Upgrading London's Railways

Upgrading London’s Railways In association with

FREE 32page guide

■ ■ ■ ■

Tube upgrade Crossrail TfL’s Orbital railway Thameslink

CONTENTS

London’s railways W

elcome to your FREE 32-page supplement looking at the massive upgrade of London’s rail network.

It is appropriate that this should be published during January 2013, the 150th anniversary of the opening of the London Underground. For while the major heavy rail schemes such as Crossrail and Thameslink have (quite rightly) caught the eye of the public, the Tube is also undergoing the biggest capacity increase it has ever seen.

Air-conditioned trains are now in use on all Metropolitan Line trains and are being introduced on the Hammersmith & City Line, while the Circle and District Lines will be home to new S-Stock trains. When delivered,

Editorial Managing Editor: Nigel Harris Features Editor: Richard Clinnick News and Features Writer: Paul Prentice Production Manager: Mandy Brett Production Editor: Mike Wright Sub Editor: David Brown Art Editor: Emma Frost Managing Director: Tim Lucas

Advertising/Marketing Commerical Director: Sarah Crown Group Advertisment Manager: Karen Gardiner Senior Sales Exec: Sally King Printer: St Ives (Peterborough) Ltd. Distribution: Frontline, Midgate House, Midgate, Peterborough, PE1 1TN

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there will be 191 S-Stock trains costing a total of £1.5 billion - a quarter of the cost of Thameslink!

Speaking of Thameslink, we have focused on the work planned at London Bridge, with the capital’s oldest railway station transformed as part of the project. Network Rail is currently halfway through this huge scheme that will see 24 trains per hour pass through Victorian tunnels, linking the likes of Cambridge, Peterborough and Bedford with East Croydon, Brighton and other South Coast destinations.

Then there’s Crossrail, a £14.8 billion project that is currently Europe’s largest construction project. When complete, it will link key parts of London, allowing better connectivity not only between the east and west of the city, but also

further afield.

Linking London is the Overground, which in December 2012 finally became a complete Orbital railway with the transfer of the South London Line to London Overground, and the opening of the chord from Surrey Quays linking the SLL with the East London Line.

Already London Overground has been transformed, with new trains that have seen reliability soar. We look at how that was achieved, and ask what the future holds.

There is a lot going on in London, so enjoy this FREE supplement, the first of many RAIL is planning this year.

Richard Clinnick RAIL Features Editor

Led by LU 21076, one of the 58 eight-car S-Stock trains in use on the Metropolitan Line enters Harrow-onthe-Hill to form a southbound service on October 25 2012. ANTONY CHRISTIE.

4 Tube upgrade RICHARD CLINNICK looks at the multibillion-pound upgrade of the London Underground network, and talks to PETER DOOLIN, the man charged with delivering 191 brand new air-conditioned Tube trains.

12 Crossrail connections PAUL PRENTICE speaks to Crossrail Chairman TERRY MORGAN about the £14.8 billion project, and brings you up-to-date with progress on the project.

18 London’s Orbital railway PAUL PRENTICE reports on the ambitious, and ultimately successful, Transport for London plan to create an orbital railway that was finally completed in December 2012.

26 London Bridge is building up…

RICHARD CLINNICK reports on the plans to transform London Bridge, to enable 88 trains per hour to pass through the station during the peak period. It will be a mammoth task!

Upgrading London’s railways

3

TUBE UPGRADE

A breath of fresh air

New air-conditioned trains are in the vanguard of London Underground’s massive modernisation programme. RICHARD CLINNICK reports

A

s London Underground, the world’s oldest metro system, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first trains running on the Metropolitan Line, work is ongoing to complete an extensive upgrade of the system’s rolling stock and signalling.

The initiatives will enable ‘the Tube’ to continue to meet the modern demands of a metro that is one of the busiest in the world, carrying more than four million passengers every day.

The 191 ultra-modern air-conditioned Bombardier Movia metro trains that are being introduced are a far cry from the steam trains that transported the earliest passengers, and even the more recent stock they are replacing.

They are designed to provide passengers with a vastly improved travelling experience.

Bombardier has already delivered 47 new eight-car trains for the Victoria Line. These have been phased into traffic over two years, and are now settled in to service, recording high reliability levels of 80,000 miles per

casualty (MPC).

From this month 33 trains per hour can now operate on the Victoria Line, the equivalent of 10,000 extra passengers per hour.

A new overlay Signalling System and Control Centre has also been installed.

The sub-surface line (SSL) fleet will feature 133 seven-car ‘S7’ trains and 58 ‘S8’ eightcar trains. The latter are all in traffic, and deliveries of the former are well underway.

Like the Victoria Line trains, they are part of the Bombardier Movia metro family.

When it is completed on the sub-surface lines, the renewal work is expected to generate a significant increase in capacity, thanks to a faster and larger fleet, a new signalling and service control centre, and upgraded infrastructure.

Transport for London believes that modernisation of the Tube network will lead to a massive increase in capacity on its lines. The highest increase will be on the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines (a 65% increase by 2020) and the Metropolitan Line (27%).

It’s not only the trains that have been revamped, some stations have been as well. One such location is Blackfriars, where the Underground station was rebuilt as part of the heavy rail station redevelopment for the Thameslink scheme. On February 24 2012, a District Line train bound for Richmond passes Blackfrairs.

JACK BOSKETT/RAIL.

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Upgrading London’s railways

A very visual aspect of the multibillion-pound Tube upgrade is the fleet of 191 S-Stock trains.

Already they are in squadron use on the Metropolitan Line, and are now being introduced on the Hammersmith & City Line, followed by the Circle Line this year, and the District Line next year. On March 28 2012, an eight-car S-Stock train leaves Farringdon, heading for Aldgate. CARL CHAMBERS.

In association with

In association with

Upgrading London’s railways

5

TUBE UPGRADE The interior of an S-Stock train at Baker Street on July 7 2011. Passengers have responded favourably to the trains, which feature through gangways that create more space and a better sense of safety, because passengers can see from one end of the train to the other. PAUL BIGLAND/RAIL.

W&C

Tube upgrade plan

25%

JUBILEE

% Percentage increase in peak hour passenger capacity

33% all new trains

first new train VICTORIA

nature of the lines on which they operate, which have a higher passenger density and a higher short-distance ridership.

This configuration will allow for better performance, and help with the increased power demands from equipment such as the air-conditioning units.

The first ‘S7’ entered traffic on the H&C line on July 6 2012, running between Hammersmith and Moorgate. These trains are longer than those they are replaced (the C-Stock, which have one less vehicle).

This has required infrastructure work, with platforms extended along the line. However, there are some stations where that is not possible, such as at Baker Street - here the trains will use their Selective Door Opening (SDO).

“We have delivered all the ‘Met Line’ trains - 58 have been delivered,” says Peter Doolin, Vice President of Project Management for Bombardier, encompassing overall responsibility for delivery of the S-Stock Project. “Daily there are 53 available, with 51 in service. We are now following that with the delivery of seven-car trains.”

Jubilee Line The line’s upgrade was completed in 2011, and a train now runs around every two minutes at the peak period. The trains can run faster, so each journey (on average) is two minutes quicker than before. More trains mean more passengers, with up to 12,500 per hour, according to Transport for London.

Doolin explains that there will be 53 seven-car trains for the H&C, with more than 20 already built. All are being built at Bombardier’s Derby Litchurch Lane facility.

From there they are dispatched to Old Dalby in Leicestershire, where they undergo 500 miles of fault-free running before being taken to London. The testing focuses on exercising the doors, changing ends and checking key reliability issues.

Having also worked on the project to deliver the Class 378s for London Overground, Doolin explains that the idea for open gangways and longitudinal seating was originally intended for the SSL trains.

He says the trains in traffic are

21% NORTHERN

Line upgrades

TfL says that the upgrade of the SSL network is the most ambitious project ever undertaken on the Tube, with a £1.5 billion investment seeing the trains used on the Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City, Circle and District Lines. New trains are already operating on the ‘Met Line’ and on the H&C. They will also enter traffic on the Circle Line this year, followed by the District Line next year.

In total 1,395 new vehicles are being delivered. Already the entire 1960/1962 A-Stock has been withdrawn, and a start has been made on withdrawing the C-Stock used on the H&C line.

The first trains entered traffic on July 31 2010, in a preview service between Wembley Park and Watford. The ‘S7s’ are earmarked for all lines except for the ‘Met Line’, which is worked by the ‘S8’ trains. All of the longer

trains have now been delivered, with the last entering traffic last year.

Unlike any LU train before, they feature airconditioning, which has been made possible because the sub-surface tunnels on which they operate can disperse the hot air generated by trains. The S-Stock also has regenerative braking, which means that 20% of their energy is returned to the network, thereby reducing energy consumption.

The new trains have a far better acceleration than those they replaced, and have a maximum speed of 62mph. This is 8mph slower than the A-Stock, but still faster than the C-Stock and D-Stock. Train performance will also improve, with the line voltage to be increased from 630 volts to 750V. The ‘S8s’ have seating capacity for 306 passengers, compared with 448 on the A-Stock. However, the new trains have 25% more standing accommodation (1,226 compared with 976 on the withdrawn trains).

