Inside Track November 2022

railbusinessdaily.com

STRUCTURAL IMPORTANCE FOR RAIL

Building structures in infrastructure and policy

Dawlish sea wall – railway’s resilience to the sea Making rail freight sustainable What next for the Elizabeth line and TfL Huw Merriman – new Rail Minister speaks Eurostar exclusive: surviving the pandemic and moving forward

Focusing on the permanent way during a period of change

Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Track, and what a time it is to be covering the UK railways

Rising to the challenge

Andy Bagnall, chief executive at Rail Partners, looks at the issues surrounding rail industry reform and how best to tackle them

Figures all adding up to prove success of popular Elizabeth line

More milestones reached for major new London railway as full services and timetables

How Eurostar survived the pandemic and is looking to the future COVID had a devastating impact on Eurostar, but the cross-Channel operator is looking forward to a brighter future including a merger and ambitious plans for growth

A lesson in how to combat the worst of Mother Nature

Inside Track examines the painstaking work undertaken since the devastating storm eight years ago that swept the Dawlish railway into the sea

Full restoration for iconic landmark

Network Rail is making headway with a £25 million upgrade of the 154-year-old Barmouth Viaduct that aims to keep it operational for many more years to come

Freightliner’s head of sustainability outlines roadmap to decarbonisation Speaking at the annual Rail Freight Group Conference, Chris Cleveland explains how Freightliner is seeking to become more sustainable

New Rail Minister: “this is the job I always wanted to do”

Huw Merriman was appointed Rail Minister. The former Transport Select Committee chair made his public debut at the RIA conference in London in early November

Taking a visionary approach to viaduct and footbridge design

Accessibility and transparency key design drivers as well as safety for HS2 joint venture

Swinging into the future Network Rail is undertaking a reliability upgrade on three swing bridges in East Anglia that are vital to rural railways

Protecting everybody: the regulator’s changing role

John Larkinson, chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road, provided an overview of the industry at the recent Rail Freight Group Conference

Insight into rail industry’s role in protecting biodiversity Network Rail biodiversity manager Dr Neil Strong addresses delegates at the Rail Freight Group’s annual conference

Strengthening rail support for the UK supply chain

With UK rail organisations facing more uncertainty than ever in this challenging market, never has there been a more important time for businesses to have access to high-quality support

As the Government plays musical chairs, what will become of the railways? Inside Track takes a closer look at the speeches delivered at the recent Labour and Conservative party conferences

Fatigue and asset integrity

Greg Morse considers the wrong side failure at Dalwhinnie, recently reported on by RAIB

Paddington returns to platform 1 Beloved bear resumes his place following a campaign supported by thousands of fans

Focusing on the permanent way during a period of change

Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Track, and what a time it is to be covering the UK railways

Since the start of September, there have been three Prime Ministers, three Secretaries of State for Transport, three Chancellors of the Exchequer and three Rail Ministers. But no General Election.

The autumn is conference season, starting with the major political parties and continuing across the rail industry. Major rail projects were mentioned by Labour at its event in Liverpool, but only really in passing by the incumbent government at its own event in Birmingham, although there was a promise to “build, build, build.” Liz Truss spoke of the desire to build Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in a television interview but failed to mention it during her speech; however since her successor Rishi Sunak moved into Number 10 Downing Street, there have been several stories suggesting that in a need to cut public spending NPR could be scaled back. What message does that send to the north of England at the same time as the next phase of the £15 billion Elizabeth line opens to the public thereby creating more connectivity across London and the South East? It is, of course, important to point out that the Elizabeth line (as Crossrail) was formally approved by Labour but completed under a Conservative government and so the work was already well underway, whereas NPR is still very much on the drawing board.

In this issue of Inside Track, we visited the opening of Bond Street station and spoke exclusively to key decision makers and operators including Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, former London Transport Commissioner Andy Byford and his interim replacement Andy Lord as well as Elizabeth line chief operating officer Howard Smith. Two weeks after that landmark, through running from Shenfield to Paddington, and from Abbey Wood to Reading began, with the next and final step now the full through service operating from east to west. What effect the political turmoil will have on rail reform remains to be seen, but we know that legislation for the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) has been delayed. There has still yet to be any announcement regarding the future HQ of GBR.

With the various stories surrounding uncertainty for the future of the new railway from London to the West Midlands and the north of England, the new Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper stated his re-commitment to the project at the start of November. This was only days after he had delivered a near 4,000-word update to Parliament on the state of the HS2 project, detailing progress on the scheme, the schedule for the next stage to the north and the finances surrounding the project.

We look at the structures around the West Midlands on HS2 and explain how they will help transform the areas that they are being constructed in, and how visionary approaches are being taken to building these structures. These may be new-build, state-of-the-art structures on HS2, but in East Anglia there are three swing bridges that play a vital role in enabling rural services to continue operating, linking communities in eastern parts of the UK. Network Rail is upgrading these structures in a project that will not only save costs, but also improve their reliability and therefore the punctuality of the railway.

A feature of the railway that always grabs attention is the sea wall at Dawlish. Now, almost nine years after severe storms caused part of the iconic structure to collapse, therefore severing a vital artery linking the Devon and Cornwall Peninsula with the rest of the country, work continues on the construction of new structures designed to improve resilience including a new wall and rock shelter. Sustainability and biodiversity are also increasingly important to the rail industry, and we hear from representatives of Freightliner and Network Rail respectively, who spoke at recent rail events.

Whilst the politics of the UK continue to create uncertainty, it remains a positive that here in Inside Track we can look at the good taking place on the railway.

Thanks for reading.

Richard Clinnick, Editor, Inside Track

“ “ Introduction railbusinessdaily.com Inside Track | November 2022

Rising to the challenge

Andy Bagnall, chief executive at Rail Partners, looks at the issues surrounding rail industry reform and how best to tackle them

Sunak’s government has even less time to lose on rail reform

When Liz Truss became Prime Minister in September, I said at the time that given the rumbling war in the Ukraine, rising energy prices impacting the cost of living, and economic pressures perhaps pointing to a recession, rail reform is understandably not likely to be the issue that keeps her up at night.

If anything, with the worsening economic outlook, and growing threats of escalation in Ukraine, that’s even more true for Rishi Sunak. But despite this, for rail, a number of issues have become more pressing – the need to adapt to travel patterns that are almost certainly permanently altered, the cost pressures as a result of lower passenger numbers, industrial action that is dragging on and slowing rail’s recovery, and not to mention the need for structural reform that predated the pandemic.

Assuming the comments of the outgoing Secretary of State for Transport Anne-Marie Trevelyan at the Transport Select Committee hold, we now know that legislation to create Great British Railways (GBR) will be delayed until the next parliamentary session that starts in May 2023.

The new Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, must make progress with other key reforms if rail is to play its fullest part in helping the government stabilise the public finances, and support resilience and recovery of the wider economy.

To help rise to these challenges, he should focus on three broad areas.

First, we should use the gap before legislation to get the design of Great British Railways right With legislation paused, the Secretary of State needs to make progress in other areas where parliamentary time is not required. One aspect of this is redefining what kind of public body we want GBR to be. We have an opportunity to create a lighter touch, more

strategic body with a guiding, not controlling, mind, as envisaged in the Plan for Rail.

If we are serious about delivering better outcomes for customers and taxpayers, we need to bake private sector creativity and expertise into rail reform. Of course, we must engender clearer accountability in the system through the new arm’s length body, but that must come with appropriate freedoms for the private sector operators to do what they do best within that framework: chasing revenue, driving out costs and delivering for client authorities and customers alike. A less centralised GBR would also be a better outcome for openaccess and freight operating companies.

Just look at what Lumo, the open-access 100 per cent electric rail operator, has achieved in its first year. Since the introduction of its full timetable in April, Lumo has for the first time in decades pushed air travel off the top spot as the most favoured transport mode between Edinburgh and London. Between April and August this year, 57 per cent of journeys between the two capitals were by rail, compared to just 35 per cent in April to August 2019. The results should provide confidence to government that an operator with the right commercial freedoms and incentives can both grow back revenues and put rocket boosters under modal shift.

“ “ Opinion

So, let’s treat this gap before legislation not as a hiatus, but as a period to sense check the current trajectory of GBR and the role of the operators to best create renewed success on the railways.

Secondly, we must stabilise the industry’s finances by utilising the expertise of private operators

As cost pressures on the public finances get worse not better, we must take vigorous action to stabilise the railway’s finances. The Transport Secretary will likely have some challenging conversations with the Chancellor about what the government can continue to afford. The Chancellor will likely be looking hawkishly at the public finances and see that rail revenue is only at around 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while still receiving significant taxpayer support to cover its fixed costs.

To remind ourselves of the state of the railway’s finances – on the cost side of the ledger, since the start of the pandemic the Treasury has injected an additional £16 billion to plug the gap in the passenger railway finances and keep services running. With the government seeking to bring public finances under control, it is unsustainable for the railway to take more than its fair share. Asking passengers to pay higher fares just as we are trying to attract people back to rail cannot be the answer either.

We need the trade unions to accept that costs must therefore be controlled by reforming the way we do things to increase productivity and efficiency – this is not only necessary in itself but is also key both to improving passenger outcomes and to unlocking savings that will allow operators to offer their staff a pay rise and end the current strike action. Similarly, government needs to prioritise bringing industrial action to an end, which, if allowed to drag on, will have wider implications for the economy and environment as people and business lose trust in rail as a reliable means of transport.

We also need to put revenue risk, which currently resides in Treasury, and cost risk, which is with Department for Transport (DfT), back together in one place. We would argue it is counter-productive to the future success of the railways for one part of government to be thinking in isolation about cutting costs and not weighing these cuts against the potential of driving revenues instead.

We must also close the gap on the other side of the ledger by boosting revenue. To do this, independent train operators need the right responsibilities within contracts and the levers necessary to dispense those responsibilities, to adapt to changing patterns of demand, and to focus relentlessly on attracting new and returning customers.

An immediate step that could be taken to enable this is to switch on dormant revenue incentives in National Rail Contracts.

More tightly specified, concession contracts can be appropriate for commuter markets but should still include revenue incentives. For regional and long-distance rail markets, a degree of revenue risk and sufficient commercial freedoms transferred to operators will create better outcomes.

We must ensure rail doesn’t become a long-term cost that the Treasury is increasingly unwilling to bear. We want a growing freight and passenger railway, but that means being ambitious in terms of targeting growth, addressing the cost challenges and doggedly chasing revenue. Independent train operators have a track record of doing this previously and can do it again if we create the right framework.

Thirdly, we need to lay the

structural foundations for the next decades of growth

With the delay in rail legislation, we must move forward with the design of Passenger Service Contracts (PSCs) that need to be constructed with a focus on customer experience at their core. The PSCs must give private operators the agency to make rail an obvious choice for customers over other modes. We need to create a range of contracts, recognising that one size does not fit all.

For the future rail market to be vibrant and competitive there needs to be balanced risk and reward profiles in the new contracts to make rail an attractive proposition for incumbents and new entrants. But November marks 18 months since the publication of the white paper and 12 months since the market engagement day where the DfT sought input into the design of the new contractual model. While operators can tolerate a temporary pause in legislation, we do need to see swift progress with the design of PSCs to boost confidence in the direction of travel.

We also need to see the government move quickly to set an ambitious growth target for rail freight. If the target we are calling for of trebling freight by 2050 was met through the right supporting policy framework, it would remove 21 million HGV movements from our roads every year, helping to decarbonise supply trains and improve air quality.

If the Secretary of State makes use of this pause in legislation by making progress with other reforms, he still has an opportunity to create a reinvigorated railway with a robust publicprivate partnership at its core, which can help the government deliver for customers, taxpayers, and Britain.

Rail Partners and its members stand ready to support him in delivering this shared ambition.

As cost pressures on the public finances get worse not better, we must take vigorous action to stabilise the railway’s finances

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Figures all adding up to prove success of popular Elizabeth line

More milestones reached for major new London railway as full services and timetables become operational

This autumn has been pivotal for the new Elizabeth line in London, with more milestones achieved as this issue of Inside Track was going to press. .

Following on from the opening of the central section on 24 May (Inside Track 6), trains began serving the final new station under central London, Bond Street, exactly five months later on 24 October. Furthermore, from 6 November passenger-carrying trains ran direct from Shenfield into Paddington via the link between the Great Eastern main line (GEML) and new Elizabeth line infrastructure at Pudding Mill Lane, near Stratford. Also from 6 November trains operate direct from Abbey Wood in the east to Heathrow Airport and Reading via the Great Western main line (GWML) using the connection at Portobello Junction west of Paddington, where the trains rejoin Network Rail infrastructure.

Since the opening of the new railway in late May, the Elizabeth line has essentially operated as three separate railways. There is the central section that runs from Paddington (low level) to Abbey Wood using the new railway. Then there is the eastern section operating between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street (main line station), and finally there’s the western section which operates from Paddington (main line station) to Heathrow Airport (using the branch from the GWML) and Reading (using the GWML).

Empty trains currently run through the central section between Old Oak Common depot in the west to Ilford depot in the east but no passenger trains have been able to do this.

From 6 November, MTR will still operate trains into Liverpool Street and Paddington main line stations, while the vast majority of the current services will descend from Network Rail tracks into the central section although some will continue serving the main line stations going forward.

Currently trains operate Monday to Saturday between 06.30 and 22.30, with the schedule designed to build in additional engineering hours that have been required to prepare the new railway for its full service. According to TfL board papers released ahead of a board meeting on 29 September (the last available before this issue of Inside Track went to press), performance for the Elizabeth line during period 5 (July 24 – 20 August 2022), was 94.6 per cent, which is a better than targeted figure and a bestin-industry performance for the third period in a row.

TfL states in the board papers that “the average PPM in the central section has remained steadily above 95 per cent since entry into revenue service demonstrating that inherent ‘background’ reliability is high. There is no single major contributing factor or systemic issue impacting PPM, however the team continue to work to improve resilience, driving down response and recovery times to one-off events.”

From May 2023, when the entire railway is finally opened, four years later than planned, trains will finally link Reading with Shenfield.

Yet another significant improvement will be the introduction of seven-day running on the Elizabeth line central section from 6 November.

Platform screen doors (PSDs) have occasionally impacted PPM says TfL, with the main cause being the way passengers have interacted with them. Attempts by passengers to free luggage stuck in closing PSDs have resulted in several instances of rubber safety edges on the doors becoming partially dislodged, leading to delays.

However, the board papers state that “a promising modification to retain the rubber safety edges more securely is being developed.”

“ “ Crossrail

Passenger numbers across Period 4 (26 June –23 July) reached 4.5 million on the east and west, and 5.1 million passengers travelled in the central section.

In total the frequency through the central section will rise from the current 12 trains per hour (tph) to 22tph during the peak, and 16tph off-peak from 6 November. Trains will also finish running an hour later at 23.30, having already begun operating an hour earlier, from 05.30, on 5 September. The frequency then increases to 24tph from May 2023 and there is capacity for 30tph.

Finance

TfL also states that the Miles per Technical Incident Number (MTIN), which is used to measure the mean distance in miles between service affecting faults of three or more minutes has been, in general, above the target of 10,000 miles.

Customer satisfaction ahead of the 29 September meeting gave an overall score of 87.5 per cent, the highest ever score across all the modes of

a

while customer satisfaction for the east

and west sections was at 77 per cent for Quarter 1. TfL says that passenger numbers on the Elizabeth line are consistently higher than budgeted for and, excepting strike action, regularly exceed two million per week. Of the 45 million who had travelled by the end of September, some 22 million had used the new section of railway. For example, during the week ending 20 August there were 2.1 million passenger journeys for the whole line.

TfL says that passenger journeys for the Elizabeth line exceeded budgeted figures by 14 million, due to the central section opening five weeks earlier than assumed plus higher than expected passenger numbers across the whole line. This meant that the income from fares was £20 million above budgeted forecasts as a result.

However, year to date (YTD) direct operating costs were £8 million lower than budgeted and the Net Operating Deficit for the new railway was £101 million, some £28 million favourable to the budget.

Capital expenditure was £2 million lower than budgeted for the YTD. As a result, TfL says that the Elizabeth line is on target to break even in the year 2023/2024. Expenditure in Period 5 was £18 million and is £112 million YTD. Period 5 expenditure was £6 million below the Delivery Control Schedule 1.2 (DCS1.2) budget and the programme is £41 million below the DCS1.2 budget for the year to date.

On average the programme has seen an underspend of £8 million a period in this financial year. The number of Crossrail full time equivalent staff is 363 (excluding any consultancy resource), and this was 16 lower than forecast in the DCS1.2. In Period 5, the P50 (50th percentile) Anticipated Final Crossrail Direct Cost (AFCDC) was reduced by £23 million to £15,940 million reflecting the realisation of opportunities and the lower risk profile for the remainder of the programme.

Improved signalling

The ELR210 train software was installed over the weekend of 30-31 July, and TfL says this successfully eliminated 18 out of 19 operational restrictions on signalling. A rollout of a further ELR211 update, to fix a bug in this iteration of the software, took place over a two-week period from the end of August. Preparation for ELR300 is also well under way, with plans for a rollout over the upcoming festive period. This update is intended to deliver auto-reverse functionality, which is described as critical to the final 24tph configuration of the railway.

