The Rail Engineer - Issue 116 - June 2014

JUNE 2014 - ISSUE 116

this issueq MAKING IT ALL FITq CHANGING THE FACE OF DELIVERYq ASFORDBY TUNNEL TRIALSq SAFETY FIRST

INTEGRATING PASSENGER INFORMATIONAre public expectations being met?

EDINBURGH GETS ITS TRAMSEnthusiasm rises for the new service

THAMESLINKA very busy Easter

RENEWING THE GNGERebirth of a back-stage line

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

the railengineerby rail engineers for rail engineers

www.therailengineer.com

STRIKING THE RIGHT CHORD

Righting a Seventies wrong that has extended journey times for

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News 9Edinburgh opens.

Striking the right chord 10A tricky job which cost £9.6 million.

Planning it in advance 26The Virgin Pendolino train management system.

Edinburgh gets its trams 30Introduction of the city’s tram service.

Thameslink- a very busy Easter 38Significant work at London Bridge station.

Making it all fit 42Moving a substation at Liverpool Street station.

Changing the face of delivery 46The Great Western Electrification programme.

180 years young 50Galvanizing, a proven method of corrosion protection.

Class 91 - systems integration 56Upgrading systems, checking processes and developing technology.

The next step - rotational planing 60Keeping the rail profile in good condition.

True Grit 62A new lease of life for Langley Moor viaduct.

Safety first - the number one priority 64Clve Kessell reports on the Rail Safety Summit.

Experience Rail Live 2014 for yourself 68Don’t miss Europe’s largest plant show, 18/19 June.

Infrarail success 74A very busy show with numbers up 13%.

Contents

16

22

34

52

Renewing the GNGERebirth of a back-stage line

Bottleneck bustingNorton Bridge Junction scheme

Asfordby Tunnel

Integrating passenger information

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

Bridges & Tunnels Level Crossings in the August 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 • June 2014 3

the railengineerby rail engineers for rail engineers

iPad EditionI N T E R A C T I V E

OUT NOW

E V O L U T I O N

This issue can almost be called ‘A Tale of Two Shows’. Everyone worked hard getting ready for Infrarail at Earl’s Court in the middle of May, and the Rail Media stand was busy with people looking at the new iPad app for this magazine. Have you downloaded yours yet? Why not?? Nigel Wordsworth reviews the rest of the show for us.

Now, we’re all running around getting ready for Rail Live 2014 at Long Marston on 18/19 June. It will be a great couple of days out in the open, looking at all of the industry’s latest kit. Kirow cranes, S&C tampers and even a helicopter! Now where’s my PPE? (Don’t forget yours if you’re coming).

Despite all this, our writers had time to get out and about as usual. Graeme Bickerdike went to look at the new Todmorden Chord. It may be only 350 metres of new railway, but it was a tricky job which cost £9.6 million and means that the good folk of Burnley can get to Manchester 20 minutes quicker.

Another interesting piece of track went in at Asfordby on the Old Dalby test track. Three different pieces of slab track are being trialled to see how this can be laid economically in future projects. Chris Parker put his boots on to visit this one.

The building of Edinburgh Tram has been a bit fraught with the amount of utilities diversions nearly scuppering the whole project. However, as David Shirres reports, it all came good in the end.

GNGE is an important project, being tackled in five stages. But what is it? And what does GNGE stand for anyway? Peter Stanton answers these questions. Will we soon be able to travel from York to London via Lincoln? We asked Grand Central’s MD, and he didn’t really answer the question…

Clive Kessell has been sitting in on conferences again. Integrating Passenger Information was

this month’s topic. Telling the passenger what’s going on is always a good idea. This month Clive looks at the UK dimension - more about what the foreigners are up to next time.

Clive also sat through our own Rail Safety Summit. A lot of good stuff was talked about and it was great to see Mel Ewell, CEO of Amey, take the time to talk about safety - and to do so with passion.

Nigel went to Alstom’s Oxley depot to see how Virgin’s Pendolinos radio ahead to book themselves in for maintenance. It has a ‘brain’ - the train management system which knows how every part of the train is functioning. It can even tell when a component or system is starting to run outside of its normal operating parameters.

I went back to Stafford to see how their area improvement programme is coming along. Norton Bridge is a notorious bottleneck, but it is being fixed by building a new flyover as well as nine other bridges. It’s all going well, despite an appearance by our old friend, the Great Crested Newt.

Collin Carr has been keeping on top of (or should that be abreast of?) the Thameslink programme. Now is a good time to review how far it has got, and what work is still to go. London Bridge station seems to look different every day as the team pushes on towards its 2018 deadline, and Collin has been talking with Network Rail’s Chris Binns about how everything is going.

Nigel went off to another

London station, Liverpool street, where they’ve been moving a substation to make way for Crossrail’s ticket office - and all underground. More tunnels were dug and a disused escalator came in handy.

First we had rail grinding - that started at the end of the nineteenth century - then rail milling came along. Now we have ‘rotation planing’. What on earth’s that? Fortunately, expert Maurice Verheijen is on hand to explain.

22,000 piles is a lot of piling. But that’s how many will be needed on the Great Western when it is electrified, after all it’s only 22 per kilometre. The scale of the project is huge, so it’s good that Atkins and Parsons Brinckerhoff, the joint designers, can give us some of their thoughts on it.

Electrified lines need electrified trains, but particularly reliable electrified trains. So when having a single pantograph becomes a reliability issue, the obvious thing is to add a second. Not as easy as it sounds. Class 91 owners Eversholt brought ESG in to make it happen. Nigel tells you all about it, about the company ESG, and explains why he was sitting at the boardroom table of the Gloucester Carriage and Wagon Works.

Refurbishing a bridge is all in a days work for structures engineers. But access is always a problem, and if that bridge is over a salmon river then it can get very complicated. Langley Moor viaduct near Durham is a case in point but the Story Contracting team shotblasted and painted their way across, cleaning up behind them as they went. It’s all about organisation.

So that’s it for June. Now I’m off to Rail Live to play with some really big Boys’ Toys. See you there!

Conferences, exhibitions and new railways

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Part of

Grahame Taylor


NEWS

Speaking to The Rail Engineer at the event, Simon commented: “I am hugely proud of what we did in Network Rail. When Network Rail was formed it delivered £400 million of investment in the first year. Last year, Infrastructure Projects delivered £5.4 billion and that just shows how much the organisation has come on. That said, CP5 is a massive challenge, there is a lot to be done, and there’s huge opportunity still there.

“I think you’ve always got to look forward. I’m massively excited about High Speed 2 in terms of its opportunities. I think we’ve got the chance to do things there that is difficult when you are always interfacing into an existing infrastructure. We have got to deliver it professionally, we have

to be sympathetic to stakeholders on the route and we’ve got a huge opportunity to deliver what will be seen as a world-class piece of infrastructure to boost the UK economy.

“My immediate role is – what do we need to do to create a delivery organisation? It is sort of a transition really of the project programme from a team very much focussed on strategy and build to how we are going to procure it. We have to create a delivery organisation, a client organisation, and, over the next twelve months, make some key strategic decisions on do we need a delivery partner- those sorts of questions – to deliver the programme on time and to budget - obviously both for phase 1 and phase 2.”

Already gone

Network Rail’s managing director of Infrastructure Projects, Simon Kirby, left his post the other week. Bizarrely, he then gave a presentation at Infrarail two days later on behalf of Network Rail – after he’d already joined HS2 as managing director of construction (and CEO designate)!

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Simon’s replacement at Network Rail, Francis Paonessa who is currently managing director of Bombardier Transportation in the UK, also spoke with The Rail Engineer recently. He was at Bombardier’s celebration of 175 years of railways in Derby and reflected on that heritage as well as looking forward to his new challenge at Network Rail.

“It’s been a fantastic journey over the last four years. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being here and working with the people. But it’s almost that perfect time. Two things have come together really – the opportunity to leave on a high, feeling like I’ve done my bit and I’ve left the site in a very strong position for the future. And at

And yet to come

the same time, what a fantastic opportunity of joining Network Rail and being part of the team that’s going to deliver transformational infrastructure over the next five years.

“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a lot of the team. Clearly my job isn’t to be the best of the civil engineers, we’ve got thousands of those in Network Rail. The task as I see it is to take the fantastic work that

Simon’s done and bring my element to it which is around that change in behaviour and culture which for me is then the catalyst of driving forward the productivity increases that we need to deliver the budgets.”

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Another recent move is that of David McLoughlin. With 30 years in rail, most recently as finance and commercial director of Network Rail Infrastructure Projects, he has crossed over to private industry, joining the reorganised Spencer Rail as its first CEO. How has he found life on the other side of the fence?

“It has been an interesting and very hectic introduction into the business. In my first 40 working days, I have been very impressed with the team here. They are highly skilled professionals with years

of experience and a real desire to succeed. I have been pleasantly surprised by their commitment and the ideas and improvement suggestions that come in almost on an hourly basis.

“This is an organisation that has delivered some solid performance that will stand us in good stead for the future and while we can always do things better there is no doubt that we are in a good place. I feel very privileged to be at the helm and charged with taking the business forward.”

As part of Spencer Rail’s new direction, the company recently acquired a majority share in rail

industry signalling experts, Chase Meadow, to form Chase Meadow Signalling (CMS). This will offer a design, installation and testing & commissioning service. Specialist training will also add a new dimension to the service offering with plans to open a new training centre for tomorrow’s signalling experts in the Midlands.

“Training new engineers and the chance to give those who have lost work in other sectors the opportunity to ply their trade in the rail industry, is something that really appeals to me,” David commented.

“Since the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s, specialised signalling engineers have dwindled in number with services being provided by a small number of private companies. Railway signalling is a very complex component of the rail industry and one that requires highly-skilled engineers to carry out the work. It is vitally important that we continue to train and retrain engineers to work on the UK’s rail network in the future.”

NEWS

Crossrail and Network Rail have inched a new flyover into place in Stockley, marking an important milestone in the completion of the new railway’s overground works. The structure will allow Crossrail and Heathrow Express trains to cross over the Great Western main line on their way to the airport without impacting on other services.

Services between London Paddington and Heathrow will be fully operational from 2019. The route will allow passengers to travel from Heathrow to Bond Street in 26 minutes and Canary Wharf in 40 minutes.

Matthew White, surface director at Crossrail, said: “Launching a thousand-tonne bridge over the Great Western Main Line is quite a feat of engineering and one that I’m sure would have made Brunel proud.”

Stockley Slide

Crossing the fence


The long-awaited and much-troubled Edinburgh Tram network finally opened on Saturday 30 May. David Shirres’ article on the final stages of construction appears in this issue, but there was almost a party atmosphere as 40,00 tickets were sold over the opening weekend.

It wasn’t just the inhabitants of Scotland’s capital who were pleased to see the start of the new service. Visitors from the Netherlands were on the first service, as were enthusiasts from around the UK.

Transport convener Councillor Lesley Hinds said: “Two years ago,

I pledged to do everything in my power to ensure we brought this project in on the revised budget and revised schedule. It was never going to be straightforward, but with an incredible team effort and a focus on results, it now feels fantastic to be where we are today.”

Edinburgh opens

NEWS

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But that’s a wrong that will soon be righted. Costing £9.6 million, a project to relay the curve is reaching its fruition thanks to the collective efforts of Network Rail, Northern Rail, the Buckingham Group and Burnley Borough Council, the latter having secured an £8.8 million Regional Growth Fund (RGF) package to deliver this longstanding objective, together with regeneration of the Weavers’ Triangle adjacent to Burnley Manchester Road Station.

GRAEME BICKERDIKE

Here’s a big question: what’s the point of public transport? If you serve punters at the Tan Hill Inn (Britain’s highest pub) or kick a ball in the Premier League, you probably can’t

see one. But sidestepping broader social issues, the population’s remaining 99.999% must surely just aspire to get from A to B in the quickest possible time. You might wonder then what possessed our transport planners to sever the Todmorden curve in 1972, compelling the townsfolk of Burnley to travel via Hebden Bridge - four miles in the wrong direction - when the bright lights of Manchester beckon, changing trains there to head back over the same bit of line and adding an unwelcome 20 minutes to their journeys.


N E W C H O R DDOBROYD CROSSING

TODMORDEN STATION

TODMORDEN VIADUCT COMPOUND

STANSFIELD HALLJUNCTION

HALL ROYD JUNCTION

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MANCHESTER (MVN2)

BURNLEY (FHR6)

Striking theright chord

PHOTO: FOUR BY THREE


So the next winter timetable will see the introduction of an hourly Blackburn-Manchester service - via Burnley and the new chord - giving next season’s Premier League glitterati no cause to power-up their Bentleys to reach Turf Moor from Cheshire. Not likely but hey, worth a shot.

On its face, this looks like a straightforward scheme involving less than 350 metres of new railway. The reality has - as you would expect - been rather different, not least because the granting of that RGF money came with a time limit by which it had to be spent. This triggered what might be described as a GRIP-light process, the aim being to fast-track the development work. Sounds great, but the search for a single option - particularly in relation to the signalling - was complicated by numerous physical and operational constraints.

Degree of difficultyThe Copy Pit route (FHR6) towards Burnley, used by

York-Blackpool trains, diverges from the trans-Pennine Leeds-Manchester Victoria line (MVN2) at Hall Royd Junction, half-a-mile east of Todmorden Station. About 90 yards off the platform end towards the junction is a seven-span viaduct, extending for 165 yards, immediately to the east of which is the embanked triangle of land that formerly hosted a chord along its western edge, offering southbound Copy Pit traffic a route towards Manchester.

Standards have evolved a bit since this railway was originally engineered in 1849. Although Northern Rail’s operational preference was for a new two-track chord, there was no room to accommodate a double junction

off the end of the viaduct whilst maintaining today’s prescribed minimum radius of 180 metres around the curve. Given its history of movement, the S&C and track alignment design - fulfilled by Atkins - had to ensure that nothing more than maintenance-level tamping was required on the viaduct itself.

Together with the high costs associated with a double junction, this tipped the balance in favour of a single-track chord, with Up trains travelling over the viaduct on the Down line to reach a crossover between it and the station. Locating the crossover here obviated the need for a considerable slewing of the main line - upwards of two metres - whilst further p-way design iterations ensured no works were needed to the station platforms. All this, though, has an implication given MVN2’s limited capacity: in order to accommodate the proposed hourly service, trains using the chord will have to stop at the exit signals before getting the route.

Two alternatives emerged for the position of the junction signal onto the chord from the Manchester direction. The first was to place it on the Down platform at Todmorden but this would have involved extending the platform at its southern end as otherwise there was insufficient space for the overlap. This came with a hefty price tag.

The other option was to relocate a signal on the approach to Dobroyd crossing - quarter-of-a-mile south of the station - to a position 100 yards beyond it. This simplified the interlocking works but necessitated the crossing’s closure as it would have been obstructed by any train standing at the signal.

Installing the turnout onto the new chord at the east end of Todmorden Viaduct.


A bridge too farAll in all, the chosen solution was born of compromise

and pragmatism - not perfect, but affordable and all parties agreed that it would work. There was then, of course, the small matter of delivering it. In the project’s early days, the anticipated completion date was somewhat fluid but things firmed up early in 2013 when plans were agreed for a 20-week blockade of the Copy Pit route to allow the partial rebuilding of Holme Tunnel (issues 109 and 113, November 2013 and March 2014). This window of opportunity would define the limits of any disruptive impact the work could have on FHR6.

The Buckingham Group had been involved from the outline design stage through its Multi Asset Framework Agreement (MAFA), the philosophy being to ensure early contractor input which helps to drive out inefficiencies. The design-and-build phase got underway with site mobilisation last summer, although the chord’s alignment had by then been deveged and treatment begun on an infestation of Japanese knotweed. This meant that the track could be laid early doors, alongside which a lit walking/troughing route was installed - using Trojan TroTred - to ensure that drivers were able to change ends safely when the chord was used as a turnback facility.

For the workforce, access into the triangle - with live railways on two sides and a 10-metre drop off its third - involved a regime of regular line blockages arranged with the good folk at Preston PSB to coincide with the start and end of each shift, as well as meal breaks. This was far from ideal for either party but, given the traffic levels and sighting issues on the lines that had to be crossed, something had to give and the alternative, a temporary footbridge, had little to commend it from a financial perspective.

Creeping scopeThe longstanding intention with Stansfield Hall Junction,

where the north end of the chord connects with FHR6, was to subject it to heavy maintenance. However, the Holme Tunnel blockade brought a late decision to fully renew the junction instead, thus resolving a geometry compliance issue with it and minimising the disruption resulting from future maintenance needs.

That was last September; the blockade ended in March. Procuring S&C can sometimes take three months. Such tight timescales prompted a splitting of the workload: Buckinghams with Colas Rail, the signalling designers, looked after the repositioning of signals and the telecoms activity whilst Network Rail’s S&C Collaboration Team, based in Crewe, fulfilled the track installation, point heating etc using their contractor, Babcock Rail. The tricky interfaces involved did not prevent the work’s completion in time for Copy Pit’s reopening, despite the project having to accommodate the late requirement for a commissioning-weekend measurement train which prompted some hasty replanning.

On MVN2, the team took advantage of two 50-hour weekend possessions in November, first to install the crossover and then the turnout onto the chord. Power supply equipment for the signalling was commissioned during a possession in February whilst March saw another secured to plain-line, a crossover close to Hall Royd Junction, used as a turnback facility but made redundant by the new one adjacent to the station. The still-in-situ interlocking for the long-gone Eastwood loop was also recovered; the space it occupied was needed to host the Westpac relays associated with the new curve. Adapting this ageing geographical technology to meet the specific requirements here - and comply with modern standards - has proved a difficult one to crack, resulting in the signalling design undergoing a lengthy period of evolution.

To mitigate the chord’s impact on capacity - a real concern for Northern Rail - another belated addition to the scope has involved the respacing of signals between Todmorden and Summit Tunnel to address their

Dobroyd level crossing (foreground) has been replaced with a footbridge.

Trojan TroTred is used to provide a combined troughing route and walkway alongside the chord.

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non-compliance and create additional signal sections. Dorman’s lightweight LED signals have been used across the scheme, ten in number and delivering benefits in terms of installation, cost and ongoing maintenance.

And then there’s the new footbridge. Sorry, didn’t I mention that? Previous usage surveys suggested that Dobroyd crossing was visited only by occasional dog-walkers; nobody expected any great issue with closing it. But due diligence demanded that another survey was conducted, with the crossing being monitored by CCTV around-the-clock for ten days. Initially the team didn’t believe the results: they suggested peaks of 150 users daily, most of them being children. Only then did it become clear that an activity centre had opened at nearby Dobroyd Castle in 2009 and the chosen route to get groups up there was over the railway. This launched the crossing’s risk assessment score into the north-west’s top ten.