There is also dedicated space for wheelchairs.

The ‘S7s’, unlike the ‘S8s’, do not feature transverse seating, and are fitted with longitudinal seating only. This relates to the

20% all new trains

first new train

65%

HAMMERSMITH & CITY

65%

CIRCLE first new train

all new trains

METROPOLITAN

27% first new train

all new trains

Full ‘sub-surface’ lines upgrade complete by 2018; some of these lines may be completed earlier - dates tbc

24%

DISTRICT Piccadilly (date tbc) Bakerloo(date tbc)

Major station upgrades

Central (date tbc) KING’S CROSS ST. PANCRAS TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD PADDINGTON BOND STREET VICTORIA BANK

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Source: Transport for London

S-Stock details ■ Every axle of the train is motored, which

enables better acceleration and improved braking capabilities.

■ The doors are electrically operated, and are modern, screw-driven rather than arm-operated.

They have obstacle detection, and sensitive edges.

■ Traction is provided by IGBT-driven AC asynchronous electric motors from a 630 volt supply, and the train is capable of regenerative braking at 790V. Power upgrades will increase the voltage to 750V, which will allow regenerative braking at 890V. ■ Currently S-Stock uses a tripcock train protection system. From 2018 it will use Bombardier’s Cityflo 650 signalling system, which will enable automatic train protection and operation.

■ The new trains are fitted with an airconditioning system supplied by Mitsubishi. There are two circuits, so that if one fails, the other will

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Upgrading London’s railways

still be able to supply 50%.

■ Through gangways have been included in the train. These allow passengers to walk through the complete length of the train, as well as providing additional space for standing passengers. It also increases a sense of security.

■ CCTV enables the driver to see into every vehicle, while a track-to-train video link allows drivers to view the entire train before pulling away from a station.

■ On the Metropolitan Line, the S-Stock is the first train to feature dot matrix indicators and automated voice announcements.

Bombardier built 47 eight-car trains for the Victoria Line. All are now in use, and recording upwards of 80,000 miles per casualty. The trains, like the S-Stock, are from the Movia Metro family. On July 7 2011, one of the trains, led by 11008, arrives at Victoria bound for Walthamstow Central. PAUL BIGLAND/RAIL.

S-Stock routes Number of trains

Lines

53

Hammersmith & City, Circle Lines

58

Metropolitan Line

80

District Line

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Upgrading London’s railways

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TUBE UPGRADE The Tube celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. Engineers are now upgrading a network that dates from the Victorian era, using 21st century technology. A Circle Line train arrives at Baker Street on November 5 2008. This train will be replaced this year by an S-Stock unit.

CARL CHAMBERS.

Passengers leave a Victoria Line train at Victoria on July 7 2011. The trains offer a huge leap in ride quality compared with the trains they replaced, which were built in 1969. PAUL BIGLAND/RAIL.

Specifications S8 specifications

S7 specifications

Length of train: 133.7m Width per vehicle: 2.92m Height: 2.88m Driving motor car weight: 33.64 tonnes M1 vehicle weight: 30.63 tonnes M2 vehicle weight: 27.64 tonnes MS vehicle weight: 29.33 tonnes Total train weight: 242.56 tonnes Seating capacity: 306 Tip-up seating capacity: 36 Wheelchair spares: 4 Standing capacity: 609 Note: There is a space for an additional 14 tip-up seats in the wheelchair spaces.

Length of train: 117.5m Width per vehicle: 2.92m Height: 2.88m Driving motor car weight: 33.45 tonnes M1 vehicle weight: 30.44 tonnes M2 vehicle weight: 27.45 tonnes MS vehicle weight: 29.20 tonnes Total train weight: 213.7 tonnes Seating capacity: 256 Tip-up seating capacity: 24 Wheelchair spares: 4 Standing capacity: 609 Note: There is a space for an additional 14 tip-up seats in the wheelchair spaces.

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Upgrading London’s railways

performing well, recording 33,000mpc.

“For a Tube train, that is phenomenal,” he says.

“TfL has told us we have set the benchmark with the Victoria Line trains, and it wants the SSLs to be the same.

Doolin, however, admits to some teething troubles, and says: “New trains can take a while to settle. Thirty-seven of the earlier S-Stock trains will come back to Derby. We have uncovered a problem with the assembly of the shoegear. We are reasonably confident it [the shoegear] could get to overhaul, but it is prudent to lift the train. We don’t have lifting equipment in London.

“We will also take the opportunity to undertake the modification work that is

In association with

required to further improve train performance as the fleet evolves. Bringing them back to Derby gets the work completed earlier.”

The first train should be released in February, and after that (on average) they will take three weeks to complete. All should be complete by the end of 2013.

Doolin says the feedback has been positive.

“The passengers are delighted with them. It is the openness and ambience created - you can see the fully open end to end interior, and walk through all eight car without opening a single door.”

As for when the trains will be delivered, he says: “We will have built the 53 trains for the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines by this time next year. We then start work on the

In association with

District Line trains in 2014.

“The production line has six stages, and we are producing six vehicles a week. If you look at the sub-assembly area, where the body is manufactured, it is similar to the construction of the Electrostars.

“Each stage takes 14 hours. Acceptance then takes around five days. We carry out the initial commissioning and are responsible for the warranty. Technicians carry out fault finding and provide technical support, with London Underground carrying out the maintenance.”

Doolin says of the S-Stock: “We are very proud of these trains. We spent a lot of time to get the quality right, and we are aiming to get to world-class standards in terms of in-service performance, and we will. Our Victoria Line has set a very high benchmark, the S-Stock is more complex due to higher motoring capacity and air-conditioning, and it is comfortably meeting the committed targets. Throughout the Olympics, for example, there were no significant failures.”

It is not just trains that Bombardier is providing on the SSL routes. In June 2011 the company was awarded the Sub-Surface Railway (SSR) automatic train control (ATC) signalling upgrade. Worth approximately £354 million, it forms part of the general SSL upgrade.

The full scope of the contract is for the signalling renewal and provision of an ATC system for the four sub-surface lines, which carry 1.3 million passengers a day.

As part of the deal, Bombardier will equip 310km of track (40km in tunnels), 113 stations, 191 trains, 49 engineering trains and six heritage trains by 2018, followed by a two-year warranty period. The main project office will be in London, with Bombardier sites in Bangkok, Helsinki, Madrid, Pittsburgh,

Other lines Transport for London plans to upgrade the Bakerloo and Piccadilly Lines using new technology, including air-conditioned trains. TfL is currently investigating a common design for trains that would provide more passenger space and use less energy. These would also be introduced on other Tube Lines that run in deep tunnels, such as the Waterloo & City and Central Lines.

Plymouth, Derby and Reading providing much of the product supply and associated engineering works. Bombardier will equip the existing and new SSR vehicles in line with the new contract.

Bombardier is providing the proven CityFlo 650 ATC system, which features innovative communication-based train control (CBTC) technology similar to that running successfully on the Metro de Madrid in Spain.

CityFlo 650 is a moving block system using modern radio-based wide area networks to communicate between the control centre and the train. As well as enabling the system to be installed without interruption to service and to tight timelines, it can provide interoperability with legacy train control systems, and can be adapted to accommodate country requirements.

This advanced solution leads to improved safety, higher capacity and reliability, shorter headways between trains, and reduced maintenance costs. ■

Further reading ■ S-Stock train test, RAIL 678 ■ Tube’s A-listers bow out, RAIL 702 ■ Now veteran C-Stock goes to Eastleigh for

scrapping, RAIL 708 ■ www.railmagazine.com/archive

Upgrading London’s railways

9

ADVERTORIAL

Bombardier - keeping London moving T

he London rail network relies upon Bombardier to ensure many of its lines run smoothly - and that its new trains are delivered on time, and operate reliably.

This was never more apparent than during the 2012 Olympic Games, when Bombardier trains and service teams helped the capital’s operators carry more passengers than ever before.

In total, more than 800 trains built by the company (and operated by nine companies on both heavy and light rail networks) carried passengers for the Games.

Exceptional levels of service reliability were recorded, leading to praise not only from passengers but also the media and politicians.

Key to the success was preparation. There had been much scepticism that the transport network would be able to cope with the large influx of spectators attending the Games… but it did.

As the world’s athletes competed for medals, London’s transport network was breaking a few records of its own. London Underground (with state-of-the-art Bombardier trains on the Victoria and Metropolitan lines) transported more than 60 million passengers, and Docklands Light Railway (also using Bombardier vehicles) transported more than six million passengers.

The rail operations of London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL) were crucial during the Games. Services to the Olympic Park at Stratford, using Bombardier trains and supported by their maintenance teams, ran efficiently and carried more than six million passengers.

Bombardier’s maintenance teams and services functions worked round the clock to ensure that trains serving London were available to meet increased demand during the Games.