TfL explains that there will no further change to the Elizabeth line timetable after 6 November until May 2023 because of the proximity any December 2022 timetable change – when the national

network implements its own changes – would have had to the November plan. While most passengers travelling on the Elizabeth line will see significant enhancements to service frequency, connectivity and journey times from November 2022, there are a few stations where the new timetable will entail a temporary impact on travel time.

Off-peak service frequencies at some western stations will increase, but at a loss of direct services from Iver to Taplow, Twyford and Reading, while some trains will have a timetable allowance to pause for up to seven minutes outside Paddington to regularise the service from the west through to the central section.

Passengers travelling from stations between Canary Wharf and Abbey Wood will see wait times slightly increase with the latest timetable (from five minutes between services currently, to six minutes at peak and seven and a half off-peak) but will improve again once the railway is in its final configuration next May.

Overall, TfL claims that there are significant benefits to travellers from introducing this timetable change compared to the previous plan, which would not have provided a through service from the west into the central section until May 2023. Timetable trial days remain key to the successful delivery of through running and high frequency services, with two trials taking place on Sundays in September 2022, and a further one on 23 October. Trial days have been key to growing confidence in the infrastructure and will also help the control teams to practice their operational response to incidents –similar to during the trial operations that ran prior to the opening of the central section.

On the surface, major works at both Ilford and

Romford stations have now been completed, marking the completion of major station upgrade work by Network Rail across the Elizabeth line system. These extensive station upgrades include new and refurbished entrances and ticket halls, new lifts, platform extensions, new and refurbished footbridges, a bay platform at Shenfield, and a complete rebuild of the station at Abbey Wood.

Works at Romford station were completed on 25 August, which followed the opening of the passenger lift from the main ticket hall earlier in the month. This has delivered step-free access, alongside the new ground-floor ticket office, spacious ticket hall, and the addition of a new entrance on the northern side of the station. Ilford station’s new entrance building on Cranbrook Road opened on 1 September.

Making connections

The new station at Bond Street provides a new link to one of the country’s busiest shopping districts and has two entrances: one at Hanover Square, the other at Davies Street. The new station is also designed to relieve congestion at Oxford Circus station and make the area more accessible, with step-free access from street to train. Prior to opening, Bond Street transferred to London Underground, which will operate it.

The station features two new spacious ticket halls with an abundance of natural light which lead passengers to the 255-metre long Elizabeth line platforms. Both entrances feature columns that blur the line between interior and exterior spaces and help the station fit into its surroundings with the choice of materials: red sandstone at Davies Street, and pale Portland stone at Hanover Square.

The new station is step-free from street to train with two lifts, further enhancing accessibility on the Elizabeth line and across the TfL network. The station will accommodate nearly 140,000 Elizabeth line passengers daily, contributing to an overall station capacity of 225,000 across the Jubilee, Central and Elizabeth lines. Bond Street will start with a train service every five minutes and from 6 November, trains will operate every three to four minutes, seven days a week. Beside the Bond Street station entrance on Hanover Square is Medici Courtyard, which is the first public courtyard to open in Mayfair for more than a century. This area of public realm was transformed by Westminster City Council as part of the Elizabeth line development in collaboration with adjacent property owners and developers.

A promise kept

Andy Byford, London transport commissioner, who left his role on 25 October, said when the opening of Bond Street station was confirmed: “When we opened the brilliant central section of the Elizabeth line earlier this year, I promised that Bond Street station would open this autumn and I am extremely pleased that Londoners and visitors will be able to use this magnificent station from 24 October.

“Bond Street was of course the station site that Her Majesty the Queen visited during construction in 2016 to mark the renaming of the railway in her honour. It was also our honour that Her Majesty graced us with her presence earlier this year to mark the completion of the railway.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Millions have already travelled on the Elizabeth line, and the opening of a station at Bond Street will help draw people back on to our world-class public transport network, encourage people to make the most of the capital and support businesses across the city. It will also provide a new link to one of the busiest shopping districts in Europe as retailers anticipate the ‘golden quarter’ ahead of the festive period.

“The new Elizabeth line station at Bond Street will be the jewel in the crown of the West End’s transport provision. It is truly spectacular and will provide a highly significant new link to one of the busiest shopping districts in the UK, enabling even further connectivity to jobs and leisure for people across London and the South East. I can’t wait to see people using this beautiful, spacious-step-free station. It will be yet another huge moment for transport in London and the bright future for city that lies ahead.”

“The opening of the Elizabeth line has been a landmark moment, not just for London but for the entire country. As London continues to recover from the pandemic, it’s vital that we encourage people back on to public transport and out into our city in order to help build a cleaner, greener and more prosperous London for everyone.”

Transport Minister Katherine Fletcher said: “The opening of Bond Street station is set to enable over 140,000 people to access one of the UK’s biggest shopping areas and the heart of the legendary West End, adding an expected £42 billion to the UK economy over the coming decades.

“London’s transport system is its lifeblood and the £9 billion of government investment which helped the Elizabeth line dream become a reality will transform the lives of millions for generations to come.”

How Eurostar survived the pandemic and is looking to the future

Decisions around fleet deployment will be made in the future

Eurostar suffered from the impact of COVID from March 2020 perhaps more than any other rail operator in Britain.

The decision by Government to introduce mandatory lockdowns and restrict travel affected international travel massively. Service levels were cut to one per day on the London to Paris and one per day on the London to Brussels/Amsterdam route. All other destinations were suspended whilst the decision was also taken to no longer call at either Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International stations.

Former Eurostar CEO Jacques Damas wrote to the Transport Select Committee (TSC) in a letter dated 26 September 2022, in which he responded to queries about the ongoing closure of the Kent stations and a decision to stop running direct trains between London and Disneyland Paris from next summer. Jacques, who left his role on 1 October 2022, stated: “The Committee is aware of the unique impacts on the business caused by the pandemic and the associated travel restrictions.

“We had our revenues cut by 95 per cent for 15 months in 2020-21 and were hit hard by the Omicron wave in December 2021 and early 2022, the restrictions attached to which had a further impact of at least £50 million.

amount ever taken out in dividends), but Eurostar needed to find an additional £500 million in commercial debt in order to survive.

“This commercial debt is at considerably higher cost than the loan facility offered to the airlines and Eurostar must continue to meet the demanding financial ratios underpinning these loans.”

He also said that in the mid- to long-term: “We cannot yet reasonably predict how both business and leisure markets will respond to the various structural changes such as the energy crisis and new work-from-home habits.

Contrary to the £7 billion in state aid given to our airline competitors – many of whom also have overseas and state-backed shareholdings – Eurostar did not receive any state-backed loans.

“Our shareholders put a further £250 million into the business (almost double the total historic

“There is considerable uncertainty about the ability of customers to pay in the context of the current and forecast pressures on the cost of living. At the same time, the business itself faces nearly £100 million in increased inflationary pressures. Once again, this is most acute on the UK side where the HS1 infrastructure – which is already three to four times more expensive per km than its French equivalent – is now rising in price almost three times as fast.”

COVID had a devastating impact on Eurostar, but the cross-Channel operator is looking forward to a brighter future including a merger and ambitious plans for growth

Trains have been really, really, really busy. And people have been paying more for their tickets

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Image: Shutterstock

Combined with the impact of Brexit, he wrote: “the combination of the two main short-term factors above means that, despite the return to travel, Eurostar cannot currently pursue a strategy of volume and growth. We are having to focus services on those core routes which make the maximum contribution per train and to charge higher prices to our customers. The whole focus of this effort is to manage and reduce the debts we had to incur; there is no prospect of any dividends to shareholders until this is done.

“The reason we have declined to offer any near-term prospect for review of this decision is that the pressures I refer to are not abating. The expectations of recovery within the business held by the banks continue to step- up in 2023.

The pandemic has certainly abated, but the risk remains. The uncertainty regarding the EU’s ‘Entry/Exit System’ (EES) – much discussed with the Committee – hangs over us.”

Thalys merger

Yet prior to the pandemic it was looking positive for the cross-Channel operator. Project Green Speed had been announced and was due to be concluded in 2020. This was a planned merger between Eurostar and Thalys, which would create new opportunities for high-speed travel across mainland Europe and also from Britain to the continent.

Brexit had happened, and this also had an impact according to the CEO’s letter. However, prior to the pandemic the impact of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union was unknown. A new route had been launched between London and Amsterdam, although passengers initially had to change at Brussels Midi due to Schengen rules, but the route was operational.

Passenger numbers were rising and had recovered from terror attacks on France and Belgium. 17 Siemens e320 electric trains had entered traffic and were providing a reliable service, enabling the withdrawal of older trains delivered when the cross-Channel link opened.

The merger has legally happened, but there has been considerable change caused by Brexit. Jacques Damas, in his letter to the TSC, stated: “Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, additional border checks apply to UK citizens seeking to enter Schengen, as they do to all Third Country nationals. Since circa 40 per cent of our customers are UK nationals, this has resulted in a significant increase in the processing times at stations. The stamping of British passports by continental police adds at least 15 seconds to individual passengers’ border crossing times. Automated systems such as e-gates are less effective.

“Eurostar has been taking action and working with the authorities. We have upgraded the French passport gates in St. Pancras and more UK gates are now going into Paris. We are installing an extra French control booth in London (where space is extremely constricted). However, as things stand, peak capacity through the stations is circa 30 per cent lower than pre-Brexit. Even with all booths manned, St. Pancras can currently process a maximum 1,500 passengers per hour vs. 2,200 in 2019. “It is only the fact that Eurostar has capacity-limited trains and significantly reduced its timetable from 2019 levels, that we are not seeing daily queues in the centre of London similar to those experienced in the Channel ports.

controls five to 10 times more passengers in our large terminals than in intermediate stations.”

Francois Le Doze is Eurostar chief commercial officer. He spoke with Inside Track about the issues facing the business, and how it plans to respond to what has been a tricky time, but which also has an exciting future.

Further challenges

Discussing the former CEO’s letter, he states: “I think what he says is very much the same theme that we’ve been working with for the past two years, it just concentrates everything that we’ve been facing, it’s just re-emphasising.

“We still face challenges and they’re not disappearing.”

The good news is that since May there has been what he describes as a massive spike in demand. “Trains have been really, really, really busy. And people have been paying more for their tickets.”

“This situation has obvious commercial consequences and is not sustainable in the mid- to long-term. But the immediate consequence is that we are currently not able to respond to the high demand on our core routes linking capital cities. Re-opening the intermediate stations (where demand and yields are much lower) would make things even worse as it would take away from London vital border police resources. The reality of traffic numbers is such that a police officer

Despite the challenges faced since March 2020, Francois is still optimistic. “I think the big theme was, and still is, despite the challenges, to target some really strong growth in passenger volume. That was the plan. Green Speed was supposed to be the accelerator for that. We already knew about the Brexit changes.”

It’s on record that the aim is to grow the passenger volume from 18 million passengers for the two businesses to 30 million by 2030.

Because of the Brexit changes and the knowledge around them, he suggests that growth may require expansion in station areas, something already happening at St. Pancras to enable the processing of passports.

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13 Eurostar railbusinessdaily.com Inside Track | November 2022

This is more likely to be in Paris Gare du Nord he says, which is already Europe’s busiest railway station and was due to be revamped ahead of the French capital hosting the 2024 Olympic Games. That project has changed and now there will be some ‘quick wins’ designed to enlarge some of the areas in the station to provide additional capacity.

On the Amsterdam route, launched in 2018, there are now four trains per day, up from the initial one. “We’ve been ramping up and it’s really impressive; we can see the potential is huge and we know that because the airlines carry 4.5 million passengers, so we know there’s potential.

“It’s working really well as well because it’s the first morning service so that opens up lots of possibilities for travel, including business travellers. We’re limited by terminal capacity in the Netherlands and could do with more.

“We might get more capacity in the station in Amsterdam but there are also challenges with our fleet and we need the availability to be able to operate a long route like that.”

Reducing routes

There are some routes that are not running. Eurostar used to operate from London to Marseille and another service to the Alps. Neither currently run and from June 2023 trains will no longer operate between London and Disneyland Paris. Ski trains operate again, but these are chartered by Travelski. “For the whole of 2023 the south of France train won’t operate and we cannot commit for future years,” he admits. “We don’t want to promise that we will re-open routes by a certain date. But we will revisit options for 2024 during the course of the next year. He suggests that this decision was based on the reasons given by the outgoing CEO and the focus on recovering the core routes.

“Our recovery is progressing well, but we have considerable financial commitments following the pandemic which we will continue to face for a number of years. There’s so much complexity now, more than we had before. It’s really hard to keep small operations elsewhere; that takes a disproportionate amount of resource and effort and costs. It just doesn’t make sense to do that. Focusing on core routes will help us to protect the customer experience whilst we monitor developments with the EES scheme and continue to recover financially.”

He highlights the border resource, which is sometimes lacking, and suggests that they shouldn’t be dispatched to a route with a scarce operation instead of busier services.

“You really want those resources to work hard on the most popular routes. Those routes contribute to the company’s bottom line, connecting the capitals, and so that’s where we put the priority.”

The current service level is about 75 per cent of the pre-COVID timetable on the Paris route, meaning there are 14 daily return trips between London and the French capital. There are seven on the Brussels route with four going all the way to Amsterdam.

We had never seen such a strong and resilient demand in the month of August. We didn’t have all the capacity we needed to sustain the demand.

“We really think there was a bit of revenge travel. There are some people who couldn’t travel for quite some time and took the opportunity now. We have already carried more passengers in 2022 than we did in the whole of 2020 and 2021 and are currently at just over 80 per cent of 2019 volumes.

“We’ve got between around 80 per cent of 2019 level in terms of purely business travel, and that’s considered the average in the industry considering where we’d hoped to be by this point. It’s quite encouraging.”

Post-pandemic changes

As for increasing the frequency of trains, he says that some departures would have to be close to each other and that the throughput of passengers needed would not be possible. There is also some backlog in maintenance and changes to the train fleets are required, such as the introduction of new signalling systems to enable the e300s to operate on the Brussels route from 2025. They currently run on that line but need to be modified to operate with the new system being introduced in Belgium.

What of the passenger types? Who is travelling? Francois says: “If we talk about the reason for travel then it’s business or leisure and we’ve seen a strong recovery of both. I think leisure travel was really, really strong, it was really impressive over the summer.

There is definitely a part of travel that will be lost forever thanks to the way in which business and work have changed due to the pandemic, with more meetings via Zoom or Teams, and more working from home. However, he says that there are really strong signs from corporate customers of a return to travel.

“For example, a lot of American banks are back in Europe; they travel a lot and from those big sectors there is a lot of activity.

“We’ve seen some really strong performance in Business Premier, where a lot of business people travel, so that’s encouraging.”

He said that there has been a really good recovery from the US market which wasn’t expected so much in 2022. More customers from the Asian markets are also travelling again.

We’ve seen some really strong performance in Business Premier, where a lot of business people travel, so that’s encouraging

“ “

Image: Shutterstock

Direct trains between London and Amsterdam were introduced in 2018

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There is, however, a bit of disappointment with the French market, he explains. “We are digging into this. We know the attractivity of the UK as a nation, the attractivity of London as a destination. It was very complicated to travel to the UK during COVID when the testing rules and prices associated with that were very high and complicated. This is behind us but I think there is a bit of a long-lasting thing, and the climate around Brexit I don’t think helps in terms of those destinations being top, but we will be working on how we can reinvigorate this market and are confident that it will happen.”

Marketing London

Francois has been attending sessions in London with various partners to determine how the UK capital aims to position itself in the world in terms of tourism and the vision for the city: namely, where it wants to be in a decade in terms of attracting people to London. He says there is an initiative to market London to markets including France, Germany, the Netherlands and the US.

“We know our destinations well and we try to put that in perspective and to really show what it is they have to offer,” he says.

Francois addresses the issues around the Kent stations and explains: “It’s about focussing on the core markets, which is connecting the capitals. There is so much uncertainty about the Entry/ Exit System that the EU will put in place. There will be kiosks installed in our UK stations and this will add considerable pressure to all of our station environments, given the substantial registration process that will be required for all of our UK and non-EU passengers. It’s something we’re very worried about, as there’s uncertainty around what this means for the pre-departure processing times.

“So, as long as we have that uncertainty we cannot commit to saying ‘yes, we will reopen the

station’. We have to get this right for the core routes first, we need to monitor developments and make sure that we can continue to provide the high level of service that our customers rightly expect, then we can more seriously look at other stations.

“The other thing is border resource. We have to use it in London but at the moment this is a precious resource. We work with the authorities really closely and we’ve really good relationships with them. It’s about explaining what our needs are and really seeing what they can do and what they can provide. It’s not easy for them. We’re quite a season business across the year, there are peaks, and so we are trying to match as best we can the resource that we need and what they can give. But yes, sometimes there is a bit of a gap between the need for border staff and what they’re able to offer.”

As for the merger with Thalys, a holding company, Eurostar Group, has been created and this owns both businesses. There is one single executive committee looking after both and a process is underway to shape the organisation so that in the future they can operate as one. This will take time, he says.

