The Rail Engineer - Issue 86 - December 2011

December 2011

i s s u e

86 Manchester Metrolink 20 years of evolution

Blackpool Illuminations

Double Innovation in ElectriďŹ cation

Trans Siberian Landbridge

It would be an injustice not to report on the new facilities at Starr Gate Depot, Blackpool.

Balfour Beatty Rail’s Air Insulated Switch Gear installed on the Paisley Corridor project.

Russian Railways plan to create a Landbridge and attract freight from ships.

written by rail engineers for rail engineers

available online at www.therailengineer.com

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 3

welcome Grahame Taylor’s

Operating notice It’s a sign of advancing years - just one of the signs perhaps - that train and tram rolling stock seems forever ‘new’. I came across the latest demolition of this notion when reading Clive Kessell’s article on Manchester’s Metrolink. The trams that I recall as new are in fact being retired this year! Clive’s article is our cover story and fills in all the details right from the early days through to the present and forward to really ambitious plans for the future. For those of you seeing the really new trams of today, just remember my words!

In fact Clive has been very busy this month with no fewer than four features ranging from reports covering both electrification and mechanical engineering right through to a sunny romp through the Swanage Railway. Who can resist them? Enthusiasts that is. Full of enterprise and sound engineering. More of them next month when we cover the bi-annual conference of the IRSE Minor Railways section.

Bill Reeve’s delivery to the IMechE Railway Division ended with an appeal for the UK to spend more on innovation and the classic one-liner: “Standards have their place but they are for the guidance of the wise and the strict observance of fools!” But with feet firmly on an insulated doormat, Clive reports on Peter Dearman’s IET Railway lecture where there was even a mention of converting the Southern third rail system to overhead electrification.

Staying with the electrification theme and innovation, Steve Cox and Barry Calder of Balfour Beatty Rail describe their air-insulated switchgear which is being trialled in Scotland. The elimination of SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) gas as an insulator and its replacement with fresh air gives a surprisingly large number of efficiency benefits in addition to helping ozone layers et al.

A couple of months ago Terry Whitley reported on the roll-out of the Blackpool FLEXITY 2 trams.

This month he comes into the warm to show us the

state-of-the-art tram maintenance depot. The metal-bashing and greasy-rag atmosphere is a thing of the past. Even the heritage trams will be allowed in. I wonder what they’ll make of it. the rail engineer sent David Shirres off to Siberia recently. It wasn’t a punishment but a press briefing

by Russian Railways on the major developments taking place throughout this vast country. The figures alone are extraordinary; distances; tonnage; horsepower not to mention temperatures and finance. Add in the little complication of gauge changes and the logistics of carrying freight from China through to the West are formidable. And then there’s the prospect of a rail tunnel under the Bering Straits.

In a complete contrast and in keeping with our light rail theme this month is Paul Curtis’ piece on the Dubai metro. Dubai, a country awash with cash.....and sand. Here the extremes are what money can buy. But there is sound reasoning behind running a highly efficient metro as competition from the car is formidable. Fuel costs a third of UK prices and there are 12 lane motorways as a result.

Peter Stanton had a baptism of fire when he researched his debut article on the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum Conference. He had to run the gauntlet of a vocal but well-mannered demonstration by protest groups concerned about the failure to win the contract for Thameslink rolling stock. Inside though a number of high-profile speakers covered subjects ranging from local issues to Crossrail.

It seems strange to put this edition to bed in midNovember knowing that it’s the last one this year.

Still, on behalf of all the production team here at Rail Media, can I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a safe New Year - sparing a thought too to all of you who will be working over the holiday period on the various possession works on the network. See you next year.

Editor Grahame Taylor grahame.taylor@therailengineer.com

the rail engineer Ashby House, Bath Street, Ashby-de-la-Zouch Leicestershire, LE65 2FH

Production and design Adam O'Connor production@therailengineer.com

Telephone: Fax: Email: Website:

Engineering writers chris.parker@therailengineer.com clive.kessell@therailengineer.com collin.carr@therailengineer.com david.shirres@therailengineer.com graeme.bickerdike@therailengineer.com mungo.stacy@therailengineer.com peter.stanton@therailengineer.com steve.bissell@therailengineer.com stuart.marsh@therailengineer.com stuart.rackley@therailengineer.com terry.whitley@therailengineer.com Advertising Asif Ahmed asif@therailengineer.com Nigel Wordsworth nigel@therailengineer.com Paul Curtis paul@therailengineer.com

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in this issue

Manchester Metrolink TfGM is investing £1.4 billion to upgrade and expand this iconic network.

6

Clever Karlsruhe 12 The Mass Rapid Transit system has been the subject of an interesting transportation initiative.

Dubai Metro goes green

14

Dubai is home of the world’s longest fully automated passenger metro system.

Blackpool Illuminations 18 Terry Whitley reports on the new Starr Gate depot facilities ready to maintain the new fleet.

Re-Signalling Heritage Style

24

Clive Kessell reports on the signalling challenges facing the Swanage Railway.

Double Innovation in Electrification 31 Balfour Beatty Rail’s Air Insulated Switch Gear is installed on the Paisley Corridor Improvement Project.

Trans Siberian Landbridge 36 David Shirres reports as Russian Railways implements its plan to enhance the Transsib to create a Landbridge to attract freight from ships.

Signalling products for the seven day railway 40 SigAssure, formed in 2008 launches a new product line to the rail industry.

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forthcoming

features

Sister publication of Stations, Surveying Bridges & Tunnels, Electrical/Electronic Systems

January February

4 | the rail engineer | december 2011

IN BRIEF Bombardier wins ScotRail ScotRail has awarded a three-year contract worth €17.7 million to Bombardier Transportation. The contract extends an existing agreement to 9 November 2014 and covers operational support and spare supply for ScotRail’s Class 170 Turbostar fleet.

The fleet - some 177 vehicles in total is best known for services on the Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley route and also for linking both cities and the Central Belt of Scotland to Aberdeen and Inverness.

The contract provides for the supply of planned materials in support of the fleet. Bogie overhauls will be supplied via Bombardier’s Crewe CRO facility.

news

STATIONS

London Bridge contracts let

Henderson to step down Peter Henderson, group asset management director, has signalled his intention to leave Network Rail during 2012 after 10 years with the company, to pursue other interests.

Mr Henderson is one of the original

Network Rail has awarded the final two major contracts for the redevelopment of London Bridge area as part of the Thameslink programme. Costain Ltd. will carry out the station redevelopment and Balfour Beatty Rail Ltd. will deliver the track remodelling.

The station redevelopment will include a new concourse at street level, with entrances on Tooley Street and St Thomas Street, which will provide space for around 66% more passengers

than the station handles today.

Access into and around the station will also be transformed.

Within the contract, Costain will carry out the detailed design and delivery of the project.

The track re-modelling at London Bridge is a vital part of the Thameslink programme and is needed to allow more and longer trains through the centre of the capital to boost capacity and relieve congestion on this busy route. The new, simplified track layout will also

help improve reliability for other train services which pass through and into London Bridge. Under the contract, Balfour Beatty Rail will provide detailed design, installation, testing and commissioning of the track work.

Costain and Balfour Beatty Rail will complete the selection of three delivery partners to form the London Bridge Area Partnership and work with Network Rail to reconstruct the station and surrounding infrastructure.

INFRASTRUCTURE

board members of Network Rail, joining in 2002 as it acquired Railtrack. With over 25 years experience as an engineer and project manager in the transport business, his expertise has been invaluable in fixing the broken railway that was inherited from Railtrack.

David Higgins, chief executive, said: “Peter was a key member of the original Network Rail executive team in 2002 and has played an immensely important role in driving the recovery of the rail network.”

ScotRail delivers ScotRail has delivered on its franchise commitment to spend £40m on improvements by the end of October, 2011.

The train operator’s investment included £20m at stations, with enhancements ranging from CCTV and customer information systems to toilets, waiting rooms and shelters. In addition, external funding of around £28m was secured for station improvements from Transport Scotland, Network Rail, Regional Transport Partnerships, and local authorities.

ScotRail pledged to deliver this £40m programme by 16 October 2011, the expiry date of its original seven-year franchise.

Network Rail buys Hydrex Network Rail Infrastructure Limited has completed the purchase of the assets of the rail division of Hydrex Equipment (UK) Ltd from its administrators, KPMG LLP. The purchase includes a transfer of employment for all rail division staff.

Hydrex is the largest provider of road-rail vehicles to the rail industry and a key supplier to Network Rail and its infrastructure contractors. Network Rail’s purchase of the rail division of Hydrex business brings to an end an extended period of uncertainty for Hydrex’s employees, customers and suppliers, while providing continuity of business for the supply of heavy plant to the industry.

Martin Elwood, director of Network Rail’s National Delivery Service, said: “This is not a step that Network Rail has taken lightly. The purchase of Hydrex’s rail division has secured hundreds of jobs while making sure we can deliver as planned our programme of maintenance,

renewals and enhancements across the rail network.

“Our priority in making this purchase is to ensure continuity of works. Once we have set in place a

successful transition we will seek input from across the industry, including other on-track plant suppliers, about any impact on the market place.”

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 5

news

TRAINING

STATIONS

New training centre for York

The final platform extensions which are needed to allow 50% longer 12car trains with more seats for passengers to operate on the Bedford to Brighton Thameslink route from December were completed at Flitwick and Harlington stations on Tuesday 15 November.

