box – we provided the engineering design for the 86-metre-long structure.
• We secured Schedule 17 Consents for the M42/M6 link viaducts, a key element of the Delta Junction, and for the Water Orton viaducts.
• The first pier for the Water Orton viaducts was completed – the viaducts were designed by SYSTRA in JV with Mott MacDonald.
• We won the South Ruislip Vent Shaft with VVB Engineering.
• The Curzon Street station viaducts (designed by SYSTRA in design JV with Mott MacDonald) were cast.

And our successes at Old Oak Common (BBVS JV designed, constructed and commissioned) deserve a roundup of their own!

• The first base slab concrete pour took place.
• OOC’s final (161^st) high speed station box pile was completed.
• The final panel of the station box diaphragm wall was completed.
• The Wycombe Line bridge was removed.
• The Right Honourable Mark Harper MP (Secretary of State for Transport) visited the site for an excellent progress update.
• The OOC East Box was handed over to the SCS JV for launching TBMs.
• OOC won a myriad of awards at the Atkins Excellence Awards!

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At SYSTRA we place great importance on having an equal, diverse and inclusive workplace, and our Everyone Onboard colleague engagement group is set up to help us promote that environment. Some of our ED&I actions throughout 2023:

• We were awarded the Clear Assured Bronze Status inclusion standard.
• Our colleagues had an amazing time representing SYSTRA at Leeds Pride 2023.
• We launched separate family friendly policies in the UK and Ireland – they go above and beyond the statutory requirements, recognising the need for maternity, birthing parent, adoption, partner and grandparent leave.
• We launched our flexible working policy across the UK and Ireland, so all colleagues can apply for flexible working.

Ecological role win at Sizewell C

We are proud to have been be awarded an environmental services contract with Arcadis to provide Ecological Clerk of Works on the Sizewell C nuclear power station project in Suffolk. The ecology division of our newly formed Nature Positive Discipline is delivering the work.

Business Growth

We made several key senior appointments during the year – Romain Pison joined us as Director of Decarbonisation, Dr Peter Weldon joined as Director of Net Zero, Andrew Dugdale joined as Market Director for Mass Transit, Rail and Highways, and Llewelyn Morgan as Head of Innovation.

In conjunction with the opening of our new Cork office, John Paul Fitzgerald joined us as Director of the new space. The new office is well-prepared to capitalise on local opportunities, as demonstrated by ongoing projects including the proposed Cork Light Rail Transit system, the city-wide bus priority infrastructure improvements through Cork BusConnects EIAR, and the transformative N40 Cork City Southern Ring Road enhancements.

We also opened an exciting new office space for our colleagues in Birmingham, combining two offices that were in different locations in the city.

SYSTRA grew rapidly with the acquisition of Bamser, Subterra, Rail Systems Australia and 3 Atkins entities in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

ECML PSU Hambleton Junction site powered up

The REAL Power Supply Upgrade team (an alliance between SYSTRA, Jacobs, Murphy, Network Rail, Siemens Mobility and VolkerRail) powered up the Hambleton Junction site as part of the East Coast Main Line Power Supply Upgrade.

This was a major milestone, allowing testing of the first ever 50Hz / 70mVa static frequency converter (SFC) on the UK rail network (and the largest SFC delivered by Siemens globally). The short-circuit test conducted at the site verified the capability of the SFC provision and protection of traction power to the rail infrastructure.

Bridges to Prosperity

Through Bridges to Prosperity, 10 SYSTRA colleagues from 7 countries (including the UK, France, Brazil, Canada and more), converged in the Rulindo region of Rwanda to construct a bridge aimed at fostering prosperity in the local community by providing better access to vital resources.

Despite continuous heavy rain and thunderstorms, the team did an incredible job across the nine-day period. The Rusumo bridge was officially inaugurated on 17^th November, connecting the districts of Rulindo and Gicumbi. The 59-metre suspended structure is the 12^th bridge built by B2P in the region (and the 500^th worldwide!), promising safe travel for nearly 5,000 inhabitants of the Northern province.

