Engineer
by rail engineers for rail engineers
APRIL 2016 - ISSUE 138
CYBER SECURITY
ATO IN LEICESTERSHIRE
INFRARAIL PREVIEW
The Network and Information Security Directive aims to implement the EU’s strategy for cyber security across Europe.
Testing Automatic Train Operation for London Underground’s Sub Surface Railway in the heart of the English countryside.
Looking forward to the UK’s big rail show - the exhibitors, speakers and presentations that will attract thousands to ExCeL.
www.railengineer.uk
Rail Engineer • April 2016
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Contents
Cyber Security
Clive Kessell on hacking and the Network and Information Security Directive.
News 6 TFL budget, Apprentices, Safety, Easter, Yellow Panels, Northern Line, Shaw Report. Right On The Bubble Stuart Marsh visits Holmes Chapel viaduct over the River Dane.
22 Ordsall Chord - Vandalism or Progress?
14
ATO in Leicestershire 18 Testing the new Sub Surface Railway signalling system in the middle of England. The Internet of Things Paul Darlington explains a concept that will change life on the railway.
30
After Borders, What Next? 36 Now the Borders railway has reopened, David Shirres looks at further possibilities.
26 Gigabit Jumpers:
66
70
44
The Power to Keep Projects On Track To be successful, companies such as RJ Power need to innovate.
52
No Need to go Batty over Ecology How Thomson Ecology is protecting wildlife along the Great Western.
54
New Zone Controller Technology 56 An innovative signalling system from Siemens has been installed at London Bridge.
Key links in New Generation On-Train Networks
Infrarail is upon us
New Challenges - Facing East & West Collin Carr meets with Chris Binns, now Crossrail’s Chief Engineer.
Eaton: Electrical and Hydraulic Equipment for Railways A look at this global player’s broad range of abilities.
58
Safe-Tea Having a brew on-site now doesn’t mean walking a couple of miles.
60
RailTech and the HackTrain Accelerator Helping new technology companies bring their products to market.
62
Solar-powered CCTV at Marshall Meadows Remote monitoring that is both safe and energy efficient.
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See more at www.railengineer.uk
We’re looking to highlight the latest projects and innovations in
Electrification/Power
Level Crossings
in the June issue of Rail Engineer. Got a fantastic innovation? Working on a great project? Call Nigel on 01530 816 445 NOW!
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Hang on a minute guys... I've got a great idea...
Editor Grahame Taylor grahame.taylor@railengineer.uk
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Our two main themes this month cover innovation and the forthcoming Infrarail at the ExCeL in London on 12 - 14 April 2016. More on all this in a moment. In the meantime here’s the background to our cover story. Rail Engineer descended mob-handed on Holmes Chapel viaduct during the recent eleven day blockade. Stuart Marsh went as our wordsmith whilst Graeme Bickerdike prepared the visuals for his video report on our web site. High above the Cheshire countryside, the viaduct was in the grip of a thorough going-over by Network Rail engineers. And as for the title, well I’ll not help you with this one. You’ll have to read the article to understand what this ‘bubble’ malarkey is all about. Launching straight into innovation mode, River TamoorBaig, co-founder of HackTrain, has his foot firmly on the HackTrain Accelerator, encouraging fledgling companies to get themselves into the railway industry. There are some big names behind it all, so let’s see what potential can be unleashed. It’s not quite an eye in the sky (maybe more of that next month) but certainly the eye - courtesy of QTS and Red CCTV - was pretty high up on a solar-powered Fast Mast CCTV tower. Continuous monitoring of a remote site became possible without a soul being on site. We have an explanation of the Internet of Things from Paul Darlington. Previously known as M2M, the IoT gives us the prospect - amongst many other things - of knowing the location of an empty seat even before a train arrives - unless there’s a bag on it! Collin Carr has been off to speak to Chris Binns, who has moved from Thameslink to become chief engineer of Crossrail. With the tunnelling over, it’s time to turn bare tubes into a real railway in a very challenging timescale. Despite the technological complexities, Chris has a committed supporting team and an expert supply chain. It takes a fair amount of courage, apart from technical skill, to pioneer a new method train control system smack in the middle of London. In Autumn 2015, Network Rail, in collaboration with Siemens, completed the first ETCS trials through central London. The idea is to achieve a reliable service of 24 trains per hour on the Thameslink route through the London Bridge area. This is close to what you would expect on the underground network! It is indeed an odd spectacle to see a London Underground train stopping and starting way out in the Leicestershire countryside with its sliding doors doing a concertina act of opening and shutting - with not a station in sight. Nigel went off to RIDC Melton (that’s Old Dalby test track in old money) to investigate. These strange movements are all to do with testing the new Thales Seltrac signalling system for the Sub Surface Lines. The railways, along with a swathe of other safety and financially critical industries, are locked in a sinister dance with those fascinated and challenged by ever more sophisticated attempts at ensuring cyber security - the cyber hackers. Clive Kessell has been looking at legislation
that will concentrate the minds of our guardians of security. My summary of David Shirres’ piece on the proposed Ordsall Curve was made much simpler when I looked again at the title - Vandalism or Progress. Without doubt it is vital that arguments for and against are made and heard. But then there has to be a decision. Someone is going to be disappointed. David sets out the pros and cons - see what you make of it all. There always seems to be pressure to re-open closed lines. David examines how the railway world has evolved since the ATOC report of 2009 ‘Connecting Communities’. Real progress has been made and there are many contenders still out there. You might be surprised with what is on the wish list and what might, one day, come to pass. In a welcome switch to emphasise the importance of what could appear to be relatively minor bits of kit, Malcolm Dobell has explored the world of circuit breakers, hydraulic pumps, actuators and hoses. In reality, these are not minor in any sense, because if they didn’t work, then everything else downstream would be utterly useless. We should celebrate the minutia. So, what of Infrarail this year? Well, we’ve compiled a pick of the bunch in our introduction to the event. As well as a host of familiar names, the Infrarail exhibitor list includes around 75 companies taking part in the show for the first time. We’ll be there of course and would be very happy to meet you at our stand D71. As in previous years, we’ll be hosting a wide variety of technical seminars. And finally, in an inspired piece of innovation, there’s the rail-mounted tea urn for track workers. Yes, really! It’s a nifty idea to bring a bit of relief to those stuck miles away from anywhere in the middle of a possession. But, along with the kit and a pway trolley dolly there’s the possibility of carrying a defibrillator. There must be some really hard shifts these days!
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
TfL budget confirms rail projects
NEWS
Transport for London has published its budget and business plan for 2016/17.
STRUCTURAL PRECAST FOR RAILWAYS
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Transport for London has published its budget and business plan for 2016/17. Unsurprisingly, it includes several commitments for rail, most of which are confirming previously announced plans. Amongst the rail projects included are: »» Crossrail, with construction continuing in preparation for the Elizabeth line to open in 2018; »» Redevelopment of the London Underground network with new signalling for the Sub Surface Lines, extensions to the Northern and Metropolitan lines, and a number of station improvements; »» Introduction of the Night Tube; »» An increase to the station accessibility fund, up from £75 million to £150 million, in line with the target of having 50% of all stations step-free by 2018; »» Electrification of the Gospel Oak to Barking line on the London Overground network, together with modernisation of stations taken over from West Anglia in 2015.
The GLA budget, announced in February 2016, included a £250 million fund for two new overground stations at Old Oak Common, linking with Crossrail, national rail and HS2, and £100 million towards a potential extension to the tram network to Sutton. New Tube for London, the replacement of rolling stock on the Piccadilly, Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines, is also included in the document as is a possible southern extension of the Bakerloo line to Catford Bridge.
LET’S CE
R THE GE
RATE TO B LE
11/12 JUNE 2016 The rail industry and community organisations will join together to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 90th Birthday, with the Station to Station Queens Celebration.
Coming to a station near you! We are actively calling all rail industry suppliers to join in and help promote the broad spectrum of career opportunities the industry has to offer
To find out how you can join in this wonderful event please visit our website
www. quee nsce l e b r at i o n . c o m
How can you help? If you are a supplier to the industry and you would like to support this weekend of national celebration, please contact:
Vicky Binley at Nimble Media Ltd
T: 0845 1 700 300 E: info@queenscelebration.com
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
No stigma attached to apprenticeships As part of the drive to bring young people into the railway industry, Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne has spoken out about the ‘stigma’ sometimes attached to apprenticeships. As part of the drive to bring young people into the railway industry, Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne has spoken out about the ‘stigma’ sometimes attached to apprenticeships. He called upon teachers, parents and employers to work together to educate more young people about the benefits that apprenticeships can offer. “Our apprenticeship scheme has been running for ten years,” Mr Carne commented, “and we are incredibly proud of what our graduates have gone on to achieve. Many tell us that our scheme has fast-tracked them towards achieving personal and professional goals ahead of their friends, such as managing a team and buying a house.
“Our graduated apprentices are living proof that there should be no stigma associated with apprenticeships, and that with the right attitude and work ethic, you can reap the rewards alongside those who have chosen a university route. In fact, many of our apprentices have gone on to gain higher qualifications, including degrees, through our education programme. I would urge employers, teachers and parents to join forces to educate young people about the fantastic benefits that an apprenticeship can offer, both in a personal and professional capacity.” This year, Network Rail is looking to recruit 150 apprentices nationwide through its £40 billion Railway Upgrade Plan.
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NEWS
Rail Engineer • April 2016
Happy Easter!
As usual, over 15,000 men and women in orange will be out on the railway during what would otherwise be a quieter time of year, with around half the normal number of passengers.
This issue of Rail Engineer will reach readers just as work over the Easter break is completed. As usual, over 15,000 men and women in orange will be out on the railway during what would otherwise be a quieter time of year, with around half the normal number of passengers. In the West Midlands, the £250 million upgrade of the railway between Stafford and Crewe was virtually completed when a new flyover at Norton Bridge opened to trains, removing one of the last bottlenecks on the West Coast main line. Work in Wales focussed on the latest phase of the project to modernise the Cardiff and Valleys network. The work included upgrading track and signalling on the railway in and around Cardiff Central station, which will help to improve the reliability of the rail services in the area. On the southern route, work
included a £1.4 million project to replace eight sets of points at Waterloo. Additionally, track was renewed in the Southampton area and a railway bridge replaced near Wandsworth Town station. Renewing OLE between London and Shenfield continued, with overhead lines replaced at Brentwood and track renewed at Maryland, Forest Gate and Shenfield. In addition, work took place at Shenfield sidings in preparation for Crossrail. No Southern or Gatwick Express trains ran from Victoria as a critical junction was renewed at Battersea Park. Track lowering and station improvements took place between Bristol and Bath, with further work taking place closer to London at Maidenhead, Stockley, West Ealing, Southall and Hayes and Harlington. Much more work took place, all around the network - 450 separate projects in all totalling £60 million.
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NEWS
Rail Engineer • April 2016
Boring to Battersea With the building of Crossrail, Londoners have become used to having tunnel boring machines (TBMs) burrowing away beneath their feet. With the building of Crossrail, Londoners have become used to having tunnel boring machines (TBMs) burrowing away beneath their feet. After Crossrail comes the Thames Tideway Tunnel - 25km long, up to 65 metres deep and 7.2 metres in diameter. Tunnelling starts next year and will last until 2021. Now there are two new TBMs to get to know. 5.2 metres in diameter and built by NFM Technologies in Le Creusot in central France, these will be used to dig the two 3.2km tunnels for the Northern line extension from Kennington to Battersea via Nine Elms. The tunnels will be lined with 20,000 concrete segments and 300,000 tonnes of earth will be removed by barge and taken to Goshems Farm in East Tilbury, Essex where it will be used to raise former landfill sites to create arable farmland. Tunnelling is due to start early in 2017 and will take six months.
Last but not least - the Shaw Report! The last of three reports into Network Rail, commissioned by the Secretary of State for Transport, was published on Budget Day. The last of three reports into Network Rail, commissioned by the Secretary of State for Transport, was published on Budget Day. The Future Shape and Financing of Network Rail, written by Nicola Shaw, follows those by Dame Colette Bowe (Review into the planning of Network Rail’s Enhancements Programme 2014-2019) and Sir Peter Hendy (Replanning Network Rail’s Investment Programme) which have already featured in Rail Engineer. In her introduction to this third report, Nicola Shaw comments: “The rail network is complex, and no approach to the question of the future structure and financing of infrastructure delivery will resolve all the existing issues, nor endure forever. There aren’t any silver
bullets here just waiting to be found and used. “My recommendations therefore focus on current issues and objectives - they offer a contemporary blueprint for growth - in a way that should enable the industry to step up and deliver better for customers.” The seven recommendations detailed in her 130-page report cover three key areas: customers, devolution and growth. Each one is discussed in depth, but the key elements are: 1 - Place the needs of passengers and freight shippers at the heart of rail infrastructure management. 2 - Focus on the customer through deeper route devolution, supported by independent regulation.
3 - Create a route for the North. 4 - Clarify the Government’s role in the railway and Network Rail. 5 - Plan the railway based on customer, passenger and freight needs. 6 - Explore new ways of paying for the growth in passengers and freight on the railway. 7 - Develop industry wide plans to develop skills and improve diversity. Over 10,000 submissions were made to the team in response to a consultation document published in November last year. A wide range of views were expressed, but interestingly the three most common themes were: »» A rejection of the wholesale breakup of Network Rail which would further complicate an already fragmented industry;
»» Opposition to privatisation of Network Rail; and »» A desire to maintain the historically high current levels of investment in the railway. In the body of her report, Nicola Shaw comments: “No structure can ever be perfect. There will always be issues in any organisation, however it is structured, especially one as large as Network Rail that operates in such a complex environment. That said, the report team is confident that these seven recommendations, if properly implemented, will enable the rail industry to take a significant step forward in delivering for its customers and funders over the period from 2019 to 2029, thereby ensuring that the railway is equipped to meet increasing demand.”
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Rail Engineer • April 2016 STUART MARSH PHOTO: J MURPHY & SONS
Laying the ballast retention units.
P
roviding us with an example of Victorian civil engineering at its very best, and striding majestically as it does across the wide and flat valley of the River Dane, the viaduct at Holmes Chapel looks magnificent from any viewpoint. Also known locally as Twemlow viaduct, it has been described as one of the finest viaducts in Cheshire.
Designed by George Watson Buck, engineer-in-chief to the Manchester and Birmingham Railway, it was constructed in the early 1840s. A workforce of about 500 navvies grafted for two years in the pay of Messrs. Tomkinson & Holme of Liverpool to build it. Conditions were squalid and several lost their lives. Holmes Chapel viaduct ranks as one of the largest brick structures in Britain, having 23 semicircular arches, each with a span of 18 metres and resting on three metre by eight metre piers. It reaches a maximum height of 25 metres to the parapet and it has a length of 520 metres.
These details are impressive enough, but this structure also stands in proud testament to the brave determination and can-do attitude of this country’s railway pioneers. The viaduct is an object of beauty in its own right - it has been said that a test of great architecture is that it should enhance its surroundings and that is certainly the case here. Approaching Holmes Chapel village on the A535, the viaduct begins to loom large. Getting in closer, we can see that its elegant piers and spans are constructed of red brick, with sandstone spring courses and sandstone parapets. Recently, however, when looking in greater detail still, it would become apparent that everything was not entirely as it should be. The evidence of stained and spalling brickwork, efflorescence and visible cracking all pointed towards serious water penetration. For 175 years this structure has carried the main line railway between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly and, like most structures of its era, it has required some occasional minor repairs. Now the time had arrived for some more significant remedial action.
Flawed Investigation work by Network Rail revealed that the viaduct had failed waterproofing and drainage. All of the piers were affected and there were also some instances of spandrel separation, manifesting itself as longitudinal fractures around the arch barrels - the crack locations coinciding with the width of the parapet walls. It also became clear that the original drainage system was choked and completely ineffective. A longitudinal drain in the 6-foot ran the full length of the viaduct, falling towards the southern end. This emptied into fall pipes contained within every third or fourth pier, and therein laid a serious design flaw. The inaccessible fall pipes, together with under-track manholes blocked by permanent way work, meant that drainage problems became impossible to rectify. Network Rail estimated that breaking out the brickwork to reinstate the original drainage system would involve at least six months of line closures. The provision of external fall pipes was therefore seen as the only realistic
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Stained and spalling brickwork.
solution. With the structure being Grade-II listed, a sensitive solution would be required in order to gain planning approval. With the deck waterproofing requiring complete renewal and with the need to stabilise the spandrel walls in some areas, the design solution adopted by Network Rail was simple, but unusual. It involved the use of pre-cast concrete sections to form a structural over-slab, tied into the spandrels and forming a waterproof channel that also provides ballast retention. In this way, lateral forces within the ballast are restrained by the reinforced concrete channel, rather than by the parapets and spandrel walls. Drainage outlets above each pier empty into external fall pipes. Externally, the viaduct was estimated to require the replacement of some 68,000 bricks, whilst other areas would need cleaning, re-pointing and the removal of vegetation. The arch cracking was to be stitched by means of stainless steel ties and grouting.
Short and sharp
Viaduct cross section.
Tie-in to parapet
Cast in-situ concrete backing
This was clearly going to be a large project. By undertaking the work during conventional possessions, it was estimated that the task could take up to six months. The decision was therefore taken to complete all of the works within one 11-day blockade, scheduled to take place between Saturday 13 February and Wednesday 24 February 2016. By bringing forward other scheduled maintenance work on the route, Network Rail created what it terms ‘bubble working’ - maximising the line closure opportunity and reducing the overall disturbance to the travelling public. Although it seems undesirable to blockade such a strategically important section of the West Coast main line in this way, Network Rail judged that it would minimise the disruption overall by driving efficiency improvements. It was estimated that a conventional piecemeal approach would result in weekend possessions over a sixmonth period. The ‘bubble’ tactic also generates significant cost benefits, as Joelle Caldarelli, scheme project manager for Network Rail, explained: “About £500,000 is being saved, and that’s mainly on compensatory charges to the train operators. Rather than having to come back on repetitive weekends, doing it all in one go saves tax payers’ money, which we can reinvest elsewhere on the network.” Concurrent within the Holmes Chapel blockage, similar waterproofing works were undertaken on the nearby Peover (pronounced Peever) viaduct. In addition, there were two major bridge reconstructions, repair works to an underbridge, refurbishment of the subway at Wilmslow station, as well as a string of routine maintenance tasks.
Cast in-situ concrete stitch
Waterproofing membrane + protective matting
Drain Existing rubble fill Precast concrete ballast retention unit
Sand screed
In other words, the plan involves pulling in jobs that would have required their own line closures over the next few years. In total, the works undertaken during the 11-day Holmes Chapel Blockade have been valued at £17 million, of which the Holmes Chapel viaduct work accounts for £7 million.
J Murphy & Sons and VolkerRail The civils contractor appointed by Network Rail for all these works was J Murphy & Sons - a company able to provide a complete solution, including the manpower and all the required plant and equipment. With very tight time constraints on the work schedule, this complete solution was considered a key advantage. The one exception was the removal and reinstatement of the track, which was contracted to VolkerRail. During the viaduct works, one track was kept in situ at all times to facilitate the movement of materials. Starting on the Down line, the track ballast was dug out and the surface was then levelled by a 50mm sand screed. The precast concrete ballast retention units were then laid on this to form a self-contained trackbed. These three-metre-long reinforced concrete sections were manufactured by Moore Concrete Products of Ballymena, with a total of 346 being used on the Holmes Chapel viaduct. Concrete pumped from a compound beneath the viaduct formed a reinforced stitch between the ballast retention units along the centre line of the viaduct, tying them into the parapet walls. Above the concrete a loose-lay three-layer membrane system provides the viaduct waterproofing. A flexible polypropylene sheet from the
Track Ballast
Rail Engineer • April 2016
17
Sterling Lloyd ‘Hytec’ range does the job, sandwiched between protective fibrous matting layers. Joints in the membrane are formed by heat welding and over each pier there are sealed joints into drain pipes that exit through core drillings to the outside face. Fall pipes are of UPVC and are disguised to have the appearance of cast ironwork. PHOTO: J MURPHY & SONS
Other works Forming the ‘bubble’ approach, a package of works was undertaken during the Holmes Chapel blockade. Three miles down the line from Holmes Chapel, Peover viaduct has a similar construction, albeit with only ten arches. It had suffered from the same defects of failed waterproofing, brickwork damage and vegetation growth. As at Holmes Chapel viaduct, the work at Peover involved the installation of ballast retention units, the provision of a waterproof membrane and new drainage. Brickwork repairs to all ten spans were also required to refurbish this asset.
Certainly, things went well in Cheshire. Exactly on schedule, at 04:00 on 24 February, the line between Crewe and Manchester was handed back. Chris Wright, contracts manager for J Murphy & Sons, said: “With such a short timeframe to carry out a significant amount of work, this was always going to be a project that pushed us, but the team rose to the challenge. We pulled out all the stops and our innovative approach to working meant that we PHOTO: J MURPHY & SONS
At Wilmslow, the station subway is a single-span structure with mass brick abutments supporting a precast concrete unit deck. Water was leaking through the joints between the units and through the abutments. The rectification work involved lifting the track off and applying waterproofing and associated drainage, followed by cleansing and repainting of the subway. Hungerford Road bridge in Crewe is a three-span skewed brick arch overbridge incorporating riveted steel girders and brick jack arch widening. It had suffered severe corrosion to the girders, leading to inconsistent capacity across the structural members. Rectification work here involved replacement of the failing section. A single-span steel bridge crosses the A34 at Alderley Edge. This bridge has had historic alignment defects. The bridge rectification works encompassed a realignment of the ballast retention. Forming part of the Holmes Chapel Blockade contract, but actually located on the single-track freight-only Northwich to Sandbach line, the single-span overbridge at Shipbrook Road in Rudheath has cast iron girders supporting bays of transverse brick jack arches. Significant diagonal cracking of the jack arches and corrosion of the structural members had severely limited the load capacity of this bridge. It required reconstruction and extensive brickwork repairs.
Into the future This was the first example of Network Rail’s new ‘bubble’ strategy, with the work cluster approach being calculated to bring significant cost savings and cause less disruption in the long term. Something of an experiment, this approach seems set to be repeated.
handed back the line to Network Rail as planned. It was gratifying to see the first train pass over the viaduct first thing this morning.” As this issue of Rail Engineer is published, the Murphy workforce will be all set to repeat the exercise at Reddish Vale viaduct. During a nine-day blockade this 17-arch brick structure will be refurbished under an almost identical package of works. Operations to clean and repair the external brickwork at Holmes Chapel and Peover viaducts will continue for several months, but with no disruption to rail traffic. This work will make use of lifting platforms rather than scaffolding and involves structural re-casing work, crack repairs and cosmetic attention. Unusually, at the northern end of Holmes Chapel viaduct, rope access will be necessary. The completed waterproofing and stabilisation works at Holmes Chapel and Peover viaducts have a design life of 125 years, with no intervention being required for at least 50 years. Talking with the Network Rail and Murphy managers and staff on site, it’s apparent that they have a satisfaction in their work. It’s possible even to detect a sense of continuity with the past - an admiration for what exists and for those determined people who created it. George W Buck would have been delighted!
Preparing the waterproofing membrane.
Levelling the sand screed.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
ATO in
Leicestershire S
eeing London Underground trains run through the Leicestershire countryside is nothing new. The Old Dalby test track was leased by LU as far back as 2007, with Serco being contracted to operate and maintain it.
Four kilometres of the 7.5km-long Up line were fitted with 630/750V fourth-rail DC electrification, in preparation for testing Bombardier’s new S Stock trains, being manufactured 30 miles away in Derby. The twin voltages would allow for testing at both the existing and upgraded London Underground electrical supply levels. The first new train entered service on the Metropolitan line in July 2010. Every subsequent train, and there will be 192 of them, has had to undergo a minimum of 500 kilometres of faultfree running at Old Dalby before LU will accept it. That’s 125 runs up and down the line for each train, or 96,000 kilometres of testing - not including any repeat testing if a fault has to be fixed and testing restarted. Serco’s drivers have been busy. Now, however, there is a new development. One of the test trains has been stopping on the line, opening its doors, closing them again, moving on a few hundred metres, and doing the same thing all over again. Strange…. So there was nothing for it but to drive over to Old Dalby to find out why.
Testing, testing… On arrival, the first thing to notice was that the test track isn’t called Old Dalby any more. Instead, since the facility was acquired by Network Rail in December 2014, it is RIDC (Melton) - that’s the Rail Innovation and Development Centre and it is named after Melton Mowbray, 7.5 miles to the south-east. This is to both link it,
NIGEL WORDSWORTH
(Above) Temporary radio aerials are clearly visible on the front of the test train. (Lead) The end of the four-rail section of track.
Rail Engineer • April 2016 and distinguish it, from RIDC Tuxford (formerly High Marnham) which Network Rail set up in May 2009. Both facilities are used for railway vehicle testing, but Melton is particularly set up for testing trains while Tuxford is largely used for on-track machines, road-rail plant and infrastructure testing. On the day that Rail Engineer visited RIDC Melton, one of the new Hitachi IEP trains departed for North Pole depot in London. It had been testing on the longer, 21km Down line which is electrified with the new Series 1 overhead catenary, replicating that being installed on the Great Western. But parked next to the fence and the Old Dalby operations offices was the item of interest - a brand new S Stock train with zero in-service miles. It had completed its 500 fault-free kilometres of running, then been handed over to engineers from Thales to act as the test train for its new Seltrac signalling system for the Sub Surface Lines.