Fleets maintained by Bombardier include c2c, the North London and East London lines (London Overground), Greater Anglia (Stansted Express), Southeastern, East Midlands Trains, and the new trains on the Victoria Line and sub-surface routes, as well as the Croydon Tramlink. Bombardier also services the Voyager trains serving London Euston.

Ahead of the Games, Bombardier assessed the challenges posed by an anticipated 20 million additional passenger journeys on London’s rail network. London’s transport system would be operating every day of the week, with mileage increased by approximately 20%, and with increased wear and tear to the trains resulting from the vast

numbers of people using them.

The company spent months planning and preparing its maintenance staff and depots for this additional challenge. This entailed an analysis of customer requirements, to ensure support teams had the management systems, materials and manpower in place to support more intensive fleet use.

One of the key differences in Bombardier’s approach to supporting the train operators was the centralisation and co-ordination of decision-making, through a dedicated Operations Centre manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by a cross-functional team.

In addition to the regular management arrangements, a network of additional ‘on call’ people - from Engineering, Operations, Materials, HR and Communications - were on hand to offer support to the depots throughout the Olympics period. The team included an ORBITA specialist responsible for monitoring remotely downloaded information from the fleets, so that any potential issues could be identified in advance.

Elsewhere, Bombardier is continuing to help upgrade a Victorian railway to make it fit for the 21st century. The capital’s first airconditioned Tube trains are currently being delivered (see pages 4-9 in this supplement), and these will operate on sub-surface lines that are undergoing LU’s biggest ever modernisation project.

Rob Stewart, programme director of the Sub-Surface Railway Upgrade for London Underground, explains that the ‘One team’ approach will be the formula for the project’s success.

“Not surprisingly, with an ageing system, it is difficult to achieve reliability,” he says. “Yet London Underground has the objective to provide not only increased reliability, but also a significant increase in capacity, faster trains, and a better service for its customers. We will do this by introducing new state-of-the art trains and a signalling system that enables more frequent services.”

As part of a contract awarded to Bombardier’s Rail Control Solution Division,

this involves the world’s largest ever signalling contract. A seven-year programme that is due for completion in 2018, this has required a different approach.

LU has made a significant effort to adapt its processes and requirements to the solution that Bombardier is providing. This is facilitated by the use of the New Engineering Contracts (NEC), a very different way of working that encourages collaboration with suppliers.

The sub-surface railway represents 40% of LU’s network, while its age is also a concern.

Reliability and availability must also be maintained during the upgrade, and this provides unique challenges for the teams working on the project.

London Underground has a diverse team of people working to support its delivery of the Sub-Surface Railway Upgrade, and recognises the importance of working as one team to deliver this complex programme. It has therefore located everyone in one building, including Bombardier’s signalling team.

This ensures a spirit of transparency and

Upgrading London’s railways

An example of Bombardier’s success is the Victoria Line upgrade, which was delivered on time, to schedule and under budget.

The £1 billion upgrade, which features 47 new eight-car Bombardier Movia metro trains, was delivered in time for the Olympics. Efficient working and effective risk management meant that cost savings were also possible.

Customer reaction to the new fleet has been extremely positive, with shorter intervals between services thanks to larger, faster and more frequent trains, combined with a new signalling system.

Reliability has grown at an unprecedented rate, exceeding all previous upgrades and fleet rollout programmes. Energy efficiency of the fleet has also improved, with regenerative braking delivering 34% energy regeneration.

In addition to improving the general comfort and ambience of the fleet, the trains are fully RVAR (Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations)-compliant. And with further enhancements to stations, providing level access for mobility-impaired passengers and young families, the Victoria Line is now more accessible than ever.

openness, and helps to integrate all the functions - from the operations team, who understand how the railway operates, to the testing team and through to the maintenance staff who will look after the system down the line.

There are a lot of co-dependent projects.

So resignalling, rolling out new trains or maintaining them cannot be done in isolation.

Instead these projects must be conducted in tandem, and it must be recognised that the smallest change can have an impact upon the other areas and initiatives.

Knowing that it operates probably the most complex Metro in the world, LU ran a comprehensive 18-month selection process before embarking on this project. It chose Bombardier, which offered a proven product capable of delivering the performance needed.

It was critically important that the system could be delivered within a challenging timeframe.

The system being introduced is already in use (in Madrid and Shenzhen). Nevertheless, different challenges must be faced.

As well as being a much larger and older system, there are mixed operations, such as a shared network with Chiltern Railways, Southern and London Overground. It is a complex layout, with junctions (interfacing with the Jubilee and Piccadilly lines).

There are, however, similarities as well.

For example, this is a brownfield site, and engineers are reliant on ‘Engineering Hours’ at night to test and install the system.

The objective is to introduce the sub-surface signalling upgrade with minimal closures.

While some closures are needed to remodel the key trackwork, further disruption to customers can be avoided by applying the fundamental principle of proving the system performance and reliability off-site, both in the factory and at Bombardier’s test track and at the Old Dalby Test Track before installing it on the railway.

Success is deemed if there is no discernible impact of the upgrade to customers, and when a system is operating that delivers reliability, performance, and customer benefits including an increase in capacity.

Outstanding teamwork London Overground’s North London Line played a key role in transporting visitors to Stratford, where the Olympic Park (encompassing the Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Olympics Village) was a focal point for the Olympics and Paralympics.

LOROL’s services, using Class 378 Electrostars, carried 6.7 million passengers during the Games (an increase of 47% compared with the previous year). LOROL operated more than 14,000 trains during the period - the maintenance window was reduced from a typical eight-hour window to three hours, yet availability and reliability remained exceptional (with 98.12% PPM).

Bombardier believes that key to the success was an excellent level of engagement and interaction with the customer, and a true sense

Greater Anglia 379019 passes Stratford on May 30 2012. On the left is London Overground 378255.

Both trains were built by Bombardier, and played vital roles in the transportation of passengers to and from the Olympic Games. ANTONY GUPPY.

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Victoria Line upgrade

In association with

In association with

of partnership and working to a common goal. While the combined team is already highly committed and used to working behind the scenes to deliver reliable, safe trains, the Olympics encouraged them to raise the bar even higher.

London Overground Rail Operations Limited Managing Director Steve Murphy says: “Our ‘378s’ carried more than 6.7 million passengers during the Games on over 17,000 services, and delivered a PPM of more than 98%. In addition, Bombardier staff at all key locations were unfailingly proactive and committed.”

And London Mayor Boris Johnson commended the effort of all involved in supporting the Olympics: “London’s transport network put in some record breaking performances of its own.”

Upgrading London’s railways

11

CROSSRAIL

Crossrail connections

Crossrail rolling stock The Crossrail fleet will comprise 57 purpose-built electric multiple units (EMUs). Acceleration will be comparable with Metro/Tube trains.

Trains will be designed with wide throughgangways between carriages, and ‘ample’ space in the passenger saloons and around the doors to reduce passenger congestion while allowing room for those with heavy luggage or pushchairs. Four designated wheelchair spaces will also be provided on each train.

Crossrail is the largest construction project in Europe.

PAUL PRENTICE looks at what has happened so far, and what we can expect in 2013

I

t is Europe’s biggest construction project, with several tunnel boring machines now inching their way underneath London’s streets.

While plenty of work still needs to be done, not least in turning this enormous £14.8 billion civil engineering project into a fully functional railway, Crossrail remains on course to be completed in 2019.

“Don’t underestimate the importance of tunnelling work,” says Crossrail Chairman Terry Morgan. “For half of last year we had two tunnel boring machines running. The big challenge for 2013 is getting eight machines running.”

In the six months since tunnelling started, more than 2km of tunnel has been excavated.

Four TBMs are currently in action, with three ‘in location’ in east London. More than 400m can be completed in a single week and a quick glance at a continually updated map on the Crossrail website is sufficient to demonstrate just how much progress is being made.

The first TBM to launch (TBM 1 Phyllis) is making good progress across Hyde Park, and is expected to reach a point not far from Speaker’s Corner by mid-February.

TBM 2 Ada, currently just outside Paddington station, will reach a point between Sussex Gardens and Bayswater Road around the same time.

TBM 3 Victoria has just left Limmo Penninsula (close to Canning Town Underground and DLR stations), and is edging towards the Canary Wharf station box and eventually Farringdon.

TBM 4 Elizabeth will take a similar route towards Farringdon, also passing through the Canary Wharf box constructing a parallel bore.

TBM 5 Sophia, the most recent of the TBMs to be launched, began work on January 9.

Known as a ‘slurry’ machine, Sophia, unlike the other TBMs, is specially equipped to handle the chalk, flint and wet ground conditions that will be encountered in South East London. Excavated soils will be pumped out as liquid slurry to a treatment plant at Plumstead, then separated into sand, gravel, water and chalk, which will come out in ‘cakes’ or slabs of filtered chalk particles.

