the rail engineer - issue 122 - december 2014

DECEMBER 2014 - ISSUE 122

this issueq ELECTRIFICATION INFRASTRUCTUREq CBTC - METROS AND MAIN LINEq DAS & ATO - COMPATIBLE TWINS?q FIBRE BLOWING

IEP IN THE SUNSHINEFirst of the new IEP trains for the UK revealed in Japan

350s TO SCOTLANDManchester to Scotland electrics

LIVE CHALLENGERutherglen to Coatbridge Electrification

READING VIADUCTContributing to a unique experience

TECHNOLOGY | DESIGN | M&E | S&T | STATIONS | ENERGY | DEPOTS | PLANT | TRACK | ROLLING STOCK

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News 7New trains for Thameslink.

Signalling Metrolink 10Signalling the trams.

Reading Viaduct 24A new flyover has been built to the west of Reading.

350s to Scotland 30Manchester to Scotland Electrics.

Live Challenge 34Rutherglen to Coatbridge Electrification.

Fibre Blowing 40A new way of cable planning.

Railway Engineering, the next generation 48David Shirres speaks with Professor Simon Iwnicki.

Wireless comes of age 52The wireless alternative to fibre.

CBTC Metros and Main Line 54The solution to increase capacity on suburban railways?

Reinvigorating Gosforth 64Design, build and install a new substation.

Keeping CP5 targets on track 65Are the skills available to deliver the programme?

Keeping things running 76Minimising the impact of infrastructure faults.

DAS & ATO - Compatible Twins? 78An IRSE seminar checks both technologies.

Reliability, Capacity and Performance 84An iMechE seminar on reliability.

Get your motor running 90Catesby Tunnel’s potential.

Contents

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58

68

IEP in the sunshineThe first of the new IEP trains for the UK are launched in Japan.

New Tube for LondonNigel Wordsworth speaks with David Waboso.

Electrification Infrastructure

Making Excellent Progress

We’re looking to highlight the latest projects and innovations in

Bridges & Tunnels Electrical & Electronic Systems in the February issue of the rail engineer.

Got a fantastic innovation? Working on a great project? Call Nigel on 01530 816 445 NOW!

See more at www.therailengineer.com

the rail engineer • December 2014 3

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3218 NCB Infrastructure conformance advert november-AW.pdf 1 24/10/2014 14:11

This month we’re covering electrification and power. This is not a world of delicate components and the odd amp or two. These guys use circuit boards the size of tennis courts.

David Bickell’s account of the recent electrification congress has a section devoted to the international experience. This is hardly surprising as many of the components currently used in the UK are from all over Europe. Fortunately, electricity seems to behave in similar ways around the globe and so there is a wealth of experience to draw upon.

Some approaches to sort out reliability, capacity and performance are just sound common sense. Others, as David tells us, are more subtle - like the London Underground Lost Customer Hours (LCH) measurement, weighting service disruptions in relation to their impact on customers. At last!

Once electrification arrives it soon becomes obvious that it’s not just the main lines that need to be wired. Minor commuter routes can land up with isolated fleets of diesel traction, and diversionary routes remain unavailable for electric trains. One such line, from Rutherglen to Cumbernauld - salvaged from near extinction in the 1960s - was electrified in less than a year in an intense period of activity.

There are often unexpected and welcome outcomes from a new electrification scheme. As David Shirres tells us, the main purpose of the North West electrification was to link Manchester with the WCML, thus allowing the new fleet of 350s to run. The spin-off? It allowed the Pendolino fleet to take a shorter route to their night’s rest in Longsight instead of a round trip via Crewe.

In a comprehensive review of the Manchester Metrolink, David Bickell keeps us up to date with all the latest developments. One of these is the removal of signalling from the earlier stages.

Out goes block signalling, with all movements being carried out on line of sight principles. There just isn’t the capacity unless trams can be bunched up.

The growth figures for passenger numbers in London are staggering as are the capacity increases of the transport system over the next few years. Clive Kessell has been to a conference where the main topic was Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) but the discussions widened considerably because, as always, everything is interrelated.

Driver Advisory Systems (DAS) have arrived. They’re used on a limited number of routes and are showing benefits - but oddly not in greatly improved fuel consumption. DAS is just the start. On the horizon is ATC and the wider integration of train control with traffic flow, but all this becomes very, very complicated. Clive explains.

An inflatable children’s paddling pool - it’s a standard bit of kit for modern cable layers. Clive has been to see how bundles of fibre optic cables are blown up to 2km in a multi-way duct. The pool is used to catch and contain the resulting uncontrolled batch of spaghetti. At the moment you might glimpse the pool in the Scottish Borders, but doubtless this idea will become global.

It seems extraordinary that the recent expansion of rail passenger and freight use has not been matched by a revival in rail engineering recruitment. The problem is, of course, how to sell engineering to the new generation of youngsters. Where are the inspirational figures? Bland management clones won’t work. But schemes outlined by David Shirres and advocated by

Professor Simon Iwnicki might well do the trick.

It’s counter-intuitive to think that one of the most exposed components in S&C is machined to sub-millimetre tolerances in an almost clinical manufacturing environment. Chris Parker has been to Progress Rail’s Sandiacre site to gain an understanding of how the new tubular stretcher bars are manufactured.

In what appears to have been an incredibly short period of time, a new flyover has been built just to the west of Reading. One of the remarkable features of the construction that Collin Carr relates is that even the position of each reinforcing bar, sticking out of the end of the main beams, was precisely surveyed to make sure that there were no surprises.

Following on from the public acclaim for the new S-Stock trains, London Underground has its sights on producing a deep tube equivalent - through carriages, offset articulation, altogether lighter and hopefully with some serious heat management. Nigel has been talking to David Waboso to find out how the designs are driven by passenger comfort and perceptions.

Despite the inevitable jet lag, our Nigel managed to stay alert for the international launch of the new IEP train in Japan. With impeccable stage management, one of the first batch rolled forward through the ribbon travelling a nominal 20 yards. With all the press out of the way, the train was rolled back again behind a new ribbon ready for a repeat performance in the afternoon (or 3 a.m. in the UK) for the domestic launch.

Although you’ll receive this edition of The Rail Engineer in early December, this will be my last chance to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a safe New Year on behalf of all the production team here at Rail Media.

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Grahame TaylorAll wired up!


Eurostar wants more

As the first of the new Siemens-built e320 Eurostar trains was being shown off to the public at St Pancras, chief executive Nicolas Petrovic said the Channel Tunnel operator is to order seven more.

Eurostar awarded Siemens the contract to supply ten new high-speed train sets in 2010 – a decision that led to a series of legal challenges by French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom.

Presenting the first e320

train on St Pancras’ platform 5, Petrovic said the operator planned to order an additional seven trains. The fleet of 17 distributed-power EMUs is part of a £1 billion investment programme which also includes

the modernisation of the original Class 373 fleet.

Manufactured in Krefeld, Germany, the e320 has a higher seating capacity and, with a maximum operating speed of 320 km/h, is faster than the older vehicles. The ETCS-enabled e320 will also allow direct services to Germany and the Netherlands for the first time.

Siemens has begun testing the e320 in the UK on HS1. Nine of the 10 trains have now been built and are carrying out tests across England, France and Belgium. The first e320 is expected to go into commercial service from December 2015. All ten 16-car trains are scheduled to be delivered by March-April 2016.

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Cameron will payFinally resolving a dispute between the Welsh and Westminster Governments over who should pay for the electrification of the Welsh Valley lines, the Prime Minister has agreed a £230 million funding package. This covers the Cardiff-Bridgend section of the Great Western main line electrification programme to Swansea and includes a £105 million contribution to the Valley Lines electrification scheme.

“After years of neglect, this part of Wales will finally get the infrastructure it needs with faster, more modern, more efficient trains and the impact will be huge,” David Cameron said while announcing the agreement.

This ends a long-running dispute between Westminster and the Welsh Government over who should fund the project. The agreement also includes plans to devolve the Wales and Borders franchise, allowing the Welsh Government to decide the terms of the new operating contract from 2018.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said: “This deal will deliver electrification all the way from London to

Swansea and enable us to move forward plans to modernise the Valley Lines at no net cost to the Welsh Government.

“Together with an agreement to fully devolve power over the Welsh rail franchise this will allow the Welsh Government to move forward with its ambitious plans to create the efficient and reliable rail service Wales needs and deserves.”

NEWS

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

the rail engineer • December 20146

NEWS

At the same time, the new operator has confirmed that it is exercising an option on the contract to purchase a further 27 Class 387/2 trains (108 cars) for use on Gatwick Express. These trains will have the same seating and luggage-storage arrangements but are likely to be rebranded in a red Gatwick Express livery.

There is also a second option for another 32 trains which may be taken up early next year. One can’t help but wonder if this will be the last order for Bombardier’s Electrostar family with the new Aventra platform, as bought by Crossrail, waiting in the wings.

New trains for Thameslink and Gatwick Express

Bombardier is now well into the delivery phase of its order for 29 four-car Class 387/1 Electrostar trains for the new Govia Thameslink franchise. Around half of the ordered trains have been built and the first three have completed testing and have been transferred to Brighton Lovers Walk depot ready to be handed over to the operator. Services using the new trains, which will replace Class 319 vehicles on the Bedford to Brighton route, will commence next month.

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Top names sign upMany of the best known names serving the UK’s rail market have already made sure of their presence at next year’s Railtex show in Birmingham. Alstom Transport, Bombardier Transportation, Hitachi Rail Europe and Siemens will all be taking part, along with ABB UK, Knorr Bremse Rail UK, Tata Steel, Thales and Wabtec. Among other key exhibitors will be Faiveley Transport, Telent Technology Services, Unipart Dorman and Voith Turbo.

They will be joined by many specialist firms covering the entire spectrum of the rail market, underlining the industry-wide appeal of the country’s premier rail event. And the list of participants continues to grow - by mid-November, 260 organisations had selected their stands at the exhibition, with more than three-quarters of available space taken.

Plans are also advancing well for the keynote speeches, seminars and discussion forums that have become such an important part of Railtex. Already lined up to speak are Richard Price, Chief Executive at the Office of Rail Regulation, and Jeremy Long, European CEO

of MTR Corporation, named earlier this year as winner of the concession contract to run London’s future Crossrail services.

There will be a full programme of industry seminars hosted by The Rail Engineer, plus a series of Project Updates briefing Railtex participants on the latest progress with major UK rail schemes. Free to attend, these will all take place in the Knowledge Hub in the main exhibition hall.

“Railtex 2015 is shaping up to be a great event,” says Exhibition Manager Heidi Cotsworth. “We are seeing a very enthusiastic response from companies wishing to be part of the show. There is

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Track goes down on CrossrailThe first tracks have been laid on Crossrail infrastructure. The 120-metre-long Stockley Flyover will be used by Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services from next year and is the largest single span bridge to have been installed anywhere on the Great Western railway since the days of Brunel.

The new viaduct will carry trains from Heathrow over the Great Western main line to connect up with the Crossrail lines into London, giving more capacity than that provided by the existing flyover and junction.

clearly a lot of confidence within the industry. We are also working hard with our partners to make sure visitors will be able to enjoy a great programme of supporting activities that are informative and good for business.”

Railtex 2015 takes place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham from 12 to 14 May next year. For more details and to view the regularly updated list of exhibitors, go to the show website www.railtex.co.uk.


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Taking a brief step back in time, on the morning of 17 July 1992, with camera in hand, I jostled for a good viewing position with the crowds gathering in St Peter’s Square. It was a very special day for Manchester. Her Majesty the Queen was officially opening the new-fangled Manchester LRV (Light Rail Vehicle) system. After unveiling

the plaque, the Queen travelled in tram number 1010 to a civic reception in Bury.

In those days the term ‘tram’, seen as old fashioned and inappropriate for the gleaming new LRVs, was suppressed from publicity but the incomprehensible acronym LRV (light rail vehicle) never really registered in the mind of the public. In the twenty-first century, taking the tram is cool and the distinctive toot widely recognised as they ply the streets of Manchester.

How it startedMetrolink was born out of a long standing frustration

by local transport planners of the historical north-south divide of the heavy rail routes serving Victoria station on the north side of the town and Piccadilly to the south. In the 1970s, the so called Picc-Vic scheme envisaged the two mainline stations being connected together for through running by means of a tunnel under the city centre.

Alas the project was deemed unaffordable but, not to be outdone, the planners came up with the ingenious idea of using LRVs to link together the Altrincham and Bury suburban routes by means of a street-running section through the city centre, with a spur from Piccadilly Gardens to Piccadilly station. The 1992 line was 19 miles long, served 26 stops and was operated by 26 Firema T68 trams (all now retired). There were 60 drivers and 20 line controllers. This Phase 1 was followed by Phase 2 to Eccles in 2000. The first twenty years of progress was fully described in issue 86 (December 2011).

25 years laterFast forward 25 years to 2017 and we reach completion

of the current Phase 3 extensions with the opening of the Second City Crossing (2CC), the 14.5km Airport line having opened in November 2014. The sheer scale of the works in progress since 2008 can be gauged from the fact that the network will be three times the size of the original, extending over 60 miles, serving 93 stops and operated by a fleet of 120 new Bombardier Flexity Swift M5000 trams with approximately 300 drivers and 60 line controllers.

Between now and 2017 the 2CC is under construction together with additional platforms at Victoria, Deansgate, and St Peter’s Square. The latter location will see two new island platforms with four tracks replacing the existing two. In a similar operation to the current Victoria stop closure, single line working using a Tram Token will be introduced for ten months.

DAVID BICKELL

Signalling Metrolinkthe rail engineer • December 201410

And the story continues. High up at lonely Pomona, passengers aboard a Salford Quays bound tram notice a short stub as if the line was intended to continue straight ahead whilst the tram swings sharp right to cross the Manchester Ship Canal. Indeed, this is the junction for the long-anticipated 5.5km extension to Trafford Park for which public consultation took place this summer.

The organisations involved todayTransport for Greater Manchester

(TfGM) owns Metrolink and is the body responsible for implementing local transport policy. Metrolink RATP Dev UK Ltd (MRDL) operates the overall network and maintains the Phases 1 and 2 infrastructure until 2017.

The M-Pact Thales (MPT) consortium was awarded contracts for the Phase 3 extensions commencing in 2008. MPT carries out all the design, construction and maintenance of the new lines. Laing O’Rourke and VolkerRail (jointly known as M-Pact) delivers all the civil and rail infrastructure requirements respectively, and Thales UK provides all the electrical systems engineering works, including power and overhead line equipment, and also the tram management system (TMS) for all lines under a standalone contract. The MPT contract is also due to expire in 2017.

Parsons Brinckerhoff is TfGMs delivery partner, providing a comprehensive management service including programme and project management, risk management, project controls and contract management for the Phase 3 expansion programme.

Signalling the trams - Phase 1Phase 1 employs solid state

interlockings (SSIs) for all rail junctions and relays to control the plain line signal sequences. On the segregated routes, track circuit block is in force, using two-aspect red/green aspect signals (with some yellow/green repeaters where stop signal visibility is sub-standard) supported by the automatic tram stop (ATS) which is a signal passed at stop (SPAS) mitigation measure consisting of electromagnetic beacons that apply the brakes of a tram that passes a red signal, similar to TPWS on the main line. Maximum line speed is 50mph.

On the street-running sections in the city centre, trams are driven on sight at a maximum speed of 30mph. Colour light signals cannot be used here due to the potential for confusion with road traffic signals. Hence the continental-style white bar type tram signals are deployed with a horizontal bar indicating stop, and a vertical bar meaning proceed on sight.

There are no block sections in the city centre, trams being driven such that they will stop short of any obstruction be it a bus, pedestrian or another tram. Points are called by a message transmitted by the tram vehicle recognition system (VRS) to inductive loops in the track. In the control centre at Queens Road, the

controllers set routes and monitor the progress of trams on the VDU screens much like their main line counterparts.

Drive on sightWith the planned rapid expansion

of the system, it was felt that a block signalling system was not going to be able to support the desired headway between trams (zero minutes!) and the level of flexibility required in the new complex network of routes. TfGM took the bold decision that the entire network would be run on the ‘drive on sight’ philosophy allowing trams to closely follow one another. The new system has been implemented on the lines built since 2008 and in the city centre, with gradual roll-out


proceeding outwards towards Bury and Altrincham concurrently with recovery of the redundant block signalling and associated signals.

TfGM is keen to stress the flexibility and throughput of trams facilitated by the new system. This is well illustrated standing on the platform at Cornbrook where trams arrive and depart in rapid succession which was not possible with the older, block system. It also gives a positive perception to passengers of a slick healthy system. During special events or match days, trams can queue up at stations and help move the masses on their way home very quickly.

After all, drive-on-sight was already the modus operandi for the city-centre section from day one and, on the faster segregated sections, is driving a tram really any different to driving a bus?

It’s not quite that simple. TfGM is responsible for setting line speeds and has carried out a system-wide exercise to ensure that speed limits are consistent with available sighting time, driver reaction time and the ability of vehicles to stop. The line speed on segregated sections is 50mph which may be lower in places as determined by the line-of-sight principle. A particular sighting problem occurs within Collyhurst and Heaton tunnels where sight lines are compromised by line gradient and curvature. This scenario is covered by an innovative solution provided by Thales. Axle counter sections will detect the presence of a tram in the tunnel and switch a variable speed sign to display a lower speed limit for a following tram.

Drivers are instructed not to drive faster than they can see to be clear ahead so as to stop with a normal service brake. A driving simulator for MRDL has been developed by Ian Rowe Associates, enabling drivers to be trained in a modelled virtual environment before taking trams along the actual routes.

Route settingUnlike the Phase 1 scheme and main line signalling, there

is no centralised route setting and interlocking. The next journey, derived from the timetable, is downloaded to the trams in the form of a ‘trip’. All the driver has to do is press the ‘ready to start’ (RTS) button and away it goes, the tram automatically routing itself at junctions. As all trams have the same driving characteristics and stop at all stations along the intended route, there are no regulating decisions to be made requiring complicated algorithms.

At the 25 key rail junctions where routes diverge and join, routes are set on a first-come-first-served basis. However, in the event of an incident that could well have a knock-on effect on the whole network, controllers may need to step in and make changes to the timetable and/or individual tram schedules to minimise delays and aid service recovery for which TMS provides the tools. Controllers can edit the timetable and hence trips for a particular tram, the period, or for the rest of the day. They can also switch to a mode of operation known as ‘headway operation’ where trams are separated on a headway rather than timetable basis.

As a last resort, the driver is able to override the timetable trip and to turn back short and set up an alternative destination. Several intermediate turnback locations are provided on the network. The driver enters a routing code on his key pad to call the points required for the crossover move. Line controllers can temporarily block a route if there is a need to hold a tram or give priority to another tram, but this is unusual.

For route setting, trams automatically transmit a route call message via a transponder on the underside of the tram to the local controller by means of ‘advance’ and ‘stopline’ inductive detector loops in the four foot. When the junction becomes available, the tram gets a proceed indication. Signals are normally at stop and change to proceed as the driver approaches. At facing points, a route indication is provided by means of a separate points indicator which is an illuminated orange sign confirming detection of ‘points left’ or ‘points right’.

Multi-level controlJunction control consists of three tiers. Firstly, on the

network there are roughly 100 local controllers - off the shelf single processor industrial programmable logic controllers (PLC) - which receive the call from a tram and follow a fixed sequence of logic conditions to determine if the route is available. If so, the points controller (SIL3) drives the points and ensures points can’t move under the tram. On street areas, this is achieved by means of a short track blocking circuit detecting the body of a tram. Off-street sections are locked for a greater distance using a Thales axle-counter product.

Thirdly, the conflict monitor (comparable to SIL2) independently checks the state of the signal and points, ensuring that they present a consistent aspect to the driver,


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checks the integrity of the equipment and notes when trams pass the SPAS detector beyond each signal. It is capable of putting all signals back to stop if it detects a malfunction or a SPAS scenario and, in the case of the latter, will also illuminate flashing blue lights (off street areas only). It is a matter for tram drivers to react accordingly. A ‘clear’ loop detector at the exit of the junction frees up the points for the next tram.

In the case of the 100 or so road intersections, the local controller interfaces the road traffic light controller logic. Trams enjoy a level of priority at all road crossings, as determined by TfGM, which has to ensure overall transport flows efficiently including buses for which it is also responsible.

Where a tram stop is located just prior to a junction or intersection, the driver presses the ‘ready to start’ button when ready. This avoids a premature call for a junction or crossing that may delay other trams or road traffic.

If communication is lost with the central control, trams continue to run as points and signals are set locally.

Knowing where the trams areThe position of a tram in the network is detected

by the local controller using physical detection points supplemented with position reports from the tram via the Mesh radio. The vehicle identity is forwarded from the local controller via the fibre network to the network management centre (NMC). Vehicles use the loops to calibrate their location on the track.

In between the physical loops there are incremental position reporting locations known as ‘virtual detection points’ based on a pre-set distance from the last physical loop. The tram onboard computer (OBCU) has a database of topology and knows the positions of the virtual loops. When the OBCU measures that the tram has reached a virtual detection point using information from the vehicle odometer, a location update radio message is transmitted over the nearest Mesh radio access point thence via the fibre network to the local controller.

On the road sections, the majority of position reporting points are virtual loops as this obviates the difficulty of faulting and maintaining physical loops in the highway. Thus, on the highway, signals at road intersections are called almost exclusively by radio messages.

Physical loops are provided at every rail junction, terminus, turnback location, siding and every exit from depot - a total of 400 loops. In addition, there are 1,100 virtual loops making a total of 1,500 detection points altogether. At NMC, tram identities are displayed alongside loop identities on the line controller screens looking similar to a mainline train describer display except that loop identities replace signal numbers.

Integrated supervisory systemLine controllers at the NMC are responsible for the

complete portfolio associated with managing the service. In addition to tracking the trams, the supervisory system supplied by Thales fully integrates with overall tram management, the passenger information system (CIS), and the SCADA front end which controls traction power. It also provides comprehensive status reporting from external equipment including security and ticket vending machines and auxiliary equipment such as lifts and escalators.

Passenger information is derived from the timetable which is generated by the operator MRDL’s own timetable system which in turn is linked to the driver rostering system. From the timetable, a vehicle duty is extracted which is automatically updated to the tram OBCU. Early predictions for CIS are taken from the timetable and, as the tram progresses along the network, displays both on the CIS and on the vehicles are updated to the real-time situation.

There are automated announcements on PA using pre-recorded speech with facilities to put out manual announcements. Announcements in Greek and Spanish are known to have been played during European fixtures. The introduction of TMS has thus improved the whole customer experience.

CommunicationsThe entire tram network now uses an extensive IP-

protocol Gigabit fibre-optic Ethernet LAN with highly resilient diverse routing, carrying data for TMS, SCADA, equipment monitoring, CIS, CCTV, telephones, help points, emergency call points and some of the voice radio communications from base stations. Migrating the existing Siemens 36Mbit OTN fibre network has been a challenge with the need to run the two networks together for a time. Rigorous out and back testing went well although one or two cameras could not be converted due to them using an old protocol.