Over the last four years, Network Rail has lengthened 41 platforms at 12 stations on the Midland main line between Bedford and West Hampstead by more than 2½ miles in total. The longer platforms will enable the busiest trains at the busiest times of the day to be increased from eight cars to 12, resulting in a 50% boost in capacity

Following on from news that Network Rail plans to cut the number of signal boxes and control centres to just 14 (the rail engineer issue 83), proposals for a flagship rail operating and training facility in York have been announced.

The Rail Operating Centre (ROC) will eventually coordinate and control all rail operations on the London North Eastern route. The workforce development centre will consolidate services already provided at several different locations into a single, purpose-built facility.

Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations for Network Rail, said; “York has a proud railway history

PHOTO: ANDREWHA

Last platform finished

on those services.

Jim Crawford, Network Rail’s major programme director for Thameslink, said: “The completion of the platform extensions marks a major milestone in the Thameslink construction programme and will allow longer trains to run from next month as planned.

“As well as more seats and less congestion at the busiest times of the day, passengers have more to look forward to next year with the new stations at Blackfriars and Farringdon opening. This will provide a huge improvement to facilities and access at these two important London stations.”

and these new facilities will allow us to continue that whilst providing a modern, efficient service. The ROC is a key part of our strategy to improve reliability whilst driving down the cost of running and maintaining the railway. It will allow us to retain jobs in the city as well as bringing future employment opportunities to the area, which is vital for long term economic growth and prosperity.”

The proposed ROC, to be located on disused land adjacent to York station, would be the largest centre in the UK and will enable services such as signalling and traffic control to be consolidated into a centralised unit.

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6 | the rail engineer | december 2011

light rail

Manchester Metrolink 20 Years of Evolution

writer

Clive Kessell Piccadilly Gardens/Mosley St. Junction.

Metrolink first opened in M anchester’s April 1992, running from Altrincham to Manchester city centre and on to Bury. This was the first of the second generation light rail networks to emerge in Britain’s cities and building such systems was, at that time, an unknown quantity.

A consortium, with GEC, Mowlem and Amec as the main players, was appointed to design, build, operate and maintain this new network. The majority of the first phase was formed by taking over and linking the British Rail lines that ran to Bury (1200V DC thirdrail side contact electrified) and Altrincham (25kV AC overhead electrified), converting these lines from heavy rail to light rail. New overhead catenary was installed on the city centre and Bury line sections whilst the existing overhead structures and wiring on the Altrincham line were adapted for 750 V dc operation.

In the city centre, a spur from Piccadilly Gardens to Piccadilly station created a tram link between the city’s two main rail stations, Piccadilly and Victoria. This city centre section involved developing a street running system, with all the legal and civil engineering challenges that encompassed.

Signalling in the central section was similar in design to systems in Europe, with the familiar vertical (go) and horizontal (stop) white bars interlinked with road traffic lights and track loops for tram detection and recognition. The former heavy rail sections were equipped with new traditional block signalling, using only red and green aspects and ‘train stops’ linked to red signals. Some repeater signals where installed where sighting was poor. Operation commenced with 26 T68 trams and a single depot and control centre at Queens Road, just north of Victoria station.

Phase two

Phase 1

The second phase of the network was a new line to Eccles in Salford. A consortium called Altram, consisting of Serco, Ansaldo and Laing, was appointed to build this line

Phase 2

New track construction onto Rochdale Viaduct.

and included six new T68 tram vehicles from Ansaldo, which also provided the signalling.

The Eccles extension was a very different design, much more akin to a traditional tramway with some steep inclines, sharp curves and ‘driven on line of sight’ throughout. Construction work began in 1997, with the new line subsequently opening in 2000 in two stages, first to Broadway and then on to Eccles.

Expanding the Network The success of Metrolink led to demands for further expansion, using the tramway to open up new transport links for employment, leisure and education opportunities across the region. In early 2009 the Department for Transport gave its approval for a £575M Metrolink expansion northwards to Oldham and Rochdale, east to Droylsden in Tameside and to Chorlton in South Manchester, with the provision of a second depot facility near the Old Trafford tram stop. At nearly 20 miles, these extensions almost double the size of the network and, when open, are expected to take five million car journeys off local roads

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 7

light rail

every year, increasing the daily passenger journeys on Metrolink from 55,000 to around 90,000.

The MPact-Thales consortium, made up of Laing O’Rourke, VolkerRail and Thales UK, was appointed to design, build and maintain the new lines plus an additional 0.4km extension off the Eccles line to the new MediaCityUK development in Salford Quays.

2009 proved a landmark year as in May, the Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) formally agreed to create the Greater Manchester Transport Fund, with an investment programme of over £1.5billion in 15 major public transport schemes including further Metrolink extensions.

The MPact-Thales (MPT) contract was extended to cover design, construct and maintain responsibilities. Separate contracts were also let for the replacement and extension of the signalling system with a new Tram Management System (TMS) from Thales, 62 new trams from Bombardier, and the replacement of the existing Ticket Vending Machines and provision of new ones for the extended network.

Complex construction Construction of the extensions is a major capital programme, with each of the lines having their own, differing characteristics: • Oldham and Rochdale - 22.5 km of tram track running along the route of the former ‘Loop Line’ railway between Victoria and Rochdale rail stations.

• Oldham town centre extension - A 2.4 km line into the centre of Oldham, replacing the temporary Metrolink route on the old railway line which bypasses the town centre.

• Rochdale town centre - A 1.1km line into Rochdale town centre, providing an interchange with the new bus station.

• Manchester Airport - A 14.5 km branch off the Chorlton line on new track via Northern Moor, Baguley and Wythenshawe to Manchester Airport.

• Chorlton - A 2.7km line branching off the Altrincham line at Trafford Bar and running along a disused railway formation (the exMidland main line into Manchester Central).

• Chorlton to East Didsbury - Extending the Chorlton line by 4.5km from St Werburgh’s

Road to East Didsbury along the disused railway

3 stages of Chorlton rebuild.

formation.

• MediaCityUK - A 0.4km spur from a triangular junction near Harbour City station on the Eccles line.

• Droylsden - A 6.3km line running from the existing Metrolink stop at Manchester Piccadilly to Droyslden and including a new underpass at Great Ancoats Street.

• Droylsden to Ashton - 3.9km of track, part on street and part segregated, connecting the town centres of Droylsden and AshtonUnder-Lyne.

The new MediaCityUK spur opened in September 2010 and the new line to St Werburgh’s Road in Chorlton opened in July 2011. The remaining routes will open in phases up to 2016.

Plans are underway for a second Metrolink line across Manchester from the DeansgateCastlefield stop to Victoria to provide flexibility and capacity for the extended network. Subject to successfully obtaining Transport and Works Act powers, it is envisaged construction will take place between 2013 and 2016.

Future tram stop at Rochdale Rail Station.

8 | the rail engineer | december 2011

light rail

(Left) triangular junction at MediaCityUK. (Right) A pre production mockup of a T-68 Metrolink vehicle on display in 1990.

Rochdale Viaduct under construction.

Also in 2009, the then GMITA embarked on a £100million investment programme to upgrade parts of the existing network and so improve Metrolink. This renewal programme saw the city centre tram tracks replaced, resulting in a temporary closure of the city centre section while work was completed. This closure presented an ideal opportunity to carry out further improvements in this busy section, including: • Widening the Piccadilly Gardens tram stop to give more room and better shelter facilities for passengers • Heightening and rebuilding St Peter’s Square stop to give improved access and level boarding for double-length trams • New street finishes across the city centre network, including Yorkstone paving, granite, and exposed aggregate concrete with granite banding, delivered in partnership with Manchester City Council • New finishes at Piccadilly Gardens, Piccadilly Place, High Street and Shudehill Metrolink stops • Installation of a new passenger information display system and ticketing machines.

Stagecoach Projects was appointed as the main contractor for most of the work but with Balfour Beatty being responsible for the tram stop rebuilds and refurbishment.

During the closure the tram system operated in two sections: St Peters Square to Altrincham/Eccles and Victoria to Bury. The overall work was anticipated to take around three months.

Work began in August 2009 but the job was not without its challenges. A safe pathway was needed through the city centre site for Altrincham trams to get to and from the Queens Road depot for essential maintenance. This was achieved by ensuring one track was available throughout the entire period, allowing vehicles to be moved through the works section at the end and beginning of service every three days.

Trams were otherwise “outstabled” during this period.

Major renewal work also took place on the Altrincham and Eccles lines, including replacing the electrical overhead line system and some of the supporting structures on the Altrincham section. Other work included extensive improvements to stops, building a

PHOTO: DR NE IL CLIFTON

Major renewal programme

replacement tram stop at Old Trafford and laying in connections to both the new tram depot site in Old Trafford and the new Chorlton line. The triangular junction for the new spur to MediaCityUK was built while the track layout at Cornbrook was remodelled both to accommodate the new MediaCityUK line service and to provide greater operational flexibility.

Upgrading the operations and renewing the signalling In addition to the construction of all the new lines, a new Tram Management System (TMS) is being rolled out to provide an integrated solution for the entire network and bring a number of passenger benefits, such as increased service frequencies and real-time passenger information displays.

The ex-British Rail block signalling system on the Bury and Altrincham lines will be replaced with line of sight operation to achieve consistency across the network.