Grey boxes The contract to completely replace the signalling system on the four London Underground lines that make up the Sub Surface Railway (Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City) had been awarded to Thales in July 2015. It is to be a CBTC (Communications Based Train Control) system with almost no lineside signals - they will only be retained in areas shared with other trains such as the Chiltern line, the Richmond branch, the Piccadilly line between Uxbridge and Rayners lane and the Wimbledon branch. Instead, the train talks to the control room and instructions to the driver appear on the train’s control desk.
Although the contract was only placed nine months ago, Thales was in a good position to make an early start. A similar system has already been introduced on the Jubilee and Northern lines and is now working well. So the first implementation of the new SSR system is, not surprisingly, quite similar to that on the Northern line. Some of the equipment is one generation newer, and the software has been modified to account for some of the differences between the complex SSR and the comparatively uncomplicated Northern line, but the similarities are there to see. The main difference is communications - Northern line trains ‘talk’ to the control centre using an inductive loop system while the new SSR system uses radio. The similarities, however, were such that it gave the Thales engineering team the opportunity to make a quick start. Mobile office units were set up next to the Old Dalby car park, and filled with tall grey cabinets mysteriously labelled “SCS1”, “PDU Rack 2”, “COM Rack 3” and “VCC”. The latter is the Vehicle Control Centre, and it is the brains of the whole operation. Inside the cabinet are three large rack-mounted computers, all basically doing the same thing and controlling part of the network. The 4LM (4 Lines Modernisation) project will have 14 VCCs, overseen by the System Management Centre (SMC) which acts as the operator interface and controls the service according to LU’s timetable. Two of the three computers must agree at all times, otherwise the output will not go the rest of the system and the trains will come to a stop. The other cabinets control the systems at the various virtual stations that have been set up along the test route (SCS - Station Controller Substation), communications and uninterruptable power supplies for the whole system.
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Most of these cabinets are production items and will appear on the actual SSR installation, although the SCS ones will be located at stations and not at the control centre. The control room itself, however, was nothing like the final version. A row of desktop computers on office desks will be replaced with a bespoke, air-conditioned room with banks of video screens when it is installed in London.
On board Having looked behind the scenes, it was now time to board the train itself. First impressions were just how enormous the train is. It was one of the shorter ones, seven cars and 385 feet (117 metres) long, but when completely empty, and with wide gangways that allow views along the length of the train, it looked huge. Protective matting covered the floor and the only sign of life was at one table which had been erected just behind one cab, where a Thales engineer kept watch over the VOBC (Vehicle On-Board Controller) sitting next to him. Eventually, this will be built in to the space that awaits it in the cab itself. Various cables sprouted from the VOBC and were taped to the interior of the train, some going to the cab and others making their way outside to bits of kit under the floor. Doors were closed off using thin, red and white striped ‘safety’ tape from which hung signs reading “Warning - Doors May Open At Any Time”. After the doors had been closed, the train could make its way slowly out onto the test track. Once there, confirmed by radio and the new cab controls, the Serco driver pressed two buttons to engage the ATO (Automatic Train Operation) and we were off.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Thales project director Andy Bell explained that, while ATO formed part of the specification, with the driver opening the doors once the train was at a standstill, closing them again and launching the train, UTO (Unattended Train Operation) did not. So while the train would drive itself to the next station, and stop at a precise point on the platform, there was no plan to run without a driver who would still be responsible for passenger safety by controlling the doors and being able to drive the train manually if necessary.
Rolling along It all worked perfectly. The train headed off down the test track, reaching its current maximum speed of 35km/h (this will shortly be updated to 80 kph as testing progresses), whereupon it soon slowed and stopped at the first virtual station. On this run, the driver didn’t open the doors, but he waited until signalled by the control room whereupon he launched the train off to the next stop. Several stops later, speed decreased dramatically to only 10km/h. Had something gone wrong? No, it was just a section of jointed track, replicating the variety to be found in London’ tunnels and sidings such as Hammersmith depot. Once the train reached the end of the line (or at least of the four-rail electrification), the driver isolated his controls and walked back the 385 feet to the other cab where he turned the master control switch to select ATO mode, talked to control on his radio, pressed two buttons, and we were off again. It was all very painless and without any sort of drama. And that’s the point. Thales, Bombardier and London Underground are quietly proving the system, in the heart of Leicestershire, before any disruption takes place on the underground network.
What next? Stuart Harvey of LU went through the rollout of the programme. Two weeks after this visit, a series of software upgrades were expected for both the on-train VOBC and the control centre VCCs. These would be developments derived from Pressing two buttons to launch the train.
the results of the testing at Old Dalby (sorry - RIDC Melton) and would make the programming a little more specific for the SSR. Then, once testing is complete, will come the task of installing the new equipment along 314km of track and on 102 stations, making up over 40 per cent of the total Tube network. This includes several complex flat junctions, as well as some lines which are shared with Network Rail. Substantial track alterations will be needed, to be carried out by Track Partnership, LU’s collaboration with Balfour Beatty. The on-track transponders, which the train uses to work out where it is, have to be fitted along the trackbed - every 25 metres in most areas although the system supports 50 and 75 metre spacings where safety distances are less of a concern. Radio transmitters need to be installed so the train’s radios work in the tunnels. As the whole purpose of this exercise is to run more trains, more power will also be needed. Supplies will be increased to 750V DC and more feeder stations will be installed. The trains themselves, the last of which will be delivered this summer, will be returned to Bombardier so that the signalling equipment can be installed. This includes the VOBC fitted in the cab, radio aerials and transmitters, transponder
interrogator units under the floor which have Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) antennae for reading the transponders which provide absolute positioning information, and in the order of 2,000 wiring changes. Meantime Thales will be fitting out the main control room which will run the whole network, at the same time installing the relevant equipment at stations and depots. All of the engineering trains need converting to run on the Sub Surface Lines. This job will be made easier by many of them already being able to run on the Northern line with its similar Thales Seltrac system, although the rail adhesion trains are specific to the SSR network so they will need to be upgraded.
Timetable The first 53 S Stock trains are due to be completed by February 2018, ramping up to the full fleet by September. Implementation will be split into 14 ‘migration areas’ or sections of the network. Some of the early ones will be where the most trains run - the northern part of the circle line - and trains will start to run here under ATO control by the middle of 2019. Then further sections will be brought into use until the full network is on ATO by the end of 2020. Once implementation is complete, then the capacity enhancements will come in. Running under ATO, trains can use their full 100km/h design speed (without ATO they are limited to 72km/h). At slow speeds, trains can be as little as 50 metres apart, higher speeds will necessitate a larger safety distance. The calculations are still to be completed for these speeds. Thales Safety Distance calculations are similar to an overlap calculation and consider worst case conditions in a similar manner. Allowing trains to run more closely together will allow 32 trains per hour in the busiest section (it is 24 per hour today). That’s the Circle line running almost as many trains in 2020 as the Victoria line does today. And anyone who has seen a Victoria line train enter the platform before the previous one has cleared it will know how impressive that service is. London commuters are looking forward to that day. Thanks to London Underground project manager Deidre McGinn and to Thales integration verification validation and qualification manager Richard Kirby for their help with the technical details of this article.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Cyber Security NIS and the legal position CLIVE KESSELL
C
yber-attacks on both company and personal computer systems are an increasing threat to the continuity of business, and there is little chance that this menace will ever go away. There is no way of ‘immunising’ against the threat of attack, nor is there any foolproof method to prevent such attacks from causing harm to the data systems involved. Cyber-crime takes many forms. At the bottom end is the ‘nerd’ in the bedroom who sees it as a challenge to hack into supposedly secure systems just to see if it can be done. At the top end are rogue states which attack computer systems to seriously harm (or even destroy) a country’s infrastructure or military capability. Somewhere between these extremes are organisations that hack for espionage, commercial gain, activism or the uncovering of sensitive personal details. High profile lawsuits and public enquiries have made the headlines in recent times, with attention being focussed on the relevance/attractiveness of the target and the possible perpetrators. In the main, the bulk of cyber-crime is financially motivated.
Rail at risk For the rail industry, the threats are many and diverse, with implications for Network Rail, TOCs/FOCs, London Underground, the supply industry and data support providers. To be hacked is, at best, a nuisance and, at worst, a risk to safety.
Many rail organisations have already experienced attacks, so awareness of the threat is growing. Some firms are employing data security experts to advise on precautions - there is no single high-tech action that can be taken and protection measures follow a logical pattern. Other companies may still believe that either their products will be immune to hacking or that, hopefully, it will not happen to them. A significant risk exists within the emerging control and communication networks (signalling) and the SCADA system for electrification control, both of which will rely on the nationwide digital communication networks for the distribution and resilience of control data. Whilst enormous efforts are being made to safeguard the safety elements of these systems, cyber-attacks can take many forms. A denial of service attack, where techniques such as basic encryption do not provide protection, would cause major disruption to train services. So where is all this leading? A new European Directive has been agreed that will have implications for everyone and should lead to a focussing of minds.
Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive This has been at the drafting stage for some time and is now approved at the European level, but has yet to be issued. To understand what it is all about, Rail Engineer met with Simon Shooter, James Mullock and John Drake from the law firm Bird & Bird who have been studying the content for some time and recently put out the following statement: The proposed NIS Directive aims to implement the European Union’s strategy for cybersecurity across Europe. While its scope of application is still under discussion (in particular whether it will apply to digital service providers such as Facebook and Google), it is likely to apply to designated service providers that provide essential services such as energy, transport, financial services, internet exchange points, food supply chain and health. In trilogue meetings in June and October 2015, the European Council, Parliament and Commission reached an agreement on the main provisions of the draft directive, namely:
Rail Engineer • April 2016 »» The establishment of a network of national Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) to assist with cybersecurity coordination between Member States (MS), whilst allowing MS the flexibility to use existing competent authorities to establish and administer the required ‘institutional infrastructure’; »» The introduction of criteria to allow MS to develop national, sector-specific guidelines on what would constitute a reportable incident; »» The Parliament has also broadly accepted the Council’s preference for voluntary cooperation and information sharing. However, there will be a limited requirement to share information where an incident impacts continuity of service in another MS; »» Information society providers will be governed by a different set of rules from providers of essential services; and »» MS will have discretion to determine which designated service providers are deemed to be providing ‘essential services’ and won’t have to provide a list of essential companies for security purposes. The latest update on the directive is that the final form has been agreed in principle. A deadline of 21 months for MS implementation of NIS is likely to start in Q1 2016. Companies which take proactive action early will be best placed to protect themselves from the increasingly sophisticated range of cyber threats, whilst simultaneously taking the lead in reassuring their customers, partner businesses and insurers that they have appropriate safeguards in place to protect the data and finances of their stakeholders. Broadly speaking, this means that any organisation within the scope of the anticipated legislation that does not take into account the threat of cyber-crime and cannot be seen to be taking reasonable precautions to protect against cyber-crime could be in breach of the legislation and thus subject to sanctions. The directive is to become European law and will be transposed into national law sometime in early 2018. Although it remains to be seen how the English wording of the legislation is written, it is anticipated that the expected compliance requirement will be balanced by a defence of having adopted adequate procedures to guard against cyber threat. It is going to happen, and organisations should begin to prepare for it right now.
So what does it mean? Some readers will have realised that the onus is being placed on the potential victims of cyber-crime rather than on the perpetrators. This may seem unfair but it is the only pragmatic solution if the menace is to be minimised. Already some regulated industries should be taking all necessary action to remain compliant with their regulatory obligations. An example would be a business in the financial services sector, where a breach of the regulatory requirements that demand suitable security measures be taken would likely trigger sanctions if the protection of data was found to be inadequate. The recent hacking of records within the telecommunications provider TalkTalk had to be reported because of telecom-specific data protection regulations. The directive is not intended to be draconian in its policing and member states will be expected to adopt a proactive role in helping organisations comply. There is a
realisation that one size cannot fit all. Small companies will not be expected to dramatically increase their expenditure on cyber security, since this could well make them uncompetitive when the risk is likely to be small. For larger organisations, it may be different and significant sanctions may result if a serious breach of data protection law occurs. All this is a bit scary but it is early days and, providing industry guidance is adopted, then punitive action is unlikely.
Understanding responsibilities There continue to be many conferences and seminars on cyber-crime and how to combat it. Companies tend to fall into a number of categories as to their preparedness: »» Unaware - incidents just happen; »» Routine - controlled response to incidents should they happen; »» Planned Reactive - planned response to incidents if they occur; »» Elements of Proactive - some knowledge of what might happen in the future; »» Mainly Proactive - good resilience measures in place; »» Proactive - decisive actions based on fact will be implemented. The more proactive a company is in this chain of measures, the less likely it will be for any penalties to be imposed. Having a cyber incident response plan in place will be key. Some basic ground rules have been in place for some time to minimise risk of attack and include: »» Having effective firewalls in place; »» Education and knowledge of staff – being aware of disgruntled employees and careless attention to data devices such as personal safeguarding of laptops; »» Control of passwords and access control sequences; »» Constant monitoring of technical data; »» Minimise open TCP/UDP ports; »» Robust behaviour for firmware updates; »» Penetration testing by experts to assess vulnerability.
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In short, multiple levels of protection will be needed to both assess the risk and nature of any attack and then to devote time, thought, energy and money to prepare the business for the necessary action when the attack happens. This will include means to identify and neutralise the cause, then to mitigate and repair the damage so as to restore business, but also to learn lessons from what happened so as to improve protection for the next time. Advice on what constitutes ‘appropriate’ will always be on offer but one should remember that the situation is not static. Hackers will forever be trying to ‘beat the game’ and thus constant vigilance is necessary with associated updates to protection always being necessary. One essence of the directive will be the responsibility to report attacks. This is already in place in Germany, Austria and Norway but is only voluntary in the UK. A report will need to be made promptly. Once known, the Computer Emergency Response Team will then probe: »» Was there a serious breach of data protection law? »» Is substantial damage or distress likely? »» Was the contravention deliberate, had the organisation been aware that damage or distress was likely, and had reasonable steps been taken? »» Should a fine be imposed?
Awareness and actions for the rail industry Most rail organisations are aware of cyber-crime and the need for associated security. To what extent the true level of threat is understood is an unknown - probably rightly so, since high profile public statements and detail are inappropriate for this clandestine world. The UK government has defined nine categories of essential infrastructure, of which transport is one and communications is another. Rail is a major element of the first and has considerable impact in the second. The Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) studies and gives advice to all industries involved in the nine categories and is well aware of critical rail systems. Many such rail systems are not unique to the UK - ERTMS, ETCS and GSM-R all have pan-European deployment - and thus a sharing of knowledge with other countries is important. It must also be recognised that the said systems cross the wheel-rail divide, thus involving both infrastructure providers and train operating companies.
The NIS Directive is known within the railway but it is suspected that a general lack of awareness will exist when ‘drilling down’ into the supply chain companies. Rail and transport operators may be attractive targets for hackers and thus a collective view, particularly on what constitutes ‘good practice’, is to be recommended. With the fragmented railway that exists in the UK, this in itself is a challenge. There will be issues where IPR rights on proprietary infrastructure and rolling stock technology and products make firms reluctant to share information (a similar problem exists in the motor manufacturing industry), which makes collective decisions more difficult. The railway has safety-critical systems that are increasingly data dependent and it may be that cyber security has to be linked to Safety Case certification. Every rail organisation should be asking: »» What can my company afford? »» What mitigation measures and actions are in place if attacked? »» Is there a cyber response plan in place? »» What penetration testing has been carried out and when was it last tried?
Current actions being taken by the rail industry Cross-industry rail groups are actively working on cyber security. Two are the High Integrity Systems Group (HISG) hosted by RSSB (formerly the Rail Safety and Standards Board), and the Digital Railway Cyber Security Steering Group (DRCSSG) hosted by the Digital Railway programme at Network Rail. HISG is investigating what the cyber risks are and DRCSSG is looking into cyber security for future systems. RSSB also facilitates provision of cyber security guidance from the Department for Transport. To communicate with the industry, RSSB has formed the Cyber Security Advisory Group (CSAG) that will advise on the development and content of the cyber security strategy. In particular, it will mitigate the risk of duplication of effort and facilitate management of interfaces. The development of the strategy will take into account the NIS Directive as appropriate. The strategy is intended to assist parties in the industry to understand their responsibilities and be able to put in place informed, proportionate and cost-effective measures to mitigate cyber security risk. The requirement to report cyber-attacks may be easier for rail than other industries since it is already required to have procedures in place to report accidents and near misses. Extending this and educating staff to include cyber-crime could be an important early step. Unfortuantely, there is no ‘silver bullet’, and advice from legal professionals on how to comply with the directiverelated cyber legislation will be needed.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Ordsall Chord
Vandalism or Progress?
O
n 5 January, replica 1830 steam locomotive ‘Planet’ hauled one of the last trains between the world’s oldest surviving station to the Great Western Warehouse via a headshunt on Stephenson’s viaduct over the River Irwell in Manchester. These buildings are part of the city’s Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) and the station was the terminus for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, which opened in 1830. Although this was only a 700-metre trip, it was on one of the world’s oldest railways. MOSI can now only offer a 300-metre trip and has also had its connection with the rail network severed as work starts on the Ordsall Chord to connect Manchester’s Victoria and Piccadilly stations. Its construction also involves full or part demolition of grade II listed bridges and, it is claimed, harms the setting of the museum’s historic buildings. English Heritage (EH) regards the MOSI complex as “the Stonehenge of railway history” and had never come across a project “so exceptionally damaging to the historic environment as Ordsall Chord”. Network Rail believes that the chord is “necessary to achieve substantial public benefits” which, according to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), is the only justification for granting planning permission that results in ‘substantial harm’. So why is Network Rail building such a controversial project?
DAVID SHIRRES
Manchester United One part of Manchester’s railway heritage is its separate Victoria and Piccadilly stations. The construction of the Windsor link in 1991 provided Bolton and Wigan with through trains to Piccadilly. In doing so, it diminished the importance of Victoria station. It also increased traffic on the line through Manchester Oxford Road, which is now at capacity. Another capacity issue is that trains between Manchester Airport and Leeds reverse at Manchester Piccadilly, consuming six minutes of station throat capacity as they do so. The Manchester region is much in need of economic development for which rail capacity needs to be improved. To do this, two alternative strategies emerged, either increase traffic into Piccadilly or focus development on Victoria. Having all inter-city services departing from Piccadilly station is an attractive option. Unfortunately, the station has a high platform occupancy rate. The conflict across its throat could be resolved by building an expensive flyover, however that would involve huge train service disruption during construction. This would also conflict with the planned HS2 route to Piccadilly. For these, and other reasons, it was decided to develop Manchester Victoria.
The Ordsall option Developing Victoria requires a new rail connection between the two stations west of the city. Options considered for this included a long chord and a tunnel. These were both long routes with gradients being a significant constraint as the lines between the two stations are on viaducts. The tunnel was prohibitively expensive and the long chord would have required high
Rail Engineer • April 2016 and visually intrusive flyovers as it had to span a tram crossing over a railway viaduct at Deansgate. It would also have required extensive alterations to the road network. A short chord option was also considered from Castlefield junction that would avoid the need to climb over the Deansgate crossing. This had an unacceptable gradient, was visually intrusive and also required substantial alterations to the local road network. As GRIP 3 options were developed in 2011, one that was not developed was moving the railway off the Middlewood viaduct to a chord further west. This was discounted as, at the time, it was a potential HS2 route into the city. This subsequently became option 15. The GRIP 3 study concluded that the only viable option was a flat connection in the vicinity of MOSI. The project’s remit required heritage impact to be minimised and the retention of MOSI’s rail connection, if feasible. Unfortunately, after trying various track geometry options, it became clear that the only configuration compliant with Group Standards was a line half a metre above MOSI’s railway. Various permanent and temporary crossing arrangements were investigated to maintain this rail connection. However, none proved feasible due to the chord’s height and its 40mm cant. The rail connection has only been used about three times in ten years and so its severance was not a great problem in respect of connectivity. However, from a heritage perspective, it changes the museum’s setting by removing the railway line on its approach.
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Substantial harm Liverpool Road closed to passengers in 1844 when Manchester Victoria opened. It then became a rail freight depot and its approaches were later widened. As a result, there is a dense concentration of listed bridges over the River Irwell and Water Street. Of these, the only grade I listed structure is George Stephenson’s bridge over the River Irwell. This has two 63 feet spans and was built in 1830. The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) considers it to be one of its sixty most important English masonry bridges. Adjacent to Stephenson’s bridge are the grade II listed Girder Bridge, Zig Zag viaduct and Water Street Bridge. Crossing the Irwell immediately south of Stephenson’s bridge is another grade II structure, the Castlefield Viaduct, built in 1845, which is to be widened where the Ordsall chord diverges off it.
IMPACT OF ORDSALL CHORD MIDDLEWOOD DEVELOPMENT SITE
3
ORDSALL CHORD
2 1 CASTLEFIELD VIADUCT
5
MIDDLEWOOD VIADUCT
6 4
Affected listed buildings 1 Liverpool Road Station 2 Water Street Bridge 3 Stephenson’s 1830 Bridge 4 1830 Goods Shed 5 Girder Bridge 6 Zig Zag Viaduct
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Building the new chord above these listed bridges in a sensitive manner is a significant challenge. After considering various track geometry options, a design was finalised that did not harm Stephenson’s bridge. This was option 14 which requires the demolition of the Girder bridge which butts onto it. This does bring a benefit of being able to fully appreciate Stephenson’s elegant segmental-arched bridge. Currently, it is difficult to see the bridge due to the other bridges in close proximity. Also damaged is the Zig Zag viaduct, which needs to be partly demolished for the Ordsall Chord’s bridge over the Irwell. Its significance is also harmed by the loss of the Girder Bridge. The Ordsall Chord does not physically affect any grade I listed structures. Nevertheless, it will cause substantial harm, as defined by NPPF, to their settings. Whilst this is generally agreed, EH and Network Rail disagree on the extent of this harm. EH claims the chord would block the view of Stephenson’s bridge from Liverpool Road station whereas Network Rail consider it exceptionally difficult for anyone to pick out this bridge from the station. A photograph from this viewpoint supports Network Rail’s view. Moreover, although Liverpool Road station has a MOSI interpretation panel about Water Street bridge, there is no mention of Stephenson’s bridge.
Option 15 Mark Whitby is a former President of the ICE. He was engaged by Parsons Brinckerhoff, which was developing the GRIP 3 options for
Network Rail. He could not accept the need to do so much harm to these historic bridges and was convinced that the chord could be moved
from it, thus causing substantial harm by affecting the settings of its listed buildings. Notwithstanding these difficulties,
further west. Hence he developed his option 15. Such was his conviction that he left Parsons Brinckerhoff and, after the inquiry decided in favour of option 14, funded a legal challenge against it. Network Rail’s detailed analysis of option 15 concluded that it was “a technically viable but compromised option, with major defects, increased maintenance costs and performance risks to the extent that Network Rail views this option as an unacceptable solution”. It includes a 210-metre radius curve which would be noisy and need jointed track as continuous welded rail requires a minimum 250 metre curve. Option 15 also moves the railway off Middlewood viaduct and so would require a minimum 20-day blockade during construction. It would cost at least £30 million more than option 14, plus uncosted utility and road diversions. These would include East Ordsall Lane, which bridges the historic Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal at the point where it is crossed by the option 15 chord, requiring both the lane and the historic canal to be lowered at this point. The option 15 chord would cross the Irwell 70 metres further west than the option 14 chord, and thus avoids the need to demolish the Girder bridge. However, Network Rail’s analysis also concluded that option 15 is likely to conflict with the South West parapet of Stephenson’s bridge. It would still cut MOSI’s rail connection and be visible
a major issue with option 15 was that it required two elevated railways to cut across the currently derelict Middlewood development site. This is a key part of Salford City Council’s (SSC’s) regeneration plan. SCC was convinced that the land would remain derelict if option 15 was chosen as the bisected site would no longer be of interest to developers. Network Rail also believes that a decision to choose option 15 would delay the project for many years and possibly cancel it as all stakeholders concerned with Manchester’s development would oppose it.
The Inquiry In April 2014, an inquiry was held to gain approval for the Network Rail (Ordsall Chord) Order made under the 1992 Transport & Works Act and seek associated Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent. Despite conflicting views on the choice of option 14, there was a surprising degree of approval in other respects. No-one doubted the substantial benefits provided by the chord or questioned the rejection of the tunnel and both the long and short chord options. In general, the degree of harm it would cause was agreed. However, the battle lines were clearly drawn. It was, in effect, a straight fight between Network Rail’s option 14 and Whitby’s option 15. Those opposing option 14 included English Heritage, Mark Whitby, the Castlefield Forum, the ICE, affected
Rail Engineer • April 2016 local residents and businesses. MOSI had withdrawn its previous objection. In compensation for the curtailment of its steam service, it had received a £3 million donation from Network Rail. Its director, Sally MacDonald, advised that this will be used to “bring to life previously untold stories from the early years of the railway station”. Supporting option 14 were Network Rail, Manchester and Salford Councils, the two local MPs, the Rail Freight group, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Victorian Society who felt it “successfully marries the project’s substantial public benefit with the difficult task of preserving the extraordinary heritage of the sensitive site”. They also noted the heritage benefits of revealing and restoring Stephenson’s Bridge. It took thirteen days for supporters and objectors to make their case to the Inspector whose report was published in January 2015. This concluded that the Ordsall Chord would cause substantial harm to heritage assets but commented on “an element of hyperbole which has crept into the objectors’ cases. This is not a world heritage site and comparisons with Stonehenge and the Pyramids are not helpful.” As required by the NPPF, such substantial harm could only be justified if it was “necessary to achieve substantial public benefits”. The report concluded that option 15 was not reasonable as it would prevent the development of the Middlewood site that would provide jobs and homes in Salford and that the Ordsall Chord is the only viable option. The Inspector noted that the scale of the benefits it would release across the North of England is such that its harm is outweighed by the public benefits. Hence there is “a clear and convincing justification for the Order”. Following the Inspector’s recommendation, the Secretary of State for Transport granted the Ordsall Chord Order in March. Mark Whitby then made an application to the High Court to challenge its validity. In October his challenge was dismissed in the Royal Courts of Justice where the judge paid tribute to the Inspector’s ‘detailed and careful report’ and concluded that he had correctly applied planning policies and made no error of law. Whitby was refused permission to appeal.
