Changing of Sleepers
Many have come across the gigantic Gantry Cranes standing in the midst of the trail along East-West Line (EWL) between Chinese Garden and Lakeside stations, and North-South Line (NSL) at Pasir Ris station. These 2 Jenmon fixed Gantry Cranes were deployed to speed up the works along the tracks, including the replacement of rail sleepers.
As this project is the first of its kind in Singapore, it is considered quite new. It was awarded to Gammon Construction Pte Ltd, which is a subsidiary company of Gammon.
This firm mainly contributes to Singapore’s infrastructure, including the completion of many contracts for Land Transport Authority (LTA), as well as several major projects in the commercial and petrochemical sectors.
Jenmon had been appointed by the Main Contractor, Gammon Construction, to install 2 units of Fixed Gantry Cranes for the replacement of sleepers. These 2 cranes were installed with various safety devices, which were used to hoist the Road Rail Vehicles (RRV) lifting system and Concrete sleepers for the replacement of the current wooden sleepers. By deploying a more effective solution to the work front, more sleepers were able to be replaced. Contrariwise, using conventional mobile cranes and long set up time would be costly and impossible.
Prior to the selection of the Fixed Gantry Cranes, Jenmon’s team brainstormed various design options with our customer. We were aware of our customer’s needs and constraints, such as the short working duration of 3 hours in the early mornings so as to not disrupt the train operation during the day. Jenmon’s Fixed Gantry Cranes then came to fruition.
Made of steel structure, Jenmon’s Fixed Gantry Cranes were able to accelerate works, ensuring the stability and durability compared to other large and heavy machines, such as mobile cranes. Specifically, a gantry crane is a great alternative to a mobile crane. A gantry crane has a lifting capacity of up to 15 ton. Furthermore, to hoist the RRV lifting system, the 2 legs of the Gantry Cranes ensure balance and stability in enduring heavy loads.
We believe that this project is a true testament to our value of delivering safe and quality equipment. It is reflected in our daily operational checklist, weekly and monthly maintenance, as well as every 6-monthly load test and inspection. Jenmon’s crane specialists are diligent and professional when proceeding with their daily safety operations. Together with the customer’s safety personnel, we checked to prevent and/or stop any possible safety breach. This puts a premium on “Safety”.
More than 92,000 of timber sleepers were changed, with the rest to be changed in the early part of 2017.
The Gantry Cranes at East-West Line (EWL) between Chinese Garden and Lakeside stations were rounded off on 27th October 2016 and the Gantry Crane at North-South Line (NSL) at Pasir Ris station was dismantled in January 2017.