Changes will begin to take place next year, and these will include how the business operates and is organised.

“Some parts will go be able to go faster than others – between the headquarters and the operation it’s all quite different, but our priority is to make changes which will improve the customer journey.” he says.

There is work underway to unify the systems used. This will include using the same booking platforms, websites, app and loyalty programme, eventually the same brands. The latter will be Eurostar but with a new, European-style look.

“When we looked at the potential of Project Greenspeed it was before we officially merged and there were opportunities to really grow

significantly existing networks and routes. Together as one company we connect five countries and cover the largest international highspeed rail network in Europe.

Looking ahead

He added: “Now, what we need to do is really look at how we want to combine our network and how we can use the fleet most efficiently across the network. That’s more likely to be around 2025. Were we able to have a unified transport plan that looks like one company, from there, we could look at where we want to increase the capacity, and on what routes. This would depend also on the choices we make on fleets and rolling stock, because that would be a question that we can complete quickly.

“There is not a single train that can go everywhere on the network. The combined networks are the five countries but there are some compatibilities. So the e320 could operate between Paris and Amsterdam. Not every train can go everywhere but there are some things that we can do and we’ll be looking at this.

“In time you could book Paris to Brussels, Paris to Germany, Paris to Amsterdam on the same app or website. We firmly believe in connecting services as well. Running direct trains to very, very far destination sometimes is not the most economically sound thing to do. If you make connecting trains easy and explain the potential to customers, then it has potential.”

He makes the case that for the South of France, Eurostar passengers could connect with an SNCF high-speed service to the coast. “When we operated to the south of France we noticed that our direct service from London was very popular but on the way back lots of people chose to take the connecting train. They had many choices because there were many trains, whereas there were only one or two a week direct.”

Passengers are returning to Eurostar, and there ambitions to significantly grow these figures by 2030

A lesson in how to combat the worst of Mother Nature

Eight years ago, storms brought into sharp focus the sheer force of nature when 80 metres of the historic sea wall at Dawlish collapsed during the night of 4 February 2014.

Ten days later, on 14 February, a further 20 metres was destroyed by another storm. This blocked the railway for 50 weekdays and cost the south west peninsula region an estimated £1 billion in lost revenue.

The railway through Dawlish may be picturesque, but nestling between the cliffs and the beach, when the English Channel began to rage, backed by a severe storm, there could only ever be one winner.

Bottleneck

What is perhaps so significant is that there is only one railway west of Exeter that links Devon and Cornwall to the rest of Britain. It was this which was severed. The route across Dartmoor via Tavistock closed in the 1968 while the Teign Valley, which ran around the back of the coastal towns, closed in 1958. Therefore, all passenger trains linking local communities, long-distance expresses bound either for London or the north of England as well as freight traffic, all relies on a double-track section of railway that clings to the coastline for several miles.

Network Rail set about repairing the damage at a cost of £35 million, and on 4 April 2014 the railway was able to reopen following the heroic efforts of railway workers, who were dubbed the ‘Orange Army’. Working all day and night, 300 Network Rail staff and contractors rebuilt the missing 100-metre section of wall and replaced the track and foundations with 6,000 tonnes of concrete and 150 tonnes of steel.

However, questions remained over what would happen in the future. Predictions of more catastrophic failures caused by Mother Nature were made, and the argument became louder regarding the need to reopen the Dartmoor line between Exeter and Plymouth via Okehampton and Tavistock (Inside Track 7). Those calls remain loud today with political support from across the peninsula desperately making the case that a diversion is needed.

Making the righ choice

While it was shut, buses ferried people between Tiverton Parkway, Exeter, Newton Abbot and Plymouth. Some operators such as CrossCountry and DB Cargo UK kept their trains west of the blockade but this was not possible for First Great Western (FGW, now Great Western Railway), which moved trains by road across Dartmoor for repairs and scheduled maintenance.

When the big day came, a ceremony took place at Dawlish attended by the then Prime Minister David Cameron and the then new Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne, on what was his first official duty in his new job.

Network Rail looked at various options including reopening all the way across Dartmoor, rebuilding the Teign Valley line, building a third track on the sea wall by extending the wall into the beach, and various other ideas including a breakwater designed to reduce the ferocity of the sea.

Eventually a resilience plan was conceived and this is what has been taking place at Dawlish, designed to protect the railway not only from the sea, but also from the adjacent cliffs. The latter is a problem not only at Dawlish, but further west along the wall towards Teignmouth.

The plan involves constructing a new wall that will cost £80 million and is being delivered in two phases. The first phase runs for approximately 400 metres from Colonnade underpass, west of Dawlish, to Boat Cove.

Inside Track examines the painstaking work undertaken since the devastating storm eight years ago that swept the Dawlish railway into the sea

Dawlish has been a job like no other

“ “

The first section of the sea wall at Dawlish to be made more resilient was a promenade between the first of five tunnels and the station, which protected both the railway and residents.

Image: Network Rail/Dawlish Beach Cams.

This was completed in July 2020, and work is now nearing completion on phase two, which is a 415-metre section between Coastguards and Colonnade breakwaters.

Work on this began in November 2020 and is due to be completed in December, while work into install an accessible footbridge with lifts at Dawlish station is scheduled for completion by the end of next summer.

The railway through Dawlish is now better

protected as construction of the new, bigger sea wall has reached another major milestone.

At the end of August Network Rail confirmed that the installation of all 164 wall panels, 203 pre-cast blocks and 189 recurve units that return waves back out to sea is now complete.

The infrastructure company says that this innovative design coupled with the increased height of the new sea wall will help prevent delays and disruption to passengers by

minimising the likelihood of the tracks flooding and allowing the line to reopen more quickly after major storms.

Following the significant progress made installing the wall panels, blocks and recurve units, Network Rail and its contractors BAM Nuttall are focused on completing the link bridge that will connect the two sections of public, accessible promenade and the new stilling basin, where Dawlish Water runs into the sea.

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Image: Network Rail/Dawlish Beach Cams.

The rebuilt sea wall around Dawlish station. This is the second phase of the work to improve resilience here.

Network Rail says that this piece of work is expected to be finished in December, due to the discovery of an uncharted gas main in June that delayed piling to install foundations for the new link bridge close to Colonnade viaduct.

The final part of the project involves the construction of the new footbridge with lifts at Dawlish station, meaning any passengers, residents or visitors will be able to enjoy easy stepfree access at the station for the first time.

Ewen Morrison, Network Rail senior programme manager, said: “Achieving resilience for the railway in Dawlish is a major milestone not just for Network Rail, but for our passengers, the town and the south west region as a whole. It’s what we set out to do when we were awarded £80 million of funding from the Department of Transport back in 2019.

“This landmark moment is testament to the hard work and coordination of staff from Network Rail and our contractors BAM Nuttall, who have worked under extremely challenging conditions around the tides and through the seasons as well as during the pandemic.

“As we near completion of the sea wall, it’s exciting to know the positive impact this project will have in Dawlish, which will provide greater protection to the railway from rising sea levels and extreme weather for generations to come.”

A significant project

The importance of the work was highlighted by Network Rail on the eighth anniversary of the wall’s collapse.

Julie Gregory, Network Rail senior sponsor, said at the time: “This is a really significant project – not just for Network Rail but for Dawlish and the entire south west peninsula – because once complete this new, bigger sea wall will play a central role in protecting this town and this key railway route to the south west from rising sea levels and extreme weather for generations to come and, we hope, prevent the events of 2014 ever happening again.”

Yan Sayles, BAM Nuttall project manager, said: “Dawlish has been a job like no other. The location of the railway, sandwiched between the sea and the town, has made delivering the work incredibly challenging but enormously rewarding. It has pushed us to the limits of our knowledge and required us to develop new techniques and materials that have never been used in other rail projects before.

“I’d like to thank the residents of Dawlish for their patience, hospitality and friendship over our years delivering this work. We know our work has sometimes caused noise and disturbance, but we hope that it will provide a lasting legacy that will benefit the town for many years to come.

An aerial view of the damage caused to the railway by the storms of 4 February 2014.

Image: Network Rail

Work to install the second phase of the new wall began last year and has been completed, with this phase due to be finished by the end of this year.

Image: Network Rail

Work was also required to build a link bridge and stilling basin as part of the rebuilt sea wall.

Image: Network Rail

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Our new innovative 4 Channel Speed Sensor can be used to replace existing single and dual channel Speed Sensors as the physical footprint is of the same form of sensors used in typical applications. This means fewer Speed Sensors per train, having a novel design that improves the EMC immunity and improving product life expectancy and reliability.

BAM and our suppliers are extremely proud of the work we’re delivering in Dawlish and I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the effort so far.”

Councillor Jonathan Drean, Chair of Peninsula Rail Task Force, said: “The resilience and reliability of the main line at Dawlish remains the top priority of the Peninsula Rail Task Force and therefore it is heartening to see the tremendous progress being made along the sea wall.

“Completion of this programme of works is essential to increasing business confidence, attracting inward investment and supporting communities, tourism and economic growth right through the south west to South Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall.”

Councillor Val Mawhood, Mayor of Dawlish, added: “The great storm of 2014 is now a major part of Dawlish history and something that will be spoken about for generations to come.

“This awful event showed just how vital this section of the rail network is for the whole of the south west and I welcome the progress which has been made on the new sea wall. This is already having a positive impact on the town and will ensure that history isn’t repeated.”

Further issues

It isn’t just Dawlish where the resilience is required. Further west the famous sandstone cliffs are of increasing concern for the railway due to their unstable nature. Fencing has been erected east of Teignmouth to stop debris crashing onto the tracks, however more work is needed, including the construction of a rock shelter in quite an isolated part of the railway.

Network Rail awarded Morgan Sindall Infrastructure a £28 million contract in May 2021 to construct an extension of the existing rockfall shelter over the railway line between Dawlish and Holcombe. The overall cost of the project is £37.4 million.

Morgan Sindall Infrastructure has begun construction of the 209-metre extension north of Parsons Tunnel.

Construction is expected to take a year and, once complete, will help protect trains against falling rocks along this section of vital railway that connects communities across the south west with the rest of the country.

Earlier this year the railway was closed overnight on Mondays to Thursdays for eight weeks to allow piling to take place at the site.

Parsons Tunnel was previously extended

The first section of the sea wall at Dawlish to be made more resilient was a promenade between the first of five tunnels and the station, which protected both the railway and residents.

100 years ago and this project will extend that further by providing a rockfall shelter in modern materials, but with open sides rather than the brick-built enclosed tunnel extension. The rockfall shelter is being constructed from a series of six metre modular pre-cast concrete sections. Faced with the challenging coastal location, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure has developed an innovative installation method to minimise the risk of weather-related disruption and reduce the impact on train services.

Preparatory work at the top of the cliffs overlooking this stretch of railway began in March 2021, whereby Network Rail engineers started cutting back some of the vegetation.

This work is being closely monitored to ensure the least disruption for wildlife habitats and biodiversity.

Image: Network Rail

Image: Network Rail/Dawlish Beach Cams.

The rebuilt sea wall around Dawlish station. This is the second phase of the work to improve resilience here.

Trespass continues to be a major issue for the rail industry, with 16,431 incidents reported on Britain’s rail network between April 2020 and March 2021.

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Steve Barnes, Business Development Manager at Gramm Barrier Systems, says: "We are increasingly being asked for more robust solutions which can act as both noise barriers and also offer a degree of rail line security.

"With a choice of three different solutions, our SoundBlok® range is dual-purpose, mitigating noise and providing a deterrent to potential trespassers.

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Full restoration for iconic landmark

Network

Aproject to undertake essential repairs and restoration of Barmouth Viaduct in west Wales, which Network Rail describes as the biggest and most ambitious in the structure’s history, is well under way.

Network Rail says that at over 150 years old, the viaduct is in poor condition. Many of its timber elements have decayed significantly over time and a large proportion of the metallic elements have corroded. The programme involves the complete restoration of the viaduct in a way that doesn’t threaten its industrial heritage and its Grade II* listed status. This means replacing its components on a ‘like-for like’ basis so that it retains its appearance. Network Rail is also carrying out additional work during the restoration to the iconic landmark, including replacing all the timber main beams.

The £25 million upgrade was announced in May 2020 with a plan that would take three years. Three shorter full closures were planned, rather than one large closure. The first, planned for autumn 2020, involved restoring the bridge’s timber elements.

The restoration of the structure’s metallic elements was originally planned to take place in one go this autumn but is now being split across the next two years, to reduce the impact on rail services, the community and local economy.

Dates for working on the viaduct during 2023 are still being finalised. As this issue of Inside Track went to press, Network Rail had closed the railway again for four weeks to enable the next stage of the project to be carried out.

The first closure took place in 2020, after which the railway closed again on 12 September 2021 for work to continue on the timber elements of the bridge, reopening on 29 December, 17 days later than planned.

This was so engineers could safely carry out the extra repairs. As work has progressed, the appointed contractors and Network Rail engineers had the opportunity to thoroughly examine the condition of the structure.

Unfortunately, a number of additional timbers under the railway and the walkway need replacing due to deterioration.

Engineers working on the 154-year-old bridge during the first two phases of the work found it to be in a much worse condition than originally anticipated.

To allow Network Rail’s teams to carry out additional crucial work, including strengthening the north abutments and upgrading some additional timber elements, but minimise the impact on the local community, Network Rail is now taking two shorter closures of the line instead of a single extended closure of the viaduct throughout this autumn before then returning in autumn 2023 to complete the project.

Network Rail began replacing the timber elements of the viaduct and associated track in 2020 and this work took two years to complete. Now, during 2022, it is replacing the metallic spans of the viaduct and the associated track.

Upgrade plan

Network Rail has been working closely with Cadw, Gwynedd County Council, Transport for Wales and others over several years to develop plans to upgrade the bridge.

The 820-metre structure carries the Cambrian line across the estuary of the Afon Mawddach, near Barmouth, and is used not only by rail but also cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

Rail is making headway with a £25 million upgrade of the 154-year-old Barmouth Viaduct that aims to keep it operational for many more years to come

The structure has not been without problems and, at one point, there were concerns it may have to be demolished

“ “

Image: Dominic Vacher/Network Rail

Barmouth Viaduct

Barmouth Viaduct

The structure connects Barmouth in the north with Morfa Mawddach, near Athog, in the south, is part of the National Cycle Route 8, and is the longest timber viaduct in Wales and one of the oldest still in regular use in Britain.

The bridge was designed and constructed for the Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway. Work was authorised in 1861, started in 1864, and it officially opened on 10 October 1867.

End of the line?

The structure has not been without problems and, at one point, there were concerns it may have to be demolished. The first issue discovered, as early in the structure’s life as 1899, was that of severe corrosion on underwater sections of ironwork, and this required an intensive restoration programme between 1899 and 1902.

By 1980 the structure was under attack from marine woodworm and it was this that led to the concerns surrounding the possible need to demolish the structure. However, the value of the railway to the tourism industry saved it and repairs were undertaken in the mid-1980s, albeit these resulted in weight restriction and a ban on locomotive-hauled trains.

These restrictions were subsequently relaxed in 2005. There is a swing bridge in the structure but this is no longer used and last opened in April 1987 during a test exercise. This section has since seen continuous rail installed, effectively locking it shut.

product has been selected due to its long track record of use in challenging applications as well as no need for preservative treatment because it is resistant to attack from shipworm and wood rotting fungi.

Speed limit

The maximum speed limit of 20mph for passenger and 10mph for freight and locomotive-hauled trains will remain.

The structure had been shut from 12 September as the infrastructure owners working with contractors Alun Griffiths repaired the timber supporting beams and continued with restoring the metallic sub-structure section.

Cast iron and wrought iron piers support the metallic spans. There are no metallic supports on the timber viaduct, made up of 113 spans that average 5.9 metres.

All 820 metres of track will also be replaced. Although the key mechanisms of the swing bridge section will not be restored they will be retained in situ as per the Grade II* listing requirements. Greenheart hardwood is being sourced from Guyana, West Africa, by Network Rail. This

Network Rail says that more than 2,000 working hours were dedicated to finishing this stage of the project during the five-week window to reduce disruption for passengers. Engineers had to carefully plan their work around tide times and adapt their shifts to work in safe weather conditions.

Specialist bridge designer Cass Hayward LLP has, over the past 25 years, supported and worked closely with Network Rail and its contractors as they maintained the nine remaining timber viaducts on the Cambrian lines.

“ “ Barmouth Viaduct railbusinessdaily.com Inside Track | November 2022

Cass Hayward LLP’s involvement with Barmouth Viaduct began in the mid-1990s and over this period it has completed feasibility studies that have included exploring options for the upgrade and continued maintenance of the structure as well as technical approval in principle for the current work to both the metallic and timber spans. It has also carried out a detailed design of the planned repairs to the timber viaduct including production of a Building Information Modelling (BIM) model to inform onward asset management of the structure.

During the implementation of the repairs, Cass Hayward LLP has worked collaboratively with Alun Griffiths to ensure the viaduct remained stabled in its temporary part-complete state whilst existing span or trestle elements were removed to facilitate their replacement with new timber.