Consultancy Successes

Our consultancy colleagues have worked incredibly hard this year, here are just some of their successes:

• SYSTRA advised the Climate Change Committee (CCC) on electric vehicles – commissioned by the CCC, we undertook research on the differences between ‘typical’ and ‘peak’ demand for electric vehicle charging on the strategic road network across England and Scotland.
• The Tyne and Wear Social Value of Metro Stations – SYSTRA identified and evaluated the social value of a wide range of station activities, including community gardens, farmers markets, the reopening of buildings for hospitality purposes, and even yoga clubs! Alongside Nexus, SYSTRA was awarded the Innovation Project of the Year at the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) North East & Cumbria Annual Awards 2023.
• Cycle-Rail Toolkit 3 was launched in Westminster – commissioned by Cycle-Rail Working Group, administrated by Sustrans and developed by SYSTRA, it provides guidance to station owners, Tran Operating Companies, local authorities and other scheme promoters on making the journey to and from the railway station easier by cycle, as well as advising on how best to provide space for cyclists and their cycles at stations and onboard trains.

• We conducted the Brussels Airport Autonomous Mobility Feasibility study. The study covered airside baggage handling and passenger operations, with a view to transition them for pilot implementation.
• In respect of The Greater Manchester Bus Corridors – Streets For All project, we began working with Mott McDonald and Arup to develop bus priority and public realm improvements in two corridors of Greater Manchester (Rochdale Road and Rusholme Centre), with more to follow.
• We kickstarted the Doncaster Active Travel Social Prescribing (ATSP) Monitoring and Evaluation project for City of Doncaster Council. We were appointed to manage the project over the next three years (including monitoring core project metrics and undertaking a Process Evaluation and Impact Evaluation of the project).
• We have developed and appraised a number of alternative approaches for achieving the required reduction of transport carbon emissions in the Isle of Man (in relation to private cars, goods vehicles, buses, domestic aviation, coastal shipping and fishing vessels).

Early Careers Milestones

Nurturing talent and fostering mentorship is a key priority here at SYSTRA, and a number of important early careers activities and successes have taken place in 2023.

Our 2023 Apprentice Launch Event was a roaring success. The event featured many inspiring stories and united apprentices of various levels across consultancy and engineering.

We also launched our Graduate Development Programme for 2023. The new 39-strong cohort learnt about the development they could expect as a SYSTRA graduate, hearing talks from some of our current graduates about their exciting journeys on the programme to date.

Our Design Coordinator Lucy Davison was also crowned Apprentice of the Year at the Young Rail Professionals Awards! The submission showcased Lucy as an ICE Future Leader, her co-leadership of SYSTRA’s Early Careers Group, and her work on projects such as the Transpennine Route Upgrade and the Azuma InterCity Express Programme.

Consultancy Successes In Ireland

Our SYSTRA experts have been working extremely hard in Ireland as we continue to grow our presence there, with some of their including:

• The Greater Dublin Area Demand Management study.
• A business case for bus station accessibility enhancements.
• A commission, alongside Jacobs, on the BusConnects project in Cork, to undertake the technical aspects of delivering the transport modelling, Transport Impact Assessment and Traffic and Transport Chapters of the Environmental Impact Assessment for up to six bus-based sustainable transport corridor schemes in the city.
• A business case for the Train Projection System, Onboard and Trackside rollout across Ireland.
• A business case for the Foynes Line reinstatement for freight services, as part of a wider policy to dramatically increase the levels of freight on Ireland’s rail network.

Yorkshire Water Combined Sewer Overflow design package win

We were awarded the Yorkshire Water Combined Sewer Overflow design package through Sapphire Utility Solutions (SUS), to design 3 new storage shafts, reducing the frequency of sewage spills from Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) causing pollution in Yorkshire watercourses. The multidisciplinary project is being delivered by our environmental services, civils and M&E engineering teams.

We also won a contract through SUS to deliver several Sustainable Urban Drainage schemes at Yorkshire schools, which will see us undertaking invaluable STEM engagement activities.