Drivers communicate with NMC via the existing industry-standard MPT-1327 analogue UHF trunk radio network which has been expanded by Thales to cover the new lines. It is kept separate from the data communications.

The technical challengesThales recently elucidated to The Rail Engineer the sheer

scale and complexity of the TMS project, not to mention the many overall Phase 3 project engineering interfaces. Many sections of route are commissioned, in service and supported, whilst other sections are still in design and manufacture of equipment.

Management of a single team in software and hardware working at the different stages of project life cycle and locations is a huge engineering challenge in itself, even without the changes in requirements as the


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work has progressed. Thales have some 250 people working on the project with a factory at Cheadle for design, build and test. A significant consideration has been the TfGM requirement that a custom solution should use off-the-shelf components from multiple suppliers.

All the Phase 3 lines are operated using TMS with the shared parts of the original routes being the first to be migrated, leaving the outer sections of the lines to Altrincham and Bury still to be converted. A batch of fifty-two M5000 trams are ‘dual-fitted’, having ATS functionality enabling them to work over the original routes as well the new lines. There are temporary transition points for tram drivers as TMS is progressively rolled out towards Altrincham and Bury respectively.

Separate consoles are used in the control centre for TMS and legacy signalling, the track diagrams being updated at each stage of changeover to TMS and special interfaces provided for tram position indications. Care has had to be taken at design and during decommissioning to avoid the risk of interaction and electromagnetic interference between the two systems, track circuits, inductive loops, ATS electromagnetic beacons. Both systems use physical loops on track for street running with transponders on trams.

As transponders cannot be mounted on top of each other, the legacy system transponders are fitted under the centre bogie of the trams

whereas the TMS transponders are at each end with a 15m separation. The transponder loop at the leading end is active.

Testing of the new system loops is carried out overnight with a procedure that involves switching off the old equipment, activating the new, carrying out the tests, then reversing the process to revert to the legacy system until a new section of line is wholly tested and ready to be permanently changed over to TMS. Work is going on at multiple sites.

Civil and track engineering for the Phase 3 lines was running slightly ahead of the complex development of the overall TMS package. With commercial desirability to open new routes for business at the earliest opportunity, Stockport-based company Park Signalling Limited was contracted to provide temporary signalling interlockings to control Trafford Bar, Irk Valley Junction (Smedley Viaduct) and the single line at Dean Lane. Although the interlocking function was implemented using conventional relays, the PSL design was novel in that treadles were used for tram detection and the existing vehicle recognition system (VRS) was used to call the routes from the tram. Treadle and conflict management was implemented using Siemens S7 PLCs.

Last but by no means least, another big challenge was the relocation of the NMC from Queens Road depot to larger premises at the new Trafford base.

The overall project design and construction has been undertaken in accordance with the ORR’s publication ‘Guidance of Tramways’ whilst the safety verification has been steered by ORR’s ‘A Guide to Safety Verification for Tramways’ to achieve the requirements in the ‘Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006’ (ROGS).

A very successful 25 yearsMetrolink has become established as a very

successful transportation system, taking up the course of some old mainline railway routes and breaking new ground in areas not previously served by rail, providing comprehensive journey opportunities. Ridership is heading towards 30 million passenger journeys a year, up 50% in five years and 20% on last year. There is no doubt the Metrolink Silver Jubilee anniversary in 2017 will be a cause for celebration, paying tribute to the far sighted transport planners who conceived the LRV system back in 1980s.

Many thanks to Joel Sawyer, communications manager TfGM; Daniel Vaughan, head of operations TfGM; Stephen Corlett, project design authority TMS, Thales UK; John Gerrity, engineering manager, Thales UK; and Andy Jenkins, systems engineering manager, Thales UK, for their help in the preparation of this article.


@StobartRailLtd

CRAIG JACKSON – SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER

Craig has over 15 years of experience working in the rail and construction industry. He joined the company in September 2007, having previously worked for Edmund Nuttall, Birse Rail and First Engineering.

He posseses considerable projects experience, with strengths in managing projects from beginning to end, defi ning the project plan, timeline, scope and executing the analysis and continual management of a project.

Craig has continued to improve his impressive track record of delivering major operational improvements with another successful viaduct re-decking contract at Hayle for Dyer and Butler.

Craig explains, “We weren’t blessed with the greatest of weather conditions over the past weeks. The lads on site, as usual, didn’t let that get them down. The team spirit was really good, the local community were very welcoming, and the customers were pleased with the outcome – job done!”

Success at Hayle, West CornwallHayle viaduct, located south-east of Hayle Station, Cornwall, carries the Penzance to Paddington mainline. The viaduct consists of 37 masonry piers with a deck composed of longitudinally riveted, wrought-iron plate girders, supporting transverse timber decking and a ballasted track with up and down lines.

Working under subcontract to new customer Dyer and Butler, Stobart Rail undertook the following:• Remove existing track ballast and remaining track• Remove existing timber deck• Rivet removal and replacement of top fl ange steelwork• Preparation of top fl ange steelwork – needle gun and Copon fi nish• Installation of new timber deck

• Installation of free issue ballast boards• Setting out engineering, as required• Waterproofi ng of installed deck surface• Installation of bottom ballast• Installation of 2nr RRAP’s.

Work was carried out within a 16-day blockade, at times working under extremely harsh November weather conditions. SR would like to pass on congratulations to Dyer and Butler, Network Rail and all the stakeholders and supply chain involved in this contract – a great achievement!

The Project was handed back 100% complete and on time.

Dave RichardsonPlant Manager

t. 01228 882 300e. [email protected]

Gary NewtonContracts and Estimating Manager


Andrew SumnerBusiness Development and Stakeholder Manager


stobartrail.com

IEPin thesunshine

NIGEL WORDSWORTH


IEPin thesunshine

IEP number 1 comes through the curtains at Kasado.

It is a bright and breezy day in southwest Japan. A group of people, some wearing overalls and some in suits, have gathered before an open-fronted red-and-white striped tent. Alongside, two large, billowing white curtains are drawn across a section of railway track. Silhouetted by the low sun, a man could be seen behind them – struggling to hold them closed in the gusty wind.

A red and white ribbon, separated into sections by five rosettes, is hung between two poles at the front of the tent. To the right, a multi-coloured raffia ball hangs with a red-and-white rope coming from it.

Four men step onto the podium wearing distinctively-shaped Japanese hard hats. Three of them are handed scissors, the fourth stands under the ball and takes hold of the rope.

A lone trumpeter plays a fanfare, three pairs of scissors flash in the sunlight and, after a sharp tug on the rope, the ball folds open allowing multi-coloured streamers to fly in the breeze.

The man who has been struggling with the curtains gratefully pulls them back, and a shiny new train emerges from behind them, running forward about twenty metres to stand in the sunshine.

Cameras click and film crews follow the action as the first of the new IEP trains for the UK is revealed to the public.

This is Hitachi’s factory in Kasado and today is the culmination of a lot of hard work by many people who have been involved with a programme which dates back as far as 2005.


Planning aheadThe Department for Transport first proposed a new

class of train to replace the HST (Class 43) which were already thirty years old. Plans were drawn up for a single class of train in three formats – diesel powered as an exact replacement, an overhead electric variant, and a bi-mode train which could run on 25kV AC with under wires and be self-propelled on non-electrified sections.

The formal invitation to tender went out in 2007, but then the process was delayed as plans to electrify the Great Western main line called the proposed mix of train types into question.

After an open tender process, Agility Trains – a consortium of Hitachi, John Laing and Barclays Private Equity - was named as the preferred bidder in February 2009. More juggling of the numbers took place as plans for electrification were clarified and the all-diesel version was dropped. The bi-mode train was reconsidered against the option to couple a diesel locomotive to the front of an electric train when running beyond the extent of the electrified infrastructure, although this idea was later shelved.

At the same time, finance for the programme was being organised. This would be the first mainline rail project in the UK to be financed through a public private partnership (PPP). The first £2.2 billion, to finance the trains for the Great Western main line, was agreed in July 2012. £1 billion came from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), £235 million from

the European Investment Bank, and the remaining £1 billion from a group of about seven UK and Japanese commercial banks.

Finally, the first order was placed in July 2012 - a total of 57 trains, 369 cars, for the Great Western. 21 trains would be 9-car all-electric ones and 36 trains would be 5-car bi-modes.

The second order, for 65 more trains for the East Coast Main Line (10 five-car and 13 nine-car bi-modes and 12 five-car and 30 nine-car all-electric units) was placed in July 2013 with financial closure in April 2014.

With orders in place, Hitachi crystallised its plans to build a new factory at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, in which to build the trains. Criticism that this would be ‘merely an assembly operation from Japanese-made kits’ was countered when the company announced a hefty local content with components such as couplers, seats, powerpacks, kitchen interiors, braking systems, glass, pantographs and communications systems all coming from Europe.

IEP designSo what of the train itself? True to the original concept,

there is a high level of commonality. Put simply, it’s actually an electric train. A central busbar arrangement feeds the traction motors in the bogies, which power the train. Power for that busbar can come either from a pantograph on the roof, or from diesel-generator power packs mounted under the carriage frames.

All of the driving cars are the same in that they each have a pantograph and auxiliary power supply.

Control desk of train 58 is ready for shipment.


The five-car bi-mode intermediate carriages each have motor bogies fitted with an MTU diesel generator slung under the frame.

A five-car bi-mode train thus consists of two electric-only driving cars and three diesel-powered intermediate cars. The nine-car has two driving cars, five diesel-powered cars and two trailer cars.

If, at some future date, the bi-mode trains are no longer required, the diesel engines can be moved from those coaches leaving just electric-powered cars.

The two electric-only sets, five-car and nine-car, both include one diesel-powered carriage. This gives the train a ‘last mile’ capability to move under its own power either in a depot or to remove itself from an unpowered section of track which could be due to a failure or maintenance work. This flexibility could prove useful to operators where a true electric train would get stuck in section.

Pre-productionThree trains are currently being built in the Kasado factory.

Train number one is the one used for the launch – a five-car bi-mode train destined for Great Western.

In one of the factory buildings, tucked out of sight behind a Shinkansen carriage, the finishing touches are being made to a driving car for the second train - a nine-car bi-mode for East Coast which, as the first one in that order, it is actually train number 58.

Third will be train number two, the second Great Western five-car bi-mode. All three will be sent over to the UK for testing, first of all at Old Dalby and then on the network.

The train that was shown to the press is almost complete. The cab includes a GSM-R radio and ETCS signalling.

In the cabin of the driving car, all the panelling and lighting is in place as is the carpet. A single rake of first-class seating is installed, to show what it will look like. It was actually ‘borrowed’ from the mock-up that was built in the UK. Otherwise the compartment is empty – waiting for its instrumentation when the test programme starts. The other four cars are even emptier with just rubber underlay on the floors.

The first-class galley is in place though, as is the toilet. Both are modular and are removable so, if an operator wants a different layout in the future, this can be easily accommodated.

Assembly of the third train proceeds in the Kasado factory.


One slight quirk is that having diesel engines under the carriages has meant that the floor has to be raised slightly to get them in. There is therefore a gentle ramp between carriages – not inconvenient but noticeable.

The sliding doors look odd to those used to UK-style plug doors. Won’t they cause noise at speed? And be unreliable? In fact – no. Hitachi believes in evolution rather than devolution in design and these sliding doors are already in use in the Class 395 Javelin trains operated by Southeastern and they are also fitted to all of the 200mph Shinkansen trains without any noticeable noise problems.

Production plansThese three pre-production trains, and the ten

production trains, will be built at Kasado to verify design and assembly of each train. So all of the European components, which includes the German-made galleys, will be shipped to Japan for assembly into the trains and then shipped back.

Thereafter the Japanese-manufactured components will be shipped to County Durham for assembly there. These will include complete aluminium bodyshells which are manufactured out of 300mm wide by 26 metre long double-skinned rectangular slabs using a friction stir welding process. The production line for this takes up one complete bay of the factory and is too costly to install at Newton Aycliffe for now. Long-term plans do include transferring this work to the UK once orders from European markets warrant it.

Bogies and traction systems will also come from Japan, as will the ETCS signalling system. However, most of the rest of the train is UK or European sourced.

The external design was carried out by Hitachi’s own styling studios in Tokyo while the mechanical and electrical

design came from Kasado and other Japanese factories. The interior was designed in the UK by DCA Design International of Warwick as Hitachi felt it needed someone in touch with British taste and expectations to come up with the best solution. It is one of the sets of seats from the mock-up they built that is in the launch vehicle.

Continuing involvementThe experience and resources available at the

521,000m2 Kasado factory are vast. It first started building railway locomotives, steam at that time, in 1921. Electric locos and trains quickly followed and today the plant builds trains for Japan’s 1,062mm gauge network, for the standard-gauge Shinkansen railways and for a world market.

So a close involvement with both Newton Aycliffe and the new train will be maintained. As managing director Junichi Kawahata said, Kasado will be the mother factory to the UK plant. British staff are already working alongside their Japanese counterparts helping to build the pre-production units and, once the English factory opens in 2015, they will help train the workers there.

Keith Jordan, managing director of Hitachi Rail Europe, is looking forward to seeing the new trains in the UK. The first one ships in January 2015 and, with a 57 day shipping time, train number 800001 should be unloaded at Southampton by early April.

And what will happen to the first train in the meantime? It is reversed up, the curtains are closed and the long-suffering guardian grips them tightly against the wind, the coloured ball is folded shut with the streamers back inside and a new piece of red and white ribbon is produced. It’s time to do the whole thing again for the benefit of the Japanese media.

(Above) Outside-frame power bogie and right the inside-frame trailing bogie for comparison.

(Top right) Keith Jordan, Managing Director of Hitachi Rail Europe, on the train.


Travelling by train today through Reading on Network Rail’s Great Western main line, is definitely a unique experience. “Why?” you may ask. Well firstly, you will travel through a totally rebuilt station that now caters for more than 700 trains and has the capacity to accommodate up to 100,000 passengers per day. The rebuilt station was officially inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 July 2014, marking the completion of a four-

year project which forms part of an overall Reading scheme valued at £895 million.

You will also notice electrification equipment imposing onto the landscape. Then, to the west of the station, you will see a new, award winning train care depot, built by VolkerFitzpatrick, designed to provide stabling, servicing and maintenance facilities for existing trains and eventually for new electric and Crossrail stock.

Which way to look?Then if you tear your eyes away from the new train care depot on the

other side of the railway formation you will see, flashing past you, an imposing brand new 1.75km long railway viaduct which has just been completed and is ready to go into service.

Network Rail appointed Atkins to design this new structure and in November 2012, a target contract valued at approximately £45 million was let to Balfour Beatty. The work comprised feeder line embankments, flood culverts, foundations for overhead lines and associated drainage works. The project also included demolition of the original train care depot to the south to make way for the new viaduct built by Balfour Beatty. This work started in the spring of 2013, following essential track and S&T remodelling and removal work.

CollaborationKevin Brown is Network Rail’s senior programme manager for the

scheme and William (Billy) Smith is Balfour Beatty’s project director for the construction of the viaduct. Last September they carried out a joint ‘Culture’ survey, asking everyone who had been involved with the viaduct a number of questions.

One of those was “Am I proud to tell others outside this business what I am involved with at work?” 88% said that they were.

This is clearly very encouraging feedback and implies that there must have been a strong cohesion between the teams. However, the contract itself was not set up as a collaborative contract but, as Billy explained, at the

start of the work everyone had to deal with the worst winter weather on record and they realised that the only way that they were going to succeed was to adopt a level of maturity that ensured that everything was open and transparent. Kevin shares this view as this open manner enabled the team to find a way forward and ensure that the project was a success.

Safety by designAtkins designed two types of bridge pier, one a fixed pier two metres wide

and the other a free pier 1.2 metres wide. The fixed piers are supported on a 16-pile configuration and the free piers are supported on an 8-pile layout. The reinforced concrete fixed and free piers alternate and they are positioned 25 metres apart, ready to support seven precast concrete beams for each span.

The design required the precast concrete beams to be fixed together longitudinally with interlocking reinforced concrete over the fixed piers. This allows for bending moment forces to be transferred into the columns and for the beams to be freely supported on the free piers with a 60mm gap between them.

Kevin outlined to me that, at the design stage, Network Rail decided to adopt a design using precast units wherever possible. This significantly reduced the amount of work that would take place on site, thereby reducing the number of lifts, often at height, that are required for formwork and staging. Kevin described it as the type of work that is considered mundane, involving everyday tasks, the type of work that often attracts accidents.

Although using precast sections reduced the amount of risk on site, there were still many aspects of the work that required careful planning and a high level of expertise as it took place in a challenging environment working close to running lines, often involving a tandem lift, and at height.

At any one time there were between 200 and 400 people employed on site and, throughout the project, the site was considered and indeed proved to be a very safe place to work.

Reading Viaduct

COLLIN CARR

Contributing to a unique experience


Leading the way in the rail industry, our electrification team delivers innovative design, development and construction management services for OLE and conductor rail systems. Achieving great things from concept to delivery and everything in-between, we’re busier than ever thanks to some fantastic new project wins. Electrification means faster, quieter, greener and more reliable journeys. And we’re applying our expertise to help create a world-class rail network for the future and make the UK even better connected.

We trust our people to go beyond to exceed the expectations of our clients. You’re our greatest asset, so we’ll invest in you and exceed your expectations too. This means you can look forward to structured professional development, continuity of work, plenty of

variety and opportunities to broaden your skills. You’ll make the most of cutting-edge design tools as you work collaboratively to deliver network electrification, remodelling and upgrade projects across the country. And you’ll enjoy being part of a team that has the capacity, depth and breadth of talent to deliver innovative solutions.

Atkins people are instinctively driven to achieve. Self-starters, curious about the world around us, we combine technical expertise with entrepreneurial thinking and the desire to never stop learning. Are you one of us? There’s more to us than meets the eye, so discover more about Atkins and our careers at

This is our storyImproving together

“ I’m proud to be working with cutting edge design tools and the finest minds on some of the most challenging technical projects of our time.”David Humphrey, Electrification Operations Director

Project managers | Design managers | Distribution design engineers | OLE design engineers | Systems engineers |UK-wide opportunities £competitive salaries + great benefits

www.atkinsglobal.com/ careers/railengineer or email [email protected]

3D imagingTo minimise the risks associated with the

interlocking fixed beams, Balfour Beatty decided to use laser surveys of the rebars to produce 3D models showing how the in-situ and precast reinforcement would intermesh. This then enabled any adjustments or cuts to take place before the lift started. As a consequence, the many complex and often tandem lifts were completed successfully in about seven minutes with everything fitting together as planned, thus significantly minimising the risks for those involved.

The 320 precast beams, along with 176 thirty tonne culvert units and 1000 precast embankment panels required for the project, were fabricated and supplied by the Irish company Shay Murtagh Precast. The units were transported across the Irish Sea to Liverpool and then on to site by road. It was very important that each beams arrived on time and also facing in the right direction given the fixed and free ends involved and the restrictions on site.

The beams were then, whenever possible, tandem lifted into position using 200 tonne and 160 tonne crawler cranes provided by Weldex.

Where tandem lifting was not possible, a 500 tonne mobile crane was used to position the beams. These complex lifts were very carefully planned and executed.

Sod’s LawUnfortunately, sod’s law does work. Every

single precast item was delivered on time and in good order except for the very last beam which was slightly damaged and had to be replaced. Shay Murtagh Precast responded immediately and a replacement beam arrived within a week. Billy was full of praise for the quality of work and support service provided by the Irish manufacturer.

To ensure that work was completed as efficiently as possible a ‘Match Curing’ technique was adopted to determine the strength of concrete. Normally, sample cubes are taken from a batch of concrete and they are crushed to determine its strength. However, this does not necessarily reflect the true strength of the in-situ concrete which has the capacity to generate considerable heat and therefore additional strength.

To reproduce this state, electrodes were inserted into the concrete piers to measure the temperature. The sample cubes were then kept in water maintained at the same temperature. This process gave the site team the information required to enable them to strike the formwork at an earlier stage, knowing that the strength of the in situ concrete was adequate, which enabled them to move onto the next phase of work - often in advance of the programme.


Geotechnical Solutions

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Ground stabilisationAt the start and throughout the project

there was a need to stabilise the ground ready for the construction of the bridge piers, box structures and culverts. Extensive lengths of sheet piling were installed to support the existing running lines and to cater for the varying levels encountered on the site. 1008 continuous flight auger (CFA) piles, varying in diameter from 900mm to 1050mm, were also installed. Some of these were adjacent to running lines so a careful programme, designed and reviewed hour-by-hour, was introduced to maximise efficiency and avoid any disruption.

This worked well and the ground work was completed successfully although, as already stated, there were periods of terrible weather and site flooding. Various innovative methods were introduced and, on occasions, the piling had to be carried out inside two-metre-diameter tubes to keep the groundwater from gushing up to destabilise the piling mat.

As well as the CFA piling, an additional 1851 Vibro concrete column (VCC) piles six metres long and 600mm diameter were installed to support reinforced earth ramps located at the east and west end of the viaduct and a midway point along the viaduct known as the Festival ramp. In total there is now 21.5km of CFA piles and 10.5km of VCC piles in the ground supporting the new viaduct structure.

Ground reinforcement specialists Maccaferri, contracted by Balfour Beatty, were responsible for the design and construction of the three reinforced soil ramp structures. These are 150 metres, 231 metres and 335 metres long, varying in height from five to seven metres, and the ramps cover a total area of approximately 2,600 square metres.

Flexible approach to strengthUnlike conventional concrete panel reinforced

soil designs that use steel reinforcement, Maccaferri employ a BBA Certified geocomposite material called Paraweb which has a design life of 120 years.

Paraweb is a form of strapping (see below) available in different strengths, typically varying from 27kN to 100kN. With conventional reinforced soil design, the number and length of the steel reinforcements are increased dependent on the design strengths required. This means a change/increase in the fixings to the concrete panels. One of the advantages of the Maccaferri MacRES system is that additional strength is obtained by just using a higher grade of Paraweb, knowing that the number of toggle fixing points fixed into the back of the concrete panels will be minimised.

An additional advantage is that Paraweb is less vulnerable to different soil conditions than steel reinforcement. This has helped Network Rail to use recycled material wherever possible to provide fill for the reinforced soil ramps at either end of the viaduct.

The area close to the demolished depot and the new freight line was wetland and, to compensate for the loss of this area of land, Network Rail agreed with the Environmental Agency that it would construct a reception pond with flood relief culverts constructed underneath the new freight line. Kevin estimates that 98% of the excavated material has been retained on site. This is, without doubt, a significant achievement.

Carillion has now installed the track over the viaduct - hiring Balfour Beatty Rail’s track relaying train to do the work. The work was completed in four shifts and then the ballast was brought in by train, using dumper trucks for final distribution. In addition, Siemens Rail Automation has installed the signal equipment required and, over the Christmas period, the lines will be connected into the operational railway.