Load testing and development of the decision matrices enabled Alun Griffiths to manage and optimise the work to the 113 spans, depending upon the tidal heigh and wind speed.

Careful planning

The next stage of work includes additional repairs and strengthening work as well as further metallic restoration and a track renewal. During this stage, the railway will close and the footpath across the viaduct will also close to keep pedestrians safe. The closure is expected to last until 10 December.

Ben Perkins, Network Rail scheme project manager, said: “I would like to thank passengers for their patience as we continue to safely carry out these works on this vital transport link.

“Our efforts will ensure that the viaduct will continue to be secure and will remain operational for future generations.”

Specialist maintenance

Barmouth is one of nine remaining timber viaducts on the Cambrian lines. All are closely monitored and, over the last 25 years, specialist bridge designer

Cass Hayward’s involvement with Barmouth Viaduct commenced in the mid-1990s. Since then, feasibility studies have been undertaken that explored options for the upgrading and maintenance of the structure. This work has resulted in technical approval in principle for the current work to both the metallic and timber spans, and in detailed design of the repair works to the timber viaduct, including production of a BIM model to inform onward asset management of the structure.

During the implementation of the repair works, Cass Hayward worked collaboratively with Alun Griffiths to ensure the viaduct remained stable in its temporary, part-complete state when existing span or trestle elements were removed to facilitate replacement with new timber. Load testing and development of decision matrices enabled Alun Griffiths to manage and optimise the work to the 113 spans depending on tidal height and wind speed.

The restoration of Barmouth’s metallic elements was originally planned to take place in one go this autumn but is now being split across the next two years, to reduce the impact on rail services, the community and local economy. Dates for working on the viaduct during 2023 are still being finalised.

Network Rail says that as well as upgrading the metallic elements of the bridge and laying new track, the additional repairs will include strengthening work to the north abutments and further upgrades of some of the timber elements. These repairs weren’t part of the original restoration plan but engineers working on the bridge during phases one and two found it to be in a much worse condition than originally anticipated.

Nick Millington, interim route director for Network Rail Wales and the Borders, said: “We know how important Barmouth Viaduct is for

it for future generations.

“Undertaking additional repairs on top of upgrading the metallic elements will ensure this vital rail link will remain safe for passengers, the local community and tourists for many years to come.

“We’ve carefully planned our work to avoid the busy summer season when tourism in Barmouth and the local area is at its height. We’ve also decided to take two shorter closures of the line this autumn, which means we can reopen the railway for the school half term and the Christmas period.”

Colin Lea, Transport for Wales’ planning and performance director, said: “We’re pleased to see Network Rail is safeguarding the future of the iconic

passengers and communities along the Cambrian Coast and this once-in-a-lifetime restoration will protect

Image: Dominic Vacher/Network Rail

Cass Hayward has supported and worked closely with Network Rail and its contractors on their maintenance programmes.

Freightliner’s head of sustainability outlines roadmap to decarbonisation

at

annual

Freight

Environmental concerns were high on the agenda at the 30th annual Rail Freight Group Conference, which took place in London on 5 October.

Industry professionals gathered to discuss not just opportunities for growth but also improved sustainability – including decarbonisation and biodiversity.

Leading the conversation was Chris Cleveland, head of sustainability for Freightliner. Chris joined the well-established provider of rail freight solutions after 10 years at National Grid, where his focus included the environment, sustainability, health, safety, and risk.

In his new role, he shoulders responsibility for environmental management and the drive to achieve net zero at Freightliner. Biodiversity principles and social value will also figure heavily.

Chris touches on all these subjects in his talk to assembled industry professionals, outlining the

steps Freightliner is taking to achieve net zero, and sharing his hopes for a greener future.

Freightliner is Britain’s second-largest freight operator. Its business is split between its intermodal and heavy haul operations, with trains

petroleum and fuel for the energy industry. Its fleet is predominantly diesel-powered, including more than 100 Class 66s, and in recent years it has acquired 13 Class 90 electric locomotives from Porterbrook for the intermodal operations.

Sustainability professional Chris begins his talk with what he terms a “wake-up call”, suggesting that we are living in a world characterised by “volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity” (the acronym VUCA). He addresses the existential threat that climate change poses to humanity, before stating that the industry has a chance to effect “long-lasting change.”

running across the country. Its intermodal trains serve Britain’s major ports and inland container terminals, while its heavy haul trains carry all manner of commodities, including aggregates,

This change, he adds, would be incremental, with small steps gradually leading to improved outcomes. Freightliner is focusing its efforts on four key areas – the first being modal shift.

“Modal shift is massive for us; to get as much off the roads and onto rail as we can,” Chris explained.

Speaking

the

Rail

Group Conference, Chris Cleveland explains how Freightliner is seeking to become more sustainable

Modal shift is massive for us; to get as much off the roads and onto rail as we can

“ “

Image: Shutterstock

The Freightliner fleet consists of more than 100 diesel-powered Class 66 locomotives

Director general of the Rail Freight Group Maggie Simpson OBE adds that there is potential for growth in the commodity sectors freight already serves, as well as parcel markets and domestic trunking.

The second of these areas is alternative fuels – which, Chris explains, Freightliner will soon be in a position to offer to its customers. He states that the third area, research and development, is particularly important, adding: “We’ve been fortunate over the last couple of years to be able to utilise research and development, and have actually made inroads into our understanding.”

Electrification

The final area is electrification, and Freightliner is keen to utilise its electric fleet across the country. Currently the operator has 23 electric locomotives with a fleet of Class 86/6s, built in the mid-1960s, stored out of traffic at Crewe. By focusing on these four areas, Chris says, the company could gradually decarbonise its operations.

Chris goes on to discuss the role structure plays in Freightliner’s sustainability efforts, suggesting that it should enable them to set goals, rather than becoming something involved and restrictive.

“It can’t be a bureaucratic system, with people pulled into lots of meetings and talking, talking, talking. It’s about action, outcome, but equally flexibility – structure has to flex with how the business moves,” he said.

Freightliner has signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative, which equips companies with

a clear plan to reduce their emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. It will serve as a roadmap to net zero, while ensuring that the business, its executive directors, and Chris himself remain accountable.

“The framework is built against ISO and external standards,” Chris added.

Image: Richard Clinnick

Freightliner acquired a fleet of Class 90s to haul intermodal trains across the UK, however, they cannot serve all parts of its network due to the lack of electrification

“It’s given the credibility and clarity of what the experts have determined is the right way to approach things.”

This commitment to net zero involves sharing baselining and benchmarking, and Freightliner now reports against SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) and GRI (global reporting initiative) standards as part of its ESG (environmental, social and governance) efforts. Doing so enables it to keep track of opportunities and improvements, and to learn from failures.

Chris admits that, while numbers are not the whole story, they remain his focus at this early stage.

“Numbers, percentages, conversion factors, and tonnes of CO 2 equivalent are the kind of topics that I live and breathe at the moment,” he said. “That baseline has enabled us to actually focus on what’s material to us as a business. It’s allowing us to understand where we should make the investments and what the benefits could be… and how we’re going to decarbonise and achieve net zero.”

Reducing diesel

The data itself shows that 75 per cent of Freightliner’s scope 1 (direct) and scope 2 (purchased) emissions are from diesel traction, and the company will seek to address this. While only two per cent of its emissions can be attributed to employee commuting, Chris adds that switching to an electric fleet for maintenance staff will still prove beneficial.

“It will enable that engagement and serve as a conversation starter, helping them to understand what we’re trying to achieve,” he explained.

Utilising renewable energy presents a challenge, and in recent months, Freightliner was forced to take some locomotives out of service due to the cost of eCVT. In future, Chris hopes that industry-wide Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) – which enable businesses to purchase renewable energy directly from generators – will become the norm.

“Our customers are already doing this for gigawatts and gigawatts of power,” he said. “This is something that the rail freight industry has to look at, as it would make things much more affordable.”

He also touched on the need to engage the next generation, who can bring new ways of thinking to the freight industry.

He asked: “How can we bring people in to give them the insight – enable them to see the difference they can make? Rail freight is at that pinnacle point where sustainability is key, and that should attract people from younger generations.”

According to Chris, decarbonisation cannot be delivered by theorists and sustainability professionals alone.

Rail freight is at that pinnacle point where sustainability is key

“ “

Image: Shutterstock

Electrification of railways such as those through The Fens would help Freightliner improve its sustainability still further

Image: Shutterstock

Freightliner serves major container ports across the UK, however these are not electrified which means the operator must rely on diesel traction

“It’s got to be our people. Our people have the knowledge, the expertise, and the skills that the thinkers, the innovators, and the doers possess,” he concluded.

Chris’ role as head of sustainability at the UK’s leading intermodal freight provider demands not just a head for figures, but also curiosity, initiative, and resilience.

“What’s the reality of being a sustainability professional and at Freightliner? Success and failure come hand-in-hand,” he said. “It doesn’t require a hierarchy, it’s not about seeking permission to go and do stuff, there has to be this agility and freedom in our structure that enables change to happen. It’s where innovation can blossom and experimentation is the norm.”

More to learn

Chris says he has been “blown away” by the work Freightliner’s engineering team is undertaking –some of which has ultimately proved unsuccessful, but nevertheless represented a valuable opportunity to learn.

“When we do fail, we don’t look at that as a negative,” he added.

“Our mantra is that we evaluate, we learn, and

we adapt from failure. We build and develop a growth mindset.”

Concluding his presentation, Chris urges attendees to act now; the longer we wait, he warns, the harder decarbonisation will become.

“Businesses need to change, and we can adapt

and drive change,” he said, adding that the priority was “those steady, incremental achievements to reduce emissions, in line with the climate science –so not to be bold and brash, but to align ourselves with climate science and how the science directs us, as a company and as an industry.”

We have a team of experienced engineers, capable of delivering top quality and on time, no matter the type of work.

Our portfolio boasts several important civil engineering works, such as the HS2, collaborating with the biggest names in the industry.

We do our best to get things done, regardless of the project, big or small. Our full range of services covers your every construction engineering need.

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Alternative fuels are being introduced for Freightliner’s diesel fleet, it but still means freight trains will be hauled by non-electric traction on electrified routes.

New Rail Minister: “this is the job I always wanted to do”

Huw Merriman was appointed Rail Minister after Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister. The former Transport Select Committee chair made his public debut at the RIA conference in London in early November

Huw Merriman says his new role as Rail Minister is the job he always wanted to do. Speaking at the Railway Industry Association (RIA) conference in London on 10 November, he was able to explain to the industry and its supply chain more of the government’s plans for the railway.

Rail, like so many industries, faces uncertainty due to the financial situation the country finds itself in. The political turmoil during September and October, in which there were three Prime Ministers, three Chancellors, three Secretaries of State for Transport and three Rail Ministers (Huw Merriman being the third), created uncertainty.

The turmoil has had an effect on the muchvaunted rail reform. Plans to meet deadlines that would enable legislation to begin for the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) need to change as the deadline has been missed.

Speaking to delegates, the new minister said that the current government “will always back our railways because whatever the national priorities, be it economic growth, levelling up, or decarbonisation, or growing sustainable, the railway is part of the solution.”

Role and responsibility

The new minister told delegates: “I take responsibility for one of the most critical parts of national infrastructure. Rail is the connective tissue that improves lives and livelihoods. It boosts house building and high streets. And it will help us combat climate change.”

He said: “We’re in a period of transition. And I understand you want that period to be as short as possible to get certainty on the industry’s future direction. Believe me, my department wants that certainty, too.

“So my priority is to get the details I need to start making some decisions, to unblock the delays to policy and publication to resolve the political issues causing those delays.

“Rail supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and contributes billions of pounds to the wider economy.

“But rail cannot operate in a vacuum. The economic climate is challenging and the government must balance helping people and businesses confront the rising cost of living with a commitment to fiscal responsibility. That inevitably means tough decisions. Only then can we stabilise our economy, reverse rampant inflation and create the conditions for growth.”

Railway support

Despite this, he said, the government had continued to support the railways, claiming more than £16 billion had been earmarked since the start of the pandemic. He said that level of support was the equivalent of £600 per household, which is now unsustainable.

“Rail, like all parts of the economy must now earn the right to grow at a time when savings are being sought. It must demonstrate a high-value return on investment, that it can deliver value for money for the taxpayer, maintain momentum on decarbonisation, and attract new customers through a transformation of services.”

Regarding efficiency, he said he wanted to see a strong pipeline of future rail projects. “I know that certainty around those projects drives your investment decisions. Sluggish passenger demand is making it difficult. I know that’s frustrating for you. But I don’t want to stand here today, promising you jam tomorrow. I want to be honest and transparent about what we can and what we will achieve.

“Rail enhancements which are affordable, which help new post-pandemic travel patterns, which improve the passenger experience will be given the green light.

“Importantly, those future decisions will depend

on the success of the current rail programme. That programme is moving forward with billions of pounds of enhancements across the network –programmes like access for all.

“And the completion of the Elizabeth line in London shows this government is committed to building a railway fit for everyone and fit for the future. And we do remain committed to the Integrated Rail Plan.

“Despite carrying nine per cent of passenger traffic pre-COVID, only 1.5 per cent of transport

I want to work with you to put this right,” he said. “On those parts of the network where electrification isn’t viable. We will continue to explore alternatives, building on the great work already done with battery and hydrogen power.”

He spoke about rail transformation. “One constant is the diagnosis from Keith Williams in the plan for rail to attract passengers with flexible ticketing and better, more reliable services, and to grow freight and put it at the heart of our network to end fragmentation of track and train in the interest of passengers, freight and taxpayers and to modernise how we maintain and upgrade the railways and in the process, ensuring the safety of your staff.”

He rounded off his speech by saying: “My job will be to champion this great industry, making the case that even during challenging economic times, rail is one of the best returns on investment that taxpayers can ever make. And our surest way to ensure we’re stronger, better and have a greener economic future is through rail.”

Lines of communication

emissions was down to rail. Positive numbers, yes, but there’s still more to do.” He claimed more than 2,700 pure diesel passenger trains remain on the network.

“Electrification will be key to a diesel-free railway by 2040 and a net zero network by 2050. Whilst we should be proud of our progress, with 1,200 miles of track electrified since 2010, clearly there are barriers slowing us down.”

He referred to a comment he made at the TSC about how a kilometre of electrified track can cost up to four times as much to deliver in the UK as it does in Germany. “

Following his speech, Huw Merriman took questions from delegates. Immediately the issue of industrial relations was brought up: “I’ve always taken the view, and I have worked collaboratively with the trade unions through the TSC role, is that the only way you get through industrial action is to talk, is to have positive relations, not to make a political issue of it.

“The negotiations are being handled by Network Rail on the one hand, and Steve Montgomery for the train operators on the other end, and they have got their negotiating teams, as have the unions.

“ “ Rail Minister

“There are no current plans to go into the rooms, but I think that myself and the Secretary of State have changed the tone in terms of how we feel about trade unions; we understand they have their members to represent. But we do badly need to see this action come to an end. It’s cost the railway about £500 million this year, and I’m talking about growing the railway. If we don’t get services, I’m worried that people will give up on rail, and that would be no good for any of you, but also no good for the members of those trade unions. So I will do what it takes to help when I’m asked. Currently, I haven’t been asked.”

NPR was brought up, with speculation that the project would be scaled back. Responding to a question, he said: “If you’ve followed the report and our inquiry, we went up to Leeds, to Bradford and Manchester. I talked to all of the local partners, and I said that we’re committed to the Integrated Rail Plan, and we’re also committed to seeing how we can take trains further up to Leeds. I can tell you I have a personal commitment to Bradford. The Prime Minister himself over the summer said that we are working on our options to make an assessment on what can be done for Bradford. And that’s work that the department is doing.”

Issues around delays to processes and the length of time taken to deliver innovation were also highlighted to the Minister.

He replied that: “If you feel that there are blockers to your ability to deliver, and if those blockers impact on delivering new technology that can be greener, cleaner and indeed more efficient and cheaper for us and the taxpayer, then I want to know about it, because I see my job as actually helping you to grow your businesses, and actually make for a better railway service. My door is open to the rail community and the business community because I believe this private finance will actually help make things better, and that the answer is not ‘the state knows best’, ‘we’ve always done it this way, we should continue’; that is not going to decarbonise rail. So you have my commitment, and whilst I can’t talk about the specifics, my entire attitude and my culture is to work with you to actually enable you to deliver better. And if there are barriers in the way, then we’ll blast through them.”

Decision-making

The issue of the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail was also raised, with the Minister telling delegates: “We have to be fair.

“ Those from the private sector, if you came into a new role because perhaps the previous regime wasn’t working out, you would actually want time before you started making decisions, just to think about what you wanted to do.

“We have a fantastic Secretary of State in Mark Harper. He’s a details man and he wants to have a look at the concept and see what the best model is. That’s absolutely fair and reasonable. But we also understand that you need certainty. We did have that Plan for Rail, we’ve had the transition team for GBR put in place, people have moved over, there are some people waiting to move over.”

Responding to accusations that increased state control in recent times means the pace of change has slowed, he said: “You’re absolutely right and that means that things can be slower. With so much taxpayer money going in, you can understand why that’s the case.

