Collaboration

Shortlist

Collaboration

Frazer-Nash Consultancy

Frazer-Nash Consultancy and the Logistics Institute at the University of Hull are working together to develop tools that will revolutionise understanding of the propagation of delays across the rail network. Having met at a Rail Freight Group event in November 2019, the organisations recognised that combining their complementary expertise, they could offer a game changing advance in freight train planning during network delays.

The work has been funded under a grant from RSSB and Network Rail and is based on combining the Logistics Institute’s comprehensive, detailed and integrated rail network database, NR+, with Frazer-Nash’s cutting edge Machine Learning experience from the defence sector. The solution, Rapid Evaluation and Planning Analysis Infrastructure for Railways (REPAIR), is a revolutionary set of predictive tools that will enable freight train planners to understand and mitigate the impact of current and future network delays on their services, providing increased certainty of delivery and avoiding unintended consequences arising from the actions they take. It allows the end user to visually understand how delays are likely to propagate across the rail network and affect their services, as well as displaying how constraints like crew availability will limit effective recovery.

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Porterbrook Innovation Hub

Porterbrook’s Innovation Hub provides an on-train environment which showcases over 30 rail innovations from 25 different companies, many of them UK SMEs. The initiative was introduced a direct response to a challenge from the supply chain to find a way to fast-track their innovations into a real rail environment.

The project involved re-purposing an off-lease Class 319 into a show-train to demonstrate as many innovations as possible to the industry, and over 25 suppliers were chosen after a selection process with Porterbrook working closely with each to understand how best to display their innovations. Unit 319454 was partially stripped out, and an electrical supply system was added to power innovations and create a clean slate for interior upgrades and passenger-facing improvements. To maximise reach, Porterbrook have also created a virtual Innovation Hub, allowing a tour of the hub on-line. The Innovation Hub was launched at RailLive in June 2019 and also ran at Destination Decarbonisation in September 2019. Suppliers are already starting to generate orders as a direct result of the initiative, including Aura Graphics. This project is a powerful example of collaboration between academia and the private sector to deliver innovation.

Shortlist

Siemens Mobility & Porterbrook (West Midlands Trains, GB Railfreight)

As the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK, the nation’s hospitals were being stretched to the limit, requiring urgent medical supplies to be delivered efficiently. With the Nightingale Hospital programme also opening new facilities across the UK, supply and logistics operations were being similarly stretched.

Following a request for support by the DfT, a collaboration between train owner, Porterbrook, train operators West Midlands Trains (WMT) and GB Railfreight (GBRf), and train manufacturer and maintainer Siemens Mobility, came together and in a matter of days successfully trialled a new medical supplies delivery operation into London. Fortunately, it wasn’t necessary for the units to be used and once the Nightingale Hospitals were closed, the Class 319s were stood down pending readiness for recall, or service return. However, the ability and willingness to re-group remains if a second wave occurs.

During a time of national crisis, the programme proved the strength of the UK supply chain, demonstrating the power of rail industry collaboration and the commitment, determination and ability of all the teams involved to deliver a solution to support a critical healthcare challenge.

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Volker Wessels

Due to national infrastructure financial constraints, the Rail Electrification Alliance (REAL) were asked to identify opportunities for significant cost reductions within the Power Supply Upgrade Programme Phase ii (PSU2) for the East Coast Main Line (ECML). Reductions were required to deliver the desired outcomes and provide sufficient traction power to support the introduction of Virgin’s new Azuma trains. A key factor to the project’s delivery was the established collaboration between partner businesses to reduce project costs and enable a saving of £44m against budget to the client. After a year of detailed work, a final phase package of £216m was awarded to the Alliance. This package provides a significant saving to the tax-payer, by facilitating a £359m programme AFC and the £44m saving against the DfT and treasury approved budget. This is in addition to £607m of savings made at earlier stages of work and allows the capital to be spent on other areas of need within the East Coast Upgrade Programme.

There has been a true coming together of team members from all six primary partner organisations to develop the programme for PSU2. The work has successfully culminated in a final GRIP 5-8 phase contract award worth £216m, facilitating a £359m programme AFC and a further £44m saving against the DfT and treasury approved budget, elevating the level of investment and time spent across the East Coast Upgrade Programme.