“These are different tunnelling conditions,”

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Upgrading London’s railways

Key specifications: Seats: 450 Total capacity (including standing): 1,500 Maximum length: 205 metres Top speed: 145kph (90mph) Power supply: 25kV AC from overhead line, with potential to convert for third rail capability Upper weight limit: 350 tonnes (unladen) Energy efficiency: 24 kWh per train kilometre (equivalent of 55g CO2 per passenger kilometre) Signalling systems: Automatic Train Operation in central tunnel section, European Train Control System signal protection provision for surface running. Each train will be compatible with ‘legacy’ train-protection systems until ETCS is fully

Morgan tells RAIL. “But we have the benefit of experience from the first three. We have learned a lot with Paddington.”

Engineers will be mindful of the care that will need to be taken when the first TBM (Phyllis) goes beyond Hyde Park, and nears the various other tunnels underground, as well as the densely built-up area along Oxford Street.

This will include passing through the sites for Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road stations before it reaches Farringdon. (Other minor tunnels, such as cross passages, will not be built with TBMs.) Excavated material from the tunnels is going to a good home - a partnership between Crossrail and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is creating Europe’s largest wetland nature reserve at Wallasea Island, a low-lying area of land off the Essex coast.

The operation will see material transported by ship from both the east and west London tunnelling portals (the western end initially sees the material taken by train to Northfleet in Kent, before onward transfer by ship).

And the end result will provide not only a habitat for birds, but also an important flood protection measure. Some 1.2 million tonnes of material will end up at Wallasea Island two-thirds of the total being excavated. Other uses will be found for the remaining material - all part of a programme to recycle as much as possible from the project.

At some locations existing infrastructure is being refurbished, such as the disused 19th century Connaught Tunnel, which until a few years ago had been used by North Woolwich branch trains on the North London Line (a section of London now served by the Docklands Light Railway).

And while it is not a part of the route, even the Kingsway Tram Subway (closed since 1952) will be used. Crossrail will take it over to assist with stabilising foundations for buildings in the surrounding Holborn area.

A shaft (eight metres deep and five metres wide) below the floor of the tunnel will be built to pump grout beneath the structures, Right: An aerial view of the Canary Wharf station site, in front of the HSBC tower. Considerable progress has been made here, with the station box completed some months ago. Two TBMs are expected to enter the site in 2013, on their way to Farringdon. CROSSRAIL.

installed on the national network.

■ Other features include full air-conditioning for passengers and drivers, as well as strict requirements for weight and suspension design to minimise track wear and tear.

Industry-standard features such as regenerative braking, real-time on-board energy metering and ‘intelligent control’ of heating and cooling systems will also be included.

Passenger information systems will be continually updated, while integration will be achievable with platform edge doors at central section station (as per the Jubilee Line extension).

A notice for Crossrail rolling stock and depot facilities was published in the Official Journal of the European Union in November 2010, and on February 28 2012.

Crossrail confirmed that four organisations had been invited to tender for Crossrail rolling stock and depot facilities: Bombardier Transportation (UK) Limited; Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles SA (CAF); Hitachi Rail Europe Limited; Siemens plc.

It is expected that a decision will be made in 2014 on the builder of both trains and depots.

Above: Whole blocks in central London have been demolished to make way for Crossrail stations, including for Bond Street. CROSSRAIL.

In association with

In association with

Upgrading London’s railways

13

CROSSRAIL Tunnels to be constructed

N

Key

Across the whole Crossrail project, eight tunnelling machines will construct 21 kilometres (13 miles) of twin tunnels under London.

The five tunnels to be constructed are: ■ Royal Oak to Farringdon west (Drive X) length of drive approximately 6.4km.

■ Limmo to Farringdon east (Drive Y) - length of drive approximately 8.3km.

■ Pudding Mill Lane to Stepney Green (Drive Z) - length of drive approximately 2.7km.

■ Limmo to Victoria Dock Portal (Drive G) length of drive approximately 0.9km.

■ Plumstead to North Woolwich (Drive H) length of drive approximately 2.6km.

Shenfield Seven Kings

Surface line Tunnel Station

Romford Chadwell Heath

Forest Gate Manor Park Note: For clarity some lines/stations are omitted.

Farringdon Stop names subject to confirmation Ealing West Ealing Broadway Bond West Maryland Ilford Street Iver Drayton Hayes & Whitechapel Goodmayes Paddington Stratford Taplow Burnham Harlington Maidenhead

Slough

Langley

Southall Hanwell Heathrow

Acton Main Line

Brentwood Harold Wood

Gidea Park

Liverpool Abbey Custom Street Wood House Tottenham Court Road Woolwich Canary Wharf

Headline numbers 8

TBM 5 Sophia, the latest of the machines to launch, has now set off from the Plumstead Portal. It is known as a ‘slurry’ machine, because of the nature of the material it will excavate. CROSSRAIL.

Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) - six Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) Machines and two Slurry Machines to cater for differing ground conditions

3.19 rotations per minute of each TBM cutter head

6.2 metres diameter of Crossrail tunnels

7.1 metres diameter of TBM cutter head

20

Paddington station has been a challenge for the project’s engineers, as the TBMs have had to carefully negotiate the area under the station. A building site now occupies Eastbourne Terrace, to the left of the station, where the Crossrail station itself is being built. CROSSRAIL.

TBM 5 Sophia breaks ground at the Plumstead portal. Some idea of the full length of these machines, with associated support facilities, can be seen in this picture. CROSSRAIL.

The Limmo Penninsula site at night. Excavated material is being shipped to Wallasea Island, off the coast of Essex. CROSSRAIL.

with the Grade 2 listed structure then being returned to its former state after the TBMs have passed through.

Although tunnelling is very much in progress - and in some places has only just started - Crossrail is already moving on to the next phase. “There’s an increasing emphasis on the railway elements, decisions on which will be made this year,” Morgan tells RAIL. This part of the project will require similar (if not even more) attention to detail. “One of the things we don’t want to compromise is interoperability,” he says.

The work is not solely underground, of course, with other physical changes taking place in west London over Christmas. Three rail bridges in Slough and Hillingdon were demolished as part of preparations for the arrival of new electric Crossrail trains (as well as the broader Great Western Main Line electrification).

Network Rail demolished the Middlegreen Road and Trenches bridges in Slough and

people in a ‘tunnel gang’ that will work a TBM

100 metres typical weekly progress rate of a TBM

14

Upgrading London’s railways

the Old Stockley Road Bridge in Hillingdon.

It plans to install new bridges at Easter, with diversions and temporary footbridges in place until then.

Station design is another area that is receiving increased attention, with a full-scale mock-up of a central area station already built.

“Around the main central stations, there will be a common theme,” says Morgan.

Crossrail has found the mock-up to be invaluable in understanding the visual and spatial effects created by the proposed combination of finishing materials and components within the platform environment.

Film set design techniques have been used to replicate the feel of actual finishes, a method that is significantly cheaper than using actual construction materials.

For example, sprayed concrete lining was created by spraying expanded foam onto wallpaper, then cutting into panels. Light fittings were made with painted plywood, with lower glass plastic reinforced panels

In association with

148 metres total length of each TBM (including on-board facilities such as toilets and a kitchen)

250,000 number of concrete segments used to line the

21km of twin-bore tunnels

980 tonnes the total weight of a TBM

Tottenham Court Road will be a key Crossrail station, forming an interchange with London Underground’s Northern and Central lines (although Crossrail is expected to take pressure off the latter). The Tube station is also being redeveloped. The area around Centre Point is an enormous building site at present, necessitating the diversion of Charing Cross Road. CROSSRAIL.

In association with

58,000kN nominal thrust force of a TBM (the equivalent needed to lift 2,900 London taxis)

Upgrading London’s railways

15

CROSSRAIL Service pattern Great Western corridor ■ 4 trains per hour in each direction between

central London and Heathrow Airport ■ 4 trains per hour between Maidenhead and

central London ■ 2 trains per hour between central London and

West Drayton

Central area (Paddington to Whitechapel) ■ 24 trains per hour will run in each direction,

Concept illustration of Crossrail rolling stock. The supplier has yet to be chosen. CROSSRAIL.

14 starting or ending at Paddington.

Great Eastern corridor ■ 12 trains per hour at peak times in each

direction between central London and Shenfield

Abbey Wood corridor ■ 12 trains per hour in each direction between

Whitechapel and Abbey Wood, serving Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich

made using a mould, similar to boatmaking techniques. Real floor tiles and glass have also been used, but the metal work is actually plywood coated in metal laminate to make it look like stainless steel.

In addition, a ‘live test site’ at the busy Victoria Underground station is providing designers with useful feedback on different types of flooring material. The footfall here will soon weed out materials that aren’t up to scratch for a busy station.

“We have a good idea of how we want to display the railway to the passenger,” says Morgan.

“At the surface level, we are talking about

something slightly different. They need to fit into the environment in which they are built.”

Examples of surface stations include Abbey Wood and Custom House in South East London. In 2013, the station that will advance the most is Canary Wharf - the box is already complete here, ready for the TBMs to come through. Morgan hints to RAIL that some sort of preview event will enable those with an interest in the station to view the progress that has been made.

