Firstly, I can now be a bit less vague about the next couple months! I’ve been at a couple of internal interviews, as I’m scheduled to be moved off the EWR project at the end of December – works are still ongoing but there isn’t the need for as big a team as there is currently, so this isn’t something I wasn’t expecting to happen.
I’ve had a little bit of waiting to do for feedback, but I’ve managed to get into my first choice – continuing as a Project Engineer within VolkerRail’s Metro & Rail Projects team. It’s a role that will see me continue the works I’ve been doing here in operational railway settings (renewing sites, undertaking stressing works for other projects, all that fun stuff), whilst also getting to recertify for, and carry out, more maintenance and inspection style tasks which I haven’t done since leaving NR. It’s a role that gives me more chance to travel the country doing what I do best, and I’m really excited to get settled in with them from January.
That hasn’t by any means meant I’ve slowed down on site here – the last couple of weeks have seen us get some vast distances tamped, ballast prepared for track laying and survey works undertaken (including today, where foggy conditions proved challenging for setting up equipment).
Next week the last of the new track will be installed, finally linking the full site together into a continuous 30km line (it’s currently separated by a 400 metre gap where HS2’s contractors installed the bridge which will carry the Oxford to Bletchley link directly over HS2’s alignment) – I’m glad I’ll at least get to see this happen before I finish here.
(1) The overbridge carrying EWR over HS2, facing Bicester (2) The current civils works for HS2 at Claydon, from EWR (3&4) Pictures from today’s survey working