There was then no option but to bridge the gap its closure would create. The Kier Group was contracted to install the new structure under the auspices of the National Footbridge Team, completing the work early in March 2014 and bringing it into use at the end of April, coinciding with the signal being moved from its approach side to beyond it. The safety benefit to all crossing users hardly needs stating.

Game-changerThis hasn’t been an easy one. Time, cost and

infrastructure constraints, together with the complexities of applying Westpac geographical interlocking to a chord junction, have confronted the project team at every turn, and they continue to do so as the clock counts down. The

chord became available for timetabled turnback services in May, with some works continuing on the interlocking to deliver enhanced functionality prior to through trains using it from December.

And then there have been those spanners. “It’s been something of a recurring theme with this job: late changes have been the biggest challenge”, reflects Rob Grey, Network Rail’s scheme project manager. “There’s been plenty for us to cope with. But the new service will encourage growth in the Burnley area. This is a really positive scheme - it will make a huge difference.”

That’s the point of public transport.

(Above) Installation of the crossover between Todmorden Station and the viaduct.

(Right) The junction signal onto the chord awaits commissioning.



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The United Kingdom rail network is being used by unprecedented numbers of trains and the demand for more passenger and freight services continues to rise, particularly on arterial routes such as the East Coast main line. That growth has led to considerations about how

to better use the existing infrastructure and, to that end, historical routes parallel to that main line have been considered for modified use.

The Great Northern Railway and its rival the Great Eastern Railway established the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway in 1879. The joint company built a line between Spalding and Lincoln to complete a new, primarily freight, route between Cambridge and Doncaster, a distance of about 123 miles. The main purpose was to move Yorkshire coal into East Anglia, a highly profitable enterprise.

The route survives except for the Lincoln by-pass line and the section between March in Cambridgeshire and Spalding in Lincolnshire, both of which were closed in the 1980s. The section between Peterborough and Spalding is now regarded as part of the joint line although this is not strictly (historically) accurate.

Plans for the futureThe Network Rail East Coast Route Utilisation

Study, published in 2008, identified the potential severe restrictions to traffic growth on the route. The East Coast main line 2016 capacity review was then released as a draft for consultation in August 2010. That confirmed that the GNGE scheme could provide a significantly upgraded line between Peterborough and Doncaster via Spalding and Lincoln.

The decision was then made to go ahead with the project which, when completed, will generate additional passenger train paths on the East Coast Mainline between Peterborough and Doncaster through the provision of W9 and W10 gauge cleared paths on the GNGE Joint Line (Peterborough to Doncaster via Spalding and Lincoln), and the upgrade of structures and track to accommodate the predicted increase in annual gross tonnage.

Rebirth of a back-stage lineRenewing the GNGE

PETER STANTON

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LEA ROAD

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NEWARKNORTH GATE

LINCOLN

CENTRAL

METHERINGHAM

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GRANTHAM

SPALDING

PETERBOROUGH

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SBSBSB

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RUSKINGTON

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SAXILBY

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DECOY NORTHJUNCTION

PHASE 2

PHASE 1

Lincoln CC

PHASE 3

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PHASE 5

WERRINGTONJUNCTION

GN/GE PROJECT

EAST

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GN/GE PROJECT

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18-19 June 2014

Long MarstonWarwickshire

The Largest Outdoor Rail Event in the UK

Network Rail, in association with The Rail Alliance, the rail engineer and Macrail, is proud to present Rail Live 2014: a showcase for railway infrastructure.

2014, which marks the start of Control Period 5 (CP5), will see the whole rail industry continue to embark on one of the longest sustained periods of investment the railway has seen since Victorian tim es. Network Rail will be continuing its focus on safety and delivering value for money through working more closely with suppliers.

www.raillive2014.com

RAILLive2014RAIL 2014

In partnership with

Additional infrastructure upgrades are being introduced to provide a journey time that allows rail freight to compete with road haulage. Werrington Junction is to be upgraded to allow rail traffic to / from the east/south to cross the East Coast main line without conflict. Level crossings are being upgraded as required, driven by increased traffic and line speeds.

The scheme will allow the GNGE Joint Line to become the primary route for daytime freight traffic and permit parallel growth in passenger services on the core ECML route. It is important to note that the decision to reinvigorate this line was chosen ahead of other options (such as four-tracking the ECML) as secondary benefits to the local communities and economies are anticipated through better opening hours, improved journey times and the opportunity to tap into the blossoming rail-freight market.

The route also has passenger services and details can be found in table 18 of the Great British Timetable. Services are run by East Midlands Trains between Peterborough and Doncaster, though not all services run the whole length of the route. There is a roughly hourly service between Peterborough and Lincoln calling at Spalding, Sleaford, Ruskington and Metheringham. There are also a few services that link Sleaford to Doncaster (calling all stations), again operated by East Midlands Trains.

Northern Rail operates the all-stations service between Lincoln and Sheffield which calls at Saxilby and Gainsborough Lea Road before diverging from the line to Doncaster just after it crosses the River Trent. There are no services between Sleaford and Spalding after around 17:00 Monday to Saturday as the signal boxes are closed. The revised infrastructure will allow new opportunities for passenger services to further enhance the gains from the route improvements.

Challenges aheadNetwork Rail’s project director is Ian Quick,

based in York. Ian has been with Railtrack and Network Rail for some eleven years. His earlier career was in the building services area of the electrification and plant function. He then moved on through the estates team and dealt with projects such as Potters Bar station and Derby station renewals. He gained further experience with the Edinburgh Waverley roof renewal and Nottingham Hub projects. He took up the GNGE project in 2012.

Ian described his view of the project. Essentially, the section north of Lincoln was in an optimum condition for freight with reasonable infrastructure condition including concrete sleepered track. South of Lincoln he found to be a significant contrast with wooden sleepers and many conventional manual signalboxes. He viewed his core aim to be to improve journey times to equal the East Coast main line timings for freight while improving clearances to W10 gauge. The strategic aim looks to be able to generate a 15-year maintenance-free period, a welcome move to the users of the route.

A major projectThe first thing that strikes is the surprising scale

of the scheme - some £330 million pounds is being spent on a stretch of railway which does not come across as particularly high profile. The changing pattern of freight has seen the route drop below the horizon and it is the resurgence in the last few years that has brought awareness of its potential to support, and help capacity, on the main East Coast route south of Doncaster. That scale can be summed up as 86 miles of route between Werrington and Doncaster and the renewal of 27% of the track and 53% of the point ends.

On top of the trackwork itself there are 49 underbridges, 19 overbridges and 82 culverts to be dealt with. There is even a tunnel where there is a 66 metre track-lowering job.

The route has a history of heritage signalling and, to that end, the route is to be recontrolled with modular signalling from Lincoln control centre. 13 signalboxes and 11 manned gates are to be replaced while 92 level crossings will be tackled. Station works are included as well, with five platform gauging sites and the footbridges at Saxilby and Ruskington to be

Saxilby signal box - control is moving to Lincoln.


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given attention. Control at the north end is based on Doncaster and the system will run on the fixed telecommunications network (FTN).

Off track is no less testing with lineside fencing, 68 kilometres of route works, 151 kilometres of vegetation clearance and nine kilometres of earthworks including cess support and restraints.

PhasingIn view of the size of the scheme, and its

geographic and operational coverage, the programme has been split into five phases. Peculiarly, Phase 2 was built first as that gave the best solution for keeping the railway open during the works.

The sections involved are: » Phase 2 - Decoy North Junction to

Gainsborough Trent Junction » Phase 1 - Beckingham Junction to Pyewipe

Junction » Phase 3 - Branston & Washingborough to

Sleaford South Junction » Phase 4 - Sleaford North Junction to

Gosberton » Phase 5 - Spalding to Werrington Junction.Network Rail is managing the project but the

works are being dealt with through the GNGE Alliance with the strapline ‘Four as One’. The Alliance with Network Rail consists of Babcock, Siemens Rail Automation and Carillion, although there are other players from major companies such as Balfour Beatty, Kier and QTS. Ian emphasised the excellent relations within the Alliance and was full of praise for how that relationship had enabled the project to move forward so effectively.

The main construction base is at Peterborough with sub-bases at Lincoln and Spalding.

Progress has been smooth with the planned completion date of this third of a billion pound project originally set for March 2014. However, the recent landslip at Hatfield Colliery (issue 105, July 2013) had quite an impact on the programme as the diversion of traffic due to that event changed the traffic levels on the joint line. This forced some of the GNGE works to be rescheduled, putting the completion date back to November 2014.

Major signalling workFour of the five phases use Siemens’ modular

signalling solution - a conventionally-signalled system would have required extensive copper cabling and trackside infrastructure which would simply have been too costly. By its very nature, modular signalling uses less trackside infrastructure than a conventional application of computer-based interlocking technology.

As a further example of the scale of the project, Siemens delivered Phase 1, the re-signalling of the GNGE route between Gainsborough Trent Junction signal box to the north and Lincoln West solid state interlocking to the south, in January 2014. The work included the commissioning of 27 signal bases and structures, 48 object controller installations and four modular equipment housings (MEHs), as well as some 22 kilometres of power cable and 25 kilometres of signalling fibre.

The project team also commissioned a new modular signalling solution for a number of level crossings, including Sykes Lane, Saxilby and Kesteven - all of which have now been converted to manually controlled barrier with object detection (MCB-OD) operation - as well as Stow Park, which has been converted to MCB-CCTV controlled operation.

Phase 3, covering a further 32 miles of railway and five manually-controlled barrier (MCB) level crossings, followed and was commissioned in

April. This phase included the commissioning of 38 VMS LED signals, 70 object controller installations, five modular equipment housings (MEHs), 93 power boxes, 104 axle counter sections and 36 automatic warning systems fitments.

Siemens still have more work to do. Senior project manager Paul Carlile said: “The adoption of modular signalling has been fundamental to the delivery of the whole scheme, representing a major element in four of the programme’s five phases. We now move on to Phase 4, which is scheduled to be commissioned in August 2014”.

Good neighboursAnother point to emphasise is that the project

team has made great efforts to get on with neighbours and stakeholders and is able to point to a good consultative relationship with local and parish councils - this neighbour interface has been a real success story. There has doubtless been some disruption and impact on those local communities but excellent public relations has ensured that those communities look forward to the benefits accruing from a better rail service.

Work to replace Saxilby level crossing between 20 December 2013 and 5 January 2014 closed the only access to and from West Bank, Saxilby. Following consultation with the local community and elected representatives, Network Rail provided a 24-hour minibus service for West Bank residents, enabling them to access local facilities and their cars which were held in a secure car park nearby. Phil Verster, route managing director for Network Rail, publicly stated he was grateful to the people of Saxilby, especially residents of West Bank, for their patience and understanding during the works.

Thus this apparent backwater railway is poised to take its place as a really relevant part of the UK railway network in the twenty-first century - returning to the important role undertaken by the line at its build date. Ironically, it will be a robust freight route again - albeit one allowing improved passenger working as well.

Blankney - part of Phase 3.

Phase 1 commissioning.


GEO-029_Trimble RailSolns_RailEngineer_A4_AD_0514_Pfade.indd 1 08.05.2014 16:35:31

Whenever passenger satisfaction surveys are conducted, the results always highlight the importance of timely, reliable and accurate information. A recent two-day London conference looked at the technology and management of several initiatives in the UK and

overseas, and asked the question: “Are public expectations being met and do the current offerings meet these expectations?”

Just obtaining a better understanding of what is possible is itself quite difficult but it is also clear that not all technological advancements pull in the same direction. For many, passenger information is still screens and announcements at stations, but much more is now happening as the advent of the internet and smart phones has made information available to a much wider audience. How many people are aware of this or even capable of understanding it?

It’s a big question. This month, The Rail Engineer will look at what is happening in the UK. Overseas experiences will be examined next month.

The London experienceLike it or not, London dominates UK thinking and

is the natural hub for overseas visitors. Vernon Everitt, the managing director for customer experience in Transport for London (TfL), set the scene. Transport is there to keep cities and countries moving, a role made ever more challenging by growing populations and ridership. The 2012 Olympics were critical for London and the actions taken plus lessons learned will hold good for many years. However innovation must continue to happen in line with both technology and lifestyle changes.

The internet and websites were a big step change but the introduction of smartphones has revolutionised communication. The statistics are mind blowing: 1.5 billion worldwide, 87% of UK users have downloaded apps and 63% use these every day, 77% of Londoners use the TfL website of which 44% access it via a mobile and 55% use the mobile internet each day.

One outcome of all this is that passengers are often being better informed than staff, which can be embarrassing. Much better integration is required and achieving this needs an update to the website plus better data repositioning of operational real time systems, meaning the equipping of employees with the right digital tools.

It is recognised that a diminishing sector of the population - the ‘grey haired’ brigade - will not use smartphones and traditional measures for communicating service provision must continue. Full tunnel coverage of mobile networks is needed otherwise the full impact of smartphone usage will not be achieved. Crossrail is leading the way on this.

The Tube is getting better but more needs to be done at times of disruption, particularly integrating alternative means of transport. The decision-making process and subsequent advice will revolve around modelling routes for dependencies

Integrating passenger information

CLIVE KESSELL


of traffic, nature of disruption, weather and timetable. Advice to passengers will be progressive: stay put » continue as planned » modify route » change mode.

Kuldeep Gharatya is the head of railway systems in LU but also engineering director for the government ‘Catapult’ initiative for transport systems, a project launched in 2013 with a £150 million budget up to 2019. In his opinion, some of the emerging challenges are: » Different technical standards between transport modes; » Differentiating between ‘must have’ and ‘nice to have’; » Getting data owners to be more open with information; » Reluctance to appreciate wider commercial interests.The ultimate objective is a ‘vision by video’ from getting out of bed, receiving

a travel update, considering alternative travel modes (including hired bicycle!) through to the eventual arrival at work or meeting. One might be cynical and ask what would be left for the human brain to do?

The right sort of informationDetermining the ongoing appetite for personalised information must be

treated with caution; nanny knows best might be wrong. Mark Evers, the director of customer strategy in TfL explained how this is being researched.

Balancing ease of use with cost of implementation has to be a factor. Only producing relevant information and not bombarding people with irrelevant data is important. Misinformation is a big source of criticism; having “there is a good service” information on the concourse but delay announcements on the platform is not good publicity.

The use of apps to drill down into journey details is starting to happen but prime information needs are: » Making real-time information available so passengers can re-plan

journeys during disruption; » Meeting the needs of unfamiliar users; » Easing the process of Oyster Card top up. Far too many people run

Oysters too low and then can’t travel, causing delay and queues at barriers. Apps to alert people to a low Oyster will shortly occur.

Using social media for important information is going to grow and Twitter appears the best means of achieving this. Cost comparisons are interesting: £1 for a Twitter message, £7 for a phone call, £15 to write a letter. A third of Londoners used the Olympics travel information service to change travel plans, and that is a continuing trend.

The TfL website is used by 37% of visitors for journey planning but 45% of overseas visitors do not get beyond the first page. It is only available in English but with pop up guidance in other languages. Why do we always assume the whole world speaks English?

The wider UK sceneConsiderable improvements have been made to the dissemination

of passenger information across all forms of public transport in the UK. The generalised use of computers has made this possible but some of the initiatives pull in opposite directions. The main thrust has come from the National Rail Enquiries team and Jason Durk, head of passenger information, explained some of the challenges.

In the recent past, there were 66 disparate systems across the rail network - 17 stand-alone systems on Virgin WCML alone. CIS (customer information system) displays showed meaningless information such as trains expected at a time long past or simple but uninformative comments that a skeletal service is in operation due to bad weather but without giving details.


A questionnaire produced jointly with Passenger Focus revealed that train times and platforming had an 80% success rate, information during the journey yielded 70% but, during delay conditions, it dropped to 40%.

The strategy to resolve this is a better flow from Planned Timetable » Operational Timetable » Customer Timetable. These are represented by the Integrated Train Planning Systems (ITPS) » the future Traffic Management Systems (TMS) » Project Darwin.

To achieve all this, a CIS Delivery Board is established supported by an Information Development Group. Darwin was described in issue 83 of The Rail Engineer (September 2011) and is key to getting a consistent set of information across all systems. It is uploaded with timetable details every 24 hours and also takes in live train movement data from signalling centres. Real time information is then sent out to all other systems including stations, on-train, internet services and the future TMS (traffic management systems).

To date, 17 Virgin stations were connected in July 2011, 32 stations on Chiltern Railways in Sep 2012 and 23 stations on Northern Rail in April 2014, the latter to test the train operating company (TOC) deployment plan. A national roll out is progressing with 1508 stations due on in late 2014 and the rest by March 2015.

Darwin will need to develop train-centric data for on-train systems and the development of this will take until mid 2016. Better train location awareness is also needed and GPS will be the means of achieving this. Network Rail, TOCs and ROSCOs are working together to get fleet fitment, many trains already having GPS for other purposes such as selective door opening. Interaction with TMS data will be vital including train maintenance scheduling, with the data development tasks likely to take until mid 2017.

Smartphones and announcementsThe information experience is nowadays much more than train

operations. Peter Williams from East Coast Trains looked at associated cultural changes. A recent questionnaire as to what passengers require revealed that WiFi provision, catering options and dealing with intolerant behaviour were top of the list. Training of staff has the aim of ‘getting inside the customers’ heads’. This leads to some selectivity on the recruitment of on-train staff so as to get people with the right mind-set. Using agency staff to cover shortages often has a negative effect.

Equipping staff with the right information tools is equally important and Matthew Bromley from Chiltern Railways revealed that, in 2011, customers with iPhones were better informed than their own people. Since then, trials to establish the best smartphone for staff led initially to Android devices being adopted but, more recently, a change to the Samsung S3 has been made, this being capable of doing ticket validation and providing moving maps.

Experience at the ‘coal face’ was described by Emma Toms, head of marketing and customer experience at Southern and Gatwick Express. Surveys have shown that on-train information is as important as pre journey planning. Passengers prefer live to pre-recorded announcements and with many Southern trains being DOO (driver-only operation), a cultural change exists to get drivers making announcements. Too many repetitive train announcements is an irritant to regular travellers and Southern knows that an acceptable balance is needed, perhaps by providing more visual and less audio info.

Using social media is recognised as increasingly valuable and message gathering at control centres for onward transmission is happening. Twitter restricts message length to 140 characters so information has to be consistent and devoid of railway jargon. Take up is accelerating with 70,000 followers already. Humour in the right style is welcome, an example being ‘please mind the gap between timetable and reality’!

Getting live information to trains is the big challenge, but many Southern Trains are already equipped with GPS.

Rural lines represent a challenge for information updates and Adam Cousins from Northern Rail explained their Train Running Information Project (TRIP) on the Esk Valley line in North Yorkshire. A sparse train service and remote stations are a problem when things go wrong. GPS is fine to determine the position of trains but it needs a transmission medium to relay this to a control centre. Public cellular networks are used to feed such data into Google maps and the York control office, in part using the experience of Nomad Digital in WiFi provision. A feed is sent to a smart phone app used by both public and the train conductors. 14 Class 156 DMUs are fitted including CIS screens.