Crossrail is completing designs for over-site development. This will see considerable focus at locations such as Tottenham Court Road, where (in effect) there will be two stations, including that for the Tube.

On a broader note, Morgan is keen to emphasise the social and economic benefits of the Crossrail project.

“In an economy that requires growth, we employ 3,000 people, which will rise to 10,000 by the end of next year,” he says.

In total, 40,000 people will be either directly or indirectly employed by the project. The benefits are evident at institutions such as the Tunnelling and Underground Construction

Wallasea Island, where a wetland nature reserve is being created from excavated material shipped in from tunnelling sites. CROSSRAIL.

Academy in Newham - although not solely built for the construction of Crossrail, it aims to train 3,500 people over the lifetime of the project.

Morgan says that Crossrail also wants an academy that will focus on railway systems.

Again, this is an investment that will reap benefits not just for London, but for railway projects across the UK. ■

The Connaught tunnel, which runs through the centre to the bottom right of this picture, is a 19th century piece of infrastructure and is being reused for Crossrail.

CROSSRAIL.

16

Upgrading London’s railways

In association with

EUROPE’S LARGEST INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT 1 TUNNELLING ACADEMY

8 TUNNEL BORING

MACHINES

37 STATIONS 42km OF TUNNELS 400 APPRENTICES

LINDA MILLER PROJECT MANAGER CONNAUGHT TUNNEL

www.crossrail.co.uk

MOVING LONDON FORWARD

TFL TRAINSET

An Overground success story The final piece of the TfL orbital railway, between Surrey Quays and the South London Line, opened in December 2012. PAUL PRENTICE looks back at its development, and looks forward to what happens next

T

he London Overground network has been transformed from a collection of relatively disparate urban routes into an increasingly Metro-style railway.

The term ‘network’ can now justifiably be used to describe the routes comprising the East London, North London, West London, Barking-Gospel Oak and Watford DC lines.

The ‘Overground’ - now often used in a loose sense to describe National Rail routes in the London area that are distinct from the Underground - has its origins in a limited branding exercise undertaken by former Labour Mayor of London Ken Livingstone in 2003.

Its creation as a distinct brand, however, only happened following significant public investment from Transport for London (TfL).

And much of the work has come to fruition under Livingstone’s successor Boris Johnson, who has understood and embraced the Overground’s importance as a key strategic part of the capital’s railway network.

That importance was recognised last year when the partnership that runs the Overground (TfL and London Overground Rail Operations Ltd) triumphed in the Suburban & Metro category at RAIL’s National Rail Awards.

The old and new order at Gospel Oak on September 2 2010. London Overground 378014 heads westbound towards Richmond while 313123 heads east to Stratford. The ‘313s’ are still going strong in the London area, being used on the Great Northern route operated by First Capital Connect.

ANTONY GUPPY.

On May 25 2012, London Overground 378138 approaches Hoxton station, with London’s iconic cityscape in the background. Hoxton is the only completely new station on the extension of the East London Line north of Shoreditch. ANTONY GUPPY.

Metro frequencies are now available across the Overground network, while punctuality has improved. Passenger numbers have increased by 18%, with satisfaction at 90% in the latest Passenger Focus survey.

These results are the product of a partnership that began with the civil engineering projects on the East London Line (the former London Underground line that closed for refurbishment in 2007).

LU had previously carried out major upgrade work in the mid 1990s, including the refurbishment of Marc and Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Thames Tunnel. However, plans for extending the line northwards to Dalston Junction, along the old railway formation past Shoreditch alongside Hackney’s Kingsland Road (which once ran into that forgotten London terminus, Broad Street) were still very much just that… plans.

Then, in 2006, the announcement that the East London Line extension would become part of the new London Overground network (taking on the routes then run by Silverlink on the North London, West London, Watford DC and Barking-Gospel Oak lines) saw a step change. And after preparatory work along the extension, building work began in earnest the following year.

“There was a huge amount of design work in transforming the old line,” says Ed Gardiner, East London Line maintenance manager for Carillion, now contracted to maintain the line between Dalston Junction and New Cross Gate on behalf of TfL and Network Rail, as

well as the short section from Dalston Junction to Highbury and Islington. TfL owns the Dalston Junction-New Cross Gate section, with both sections controlled from New Cross Gate.

Gardiner talks of “hundreds of designers from many different companies” having to work closely together. “There are some extremely complicated structures,” he says.

He explains some of the engineering challenges on the project - a mix of refurbished existing structures and brand new

18

Upgrading London’s railways

In association with

construction. They include the construction joints, where rails have to span across the gaps between the structures, which in turn need to accommodate temperature fluctuations.

“The theoretical difference between hottest and coldest temperatures is 250mm,” says Gardiner. “Construction joint has to allow for a lot of movement - the rail has to move relative to the structure underneath it. Any bridge will have fixed bearings - one side is held, the other side is free to expand and contract.

In association with

Most of the heritage obstacles had already been dealt with. In a well-documented public disagreement, English Heritage had prevented the re-opening of the Thames Tunnel in the 1990s after LU’s proposal to ‘shotcrete’ the tunnel lining met with resistance from architectural historians.

This time round, says Gardiner: “We weren’t really changing anything. We were fortunate that the Thames Tunnel had been closed during the 1990s. We didn’t have to do anything in the tunnel.”

Structures such as the Thames Tunnel also helped influence the type of track that would be used. Gardiner explains: “Clearances in the Thames Tunnel, which wasn’t originally built with trains in mind, are very tight. So two-thirds of the route is concrete track, which, if you have time to build, is virtually maintenance-free. Ballast degrades over 10, 20, 30, 40 years. Concrete, in theory, is designed for a 50 year-plus lifecycle. But it does cost more to install.”

The vast majority of traffic is made up Upgrading London’s railways

19

TFL TRAINSET

On May 24 2012, London Overground 378226 passes the massive Westfield Stratford retail development. The train is running along a brand new section of track at Stratford - the North London Line was diverted to allow part of it to be converted into a new branch of the Docklands Light Railway. ANTONY GUPPY.

Platforms at the rebuilt Dalston Junction station, over which housing and community facilities have been built. TRANSPORT FOR LONDON.

The gateline at Dalston Junction station.

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON.

of East London Line Class 378s. Says Gardiner: “The track is designed to Network Rail standards, so there’s no reason why other trains can’t use it.” Currently, however, the only other train that runs through is one of the NR Track Recording Units.

Gardiner talks of the “terrific support from local people” for the project, which saw trains running south towards the City of London from a rebuilt Dalston Junction station for the first time since 1986.

“Shortly before the railway opened, we got a little battery locomotive - one of the first vehicles to use the railway - carrying a plywood cut out of the train [to replicate the Class 378 that would be introduced], and ran it from end to end to check nothing had been missed. We had people in flats that overlooked the Kingsland Viaduct waving to us.” The citizens of Hackney were clearly overjoyed to have their railway back.

Today, in maintaining the line, Gardiner faces a number of challenges on what is an increasingly intensively used railway.

“The first challenge is the time we have to carry out infrastructure and maintenance on the track. The possession is generally four hours a night.” In practice, that’s just three hours a night after safety checks and isolation has been carried out.

“The next challenge is keeping train delays down to a minimum. We have a target of 20 minutes to get to a train service-affecting fault.”

Rapid response to incidents is crucial for the day-to-day operation of the railway, something that LOROL Concession Director Mark Eaton knows only too well.

“Operational performance has been a number one priority,” he says. “As an

executive team we pore through the previous week’s performance issues.”

Eaton points to a Public Performance Measure of 91% when LOROL took over in 2007. It’s now 97.2%, on a moving annual average of 96.2%.

This performance improvement is no small feat considering the network (although fundamentally sound) that LOROL inherited from Silverlink.

“The railway has organically grown, made up of various bits that relate to culture and infrastructure,” says LOROL Head of Infrastructure Peter Kalton.

“LOROL has taken on staff from Silverlink and Southern - with various stations along the way - and a variety of ways of doing things that have proved a challenge in creating a single unified railway. We are also in several different NR areas across the network.”

Back in 2007, LOROL “kicked off fairly early on with an initial station upgrade - cleaning and painting work - and tarting up the Class 313s”, recalls Eaton.

Despite being due for relatively imminent replacement, the ‘313s’ nevertheless needed attention, and had their 3+2 seating altered to provide standing room - a retrograde step in some parts of the UK, but an instant improvement on these trains in London.

The relative lack of seating compared to a lot of other EMUs is now broadly accepted on the Overground network, given the relatively short distances and the Underground-style interior layouts introduced on the ‘378s’.

By the summer of 2008, “the railway felt quite different”, says Eaton. One example was introducing robust systems to permanently remove graffiti.

A year later, ELL was busy recruiting and training 150 drivers, as well as 100 station staff. “We are proud of our achievement in the driver training programme,” says Eaton.

The Clapham Junction extension On December 12 2012, just three days after the official opening of the extension to Clapham Junction, RAIL rode the line.