After this seven-month delay to the project, the Northern Alliance, with contractors Skanska and BAM Nuttall, started work on the project in January. Despite this, Whitby has appealed against the High Court’s refusal of his right to appeal and on the 11 January was granted Leave to Appeal by the Court of Appeal. Thus the project faces further potential delays and costs.
The past or the future? It is right to respect and celebrate Britain’s engineering heritage by providing a tangible historic record that shows how engineering benefits society and can inspire future engineers. Manchester’s MOSI is an impressive museum that does this well. Its promotion of engineering heritage will, no doubt, be further enhanced by the donation it has received from Network Rail. Ordsall Chord shows the difficulties of resolving the sometimes-unavoidable conflict between projects and the preservation of historic assets. For new railways, this is more likely to be a problem as curvature and gradient constraints severely limit route options. Such conflicts are not a new problem for the affected bridges. In 1860, the Girder bridge substantially harmed Stephenson’s bridge by hiding it from view. In 1904, Stephenson’s original Water Street bridge, supported on Doric columns, was replaced for the construction of a tramway. With such a controversial project, the actual heritage impact can be exaggerated. News reports refer to “damage to (MOSI’s) historic buildings” and “large portions of the site being destroyed”. Yet the buildings are all untouched. Concerns have been expressed about the effect on its setting. The reality is an unremarkable view from Liverpool Road station which is to be crossed by a railway, 50 metres away, 0.5 metres above ground level. The only real impact on MOSI is the particularly regrettable curtailment of its steam trains. Perhaps something could be learnt from these exaggerated reports. For example, English Heritage was not involved during the option selection stage and so felt that no real attention had been given to heritage concerns. Their participation at this earlier stage would have shown EH how Network Rail considers heritage and given
them a better understanding of the constraints it faces. The Planning Inspectorate’s 160page report provides an accurate and detailed description of the impact of the chord. It carefully considers all the issues and concludes that the Ordsall Chord is a regrettable necessity. The new chord is an essential part of the Northern Hub package of rail enhancements which will allow an extra 700 trains to be run each day, providing space for 44 million passengers each year. It is expected to bring £4 billion of benefits to Manchester along with 20,000 to 30,000 new jobs. The legal challenge to the Ordsall Chord has already delayed the project, and may yet add further delays. This is costing the people of Manchester dearly. It must be a source of frustration to Manchester and Salford City Councils, as well as Network Rail whose route delivery director, Nick Spall notes: “This is the location of the world’s first inter-city railway, opened in 1830 by George Stephenson. Stephenson was an innovator who brought progress. If he was alive today, we firmly believe he would build the Ordsall Chord. The old railway is giving birth to the new.”
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
PAUL DARLINGTON
T
he internet of things (IoT) is the next big thing (no pun intended) for communication engineering. It promises to have as much an effect, if not greater, on communications, society and industry than the mobile phone and the World Wide Web. So what is IoT and what are the opportunities for railways? In very simple terms, the IoT is a technology revolution that uses sensors, networks, and analytics software to connect physical objects and infrastructure to powerful computer systems. This will allow ‘things’, or objects, to be sensed and controlled remotely across the existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct integration between the physical world and computer-based systems. This will result in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit.
IoT is also known as ‘machineto-machine’ (M2M) or, simply, the connected world.
Micro sensors, macro effects All this is possible due to the scalability of the internet, cheaper and smaller sensor devices, and secure wireless communications which can link physical assets to analytical and control systems. This allows action and interventions based upon comprehensive real-time data to enable an informed decision on a situation. Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded IP address, but is able to interoperate within the internet infrastructure in order to provide greater visibility and control of products, assets, and infrastructures. One of the enablers for IoT is the improvement in sensor economics and size, both which have reduced in recent years. For example, a sensor for eddy current displacement, which only five years ago would have used microelectronics on a PCB measuring
100mm x 50mm, now uses one that is 10mm square at a fraction of the cost. While smart homes and personal devices get the majority of the press, non-glamour applications are now being rolled out. The connected world is taking place within logistics, food production, factories and transport industries and will quickly grow. One estimate is that the IoT will consist of almost 50 billion objects by 2020. The IoT-connected world is being built in the macro and into integrating large infrastructure systems, such as electricity supply and water systems, but at the same time built in the micro with tiny, single-function sensors. In the connected world, analysis and actions will enable improved outcomes in such diverse environments as:
The automated factory. Manufacturers can use IoT to improve automotive or any production process and reduce manufacturing hours per vehicle/item. Factory workers and managers, on-site and remote, can get real-time inputs from sensors, cables, and pressure switches to monitor and manage every step of the production process and ensure that each vehicle body or item meets
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
its specifications. Engineering personnel can access a portal site to validate, verify, and identify voltage, current and temperature from robots on the assembly line to ensure efficient operation. Logistic managers within tier 1 and 2 suppliers will be updated real time and accurately, so that they can manage the efficient seamless supply of sub parts in order that there isn’t any hold up with production, or too much stock held in expensive storage facilities.
The monitored healthcare delivery system. Monitoring delivery for suppliers of perishable goods or bio/medical samples is possible in the IoT-connected world. This enables courier services and healthcare logistics providers, for example, to monitor the condition of temperature-sensitive samples in real time. Sensor-enabled cold chain monitoring and tracking of the delivery of blood tests and other lab samples is possible.
The connected home. IoT systems allow consumers to remotely control their homes’ heating, appliances (e.g. cooking), alarms, curtains, lights and security systems from their smart phones. The examples of IoT capabilities even go as far as the connected birdhouse, with sensors able to identify when a bird is at home!
The software-controlled water system. Large infrastructure systems like water and sewage are ideal for software monitoring and remote control systems. Wired up reservoirs, pumping stations, and pipelines allow remote monitoring and optimisation of mechanical, human, and natural resources. Using a network of thousands of sensors allows the flow, pressure, chemical levels, and leaks throughout a system to be monitored.
The wireless farm. Farmers can use data from soil monitors, remote irrigation equipment, smart tractors, and micro weather forecasts to determine what to plant, when to plant, when to irrigate, when to fertilise, and when to harvest. By adapting farming practices to automated data input and analysis, short-term crop yield and the long-term utilisation of land, workers, machines, and financial resources can be improved.
Addressing security and privacy concerns. The connected world will capture a wealth of data on the status, location, and use of assets, including people. There are at least three classes of security and privacy issues that may result: protecting the connected assets from attack, protecting the data gathered from those assets from misuse, and protecting the privacy of individuals whose assets may be supplying the data. Any connected world system implementation will have to recognise and address security and privacy.
The railways of things Railways have been using remote condition monitoring (RCM) to remotely alarm such objects as point machine current, track circuit current, substations, traction power supplies and busbars, using traditional circuit switched or dial up communications for some time. However the IoT now allows such remote monitoring to be taken to the next level of detail. One company which is developing this new technology is Tew Plus, which is now partowned by American group LB Foster. Dave Farman, one of the directors, explained that the company has developed a number of railway applications using the concept of IoT. A good example is an ultra-low-power monitoring and alarm system combined with low-power HD CCTV. The current consumption is only a few watts and, when linked to a secure encrypted radio link, a solar panel and a battery, it allows a high quality CCTV system to be installed in minutes, with no cables for power or data
Rail Safety Summit 2016
RAIL SAFETY SUMMIT 2016 – AGENDA 1. Keynote speaker: Graham Hopkins (Network Rail) 2. The new RSSB’s ‘Leading health and safety on Britain’s railway – A strategy for working together.’
John Abbott (RSSB) and Roan Willmore (Network Rail)
3. Fatigue •
Fatigue risks and management. Mark Young (RAIB)
•
New models/products to lower fatigue such as the wrist bands from Crossrail & TfL & a new shift model. Jill Collis (TfL)
•
External view on managing fatigue. Army. Johnny Shute (ORR)
Safety Summit 5th MAY 2016 LONDON
5. Road Risk
•
An overview from the Road Risk Project Group on industry statistics and what is being done to lower accidents.
•
A case study from ScotRail on how they are improving road risk for their staff.
•
Hear how monitoring overnight hotel usage can significantly lower road accidents.
•
A review from an external industry expert on how they manage road risk.
6. Workforce safety •
Overview on Workforce Safety in the rail industry, what improvements have been made, the future. Rupert Lown (Network Rail)
4. Health and wellbeing •
Overview on H&W in the industry & the improvements that have been made. Mick Kearney (ASLEF)
•
•
Design for H&W – High Gate Control Room. Steve Coe (TSSA)
How leaders are empowering their teams to take ownership of their own safety. Emma Head (HS2)
•
•
Health and wellbeing – what does ‘good’ look like and what benefits can result? David Nancarrow (Atkins)
New innovations programme to improve track worker safety. Pino De Rosa (Bridgeway Consulting Ltd)
On top of listening to the speakers, you can visit our sponsor exhibition stands and network over refreshments and lunch.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
required. This permits monitoring virtually anywhere with long haul communications, usually via mobile communications, or IP satellite where necessary. The system can take highquality photographs both automatically and when event driven by an alarm - and present them to a secure webbased portal accessible 24/7. An early application was to provide a video image of two fixed reference points on a bridge to enable a structural engineer to make a remote decision in the event of a bridge
strike. With the IoT, however, the next stage could be to monitor the bridge via network sensors and automate or prioritise the decision to allow trains to cross in the event of a bridge strike. Tew Plus has already developed a similar concept for a landslip monitor with sensors installed in earthworks at risk and networked back to a central location. This could also apply to a flood monitor, again backed up with CCTV, to provide confidence to the remote structural or geotechnical engineer of what is actually happening at the site.
So what else could the IoT monitor? Well, point machine current consumption has already been mentioned, but what about many more sensors to measure and detect facing point lock criticality, or the stresses and strains within the entire switch and crossing layout? On plain line, could IoT sensors be used to remotely monitor cant and other critical parameters in real time? What about OLE pulleys and droppers as well as current drain at various points in the distribution system? Could IoT sensors detect when occupation and accommodation crossing gates have been left open? The IP-connected train of the future will come with an IP feed to report back to the maintainer and asset manager all the operational parameters on the unit, but could the IoT concept be used to provide such monitoring on an older train fleet which may not be replaced for some years to come? How about sensors on a train to record and report seat occupancy? The data could be made available to app developers, so that customers waiting for a train could look at their smartphone and know where to stand on a platform to find an empty seat. Catering and train shop stock could be updated real time, allowing timely replenishment of stock on route. The possibilities for the railway of things are endless, so if you have an idea for an object or ‘thing’ that needs monitoring, measuring or recording, why not give Dave and his team a call? Thanks to Dave Farman and Tew Plus for their help in preparing this article.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
After Borders, what next? DAVID SHIRRES
T
he new Borders railway was Britain’s thirteenth new passenger line since 2000. It was the result of a long and sustained effort by the Campaign for Borders Rail and support from local Councils and the Scottish Government. Despite its low Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 1.3, it was felt to be of great benefit to the local economy. Initial traffic figures support this view.
New Borders railway at Galabank.
Borders was also Britain’s longest new domestic line for over a hundred years and will, no doubt, provide an impetus for other potential reopenings. On its website, the Campaign for Better Transport lists 216 proposals for new services on reopened lines or freight-only lines. Even the most ardent rail campaigner would accept these proposals can’t all be feasible, so there is a need for prioritisation.
Making the case
Airdrie Bathgate railway at Forestfield March 2008 and November 2011.
Transport projects seeking public funding require an appraisal. Department for Transport (DfT) guidance (or the equivalent in Scotland and Wales) specifies that this must first define the problem and then develop options considering all transport modes. A new line can only be progressed if it is the best option and has a satisfactory business case which shows it to fit wider public policy objectives, offer value for money, be commercially viable and financially affordable. This is a similar process to the early stages of Network Rail’s guide to rail investment process (GRIP). This business case derives a Benefit Cost Ratio and assesses benefits that can’t be quantified. BCRs are classified as poor (less than 1.0), low (1.0 to 1.5), medium (1.5 to 2.0), high (2.0 to 4.0)
or very high (above 4.0). DfT guidance states that schemes with a high BCR are likely to be supported, some with a medium BCR might be acceptable and few with a low BCR would be supported. As with many railway decisions, there can be political considerations which may determine what constitutes an acceptable BCR. Thus the first hurdle for any rail campaign group is to obtain political support, to convince the relevant authority to spend what is typically a high five-figure sum, on a report showing its proposal to be the best option with an acceptable business case.
Connecting English communities In 2009, ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) published its report ‘Connecting Communities’. This showed potential new services by considering settlements of over 15,000 without a rail service with freight or disused lines. Scotland and Wales were excluded as rail strategies are considered by their respective devolved governments. In contrast, the report noted that England had no national authority considering the local or regional need for rail capacity. To prevent this piecemeal development, ATOC called for the DfT to agree a more strategic
Rail Engineer • April 2016
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BCR>1 NO DEVELOPMENT Cranleigh (£75M, BCR 1.7) 8 Bordon (£50M, BCR 1.9) 9 Hythe (£4M, BCR 4.8) 10 Ringwood (£83M, BCR 1.5) 11 Pontyclun-Beddau (£27M, BCR 4.8) 12 Aberdare-Hirwaun (£21M, BCR 3.2) 13 Ystrad Mynach-Bedlinog (£8M, BCR 4.6) 14
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Aberbegg-Abertillery (£19M, BCR 4.5) 15 Aldridge (£7M, BCR 1.7) 16 Brownhills (£62M, BCR 1.7) 17 Leicester-Burton (£58M, BCR 1.3) 18 Middlewich (£1M, BCR 5.0) 19 Fleetwood (£20M, BCR 1.8) 20 Skipton-Colne (£53M, BCR 1.3) 21
39 K I
7
38
37
L
J
Washington (£65M, BCR 1.4) 22
BCR<1 OR UNKNOWN Uckfield-Lewes (£141M, BCR 0.79) 23
M
Brighton Main Line 2 (£?M, BCR ?) 24 Exeter-Newton Abbot (£470M, BCR 0.14) 25 Okehampton-Bere Alston (£875M, BCR 0.29) 26 36
Aberystwyth-Carmarthen (£675M*, BCR ?) 27
NEW PASSENGER LINES SINCE 2000
Bedford-Cambridge (£400M*, BCR ?) 28
6
A HS1 (opened 2003 & 2007)
Cambridge-Haverhill (£150M*, BCR ?) 29
22
B London Overground lines (opened 2010 to 2012)
Caernarfon (£40M*, BCR ?) 30 Llangefni (£25M, BCR ?) 31
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Matlock-Buxton (£147M, BCR ?) 32
C Bicester chord (opened 2015)
Beverley-York (£239M, BCR ?) 33
D Vale of Glamorgan (opened 2005) F Kettering-Corby (opened 2009) H Halifax-Huddersfield (opened 2000)
M Borders (opened 2015)
Crossrail Glasgow (£200M, BCR ?) 37 Grangemouth (£10M, BCR ?) 38
5
St Andrews (£71M, BCR ?) 39
31
K Stirling-Alloa (opened 2008) L Airdrie-Bathgate (opened 2010)
Tweedbank-Carlisle (£1.25BN*, BCR ?) 36
H
G
I Anniesland-Kelvindale (opened 2005)
Penrith-Keswick (£120M*, BCR ?) 35
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21
20
G Todmorden curve (opened 2015)
J Larkhall (opened 2005)
Harrogate-Northallerton (£148M, BCR ?) 34
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E Ebbw Vale (opened 2008)
19 30
17
CONSTRUCTION AUTHORISED
Dyce-Peterhead/Fraserburgh 40 (£650M*, BCR ?)
32
* indicative cost
18 4
16
1 Croxley link (£134M, BCR 2.5) 2 Bicester-Bletchley (£252M, BCR 6.3)
F
27
28 29
UNDER DEVELOPMENT 3 Portishead (£58M, BCR 4.1)
13
4 Wisbech (£99M, BCR 4.4)
12
5 Skelmersdale (£250M, BCR 1.9) D
6 Ashington & Blythe (£41M, BCR 1.1)
14
C
15
2 1
E
B
3
7 Levenmouth (£48M, BCR 1.5)
9 10 26
25
11
8
A 24 23
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Metropolitan line to be extended to Watford Junction by 2020.
Verney Junction on mothballed freight line to be part of East West Railway phase two, a new line from Bicester to Bletchley.
Six years later
approach to identify and safeguard promising routes to prevent encroachment from development. It considered there was a positive business case for eight lines to be reopened (Borden, Fleetwood, Brownhills, Cranleigh, Ringwood, Washington, Skelmersdale and Wisbech) and for upgrading freightonly lines at Hythe, Aldridge, Ashington and between Leicester and Burton. It noted that all new lines built since 1995 exceeded their forecast demand. The report also considered potential new lines which might offer strategic benefits by linking parts of the rail network. Lewes to Uckfield, Skipton to Colne and Oxford to Bletchley were considered to be feasible but their BCR was not evaluated. PHOTO: RAILPHOTOLIBRARY.COM
Following the 2009 ATOC report, construction has only been approved for one of its proposals. This is phase two of the East West Rail (EWR) route between Oxford and Cambridge. This includes a new double track railway on a mothballed freight line between Bicester and Bletchley. A 2010 Atkins report costed this scheme at £211 million with a very high 6.30 BCR. EWR is the only new line in Sir Peter Hendy’s report on Network Rail’s investment programme. EWR phase one was completed in October 2015 with the construction of the Bicester chord for a Marylebone to Oxford service. The preferred EWR route between Bedford and Cambridge should be announced early in 2016. Local authority funding is committed to develop four other schemes in the ATOC report. In July, Cambridge County Council published its GRIP 2 study on the March to Wisbech reopening, showing it to cost £99 million with a high 4.41 BCR. In October, as part of the £5 million that it has committed for detailed development, Northumberland County Council funded a Network Rail GRIP 2 study to upgrade the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne freight line for a passenger service. In June, Lancashire County Council announced that it would spend £1 million on a GRIP 3 study for a new three-mile line to Skelmersdale which would provide a service to Liverpool. This was five months after a Jacob’s report showed this would cost £250 million with a 1.9 BCR.
Upgrading the Portishead freight line for passenger services is now part of the MetroWest programme to improve local rail services across the West of England. North Somerset Council has approved the preliminary business case which costed the line at £58.2 million of which it has secured in principle £56.9 million, including £53.4 million of Government grants. Outside the scope of the ATOC report, Transport for London’s Metropolitan line extension from Croxley to Watford Junction is expected to be completed by 2020, jointly funded by Hertfordshire County Council, DfT and Transport for London.
Other English contenders Other schemes not mentioned in the ATOC report, for which there are strong campaigns, include the reopening of a 15-mile line to connect Haverhill and three other towns with Cambridge. With a population of 27,000, Haverhill in Suffolk is one of largest English towns without a railway station. In Cumbria, a long running campaign to connect Keswick (population 5,000) with Penrith requires the reopening of a 16-mile new line. This is felt to be justified from its benefits to the Lake District National Park. However, following a 1996 pre-feasibility study, Cumbria County Council decided not to support the project. Link lines for which there are campaigns include York to Beverley (30 miles), Buxton to Matlock (16 miles) and Harrogate to Thirsk (24 miles). These have yet to get support from their local councils.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
PHOTO: ROBERT DARLASTON
Following the Dawlish blockage, the provision of alternative routes to Plymouth was considered in Network Rail’s West of Exeter route resilience study. This included reopening the 21-mile line from Okehampton to Bere Alston (£875 million, BCR 0.15) and the 15-mile line from Exeter to Newton Abbot via Bridford (£470 million, BCR of 0.30). Although these low BCRs indicate the poor case for reopening long lines through sparsely populated countryside, they do not necessarily rule out the reopening of the Okehampton or Bridford lines. Against the background of rising sea levels from climate change, there is political pressure for an alternative to the Dawlish route for which the resilience study shows line reopenings are significantly less costly than a new route. The campaign to provide Middlewich (population 14,000) with a rail service has a feasibility report with a 5.0 BCR. This requires a new station on the freight only single-line between Sandbach and Northwich for which Cheshire East Council has allocated a site in their local plan.
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The most ambitious campaign website is that of BML2, which seeks political support for a second Brighton main line to London using the Lewes to Uckfield trackbed. This would connect with the existing line at a new Croydon gateway station and terminate at Stratford. BML2 acknowledges it would cost billions, but considers it to be the only solution for overcrowding between London, Sussex, and Surrey.
Rails for Wales Further reopenings were considered in Wales after the success of the new Vale of Glamorgan and Ebbw Vale lines. Most of these were promoted by the South East Wales Transport Alliance (Sewta) of ten local Councils. In 2013, Jacobs prepared a report showing that Sewta’s proposed services in the South Wales valleys had BCRs as follows: Aberdare to Hirwaun - 3.2, Ystrad
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Last passenger train at Ebbw Vale High Level in 1951.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
PHOTO: RAILPHOTOLIBRARY.COM
Aberystwyth Station prior to restoration with a single car Class 153 DMU.
Leven station closed in 1969.
Mynach to Bedlinog - 4.6, Pontyclun to Beddau - 4.8 and Aberbeeg to Abertillery - 4.5. Sewta was disbanded in 2014 as the Welsh Government took greater control of transport strategy. However, the 2015 Welsh national transport finance plan has no mention of any specific line reopenings, including those proposed by Sewta, and instead only commits to feasibility studies to reopen disused lines. This would seem to duplicate Sewta’s previous work rather than developing it further. Beyond the valleys, there is a campaign to reopen the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line for which the Welsh Government commissioned a study by AECOM. This was published in December and concluded that the cost of this line would be up to £750 million. It did not evaluate benefits but
concluded that this reopening could have a poor BCR as the largest town on this 56-mile route, Lampeter, has a population of just 3,000. However, there is also a political dimension as this proposed line supports the Government’s objective of ‘improving links and access between key settlements and sites across Wales and strategically important all-Wales links’. In North Wales, support for reopening the seven-mile line from Caernarfon to the Menai bridge includes the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway (F&WHR) whose volunteers built the 26-mile narrowgauge line between Porthmadog and Caernarfon for £28 million. F&WHR has drawn up draft plans and is reported to be keen to start another project. In Anglesey, reopening the first 4.5 miles of the line to Llangefni was estimated to cost £25 million in a Network Rail feasibility study commissioned by the Welsh Government in 2010. Track remains in place and a preservation group is currently clearing vegetation.
Scotland’s strategic view
PHOTO: A HAJDUCKI
The Scottish Government published its Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) in 2008. This prioritised road and rail transport projects for strategic transport corridors. It excluded projects already approved or with only local impact. It assessed over a hundred projects using Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG).
This review set out the Scottish Government’s 29 transport priorities up to 2032 with the top four being: Forth replacement crossing, Edinburgh to Glasgow rail improvements programme (EGIP), Highland main line improvements and Aberdeen to Inverness rail improvements. It did not include any rail reopenings. One reopening rejected by STPR was the Glasgow Crossrail scheme which proposed using a freight only line over the River Clyde. It concluded that, in isolation, it had a reasonable case but that it did not integrate well with other schemes or make best use of the rail network and that it would disadvantage many passengers by diverting them from the city centre stations.
New Scottish lines The campaign to use a mothballed, five-mile freight line to provide a rail service to the Levenmouth area with a population of around 50,000 has attracted wide support. This stresses the benefits of a new service to the local economy - only 3% of those around Levenmouth work in Edinburgh compared with 22% in railconnected Dunbar a similar distance away. Fife Council is certainly convinced and has committed £2 million for this scheme. In November, Systra’s appraisal report concluded that there was a case for reopening. Endorsed by the Council, it has been formally submitted to Transport Scotland for approval.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
PHOTO: RAILPHOTOLIBRARY.COM
StARLink is campaigning to re-open a five-mile line to Saint Andrews. This is a costlier re-opening as the line is dismantled with some obstructions. StARLink raised funds for a ‘high level report’ by Tata Steel in 2012 which estimated the cost would be £71 million. Grangemouth (population 18,000) is Scotland’s largest container port and is connected to the rail network by a 2.5 mile line from Falkirk. For some time, the South East Scotland Transport Partnership had proposed a passenger service on this line. However, in 2010, this campaign fell at its first hurdle when Falkirk Council refused to cover half the £50,000 cost of the appraisal report. In 2014, the North-East Scotland regional transport partnership commissioned the Fraserburgh and Peterhead to Aberdeen strategic transport study. One option being considered is reopening 55 miles of railway from Dyce through this area. With a price tag in the order of £700 million, its BCR is likely to be poor. However, there may be a case to reopen the first 13 miles to Ellon.