With a maximum permitted speed of 80km/h on the ‘open country’ sections, the

light rail

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 9

10 | the rail engineer | december 2011

Top, new tram at Piccadilly Gardens, (bottom) new St. Werburgh’s Road Station.

The new Metrolink operator To most, RATP symbolises the successful Paris metro, bus and tram operator. Many in the UK will not be aware however that the RATP Group is now the fifth largest public transport operator in the world and since 1 August this year took over from Stagecoach, through its RATP Dev subsidiary, the contract to operate the expanding Metrolink contract on behalf of TfGM. Stagecoach decided to exit the contract and after many months of negotiation and satisfying TfGM of their commitment, RATP Dev are delighted with their acquisition.

“We wanted this operation for a number of reasons” says RATP Dev UK’s Chief Executive Paul Matthews. “This is a tremendously exciting time for Manchester and we wanted to both share in the success of Metrolink’s growth but more importantly offer our global expertise to assist TfGM meet the challenges of that growth as a true partner”. “We also wanted to balance our transport portfiolio in the UK which had been built on buses, with a successful tram operation which Stagecoach had developed and hopefully acting as a springboard to further tram growth for us.”

The team in Manchester is lead by Managing Director, Chris Coleman who is very focused on the dual responsibilities of effectively planning for each phase of the extensions and maintaining a high quality operation for existing customers.

“RATP Dev is committed to quality and whilst I am proud of what our team does day in and day out, there is always more we can do, particularly in areas of managing headways, cleaning standards and customer communication in the event of disruptions”. The experienced local team has recently been joined by a specialist from RATP’s operation in Paris to assist with the extensions and accessing further expertise as required from elsewhere in the Group. Manchester also hosted a visit recently from RATP’s tram operations specialists from Paris and Florence.

Metrolink RATP Dev Ltd, the company holding the contract with TfGM, employs 466 staff including experts in areas such as rolling stock maintenance, signalling and all aspects associated with the tram system infrastructure. The next challenge will be opening up the second tram depot at Trafford Park for operational service in the New Year.

light rail ability to stop quickly and easily will be safeguarded by magnetic track brakes. Improved slip/slide controls prevent skidding and the unwanted generation of wheel flats.

Key to the new signalling and control arrangements is the ability to know where trams are at any given time. This is achieved using periodic ‘hard’ track loops plus a system of ‘virtual loops’ created from a series of low power ‘MESH’ radio beacons installed along the routes. The beacons continually ‘talk’ to the trams and each other, allowing control to monitor the position of each tram. This information is used to trigger the anticipated call for junctions, with the final call made after the preceding ‘hard’ loop is passed.

This new signalling system will permit closer headways, resulting in a more frequent service, as well as providing real time service information.

Disseminating real time information to the new passenger information displays and public address facilities requires a robust telecom/data network. The original Siemens 36Mbit OTN (Open Transport Network) ring system is being replaced with a High Speed 1Gbit Ethernet LAN. This is an industry standard product and will give improved flexibility and security.

Contract Management and the Future It has been a busy few years for Metrolink in Greater Manchester. A Metrolink partnership with Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) has created a unified, integrated Project and

Programme management team to oversee the construction of the new lines, which is very successful and will continue for the remainder of the modernisation and extension programme.

To ensure the safety management and change control processes are properly analysed and approved in accordance with ROGS Regulations, an independent ‘Competent Person’ has been appointed.

In more recent times, RATP Dev UK, a subsidiary of the French state-owned company which runs the Paris Metro, has taken over the operational contract to run Greater Manchester’s Metrolink network from Stagecoach plc. The Metrolink system trams, track and associated infrastructure will continue to be publicly owned by Transport for Greater Manchester.

New trains To date a total of 62 new M5000 Flexity Swift trams have been ordered from Bombardier to serve the expanding network. Each has a distinctive yellow and silver colour, making them strikingly different from the older T68 fleet. The first of the new trams entered service in December 2009, running between Piccadilly rail station and Eccles. More trams continue to arrive on a phased basis.

Approval by Greater Manchester’s transport leaders has been given to ‘retire’ Metrolink’s oldest trams and in September, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) agreed to order 12 more M5000s in order to replace these T68 vehicles, which have been in service since the network opened in 1992.

These are certainly exciting times. When complete, Manchester’s Metrolink system will stretch across the conurbation to reach new passengers and open up new public transport opportunities. Greater Manchester is investing £1.4 billion to upgrade and expand this iconic network which will almost treble in size, becoming the largest tram operation in the UK.

RATP Dev, working in partnership with TfGM to deliver a world class tramway for Manchester.

RATP Dev operates and maintains metros, tramways and rail systems worldwide.

12 | the rail engineer | december 2011

light rail

Clever Karlsruhe (Above) Completed tram track with synthetic fibres, at Gottesauer Platz tram station, Karlsruhe.

several years, the mass rapid F ortransit (MRT) system in the German city of Karlsruhe and its surrounding region has been the subject of an interesting transportation initiative. Continuous expansion of its network, with constantly increasingly passenger numbers, has proved the “Karlsruhe Model” to be a success.

A total of 19 mass transit companies, including the Karlsruhe public-transport authority (VBK), have merged to form the Karlsruhe network of MRT companies known as Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund GmbH (KVV). With its MRT network of 685 km, the KVV is the third-largest public transport network in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. In addition to the lines operated solely by the urban rapid-transit systems, the MRT network also includes 178 km of Deutsche Bahn lines that are also used by the KVV.

Karlsruhe with the east of the city and will also provide good tram access to the Karlsruhe Music Academy and the National Theatre.

This resulting new public transit network will therefore also have benefits for those who live outside the new residential areas in the eastern part of the city. The extensive use of turf tracks will further enhance the attractiveness of the Karlsruhe city landscape.

The conventional version of the RHEDA CITY track system, used until now in Karlsruhe, has featured continuous longitudinal steel reinforcement in the track concrete layer. This application for urban tramways was developed from the basic original RHEDA system, the first ballastless track system in Germany, that had been installed in the Westphalian train station of Rheda in 1972 by Professor Josef Eisenmann.

As reported in issue 84 of the rail engineer (October 2011), RAIL.ONE GmbH tested the use of synthetic-fibre concrete in the track concrete layer for the first time on the network of the Berlin Public Transport Authority (BVG) in 2010. The success of this test application was one of the reasons that VBK decided to use the RHEDA CITY system with synthetic-fibre concrete for its planned network expansion and for the new tram station at Gottesauer Platz. The new RHEDA CITY system will replace existing crosssleeper tram tracks that were installed flush with the street surface.

Ballastless track Since 2003, RHEDA CITY ballastless track has been installed in the Karlsruhe urbantransport network. For the recent construction of the south-east tram extension, this system used synthetic fibre concrete for the first time. The new 2.2km section, popularly known as the “Culture Line”, will connect the southern part of

Benefits of synthetic-fibre concrete Substituting synthetic fibres for steel reinforcement does not alter the basic characteristics of ballastless track. It does not affect the system of free crack formation but, at the same time, the synthetic fibres determine the distribution of cracks in the track concrete layer. Rosenberg Engineering

Offices played a key role in development of this new concrete mix design following extensive preliminary laboratory investigations and a great number of tests.

Using a synthetic-fibre concrete layer offers numerous benefits over conventional track design. The space available for track construction is often severely limited, particularly in an urban situation or on heavily used traffic arteries. These space restrictions force construction companies to invest in time - and cost-intensive construction methods.

The use of synthetic fibres can reduce these costs. In Karlsruhe for example, 16.5 tonnes of steel reinforcement were previously used in each kilometre of RHEDA CITY track. With the new synthetic fibre concrete, only 2.8 tonnes of fibres are used per km. These fibres are added directly in the concrete mixing plant, which means no logistics and no space requirements for rebar on the construction site. Likewise, this reduction in the use of heavy, steel components considerably improves the transport budget for the entire system. In addition, the lack of continuous longitudinal reinforcement allows significant time gains in installation of the track panels, reducing labour costs on the construction site.

Earthing and signalling There are other benefits too. Trams are usually powered by direct current which requires any steel installation to be earthed.

The use of synthetic fibres eliminates the need for these measures, with appreciable cost savings.

Elimination of longitudinal steel reinforcement in the track concrete layer furthermore prevents any undesirable interaction between reinforcement steel and the track signal systems. Until now, and particularly in cases of mass detectors and track circuits, it was necessary to electrically insulate the longitudinal reinforcement steel from the other system components. This is no longer required.

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 13

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Track construction In the pilot project in Berlin, the synthetic ďŹ bres were directly added to the concrete in the ready-mix lorry before pouring the track concrete layer. In Karlsruhe, however, the synthetic ďŹ bres were mixed directly into the concrete at the factory. This involves manually adding the bundles of ďŹ bres to the fresh concrete, as the ďŹ nal component in the concrete mix, through a special opening on the mixing plant. At this stage, the concrete must have already attained the normal consistency of freshly mixed concrete although the addition of the synthetic ďŹ bres will have an effect on that consistency. This ensures that the concrete can be processed on the construction site without delay, and it prevents possible mistakes such as in calculation of the ďŹ bre amounts per vehicle and in manual dosing of ďŹ bres for in-transit mixing.

On the construction site, the freshly mixed concrete can be poured by concrete pump or chute into the completely assembled and adjusted track panels. There is no difference between working with the synthetic-ďŹ bre concrete and normal, every-day concrete.

