Metro Today, Main Line Tomorrow

Malcolm Dobell, Head of Train Systems

Kate Whelan, Lead Systems Performance Engineer SUP ATC

Agenda

• Background

• Simple line challenges – Victoria Line

• Complex line challenges – Sub Surface Lines

• Application to the main line

• Conclusions

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3

Introduction

• In 1863, the first steam train operated on what became the Metropolitan Line.

• It carried 30000 people in its first year

• By 2011/121 some 1.173Bn journeys were made

• Passenger numbers are forecast to increase

• LU needs to be able to carry them

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1 latest whole year data

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General Principles for Metro Operation

• To deliver capacity:– High acceleration and braking rates

• 1.3m/s2 and 1.15m/s2 respectively– Short, consistent dwell times

• Lots of wide doors that open and close quickly• Attention to train despatch

– Small train spacing• Lots of signals or moving block signalling

– Manage to the second– ATO

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• For reduced journey time– Higher top speed

• But can harm headways– Even higher acceleration and braking rates– Fewer station stops– Manage ALL causes of “time consumption” and

variability• Door times• Tracking package response• Signalling/ATO response times• Dwell times• Points speeds

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General Principles for Metro Operation

The Scale of the Challenge• More and more demand

• More and more pressure to run 24/7– Later nights on Friday and

Saturday from 2015?

• More and more reliable

• Less cost

• Happier customers

• Lower carbon

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Case Study - A “simple” line

• Walthamstow Central to Brixton

• 21km (13.3 miles)

• Serves 16 stations, 33 platforms

• Services operated:– Brixton – Walthamstow– Brixton – Seven Sisters

• Opened 1969

• Upgrade completed 2012

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Victoria Line

General duty

• 65 mins approx round trip

• Average inter station distance 1.8 km (0.67 km to 3.15 km)

• Dwell time 30 sec to 50 sec

• Min headway 109 sec

• Peak acceleration 1.3 m/s2 braking 1.15 m/s2

• Top speed 80 km/h

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Line Characteristics• Old

• 43 trains

• Passenger numbers:– 2002/3 - 160,000/day

• Train service– 2002/3 - 27 trains per hour

• Signalling system – fixed block ATO

• 37 trains in service

• New

• 47 trains

• Passenger numbers:– 2011/12 - 200,000/day

• Train service– Jan 2013 - 33 trains per hour

• Signalling system – Distance to Go Radio– >400 track circuits

• 39 trains in service

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Victoria Line

Walthamstow Central

Seven Sisters

Brixton

2 stations

11 stations

Full speed overlap

Only small speed reduction

over points

Speed issues over points

The Challenges

• 33 Trains per hour = 109 seconds between trains

• Brixton– Train “N” arrives in platform 1– Train “N+2” will arrive in platform 1 in 218 seconds– Before then train “N” must;

• Unload its customers

• Driver to shut down at South end

• Different driver open up at North end

• Train sets off north and clears the points

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Animation

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Current Challenges• Provide a robust and reliable 33tph service,

– Sufficient recovery to manage minor perturbations. 

• Manage our carbon footprint– keep the tunnels cool whilst – increasing the number of trains to meet passenger demands. 

• Reversing at Seven Sisters– ramp up to the Peak timetable – integrate with trains from Walthamstow

• Dwells– Some dwells – Victoria, Oxford Circus, Kings Cross can

exceed 60 seconds– No good squeezing dwell only to find that the customers can’t

get on or, worse, get off!

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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0 Walthmstow Central

1.45 Blackhorse Road

1.37 Tottenham Hale1.05 Seven Sisters

3.15 Finsbury Park

1.93 Highbury and Islington

2.45 Kings Cross0.74 Euston0.76 Warren St

0.9 Oxford Circus

1.14 Green Park1.09 Victoria1.19 Pimlico0.8 Vauxhall

1.77 Stockwell

1.46 Brixton

Next Steps

• We have 47 trains

• We could put 4 more trains into service

• This could deliver 35 TPH or 36 TPH – up to 100 second headway

• How can we cut 18 seconds off the terminus time??

• That is just one of the challenges!

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Victoria Line

Paddington

Paddington

EdgwareRoad

BakerStreet

Finchley Road

WembleyPark

PrestonRoad

NorthwickPark

Harrow-on-the-Hill

West Harrow

North Harrow

Pinner

Eastcote

Ruislip Manor

Northwood Hills

Northwood

Moor Park

Ruislip

Ickenham

Hillingdon

Uxbridge

Croxley

Watford

Chorleywood

Rickmansworth

Amersham

Chesham

Chalfont& Latimer

Royal Oak

Westbourne Park

Ladbroke Grove

Latimer Road

Shepherd’sBush

Goldhawk Road

Hammersmith

Kensington(Olympia)