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After the Borders reopening, there were calls to reopen the remaining 68 miles of the former Waverley route to Carlisle. With such popular interest the Scottish Government is undertaking a feasibility study. Campaign for Borders Rail (CBR) has a vision of a new double-track railway between Carlisle and Edinburgh as a new strategic rail route and considers the cost of such a route, including doubling the new Borders railway, would be in the region of £1 to 1.5 billion pounds. It would be hard to justify such a huge sum. However, when CBR was launched in 1999, many thought the same about the proposed Borders
line. It might be possible to justify a new Waverley route for strategic reasons. For example, if it could take freight off the West Coast main line in Scotland on which rising traffic will make it eventually untenable to mix passenger and freight services.
Will Riccarton Junction on the closed part of the Waverley route see trains again?
Voluntary reopenings Britain has 536 miles of heritage railway which generally operate at 25 mph with often-unpaid staff. These lines were opened by railway preservation groups using volunteer labour, often with plant and materials obtained at favourable rates including donations of redundant material
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Rail Engineer â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016
Keighley and Worth Valley Railway - opened and operated by volunteers.
Disused track on the Cambridge to St Ives line which may reopen as part of the East West Railway phase three.
from the main line railway. Heritage railways running at low speeds also do not have to comply with many main line railway standards. With significantly lower construction and operational costs, the case for new preserved lines is far more favourable than for reopening main lines. With generally infrequent timetables, heritage railways offer limited connectivity, yet as tourist attractions they make a valuable contribution to the local economy. There is scope for further such reopenings as shown by preservation groups at Caernarfon, Llangefni and Fleetwood.
Recipe for success The unprecedented growth in rail travel might be thought to help the case for rail reopenings. Yet this is not necessarily the case as the priority is for funds to enhance the existing network and for HS2 to meet increasing demand. Also, some routes to terminal stations are overloaded and might not be able to cope with extra traffic from new feeder lines. Readers of Rail Engineer know that new rail infrastructure is an expensive business, yet this is perhaps not fully appreciated outside the industry. To justify this cost, a reasonable amount of traffic is required. The Dawlish
PHOTO: RAILPHOTOLIBRARY.COM
resilience study shows the poor case for reopening long rural routes without such traffic. To be successful, rail campaigners need to be sure their proposed railway is affordable and offers sufficient local benefits. Typically, it would need to connect a town with a city using a short, unobstructed, disused line and operate as an extension of an existing service to minimise stock requirement and terminal capacity usage. To demonstrate the business case for the proposal, the local authority needs to be convinced to fund an appraisal. This needs petitions, local engagement and a good website. Railfuture, which acts as an umbrella group, has various such campaigns on its website. If the appraisal is successful, further development will cost millions, for which regional funding would be required. This level of funding has now been committed to the Ashington, Levenmouth, Portishead, Skelmersdale and Wisbech schemes as a result of effective committed campaigns and local Council support, much to the credit of all concerned. Whether these lines go ahead is ultimately a Government funding decision, given the tens or hundreds of millions for any new line. However, with the current piecemeal approach to rail reopenings, these will be ad hoc decisions. As ATOC has observed, there is a need for a more strategic approach.
44
Rail Engineer • April 2016
New
challenges facing east & west
COLLIN CARR
C
hris Binns was the head of engineering for the £6.5 billion Thameslink programme for six years, one of Network Rail’s biggest infrastructure challenges to date. However, in June 2015, he swapped the north to south London line project for the new east to west link now under construction known as Crossrail. Chris became the chief engineer of this £14 billion project which is, without doubt, Transport for London’s (TfL) biggest infrastructure challenge to date. Chris replaced Chris Dulake who, now that the tunnelling work and associated heavy civil engineering (his speciality) has been successfully completed, has moved on to an even bigger project, the £50 billion High Speed 2 line. Chris Binns now reports to Crossrail’s technical director, Chris Sexton. Yes, another Chris! Rail Engineer visited Chris Binns recently to find out how life in his new role is panning out for him now that he has completed his first six months. His immediate response was “responding to the sheer volume of technical challenges”. He added that these challenges are not necessarily more complex than those he experienced at Thameslink, but the scale has increased significantly. As readers will be aware, unlike the Thameslink project, which is being successfully built around a fully functioning urban railway, Crossrail includes a new central core consisting of 42km of newly bored tunnels. There are also 10 new Crossrail stations being built, some in very complex locations - Paddington, Bond Street and Liverpool Street to mention a few. In addition, there are complex redesigned track layouts both west and east of the capital, extending out to Reading in the west and Shenfield in the east.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
(Above) Crossrail's multipurpose gantry in tunnel.
(Top) Illustration of Crossrail's multi-purpose gantry. (Below) Illustration of Crossrail's state of the art drilling rig.
Area of expertise The tunnels and the new stations all need fitting out, while new power supplies have to be installed alongside signalling and control systems. These are the challenges that now face Crossrail and this is the area of expertise that Chris is most suited to, hence his appointment to this post. As with Thameslink, all the different technical heads report to Chris. However, Crossrail’s expenditure is
three times that of Thameslink and, because of the significant volume of work and diverse issues that they have to cover, Chris has a large team of 200 plus engineers which is not far off double the resource at Thameslink. He was keen to point out that the Thameslink team were of a high calibre, but one of the benefits of Crossrail is that it is considered to be probably the biggest railway project in Europe if not the world, and this again means he is working with another very high calibre team.
Key suppliers Of course, none of the fitting out work of tunnels and stations can be carried out without the support of a competent and innovative supply chain and, in April 2013, Crossrail awarded the last major suite of contracts valued at £300 million, to a joint venture comprising Alstom Transport, French trackwork specialist Transport Sud Ouest (TSO), and Costain. The joint venture is normally referred to as ATC and it has the responsibility of ensuring that the tunnels are fitted out with the necessary equipment for an operational railway system. This work will be the focus of much of Chris’s attention over the coming months and years, leading up to the 2018 opening. He explained that, when the tunnels were completed, the construction included a mass concrete base ready to receive the various slab track designs. The base has a raised curb either side,
designed to carry a specially built multi-purpose gantry, which at first sight looks like something out of Star Wars. This gantry has the capacity to carry and position 28 sleepers at a time before installing 108-metre lengths of rail. The 70,000 sleepers required are being manufactured by Nottinghambased SBC Rail and then stock piled in bales at the railhead depots at Plumstead Logistics Centre in south east London and Westbourne temporary railhead in West London. Both locations are being used throughout the contract for providing engineering trains and for storing materials and equipment. Also, given the recent concerns about the UK steel industry, it was pleasing to note that Tata Steel is supplying more than 57km of heat treated, wear-resistant rail and that the steel blooms are produced in their Scunthorpe plant. The slight surprise is that these blooms are then transported to Tata’s Hayange mill in northern France to be rolled into the rail profile.
Neighbourly awareness When Chris was at Thameslink he was especially pleased with the way the project team dealt with its neighbours, the sensitivities associated with a new viaduct built across Borough Market being a good example. Chris was eager to point out that this committed approach to the surrounding environment is clearly evident within the Crossrail project as well. One technical example is the creation of five different standards of track designed to cater for such sensitive locations as recording studios in Soho, the Barbican concert hall, and historical listed buildings, to name just a few. For the majority of track constructed in the tunnels, standard track slab with fibre reinforced concrete is being used. However, in the Victorian Connaught Tunnel, a newly designed, direct fixed track system has been installed, using Australian Delkor two holed baseplates. The design of the baseplates includes a top plate and base frame which are vulcanised together by means of a natural rubber boot. This helps to significantly reduce the dynamic stresses on the base structure.
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Rail Engineer â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016
The concreting train (see below) begins its first run.
In addition, a high-attenuation sleeper track design, that is placing whole sleepers into a rubber boot before they are concreted into the formation, is being used in a number of selected areas where there is a particular need to reduce noise and vibration.
Light or heavy? Where the noise and vibration have to be reduced, in more sensitive locations such as Soho, light floating track slab is used. However, where noise and vibration has to be controlled in the most sensitive area such as the Barbican, heavy floating slab track is being installed. The concrete in this track is described as magna dense - double the density of normal concrete with a high iron ore content, hence the heavy!
So there is a fair array of options available, all required to be installed to a high specification and in accordance with the very tight tolerances imposed. It is down to Chrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team to ensure that this level of quality is maintained and, during site visits, the team has been able to verify the high expectations of the surveyors within the production team. It is not always easy to tell the production team to stop a full-flowing process to make marginal adjustments of just one or two millimetres, but that is the standard that everyone is working to and it is this meticulous approach that Chris finds very reassuring.
Invaluable equipment The ATC joint venture has acquired a Plasser and Theurer road-rail flash butt welding machine, designed to produce welds to a consistently high standard in a tunnel environment. This will undoubtedly prove to be an invaluable piece of kit as will another new machine - a new drilling rig. As part of the tunnel fit-out, it has been estimated that more than 250,000 holes will need to be drilled to accommodate brackets for cabling, walkways and other equipment to support the operation of the railway. A state of the art drilling rig, owned by Crossrail and manufactured by Rowa Tunnelling Logistics in Switzerland, is now being used to drill the majority of the holes, thus minimising the need for manual drilling. Once the slab track has been laid, the rig sits on the track and is designed to move through the tunnels drilling the holes in pre-determined locations. The machine has a dust
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Rail Engineer • April 2016 suppression system in place, helping to produce a clean and accurately drilled hole every time. The rig is configured to work in conjunction with real-time 3D laser surveys of the tunnel to ensure accuracy, and it is proving to be an invaluable piece of equipment for all concerned.
Dry and wet Crossrail has also invested in a refurbished concreting train that was brought to the UK from France via the Channel Tunnel in August 2015. It is 465 metres long and is a mobile underground concrete batching factory using dry materials. Running and maintaining the concreting train is a 24-hour operation. Concrete pouring generally takes place during the night with restocking and maintenance carried out during the day. The train is based at the Plumstead rail depot and is being used for the construction of standard track slab. At first, the production team was achieving about 74 metres per day, but this has now increased to around 150 metres per day, which is a considerable achievement. The train has piping running from the front of the train, like a giant insect proboscis, for about 300m. This means that the train does not have to run on freshly laid concrete the next day allowing the concrete adequate time to gain strength.
Also, a different, smaller concrete train known as the Shuttle, was brought into action in January 2016. Chris explained that the Shuttle is being used to construct the standard track slab in the tunnels from the Royal Oak Portal through to central London. The train was designed to accommodate the limited room available at its stabling point in Westbourne Park. However, because the train uses batches of ready-mixed fibre reinforced concrete, time becomes a critical factor.
Power supplies The Crossrail route will be powered by a 25kV overhead line system using a rigid overhead conductor bar throughout the tunnels, a design that doesn’t require weights and pulleys. As Chris pointed out, it is a similar system to the one used in the Thameslink Canal Tunnels that linked the East Coast main Line to St Pancras and beyond. In the central section, 25kV traction power for the Crossrail trains will be provided by two new bulk supply points, connected to the National Grid 400kV supply, at Pudding Mill Lane in the east and Kensal Green to the west. Super grid transformers have been installed and are currently being ‘dressed’ (fitted with fans, coolants etc). A 22kV high-voltage network will be installed in the central section from Royal Oak Portal in the west to Limmo
Peninsula in the east with an 11kV highvoltage non-traction spur to be installed from Limmo through to Plumstead. This network will supply mains power to each Crossrail station, shaft and portal within the central section. With regard to the signalling systems, Thameslink is using a novel combination of metro Automatic Train Operation, and the main-line European Train Control System (ETCS), with a recent trial run through the core section of the route going very well. Crossrail, on the other hand, is using a Communications-Based Train Control System (CBTC) for its core. This system is popular with Metros throughout the world and is familiar to TfL. Therefore, development costs are more predictable and Siemens has just commissioned a similar system in Copenhagen in February 2016 so, lessons learnt will be transported into the project. As Chris pointed out at the start, the scale and volume of this project is enormous with a myriad of Crossrail’s communications and control systems. When asked if he was enjoying it, he replied “thoroughly!” and then added that he had just finished his first induction session for new recruits into Crossrail so now he really feels that he is part of the team facing the challenges of building a railway that will stretch from Reading, across town to Shenfield, by 2018.
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52
Rail Engineer • April 2016
W
ithin the UK rail industry, innovation is the lifeblood of every project; every rail infrastructure company, large or small, must employ innovation to create value for its clients and the travelling public. Successful companies are recommended on their proven ability to do just that. A good example was a recent high voltage (HV) feeder project between Stone Crossing and Ebbsfleet. This formed part of the third phase of Network Rail’s power supply enhancement programme, preparing for the new high-powered rolling stock on the North Kent lines which will serve London and form part of a wider initiative to renew many of the aging electrical assets on this part of the network. Access issues and possession cancellations plagued the project throughout, with installation works mainly restricted to midweek night possessions. This provided a tiny working window, which required careful planning of activities in conjunction with other third parties. It could be said that this sounds familiar. However, this HV project had one main difference - an outside party that wanted to convert a Track Parallel Hut into a new substation in between the other two substations, creating a second HV feeder location in the worksite. As a result, it quickly became apparent that, in order to complete this asset upgrade on time, specialist turnkey power contractor RJ Power Group was faced with re-engineering its complete scope of works, taking into consideration a second feeder being introduced into a single weekend commissioning scope - a feat that had never been previously achieved. Meticulous pre-planning allowed RJ Power Group to take the lead throughout the commissioning weekend, flexing its significant in-house resource pool to successfully hand over both feeders using only one HV outage. These were fully commissioned during a single weekend possession, minimising risk and disruption to the railway.
Power engineering solutions With time, space and opportunities limited, and various different contractors vying to complete work on the same piece of track on the same day at the same time, and even with detailed planning of the highest order, disruption can occur which cuts short works that have been several months, if not years, in the planning. These circumstances provide regular challenges for the networks and their contractors to collaborate and come up with unique solutions to continue to keep Britain’s railway assets in tip-top shape. Some projects present such challenging issues and a solution is required that is truly unique - one that has perhaps been considered previously for other schemes, but never before tested. In these situations, the circumstances dictate that the risks can’t be satisfactorily managed to outweigh the benefits, even if it means delaying the completion or increasing the project cost. This collaborative working approach and understanding of the multi-faceted nature of major rail projects also helped RJ Power Group to deliver a significantly time-challenged major rail project at Three Bridges Depot for its partner Volker Fitzpatrick. These efforts were rewarded with the announcement that the project had won the Volker Wessels Group Platinum Award for Project of the Year. Volker Fitzpatrick’s project manager Martin Dobby, commenting on the contribution of RJ Power Group, said: “Despite some of the tough challenges brought about by late design and other disciplines, your team had a pragmatic and team spirited approach to help me hit the key milestones and commission the ETE bang on time. The most notable achievement for me was that the ETE works were defect-free at handover. That doesn’t happen very often and is a reflection of our strong relationship. Thank you for your support throughout.”
The power to keep projects on track
Rail Engineer • April 2016
53
Delivering rail and power networks excellence With over two decades of providing engineering solutions in the power sector, RJ Power Group now boasts two divisions following a recent restructure: the existing dedicated rail contracting division (covering HV electrification works, DC traction power and maintenance), alongside a new complementary power networks contracting division (covering power distribution works from 415V to 33kV) within the private networks utilities industry. This new offering covers all manner of installation works from control cabling and relay works, through to the provision of high voltage ring main systems and private networks. With dedicated in-house engineers, the company’s high quality service covers everything from initial supply to installation, maintenance and testing, and commissioning for everything from transformers to high and low voltage switchgear, cabling and earthing. The resulting change of name from RJ Power Ltd to RJ Power Group Ltd reflects its complete offering and a new brand that captures the company’s growth and progression as it looks to the future with great confidence. Sales director Matt Woolley, who has managed the restructuring, said: “It is an exciting time to be part of the newly formed group, both in rail and the wider private networks. Our dedicated in-house power engineering capability provides a strong market offering, as we look to push ahead with our considerable plans for growth.” RJ Power Group’s highly skilled staff have been delivering innovative solutions for many years, and the company has continued to complete a large number of successful projects as a power contractor. As a dynamic organisation, RJ Power Group has showcased that it is able to quickly integrate its expertise into each client’s structure, working as collaboratively or as autonomously as required with excellent results.
Business-wide sustainability A sustainable approach is fundamental to its success and allows the business to align with the client’s requirements. That means working hard to ensure each person is equipped with the very latest skills and knowledge. This has resulted in a company with tremendous in-house engineering capabilities, representing something genuinely different in the power and rail sectors. In addition, RJ Power Group is developing a new graduate programme as it looks to the future to secure a resource to meet the industry’s needs - providing an exciting platform for those aspiring professionals to join a business that is undoubtedly going places. Its values of quality, respect, reliability and safety are at the core of everything in the business, characterising its behaviour and helping to shape its culture, attitudes and principles. For the company, sustainability means ensuring the future viability of the group and its business operations, as well as looking after the planet. The company is also fully committed to meeting the requirements of its management system and its business approach embodies the core philosophies of planning, assurance and control. Managing director Glenn Rowatt added: “This is a wonderful time for RJ Power Group. We are in the process of communicating to all our clients that we have changed our brand and logo. We have evolved and we want the industry to know we have full project turnkey capabilities in two distinct divisions: rail and power networks. “We hope to build upon our contract successes to date and with the strength of our in-house capabilities, aim to deliver truly integrated power solutions. “Our goal is to be the partner of choice for power engineering, achieving this through collaborative, open and honest relationships with our clients, partners and staff; providing innovative ideas that focus upon delivering efficient and effective results and offering safe, healthy and environmentally responsible working conditions for all. “Ultimately, this means providing experienced and reliable delivery that provides a legacy for future generations.”
RJ Power Group's team at Three Bridges, preparing to install the buffer stop panel.
RJ Power Group at work on a DC Renewal.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
LIZ BEDFORD
NO NEED TO GO BATTY OVER ECOLOGY
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N
etwork Rail is committed to taking the protection of wildlife seriously on the Great Western Route Modernisation (GWRM). The aim of the scheme is to have faster, greener, quieter and more reliable journeys from London to South Wales, as well as linking with the South West. Since the planning for this electrification scheme commenced, Network Rail has had the conservation of legally protected habitats and species on the agenda. Its Sustainable Development 2015 Update outlines its commitment, and ecology was considered during the assessment of impacts on the environment at the planning stage of the scheme. Contractors are being encouraged to do the same. In turn, ABC Electrification, the principal contractor working on GWRM between Wootton Bassett and Cardiff, is taking a lead within the rail industry on how to manage ecology during its works. ABC Electrification is working in partnership with ecology specialists Thomson Ecology which is advising on all ecological constraints on the scheme.
Specialist advice Thomson Ecology is one of the leading ecology consultancies in the UK, specialising in all aspects from terrestrial to freshwater and marine. Thomson Ecology’s experience in working on rail projects has allowed them to advise ABC Electrification at each stage of works on how best to proceed with regard to wildlife. ABC Electrification is responsible for the overall delivery of the programme for the 80km western aspect of GWRM. In addition, it is carrying out infrastructure developments on a number of structures that require replacement or modification to allow gauge clearance space between them and the track. ABC is also managing installation of the overhead line equipment (OLE) at stations, tunnels and along the whole route, and creating site compounds and new rail access points along these sections of the scheme to support logistics for these works.
The section that ABC Electrification and Thomson Ecology are working on crosses, or is adjacent to, seven UK designated sites (sites designated for nationally and internationally important communities of habitats and animals). The works need to take account of bats which could be living in bridges, and even the OLE installation requires careful management during habitat clearance to take proper precautions against harming breeding birds, reptiles or newts, all of which are legally protected. To date, Thomson Ecology has provided training to ABC Electrification’s ground works supervisors to give them the knowledge to manage a situation if they find a protected species on site. In addition, 260 man-days of watching briefs for breeding birds and reptiles have been carried out, along with bat inspections of 82 structures (including bridges, buildings and tunnels), assessments of 12 badger setts and advice on avoidance or mitigation techniques. Thomson Ecology has produced twelve Section 28H agreements to apply for consent from Natural Resources Wales for works within protected sites. The company has also carried out Phase 1 habitat surveys of 32 proposed compound sites, great crested newt surveys of 15 waterbodies, and water vole and otter surveys covering more than 23 km of bankside habitat.
Close cooperation Working closely in partnership with ABC Electrification, the Thomson Ecology project manager has been working at the ABC Electrification’s office on a weekly basis. This has been pivotal in helping facilitate open discussions on different options for the
Rail Engineer • April 2016 management of ecology. It has helped the project manager gain an in-depth understanding of ABC Electrification’s planned works, what the next priority is and how this links with required surveys and mitigation. In return, the project manager is able to guide ABC Electrification on what the priorities should be from an ecology perspective and this strong working relationship allows frank discussions and quick decisions to be made. ABC Electrification can be confident that it is being provided with the most appropriate advice for that specific situation, allowing works to go ahead wherever possible but avoiding the risk of causing an ecology offence or causing harm to the environment. Thomson Ecology aims to provide advice that allows work to be carried out with minimal impact on the programme, whilst at the same time advocating best practice guidance in all projects they work on. On this scheme, there were drilling works planned to take place in the Severn Tunnel - the 4.5 mile long tunnel that carries the South Wales line under the Severn Estuary between England and Wales. Network Rail had previously had bat surveys of the tunnel undertaken during 2014 and 2015, and two pipistrelle bats had been identified as possibly entering the tunnel to roost. ABC Electrification needed to carry out drilling and anchor testing on the roof of the tunnel to aid future installation during a short15/2/16 series of 5005 RailOLE Eng Ad 130x190:1 weekend possessions in October and November
ecology
Thomson Ecology is the UK’s leading independent ecology specialist, providing ecological consultancy and contracting services across all ecosystems – terrestrial, freshwater and marine.
2015. Whilst the presence of bats in the tunnel was not confirmed, there was a risk of bats being there and, if they were found during the works, this would be an offence because bats are legally protected from killing, injury and harm, and their roosts are protected from damage and destruction under European and UK legislation. To mitigate this and help demonstrate absence of bats during the works, Thomson Ecology carried out bat activity surveys prior to, and during works, including visual dusk surveys and use of automated monitoring detectors. The results of the activity surveys were negative. A team of seven bat ecologists also carried out up-close inspections of the roof of the tunnel to check for features that could be used by roosting bats, and advised the drilling team to avoid any that looked to have potential to support bats. If a bat or confirmed bat roost had been found by the team, works would have had to stop whilst an assessment of the roost was made, but this didn’t occur and,1after 110 man hours of checks 16:20 Page over eight shifts, the works were able to continue
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into November, allowing ABC Electrification to complete works on time and within the available possessions.
More time, less risk Where there is a longer time over which to plan works, a more risk-averse approach can be taken. At one bridge replacement near Caldicot in Monmouthshire, South Wales, a bat roost was identified that required Thomson Ecology to obtain a licence from the statutory authority. This allowed the planned bridge demolition and re-build works to take place to programme and within the originally allocated time. The bats were provided with a suite of three bat boxes on site to replace the small roost site that had been in the old bridge. Thomson Ecology will continue to support ABC Electrification and Network Rail with their works on GWRM to help them manage all aspects of ecology as the scheme develops. Liz Bedford is a principal ecologist with Thomson Ecology.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
New Zone Controller
technology O
ver the 10-day blockade at London Bridge (24 December to 4 January), three new lines through the high level section of the station and the new Borough Market viaduct were brought into use as part of Stage Seven of Network Rail’s Thameslink Programme. Representing a major landmark for the programme overall, the commissioning also marked a significant milestone for Siemens, with the company’s new Zone Controller system installed for the first time in the UK. This new technology is now controlling signalling operations at London Bridge, with further deployments scheduled for later stages of the Thameslink programme. The Zone Controllers were installed in relocatable equipment buildings (REBs), the majority of which were installed under viaducts due to space constraints. The controllers provide an input/output module (IOM) interface between Siemens’ Trackguard Westlock interlocking and the trackside infrastructure.
86 trains an hour! Commenting on the development, Mark Ferrer, Siemens’ director of new technology, said: “Although, at first glance, it may seem a little unusual to introduce a completely new system on such a high profile, much-scrutinised project, the performance requirements of the London Bridge area were such that traditional technology would have been too slow in operation. Network Rail’s specification for the
programme demanded that the performance of the interface had to support a peak flow of 86 trains per hour (tph) through London Bridge.” Independent analysis was commissioned to establish a precise speed target, effectively setting a performance specification for Siemens’ development team to meet. The Zone Controller developed by the team is an internet protocol (IP) network-based solution, rather than one that operates over a baseband datalink as TFMs (track function modules) would. As fast as a relay solution, the new controller also has a significantly smaller footprint than an equivalent TFM and provides greatly improved diagnostic capability, making any future maintenance requirements simpler, faster and more efficient. Mark Ferrer continued: “Having been operational for a little over three months now, the technology is already performing well and faster than the target speeds. There’s no doubt that this is a good solution, not only for Thameslink, but also for future Network Rail projects. As a combined delivery team, we certainly set ourselves a challenge by committing to developing a completely new technology for the first time at London Bridge.