From Surrey Quays (an interchange for the branch to New Cross, Crystal Palace and West Croydon), the train also has the option of continuing to Clapham Junction.

Rather than continuing straight on, the train goes into a new dive-under along a railway alignment that until recently had been disused for 100 years.

It continues past Millwall’s football ground, where there are plans to build a new station at Surrey Canal Road (the ‘box’ is already in place). It then joins the line to London Bridge, from where the old South London Line service ran to Victoria.

The train calls at Queens Road Peckham, Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill, Clapham High Street, Wandsworth Road (the latter two are not traditionally known for their high passenger numbers) and finally Clapham Junction. It then creeps along the Inner South London Line, with adjacent tracks carrying Southeastern services towards Kent.

Supporters of the previous service (operated by Southern with two-car Class 456s) have been vocal about losing their direct links with the West End forcing a change at Clapham Junction for Southern and South West Trains towards Victoria and

Also in 2009, the first Class 378s arrived, procured by TfL (which, in turn, provides the rolling stock free of charge to LOROL) although owned by QW Rail.

In addition to the interior layout, other completely new elements to rolling stock also had to be considered to meet legal requirements. “The ‘378s’ actually needed things such as an escape ramp at the front for use through the tunnel,” says Kalton.

Station refurbishment was also well

Operational performance has been a number one priority. As an executive team we pore through the previous week’s performance issues.

Upgrading London’s railways

underway. Barely a trace of the previous Silverlink blue and lime green colour scheme exists on today’s network, with the LO orange colour now dominant.

In September 2010, Class 172 diesels were introduced on the Barking-Gospel Oak line.

At that point, frequency on the line had doubled from two to four trains per hour (tph).

This had followed the opening in May 2010 of phase 1 of the East London Line extension - initially between Dalston Junction and New Cross Gate, Crystal Palace and West Croydon, and extending further northwards to Highbury & Islington in February 2011.

Finally, in December 2012, the most recent extension to Clapham Junction (via the Inner South London Line) opened, pushing up the frequency on the core part of the ELL from 12 to 16 trains per hour.

All in all, so far the LO story has been one of constant expansion, with significant operational challenges along the way.

“We’ve delivered a series of very significant change projects. But we’re always hungry for the next thing,” says Eaton. “We had a supercharged boost last summer, not least with the Olympics.”

The ground for this had been prepared in May 2011, when a higher frequency timetable was introduced on the North London Line. Eaton asserts: “Where we’ve brought something positive to this railway is a very robust train plan.”

Although the lines between TfL and The refurbished ticket hall at Crystal Palace, which re-opened on September 24 2012 having been out of use for many years. A new cafe also opened in an adjacent part of the station building. TRANSPORT FOR LONDON.

Mark Eaton, Concession Director, LOROL 20

Waterloo.

But these little trains were probably something of an anomaly in inner London, resembling a peculiarly ‘branch line’. The ‘456s’ remain with Southern, but will eventually move to South West Trains to provide ten-car capability on routes out of Waterloo.

Clapham High Street is one of two stations on the extension to be ‘Overgroundised’. The buildings and platforms are a little tidier these days - the tell-tale signs are new signage, benches and the ubiquitous orange handrails, all of which brighten up the station environment considerably.

(Having said that, Southeastern did a decent job of keeping both Clapham High Street and Wandsworth Road stations in good condition in recent years, despite the relatively low passenger numbers.)

But the new LO extension arguably provides far better connections for City destinations, as well as travel north of the river, in far more comfort than the overcrowded Northern Line.

There is now a more realistic option for travel to the Canary Wharf business district - it can be reached in 23 minutes or less with just one change at Canada Water for the Jubilee Line, taking pressure off the Northern Line for commuters who might traditionally have changed for the Jubilee

In association with

In association with

Line at London Bridge on one of the busiest parts of the London Underground.

Yet despite these new journey opportunities, trains on the ‘new’ line creep along in places, particularly towards the Clapham Junction end, which begs the question: What is Network Rail doing to raise speeds and cut journey times?

There is also a staff presence at all stations - they look cold at this time of year, but thankfully a booth has been provided for them at Wandsworth Road, with permanent accommodation promised.

Before we reach our destination, there’s a glimpse to the left of what’s ‘on shed’ at Stewarts Lane depot, including an Orient Express rake and a Class 377 Electrostar.

The remainder of the route follows the line through not particularly attractive and somewhat ramshackle industrial areas, full of lean-tos and small units.

Diving under the lines to Waterloo and Victoria, the train climbs up the other side at a snail’s pace to enter Platform 1/1A at Clapham Junction. This arrangement was formerly known as Platform 2, but because of the condition of the so-called ‘Banana Arches’ at Clapham Junction station (on which the ‘old’ Platform 1 used to rest), trains from Dalston Junction now run in alongside trains that have come from Willesden Junction and Stratford.

LOROL can be blurred, the operation of the Overground remains a partnership.

TfL sets the specification for the concession, with weekly franchise review meetings. And the concession is structured so that problems are fixed quickly. And a “culturally fast decision-making process” helps with things such as facilities management - a contract with John Laing Integrated Services allows for the efficient attention to problems such as the need to fix a door at a station.

Indeed, the standard expected of Overground stations is high, from stations that have been built from scratch (Dalston Junction and Shoreditch High Street, for example) to those that have witnessed significant refurbishment (Crystal Palace, where the Victorian refreshment rooms were recently transformed into a grand ticket hall).

“Stations are even lit to a higher brightness than NR stations,” adds Kalton.

The Overground features interchanges with several other networks, particularly the Underground at stations including Blackhorse Road, Canada Water, Highbury & Islington and Whitechapel.

“The relationship with LU varies according to the part of the network,” says Eaton. “For

Performance The Overground experienced its busiest week ever in the week commencing December 10 2012 (the same week that the extension to Clapham Junction opened).

Some 26 million passengers were carried (a quarter of them on the new extension), with on train loadings already double that of the former Southern service.

Upgrading London’s railways

21

TFL TRAINSET What the Overground does is to bridge the gap allowing you to make a series of journeys that would otherwise be quite fiddly, and avoiding the need to go into the middle of town.

Headline numbers 90,000

Howard Smith, London Rail Chief Operating Officer, Transport for London

Carillion As well as working on the rejuvenation of the East London Line, Carillion has been involved in other major London railway projects including Crossrail and Thameslink.

■ Channel Tunnel Rail Link/High Speed 1 (track between Ebbsfleet and St Pancras).

■ East London Line (main project as joint venture with Balfour Beatty).

■ North London Railway Infrastructure Project.

■ Great Eastern Overhead Line Renewal (lines out of Liverpool Street).

■ King’s Cross Platform 0.

■ Latchmere Curve (improved connectivity between West London Line and Clapham Junction station).

■ East London Line Phase 2 (new junction at Old Kent Road, and improved connectivity between Clapham Junction and routes south of Thames).

■ East London Line maintenance.

■ Thameslink Outer Areas Key Output 1 (work between Bedford and West Hampstead for longer trains).

■ Thameslink Outer Areas Key Output 2 (work to improve stabling to cater for 12-car trains).

■ Thameslink Blackfriars track.

■ Thameslink Canal Tunnels (laying new tracks to connect Thameslink and East Coast Main Line).

■ Crossrail - Paddington Station (upgrade to Hammersmith & City platforms and new taxi rank).

■ Crossrail - Whitechapel (Advanced Works).

■ Crossrail - Stockley Viaduct (Advanced Works - junction for Heathrow).

■ Crossrail - Stockley Viaduct (Main Works - just awarded).

example, at the Watford DC lines, the track and stations are shared with the Bakerloo Line.”

He explains it is different again at places such as Blackhorse Road and Highbury, where the relationship is “purely from a stations perspective”.

“Locally, it is about customer service managers building relationships with their counterparts.”

LO and LU are, after all, part of the same family. Kalton points out that at Canada Water, one of the busiest interchanges, “a lot of work went in locally to make sure LO/ LU staff engaged with each other”. He adds: “We’re also looking at how we improve the information provided by our staff - that’s going beyond the contract.”

What about passenger safety? The North London Line, in particular, brought with it a reputation for crime and anti-social behaviour.

So how is LOROL managing security?

“In broad terms, the number of crimes has doubled, but the number of passengers carried has increased fourfold,” says Eaton. “But a good dose of public presence, as well as 20 TravelSafe officers in the evenings, has gone a long way.”

The partnership between TfL and LOROL can be described as ‘alliancing’, for want of another term, but that’s “putting the badge on something we’ve been doing for a long time”, says Eaton.

TfL London Rail Chief Operating Officer Howard Smith says that there are “two or

TfL’s London Rail Chief Operating Officer Howard Smith snips the ribbon at Crystal Palace station, to mark the opening of the refurbished ticket hall on September 24 2012. TRANSPORT FOR LONDON.

