December 1 - Blue Water Shipping (BWS) was involved with the transportation of 38 rail wagons, which formed part of a cement train used during the construction of the Crossrail project in London.
An international joint venture led by Alstom has been fitting-out and commissioning the 21 km long Crossrail twin tunnels currently being bored under the streets of London.
BWS collected 20 rail wagons in Narbonne, France and 18 flat wagons in Mezy before transporting them by rail to the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais, for onward delivery to the UK.
"One of the largest challenges was to get approval from the authorities to use the Eurotunnel for the out-of-gauge cargo. There are strict safety regulations when transporting cargo in heavy traffic," says Cédric Novion, project manager at Blue Water Marseille.
Once the English Channel was negotiated the wagons were safely delivered to the London project site. Crossrail trains are expected in operation in 2018.
