A SAFETY seal firm in Bury is helping to cement improvements to the London Underground as part of a £6bn programme.

Engineers from Roxtec UK, based in Waterfold Park, secured a six-figure contract with underground operators for the ongoing Four Lines Modernisation (4LM) project.

And this has involved staff deploying their expertise on reinforcing 51 new signalling rooms on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan line.

Hi-tech equipment is being used to boost the frequency of trains, cutting down on delays, and Roxtec's sealing cables are connecting different parts of the network.

Experts say the seals serve as a fire barrier, with 60 minutes of insulation and integrity afforded, as well as protect against water ingress in the event of a flood and rodent protection.

The seals are also designed to further protect against complex hazards including the effects of lightning strikes, gas, dust, humidity, electro-magnetic disturbances and the risk of explosion.

David Chalmers, the firm's infrastructure divisional manager, said: "Roxtec cable and pipe sealing systems were chosen due to their exceptional life expectancy and ease of use.

"Each station’s signal equipment room or removable electrical building is individually designed and 12 variants of Roxtec’s rectangular and round frames were chosen to cover all station requirements."

The wider subway project will see 192 longer S-stock trains running closer together., representing a 33 per cent capacity increase by 2023.

The Bury company is the British subsidiary of the Swedish-headquartered Roxtec Group and enginers there have a long history of supporting rail infrastructure projects around the world.

Other recent work has seen them provide heavy-duty cable seal solutions for Network Rail’s London Bridge Station, Crossrail’s new Elizabeth Line for London and the South East, and cable and pipe seals within tunnels, substations, flood defences and signals as part of the HS2 project.