One downside is the patchy coverage of the cellular networks whereby trains are timed through ‘dead’ sections so as to pick up missed info in due course. The forthcoming provision of GSM-R may overcome this.


Dealing with disruptionDisruption takes many forms: a failed train,

problems with signalling, track defects, power supply problems, severe adverse weather or even major civil engineering failures causing long-term line closures. Most result in delays of an hour or so, but this can mean missed connections and the risk of not getting home. Journey Planner websites are already capable of showing alternative train services and some can give options for different modes of transport.

Whilst potentially useful, this approach needs to be matched to ticketing such that the traveller does not have to purchase a new fare. With the privatised railway that exists in the UK and many other countries, this creates a dilemma and only during the most severe disruption will existing tickets be accepted for use on other services.

Getting accurate and timely info when train services are disrupted remains a challenge. Nick Wood from East Coast and Richard Shilton from Virgin Trains gave their versions on how this is managed. Keeping messages consistent and simple is essential. The amount of data to be absorbed and distributed is considerable and often there is insufficient time to deliver this to individuals. Therefore broadcast messages become the norm and people are pointed to TOC websites and particularly National Rail Enquiries. These need to be integrated across all communication channels. Using hashtags e.g. #UK Storm is useful.

Equipping trains with WiFi is an ongoing commitment, with the service becoming free if trains are stranded. Displaying photos of any major infrastructure problem - flooding, overhead wires down - can convince passengers that the situation is real. Decisions are needed when to derestrict ticket types or class of travel. Requests for information jump from around 300 per normal day to well over 2,000 during disruption.

Technical faults have a potentially big impact on train services and the infrastructure provider needs to provide reliable data on how recovery will be managed. Peter Collins from Network Rail explained the process whereby controllers from

both the train operator and Network Rail (ideally located in the same building) have responsibility for devising a plan and communicating this to stations sites and trains.

Deploying the required resources is part of this, including the estimate of time to site, setting up the communications links, analysing the fault, devising the fix and restoration of normal working. Regular reviews between Network Rail and the TOCs take place to reflect on past incidents and learn lessons.

Even planned disruption for engineering work is not exempt from needing meticulous information handling. Copenhagen Metro offers a 24-hour service so maintenance work will always have some impact. Broadcasts on local TV and radio give advance information on what will be affected. The website shows graphic displays on alternative modes at stations. Roving stewards are employed to look for passengers who seem confused and proactively enquire and help.

So how is all this regarded by passengers? Guy Dangerfield from Passenger Focus told of the feedback they receive. Five key messages emerged: » Treat me with respect; » Recognise my plight; » Help me avoid the problem in the first place; » You got me into this, help get me out » Act joined-up.Please avoid obscure and misleading messages;

comments such as “leaves on the line” or “poor rail conditions” are meaningless to most travellers. If a problem is going to last all day, don’t say until further notice.

Displays showing expected time of arrival 17.12 when it is already 17.15 give an impression of incompetence. Trust drops off quickly and the need for honesty is paramount although the impact of suicides does need to be handled sensitively.

Information dissemination preferences showed text 24%, information at stations 22%, website 8%, Twitter only 2% with the rest as don’t know. The need to improve estimates of delay and incident duration is important.

Co-ordinating ticket sales with cancellations and amendments needs to happen to warn a traveller who is booked on a train that is cancelled. Giving TOC control offices the ability to speak directly to passengers on a train, a facility that is technically available on GSM-R, should be enabled.

The way forwardOpportunities for improving and widening the

current offerings are clearly there to be exploited but with this comes a massive increase in data handling and the risk that yet more embarrassing deficiencies will emerge. Empathy extends to those who deal daily with the challenge of giving out timely and accurate information, as anyone who travels regularly will see at first hand the problems being faced.

The proposers of innovation and new technology tend to start from an academic or research background and probably do not understand the realities of running an everyday railway. Getting it wrong and ‘fail safe’ are not scenarios that apply to information systems.

Aligning information with disruption is inherently difficult; often too many unknowns are there for accurate data to be processed. Building ‘cleverness’ into facilities such as journey planning is an admirable goal but will get nowhere unless ticket availability matches the options for changed routes and modes.

Overall, the two days provided a fascinating insight into what might become possible, but it remains to be seen how it all pans out in the fullness of time.


When booking a car in for a service, a driver usually tells the receptionist about any other faults that need attention at the same time. “The brakes pull to the left”, “the air conditioning isn’t working”, or “there’s a funny noise from the back”.

This allows the garage to plan the time that may be needed, whether a specialist mechanic is required, or particular equipment, and perhaps even whether any spare parts have to be ordered in ahead of time.

Why should a train be any different?

Diagnosing the faultOf course, some faults may be obvious to

the driver or train manager. Wheel flats, non-functioning lighting or ventilation, blocked toilets - all of those can be reported manually.

But a modern train, such as one of Virgin’s Pendolinos, is a very complicated and sophisticated piece of kit. It has a ‘brain’ - the train management system (TMS) - which knows how every part of the train is functioning. It can even tell when a component or system is starting to run outside of its normal operating parameters.

Trains tend to be serviced every night. However, sometimes that is just a ‘wash and brush up’. On any one night, the trains in a fleet will be booked in - some for service, some for maintenance, and some for a clean. If a train that is scheduled for cleaning only actually arrives with a major fault, it can completely mess up the depot’s plans for the night.

So what is needed is for that information to get back to the depot before the train arrives for its nightly service. Plans can then be made to attend to urgent faults immediately,

rescheduling other less-critical work to another night, so that everything runs smoothly once trains start arriving.

To do this, manufacturer Alstom has fitted Virgin’s Pendolino fleet with three major diagnostic systems. The TMS has a call-ahead function which shows any fault online - in real time - back at the depot. It also has a download facility, which gives full details of the train’s performance throughout its working day.

The on-train monitoring recorder (OTMR) records all of the inputs from the cab control desk - it’s a bit like a driver’s ‘black box’. And the tilt and speed supervisor (TASS) monitors tilt performance and limits top speed if any defect is found, recording that information.

The main server at Alstom’s headquarters in Rugby polls each train in the fleet on a rotational basis. This ensures that every train is interrogated at least once every two hours. Those faults are reported to the depot which is the base for that train.

A major part of the Pendolino fleet is based at Oxley in Wolverhampton. There, principle engineer Chris Collins checks the data which comes up on his screen. A really urgent flag would result in the train immediately being taken out of service - a problem for the operator and fleet availability team. However, most are notifications that need to go into the planning process for that night’s work.

Back to the drawing boardIt is at this stage that the high-tech wizardry

gives way to an old-fashioned whiteboard and coloured pens. There is no better way of

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

Planning it in advancethe rail engineer • June 201426

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We get to the bottom of thingsOur name is synonymous with independent assurance: we inspected our fi rst locomotive in 1929 and have beenassuring products, processes and entire railways ever since. In the past year alone we have been appointed to provide Notifi ed and Designated Body services for major projects such as Crossrail and the Great Western Integrated Programme, and safety assessments for overseas clients such as Etihad Rail and the Taiwan High Speed Railway. In an industry where safety and performance are paramount, there are few names you could trust more.

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Rail Ad Bottom of things.indd 1 16/01/2014 14:31

displaying information to a large group of people, which is flexible and can be updated instantly, than a large wall-mounted board.

Traincare centre manager Dave Jones and his operations technical manager Neil Stainke talked The Rail Engineer through the process.

On any one night, there is usually one set in for a two-day D examination. That takes the train out of service, but that is why there are a couple of spares so that fleet performance is not affected.

However, if another train comes in with a major fault which cannot be fixed overnight, then there is a risk that they will be one set short come the morning, and train cancellations may ensue. This is why it is so important to know in advance and get the train concerned into the workshop as soon as it arrives to give the maximum time to work on it. It also gives the planners the opportunity to reallocate trains to services in the morning, so the one with the problem can be ‘last out’.

Faults are prioritised. ‘Mandatory’ is naturally the highest priority as operating procedures, not to mention insurers, won’t allow such a train to be used.

‘Performance Affecting’ comes next - a train can run but with restrictions. For example, if one traction motor is out, the train is still safe to use but may not reach its top speed resulting in longer journey times.

The lowest priority is ‘Customer Related’. This can be something such as a non-functioning toilet door. The train is quite capable of being operated, but the problem needs to be sorted as soon as is practicable.

Incidentally, two non-functioning toilet doors, particularly if they are disabled toilets, will bump the priority up to ‘Performance Affecting’.

All of this is laid out on the display board. Each train is allocated to a bay in the workshop or in the yard, and the team of engineers allocated. Every process is marked down, and labelled complete as the night progresses. It is a very practiced

operation, with regular comments and all of the train numbers being on magnetic panels and other, more individual comments being added by hand.

It is thus immediately apparent when any train has missed a milestone and additional resources can be directed to help mitigate the problem.

And there’s moreA couple of other processes are carried out as

well. A team of three or four people are on ‘hotel standards’ - they walk the trains looking for torn seat covers, worn carpet, frayed decals, poor lighting and untidy or dirty areas, so that most can be addressed before the train returns to service and those that will take longer are programmed in for another night. They take pride in every train looking as good as it possibly can.

Another team, auditors from Lloyd’s Register, make periodic inspections to ensure that standards, both in presentation and in engineering, are maintained.

At the end of the night, trains start to return to service, The depot team is still talking with the planners - a train that needed more work than

expected is running late, can it go out unwashed? It seems like a minor question, but it still needs the concession to be approved by both Alstom and Virgin.

So, by booking faults in advance, the workshop process is made much less fraught and more efficient. In addition, all of the reporting means that incipient faults are caught earlier. The time between failures on the fleet has increased from one every 16,000 miles to one every 35,000.

The Alstom team is not content with this though. Chris Collins has a simulator, a bank of racked servers and equipment that replicate everything on a train. Software is tested and retested and, once approved by both Virgin and Angel Trains (the Pedolinos’ owners), it is released around the fleet once or twice a year.

There is also a laser-operated brake pad monitoring system under trial as part of a ‘health hub’. This includes the remote inspection of everything on the train from pantographs to aerodynamic skirts.

So there is much more to come.


Ad_visuals_Master Copy 24_09_12.indd 5 22/04/2014 12:56

In Edinburgh, there is enthusiasm about the introduction of the city’s tram service on 31 May. This much is clear from Twitter and correspondence columns in the Scottish Press. As an example, an appeal for a thousand

volunteers for a tram crowd exercise was fulfilled within 24 hours and massively over-subscribed.

However, there are also many who are not so enthusiastic and consider the trams to be an unnecessary waste of money. This is understandable as the project opened three years late, was almost £300 million over budget and delivered only 14.2 km of the original 18.5 km network as a result of a 2011 decision not to build the section from Newhaven and Leith to Edinburgh.

BackgroundIn 2007, the Scottish Parliament

voted to fund the tram project and authorised £490 million for a tram service between Newhaven and Edinburgh Airport which was to open in 2011. However the project ran into difficulties with almost twice the number of expected utility diversions and disputes with the infrastructure contractor. With these resulting in

significant delays, the project team advised Edinburgh City Council in June 2010 that it was prepared to terminate the infrastructure contract should this be necessary.

The turning point for the project was the Council’s decision in November 2010 to support independent mediation. This led to talks being held the following March at which the mediator was successful in facilitating a mutually-agreed resolution. Shortly afterwards, the contractor re-mobilised staff at priority locations. A settlement agreement was signed in June 2010 which incorporated a revised budget of £776 million and a programme to deliver passenger services in summer 2014.

So, whilst there are project lessons to be learnt up to the mediation, the project has been successful in keeping to time and cost since the revised agreement. Furthermore, its initial difficulties do not detract from the case for a tram network or the quality of its engineering.

Leaving the cityFrom its terminus in York Place, the

tram runs through the city streets, including Princes Street, for 2.6 kilometres to an interchange at the new Haymarket station (issue 105 - July 2013). There are five tram stops in this section.

Edinburgh gets its Trams

DAVID SHIRRES

In-Street construction showing the disruption it causes.


The track is the Rheda City system supplied by the German company RailOne. This has two concrete sleeper pads separated and located by an integral steel lattice-girder embedded in a poured concrete slab. The track sits on a 250mm-thick ground improvement slab which is designed to span a one metre void. In the city, black concrete is used for the final pour so the track blends into the city’s streets.

Ensuring that the tram system does not detract from Edinburgh’s status as a World Heritage City was a challenging task. To both meet this requirement and improve the quality of streets and open spaces, the Council produced a Design Manual which was used as a reference point for all planning consent applications.

On the streetsIt was on and under the city’s streets that the project

faced perhaps its greatest challenge - the diversion of utilities. This was undertaken under a Multi-Utilities Diversion Framework Agreement (MUDFA), the scope of which was based on information provided by the utilities. This contract was let in 2006 with the intention that utility work would be complete prior to commencement of the main works in 2008.

In the event, the difference between actual work and the original scope was 295 chambers instead of 190 and 46.5 km of ducts /pipes instead of 27.2 km. As a result, utility work continued into 2012 and, while it resulted in extra costs and delays, it did result in a significant improvement to the city’s infrastructure.

The extended utility work and tram works required an extensive programme of closures of the city’s main thoroughfares. The required diversions were planned on the basis of traffic modelling. Track work was also planned to minimise disruption with work cut into small sections of, typically, 40 metres. Nevertheless, this work inevitably involved extended periods of disruption.

The tram works also uncovered a number of archaeological finds. In Constitution Street in Leith, 390 graves were unearthed in a former graveyard dating between the late fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, and the remains of a sixteenth century leper hospital were discovered. Close to the airport, prehistoric and Dark Age settlements were found.

Of more recent vintage, an 80 metre long underground Second World War bunker was discovered at Haymarket. This had started life as a pulley room for Edinburgh’s nineteenth century cable powered trams. The modern tram system’s foundations were redesigned to preserve the structure of this bunker.

The railway corridorThe off-street section starts at the interchange stop at

Haymarket station and then runs parallel to the Edinburgh to Glasgow railway for six kilometres, crossing it by two bridges. It goes around the back of Haymarket depot, passes Murrayfield stadium and makes use of a former guided busway. The route leaves the railway at Edinburgh Park where there is another interchange tram stop.

With its proximity to the railway, immunisation work was required to address Network Rail’s concerns that the tram’s 750V DC power supply might interfere with signalling equipment. The tram design also had to make passive provision for Network Rail’s electrification proposals.

The 55-metre-long low viaduct at Haymarket was built on the site of the Caledonian Ale House. This unfortunately had to be demolished to accommodate a tram station that sits on the viaduct. This is one of 12 bridges on the off-street section with a combined length of 566 metres - there is another 232-metre-long viaduct at Edinburgh Park station.

The Murrayfield tram stop is on raised ground at the back of Haymarket depot. Here, poor ground conditions required a combination of ground improvement work and the use of Leca LWA lightweight fill and a Tensar Geogrid wall system.

To the airportFrom Edinburgh Park, the tram line crosses a dual

carriage to the Gyle shopping centre after which there is an underpass under the A8 road. Just after this the line passes the Gogar tram depot whose construction was reported in issue 82 (August 2011). The route then goes over open country to its terminus at the airport.

The moving of utilities caused more work than was expected.


Close to the depot is the planned Edinburgh Gateway station which will provide an interchange with the railway to Fife and Aberdeen. Work on this station, which is being built by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, is expected to start in September for completion in 2016 at a cost of around £30 million.

This section also involved significant construction challenges. The underpass under the A8 necessitated significant utility diversions including data cables for the nearby Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters complex.

The line’s passage through the Gogar landfill area required a reinforced earth batter which incorporated around 400 twelve-metre-long soil nails.

At the airport, the required road alterations involved the diversion of the Gogarburn river, 310 metres of piled retaining wall, road re-location including a new 32 metre bridge and the provision of a signal controlled level crossing.

Infrastructure contractsAs with any large scale infrastructure project,

a number of companies were involved. The first works contract to be let in 2006 was the MUDFA contract - awarded to Alfred McAlpine Infrastructure Services which were subsequently taken over by Carillion. Following the 2011 mediation settlement, utility work was awarded to McNicholas.

The design contract was awarded in 2005 to System Design Services, a joint venture between Halcrow and Parsons Brinckerhoff. Part of the requirement was the early identification of utility works, land purchase and traffic management.

The infrastructure construction works were undertaken under the INFRACO contract which also includes infrastructure maintenance. In 2008 this was awarded to BBS, a consortium of Bilfinger Berger and Siemens. BBS operated as a management contractor letting out packages which included the depot (Barr Construction), track (BAM Rail) and general civil engineering (Raynesway, Graham, McKenzie Construction, Crummock, Farrans Construction and McKean Group).

Once the mediation settlement of 2011 was in place, Turner and Townsend, which had previously worked on the Croydon, Dublin and Nottingham tram systems, were appointed to assist the City of Edinburgh Council in the project management of the works.

The last contract to be awarded was to Parkeon for the supply and maintenance of the ticketing machines, platform validators and hand-held terminals with back office software support. These will accept Lothian Buses’ Ridacards and ITSO cards.

The trams The contract for the supply and maintenance (for

30 years) of 27 trams was let to Construcciones y Auxilar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) in 2008. These trams were built at the CAF factory in Irun, northern Spain, and were delivered between 2010 and 2012 in accordance with the original project programme. Since then, they have been subject to a CAF-specified conservation maintenance regime which included the requirement to move each tram once a month. A 200-metre section of the route adjacent to the depot opened in 2011, enabling the trams to be tested on delivery, some driver training and the required monthly movement.

At 42.9 metres, these are the longest trams in the UK and have been designed to negotiate Edinburgh’s tight curves and steep gradients. They are 2.65 metres wide, weigh 56 tonnes and consist of seven articulated modules. Four of the modules have a single bogie. The three other modules have no wheels and are suspended between adjacent bogie modules.

The trams are supplied by a 750V DC overhead catenary and have twelve 80kW traction motors on three powered bogies which also have


regenerative braking - one of the intermediate bogie modules is unpowered.

Speed is restricted to 30 mph on-street and 45 mph off-street. The trams have a 100% low floor, 300mm above rail height, throughout. To achieve this, auxiliary equipment is roof mounted and bogies are rigidly fixed to the bogie vehicles with wheels on stub axles which are accommodated under seats together with the longitudinally-fitted traction motors. This arrangement also reduces the cornering squeal as it allows for differential wheel speeds.

Other systems provided onboard the vehicles include CCTV and passenger counting as well as tram detection and positioning.