“My job is actually to get more decisions put through. So we are determined to ensure that we deliver a better railway. That means looking at the way that the railway is managed. I just ask for a little bit of patience whilst others actually take a look at it and make their own determination on what they see as best.”

Taking a visionary approach to viaduct and footbridge design

Accessibility and transparency key design drivers as well as safety for HS2 joint venture

Bridges and viaducts make up a significant part of Phase One of HS2. If they railway is not using them to reach its destination, then it is using them to cross roads or the British countryside.

Likewise neighbours of the railway will be using them to cross the line as they continue their daily activities. The structures vary in size, from viaducts carrying the railway into a station near the centre of Birmingham, to rural footbridges that enable people to cross one of the most advanced railways in the world safely and securely.

Curzon Street

The arrival of HS2 in the West Midlands will change the railway geography considerably, with two new stations and a series of structures carrying the new railway into Curzon Street.

Trains are scheduled to start operating between 2029 and 2033, and will run initially between Old Oak Common and Curzon Street before extending south to the HS2 terminus at Euston.

To reach Curzon Street (and the Interchange station near Birmingham International), the railway will head west from the main HS2 line at Delta Junction, from where the line will continue north towards Crewe.

HS2 Ltd has received Schedule 17 consent from Birmingham City Council for the construction of two viaducts that will carry the new high-speed railway into Curzon Street station.

These structures, Curzon Viaduct No.3 and Lawley Middleway Viaduct, are part of the Curzon Street station approach area. This area is actually made up of four connected viaducts between Duddeston Junction Viaduct and Curzon Street station in central Birmingham. The other viaducts are Curzon Street No.1 Viaduct, which will be furthest from the station, and Curzon Street No.2 Viaduct.

The viaducts are being designed by a joint venture of Mott MacDonald and Systra and architects Weston Williamson + Partners, all of which are working for HS2’s civils contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI joint venture.

A welcome addition

David Speight, HS2 Ltd client project director, said: “We are very pleased that Birmingham City Council’s planning committee approved the plans for these viaducts. This decision represents a significant approval for HS2 in Birmingham city centre and means we are on track to bring high speed rail to the West Midlands, increasing capacity and connectivity across the UK. In addition, our design refinements on the viaducts will bring a range of extra benefits, including reducing the construction time and materials, and reducing the amount of carbon we need on the project.”

There will be a number of design refinements for the structures, which HS2 Ltd says have resulted in a shorter planned construction programme and less concrete will be required to build the viaduct.

Nick Robertshaw, project manager from the design joint venture Mott MacDonald and Systra, said: “BBV and the DJV design team have brought their global expertise to tackle the significant engineering challenges involved in fulfilling HS2’s design vision for this iconic structure, which will provide a catalyst for social and economic development.

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36 HS2 viaducts railbusinessdaily.com Inside Track | November 2022

“This landmark milestone for the programme has only been made possible through the ‘one team approach’ facilitated by HS2 with Birmingham City Council, whose critical input and collaboration has enabled this achievement.”

Nick McGough, director at Weston Williamson and Partners, said: “The key design challenge of Curzon 3 was to address varied sites with differing technical requirements while providing both a level of consistency as well as ensuring the viaduct contributes positively to its surroundings.

Toward the HS2 Curzon Street Station the viaduct is over 60m wide and so the design maximises daylight under the structure through the introduction of light slots with a unique lightweight parapet design. Over the Digbeth Canal the opportunity is taken to reference Birmingham’s canal side heritage whilst the large span required over Lawley Middleway is achieved through the use of heroic weathering steel girders that arch over the carriageway.

“This has only been possible through the close collaboration between architect, engineer, and construction team, and Birmingham City Council’s support of the result is testament that this 21st century structure will contribute positively to the local community and allow for unique spaces that will add to the life of the city.”

Curzon Viaduct No.3 will be approximately 300m long, and the height above ground level will vary between five and six metres. The structure will be 65m wide at its widest point and will be supported by 30 piers.

However, as Curzon Street No.3 Viaduct crosses the Digbeth Canal, the concrete V piers are substituted with four inverted steel piers that reference the heritage of the cranes that once stood beside the canals in Birmingham. This also means the Digbeth Canal area will remain a visually attractive area to the public by combining the 21st century infrastructure of HS2 and the 19th century Digbeth Canal area.

HS2 says that as the structure approaches Curzon Street the deck of the viaduct widens from a single deck at the eastern end to four separate decks at the western end. This viaduct will widen to four separate decks near Curzon Street station to maximise daylight in the public space underneath.

The piers have been developed to be a V shape so that they can support the structures. These piers require less room at ground level and will also have a side recess for future potential services to be visually integrated. As well as separating the viaduct into four separate decks, the V piers will also help maximise the opportunities to create a usable and flexible public space under the viaduct.

The design of the viaduct has changed through its development, with the width reduced from 71m to 65m. The Curzon Street Pumping station, which was previously located south of the planned viaduct, has been removed from the design as water that gathers on the viaduct will now either be drained into an attenuation pond, which is an area on the ground that temporarily stores excess water before releasing it in a controlled way, or attenuation tank located underground.

Rural structures

During the summer, HS2 Ltd revealed the first images of the bridges that will take rural footpaths and bridleways across the new railway as it passes through the countryside in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Northants.

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These bridges will be made using weathering steel and the sides of the lightweight bridges will lean outwards to maximise views of the sky while also improving the experience of those people crossing the railway.

Weathering steel ages naturally to a russet brown colour and was chosen to help match the tone of the surrounding countryside. Meanwhile, the plates that form the structure of the bridges will be angled to appear narrower and lighter.

Bridging the gap

To emphasise the sense of lightness, each span will be slightly higher in the middle so that they appear to leap over the railway. Most of the bridges will consist of just one 42m span, with extra spans added where necessary to create bridges of up to 102m long.

HS2’s main work contractor EKFB designed the structures. EKFB is a team made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall –working with designers Arcadis Setec Cowi and architects Moxon.

In order to improve efficiency of manufacturing and assembly, all the bridges will have the same basic form, with the approach paths built into the earthworks on either side of the bridge. This also means that all the footbridges will effectively be step-free.

HS2 Ltd says that the bridges have been designed using guidance from the British Horse Society. This has resulted in the structures carrying bridleways which have a recycled, non-slip rubber deck, with the structure acting like a baffle to stop the horses being distracted by passing trains.

The footbridges will be 2.5m wide and the bridleways 3.5m wide to allow two horses to pass comfortably and safely. Meanwhile, the internal faces of the structures will feature oak panelling and perforated stainless steel to allow views along the railway below.

identified for the new design around Aylesbury, the Chilterns, Chipping Warden, Westbury and Finmere. Other footpaths and bridleways will share farm access bridges and road bridges or cross the line under viaducts or over the top of tunnels.

EKFB head of engagement David GriffithsAllen said: “EKFB is building more than 80 bridges across an 80km (50 mile) section of HS2, 11 of which are specific to connecting local communities by foot and making accessibility easy for local people and the equestrian community. We’re delighted with the design concepts of the bridges and a lot of thought and consideration has gone into making designs sympathetic to the landscape and beneficial to the people who will be using them.”

HS2 design director Kay Hughes said: “HS2 will provide fast and frequent zero carbon journeys between London, the Midlands and the North. But it’s also essential that we keep communities on either side of the railway connected.

“That’s why I’m pleased to see the first standard footbridge designs for the project. The elegant bridges have been specially designed for Bucks, Oxon and West Northants, with weathering steel beams to match the tone of the surrounding countryside. I hope that walkers, riders and the community will welcome the new bridges and benefit from the huge amount of high quality design work that the design team has undertaken to develop them.”

HS2 Ltd says that 11 locations have been

A seamless user experience for all

Moxon managing director Ben Addy said: “Safety is always paramount; however, accessibility and transparency were also the key design drivers for these bridges – characteristics one wouldn’t always associate with railway overbridges. The design team looked at how we could make the bridge approaches and the landscape around them completely accessible to create a seamless user experience for all, whether travelling on foot, on bike, on horseback, or with any type of mobility aid.

“With a simple but crafted structure, we combined contrasting materials such as oak and steel, giving a warm aesthetic and creating a tactile surface for people on their journey.”

We combined contrasting materials such as oak and steel, giving a warm aesthetic and creating a tactile surface for people on their journey

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Image: HS2 Ltd.

The design of the rural footbridges will enable views of the railway and will also be such that horses will not be affected by trains passing below at up to 225mph.

Image: HS2 Ltd.

The structures have been designed to handle the pressure waves created by the trains passing beneath them at speeds of up to 225mph (360km/h). Bespoke engineering criteria have been developed by EKFB designers to model the effect on the structure which then enables uncomfortable vibration to be designed out of the structure. Nevertheless, as an extra precaution, the bridges can also be adjusted after constructure to ensure the solution works.

HS2 Ltd says that the first footbridge is expected to be installed in October 2023.

Wendover

Elsewhere, ground engineers have started working on HS2’s pioneering low-carbon Wendover Dean Viaduct. Already piles are being sunk that will be used to form the foundations for the 450m-long structure. Located south of Wendover village, Buckinghamshire, the structure will be the first major railway bridge in the UK to be constructed with a ‘double composite’ structure. This means it will use significantly less carbon-intensive concrete and steel in comparison to a more traditional design, claims HS2 Ltd.

Over the summer, EKFB engineers have been working to construct the 53 concrete piles that will form the foundations of the structure.

On top of each group of piles, which range anywhere from 38m to 46m deep, a concrete pile cap will then support the pier and, in turn, will support the weight of the bridge structure above. Rather than hammering the piles into the ground, the holes will be bored before being backfilled to create the pile.

Some of the piers will be up to 14m high and will be cast as shells before being assembled on site and filled with concrete. This approach is expected to reduce the amount of work on site and cut disruption for local residents. The first ‘double composite’ beams will be installed next year.

“HS2 trains will be zero carbon from day one, offering a cleaner, greener way to travel, cut the number of cars and lorries on our roads, cut demand for domestic flights, and help the fight against climate change,” said HS2 Ltd project client Rohan Perin.

“But we’re also serious about reducing the amount of carbon we use during construction, and Wendover Dean is a great example of how we’re using the latest engineering techniques to

do just that. Concrete is one of the construction industries’ biggest sources of embedded carbon – and this innovative design will help us cut our carbon footprint while delivering a lighter, stronger and more elegant structure.”

EKFB worked with design partner ASC (a joint venture between Arcadis, Setec and COWI) and specialist architects Moxon on the ‘double composite’ approach, which was inspired by structures on the French high-speed TGV network.

HS2 Ltd says that rather than using solid pre-stressed concrete beams to form the bridge spans, the viaduct will use two steel girders sandwiched between two layers of reinforced concrete to create a lightweight and super strong hollow span.

Image: HS2 Ltd.

An artist’s impression of the viaducts that will carry HS2 trains into Curzon Street, Birmingham

An artist’s impression of an HS2 train speeding under one of the planned rural footbridges. These are being designed to best serve the communities they will be constructed in.

By using this approach, it is expected that an estimated 7,433 tonnes of embodied carbon will be saved within materials.

EKFB senior engineer James Collings said: “The Wendover Dean Viaduct will sit narrowly between two hills, spanning 450m across, and its design is pioneering, conveying a lightweight structure benefiting from less concrete and steel being used in the construction process.”

Not only is there a reduction in carbon, but the structure’s design means its silhouette is reduced across the valley. This is achieved through its slender design, which features nine evenly spaced piers that will support the viaduct’s deck and which will be placed to carefully reflect the near symmetry of the ground beneath. The beams themselves will be made from weathering steel.

An unusual effect HS2 Ltd claims that, when viewed from a distance, against the weathered steel the pale concrete parapet will appear as a thin horizontal band hovering over the slender piers as it glides over the valley and should therefore make the whole structure look thinner.

This effect will be further emphasised by the

viaduct piers, which have been extended to almost connect with the parapet, helping to give the appearance of a light and narrow structure. Once construction is complete, the historic field boundaries and hedgerows will be recreated to

provide uninterrupted access for farmers and local residents. A mix of trees and shrubs commonly found across the Chiltern chalk hills will be used for new woodland planting around the viaduct, including oak, beech, hazel and wild cherry.

Image: HS2 Ltd.

Work underway on the first ‘double composite’ bridge built on Britain’s railways, at Wendover. When complete, the structure will be 450m long

Swinging into the future

Network Rail is undertaking a reliability upgrade on three swing bridges in East Anglia that are vital to rural railways

The railways of East Anglia have been significantly modernised in recent years following the introduction of new trains.

Stations have been adapted, platforms lengthened and new signalling installed on many routes as Network Rail and Greater Anglia seek to improve the offering for both passenger and freight customers across the region.

Contrasting region

The region is one which has a lot of contrasts when it comes to railway infrastructure. Electrified routes run into Norwich, alongside branch lines that will likely never see overhead wires. Trains that can be fitted with digital signalling operate on single-line railways where user worked crossings exist. The somewhat rural nature of a lot of the route means that, the Great Eastern main line cannot be increased beyond 100mph due to various crossings on the northern section.

On the rural routes many of the traditional semaphore and signal boxes have been decommissioned and replaced with modern signalling, however, three swing bridges remain in situ.

The Reedham swing bridge carries the Norwich to Lowestoft line across the River Yare near Reedham station. The original single-track bridge was commissioned by Sir Samuel Morton Peto in the 1840s to allow the passage of wherry boats which were too tall to pass under conventional bridges. The current bridge dates back to 1903 before the doubling of the track. The bridge is operated from the nearby signal box that opened in 1904, and in a typical year, is opened 1,300 times.

The Oulton Broad swing bridge is on the seaward side of the Oulton Broad lock. The existing swing bridge was installed in 1907, replacing a timber version installed in the late 1840s to carry a single railway track across the waterway.

This is the smallest of the three swing bridges, with a different structure and operating system. Rather than being cable-hauled, the slewing movement for this bridge is achieved by a rack and pinion mechanism, driven from a machinery house mounted to one side of the slewing bridge structure.

Nine-day blockade

The upgrade work, which closed the Norwich to Lowestoft railway for nine days, is designed to improve the reliability of the bridges and also save Network Rail significant sums of money.

The Somerleyton swing bridge is located on the Norfolk-Suffolk border and was built in 1905 to carry the double-tracked Norwich to Lowestoft railway over the River Waveney. The structure replaces a previous single-track bridge and was named after the nearby Suffolk village of Somerleyton.

During the nine-day blockade between 22 October and 30 October, work was undertaken on the two structures on the Norwich to Lowestoft line, with the railway closed for the entire period. During this time, Network Rail was also able to undertake vital drainage, track and vegetation management along the railway.

The original single-track bridge was commissioned by Sir Samuel Morton Peto in the 1840s

“ “

Image: Network Rail.

An aerial view of Reedham swing bridge, which has been opened to allow a vessel to pass through.

Operated during the day or at night

Additionally, on 22 and 23 October, the railway was closed between Halesworth and Lowestoft to enable surveying to be conducted on the Oulton Broad bridge.

Originally it had been planned that the blockade would take 16 days, but in the end, it was reduced to nine. However, more are planned next spring.

The bridges are still operational and regularly swing open to allow boats to pass through. However, Network Rail makes the case that they are more than 100 years old and that their internal components have become increasingly unreliable.

That means that during the ongoing project, Network Rail’s engineers are replacing these parts in an effort to make them less likely to develop faults and reduce the need for costly maintenance.

Lauren Adams, Network Rail communications manager, explained: “All these swing bridges carry trains over a waterway, and they swing open to allow boats to travel along with the waterway and into the ports and harbours. This area of the world is a big tourist spot. A lot of tourists travel here by boat and maybe local residents. So it’s really important to the local economy that we can open these bridges and that we maintain them and keep them working reliably.”

Work delivered

The work on the Reedham and Somerleyton swing bridges has, so far, included:

installation of a beam in the building that houses the swing bridge machinery. Network Rail says that this will make the building strong enough for a temporary opening to be made in the wall. The opening will allow old and heavy machinery to be moved out and replaced with modern, more reliable equipment,

upgrading and replacing the manual winch system. This allows the bridge to be swung open manually by the bridge operator if there are problems with the machinery, keeping trains and boat users moving, and completing a full renewal and upgrade of the electrical system.

Network Rail says that dates for future works will be announced in due course, and will primarily include a full replacement of the hydraulic and mechanical systems.

Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “These bridges on the Wherry and East Suffolk lines are an important part of our railway heritage and also critical pieces of infrastructure that keep both rail and boat traffic moving.

Renewing the components will reduce the risk of mechanical problems and help keep services running safely, smoothly and reliably for our passengers, as well as maintaining access to the ports and marinas.”

“I’d

while this work was carried out. Our new trains have already improved reliability on our Norwich and Ipswich to Lowestoft lines and this work will make it even better, which I know our customers will welcome.”

Rob Rogers, Broads Authority director of operations, said: “This much-needed investment by Network Rail into the Broads’ swing bridges is very much welcomed by the Broads Authority and our boating communities.

Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia managing director, said:

like to thank customers for their patience

I’d like to thank customers for their patience while this work was carried out.

