Blom Surveys Large UK Infrastructure Project

As detailed planning gets underway for Britain’s new high-speed rail network, HS2 turned to Blom to survey the UK’s largest-ever infrastructure project. With experience of working on prestigious projects, including the original Channel Tunnel Rail Link, Blom created the mapping and visualisation tools the HS2 consultants required.

Utilising wide-format aerial cameras and Lidar (laser scanners) Blom captured high-resolution aerial imagery and laser data along the entire 225kms of the first phase of the proposed HS2 route to provide a complete 3D overview. The high-resolution 4cm imagery is then also used for subsequent 1:2500 topographic mapping and provides a permanent time-stamped photographic record along the route.

Simon Kraeter, commercial director for Blom UK said that the survey data is a valuable asset for route design and geotechnical assessment, helping HS2 to design a better railway that minimises the impact along the route. The models can also be used to create sound propagation simulations, making it possible to devise where sound reduction steps might be necessary.

Many planning decisions require more than just a vertical view and accurate mapping to be able to put the site in context with the surrounding area. Blom supports this need by capturing oblique aerial photography and video, giving a ‘bird’s eye’ perspective to any location on the route.

Plans that are sympathetic to the surrounding area are important to everyone but can only be made if a contextual view of the area is available, which is what Blom’s oblique imagery and aerial video provide. Hyperspectral imagery, used to show vegetation cover, is also provided, allowing planning decisions to be made with environmental aspects in mind, added Simon