Testing, Testing, TestingFor weeks prior to service introduction,

Edinburgh’s residents have seen empty trams run on their streets. This is part of a rigorous testing and commissioning (T&C) plan which must satisfy a safety verification assessment under the ROGS (Railway and Other Guided Transit Systems) regulations by the Independent Competent Person (ICP) who was appointed in 2007. This early appointment was necessary so

that the safety assessment process met the ICP’s requirements.

To commission the tram system, the T&C plan requires factory acceptance tests, installation completion tests, site acceptance tests and sub-system integration tests. The sub-systems are civils, track, signalling system, communication system, electrification, depot equipment, traffic light control and rolling stock.

The route was commissioned in three stages: from the depot at Gogar to the airport in March 2013, then from the depot to Edinburgh Park in December, and finally, in March 2014, from Edinburgh Park to York Place.

After commissioning, a series of system acceptance tests are required to confirm the tram system’s capability. The first of these tests, T1, requires 40 movements by a single tram, 95% of which must be within the target runtime. T1 tests tram priority at junctions and was done at night to minimise the effect of road traffic. The T2 test requires 95% of end-to-end tram movements to meet the required punctuality during three consecutive days of tram operations to the full operational timetable.

T3 is final test before passenger service can be authorised. This requires five consecutive days of the normal timetable and five consecutive days of an enhanced timetable during which a 99% punctuality standard must be achieved. This test also includes confirmation of ride quality.

During this T3 test period, exercises with the emergency services were undertaken which included tram evacuation at various locations, a derailment scenario and crowd management at Murrayfield Stadium. Lessons from these exercises and other aspects of the system acceptance tests were used to refine operational procedures.

Edinburgh joins the clubEdinburgh now has its trams and follows

Nottingham (2004), Croydon (2000), Birmingham (1999), Sheffield (1994), Manchester (1992) and Blackpool (1885, modernised 2012) whose tram schemes have proved popular and promoted local economic growth. For example a West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive study indicated that Midland Metro expansion would create around 15,000 jobs and add nearly half a billion pounds to the West Midlands economy.

With the addition of Edinburgh’s 14 km tram network, the UK now has 200km of light rail. This is some way behind France (632 km) and Germany (2,921 km) which clearly believe in the benefits of light rail.

The trams’ advantages would seem to be clear and no doubt Edinburgh’s trams will benefit the city despite their troubled start. Hopefully their comfortable, quiet and pleasant ride should soon ensure that they are as popular as the trams south of the border.

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Traffic lights in the middle of the M6 - that’s the analogy used to describe Norton Bridge junction, for years a major capacity constraint on the busy West Coast main line. But how to solve this

very tricky problem?

The answer lies in a grade separated junction with a scheme that has been under development since the early noughties but which is now a reality after the granting of a Development Consent Order (DCO) , a process necessary as this is a ‘scheme of national significance’. Comprehensive consultation has been taking place since 2010, with the views of stakeholders directly influencing the final scheme.

Following submission of the DCO application by Network Rail in December 2012, a six month examination period began in April 2013, with a recommendation made to the Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin MP who, at the beginning of April 2014, made a decision to grant the DCO application.

More capacityHowever it’s important to note

that the Norton Bridge scheme is not simply standalone but is the third part in a wider package of enhancements - the £250 million Stafford Area Improvements Programme which also includes

linespeed improvements on the ‘slow’ lines between Crewe and Norton Bridge (successfully commissioned on 30 March) and the wholesale resignalling of Stafford station and the surrounding area. On completion, the programme will provide a faster, more reliable railway, with: » Two extra trains per hour off

peak (each direction) between London and the North West;

» One extra fast train per hour (each direction) between Manchester and Birmingham;

» One extra freight train per hour (each direction) through Stafford.

Stafford resignallingDelivered by the Staffordshire

Alliance, a collaborative venture between Network Rail, VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke and Atkins, the

programme is off to a good start with the slow line speeds now increased from 75 to 100mph running. This has included track alignment works, modifications to the overhead line equipment and installation of four new banner repeater signals.

Bottleneck busting

GRAHAME TAYLOR

NORTON BRIDGE

N

EAST CHORD

STAFFORD

CREWE

STOKE

LAND AFFECTEDBY CONSTRUCTION

NEW EARTHWORKS

NEW RAILWAY

EXISTING/REALIGNEDRAILWAY

ROAD

NEW ROAD

CLOSED ROAD

WATERCOURSE

DIVERTEDWATERCOURSE

Installing a new signal gantry at Whitmore.


At Stafford itself, the project team is currently undertaking the mammoth task of comprehensively renewing a signalling infrastructure which hasn’t seen any significant investment since the 1960s. The main works started at the beginning of this year with commissioning scheduled for August 2015.

Stafford resignalling includes the installation of a new freight loop and the replacement of life expired signalling, telecoms and power supplies, with the signalling control to be transferred from the existing Stafford No4 and No5 signal boxes to the new Rugby ROC. The project also includes the installation of bi-directional signalling for all platforms and an increase in the

‘slow’ line speeds (predominantly used by local passenger/freight services) between Great Bridgeford (near Norton Bridge) and Stafford.

Show stopperSo, why is the Stafford Area

Improvements Programme necessary? It’s pretty simple really. This is Britain’s busiest mainline, a key artery connecting London,

the Midlands, the North West and Scotland with a mixture of express, local, commuter and freight services. There are three million passengers a day, with 40% more passenger journeys and 60% more freight than 20 years ago and usage is rising. Passenger demand is due to double in the next 20 years, with the route set to hit capacity within the next five.

NORTON BRIDGE

N

EAST CHORD

STAFFORD

CREWE

STOKE

LAND AFFECTEDBY CONSTRUCTION

NEW EARTHWORKS

NEW RAILWAY

EXISTING/REALIGNEDRAILWAY

ROAD

NEW ROAD

CLOSED ROAD

WATERCOURSE

DIVERTEDWATERCOURSE

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Which brings us back to Norton Bridge junction, where the existing track configuration is seen as a major blocker to capacity. Currently, anything travelling from the Down Slow to Stoke has to cross over all other roads, so bringing the show to a complete stop. Traffic from the branch line also has to cross both fast lines to get to the Up Slow line. Couple all of that with serious reliability issues and it’s clear that something needs to be done.

Read the diagramThat ‘something’ is the

construction of six miles of new 100mph railway, including the new flyover, 10 new bridge structures, one bridge enhancement, a major realignment of the B5026, river and footpath diversions, the construction of temporary haul roads and major environmental mitigation works to protect flora and fauna.

Under the new arrangements, the four tracks will split taking two lines to Stoke up and over the new flyover across the West Coast main line. One of the two lines will form the new Down Slow to Crewe, with the existing line removed between the southern and northern connections. As always, it’s best to refer to the line diagram that accompanies this article!

In advance of the main works (and the actual granting of the Development Consent Order), major preparatory works have been underway since last year under separate planning consents. These include the diversion

of a fuel pipeline, completed by the British Pipeline Agency in December 2013, and the installation of a new compound supporting the diversion of two high pressure gas pipelines (one in two sections) operated by National Grid, which will run from May to September this year, with further works taking place next year.

Dedicated haul roadsThe establishment of the

new compound (and further preparatory works including haul road installation) has allowed for almost immediate mobilisation upon the actual granting of the DCO application. The haul roads are being constructed to avoid the use of local roads in the transport of spoil around the sites. There will be a zero net use of fill with the surplus being used to reprofile nearby hills. Construction of a

dedicated railhead also reduces the burden of construction traffic on the local road network.

In addition to the pipeline diversions, the needs of the local population of Great Crested Newts (a European protected species) had to be attended to, with 14km of newt fencing adorning the neighbourhood with bucket traps every few yards to catch the blighters. Once caught, they were then shipped to a new specially created reserve to enjoy the peace of Shallowford House, a nearby Christian retreat operated by the Diocese of Lichfield.

Local community So how does all this affect the

local community? How have they been kept on side? This is where a carefully managed public information exercise has paid dividends. There has been

a regular flow of information to affected stakeholders, as well as dedicated community relations support. The Alliance attends the Parish Council’s monthly meetings, has placed features and advertisements in parish newsletters and holds regular public information events to explain key milestones. This has been followed up with a programme of targeted information leaflets, a community engagement programme and the formation of a ‘legacy’ steering group.

Even for a remote community like Norton Bridge and the surrounding areas, there will be travel benefits. Apart from the lasting benefits of a railway with much greater capacity, the local road network is also being improved. The B5016, which winds across the Staffordshire countryside, is being diverted away from the path of the new rail alignment with a new section to be constructed that will help remove a potentially dangerous junction.

The projected timescale for the Norton Bridge scheme is impressively fast. There will be an 82 hour possession over Christmas 2014 for the installation of bridges over the WCML and at Easter 2016 there will be the commissioning of the new flyover in a 102 hour possession. The whole lot is planned to be wrapped up by mid 2016, by which time the dream of Down Slow trains to Stoke being able to complete the move with no effect on any of the other lines will have become reality.

Piling works at Stafford.

Working on OLE gantries.


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Over the last few years I have been very fortunate to have written quite a number of articles about this most fascinating and complex railway project known as the Thameslink project. The latest article I wrote about this £6 billion project appeared in the May issue of The Rail

Engineer (issue 115) and was based on the Canal Tunnels.

So, when I was preparing for my latest meeting with Chris Binns, Network Rail’s head of engineering for the Thameslink project in late spring, I considered the progress that Network Rail has made with regard to the overall scheme, asking myself, although the completion date is 2018, would it be reasonable for me to suggest that the project was now moving into the final stages, albeit that they will be substantial, of this long running project? After all, it started back in 1991 and it was dubbed ‘Thameslink 2000’. Do you remember?

I’m not sure whether the original Thameslink 2000 project included the two six-metre diameter Canal Tunnels I have referred to, which were constructed about 10 years ago. The tunnels offer a new 900 metre long, two track link between the East Coast main line at Belle Isle Junction just outside Kings Cross station and the Midland main line just north of St Pancras station.

In August 2012, Network Rail announced that Carillion was to be the contractor responsible for connections into the main lines, fitting out the tunnels installing slab track, associated

emergency walkways, signalling and telecoms equipment and fire services and pumps and other associated safety equipment throughout the tunnels, as well as overall site management as the principal contractor. In addition, Balfour Beatty was appointed the contractor responsible for the 25kV overhead line electrification (OLE) installation work.

A new route availableIn the lead up to Easter this year, the new

Canal Tunnels junction at the St Pancras end was completed and is now ready for use. Also completed was complex preparatory work to the existing junction at Belle Isle ready for the installation of a new double junction. This work, coupled with the fitting out of the tunnels, is well advanced and will be completed this year. However, the tunnels will not be brought into service until commissioning of the overall project in 2018 but the intention is to use the tunnels from 2015, to enable the new Class 700

Thameslink - A very busy Easter!COLLIN CARR


Siemens trains that are currently being built in Germany to travel up to the new Hornsey Depot, ready for final commissioning.

At London Bridge station, now without its old train shed roof, a significant milestone was achieved when the new terminating platforms 14 and 15 were brought in to service at the end of March, replacing the old platforms 14, 15 and 16. It is the first part of a plan to take possession of two platforms at a time, working from the south of the station. The old platforms have been removed along with the tracks and ballast. Supporting brick archways have been demolished and piles driven to support bridge deck piers that in turn will support the new platforms.

The space below the platforms will eventually provide the station with a new expansive concourse area that will extend across the width of the station with lifts and escalators serving all 15 platforms. Costain is the principal contractor for this work and Chris explained that the completion of platforms 14 and 15 was significant because it assured the team that the approach adopted was achievable and appropriate and that, by Christmas 2014, all six terminating platforms should be completed and the new concourse below extended accordingly.

This work also gives the travelling public a first glimpse of what the station will look like on the surface. The new concourse however, will have to remain behind hoardings for some time as it is used for access to the worksites during construction.

Teams working togetherCostain has had to work in tandem with

Balfour Beatty, the principal contractor for the trackwork, and Siemens which had to renew and relocate many miles of signaling cable and associated equipment. This, coupled with the operating issues associated with a station that receives more than 52 million passengers each year, demands total cooperation and team spirit from all involved.

As you would expect, the project team has painstakingly produced detailed staging diagrams that cover all the work up to 2018. These diagrams show each integrated station and track remodelling stage underpinned by further detailed charts showing sequences and diagrams. Each event is detailed down to the hour. Chris explained that a minimum 14-day buffer has been built into each critical stage of the programme. This is one of the many lessons learnt through experience and there can’t be many teams around with the experience that Thameslink offers.

As with many successful projects today, there is no longer any ‘man-marking’ within the London Bridge station project. Instead, the most suitable person for the job is appointed, irrespective of their employer. So, where appropriate, Network Rail personnel will take instruction from Costain personnel and vice versa. It is this approach that has ensured that platforms 14 and 15 were delivered on time.

Attention to detail essentialFor Chris, it is this partnering approach that

will ensure that the project will be delivered on time and to budget. Also, absolutely everything that is planned has a knock-on effect that has to be understood, communicated, recorded and managed. As Chris kept reminding me, there

is no other project quite like it and attention to every detail is absolutely essential. It is the complexity of the project and the need to provide the level of detail necessary throughout the project that he and the team find so fascinating.

At the west end of the station, an approach viaduct cast in-situ with a precast beam decking is slowly emerging, designed to link the existing network with the new and so far unused, 350 metre pathway which includes Borough Market viaduct, designed to carry an additional two dedicated Charing Cross tracks. At the moment, the approach roads to the new bus station are in the way, so plans are being developed with the local community to take possession of the site and complete the work.

Whilst these details are being finalised, Skanska carried out strengthening work on three bridges between Waterloo East and London Bridge over Easter, closing Charing Cross station. The work included the removal of a bridge girder to accommodate new S&C and realigned track yet to be installed. On an adjacent bridge, longitudinal timber beams were removed and the deck reconstructed and waterproofed. This essential work is required to help comply with Route Availability level 8 standards and to create a proposed track alignment that is required to meet a target of 24 trains per hour through the core of the route - between Blackfriars and St Pancras station.

(Left) Demolition of platforms 12 and 13 (below) Demolition of platforms complete.These were taken out of use in March when the new platforms 14 and 15 were opened.


Dive Under taking shapeMoving to the east of London Bridge station,

work over Easter extended to the New Cross Gate area, incorporating a new structure known as the Bermondsey Dive Under. Working together, a 500 tonne and a 250 tonne crane lifted three large steel span sections onto four previously-constructed reinforced concrete piers. Then, 28 precast concrete L-shaped units were fixed onto the steel structures secured by 1000 shear studs that were welded on site. This work took place alongside the brick arched viaducts carrying six main lines.

The new structure forms the start of a transitional structure that will eventually span from the existing brick viaduct to the Bermondsey Dive Under. The plan requires Skanska to complete this work in 2016.

Whilst this work was underway, and in order to maximise the benefits of the possession

time between London Bridge Station and the Bermondsey Dive Under, Balfour Beatty was carrying out major track works including the recovery of an existing crossover and the installation of two new crossovers in the same area.

It is a very congested area, site access is difficult and the track is supported on ageing brick arches that can only support limited loading. Therefore, to minimise point loading, two ‘baby’ Kirow 250 cranes were used to lift the track panels that were transported to site by twenty of the now-familiar tilting wagons to install the new layout.

There were eight engineering trains used for this work alone. A total of 71 welds were installed and the track stressed. One new crossover was brought into service straight away and the associated signalling panel alterations at London Bridge incorporated into the plan.

More major blockadesThat’s not a bad parcel of work for an Easter

break! Now, back to the question which I asked Chris - do you think that you are moving into the final straight for this project? Chris thought about this for a while then said that there isn’t any more major work that hasn’t been started. However, passengers have only just seen a glimpse of what the London Bridge station will look like when it is finished.

He then explained that Network Rail will be closing the whole of the route at London Bridge Station for a nine day blockade in August and then 16 days at Christmas. This is to address the need to totally renew and remodel the throat to the station. He added that, at Christmas, they will be using 43 engineering trains to carry out the work that will see all the final six new terminating platforms brought into use.

Chris then confirmed that new sidings and carriage cleaning facilities at Peterborough, Brighton, Cricklewood and Hornsey are either complete or well underway. Also, eight-car and twelve-car sets of the new Class 700 trains are undergoing preliminary tests on third-rail test track in Germany. He added that, to enable work on the new through platforms to happen, Thameslink trains will be diverted away from London Bridge station from December 2014 until January 2018, and that they will have to educate the travelling public accordingly.

It is this last comment that reminds me that, although we are certainly past the end of the beginning, and we might be seeing the beginning of the end, there is still a fair way to go and much to be done by teams working effectively together. There will also be more articles to write about this intriguing project!

Work on the Bermondsey Dive Under.

The Western Approaches showing the cast concrete structure that will lead to Borough Viaduct.


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0457 Mackenzie Rail Sector Magazine Ad.indd 1 14/04/2014 09:53

London is a crowded city, and not just above ground. Beneath the roads, buildings and even rivers that make up the nation’s capital is a maze of tunnels - for the underground railway, the Royal Mail’s own railway network, water mains, sewers, power lines and even, allegedly, some

the Ministry of Defence doesn’t want talked about.

So when Crossrail came along, its alignment was designed to accommodate this, passing under some existing tunnels and above others.

At stations, where the new railway will interchange with existing ones, things became even more complicated. Generally, Crossrail’s platforms will be below what is already there, but accesses have to be driven down from the surface and some booking halls enlarged and combined.

And then there are the services. Power, water, ventilation - all have to be accommodated in an already-congested environment.

Substation in the waySo it should be no surprise that, when

the designers were working on plans for a new booking hall at Liverpool street station, they found something in the way - London Underground’s main traction-power substation.

The booking hall had to go where it was planned or the whole design of the station wouldn’t work. The only solution was to move the substation. London Underground didn’t mind - it would get a nice shiny-new one, just so long as nothing interrupted passenger services.

One advantage of London Underground having been remodelled several times in its 150-year life is that there are some unused bits of infrastructure lying about. One of those was platform 3 - a disused bay platform for Metropolitan and District line trains from the west. It was even open to the sky - if one peered over a wall at ground level one could see it some way below.

fitMak

ing it

all

NIGEL WORDSWORTH


Taylor Woodrow was contracted by Crossrail (contract C503) to build the new facility. A three-story building would be constructed on the disused platform to house all of the new equipment with access at street level.

As it was some way from the old sub-station, cables that were running to that site would have to be diverted to the new one. A 55-metre long tunnel some three metres in diameter would be dug along with a 10 metre vertical shaft.

However, the congested nature of the site came to play again. The new tunnel would open into a disused escalator barrel. There was a pair of these which had originally housed one up and one down escalator. Only one of them was full of 750V DC track cables and - Murphy’s Law - it was the one that the new tunnel intersected.

UK Power Network Services (UKPN Services), which had the job to fit out the new substation and also decommission the old

one, was tasked with diverting the cables from that escalator barrel to the other one. Then, once building

works were completed, they could all be diverted to the new substation.