But having established its capability on one of Europe’s busiest stretches of railway, we’re confident that in time it will become part of Siemens’ standard solution. “Developed and delivered entirely within the UK, the creation, testing, proving, installation and commissioning of Zone Controllers is a great example of partnership-working with Network Rail, with the technology meeting many of the requirements of the digital railway concept and the move to IP-based solutions.”
Closer intervals = more capacity Thameslink, of course, will also see Siemens delivering a European Train Control System (ETCS) solution overlaid with automatic train operation (ATO), these being crucial requirements for the achievement of a reliable 24tph service. These ATO and ETCS solutions will be installed on the Thameslink route through the London Bridge area, enabling all train movements to be controlled automatically from Network Rail’s new Three Bridges Rail Operating Centre on programme completion in 2018. ETCS will allow trains to use the Thameslink core lines more efficiently by managing the signalling directly to the train through the radio
Rail Engineer • April 2016 block centre (RBC). The conventional signalling system in the area will be retained, allowing non-ETCS traffic to use the lines. The train-borne ATO unit will drive the train within the speed and distance limits set by the ETCS system, which will provide continuous automatic train protection (ATP). This allows the trains to be safely managed at closer intervals, allowing a greater throughput of traffic. If the speed or distance limits are exceeded, then ETCS will intervene and return the train to a safe state. From the automatic train regulation (ATR) within the control system, the ATO unit will also receive a ‘target arrival time’ for the next station, enabling it to fine tune the train’s speed for optimum performance. Once ETCS is engaged, drivers on Siemens’ new Class 700 trains, will accept automatic control on arriving at the ATO boundary, normally with the train continuing on the move, with a transition back to manual control at the end of the ATO-controlled area.
Testing underway In Autumn 2015, Network Rail completed the first ETCS trials through central London, with the Class 313 test train completing a series of tests between Elephant and Castle and Kentish Town on weekends in October and November. Mark Ferrer said: “The equipment worked first time and demonstrated the technically demanding transition from traditional signalling to ETCS. Although testing will continue at Network Rail’s ETCS National Integration Facility (ENIF), the next major milestone is testing with the new Siemens Class 700 trains between Blackfriars and St Pancras which is scheduled to take place in August 2016.” (Right) The approach to London Bridge. (Below) London Blackfriars.
To achieve an operational 24tph timetable, the signalling and control system actually has a design capability of 30tph in both directions, to allow for recovery from any perturbation. ATO will open the train’s doors immediately as it stops in order to meet a 45 second dwell time - allowing passengers time to embark and disembark before train dispatch. To maintain passenger safety, door closing will be manually controlled by the driver. In the unlikely event of the on-board ATO becoming unavailable, the system will allow manual driving with ETCS train protection. Further levels of back-up operation use lineside signals with Network Rail’s existing train protection and warning system (TPWS), or special provision to allow the driver to continue at slow speed. Mark Ferrer concluded: “The Thameslink project will be the first operational application of full ATO functions over ETCS, certainly in the UK, and possibly the world, and is
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Siemens’ first operational application of ETCS (both for the infrastructure and on-board) in the UK. “The introduction of ATO represents a vital part of the high-capacity timetable planned for the route and means that every train runs at the optimised speed profile, performs accurate stopping, and advises the driver to adhere to strict station dwell times.”
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
A
MALCOLM DOBELL
rticles in Rail Engineer tend to focus on big schemes, supported by multi-national train, signalling or construction contractors. However, all these projects have to purchase items of equipment that are the practical means of making those projects work, but rarely receive any publicity. Imagine, for example, a Virgin Pendolino without hydraulic actuators; it wouldn’t tilt. Imagine 25kV electrification systems without circuit breakers - no way to turn on (or worse, turn off) the power. Then there are fuses, miniature circuit breakers, hoses, connectors and so on. Vital, but unsung. This article is about a large supplier of the unsung equipment.
Surprising subsidiaries Eaton is a global player in the market for energy-efficient solutions that help its customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. It has expertise in power distribution and circuit protection, backup power protection, control and automation, lighting and security, structural solutions and wiring devices. The company can provide solutions for harsh and hazardous environments and offer engineering and project services for bespoke or customised solutions. Eaton’s sales in 2015 were $20.9 billion (about £15 billion), it employs approximately 97,000 people and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries. Many well-known names in the electrical and hydraulic equipment market such as MEM, Heinemann, Aeroquip, Vickers pumps and Bussmann are, in fact, owned by Eaton. Rail Engineer was invited to visit a recent roadshow which was aimed at raising awareness of the products that Eaton can offer to the rail industry, including rolling stock and various sub-systems of the fixed infrastructure. The roadshow was held in a huge articulated truck which, for road use, is a standard articulated lorry
Eaton: electrical and hydraulic equipment for railways less than 2.55 metres wide and less than 3.5 metres high. Once it arrives on site, after a little work, it becomes a double-decker facility with a full height exhibition space and a small but beautifully formed presentation space above. For Rail Engineer’s visit, it was located in a container and car park site in Southwark that was formerly a worksite for construction of the Jubilee Line Extension.
Range of new products The event was kicked off by Delphine Clement, Eaton’s rail segment manager, who emphasised Eaton’s size and pedigree in the rail industry. Delphine was followed by a presentation from Neil Thompson, UK country manager, who highlighted the scale of the opportunity for, particularly, specialist electrical products suitable for the electrification works currently under way on UK’s railways. Kevin Brennan introduced a medium voltage (MV) switchgear range covering voltages from 11kV to 52kV. This switchgear is clean, arc proof, compact and maintenance free. It has eliminated the need to use an environmentally harmful gas, SF6 (Sulphur Hexafluoride), employing vacuum and solid insulator materials instead.
Eaton also introduced a new device for remotely resetting Heinemann circuit breakers. One of the applications envisaged is on rolling stock, where the circuit breakers can be located in relatively inaccessible places, but can still be reset easily, even by the train driver without leaving the driver’s cab. The final presentation was about a new range of hydraulic hoses that have been designed, manufactured and certified to comply with the new EN45545 part 2 standard covering the requirements for fire behaviour of materials and components used on railway vehicles.
Hands-on The display space included samples of Eaton’s products including uninterruptable power supplies, the MV switchgear, LED emergency exit and other similar signs, hydraulic pumps and actuators including the previously
mentioned bogie and pantograph tilt actuators and hydraulic control system for the Pendolino. Also on display were AC-DC and DC-DC converters used in, for example, signalling systems and on-train systems. These are available in a wide range of voltage and power capabilities. There were a number of products on show that highlight Eaton’s subsystem design capability. This capability includes design and configuration of man-machine interfaces, and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The range includes switching devices controlled from a bus system, which significantly reduces the quantity of wiring required in a cabinet. There was also on show a prototype wireless control system for switching off trackside devices such as point heaters. All in all this was a fascinating couple of hours and well worth catching if the vehicle is in your part of the country.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
INNOVATAION
Safe-Tea I
t’s a cold and dark night. A team of Network Rail and contractor track workers assembled at the access point and then trudged a mile and a half, on uneven ballast and avoiding the slippery sleepers, to this work site in a damp cutting. That was well over an hour ago. Now, to warm chilled bodies and revive flagging spirits, it’s time for a cup of tea. But the kettle is a mile and a half away. That’s over an hour of down time, and time is something this overnight possession just doesn’t have. So forget the tea - everyone must just carry on and forget how cold and weary they are.
One lump or two?
Plaudits
It’s a familiar scenario. One that’s not good for staff morale, or safety, or efficiency. But now, thanks to David Sowter, senior HSEQ advisor for Amey, that’s all in the past. Now, workers can take a short break and visit the tea trolley. A tea trolley? On a track renewals site? Yes, because David has developed the world’s first Safe-Tea Trolley - a self-contained refreshments unit for railway workers. The Safe-Tea Trolley was developed after the Track Safety Alliance (TSA) set out the challenge to find a way of getting a hot drink to those working out on the track, one mile from an access point. David took up the challenge and approached AJC, a company that makes bespoke trailers and cabins. The trolley is a small unit that can be safely lifted by two workers and latched onto a standard track trolley, which means it can be transported along the tracks to wherever workers are based. The unit provides staff with the ability to make hot and cold drinks and also has a small amount of storage so workers can mix up certain hot snacks, such as pot noodles. Funded by Amey, the trolley was approved by Network Rail after one of its quickest-ever acceptance procedures. Lee Jones, operations director for rail and metro at Amey, was surprised it hadn’t been done before: “Having a cup of tea is something that many of us take for granted in the workplace, and yet it makes an important difference to wellbeing. Looking after our people is something that we’re serious about so investing in new ideas that enhance wellbeing in the workplace, like David’s tea trolley, is a no-brainer for us.” David and AJC innovatively designed the trolley with its own water supply and generator, as well as an environmentally friendly LED lighting system to ensure that the unit was self-contained, with provisions that would last the length of a shift. They also designed the unit to be moved in a safe manner, minimising any risks involved with lifting. The Safe-Tea Trolley can also be personalised depending on requirements, with items such as defibrillators and noticeboards being added to the original design.
David Sowter told Rail Engineer how he came up with the idea: “Having worked in the rail industry for 35 years, I know that the track can be a challenging place to work, and developing kit like the Safe-Tea Trolley is all about finding ways to overcome these challenges safely. “The trolley has received some great feedback from the industry and I hope that it will make a real difference to the wellbeing of our frontline teams.” The prototype was trialled by staff at Grange Sidings, Stoke-on-Trent, and discussed at the April 2015 TSA forum. The resulting feedback was used to help refine the design. There has been an overwhelmingly positive response to it by workers, with some saying that it could make the difference between a shift being bearable or unbearable. And it’s not just the workers themselves who are impressed. Steve Featherstone, track programme director for Network Rail, added his comments: “We often forget when we are in warm, dry offices or signal boxes that the orange army works in all weathers to keep the railway working properly. And when you are part way through a shift it is important to have a hot drink to reduce the risk of fatigue. Feedback has been fantastic and it’s great to have ideas like this developed - by the frontline, for the frontline.” Interestingly, it’s not David’s first good idea to improve the lot of track workers. He has previously created a state of the art, self-contained welfare cabin. This larger cabin could be transported to trackside sites to provide workers with access to toilets, the ability to prepare hot and cold drinks and food, and an area where they shelter from poor weather. The cabin also has space in which to transport equipment, carries its own water supply and it's fitted with both a generator and an LED lighting system. This eliminated the need for external generators, portaloos or lighting and therefore created the added benefit of reducing the risk of theft and vandalism as well as disturbance to any nearby residents from noise and fumes. Well done David - again!
Ricardo Rail Formerly Lloydâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Register Rail
Common Safety Method training New module on Network Rail application Since launching in 2012, our CSM on Risk Evaluation and Assessment training courses have welcomed over 900 attendees from across the industry. For our 2016 update, we include a new module describing the specific Network Rail application as detailed in their Level 2 Module NR/L3/RSE/100/02. This new module is invaluable to anyone working on projects that are required to be compliant with Network Rail processes, as well as providing a case study of how an organization can apply CSM in practice. To reserve a place on an upcoming course, or to organize a bespoke internal briefing for groups of previous attendees, email railUK@ricardo.com rail.ricardo.com/csm
Delivering Excellence Through Innovation & Technology
rail.ricardo.com
Rail Engineer • April 2016
INNOVATAION
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RIVER TAMOOR-BAIG
I
RailTech and the HackTrain Accelerator
f there’s one word which divides the rail industry, it’s innovation. Some will argue that the UK’s railways are the most innovative in the world while others will tell you that we still have a long way to go.
Increasingly, the industry is waking up to the fact that innovation is critical to any improvement in customer experience or operational efficiency. It’s no surprise, then, that
activities around innovation are attracting more funding from the train operating companies than ever before. It’s important to remember, though, that an increase in funding can only go so far if projects are not suitably ambitious. Innovation should mean constantly striving for the next big breakthrough, not simply settling for playing catch-up. We should lead the world. This approach is what made the UK the birthplace of the railways all those years ago. Rail was one of the original disruptive technologies, changing the way that people thought about both passenger and commercial transport. The rail network would go on to open up the country and introduce a new freedom of movement that would later be outgrown by the widespread adoption of cars and lorries.
Today’s technology Similar revolutions are taking place today. However, many are now being fuelled by clever software, big data, and increasingly intelligent sensors. A prime example is probably sitting in your pocket right now. Phones have developed to the point where people have immediate access to the extent of humanity’s knowledge in seconds.
Technology is also disrupting industries that previously seemed far too regulated to ever adapt to new and innovative solutions. The huge expansion of FinTech and companies such as PayPal and TransferWise has shown that even an industry as highly regulated as the banking and financial services sector can make use of new technology to improve internal efficiency and the customer experience. If technology and innovation can disrupt the banking industry in less than a decade, just imagine what it could do for the UK’s railways. Much like everyone who travels by train regularly, we at HackTrain want customer service and efficiency to improve. It’s something that we are incredibly passionate about and why we are so driven and motivated to play our part in making the UK the world’s hub for RailTech. By RailTech, we mean any use of new technology to inject innovation into the UK’s rail industry, whether it’s applied to how train stock is managed, how customers buy and use tickets, or how passengers are efficiently managed while at stations.
HackTrain It’s not enough to just want RailTech or to crave innovation. We have to do something about it. That’s why we launched HackTrain, a movement bringing the rail industry together for a common purpose, to fundamentally improve customer experience and operational efficiency. This was kicked off with last year’s HackTrain
Rail Engineer • April 2016
Speedy implementation Crucially, we’ve identified that one of the biggest barriers to innovation in rail is lengthy procurement cycles. Our teams need to test their new products quickly by getting them into the hands of drivers, passengers, station managers or engineers. Only then can they get the feedback they need to refine and improve their product. It’s for this reason that we’ve partnered with Osborne Clarke to create a new innovation procurement framework that any train operating company can use to trial new products and services faster. It’s this speed that allows mobile and FinTech businesses to innovate so quickly and it’s this speed which will make RailTech a success.
The HackTrain Accelerator will set off a new wave of innovation within the industry as customers will be able to use products much faster than the existing time frame. We have a great collection of driven teams that are passionate about their RailTech ideas, whether it be technology to help customers understand what the orange ticket in their hand actually means, or using existing CCTV infrastructure to create smart queue management at stations for efficient resourcing. Knowing exactly why innovation in the rail industry has not kept pace with the amazing new developments other industries have seen in the last decade is crucial to our project. Therefore, along with our Accelerator programme, we will be compiling a full report on the barriers to innovation in rail based on our teams’ successes and challenges. Why do so many start-ups who go into the rail industry fail, and why do so many end up selling most of their technology overseas? Why are some people put off working in the rail industry and how can we change this? Why is innovation sometimes blocked within some rail companies, despite the enthusiasm and investment which clearly exists? RailTech isn’t just a short-term project or a buzzword for your next meeting. It’s what is going to make the UK’s railways the best in the world, creating new products and solutions that both passengers and the industry will love. River Tamoor-Baig is co-founder of HackTrain
INNOVATION
hackathon - where we challenged a selection of the world’s best software developers and data analysts to solve some of the rail industry’s biggest challenges. We wanted to see what would happen when the world’s best problem solvers turned their attention to seemingly unsurmountable issues. The results were impressive to say the least, with technology being built in 48-hours that the industry has spent two decades wishing existed. We are keeping up the momentum we’ve created with the launch of our HackTrain Accelerator, a programme that nurtures early-stage technology companies, helping them introduce their products and services to the market. Working together in our new RailTech Hub in London, these teams will collaborate, develop their ideas and get them into the hands of customers faster than ever before. The programme is supported by five major owning groups: GWR, Arriva, National Express, Go-Ahead and Stagecoach; and top level service partners including EY, Osborne Clarke, BAE Systems and the Novacroft Group. These relationships are critical for the success of our companies. If they come across a specific problem which might otherwise block a project for months, our teams will be able to get help and advice almost instantly from industry leaders at all points in the supply chain.
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Rail Engineer â&#x20AC;˘ April 2016
Solar-powered CCTV D
at Marshall Meadows
INNOVATAION
uring a cab ride on the East Coast main line last December, a Network Rail section manager noticed a small landslip near Marshall Meadows. This was being caused by water seeping under a field wall, which was acting as a dam. As there is no drainage under that section of track, this could have become a major problem if it were to worsen. Network Rail therefore turned to its earthworks/geotechnical partner for the area, QTS group, to investigate and monitor the situation whilst awaiting a drainage design. Marshall Meadows.
Remote location On the face of it, this could mean that individuals might be needed on site for an unknown period of time, which would generate undefined costs and potentially put those workers at risk. As this was obviously unsatisfactory from a commercial point of view, QTS construction manager Bruno Martin approached Red CCTV for assistance. He needed a self-sustaining solution that could allow his team to log in remotely and monitor the site 24/7, negating the need to send operatives to site on a daily basis. Oh! And the site was remote and there was no power available. However, Red CCTV rose to the challenge and deployed a solar-powered Fastmast CCTV tower in February 2016. The solar panels charged inbuilt batteries, so having no external power was not a problem, and the wireless connection allowed images from the cameras mounted on the mast to be viewed for a desktop computer at QTSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; offices. Operators could check for flooding and any obvious land movement. As an added benefit, Red Eye video analytics software could also detect any intruders on the site. While Fast Mast towers are used predominately for site security, Red CCTV has used them for a range of other applications such as compound security, lineside cable security (using thermal technology) and with ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras to combat trespassing and fly tipping problems.
Solar power is clean energy This application was quite straightforward, and QTS discovered that there was an additional benefit from using the solar Fastmast to solve the monitoring problem. As part of the service, Red CCTV sends all its clients a weekly report informing them of the fuel and carbon emission savings made that week by using the solar powered system rather than a site generator or mains power supply. In the case of the Marshall Meadows installation, after two weeks of service, fuel savings were estimated to be ÂŁ1239.84 with a corresponding saving of 1377.6 kilogrammes of carbon. So not only is Fastmast helping QTS prevent serious damage and delays to the East Coast main line, through enabling access to a remote location that conventional CCTV units would not be suitable for, but it is also saving money and protecting the environment.
EVERYTHING YOU EXPECT FROM 24/7 SECURITY BUT WITHOUT THE CARBON FOOTPRINT. Site security has become a bit of a trade off between; the cost of preventing the problem; versus the cost of having the problem. We believe that you should not have to make that compromise. As you would expect from one of the best security companies in the market, Red CCTV use the latest state of the art detection and early warning systems. Where we differ, is the impact on your running costs. Carbon Footprint – Each Red CCTV solar powered Fastmast unit deployed, saves 688Kg of Carbon per week* Fuel Costs – Each Red CCTV solar powered Fastmast unit deployed, saves £619.92 per week in fuel costs* Manpower Costs – Each Red CCTV solar powered Fastmast unit deployed saves almost £2,000 per week, versus a comparable manned security solution. Remote Locations – Solar cell technology makes our Fastmast units fully self sufficient. Enabling them to wirelessly transmit realtime images to our 24/7 monitoring centres from places too dangerous for a manned solution. So when you add up all these costs, or lack of them, that trade off of whether you can secure a site or not becomes less of a compromise and more of an intelligent decision. *using site generators /mains power for conventional CCTV.
If you would like to find out more about how Red CCTV and Fastmast can keep your locations secure why not visit us at our Infrarail stand A18. T. 0845 2410 526 E. info@redcctv.co.uk W. www.redcctv.co.uk
INNOVATAION
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
GIGABIT JUMPERS:
key links in new-generation on-train networks Ethernet communications links are becoming widely used on trains.
(Left) Inter-car jumper for Gigabit Ethernet communications. (Right) Harting’s Han HPR hood incorporating inserts from the Han-Modular connector family.
E
thernet communications links are now being widely used both within trains and for inter-car connections. The first generation of these interconnectivity solutions was developed to link systems for functions such as passenger information, entertainment, security (CCTV) and automatic passenger counting, and were largely based on 100Mbit/s Ethernet technology running over cat 5 cabling. As both communication technology and the economic and regulatory needs of the marketplace have evolved, there is now a need for further expansion in the capabilities of these networks. Additional capacity is needed to meet the requirements of advanced train control systems such as ETCS (European Train Control System), driver-only operation, train-wide data monitoring, and new public access services such as Wi-Fi. More significantly, there has to be clear physical separation between critical and non-critical networks in many cases, so that systems responsible for
train control and safety functions are fully protected against potential cyber attacks via the public access network. In performance terms, current Ethernet networks on board trains are operating at 100Mbit/s and 1Gbit/s because this is the maximum practicable speed that can be achieved with the current generation of Ethernet switches. However, train manufacturers are looking to the future, so all new designs are specifying 10Gbit/s to allow for the higher speeds that will result from technological developments and the requirements of new applications.
Inter-car jumpers A key element in the on-board network is the inter-car connection, and this is an area where Harting has been able to develop an integrated modular solution that addresses the challenges outlined above as well as providing ‘future-proofing’ for the next generation of trains. This solution is based on an ‘open’ Han® 24 HPR hood and a range of inserts from the Han-Modular® family. The standard HPR housing has been approved by the rail industry and is already in use in the field. A threaded locking mechanism enhances stability and provides good protection against shock and vibration. Strain relief is achieved using a clip or a corrugated conduit adapter. Shielding from several cables can be attached to shielding rings or clamping brackets to reduce cost. Instead of
Rail Engineer • April 2016
67
MIKE BROOKES
INNOVATION
Han-Modular, Han Quintax and Han EEE inserts in HPR upper and lower housings are fitted onto the power and signal cables that are routed through corrugated plastic conduit. In some cases, top-entry upper housings are used which mate with lower housings that are mounted on existing angle plates to optimise cable routing. The wires are protected inside the conduits to minimise the risk of abrasion. A pivoting threaded conduit connection is used to accommodate the dynamics of the application. Interference must be avoided between the power and signal lines which are routed very close to each other. However, the EMI immunity of this system has been demonstrated during system testing.
Harting’s fully preassembled and tested inter-car connection.
Future-proofing
using bulkhead or surface-mounted housings, the interface at the car end is screwed directly onto a mounting plate, which results in a significant reduction in cost and weight. For this application, Harting supplies a fully preassembled and tested inter-car connection, pluggable from both sides by using the open hood, along with mounting plates which are attached to the walls of the cars. The most popular module is the Han Quintax® module, which is part of the highly successful HanModular® connector range. The Han DD module is used for analogue and digital data signal transmission, and the Han 46 EE monoblock is designed for medium-power applications. Corrugated conduits, which protect the cables, are attached to the open hood using M40 threaded connections.
These robust jumper cables and customisable connectors provide sufficient bandwidth to allow expansion to accommodate the demands of future higher-performance communication networks. Using Han HPR connectors with ground disconnect, these solutions provide full 10Gbit/s transmission tested to IEEE 802.3. They are compliant with fire regulation EN 45545 – 1, 2 and 5 and EN 50155:2007 to ensure reliable application on rolling stock, and offer industry-leading IP68 (submerged under pressure) and IP69K (high-pressure steam lance) sealing capability. Harting also carries IRIS certification to meet the stringent demands of the rail industry. This includes certification to IRIS Version 02, which covers trackside use as well as rolling stock. The modular nature of the Han HPR family gives users the ability to mix signal, data and power interfaces in a single connector, along with the flexibility to incorporate up to six 10Gbit/s links in the connector. The modular Gigabit jumpers have been developed and manufactured by Harting Integrated Solutions, a division of the company which
A 40Gbit/s backplane designed and produced by Harting Integrated Solutions.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
INNOVATAION
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designs and manufactures backplanes and backplane systems as well as customised cable assemblies for a wide range of customer-specific applications. The group’s activities range from design simulation and validation to comprehensive system testing. HanOnBoard allows power I/O connectors to connect directly onto the PCB, saving size and weight and providing enhanced environmental protection.
Power to PCBs For the rail industry, Harting offers a complete range of design and build solutions with the emphasis on saving space and weight. To complement its connectivity products covering high-speed data transmission at speeds of 40Gbit/s or more, the company has developed a number of techniques for providing power to PCBs on board trains, on platforms or trackside. Backplanes and passive PCBs are used to link the power supply to connected devices as well as their normal use for carrying data
Wiring replacement
power I/O connectors to be mounted and connected directly onto the PCB via a boarded-mounted adapter through which data, signals and power are distributed. This solution eliminates time-consuming and potentially fault-prone wiring and is based on an optimum combination of tried-and-tested Han components, PCB adapters and PCB solutions. Because HanOnBoard is compact and weight saving in use, it offers additional benefits over traditional wiring. Printed circuit boards are more resistant to external influences such as shock and vibration compared with discrete wiring, and the total electrical path can be coated to provide enhanced protection. As a result, HanOnBoard solutions lend themselves to the harsh environments found in rail applications. In addition to eliminating manual wiring, the use of HanOnBoard will also replace any potential wiring troubleshooting with quick module replacement and will help to avoid service faults. It can replace dozens of power cable interconnections, allowing distribution boxes to be made lighter and more compact. It will also help to reduce production costs through streamlined production processes and less material usage. Having high currents routed in close proximity to sensitive PCB signal paths is a common problem that can cause problems in terms of PCB design and thermal management. Harting offers the expertise to overcome these issues by developing custom backplanes and passive PCBs. As an example, in a typical recent rail project, Harting developed a rail-approved (EN50155) chassis for an embedded drive controller at lower cost than the existing customer product using a custom backplane, I/O and chassis. Globally, Harting Integrated Solutions is a fully integrated system developer and manufacturer. The company has factories on three continents: Europe, Asia and North America. Each site has common equipment, tooling and procedures to provide seamless service to all the company’s customers worldwide.