The Karlsruhe project has conďŹ rmed that synthetic-ďŹ bre concrete is well suited for use in the track concrete layer. Proper curing of the concrete is important as, if the correct post-treatment is not carried out, the synthetic ďŹ bres might not bond correctly with the concrete matrix. Shrinkage cracks could arise which could possibly impair the long-term performance of the concrete layer.

(Left) Concreting the track panel with synthetic-ďŹ bre concrete.

(Below) No need for continuous longitudinal reinforcement.

The VBK in Karlsruhe is the ďŹ rst public transport company in Germany to use synthetic ďŹ bre concrete in its MRT network as standard. So far, the results of this pioneering approach are more than satisfactory.

Thanks go to Hans-Christian Rossmann, Systems Engineer at RAIL.ONE GmbH, to Torsten Rosenberg, Rosenberg Engineering OďŹƒces, and to Volker Meier, OďŹƒcer for Maintenance and Project Management, for the Karlsruhe public-transport authority (VBK) for their help in preparing this article.

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14 | the rail engineer | december 2011

light rail PHOTO: AEDAS

PHOTO: BENJAMIN THOMAS

PHOTO: BENJAMIN THOMAS

Dubai Metro

goes Green writer

Paul Curtis is home of the world’s first 7 star D ubai hotel in the Burj Al Arab, the world’s tallest building in the Burj Khalifa Tower, and the world’s longest fully-automated passenger metro system. Dubai doesn’t know the meaning of anything less than world class so when the rail engineer heard they had opened their second metro line, the Green Line, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a look and see just exactly how an Emirate with a population of only 2.2 million moves people around a city against competition from 12 lane motorways and cars that can be filled up for a third of the price of that in the UK. The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has appointed Serco Middle East to manage and operate the system under a 7 year licence to 2014 with an option to extend for another 5 years to 2019. The RTA is responsible for all public transport in Dubai including the Metro, buses, taxis and water taxis, which puts them in an ideal place to integrate transport journeys throughout the city, taking traffic off the road and easing congestion. With oil being one of the United Arab Emirates greatest assets, the cardependent population has needed some coaxing to use the Metro. However the RTA seems to be winning this battle and converting more and more users on a monthly basis with over 100 million journeys being made since the line opened in 2009.

Red Line The Dubai Metro was opened by his Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE, at 9 seconds and 9 minutes past 9pm on the 9 September 2009 (09:09:09 09/09/09). The Red Line, running for 52.1 km

from Jebel Ali in the west to Rashidiya near the airport in the east, was initially opened with just 10 stations. A further 18 followed in 2010 and the last one, Jebel Ali station itself, in March 2011. 24 of the 29 stations are elevated alongside the 12 lane motorway of the Sheik Zayed Road, four are underground in the business district and one is at street level. In its first full year of operation, the service transported 30 million passengers Constructed by Dubai Rapid Link (DURL), which is a consortium made up of Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corporation, Obayashi Corporation, Kajima Corporation and the Turkish company Yapi Merkezi, the project started in 2005 and was largely completed in under 4 years.

The aim of the RTA was always to get people out of their cars and onto the public transport system, so two giant park-and-ride car parks were built at Rashidiya and Jumeirah Islands, each having 3,000 spaces.

Serco Middle East Two years prior to the Metro opening, Serco Middle East was made responsible for recruiting and training the 2,200 workers it would take to run, operate and maintain the Red Line. An additional 800 workers have now been added for the new Green Line taking the workforce to over 3000 employees. Around 50,000 training hours have been delivered to staff at all levels of the business.

Chris Rayner is the new Managing Director of the Dubai Metro. A former Western Route Director for Network Rail and Managing Director of CTRL, Chris explained he had

wanted to work abroad since a holiday in Thailand in 2010. The Dubai Metro has offered him the chance to be directly responsible for 3,000 people from 28 different countries speaking many languages. Chris commented, “We have key performance indicators based around punctuality and performance to hit, and the RTA set their standards high with nothing less than 99% being acceptable. I’ve only been in the post a few months but I am very proud of the team and every worker, how they have pulled together to give us a metro system that is being hailed as world class. The quality of our

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 15

light rail workers’ accommodation is like a 3-star hotel and they are paid a wage which means they can send up to 90% of their wages home. The challenges for us are in keeping the Metro efficient, increasing the patronage of the metro and being able to hand it back to the RTA when the contract ends.”

Green Line Following on from the success of the Red Line, the new Green Line was inaugurated on 9 September 2011 and currently runs over 17.6 km from the inland Etisalat depot, up to the coast, and back inland again to Healthcare City. A further 4.9 km on to Al Qusais and Creek will be added later. Built in the same style as the Red Line, it has two interchanges with the latter at Union Square and Khalid Bin Al Waleed. Union Station is now reputed to be one of the largest metro stations in the world, covering 25,000 square meters on two levels. 12 of the 16 stations on the Green Line (18 when it is extended to Creek) are elevated, while six are underground as is 7.9 km of the route.

With the opening of the Green Line, Dubai Metro now covers 70 kilometres and takes in 47 stations, nine of which are underground.

Air conditioned depots The Red Line has two maintenance depots; Al Rashidiya Depot, the main depot has capacity to park 45 trains and Jebel Ali Depot, the auxiliary depot has capacity to park 24 trains.

Al Rashidiya Depot, which covers 170,000 square feet, has the facility to carry out both light and heavy maintenance. Green Line has one depot at Al Qusais which is 30% larger and has more space available to carry out both light and heavy maintenance.

Robin Chen, the Rolling Stock and Depots Manager, explained, “The rolling stock, supplied by Kinki-Sharyo of Japan, consists of an initial 44 five-car sets followed by a further eighteen. Each train is made up of one carriage set aside for Gold Class passengers, each with 18 superior leather seats, and with separate partition for women and children only, and the remaining four carriages are Silver Class for the general public. Each carriage has three doors per carriage

allowing, even in peak time, plenty of room for people to access and leave the train and all with allocated space for wheelchair users.

Since then, The RTA has ordered and received another 17 trains for the Green Line.

Each 85.5 meter long train has 142 seats and can comfortably accommodate 643 passengers. They can carry up to 897 passengers at peak capacity and are structurally designed for a maximum of 1,150. Trains are fitted with passenger information displays in Arabic and English, the signage shows route maps and CCTV monitors every carriage.

With Transport Police present throughout the stations and trains, passengers feel very secure. Visitors will notice how remarkably clean the trains are and the RTA have gone for limited advertising opportunities inside the trains and stations rather than bombarding their customers with advertising messages in any available space. With trains operating every 3 minutes and 45 seconds during peak time and every 5 minutes off peak, you never have to wait long to get on board.”

The air-conditioned maintenance depots are fitted out with the best equipment available and employ 600 people. Each day trains start themselves at a pre-determined time, run through pre-operation checks and then make their way first to the yard and then out onto the network. At the end of the day they run back to the depot, go through a maintenance check and then power themselves down to conserve energy. The current maintenance routine happens every 3 days, 2 weeks and 3 months on every set, regardless of how many kilometers it has carried out operationally.

Maintenance John Barlass is the Engineering and Maintenance Director. John explained that currently the company responsible for building the Metro was carrying out Level 1 and 2 maintenance tasks as, under the build contract, it has to make sure that it is handing over a snag-free metro system. Level 3 and 4 maintenance is undertaken by Dubai Metro.

John, a former London Midland Engineering Director and Operations Director for Alstom Transport, commented

that because the system is so new it hasn’t really had any real tests yet.

The biggest challenges are making sure the system copes with temperatures as high as 113-117 °F from May through to August, and keeping the points and track clear of sand and dust. When a sand storm blows up it just rolls across 70km of open desert from Abu Dhabi and covers everything.

Operational control centre The state-of-the-art Operations Control Centre oversees train movement using a Thales control system. The entire Dubai Metro system is controlled and monitored by 27 people working 12 hour shifts and managed by former Manchester Metrolink employee Steve Staley. Large wall displays

16 | the rail engineer | december 2011

light rail

Stations

PHOTO: AEDAS

PHOTO: PAOLO ROSA

Stations are based on a single standardised design.

show the exact location of every train set on the network across the Red and Green lines while the CCTV cameras are monitored by Dubai’s transport police. CCTV in stations, trains, depots, track-side and sub-stations and Emergency Call Points (ECP) on station platforms & trains, intrusion alarm systems and a smart card operated access control system are all controlled and monitored via the Operational Control Centre.

Mark Smith, Dubai Metro’s Stations Manager, explained that each station has been designed with a theme around Fire, Earth, Water and Wind. Khalid Bin Al Waleed station is one of two where the Red Line meets up with the Green Line over a three level station. Mark is very proud of all his staff that run the stations, from the ticket clerk to the barrier assistants - every one of them has either been trained in customer service or they have a natural disposition to serve. And with 200 retail outlets about to become available on the network, Mark and his team will become even busier very soon.

The 47 stations have been largely built to a standard design, keeping build costs down.

Also, Dubai Metro launched the world’s first initiative of station naming rights in 2008.

The RTA now has 21 stations already named and it raised a significant 1.8 billion Dirhams (£310 million) in doing so.

With 100 million passengers in 2 years, 3,000 employees, 87 train sets, 47 stations of which 21 are named for the next 10 years, 3 maintenance depots, 2 lines and a high-tech operational control centre, Dubai has built not only the longest fully automated metro system but also one of the most technically advanced systems in the world.