Getting underwayWork commenced in 2012 on

doing just that. Taylor Woodrow used a small excavator to dig the tunnel with a shotcrete lining going in as it was dug. At the same time, the new building was constructed on the platform and the street-level access made things simpler than they might have been.

The cabling was a challenge. Everything had to be manhandled and escalator barrels are actually quite steep. On top of that, large power cables are not quite as ‘flexible’ as one might think, so it was time-consuming and hard work for the cabling teams.

UKPN Services was given access to the finished building and tunnel in October 2013. The equipment started to arrive and was allocated to one of the three floors. High-voltage (HV) and low-voltage (LV) switchgear from Balfour Beatty would be hoisted down through an access hatch to the platform level. The Hawker Siddeley-supplied DC switchgear would go on a mezzanine floor and the heaviest equipment, the auxiliary transformers from ABB and the transformer rectifiers supplied by Ultra PMES, would stay at ground level.

As this was a one-off sub-station, UKPN services’ project manager Gary Kelly was using tried and tested equipment so that it didn’t need additional London Underground approvals. The layout design and operational parameters would still need to be checked, but using approved kit, some of it with also-approved variations, would short-cut the process.

Meanwhile, NG Bailey was doing the mechanical and electrical fit-out of the new building. This included the low-voltage power supplies, lighting, ventilation and fire systems.

Control of all of the new equipment would use a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system from ABB. RTUs (remote terminal units) were installed on the mezzanine and platform-level floors along with battery chargers from PB Design.

Cabling in the new sub-station was a challenge. The high-voltage feeders form a ‘ring-main’-type arrangement. Three cables had to be diverted from the old sub-station, coming originally from Mile End, Holborn and Bank. These had to be fed down the new tunnel. The fourth, from Mansell Street, ran alongside the track.

The new cables are three-core cables with each multi-strand copper conductor being 185mm2

with a PVC insulator. These have to be jointed into the existing cabling, some of which is old paper-insulated lead-sheathed cables. That work was best left to UKPN Services’ specialist contractor - in this case IMAC Electrical.

The three HV AC cables originally feeding the old sub-station have been diverted through the new tunnel with sixteen 750V DC traction power cables and a quantity of low voltage cables installed by NG Bailey, so it is already looking quite full.

Early finishPart way through the build,

Crossrail asked UKPN Services to accelerate the timescale with a view to having the new substation in service, and the old one stripped of all its equipment, by the end of April. The only way to do that was to bring in more specialist labour resources, a process managed by UKPN Services’ contract supplier Matchtech to help deliver and hand back the project on time.

Although the fitting-out process could be speeded up by using more manpower, the commissioning couldn’t be hurried. New equipment had to be tested, checked again, and then energised into service in the correct sequence, with the corresponding old equipment being progressively decommissioned at the same time.

Although it was a Crossrail contract, the work was being carried out for London Underground so LU engineers shadowed those from UKPN Services during this phase.

Commissioning commenced on 23 February and was completed by 4 April. With everything in the old substation dead and isolated, a team from NG Bailey and sub-

contractor Lupprians descended on it and had the whole place stripped out by 17 April - 13 days early to the revised Crossrail timetable.

“It was a combined effort,” said Gary Kelly afterwards. “To accelerate the timetable we could throw labour at some parts of the job, but not the commissioning. We also were constrained by the availability of the London Underground commissioning team and lost a week waiting for sign off. So we are all pretty pleased with the way it worked out in the end.”

The empty former substation will now be remodelled and turned into part of the new booking hall by Laing O’Rourke which has the main construction contract for Crossrail’s Liverpool Street station.


Please contact us for further information

Tel 0845 034 1480Email [email protected]

A specialist electrical contractor based in the South East of England providing services for the rail industry, covering all aspects of electrical engineering from design through to project management, installation and commissioning.

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RJ_Rail_Engineers_Ad.indd 1 15/05/2013 13:14


The Great Western Electrification Programme (GWEp) will provide more reliable, greener and quieter journeys for thousands of passengers. Around 1,000 kilometres of railway will be electrified between London and Cardiff for the introduction of Intercity Express

trains by 2018.

This huge project will see 22,000 piles, masts and associated wiring installed and hundreds of thousands of decisions made to bring GWEp into service in just four years time.

In early 2013, Atkins and Parsons Brinckerhoff working in partnership were awarded the Lead Design Organisation (LDO) and Systems Integrator contract for the scheme - one of the first projects to be delivered under Network Rail’s UK-wide electrification plan. During the past 12 months, the joint team has been designing, developing and integrating the scheme in parallel which presents complex and exciting challenges.

Russell Jackson, Atkins’ director leading the LDO contract, said: “On a smaller project, achieving requirements and managing interfaces can be handled very easily without specialist techniques and skills. But this isn’t possible with GWEp so we’re using systems such as Enterprise Architect, 3D layout systems, and online design logs that augment traditional tools to ensure our design hits the sweet spot of right first time delivery.”

Keeping heritage in mindOriginally designed by Brunel as a broad gauge (7’ ¼” - 2,140mm) railway, the Great Western

main line was completed between London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads in 1840. By 1875, the track had been converted to a three-rail system so that standard gauge trains could also use it, and by 1892 broad gauge operation had ceased entirely.

However, much of Brunel’s original railway remains. It has many Grade I and II listed buildings on its route and passes through a World Heritage site at Bath. This heritage is an important part of GWEp, and that is being taken into account in the overall electrification design. The joint team, led by Network Rail, is working closely with English Heritage and other stakeholders to make sure sensitive structures are safeguarded.

“We have to ensure that, as much as possible, the design meets our safety and engineering requirements in a way that is sensitive to Brunel’s railway,” Russell explained. “In the Bath World Heritage site, we are developing a holistic approach which reflects Brunel’s design while maintaining the highest safety standards for the railway. In these areas we’re working with heritage specialists Alan Baxter & Associates and will support Network Rail’s extensive public stakeholder consultation.”


Changing the face of deliveryThe Great Western Electrification Programme


Modern designDespite keeping one eye on the railway’s

heritage, the GWEp team is using the latest technology and is currently developing a new Overhead Line Electrification (OLE) system called Series 1. Using fewer parts, the system is more reliable than current OLE and is safer to operate and maintain.

To see how the system design will work in the real world, a testing site at Old Dalby was constructed in late 2013 to compare computer modelling with actual performance. Testing began in December 2013 using a Southeastern Class 395 Javelin high-speed train fitted with an improved design of pantograph. This evaluation is due to be complete around June 2014.

To date, the test results look good and show that the system is performing in line with how the modelling predicted it would. “The Old Dalby site is the first of its kind in the UK,” Russell commented. “Previously, UK electrification has used tried and tested technology but, with the new technology we are using this time around, we need to make sure performance is improved as we expect.

“The LDO is taking the GWEp system designs and developing the route-wide detailed designs. Amey is already installing foundations for early key milestones. We have seven design teams working on allocation of Series 1 on Great Western, drawing from a pool of 60 per cent of the UK’s OLE resource. As part of our continuous improvement process, the teams will develop detailed design, refined at each stage with ongoing build feedback, to ensure that the programme delivers an electrified railway that is as reliable, affordable and as safe as possible.”

Delivering a technically challenging programme of work in a short time frame requires working in a joint team. Daniel Mayhew, operations director from Parsons Brinckerhoff, continued: “On GWEp, the traditional way of working doesn’t apply. We must be collaborative and share responsibility to successfully deliver this scheme. The programme is different in how it recognises the importance of design and systems integration such that the LDO is a key delivery partner to Network Rail, alongside the construction partners.”

Developing new trainsTo save time and money, the project team is

also developing new high output construction trains to make installing the piles, masts and OLE much easier than traditional methods. This fleet of trains was developed specifically for use on GWEp and they work like a production line to install piles, masts and wiring. These new trains will be in service by the summer once testing is complete.

One of the first tasks will be to facilitate the start of Intercity Express (IEP) train testing. These will be manufactured by Hitachi at a new factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. Currently, a 20 kilometre test site is being built between Didcot and Reading to allow Hitachi to test its new trains on a live railway to see how they will work with the Great Western infrastructure. The GWEp project team is building this site which will involve the installation of around 1000 structures and all of the associated equipment for electrification. Work is due to be complete during 2015.

GWEp is giving the project team an interesting challenge. Never before in the UK has a project of this scale been developed, designed and built concurrently but the lessons learnt here should help the rail industry become more effective.

From implementing next-generation engineering management systems to building bespoke equipment such as piling trains to achieve significant time and cost savings, it is clear that delivery in the rail industry is entering a new phase fit for a twenty-first century railway.

Atkins and Parsons Brinckerhoff have a range of exciting career opportunities available in electrification. Turn to pages 80 and 81 to find out more.

The piling rig gets to work on the HOPS.


Galvanizing, the immersion of clean steel into a tank of molten zinc in order to obtain a metallurgically-bonded coating to the steel that protects it from corrosion, has been around for over 180 years.

This durable, sustainable and economic coating protects the steel used in many everyday objects including electricity pylons, roadside lighting columns and motorway barriers.

There has also been a long and intimate link with the railways. In fact, one of the first major uses of galvanizing was by the railway industry.

Iconic roof spansWhen it opened in 1854, the London and North Western Railway’s ‘New

Grand Central Railway Station’ in Birmingham had a vast single-span arched roof, 212 feet wide and 840 feet long. It contained 64,000 square feet of galvanized corrugated iron sheets which covered half of the roof area, the remainder being fluted glass, and was the largest of its kind in the world at the time. Sadly, it was damaged beyond repair during the Second World War.

Another landmark station of the time, Paddington, also opened in 1854. Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed a building with 120,000 square feet (36,650m2) of galvanized corrugated iron sheets that enclosed two thirds of the vaulted roof. The sheets were used with the corrugations running at right angles to the roof so that the whole structure would stiffen. This would make the roof a very early example of a ‘stressed skin’ design.

Today, galvanized steel is used throughout the rail industry. It is still used within railway stations, not only in roofs but also in the frameworks that support the platforms. Signal gantries and the posts which support the overhead wiring for electrification are also galvanized.

Galvanizing is a fully tried, tested and proven method of corrosion protection which will find applications for many years to come.

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@StobartRailLtd

Andrew Sumner

t. 01228 882 300e. [email protected]

Gary Newton


Dave Richardson


Rail Contracts Manager

Estimating Manager

Plant Manager

stobartrail.com

Our brand new & purpose built fleet of Whilst the machine is removing the ballast a Ballast Replacement machines and teams team of road rail excavators and a are now available to deliver Ballast permanent way team are working alongside Replacement Programmes and Track to replace the ballast and to check the Lowering Schemes nationwide. track geometry and tamp the ballast.

Old ballast is replaced with new without the If you need ballast replacement, track need to remove track or sleepers. lowering on your route call us now to

discuss hiring the machine and our team.

In 2008, Richard Errington joined Stobart Rail as a Plant fitter, responsible for maintaining the vast array of varying

equipment within the fleet. He readily engaged with the other Engineers, Operators and Project Delivery teams

eager to provide service excellence. Promoted to Workshop Foreman in 2009 he instilled this energy into the team

upgrading plant and setting new high standards of continuous improvement. Recently again promoted to Plant

Maintenance & Innovation Manager Richard now runs the newly introduced Innovation Centre on Blackdyke Road

in Carlisle and is a member of the Rail Plant Association subcommittee for assessing fitters. The 1st project recently

completed by the team is Stobart’s latest Ballast Replacement machine, which is now out on the network replacing

ballast in record time. Visit www.StobartRail.com or Tweet us @StobartRailLtd to join me.

Rapid Ballast Replacement on Plain Linesand through Switches & Crossings

Lee Thompson, apprentice of the year for level 2 in plant mechanics


Lee gave himself a head start in gaining an apprenticeship at Stobart Rail when he took the initiative and

walked into our offi ce to ask if there were any jobs available. He was interested in being an HGV mechanic.

When asked if he would be interested in becoming a plant mechanic, he saw the potential and volunteered to

attend for a two week trial period without pay. Since that day, Lee has shown that it was the right decision for

us to offer him a position.

Lee’s work is varied and rarely repetitive. It involves working on a wide variety of plant and vehicles and often

this work takes place out on the rail infrastructure in pretty inclement conditions, working against the clock

and under considerable pressure.

At the CPA ‘stars of the future’ awards which took place at Haydock Park in May of this year, Lee was

awarded apprentice of the year for level 2 in plant mechanics. By winning this award, Lee was put forward

for the national awards. Although he did not win he was in the top four out of 593 students, a fantastic

achievement and a credit to both himself and to Stobart Rail.

@StobartRailLtd

Andrew Sumner


Gary Newton


Dave Richardson


Rail Contracts Manager

Estimating Manager

Plant Manager

stobartrail.com

Our brand new & purpose built fleet of Whilst the machine is removing the ballast a Ballast Replacement machines and teams team of road rail excavators and a are now available to deliver Ballast permanent way team are working alongside Replacement Programmes and Track to replace the ballast and to check the Lowering Schemes nationwide. track geometry and tamp the ballast.

Old ballast is replaced with new without the If you need ballast replacement, track need to remove track or sleepers. lowering on your route call us now to

discuss hiring the machine and our team.

In 2008, Richard Errington joined Stobart Rail as a Plant fitter, responsible for maintaining the vast array of varying

equipment within the fleet. He readily engaged with the other Engineers, Operators and Project Delivery teams

eager to provide service excellence. Promoted to Workshop Foreman in 2009 he instilled this energy into the team

upgrading plant and setting new high standards of continuous improvement. Recently again promoted to Plant

Maintenance & Innovation Manager Richard now runs the newly introduced Innovation Centre on Blackdyke Road

in Carlisle and is a member of the Rail Plant Association subcommittee for assessing fitters. The 1st project recently

completed by the team is Stobart’s latest Ballast Replacement machine, which is now out on the network replacing

ballast in record time. Visit www.StobartRail.com or Tweet us @StobartRailLtd to join me.

Rapid Ballast Replacement on Plain Linesand through Switches & Crossings


The Asfordby (or Melton) test track has had an interesting history. It originally formed a part of an important rail route between the East Midlands and London. For a time in the 1970s, it was the route that the Nottingham Pullman services used to get to the capital after the

closure of the Great Central Railway. Then the Nottingham/Melton Mowbray section of line was closed to traffic itself, and Nottingham services to London had no alternative but the Midland route via Trent Junction.

Testing timesThis was in many ways the start of the

interesting times for the newly closed line, however. Having been taken into use as one of British Rail’s test tracks, it was used by BR Research for many things, including trials of the ill-fated Advanced Passenger Train (APT).

Ironically, this project, which really failed through loss of nerve on the part of the politicians, established many details of science and engineering about tilting train technology. That, in turn, led to the Italian Pendolino trains that now run on the West Coast main line in the UK, with counterparts in many other countries. The real irony lies in the fact that those very Pendolinos were themselves tested on this same track before entering UK service.

The test track has been used most recently by Serco, which leased it a few years ago so that they could fulfil their contract with LUL for the testing of new rolling stock for the London Underground. When The Rail Engineer visited recently, there were still trains in LUL livery on site, a strange sight in the middle of the East Midlands countryside.

Parts of the track were electrified on the 25kV overhead system for the Pendolino tests, and similarly parts now have third-rail DC electrification for the LUL tests.

Ballasted vs ballastlessOne recent development in the Asfordby

tunnel on the test track might have far reaching consequences, greater than either the Pendolino or the LUL trains.

Ballastless track has been a holy grail for forward-looking rail infrastructure engineers and managers for a long time. In the UK, the snag has always been the cost of converting existing lines from ballasted to ballastless.

There seems to be no reasonable debate about the case that the whole-life costs of ballastless track should be significantly lower than equivalent, conventional, ballasted track. The

initial costs are higher, though not necessarily as much as one might think, but the costs during the lifetime once installed are so much less that the higher first costs are more than recovered over the next 60 years in service.

The problem, even in BR days when there were no track access charges and the like to be paid by the infrastructure operator to the train operator, no-one was able to show how the costs and disruption involved in removing ballasted track and replacing it with ballastless could be made to appear economically reasonable.

Today, with all the other work that Network Rail has to carry out within its budget, converting the existing railway wholesale looks a hopeless proposition. Yet it is a viable possibility for relatively short lengths of track where there are particular challenges to manage - tight tunnel clearances for example - but not large-scale conversion of line of route railway. Even the great Japanese railways have not managed to justify conversion of the first, ballasted Shinkansen line to ballastless track.

Trialling three systemsThe trials that Network Rail has undertaken

in Asfordby Tunnel may offer some hope for a change in this view. A recent site visit was hosted by Network Rail’s project manager Manraj Bhandal along with several colleagues from Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group, the company that provided and installed the trial track systems. Carl Garrud, Managing Director and Chris Kearns, Project Manager were very proud of what their company had to offer, and certainly the quality of the installation in the tunnel by the Austrian project team from Rhomberg Bahntechnik looked very impressive.

The 470 metre long trial consists of three separate installations, a trial length of each of two ballastless track forms and a transition structure designed to ensure a smooth shift between ballasted and ballastless track.

Asfordby Tunnel

CHRIS PARKER

Slab Track Trials


Installing a PORR slab.


IVESThe first section in the tunnel has been re-laid with IVES

track. A Rhomberg Rail development, IVES simply stands for Intelligent, Versatile, Effective and Solid. It is not strictly slab track, since it consists of individual prestressed concrete units with rail support assemblies for each rail, separated by a small gap.

The system is ballastless though, the units being laid on asphalt paving, and it does behave like a slab since the 250mm deep concrete units are heavy (one tonne each) and a stainless steel dowel pin is used to restrain the units from moving relative to the tarmac. Not every unit needs to be dowelled and on this site, where the curves are relatively flat, one dowel every fifth unit was the requirement. Where sharper curves, faster speeds or heavier loads dictate, dowels would be installed more often by design.

The installation involved removing the old track then excavating down through the ballast and formation to the required depth. This was done by Babcock Rail using laser-guided machines to give a correctly-canted formation ready for the asphalt. Onto this went 100mm of Type 1 fill, following which a paving machine laid the 250mm of asphalt in two passes.

The IVES modules were then installed on the asphalt and roughly aligned. Rail alignment, horizontal and vertical, was fine tuned during the final positioning of the rail support assemblies using a system of alignment called RhoTAS. This holds the rails and support assemblies in the correct position whilst the latter are grouted into position.

The support assemblies used in the trial were Vossloh DFF units, and the screws fastening them down needed to be tightened to the correct torque after the grout had set. On this site, the grout used needed 10 hours to reach adequate strength, though faster-setting grouts are available.