30 weeks!As Billy pointed out to me, the viaduct

superstructure is massive and it has taken 30 weeks to build. It is a timescale that is hard to believe. The majority of this work has taken place without interfering with day-to-day operations even though many of the tandem lifts have been complex, challenging and close to running lines. It has changed the landscape in Reading and ensures that travelling through Reading by train is a now unique experience.

However, reader, be careful because, before you know it, your train will be travelling over the viaduct and you will not be able to see all the great engineering work that Billy, Kevin and their collaborating teams have been undertaking. You will, though, be able to see trains that form part of the growing freight business travelling below your fast-accelerating Intercity train without causing any disturbance. Now that will be another unique experience.


CREATING AND CARING FOR ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS

FOR MORE INFORMATIONe: [email protected]: 0207 963 2144w: balfourbeattycsuk.com

With the delivery of the last Class 350/3 EMU to London Midland in August, last month’s The Rail Engineer focused on the 77-strong Class 350 EMU fleet based at Siemens’ Kings Heath Depot in Northampton. This month’s issue considers the introduction of the

smaller fleet of ten Class 350/4 EMUs earlier this year on First TransPennine’s Manchester Airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh service.

These ten 350/4 units, together with the ten 350/3 units recently delivered to Northampton, were part of a £145 million order secured by Siemens in 2012 which also included a maintenance agreement and the electrification of their Ardwick depot. The first units to be delivered under this order were the Class 350/4 units which were received between November 2013 and March 2014.

Manchester to Scotland electricsDecember 2013 saw the completion of phase

one of the North West electrification project from Castlefield junction in Manchester to Newton Le Willows. This provided an electrified route from Manchester to the northern part of the West Coast main line (WCML) and was the spur for the early delivery of the Class 350/4 trains which could then provide an electric train service between Manchester and Scotland.

Class 390 Pendolinos also took advantage of this electrification for empty stock moves from the northern WCML to Longsight depot, such moves having previously been routed via Crewe.

The first Class 350/4 passenger service between Manchester and Scotland was on 30 December 2013. Thereafter these units progressively replaced the Class 185 Desiro DMUs until all were in service by 2 April 2014. On 26 April, a special train consisting of a Class

350/4 unit ran between Glasgow Central and Manchester Piccadilly in 2 hours 46 minutes, stopping only at Carlisle for a crew change. The current timetable has eight stops and takes 3 hours 17 minutes.

Class 350 rebornWhen Siemens received their order for a

further twenty Class 350 units from Angel Trains, it had been four years since the last one had been built. In that time, manufacturing techniques had been changed and new standards introduced. Furthermore, this new order incorporated modifications made to earlier units to enable them to run at 110mph. However, the Class 350/4 units currently remain restricted to 100mph pending certification by Network Rail for 110 mph running on the northern WCML.

The requirements for 110mph running included strengthened traction-motor rotors to enable them to run at 5,000rpm, pantographs with open arc horns that are both lighter and have improved aerodynamic properties, increasing lateral damping from 30 kN/m to 50 kN/m and modification to control software. In addition, the new units had GSM-R radio fitted, updated TPWS and AWS, and new CCTV and fire detection systems to meet new European interoperability requirements.

The Class 350 EMU comprises of four 20.3 metre-long aluminium coaches. At each end

are driving motor coaches with a 250kW asynchronous traction motor on each axle, between these are a pantograph vehicle with the transformer and a trailer vehicle. The Class 350/4 unit weighs 170.4 tons. Its total power of 2 MW (2,700 hp) gives it a power-to-weight ratio of 15.7 hp per ton.

The Class 350/4 is configured for an inter-city service and so has a total of 197 seats, compared with the Class 350/3’s 230 seats. It has more luggage space and is the only Class 350 unit with 2+1 seating in first class.

Electrifying Ardwick The £30 million Ardwick train maintenance

facility was opened in February 2006 to service and maintain the new fleet of 51 First TransPennine Express Class 185 Desiro DMUs. It includes a two-road fuelling point and a depot building with four roads that each accommodate four Class 185 units, each consisting of three 23-metre vehicles.

In July 2009 the Government announced the 51 km route between Manchester and Liverpool was to be electrified at a cost of £100 million. A few months later plans to electrify a further three routes in the North West were announced bringing the total cost of the North West electrification scheme to £400 million.

With this announcement it was clear that Ardwick could no longer be a diesel-only depot and so its conversion to accept electric units was part of the same contract to procure the Class 350/4 units to run over the newly electrified railway. This entailed electrifying most of the depot’s external tracks including cutting back the

DAVID SHIRRES

Scotland350s to


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But then, at Angel Trains we’ve always offered a bridgebetween finance and operations. Over the last 10 years,our extensive rail experience and innovative approach tofinancing has enabled us to invest over £3 billion in newtrains and refurbishments.

fuel road canopies and modifying the train-wash which had its roof-level brushes removed.

The depot was extended by ten metres to accommodate the lengthening of all four roads along with their pits and overhead cranes. Although only one road has been electrified for the Class 350/4 fleet, extending all four roads future-proofs the depot for additional EMUs that it may acquire on completion of the North West electrification scheme in 2016. On the electrified road, a high-level access system interlocked with isolation was provided and the diesel exhaust ducts were removed.

This work was undertaken by Spencer Rail at a cost of £5 million and was started in September 2012. The depot work was completed by July 2013 although a problem with OLE at the depot entrance curve meant that it could not receive electric trains until November. As a result, the first two Class 350/4 units to be received were commissioned from Arriva’s Crewe depot.

The depot now typically handles seventeen Class 185 units and six Class 350/4 units each night.

TrainingMaintaining EMUs at Ardwick created 20

new jobs, bringing the depot complement of technicians to around 60, all of whom work on both the Class 185 and 350/4 units. Training for this started in April 2013 with a small number of technicians sent to the Siemens facility at Wildenrath, Germany.

The training of existing staff took around one week per person and was done both at the Northampton Depot and in the training rooms at Ardwick. It helped that the Class 185 and 350/4 share the same bogies and much of the braking system and also have a similar train control system.

Keeping the fleet runningThe Class 350/4 units typically make three

Manchester to Scotland single trips each day and each travel 260,000 miles per year as a result. This is higher than the other Class 350 units which run services with more stops with some units not being used off-peak.

The availability requirement on this service is 80% from Tuesday to Thursday and 90%

from Friday to Monday. This is a demanding requirement for this small fleet as a random event taking one unit out of service reduces availability by 10%.

The units receive an examination every 16,000 miles, alternating between A and B exams. The A exams are done overnight. The B exams take 24 hours and balance all the maintenance required over a two-year cycle. Other routine maintenance includes defect management and tyre turning on Ardwick depot’s wheel lathe.

The heavy maintenance requirement for the fleet is determined by the 750,000 mile bearing life of the traction motors. At this mileage, traction motors and bogies will be given a thorough overall.

Each night, about half the fleet remains in Scotland - split between Corkerhill and Craigentinny depots. Here the units are cleaned and serviced. The maintenance requirement is limited to compressor oil level check and external visual checks.

Initial experienceIt might be thought that training the staff and

modifying the depot should ensure a trouble-free service introduction. Well, not quite, as there is no substitute for experience and, as reliability engineers know, one end of the bathtub curve is the result of early ‘infant mortality’ failures which, to a degree, affect all new products.

One such infant mortality was the new Mark 4 TPWS control unit which resulted in units being taken out of service due to spurious fault light indications, found to be due to the self-test signal, generated at each green signal, not always being

detected as the field from the test coil was too weak. Depot technical staff worked with Unipart to resolve this problem and the resulting modification has now been fitted to all units.

On one unit, the Buckholtz relay kept tripping due to air in the transformer oil. As this is a rare fault, Ardwick was unlucky to experience this on one of its fleet of ten units. It took some time to resolve this problem which required the use of gas recycling equipment from Northampton depot and oil samples being sent back to Siemens in Germany. This did, however, provide the depot staff valuable experience on this equipment.

Random events outside the depot’s control included a pantograph hitting an OLE dropper and body damage from a loose load on a freight train. Also an object on the track punctured a transformer oil pipe. These pipes have since been fitted with shields.

7,500 + 40The addition of 40 vehicles to the UK’s current

fleet of 7,500 EMU coaches might not be thought to be particularly newsworthy. However, as has been seen, the introduction of the ten-strong Class 350/4 fleet and its maintenance at a previously diesel-only depot was not straightforward. Doing something new on the rail network is rarely easy and Ardwick has risen to the challenge of adding electric trains to its diesel depot.

The Class 350/4 trains may be new but the newly electrified railway over which they run is certainly not. The Liverpool to Manchester railway was opened in 1830 and was the site of the Rainhill trials won by Robert Stephenson’s Rocket steam locomotive. It is the world’s oldest public railway still in operation and was built by Robert’s father George who, towards the end of his life, said that “one of the great uses to which electric force will be applied eventually will be the simple conveyance of power by means of wires”.

How right he was, even if it has taken 183 years for the Liverpool to Manchester line to get from Rocket to the Class 350/4.

Class 350/4 on newly electrified No 8 road with roof access.


What a change in fortune! From a line doomed to near extinction by Dr. Beeching back in 1966 to complete electrification

by the end of 2014. Even by 1993 the Whifflet line from Glasgow to Coatbridge had acquired re-opened stations and the reintroduction of a passenger service. The whole dynamic of train travel in the South Glasgow area had changed and would continue to do so right up to and beyond the present day.

With this change comes pressure for electrification with all the operating and passenger benefits that accrue. Of the 2,776 km of rail track in Scotland 25.3% (711 km) is electrified - but, despite the Whifflet’s line survival, here was a route that has, until now, remained dependant on diesel-powered rolling stock. It was also a line that was unavailable for any electric stock movements from Glasgow Central station across to Edinburgh via Motherwell.

Scheme brought forwardOriginally scheduled to be wired in 2016, the £18

million Rutherglen to Coatbridge Electrification (RaCE) scheme was brought forward under an alliance between Network Rail and Scotrail. Carillion was called upon to carry out the work, which was tendered as a standalone project by Network Rail.

The challenge, of course, for Paul Storey, Carillion’s head of electrification, was how to deliver a scheme that, until fairly recently, had been on the metaphoric backburner and have it ready for live running for the December 2014 timetable.

‘Challenging’ was a word that cropped up several times in conversation with Paul. ‘Grey hairs’ were mentioned as well. ‘Difficult’ was the best politically sensitive compromise used to describe some of the areas through which the line passes.

Working out of a depot at Bishopbriggs and an office at Blantyre with a storage facility at Shettleston, the whole scheme was delivered by stealth through nights and weekends. Effectively, Paul’s team did it on the quiet.

GRAHAME TAYLOR

Livechallengethe rail engineer • December 201434

Series 2 designFirst specified as using using Mk3B equipment, the

design was modified to incorporate Network Rail’s ‘Series 2’ specification in order to meet TSI requirements. (Here’s some help with this acronym: TSI = Technical Specifications for Interoperability. Rail TSIs are common, harmonised, technical standards that ensure that the essential requirements of rail interoperability are met.)

Because it’s a Series 2 design much of the equipment comes from Bonomi in Italy, imported through Pace Networks with lead times of some 16 - 20 weeks.

“We developed a strategy of early design involvement allowing us to do take-offs as soon as possible,” Paul commented. “There was a procurement and buying risk, but this had to be managed so that we’d got agreement with the client to purchase early when each detailed design was signed off. It allowed us to bulk stock and store the equipment. This was then taken out and installed on a just-in-time basis. Equipment was never left out on the track side.”

And why was that? It’s that word ‘difficult’ again. Or to be blunt, there were areas where there was a high vandalism and theft risk. That was why all power and control cables had to be buried and why it was very difficult to locate and identify cables that were already in the ground.

The burying of new cables had an inevitable impact on existing cable troughing routes, involved many diversions and was a difficult civils project on its own.

The mast foundations were predominantly conventional 610mm pile arrangements although there were occasions where mass concrete footings had to be used as a result

of ground conditions. Piling was the preferred option as there’s no need for test results before a mast can be erected and the route did not have the benefit of good access points.

PowerThe route was supplied with power from the national

grid by extending existing electrical sections from Rutherglen East Junction to Langloan Junction. New high voltage (HV) switchgear was provided at Langloan Junction and Eglinton Street Feeder Station. The latter was extended using the existing, redundant, Coatbridge TSC (Track Sectioning Cabin) building and switchgear from the previous Cumbernauld Electrification scheme. This

Delivering a vital link Working to a tight deadline and meeting the many challenges of a complex project, we have delivered electrification of the Glasgow to Coatbridge line, creating a vital link to the city’s suburban network.

Contact us at www.carillionplc.com


involved fully refurbishing and relocating the building and conversion of the existing bus section breaker to two track breakers.

The RTU (remote terminal unit) from the former Coatbridge TSC was reconfigured to allow communication of ‘distance to fault’ readings to Cathcart ECR (electrical control room) by retro-fitting various relays. Further works involved modifications to top box low voltage wiring and installation of series links.

A new TSC was also installed at Langloan Junction using the existing refurbished switchgear, building and ancillary equipment from Bellgrove TSC, also available from the Cumbernauld Scheme.

Using the two ‘redundant’ buildings and switchgear has brought significant cost savings to the client.

As Class 390 Pendolino trains will be permitted to operate on the route, it has also been necessary to install a harmonic damper at Langloan TSC. However, Class 390 Pendolino trains will only ever use this route under perturbed working.

Fixed earthing devicesNetwork Rail required that Carillion adopted technical

document PAN/E&P-E/PRO0083. Although this document is a design guidance note for electrification schemes, it affected the construction of the OLE equipment on this project. This impacted on the removal of live cross-track feeds, the installation of an aerial earth wire in lieu of structure to rail earth bonding and the installation of fixed earthing devices (FEDs).

FEDs have an important function. They allow isolations and earthing, for maintenance work, to be taken / given back quickly without having to go through the process of applying earths with long poles and clips. These are an important part of the ‘lifecycle cost’ element of the works with the double win of less money spent on the isolation process and a longer, more productive, period available for maintenance. Carillion knew that FEDs were

in development on other national projects and engaged early with designers, suppliers and the client to adopt a clear strategy and requirements to allow these to be introduced.

Morris Line 1250A manual and motorised isolators were selected for use. The rationale in this was that this particular isolator and its earlier predecessors were extensively installed throughout the electrified routes in Scotland. They are also approved for use in series 2 and this met the TSI requirements. In addition, Morris Line is fully engaged in manufacturing the required FEDs.

Linesmen shortageThroughout the construction phase of the works, there

were numerous stages and methods required. Without exception, Carillion used suitably qualified and experienced personnel and, where required, they met the requirements of NR/L2/CTM/028 - Competence and Training in OLE Construction Engineering (OLEC).

It was recognised that there is a shortage of OLE linesmen resource throughout the UK. Carillion addressed this key shortage by forming a partnership with SPL Powerlines to provide linesmen and supervision to supplement that of their own.

Immunisation issues could have caused serious delays unless carefully managed. To save the time that would otherwise have been spent on intrusive and lengthy cable surveys, it was decided that the most effective solution would be to install a classic booster transformer 25kV system with an aerial earth and also a return screening conductor. This ensured that all the immunisation interfaces could be managed robustly.

CommissioningThis new portion of electrified line is controlled from

the existing control room (ECR) at Cathcart and so communications links needed to be established to interface with the SCADA systems and control displays.


Updates to the ECR control system were undertaken to reflect the changes to the newly-electrified infrastructure. These were fairly complex given that the existing VDU control screens and MIMIC Panel were in use at all times and could not be taken out of service.

This required very detailed planning with all stakeholders and several background ‘dummy’ stages to ensure that the operational systems were not compromised. The MIMIC panel took over 100 new tiles to reflect the route on the board, although some tiles were ‘recycled’ from the old Coatbridge TSC.

SCADA control systems have been installed in all motorised isolators along the route to enable ECR controllers to quickly isolate sections and sub-sections should any faults occur in the OLE equipment.

By September 2014, the hardware was ready for commissioning - an exercise that involves signalling colleagues and the preparation of a detailed commissioning document. This addressed questions of cutting into existing electrified railways at Coatbridge and on the WCML.

With commissioning complete on the 28 September and the wires energised there is time for driver training ready for the new train patterns in the December timetable.

Off to ShottsDespite the barely detectable new grey hairs, Paul

is proud of his team’s achievements. Working with their suppliers and partners Siemens, designer Hyder Consulting and SPL Power Lines, Carillion has been able to react to an extremely tight deadline and deliver a vital link

in the Glasgow suburban network. Where to next? There’s no rest for Carillion’s

electrification team and their colleagues. It’s off to the Shotts branch between Holytown and Midcolder Jcn with approximately 75 single track kilometres of wiring to complete. All this would have been unthinkable half a century ago. What a change in fortune for Glasgow and the whole railway network!

Manufacturers of High Voltage Disconnectors & Switches

Morris Line Engineering

Morris Line Engineering has the capacity to meet any electrical project or maintenance requirements you may have. Our business is based on satisfied customers and a reputation for high quality project support and we welcome the opportunity to discuss your project requirements in more detail.

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Morris Line Engineering, Main Avenue, Brackla Industrial Estate, Bridgend, CF31 2AG, United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)1656 650680 Fax: +44 (0)1656 768209 Web: www.morrisline.co.uk


Day 1: A meeting of rail safety minds How do we continue to make sense of safety?

Day 2: CIRAS - Confi dential Reporting for Safety Are we addressing the concerns of the workforce?

Book your tickets now at www.railsafetysummit.com

Following the success of last year’s Rail Safety Summit, we are delighted to announce that our sixth event is now expanded to two days, and will be held on Thursday 30th April and Friday 1st May at the Royal College of Physicians, London.

The Rail Safety Summit has become THE conference for rail safety executives, infrastructure owners, train operators, rail stakeholders

and training professionals, with leading fi gures from the rail safety, security, risk assessment and training professions all in attendance.

An Advisory Board has been developed for the 2015 Safety Summit. This esteemed group of people come from all areas of the Rail Industry and are best placed to know what the current burning questions in the industry are that need to be answered.

Rail SafetySummit 2015 LONDON

30/04/15 - 01/05/15

KEYNOTE SPEAKER, DAY 1

Mark Carne

Chief Executive

Network Rail

Charles Horton

Chief Executive

Govia Thameslink Railway

KEYNOTE SPEAKER, DAY 2

Rail Safety Summit A3 RS Nov14.indd 1 26/11/2014 16:05

The railway has embraced fibre optic technology ever since it became commercially available in the early

1980s. Quickly established as the norm for trunk telecom transmission purposes, not only did it offer vast bandwidth opportunities, it solved the ever-present problem of inductive interference and associated immunisation techniques for long distance copper cables.

In the intervening years, much has happened to improve splicing techniques (jointing) and the means by which faults can be accurately located in the event of cable damage. A pattern was soon established to lay fibre cables in traditional concrete trough routes in lengths up to 2km. Selected fibres would be broken out for the associated digital transmission equipment to be multiplexed to allow local circuit access. From these points, local copper cable ‘tails’ would provide connection to telephones, data terminals and even signalling interlockings and remote terminals.

In parallel, digital transmission techniques have migrated from PDH (plesiochronous digital hierarchy) to SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) and now to IP (internet protocol) which offers up the possibility of fibre-borne digital signals right to the end device. With that comes the requirement for more flexible fibre terminations together with ease of adding new fibres should the need occur. The normal configuration of trunk fibres and copper local feeds does not facilitate this emerging requirement and a new means of cable provision has had to be devised.

Composite ductingBurying cable in pipes is not new and both

porcelain and plastic versions have been used for years. However, these were single tubes and cables would be pulled through on a draw wire.

Over time, the pipe would often sag or even break and inserting additional cable would be difficult if not impossible.

Designing a composite material pipe incorporating several ducts within it would revolutionise the process and Emtelle, a company based in Hawick in the Scottish Borders, has produced a number of different size ducts to fulfil this need. The resultant product can be reeled on to a drum thus permitting easy installation either on the surface or more likely direct burial via a mole plough. Once in place, bundles of fibres can then be ‘inserted’ into the duct at will, the technique for so doing being described later.

The Scottish telecoms engineers within Network Rail have been quick to realise the potential of such a system to meet the cabling demands of many of their ongoing line modernisation and electrification projects. In discussion with the firm, two sizes of duct have emerged: » A 300mm duct containing three 5mm tubes,

each tube capable of taking a 12-fibre bundle. The main duct can be manufactured in up to 2km lengths.

» A 700mm duct containing three 12 mm tubes and three 5mm tubes, the larger tubes being capable of taking up to a 72-fibre mini-cable. The main duct has a maximum manufactured length of 1km.

The two duct types have bending radii of 300mm and 700mm respectively, useful for when having to traverse from one side of the line to the other.

The duct is made of a non-metallic composite material which, if laid on the surface, can suffer from thermal expansion problems. To minimise this, glass fibre threads with a low coefficient of heat are incorporated into the sheath to help prevent the total duct expanding.

Once lengths of duct have been installed, they need to be joined to create a continuous route and a number of joint options are available. The most common type is a straight joint designed for placement in a concrete trough or a similar surface mount. A different type is used if the joint is to be directly buried, this having a more

robust casing to prevent damage from flints or inadvertent digging. Where a spur out to a lineside termination is required, a three way joint is available.

All joints are re-enterable so as to facilitate additional fibres at a later date. The internal tubes are joined by simple push-fit connectors, almost identical to those used in plumbing.

Blowing the fibreOnce a main duct is installed, the process of fibre

blowing can begin. Bundles of fibre can be up to 8km long but it is not possible to blow this length in one go, 2km being the maximum length to install a single section. This conveniently marries up to the normal maximum length of the duct between joints.

Having selected, for example, a 12-fibre bundle, this is initially inserted into the sub-duct on rollers for up to 500 metres. A compressor, powered by a petrol generator located at the trackside, will then take over the insertion by blowing air into the sub-duct. For the smaller 5mm duct, around 10 Bar (140lb/sq in) of pressure is required and for the bigger 12mm duct, this increases to 15 Bar (around 200lb/sq in). An installation rate of 47 metres/minute is achievable.

At the joint location, the fibre bundle exits at that rate and then has to be coiled ready for onward blowing into the next section. Devices to facilitate this coiling are available but the Scots, pragmatic as ever, found that an inflatable children’s paddling pool (bright orange of course!) serves the purpose very well. From thence on, the process repeats itself until the full fibre bundle is installed.

If more than one compressor is available, then the fibre bundle can be continuously blown from one duct section to the next. An important element found from experience is the need to keep the sub-ducts completely dry and thus an air dryer is now incorporated into the compressor. To maximise the overall performance of the cable, it is important to minimise the number of splices required as each will introduce loss.