The story is not yet over. The two-station extension of the Green Line to Creek is coming soon. The Al Sufouh Tram Project is already being constructed by Alstom and Belhasa Six Construct LLC and there is an impressive mock-up of a station and tram at the Jumeirah Beach Walk. There is also talk of Purple and Blue metro lines to connect the existing Dubai International Airport with the recently-opened Al Maktoum International Airport. the rail engineer will no doubt have to go back to Dubai again in the future…

w www.rta.ae

Thanks to Fiona D’Cunha of the RTA and Leilani Parungao and Ali Fahmi of Serco Middle East For helping to make this article possible.

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 17

light rail

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Improvements Wear Metro opened in T he1980Tyneand&now has a 48 mile long network connecting Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland.

Ninety two-car sets were built in Birmingham by Metro-Cammell which, having entered into service in 1980, are now 40 years old.

As part of the £350 million Metro: All Change modernisation programme, a new passenger information system (PIS) costing £1.7 million was installed in the train fleet. This was to provide clearly audible, pre-recorded announcements along with text messages displayed in carriages to aid hearing-impaired passengers.

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The SDW-550 is a ‘plug & play’ DIN rail mounted 5 port unmanaged industrial Ethernet switch with 5 10/100 Mbit TX (copper) ports. It is manufactured to a high industrial specification which allows it to even be connected into CAT3 cable. The switch is trigalvanically isolated with up to 2.8Kv isolation between interfaces and the power side, and a 1.5Kv between interfaces with a wide 9.6V to 57.6V DC input power range with polarity protection as well as being able to accept power from two sources.

Delighted All 90 cars have now been fitted with the new systems, and both the operator and passengers have reacted favourably to the improved quality of the information available to them.

Organisations representing travellers who are blind, partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing have complimented Nexus on the work they have done which has transformed the passenger experience for many of them.

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Metro owners Nexus selected Interalia Communications to install the new audio-visual system. Mindful of the need for simplicity and reliability, Interalia in turn chose to use a 5-port unmanaged Ethernet switch from industrial data communications specialist Westermo, model SDW-550, in the onboard communications network which shares data between the PIS and the CCTV system.

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18 | the rail engineer | december 2011

light rail

Blackpool writer

Terry Whitley

(Right) Washing plant and sanding plant.

84 (October 2011) of this I ssue magazine included a report on the world launch of the new BOMBARDIER FLEXITY 2 tram at Blackpool. That article was based around the new tram ready destined to be used on the network from Starr Gate, at the south end of Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach, north to Fleetwood.

Project investment was split into three contracts: replacing the remaining 8km of track, building a brand new tram depot at Starr Gate and purchasing 16 new trams from Bombardier Transportation.

Outside New depot It would be an injustice not to report on the new depot facilities built to house and maintain the new fleet. The design concept was specified by Blackpool Council and the detailed design and build was carried out by Volker Fitzpatrick. The style can be likened to a newly-built shopping complex, with waveeffect all-glass frontages to separate the stabling and maintenance sheds. It certainly bears no resemblance to other light-rail maintenance depots and is a world away from the metal-bashing, greasy-rag atmosphere of the UK resort’s ageing Rigby Road base.

A stone’s throw from Blackpool International Airport, the two main sections of the Starr Gate depot could indeed be mistaken for aircraft hangars. It has changed the resort’s skyline in this area and the new depot is fenced to ensure a tight security compound, including CCTV linked directly to the council’s own system.

A process of commissioning, training and checking over the new equipment took place prior to the launch date. In June, a heritage tram and a modified Balloon car were at the depot traversed all of the roads under power to ensure that clearances were within limits.

On the approach to the depot gates, a tram is detected by a transponder that allows the driver to open them automatically. They then close again as the tram passes through a security beam. The route on entering the depot is via the sanding plant, supplied from a nearby silo, to fill the eight sanding boxes on the new trams which are also fitted with automatic wheelslip detection.

The washing plant is next. A transponder in the track recognises the type of tram approaching, and the washer’s brushes are set up accordingly, whether for a double or single-decker, long or short tram. Lower and higher brushes will ensure the car is cleaned underneath and on the eaves at the top. Two final rinse arches use deionised water. It is envisaged the trams will be washed every day, given Blackpool’s particularly hostile climate of salt, sand, seawater and wind.

Inside Moving inside the building, the stabling area is a vast hall that can accommodate 14 of the 16 new trams, two on each road - it is assumed 2 will be undergoing maintenance at any one time. The entire fleet will therefore be stabled undercover, again an important part of the battle against the

elements. Internal cleaning and minor repairs will be carried out within the stabling area. If further work is required the tram will move to the workshop.

The maintenance area of the depot houses all the usual kit associated with maintenance and repair of vehicles, including an eight-ton overhead Goliath crane for moving bogies and two turntables for moving bogies out of the depot after removal to a storage area.

There are also two remote-controlled threetonne overhead monorail hoists for moving roof equipment around the building. This high-tech maintenance side of the depot has six berths, with inspection pits, more than enough for just the new trams but it is envisaged that work will also be done on the heritage fleet.

A set of 12 mobile jacks can lift an entire new tram and, with some minor modifications, can also lift the heritage fleet.

At the moment it is a long and laborious task to lift heritage vehicles at Rigby Road.

The lifting jacks are manoeuvred alongside the vehicle and a square bar is ‘plugged in’ to the side of the tram. The jacks all then lift simultaneously, operated from a single control panel, and can work in various combinations, giving maximum flexibility.

FLEXITY 2 Tram for Blackpool The BOMBARDIER* FLEXITY* family has become the benchmark for urban mobility in many countries around the world. The FLEXITY 2 tram is based on Bombardierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful FLEXITY trams and has been created to incorporate outstanding, proven features in one single tram. Bombardier Transportation is very proud that Blackpool Council and Lancashire Council have placed their trust in its latest development to revitalise the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tram system.

www.transportation.bombardier.com

*Trademark(s) of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

The Future of Urban Headline Transport Second line

20 | the rail engineer | december 2011

The new depot is fitted out with all the latest workshop equipment.

A Beck & Pollitzer depot protection system is a key-based system that ensures all movement operations are protected on site, and includes isolation of the overhead line when this is necessary for work on the trams.

The Hegenscheidt underfloor wheel lathe is designed for both the modern and heritage fleet and can turn the wheels on the six axles of a FLEXITY 2 tram in just eight hours. The wheel profiles are already input into the machine’s database so there is no opportunity for error.

There are other facilities including a shore supply when the overhead line is isolated, power points to charge vehicle batteries, automatic front doors and key-operated bollards.

light rail Housed between the stabling and maintenance sheds are the main offices and comfort facilities for the Bombardier staff who will initially commission and carry out maintenance on the trams, and for Blackpool Transport operational staff. The depot building has LED lighting on the outside that gives a spectacular appearance to the depot and will blend in with the start of the illuminations at the south end when on show.

The depot and its immediate area are the only part of the tramway to be fully signalled. Electronic signals give permission to leave the depot and indicate to the driver which way the electrically-operated points are set. A driver wanting to leave the depot has to create a request with the transponder by using his keypad to go either on to the main line or the new headshunt, and the gates are then opened.

The area is signalled and protected from any conflicting moves.

New track Work on the tramway’s track modernisation by contractor BAM Nuttall will be completed ready for the launch of the new system in April 2012.

The Tower to Gynn Square section, one of the trickiest because of the paved track, was completed in the winter and trams are now operating between Pleasure Beach and Little Bispham.

Relaying of the street-running track in Fleetwood is finished.

The layout for passengers at Starr Gate has also changedl.

Instead of trams dropping off their passengers and picking others up from the same stop, then going round the turning circle, there will be arrival and departure platforms and the tram will simply reverse between them.

The street-running section around the Metropole Hotel has been moved onto its own easement to help reduce traffic congestion problems. New platform-style tram stops along the whole route are at various stages of completion.

Automatic priority There is some track work still to complete, essentially from the Blackpool boundary heading north and 12 new signal-controlled crossings are being installed at highway junctions north of Little Bispham, providing automatic tram priority. Transponders are set in the track on the approach to junctions, and there are antennae and control boxes fitted to the trams. As the tram approaches the junction, the equipment detects the vehicle and changes the signal in its favour.

The first part of the system was completed at Little Bispham and contractors are progressively working north towards Fleetwood.

The entire retained heritage fleet, about 40 sets, has also been fitted with the new control boxes. Every tram now has a unique number, which enables the system to detect which vehicle it is.

More power Much of the electrical infrastructure has been replaced. The system is being uprated from 550V DC to 600V DC to take into account the more powerful trams and more intensive operation. In Fleetwood the new OLE is nearing completion and planning permission has been granted for a new substation at Fleetwood Ferry. A double substation has been built at the new depot to supplynot only its own power but also the overhead lines between Starr Gate and the Pleasure Beach.

With its new depot, and new trams, Blackpool has moved from the heritage to the modern world. But those illuminated trams will still be there to delight tourists as they have for decades.

22 | the rail engineer | december 2011

feature

Small

but indispensable Track replacement

TCB Rail and Groundworks is well placed to cover all of the UK.

pages of your favourite railway T heengineering magazine are always full of the goings-on of the major rail infrastructure contractors. Balfour Beatty, Carillion, BAM Nuttall, May Gurney, Murphy and others – they all feature regularly. The likes of QTS, Story Rail, Stobart Rail and Taziker International have their moments under the spotlight too.