The IVES system needs no significant wet concrete work as the asphalt is laid to a sufficiently accurate standard (vertically, +0 to -35mm, horizontally to +/-15mm) that the concrete modules sit directly upon it. They are aligned in this way sufficiently well that the final fine-tuning of the rail height and line is easily within the adjustment capabilities of the rail support assemblies.

A company-designed track measuring trolley is used to make these fine adjustments. Two people go through with the trolley adjusting the rails in a two-stage process. On the first run they work to a 2mm tolerance, then to the final design tolerance on the second.

The entire IVES installation is undertaken by a team of eight, including their supervisor. They lay and align the modules, install the rails and align those, and finally grout up and tighten down the rail support assemblies. On completion, the measuring trolley is used to record the final geometry of the track for an as-built record for the client.

The IVES system is very flexible, coping easily with curves, gradients and transitions in much the same way as traditional sleepers. Variants are available for use in S&C, and it is possible to supply units for use as longitudinal rail bearers where that is required. The gaps between the units allow drainage to flow down onto the asphalt and thence away into the subgrade or the track drainage as applicable. Where it is desired, the gaps between modules may be infilled with foam inserts which keep out debris whilst still allowing water to drain. The modules may also be driven upon by road vehicles, a distinct benefit in tunnels where it may provide a way for emergency access or maintenance vehicles.

IVES track and measuring trolley.

Ballasting sleepers on a V-TRAS module.


PORRThe second track system under trial is the PORR

system, jointly developed by Austrian Railways (ÖBB) and Allgemeine Baugesellschaft A. Porr AG. Like the IVES units, this system relies on an accurately machine laid asphalt base on a 100mm Type 1 sub-base. However, the concrete modules of this system are significantly different. Each slab is five metres in length and weighs about five tonnes. They are only 150mm thick, however, and so they are slightly flexible.

Five jacking screws are incorporated into each unit, one in the centre and one towards each of the four corners. These are used to level the units approximately 80mm above the asphalt base. The flexibility of the modules allows them to twist and bend to accommodate some of the variation in rail alignment that may be required in track transitions, for example. Greater variations in alignment are dealt with by designing and casting modules with the necessary curvature and cross level variation built into them.

In each module there are two large windows, one towards each end. Once the module has been aligned and levelled correctly, self-levelling concrete is poured in through these windows to fill the void between the unit and the supporting asphalt. At Asfordby, the rails are supported and fastened in Vossloh assemblies, as with the IVES modules. However, plans are in hand for production of units using Pandrol Vipa housings as an alternative.

V-TRASIn all, the trial at Asfordby consists of 374 IVES modules

and 24 PORR slabs. These make up a total of 470 metres of track, with the PORR section roughly in the middle of two lengths of IVES modules.

The final trial consists of an eight metre long V-TRAS transition module (Vertical Transition Sytem) at the south tunnel portal. This is designed to avoid problems caused by a sudden change in track stiffness where ballasted and ballastless track meet. However, there may also be applications elsewhere, as for example where track problems have arisen at the transition between an embankment and an underbridge.

The module is essentially a steel ladder structure consisting of two steel beams with transverse support plates between them at intervals corresponding to the sleeper spacing. These carry resilient pads for the sleepers to sit upon. The plates have upturned ends to restrain the sleepers from lateral movement.

The installation at Asfordby has a cast in-situ concrete support block under the track at the start of the slab track. The one end of the V-TRAS module is supported on the outer end of this block whilst the remainder sits on the bottom ballast, under the sleepers it is to support. The track is packed or tamped through the V-TRAS unit in the normal way, but the stiffness of the ladder of steel ensures a gradual increase in the overall track stiffness through the length of the transition assembly.

Work is in hand to develop a pre-cast support block for the V-TRAS. This would still need to be placed on a smaller in-situ foundation slab, but the quantity of wet concrete work required would be reduced significantly with this option.

Common advantagesThe hope now is that the speed and ease of installation

of these track forms may considerably reduce not just the cost of the physical works, but also that of the necessary track access. The use of laser-guided machines to excavate the formation and to lay the sub-base and asphalt base has the potential to make this part of the work a rapid and efficient process. The minimal use of wet trades, particularly with the IVES system, also potentially contributes to speed and efficiency. Finally, the ability to drive rubber tyred vehicles over the completed slabs may have a further advantage, especially where site access is restricted.

Network Rail and its suppliers will now set out determinedly to see how they can make best use of the potential demonstrated here. The fact that the company has recently authorised a methodology for whole life costing and is in the process of integrating this into the company project management process gives grounds for real optimism that ballastless track may be something that we begin to see much more of in the future.

If that occurs, this project at Asfordby will not only have succeeded in its aims but have gone well beyond them. Its original remit was about sourcing innovative means of relaying track where there are gauge clearance issues. It should certainly meet that target as there is significant opportunity to lower the rail levels by using either the IVES or the PORR system. Should it also turn out to offer a route to cost effective track conversion, that would be a fantastic bonus for UK rail.

IVES track finished.

An IVES slab.


If there is one word that sums up the aims and aspirations of everyone working on the railway, it is reliability. Reliable timetables are adhered to, reliable trains don’t break down or get delayed, reliable infrastructure allows trains to pass as planned and reliable working practices are safe

ones.

So teams of engineers and designers are working throughout the industry to improve reliability. They are upgrading systems, checking processes and developing new technology - all largely out-of-sight.

One good example of this process in practice is the Class 91 locomotive. Owned by Eversholt Rail Group, a fleet of these locomotives has operated express passenger services on the East Coast main line (ECML) since 1991. Each one is operated in push-pull mode with nine Mk4 coaches and a driving van trailer (DVT) to form an IC225 train.

Intensive servicesThe ECML is an intensively-used route with

high average operating speeds and short headways. Much is only double tracked, so any failed locomotive quickly causes severe disruption as it blocks one of the lines. Even if recovered quickly, the operator can still incur high penalty charges as delays, diversions and service cancellations impact upon a number of train operators, both passenger and freight.

The Class 91 locomotive was designed and built with only one pantograph. Whenever the pantograph/overhead line system is damaged, a

visual examination is required, causing an initial delay. If the damage to the pantograph is serious and it can no longer be used, trains will be stranded, often without the ability to maintain essential on-board passenger amenities such as heating, ventilation and lighting.

To improve reliability, the trains’ operator, East Coast, undertook an exercise to quantify the costs of pantograph/overhead line system failures. This was compared with the cost of retrofitting the locomotive with a duplex pantograph which has two arms mounted on a single base plate. Pantograph manufacturer Brecknell-Willis had already developed such a system to provide built-in redundancy.

As a result of this analysis, Eversholt Rail agreed to fund the system design and a trial fit of one locomotive. After considering a number of proposals for management of this exercise, ESG was selected to be the installation designer and project manager. The actual fit would take place at Wabtec Rail in Doncaster during a planned overhaul.

Class 91 systemsintegration

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

91114 ‘Durham Cathedral’ in front of its namesake.


Why ESG?Today’s ESG takes its initials from the Engineering Support Group,

British Rail’s engineering team for its freight operations. Being freight orientated, ownership on privatisation passed to EWS and thence to DB Schenker.

However, as ESG and its subsidiary Railway Approvals Ltd work for a number of freight and passenger operators, it has kept its own identity and is managed at arms length by DB.

ESG managing director Martin Horsman was at pains to stress this. Sitting around his office table, which had once graced the offices of the Gloucester Carriage and Wagon Company, he explained the relationship with the parent company.

“People do ask about that,” he told The Rail Engineer. “They wonder how becoming part of Deutsche Bahn has affected the business, and whether our customers now see us as a potential competitor.

“The truth is that we are in no way connected with DB Schenker except at the highest level. ESG and Railway Approvals are part of DB Systemtechnik, the engineering and testing side of DB. Managing director Hans Peter Lang is also Deutsche Bahn’s chief technical officer.

“DB Systemtechnik carries out testing on railway vehicles and components at several sites in Germany, and also looks after customers’ fleets of rolling stock operation and maintenance. What they don’t do is project management and railway approvals - that’s what we do here at ESG. So while we are part of DB Systemtechnik, we do things that the German operations don’t.”

It’s a job that is becoming increasingly international. Of course, the UK is still the major market, with traditional engineering projects taking up a lot of the time, such as integrating new cab air-conditioning into existing trains. In addition, over the last 18 months, a significant amount of work has been undertaken advising on refranchising. ESG has evaluated options such as the cascading of fleets, general fleet strategy, depot improvements, environmental impact and the passenger experience.

But overseas markets are growing. In Australia, where there was no traditional DB presence, ESG and Railway Approvals are leading the push.

The competence of the 100-strong ESG team, which Martin Horsman calls “lean and mean”, was a major factor in the company’s selection to lead the duplex-pantograph project.

Demanding timescalesThe analysis of Class 91-related delays considered when a duplex

pantograph system would have reduced or eliminated these over the previous four and a half years. It was found that East Coast had accrued £970,000 of penalty payments over the period, while Network Rail had racked up £2.8 million.

Calculating the cost of developing and fitting a trial design to one locomotive (£719,000) and then retrofitting the fleet (£750,000) gave an overall payback period of 3.44 years, allowing for a 50% mitigation factor in case the duplex pantograph would not be effective in all cases.

To achieve the goals set by Eversholt Rail and East Coast, ESG was asked to deliver the project for a budget of £719,000 and within 54 weeks - from project award to dynamic testing.


Mechanical alterationsBrecknell-Willis’ design paired two

pantographs in an opposing configuration mounted on a single base frame. Each individual pantograph incorporated the improvements that had been made over the years of service on Class 91 locomotives. These included a Fast Acting Dropping Device (FADD), bonded carbons to increase the service life, and a chain guard which had been introduced to extend the chain’s serviceable life.

Although both pantographs were to be mounted on a single frame, the additional arm meant that significant alterations had to be made to the locomotive. ESG undertook the design for these and for modifications to the control and monitoring equipment.

As the new duplex pantograph was much longer when in the ‘down’ position than the original, the roof mouldings had to be reworked with a larger recess to accommodate this. ESG’s new design was optimised to reduce the build-up of foreign debris and snow and to disperse rain. It also included additional features such as an internal wire mesh screen and external strike plate to reduce the effects of electric and magnetic fields in the number two cab underneath.

The redesign of the roof necessitated alterations to the underlying structure. The main structural arch, an inverted C-channel, was replaced with a low profile beam assembly between the cantrails. This had to be carefully located as minimum clearances between the live pantograph and the access doorway into the number two end cab had to be respected.

All of these changes, which brought about a lowering of the cab roof, meant that ESG had to undertake an ergonomic assessment of the end cab internal area. The reduced roof height also resulted in a complete redesign of the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) system’s inlet and outlet configuration and the need to relocate and upgrade the cab lighting to a new LED system.

Is it up?Of course, the new duplex pantograph raised

its own challenges as it had to be integrated into the locomotive’s electrical control system. ESG developed a new complex logic control system, both for the locomotive and for the DVT. This introduced a new ‘pantograph status’ mimic panel to all three cabs which displays the status of each of the two pantographs to the driver displaying ‘Pan Up,’ ‘Pan Housed’ and ‘ADD.’

The new logic control uses opto-isolated circuits to pick up vehicle inputs, determine the status of each pantograph and output the correct logic sequence to illuminate the LED mimic panels with the current system status. New circuits convert the digital status signals to an Ethernet signal, communicate the data from the Class 91 to the DVT using the train’s existing Ethernet backbone, and then convert them back to a digital signal to drive the mimic panel.

The final element of the system integration was the Brecknell-Willis pneumatic control panel. Electrical inputs are used to activate solenoid valves to raise and lower the pantograph, and outputs from pressure switches are used as inputs to the logic control system to provide system status information and ADD functionality.

To test the new installation, a strategy was developed which would allow East Coast to demonstrate compatibility between the modified locomotive and the infrastructure. Significant elements of this included high-voltage testing of the new installation and in-service tests monitoring pantograph performance and uplift.

The basis of the compatibility argument is that the duplex pantograph is essentially two conventional pantographs mounted on the same base and that each behaves in a way that is equivalent to (if not slightly better than) the existing, well-proven design.

ESG did well to deliver this complex project, combining new technology with a 25-year-old locomotive, in the allotted time and to budget.

The duplex-pan Class 91 remains in passenger service, although retro-fitting of the entire fleet was put on hold pending new franchise agreements and a finalisation of the Department for Transport’s plans for the new Hitachi IET fleet. Meanwhile, valuable in-service data is being gathered and this is pointing to the new installation making a good contribution to overall train reliability.

Diffi cult brief?

Why not let us take a closer look.It’s the way we like it.

l Engineering Consultancyl Project Managementl Vehicle Systems Expertisel Rolling Stock Enhancementl PRM-TSI Specialistsl Fleet and Maintenance Strategyl Documentation and Datal Asset Value Maximisationl Franchising Supportl Approvals and Certifi cation

www.esg-rail.com 01332 483800 [email protected]


Diffi cult brief?

Why not let us take a closer look.It’s the way we like it.

l Engineering Consultancyl Project Managementl Vehicle Systems Expertisel Rolling Stock Enhancementl PRM-TSI Specialistsl Fleet and Maintenance Strategyl Documentation and Datal Asset Value Maximisationl Franchising Supportl Approvals and Certifi cation

www.esg-rail.com 01332 483800 [email protected]

One of the challenges faced by track engineers, both in the UK and around the world, is keeping the rail profile in good condition. Many studies have been undertaken to determine the interaction between rails and wheels, and all have determined that even small variations in rail profile can have an adverse effect on ride quality,

noise and wear rates which will exacerbate the problem.

The traditional method of treating rails to maintain the correct profile is by rail grinding. A special work train is fitted with a series of grinding wheels which restore the profile as the train passes along the track. These trains do a good job, but they don’t remove much material in one pass, so they often have to make several runs along the same section of track, and the grinding process produces dust and sparks. The former is sucked up using in-built ‘vacuum cleaner’ heads, while the latter can cause problems in tunnels where there is dry refuse alongside the track.

Rail milling has been the topic of a few articles in The Rail Engineer. This alternative method uses special milling cutters fitted with interchangeable tungsten-carbide tips. It is a quicker process as more material can be removed in one pass and, although swarf is generated, that often causes fewer problems than the dust and sparks.

The fact that a deeper cut can be taken can also be useful in removing surface defects and in re-profiling badly worn rail. However, the milling process can leave ‘facets’ in the surface - small flats left by each individual cutting tip - and most rail millers are also fitted with grinding systems just to restore a smooth surface finish.

One of the pioneers of the use of rail milling is Schweerbau. In its fleet, it even has a rail milling train built to London Underground tube clearances that has been used throughout the London Underground network.

Now, however, Schweerbau is working on two new processes. It has developed a way to speed up the milling process even further and, even more interestingly, it has developed a method which combines planing and milling.

Rotational planingThe first rail rotational planing train, the D-HOB 2500, went

into service with the German network operator DB Netz last year and a second-generation machine, D-HOB 2500 II, is under construction and will be operational in 2015.

The next steprotational planing

MAURICE VERHEIJEN


Rotational planing combines the characteristics of milling (accurate transverse profile) and planing (accurate longitudinal profile) into one single technique. Moreover, this new technology allows for a change of profile during the actual planing process. This way each rail can be machined independently with different transverse profiles, useful for anti-head-check profiles on high rails, and stock and switch rails in turnouts.

The rotational planing process uses a 1,400 mm diameter cutting wheel carrying 32 cartridges. The cartridges hold straight and curved planing blades and are arranged in such way that it follows the target contour of the rail head transverse profile, extending from 14mm below the gauge face of the rail all the way round to the field side of the rail.

The innovation is that each of the cutting tools performs a rotating movement combined with a short longitudinal movement (parallel to the running surface of the rail) at the moment when the cutting tools contact the rail. This longitudinal motion leaves a smooth finish, unlike the facets on a milled rail, removing the need for remedial grinding.

As the cutting depth can be varied from 0.2mm to 2.0mm, the new technology can be used both for regular maintenance of a good profile (preventative treatment) and for re-cutting the profile on damaged and/or worn track (corrective treatment). Furthermore, the ability to cut a different profile onto each rail allows the system to be used on almost every component of a set of switches or crossings. Set-up time from travel mode to working mode only takes a few minutes, and the accuracy to the set profile is within 0.1mm.

This low set-up time, together with the ability to remove so much material in one pass, really speeds up the time for the D-HOB 2500 to treat a section of track including S&C.

Deutsche Bahn has now approved the D-HOB 2500 for use on high speed lines where trains pass at up to 300kph.

The machine now under construction, the D-HOB 2500 II, uses the same rotational planing technology but has an added oscillating grinding system. This uses grinding stones that oscillate longitudinally, along the rail and as the train moves forward.

Due to the nature of the grinding system (it does not produce dust, smoke or fire) the new D-HOB 2500 II can be used for treatment of rails in tracks and S&C without the need for fire control and additional cleaning services. This offers major advantages, especially when working in tunnels.

Although the rotational planing leaves a good surface finish on the rail head, there are applications, such as in particularly-sensitive built-up areas, where the surface needs to be as smooth as possible to reduce noise. This the oscillating grinding technique does.

There are some areas of the German railway network where rail treatment is undertaken for acoustic reasons. In these areas, the oscillating grinding method is the only one approved for use since it can achieve the requirements of ISO 3095 and technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs) immediately after treatment.

The new train has a rotational planing section in one vehicle and the grinding in a second along with swarf and dust collection hoppers. The train will be propelled by power units (locomotives) suitable for the network it will be working on, and it can even be powered by battery locomotives. It meets the W6A and LU deep tunnel loading gauge requirements.

The need for speedAlthough conventional rail milling offers many advantages over rail

grinding, there are also some disadvantages. One is a minimum metal removal requirement while another one is the speeds at which milling can be undertaken. This is why, up to now, rail grinding has always been the preferred option for the preventative treatment of track and for maintaining the shape of rails. This so-called ‘little and often’ approach requires low metal removal combined with high output rates which is mainly achieved by an increase of the train speed during the grinding process.

For this reason, Scheerbau is building a second train - a high speed milling train (HSM). Most rail milling trains operate at speeds between 600 and 900 metres an hour and have limitations in running for longer periods due to the fact that the milling cutters need to be replaced regularly, a process which is typically undertaken during maintenance shifts.

The new Schweerbau HSM, which will also run for the first time at the end of this year, will be able to work at around 2,500 metres per hour. It uses two 1,400mm diameter cutting heads on each rail and these heads can be changed quickly, making it practical to exchange them during a working shift.

The HSM is a three-car unit and can run on-track at 100km/hr. It is built to both W6A and LU subsurface loading gauges so, sometime next year, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be seen out and about on the UK network.


Much of the UK’s rail infrastructure is now antique - with many assets well over 100 years old. Thankfully, there are teams of hardy souls working rain or shine to give them a new lease of life, as was the case with one particular Victorian viaduct just outside Durham.

