Cranes And Trains: New Guidance Issued

In association with Network Rail the Construction Plant Association (CPA) has launched a new Good Practice Guide covering Requirements for Mobile Cranes Alongside Railways Controlled by Network Rail.

The guide covers all types of mobile lifting equipment including wheeled mobile cranes, lorry loader cranes, telehandlers and excavators used for lifting suspended loads that are not rail mounted.

The consequences of a crane or its load falling onto a rail line could be catastrophic, so the guide sets out detailed requirements for crane configuration, setting up and lift planning. There is also a hierarchy of measures for eliminating or reducing risk ranging from eliminating the risk by position, trough reducing the risk by de-rating and slew limiting, to reducing the consequences of a collapse by line blocking.

The guide can be downloaded from the CPS’s website at: https://www.cpa.uk.net/crane-interest-group-publications-guidance/