“ “

Image: Network Rail.

A Greater Anglia Class 755, dating from 2019, crosses Somerleyton swing bridge, built in 1905. The upgrade work will improve reliability of the bridge, enabling GA to operate more reliable services using its new fleet.

Image: Network Rail.

A view of Reedham swing bridge looking towards Lowestoft.

“It has been a challenging few years for our river users regarding the bridges and we are delighted to hear that work is progressing to allow them to reliably open for river traffic.”

Jonathan Harris, designated project engineer, Network Rail, speaking at Reedham, said: “This bridge is well over 100 years old. And with age, it’s becoming increasingly unreliable and more difficult to maintain.

“We’re dealing with a lot of Edwardian technology here, so there are things that need oiling, checking and adjusting throughout the year.

Mechanical issues

Jonathan continued: “It is controlled by levers by hand and the bridge fails as many as 20 times a year. When it gets hot the bridge expands and often can’t actually open because it just gets stuck; the winching cable just falling off the pulleys! This is costing the railway a lot of money to keep these bridges going.

“So we really have to get under the skin and look at these mechanical and electrical components and either renew them or replace them with the modern equivalent, hopefully greatly improving reliability and safety and reducing our maintenance of these three bridges.”

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Image: Network Rail.

Work underway on Somerleyton swing bridge.

Currently there are 52 planned maintenance visits per year; one a week. On top of that there are around 20 unplanned visits due to unscheduled maintenance caused by the failures. Network Rail estimates that this costs £100,000 per year.

The upgrades, says Network Rail, could save as much as £2.5 million over the next 25 years whilst also further reducing maintenance costs. It will also result in fewer delays to the passenger trains that rely on these bridges, as there are no other direct routes either between Norwich and Lowestoft, or between Ipswich and Lowestoft.

Joe Haynes, Network Rail scheme project

manager, said: “Network Rail is funded by taxpayer’s money so we’re always looking at methods of making our projects more efficient and ultimately cost less for the taxpayer.

“What we’ve done differently here is we have carried out a number of drone surveys in the area to get a lot of aerial footage.

“Using traditional surveying methods we can take several months to get sufficient access to carry out these surveys at the weekend. So by using a drone we managed to shorten the programme by a number of months and save tens of thousands of pounds for survey fees.”

What we’ve done differently here is we have carried out a number of drone surveys in the area to get a lot of aerial footage

“ “

Image: Network Rail.

Beam installation work underway at Somerleyton swing bridge.

Image: Network Rail.

Electrical work being carried out on Reedham swing bridge.

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Protecting everybody: the regulator’s changing role

Larkinson, chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road,

of the industry at the recent Rail Freight Group Conference

Arange of expert speakers took to the stage at the 30th annual Rail Freight Group (RFG) Conference in October, providing updates on the challenges currently facing the sector. Amongst them was Office of Rail and Road (ORR) chief executive John Larkinson, who discussed the role of the regulator, explained how it is delivering for freight, and commented on issues ranging from rail reform to industrial action.

A non-ministerial government department, the ORR is responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain’s railways.

John began his talk with an update on the industry’s overall financial position, stating that passenger revenues continue to drive developments in this critical area.

Financial position

“The financial position affects affordability, as well as the decisions that need to be made this year on funding for Network Rail for the period 2024 to 2029. It affects us all,” he explained. “We monitor the strategic road network, and travel’s roughly back to where it was pre-pandemic,

although you’ve got more vans and trucks and fewer cars.

“That’s not true of rail passengers. On good days you’re up to about 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels…but if you look at trend data, it’s more like 85 per cent. In really crude terms, that’s a £1.5 billion gap in terms of revenues, so it’s still a big issue.”

John acknowledged the impact of heatwaves and strikes, adding that the ORR was seeing revenue loss on days of industrial action. While the amount lost depended on the extent of the action, it could run to tens of millions of pounds he said.

John

provided an overview

Image: Shutterstock

Rail freight is affected by industrial action as well, although the ORR points out that it ensures the railway remains operationally safe during the strikes

He went on to discuss Network Rail’s costs, explaining that the organisation bore some inflation risk, and had not budgeted for substantial pay increases.

“If you look at Network Rail’s pay cost base, it’s probably about £3 billion – so one per cent of that is about £30 million,” he commented. “When this industrial dispute ends, there will undoubtedly be an impact on Network Rail and its pay bill.”

John also addressed the ongoing discussions around future government funding, adding: “All the financial forecasts already assume that certain cost savings are going to be made. You can’t have a forecast that doesn’t make some assumptions about how the cost base is moving.”

Workforce balance

Amongst these expected cost-savings is a reduction in the number of maintenance tasks,

which would be actioned as part of Network Rail’s drive to modernise maintenance. Its analysis shows that more tasks than necessary are currently being conducted.

position grows,” he concluded. The ORR’s chief executive also spoke frankly about the financial impact of industrial action, stating: “We’re an independent regulator and we’re not involved in the negotiations, but it does affect Network Rail’s cost base.

“You can see it in the ways the incentive mechanisms are working, because Network Rail has rightly paid out to parts of the freight industry for disruption caused during industrial action.”

While the ORR does not belong to any of the negotiating parties, it is responsible for overseeing safety during industrial action.

John was frank about the potential impact of this measure on workers, explaining that while some would be upskilled, it would also result in job losses should it go through.

“Whatever you think about that as a policy, it is built into the forecast, and hence if those savings aren’t made, the pressure on the overall financial

“I’ve been asked many times by MPs, ‘is it safe to run a railway through industrial action?’” John said. “The simple answer is yes, it can be safe, but that doesn’t happen by chance. A lot of planning goes into it. We’ve done some excellent work on planning for industrial action; what we’ve tried to do is anticipate the areas where there might be a really significant issue.”

“ “ Passenger numbers are increasing, but there is still a shortfall in terms of revenue warns the ORR

49 ORR Update railbusinessdaily.com Inside Track | November 2022

Image: Network Rail

One such area is signalling, and John explained that the ORR made it a priority to establish whether workers covering signalling roles during periods of industrial action were competent.

“You shouldn’t wait until the day of the industrial action to find that out,” he stated. “The information is available to assess it in advance. We’ve spent quite a lot of time going through that analysis with Network Rail to see whether training is required so people have got up-to-date competencies.”

The ORR found that Network Rail was well prepared, thanks in part to work carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A huge amount of data was collated on skills during COVID, in case of staff shortages in particular areas,” John explained. “That dataset has proved invaluable in terms of analysis.”

In its capacity as safety regulator, the ORR carries out on-the-spot checks during periods of industrial action, providing visible reassurance for rail users. It also listens and responds to safety concerns from industry stakeholders - including unions.

“We’ve had very detailed responses from the

unions about concerns that they have about particular areas of operation. We have followed every single one up and we are going to follow every single one up in the future,” John said. “To date, we have not found material issues, but that doesn’t mean they might not happen in the future.”

In addition to its role as a financial and health and safety regulator, the ORR carries out a range of dayto-day duties – including the authorisation of new equipment.

John said: “If you’re trying to get a new wagon or locomotive onto the network, ultimately, we are the final point. So are we doing that job well? Do we do that job quickly? Do we do that job effectively? Do we provide good advice? Those things really matter. We provide a service to the industry in those areas, and we need to provide that service efficiently.”

Staff priority

He also touched on access issues, explaining: “Network Rail is still unable to state clearly what the capacity performance trade-offs are on certain parts of the network to inform access decisions.” This, he acknowledged, was not good enough.

John went on to discuss the ORR’s role as a competition authority, and its recent intervention in the signalling market – which, he added, Network Rail had responded to well.

Finally, he explained that the ORR was currently considering how it would operate and reprioritise with fewer staff, in the wake of recent civil service job cuts.

Another of the ORR’s many responsibilities is advising UK, Scottish, and Welsh governments on issues affecting rail. John explained that the Retained EU Law Bill (which focuses on removing EU law from the statute) could prove particularly challenging.

“There’s an awful lot of rail legislation derived from EU law: safety, interoperability, markets, charges, the Channel Tunnel,” he commented.

The ORR and the Department for Transport (DfT) will work together to establish what should happen to each of these pieces of legislation – which, John admitted, would be no small undertaking.

“It is going to be a big job. And crucially, it’s going to be a really big job if the answer is, ‘we’ll remove the law here but try to do the same thing using different mechanisms’,” he explained.

Image: Shutterstock

Questions remain over Great British Railways and how the railway reform will work, says the ORR

“That’s possible, but one of the things that the rail reform work has shown us is the complexity of effectively doing a surgical strike on one piece of rail legislation and isolating it from everything else. We need to gear up for that.”

Driving change

Discussing rail reform in more detail, John posed the question: “what is driving the change?” He suggested that, to date, the focus had been on structural rather than policy changes, adding that there was, to his knowledge, no proposal for Great British Railways (GBR) to be awarded more funding than Network Rail and train operators currently receive.

“If structure doesn’t matter and money doesn’t matter, that leaves you with policies,” he added. “So what is actually going to be different in policy terms?”

He acknowledged the need for clarity around the proposed introduction of a new rules-based access system, stating: “I think at the heart of it is the question, are you making any different tradeoffs from what’s being made today? Everyone needs to be clearer about what exactly they think the problem is, and how different it’s going to be.”

The ORR has pledged to support the government with its rail reform agenda, providing advice on legislation and the creation of GBR. This involves, amongst other things, looking at the body’s licence, and how it will differ from those held by companies today.

“My personal view is that it’s right to propose a change to our duties, because if you want GBR to have a new access policy, and do something differently, then you’ve got to follow through the logic of that - you’ve got to put the regulator in the right place,” he commented.

John went on to pose another important question: what will happen if legislation is delayed?

“If it is delayed, then in the short term, the rail network continues to operate and work,” he commented. “And there are things you can do without legislation. I think the question is, what then is everyone aiming at? If it’s delayed, are we assuming that the start of GBR is delayed, and we are actually aiming for a different target date?”

The ORR’s role will also change as a result of rail reform, with John and his team overseeing both GBR, and the UK’s train operating companies. Despite supporting the Government’s agenda, it reserves the right to object to any role changes it deems unsuitable, and recently held a board-level debate about the impact a new access system would have on its statutory duties.

While it remains uncertain about changes in some areas (including competition), John believes that the ORR’s role should evolve if a new access system is introduced.

Transformation

These delays are also likely to have an impact on the evolution of GBR. John said: “I think it affects the difference between GBR on day one, and GBR in its end state. At the moment, GBR will probably be plain vanilla; it will inherit what is there now, and it will take a while to transition to something different. Changing the legislation and the timing of that will probably affect the start point and the end point.”

“ “ ORR Update railbusinessdaily.com Inside Track | November 2022

Discussing the body due to succeed Network Rail, John added: “We are planning for GBR to be set up, which means we’re moving to a hybrid world. That’s my perspective as a regulator. GBR has been clear about what it does not want in its environment of infrastructure and operating companies: things like the possessions regime and train performance regime. Freight companies have told me very clearly that they do want protections over Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 regimes.”

The ORR’s solution is to “do both”, offering protections to those operating outside GBR.

“We will design a hybrid system. That’s what I mean by facilitating the government’s agenda, but also listening to people who are outside the GBR world. It is the important job of the regulator to protect everybody,” John explained.

The ORR is also advising the government about what John called very difficult decisions on funding for Network Rail.

“If it’s only delayed by a few weeks, I’m sure we can all find a way forward,” he commented. “But I was then asked the question, ‘what if we never hear from the government? What if we don’t actually get any numbers? What is the ORR going to do? Do things just collapse?’ The very short answer is that it’s an access charges review, and there have to be some charges to make the system function.

Government agreement

John continued: “The ORR has the power to put those charges in place; the system does not collapse. However, it’s not straightforward, and

requires agreement with government around other parts of the funding mechanisms.

“We recognise that no one knows quite how things are panning out and are contingency planning for all options – but at the moment, we’re working on the basis that we’ll get the High Level Output Specification (HLOS) and Statement of Funds Available (SoFA) on time, and if there’s a short delay, that will be very straightforward to handle.”

down by around three percentage points in terms of on-time measures, adding that freight had declined too.

“You might say to yourself, ‘there have been hot days, there’s been industrial action, how are you going to split it out?’ It’s not easy, and you can always quibble about adjustments, but I think Network Rail has done a good job of trying to separate it out and make some assumptions,” he said.

Network Rail has introduced a ‘regulatory floor’ and is likely to act if performance falls below this level – although there is some leeway.

“We need to give an indicator. Obviously, if you fall a tiny bit under, it’s got to be proportionate,” John added.

While Network Rail is currently above this regulatory floor, the regional picture is less positive, with Wales and Western’s performance highlighted.

Freight performance

John concluded by offering his thoughts on freight performance, which has declined since April.

“I’ve got a team within ORR who spend a lot or part of their time talking to rail freight industry customers,” he said.

“I wanted to focus on freight performance because this financial year, passenger performance has got quite a bit worse, and freight performance has got a bit worse too. What I mean by freight performance, broadly speaking, is trains arriving at their destination on time, although there are some subtleties about the measure.”

He explained that passenger performance was

“That’s one of the areas we’re focusing on at the moment- working with Network Rail to get a better grip on what’s going on with freight performance,” he said.

John also touched on the freight growth target in Scotland, which is the sector’s best-performing region.

“We had a discussion with people in Scotland to say, if we’re going to enforce this, what are you trying to achieve from it?” He explained. “Transport Scotland was really clear that it didn’t want endless enforcement action; what it wanted to change was a state of mind. Anecdotally, that’s been a benefit in terms of the way it has worked in Scotland.”

The ORR wants to focus on freight performance due to a recent decline

“ “ ORR Update

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Insight into rail industry’s role in protecting biodiversity

Network Rail biodiversity manager Dr Neil Strong addresses delegates at the Rail Freight Group’s annual conference

Biodiversity is the variety of plants and animals seen in different habitats.

And as one of Britain’s biggest landowners, Network Rail is responsible for looking after plants and wildlife on the railway. The railways of this country provide a habitat to many rare species and Network Rail says it must do everything it can to protect them. There is an important role that the railway can play in connecting fragmented wildlife habitats across the countryside, reducing disturbance to its neighbours and capturing carbon through the network’s six million trees.

Network Rail has an environmental sustainability strategy and is committed to continuing to look after plants and wildlife by protecting and maintaining their habitats and creating new ones to increase biodiversity.

The organisation aims to transform its approach to vegetation management to deliver a safe, efficient and biodiverse railway fit for the future.

help with biodiversity. This is a different battle compared with net zero. He said: “The rail industry has got targets of achieving biodiversity net gain by 2035, which is 15 years before any of that carbon stuff.

“As you all know the railway has some amazing infrastructure, it’s not a bad office to work in is it?” he quipped, adding that the railway’s overall size is 51,000 hectares which he compared to the size of the Isle of Wight and half again.

Speaking at the Rail Freight Group (RFG) annual conference in London on 5 October, Network Rail biodiversity manager Dr Neil Strong spoke to the industry about how rail freight can

“Across that we’ve got an amazing array of habitats full of biodiversity, you’ve got the wildflower meadows, tree species! It’s amazing, but it’s not just the plant species. There’s lots of slimy, feathery, slippery, scaly things squirming around.”

He says that some of the most protected species in Britain have made the railway network their home.

“ “ Biodiversity

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There is also the need to be aware of the challenges of running trains in our natural environment. He explained: “We’re past 1 October so leaves are allowed to fall off trees now, and this is the thing that stops us every year. We need to manage that but we’ve got to run that through all the different habitat types and the wrong tree in the wrong place can lead to a whole load of problems, whether it is signal sighting, collision with trees or leaves on the line.”

Work to tackle such issues must be undertaken every so often but has to be planned so it is conducted correctly. When trees have to be cut down, the railway must also change the habitats that are situated next to it. However, doing so brings the railway into conflict with the seven million neighbours that the railway has backing onto its fences across the country. A third of the British population lives within 500 metres of a railway line, so as Dr Strong pointed out: “If we’re doing tree work, we can really annoy a lot of people really very, very quickly. But they rely on our trees.

“A few years ago I stood in Winchester station platform and spun around on my heels and every tree I could see was managed by the railway and owned by the railway, and there will be people who do not see anything but a railway tree during their commute or working life.”

Rail freight

“We know that freight operations can impact on a lot of people too,” Dr Strong told the RFG conference. “And these also interact with a lot of neighbours. A lot of the freight places are in urban areas by the very nature of why they’re there. We know the average distance when outside the running rail to the fence line is only 12 metres, and the first five metres of that shouldn’t really have any stuff on it at all. So you’ve got a really thin strip of green stuff. Is that the only opportunity that we’ve got in terms of freight for biodiversity?”

He suggests that the way forward is portable biodiversity. “You leave a freight wagon lying around long enough then stuff will grow in it,” he said. “There are historic freight locations that actually might provide us with a lot of opportunity.”

He highlights a site at Connington, using an image of a pile of sleepers that had been dumped there. “That is a habitat pile and so that’s there for stuff to sit on and find out what it’s going to eat. They’ll probably then eat the protected species that you’re trying to get more of, but that’s what nature does. It doesn’t quite read the books!”