Fibre Blowing

CLIVE KESSELL

A New Way of Cable Planning


I N N O V A T I O N A N D F L E X I B I L I T Y

Emtelle’s Blown Fibre System enables new fi bre installation technology for Trackside Systems & Rail applications

Emtelle | Haughhead | Hawick TD9 8LF tel: +44 (0)1450 364000 | fax: +44 (0)1450 364001 | www.emtelle.com | [email protected]

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Projects: ■ Perth – Mandurah Railway (Australia) ■ Kuala Lumpur monorail system (Malaysia)■ Gotthard Railway Tunnel (Switzerland)

Emtelle – guided by experience, driven towards the futureGiven that fi bre is used for critical information, such as emergency phones, cameras and monitoring, it’s clear that the technology used to create such a system should allow easy installation, offer limitless bandwidth and be future-proof. Fibre – specifi cally blown fi bre – is the technology that best meets these criteria.

So where does Emtelle fi t into all this? We provide and develop end-to-end blown fi bre solutions for Rail Networks. Our high-speed fi bre solutions carry crucial data back and forth between remote locations and control centres. These high bandwidth solutions generate major benefi ts for Rail operators, engineers and the travelling public.Emtelle are a global supplier of blown fi bre solutions and as well as manufacturing, we offer assistance with designs, installation training and fi bre blowing training to our customers on a global basis.

What does Emtelle offer the Rail industry?Over the last quarter-century Emtelle has developed from a typical developer and manufacturer into a full-scale solutions provider. We can now offer complete passive network solutions for Rail and other sectors, including Fibre-to-the-X (FttX), Power and Telemetry.

Performance – engineered to perfectionAs fi bre networks for the rail industry typically demands consistent and high-level network performance - downtime can be extremely problematic. Also, should a network require maintenance or upgrades, disruption should be minimal.

With our technology, fi bre is simply blown in and out of already-established ducts, so network modifi cation can be done with ease, ensuring maximum uptime, enhanced effi ciency and a high level of operational security.

Value –getting more mileage out of Fibre in Rail Environments“In terms of investment costs, our network solutions offer signifi cant benefi ts, in terms of reduction of the civil work, the skill level required and the ease of repair. In addition, fi bre optic infrastructure supplied by Emtelle is currently being supplied for Rail Projects. The blown fi bre products supplied are upgradeable (for future proofi ng) and there are no distance limitations which you would see with a comparable copper network, which saves on Operating Expenses (OpEx) for the operator,” says Colin Kirkpatrick, Business Development Manager.

Our Rail solutions realise a return on investment surprisingly quickly:• Flexibility and Scalability following the demand for services • Reduced day-one Capital Expenses (CapEx)• Lower OpEx• Direct Bury and Trough friendly products

Contact:Colin Kirkpatrick – UK & International Business Development - email [email protected] - Tel 07810 378854Simon Wade – UK Sales Manager – email [email protected] Tel 07811 377723

Microcable Fibre Unit

Drop Tube

MicroductTube Assembly

Optical Fibre Mini Cable To Railway Station

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2532_11 Advert_Rail_applications_A4.indd 1 14-04-14 10:46

Further bundles can be blown into different tubes at a later date as required. This will mean opening up duct joints to access the tubes but will not necessarily require any fibre splice joints to be opened up.

Experience to dateThe first full application of this technique has

been to link the lineside Ethernet switches for the new VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phones (issue 119, September 2014) on the Cumbernauld line electrification between Springburn and the Greenhill Signalbox fringe. Part of the route had already been equipped with fibre cable under the FTN (fixed telecommunications network) project but the existing fibre joints were wrongly spaced for the lineside locations.

The cable carries a core FTN ring and thus there was a reluctance to disturb the cable because of the potential disruption that might result. Additional fibre cabling was therefore needed and one 300mm duct has been installed in the trough alongside the existing FTN fibre between Gartsherrie and Cumbernauld North FTN nodes. Short spurs (of the same type of duct) run to each lineside location, connected via an inexpensive plastic T-piece, using two tubes to carry the fibre bundle into and out of each location.

A 4-fibre bundle was chosen in this instance to reduce termination work in the locations. The bundle was then blown direct from location to location, thus requiring no fibre splicing, joints or concrete joint bays / chambers anywhere on the 11km length, saving installation time and money. Ethernet switches are ‘daisy chained’ and linked to the MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) network at each end, so as to provide resilience in the event of a single fibre cut or equipment failure.

An additional novel element of the system has been to only terminate a single fibre of the 4-fibre bundle at locations, using bi-directional optic technology in the Ethernet switches. This has successfully proved that another transmission option exists where spare fibre capacity may be very restricted. The installation on the

Cumbernauld route was managed by Atkins, a new venture for this firm.

The single fibre is used as a bearer for all lineside communications and electrification MOS/FED (Motor Operated Switch/Fixed Earthing Device) control. The use of blown fibre in this way has been an important contributor to making the provision of VoIP phones a cost effective proposition in the overall benefit analysis of not having to install booster transformers for immunisation against electrification interference.

Advent of the fibre-only railwayEven more adventurous is the installation on

the new Borders Railway from Edinburgh to Tweedbank. Since this is the restoration of a disused line, the opportunity is being taken to make it a fibre-only railway. To achieve this, the larger Emtelle duct is being installed on both sides of the line directly buried by means of a road hauled mole plough - no railway lines are yet laid. A 24-fibre mini-cable will be blown into one of the 12mm tubes. Where new bridges are being built, holes will be provided through which the duct can be laid. This will enable the required level of resilience to be achieved.

Signalling will be controlled by an additional SSI (solid-state interlocking) in Edinburgh signalling centre and the actuation of points and

signals at the passing loops will be by trackside modules carried over long line links using MPLS (multiprotocol local switching) IP connectivity.

With the EGIP (Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Project) now underway, it will be necessary to expand the fibre provision since the FTN network missed out the Greenhill to Winchburgh section. A large Emtelle duct is planned, the large tubes to be used for node to node connections and the small tubes for lineside applications. The main duct will be laid in the new or refurbished trough route, scheduled for completion by mid 2015.

Future potential and benefit analysisThis innovative approach could well lead to a

new standard for the provision of cable ducts in a fibre-only railway. As experience is gained, so the provision of alternative size ducts is likely to emerge as well as different types of joints. One drawback of the current approach is that, when new cables are installed in concrete troughs, they tend to be laid on top of existing cables in a route. Once the new signalling or telecom systems are brought into use, the old redundant cabling remains in place and the trough becomes over-full. With this system, because the duct is compartmentalised, it would be relatively easy to remove fibre bundles should this be required.

Conventional trough routes are expensive to install, being a labour intensive activity. The duct described, because it can be coiled and directly ploughed in, should offer significant savings on route provision. The system is not a standalone offering but must be considered along with new and different types of transmission to deliver secure bandwidth and data capacity to the lineside. The various elements are inter-active and one can envisage a total package for data networking being part of the overall specification. We will watch developments with interest.

Thanks are expressed to Alisdair Smith from Network Rail/URS who has led the implementation of the application. Mention must also be made of the late Ian Findlay who was the instigator of the technology prior to his untimely death earlier this year.


LinbrookeTotal Network Solutions

Offering unique, 21st century technical training and resource solutions to the telecoms, electrification & plant and signalling sectors.

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Delivering mission-critical telecoms,power and signalling infrastructure solutions for clients across the globe.

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Linbrooke ntrs Advert Final A4.pdf 1 19/11/2014 15:50

Approximately three years have passed since Progress Rail Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc, purchased the trackwork manufacturing business of Balfour Beatty Rail. This acquisition included the design and manufacture of manganese steel castings, track panels, turnouts and crossings at five sites in the UK. The

business generated a revenue of £55 million in 2010.

The headquarters of the Progress Rail track business is at Sandiacre - in Derbyshire but separated from Nottinghamshire only by the River Erewash. Visiting the site, one sees plenty of rail in various stages of preparation, forklifts and other machinery in action, and people in the usual PPE going about their work. Aside from the new name on the gate, it was not obvious company ownership had changed.

However, inside the large production area, there are pronounced changes and there has obviously been a great deal of investment in new production machinery.

Multinational operationProgress Rail Services currently operates at more than

150 locations worldwide and has over 8,000 employees. Two hundred of these are at Sandiacre, with more employed in the UK at Beeston in Nottingham, Sheffield, Darlington and South Queensferry in Scotland. Progress Rail is a global solutions provider to the rail industry, with activities including the remanufacture of locomotives and railcars, design and production of track and signalling equipment, rail welding, vegetation control machinery and much more. The company became part of Caterpillar in 2006.

CHRIS PARKER

ProgressMaking excellent


The Caterpillar Production System (CPS) is being introduced by Simon Lucas, European CPS deployment manager and CPS ‘Black Belt’. CPS is intended to produce efficiencies and quality improvements by engaging the company’s employees at all levels. Those who experienced the British Rail ‘Quality Through People’ programme may have an idea of what the system entails. CPS involves the operating, management and cultural systems of the business, seeking to transform these to deliver better outputs for the customer. Front line staff are encouraged to identify process improvement opportunities, managers will be mandated to ‘Go and See’, and a ‘6 Sigma’ type approach will be applied.

Progress Rail was selected as one of three manufacturers of the new Network Rail-designed tubular stretcher bar for switch blades. Development of the new bar took a team led by principal engineer Ian Bostock five years and was driven by a recommendation of the inquiry into the Lambrigg crash. A number of Network Rail personnel and outside contractors were involved in the development and testing before the new design was ready for deployment.

Stretcher bar productionThe Sandiacre site will be manufacturing the new

design of stretcher bars both for its own production of new S&C units and for retrofitting out on the network. To do so required new manufacturing processes and techniques. Production manager Joel Moss and precision engineering cell (PEC) supervisor Paul Kelly explained the new manufacturing facility that has been established in the heavily-refurbished workshop at Sandiacre. Offices on the ground floor of the building were cleared and the floor was lowered approximately 300 millimetres in September 2013 to allow the area to be converted into workshop

space for the PEC. This was needed to produce the new Network Rail tubular stretcher bars to the highest quality standards at the rate of up to 100 units per week.

The device installed at the centre is a Japanese five-axis milling machine with automated feed and discharge systems attached. Progress Rail has purchased two additional smaller machines that sit alongside it - the first is a thread rolling machine, and the second a dedicated hydraulic press required for parts of the stretcher bar assembly process. There are two assembly benches where operatives will take the engineered components from stillages and create the complete stretcher bar assemblies.

The milling machine is fully computer-controlled so it can work from either a 3-D computer program or a CAD model. The machine automatically takes the blank feedstock from a loading hopper, checks its dimensions are within the specified tolerances, machines it to the

Making excellent


required design, checks the resulting component is within tolerance, engraves a unique identification number, and spits it out via the discharge system into a tray ready for collection. The machine holds some 30 tools on a conveyor belt and selects, uses and returns the correct one for each task automatically through the operating cycle. Tools include the required measuring probes as well as cutting and milling heads.

Looking at the process in more detail, the main tube of a tubular stretcher is well over a metre in length, perhaps 75 millimetres in diameter and of substantial wall thickness. The length is checked and trimmed if too long. The machine can remove up to three millimetres from an oversized blank, and the ends are machined to the correct diameter. The centre of the tube is also turned down in diameter to the designed dimension, and two sets of spanner flats are milled onto this section.

The machine’s soundproofing is so effective that it is entirely feasible to conduct conversations at normal levels whilst standing a metre away from the machine.

Apparently, there were concerns about installing the machine below office accommodation as people were worried that would make the offices too noisy. However, that is not an issue.

Swarf is extracted automatically into one of two hoppers at the rear (two so they may be exchanged when one is full and taken to be emptied). Cooling/lubricating fluid is completely contained inside the enclosure, with a recirculation system that extracts swarf and debris, so the area surrounding the machine is kept completely clean.

At the end of the task, the identification date and number are engraved onto the bar to Network Rail requirements in two different locations so that one mark will always be ‘up’ however the bar is fitted. The completed item is discharged and cleaned, usually by having a small quantity of swarf removed from inside the tube. This component is then ready for threadrolling using the circular-die machine sitting next to the miller after which it joins the other parts for a stretcher bar on the assembly bench.

Progress Rail has invested roughly £1 million in the PEC and is confident it will earn a good return on investment through improved quality for the customer, reduced waste in production, and significant safety benefits. Regarding health, safety and welfare, the advantages of separating operators from the cutting fluid, noise and swarf are obvious. The automation, with the ability to ‘run’ the production programme on a computer with a visual display showing each stage and the programme checked from end-to-end before any metal is cut, means greater efficiency and less waste. Provided the machine is programmed correctly, it will produce products that meet specified tolerances for quality.

At a recent event held at the factory, the new process and production methods were shown off to local politicians and business leaders. Progress Rail is very proud of the achievements made by its local team and its place in the Erewash community.


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The Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) appointed its first Professor as Chairman in 2009. This year it appointed its second as Professor Simon Iwnicki became its forty-sixth Chairman. This perhaps indicates the increasing role of universities in rail engineering and this was the theme of his Chairman’s

address “Railway Engineering for the next generation” which was recently delivered in his tour of Railway Division Centres in London, Glasgow, York, Derby, Swindon and Manchester.

The UK rail network now carries twice the number of passengers that it did at the time of rail privatisation. The current total of 1.5 billion annual passenger journeys is comparable with the 1914 figure when the network was twice its current size. Simon’s reference to the next generation refers both to young rail engineers and the future rail technology needed to meet this demand. It was clear from his presentation that universities have an essential role in delivering both.

By tradition, the Railway Division Chairman’s address is partly biographical. This year, this aspect was understated and interspersed in the presentation as a way to illustrate its key theme. Simon’s engineering degree at Manchester University was sponsored by Chloride Batteries and, after graduation, his work included maintenance of the automated battery production line and research and development work on prototype electric vehicles.

Young engineers requiredThe UK’s current shortage of engineering graduates

is illustrated by an IET and IMechE study showing that British industry requires 87,000 professional engineers each year but only recruits 51,000. In 2012, there were around 23,000 engineering graduates. With such a shortage, engineering graduates command relatively high salaries. The good news is that, over the past four years, applications for engineering degree courses increased by 31% as schools increasingly promote engineering. Simon considers that the message is starting to get through but that “it is a slow feedback loop”.

For the rail industry, the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE) published its study Forecasting the Skills Challenge in January 2013 which considered required skill levels as defined by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). It found that currently 4 % of the rail industry workforce are Engineers / General Managers (NQF 6-8); 12% are Technician / Managers (NQF 4/5); 37% are Skilled (NQF 3) and 47% Semi-Skilled (NQF 2). Assuming a retirement age of 60, the study concluded that 3,100 new technicians/ engineers are required over the next five years with Traction and Rolling Stock requiring 1,500.

Getting the message acrossFor the rail industry, the challenge is to recruit engineers

from the limited number available so every opportunity needs to be taken to make graduates aware of the interesting and challenging careers in railway engineering. Image is also important, and orange overalls are unlikely to compete with the Bloodhound supersonic car used by the IMechE to promote engineering. Currently, only one university provides a railway engineering degree. In contrast, there are 47 automotive and 43 aeronautical degree courses.

Railway Engineering

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To attract and support railway engineers, schools need to encourage students to study STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). At Universities, students need to be encouraged to see railway engineering as an interesting and rewarding career. Once graduates have been recruited they need to be supported.

One school-level initiative is the residential courses run by the Smallpeice Trust for fifteen and sixteen year olds. As part of this scheme, the Universities of Birmingham and Huddersfield run four-day railway engineering courses during which small railway vehicles are built and there are lectures from key people in the industry.

The Siemens Curiosity Project is a good example of an industry scheme to attract young people to engineering. This is funding 1,600 schoolteachers through the Prince’s Teaching Institute programme to inspire effective STEM subject teaching. Up to 2017, this initiative includes sponsorship of the British Science Festival and those in Manchester, Edinburgh and Cheltenham as well as the Big Bang Fair which was attended by 75,000 school visitors.

This year’s Manchester Science Festival included an Open Day at Siemens Ardwick Traincare Depot which was attended by over 500 people. The tour included a Class 185 DMU raised on jacks, a walk through a Class 350/4 unit and a chance to see the wheel lathe, bogie drop, engine and other components. In the refreshment area, staff were on hand to explain the railway engineering careers offered by Siemens.

Railway Division initiativesAs described in issue 118 (August 2014), the

Railway Challenge aims to attract graduates to the industry. This IMechE initiative was pioneered by Simon as an alternative to Formula Student (a motor racing event for which students develop their own cars). It challenges teams of young engineers to design and build a 10¼ inch gauge locomotive to specified performance criteria which include energy storage, ride quality, traction performance and noise. Competitors have also to produce a design report and make a business case presentation.

The Technical Visits organised by the Railway Division support young rail engineers and enable them to meet their opposite numbers

in other countries. This year’s trip included the Pendolino plant in Italy. Next year is Netherlands and Germany. Simon feels that these visits are something the Division has traditionally done really well.

To promote rail engineering, the Railway Division is working with other organisations including a joint workshop with NSARE on 12 November to consider specific problems. The Division is also part of an NSARE sub-group, ‘Routes in Rail’, whose members include IRSE, PWI, REF, RRUK-A, YRP and RSSB. Its website promotes rail careers and includes an inspirational video ‘What I’ve Always Wanted’. The Division’s Regional Centres also have their own initiatives to engage and support young engineers.

Tomorrow's rail engineers at Ardwick Open Day.

Huddersfield University's entry at the Railway Challenge.


The drive to attract young people with engineering skills is not solely aimed at graduates. Apprenticeship schemes run by Network Rail, Alstom and Siemens supply much-needed technicians. Currently, however, relatively few technicians have the professional EngTech qualification. This issue is being addressed by the EngTechNow campaign announced by David Cameron last year. The IMechE has also set up a skills task force to consider the route to the EngTech qualification.

From NCB to HuddersfieldSimon’s commitment to developing young rail engineers

is matched by his enthusiasm for rail research which began with his PhD for National Coal Board (NCB) when it had underground rail networks larger than London Underground. His PhD on the dynamics of railway vehicles with solid rubber tyres involved computer simulation, roller rig and field testing and led to the design of polymer-filled conical rubber tyres to improve vehicle dynamic performance.

After his PhD was published in 1991, Simon moved to Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) where, in 1998, he set up its Rail Technology Unit (RTU) with Railtrack funding for a new freight bogie simulation project. From just one employee, this unit grew to 13 staff by 2012. Whilst at MMU he edited the ‘Handbook of Railway Vehicle Dynamics’ which was published in 2006 with contributions from 26 international experts including those from America, Australia, China and Russia.

In 2012 Simon set up the Institute of Rail Research (IRR) at the University of Huddersfield which now has 24 staff. The following year, IRR established a five-year strategic partnership with RSSB to promote the modelling of safety and engineering risk. Its current research projects include the design of a new wheel profile for the Sheffield-Rotherham Tram-Train, improved infrastructure modelling using a flexible track system model and improved understanding of wheel and rail damage mechanisms.

A look back at rail researchThe first UK rail research facility was arguably the LNWR’s

chemical laboratory at Crewe which was set up in 1864. Within the next twenty years, further laboratories had been set up in York, Derby, Swindon and Glasgow. In its early days, rail research applied chemistry to topics such as steel manufacture, lubricating oil and boiler water. By the time

of the railway grouping there was increasing recognition of the importance of research with work done on combustion efficiency and aerodynamics. Locomotive test plants were opened in Swindon and Rugby. In 1935, the LMS opened its research centre in Derby which became the main focus for railway research. After nationalisation it became the Railway Executive’s Research Department in 1951, and later the basis for British Rail Research which opened its centre in Derby in 1964.

BR Research made some significant advances including slab track, the Advanced Passenger Train (APT) and the High Speed Track Recording Car. It also increased the understanding of vehicle dynamics and incorporated this into its VAMPIRE software.

At the time, the universities’ contribution to rail research was minimal. To address this, British Rail set up the Advanced Railway Research Centre at the University of Sheffield in 1994.

With privatisation, BR Research was sold to AEA Technology in 1996. At this time, rail research was not a priority for the newly formed rail companies. However, after the initial hiatus, there was increasing recognition of the need for rail research. In 2003 Rail Research UK (RRUK) was formed, a consortium of seven universities which had funding for twelve specific projects.

University railway research todayRRUK-A, as described in issue 113 (March 2014), was

formed in 2010 as funding ran out for these projects. It is financed by Network Rail and RSSB and has 43 university members. The A stands for Association. This reflects a change in ethos from RRUK as RRUK-A does not undertake research. Instead it acts as a bridge between industry and academia to align university research to the long-term industry vision. Simon is the current RRUK-A Academic Co-Chair.

An example of this approach is the academic response to the 2012 Rail Technical Strategy (RTS) which identifies the type of research required to deliver each aspect of the strategy. This ensures that research meets industry requirements and is also useful in securing funding as it demonstrates that research meets an industry need.

Simon considers this approach enables universities to become more involved. He also feels that the industry could take much from other sectors although this requires a more open-minded approach.


Research supportToday there are many organisations supporting

rail research including the Railway Industry Association, Technology Strategy Board, Future Railway and Transport Systems Catapult. There is also an increasing amount of funding. Recently the Department of Transport specified a franchise innovation fund.

Over the past five years, an increasing amount of rail research funding has come from the European Union. For example the ‘Shift to Rail’ scheme makes 920 million Euros available for rail research over a seven year period.

The IMechE also supports rail research. Next April it will host the inaugural Stephenson Conference, dedicated to railway research for which experts worldwide have submitted over 100 abstracts. It promotes the Stephenson award for engineering innovation and, jointly with RRUKA, an award for best young railway researcher. It also disseminates research through the publication of Part F of its proceedings ‘Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit’, an internal journal with 80% of its content from outside the UK.

Much of the funding relates to infrastructure as rolling stock is now provided by multi-national companies. However, Simon hoped that the UK research environment could become sufficiently attractive to attract rolling stock centres of excellence to the UK.

Action for the industryProfessor Iwnicki has good reason to feel

very positive about what’s happening in the rail industry and consider it an attractive environment for young engineers. He believes that increased commitment and funding for research will result in solutions to meet the demand for increased capacity.

His views will be shared by those in the rail industry who know that its challenges make for a rewarding career. However, unless this message is effectively communicated, there is a risk that the rail industry may not recruit sufficient young engineers needed to meet these challenges.

The industry therefore needs to do all it can to attract young engineers by, for example, sponsoring a Railway Challenge entry, visiting schools and universities or offering technical visits. IMechE Railway Division centres, whose contact details can be found on the Institution’s website, would be glad to work with local rail companies to show young people what the industry has to offer.

IMechE Railway Division centres: www.imeche.org/knowledge/industries/Railway/near-you Routes Into Rail: www.routesintorail.co.uk

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Left to right, Anson Jack of RSSB, Simon Iwnicki and Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport at opening of Huddersfield University's Institute of Railway Research in April 2013.