22

Upgrading London’s railways

passenger journeys per day in 2007

425,000 passenger journeys per day in 2012

405 services timetabled to run at the end of the Silverlink tenure

1,090 services timetabled to run under the LOROL concession

The bridge over the Regent’s Canal at Haggerston is one of the most striking features of the re-opened East London Line. On May 25 2012, a ‘378’ crosses, heading south towards Hoxton.

ANTONY GUPPY.

three” really big differences between the LOROL concession model (also in operation in Merseyside and Tyne and Wear) and the more traditional franchise prescribed by the Department for Transport?

“We pay on performance, not on revenue,” he says. “If you’re a TOC MD, your first worry when you wake up in the morning is where central London employment is going.

Steve Murphy [outgoing managing director at LOROL] will look at how his trains are running.

“TOCs have almost no ability to vary the service in peak times. So it’s better to pay them on the things they can control.

“With respect to TOCs, people in London see their train service as the responsibility of politicians in government. There’s the permanence of the roundel. It’s a partnership.”

What are the ‘magic ingredients’, in TfL’s view, that have made London Overground so successful over the past five years?

“The concept is a very good one,” says Smith. “The investment and the project management have been excellent. The operations from LOROL have been excellent, too.

“What the Overground does is to bridge the gap allowing you to make a series of journeys that would otherwise be quite fiddly, and avoiding the need to go into the middle of town.

In association with

“Now, going up to Highbury from Richmond, you can save yourself time and money by making the journey on the orbital network. Investing in inner suburban networks is very rational.”

What evidence is there so far that the Overground has helped take pressure off the Tube network?

“It’s nearly all anecdotal. The people we take off get replaced very quickly.” However, Smith says that while you won’t see empty trains on the Victoria Line, “people are shortening and cheapening their journeys using orbital rail”, particularly for travel between southwest and northeast London.

“On the East London Line, people used to go into London Bridge. Now the biggest interchange on the ELL is Canada Water.”

Smith reveals that TfL has been “trying to track Clapham North usage to see what happens to the stats”, to discover to what extent the Overground is taking pressure off a heavily overcrowded part of the Northern Line.

Plans also exist to extend the trains used on the ELL from four-car to five-car in 2014, with the same due to happen on the NLL (including the West London Line branch from Clapham Junction to Willesden) in 2015.

“The schemes were included in TfL’s business plan before Christmas,” says Smith. “For East London, the major part of the work is creating

In association with

stabling for longer trains, as well as more minor adjustments.”

However, there is less certainty over plans to increase capacity on the Barking-Gospel Oak Line (RAIL 703), for which the start of a procurement process to potentially introduce

three-car or four-car DMUs to the line will, in the opinion of both TfL and the DfT, hopefully be an interim measure pending the much hoped-for electrification of the line.

While the ‘172s’ have 25% more capacity than the previous DMUs on that route, overcrowding remains a serious problem in the peaks.

“Everybody in the world believes BarkingGospel Oak should be electrified,” says Smith.

“The truth is that TfL and DfT are still working on a plan we can agree on. We’re hopeful that in the next few months we can make some progress on that”.

Smith wants to avoid lengthening of the existing DMUs, although it would be a

On August 9 2012, LO 172006 and a ‘378’ pass on different lines at Willesden Junction. The ‘172’ operates solely on the Barking-Gospel Oak line, while the ‘378’ is devoted to the rest of the network, until electrification. ANTONY GUPPY. Upgrading London’s railways

23

TFL TRAINSET relatively straightforward job to add an extra carriage or two to the ‘172s’.

What else does the future hold? How detailed are the Mayor’s proposals for taking over some lines currently run by Greater Anglia and Southeastern for ‘Overgroundisation’?

Smith refers to the Southeastern ‘inners’ (the inner-suburban routes as far as Sevenoaks and Dartford), as well as West Anglia services to Chingford and Hertford East. Taking on some of these services would, in effect, carry on the tradition of TfL and its predecessors running services outside the rigidly defined administrative area of Greater London.

“West of Dartford, it’s the sort of thing the Overground is made of. East of Dartford, less so - the geography hasn’t changed much,” says Smith, who talks of the need to increase rail capacity within London’s restricted boundaries. Smith says he expects the DfT to make an announcement “soon” on decentralisation (the official term being adopted for rail devolution).

“Arrangements need to be in place for the next GA and Southeastern franchise. We have to be clear in the next few months what we’re doing on Southeastern.”

Smith also responds to concerns over whether further TfL control will be at the mercy of longer-distance routes out of London. “On the National Rail side, there are enormously strong protections for pathing,” he says. In addition, since 2008, two TfL board members have represented the interests of people outside of London.

The Overground brand has worked wonders in reviving the fortunes of the East London, North London and West London Lines, as well as the Watford DC and Barking-Gospel Oak Lines - with the obvious increase in patronage. And the power of the brand is

immense - there’s more to adding the orange line on the Tube map and allowing Oyster cards to be used.

“I’d differentiate the brand from what the brand represents,” says Smith. “If we’d just slapped a roundel on something that wasn’t very good, people wouldn’t have flocked to it.

The biggest thing we did was introduce Oyster from day one.”

The other thing that comes with the brand is a network, which ensures that there is “no variation in the level of service”. In other words, passengers shouldn’t expect a different level of service on the Overground to that of the Tube - and indeed the bus and

The North London Line features two power supply systems, which change at different points. At Acton Central on August 9 2010, LO 378017 changes over from AC to DC traction. ANTONY GUPPY.

tram networks. It’s all part of a more unified, seamless system.

“The concession model is very successful at allowing us to focus on the best possible performance,” says Eaton. “One of the secrets of our success is that the partnership has worked very well.”

Kalton sums up the relationship as “without wanting to sound too cheesy - a genuine desire within TfL, NR and LOROL to deliver the best we can”. ■

NRA Suburban & Metro Award 2012 London Overground Rail Operations Ltd and Transport for London Judge’s comments: “The scope and interfaces of the operation, together with other aspects of high quality in service delivery (for example, at stations - staffing and cleanliness) has resulted in a model operation that is a credit to staff, management and the earlier strategic planning which resulted in the LOROL operation.”

NRA Small Station of the Year 2012 A colourful autumnal scene at Gospel Oak on October 22 2009, as LO 378008 enters the station, heading west with the 1252 Stratford-Richmond. ANTONY GUPPY.

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Upgrading London’s railways

Hatch End station, managed by LOROL, was judged Small Station of the Year at RAIL’s National Rail Awards 2012 (RAIL 707).

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THAMESLINK

London Bridge is building up…

T

ravelling through London Bridge is very different these days. The station has changed. Scaffolding has sprung up, and some trains now depart from different platforms.

But that is nothing compared with what is about to happen. The capital’s oldest station is to be redeveloped as part of the £6 billion Thameslink project - forming the critical part of the second half of Network Rail’s transformation of the cross-London network (known as Key Output 2).

By the time the work is finished in 2018, 24 trains per hour will be running through the city, linking Cambridge, Peterborough and Bedford with Brighton and other South Coast destinations. In total, there will be a maximum of 88 train paths into the station at peak times, compared with the current 70.

Already the ‘Core’ has been completed, with longer trains now able to run following platform extension work.

Farringdon opened a year ago, with longer platforms built across the former junction to Moorgate, enabling 12-car trains to run

An aerial view looking toward London Bridge, with the Shard piercing the horizon. NETWORK RAIL.

Work has started on the second phase of the massive Thameslink project. RICHARD CLINNICK brings the story up to date between Bedford and Brighton. And these are needed - passenger numbers on the Thameslink route are high, and set to grow still further as more people turn to rail.

But it is at London Bridge, Britain’s fourth busiest station, where the next major step will take place (RAIL 703).

To deliver the longer trains, and to allow a more frequent service, NR is swapping the current layout of six through platforms and nine terminus platforms to nine through platforms and six terminus platforms. This will enable 18 Thameslink trains per hour to use the station - it is currently four.

As well as the station, the scope of the work covers London Bridge Eastern Approaches (London Bridge-New Cross and New Cross Gate), Western Approaches (London BridgeWaterloo East and Blackfriars), and the

implementation of Automatic Train Operation (ATO).

“London Bridge is overcrowded and difficult to use,” says NR. “Our plans will make the station big enough to deal with 66% more passengers. It’s part of our bigger plan to improve rail travel across London, the South East and Britain.”

NR says that when complete, the new concourse will be bigger than the Wembley Stadium pitch, and the largest in the UK. It will also, for the first time, unify the station and allow passengers to access all the platforms from one place.

Work has been partially funded by The Shard development that has risen high above the station. That construction has also funded a new bus station and a new concourse for the railway station.

Changes to trains Prior to December 2012, at peak periods Southern operated 30 trains into nine platforms at London Bridge. This has dropped to six platforms, but the operator will still run 24tph. It aims to lengthen these trains were possible.

Southern says the shortfall in services will be reduced by the cessation of the London Bridge-Victoria via Denmark Hill services. They ended at the beginning of December, when London Overground started operating South London Line trains.

For Southeastern, services will not be affected immediately, but they will from 2015 when trains to Charing Cross no longer serve the station. Once the redevelopment is completed, there will be additional services for many routes through London Bridge.

