Page 142 - samyn_ebook2

4.12 Possibilities of supply and assembly.
The new railway cover of the station of Leuven and the renovation of the tracks was
executed while the station was operational. The building site always remained a
public space used daily by thousands of commuters. During the building process,
stringent safety measures were taken to protect commuters.
Safety constraints also determined the execution of the works in phases. When
important work on or alongside rail tracks is done, they are placed out of service
and their power lines are disconnected. At that point, there is no railway traffic
possible on these tracks. To guarantee the existing level of train traffic on the
Belgian network via Leuven, the time frames within which work can be executed are
limited and precise: a certain number of tracks need always be kept in service.
The departments of the NMBS and the contractors involved have worked together
to establish an optimum work schedule. Old rail tracks were removed before
the renovation started. In this way, an entire railway bed became available. This
opportunity was taken advantage of in order to set up a building site and supply
zone for heavy equipment on the freed space.
The phased sequence of the works was mainly based on this principle.
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