Customer: Network Rail

Location: Stoke-on-Trent

Requirement: Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain’s rail infrastructure, needed to replace its temporary training centre at Stoke-on-Trent with a permanent building that could house its state-of-the-art simulation equipment for trainee signallers. The new building would need to offer a large open-plan area to house the training room, and be robust enough to provide long-term accommodation for the facility’s hi-tech equipment. Network Rail requested tenders for the project from four building suppliers.

Solution: The proposal from Portakabin represented the best overall package, offering excellent value for money and combining a high-quality building with comprehensive back-up services, including groundworks.

The building selected by Network Rail was a Titan Building System, which offers very large, flexible accommodation within an attractive, architecturally designed structure. Network Rail was able to design an interior that met its precise requirements, incorporating a large room where trainees could work on the simulation equipment, overlooked by a smaller control room, from which trainers could monitor the trainees and set up real-life scenarios to test their skills.

The building also incorporates a kitchen and meeting room area, a manager’s office and a toilet. At Network Rail’s request, Portakabin painted the exterior white with blue trims, and fitted window blinds throughout to prevent glare on the computer screens. Portakabin also installed air conditioning and an intruder alarm system.

Like all Portakabin buildings, the Titan Building System is backed by a unique 5-year product warranty and 20-year structural warranty. What’s more, the Portakabin Customer Charter promises that all buildings will be delivered on time and on budget, and if the company ever fails to meet this commitment it will provide an additional six months’ product warranty.*

Once it had completed the groundworks, Portakabin delivered the new building on time and on budget, and fitted it out ready for use by Network Rail’s trainee signallers.

* Terms and Conditions apply. A copy is available on request.