TRANSPENNiNE ROUTE UPGRADE Successes

Throughout the year we celebrated a number of successful milestones on the Transpennine Route Upgrade project. TRU East is the alliance (between Network Rail, VolkerRail, Siemens, Murphy and SYSTRA) set to deliver the works between Leeds and York, and we are undertaking multiple design roles across the project.

• Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) was installed at the Neville Hill depot.
• Neville Hill’s Track Sectioning Cabin (TSC) was landed.
• The project achieved the first UK active tunnelling under a live railway!
• E1 track renewals were completed between Colton Junction and Church Fenton.
• OLE installation was completed on the Leeds lines.

Opening of the Gatwick Airport station redevelopment

The Gatwick Airport station redevelopment project opened to the public in November, after years of intensive work. The upgraded station is one of the country’s busiest, serving over 20 million passengers every year. The passenger experience has been completely transformed, from train to plane and plane to train.

Our SYSTRA experts are very proud to have led on the architecture, design and engineering of the new-look station, which is now far brighter and more intuitive for passengers, boasting a new concourse and airport entrance, and doubling the space for the millions of people who pass through it. The finished design features a second concourse and airport entrance, with 8 new escalators, 5 new lifts, 4 new stairways and widened platforms.

Great place TO Work

Ensuring SYSTRA is a Great Place To Work is so important to us. Making sure that our colleagues feel appreciated; are able to both personally and professionally develop; and are comfortable, positive and inspired in their working environment, is a crucial part of this. Throughout the year we’ve been prioritising that mission.

We won Employer of the Year at Peloton’s SPOTLIGHT Rail Awards in April! Receiving this award was a very proud moment for us, as it recognised our commitment to listening to our colleagues, taking action and striving to go above and beyond. Our awards entry focused on the progress we’ve made in a number of areas including health and wellbeing; equality, diversity and inclusion; and training and development.

Our internal Excellence Awards in November were a roaring success. So many of our colleagues were recognised for their hard work, dedication and ingenuity.

We launched our Next Generation Leadership Team (NGLT) for our engineering division. The team will play a key role in shaping the future of SYSTRA, actively participating in a 12-month programme alongside our Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

Awards

All our hard-working SYSTRA experts have contributed to the following successes, in many cases collaborating alongside our partners – thank you and well done to everyone!

Wins:

• Environmental Best Practice, Green Apple Awards – HS2’s Old Oak Common.
• Innovation Project of the Year, CIHT North East and Cumbria Annual Awards – Social Value of the Tyne & Wear Metro study.
• Community Overall Ultra Site, Considerate Constructors Scheme Leading Lights Awards – HS2’s Old Oak Common for its Skills, Employment and Education Strategy.
• Design for People, HS2 Inspiration Awards – The Delta Junction (River Cole East and West Viaducts, Chattle Hill Box Structure and Water Orton Viaducts).
• Design for Time, HS2 Inspiration Awards – Area North Context Urban Integration Studies.
• Contribution to Sustainable Transport, Scottish Transport Awards – Blackford Sidings.
• Sustainability Award, CIHT Awards – Lambeth Kerbside Strategy.
• Apprentice of the Year, Young Rail Professional Awards – Lucy Davison.
• Employer of the Year at the Peloton SPOTLIGHT Rail Awards.

Highly commended:

• Design for Place, HS2 Inspiration Awards – Streethay Cutting Area, Environmental Design Integration.
• People Place Time, HS2 Inspiration Awards – Old Oak Common Station Public Realm.

Special recognition

• Vision of the Year, Global Light Rail Awards – Bologna Tram Network.

Shortlisted

• UK project with a geotechnical value of between £500k and £1m, Ground Engineering Awards.

And that’s a wrap on our year in review. What a year it’s been! We’d like to wish our colleagues, partners and clients a very happy new year – here’s to 2024!

If you’d like to work with us in any capacity, please get in touch with our experts here.