First Capital Connect’s Thameslink trains will be diverted away from London Bridge for three years from the end of 2014, and will run via Herne Hill and Elephant & Castle. This will increase journey times by around 8-15 minutes.

While passengers will need to make alternative arrangements for that period, the Department for Transport plans to run trains off-peak between London Bridge and Brighton.

These will use the Low Level platforms, but can only be accommodated off-peak.

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Upgrading London’s railways

An aerial view of London Bridge station. The through platforms are in the foreground, with the terminus platforms at the far side of the station. Trains to Charing Cross and Blackfriars depart London Bridge to the right of the picture. NETWORK RAIL.

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Upgrading London’s railways

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THAMESLINK

1

Metropolitan Junction

2

Down Snow Hill Up Snow Hill

4

Down Charing Cross Up Charing Cross

3

5

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Kent/New Cross/Brighton

Charing Cross/Blackfriars

Cannon Street

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New London Bridge track layout Key

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An artist’s impression of the new concourse at London Bridge. This will be the first time that all the platforms at the station are accessible from one concourse. NETWORK RAIL.

Preparatory work for the main development of the station began in May 2012.

However, major works could only really start after last summer’s Olympic Games, because during that period London Bridge was one of the most important interchanges for those attending the Games.

The preparatory work included building a deck above the Southern concourse, to protect passengers while work continued to remove the roof above them.

A new interim ticket office opened in November, while the old station will be de-constructed to enable a new viaduct to be built, continuing work already completed at nearby Borough Market, where a massive new viaduct has been built in readiness for the opening of the redeveloped station.

In May this year platforms 14-16 will close for redevelopment - this will affect Southern, with trains needing to be re-timed.

The following spring will see the first two redeveloped platforms open (Platforms 14 and 15, which will have been renumbered), with longer canopies. The platforms are being redeveloped largely in pairs so that sufficient train paths can be maintained to meet service requirements. Material will be brought to the station both by road and by train, with engineer’s trains set to be a regular sight at the station for several years.

The approach has also been taken that during remodelling of the Low Level (terminus platforms) station, NR must maintain the capabilities for 24tph to operate. This means that six platforms must be available throughout the reconstruction period.

From 2015, trains running to Charing Cross will not be able to call at London Bridge,

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Upgrading London’s railways

as redevelopment work will have started on Platforms 4-6. By this point the project will have reached the halfway point, with Platforms 10-15 (the terminus platforms) completed.

By 2016, Platforms 4-9 will be complete and Charing Cross trains will once again be able to call at the station. However, those running to Cannon Street will then be unable to call at London Bridge because the redevelopment of Platforms 1-3 will have begun. Also that year, a new street level concourse providing direct access to St Thomas’ Street will open.

2018 is the key year - that is when the track, signalling, and redevelopment and construction of bridges in and around London Bridge should be complete.

Once the station has been rebuilt, all bar Platform 15 will be capable of accommodating 12-car trains. That platform will be able to handle ten-car trains.

The scope of the work for the Eastern Approaches is divided into two separate work streams, with one covering the Low Level station and the other the High Level station approaches. NR says that these projects can largely be achieved independently of one another, so if there is a delay to one, the other will not be duly affected.

This work includes: ■ Temporary track slews, including those at London Bridge, Spa Road and Blue Anchor.

■ Remodelling South Bermondsey Junction -

laying new track, and installing new signalling structures including gantries.

■ Connecting the Bermondsey Dive-Under to the existing Up and Down Kent Fast lines.

■ Routing the Charing Cross trains over the new (but not yet in use) Borough Market viaduct (Westbound).

■ Temporarily re-routing Cannon Street and Charing Cross services via alternative platforms and through lines at London Bridge.

■ Double-tracking the Tanners Hill fly-down to cover for the removal of Spa Road Junction.

■ Construction of double junctions at Tanners

This will be the most ambitious redevelopment of any London station in a generation, and one of the most technically demanding projects ever undertaken on our railway.

Robin Gisby, Managing Director of Network Operations, Network Rail Hill Junction and Lewisham Vale Junction that will connect with the main lines.

■ Construction of north-end turnouts at the Up Sussex Loop, allowing its use by 12-car trains during the London Bridge reconstruction. The longer trains will be held here until a path into the station is available.

■ Construction of a turnback facility to the south side of South Bermondsey station. This is needed to terminate and turn back trains

Timeline 2013 Main works start 2014 First new platforms open 2015 Thameslink services diverted from London Bridge 2016 Charing Cross services diverted from London Bridge until 2016 2016 Cannon Street services diverted from London Bridge until 2017 2018 Station complete. Full service resumes

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1

approaching London Bridge from the South London Lines during the reconstruction. This will largely be used during the work on the Low Level platforms.

NR says work on the Western Approaches “has been decoupled as much as possible from the work at the station to minimise the impact on station construction”.

Initial enabling stages include installing new signals (but not yet commissioning them) at

New work Existing work New crossovers - NR requested New crossovers - TOC requested Direction of travel Platform numbers Waterloo East station on all four lines. The Waterloo East mid-platform gantry, and three other gantries between Waterloo East and Borough Market viaducts, will be installed during possessions.

Enabling work is needed for the re-routing of trains over the Borough Market viaducts, and NR believes this could be carried out at the same time as one of the early High Level station possessions that block the Charing Cross services.

The work also includes remodelling at Blackfriars and on the Spur lines round to London Bridge, to facilitate southbound Thameslink trains.

This includes converting a siding into a running line. Trains running over the new Borough Market viaduct in the eastbound direction will be routed over it, while signalling systems will be updated. There will also be remodelling of Metropolitan Junction, which will be relocated westwards.

Key to the 24tph will be Automatic Train Operation. This will have border points north of Elephant & Castle (for trains entering the Core from the south), east of London Bridge, on the Up Line at Metropolitan Junction, immediately south of Dock Junction on the Midland Main Line, and immediately south of Belle Isle Junction on the East Coast Main Line.

Only trains with ETCS (European Train Control System) capability will be affected by the system, and no other services with the option to switch into ETCS will be provided.

The Thameslink Programme is not providing the capability (on-train or trackside) for non-Thameslink trains to run using ETCS. NR says trains should not be allowed to transition in and then immediately out of ETCS unless terminating an area affected by it.

The exact nature of future service provision has still to be mapped out. This will be determined by the Department for Transport, but will be included in a new An artist’s impression of the new roofs on the through platforms at London Bridge. NETWORK RAIL.

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Upgrading London’s railways

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THAMESLINK

The interior of the terminus platforms on July 26 2011. These platforms are being closed through 2014 to allow for their redevelopment. This means that Southern will need to retime some of the trains it operates.

PAUL BIGLAND/RAIL.

‘super’ franchise that will see First Capital Connect and Southern merged with parts of the Southeastern franchise.

At the launch of the second phase of the project, Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations at Network Rail, said: “This will be the most ambitious redevelopment of any London station in a generation, and one of the most technically demanding projects ever undertaken on our railway.

“It is only possible because of the partnership that we have built with the train operators, Transport for London and our suppliers. But ultimately its success will be defined by the passengers who use the station.

The benefits will be massive, but we need their help and support to make it happen.”

Jim Crawford, programme director at Network Rail, said: “We spent three years performing open heart surgery on the railway through central London, to enable it to carry longer trains and more of them.

“Making phase one a success required us to think differently. We realised that it could not just be about Network Rail, it required a dedicated team from across the industry. And

it is this partnership with the train operating companies - Southern, First Capital Connect and Southeastern, with Transport for London and with our suppliers, that will be critical going forward.”

Phase two of Thameslink also includes work such as the Bermondsey dive-under. In total, construction work on track and signalling will cover seven miles of railway in the London Bridge area.

The Bermondsey dive-under is needed because of the way Thameslink trains arrive at London Bridge. They will have two dedicated tracks at the station, using tracks that will cross over trains from Kent heading for Charing Cross.

The latter services will be diverted slightly south onto the route of a former branch line to Bricklayers’ Arms. They will then slope up alongside the Brighton Main Line just north of South Bermondsey station. Thameslink trains can then cross over the line on a new bridge, meeting the existing alignment just north of Jarrow Road.

The Charing Cross and Thameslink lines will each cross Rotherhithe New Road on each other’s present alignment. ■

We spent three years performing open heart surgery on the railway through central London, to enable it to carry longer trains and more of them.

Jim Crawford, Programme Director, Network Rail 30

Upgrading London’s railways

The Shard development has helped fund the transformation of London Bridge station. On March 28 2012 it towers over the station, as a Southern Class 377 (left) leaves the Low Level station, while Southeastern Class 465s run through the High Level station (right). CARL CHAMBERS.

Further reading ■ 16-page Thameslink special, RAIL 623 ■ Thameslink picks up the pace, RAIL 679.

■ NR to step up Thameslink track and line work,

RAIL 682 ■ RAIL archive - www.railmagazine.com/

archive

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