Railways and the steam engine. Few inventions better symbolize England’s role as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. The country’s first railroad opened in 1825, using Robert Stephenson’s steam locomotive, the Locomotion No. 1, along the 25-mile (40-kilometer) Stockton and Darlington Railroad. The reign of Queen Victoria started a dozen years later and saw a massive expansion of England’s rail networks. By 1870, the kingdom had 16,000 miles of track, and by the queen’s death in 1901, 1.1 billion passengers had travelled by train.
Thousands of miles of these tracks are still in use today, and many bridges, tunnels, and stations have become protected parts of the U.K.’s industrial and engineering heritage. The infrastructure stands as a testament to the ingenuity of its builders and to the engineers who have modernized the tracks and kept them up to date, ensuring they can continue to carry passengers and freight for generations to come. “It’s an engineering challenge,” says one of these engineers, Elliott Watson.
Watson leads engineering services at SPL Powerlines, the leading U.K. firm specializing in railroad electrification. Over the last few years, Watson and his team have helped electrify 278 miles (447 kilometers) of tracks along the Midland Main Line, which opened in 1840 and connected London to Sheffield, England’s “Steel City.” The electrification project included 60 bridges, 27 signal interventions, four national grid connections, 11 areas of limited clearance, and structures listed in a registry of historic places.
Tapping the right tools
Serving as the project’s engineers and managers, Watson’s team worked with numerous firms and parties, including designers and suppliers. “When you’re trying to bring together all those individual designs to produce one system, you need a set of tools that allows you to consolidate all those inputs in one place,” Watson says.
That set of tools came from Bentley Systems, the infrastructure engineering software company. The tools helped SPL Powerlines create a singular system that brought together the right processes and the numerous experts working on the project, Watson says.
“What’s unique about the Midland Main Line is that it isn’t a greenfield site where we’re installing something brand new from scratch. The infrastructure already exists, and some of it is Victorian and has been around a really long time,” Watson says. “We have to work around it as we’re enhancing it. That brings a unique set of challenges.”
How do you do that as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible? For Watson, using Bentley software helped his team finish the job on time and on budget.
Sharing and spotlighting innovation
SPL Powerlines accepts the 2024 Going Digital Award for its work on the Midland Main Line Electrification Project.Watson’s team also wanted to share their results with other engineers, so they entered their project in Bentley’s annual Going Digital Awards, known informally as the “Oscars of Infrastructure.” The event recognizes the extraordinary work of designers, builders, and other infrastructure professionals who use Bentley software.
The 20th annual event took place in Vancouver, Canada, last October. The jury selected 36 finalists from over 250 nominations submitted by organizations across 36 countries. These finalists represent 12 categories of projects that pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in infrastructure — on land, at sea, and even underground. SPL Powerlines was among those finalists.
Watson and his colleague Alisdair Strachan, who oversees Building Information Modeling (BIM) processes and technology at SPL Powerlines, travelled to Vancouver to present their project to the jury in the finals – and they won, even though it was their first time entering the contest. “Just because you haven’t been doing things for a long time doesn’t mean you can’t achieve great things,” Watson says. “There’s a whole team of people that have worked very hard to get to this point, and winning the Bentley award is a real stamp of approval for their efforts and all their work. It really shows that what they’re doing is world leading. It gives everyone a lift and inspires us to think, ‘What are we going to do next?’”
Preparing for the 2025 Going Digital Awards
Bentley recently opened applications for the 2025 contest, which will be held this fall in Amsterdam. To help inspire potential finalists, we sat down with Watson to talk about his experience. He was keen to encourage engineering teams to submit their work, to showcase how they are digitizing their infrastructure projects and using digital twins—the digital models of their roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. Below is a condensed version of our conversation.
Bentley Insights: Tell us about yourself. What made you decide to become an engineer?
Elliott Watson: From a very young age, I always knew I wanted to be an engineer. I did an apprenticeship and My focus was always on mechanical, hands-on engineering: gas turbines, diesel engines, and big heavy marine engineering applications. Later, I worked for Network Rail, where I learned about project management, including program scheduling, costs, resourcing, and delivery within time, budget, and quality constraints. Over the last few years, I’ve developed a passion for digital engineering. So instead of nuts, bolts, and big spanners, I’m now more focused on how we apply digital engineering tools to a project to achieve the project management outcomes we want—delivering the business case and final product to the end user.
