Non‑proprietary Tension Corrugated Beam (TCB) and Open Box Beam (OBB) barriers remain the backbone of the UK’s VRS. Their ongoing upkeep, however, carries unnecessary weight, embodied carbon and cost. Saferoad’s Mega Rail BB and Mega Rail CB address this by reducing mass and carbon while preserving the look, geometry and connections of existing OBB and TCB runs—so networks can renew faster without redesign.
What is Mega Rail BB & CB?
Mega Rail BB is a like‑for‑like rail for OBB; Mega Rail CB is a like‑for‑like rail for TCB. Both are visually indistinguishable from their legacy counterparts, connect seamlessly, and can be used for spot repairs, renewals or as standalone sections. The design intent is simple: keep what works at the interface; improve what matters in handling, carbon and cost.
Manual Handling
Lower beam masses reduce lifting risk and make shifts smoother without changing site methods.
OBB → BB: 94 kg per 4.8 m beam reduced to 56 kg (a safer two‑person lift with correct technique). |
TCB → CB: 42 kg reduced to 33 kg (still a two‑person lift, but appreciably safer during positioning and brief solo holds). |
The practical outcome is fewer hazardous lifts, less fatigue, and quicker repairs in constrained worksites.
Embodied Carbon
Mega Rail reduces steel content at source, delivering predictable per‑beam savings and programme‑scale impact. Using typical factors (about 1.4 kg CO2 per kg for conventional steel; about 0.4 kg CO2 per kg for green steel):
CB vs TCB: CB saves roughly 9 kg of steel, equating to about 12.6 kg CO2 avoided per beam; around 126 tonnes at 10,000 beams. With green steel, per‑beam emissions reduce from about 16.8 kg CO2 (traditional TCB) to about 13.2 kg CO2 (CB), a 22% reduction. These cuts are immediate, easy to evidence, and amplified when procuring green steel. | BB vs OBB: BB saves roughly 38 kg of steel, equating to about 53 kg CO2 avoided per beam with conventional steel. At 10,000 beams, that’s around 380 tonnes of CO2 saved. With green steel, per‑beam emissions fall from about 37.6 kg CO2 (traditional OBB) to about 22 kg CO2 (BB), a 43% reduction. |
Cost to customer
On 2025 pricing, both Mega Rail BB and CB target a 10–20% saving. The reduction comes from lower steel content and the productivity benefits of handling lighter rails—without altering legacy geometry, posts or connections.
Use constraints
Where a run transitions into a proprietary concrete safety barrier or proprietary metal parapet (including GA/72, GA/120 and GA/140), the transition is under the proprietor’s control; BB/CB can be used there only with their permission. These limits do not apply to Alcan, earlier BACO, Lindley or other legacy steel parapets, or vertical concrete barriers detailed in HCD drawings. For CB, in practice, scenarios where these constraints apply are rare.