HanOnBoard® is a connector technology which can replace standard discrete wiring by allowing
Mike Brookes is regional manager at Harting.
and signals. A range of connectors handles the necessary current levels for different applications and designs. The Han connector family includes PCB adapters that can supply currents to the PCB from 7.5A to 40A. When combined with the company’s expertise in mechanical integration, this approach can save space and assembly costs when interfacing with I/O connections. The Han-Fast® Lock is used for even higher currents, up to 60A, and is simply and easily locked in place with an integral latching pin, and released again if necessary. Another connector in the Harting range, the compact har-flexicon® connector, is rated for currents from 6A to 17A and is available in pitches of 1.27mm, 2.54mm, 3.50mm/3.81mm, 5.00mm/5.08mm and 10.16mm/15.00mm. It is suitable for processing with reflow soldering, and offers both field-installable screwless push-in cage clamp style and insulation displacement termination technologies for singlestrand wiring. Harting can also supply ‘classic’ connector types for the combined transfer of signals and power. One standard DIN 41562 Power connector can transfer up to 40A together with signal and data, while the D-Sub Mixed connector, also rated at up to 40A, is an industry-standard I/O connector with a range of other highcurrent, high-voltage, coaxial and pneumatic contacts in addition to the standard signal ones.
HARTING Integrated Solutions Providing power to the PCB on board, on the platform, on the trackside
Backplane Design & Assembly
Wire Reduction
Signal Integrity
Quality Assurance
HARTING design and build customised backplane solutions for railway applications. Custom PCB manufacture with specialist solutions for harsh environments Distribute high currents directly on the PCB using robust HanOnBoard速 connectors High speed data transmission of 40Gb/s or more IRIS certification Version 02 for trackside use and on rolling stock Save product weight and space with custom chassis design and wire reduction techniques A complete value chain management from design to production, wherever you are along the way To discuss how HARTING can help, phone +44 (0) 1604 827500 or e-mail gb@HARTING.com www.HARTING.co.uk/integrated-solutions
Rail Engineer • April 2016
INFRARAIL 2016
70
INFRARAIL IS UPON US Infrarail 2016
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Venue: Dates:
ExCeL London, UK, Hall Entrance N1/N2 12 - 14 April 2016
Opening times: Show website: Contact:
xhibitors are now making final preparations for Infrarail 2016, which takes place from 12 to 14 April. More than 200 firms will be exhibiting this year, with products and services covering the entire rail infrastructure market.
And the show has a new venue - ExCeL London. The move to Docklands has been prompted by the closure of Infrarail’s previous home at Earls Court 2 ahead of commercial redevelopment of the site and its surrounding area. Organisers Mack Brooks Exhibitions were keen to locate the show in London, given the level of rail investment in the capital, and feel that it is well complemented by Railtex at the NEC in Birmingham. Dates of 9 to 11 May next year for that event have now been confirmed. As well as a host of familiar names, the Infrarail exhibitor list includes around 75 companies taking part in the show for the first time. Some are recent entrants to the rail sector, so there will be plenty of opportunities to make new contacts as well as meeting old acquaintances again. Among established features will be the Tata Rail-sponsored on-track equipment display and the Rail Alliance Hub, formed by grouping together member companies’ stands. And the Recruitment Wall, powered by our colleagues at RailwayPeople.com, will publicise exhibitors’ job opportunities, hoping to match those with the skills of visitors seeking their next career moves. Infrarail will be sharing its venue with another Mack Brooks event, the Civil Infrastructure & Technology Exhibition - CITE 2016. Participants will be suppliers of many of the civils products
and services needed for transport projects including rail schemes, as well for utilities and communications networks. Kirsten Whitehouse, exhibition manager for both Infrarail and CITE, said: “These two events were first staged together at Earls Court in 2014 and they complement each other well. Together, they attracted more than 6,600 managers, engineers and industry specialists last time, and co-locating the shows was warmly welcomed. This year, visitors will again be able to move freely between Infrarail and CITE, and vice versa, without re-registration.” Claire Perry MP, Parliamentary UnderSecretary of State at the Department for Transport, is to formally open Infrarail 2016 on 12 April. The same day the minister will deliver a keynote speech that will mark the start of a busy programme extending over all three days of the event. This will include technical seminars hosted by Rail Engineer, project updates and daily interactive discussion forums. The CITE Conference and seminars accompanying that show will also explore some topics relevant to the rail sector. All sessions will be free to attend. On 13 and 14 April respectively, Infrarail keynote speeches will be made by Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy CBE and David Waboso, capital programmes director for London Underground. In addition, there will be
Tuesday 12 April 10:00 - 17:00 Wednesday 13 April 10:00 - 17:00 Thursday 14 April 10:00 - 16:00 www.infrarail.com infrarail@mackbrooks.co.uk
contributions to the programme from Crossrail and HS2 Ltd, both of which will have stands at the show. These two organisations feature in an impressive list of Infrarail show partners that also includes Network Rail, London Underground, the Railway Industry Association, the Rail Alliance and UK Trade & Investment. Another key show partner is the Rail Supply Group. In a new initiative during the show, the RSG will be offering SMEs opportunities for accelerated engagement into the industry via its Rail Mentoring Scheme, with sessions on site at the ExCeL show organised by the Rail Alliance. Terence Watson, Chair of the RSG’s Industry Group, will also be speaking during Infrarail. Kirsten Whitehouse again: “Infrarail promises to be a great show and well worth a visit. We know that exhibitors will be displaying plenty of new products and we have a very strong supporting programme taking place in the hall over all three days. We value the contributions that people throughout the industry have made to what we believe will be a very successful event. To get the best out of a visit to the show, we recommend checking the full Infrarail programme at www.infrarail.com.” Registration to visit Infrarail 2016 and its accompanying events free of charge is open via a link from on www.infrarail.com. Online registration closes at midnight on 11 April. For visitors who prefer to register on arrival at ExCeL London, a £20 entry fee will be payable.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
Keynotes and seminars
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security; passenger services; strategy, funding and sponsorship; integrated delivery and accessibility and for rail fares and ticketing. »» Sir Peter Hendy CBE was appointed chairman of Network Rail in July 2015. On 25 November, he published the Hendy Review into Network Rail’s five-year funding programme to 2019. Prior to joining Network Rail, Sir Peter was Commissioner of Transport for London since February 2006. »» David Waboso CBE, director of capital programmes at London Underground, is responsible for a £1.3 billion annual upgrade programme, the biggest in London
Innovation in Electrification and Automation 11:05 Tuesday 12/04/2016
Since the 1950s, the 25kV 50Hz system has been that most commonly adopted for the electrification of long-distance railways. To connect traction loads to the public power grid is, for many reasons, an attractive solution. However the traction loads do exhibit some characteristics that may create an undesired impact on the public grid, possibly to the extent that applicable power quality requirements are violated. Most notably those are: »» Traction loads are not symmetrical three-phase loads; »» Traction loads exhibit frequent and large changes in active and reactive power; »» Traction loads may consist of diode converters, feeding DC currents, that generate harmonics.
The way ahead for rail passengers and freight customers 11:40 Tuesday 12/04/2016
KEYNOTE
Claire Perry, Conservative MP for Devizes, was first appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport in July 2014. Her particular responsibilities at the Department for Transport are rail major projects and growth; rail infrastructure, safety and security; passenger services; strategy, funding and sponsorship; integrated delivery and accessibility as well as rail fares and ticketing. In her keynote address to Infrarail, Claire Perry will talk about the way ahead for rail at a time when the Government’s rail modernisation programme provides a great opportunity for UK suppliers; the need to tackle the skills gaps, gain recognition for rail as a great industry in which to work - and to encourage more UK suppliers to export.
Underground’s history. This portfolio includes the ongoing delivery of the upgrade and resignalling of the sub-surface railway, the programme of works to rebuild several key London stations and plans for the ‘New Tube for London’. The technical seminars will be presented by exhibitors at Infrarail. A range of experts will talk on a variety of technical subjects covering the whole gamut of railway engineering.
THOMAS SCHAAD
PRODUCTION MANAGER ABB STATIC FREQUENCY CONVERTOR (SFC) SOLUTIONS
Based on examples from real installations, this presentation will introduce two different types of turn-key systems based on power converters that mitigate the negative effects on the network and improves capacity and efficiency of existing or new infrastructure in a cost efficient way: the Static Frequency Converter (SFC), and the dynamic shunt compensator (SVC or STATCOM).
CLAIRE PERRY MP
UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT
At the heart of all of this is the importance of focussing on the end user: the passenger or freight customer.
INFRARAIL 2016
Once again, Rail Engineer is pleased to have been invited by Infrarail organiser Mack Brooks to organise and host the keynote addresses and technical seminars. All of these will be taking place in the main seminar theatre which occupies stand A71. The three keynote addresses, one on each day, will be delivered by key figures in the industry. »» Claire Perry, MP for Devizes and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, has been a member of parliament since 2010. She has a particular responsibility for rail major projects and growth; rail infrastructure, safety and
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CHRIS HARRIS
Cables for the digital railway
INFRARAIL 2016
12:15 Tuesday 12/04/2016
Tratos has manufactured cables for Rail and Mass Transit applications for the past ten years. Designing innovative, fire resistant products for high-speed applications, Tratos is often called upon to develop products that meet high quality industry as well as specific client specifications. In testing, the Tratos Dual Fire Barrier cable achieved notable results, in the crush strength test - achieving a lower than required increased attenuation maximum; the smoke density/emission test - recording a minimum value that was significantly lower than required and the degree of acidity (ph and conductivity) test, achieving a minimum level lower than required. Tratos specialises in the production of signalling, power, control and telecommunications cables for the railway sector.
SALES MANAGER, MASS TRANSIT TRATOS
It aims to bring added value to all its products - providing its customers - some of the largest rail sector companies in Europe - with technological innovation and innovative cable designs. The company’s structural expansion continues in the UK with its Knowsley plant, completed late last year, increasing four-fold. An additional £4 million will facilitate new machines to speed up and increase capacity for the UK’s second largest cable manufacturer by September this year. Meanwhile its Italian factory in Pieve, Tuscany, is to receive an additional £6 million investment to fund new machines and infrastructure.
Materials and Product Evolution in Identification to meet current Fire Standards
14:40 Tuesday 12/04/2016
Mario Appello of TE Connectivity will present an overview of the importance of materials development for Rail Identification products to meet current fire standards. In addition, he will cover the challenges of meeting other critical product performance criteria such as durability, printability, mark permanence and the ‘printing system’ approach. Following his presentation, Mario will be pleased to take questions from the audience, or he can take interested delegates to stand C31 where he will be able to show them the products he has been talking about.
Changing Train Fire Safety Requirements Tests for Now... and the future 15:15 Tuesday 12/04/2016
MARIO APPELLO
GLOBAL ENGINEERING MANAGER TE CONNECTIVITY
Materials which will be used on European trains must be subjected to a number of fire tests. In the past, fire test methods and criteria for materials to be used on trains within Europe were specified at a national level. The test methods and criteria were different in each country. December 2014, saw the publication of the rolling stock Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI) in the official journal of the European Union. From 1 January 2018, the national standards will no longer be acceptable; only materials tested against EN 45545-2 can be used on European trains. Exova Warringtonfire has been involved with standardisation and research projects developing the test methods and criteria called upon in EN 45545-2. The design of rolling stock and the materials used shall
BETH DEAN
TECHNICAL LEADER, REACTION TO FIRE EXOVA WARRINGTONFIRE
incorporate the aim of limiting fire development should an ignition event occur so that an acceptable level of safety is achieved. Part 2 of the EN 45545 series defines the requirements for reaction to fire behaviour of materials. One cannot automatically equate previous national classifications to the new European classifications. The only way to demonstrate conformity against the new European standard, EN 45545-2, is to test against it. During her presentation, Beth Dean, UK representative at the CEN committee working on this review, will provide details of the changes that can be anticipated in the near future. Specifically she will cover the most significant changes anticipated which relate to the large scale seat test method and chamber toxicity test for materials having a large surface area and mass.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
The Railway, Past, Present and Future 10:30 Wednesday 13/04/2016
Innovations in LED Zero Maintenance Technology 11:05 Wednesday 13/04/2016
During the last decade, Unipart Dorman has introduced a variety of LED signals that provide a long and reliable operational service. The very low failure rates (over 40 million fault free operational hours for GPLs) and slow degradation of the LED intensity, allowed the company’s engineers to consider how to design the next generation of signals. The challenge was to enable the industry to benefit from the signal performance and reduce the whole life costs and operational risks even further. Unipart Dorman set out to design a range of signals that would be maintenance free - never needing a scheduled maintenance visit and thus reducing the time that staff were exposed to the operational railway. It would also remove the risks associated with working at height, reducing the network
Cost effective rail-monitoring solutions 11:40 Wednesday 13/04/2016
In his presentation at Infrarail, Mathew Locke of Korec will discuss some of the existing monitoring solutions on offer and explain how they represent a cost-effective proposition to the infrastructure owner. This will include entry-level 1D and 3D solutions that build on some customer’s existing equipment fleet, the various upgrade steps available and the integration of different sensors. In a far-reaching seminar, he will also talk about innovative methods which eliminate the costly and time consuming access requirements to the rail infrastructure, and give some examples of this from his extensive experience in the rail industry.
SIR PETER HENDY CBE
CHAIRMAN NETWORK RAIL
account of the fiscal freedoms offered by the Chancellor to share the rewards of growth, jobs and housing. Because much of the Railway is full or getting fuller, the next most important move is the digital railway, which will generate enormous benefits including increasing capacity, efficiency and saving money. By moving swiftly, Britain can be the technological leader in delivering a digital railway, creating jobs and a world leading railway. The railway is a good news story that we should be proud of, celebrate and share.
STEVE ROBERTS
ENGINEERING DIRECTOR UNIPART RAIL
maintenance and safety costs incurred in going trackside. Currently, annual maintenance is mainly limited to cleaning the lenses, therefore Unipart Dorman’s designers concentrated on the light output parameters and maintenance cleaning requirements. The solution was to develop a ‘self cleaning’ signal. Network Rail has amended its maintenance requirements of these signals such that Unipart Dorman iLS and CLS LITE signals now are designated ‘self-cleaning’ and require no visits for signals in locations where they are exposed to free falling rain. All other LED and filament signals on the network, on the other hand, have an annual maintenance visit cycle.
MATTHEW LOCKE
RAIL & MONITORING MANAGER KOREC
INFRARAIL 2016
KEYNOTE
Britain’s railway is growing at 5%, the fastest ever, but is still operating on an old Victorian infrastructure - a huge challenge. Economic growth, jobs and housing make up the story about what transport does, and it is astonishingly good if you can tell it. It’s a story of continuous growth, which shows no sign of ending, and ultimately it’s a fantastic success story. Last year, the supply industry spent £7.5 billion with 4,000 suppliers from all over Britain. Now that Network Rail is included in the government debt, more than ever there is need for intelligent transport planning and funding of future projects. There are enormous benefits from linking economic and spatial planning with transport planning and local communities, from authorities and businesses getting together through LEPs, and from taking
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
CCTV solutions for Rail Remote-access body-worn camera systems
INFRARAIL 2016
14:40 Wednesday 13/04/2016
David Short of Wireless CCTV will focus on wearable surveillance solutions and how they can assist with multiple applications for Network Rail and rail infrastructure contractors. WCCTV’s 4G Body Worn Camera delivers live video from the operator’s location back to command and control centres, increasing situational awareness and facilitating quicker, more effective tactical responses. Speaking from experience, David will cover such varied uses for the equipment as remote visual inspections, health and safety improvements, depot security and revenue protection.
How to save €2 billion on track maintenance costs using under-sleeper pads 15:15 Wednesday 13/04/2016
One of the main issues for railway operators is the reduction of the maintenance costs. In this presentation, Alex Zuckerman will demonstrate how SERILOR Under Sleeper Pads can have a significant impact on the life cycle cost. The main function of under sleeper pads is to increase the contact area between the concrete sleeper and the ballast. This has been shown to have a significant and positive effect on the need for routine maintenance. In fact, after more than 15 years of experience, SNCF specifies stiff under sleeper pads on new high-speed lines as they reduce the need for tamping by 50% and improve standard deviation by a factor of two.
A huge programme of modernisation, innovation and technology are vital 10:30 Thursday 14/04/2016
KEYNOTE
DAVID SHORT
REGIONAL SALES MANAGER WIRELESS CCTV
London’s population is rising rapidly from 8.6 million today to an expected 10 million by 2030. To meet this evergrowing demand, London Underground is carrying out a huge programme of modernisation with major stations, trains, track and signalling being updated or replaced to provide more capacity and reliability for a growing city. The next major phase of this work will bring faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys to millions of passengers who use the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines. A vital modernisation of the signalling and train control systems for those lines will mean the frequency of trains running during peak periods will increase to 32 trains per hour in central London - a train every two minutes - with frequency
ALEX ZUCKERMAN
CHAIRMAN FIMOR
On a 300km high-speed line, under sleeper pads can generate €2 billion of savings - just on tamping.
DAVID WABOSO CBE
DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL PROGRAMMES LONDON UNDERGROUND
increases at other times as well. Redevelopment work to increase capacity at key stations and make them step-free is also underway at a number of stations including Victoria, Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street. More than half of LU’s 270 stations have now been modernised or refurbished to make them brighter and easier to use. At the same time we have relentlessly driven down delays so that our customers can get to where they need to go with minimum disruption. In order to maintain this momentum, innovation and technology will be vital and we continue to explore all options available to us to deliver a world-class transport system for London.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
Capacity on High Speed Railways 11:05 Thursday 14/04/2016
Extending Rail Life Through Advanced Technologies 11:40 Thursday 14/04/2016
Modern railways are intensively used and under extreme pressure to perform. Mixed traffic railways have the difficult task of optimising track performance for a combination of fast passenger and slower, heavier freight vehicles. Rail networks are also expected to perform whatever the weather, and continued safe operation is critical despite harsh and corrosive environmental conditions. These conditions demand innovative solutions to deliver network performance in increasingly constrained maintenance windows. At Tata Steel, we respond to the needs of the railway industry to reduce the life cycle costs of their infrastructure. We have developed a range of rail products to address the challenges of different track environments to maximise rail life, minimise maintenance and reduce costs.
Lubrication of Plain Line Running Rails, Check Rails and S&C 12:15 Thursday 14/04/2016
Mandatory standard 3510/A01 gives the minimum requirements for the installation, inspection, filling and maintenance of rail-mounted gauge face lubrication systems designed and approved for Network Rail’s permanent way. Martin Orman will cover the specification’s key points and show real world examples of equipment used to successfully implement this standard. As Whitmore Rail is an existing supplier to the network, Martin will provide feedback on the savings correct application of this standard can achieve and where its true benefits are realised.
PASCAL GROSJEAN
INTERNATIONAL DIRECTOR SETEC FERROVIAIRE
need for good civil engineering, including track alignment, geotechnics & earthworks, tunnel and viaduct design, must all be tempered by a care for the environment.
INFRARAIL 2016
Setec Ferroviaire specialises in project management for railway infrastructure projects, particularly those involving the construction of new lines or the updating and redevelopment of existing lines. In his presentation at Infrarail, international director Pascal Grosjean will start by explaining Setec’s group structure, looking at its core business and its key assets and strengths. He will then focus on the company’s work on transport infrastructure, particularly in the area of high-speed railways. Finally, Pascal Grosjean will talk about the specific areas in which Setec Ferroviaire can bring its expertise to bear. High-speed line design optimisation, including the importance of an integrated design process, will feature strongly. The
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DANIEL PYKE
PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER TATA STEEL
Product marketing manager Daniel Pyke will provide a few examples to illustrate how problem-solving products help rail engineers to get the most from their assets whilst reducing their life cycle costs. Showing real life examples of reducing rolling contact fatigue, minimising wear and corrugation, and protecting rails against corrosion, the presentation will challenge rail engineers to think about lifetime performance when selecting rails for their next projects.
MARTIN ORMAN
SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER WHITMORE RAIL
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
GRP platform systems and structures INFRARAIL 2016
Access Design & Engineering Access Design & Engineering (ADE) specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of GRP rail platforms as well as structures such as GRP ballast retention walls, location cabinets, drivers’ walkways, debris screens and the end of platform gates and fences.
D15 Part of the Lionweld Group, which has been in operation for over 100 years, Access Design & Engineering has been in the rail industry for over 15 years. The company has worked on the design, manufacture and installation of GRP decking systems for platforms on over 100 stations. Platforms can be a GRP deck with a GRP sub-frame or ADE’s new hybrid system which has a number of steel sub-frame options with a GRP deck. Ease of installation, reduced possession times, lightweight and maintenance free are many of the benefits associated with this system, a scale replica of which will be on display on stand D15.
Lightweight troughs and lids, and a whole lot more Anderton Concrete Products Anderton Concrete’s name is synonymous with quality in terms of product, high levels of customer service and deliverability. This year, the Anderton stand will showcase several innovative products: the new Ander-Lift tool in conjunction with Anderlite troughing and Easi-Lift lids as well as the theft deterrents Ander-Clip and Ander-Fin. In addition to these new product ranges, visitors will be able to talk with experts about Anderton’s
F30 traditional portfolio of high-quality concrete troughs in a variety of sizes and shapes, including teepieces, transitions and curves, designed to comply with Network Rail standards. And on top of all that, Anderton Concrete also offers the widest range of complementary precast products into the UK rail industry, including drainage catchpits, signal bases, point rod rollers, ballast boards and posts, postmix and much, much more. It’s all on stand F30.
Stay safe, stay visible! Arco Arco will be showcasing the latest hi-vis hazardwear designed to make rail workers stand out. In 2014-15, the number of workforce major injuries on the non-mainline, as reported via RIDDOR, reached a record high of 65, an increase of 14.0% on the previous year. Many of these injuries are due to being struck by a moving vehicle, therefore staying visible when working in poorly lit conditions is paramount to worker safety. Infrarail will see the launch of the rail industry’s first comprehensive range of specifically designed women’s hazardwear garments. Arco has worked closely with women working within the industry to develop this brand new collection, which has been purposely designed to fit a woman’s body shape whilst delivering a high level of protection to keep them safe at work. The Arco EDGE 5000 and Arco’s Axcess locker systems are rugged, versatile, and easy-touse automated dispensers which track, manage and control PPE and other indirect consumable usage at the point-of-work.
B17
Customers using this vending system have benefitted from savings of up to 40% on PPE purchases while ensuring that all workers have access to the correct PPE for the job they are doing. Falls from height remain the most common form of workplace fatality. Total Access (UK), now part of the Arco family, supplies harnesses and restraint equipment to prevent accidents and experts will be on hand to explain the benefits of its safety training and rescue services in three key areas - Confined Space Supervision and Rescue, Rope Access Maintenance and CCTV Examination Services for Underground Asset Inspections.
In response to feedback from women in the rail industry – who told us they were tired of having to wear ill-fitting unisex hi-vis – we’ve created a tailored, stylish range that’s shaped to fit a woman’s figure while maximising comfort and safety.
See the full range at
www.arco.co.uk/womenshivis or call our team on 01482 222522
We’re at Infrarail 12-14 April Visit us at stand B17
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Cleaning and maintenance challenge B20
INFRARAIL 2016
Arrow Solutions Arrow Solutions is keen to help the rail industry solve its problems by offering access to more than 45 years of technical experience and world class manufacturing facilities at its 16-acre site in Derbyshire. Specialists from the firm will be on stand B20 to discuss these challenges and solutions for overcoming them. A similar exercise at Railtex 2015 assisted more than 20 different companies on problems ranging from breaking
down limescale and keeping windows clean, to protecting paintwork and maintaining effluent tanks. In addition, Arrow Solutions will be showcasing its comprehensive range of cleaning and maintenance products that have been specifically designed and manufactured for the rail industry. These include Supersolve HD (electronic cleaner for critical surfaces), Reline (professional line marking paint) and Lotoxane® (safe, non-flammable degreaser) as well as winter maintenance products such as Thaw (for defrosting platforms and walkways), Universal De-Icer (for de-icing ballast, points and rails) and Winter Grade Screenwash (which works to -20°C).
Active cabinets for sensitive equipment Cannon Technologies Group Cannon Technologies will be demonstrating its latest range of indoor and outdoor cabinet products including the next generation of modular ACU outdoor cabinets. A key part of maintaining the integrity of a network is the use of high quality active cabinets that protect the sensitive electronic equipment that keeps the information flowing. The attitude that ‘it’s just a cabinet and they’re all the same’ creates issues that could be avoided both initially and
Cables and accessories available locally Cable Services The Cable Services Group was founded in 1971 and is the UK’s leading specialist electrical distributor, stocking and supplying both cable and cable accessories to the domestic and international markets, sourced from a select number of leading product manufacturers from UK locations. Cable Services Group has a number
A14 of branches across the UK to help service customers more efficiently. In addition, a full technical back up is available to customers on all the products supplied by the Group. Located at Stand A14, Cable Services will be showcasing items from its product portfolio that are specifically designed for rail infrastructure.
Clipping and unclipping, and drilling holes B64
in the future. Active Cabinets are used in a wide variety of outdoor locations both station-side and platformside and are often the first line of defence. Exposed to the elements, cabinets are designed to resist the effects of sun, rain, dust and other debris, and must be able to withstand the potential for damage as a result of vandalism. In addition, they not only enhance functionality but also offer greater flexibility and have features that can save time and money.