What flipped the switch for you, shifting from physical to digital infrastructure?
EW: When I first started working on infrastructure projects, we relied heavily on PDF drawings and manual processes. But now, infrastructure delivery is much more about digital tools, innovation, and streamlined systems that speed things up and improve efficiency. While the physical delivery of a project is crucial, much of the work leading up to that point happens in a digital environment. So, in my mind, I’m still doing engineering, but now I build projects in a digital world first.
How did you start working with Bentley software?
EW: At SPL Powerlines, we always work backward. We don’t start by looking at all the digital tools available; we start with the end solution we need and then pick the correct digital tools to achieve it. Our goal was to create a single data source where everyone works from the same information across all designs and deliveries. We used ProjectWise for data management, iTwin for integration, and tools like MicroStation and AssetWise for specific engineering challenges.
SPL used Bentley software, including iTwin, to manage sending and receiving information from 20 design organizations working on the MMLE project.How did you hear about the Year in Infrastructure event and the Going Digital Awards?
EW: Our team is relatively new—only two years old—but some members had heard about the Bentley Awards. They suggested it would be great for us to enter. Even though we were new to this market segment, we were doing great work on the Midland Main Line, integrating a complex piece of infrastructure using Bentley tools. So, we went for it.
What happened next?
EW: I looked online at some of the previous applicants, and I thought, ‘Yeah, I think we can do this.’ We spoke to the SPL Powerlines Communications team and just went for it. The next thing I know, I’m talking to you in an elevator in Vancouver.
What was the application process like?
EW: It was very straightforward. The online application includes preset questions and allows for image and video submissions. The hardest part was summarizing our work within the word count. It’s that balance between keeping it as brief as possible, but also getting all the details in. The SPL Communications team helped refine our submission, ensuring it was clear, concise, and engaging.
What advice would you give new applicants?
EW: I’d really recommend giving yourself enough time to work with high-quality images and videos. It’s worth spending the time choosing those wisely, as when you get to the final, they will be part of that final presentation. To see those images up on the big screen is amazing. It’s a really good way to advertise your business at the event.
What other benefits did you gain from the experience?
EW: It’s not very often that as a team we get together and reflect on what we’ve delivered. The application process is a great opportunity to say, hang on, we have actually done some really significant things over the last few years, and we’ve never really taken a step back and appreciated them.
What was it like presenting in Vancouver?
EW: Before I went, I didn’t really know what to expect. But when I got there, it became very apparent quite quickly what a big event and a prestigious award it is. It was my first time where I was judged in a presentation. There is a panel of judges, you have a live audience, and there’s also an online audience. You’ve got to get across quite quickly and concisely what your business is all about and the achievements the team’s made. It really has helped me with future presentations in terms of building my confidence more.
How did it feel to win?
EW: We were ecstatic just to be in the final. To get there felt like a huge achievement. When we actually won, it took a moment to sink in. But after that, there were a lot of emotions around two years of hard work from a lot of people. The team really had to push things forward and do things differently. Change is hard work, isn’t it? It’s not easy to make people change or want to work in different ways. So, for me, it was a real moment just to step back and think, ‘Yeah, we did that, and we’ve done an amazing job.’ It was well deserved for the team to get that recognition.
Tell us about your experience in Vancouver. What else stood out besides the presentations and awards?
EW: The event gave us a good insight into what’s coming up in terms of products that Bentley will be releasing and understanding new market trends. One thing that stood out for me was Bentley’s iLab. It presented a completely immersive way to view infrastructure that I’ve never seen before. It basically brings your project to life. When we uploaded our project into the platform, it made us feel like we were standing inside our own model. It was very different to viewing it on your laptop or on a TV monitor.
What would you say to other firms considering applying?
EW: Just go for it. The exposure and affirmation of our team’s work were invaluable. And you can’t win if you don’t apply!
Get your infrastructure project the global recognition it deserves. Submit your nominations for the 2025 Going Digital Awards before the March 31, 2025 deadline. ➡️ https://bit.ly/3CQsFEj