In recent years, the growth of wireless communications as a viable alternative to fixed-line network solutions has been gathering pace, with an expanding host of radio and SIM-based solutions populating a number of

industries. Now the wireless alternative is matching the fixed line alternative, especially for quick start, temporary and mobile installations or sites which require a fast and secure network connection.

One company which is pioneering this ever more popular option is Trellisworks, a specialist wireless networking and communications company with a growing reputation for inventive solutions and an ability to tackle large and diverse projects.

Increasingly involved within the rail industry, and an established partner of a number of the largest construction companies in the UK including BAM Nuttall, Laing O’Rourke, Skanska and Galliford Try, Trellisworks has been pushing the evolution of wireless solutions as the technology develops and allows it to supplant the frequently time-consuming fibre alternative.

Combined sitesA good example of the work

Trellisworks in undertaking in this area is the ongoing construction of the Crossrail network throughout London, in particular at Farringdon. Called in two years ago to establish a

communication network connecting the three locations of this site (Charterhouse Square, Caxton Slab and Snowshill Ramp) to the rest of the project, as well as managing the internal communications and online access on behalf of BFK (a joint venture comprising of BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Agroman and Kier Construction), Trellisworks created a bespoke solution geared specifically for this kind of urban environment with long range connection through a high-obstruction area.

Trellisworks has a large and well-established radio base station on the roof of Guy’s Hospital Tower (as well as on a number of other key prominent London locations), two miles from Farringdon. Trellisworks were quickly able to establish two 100Mbps links, as well as another of 1Gbps and were able to overcome the lack of direct line-of-sight through the use of relay units on a building near to the Farringdon site.

This network, installed as a permanent solution, has run without fault or disruption for over two years, and is expected to remain in place until the completion of the work at Farringdon in 2018.

Move it!Another example of the other end

of the spectrum in terms of wireless networks was the solution put in place for an office relocation by Crossrail. When one of its main project management offices was relocated from Dean Street to Stephen’s Mews (not far from the Tottenham Court Road site) at the beginning of January 2014, the ability to maintain high bandwidth and reliable internet access for the fifty engineers, designers and project managers involved was of key importance.

Trellisworks was able to utilise its expertise in rapid deployment solutions to provide reliable, high bandwidth connectivity to the staff. In order to establish an instant network, four Pepwave MAX HD2 LTE high-bandwidth routers were installed, each providing two 4G SIMs and capable of up to 25mbps for increased network resilience. In addition to this, Trellisworks also provided a Peplink

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Balance for SIM bandwidth bonding and aggregation. In total, this solution provided over 100 Mbps connectivity to the new office.

Crossrail was not only able to make the move on time to the new offices, but also experienced uninterrupted connectivity throughout the process, suffering no loss of productivity and no delay in their delivery of work load to the project. Such was the success of the solution, intended only as a temporary measure, Crossrail purchased the Pepwave devices to be used as a backup system, and have since redeployed these at other sites.

Tangible benefitsThe diversity and adaptability of

such wireless solutions, combined with the increased ability to compete with the bandwidth capacity and security of fibre-based networks, is driving more and more industries to explore this route. The ability to have a network established and functioning on a new site or office within hours rather than weeks, capable of being moved quickly and with minimal disruption, and operating at the same speeds as most fixed line solutions, is bringing the wireless route to the fore.

Indeed, it is this adaptability, whilst maintaining the strong and secure connection speeds of a fixed line network, which is highlighting how advantageous wireless can be to the rail industry. Emergency repairs on a large scale, such as at Dawlish earlier this year, can be established with a dependable and functional wireless network in a matter of hours rather than the weeks needed to install a fibre solution. As well as this, projects which require multiple mobile

locations can be moved without fear of a loss of connectivity or delays in re-establishing connection to a parent network.

As the technology develops further, and becomes even more advanced in terms of connection speed and security, wireless specialists such as Trellisworks will become a key provider of a network solution, not just the rail and construction industry, but of all facets of the professional world.

NEW SITE?NEED HIGH CAPACITY BANDWIDTH AND NETWORK CONNECTIVITY IMMEDIATELY?Are you setting up temporary offices and you’re struggling to establish a reliable and fast network and internet connection?

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We provide managed rental or purchased solutions which are installed quickly to mobile and temporary locations, providing up to 100Mbps connectivity and the flexibility to adapt to shifting premises and extreme conditions.

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Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) is regarded as the natural control system for metros with its origins coming from the building of new metro lines. But is this a restricted viewpoint and can CBTC be the solution to increase capacity on ever more crowded suburban

railways.

Conferences and seminars abound on the CBTC subject but one staged by the Global Transport Forum in London during November attempted to look at some different aspects of the subject.

Stage SettersNowhere is the capacity problem more acute

than in London where a constantly rising population and changing travel patterns means that the underground and suburban networks are becoming busier and busier.

Mike Brown, the managing director of London Underground, offered some scary statistics. The city’s population will grow by 25% to ten million by 2031. Current investment work to improve capacity is barely keeping pace with growing demand. Recent throughput gains have upped the Victoria Line to 34 trains per hour (tph) and Jubilee Line to 30 tph. By the end of 2014, the Northern Line will have 20% more capacity. The

troubled re-control of the sub-surface lines will yield a 33% improvement and plans are in place for more trains on all lines by 2022. 24-hour operation will be introduced at weekends on some lines in 2015.

The creation of the London Overground network has been spectacularly successful with some routes registering a 268% increase in ridership needing the introduction of five-car trains. By creating orbital routes, the pressure is being taken off the congested London termini. It is now a ‘turn up and go’ railway.

More suburban rail routes are being absorbed into this network, often sharing tracks with Network Rail and TOC services and thus needing robust contractual arrangements to be in place. The tram service in South London is having its capacity increased by 50% between Croydon and Wimbledon and Docklands Light Railway will have its single-track sections made double.

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All of this is part of the challenge to maximise capacity from the existing network, grow the network to increase capacity and transform customer service. Technology is at the heart of this and CBTC will be a substantial part of it.

Crossrail is a major element in keeping pace with London’s capacity constraints. Terry Morgan, the Crossrail chairman, described the project and the anticipated benefits it will bring. When opened in 2018, it will add 10% new rail capacity to London with trains being double the length of those on the Underground. With its routes extending out east and west over Network Rail tracks, the decision to adopt CBTC for the central core section will mean the trains having to be equipped with three other signalling systems, itself a challenge for space and future train operation. Having built up a skilled team of engineers and technicians, keeping this expertise together is important for future projects and using the resource on HS2 and the projected Crossrail 2 is part of the plan.

CBTC deployment to dateSeveral speakers were invited to give their experience of CBTC on metros

around the world. Bengt Carlsson from MTR told of the bad experience in upgrading Stockholm’s Green Line where testing and commissioning problems led to many delays, a plummeting in customer satisfaction and taking years to get right. A current project to upgrade the Red Line, involving an Ansaldo CBTC system and 90 new trains, will have learned from past mistakes.

It is important to realise that CBTC is not just track and trains but includes information systems, platform screen doors and operational strategy. The ability to revert to a legacy system when things go wrong might be necessary, also adopting UTO (unattended train operation) once things have settled down has commercial benefits. Above all, safety remains paramount.

Tan Yih Long from LTA Singapore said that, as part of introducing CBTC, the building of a communications backbone to create an intelligent network between track and train on all lines has paid dividends. This embraces all sub-systems and includes automated ‘wake up’ train instructions, depot movements and initial train tests. Ongoing challenges for CBTC are managing obsolescence, the stability of the equipment manufacturer’s supply base and system response times.

Noormah Mohd Noor, the chief executive of ERL Kuala Lumpur, re-iterated the need for an accompanying, intelligent communications network. She emphasised that the integration of technology and intelligence had proven that passenger experience, capacity, fare collection and ticketing, WiFi provision and safety and security could all be enhanced as part of the CBTC package.

Copenhagen’s Y-shaped line has been in operation for 20 years and, in that time, technology has moved on. With 24-hour operation and UTO, getting maintenance done is an ever-present challenge with the protection of trackside staff during single-line working being the biggest problem, according to Chris Cox from Metroselskabet. Providing the optimum positioning of crossovers and ensured power control of the third rail has enabled 90% of maintenance to be done overnight. The CBTC system for the new City Ring line will build in these safeguards from new as well as enabling defined rules for getting staff to stranded trains or reacting to station alarms to be met.

Martin Collett, the head of engineering on London’s Docklands Light Railway (DLR), gave a refreshing account of strategies to ensure reliability and service on an existing CBTC-equipped line. In earlier years, DLR had become renowned for being a weekday-only railway. Projects, rather than the passenger, dominated rail operations. The London Olympics changed all that and a determined effort was made to understand the critical elements that caused failures and to implement measures that prevented these from happening or minimised their impact. Points, inductive loops, the availability and positioning of spares - all featured highly and led to the adoption of RCM (remote condition monitoring) to predict failures before they happen.

Incremental asset renewal is easy for items where wear is obvious, such as track, but much more difficult for electronic systems. A culture of performance has thus been introduced with ownership of targets and values being part of this. ‘Not my fault but it is my problem’ and ‘can do, will do’ are now accepted catch phrases. Different strategies for different assets have evolved - an example is to get failed trains into sidings quickly - and have paid dividends. Performance is now at a record high with patronage growing to 100 million journeys per year.

KLIA Ekspres, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

PHOTO: CC BY-SA2.5

Docklands Light Railway (DLR).


Getting the CBTC spec right Specifying the requirements for a new CBTC

system will be made easier if clients learn the lessons from the past 20 years. Including the good features of existing systems and incorporating novel features that are becoming available is part of this.

Whilst technical aspects are important, finance can be the dominant factor. With no universal standard for CBTC design, the risk of getting things wrong is considerable. Many metro operators have had mixed experiences, some of these being recounted.

No single CBTC scheme is the same, according to Duncan Cross, the deputy operations director for London Crossrail and Overground. Each has its own political, geographic, technical and delivery differences. Understanding the various elements of the business case is vital - scale and scope, capital and operational cost implications, the reputation cost of getting it wrong, life cycle and replacements, and political aspects.

The technical element must take into account the time to complete and test, the testing strategy (off-site or on the operational railway) and predict how the railway will evolve over time. One should always start by having the end in mind, set down the concept of operations and engage the operators early. The temptation to be over-complex must be resisted - it can generate mountains of paperwork. Interfaces to other systems may change in time, for example TPWS to ETCS, and testing, training and commissioning should not be seen as a construction catch-up time.

When retrofitting existing rolling stock, one must be wary of high costs. If proposing a new or unfamiliar system, it is important to try and see it in operation elsewhere and consider a test bed. Never forget that the finished product is there to transport the customers.

Andy Bourne, the London Underground head of upgrades, stated that several factors impinge on any decision to adopt CBTC. These include

safety, performance, reliability, operability and technology. Equally, constraints need consideration: existing infrastructure, operating rules, access, funding and the supply chain.

In the drive for capacity, CBTC is the key enabler but the best business case is a complete line upgrade including track improvements, new rolling stock, enabling works plus an organisational and rulebook change. As well as normal CBTC requirements, non-functional elements such as electromagnetic compatibility, temperature, interoperability and interchangeability should be considered. Stakeholders need to be engaged through interviews and workshops. The criteria for system selection have to be properly understood and benchmarked to known factors. ‘Customised’ solutions should be minimised and provision made for mid-life upgrades.

Modelling a new system has value and having a train simulator can be part of this. Factors such as headway calculations, maximum speeds, safe separation distances, service patterns, braking characteristics and performance deterioration can all be accurately predicted thus reducing the unknown.

The systems of the 1980s are reaching their end of life and CBTC packages will replace them. The current Hong Kong MTR network is near capacity so operational cost and performance are the ongoing drivers. Terence Law outlined the factors in the decision-making process: standard product or a tailor-made system, the impact of wayside and train failures, the effect of adding platform screen doors, how much redundancy is required - main, hot and warm standbys plus dual communication paths, real time supervision and diagnostics, and remote train recovery.

An important element for performance is dwell time at stations. If opening and closing times of doors can be speeded up, valuable seconds can be saved, thus increasing capacity. MTR calculates 38 seconds for entry/egress time.

Airport Express train near Sunny Bay Stadium, Hong Kong.

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Madrid Metro.


Supplementary FactorsTelecommunication systems are a vital part of any railway and

nowadays consist of an IP network core and IP access layers, both wireless and landline. These increasingly link to signalling, traffic management, remote monitoring, SCADA and rolling stock. A ‘fat pipe to the train’ is how Tim Lane from NRT (Network Rail Telecoms) described it.

Mobile connectivity is becoming the order of the day with radio frequency idents (RFID) and associated electronic tags being used for such as level crossing safety, intelligent stations where noise, temperature, taxi rank occupation can be measured, the monitoring of track worker protection and worksite limits. More applications will evolve over time and will have relevance for CBTC-equipped railways as well as main lines.

Power and energy efficiency should be prominent in any rail operation and Suleyman Acikbas from RailSis in Turkey explained the advantages of power monitoring. Line geometry, traction power systems, operational methodology and driving style have been modelled for 20 different projects so as to prevent excess start-up speed, set coasting optimisation and the correct braking to next station, and give the best opportunity for regenerative braking. Energy savings of up to 25% are possible and on-board power meters showing consumption give drivers an added incentive. Designed originally for diesel trains, the technology is equally applicable to metro and CBTC operation.

Asset information is vital but inventory management is always a challenge. On Crossrail, each station has around 20 contracts. Ross Dentten explained the process (acquire - operate - maintain - dispose) for each asset throughout its life. Each piece of equipment will have an asset tag with a serial number and its functional unit location. This requires a central data hub and a smart system linking this to all elements of the railway. The operating cost of Crossrail is expected to be £221 million per annum and thus asset management must be controlled to perfection.

Future CBTC VisionsWith no standardised specification, the opportunities for innovative

design to achieve high availability and intelligent operation continue to emerge. Passenger behaviour can become a safety issue and crowd flow at stations and stopped trains in tunnels can quickly lead to critical situations. The Alstom solution for minimising this is to move to train-centric CBTC operation. Route interlocking functions transfer to train

borne equipment relying on train-to-train communication for requesting movement authorities on the required route. The claim is that this simplifies the communication paths with a better distribution of input/output devices and thus improves reliability.

GE Transportation sees the creation of intelligent metros as the way forward, with CBTC being a large data tool operating as a ‘cloud’. Operational data, including control of train movements, information systems, fares and ticketing, security management and passenger control, will be turned into actionable information to give real-time improved decision making with increased visibility and prediction for the control of safety and security issues. The ‘internet of things’ was the expression used but many may struggle to see how this will work or even come about.

The UK government-backed Transport Systems Catapult has a vision for smart transportation systems which was described by Andrew Everitt, the chief strategy officer. The DfT will invest £50 billion in the coming years to research safe, efficient and cost-effective mobility systems.

Innovation tends to be introduced into different modes in silos whereas intelligent ways of integrating transport is the real goal. Studies will concentrate on: » Autonomous Transport Systems including automatic pod systems; » Modelling & Visualisation especially transport hub flows; » Customer Experiences; » Information Exploitation, noting that all cars will have SIM cards from

2015.

Overall, although CBTC by title, this conference looked at much wider issues and may have helped the strategic direction that CBTC systems will take. Major events such as the Olympic Games in London and the Word Cup in Rio de Janeiro gave a big focus to transport challenges with CBTC technology aiding the efficient operation of associated metros.

The absence of a global standard for CBTC will become a problem as systems are increasingly deployed for interworked metros and suburban railways. Modern CBTC systems are now almost all radio-based and older loop-based systems need to be upgraded. This in itself presents interoperability and security challenges and the diverse path of standardisation versus innovation should seek to find an acceptable compromise.

Madrid Metro Control Centre.


London NIGEL WORDSWORTH

Riding on London Underground’s sub-surface lines is a very different experience today than it was just a few years ago. Bombardier’s new S-Stock trains are now starting to be seen all over the network and the wide through-gangways and air conditioning have transformed

passenger comfort and satisfaction.

The new trains are now running all services on the Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and Circle lines. They have replaced the old C-stock on the District line and will take over completely from the D78 stock by 2016. This sequence was followed as the D78 trains were only recently refurbished, between 2005 and 2008.

The sub-surface lines form a network, with trains running throughout. The same S-Stock train can be used anywhere with only a

limitation on platform length requiring there to be an eight-car version (440 feet / 134 metres) on the Metropolitan and a seven-car one (385 feet / 117 metres) everywhere else. The seating arrangements on the two types are different as well, giving extra seating for the Metropolitan’s long-distance commuters whereas the more-central S7 stock has longitudinal seating to give more standing room. At a pinch, S8 stock can be used on any lines with selective door opening.

New Tube for


As two-thirds of the network runs in the open, the dispersal of heat from the air conditioning is no problem. The trains also have regenerative braking to save energy, although this will become more efficient when the traction power voltage is increased from the current 630 volts to 750 once the introduction of the new stock is complete.

Combined with the planned-but-delayed new signalling system, the sub-surface will be transformed into a modern, high-capacity railway.

And now - the deep tubeThe obvious next step was to bring similar

improvements to the deep tube. Here, the signalling has already been updated on some lines, resulting in better than 30 trains per hour on both the Victoria and Jubilee lines, and Bombardier delivered a new class of stock for the Victoria line only recently.

However, some of the trains are getting a bit old, and the heat in both the tunnels and inside the trains is the cause of much passenger dissatisfaction, so London Underground’s management wants to move forward on this.

The deep tube is quite different from the sub-surface lines. It is not a network - all of the lines are almost isolated from each other (there are a few interlinks for engineering trains and stock movements). They also have slightly different tunnel bores so, in the past, each line has had its own specific trains to maximise the available space.

With some of the lines never seeing the light of day, cooling is a problem. Traction motors, brakes and the sheer number of people using the network all create heat and there is almost nowhere for it to go. There are some vents in a few places, and London Underground has installed chillers in the roofs of some stations, but controlling heat is a big problem.

However, where there’s a will there’s a way and solutions have been found. The Rail Engineer first talked with London Underground’s David Waboso on the topic back in early 2011.

At that time, a programme was being considered starting with new trains for the Waterloo and City in 2016 and the Bakerloo line in 2017. Things have changed since, so it seemed obvious to approach David for an update.

Now head of capital programmes, David has moved from London Underground’s historic headquarters at Broadway to the Palestra office on Blackfriars Road.

The latest planThere was a lot to catch up on. First was to

discuss the current state of the project and how it has changed overall since that last discussion over three years ago.

“When we last spoke the dates were very indicative. We didn’t really have a business plan that was funded and also we hadn’t really started the detailed discussion with the supply chain,” David commented.

“Now we’ve gone through the latest funding round and we’ve got a business plan that covers 2016 to 2021. Obviously we’ve got to prioritise, but we’ve got the funding for the first stage of this programme which effectively runs through the Piccadilly Line upgrade to 2027. So that’s why it’s moved back, we’ve now talked with the supply chain and I think these are robust dates. Secondly, and probably more importantly, we have the funding secure so we can now talk about what we want to do.”

A couple of years ago, London Underground issued some concept designs of the proposed new train which came from Siemens, Hitachi and the like. Now, details of a new design have been released to the public which is the result of work undertaken by PriestmanGoode in conjunction with Transport for London. Is this what the final trains will look like?

“The trouble with the word design is it covers many things,” David explained. “If I use an aircraft analogy, airlines design them in terms of - here is my customer facing stuff, here’s the entertainment system I want, here’s the seat layout I want, here’s the colours I want, so

that defines the look and feel of the plane. The manufacturer will design how it works; they’ll design the flight systems and the engines and everything else.

“So, in a sense, what we’ve done with PriestmanGoode is design the things that matter to our customers - the customer facing stuff, what the train will look like as it’s hurtling into a platform, what it will look like as you get onto the train.

“But the way the train design works functionally and engineering-wise is down to the supplier. So I differentiate between a design that is a high-level customer-facing set of requirements and what I call the nuts and bolts of the train - or should I say the electrons of the train because they’re much more electronic than mechanical now?”

One style, open designThe New Tube for London is intended to

suit all of the deep tube lines, giving London Underground the advantage of buying in quantity and so reducing the price. The PriestmanGoode design includes wide walk-through gangways and air conditioning, both of which will set challenges for the bidders in terms of the electrical and mechanical design.

On the face of it, air conditioning might have seemed to be an impossible task. The tunnels and stations are already hotter than they should be, and having all of the extra heat removed from the train blown into those spaces can only make the problem worse.

However, that’s not actually the case. Heat comes from many sources - passengers themselves, power systems, braking systems and lighting. With the exception of the passengers, who are increasing in numbers, all of these can be reduced.

The energy released during braking depends on both the speed of the train and its weight. The maximum speed is fixed, but the weight of a train can be reduced. Lightweight materials, such as aluminium and composites, can be used.

Hitachi's early concept for a new tube train.


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In addition, with every bogie weighing about three tonnes, the fewer of them that a design uses then the lighter the train. So having an articulated system, whereby every intermediate carriage has a bogie at one end and is simply hung off the next car at the other, almost halves the number of bogies.

It’s not quite as simple as that - it never is. Having either one bogie shared between two cars, with half of it under each (an articulated system), isn’t practical as it would be positioned exactly where the walk-through gangway will be between each car and, in the cramped confines of the tube, there isn’t room to mount both. So the bogies will have to be mounted in more-or-less the conventional place towards the end of each car, but only one of them. This is known as offset articulation.

The problem with offset articulation is that it affects the ‘throw’ of the cars, in other words the amount that sticks out sideways when the train goes around a corner. In the tight confines of a tube tunnel, that’s a problem.

Making the cars shorter will alleviate this problem. So a Piccadilly line train may, in future, consist of eight shorter cars rather than the current six. However, there will still be a net reduction in bogie numbers and so an overall weight saving.

Just braking a lighter train will produce less heat. Factor in, on top of that, regenerative braking, which converts kinetic energy into electrical energy, and the heat production goes down still further. Add in a good driver advisory system, or automatic train operation, and the need for braking at all is reduced as the driving curve becomes smoother - also reducing traction power and any heat from that.

All these actions will reduce the total heat output. The plan is that this ‘slack’ can then be taken up with the heat from the on-board air conditioning exhaust, allowing the trains to be cooled without any additional heat going into the system over and above today’s levels.

And the space where the ‘missing’ bogies should be can be taken up by ventilation equipment amongst other things, so again getting around the chronic lack of space on a tube train.

Hot platforms, cool trainsSo the heat output from a train can be stabilised.

However, moving train frequencies up to as many as 33 trains per hour will put more energy into the system, meaning that the drive to cool the tube has to continue. In any case, the platforms will not be air conditioned (although some will be cooled as described above), so it will remain important to keep everything as cool as possible.

The Victoria line is the most advanced in this field - new shafts have been driven which has doubled the total number and a lot of time and money spent on solving the problem.

“We’ve set an upper limit for temperature of 32 degrees Celsius and that has been calculated based upon all the analysis for problems such as heat strain,” David continued. “We think that is tenable because people are free to move around on the platforms as opposed to stuck in trains.

