Rare in combination road construction and rail infrastructure

Van Ooijen Gouda is an uncommon infrastructure contractor, as the company combines the disciplines of road construction and rail infrastructure under one roof. And has been doing so extremely successfully for almost 70 years. An interview with general manager Harmen Eijkelenboom about the 'secret' of this golden combination.

"Basically, we see the road construction and rail infrastructure divisions as separate business units with their own project managers and their own people doing quite a variety of projects," Harmen begins. "On some projects, on the other hand, we make grateful use of each other's expertise. A good example is the renovation of a railroad yard in Nijmegen that we are about to start. Here we are going to renovate eight service platforms and provide them with new water pipes, power supplies, sewer drains, etc. The service platforms themselves are made of asphalt and this asphalt will be replaced by our road construction division. A nice synergy. And so it also sometimes happens that we asphalt level crossings for ProRail, while our railinfra division is simultaneously working on the infrastructure around the tracks."

Railinfra

Working on the track itself, Van Ooijen Gouda does not. "We take care of all the civil work around the tracks, in fact the road construction around the tracks," Harmen clarifies. "Think of the construction or renewal of platforms, the construction of inspection paths, making bicycle sheds in forecourts of stations and the renewal of railway yards, including the replacement of all cables and pipes. In the main, we work directly on behalf of ProRail, but it also happens regularly that we are called in by railroad contractors." Van Ooijen Gouda's order book is pretty well filled. "For example, we are now building so-called break units at Rotterdam Central Station that separate the dirty water from the clean water. We are also busy refurbishing all platforms at The Hague Central Station and have multi-year contracts for platform maintenance throughout the Netherlands. When it comes to platform construction, we house in the leading group in the Netherlands and are also the party of choice for emergency jobs. In the event of an accident, we are able to restore the rail infrastructure quickly."

Eye for people and the environment

In road construction, Van Ooijen Gouda is primarily active on projects that include asphalt. "Our work consists of constructing and renovating roads and sites. Sometimes we also do complete reconstructions, including paving, foundations and sewage work. Also from the road construction division, we have nice and long-term contracts with regular clients. Among other things, we take care of the long-term maintenance of all defense sites in the southern Netherlands. All work in a very special environment," says Harmen, who has an eye for people and the environment. "We are very proud of our staff and form a close-knit team. Long tenures are no exception with us. In recent years we have already celebrated 40-year anniversaries four times. We also invest heavily in sustainable and ergonomic equipment. Our three railroad cranes, for example, are unique in their kind and enormously weighted. We are the only platform builder in the Netherlands to apply the paving on a platform mechanically from the track using vacuum technology. So we do not drive mini excavators over our own work. This promotes quality and speed and is also much better from a health and safety point of view. And so we make a difference on many fronts."