BORDERS RAIL

The Waverley Route, also referred to as Borders Railways,  traverses through Edinburgh, Midlothian, and the Scottish   Borders, finally arriving at Carlisle. The closure of the railway   line dates back to 1969 as a result of the rationalisation of   the railways. 

Since the early 2000s, discussions regarding the reopening   of the northern section of the railway line and following   extensive deliberations in the Scottish Parliament, the   Waverley Railway (Scotland) Act 2006 was granted royal   assent in June 2006. Subsequently, the legislation was renamed the Borders Railway in August 2008, and   construction work commenced in November 2012. 

The process of reopening the railway required significant   improvements to be made, including widening the existing   route and implementing new infrastructure. To facilitate the   necessary changes, gabions were utilised in cuttings where   appropriate. These improvements were crucial in enabling   the implementation of new tracks.  

Maccaferri's gabions were used to support widened cuttings  extensively along the 35-mile route which connects   Edinburgh to Tweedbank. This became the single largest   supply order in the UK, resulting in Maccaferri supplying   35,000m3 and installing 25,000m3 of polymer-coated woven   "double twist" gabions. 

Our woven double-twist polymer-coated gabion units have   proven to be an effective choice in infrastructure works due   to their robustness, long life and ability to accommodate   differential settlement. These attributes are particularly   important when next to railway lines when exposed to   regular vibrations. Our gabions are manufactured from steel   wire with a zinc-aluminium heavy-duty galvanising and an   additional polymer coating. The gabions are BBA Certified   with a design life of up to 120 years. The gabions were filled   with locally sourced stone and hand packed at the front face   to provide a high-quality attractive dry-stone wall-type finish. 

Maccaferri's woven wire mesh products have Environmental   Product Declarations which provide independently audited   data on the environmental footprint of the manufacture of   the units. The EPD system enables clients to compare the   environmental performance of solutions