SYSTRA Ireland expands footprint opening Cork City office

The new office space is located in the heart of the bustling regenerated Cork Docklands area at Lapps Quay. The opening of the new office reflects SYSTRA’s ongoing expansion in Ireland.

SYSTRA’s Cork office will be managed by newly appointed Director, John Paul FitzGerald, a chartered engineer with 20 years’ experience in transport engineering, planning, modelling and appraisal. John Paul has an impressive track record in delivering for the Southern Region’s growth ambitions as Project Manager on the Metropolitan Area Transport Strategies for Cork, Limerick-Shannon and Waterford, and on projects including the Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade, Cork Docks Regneration, Limerick Inter-City Rail Improvements, and Kilkenny Active Travel Networks. With John Paul’s leadership, SYSTRA is poised to support the development of much needed transport improvements in Cork City and beyond.

SYSTRA is one of Ireland’s leading transport planning, engineering and infrastructure specialists, working on key projects for the Department of Transport, National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Irish Rail. SYSTRA has been pivotal in supporting Cork’s growth through its work on Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy, Cork City Centre Movement Strategy, Cork Light Rail Transit and Cork BusConnects.

Nick Salt, Managing Director UK & Ireland, SYSTRA, said, “Our new office in Cork City is testament to our commitment to our local clients in Ireland. We are looking forward to growing our business in the region and supporting the delivery of sustainable infrastructure across the country.”

New Cycle-Rail Toolkit Guidance for Station & Train Operators

On 28th June 2023, new guidance commissioned by the Cycle-Rail Working Group administered by Sustrans and developed by SYSTRA was launched in Westminster by Minister of State for Transport Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP, Network Rail’s Chair Rt Hon Lord Peter Hendy CBE and representatives from Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT), Chiltern Railways and Active Travel England.

The updated ‘Cycle-Rail Toolkit 3’ offers guidance to station owners, Train Operating Companies (TOCs), local authorities and other scheme promoters on making the journey to and from the railway station easier by cycle as well as advising on how best to provide space for cyclists and their cycles at stations and onboard trains.

The rail network is the backbone of Britain’s public transport system, yet passenger journeys do not start nor finish at railway stations. Improving the overall ‘rail offer’ by making it easier to walk, wheel and cycle to and from rail stations by personally owned or shared cycles will encourage more people to travel by train. A simultaneous reduction in the number of people making short journeys to railway stations by car will also ease traffic congestion in our towns and cities and benefit the environment and address social challenges such as health, well-being and air pollution.

The new Cycle-Rail Guidance provides best practice case studies, practical information to support the justification for investment, and also points out possible new sources of funding.

Phillip Darnton OBE, Cycle-Rail Working Group Chair said, “On commissioning this work we wanted to create a user-friendly step-by-step guide to encourage and increase the overall number of cycle-rail users. I am delighted that both the cycling and rail sectors have worked in partnership to help create such a fantastic and informative Guide. It has been written specifically for rail and station operators and those involved in making end to end journeys more attractive”.

Emma Spencer, Cycle-Rail, Sustrans said, “It was great to welcome Transport Minister Jesse Norman and to hear him speak enthusiastically about the importance of combining cycle-rail travel. The launch and guidance highlight the close relationship between the Cycle Rail Working Group and organisations such as Active Travel England, Network Rail, Great British Railways Transition Team and other train operating companies”.

The interactive Cycle Rail Guidance: Toolkit 3 is available to download free of charge today.

SYSTRA enhances land use modelling capability with Delta acquisition

The acquisition of the Delta modelling tool, along with the supporting intellectual property, enables SYSTRA to offer a full range of modelling, forecasting and assessment consultancy advice on land use and transport system changes.

Land use modelling gives unique insight to the analysis and appraisal of development proposals and planning policies, enabling impacts to be understood on a geospatial basis and robustly quantified, in terms of household and employment levels or economic benefits. When coupled with transport models, the complex land use and transport interactions can be modelled to enhance understanding of a proposal’s impact and benefit, whether at a local, regional or national scale.

SYSTRA will continue to develop the Delta software and has the technical capability to offer the consultancy services previously offered by DSC.