Another site highlighted is Whitemoor Yard in March. “The facility takes a lot of our materials off the network, gives it a good shake and clean-up and sends it elsewhere.”

Whitemoor, which had been mothballed for around a decade before it reopened, was subject to planning conditions because of the biodiversity that was on the site already. He added: “There were also species that had not been on site before and they are probably some of the only ones in Cambridgeshire and the railway enables these protected species to live. They can do it side-by-side.”

Using a presentation to make his point about the work he undertakes, Dr Strong said: “All the photos that we’ve seen previously of trains are lovely, they’re great, but whenever I go into

a railway presentation, I’m always looking at the bottom left-hand side or the right-hand side just to see what’s down in the bottom corner, because that’s where the interesting stuff, the biodiversity, is.

“Open mosaic habitat is all that brown, dirty stuff around where the rails are. That is very, very important in terms of biodiversity and is in decline. From a biodiversity point of view there is a massive opportunity with freight installations, depots, sidings. We need to balance the needs of our neighbours and the railway.

Image: Network Rail

“People like buddleia because it’s good for the butterflies but actually it’s not so good because it takes the insects away from pollinating the native species. And it causes a whole load of other issues.”

Moving species

Dr Strong also explained how different species are being moved across the country from their usual homes: “There are coastal species that are now found inland because of the salt concentration in the soil that runs alongside the motorways. We’ve got that on the railway as well.” Of the Deptford Pink flower, he said: “It’s an endangered species. So endangered it no longer lives in Deptford but it’s found on a couple of sites on the railway. There’s a population at the Rail Innovation Development Centre (RIDC) at Melton Mowbray and there’s also one just next to Saltash station down in the West Country. This thing likes living in low growing habitat. It loves access points at Saltash because everybody wanders over it and squashes everything else down. And it is actually a very nice flower.

“Another example with rail freight is the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This line may be being returned to passenger use, but underneath the bridge you’ve got the Avon gorge and in the Avon gorge there is a leaf from one of two trees that are the only two trees of that species on the planet.

“From a biodiversity point of view that’s quite important and quite novel. We should be proud of it and we should look after it. And that’s what we have to do. So that’s global biodiversity, it’s not national. It’s not local. This is global stuff that the railway and the freight industry can actually do.

“How we design and manage our infrastructure is key to this. It can support biodiversity.” Dr Strong showcased an office building equipped with a green roof, and explained: “Green roofs in London have meant that the black redstart bird is now very widespread and it uses these roofs to hop around the whole of the capital. Then there are solar panels that can be used in tandem with the roofs. But the panels can also be put in fields where animals graze as freight rolls past. It’s that combination of things that the industry needs to look at.”

Opportunities

There are opportunities for design. He said: “Look at how much the area of green stuff in one image is increased just by sticking some green stuff on top of those flat roofs. And that’s how freight can support biodiversity alongside the open mosaic habitats which go all over the places where you need to be putting in the trains or the wagons.

And it’s not just what goes on the rail infrastructure where freight can support biodiversity.

“Well-managed forests outside railway are essential for biodiversity. Yes, you can get production out of them with the timber species, but that very forest management is the thing that creates habitats, creates open spaces and trees for things to live in. And the ability to then transport the product of that agricultural activity, the trees, economically, safely and efficiently means that we’ll want to have them grow trees.

“So, doing that on rail means that we can grow more trees.” The government has targets – there needs to be 30,000 hectares of trees planted every year for the next 30 years – that’s 900,000 trees. “That’s a lot of trees that need harvesting when they get to that point and we need to be able to do that,” said Dr Strong. “This is where putting in those railheads and getting this stuff shifted around is how the freight industry can help biodiversity. We can as an industry create what we’re calling that significant national natural asset. And it’s got that thriving, safe, efficient and sustainable railway at its heart and we can do that as an industry.”

Planning ahead

In a subsequent Q&A session, Dr Strong told the RFG that ministers have asked Network Rail to produce a strategic framework for how it supports the sustainable land use and how it can use its

land better when it comes to biodiversity. This was due to be published as this issue of Inside Track went to press.

He added: “That document is not telling people what to do, it is hopefully tying all the documents that have been produced over the years together and showing people what is possible.

“I would suggest if anybody has or wants some pointers and some biodiversity advice, come and see me and we can find the right people to actually start building that up and demonstrate to the industry that there should probably be more than six of us in the company, possibly in the industry.

“We can do this a bit wider and take it further. So I’m happy to provide that support and find the right people.”

“ “ Biodiversity railbusinessdaily.com Inside Track | November 2022

Strengthening rail support for the UK supply chain

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About RBD Community:

About RIA:

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the national voice of the UK rail supply community. The organisation helps to grow a sustainable, high-performing railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. RIA has more than 300 companies in membership in a sector that contributes £43 billion in economic growth and £14 billion in tax revenue each year, employs 710,000 people, and for every £1 spent in rail, £2.50 is generated in the wider economy. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60 per cent by number). Contact Gaynor Pates on 020 7201 0777 or 07799 337475. Visit www.riagb.org.uk for more information.

for money for railway businesses which want to know more about what’s going on around the railway industry, inform campaigns to make the supply sector bigger and better, and to hear more about commercial opportunities too. RIA looks forward to working with RBDC on this exciting collaboration in the weeks and months ahead!”

David McLoughlin, CEO Rail Business Daily, said: “Both membership organisations are independently recognised for the positive difference they make to businesses in rail. By joining forces for the purpose of simplifying

membership and working smarter through the power of collaboration, existing members and new members will now be able to take advantage of a discounted membership package. Designed for UK SMEs, this offer is set to supercharge and bolster strategy for business growth and resilience.”

Established in June 2021, the RBD Community is a powerful business resource for organisations in the rail sector with a primary focus on helping businesses grow. Not only do members benefit from a highly effective profile enhancement package to ensure a consistent and targeted presence in the sector (a benefit of being part of the UK’s largest rail media business), but they can also attend networking events to make new connections and keep up to date with the latest opportunities to win business in rail. Contact Eli Rees-King on 07810 001946 or visit community.railbusinessdaily.com for more information.

The benefits include a £350 cost-saving on a 12-month membership by joining both RIA and RBD Community, attendance at RBDC and RIA joint run/supported events, access to a greater variety and number of organisations for networking opportunities, and wider support from a combined team of rail, technical, innovation and business experts from both organisations, in addition to the combined resources and efforts of both RBDC and RIA teams to promote and support the interests of businesses supplying the UK and international rail market.

Visit www.rbdc-ria-memberoffer.co.uk for more information

access to high-quality support

Aerial saw demonstrates impressive cutting power and speed

n partnership with Tiger Aviation, RSS Infrastructure (RSSI) showcased the impressive cutting power and speed of the aerial saw at Pound Green Airfield, near Bewdley on the Severn Valley Railway, in midNovember. This demonstration showed how well the aerial saw works to cut back trees near railway lines.

As an example, the aerial saw cleared a 300metre section of the lineside vegetation, including oak trees, in just 15 minutes. The ground crew, made up of arborists and chainsaw operators, had help from TXM Plant’s Road Rail Vehicle with a 360° grabber and a commercial chipper, which made quick work of cleaning up in about 45 minutes.

Graham Talbot, RSSI head of arboriculture, said: “It was great to see the aerial saw in action at the Severn Valley Railway. A few minutes of cutting time is the equivalent of one day of traditional arborist work. There will always be a place for a more traditional approach, but the aerial saw combined with track-based plant is unmatched for clearing large sections efficiently and safely.”

When he first saw the aerial saw a few years ago, Alan Ramsden of Tiger Aviation was impressed, and he teamed up with RSSI to bring it to the UK.

“As an experienced helicopter pilot, I realised the aerial saw’s potential as soon as I saw it in use; this technology has been used in Central Europe and North America for over 30 years, but this demonstration is the first time it has been shown in the UK. Initially, we will focus on the rail sector, but it can also be used very effectively in the road and utilities sectors,” he said.

A growing problem

One of the challenges on the rail network is that hundreds of trains are damaged annually by overgrown foliage across the UK. This foliage also damages infrastructure, impedes sight lines, and blocks access.

Tree overhang has reached dangerous levels across the rail network. The aerial saw is an effective solution to this ongoing challenge. It can be flown into remote locations that are difficult to access using traditional groundbased methods.

Alan continued: “The whole aerial saw operation is risk assessed to the satisfaction of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which issues specific approvals for any work.

About RSS Infrastructure

The CAA also monitors and audits all operations to maintain the highest levels of safety at all times.”

Tiger Aviation and RSSI collaborated with the Severn Valley Railway to make the demonstration possible. RSSI asked several clients from the rail sector and representatives from the Department of Transport (DfT) and HS2 Ltd to attend and witness the new technology for managing lineside trees.

RSSI Infrastructure CEO, Richard Toy noted: “In comparison to the three to four weeks it would have taken using traditional tree management methods, the aerial saw is a safe, fast, and efficient method. Based on the feedback at the event, RSSI customers can’t wait to use this innovative cutting technology, which will revolutionise tree management in the UK.”

On average, the aerial saw can trim between one and three miles per day. It would take a ground-based crew about one week to complete the same amount of work that could be achieved with the aerial saw in one hour of flying.

Using the aerial saw could mean that a vegetation management team spends more than 70 per cent of their time on-site cutting back trees and foliage, increasing operational efficiency. The aerial saw is particularly effective when there are long distances to the right-of-way access to the railway.

The aerial saw can access rugged terrain, wetlands, and other sensitive areas without causing harmful environmental damage. It also protects roads from damage by reducing trips made by heavy equipment during scheduled work.

If you’re looking for more information about the aerial saw, contact Graham Talbot, Head of Arboriculture at RSSI on 0330 113 0004 or email arb@rssinfrastructure.com

RSS Infrastructure Ltd (RSSI) is a multi-disciplinary service provider for the rail and construction sectors. It has an award-winning reputation for developing solutions to improve safety and productivity.

Founded in 2007, RSSI provides a range of services to the infrastructure sector including; arboriculture, construction and civils, magnetic track safety services, overhead line electrification, possession management, safety-critical resources, signalling, and welding. RSSI is also the only company in the UK that offers Track Warning Services.

RSSI has more than 150 full-time employees and a large contingent workforce that covers most of the UK. It operates from offices in Birmingham, Doncaster, and Cwmbran.

RSS Infrastructure Ltd is a member of Auctus Management Group Ltd.

As the Government plays musical chairs, what will become of the railways?

Inside Track takes a closer look at the speeches delivered at the recent Labour and Conservative party conferences

When this feature was commissioned, Liz Truss had just replaced Boris Johnson as the nation’s Prime Minister. Her new position was confirmed on 5 September 2022, and the following day she appointed a new Secretary of State for Transport, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, to replace the previous incumbent Grant Shapps.

On 7 September 2022, Kevin Foster, MP for Torbay, subsequently replaced Wendy Morton as the Rail Minister, and it was believed, and hoped, that after a period of instability and uncertainty, the government would try to get back on track, make progress with projects and build on its various promises.

Instead, on 20 October 2022, Liz Truss resigned following a disastrous mini budget by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng. She was replaced on 25 October 2022 by Rishi Sunak, who she had beaten in the race to become Prime Minister in September.

On 25 October 2022, Mark Harper was appointed as Secretary of State for Transport,

having previously been the chair of the COVID Recovery Group. He replaced Anne-Marie Trevelyan, who was subsequently appointed Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development.

returned to the cabinet, initially on 19 October 2022 under the Liz Truss regime as Home Secretary. He held this position until 25 October 2022 before under the new PM, taking up the role of Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Thanks to the industrial action, the railways have been higher on the news agenda of the mainstream media than usual. Since the change from Liz Truss to Rishi Sunak, there have been stories in the mainstream media that projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) will be scaled back. However, it’s worth noting that the Conservatives failed to mention NPR in their speeches at the party conference (see below).

Kevin Foster resigned on 26 October 2022, and was subsequently replaced by Huw Merriman, who is also the chair of the Transport Select Committee (TSC).

It’s also worth noting that Grant Shapps

Between Liz Truss’ victory and resignation, both the Conservative and Labour parties held their annual conferences. The Liberal Democrats’ conference was suspended due to the death of HM The Queen.

Labour was the first to hold its conference, with this taking place in Liverpool. The Conservatives followed, with their event held in Birmingham.

Thanks to the industrial action, the railways have been higher on the news agenda of the mainstream media than usual

“ “

Image: shutterstock

The Elizabeth line opened in May 2022, and the Labour party said it would create an ‘Elizabeth line for the north’. A Class 345 stands at Abbey Wood on the first day of Elizabeth line operation

Conservatives

The Labour party may have been first with its conference, but the Conservatives remain in power. Liz Truss’ campaign to replace Boris Johnson as the leader of the party, and therefore become PM, was successful and she took up her new role on 5 September.

In a cabinet reshuffle, she appointed AnneMarie Trevelyan to replace Grant Shapps as Secretary of State for Transport. The new Transport Minister, who is the MP for Berwickupon-Tweed, was previously Secretary of State for International Trade, a role she had held since 15 September 2021 (where she was preceded by the current PM).

On 4 October she spoke to the conference, held in Birmingham, outlining the party’s global plan to ‘Get Britain Moving’, with rail central to this.

“Speaking to you today from the heart of the West Midlands – it serves as a powerful reminder that this region was the crucible from which much of the modern world was built,” she told delegates. “As the Mayor, Andy Street, is tireless in saying as he promotes this wonderful region. The infrastructure that powered that growth can still be seen today, and we are giving it a new 21st-century boost.

“Less than a mile away from here, I visited Curzon Street – one of the first train stations built in the UK. It has facilitated passengers and freight for over a hundred years.”

conference). The action has been ongoing since the end of July. She told delegates: “We cannot ignore that nine out of 10 train services were at a standstill last Saturday [1 October] – with further strikes planned.

“While our priority, our overwhelming objective, is to grow our economy and tackle the rising cost of living, we also have to deal with rolling strike action. Strikes disrupt everyday life for everyone and slow down our prospects for growth. The more quickly we can resolve these disputes, the sooner all our efforts can be spent on getting our economy motoring at full speed.”

Other factors

She claimed there are 27,000 workers with spades in the ground, “with so many of them working to reopen and transform stations. These will serve at the heart of our newest high-speed railway delivering additional capacity for the network, drawing in huge investment into the region – and of course, helping the whole country and our economy to grow.”

Her attention turned to the industrial action which took place on 1 October, just before the event, and again on 5 October (the final day of the

She made the case that despite “soaring international energy prices, the war in Ukraine and the continued global impact of COVID”, the government was taking necessary action to help families and businesses, but that that was only possible through growth and having the infrastructure to make that possible.

“We want to transform the rail industry to make it sustainable for the next 100 years. The very last thing our country needs right now is more damaging industrial disputes.

We want to transform the rail industry to make it sustainable for the next 100 years

“ “

Former UK prime minister Liz Truss gave her first speech at Downing Street – September 2022

“My message to the trade union membership is simple: please take your seats at the negotiating table and let’s find a landing zone which we can all work with. Punishing passengers and inflicting damage on our economy by striking is not the answer.” In announcing strike action on 20 September, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch made mention that the current SoS had at least met with his union, something her predecessor had declined to do. Yet it remains that any pay rise cannot be authorised without government approval. And so currently the impasse remains, with claims and counterclaims made on both sides of the dispute.

Making deals

Nevertheless, she said: “As a former Trade Secretary, I know something about making deals. And I can tell you, there is a deal to be done between the unions and our train operators. It’s a deal that will require compromise. So I want to see positive proposals to bridge the differences. As part of these, I am asking industry to launch consultations on reforming our ticket office provision across the country.

“The way we buy everything from groceries to holidays has transformed over the last decade. Online shopping is increasingly the norm, and all our favourite retail stores are using the latest self-service tech, making the in-store experience quicker and smoother, with fewer queues and more convenience.

“We’re seeing the same trend on the railways with a huge increase in online ticket sales – today, only 12 per cent of transactions take place at ticket offices.

“We need to be looking at ways to move with the trend and support our customers in the most effective way possible.

“There will be some stations where the ticket office will be important to the running of the station. In other areas, rail employees may be better in front of the glass helping passengers in other ways.”

Her speech, however, failed to mention schemes such as HS2 or Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR).

The following day it was the turn of Liz Truss to speak to her party. In her speech, she spoke about infrastructure projects being delayed “for years, and years and years,” although she didn’t immediately name any. “As a result, we have seen economic growth choked off. Houses have not been built where they are needed and wanted. We have become averse as a nation to doing things differently.”

This is not about cutting jobs she said, but about putting the passenger at the heart of the railway. “We all want the same outcome – to modernise the railway so that customers can choose rail as their preferred travel method with confidence and with ease.

“I hope union leaders together with employers will work with us to deliver the much-needed changes and resolution, so that together we can grow the economy for everyone,” she added.

The green agenda also dominated her speech, which noted that “the way that all our modes of transport are powered is changing at pace,” and she claimed that the Conservatives want UK business to lead the way on this new clean growth revolution, before (bizarrely) citing record investment in roads.