Cembre Cembre will launch the nextgeneration models of both its bench mark Pandrol clip insertion/extraction machines and the battery powered variant of its globally successful Rail Drill. With a completely re-engineered petrol-powered Pump unit, the new generation Cembre PCM machines are robust and capable of lifting sleepers to assist FC and FE clip insertion. The clamp base units now feature adjustable springs rather than gas struts whose operation is subject to vagaries in the weather. Advances in the capability of both electric motors and battery technology are expertly combined in the latest 36V version of the Cembre Rail Drill, the lightest in the world. Whether in a location where fuel-driven machines are prohibited
D18 or one that is remote from a mains power supply, the new LD16B unit, used with the latest Cembre designed Broach Cutters and its renowned lubrication system, delivers a commanding low noise, zero emissions performance which is effectively available ‘anywhere, anyhow, anytime’.
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Composite solutions reduce maintenance INFRARAIL 2016
Dura Composites
Dura Composites will be exhibiting its latest range of composite solutions for the rail industry at this year’s Infrarail. Located on stand B21, Dura Composites products for the
Remedial polymers save time and money B21
rail industry include awardwinning station platforms, ballast retention, walkways, raised access solutions and safety handrailing and offer increased safety, reduced maintenance costs and shorter possession times on busy networks. At Infrarail 2016, Dura Composites will be officially unveiling its brand new Sector Product Guide and new Interactive Touchscreen Product Presentation, allowing potential customers to fully appreciate the benefits of composite materials as the ideal replacement for traditional wood, metal and concrete. New products on show for the first time include Dura Slab Structural Stair Treads (composite stair treads with a built-in riser for rapid installation), fibre-reinforced plastic dagger boards for the ultimate low-maintenance canopy finish, and the latest developments in our award-winning Dura Platform.
DWG DWG, suppliers of polyurethane life-extension products for track and infrastructure, will once again be featuring the WVCO range of maintenance equipment and materials. Spikefast is now fully approved for use on the UK’s rail infrastructure and DWG is now working with Network Rail to introduce it at training schools around the country as part of S&C reliability briefings. In addition to the UK, DWG is now
B61 supplying Ireland, Belgium and Singapore, and has recently got approval to supply Zimbabwe. Fastpatch is also approved for rail and transport infrastructure. Major breakthroughs have been street-running remedial works for Nottingham Tram Phase 2 and repairs on slab track for both Network Rail and London Underground. Other infrastructure areas that are using Fastpatch are Freightliner, Southampton Airport and PotterLogistics.
On-site catering for large and small projects Express Catering Express Catering will be exhibiting at Infrarail for the first time and is looking forward to meeting new and existing customers. Having supplied many Rail companies in recent years including Virgin Rail, Carillion Rail and ISS Labour, Express Catering is familiar with the stringent standards required to work in a rail environment. With temporary periods of disruption, catering is now almost standard for any rail works. This assists in keeping the workforce
A34 alert and enthusiastic and, just as importantly, contained on site. From grab-and-go options and site canteens to packed lunches, Express Catering is on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and is able to work nationwide at a moment’s notice. As well as offering on-site catering solutions for 20 people, Express Catering can also look after a few thousand with site canteens, shops and launderettes. Why not try out an Express Catering coffee on stand A34 while discussing your requirements?
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Award-winning composite solutions for rail Structural Stair Treads
Dura Platform Composite Station Platforms for New Builds and Refurbs
Dura Slab Composite Stair Treads & Landings with Built-in Riser for Rapid Install
• Spans up to 3.2m @ 5kN/m2 • Concealed Fixing System • Fast Install Minimises Track Time
• Spans up to 2100mm • Available in 65mm or 90mm • Excellent slip resistance even when wet
FRP Walkways
FRP Fencing
FRP Ballast Retention
Dura Composites’ FRP solutions are the ideal replacement for traditional wood, metal and concrete products, and offer increased safety, reduced maintenance costs and shorter possession times on busy networks. UK Head Office | +44 (0)1255 440297 | www.duracomposites.com
...designed for the future Industrial
Rail
Marine
See Us At INFRARAIL
Landscaping
Stand No.
E70
Transforming the Market
Architectural
Innovative Class II Points Heating Transformer System
by Turning Our Customers’ Wishes Into Reality Points Heating Transformer for Outdoor Use
Working In Partnership
• No bonds to rail required • No equipotential bonding required • Cable theft will be reduced • High efficiency & Low inrush • Robust construction for long life • Compatible with existing installation sites • Reduced maintenance • Cost wise and life longevity that is far superior to GRP
CLASS II PHT Insulated to 39kV Impulse
PA05/06596
FT TRANSFORMERS LTD
+44 (0) 121 451 3204
The latest icy weather forecast brings with it the prospect of points freezing throughout the rail network. But like all trackside equipment the points heating system is susceptible to destruction by the 25kV overhead line equipment (OLE) supply cable falling onto it. Once again FT Transformers have provided a unique solution with the launch of their Class II Points Heating Transformer system. It is insulated to 39kV impulse and protects life and equipment against the overhead line faults. FT Transformers have coined this solution as OLE SAFE©. Designed in-house, FT Transformers’ Points Heating Transformer (PA05/06596) will provide a safer alternative for staff on the ground as the specialised insulated coating insulates against touch voltages and fault. Therefore, savings are made as the Points Heating Transformer will no longer have to adhere to “PAN 0102” and install large traction bonds to the OLE system. Their experience with the design and manufacture of transformers in the rail industry has established them as a key supplier to many rail companies throughout the UK. The robust maintenance free construction of FT Transformers’ Points Heating Transformer will ensure superior longevity at a far lower cost compared to standard GRP. FT’s Class II PHT is compatible with existing installations.
www.ft-transformers.co.uk FT Transformers InfrRail Advert 190x130 Repro.indd 1
04/03/2016 09:38
INFRARAIL 2016
Composite Platforms
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
New high-integrity conduit fitting E41
INFRARAIL 2016
Flexicon Flexicon will be showcasing a new non-metallic conduit fitting that offers better system integrity than anything currently available on the market. It has been designed with input and feedback from customers in the rail market. Exposure to extreme and diverse
Wiper systems and high-quality fabrications
hazards is commonplace within the rail industry, leading to a requirement for technical solutions rather than just the supply of components. Rail systems can potentially fail if the cabling is not adequately protected. Hazards faced include rain, snow and ice, UV light, thermal cycling and differing temperatures, vibration, impact, abrasion resistance and dynamic pull of strength. IRIS accredited for the design, development and manufacture of flexible conduit cable protection systems, Flexicon provides a wide range for rail applications. The company’s products meet a number of international rail standards and have product registration certificates issued by London Underground.
Cordless tools and fastening solutions Hilti Hilti will show its comprehensive range of cordless power tools suitable for a wide range of applications on the railway infrastructure. In addition, visitors will be able to see the company’s portfolio of fixing and fastening solutions that offer increased productivity along with health and safety benefits. Of particular interest will be the GX 120-ME gas-actuated tool, used for the installation of crosstrack cabling (wood and metal sleepers), and the X-BT solution for
B80
Hepworth Rail Hepworth Rail is not only the world’s leading supplier of rail windscreen wiper equipment and control systems, but also offers a total service in custommade fabrications in a wide range of metals and forms. Accredited to standards such as IRIS 2, ISO 9001 and EN15085, Hepworth is able to maintain the highest levels of quality throughout the business. The fabrications division manufactures everything from heavy-duty, safety critical bracketry to cable trays. Heavy investment in new machining equipment means that the company can manufacture a large variety of fabricated components, not only for vehicles
but also for trackside equipment. Fully trained in 3D SolidWorks, 2D AutoCAD, design analysis and specialist design simulation packages, Hepworth’s design team works closely with clients, suggesting ideas to reduce costs by simplifying the manufacturing process.
Specialist tools for safer working D25
installing track circuit connections. Awarded ‘Most Improved Small Plant Operator’ by Network Rail in 2014, Hilti provides a range of solutions to Network Rail including a large number of cordless tools (22V and 36V platform) and TE 1000-AVR Breakers with TE-S TT Ballast chisels to pack (or tamp) the ballast material under railway tracks. Now, two new and improved batteries will make cordless tools feel like new. See them on stand D25.
Jafco Tools Jafco Tools is renowned for the manufacture of specialist hand tools for use in safety critical situations. The majority of the extensive tool range features the significant advantages of pultruded fibreglass handles. Committed to continuous product development, Jafco has conducted extensive research to produce its own high specifications, ensuring that its specialised tools are designed to deliver superior strength, performance and durability in all situations. Currently under development, in conjunction with Network Rail, is a reverse-lift insulated trough cover lifter to make the sometimes hazardous task of removing trough lids simpler, safer and easier due to hand and foot injuries occurring in
B11 the past. Also new to the market are an insulated inspection mirror, with an acrylic mirror bonded into a polycarbonate housing with twin handles and a nine-LED torch, and a plug coupler tool which can be used to connect and disconnect the TPWS trackside loop power connection.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
83
Money down the drain is well spent on rail maintenance E31
Lanes Group
Drains for trams Construction of a second Metrolink tramline through the heart of Manchester city centre is a case in point. The Second City Crossing (2CC) makes up for its size, at just 1.3km, with its importance, providing much needed new city centre capacity for Metrolink. Plotting existing sewers and drains along the planned route of 2CC, due for completion in 2017, is helping engineers and designers shoehorn the tram line’s drainage assets into what is already there. The Lanes teams is also carrying out CCTV drainage surveys and cleansing new track drainage as
sections of the line are laid. This work is identifying some potentially critical issues, such as two broadband cable pipes, driven at right angles right through a 950mm diameter brick culvert. Manchester City Council, which owns the asset, gave permission for 2CC construction consortium MPT to channel water through pipes and fill the void above with concrete, to ensure the culvert could take the weight of the tram line. Sewer strengthening was also a key issue for Phase 2 of Nottingham’s NET tram expansion, a new 17.5km line which opened last year. Severn Trent Water required the strengthening of 750mm of large diameter sewer pipe. Lanes completed the task by lining the sewer, including using a technique that hardens the liner with ultra violet light (UV). UV pipe lining is faster, overcomes key access problems and creates minimal hazardous waste, all benefits that are valued in rail construction and maintenance environments. Continuing issues with another tramline in the north of England
illustrate the need for effective ongoing drainage maintenance. Lanes is helping the operator deal with pinch points where blockages in surface water pipes lead to localised flooding, which disrupts services, and causes consternation for other road users and businesses. Relatively narrow pipe work, some with sharp turns, adds to
blockage risks. This requires regular attention, especially during periods of inclement weather, which climate experts warn are becoming more frequent. Lanes Group is also taking to the skies, developing an award-winning aerial survey service using UAVs. The BIM-compliant data generated is helping plan work on drainage and other structures, as is 3D terrestrial laser scanning, a technique offered by Lanes’ new Professional Services department. Richard Leigh commented: “Critical factors such as increasing passenger numbers, ageing assets, more turbulent weather, as well as advances both in survey and repair technologies, are all increasing the focus on rail drainage maintenance, which has to be positive.”
INFRARAIL 2016
Drainage has been the poor relation in rail maintenance in the past, as operators focus on customerfacing assets and often technically challenging safety-critical functions like signalling. That ‘out of sight, out of mind’ tendency is being increasingly challenged, not least for urban tram systems, says Richard Leigh, business development director at drainage specialists Lanes Group. “The complexity of constructing and operating urban tram lines, many running along city streets, means getting the drainage right, and keeping it right, is critical,” he says. “The difficulty of fitting in additional underground assets in an already cramped and complex structure and utility environment also makes effective ongoing drainage maintenance a vital concern.”
E31
24/7 Emergency Works Building Works Over Ground Works Platform Maintenance
Track Drainage Bridge Works Surveying Planned & Reactive Maintenance
Rail Asset Management services from a multi award winning company
Tel: 01708 528 770
Lanes Group Rail Division 16 Lamson Road, off Ferry Lane, Rainham, Essex RM13 9YY
Lanes
www.lanesfordrains.co.uk
84
Rail Engineer • April 2016
High slip-resistance self-adjusting clamp INFRARAIL 2016
Lindapter
Lindapter will be launching its latest steel connection solution, the Type AAF Clamp. Specifically designed for high load requirements, including frictional, tensile and combined load applications, this clamp is now available in M20 size due to popular demand. Typical applications include securing architectural façades to
A venue with history is perfect for conferences B60
station buildings, adding digital displays to platforms and building new steel-framed depots, while specialist applications include the structural reinforcement of station roofs and bridges. Made from low temperature SG iron to EN 1563 and hot dip galvanised to EN ISO 1461, the clamp offers high load capacities and corrosion protection in temperatures down to -60°C, where impact strength is important. The design selfadjusts to suit 6-30mm flange thicknesses, allowing a quicker, easier and more convenient installation process than drilling or welding. With over 80 years’ experience as a premium British manufacturer, Lindapter has an extensive range of product approvals and all products have independently approved safe working loads. Visitors to Lindapter’s stand will be able to pick up a copy of the new Lindapter catalogue and rail brochure, including a list of products that are Network Rail approved.
National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum, home to over 300 years of rail history and over a million fascinating objects, is the world’s greatest railway museum and a multi-award winning venue for hire. There is a dedicated conference centre with six meeting rooms and two atmospheric halls for dinners and dances. New for 2016 is the versatile ‘Gallery’ which can
A20 accommodate up to 200 people theatre-style and is perfect for conferences, product launches or exhibitions. Delegates at the National Railway Museum receive complimentary Wi-Fi and car parking, plus tours of the exhibitions can be arranged to enhance their experience of this unique venue.
Advanced enclosures have many built-in features Rittal Rittal will be showcasing a range of Network Rail-approved outdoor enclosure systems including a range of doublewalled CS enclosure systems used extensively in long line PA applications as well as on level crossing controls. Made of the aluminium alloy, AlMg3, which offers exceptional corrosion resistance, the CS enclosure has many built-in features including fan and filter cooling, and anti-graffiti Ri-Nano paint finish, 19” angles front and rear, fan trays, light units and door mounted switches, telescopic shelves, heaters and temperature controllers. For installations of outdoor free-standing enclosures, there are custom-built Rittal pre-cast
E15 concrete base/plinths which significantly reduce the time and cost of the install, as well as preventing disruption to services by removing the need to mix concrete and remove waste from site. Other key products in the range include wall-mounted boxes and pole-mounting kits to fasten metal and non-metal enclosures to round and square poles.
85
Rail Engineer • April 2016
Innovation to deliver safety, accuracy and efficiency Maximise your track access time - measure the track geometry and point cloud concurrently offering huge savings in time and increased productivity Capture feature rich high definition point cloud
■
Check off-set measurements in the cloud with respect to rail geometry
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Create cross sections quickly and simply
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Check clearance profiles for your rolling stock not just by using its profile but by using its wheel base
■
Run collision tests using the rolling stock and check for issues before trains run.
■
Export the data in a variety of formats including DXF, ClearRoute .sco files
■
True one-person operation
■
Mount the scanner at 45° allowing you to measure a richer point cloud
■
Lightweight robust system with user friendly field and office software
www.korecgroup.com
STAND
info@korecgroup.com tel UK: 0845 603 1214 Ire: 01 456 4702
J45
2016 Rail Eng - January.indd 1
11/12/2015 16:16:55
www.Lindapter.com 12th - 14th April | ExCel London
High Speed Steel Connections For more than 80 years, Lindapter’s steelwork clamps have provided a faster alternative to both drilling or welding, saving contractors’ time and money. 4 High strength steel-to-steel connections 4 Network Rail and CE Mark approvals
Birmingham New Street, UK (Façade)
4 Adjustable on-site for fast alignment 4 Suitable for permanent or temporary use
SBB Station, Switzerland (Signage)
RATP Paris, France (Electrification)
Visit us at Infrarail, stand B60 to see the latest products and pick up your copy of the Rail Brochure.
INFRARAIL 2016
■
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Connecting you with the rail industry INFRARAIL 2016
Rail Media
Rail Media creates opportunities for you to connect. Whether that is to industry news, with like-minded professionals or finding the ideal candidate for a role within your company, Rail Media has it covered. RailStaff magazine focuses on the people within the rail industry. It contains regular monthly features that include safety, training, interviews and new products, and is distributed to stations, depots and academies up and down the country. Sister publication Rail Engineer, written by engineers for engineers, covers major projects and technology advances around the network, whether they relate to infrastructure or to rolling stock. No matter if your interest is new station
Signal – the protection you need D71
construction, the challenges of coping with Victorian bridges or the latest on-board signalling and train management systems, you’ll find it all in Rail Engineer. Global Rail News is Rail Media’s international news website, providing daily updates about the global rail industry from the awarding of multi-million euro train orders to the completion of major infrastructure projects. Together with online versions of RailStaff and Rail Engineer, which is also available for smartphones and tablets, it is a key part of Rail Media’s digital offering. When just reading about a topic isn’t enough, then Rail Media’s events are the place to be. You can learn about topics in depth at one of the Rail Summits, which cover topics as varied as safety, sustainability, BIM and the digital railway. Or you can network with colleagues and customers at the Rail Exec Club. Finally, recognise excellence at our two industry awards evenings - the RailStaff Awards and the Most Interesting Awards. Having good people is the key to success, and the industry’s own recruitment job board RailwayPeople.com - can help you find just the right person for that crucial role. With RailStudents.com, for graduates and apprentices, and GlobalRailJobs.com for those international posts, Rail Media has it covered.
A22
Safeaid Supplies The Safeaid stand will be a platform to showcase the most innovative PPE and workwear clothing brand in the rail industry signal workwear. The high quality range includes footwear, hi-vis clothing, workwear and eyewear. Every product within the range has been developed with the wearer in mind – ensuring workers are not only protected but in maximum comfort all day long. Having a brand that is specific to the Rail industry provides that reassurance that products fully meet all the required industry standards. Innovation is at the heart of the Signal brand and there will be a number of new products on display – including the latest technology in safety eyewear with
anti-mist, anti-scratch properties on both sides of the lens, touchsensitive workwear gloves and the very latest in flame-retardant garments. Signal Workwear is exclusive to Safeaid Supplies, which has been supplying the UK’s rail workforce for 40 years.
Synthetic timbers for bridge repairs Sekisui Chemical Sekisui FFU synthetic wood was installed for the first time in the United Kingdom in 2014. Network Rail fitted out two railway bridges on the Ashford to Hastings line with longitudinal ‘timbers’ and sleepers manufactured from FFU (Fibre-reinforced Foamed Urethane). The longitudinal ‘timbers’,
A74 manufactured by Sekisui in Japan, measured 41cm wide x 37cm high x 745cm long, a global first for installed FFU units of that size. The undersides of the FFU sleepers, which were positioned on top of the longitudinal baulks, were milled at the factory in order to achieve predefined track geometry. One year after this installation, in October 2015, Network Rail issued a certificate of Acceptance (PA05/06254) for FFU sleepers of this type. Then, in November 2015 and January 2016, further Network Rail projects used baulks with the baseplate directly fixed on them. These were even larger 52 x 54 x 722cm. To see FFU technology for yourself, visit Sekisui on stand A74 during your visit to Infrarail.
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88
Rail Engineer • April 2016
Modular access for safety D30
INFRARAIL 2016
Semmco Semmco designs and manufactures a range of smart, safety-conscious access equipment for the maintenance of railway stock and is known within the industry as a UK leader for quality in its field. The Semmco access solutions offer new concepts in access equipment for: »» Windscreen wiper platforms »» Pit boards offering safety railings, safety gates and safe pit access »» Door bar solutions »» Lightweight, multi-height front access »» Fixed and variable height side access »» Roof access »» Small hop up steps/Carriage interior access steps »» Working platforms »» Depot gantry and fixed working
Managing stations with MICA
systems »» Peco Platform and Eco Lift – moveable low access platforms The lightweight aluminium construction offers a modular structure to suit customers’ current and future requirements for either fixed or portable installations. Committed to quality, safety and reliability throughout innovative designs to provide safe and cost effective engineering solutions, Semmco has moved to a well equipped, 13,000sq.ft engineering facility to assist with increased production and manufacturing demands.
Highly durable label system Silver Fox
Silver Fox® has developed a label that is especially beneficial for the rail industry. The low-smoke zero-halogen Fox-Flo® tieon cable label is also suitable for outdoor use, having been successfully independently tested for 8,000 hours of accelerated UV ageing. Fox-Flo is available in yellow, white, blue, red, magenta or orange as well as yellow with green. When ordering, both Network Rail Category and PADS numbers are available. Print directly onto the label using the innovative labelling solution
F44
Fox-in-a-Box® - Silver Fox has an extensive range of highly durable labels for use on both thermal and laser printers. Additionally, the company offers a pre-printed service and bespoke engraved labels, available in Traffolyte, acrylic or stainless steel. New to the range are Fox-Flo LS0H adhesive labels and Prolab® raised profile asset tags. Depending on the label type, Silver Fox has successfully tested its labels for high/low temperature and salt mist spray. Fox-Flo is authorised for use by Network Rail, Crossrail and LUL.
telent
Telent will again be collaborating with GAI-Tronics, in conjunction with Cisco, showcasing how the company’s station management system, known in the rail market as MICA, integrates with call managers, such as Cisco’s CUCM, to provide management and monitoring of GAI-Tronics help points. Extremely simple to operate, MICA has the scope to integrate multiple applications and devices so they can be controlled through a single, customisable, comprehensive user interface. It has already been used extensively to aid migration from analogue to IP CCTV, and this is equally
C19
true for voice systems. Its ability to simultaneously manage and provide alarm information for IP SIP, POTs and GSM-R devices give operations the ability to support a mixed implementation and a gradual migration between technologies. MICA has been designed to aid the management of mass transit environments where the operators are operational staff and not IT experts, and has been deployed on some of the busiest stations in the world such as Waterloo and Stratford underground stations, and at Reading, the most recently upgraded of the Network Rail major stations.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
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INFRARAIL 2016
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Rail Engineer • April 2016
Fire-resistant fibre optic cables INFRARAIL 2016
Tratos
Tratos has achieved product approval from Italy’s principal certification body, IMQ*, for its new Tratos Dual Fire Barrier fibre optic communications cable. The small, compact, lightweight cable, meets several exacting industry standards and has been designed specifically for underground and metro systems, and London Crossrail. With its ease of installation and ZHLS (Zero Halogen Low Smoke) sheathing,
Connecting employers and job seekers E21
the cable is one of the first products to have achieved the requirements of LU1-085, BS EN 187000:1994 and IEC 60794-1-2. Tratos has manufactured cables for rail and mass transit applications for the past ten years. The company specialises in the production of signalling, power, control and telecommunications cables and is a supplier to Ferrovie Dello Stato, Alstom, Bombardier, Ansaldo Breda and Hitachi. Tratos has DVE, Lloyds Register, IMQ, PT and LUL approval. The company designs innovative, fire resistant products for highspeed rail applications and is often called upon to develop products that meet high quality industry as well as specific client specifications. Tratos will exhibit its full range of Rail and Mass Transit cables at Infrarail this year. The company’s structural expansion continues in the UK with its Knowsley plant, completed late last year, increasing four-fold. An additional £4 million will facilitate new machines to speed up and increase capacity for the UK’s second largest cable manufacturer by September this year. This year, Tratos, which employs more than 300 people in five factories in Italy and the UK, celebrates 50 years of designing and developing electrical, electronic and fibre optic cable solutions. Visit stand E21 to find out why.
E77
The Recruitment Wall
The Recruitment Wall, powered by RailwayPeople.com, forms an area publicising details of exhibitors’ job opportunities, aiming to match those with the skills of visitors seeking career development. Exhibitors are encouraged to display up to five vacancies free of charge. Within the region of 235 exhibitors at the show, that adds up to a lot of jobs! Staff from RailwayPeople. com will be on hand to work with both employers seeking staff and show visitors looking to expand their horizons. School leavers, apprentices, graduates and experienced railway staff can all drop in to see what’s on offer, while any Up to
130,000
Job alert emails sent (per day)
2,700 New candidates (per month)
company in the industry can also enquire about the best ways to recruit. Launched in 2001, RailwayPeople. com provides the perfect platform to fill your vacancies. RailwayPeople. com know that attracting the right candidates to your career opportunities is important so they offer a range of products and services to help you achieve this. Located on stand E77 in the main hall at Infrarail, the Recruitment Wall is available throughout the exhibition. Below are the stats from RailwayPeople.com.
250,000 Registered candidates
200,000 Live profiles / CVs
1966
-
T H E F U T U R E C O M I N G F R O M T H E PA S T
-
www.tratos.eu
Tratos High-Speed Rail New generation of Enhanced fire resistant cables for High Speed (HS) rail applications and for traditional railways. Tratos supplied Freccia Rossa the Italian Railways on the project “Alta Velocità” (High Speed).
Visit our stand E21
Tratos Ltd - 10 Eagle Court, London EC1M 5QD, United Kingdom tel. +44 (0) 7799798775 e-mail: chris.harris@tratos.co.uk
2016
92
Rail Engineer • April 2016
Lightweight trough design Protect steel for over and replacement lids 60 years INFRARAIL 2016
Trojan Services Trojan has introduced a new C1/43 polymer trough as a result of the recent manual handling ban. Whilst there are other polymer alternatives on the market, the new Trojan troughs feature a polymer lid designed to interact with existing concrete bases, an existing feature of the TroTrof C1/9.