So it is a pleasure, for a change, to look at the work of one of the smaller contractors.

Straddling the English / Scottish border at Carlisle, TCB Rail & Groundworks is wellplaced to cover all of the UK. Although only formed in 2010, the founder members have over 30 years combined practical and managerial experience within the rail industry. The company specialises in all types of contract work which vary in size from small to large, offering a friendly, reliable and professional service where client satisfaction is paramount.

In short, TCB offer all the standard building services that are complicated by the need to undertake the work on a live railway. So drainage, block paving, asphalt laying, wall building and roofing are all undertaken using a PTS certified workforce. Additionally, the more specialised fields of track renewals (re-rail, stressing, sleeper changing) can also be accommodated.

TCB tend to work on behalf of a larger contractor, who themselves are working for an even larger one or for Network Rail. An example of this was a recent track renewal job near Oxford. Murphy had been contracted to refurbish a bridge for Network Rail. The track and ballast had to be removed from the bridge deck so that it could be re-waterproofed. The track then had to be replaced. Murphy asked McGregor Railway Services to remove the old track, and they turned to TCB. Once the blockade was in place, the rails were cut and dragged clear of the bridge.

The concrete sleepers were removed using a RRV and stacked ready for reuse. An excavator removed the ballast and loaded it into two wagons.

After the waterproofing was complete, the process was reversed and the ballast, sleepers and rails replaced and the track restressed. Murphy arranged for a tamper to go through, and then to finish off TCB dressed everything up and tidied the site.

Station refurbishment Replacing a roof and resurfacing some hard standing are jobs done every day on factories, supermarkets and community centres all over the country. But on a live railway, when it is a station that is being refurbished, there are added complications that require a specialist such as TCB. Meadow Well station on the Tyne & Wear Metro was opened in 1982 as Smith’s Park.

Thirty years later, renamed and having been the target of frequent vandal attacks, a major

refurbishment was needed. The roofs over both platforms were to be completely replaced and the platform surfaces broken up and relayed with the mandatory tactile strips.

Working to an agreed design, TCB installed elegant new roofs in Metro’s colours. The asphalt platform surface was removed and replaced along with tiles for the tactile strip.

The whole job was completed on budget, and on time.

Down the drain Can Geotechnical were carrying out embankment stabilisation works at Hastings, East Sussex. New drainage was needed to carry the water away from the embankment to stop further problems in the future and TCB Rail and Groundworks were asked by Railway Drainage Limited to carry out that phase of the project.

Devegetation was the first thing to do, along with building an access road through the heavy vegetation. Once this was underway, TCB started to dig back and install the pipe work and aqua chambers, as well as to build a head wall and concrete pad for the drainage and for the water to disperse into an existing water course. The project was based on a 4 week programme but TCB helped to get this down to a 2 week installation with no incidents or accidents or any effects on the job.

All of these jobs, looked at in isolation, sound quite routine. But without companies such as TCB Rail & Groundworks, the routine often wouldn’t get done.

Based in Carlisle, T.C.B. Rail & Groundworks specialises in work within the rail sector, covering the whole of the UK. We specialise in Contingent Labour (Track) Contingent Labour (Building Works) Contingent Labour (Civils) On Track Protection & Warning Services

T.C.B Rail & Groundworks Ltd 47 Ruthella Street Carlisle, CA2 7PB

We carry out work in Drainage

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call:

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24 | the rail engineer | december 2011

feature

Re-Signalling PHOTO: ANNA METCALFE

writer

Clive Kessell The Wareham to Swanage Railway

Swanage Station on the day of opening in 1885.

uch has been written about new signalling schemes on Network Rail, London Underground and elsewhere. The wonders of modern electronics and computer control make fascinating reading even if the cost creates considerable adverse comment on occasions.

Main line and metro railways are not alone in having challenges for controlling an everincreasing growth in traffic. The UK’s heritage railways are the most prolific in the world and there seems no stopping the emergence of new schemes for the reinstatement of abandoned lines. However, these railways have to conform to the signalling rules for what are generally classified as Light Railways, which, while restricting speed to a maximum of 25mph, nonetheless demand safe systems of operation and control.

The Swanage Railway is typical of the challenges that such lines face. Starting with not much more than a long strip of brown field land, the rebuilding of the railway so that trains could run again took many years.

Sorting out the signalling requirements was perhaps an even more significant project and the IRSE Minor Railways section visited the railway on the 15 October to see what had been achieved.

M

Opened in 1885, the line connected the country town of Wareham with the Dorset coast resort of Swanage with a passing loop and station at Corfe Castle. Flourishing for many years, particularly with holiday seaside traffic, it gradually succumbed to growing car ownership and eventually closed in January 1972. The local population had fiercely resisted the closure and efforts to get the line re-opened began almost at once.

However the demolition contractors moved in quickly and the line was dismantled from Swanage as far as the Furzebrook sidings serving Wytch Farm Oil field, some 2 miles from Worgret Junction near Wareham. This stub end has proved to be fortuitous in that a mainline connection was retained.

The station buildings at Swanage and Corfe Castle were left although increasingly subject to dilapidation. The preservation society had a daunting task but an ally was found in Dorset County Council who realised that a re-instated railway might offer a solution to the growing traffic problems in Corfe Castle and Swanage. The County Council bought the track bed and thus the route was now secure.

Swanage station was refurbished and by 1979, track was relaid to Herston on the outskirts of the town. Sidings and the old engine shed enabled small steam locomotives and ex BR coaches to commence a short shuttle service. In 1988, the line was extended to an entirely new station at Harmans Cross where a loop was provided for run round purposes.

The big leap forward came in 1995 when the line extended to Corfe Castle and beyond to the park & ride at Norden. The

railway became part of the transport system for the district carrying local travellers and holiday makers as well as enthusiasts wanting a steam train ride. Additional locomotives and rolling stock were obtained but the lack of signalling limited the number of trains that could be operated.

Signalling the Line Initially the run round loops and siding connections were operated by ground frames and hand points. A train staff was initially used for the single line control, but this is limiting when more than one train is in operation. The passing loop at Harmans Cross was time consuming to operate and it was decided that proper signalboxes would be needed at Harmans Cross, Swanage and Corfe Castle. A heritage railway must be mindful of the image it is trying to portray and thus electronic interlockings and colour light signals are not generally used even if they could be afforded.

The gradual modernisation taking place on Network Rail throws up redundant equipment and our heritage railways make good use of this. Mostly it comes free of charge but with the railway paying for delivery to site. A whole variety of signalling equipment can be obtained this way ranging from lever frames, circuit controllers, electric locks, relays, point rodding, signal posts / arms and level crossing equipment. Some railways have obtained complete signalbox structures. Getting the bits is not normally the problem; designing the circuits / mechanical layouts, installing and testing the equipment and getting it commissioned to the required safety standards is where the time, professional skill base and finance are required.

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 25

feature

Harmans Cross To operate a reliable two train service required this location to become a fully signalled passing loop. The signalbox has been sited on the Up side just north of the station and was a new construction in traditional L&SWR style. Sound foundations ensure that the structure can withstand the mechanical stresses associated with lever pulling. The frame came from Gunnersbury and is of Stevens manufacture with 22 levers having lever locking, i.e. the locking tappets are directly operated by the levers’ movement. Underneath is the usual mixture of cranks and pulleys secured to a bedding plate. A partitioned area forms the relay room and power supply. Old style shelf relays control all the vital circuitry.

The box has two Tyers electric key token instruments for the single line sections to Swanage and Corfe Castle. When the box is open, tokens are exchanged with the drivers in the normal way. However, if only one train is in operation, the box can switch out for long section working between Corfe Castle and Swanage using Tyers No 6 Tablet Instruments. A ‘King Lever’, released by Corfe Castle and Swanage, enables Harmans Cross to switch out by clearing Up and Down signals for the Down platform. The king lever, when finally reversed, frees the tablet to be extracted and handed to the driver for the train to proceed. The king lever then prevents any untoward operation of levers until the box re-opens whence the process is reversed.

Other levers connect the rodding to the loop points and their facing point locks at each end of the station. There are two sidings used to store rolling stock not needed for the day’s service. Signals are upper quadrant distant, home and starters plus disc signals to control shunting movements. The distant signals are pulled only when the box is switched out. The signal arms are mounted on lattice posts, which were fabricated by Swanage Railway volunteers. The box was started in 1995 and completed in 1997.

Swanage A signalbox had existed here but was demolished when the section from Corfe Castle became ‘One Train Working’ towards the end of BR operation. When the line reopened, ground frames controlled the reinstated run round loop and sidings. This was adequate at the time but very limiting, with no direct access to the bay platform for passenger trains. Thus the decision was taken to build a new signalbox, this time sited on the Down side as insufficient space existed at the original box location because the land was leased out by the Council.

Box construction followed a similar pattern to the one at Harmans Cross, with the same high standard for mechanical and electrical installation being achieved, but with a Westinghouse A2 frame of 40 levers from Brockenhurst B. This type of frame has catch handle locking where the tappets are

moved by both the pulling and release of the catch handle when the lever is reversed.

Tyers key token instruments control the working to Harmans Cross but when that box is switched out, a Tyers tablet instrument controls the working to Corfe Castle. Two king levers allow the box to be switched out with both Up and Down signals pulled off for the main platform, a tablet being in use for long section working to Corfe Castle. This arrangement is the minimum facility for operating a single DMU train service in the evenings.