BaronsCourt

RavenscourtPark

StamfordBrook

TurnhamGreen

ChiswickPark

ActonTown

WestKensington

Gunnersbury

Kew Gardens

Richmond

Ealing Common

Ealing Broadway

West Brompton

Fulham Broadway

Parsons Green

Putney Bridge

East Putney

Southfields

Wimbledon Park

Wimbledon

Earl’sCourt

SouthKensington

GloucesterRoad

SloaneSquare

Victoria

High StreetKensington

NottingHill Gate

Bayswater

St. James’sPark

Westminster

Temple

Embankment

Blackfriars

MansionHouse

Cannon Street

Monument TowerHill

Aldgate

GreatPortland

Street

EustonSquare

King’s CrossSt. Pancras

Farringdon

Barbican

MoorgateLiverpool

Street

AldgateEast Whitechapel

Stepney Green

Mile End

BowRoad

Bromley-by-Bow

West Ham

Plaistow

Upton Park

East Ham

Barking

Upney Beacontree

DagenhamHeathway

Elm Park

DagenhamEast

Hornchurch

Upminster

UpminsterBridge

Rayner’s Lane

Case Study – Sub-Surface Lines

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The Sub-Surface Lines

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•4 lines: Metropolitan; District; Hammersmith & City; Circle•113 stations•310 track km (40km in tunnel)•279 passenger trains, 55 engineering trains•4 maintenance depots & 10 train stabling locations

The Complexities

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• Mixed train length

• Piccadilly Line Interoperability

• National Rail Interoperability: Chilterns; South West Trains

• Multiple flat junctions (5 complex junctions)

• Inter-meshing services for timetables

What will it look like.......?

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High Level Requirements• 32TPH

• Meet increasing demand

• Reduce overcrowding

• Reduce passenger journey time

• Increase through-put capacity

• Increase service reliability

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Scope – Whole Systems Upgrade• New trains

• New signalling system: Cityflo 650 CBTC system

• ATO/ATP

• Automatic Train Regulation

• Track Upgrades:– Layouts– MSS improvements

• Power Upgrades

• New centralised Service Control Centre

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Status

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27%

65%

24%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Inc

rea

se

in c

ap

ac

ity

pe

r L

ine

SSR Upgrade: % increase in peak capacity(base: Dec 2008)

Metropolitan Line Circle & Hammersmith Line District Line

• Trains - delivered• ATC - final piece of jigsaw

- Unlocks 80% of capacity

New Signalling

New Trains

System Performance Engineering

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Business Requirements

Engineering Requirements ProjectsProjectsProjectsProjects

Operational Requirements

Performance Integration

System Capability

(Optimisation)

Train Service(Timetable)

Specification Verification Validation

Progressively verify and validate design/ proposal against requirements

Modelling and Simulation

• Use of the Railway Engineering Simulator (RES)

• Ensuring Requirements are correct

• Optioneering

• Assurance

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Example – Baker Street• Flat junction (Metropolitan, Circle, and

Hammersmith & City Lines)

• S7 and S8 Stock operating

• 32TPH on Circle and H&C; 28TPH Metropolitan service

• Need to optimise the layout to deliver required service

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RES Demonstration

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The Systems Approach

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The Future• Need innovative solutions to further increase

capacity

• Train configuration – UCL PAMELA

• Mock up of train carriage created to run a series of controlled experiments utilising 110 volunteers from the public

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• Set up to help to inform future train systems design, looking at:• Door Widths• Vestibule Setbacks• Internal Train Layout

Implications for Main Line railways

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Challenges

• Higher speeds– Greater separation– <300m at 50km/h, compared with >2000m at 160km/h

• Mixed traffic– Varieties of traction and rolling stock performance– Variety of stopping pattern

• ALL gobble up capacity

• 12 TPH is doing well!

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7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

0 Walthmstow Central

1.45 Blackhorse Road

1.37 Tottenham Hale1.05 Seven Sisters

3.15 Finsbury Park

1.93 Highbury and Islington

2.45 Kings Cross0.74 Euston0.76 Warren St

0.9 Oxford Circus

1.14 Green Park1.09 Victoria1.19 Pimlico0.8 Vauxhall

1.77 Stockwell

1.46 Brixton

Half an hour on the Victoria Line

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16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

54 55 56 57 58 59 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

0 London Euston * £ $ & > ? W T B Z

8 Wembley Central . !

11.5 Harrow & Wealdstone * ! £ $ W Z

16 Bushey * W T17.5 Watford Junction * ! £ $ > ? W T Z

21 Kings Langley. £ $ T

23 Apsley. * $ ?

24.5 Hemel Hempstead. . .. * ! £ > ? T Z

28 Berkhamsted . . * ! £ > T Z

31.5 Tring * ! £ $ ? T

36 Cheddington. £ ?

40.25 Leighton Buzzard. & ! > B

46.75 Bletchley . ! £ > ? Z

49.75 Milton Keynes Central & ! £ > ? B Z

An hour on a Main Line

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16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18

54 55 56 57 58 59 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

0 London Euston *

8 Wembley Central .

11.5 Harrow & Wealdstone

16 Bushey 17.5 Watford Junction

21 Kings Langley.

23 Apsley.24.5 Hemel Hempstead. . ..

28 Berkhamsted . .

31.5 Tring

36 Cheddington.

40.25 Leighton Buzzard.

46.75 Bletchley .

49.75 Milton Keynes Central

Another hour on a Main Line

Opportunities

• Passing places

• Consistent traction and rolling stock

• Consistent stopping patterns

• Attention to dwell time

• Flying junctions

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Conclusions

• Most lines can have an increase in capacity

• It requires attention to every aspect of operation (just like any production line)

• Mixed traffic “eats” capacity

• With increasing demand for capacity, metro principles will be increasingly applied to the main line.

• Modelling at engineering level is vital

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The endThank you for your interest