D11 This means that the longstanding issue of damaged and broken lids on existing C1/43 installations can easily be replaced with stronger, lighter polymer lids. It means longer use of concrete bases, less disruption and shorter possession times to refurbish cable routes, whilst operating within the new ORR manual handling guidelines. With the new design currently on trial with Network Rail at Exeter, Trojan staff will be on hand to discuss its benefits with Infrarail visitors.
Radio devices added to YES capability York EMC York EMC Services (YES) is a leading compliance service provider offering testing, consultancy, training and specialised EMC instrumentation. The company has recently expanded its UKAS accreditation to add the testing of products containing a radio function to its increasing portfolio. Short Range Devices (SRDs) feature
C36 amongst YES’s initial accreditation encompassing products ranging from key fobs to security alarms. In addition, YES’s accreditation also covers aspects of the testing for Wideband Transmission Systems in the 2.4 GHz band and Broadband Radio Access Networks operating at 5 GHz. YES has also been awarded five stars in its most recent RISQS (Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme) audit, formerly known as Link-up. This is the highest score that can be achieved and demonstrates that a company’s business management system meets the health, safety, operational and competence standards required for working in the rail environment.
Wedge Group Galvanizing Wedge Group Galvanizing has worked on many rail projects, so is well aware of the needs and constraints of the industry, and is proud to be an audited approved supplier for the Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS). Hot-dip galvanizing involves steel being cleaned and then dipped into molten zinc at temperatures up to 450oC, where a series of zinc-iron layers are formed by a metallurgical reaction between the iron and zinc, creating a longlasting, durable coating. Because it forms alloy layers with the iron in the steel it is much more robust than other coatings which only bond chemically or mechanically and can easily be damaged. Galvanizing really comes into its own when it comes to sustainability, with a single treatment able to coat a product inside and out, as well as being able to protect steel for over 60 years or longer if the conditions are right. As a result, the whole life costs of products protected by hotdip galvanizing can be significantly reduced because there is no need for expensive downtime and the inconvenience of repeated on-site maintenance and repair. Recent projects include the £25 million project to transform
A70
Edinburgh’s Haymarket station into a major transport link, with over 200 tonnes of steel galvanized for the production of canopies installed above the station’s newly extended platforms. The refurbishment works at Liverpool Street station also saw over 100 tonnes of steel protected long term with hot dip galvanizing. So no job is too big for Wedge Group Galvanizing. Visit stand A70 to find out more.
Rail Engineer • April 2016
100% British Innovation, Design & Manufacture to the UK Rail Industry
Visit us on stand d11 at infrarail 2016 neTwoRK RaIl aPPRoveD
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www.trojan-services.com e: info@trojan-services.com
t: 0845 074 0407
© 2016. Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. PN OTB-0009 (02/16)
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INFRARAIL 2016
Suppliers of Polymer Cable Troughing Products
93
INFRARAIL 2016
94
Rail Engineer • April 2016
3M UK Plc
F60
Exova Warringtonfire
F46
Megger Ltd
H69
A E Yates Group
G75
Express Catering
A34
Melford Technologies Ltd
J74
Aalco Metals Ltd
D64
Express Medicals Ltd
B65
Midland Industrial Flooring Ltd
A02
AATi Rail Ltd
D36
Fimor
D74
MLE (Morris Line Engineering)
F14
Abacus Lighting Ltd
E60
Fischer Connectors Ltd
H75
Modern Railways Magazine
F74
ABB Ltd
D51
Flexicon Ltd
E41
N.A.E.F. Srl
E81
Acal BFi (UK) Ltd
C25
FT Transformers Ltd
E70
National Railway Museum
A20
Access Design & Engineering
D15
Future Research Ltd
D47
Natural Cement Distribution Ltd
C65
Achilles Information Ltd
D20
g2 Energy
C21
NIBE Railway Components
B22
AEI Cables Ltd
C14
GAI-Tronics a division of Hubbell Ltd
C19
NORKA UK
C15
AJT Engineering Ltd
E47
Glenair UK Ltd
C18
OMNIA F14
Aluminium Lighting Company
E44
Global Rail News
D71
Optical Coating Technologies Ltd
E43
Anamet Europe B.V.
E54
Goldwing Cable Ltd
E80
Oxford Hydrotechnics
B03
Anderton Concrete Products Ltd
F30
GrayBar Ltd
G65
Pace Networks
F14
A-Plant Rail
E10
Griflex E41
Panasonic Computer Product
Aqua Group
D02
Ground Control Ltd
A38
Solutions F02
ArcelorMittal Europe - Long Products A25
GVS Filter Technology UK Ltd
A58
Panduit D77
Arco Ltd
B17
Harting Ltd
D03
Park Signalling Ltd
F24
Arrow Solutions
B20
HellermannTyton B15
Passcomm Ltd
E55
Asset Weholite
D15
Henry Williams Ltd
E61
Permenant Way Institution
C02
Backer BHV AB
B22
Hepworth International
B80
Powersystems UK Ltd
C71
Baldwin & Francis
E51
Hill and Smith Limited
Praybourne Ltd t/a Pulsarail
A31
BCM GRC Ltd
D61
T/A Variable Message Signs
E20
Provertha D60
Beeswift A48
Hilti (Gt.Britain) Limited
D25
Prysmian Cables & Systems Ltd
D31
BOC F65
Hird Rail Services
G68
Quietstone UK Ltd
A40
Bodyguard Workwear Ltd
E25
Horizon Utility Supplies Ltd
H65
Rail Alliance
E30
Bonomi (Rebosio)
F14
HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd
A21
Rail Engineer
D71
Brady
F50
Husqvarna Construction Products
F75
Rail Media
D71
Cable Services Group
A14
Ideagen PLC
F64
Rail Professional
B02
Cablecraft Ltd
C31
iLine Technologies
D45
Rail Supply Group
B14
Cannon Technologies Ltd
B64
Imajing Group
G74
Rail Technology Magazine
B31
Cembre Ltd
D18
Impreglon UK Ltd
E43
Railstaff Publications
D71
Chambre de Commerce
IRJ (International Railway Journal)
F71
Railway Gazette International
A26
Provinciale/RDC G70
Ixthus Instrumentation Ltd
A68
Railway Industry Association
E03
Channeline International
D45
Jafco Tools Ltd
B11
RailwayPeople.com D71
CHG Electrical Ltd
D47
Jointing Technologies
A62
RED CCTV
A18
Concrete Canvas Ltd
A44
Kee Systems
A16
Resource Group
B32
Keyline Rail
E34
Rexel UK
C32
Coventry Soul Ltd T/A Paul Curtis Rail & Construction
A15
Klauke UK Ltd
J64
RISQS D20
CPMS Ltd
A32
KOREC Group
J45
Rittal Ltd
E15
CRC Industries UK Ltd (Ambersil)
B18
L.C. Switchgear
D73
Rock Fall UK
A81
Crossrail Ltd
D32
Lanes Group plc
E31
ROV Développement
D10
CRRC Corporation Ltd
F51
Leica Geosystems AG
F69
ROV Railway Industry
D10
CUBIS Industries
F20
Lindapter International
B60
Royal British Legion Industries
E45
Diamond Point International (Europe) C61
Link 2 Ltd
D47
RSSB
E65
Direct Track Solutions Ltd
D21
LINSINGER Maschinenbau GmbH
A11
Safeaid Supplies
A22
DMS Technologies
A10
Lista UK Ltd
F40
SAN Electro Heat A/S
B22
DUCAB C14
LPA Channel Electric
D70
Schweizer Electronic Ltd
D81
Dura Composites Ltd
LPA Connection Systems
D70
Schwihag AG
E24
DWG B61
B21
LPA Excil Electronics
D70
Scott Parnell Ltd
J35
edilon)(sedra Group BV
A30
LPA Group Plc
D70
SEKISUI Chemical GmbH
A74
Ellis Patents
D80
LPA Transport Plus
D70
SelectaDNA G81
Elmatic (Cardiff) Ltd
A53
Lucy Zodion Ltd
H64
Selectrail (Australia) Pty Ltd
C30
Eltek Power (UK) Ltd
B44
Marshalls plc
A61
Semmco Ltd
D30
MaxBogl Stiftung & Co.KG
E11
Semperit AG
D21
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Outstanding career development opportunities in Rolling Stock Engineering Outstanding Outstanding career career development development opportunities opportunities in Rolling in Rolling Stock Stock Engineering Engineering
Rolling Stock Engineers Rolling RollingStock StockEngineers Engineers London
London London - £65,000 basic plus excellent benefits c £50,000 c £50,000 c £50,000 - £65,000 - £65,000 basic basic plus plus excellent excellent benefits benefits The Railway is an increasingly complex system with multiple knowledge, innovation and a wide range of cross-industry interfaces delivered by manycomplex different organisations. schemesinnovation and include collaborations with and other The The Railway Railway is anis increasingly an increasingly complex system system withwith multiple multiple knowledge, knowledge, innovation and and a wide a wide range range of cross-industry ofacademic cross-industry RSSB brings organisations together to improve safety, research facilities. interfaces interfaces delivered delivered by many by many different different organisations. organisations. schemes schemes andand include include collaborations collaborations withwith academic academic andand other other performance and value for money in to railimprove across the UK and research RSSB RSSB brings brings organisations organisations together together to improve safety, safety, research facilities. facilities. works closelyand with European partners rail interoperability Continual advancements in rolling stock, both existing performance performance and value value for money for money in rail in on rail across across the the UK and UK and andworks standards development. and new, provide outstanding opportunities for rolling works closely closely with with European European partners partners on rail on rail interoperability interoperability Continual Continual advancements advancements in rolling in rolling stock, stock, both both existing existing Spanning the whole railway, members of RSSB include stock engineering professionals to workfor onrolling railrolling vehicle andand standards standards development. development. andand new, new, provide provide outstanding outstanding opportunities opportunities for passenger and train operators, rolling owners, stock engineering from a researchtoand perspective Spanning Spanning thefreight the whole whole railway, railway, members members of RSSB of stock RSSB include include stock engineering engineering professionals professionals work to standards work on rail on rail vehicle vehicle infrastructure companies and suppliers to the industry. covering from passenger freight plant vehicles across all areas passenger passenger andand freight freight train train operators, operators, rolling rolling stock stock owners, owners, engineering engineering from a research a research andand and standards standards perspective perspective Research andcompanies development activities cover safety, standards, covering of operations. infrastructure infrastructure companies andand suppliers suppliers to the to the industry. industry. covering passenger passenger freight freight andand plant plant vehicles vehicles across across all areas all areas Research Research andand development development activities activities cover cover safety, safety, standards, standards, of operations. of operations.
RSSB seeks Rolling Stock Engineers in the following roles: RSSB RSSB seeks seeks Rolling Rolling Stock Stock Engineers Engineers in the in the following following roles: roles: • Control Systems Engineer - brake systems, door systems, on-board control systems and associated • Control • Control Systems Systems Engineer Engineer - brake -vehicle brake systems, systems, door door systems, systems, on-board on-board control control systems systems and and associated associated / infrastructure interfaces vehicle vehicle / infrastructure / infrastructure interfaces interfaces • Mechanical Systems Engineer - bogies, wheelsets, suspension systems, couplers and gangways • Mechanical • Mechanical Systems Systems Engineer Engineer - bogies, - bogies, wheelsets, wheelsets, suspension suspension systems, systems, couplers couplers and and gangways gangways • Vehicle Dynamics Engineer - wheel-rail interface, track forces, ride comfort, safety against • Vehicle • Vehicle Dynamics Dynamics Engineer Engineer - wheel-rail - wheel-rail interface, interface, track track forces, forces, ride ride comfort, comfort, safety safety against against derailment, gauging, pantograph-to-wire interface derailment, derailment, gauging, gauging, pantograph-to-wire pantograph-to-wire interface interface • Active participation in consensus-based forums including GB, The detailed make up of each role could be adjusted depending on theThe orientation of theof candidate’s particular European and International standards and systems interface • Active participation in consensus-based forums including GB, The detailed detailed make make up up each of each rolerole could could be adjusted beexpertise. adjusted depending depending on on • Active participation in consensus-based forums including GB, committees and working groups European European andand International International standards standards andand systems systems interface interface the the orientation orientation of the of the candidate’s candidate’s particular particular expertise. expertise. Key elements of the roles will include: committees committees andand working working groups groups • Influencing the direction of European standards to enable their Key Key elements elements of the of the rolesroles will will include: include: • Providing specialist expertise that will support the development • Influencing the direction of European standards to enable their use in the UK • Influencing the direction of European standards to enable their and revision of standards for rolling stock operations, • Providing specialist expertise that will support the development • Providing specialist expertise that will support the development use use in the in the UK UK • Providing technical expertise to, and directing RSSB’s research maintenance improvement instock thestock UK and Europe and and revision revision of and standards of standards for rolling for rolling operations, operations, activities in specialist area maintenance maintenance andand improvement improvement in the in the UK and UK and Europe Europe • Providing technical expertise to, and directing RSSB’s research • Providing technical expertise to, and directing RSSB’s research • Maintaining an awareness of innovative technologies and their activities activities in specialist in specialist areaarea potential railway applications in support of the rail industry’s • Working closely with Project Managers and other colleagues and • Maintaining an awareness of innovative technologies and their • Maintaining an awareness of innovative technologies and their stakeholders on setting timescales and priorities objectives potential potential railway railway applications applications in support in support of the of the rail industry’s rail industry’s • Working closely with Project Managers and other colleagues and • Working closely with Project Managers and other colleagues and objectives objectives stakeholders stakeholders on setting on setting timescales timescales andand priorities priorities • Providing informed buyer advice on external resources such as • Developing and applying a good understanding of rolling stock systems and their mutual interfaces as well as with infrastructure• Providing informed buyer advice on external resources such as research and investigation and product quality assessment • Providing informed buyer advice on external resources such as • Developing and applying a good understanding of rolling stock • Developing and applying a good understanding of rolling stock systems systems andand theirtheir mutual mutual interfaces interfaces as well as well as with as with infrastructure infrastructure research research andand investigation investigation andand product product quality quality assessment assessment
Candidates should be graduate/chartered level engineers with solid backgrounds in rail vehicle engineering from both engineering and safety points ofshould view. Candidates Candidates should be graduate/chartered be graduate/chartered levellevel engineers engineers withwith solidsolid backgrounds backgrounds in rail in vehicle rail vehicle engineering engineering fromfrom bothboth engineering engineering andand safety safety points points of view. of view. The roles will provide opportunities to explore interests in rolling stock engineering and technology advancements. The The rolesroles willcandidates will provide provide opportunities opportunities to explore interests interests in rolling in rolling engineering engineering andand technology technology advancements. Successful will be able to to explore develop their expertise instock thestock roles and an approach that isadvancements. open towards learning, knowledge and new developments will be beneficial. Successful Successful candidates candidates will will be able be able to develop to develop theirtheir expertise expertise in the in the rolesroles andand an approach an approach thatthat is open is open towards towards learning, learning, knowledge knowledge andand
new new developments developments will will be beneficial. beenvironment beneficial. for rail professionals to develop their expertise. Remuneration packages include strong benefits RSSB provides an excellent arrangements and there is a track record career progression RSSBRSSB provides provides an excellent an excellent environment environment forof rail for professionals rail professionals to develop to develop theirtheir expertise. expertise. Remuneration Remuneration packages packages include include strong strong benefits benefits arrangements arrangements andand there there is a track is a track record record of career of career progression progression
Please forward you application to Liam Slater via enquiries@rgsexecutive.co.uk or call himforward withyou any queries onto0115 959 9687 Please Please forward you application application Liam to Liam Slater Slater via enquiries@rgsexecutive.co.uk via enquiries@rgsexecutive.co.uk or call or call himhim withwith anyany queries queries on 0115 on 0115 959959 9687 9687
98
Rail Engineer • April 2016
RECRUITMENT
TransPennine Express
TAKING THE NORTH FURTHER We love the North. It’s a vibrant, thriving place where there’s more happening than ever before. To connect communities, people and cities, we are transforming the TransPennine Express franchise. There’s just one thing missing - YOU.
Competitive salaries and great rewards. There’s a final salary pension scheme, discretionary bonus scheme and big savings on rail travel with free TransPennine Express journeys for you and free leisure journeys for your family.
Not to mention discounts with other train operating companies. Your job comes with plenty of holiday as well as benefits such as childcare vouchers, discounts and even a Cycle to Work scheme.
IMMEDIATE VACANCIES: • Head of Fleet Transformation • Senior Project Manager (Operations) • Project Manager (Depots and Infrastructure) • Project Engineer (Infrastructure) • Project Manager (New Trains) • Project Engineer (New Trains)
visit: www.firstgroupcareers.com
way People.com
THE HEART OF UK RAIL Launched in 2001, RailwayPeople.com is the largest dedicated rail job site in the UK.
@StobartRailLtd
@StobartRailLtd
Stobart Rail Infrastructure Engineering is Our project team have extensive one of the UK's leading names in rail experience on construction of new earth stobartrail network maintenance, repair and embankments and cuttings, stabilisation improvement. Stobart Rail hold both a and re-grading works to embankments Network Rail Principal Contractor's and cuttings, Emergency works, Sea Licence and Infrastructure Rail Plant Operating Licence. Defence works & have Geotechnical Stobart Rail Engineering is Our project team extensiveprojects. We nationwide coverage 24/7 oneoffer of the UK'sInfrastructure leading namesand inEngineering rail experience construction of new earth Stobart Rail is one of the on UK’s leading names in rail network maintenance, repair and Emergency response on Earthworks We employ all our staff and operate network maintenance, repair and embankments andown cuttings, stabilisation enhancement. Due to success the following opportunities available for effective team players with Drainage, Bridges & Tunnels, Permanent maintain allworks our career own plant. improvement. Stobart Railour hold both a we now have and re-grading to embankments Way failures. Network Rail Principal and cuttings, Emergency works, Sea the ambition to helpContractor's drive our business forward. Licence and Rail Plant Operating Licence. Defence works & Geotechnical projects. We offer nationwide coverage and 24/7 Emergency response on Earthworks We employ all our own staff and operate Drainage, Bridges & Tunnels, Permanent and maintain all our own plant. Way failures.
ESTIMATOR
QUANTITY SURVEYOR
ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER
Responsible for the tender process from allocation through to award of contract you will produce high quality, commercially viable, work winning tenders.
Responsible for the Rail contracts, you will ensure that the project is progressing in line with the contractual agreement.
Assist the Senior Project Manager in managing all stages of the project.
• Plan and implement to We currently have the following career opportunities available for candidates looking to join our successful and growingcorrect team.processes All roles are Effectively manage multiple tenders at any one • Prepare commercial reports including Cost ensure that all work undertaken is compliant based from our Carlisle Head office with nationwide travel required depending on the projects. All candidates must hold a valid PTS. Salaries time Value Reconciliations, valuations, cash flows with all health, safety and environmental are negotiable depending on skills and experience. and claims legislation and best practices, and in
• •
Compile tenders correctly including carrying accordance with all Railway Group, Network out take offs, obtaining support from • Exercise full cost control of the project Rail and Stobart Rail Standards PROJECT operations teams, carrying out tenderASSISTANT reviews including providing and monitoring budgets QUANTITY SURVEYOR SSOW PLANNER forecasts conjunction with the to Project • To develop positive relationships with allare PROJECT MANAGER MANAGER and currently have the following available forincandidates looking join our successful and growing team. All roles •We Identify critical deadlines that willcareer impactopportunitiesManager/Managing Quantity Surveyor parties associated with the project based from our Carlisle office with to nationwide travel required depending on the projects. All candidates must hold a valid PTS. Salaries tender completion and Head manage workload produce on SSOW • it isTodelivered • Responsible for all commercial • Assist the•Project Manager • Manage all stages of the project Identifi cation in and implementation of quality • Ensure that time,packs withinin are suit negotiable depending on skills and experience. with Network Rail the and to accordance managing all stages the project, processes to ensure that all work and effiof ciency improvement elements, initiatives you will ensure that budget the agreed quality • Populate information on tender database company standard project is progressing in line with plan and implement correct undertaken is compliant with all • Ensuring that client expectations regarding ASSISTANT PROJECT NR/L2/OHS/019 of people the contractual agreement.quality, programme processes to ensure that all work HSE legislation and best and budgetSafety are wherever QUANTITY SURVEYOR SSOW PLANNER PROJECT MANAGER working on or near the line. undertaken is compliant with all practices. MANAGER possible exceeded • Prepare commercial reports health, safety & environmental •• To worksites isolations including Cost •• To develop To book produce SSOW and packs in • Responsible forValue all commercial • legislation Assist the Project Manager in Manage all positive stages ofrelationships the project and best practices, and using Network Rail Possession Reconciliations, cash flows and with all parties associated with accordance with Network Rail elements, you will ensure that the managing all stages of the project, processes to ensure that all work GANGERS SECOND MAN X4 CIVIL ENGINEERING OPERATIVES in accordance with all Railway Planning System (PPS) and to be claims. Exercise full cost control the project and ensure that it is company standard project is progressing in line with plan and implement correct undertaken is compliant with all Group, Network Rail and Stobart fully conversant with GZAC. of project including providing delivered on time, budget NR/L2/OHS/019 of people thethe contractual processes all work HSE andwithin best Assist thelegislation Site Managers and Foreman in Astoaensure valuedthat member of Stobart Rail Ltd deliveryagreement. As a valued member of Stobart RailSafety Ltd delivery Rail Standards. and monitoring budgets and and to the agreed quality whilst working on or near the line. undertaken is compliant with all practices. managing the site to ensure that all work team you will be Responsible for the health and team you will be involved inbe a required wide variety of • You will to attend • Prepare commercial reports forecasts in may conjunction with the • To develop positive relationships ensuringis that client expectations undertaken compliant with all health, safety and safety of yourself and all other persons that railway infrastructure work. and be responsible for health, safety & environmental meetings • To book worksites and isolations including Cost Value • To develop positive relationships Project Manager environmental legislation and best practices, and be affected by your actions, or lack of actions and/ Managing with all parties associated with regarding quality, programme legislation and best practices, and the monitoring ofcarry the work All of and our staff are multi-skilled andRail out an using Network Possession Reconciliations, cash flows with all parties with Network in accordance with all Railway Group, ensuring aallsafe system in place. Quantity Surveyor. Identification the project andwith ensure that it is of work is and budget areassociated wherever inRail accordance Railway interesting range of tasks. scheduling process and to to be Planning System (PPS) and claims. Exercise full cost control the project and ensure that it is and Stobart Rail Standards. and implementation of quality delivered on time, within budget possible exceeded. Group, Network Rail and Stobart policies and procedures • Ensure all Company ensure that the approved fully conversant with GZAC. of the project including providing delivered on time, within budget The successful candidates will hold a valid Sentinel and efficiency improvement and Standards. to the agreed quality whilst • Ensure the gang or sub-contractors attends are followed at all times Rail procedures are followed. • Candidates must have PTS and card (PTS minimum). and monitoring budgets and and to the agreed quality whilst site at the required times and comply withensuring that client expectations initiatives. • You will be required to attend COSS certificates. • positive Ensurerelationships good quality of all workmanship all forecasts in at conjunction with the • To develop ensuring that client expectations statutory working hours, shifts and break times regarding quality, programme • You should work well asand partbe of responsible a cohesive for meetings times demonstrating good behaviour onsite Project Manager / Managing with all parties associated with regarding quality, programme team, but mustthe also be resourceful monitoring of the and workable to • Receive daily/weekly work instructions and budget are wherever Quantity Surveyor. Identification the project ensure the thatGanger it is and budget are wherever • and Deputise in his absence work on your own initiative. and briefings from site management, and possible exceeded. scheduling process and to and implementation of quality on time, within budget possible exceeded. implement them by appropriate control ofdelivered the • A flexible approach tothat working hours and ensure the approved must have PTS and and efficiency improvementlocation is essential. and to the agreed quality whilst labour, plant and materials provided • Candidates procedures are followed. • Candidates must have PTS and COSS certificates. initiatives. ensuring that client expectations COSS certificates. • Ensure all gang members carry out all regarding quality, programme instructed tasks to the best of their ability and and budget are wherever HR Manager with acceptable productivity TO APPLY t. 01228 882 300 possible exceeded. • Understand and implement all safety systems e. hr@stobartrail.com work • website. Candidates must PTS and HRhave Manager: Fullof job specifications available on our COSS certificates. hr@stobartrail.com or Please apply online or email your application, Applications from complete, established gangs are welcome
detailing relevant skills, experience
and APPLY qualifications to: TO
Telephone 01228 882300 to request an application pack.
Full job specifications available on our website. Please apply online or email your application, detailing relevant skills, experience and qualifications to:
HR Manager: hr@stobartrail.com or Telephone 01228 882300 to request an application pack.
HR Manager stobartgroup.com t. 01228 882 300 e. hr@stobartrail.com
stobartgroup.com
Influencing your energy strategies with integrated solutions UK Power Networks Services is a leading provider of electrical infrastructure with significant experience of working on high profile transport projects such as High Speed 1, High Speed 2 and Crossrail. UK Power Networks Services: • Consistently delivers results on the most challenging projects • Can undertake the total requirements of any strategic infrastructure project • Has access to a wealth of international experience in providing finance solutions
Contact us by visiting: www.ukpowernetworksservices.co.uk
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