We were independent checking and site engineer for all aspects of the 345km Taiwan High Speed Rail system

The Taiwan High Speed Rail opened in early 2007. Mott MacDonald had a long-standing role on the project as the independent checking and independent site engineer.

The project – comprising a 345km route length of new railway – consists of eight stations (three underground, four elevated and one at-grade), five depots and the permanent way supported by 270km of viaducts/bridges, 45km of tunnels and 30km of earthworks. The normal operating speed of the railway is 300km/h, but the civil works are designed for 350km/h.

Mott MacDonald’s work – as leaders in the International Railway Engineering Group (IREG) – involved design checking, independent site inspection auditing with respect to compliance with quality assurance, systems and safety assurance, and independent observation of the testing and commissioning aspects. The work extended over the 7½ year procurement period and covered all disciplines, from the civil works through to the rolling stack design, requiring some 500 man years of input.

The team received over 50,000 design and submission packages with in excess of 100,000 deliverable items being made and tracked. It was clear from the outset that the project would require comprehensive document control and data management systems, for which specific software was developed from within the project team. That the clients’ response to questions from their staff and contractors was “ask IREG”, confirmed our efficient management of the data.