The bridge is the Langley Moor viaduct, a riveted wrought-iron structure built in the nineteenth century to carry the line between Darlington and Durham over the River Deerness, a tributary of the River Wear. Today, that line is part of the East Coast main line (ECML) and the bridge is in use around the clock and by up to 15-20 trains per hour during peak periods.

Needs some lovingFollowing a review by Network Rail of the

condition of its assets up and down the ECML, the viaduct was identified as being in need of refurbishment The paint applied when it last received major maintenance over 30 years ago was aging visibly, with a risk that water could be getting to the corrosion-prone iron underneath.

Story Contracting, a specialist in bridge refurbishment and a principal contractor for Network Rail, was called in to assess the requirements and plan a programme of refurbishment works.

Wayne Grayson, protective coatings manager at Story Contracting said: “When we came to review the bridge it was clear that, while it was

still structurally sound, it was badly in need of some TLC. The previous coating system had been breached in places, particularly in areas around the brick-built piers and stone abutments at either end where water ingress was clearly a significant issue.”

The bridge has a total length of 120 metres in six spans with an overall depth of over four metres from soffit to parapet level, giving some idea of the scale of the challenge involved. Compounding these already demanding requirements was the rural setting of the bridge and the fact that the River Deerness is a salmon run. This special environmental factor coupled with the need to ensure that the trains could still run as normal across the viaduct meant extra vigilance was required when sealing off the structure from the outside environment

“Such was the scale of the project that we set out a seven-month programme, running from arrival at site in August 2013 to final clean up in March 2014, based on a six-day a week, mainly

daylight-hours working schedule,” Wayne added.

In common with many large bridge refurbishments, identifying access routes and suitable space for the work-site were also a challenge.

Working with Network Rail, Story Contracting negotiated an agreement with the owner of the land adjacent to the south end of the bridge to rent a portion of the field for the duration of the works. Thankfully, the relevant party was identified easily and was happy to co-operate with the teams once agreements for remediating the site at the end of the project were in place.

Suspended scaffoldTo ensure the bridge painting was carried out to

the highest standards, Story worked in partnership with local specialist contractor Pyeroy to complete

True grit


the project. The team at Pyeroy built out a scaffold from the southern end of the bridge - this was suspended from the structure rather than built up from the ground and covered in EnviroWrap protective sheeting - and worked their way across, grit blasting away existing paint and condition-monitoring the structure as they went.

Over the course of the refurbishment, more than 240 tonnes of waste - a combination of the paint and years of dirt that had built up on the bridge and the grit that was used to remove it - was cleared from the site. In order to comply with regulations, every piece of waste produced during the project had to be graded according to its content of toxic substances, such as lead, so that it could be disposed of safely and with minimal environmental impact. Every container leaving the site then needed to be logged so that every kilo was accounted for.

Pyeroy’s painting team followed on behind its blasting teams across the bridge, with the scaffold being dismantled behind them as sections were completed.

Wayne Grayson continued: “The cramped and enclosed conditions and the toxic nature of the materials coming off the bridge meant that positive-pressure breathing apparatus was required for the blasting and painting teams throughout, and decontamination procedures needed to be carefully followed to ensure high health and safety standards for everyone associated with the works.

“To ensure compliance with regulations around working conditions, shift times were closely controlled, and the temperature of the site

was carefully monitored, with heaters being used in the winter months and ventilation in the summer. While I won’t say it was exactly comfortable for guys, we did everything we could to minimise any discomfort, and the teams did a fantastic job.”

Painting by numbersThree different paint systems were used for

different sections of the bridge. Two different dry-application systems were used for areas subject to different levels of exposure, while a water-repellent paint that can be applied to a wet substrate was needed for the two ends of the bridge where water ingress from the existing Victorian block-work could not be avoided. In total, nearly 5,000 litres of paint were applied.

For the majority of the bridge, Sherwin Williams’ XM92-M24 system was used as it was suitable for the environment and had performed well on other schemes. In locations where water ingress was an issue, PPG Sigma Vikote 63 was used.

The third system - Scotchkote XM92/M24-187 from 3M - was used in areas that were exposed to the elements but which could only receive limited surface preparation. This product performs well at lower temperatures allowing works to be carried out where other systems may not.

Wayne was amused by one aspect of the job. “For many years, the bridge has been referred to around the local area as the ‘big black bridge’,” he explained. “But this will have to change now as the new paint job is in Network Rail’s ‘Holly Green’ - the standard colour for infrastructure in

a rural environment.“There is no denying

that the appearance of

the bridge is much improved, however, and the best thing is that, with regular maintenance, the high-tech coatings systems we have applied will protect a fine piece of Victorian engineering for at least another 25 years and probably much longer.”

East Coast Mainline frameworkThe Langley Moor project is part of a

framework agreement between Story Contracting and Network Rail to refurbish 26 bridges along the London North Eastern (LNE) route over a large geographical spread between Hitchin in Hertfordshire and Newcastle upon Tyne.

The majority of the sites were road under-bridges and over-bridges, but there were also four bridges over waterways - two over canals and two over rivers - one of which was Langley Moor.

As with Langley Moor, each project is assessed individually and a specific design solution developed to allow the work to be completed at minimum cost and with as little disruption to rail users and the general public as possible.

“Our aim is always to identify innovative means of managing and delivering the projects that will keep timescales and cost to a minimum while delivering high-quality results,” Wayne confirmed. “Working in a close and collaborative partnership with Network Rail, and with specialist support from Sherwin Williams, Pyeroy (painting) and Harrisons Engineering (steelwork repairs), the results have spoken for themselves with a package of works delivered under budget and to the originally mandated timescales.”

And that’s good news for the ‘big green bridge’.


In all recent pronouncements on new rail projects and technology, the one predominating feature is that nothing must be done that will compromise or worsen safety. Rail has an overall excellent safety record but there

have been (and still are) accidents that give a wake up call to everyone in the industry and especially to the persons and relatives involved.

Such is the importance of sharing the latest information that Rail Media stages an annual Rail Safety Summit, which this year was held in London on 28 April - perhaps appropriately at the Royal College of Physicians.

Participants came from all parts of the industry; regulatory, infrastructure, rolling stock and contractors. It was a rare opportunity to meet in a non-business environment and the event was chaired by Colin Wheeler, an expert on rail safety matters.

Lessons from the past, investigation and regulation

The early 1990s saw a succession of accident fatalities in the then S&T department of British Rail and Ken Burrage, the director of S&T engineering at the time, authorised

the making of a video ‘Dead Serious About Safety’ to bring home the awfulness of the situation and the heartbreak such incidents can cause.

An extract from the video showed how a technician was struck by a train on the Great Western main line but more poignantly, it also included the later interview with his widow and the impact the tragedy was to have on her and the family. This was a very brave lady to face the camera in the hope that what had happened to her could be a lesson to others who access the trackside on a daily basis.

Judging by the reaction of the audience, this video has the same impact today as when it was first shown.

More recent accidents (Hatfield, Southall, Ladbroke Grove) have prompted the establishing of the

Rail Accident Investigation Branch as an independent investigator of all but the most trivial of incidents. Its chief inspector - Carolyn Griffiths - advised that, since being set up in 2003, some 419 accidents have been investigated with 94% of the ensuing recommendations adopted.

The RAIB has ongoing concerns with the use of on track plant and the management of possessions, believing that revised methods of working are required. Better planning of train movements and improved advice on permitted speeds within a possession will be part of this, but technical solutions including use of the signalling system will be the real way forward

Important as the RAIB is, the actual regulation of rail safety is done by the Office of Rail Regulation. Anne O’Connor explained its broad order powers and objectives. The policy is now one of proactive inspections but action can be enforced if need be, ranging from Improvement Notices to prosecutions.

Safety firstthe number one priority

CLIVEKESSELL


The statistics show an improving trend except for trackworker safety, SPADs (signals passed at danger) and passenger risk, all of which were worsening. Close monitoring of Network Rail and TOC performance is carried out, strengths and weaknesses being checked on an annual basis. New challenges will be the introduction of ERTMS and climate change.

Industry perspectivesSo often, rail safety issues are

viewed in isolation and take no account of what is happening in other parts of the transport industry. Some engineering organisations work in many sectors. Amey is one of them and Mel Ewell, its chief executive, gave a forthright view of accident occurrences in general.

In a workforce of 35,000 people, accidents are decreasing but this is almost irrelevant as all incidents involve people. From the managing director downwards, there is a responsibility to work safely and this includes getting innovation into working practices. Target zero is the only possible target and running a business on ‘luck’ is not acceptable.

Interestingly, Amey’s road/motorway work has around five times as many accidents as the rail sector and this perhaps reflects the different methodology for undertaking projects. It seems almost normal to shut a main railway line completely at weekends or even longer when major upgrades are required but it would be unthinkable to close the M6 or M25 for the provision of additional lanes. Why the difference? Hundreds of people are affected by the disruption.

With all the talk of a seven-day railway, it must surely be the challenge to rail engineers to programme work efficiently, safely and economically without the need for lengthy blockades.

Network Rail is all too aware of the safety issues that continue to cause adverse impact and comment. Even blockades have their risks with many contractors and staff from different companies on the same site. The clamour to keep lines open whilst doing work on adjacent tracks, Adjacent Line Open (ALO), will be a major part of safety thinking in CP5 - so says Steve Featherstone, the Network Rail

programme director for track. Risks need to be fully evaluated,

including the speed of passing trains, the moving of plant, and the possibility of contact with electricity, so the use of technology to mitigate against these risks will be part of the thinking.

The use of GSM-R messaging and equipment to get away from flags, horns and detonators is to be progressed. Longer term aspirations aim to use the forthcoming Traffic Management Systems (TMS) and the development of a signal control warning system that can be retro-fitted at critical locations.

A new initiative, described by Allan Spence, Network Rail’s director of safety strategy, is the ‘Track Safety Alliance’. This aims to share best practice and will involve Network Rail, contractors, trade unions and local representatives. The idea is to devise new systems for track worker safety based around the 4Ps - People, Process, Plant and Place.

Real accidents will be reconstructed so that meaningful dialogue can take place. This is seen as more effective than briefings. A new role of Safe Work Leader will be introduced, similar to a COSS but responsible for

the planning and execution of work, equipped with a visual electronic map of the worksite and the eventual ability to issue ‘e-permits’ that require staff to swipe in and out.

The passenger perspectiveWhilst trackside workers’ safety

is all important, it must never be forgotten that keeping our customers safe, the passengers, is the number one objective. Managing passenger behaviour is a significant challenge and David Statham from First Capital Connect told of some measures recently introduced.

A 20% increase in major injuries has occurred in the last three years and influencing millions of people to take more care is not easy. The usual slips, trips and falls can be minimised by better surfaces but these will not stop passengers from continuing bad habits - running for trains, joining when the doors are closing, being trapped in doors, and standing too close to the platform edge. How many of us are guilty of any of these?

A poster campaign advising of these hazards initially proved unsuccessful and customers were either unaware or took no notice. Why one asks? An investigation showed the need to:


» Locate messages where the activity takes place;

» Avoid negative language; » Think carefully on the dwell time

logistics at stations; » Draw people to the message with

an element of humour; » Unify the look and feel of all safety

messages; » Use multi-media - YouTube is

already up and running.From this analysis the character ‘Ed

Tickett’ has emerged, portrayed in picture and using reconstructed actual incidents. Since this revision, the accident rate has fallen in combination with work to provide gap stickers, improved platform lining, better coping stones, anti-slip vestibules and the early clearing of information screens before departure.

Human factorsDo we properly understand

why people have accidents? This question exists for all industries and a government study shows worrying trends. 75% of adults are overweight or obese, 1 in 4 of the population will be over 65 by 2050, 20% of motorway accidents are caused by drivers falling asleep and lifestyle habits are a significant cause of accidents.

John Abbott from RSSB and Stuart Spriggs from VolkerRail gave the details for rail: absenteeism costs £320 million per annum - stress is the single major cause. 82% of absenteeism is due to health issues with 18% relating to safety incidents. Fatigue was the cause of 74 RAIB-investigated incidents since 2001.

So how should the industry combat this? A route map is under development whereby everyone takes responsibility for health and safety. It will focus on collaborative working and the sharing of best practice, keeping things simple while realising that one size does not fit all, making evidence-based decisions, and cost effectiveness.

Guidelines from all of this will be issued in due course. The Working Time Directive has its place but more local control may help. Lodging, rest breaks in shifts, the use of local gangs and making adjustments to shift patterns will all feature in improving the human failure risks.

Technical initiativesUsing technology to improve

trackside safety has been touched upon but what does it mean? The company Mission Room has devised a 3D video room built upon a portable ‘tent’ that gives a 360º image of a work site, thus enabling supervisors and workers to better ‘feel’ the prevailing conditions and risks before work starts.

Learning safety lessons is important and capturing events on a time-lapse film to record the progression of work on site can be a valuable asset in analysing any incident. Inside Out Timelapse Productions, based in Nottingham, has specialised in the production of such films and representatives were on hand in the networking area holding discussions with delegates.

Having a greenfield railway will always be an advantage but Crossrail is a bit different to most. The ability to design-in safety from the outset enables all risks to be properly assessed and suitable technical tools to be determined. However, as Crossrail H&S manager Darren Selman noted, affordability has also to be a factor.

Moving forwardThis Safety Summit contained

some important messages. Everyone in the industry knows that safety is important but getting the right focus remains a challenge. Commitment from the managing director downwards is essential, but recognising this from within a board room is not necessarily easy.

Many new factors emerged during the day and the opportunity to convey these was welcome. Unfortunately in the public eye, health and safety is often derided and the rail sector must be careful to recognise and rein back the demands that sometimes originate from zealots.

Over specification of PPE may be an example - do we really need to insist on safety glasses for everyone trackside at all times? The wrong PPE may just worsen the visibility and movement of persons and thus impair their safety.

The industry is moving in the right direction, it must be aware of what other industries are doing and it must avoid imposing safety measures that are not only seen as silly but can endanger the whole ethos.

We look forward to next year’s update.

Ask the panel:Mel Ewell, Anna O’Connor, Colin Wheeler, Ken Burrage, Carolyn Griffiths.


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Rail Live 2014. It’s a new name but it does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a rail exhibition, it’s live – with moving demonstrations on display – and it’s on 18/19 June 2014.

Following on from last year’s highly successful National Track Plant Exhibition, Rail Live 2014 now includes signalling, telecoms, electrification and asset management as well as track plant. It will be a busy show with around 300 exhibitors and over 4,500 attendees.

So what will visitors notice about Rail Live 2014? Well, to start with, it is outdoors. Rail Live has taken over 150 acres of the Rail Alliance’s base at Long Marston, near Stratford-upon-Avon, the UK’s largest storage facility. Over 6km of railway sidings will be used to show off a wide range of the industry’s largest machines – there will be three Kirow cranes on-site, for example.

Between the tracks, 300 of the industry’s major players and suppliers will have set up equipment, tents, level crossing gates, signal heads, track panels and all the paraphernalia needed to show off their latest technology. Network Rail alone will have 18 different stands, with all areas of the business represented and presenting the latest in railway technology.


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Network Rail out in forceThe Signalling Innovation Group will be there, ready to talk with visitors

about everything from train-borne asset surveys and class II signalling power supplies to low-maintenance signals. In addition, its ‘Innovation Play Pen’ area will give visitors the opportunity to ‘play’ with the equipment and ask questions. The intention is to install: » Lightweight cable route constructed using various products; » Multi-duct UTX/URX; » Different types shapes and sizes of apparatus cases fixed to a variety of

foundations including FRP staging; » Plug and play cabling and dis boxes; » Low maintenance signals which can be lifted and dropped; » Level crossing obstacle detection and enforcement systems; » Modular signalling equipment.

Network Rail Telecoms will have some of its latest kit on display as will Technical Services, which has been doing work on level crossings recently.

The electrification demonstration, organised by the ABCK partnership and Network Rail’s overhead conditional renewals (OCR) team, will be an exciting opportunity to witness work up close. Visitors will be able to see one of OCR’s high output wiring trains which are being used weekly on the highly successful Great Eastern OLE renewals project and are soon to start on the phase 2c package of works in Manchester.

The train’s capacity has been enhanced with the OCR only taking delivery this month of a new ‘Zeck’ payout and recovery unit which is capable of running contact and catenary wire at the same time. This will further reduce the amount of time required, as a complete tension length can be run in one pass instead of two. The unit is also capable of paying out RC, ATF and earth wires.

Out on the track, SB Rail’s Kirow 250 will be doing a piling demonstration, while Balfour Beatty Rail will be showing a Kirow 810 and Colas Rail a Kirow 1200. Balfour Beatty will also have its New Track Construction (NTC) train on site.

And that’s not all. A stoneblower will be making an appearance, as will a plain-line pattern-recognition vehicle, an OLE wiring train, a new rail delivery and recovery train and a new 09 4x4/4S dynamic tamper.

For those who need even more, the Network Rail helicopter will be flying in. Used for inspecting everything from point heaters to fencing, it is an invaluable piece of machinery and well worth checking out.

Inside the main conference marquee, a series of speeches and presentations will be presenting the industry’s latest thinking to the exhibition’s visitors. Keynote speeches from Pete Waterman and Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin will be complemented by talks on the main Network Rail programmes for CP5 - signalling (Mark Southwell), track (Steve Featherstone) and electrification (Saleem Mohammad). Then there will be further presentations on topics as wide ranging as product approvals, funding, innovation and the supply chain (Nick Elliott – the new managing director of the national supply chain).

Plant galoreBut the heart of the show will be the exhibitors, drawn from all sizes of

suppliers from the very large to family-owned concerns. Many have entered into the spirit of Rail Live and will be showing their equipment working, so there will be plenty for visitors to see.

A variety of excavators and other earthmoving plant will be put through their paces. However, they are all useless without the correct attachments. Sandhurst Rail will be at Long Marston with a comprehensive range of excavator mounted rail attachments available for hire from its nationwide rental fleet.

Amongst attachments on display will be a rail lifting beam, rail thimbles, hydraulic breaker, compactor, tilt bucket, sleeper grapple, low headroom clamshell, rock wheel and a post manipulator for manoeuvring various material including ‘H’ section stanchions. This will be mounted on an RRV, allowing efficient positioning of various signal posts, poles and steel section. Manipulators have vertical and horizontal rotation which, used with the excavator crowd ram, allow manoeuvring through any angle.

A second RRV, this time fitted with a powerful ‘Max’ Earth Drill, offers a unique drilling solution for tough terrain and is expected to appeal to contracting companies tackling electrification projects and signal work across the country. At a recent job drilling in hard sandstone in the North West, the Sandhurst Max auger drilled stanchion bases at 14 times the speed of existing auger equipment.

Safe workingSafety, and safer methods of working, will again be to the fore. Innovative

Railway Safety will be demonstrating the RSS magnetic safety barrier and showing how 100 metres can be erected in 15 minutes. They are likely to be tired after two days of that!