“We often don’t quote raw temperatures because the thing that actually we all find most uncomfortable is humidity; its humidity rather than temperature that makes you uncomfortable.

“If you’re on Central Line today the biggest source of discomfort is the humidity. And the very unpleasant fact is what gets people very uncomfortable on trains is everybody else’s humidity. So the hotter you get, the more people will perspire. The more people perspire, the more humid it gets. So if you can control the temperature on trains then it’s a virtuous circle because people perspire far less and that keeps the humidity down.”

So, some of the design elements of the new trains will be laid down by London Underground. The style of the exterior and interior, the need for wide gangways and air conditioning. The number of doors and the number of seats.

How the whole train is put together, incorporating those elements, will be down to the individual bidders. “There is some really-interesting innovation out there and we are looking forward to seeing what the response is.”

And the timescale? “The current plan is next year we go to tender, so the ITT, invitation to tender, is issued. We’ve already done the PQQ, pre-qualification, which we’ve published (Bombardier, Siemens, Alstom, CAF and Hitachi). Then we hope to award the contract the following year, in 2016. We will then have quite an intensive design phase, and then we start getting delivery of the first trains, I think the first one hits us 2022.”

That will be a pre-production train which will test off-network at somewhere such as Old Dalby and then on the network during the night.

So that’s the plan for the trains. Add into that plans for stations (new platform surfaces to match the train door levels, platform screen doors) and signalling (which could be bi-directional allowing two-way running on one track at night while the other is being maintained) and there will be a lot going on in the coming years.

It’s just that, being the deep tube, most of it will be out of sight.

Thanks to David Waboso and Andy Guest for meeting with The Rail Engineer and their help in preparing this article.


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0025 McMillan Rail Sector Magazine Ad V2.indd 1 24/10/2014 12:21

The Metro is the North East’s very own light rail system, operated by the Tyne

and Wear Passenger Transport Executive as ‘Nexus’. With 60 stations located around the heart of Tyne and Wear, it has been providing local rail service across the North East for 30 years and is currently going through a major programme of investment to ensure it can continue to do so for many years to come.

As part of this programme, work was required on the traction power system and Power Supply Projects Ltd (PSP) was contracted to undertake the works at Gosforth depot substation.

PSP was founded in 2009 with the aim of providing an electrification ‘one stop shop’ for the provision of specialist high-voltage (HV) distribution services including design, project management, installation and electrical testing services for the rail and electrical supply industries.

Fitting it all inAs part of the Metro

reinvigoration project, it was identified that the electrification system in the vicinity of Gosforth depot suffered from excessive DC stray currents. It was decided that the best solution to address this problem was to place the depot on its own transformer rectifier unit with its own incoming 11kV supply and this was the work that PSP was engaged to undertake.

Gosforth substation was a brick-built building located in the throat of Gosforth depot housing switchgear dating from the creation of the original metro system. This building was not large enough to accommodate the additional equipment required and it was therefore decided that installing a prefabricated extension was the best solution.

PSP was commissioned to design, build and install the new substation extension including all the internal equipment and make any modifications required to the existing substation and building. PSP procured a new prefabricated steel building to form the extension to the substation. This was then fitted out with a new 2.5MW transformer rectifier from Transformers & Rectifiers Ltd, a new three-panel 1500V DC switchboard from Hawker Siddeley Switchgear Ltd, a new negative busbar cubicle, a new 1500V DC battery charger and associated low voltage (LV) and control equipment.

Modifications on siteWhile the construction of the

substation extension was being undertaken offsite, modifications were also undertaken to the existing substation to make it ready for delivery of the extension.

These works included construction of a new doorway in the existing building to form a corridor between the original substation and the extension, the construction of a new foundation slab, new cable routes and modification to the substation compound included extending the substation fencing.

Sufficient incoming 11kV supplies were already present at the site but, to provide supplies to the new transformer rectifier, modifications were made to the existing Brush FV vacuum circuit-breaker switchboard with the addition of a refurbished circuit-breaker panel.

Following a satisfactory factory test, the finished substation extension was delivered to site and connected both electrically and physically to the existing building. The completed substation was tested, commissioned and presented to the client for acceptance. While some snags where identified these were quickly and satisfactorily addressed and the installation has now been fully accepted by Nexus and is in service providing power to trains within Gosforth traincare depot in Newcastle.

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Our experience cover all aspects railway distribution infrastructure including:• AC & DC substations,• 11kV , 22kV & 33kV HV switchgear,• Protection and control,• SCADA,• HV Cabling,• Earthing and bonding, • Transformers, • Modular substation construction.

Power Supply Projects are specialist Electrification and substation contractors and consultants. Service we can provide include: • Electrification and Power Consultancy

services,• Feasibility, outline and detailed design,• Construction,• Testing and Commissioning.

Reinvigorating Gosforth


The scope of Control Period 5 (CP5), published last April, represents probably the most ambitious array of rail infrastructure projects that the UK has ever seen. It includes not only a huge level of investment over the next five years with major schemes including HS2, Great

Western Electrification Programme and Crossrail, but also takes a giant step closer to a more sustainable railway infrastructure thanks to a packed programme of electrification works.

In addition to these major schemes, Network Rail has also set aside £127 million during CP5 and CP6 to create safer, faster DC isolations and a further £90 million to improve the existing AC-network as part of an overall programme to improve both the safety and efficiency of electrical isolations.

It’s great news for the future of rail travel in the UK, for the long-term environmental impact of the sector and, ultimately, for rail passengers.

However, in amongst all of this good news, there is a significant elephant in the room: after years of staged and modest investment, many are questioning whether the skills are available to deliver the programme.

Skills shortagesIt’s an issue that has been recognised

by Network Rail in the organisation’s Deliverability Review for CP5, published in June. Electricification resources for installation and testing is one of the areas discussed in the report, which states: “Given the extent of the delivery portfolio for new electrification, the requirements for specialist electrification resources in supervisory, engineering and management roles may exceed current market availability.”

In other words, the supply chain faces significant challenges in providing the skills that will be required to deliver Network Rail’s planned electrification improvements in a safe, sustainable and timely manner.

The reasons for this are complex and varied. The much slower pace of investment in rail infrastructure that has characterised the marketplace over the past few years has led to a steady migration of skilled operatives to other sectors where they have been able to utilise transferable skills and gain better job security and opportunities for career advancement.

Meanwhile, few contractors have been investing in training, personnel development or recruitment. This means that the remaining skills base is experienced but older, presenting the risk of further reductions in skilled workforce capacity due to retirement during the CP5 period.

The rapid pace of investment and attractive financial incentives for skilled operatives in other markets such as the Middle East, Asia and Australia has also had an impact on skills availability in the UK, with the rail sector here losing much of its skilled labour overseas.

Clearly, this is not an issue that can be addressed overnight and shortages of skilled electrification operatives are not the only

essential personnel issues affecting the sector. However, by leveraging the experience already in the industry to create business models tailored towards answering the needs of CP5 and training the next generation of skilled operatives, the contracting sector has a key role to play in ensuring deliverability.

Training and recruitment must be delivered in a cost-effective way to ensure that the costs of delivery programmes can be managed within Network Rail budgets. Only those contracting companies that have built training and staff development into their operational model as a fundamental principle of sustainable business best practice can viably offer fixed-price contracting on major schemes.

Sustainable building model The MECX Technical Services’ business was

founded on the principle that the company’s ability to deliver each and every contract is dependent upon having the specialist skills and resources required when and where they are needed.

The company may be a relatively new player in the sector but its genesis was the result of the experience of the company’s management team. This has resulted in a return to a more traditional rail contracting business model that focuses on delivering all the needs of the sector holistically.

To achieve a business model that addresses the real needs of the sector and each invidual project, rail contractors must first ask whether they understand the needs of Network Rail. When they have a clear picture of what that organisation

Keeping CP5 targets on track

CHRIS MARINER


needs, the next questions are whether they can supply the right people to meet those needs and where they are going to come from.

Training is a key element of the answer, which means that contractors must move away from being suppliers of specialist labour and, instead, become committed to being service providers that work collaboratively with other delivery partners to add value to projects, rather than just carrying out specific elements of the scheme of work.

Achieving this calls for a high skill level across all areas of service provision, from design, planning and project management to specialist skills, safety critical personnel and time-critical recruitment of appropriate contingency labour. There is no quick fix for putting a training framework in place that will deliver a cohesive and service-driven electrification proposition: training needs to be a long-term commitment that must be integral to the contractor’s business.

Valuing PeopleMECX Technical Services has big ambitions to

grow both organically and through acquisition, enhancing the company’s geographical capabilities, delivery capacity, range of complementary skills and services aligned to the requirements of CP5.

The company’s approach to achieving that is to focus on both retaining the skills and experience within the business and on bringing new talent into the sector as part of a co-ordinated training and skill development strategy. Professional development must sit at the heart of the skills strategy for companies within the sector as this will both prevent further skills migration and help to attract people to the sector.

Hand in hand with a framework that includes continuous professional development - training and career development opportunities - a progressive approach to maintaining a high quality and consistent cohort of skilled operatives is also important. MECX Technical Services addresses this by ensuring that the company is a preferred employer for the specialist operatives the job needs and also offers the client confidence that the required personnel will be available for the whole project duration.

Next Generation Valuing existing staff goes hand in hand with

training the next generation of rail specialists, which is why MECX Technical Services is currently in the process of finalising an Apprenticeship scheme. Apprentices will be recruited in locations where there is the greatest need for electrification and signalling schemes including South Wales, where the current programme of works is paving the way for electrification. The company is also channelling the need to recruit and train young people in the rail sector towards those with limited employment choices, including ex-offenders.

MECX Technical Services intends to recruit 31 apprentices to Level 2 standard each year, creating a pipeline of talent. Following this, the firm plans to extend its apprenticeship model to provide Level 3 electrification and signalling apprentices.

Plant and equipmentIn addition to ensuring that the right people are

available to work on each scheme, the rail sector supply chain also needs to invest in the plant and equipment needed to deliver CP5 electrification schemes. That means understanding the logistical challenges of completing complex programmes to business critical deadlines and acting quickly to implement the recommendations of work groups on new technology.

Once again, equipment shortages are another area highlighted in the CP5 Deliverability Review, which warns that “Plant and equipment capacities at some points in the plan are at or beyond current supply capacity.” This reiterates, once again, the role of specialist contractors in ensuring that both the technical and personnel resources required to deliver a scheme are available in-line with time and geographical requirements.

It’s an area that MECX Technical Services has worked hard to address, investing in smarter testing equipment which enables safer testing of isolations to underpin staff safety on site and thereby speed up programme delivery.

Perfect TimingInvestment in people and equipment should

all form part of a drive to mirror the rail sector’s move towards a more environmentally-friendly and sustainable future. While it creates significant delivery challenges, the electrification programme will move the UK’s rail network from its reliance on diesel to a more sustainable and greener use of electrical energy. In parallel with that, rail operators will update and upgrade rolling stock to complement the new infrastructure, which means more eco-friendly vehicles and a better passenger experience for rail users.

Developments on this scale call for improvements across all aspects of the rail sector delivery chain and all relevant partners must work together to ensure that consistent levels of skills, safety and time critical project delivery are expected and provided across the country. Electrification is a game-changer and now is the time for specialist technical services providers to up their game and play a key role in making that change happen.

The next four years will be a test of what can be achieved for the UK rail network and will set the tone for the control periods that follow. If ever there was a time for contractors to invest in skills and equipment, that time is now.

Chris Mariner is managing director of electrification specialist, MECX Technical Services.


Part of

To find out more about what MECX Technical Services can offer you, contact us today:

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We supply the knowledge and expertise required to complete extensive maintenance and renewal projects across the UK rail infrastructure.

We deliver: Highly-trained personnel Specialist services End-to-end works

With our own PCL accreditation, we offer a comprehensive range of fixed-price contracting services as a sub or principal contractor on a variety of complex mainline rail, light rail and underground projects.

As a specialist technical services provider, we offer a range of services and contracting solutions to the following sectors:

Signalling Electrification Telecoms

MECX Technical Services

Electrification infrastructureA report on the Whole Life Cost Reduction Congress 2014

DAVID BICKELL


The congress is an annual meeting of international rail electrification engineers, suppliers and consultancies, to share best practice from construction, maintenance and renewals projects. Its aims are to discuss cost-benefit analysis on the latest technological advances

and to increase the performance, reliability and efficiency of overhead line and power distribution systems.

UK projects gather paceNetwork Rail’s Saleem A Mohammad, director

for national electrification, gave an overview of the huge expansion of UK electrification, with investment up from £200 million in CP4 to £4 billion in CP5, being spent on: » Edinburgh to Glasgow improvement project

(EGIP) » East Coast main line (ECML) » Trans Pennine » Micklefield to Selby » Electric Spine (including Midland main line) » North West electrification » Walsall to Rugely » South Wales valley lines » Great Western electrification programme

(& Crossrail) » Gospel Oak to Barking » Electrification campaign renewals.

Apart from HS1 and some infill schemes including Watford - St Albans Abbey, Edinburgh - Bathgate, and Crewe - Kidsgrove, 25 years were to elapse after the authorisation in 1984 of the East Coast electrification before any more new main line new electrification projects were to be approved.

After several years of lobbying by the industry and other interested bodies, the tide turned in 2009 when Lord Adonis, the then Transport Secretary, announced the government’s new electrification programme. With the wasted years since the completion of the ECML in 1991, much experience has been lost and suddenly the current works represent a return to industrial-scale mass production. Network Rail’s devolution of projects to the routes and a moratorium on new standards has meant that route project

teams are faced with a lack of standards and are vying for limited manufacturing resources and installation skills.

Saleem described how these huge challenges facing Network Rail are being addressed by the creation of a National Electrification Delivery Steering Group comprising a National Electrification programme team which manages the scope (standards and specification), programme (integration and resources) and budget (value for money). Pivotal to this structure is supplier partner engagement.

The New Electrification PlanThe NEP identifies critical resources and

weaves together the electrification plans route-by-route with the general multi-discipline project access and resources planning, and with regional and route delivery plans, by means of an integrated planning framework. Skills resource requirements have been measured and it is noted that the linesman resource profile peaks at nearly 400 people in 2016.

Delivering high output - staying safe whilst maximising access

The benefits of the Great Western’s High Output Plant System (HOPS) in accelerating the work was described, as was a safe cordon-of-work system devised to permit trains to run on adjacent lines. An innovative solution has been developed for situations where it is possible to run trains on one line with the overhead line electrification (OLE) de-energised thus providing the requisite electrical separation from work sites on adjacent lines. An operating procedure has been agreed with TOCs and signallers to allow electric trains to proceed through the

section in coasting mode. In the unlikely event that the train stops in the dead section, work stops and the isolation is cancelled to restore power to the train.

Series 1 and 2 electrification systemThe new Series 1 catenary system has a

significantly different look compared with older systems and has been designed for routes up to 140mph. It is compliant with TSIs and gives a reduction in capital and whole life costs compared with other systems. The new system is designed to be used in conjunction with HOPS to minimise installation time and to have an increased design life. It is being installed on the GWML.

Series 2, installed on the Scottish Cumbernauld route, has capacity for speeds up to 100 mph and is designed with fewer component parts. In addition, it has greater maintenance tolerances and is less obtrusive, which offers the added benefit of creating fewer signal-sighting conflicts.

Overall, these new systems will significantly improve availability and reliability. Existing OLE systems deliver 0.21 years MTBF (mean time between failures) per track mile with a 4 yearly maintenance cycle, whereas the new OLE will offer 4.60 years MTBF per track mile with a 6-8 yearly maintenance cycle.

CrossrailThe central sections of London Crossrail,

not part of Network Rail, include 42km of new tunnels. Dr Siv Bhamra, systems and commissioning director, Crossrail (UK), and principal vice president of Bechtel, described the use of high output construction methods and efficient logistical organisation to deliver rapid electrification at lower cost.

Traction power is derived from the 400kV bulk supply points at Kensal Green and Pudding Mill Lane each in-feeding via autotransformer feeder stations. The route also utilises two autotransformer sites and a section autotransformer site. The traction power supply is provided under contract C644 by a joint venture of Alstom Transport and Costain.


Key to high production output of contact and catenary wires are the use of multi-purpose vehicles with modules carrying contact and catenary tensioning equipment, split level access platforms, and welfare facilities. Materials logistics uses radio frequency identification (RFID).

The project has paid careful attention to sustainability (economic, social and environmental), social engagement (400 apprentices, equality, work experience placements and ethical procurement sourcing), innovation (the three Cs: Collaboration and organisation; Culture and environment - nurtured from top down; Capability - building internally, accessing talent), and building information modelling (BIM).

Thameslink Design OptimisationThameslink is not part of the NEP since the

route is already electrified (25 kV AC OLE north, 750 V DC south). Nevertheless, some additional work has been necessary to wire up the new Canal Tunnels, the St Pancras International station box, extend the 25kV wiring south to City Thameslink (to facilitate reversal of a southbound train that fails the changeover from 25kV AC to 750V DC), and generally ensure the electrification system is robust and reliable in support of the high-capacity train service. Train paths increase from eight per hour in 2008, before work started, to 24 per hour in 2018.

Chris Binns, Network Rail’s head of engineering for the Thameslink programme, explained how the use of innovative systems and construction techniques can squeeze impressive performance and route capability from constrained Victorian infrastructure. Even the new Canal Tunnels, built a decade ago, feature tight six-metre diameter bores.

Conductor beams with a 3,980mm minimum height are used in these tunnels, and also in the ‘Hotel Curve’ through the new St Pancras International station box. Zero tension catenary provides reliability, availability and maintainability in high curvature track.

Located in Ludgate Cellars is, at 20MW, one of the largest DC traction sub-stations of its type in Europe. This is a fully-duplicated system and the building also contains contactors for switching traction sections to isolate DC traction return from the earthed AC traction network. Other work has included upgrading DC substations, reinforcing cables and installing rebated sleepers to carry cross-track cabling.

It was conceded that full compliance with TSIs (for example the conversion of DC traction conductor rail to AC OLE) would come with a very large price tag. In practical terms, special cases and reduced clearances are likely on conventional lines for many years, while capacity constraints are addressed as a priority.

TSI Compliance StrategyStanislaw Lis and Ignacio Ballester, both

project officers with the European Railway Agency’s interoperability unit, introduced the ERA, which was established in 2004/2005 with approximately 150 staff, and described the development and implementation of the ENE (Energy Subsystem) TSIs. The core domains are interoperability, safety and ERTMS. The main customers and stakeholders are the European Commission, EU Parliament, railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and manufactures, and national safety authorities.

The Energy Subsystem covers electrification systems, and comprises power supply requirements, geometry of the OCL (Overhead Contact Line), quality of current collection, on-ground energy data collecting system, and

protective provisions against electric shock. Subsystems are required to comply with the TSIs in force at the time of their placing into service for new, upgrading or renewal projects. The ENE series of TSIs will replace the earlier series of HS and CR TSIs from (most likely) January 2015.

Implementation of ENE TSIs was discussed in three categories. Firstly, voltage and frequency are determined on the basis of economic and technical grounds, taking into account at least the existing power supply, any connection to the railway line in neighbouring countries with an existing electrical power supply, and power demand. It is stipulated that new lines with a speed greater than 250km/h shall be supplied with one of the AC systems as defined in the TSI. Secondly OCL geometry is specified for line speeds above and below 250km/h, the former requiring pantographs of at least 1600mm. Thirdly, the on-ground energy data collecting system (DCS) requires a settlement system interface.


International projectsMuch as in the UK, many railways around

the world are experiencing significant traffic growth. Joachim Vaahsen and Marco Wilfert of DB Netz described German plans up to 2030. The application of funds for infrastructure replacement investments on existing lines is evidence-based and requires compliance with quality objectives. For electrification, the quality parameter ‘supply reliability of traction current’ is an indicator to evaluate funding efficiency. Measures include interruptions of the current supply caused by the condition of the OLE and the value of energy that could not be fed into the traction grid due to a power outage caused by the energy supplier.

There are some 73 infrastructure projects in progress or at the planning stage and the intention is that, by 2050, the TEN-T network will be operating at over 200km/h, electrified and completely equipped with ERTMS.

From Canada, Michael Wolczyk, vice president corridor infrastructure for Metrolinx (an agency of the Government of Ontario), described the expansion of the GO rail system serving Toronto. Increasing congestion in this fast growing region with a single downtown station at Union is being addressed with infrastructure improvements including electrification and new trains over a ten-year period. There is no legacy electrification infrastructure, so standards can be developed within a network approach incorporating best practice. Technical challenges include grounding and bonding, signal immunisation, overhead clearances, rolling stock regulations, power supply, and property.

The High Speed Rail Authority’s transformational investment in California’s future was outlined by Raj Mangat, railroad and electrification manager, and Vinod Sibal, traction power engineer in the program management team. The full high-speed system is 800 miles long with Phase 1 linking San Francisco with Los Angeles (520 miles) using the 2 x 25kV AC autotransformer feed-type system, and auto-tensioned OLE, the design based on EU TSIs and conforming with North American standards.

Design best practice for the 314km of high speed rail in Belgium, centred on Brussels, was covered by David Van de Sype, manager high voltage, TUC Rail, Infrabel, who gave a technical appraisal of the merits of 25kV AC electrification used for 20km of newly-built lines versus the 114km of modernised lines electrified at 3kV DC. The advantages of DC are that transmission is more efficient and there are no zero crossings of power, no inverse current in 3-phase network, no inductance and no skin effect in rails. The disadvantages are regenerative braking and electrochemical corrosion due to stray currents. Future trains may be designed to deliver capacitive power for which voltage drop becomes less of an issue and currents are most important, concluding that DC should not be forgotten.

Vijay Pratap Singh, group general manager, electrical for the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation, Indian Railways, described a fascinating scheme to construct 3,338km of dedicated eastern and western freight corridors electrified at 25kV AC with a power requirement of 1MVA per route km.

OLE, pantographs and power suppliesOLE design and pantograph profiles were

outlined for the respective systems of French SNCF, Portuguese REFER, Hungarian State Railway MAV, and Estonian Railways Eesti Raudtee.

Papers were presented examining strategies and technologies for power supply design to reduce energy consumption, stray currents and phase disturbances: » Swiss railways SBB - simulation techniques

being used in power supply design; » French infrastructure owner Reseau Ferre de

France (RFF) - DC to AC conversion; » Croatian railways HZ Infratstruktura - renewal

of electrification system; » Norwegian government agency for

railway services, Jernbaneverket - energy consumption reduction.

Martin Sigrist, lead electrification and plant engineer, Thameslink Programme, provided a fascinating insight into the subject of DC stray currents. This is a serious issue given that 10 amps of DC current leaving steel and continuously flowing for one year will remove approximately 96 kilograms of metal. Leakage current could affect any metallic component or structure such as rails, bridges, signal gantries, reinforced concrete structures, pipes, and building foundations or steelworks. The only cost effective solution is good housekeeping, maintenance and design, such as ensuring that ballast contamination is reduced, ballast around rails is removed and return bonding is effective.