26 | the rail engineer | december 2011

Brittania Class Loco 70013 Oliver Cromwell arriving at Swanage on a charter train from London Euston on 15 October 2011.

Inset, New Corfe Castle signalbox on down platform.

Plug in signalling relays in Corfe Castle relay room.

Corfe Castle A signalbox was provided at Corfe Castle for the line opening in 1885. This was located on the Down platform and had 11 levers. Of timber construction, it lasted until the 1950s when it became unstable and was replaced by a 12 lever frame located in the old Porters’ Room within the main station building on the Up platform. This continued in use until the line closure when the room was locked up. Fortunately the demolition contractors failed to find the frame and it remained in situ. When the re-laid line reached Corfe Castle in 1995, all trains to and from Norden used the Up platform and thus signalling was not needed. By 2005, the increasing train service demanded that the passing loop should become operational and the frame was restored, re-locked and brought back into use with either tablet working to Swanage or key token working to Harmans Cross. One train working with a train staff was used for the short section to Norden where the loop exists only for engine run round purposes.

A vision to restore a signalled mainline connection at Worgret plus the increasing number of charter trains arriving from the national network meant that the Porters’ Room signalbox was inadequate. The decision was made to build a new signalbox on the site of the original one and equip it so that it could remotely control the loop at Norden and its adjacent level crossing as well as providing the interface to the mainline signalbox - currently at Wareham but eventually to be at Basingstoke.

Contractors were engaged to build the box foundations but the main structure has been done entirely by volunteer labour. The frame is a 32 lever Westinghouse A3 style being made up of recovered equipment from both Brockenhurst A and Broadstone.

Both had been stored in wet conditions for some time and the steel levers were very

feature

rusty, an emery machine being needed to bring them back to mint condition. The underside locking area has a mass of cranks, rodding, pulleys and wires that exit under the platform face - not the easiest of places to work. A relay room accommodates all the relays, wiring and power supply, all installed to a very high standard. On the operating floor are three single line machines: a tablet machine for long section working to Swanage, a token machine for working to Harmans Cross and a new ‘No Signalman’ machine for the short section to Norden.

Summary and Future Plans Signalling the Swanage Railway has been a major achievement. Most of the work has been done by volunteers with no previous signal design or installation experience. The enthusiasm and dedication are an inspiration for all. There is more to do however. The track was extended from Norden to meet the remaining branch line at Motala where opposing points protect movement between the Heritage Line and Network Rail, thus allowing charter trains to run through under special arrangements.

Dorset County Council is keen to establish a regular ‘Amenity Service’ from Swanage to Wareham. This will entail running a DMU train beyond the present Norden station up to the main line at Worgret Junction and into Wareham station. Network Rail, in the process of designing the resignalling of the Dorset Coast line, were prepared to include a signalled connection to the Swanage branch for a cost of £3 million. Such is the difference in costing between the commercial railway and the heritage sector! Fortunately, the county council has agreed to underwrite the cost. This

will provide the junction control signals and also signals down the branch to enable a train to be clear of the main line even if the section to Norden is occupied. The exact arrangements for the necessary token working are still being worked out.

The loop at Norden must remain as the park and ride service is key to the heritage railway income. The points and signals may be motorised and the adjacent level crossing equipped with full barriers and CCTV surveillance, all to be controlled remotely from Corfe Castle box. Wareham station does not currently have a bay platform so occupation of the main line by Swanage trains will need to be a slick operation. A bay might be provided if the service is a success. All of this has still to happen but 2013 is the aim.

Thanks are expressed to Mike Walshaw and Mike Whitwam who not only have done much of the work but also gave their time freely to show us around this amazing resurgence.

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 27

electrification/power

a writer

Clive Kessell lectrified railways have been around since the 1890s and the predicted advantages of efficiency, speed and cleanliness have largely been realised. But what has been learned about electric traction and infrastructure since that time that can make today’s electrification schemes easier to implement and better value for money? The annual IET Railway lecture on 3rd November was given by Peter Dearman, Head of Network Electrification in Network Rail and a long term railwayman.

Peter presented an analysis on how electrification has developed over the years and outlined the critical factors that will impact in the future.

E

that emerged across Europe. Eventually, the London & North Eastern Railway embarked on the electrification of the Liverpool St to Shenfield and Southend suburban line and planned for its cross Pennine route from Sheffield to Manchester. These were to employ the 1500V overhead line DC system which was finding favour in France and had previously been used by the North Eastern Railway for a freight line. Again, war intervened but eventually both projects were completed by the early 1950s.

The emergence of 25kV 50Hz overhead systems in the 1950s was to prove a godsend, for the system allowed almost unlimited power as well as being much

The UK in retrospect

PHOTO: SPSMILER

Britain’s first railway electrification scheme (Volks Railway at Brighton being an exception) was introduced by the London Brighton & South Coast Railway in 1909 (pictured right) using overhead line technology at 6.7kV 25 Hz AC for their London suburban lines. This should have set the scene for the future. However the rival London & South Western Railway, having seen the Manchester to Bury line of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway electrified on the 1200V side contact third rail system and being influenced by the adjacent District Line fourth rail top contact system, opted for a 660v third rail system for its suburban lines out of Waterloo. The first sections opened in 1915. The First World War stopped both these systems being enlarged although piecemeal expansions continued when peace came.

The two railways became part of the Southern Railway under the Grouping of 1923 and the SR took the decision to standardise on the third rail system. The LBSC overhead system was dismantled and the lines converted. With the benefit of hindsight this was the wrong decision and the railways of Southern England have had to live with this legacy ever since.

Nothing much else happened in the rest of the UK during the depression years, which may have been fortuitous as Britain was spared the multiplicity of different systems

A District Line D Stock leaving Ealing Common Station.

simpler in terms of distribution and control.

All UK schemes since then have adopted this standard except for some Southern Region expansions using third rail. The rate of roll out has been poor compared to Europe with only the West Coast, East Coast and some suburban lines being converted.

System pros and cons Whilst the third rail system is supposed to be cheap to install (it not requiring the erection of masts and gantries), the need for frequent substations and sectioning cabins, AC feeder cables and rectifiers to obtain the DC power, and complex control arrangements makes the system far more costly than one would think. Couple this with the limited amount of power that can be safely extracted from the system and the large losses that are incurred by both infrastructure and traction make it an unattractive proposition.

Although visually less intrusive, a power rail at ground level is always a safety hazard.

1500V DC overhead is better but suffers from the same weaknesses of needing rectification and limited power output. All remaining UK lines of this voltage have since been converted to 25kV.

Critical analysis

28 | the rail engineer | december 2011

electrification/power

So is 25kV the perfect answer? It has become a world standard but the configuration of the system from the 1960s era is in need of modernisation to a) improve the loss factors, b) to interface the system with modern grid practices and c) to make the mechanical parts of the system more reliable and less susceptible to damage.

25kV Design today

PHOTO: DAVID SHIRRES

The railway is now busier than ever with more trains being run, each of them consuming more power than previous designs. The electrification system needs to supply this power demand but given that the volts and amps cannot be varied, the only means of delivering improved efficiency is to reduce the impedance of the system thereby minimising losses. In earlier times, booster transformers and return conductors were necessary to minimise interference into adjacent copper telecommunications cables, both railway and third party owned. This worsened the impedance of the system and the electrification engineer installed these devices somewhat grudgingly. With the widespread use of fibre cables, this requirement has gone away and thus booster transformers no longer form part of a modern 25kV design.

Electrification work taking place on the Airdrie-Bathgate project.

The grid supply system has to be part of the efficiency enhancement challenge. In the 1960s the fault current on an overhead line short circuit was limited by grid power availability and technology. A new design of 4Ω supply transformer has allowed a significant lowering of impedance with consequential rise in fault current from 6kA to 12kA. This has necessitated the development of high speed circuit breakers but the energy levels under fault conditions are very high. The single phase railway system has never been popular with the grid supply companies as it tends to unbalance grid conditions. To minimise this, the power supply points are now normally located at 400kV grid access points rather than 132kV. In turn this allows greater distances between feeder stations, which, whilst fewer of them are needed, the impedance of the system from that supply point is worsened. It becomes a trade off between less equipment but lower electrical efficiency.

To get more power from the system, the use of auto transformers in a 25-0-25kV configuration (sometimes referred to as 50kV) has some advantages and is almost universally used on today’s high speed lines. However in practice, faults and short circuit conditions are found to be more commonplace and the effects are worse.

The way forward for supplying power is the advent of the ‘smart grid’ plus a much closer relationship with the power supply companies. The traditional approach of having large generating capacity from a small number of fossil fuelled power stations is on the way out, with only nuclear energy being used for such stations in the future. The growing use of renewable energy sources, be it wind, solar or tidal, will mean a much more distributed series of supply points. Coupling this to intelligent network control will lead to cost and reliability benefits. Train energy demand is dependent on the number of trains and the speed at which they are travelling. Some means of using stored energy for high demand periods makes sense and this is where renewable sources, with their inherent battery storage systems, will come into their own.

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30 | the rail engineer | december 2011

Losses and Train Design The business case for electrification needs a re-think. The price of diesel fuel is now an inhibitor but this in itself is not enough.

Electric traction pricing must become cheaper and, to achieve this, system losses must be reduced. An AC system should be capable of having losses of between 3-5%.

