“The extensive rail experience we have was obviously a significant benefit for us when it came to what was a very stringent tender process,” explains Maggie Shaw, Ballyclare’s Sales and Service Manager for the rail industry. “Some small changes were made to design and construction details during the tender process, and every single aspect of the garments was closely specified and scrutinised, even to the point of them being finished in a very particular shade of hi-vis orange to ensure maximum safety for the wearer when working trackside.”

Those specifications led Ballyclare through almost a year’s worth of design work, plus extensive independent testing, wearer and laundry trials, to ensure that the resulting garments satisfied Network Rail’s specification. The company will now supply a wide selection of jackets, trousers, coveralls, body-warmers and underwear to 13,000 trackside workers based at over 700 different Network Rail locations throughout the country.

“Like the other garments which we already supply to major rail industry names such as Babcock, Amey and Transport for London, the Network Rail garments are designed to provide the wearer with the optimum combination of comfort and practicality. By using the best quality materials such as GORE-TEX® we’ve ensured that the garments will deliver maximum levels of safety, durability waterproofness and breathability for the user, and allow them to work more safely and comfortably even in the toughest trackside conditions. They can also be cleaned and maintained repeatedly, so that they go on providing outstanding performance and a long operational life," says Shaw.

The garments created for the Network Rail contract will now be made available as a standard part of the wider Ballyclare range. This will allow other rail industry customers to access the same high standards of practicality and quality, with the garments individually branded if required, and all available to purchase direct from the Ballyclare website.