She promised: “We will build roads, rail, energy and broadband quicker,” but, just like her SoS she failed to mention any projects by name, although she was quoted on ITV on 3 October, just two days before her speech, saying that Bradford would receive a new station on the NPR scheme. She has previously said she would reverse much of the government’s decision to curtail parts of the NPR project. The PM told ITV that details would be set out in due course. Immediately the Northern Powerhouse Partnership called for clarity on what exactly NPR is as that would be essential for businesses looking to invest.

Labour

While the Conservatives have the power, following the mini-budget delivered by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng on 23 September, the party in opposition, Labour, have the majority lead in the polls. Whether that will be the case when the time for a General Election comes remains to be seen, but for now, the party is storming ahead in the opinion polls.

I hope union leaders together with employers will work with us to deliver the much-needed changes and resolution

“ “

Image: HS2 Ltd.

HS2 was mentioned briefly in the Secretary of State for Transport’s speech in Birmingham, whilst Labour said it would build the railway “in full”

Labour was also the first party to hold its conference, and so was able to set out its stall regarding what it plans for the railway.

Unlike subsequent speeches by the government, there were mentions of HS2 and other schemes, but there was no detail delivered by Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh.

Broken promises

Speaking in Liverpool on 26 September, she said: “Record delays, overcrowding, routes and services slashed week on week. We have a system where the public have come last for too long. And we know there is too much at stake for the country and the climate to carry on with this shambles.”

She claimed that broken promises on public transport hold the country back, that services were being cut and the public is paying ever more for less.

“If many millions – let down by services they can no longer rely on – cannot or will not use public transport then, quite simply, there is no path to net zero,” she warned.

“When the Victorians laid the foundations for our modern railway, it was a vote of confidence in Britain’s future.

“Today there are new challenges that demand the same ambition. No less than 60 times the Conservatives promised to connect our great Northern towns and cities and deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail [NPR]. A once-in-a-century chance to invest in public transport – to transform opportunity across the whole country, rebalance our economy, and take millions of cars off the roads.

“And they flunked it.”

She claimed that: “We will build an Elizabeth line for the North and deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 in full.” But that was all she said, there were no more details.

“Building HS2 in full could mean that the full Eastern Leg could yet be built instead of being truncated, as planned in the controversial Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) published in November 2021 with improvements to the Midland main line (MML) designed to cover for the lack of HS2.

Not the same

An Elizabeth line for the north would also be very different to the actual railway of the same name, the Crossrail project, in London. NPR is in theory due to be a mixture of new and upgraded main lines with speeds of up to 125mph, connecting Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, York and Newcastle.

If Liz Truss is to be believed, then there will also be a new station at Bradford that will cost more than £30 billion.

In contrast, the Elizabeth line is a circa£18 billion railway built largely underneath London with 10 new stations in the city centre. It’s a commuter railway designed to connect communities while relieving pressure on the busiest Underground lines such as the Northern line.

If many millions – let down by services they can no longer rely on –cannot or will not use public transport then, quite simply, there is no path to net zero

“ “

Louise Haigh gave a speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on 26 September

Haigh also spoke about Avanti West Coast (AWC), the operator of the West Coast franchise which has hit the headlines due to poor performance.

The worst performing operator

Since the end of 2019, the franchise has been operated by a partnership between FirstGroup and Italian state railway Trenitalia, with the latter holding a 30 per cent share. The Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA) had been due to expire on 16 October, two weeks after the Labour conference, but the Department for Transport (DfT) awarded a six-month extension on 7 October. Making the announcement, the new Transport Secretary said: “We need train services which are reliable and resilient to modern day life. Services on Avanti have been unacceptable and while the company has taken positive steps to get more trains moving, it must do more to deliver certainty of service to its passengers.

“We have agreed a six-month extension to Avanti to assess whether it is capable of running this crucial route to a standard passengers deserve and expect.”

The DfT said the problems facing Avanti over recent weeks stem from old working practices that mean shifts are often covered by existing drivers volunteering to work above their 35 contracted hours.

Back at the conference, Louise Haigh called AWC the “latest poster boy of the failing status quo.”

She then claimed: “The worst performing operator in the country – half of all trains late, 60,000 complaints, and what have the Tories done in response? They handed them £19 million including – and you couldn’t make this up – £4 million in performance bonuses. Out of the pockets of the public, and directly into the hands of shareholders.

She told the conference that: “Labour in power will bring our railways back into public ownership as contracts expire. Because we believe in a public transport system where power is in the hands of the public. A system that serves – above all else –the public interest. Where lower fares and more reliable services help reverse the spiral of decline. A system that can deliver economic, social and climate justice.”

There was no more detail than that. She also failed to mention that the government already controls all major decisions on the railways, and that London North Eastern (LNER), Northern and Southeastern in England, Transport for Wales (TfW) and ScotRail are already publicly owned.

Aftermath

“Instead of holding those responsible to account for this fiasco – the Tories played their tired, old tune. They blamed the workers who keep our rail network going.”

She added: “The workers aren’t failing the British public – the Tories and their disastrous rail system have catastrophically failed us all.”

She made the claim that British railways are a cash machine for companies and foreign governments, although she said this only a few weeks after Dutch company Abellio agreed to a management buyout, therefore leaving the UK rail market.

Of course, less than three weeks after her speech, Liz Truss had left office. Public spending cuts have grabbed the headlines in subsequent weeks, with suggestions that NPR and HS2 are to be scaled back.

Speaking to the BBC at the start of November, Grant Shapps said of NPR: “The line itself can deliver a 33-minute journey from Manchester to Leeds, quadruple nearly the capacity of that line, and do so without having to wait an extra 20 years beyond the delivery of what the upgrade can do.

“There wasn’t really much point in going and blasting new tunnels through the Pennines.”

He was speaking before the Autumn Statement, which was due on 17 November.

Instead of holding those responsible to account for this fiasco – the Tories played their tired, old tune. They blamed the workers who keep our rail network going

“ “

Image: Andrew Shenton/Hitachi

A TransPennine Express Hitachi bi-mode heads through Leeds. Labour said it would make the Northern Powerhouse Rail like the Elizabeth line of the north. The Conservatives did not mention it

Chair of Transport for the North, Lord McLoughlin, said: “We will wait to see in two weeks’ time what the Autumn Statement says, but the Chancellor made clear in his first statement to the House of Commons last month that he sees capital spending as vital to a credible economic growth strategy; and as TfN’s research has shown, on those terms alone Northern Powerhouse Rail is beneficial to both the national and northern economies.

“In addition, the last Conservative manifesto was clear on its commitment to build NPR. And furthermore, the Transport Select Committee recommended in August, that the government should revisit the evidence base for the decisions that were made on NPR in the Integrated Rail Plan, and the Chair of that committee then is the new Rail Minister.

“TfN Members are clear that building NPR in full via Bradford is the best option to provide the solution to the capacity constraints on our rail network and underpin the long-term sustainable economic growth for our region.”

One area where seemingly there has been progress is industrial action. On 4 November, less than 24 hours before the first of three days of action was due to take place, the RMT suspended the action planned for 5, 7 and 9 November, stating

that: “Through a strong industrial campaign so far, RMT has secured unconditional talks on Network Rail and the promise of an offer from the train operating companies who up until this point, have made no offer of any kind to our members.”

“The current dispute remains very much live, and the union is continuing its re-ballot of members to secure a fresh mandate for action with the result due on 15 November.”

Broken promises?

The RMT claims that, originally, Network Rail had declared discussions and consultations closed and “was intent on imposing changes to maintenance without agreement with RMT.” Now the union claims Network Rail has “rowed back and will continue discussions on the basis that ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’”.

This, says the RMT, means that “this takes away the reason for the current phase of action and means talks can continue without preconditions unilaterally set down by the company.

We’ve heard countless proclamations from both parties before; the issue now is about how they are delivered. For the Conservatives it’s about following through with their pledges and not parking more schemes in sidings, performing U-turns or scaling back previously announced projects. The DfT has still, for example, not published the Rail Network Enhancement Plan (RNEP), after more than 1,000 days, despite this being an ‘annual’ report designed to inform the sector what investment is planned.

For Labour, it is about getting into power and then following through with the promises. It’s well documented, for example, that prior to the 1997 General Election victory, the party promised to renationalise the railways only a few years after the privatisation process began; of course that never happened. Whatever happens, the course of British politics and the country’s railway continues to be intertwined and makes for fascinating discussion.

There wasn’t really much point in going and blasting new tunnels through the Pennines

“ “

Crowd of train passengers forced to wait outside the Euston Station due to temporary service closure – June 2022

Fatigue and asset integrity

Greg Morse considers the wrong side failure at Dalwhinnie, recently reported on by RAIB

At about a minute after 0300 on 10 April 2021, an empty ScotRail High Speed Train (HST) derailed on a crossover south of Dalwhinnie station.

The train had been travelling at around 33 mph. There were no reported injuries, but the consequences could easily have been worse.

Wiring error

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) investigated and soon found that, while the signaller had checked that the crossover was set for the main line – and got the correct indications in the box – the points at the facing end remained set towards the crossover. Why had this happened?

In short, the signaller had been able to clear the crossover’s protecting signal because of a wiring error introduced when the point machine at its trailing end was replaced some nine months before. It was only when the HST’s leading power car forced the points apart at the trailing end that the signalling system detected that they were not set correctly. This automatically re-sent a command for both point ends to move to the position commanded by the signaller. As a result, the points at the facing end moved under the train, causing it to come off.

The replacement point machine was a GRS 5E, a design first introduced in the 1980s. They are no longer manufactured and, on the Highland Main Line, exist only between Dalwhinnie and Inverness. RAIB also found two conductors inside the machine – a wire strap and a metal link – which are required when a GRS 5E leads to a singleended siding, but not when it forms part of a crossover.

In the latter configuration, the conductors should be removed to comply with the design of the point position detection circuit shared by the two point machines (with associated alterations being made to the internal wiring at the same time). The local signalling maintenance team responsible for installing and testing the machine was not aware of this.

The point machine was tested and

commissioned following processes that Network Rail prescribes for installing a like- for- like replacement.

The checks and wire counting that were required before and after installation did not identify the wiring discrepancy. The last opportunity to spot it before the points were put into service was an out-of-correspondence test. However, the specified testing work was interrupted by the need to wait for the signaller to arrive at Dalwhinnie signal box.

As a result, this and other outstanding testing work was overlooked, the tester in charge believing it had already been done.

Independent testing

Whether signalling equipment replacement work is carried out in accordance with signal maintenance or signal works standards, Network Rail relies on independent testing to ensure an adequate level of asset integrity before the modified signalling system is handed back into service. However, RAIB found a lack of clarity in the company’s signalling maintenance standards concerning the working arrangements of the appointed tester and of those carrying out this type of work.

“ “ Safety

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This may have led to a lack of understanding as to what was required. Echoing the words of his predecessor Simon French, RAIB’s chief inspector Andrew Hall was moved to note that: “Some of the causes of the accident at Dalwhinnie bear an alarming similarity to those found in the multifatal accident at Clapham Junction in 1988, and the more recent collision at Waterloo in 2017, which caused huge disruption on routes into London.”

Clapham remains a warning from the past. In brief, it too resulted from a wiring error, an old wire in the relay room at Clapham ‘A’ remaining connected at one end and uninsulated at the other. Eventually, it resumed the position it had long held, touched a terminal and made a connection which meant a red signal showed green on the morning of 12 December 1988. Thirty-five lives were lost in the ensuing threetrain collision, the inquiry into which also revealed failures in the testing of the work done.

The Waterloo incident, which occurred on 15 August 2017, involved a passenger train striking a stationary engineering train at 13 mph after departing on a green aspect. Luckily the driver saw the way the points were set and managed to brake, meaning the collision occurred at low speed and resulted in no injury. In this case, the train had been diverted from its assigned route by a set of points that were incorrectly set because of uncontrolled wiring.

The wiring had been added to overcome a problem during the testing of signalling system modifications intended to increase station capacity, but modifications to the wiring of the point detection circuits meant that a ‘desk’ set up to aid testing no longer simulated the detection of the points in question correctly...because it hadn’t been modified to take account of changes made to the detection circuit.

Remembering the lessons

Waterloo showed that lessons learned in 1988 were forgotten and Dalwhinnie showed that –at least in pockets – they remain in darkness. Corporate memory is one thing, personal memory quite another. Yet clearly there is an intersection between the two. The signalling technician who erred at Clapham had had one day off in a near-solid 13-week stint of work. He didn’t feel tired, but we would know now that fatigue had blunted his working edge.

In March 2020, reports RAIB, the maintenance tester on duty at Dalwhinnie needed to self-isolate as he had COVID symptoms. His section manager was aware of this. The tester said he subsequently started to suffer from general tiredness, memory loss and concentration issues.

He did not make his section manager aware of these issues, because he felt they were not of sufficient concern and were not affecting his work. The tester thought he was coping and that the sense of general tiredness was the result of other well-being concerns that his line managers already knew about. RAIB was “unable to completely discount any problems that the maintenance tester started to have as a result of his COVID symptoms as a factor in him not correctly reorientating to the original task of following the maintenance test plan”.

safety-critical industries. This will help companies identify how they can improve the recording of actual hours worked and identify exceedances. In a similar vein, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has developed a key performance indicator (KPI) worksheet, setting out a range of fatigue KPIs, methods of measurement and the benefits of measuring full stop. This should help companies review their existing fatigue KPIs and determine how they can improve their measurement of fatigue risk, based on their own specific fatigue risks.

Asset integrity

The long-term effects of COVID are yet to be fully understood, but it is clear that it will impact on the fatigue question that the industry has been trying to answer since Clapham. The trouble is, we need more information. And at the moment, information on fatigue is not systematically collected and shared across the industry.

Neither does it map onto particular types of incidents, despite often being a significant underlying cause. This makes any quantitative analysis very difficult and blurs the true picture.

To try to make it clearer, the industry’s Fatigue Coordination Group is supporting a new piece of work that will explore different approaches to recording actual hours worked in rail and other

If you read my article on the Signal Passed At Danger (SPAD) at Sileby (Inside Track August 2022), you’ll know about the Leading Health and Safety on Britain’s Railway strategy, as facilitated by RSSB. You’ll know about the fatigue side of the equation too. But the wrongside failure element of Dalwhinnie is also part of it, falling under the ‘asset integrity’ banner. The cross-industry Asset Integrity Group (AIG) comes together at regular intervals to consider rising risks and take action.

As the Carmont accident in August 2020 demonstrated, earthworks failures account for a large proportion of the train accident risk associated with asset integrity. After a spike in recent years, however, this is now decreasing and is currently well below the five-year average. RSSB’s Precursor Indicator Model, meanwhile, shows signalling to be above the five-year average. As we start to throw more eggs into a swelling digital basket, we need to remember that the potential for Clapham-style wiring errors still exists on our network. We would be unwise to forget that just yet…

“ “ Safety

Paddington returns to platform 1

Beloved bear resumes his rightful place following a campaign supported by thousands of fans

Paddington, the railway’s favourite bear, was front and centre as the nation mourned the passing of HM The Queen in September, and now the little bear has returned to his beloved platform 1 at London Paddington station.

His statute had to be temporarily relocated from under the clock arch to the other side of the station when the Elizabeth line opened on 24 May. Network Rail explained that this was necessary for safety reasons as the statue’s former home is now an evacuation route.

Family favourite

The statue is owned by the Paddington Bear shop in The Lawn at the station and has become a mainstay for many years and quite the attraction for families, fans and international visitors alike.

Ever since Paddington was relocated there have been calls for the little bear to ‘return home’ to platform 1, with respected property, travel and lifestyle television presenter and journalist Martin Roberts leading the campaign.

Network Rail’s station team has sought a new location and secured a fitting spot for Paddington next to the clock on platform 1.

Longer term, there are plans to secure him an even more prominent position at the station, with a permanent spot nearer to the main station concourse.

“This will undoubtedly be welcome news to the many Paddington Bear supporters as well as enhancing the experience of our passengers, particularly those with young children. We look forward to providing an update on these plans in due course.”

A very special bear

Susan Evans, Network Rail head of stations and passenger experience, said: “We are pleased to have found our beloved Paddington Bear statue a new, temporary spot next to the clock on platform 1 following Martin’s passionate approach to us to find the statue an alternative position.

“The Paddington Bear statue is synonymous with London Paddington station and we are working on identifying a new prominent permanent position for him nearer to the main station concourse.

Martin said: “For years I’ve made a point of saying ‘Hello!’ to Paddington whenever I’ve passed through the station. I was horrified when I discovered the location he’d been moved to – by the side of a cafe in an area used for smoking. And although I learned it was only temporary it was still a terrible spot for the thousands of people who come to visit to enjoy their moments with this special statue of a very special bear.

“I vented my outrage with a ‘hard stare’ on social media, and thousands shared my concerns, including Hugh Bonneville (who played Mr Brown in the Paddington films). Thankfully Network Rail’s station team at London Paddington were brilliant and took action. I’m over the moon to see Paddington back where he belongs and I shall be celebrating with a large marmalade sandwich, of course!”

“ “ And Finally

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