Meanwhile Schweizer Electronic, manufacturer of track warning systems and level crossings, will be launching Minimel Lynx, a mobile track warning system ideal for patrolling and short worksites.

Imtech Traffic & Infra will demonstrate a stand-alone user-worked level crossing solution based on commercial off-the-shelf technologies adapted and integrated for use in the railway environment. The result is not only modular, scalable and cost effective, it is based on technologies that have been tried and tested.

Signals and cablesDeveloped by Network Rail in collaboration with Westermo and others, the

Wireless Distant Signal is designed and engineered for rural areas where there is no infrastructure for either power or communications. Using fuel cells to provide the power and radio to provide the communications between distant signal and REB, this demonstrates both sustainability and cost effectiveness.

To help keep track of all those cables, Kroy will be demonstrating its innovative, cost effective printing systems and supplies for the in-house production of labels, cable identification, depot, track and location signs, amd QR code labels for asset tracking.


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Track possessionsIntended to keep noise down in night-time possessions, Rentavent will be

demonstrating its innovative, quickly-erected noise enclosure for use when replacing chair screws and cutting rail. The enclosure, which will be seen in action, takes 10 minutes to erect and is portable and effective.

Talking of rail cutting, the world’s first automatic rail disc saw is Network Rail approved. The Cembre Robokatta allows the operator to be away from the machine so minimising exposure to vibration, dust, sparks and fumes. Further along the demonstration track, visitors will be shown how Cembre Pandrol clip machines have advanced to the next level of performance and convenience.

Still on track, Interflon will be demonstrating its newly approved fish-plate lubricant and applicator. The company will also be showing dry-film switch plate lubricant along with the its approved Simalube lubricator cartridges - both withstand hostile weather and sand/coal contamination.

To lengthen the life of railway sleepers, DWG will be demonstrating its high-performance rapid-cure timber and concrete life extension and maintenance products. Spikefast is used on timber and is cured and can be drilled in 20 minutes while Fastpatch LV, for sleeper repairs and replacing housings, is at full strength after one hour.

Clever working‘Access for All’ lifts, platform extensions, station upgrades, footbridges,

and all other rail-related structures have one thing in common - they need foundations which are constructed in challenging access situations. Roger Bullivant will demonstrate foundation ‘design and construct’ techniques, systems and products for achieving the impossible, safely and cost-effectively.

Aspin now has a a Gayk HRE 1000 which can enhance the delivery of projects in a civils environment. This machine offers the ability to work on embankments in a safe and secure manner while installing such as king post walls.

All of this new tackle is no good unless it can be taken to site quickly and put to work. That is just what Aquarius 4x4 highway-based road-rail vehicles can offer, transporting personnel and equipment including small plant, cables and fencing. The vehicles can also be used for track inspection, scanning and surveying, and rail welding. They are versatile indeed!

Larger road vehicles will be on site courtesy of Keyline. One of its 28-tonne delivery trucks will be at the show, filled with some of the company’s rail-approved products. These will include Terram and Concrete Canvas, as well as products by Cubis and Polypipe. Keyline’s dedicated rail team will be on-hand to talk through the company’s products and services.

Fuel contamination can be a problem for operators of any vehicle. Demonstrations of understanding fuel contamination and how to deal with it will be shown on The Tankbusters’ stand. Find out why additives are not the answer.

Vegetation control is an important area at this time of year. Capel Vegetation Management offers a complete package of works from start to finish, from scoping to eco-survey to planning and delivering clearance of vegetation. Capel’s exhibit will show its newest machinery - rail mounted chippers and log grabs as well as RRV tractors with various attachments.

Land speed record attemptGabriel Uttley has assembled a 24 strong team of experts to design and

build a machine capable of bringing the world speed record on two wheels to Britain - and they have virtually built the machine. Capable of 120mph in the first of six gears it will cover six miles from rest in about 90 seconds and will reach at least 400mph, well above of the current 376.363 mph world record.

Gabriel, who will ride the machine, has welded together a team of enthusiastic specialists in engine design, fuels, aero dynamics, stress analysis, fluid dynamics, and composite materials together with the necessary administration to produce this super bike. The 2272cc square 8 engine is based on two Honda Blackbird blocks. It is supercharged and will produce over 650 bhp at 10500 rpm. The bike runs on solid tyres, metal in front and rubber behind and braking is by twin rear wheel discs and two parachutes.

For fairly obvious reasons, Gabriel has christened the project “The Angelic Bulldog”.

What has that to do with a railway engineering show? Well, Gabriel will be on hand, together with a 6.5 metre long model, to discuss it at the SRS Rail System International stand - so go and meet the team trying to bring another record back to Britain.

All this and networking tooWith nearly 5,000 people attending when exhibitors and speakers are

taken into account, there will be plenty of opportunities to bump into long-lost contacts and to make new acquaintances.

The industry’s favourite railway engineering magazine will be on hand so visitors can meet the people who create it. Have a look at the new iPad edition - it’s free!

A host of Network Rail engineers and managers will be on site, along with nearly every supplier and contractor you can think of. Long Marston really will be the place to be for two days - if you don’t go you’ll regret it.

See you there!

To apply for a free ticket, visit www.raillive2014.com. There is no charge to attend, but as it is a live demonstration site all visitors must wear full PPE (Hard hats, full high-viz tops and trousers, safety boots and glasses, and gloves.


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The railway supply industry gathered at Earls Court 2 for the last time recently for the tenth Infrarail exhibition. Billed as the ‘International Railway Infrastructure Exhibition’, Infrarail alternates with its sister Railtex – which is more about the whole railway and not primarily

infrastructure.

The bi-annual show will be moving after this as the Earls Court site will be redeveloped for housing. Still, Infrarail put on a good show as over 200 exhibitors displayed new products and services – aided by a new section of the show (or even a stand-alone co-located show) called CITE – the Civil Infrastructure and Technology Exhibition. Although more general in nature, CITE exhibitors were still interesting to railway-based visitors as much of the technology crossed over.

With visitor numbers for Infrarail alone reported to be about 13% up on two years ago, the show was also very busy and didn’t slow down until well into the afternoon of the third day

Industry speakersAs usual, there was more to see than the

exhibition stands, interesting though those were. A programme of talks, presentations and discussions was headlined by a keynote speaker on each day.

Perhaps the most surreal was Wednesday’s talk on Network Rail’s challenges and opportunities in CP5. It was presented by Simon Kirby – two days after he actually left the company and joined HS2 Ltd. However, apart from a reference to not knowing which VIP badge he should be wearing, listeners wouldn’t have known. It was a polished performance in which Simon stressed that Network Rail would be getting on with the job by having the vast majority of the workbank placed by mid-summer.

All of those major contracts will see work pushed down to smaller suppliers, around 40% of Network Rail’s vast budget ends up with second or even third tier suppliers, so there was naturally plenty of interest from those who hope to benefit.

Baroness Kramer, Minister of State for Transport, opened the show on Tuesday and gave a talk that was surprisingly interesting for a politician – it actually had some content! For

example, she stated: “One of the problems the rail industry has had in this country is stop-start investment. Big maintenance and upgrade programmes followed by periods of inactivity. That makes it very difficult for the supply chain to plan ahead, and grow in a steady way. So we’re planning a pipeline of future funding that will meet the country’s long-term needs – and provide a sustained boost to the industry.” Welcome news indeed.

Clare Moriarty, director general of the Rail Executive, talked a lot about franchising as well as the delivery of major rail projects and cross-industry leadership. As the leading civil servant in the Department of Transport with a direct responsibility for rail (she has a colleague who specifically looks after HS2), Clare works closely with the industry and her opposite number in the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills.

As usual, The Rail Engineer had organised a full programme of presentations by industry figures and exhibitors. Balfour Beatty Rail managing director Mark Bullock started the sessions off with an interesting talk on collaboration. This is increasingly becoming part of normal business practice in the industry, indeed over

Infrarail success

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70% of Balfour Beatty Rail’s contracts are being executed through alliancing or collaborative relationships, and Mark gave three examples from his own experience.

Track Partnership – Balfour Beatty Rail working with London Underground – undertakes vital track renewal and drainage works on London’s network while the Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace Capacity Improvement project (F2A) was among the first rail projects to demonstrate compliance to BS11000, the national standard for collaborative working.

Going forward, a collaborative supplier community is being formed to share best practice and lessons learnt to deliver the National Electrification Programme - the most ambitious programme of national electrification in a generation.

Simon Rhoden, Amey’s head of electrification, picked up on that theme and talked about the new high output electrification train being delivered by Windhoff to a Network Rail specification. It will be operated by Amey, as will another of the railway’s acronyms – the HOOB. It’s the high output operational base, in case you didn’t know, and it is taking shape near Swindon.

All of this activity means that the industry needs a team of well-trained men and women to fulfil a multitude of roles. And it is an industry-wide problem, so a mixed (even collaborative) team addressed this problem in another session. Patricia Holgate and James Lloyd from Transport for London outlined the success of the Royal Greenwich UTC (University Technical College) where 14-19 year olds can gain technical qualifications to boost their job prospects and meet the growing demand for rail industry workers.

To emphasise the cross-industry nature of the project, the TfL team was joined by Bill Templeton, head of education programmes at Network Rail, and Lord Baker of Dorking. The former Conservative minister is the founder of

the Baker Dearing Trust which was set up to promote the establishment of University Technical Colleges in England as part of the free school programme.

Crossrail is the industry’s largest project currently under construction, and it will be signalled using CBTC (communications-based train control) in the core tunnels and ERTMS (European rail traffic management system) above ground out to Reading. Siemens Rail Automation will be supplying both systems, so commercial director William Wilson’s talk on just those topics was a good draw.

Looking forward to the next big project, Tim Smart, head of engineering and operations for HS2, spoke on how HS2 would be built using lessons learned from HS1. Although separated


by nearly 20 years, many of the engineering principles of building a high-speed line in the UK will still apply and Tim, with his involvement in both projects, was ideally placed to compare the two in a fascinating presentation.

Discussions and projectsIn addition to the aforementioned major

speakers, there were several project updates from Network Rail. These covered the Northern Hub, electrification and Thameslink, while London Underground weighed in with presentations on its Northern line extension and lean transformation programme.

There were also a couple of Platform discussions on topics including sustainability and procurement. These gave visitors to the show the opportunity to not only hear from experts in these fields but to debate issues with them.

Exhibitors on trackHowever, the main emphasis of the show

was naturally the displays and exhibits from the large number of exhibitors. Some had fancy bespoke stands, others were in regimented shell schemes, but all contained interesting new products, innovations and examples of those bits of the railway that tend to be overlooked. This article cannot hope to cover all 250, but here are a few that caught the eye.

Most obvious were the two track panels supplied by Tata Steel, on which several other exhibitors had perched their products. The rails sat proudly on bright-blue steel sleepers, for which Tata also supplies the raw material, and one was fitted with SilentTrack – sound deadening blocks which are widely used in Europe. It was all spotless – much polishing had been done late into the Monday night (well done Karen!). Daniel Pyke enthused about SilentBlock, and several other Tata products, in a presentation on Thursday.

DWG, with support from manufacturer Willamette Valley Corporation of Eugene, Oregon (WVCO) were showing off Spikefast, a great way to repair wooden sleepers, and also a similar product for fixing cracked concrete. Mike Land and Jon Murray had made the trip over the sea for the show, and were very pleased with the response they had.

Still on a rail theme, QHi Rail was showing the new addition to its lubricator portfolio, the Electro 6. This product is a hybrid unit combining mechanical and electrical rail lubricator technology in the same unit. There was a very positive response to this new concept which delivers high-end accuracy at a lower cost. Tony Whittingham, sales director, reported that there was a steady throughput of rail personnel and QHi will certainly benefit from many new contacts both inside and outside the UK.

Drains and culvertsWith the recent spate of floods, soggy

earthworks and generally bad weather, there was much interest in suppliers of drainage systems. One of these, Demco, is a specialist UK rail drainage pipework manufacturer with 30 years of expertise. Its stand featured Terraline™ and Terradrain™ pipe, a range purposely designed for ‘shallow dig under track’ installation whilst meeting the 60 year specified product life requirement. The pipes feature an innovative jointing system with diameters ranging from 110mm up to 630mm, enabling clients to hit tough possession times.

Peter Harris, Demco’s national business development manager, was very happy with Infrarail. “The show for us was a super platform to talk to our client base and to introduce ourselves to new clients, both domestically and internationally,” he stated afterwards.

Fosroc opted for a stand in the CITE section to promote the company’s involvement in supplying construction materials, which range from adhesives and chemicals to bridge beams and culverts, to a wide range of infrastructure projects, as demonstrated in its eye-catching cityscape model. However, footfall came mainly from Infrarail visitors with enquiries ranging from supply chain meetings with Tier 1 contractors in London to detailed designs and contacts obtained for international projects.

Marketing coordinator Sandra Westbrook commented that the exhibition was a great opportunity to meet people Fosroc have been dealing with indirectly in the rail industry. The team also established contact with others who had heard of Fosroc but were not aware of the wide range of products and project support on offer, from specification through to on-site training. People from a range of professions made a beeline to the stand to discuss projects and, as a global company, Fosroc was able to meet, not only UK customers such as Network Rail and TFL, but international trade consultants and others from across the world.

Shining a light on lubricants and enclosuresLighting specialists Abacus had one of the

taller stands at the show. The debut of the new Dual Hinged Mast on its stand received positive reviews. The new product looks set to stand alongside and complement the company’s Raise and Lower Columns at more stations in the future, and visitors to Infrarail were also able to take a closer look at those proven designs with live demonstrations taking place throughout the day. Discussions surrounding counterbalance use and the importance of regular maintenance were a key focus.

Abacus’ recent success at Reading Depot featured heavily with LED Quartz bollards lighting the way to the Abacus stand. An Apollo LED lighting luminaire, suitable for road, rail, open area and amenity applications, was mounted on a Raise and Lower Column to highlight the ease at which luminaires can be safely maintained at ground level.

FUCHS, the world’s largest independent lubricant manufacturer, showcased its specialist greases and lubricants for the rail industry. One key range on show was the technologically advanced, high performance LUBRITECH portfolio, which includes products for rail heads, buffer plates and switching points.

Bill Diggins, LUBRITECH specialist, said: “Infrarail has been great for FUCHS this year. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to catch up with our existing contacts, as well as developing relationships with potentially new customers. We’ve had good footfall at our stand and have gained some really exciting leads from the show.”

Regular exhibitor Henry Williams is a traditional rail company with over 130 years of service to the railway. It has a diverse range of products and services ranging from power distribution through signalling panels, location cases and wired REBs to track products and gauges. Its 10,000 square meter facility in Darlington manufactures upset and drop forged products in a range of metals, as well as fabricate enclosures, parapets and structures in steels and aluminium.


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At the tenth Infrarail, Henry Williams chose to showcase its SafeBoxes range of Class II signalling switchgear, which included an REB solution and remote extensions. Also on show was a new metric fishplate range. This is an extension to the existing range of over 400 fishplate designs and is intended to be used with all rail types including European and even South American rail sections.

Richard Andrews, marketing services manager of enclosures manufacturer Rittal, was another happy exhibitor. “It was a really good show for us and we’ve received lots of positive feedback from our visitors. We were consistently busy and we’ve had a lot of quality leads from people with real projects. The exhibition pulled in a wide audience providing a good fit for our market and seems to serve us well in terms of leads. In addition to the visitors to our stand we enjoyed the varied speaker program - which all seemed very well attended.”

Exhibitor presentationsSeveral exhibitors took part in those

presentations. Chris Marshman of York EMC Services gave an informative and entertaining talk on the problems of electromagnetic compatibility – a growing area of interest as more and more of the network is electrified.

At the same time, on the York EMC stand, consulting EMC Engineer Eva Karadimou presented a Poster entitled ‘Test of Rolling Stock Electromagnetic Compatibility for Cross-Domain Interoperability (TREND)’. The poster presented the Aims, Activities and Conclusions of the EU 7th Framework Programme consortiums research which was completed in May 2014.

Of particular interest to rail engineers at the show was a conclusion from York EMC Services’ TREND research which showed the use of a

reverberation chamber as a representative environment to test and evaluate an experimental setup of pantograph arching.

On the first day of the show, Graham Bellman of Keyline explained to a captivated audience how better lights and mirrors could improve pedestrian and cyclist safety around vehicles.

The following day, Mark Johnson, technical director of Variable Message Signs, detailed how route indicators are used, in conjunction with other types of signals, to provide drivers with routing information by displaying combinations of alphanumeric aspects. VMS has used its extensive experience in optical and electronic engineering obtained from designing signals for European road networks and applied this to rail signalling.

John Vaines, managing director of Diamond Point International Europe, outlined the difficulties of fitting data collection equipment to trains ‘of a certain age’. This information can then be used to predict likely failure so that maintenance and support departments can plan to resolve these issues before they become critical.

Diamond Point International helps train and network operators install the latest technology to collect data, detect issues and create the infrastructure to deliver this data for both track and train defects.

The Omnia Group works with Italian OLE manufacturer Bonomi. Brian and Jon Cullum looked at the changes that have come to the modern railway and how these influence OLE infrastructure. They went through all the costs that need to be factored in and how the Omnia Cantilever addresses these. They also looked, not only at the current state of play, but also at the lessons of the past and potentials of the future.

Railtex nextSo that was Infrarail - too much to list here.

There was networking and expensive coffee. This year’s Gioconda squidgy train is black – it has been added to the office collection. Various pens, USB sticks, note pads and other freebies were well received by visitors. And everyone seemed to be clutching several carrier bags (the Rail Media ones were transparent, allowing the beauty of The Rail Engineer cover to shine through).

Rail Media was also there to show off the new iPad edition of your favourite railway engineering magazine – so make sure you get your own from the Newstand in the App Store.

A couple of stands away, colleagues from RailwayPeople.com were running the recruitment wall. Every exhibitor could display up to ten vacancies for the duration of the show. Not all did – but many filled the ones they had.

An awards evening on Wednesday night, complete with footballing stories from Kevin Keegan, resulted in awards for GGR Rail, Trough-Tec Systems, iSeeU Global, Wireless CCTV, FT Transformers, Linbrooke Services, DWG, Imtech and dBD Communications. Well done all, and thanks to Quattro for inviting The Rail Engineer to the event.

Looking back at the show a day later, Infrarail exhibition manager Heidi Cotsworth said: “This was the busiest Infrarail to date. Over 200 exhibitors, thousands of visitors from around the world, innovations, industry leaders, supporting events and keynote addresses made Infrarail 2014 such a success. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to and supported it, and to congratulate the winners of the Infrarail Awards.

“Planning is now under way for Railtex 2015 which will take place from 12-14 May at the NEC in Birmingham.”

See you all there!


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Documents

The Rail Engineer - Issue 116 - June 2014