PHOTO: CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY


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Where DC and AC meet, control measures include the separation of the traction return systems (AC is earthed, DC is not) ensuring that track circuit operation is safely immunised, that there are specialist bonding arrangements for dual electrified areas and regular enhanced maintenance for AC/DC interface equipment. Types of AC/DC interfaces in service are AC isolation transformers and DC contactors, the

provision of which is designed to prevent DC stray current propagation to the earthed AC railway and outside party structures, to assist in immunising signalling equipment and to permit dual traction system changeover between AC and DC systems.

The Thameslink route has a recently extended dual-electrified area and stray current is a known issue. Accordingly, a ‘permanent’ monitoring

system has been installed to check for changes in the level of stray currents when either infrastructure or operational changes occur as part of the programme.

Richard Ollerenshaw, senior renewals and enhancements engineer (electrification) at Network Rail, emphasised the importance of a complete system approach to electrification design that takes into account the effect of every

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parameter choice on all other system elements. He then described the pros and cons of the various traction feeding arrangements, including: traditional rail return, booster transformer with return conductor, and autotransformer feeding.

Finally, Richard proposed an alternative solution using traction converters. The advantages of this option include: connections can be made to lower voltage Grid points, which are more readily available; balanced three-phase current demand, reducing the cost of energy supply; catenary all operating on the same phase, eliminating the need for neutral sections, which are a cause of unreliability; improved voltage regulation; and trains are fed from the feeder station in front of the train and the one behind, improving the reliability of the contact wire.

He also outlined some of the potential problems, including energy losses in the converter, although overall efficiency tends to be similar to transformer-based feeder stations. Richard stated that a study has indicated the possibility of a 20% cost reduction in using converters. Although it may not be the optimum solution for all situations, it is worthy of consideration during option selection.

Maintaining the OLELast but not least, two presentations described how the maintenance of

healthy OLE is being achieved. Toshihide Kishi, overhead line division chief researcher for the East Japan Railway Company, outlined three significant problems relating to the extensive electrified network of 7,511km. » Breaking of the aluminium feeding line - currently, thermo-imaging

cameras are used, but this method is labour intensive, time consuming and doesn’t provide continuous monitoring. Hence RFID-tags powered by photovoltaic cells are being installed on the OLE. Outputs may be read either by a technician using a Handy Reader on-site that connects by WiFi to a tablet or smartphone, or by means of a RFID-reader on the train. The on-board train reader can transmit data through WiMAX to the depot for analysis.

» Wear of trolley (contact) wire in Tokyo area 1500V DC system - frequent operation and long trains rapidly wears away the contact wire. In order to reduce contact wire renewal costs, a new maintenance cycle with high-frequency inspection and wear prediction is in development. A daily inspection is to be implemented using inspection devices aboard the type E325 commuter train. Mounted on the roof of the train are: a measuring device of contact wire wear, a measuring device of contact wire height and deviation, a UV spark sensor and camera and a communications unit hard-wired through the train to a WiMAX CCU for onward transmission of data to the maintenance depot.

» Corrosion of the steel structure and messenger (catenary) wire - sea salt rapidly corrodes the equipment. A new asset management tool is in development with the critical issues of corrosion speed of galvanized steel and weakening of structure strength currently being researched. The tool will then need to strike a balance between cost and effect of painting, cost needed in life cycle, and cost converted from failure risk.

Paul Cox, senior engineer, Network Rail, introduced OLE Ex, a software tool that allows monitoring of the status of the OLE nationally by combining and analysing data from data collection trains, giving a graphical representation of where the OLE requires attention. Data is obtained from the Balfour Beatty Rail Vehicle Mounted Continuous Structure Profile Measurement train and fed to the OLE Ex back offices at Derby and Milton Keynes where whole life costs (risk, maintenance, renewal) are modelled and appropriate maintenance and/or renewal planned.

Many thanks to Peter Brown, principal design engineer at Network Rail, for his help in the preparation of this article.


With increasing passenger numbers and the threat of fines for not meeting punctuality targets, Network Rail is coming under increasing pressure to minimise the impact of infrastructure faults.

However, a sudden loss of signalling power caused by cable or equipment malfunction, cable theft or vandalism can cause significant delays and disruption to a busy network. It is therefore essential to put in place suitable systems that not only identify failure points, but also return the rail network back to full operations as soon as possible.

An automatic supply restoration system will detect a loss of power, inform operators and maintenance teams and quickly restore power to signalling equipment, reducing delays, outages and minimising impact on customers. Installed at the trackside, an automatic supply restoration system isolates a circuit fault and then restores power automatically by reconfiguring the supply from the principal supply points, reducing a power interruption to less than thirty seconds.

Schneider solutionOne such system, supplied by

Schneider Electric, is being installed as part of a major project to upgrade the signalling on the Great Western main line between Newbury and Reading in Berkshire, a distance of about 17 miles. This signalling upgrade forms part of a wider 10-year, £5 billion plan by Network Rail to expand services on the Great Western main line to accommodate the increase in demand for rail journeys.

Critical to the system is a reliable and resilient communications network to support the diagnostic and status-reporting capabilities. The Schneider Electric Automatic Supply Restoration (ASR) system provides operators within the main control room with an immediate warning of a fault, enabling them to react quickly and organise the required maintenance. Using data sent over this communications network, the system produces a graphical

representation of the signalling power network for viewing and analysis by remote users.

All equipment used in the automatic power recovery system and supporting communications network must be of the highest quality, be extremely robust and reliable, and meet the stringent requirements for signalling and telecommunications apparatus for trackside use. Westermo’s Lynx 110-F2 Managed Ethernet Switch meets these challenging requirements and over 60 units are being installed as part of this upgrade project.

Westermo reliabilityFollowing an evaluation of several

switch products, Schneider Electric chose the Westermo Lynx switch because it is compact and has a low power consumption. These factors are critical for equipment installed in trackside cabinets where space is at a premium and devices have to be temporarily powered locally when the main supply is lost. In addition, the Lynx range has Network Rail acceptance and also meets the requirements of EN50121-4 for railway trackside use.

Keeping things running


Westermo provided application advice and technical support to help Schneider Electric with the selection and configuration of the switches for this challenging application. Westermo switches use the best quality components and are designed to achieve the highest Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) figures in the industry. This is especially important for trackside locations where maintenance is both difficult and costly. In addition, they are constructed to resist the toughest operating conditions including wide temperature variations and exposure to EMC.

Westermo Lynx switches are a critical component in the Schneider Electric ASR, reliably sending local power supply status data from their trackside location to the Network Rail ‘Cloud’ via a combination of fibre optic and copper cabling. Communications redundancy is provided by a fibre ring between the trackside cabinets. If there is a fault, alarms are generated and the ring automatically reconfigures to transmit the data to the Network Rail control room using Westermo’s unique FRNT technology - the

fastest protocol on the market for re-configuring large networks in the event of a link or hardware failure. During the power outages, power for the Westermo switch is supplied from a local functional supply point until mains power is restored.

Westermo switches have been successfully used by Schneider Electric on a number of projects requiring trackside ASR systems - demonstrating their performance and reliability. As a result, Schneider Electric has now made the Lynx 110-F2 the standard switch for its Automatic Supply Restoration system.

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At first sight, Driver Advisory Systems (DAS) and Automatic Train Operation (ATO) are mutually incompatible. After all, in ATO the train is being driven by a machine so there would be no need to give advice to a driver. It is, however, not as straightforward as that and there are

many factors that can impact on the design and configuration of both, even to the extent where both systems have to be used to mutual benefit.

The IRSE (Institution of Railway Signal Engineers) recently held a one day seminar to tease out the capabilities and constraints of both technologies and to project forward into the future how emerging requirements will affect usage.

DAS in ServiceA description of DAS appeared in issue 104

(June 2013). That article explored the application and usage of DAS within First Group, both on Hull Trains and First Great Western. The basic aims of the system are to: » Run trains in precisely the planned path; » Avoid conflict at junctions and stations; » Enable energy savings; » Provide more capacity; » Further minimise SPAD (signal passed at

danger) occurrence.

Mark Wardell, project manager operations, gave an update on the First Group’s experience over a four year period. Getting the business case for fleet fitting proved challenging, partly because of train equipment costs but also the need to create a database to hold all route and train characteristics. Train equipment includes an on board processor, a driver’s display screen

(DMI), a GPS aerial, a radio link and a power supply. After some interesting discussions with the trade unions, driver acceptance is now good with a 90% usage rate yielding impressive results. The system continually re-calculates the most efficient driving style based on on-time arrival and energy use which includes the target speed, when to hold speed and when to coast. Benefits to date include: » Improved safety because fewer restrictive

signals are encountered; » Reduction in TPWS (train protection and

warning system) overspeed activations; » Real time train location - drivers know where

they are; » Stopping points are defined, thus avoiding

‘failure to call’ situations; » Advanced warnings on TSRs and ESRs

(temporary and emergency speed restrictions);

» Lower station approach speeds - extended coasting, less braking and wear & tear;

» Improved passenger perception as fewer unwanted stops;

» Energy savings and fuel efficiency, but not yet matching initial predictions;

» Ability to capture actual running data, thus helping delay attribution causes.

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The system employed to date is S-DAS (Standalone) with information not taking into account any other train movements and is used on Hull Trains, FGW HSTs, Scotrail's Class 170s and Class 334 EMUs (as an integrated DAS/EM system). Full potential will not be realised until C-DAS (Connected) is available that will relate one train path to all other trains in the vicinity.

A simulation and carriage-based trial took place in mid 2014 and an operational trial based around Airport Junction on the GW main line will follow. The system requires a prediction engine to detect conflicts, which has already shown up lots of places where the current timetable does not work properly.

Almost by definition, C-DAS requires additional information to be effective, and the deployment of Traffic Management Systems (TMS) plus the forthcoming ETCS systems, perhaps on a single DMI screen, will be key to this. As such, C-DAS is likely to emerge slowly.

A freight perspectiveOptimising the running of freight trains is crucial for

timetabled deliveries and Kevin Johnson from Freightliner described the company’s experiences with DAS. Similar benefits to that for passenger trains can be obtained but avoidance of yard / siding congestion and getting trains to brake at the optimum point are important.

Freight trains often do not have a Working Timetable (WTT) path since many run at short notice and may not have a prescribed route, thus DAS information has to be baselined with multiple route options. Start and end of journey times are important with passing points en route being more flexible.

Understanding the impact of trains that run early or late is important with DAS proving invaluable in the regulation of trains outside of scheduled times. To date, both the inter-modal and heavy hall fleets are fitted with DAS including digital acceleration indicators.

Swedish interpretationC-DAS is already in limited use in Sweden, and Per Leander

from Transrail described the limitations and effectiveness of the installed CATO system. Routes equipped are the LKAB iron ore line from Kiruna to Stenbacken, which is predominantly single track with passing loops, and the Arlanda Express service from Stockholm city to the airport. Linkage to a TMS system is essential and the in-house GSM-R network provides the link to the trains. The iterative process between trains and the CATO manager is continuous so scheduling, routing and speed are always being updated.

On single lines, an early departure will result in a lower speed instruction so as not to arrive early at the next passing loop. Some trains are additionally fitted with a form of ATO - akin to a car’s cruise control - but with up and down speed regulation controlled by messages from DAS. Taking account of non-fitted trains is a problem and, on the Arlanda Express, the development of a N-DAS (Networked) facility that feeds track circuit derived information into the system gives some indication of the whereabouts of other trains.

The development of C-DAS has taken time, the devil being in the detail. The TMS-DAS interface is crucial and complex evaluations are needed to get this right. The results, however, have exceeded expectations and the system will be rolled out to other locations and trains.

Specifying C-DAS Network Rail is clear that DAS offers a significant

opportunity for improved train performance but is mindful that, with multiple suppliers, a common specification is required to achieve nationwide operational use.

Esther Gershuny from Network Rail explained the need to get agreement between the infrastructure manager and every TOC and FOC so as to produce a ‘concept of operation’ across the industry. Following that comes a technical specification, a proof of concept and the required safety analysis. This will include the suppression of DAS information if restricted signal aspects are encountered.

Guidance will be given to the DAS supply market including upgrades from S-DAS to C-DAS and the non-availability of TMS in the initial stages. A common vision has emerged for both passenger and freight train use and the supply industry has been co-operative in recognising the need for proprietary equipment to integrate with the future TMS programme and legacy data systems. So far, TTG Transportation Technology has supplied S-DAS systems to both First Group and Freightliner, and is currently deploying its Energymiser system on all Arriva UK fleets, Knorr-Bremse is supplying Go-Ahead for LM and Southern Cl 170/2 DMUs and Cubris (a Danish Company with DSB systems in use) is to trial C-DAS on a contract with South West Trains.

Achieving all this has needed the creation of user workshops, review forums, HAZOP analysis, a simulation trial and development of the TMS interface. The resulting system architecture will link legacy systems such as TRUST into the C-DAS and TMS combination as well as integrating into future ETCS and ATO technology.

C-DAS will use GPS for position information and 3G networks for the conveyance of this information back to the ROCs. 3G coverage does not have to be continuous but ongoing discussion with the public network operators

PHOTO: TTG


is taking place to effect improvements. The two-way communication of a C-DAS system will enable train performance problems to be reported automatically.

The linkage to TMS cannot be over-emphasised and Ben Pritchard from Thales gave detail of the roll out. The first two systems are underway - at Cardiff and Romford ROCs - and 10 more are currently being bid for. TMS itself is all about conflict detection and expanding this to C-DAS operation is part of the plan.

Having a standardised DMI screen layout will be a challenge since there is a risk of over-specification and provision of too much information. Drivers want a single screen format regardless of who supplies it. Experience gained from Austrian Railways (ÖBB), with its structure of one central command office and five regional centres is proving invaluable in understanding the operational sequences.

The ATO DimensionWhilst ATO is now commonplace on metros,

it remains rare for mainline operation. The first UK application will be the central section of Thameslink, where trains from routes from both north and south of the Thames converge to funnel through the Blackfriars to St Pancras section. The requirement for 12-car trains at around 2 minute headways leads to 24 trains per hour (tph) in each direction with a capability of upgrading to 30 tph. Calculations have shown that to achieve this, ATO will be needed to ensure trains perform to the maximum limits of the line.

Already committed to an ERTMS/ETCS solution, ATO technology has to be superimposed upon this, described in issue 109

(November 2013). This will require additional balises to give a 0.8 metre stopping accuracy, smaller GSM-R cells and ETCS marker boards to permit following trains to close up on a previous train still in the overlap.

So what has this to do with DAS? Paul Booth from Network Rail explained the criticality of trains arriving into this central core in the right sequence and on time. If the ambitious timetable is to be achieved, DAS will be an essential to achieve this. Geographic route data will be held on the train-borne equipment but, in the central section, DAS data will not normally be needed unless the ATO system fails, whereupon a default to timetable and DAS advice will kick in. The overall system will include automatic selective door opening, door closure count down and power changeover.

The world is watching the Thameslink ETCS / ATO development and success will lead to deployment elsewhere. The need for a generalised specification is recognised, with Benoit Bienfait from Alstom describing progress. Safety and interoperability standards within ETCS are already well defined but incorporating performance and capacity elements will be part of the thrust to reduce operating costs. ATO will not be part of the safety system and would only be available in ETCS full supervision mode, linking to both the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) element and to TMS. The spec will incorporate: » Need to obey signalling commands; » Defining the speed profile; » Perform operational stops; » Timetabled speed control; » Automatic turn back; » Automatic coupling; » Automatic stopping management.

Operational and infrastructure data will come from TMS, thus optimising speed for energy efficiency. The system will need a test facility and a pilot line demonstrator. The use of packet switching to achieve the necessary capacity on the radio transmission link is considered essential. Non-ATO-fitted trains need to be able to operate but will ignore the ATO messages. Future aims may include semi-automated, driverless and unattended train operation.

Implications for High Speed LinesWith HS2 just around the corner, what

will be the impact of both DAS and ATO technologies to achieve maximum reliability and performance on the route? Trevor Foulkes, the head of control, command and signalling for HS2, said that headways of 135 seconds will be possible using ERTMS Level 2, with trains scheduled every three minutes. To ensure performance is maintained if problems occur needs study.

The Cubris GreenSpeed screen installed in the cab of an IC3 train with DSB, the Danish National Railways.

PHOTO: CUBRIS


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TTG is a world leader in the provision of Driver Advisory Systems to the global rail sector. The company’s Energymiser® system is now deployed on 5 continents and has a projected install base of over 4000 systems in the UK and Australasia, by the end of 2014.

Whilst the early adopters of the system have focused on the system’s signifi cant capability to reduce operational costs through a reduction in energy and fuel usage, the global rail market is now seeing the additional benefi ts it provides in relation to improved on-time running, carbon footprint reduction and as an essential sub-system for the emerging Traffi c Management Systems.

Our clients initially wanted the system deployed as a fi xed ‘in-cab’ solution, but this has evolved to include deployment via iPads, tablets or integrated with existing on-train systems, such as a Train Management, or Traffi c Management System. TTG’s development roadmap has been designed to ensure we can meet these changing needs.

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In many ways, high speed lines are much like long metros. Trains are all the same type, they go at the same speed and station stops are similar. To achieve the intended timings, ATO is considered necessary as the predicted acceleration curves will be difficult for a driver to achieve. Punctuality and energy optimisation (braking from high speed causes heat which could be a big problem in tunnels) need ATO to achieve consistency. TMS will also be needed to give speed increase or decrease instructions for any train running out of course, and thus the equivalent of driverless DAS becomes part of the scenario.

If political decisions lead to other than high speed trains on to the line - typically fast freight at quieter times - then DAS will be needed to regulate train movements and not delay high speed services.

Other Considerations and a Future Vision

Debate is ongoing as to whether the current philosophy of controlling all train movements from just a few centralised control centres is the right one. Certainly, these are places that know the whereabouts of all trains within their operational area but collecting and distributing

the necessary data is expensive. A Swiss view from Markus Montigel and

Xioalu Rao from Systransis is that centralised decision support using both DAS and ATO in collaboration is the right formula. It should yield optimisation of customer demand, resilience and recovery from disruptions, plus automation to help signallers and drivers. With TMS deciding the best train paths and feeding this to ATO for implementing the optimum speed, an optimum operating philosophy is achieved.

An alternative view from Clive Burrows of First Group but with wider responsibilities for the strategic direction of the industry was more controversial. The technologies of ERTMS, DAS, TMS and ATO need to be considered in terms of vital and non-vital commands, information flows, communication paths and impact on people.

Conventional signalling including ERTMS Level 1 is inherently inflexible. ERTMS Level 2 with lineside signals is a bit better but has massive cost. The same system without signals can be optimised for Movement Authorities (MA) and braking curves but is still too expensive. The elusive ERTMS Level 3 with track-based train detection but not

constrained to fixed block sections is better but remains a centralised control operation.

Therefore, how about an ERTMS Level 4 with ‘leader trains’ working to Level 3 but with subsequent trains using inter-active communication to get movement authority (MA) from the first train? If the comms links fail, the trains revert to Level 3.

Even more adventurous would be an ERTMS Level 5 whereby a train generates its own MA based upon what is happening around it. This is similar to visions within the automotive industry for the next 5-10 years.

Also in the equation is the impact of traction power supply limitations where the possibility to increase capacity by commanding trains not to use full power could lead to longer trains being used.

Maybe this is somewhat fanciful and some signal engineers will hold their hands up in horror. Thinking ‘outside the box’ does need to happen from time to time. TMS and C-DAS will be core to any future vision, although N-DAS type usage may precede this in the UK prior to TMS systems becoming universally available. Taking things to a logical conclusion, DAS becomes a sub-system feeding optimised operational information into ATO. We shall see.

Demand for DAS is growing fast as many network managers and operators are seeing the benefits of the system, both as a stand-alone system today and as a connected system in the future -

where the potential of the system will be fully realised.

As a world leader in the provision of DAS, TTG Transportation Technology has been busy deploying its award winning Energymiser® system with existing and contracted deployments now reaching 5000 systems globally. The most recent deployment is on the First ScotRail Class 334 EMU fleet as a combined DAS/energy metering system. TTG is also currently deploying its system on 580 Arriva UK vehicles for Chiltern Railways, Cross Country, Arriva Trains Wales and Grand Central. The experience gained from this scale and variety of deployments is extremely valuable to the company.

In addition, this year has seen some important developments in relation to C-DAS. These include working with and supporting two of the major traffic management providers, conducting field trials

with Network Rail and First Group. TTG has also developed a DAS ‘Lite’ system for Freightliner’s Heavy Haul and Inter-Modal fleets,

designed to simplify advice to better suit the unique complexities of UK freight operations whilst still providing the ability to migrate to C-DAS in the future.

The TTG DAS is a proven stand-alone system. However, it is clear many are now seeing it as a connected system to be deployed

as a sub-system of the emerging UK traffic management system and a potential sub-system for ATO (automatic train operation). As more and more operators deploy the system as an operational tool, the future of DAS is looking bright and TTG is well positioned to play its part.

TTG grows with the market

PHOTO: TTG


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The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) hosted a seminar recently on the subject of Rail Reliability, Capacity and Performance, chaired by Ian Papworth. With ever-increasing demands on capacity, this seminar examined solutions put in place by the entire rail supply chain to reduce this cost and increase the reliability,

capacity and performance of Britain’s rail fleet.

Challenging time for TOCsDyan Crowther, chief operating officer of Thameslink,

Southern and Great Northern (TSGN), opened the seminar by outlining the challenges faced by train operating companies (TOCs). A combination of the former First Capital Connect, Southern and Gatwick Express franchises make TSGN the largest TOC in England and there are massive developments in the pipeline which the new management team have to address between now and December 2018: Southern & Gatwick Express joins TSGN, Three Bridges Depot commissioned, new Gatwick Express Trains, recast Brighton Mainline timetable, new Thameslink trains, Hornsey depot commissioned, all new Moorgate trains, 24 trains per hour through the Thameslink core, London Bridge station completion, Crossrail interchange at Farringdon. Phew!

There was confidence that the engineering challenges would be met but it transpired that the people aspect is critical and the greatest challenge is that of training over 600 train drivers for the new Class 700 trains, ETCS cab signalling and Thameslink core Automatic Train Operation (ATO). Having become accustomed to ‘professional’ driving policies, drivers are going to find that ATO (precise braking and acceleration curves) is going to take some getting used to, not to mention taking the controls of a computerised Class 700 straight after having driven a ‘clockwork’ Class 365.

Supporting the industryChris Fenton, chief executive, explained that RSSB

supports the industry by understanding risk, collaborating to improve, guiding standards and managing research, development and innovation. Thankfully, the risk of a multiple-fatality train accident has been reduced from once every 1.4 years in 2001 to once every 6.9 years in 2014, but the risk remains finite.

