Sudbury is a picturesque village in East Staffordshire located close to the border with Derbyshire, 15 miles from Derby and 23 miles from Stoke-on-Trent. Its railway station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1848 and closed under British Railways in 1966. All that remains of the station today are the railway cottages and signal box, still in use adjacent to its level crossing.
The busy double-track, non-electrified Crewe to Derby line crosses the A515 road at Sudbury Level Crossing. Line speed along this section is 70mph. The line forms part of Network Rail’s East Midlands Route in the Eastern Region.
Over the years, Sudbury Level Crossing had presented numerous challenges for its owner Network Rail and for train passengers and local road users. These included poor drainage and so-called ‘wet beds’ forming, causing slurry to be pumped upwards leading to voiding and track geometry deterioration.
Heavy road traffic caused the concrete cill beams on the level crossing to crack, and the combination of heavy rail and road traffic caused cracking of concrete sleepers beneath the crossing decking. This resulted in ride quality issues for both trains and cars, leading to frequent and disruptive maintenance and remedial works.
A permanent solution
Against that backdrop, Jack Bloomfield, Network Rail’s Derby-based reliability improvement specialist for East Midlands, set out to find a permanent solution to these problems.
Jack’s objectives included: eliminating long-term track quality issues through the crossing; improving drainage throughout the crossing footprint; and improving the road profile leading to better ride quality and reduced traffic noise.
These problems were resolved during a possession between Friday 23 January and Monday 26 January 2026 during which 80 metres of track was renewed and 120 metres of drainage was installed. Sekisui’s Network Rail-approved Fibre-reinforced Foamed Urethane (FFU) Plain Line synthetic sleepers were installed as the preferred type of sleeper for the track conditions at Sudbury.
In use continuously worldwide since 1980, FFU sleepers are proven not to rot or split when exposed to damp conditions over many years. In addition, FFU does not pose a risk of cracking under continuous cyclic loading or under heavy axle loads. The track underneath Sudbury Level Crossing is exposed to high longitudinal and lateral forces from both heavy rail and heavy road traffic.
FFU sleepers are fully approved by Network Rail for all track categories up to and including 1A at line speeds up to 125mph. They have a lifespan of 50-70 years; offer lower life-cycle costs; can be recycled; are water- and weather- resistant; chemical- and oil- resistant; UV-resistant; and thermally resistant (tested from -65 degrees up to +50 degrees celsius).
On the track, FFU sleepers have demonstrated resistance to gauge spread, baseplate indentation, and thermal expansion, and also give excellent lateral resistance.
A total of 114 number 130mm x 300mm x 2500mm wider FFU Plain Line sleepers were procured. Wider sleepers help to distribute load on the track bed. These were then fitted with Getzner Under-Sleeper Pads (USPs) in order to significantly improve lateral stability and enhance ballast life. They were then transported to Trackwork’s site in Doncaster for fitting of PAN11 baseplates, and then finally moved to sidings at DB Cargo’s Toton Depot in Nottingham for loading on to an infrastructure train ahead of transportation to site.
Heading up the project on the Permanent Way side was Alex Thompson, principal technical officer for Network Rail Works Delivery (Track) and joined by the rest of his team. The project scope was developed in unison with Network Rail’s East Midlands Route Asset Management Team and the local track maintenance engineer and track section manager to ensure that the correct solution was being constructed.
Premier Rail Services was responsible for delivery of the crossing works, including new crossing units, cill beams, and other components. The Strail decking utilised on this ‘A’-road crossing and its fixtures were compatible with Sekisui’s FFU plain line sleepers.
Supply of site labour for the project was supported by Vital Rail and plant and equipment were provided by ReadyPower Rail and Torrent Trackside.
Challenges overcome
The Sudbury project proved to be quite challenging for the team in a number of ways.
For instance, the location of the crossing was logistically difficult due to having houses on both sides within close proximity. This necessitated a full road closure and regular contact with the residents and the Highways Agency to ensure smooth delivery.
Secondly, the crossing cill beams were requested to be a poured concrete which is extremely difficult to handle due to its quick setting time. Early engagement with the supply chain meant that a specialist contractor was sourced and procured and the new cill beams were installed without issue.
Buried services also presented a big hurdle for the team during delivery. As well as recorded services highlighted in the buried services report, additional ‘un-recorded’ services were encountered during the drainage aspect of the works. This required some localised redesign but was ultimately overcome.
In the end, the Sudbury Level Crossing Improvement Works were successfully delivered on time, on budget, and safely without any major incident.
This project represented the first ever installation of Sekisui’s FFU Plain Line sleepers through a level crossing in the UK.
The works which were carried out will help mitigate severe problems that the crossing had presented over the years, and deliver lasting reliability improvements for the area’s train passengers and road users.
With a lifespan of 50-70 years, Sekisui FFU sleepers will play a major role in future-proofing the Permanent Way at Sudbury Level Crossing for many years to come.
Image credit: Sekisui