Collaborative work was defined as ‘involving mutual engagement of participants in a co-ordinated effort to solve the problem together’. Collaborative working is recognised as a fundamental business discipline necessitating a structured methodology to underpin successful business relationships. Indeed, RSSB uses the BS 11000 model for Collaborative Relationship Management.

National initiativesChristian Roth, chief engineer of South West Trains

and chairman of Fleet Challenge (which comes under ATOC - the Association of Train Operating Companies) introduced the role of the latter. Fleet Challenge is an industry-wide initiative helping maintainers to cope with discontinuous and disruptive changes such as new fleet introductions or cascades by interfacing and exploiting data sources (condition based maintenance, decision support tools and knowledge management systems).

DAVID BICKELL

Reliability, capacity and performance


There is strong representation from senior management of TOCs, RoSCos (rolling stock companies - the train lessors) and third party maintainers. The Fleet Challenge reports into the National Task Force (NTF) and is responsible for fleet contribution to performance, driving strategy for the latter and managing stakeholder expectations from fleet.

Current activity includes working with Network Rail’s Data Collection Services Enhancement Programme to examine the possibility of fitting passenger and freight vehicles for monitoring instead of dedicated vehicles operating under possession, supporting the business case for identified key depot requirements, and the development of planned and new weather resilience fleet schemes.

Analysis shows that most fleets have improved over CP4 but the majority of growth is driven by the introduction of modern rolling stock. It was noted that weather has a significant impact on fleet performance. A target of 11,500 miles per technical incident MAA

(moving annual average) has been agreed with NTF for CP5. The £50 million funding during CP4 for fleet enhancements from the performance funds will continue to deliver benefits in CP5. No performance funds are available for CP5, however there is potential to exploit other industry funds such as the Weather Resilience and Climate Change Programme, Depot and Sidings Fund, Future

Railway, Shift2Rail, R&D funding, and usual investment by owners, operators and maintainers.

This theme of fleet reliability was expanded upon by Stuart Draper, director of engineering for Northern Rail, through the ATOC Twenty Point Plan. This embraces all aspects of the rolling stock life cycle including vehicle maintenance, supply chain, outsourced maintenance,

managing incidents, human factors and staff competence. Examples of appropriate resources were discussed including decision support tools in the form of folders, software or DVDs to help the ‘phone a friend’ in control dealing with regular faults whenever a driver or conductor calls control.

Several TOCs have bought into transport technology solutions supplied by NEXALA which offers

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real-time remote monitoring and diagnostics, engineering maintenance management, component condition monitoring, and planning and performance management.

Finally, the speaker said the challenges for CP5 are: » Improve reliability » New rolling stock introduction » Cascades of EMUs/DMUs » New short and long term franchises » Disruption to infrastructure and depots » More congested network.

Network Rail is planning to roll out Traffic Management (TM) across the country in the coming years which will not only improve capacity of the network but, with the introduction of the Connected Driver Advisory System (C-DAS), will improve fuel efficiency. TM prediction algorithms are used to provide drivers with speed advice, calculated to help avoid the scenarios such as trains dashing at line speed through the countryside only to have to stop at a red signal prior to a conflict point ahead and then restart, thus wasting fuel. Dave Fidal and David Taylor of Thales gave a presentation of their system which has been selected for early deployment at the Cardiff and Romford Rail Operating Centres (ROC). TM and the ROCs were described in issues 115 and 120 (May and October 2014).

Richard Graham, Head of Transport and Infrastructure at Newton Europe, described the company as ‘operational performance improvement specialists’ with a team of over 160 engineers and scientists in the UK and Europe working across a wide range of sectors including healthcare, transport, defence, local

government services, manufacturing and private equity. The company works hands-on to generate sustainable results and real financial and operational improvement for some of the world’s most successful, innovative organisations. A wide variety of operating environments have been evaluated for process best practice and transferability, including the NHS, Nissan, Babcock, British Sugar and Rolls Royce. Examples were given of downtime capture in rolling stock manufacture, and service protection planning in NHS A&E. Whilst acknowledging they do not focus solely on rail, Newton has nevertheless successfully delivered improvement programmes across a number of rail clients to date.

Steve Quinby, head of data collection services, Network Rail, explained that the role of his team involved collection of data streams using a dedicated fleet of recording vehicles such as the New Measurement Train, processing and analysis of the data streams, planning measurement runs in co-ordination with Network operations and routes, and maintenance of specialist measurement equipment. Substantial logistics are involved and one difficult issue is that of finding paths in our evermore intensively-used railway for these non-revenue carrying trains.

During the discussion, it was suggested that passenger and freight trains may be able to be fitted with monitoring kit. However, this is expensive specialist scientific equipment and any fitment would need buy-in from the DfT to incorporate in franchise agreements. The future is likely to involve risk-based maintenance, data collected in the most unobtrusive way and greater use of unattended systems.

Local projects with big paybackIrish Rail’s mixed fleet of trains has given

rise to reliability challenges. Peter Smyth, chief mechanical engineer, Iarnród Éireann, said that over €1billion had been invested in new trains since 2000, taking the fleet from the oldest to the newest in Europe. Strategic objectives set in 2008 called for improved reliability of the fleets, introduction of greater ownership of work at local level, the removal of old and bad working practices and a consequent reduction of costs.

Taking a leaf out of the Japanese manufacturing industry, lean tools, based on making obvious what adds value by reducing everything else, has been successfully applied with impressive results - costs reduced by 30%, headcount down 25% and performance up by 75%. Lean tools, deployed by IE, include the 5Ss (sort, set, shine, standardise, sustain) which has sorted out processes and workflows and removed waste with a huge clean-up of workshops and depots and introduction of standardised work instructions, giving rise not only to cost reduction and reliability improvement but also to safety improvement and accident reduction.

Another tool ‘Visualisation’ has led to the creation of depot ‘control’ rooms, simple low tech wall mounted marker boards forming a focal point for all staff to understand what is required each day. Kaizen ‘workshops’ produce substantial benefits and are held twice a year to focus on a major improvement requirement by looking at a portion of a complex problem with the outcome of immediate measurable success in the region of €250,000 - €500,000 without recourse to capital. Lean, now the norm in every task and process, is a significant contributor to


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fleet reliability improvement but it was stressed that leadership engagement is critical to the success of the lean culture.

Finally, Peter Smyth described the use of the Nexala R2M real time diagnostic remote condition monitoring (RCM) system across the Hyundai DMU 22000 fleet of trains. This comprehensive real-time data, transmission and analysis system has been retro-fitted to a complete fleet of trains, delivering information to the Irish depot control centre thereby achieving a reduction of maintenance costs, maintenance intervals, break-down costs, and incident recovery.

James Herriott, engineering change manager, Stagecoach South Western Trains, provided an interesting resumé of some innovative projects. Several classes of multiple units, including Classes 158/159, are fitted with RCM devices transmitting data from forward and rear-facing cameras, GPS unit locations, wheel slide protection (WSP) location data and OTMR (on-train monitoring recorder) data. Performance analysis using RCM data compares actual journey times with the timetable to identify precisely where and when delays occur with OTMR data providing clues as to possible cause of delay such as restrictive aspects or WSP application.

Sectional running time analysis uses RCM data to identify potential timetable tweaks. Two Class 159 units are fitted with a ride quality and track geometry monitoring system to provide regular analysis of track condition allowing early identification of emerging defects when thresholds are exceeded. A six-degree of freedom inertial sensor pack is fitted to bogies to measure bogie ‘flight’ path, and linear variable displacement transformers (LVDT) are fitted to axle boxes.

Some EMUs are to be fitted with a system that will monitor the position of the third rail, accelerations of shoe gear and geometry

of track. Cubris GreenSpeed C-DAS is to be introduced to increase mainline capacity at Waterloo. Wheelsets are expensive and are currently measured manually. New Wheelview and Discview-track mounted wheel profile laser systems are to be installed at Wimbledon and Salisbury depot entrances to monitor SWT fleets. Track-mounted systems include RailBAM acoustic monitor, Gotcha wheel defect monitor, and Wheelchex wheel impact load detector. The speaker closed with a taste of future plans - greater utilisation of multi-purpose vehicles, integrated IT solutions for fleet management, extension of shoe gear monitoring, and improved bandwidth WiFi on board Class 158/9 and 458.

Condition-based maintenance (CBM) was the subject of speaker Oliver El-Falaki, project engineer, Bombardier, who described the depot-based automated vehicle inspection system (AVIS). AVIS can be used to inspect a range of train systems including brake pads, brake discs, pantographs, wheel profiles, wheel damage and damper leakage. AVIS delivers accurate information to Bombardier’s asset information and management system (AIMS), thereby optimising maintenance regimes and improving train reliability and availability.

London Underground‘Delay attribution’ for the main line network

is well known but speakers Rakesh Gaur, head of innovation and Graham Neil, professional head of rolling stock, TfL, explained that London Underground has its own method of measuring service performance called Lost Customer Hours (LCH), the purpose of which is to weight service disruptions in accordance with their impact on customers. In 2011, the Mayor of London issued a challenge that Tube delays should be cut by 30% by 2015. Thus a reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS) whole life

reliability programme has been introduced, the elements of which are designing and introducing new assets, recovery and response, and predicting and preventing failures.

Signals and track assets inevitably make a contribution to LCH and examples were given of a track circuit monitoring and display system and automatic track monitoring system (ATMS), a train borne system to identify and monitor track faults and to assist in resolving noise and vibration issues and complaints. The ATMS concept involves twelve instrumented passenger trains running daily which can measure track geometry using lasers, monitor noise and vibration data including rail roughness and ride quality, and record video of track and the wheel-rail interface using radio frequency identification (RFID) track tags to determine location and WiFi to download data.

As regards rolling stock, there is a general upward trend on the graph of average train mean distance between failures (MDBF) - currently at just over 20,000km compared with about 5,000km in 2003. With the ongoing capacity and line extensions, the Underground’s integrated holistic approach will ensure that all areas of the business work together to deliver the Mayor’s challenge.

Exciting new Hitachi trainsJon Vietch, production director, Hitachi Rail

Europe, outlined the company’s role in building the InterCity Express fleets (IEP) for East Coast and West Coast main lines. Hitachi will also be manufacturing the new AT200 train ordered for ScotRail services. A new train-building factory at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham was ‘topped out’ in October. Expected performance of the state-of-the-art electric trains is 60,000 miles per casualty and for all other trains 45,000 between failures.

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When it comes to changing the world, Karl Benz did a better job than most. Patented in 1886, his Motorwagen might have borne little resemblance to the vehicles we drive today (three wooden wheels, no gears, 8mph top speed and an aversion to hills) but the Mark III made history as the first commercial

automobile. And we all know where that led. By the late 1890s, Benz was established as the planet’s biggest car company even if annual output was fewer than 600 units. Some revolutions take time to gain traction.

Closer to home, Sir Edward Watkin made his greatest mark concurrently with Benz, but it was more transient and not so far-reaching. He was the ambitious tycoon who drove forward Britain’s last main line from Annesley, north of Nottingham, into the capital. This was the Great Central’s London Extension - a 92-mile route engineered for speed, with gradients through its southern division never stiffer than 1:176 and every curve (bar one) enjoying a radius of a mile or more. It put Marylebone Station on the map as a destination for freight. But the post-war dawn of cheap motoring did for it. Express services were lost in 1960 and the line north of Calvert Junction mostly succumbed in the late-Sixties.

Set against this backstory, it seems almost perverse that the London Extension’s most substantial survivor might somehow play a future role to the betterment of road vehicles. That though is the emerging prospect for Catesby Tunnel in Northamptonshire which stands as a monument to the local Estate owner, a chap named Attenborough, and his insistence that the Great Central’s belching locomotives - and the thousands of tons of freight they hauled - did not spoil the view from his stately pile. There’s no hill that a cutting could not have overcome.

Clear airJust like the new trains featured regularly in these pages,

every part of the bodywork on the car you drive today will have been through a programme of design, testing and modification to ensure optimum performance. Trouble is, the only way to verify that is through simulation using computational fluid dynamics and rolling-road wind tunnels. Despite their increasing sophistication, both have limitations as neither bring with them

the true characteristics found in the real world. What you need is a full-sized car running on a road, but with total control over environmental conditions to achieve absolutely repeatability. At 1.7 miles in length, making it the country’s 14th longest ‘classic’ railway tunnel, Attenborough’s folly presents the opportunity to do just that.

Rob Lewis awoke to Catesby’s potential five years ago. A mechanical engineer by trade, he’s the managing director of TotalSim, an engineering consultancy which specialises in aerodynamics, developing both road and race cars. But the work is all computer-based. What his clients need to determine - through physical tests - is the impact of each design iteration on drag, cooling, downforce and the like. Currently that involves straight-line testing outdoors where measurements are obviously susceptible to a host of undesirable external factors, or buying time in an expensive wind tunnel of which there is none in the UK with a rolling road and large enough working section for road car development.

GRAEME BICKERDIKE

Plans for the tunnel include a vehicle preparation building in the southern approach cutting.

Catesby Tunnel has five ventilation shafts but these would have to be capped at their bases as part of the conversion.

VISUAL: ARP


“Wind tunnels are not without their compromises and approximations”, Rob asserts. “You’ve got to try and replicate air that you would see on a road; you’ve got to drag the ground along with a belt; you’ve got to blow the wind as flat as you can; you’ve got to restrain the vehicle without disturbing the air; then you’ve got to measure the forces. The wind tunnel itself is squeezed around the car so there’s always blockage which distorts the air. Catesby Tunnel has blockage too but it has a much bigger cross section (40m2) and you don’t have the constraints of the wind not being perfect or big chunks of metal holding the wheels in place. Here you would have the real car on a real road with its engine running, and all the effects a running engine brings.”

Bear in mind the objective is to accumulate tiny, incremental improvements that trim hundredths of a second off lap times or make fuel consumption and CO2 figures marginally more attractive than your competitors’. So the need is for a tool that can identify very small gains and losses, capturing reliable data to see which direction you’re heading in.

To this end, Chip Ganassi Racing - with teams in the Indycar, NASCAR and Tudor United Sportscar series - has already proven the concept of going underground, converting Pennsylvania’s Laurel Hill Tunnel for aerodynamic test purposes in 2004.

Built for a railway that never came to fruition, the facility it now hosts is generally kept under wraps and is not available for normal commercial use. It’s clear though from emerging figures that some of the results it produces are revelatory.

Catesby has greater potential as its working length (taking into account acceleration and deceleration zones) would be more than four

times that at Laurel Hill, with a 41-second run possible at 100mph. As a business enterprise, exclusivity would not be an attractive option: the intention here is to interest as many users as possible, noting the happy coincidence of the tunnel’s location close to the centre of UK car manufacturing. And just 13 miles from Silverstone, there’s another market for it on the doorstep.

Heavy goingTransforming Catesby for its new role will

bring challenges, just as its construction did. For the most part, it was progressed full-sized from nine shafts, five of which were subsequently retained for ventilation purposes. But Attenborough, adamant that his privacy must not be disturbed by landscape upheaval, would not allow any shafts close to his home near the north end, thus requiring 264 yards to be driven by means of a bottom heading and five break-ups. Unfortunately ground conditions here were at their heaviest, resulting in one collapse and constant breakages of the supporting timbers. This had the effect of disturbing the superincumbent material and greatly increasing the pressure, in turn necessitating more timbering and a thicker lining.

By comparison, the remainder of the tunnel proved easy going. Cut through by the shafts, the higher rock beds discharged a modest 80 gallons of water per minute into the workings, much of this being pumped to a local garden and farm. The last length was keyed on 22nd May 1897 - just 27 months after the first sod had been turned - giving an average monthly advance of 110 yards, a rate that was almost unprecedented.

Nearly half-a-century in redundancy has done all the things you would expect to the tunnel. Debris in the p-way drain has caused flooding beyond the northernmost shaft; extensive calcite and ochre deposits continue to form due to the withdrawal of maintenance on the water management system; the portals’ brickwork has deteriorated, in part due to tree growth above. But nothing is significant or beyond repair; all the reports suggests it’s substantially sound.

Wheels in motionPlans for Catesby’s revival have been

developed by Aero Research Partners (ARP), TotalSim being one of the two collaborators. There are two distinct elements: the testing facility in the converted tunnel - for which a lease has been negotiated - and a science park on the site of Charwelton’s former station. This five-acre plot has already been acquired, along with the half-mile of trackbed and approach cutting which link the two together.

An artist’s impression of the proposed science park on the site of Charwelton’s former station.

Catesby Tunnel in facts and figures

Length: 2,997 yards (2740m)Height: 25 feet 6 inches (7.8m)Width: 27 feet (8.2m)Gradient: 1:176 rising to the southConstruction started: 18 February 1895Construction finished: 22 May 1897Contractor: Thomas Oliver (Rugby)Best rate of progress: 1½ feet/day at one faceAverage rate of progress: 110 yards/monthGeology (northernmost half-mile): Capricornus Zone of the Lower Lias (the lining here required seven rings in the arch/sidewalls and six rings in the invert, and was assembled in short lengths of 10 feet)Geology (remainder): Lower Margaritatus Zone of the Middle Lias (the lining here required five rings in the arch/sidewalls and four rings in the invert)Construction methodology (from south end): 2,689 yards driven at full size, 264 yards driven using a bottom heading and five breakups, 44 yards cut-and-coverExcavation: 290,000 cubic yards

Bricks: 30 million (outer face Staffordshire blue brindles), built in lime mortar with occasional lengths in cement to stop any incipient movementRate of water ingress: 80 gallons per minuteShafts: 5 ventilation (4 x 10ft diameter, 1 x 15ft diameter), 1 blind, 3 hiddenOpened for coal traffic: 25 July 1898Significant accident: Derailment of a northbound passenger train on 4 January 1906 due to a broken rail 1,606 yards from the south endClosed: 5 September 1966

VISU

AL: A

RP


The tunnel works would be relatively straightforward: make good the drainage, level off the formation and lay the roadway, install crash barriers, lighting and liners to manage any ingressing water, and cap the shafts at their base with steelwork, thus controlling the air flow. There’d be a bank of fans at the north end to provide ventilation and purge carbon monoxide, as well as complying with fire regs. Beyond an air-lock, an access duct would connect the tunnel to a control building in the southern approach cutting, inside which vehicles would be prepared.

Things are currently at the ‘concept-plus’ stage, initial discussions having taken place with local planners. They seemed very positive, no doubt recognising what this would bring in terms of new businesses, high-tech jobs and kudos, particularly if the science park got the go-ahead offering workshop and office space. The detailed design will take another nine months, a process which will run alongside the search for funding. Build costs are estimated at between £5-10 million, depending on which options are pursued. You’d like to think customers, investors and government would all see the potential.

Whilst Rob has no doubts about the facility’s earning capacity, it does stand outside the recognised comfort zone; that’s the downside of being genuinely unique. There will consequently be a process of manufacturer acclimatisation, convincing them of the benefits of doing things differently. But at very least the savings to be accrued from no longer shipping vehicles and people over to Germany’s rolling-road wind tunnels should ultimately prove an incentive.

ARP’s promotional literature insists “Catesby Tunnel is set to become the world’s premier full-scale vehicle testing facility.” There are many obstacles to negotiate before it can live up to that billing but this kind of innovation and enterprise deserves to succeed. The tunnel’s only other option is perpetual decline and it doesn’t warrant that.

There must presumably have been a time when someone took a financial punt on Karl Benz; history records that to have been a pretty smart investment. Let’s hope someone has the vision to help ARP secure a small part of Sir Edward Watkin’s legacy.

PHOT

O ©

2006

PHI

LIP

WES

TON

PHOTO: FOUR BY THREE

(Above) Rob Lewis standing outside the imposing south portal of Catesby Tunnel.

(Left) A LNER O4, designed for the Great Central by John G Robinson, emerges from the tunnel on 14 May 1949.


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‘An excellent professional head role in a leading T&RS business’Wabtec Rail in Doncaster is a leading railway levels. A track record of delivery and a

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of other group businesses that manufacture role opportunities at Doncaster or elsewhere in Working with colleagues across all business

products such as braking systems, locomotive accordance with ambition.functions, the role will include project planning,

cooling systems, train data recorders and a risk analysis and mitigation, financial and Candidates should live or be able to relocate to range of electronic equipment. budgetary control, project reporting and the within reasonable commuting distance of

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managers. The company adopts lean processes together with a commitment to business

and policies of continual improvement and the investment has led to continual growth in recent

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We are always looking for new talent, so check our website regularly for any new openings or send your CV and covering letter to the email address below.

WE’RE HIRINGThe QTS Group is one of the UK’s largest multi-discipline contractors, providing specialist services in Rail Engineering, Infrastructure and Training.

We offer services such as railway contracting, civil engineering, training and drainage for the rail, transport, utilities and construction sectors. The company has grown to become one of the UK’s largest providers of rail contracting, working very closely with Network Rail and other major suppliers. With various engineering and infrastructure contracts, as well as providing market leading training courses, QTS Group is a one stop shop for most business needs. We are always looking for new additions to our team, so if you think you have what we need, get in touch. Visit our website to find out more about us.

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the rail engineer • December 2014 RECRUITMENT 94

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Frazer-Nash is a rapidly expanding systems and engineering technology consultancy with offices throughout the UK and Australia. We specialise in delivering innovative engineering solutions to our clients across the transport, power, nuclear and defence sectors. With the continued growth of our rail business, we are currently looking to recruit people at all levels of experience in a wide variety of roles in particular:

Rail Systems Safety EngineerRolling Stock EngineerRail Systems Modelling EngineerElectrical Power EngineerSystems Engineer – Requirements & Through Life Support

To find out more about Frazer-Nash please visit our website: www.fnc.co.uk

Our staff are rewarded with a competitive salary, generous benefits package and the opportunity to work as part of a dynamic and successful team. We always look for strong talent in our key business sectors and across all of our locations in the UK and Australia.

To apply for these vacancies, please forward your CV and covering letter to [email protected] quoting reference: RE1214

Offices: Adelaide, Bristol, Burton-on-Trent, Dorchester, Dorking, Glasgow, Gloucester, Melbourne, Plymouth, Warrington. Due to the nature of the work that Frazer-Nash undertakes we will require successful candidates to gain UK security clearance.

the rail engineer • December 2014RECRUITMENT

UK Power Networks Services is a leading provider of electrical infrastructure with signifi cant experience of working on high profi le transport projects such as High Speed 1, High Speed 2 and Crossrail.

Infl uencing your energy strategies with integrated solutions

Contact us by visiting: www.ukpowernetworksservices.co.uk

Consulting | Technologies | Engineering | Construction | Operation & Maintenance | Finance

UK Power Networks Services:• Consistently delivers results on the most challenging projects • Can undertake the total requirements of any strategic infrastructure project • Has access to a wealth of international experience in providing fi nance solutions

8137_ UKPNS Rail_AW.indd 1 08/01/2013 10:20

the rail engineer - issue 122 - december 2014

Documents

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new iep trains

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new substation

rail engineerswww

track access

new way of cable planning