The worst situation is with the ex-SR third rail DC network. This legacy from the past has often been examined for conversion to 25kV but the cost has always been too high. However the energy equation is such that a new study is underway and the results are looking more hopeful. With the wide availability of dual voltage traction, the changeover can be renewal led, probably working from the extremities inwards so that removal of all the third rail kit can be achieved on a line by line basis. It will take many years to happen but it seems to be feasible Trains are now heavier and more power hungry, which is the reverse to what has happened in the air and automotive industries. The analogy is that applying the train design trend to cars, a Ford Focus would weigh 4 tons and have a fuel efficiency of 12.5mpg. Improved passenger facilities such as air conditioning are only part of the problem.

Crashworthiness is a major factor and the standards need to be challenged. The advent of TPWS and the declared future with ERTMS has almost eliminated the risk of collisions, although it is acknowledged that level crossing road vehicle crashes still pose a threat. Traction drives and air

PHOTO: TAKESHI KUBOKI

Shinkansen 500 series.

electrification/power

conditioning systems need to be made more efficient. Bogies are still reminiscent of a Sherman tank. Take a look at Shinkansen and see what can be done.

The Future and more questions The first thrust must be to get better control and distribution of the electric power transmission network with energy management being done properly. Equally it is recognised that overhead line infrastructure must be made more reliable.

Instances of the wires being brought down are far too numerous and a better design will emerge for the forthcoming GW and NW projects based upon best European practice.

Another challenge will be the raw material to be used. The world’s copper supply is expected to be exhausted in 15 years. Quite what will replace it is an unknown although recycling existing copper infrastructure will become more important. Convincing the freight operators to use more electric traction may be difficult as wiring sidings is not a practical option. Again some form of on-board energy storage technology will likely be the answer.

The whole industry has to look at electrification on a unified basis. Peter Dearman must be thanked for this fascinating insight into the electrification debate.

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 31

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writers

Steve Cox and Barry Calder Balfour Beatty Rail

Double Innovation

in Electrification

main gases identified in the protocol.

Balfour Beatty Rail’s AIS therefore provides Network Rail, and the railway industry in general, with a valuable alternative means of achieving environmental and sustainability policy objectives.

22 October 2011 Balfour Beatty Rail, O nworking alongside Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Traction Group, installed the Paisley Gilmour Street Track Side Cabin as part of the Paisley Corridor Improvement Project in Scotland. To look at, this trackside cabin is no different from many others on the UK Rail infrastructure.

However, inside it is a different story. Hidden within this unit is the state of the art Balfour Beatty Rail Tracfeed Air Insulated Switchgear (AIS) that is being trialled at this site.

The Tracfeed AIS has been designed specifically to meet the requirements of 25kV railway applications and is derived from conventional 3-phase switchgear. It is common for 25kV switchgear used for railway applications to be insulated with SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) gas and this equipment is known as Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS). However, since the Kyoto Protocol came into force on 16 February 2005, industry across the European community and other industrialised countries has been committed to reducing the green house gas emissions that cause damage to the ozone. SF6 is one of the six

Air insulated busbar chamber Additional benefits of the Balfour Beatty Tracfeed switchgear, when compared to its gas insulated switchgear equivalents, is that the busbar chamber is also air insulated thus eliminating the need for 24 /7 monitoring of the insulating gas pressure. Particularly in the winter months, a drop in temperature can cause low-gas-pressure alarms to be activated. These are always a cause for concern as, if the gas leaks out of gas insulated switchgear, the bus bars will fail as the insulation is lost. Of course the leaking gas will also cause an environmental incident.

Air insulated switchgear is also generally easier to extend for future capacity increases when compared with gas insulated equivalents. There is no need to de-gas and then re-seal and re-pressurise the bus bar chamber if extending the system. The new Balfour Beatty Rail air insulated system is modular, metal clad and extendable. Each switchgear panel consists of a bus bar compartment, a combined cable connecting and circuit breaker high voltage compartment, a circuit breaker

truck, an integrated pressure relief channel and a low voltage compartment. The low voltage compartment is located at the top of the operating side of the panel and houses the protection relays and control equipment.

The vacuum interrupter is mounted on a retractable circuit breaker truck which is located inside the high voltage compartment. By rolling the circuit breaker truck in or out, a gap in the main current path is created or closed, thereby performing the function of a disconnector switch. Rails located in the panel guide the truck when it is moved between the disconnected or operating positions. The fixed contact system to the bus bar is protected against direct shorts whilst in the retracted position by an automatically operated shutter system.

(Above) Air Insulated Switch Gear Circuit Breaker control panel. (left) Air Insulated Switch Gear being installed on the Paisley Corridor Improvement Project.

Air Insulated Switch Gear factory acceptance testing.

32 | the rail engineer | december 2011

Two 25kv Section Insulators being installed to maintain separation from the mainline electrical sections.

Internal faults involve arcs and would lead to a pressure increase in the affected panel.

To prevent this, an integrated pressure relief channel runs along the top of all of the panels to vent any excess pressure and protect against the mechanical or thermal effects of such arcs.

Easy maintenance An important feature of the Balfour Beatty TracFeed TAC switchgear is that all equipment can be accessed from the front and the circuit breaker truck can also be withdrawn from the panel completely for maintenance.

The Overhead Catenary System general arrangement illustrating the two different electrical sections.

electrification/power

Outgoing circuits are directly earthed by earthing switches mounted on the cubicle’s steel structure by means of insulators. These switches are motor operated by a spring drive with the capability of emergency hand operation and are interlocked with the corresponding disconnectors. A separate, fully rated electrical earth connection is provided directly to the structure.

Importantly the new switchgear is fully compatible with most protection devices and SCADA systems.

The complete trackside cabin was assembled in Scotland at Balfour Beatty Rail Engineering Services’ factory at Huntly Road, Glasgow. Situated close to the project, this provided an excellent environment for the Network Rail and Balfour Beatty engineering teams to develop and deliver this innovative

new design which is a first in the UK. Balfour Beatty provided a “one stop shop” to Network Rail for the design, manufacture, integration, installation and testing of the equipment as part of the overall Paisley Corridor Improvement project.

Tunnels too The fitting of electrification equipment within the spatial constraints of the UK rails civil infrastructure, some of which originates from Victorian times, has been a perennial problem for electrification engineers. Balfour Beatty Rail has, over a number of years, developed special techniques, expertise and products that allow the most complex tunnel electrification projects to be successfully completed.

The introduction of a new scissor crossover into the Midland City Line at Midland Road situated under the heart of the City of London within the Kings Cross North Tunnel, is a case in point. A special wiring configuration had to be developed to allow the crossover to be integrated into the existing 25kV electrification equipment in

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 33

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the tunnel. The new crossover allows trains using the St Pancras sub surface station to be turned around when an overhead line isolation is in place at the southern end. This project was undertaken as part of an operational upgrade associated with the Thameslink Improvement Programme.

Termination arrangement of the Spring Tensioning Devices used to auto tension the new crossover OLE wires mounted to the tunnel soffit. (top right) Checking electrical clearance of newly installed steelwork using rail mounted pantograph gauge.

The crossover wires for the scissors are auto-tensioned using spring tensioning devices which comply with the spatial envelope available and were easily mounted to the tunnel soffit.

Design evaluation During the design phase of the project a number of possible options for electrifying this new piece of infrastructure were evaluated against operational performance, constructability and whole life costs. The analysis established that, for this particular project, a reduced-height semi-flexible conductor-based wiring system demonstrated the greatest cost efficiency for delivery while meeting the performance specification and construction programme requirements.

Physically fitting the electrification equipment into the confined tunnel profile, while ensuring conformance to mechanical and electrical clearance standards, was the predominant challenge of this project whilst at the same time ensuring electrical independence of the main through roads.

A clearance study, using various CAD design tools and numerical analysis was undertaken to assess the chosen OLE support configuration and ensure that the necessary electrical and mechanical clearances were maintained. This exercise considered the positioning of supporting equipment in conjunction with the vehicle and pantograph gauges that operate on this route. It involved 3D modelling of the wiring configuration and additionally, following numerical analysis, a number of 2D cross section slices were developed through the area of the crossover depicting the wires and pantographs in their relative operational positions.

Electrical sectioning was achieved by employing two 25 kV Section Insulators on the crossover wires. A special arrangement was chosen for this application to improve the along-track positioning of the equipment while ensuring that electrical clearances to the pantographs passing on the through lines were maintained.

Dynamic stability To provide dynamic stability, the overhead line equipment arrangement directly above the crossover was supported vertically at the high load points of the section insulator. In addition, supports were added to the opposing side of the crossover to counteract any imbalance. This support configuration allowed the system to be adjusted on site to achieve equilibrium and a level contact wire profile which provides efficient current collection at the contact wire pantograph interface.

The structural integrity of the tunnel surface was tested at pre-construction phase to verify that the new electrification equipment could be introduced onto the existing civil infrastructure.

Construction commenced in June 2011.

The Balfour Beatty Rail construction team used two 24 hour weekend track possessions for the installation of the support equipment, tensioning devices and bonding of the new equipment. A third 58 hour weekend possession was used to run

the new contact and catenary wires for the crossover and the installation of the two new section insulators. Verification of the installation prior to section proving was achieved by manufacturing a track-mounted crucifix gauge that had been uniquely modified to incorporate the electrical clearance and kinetic vehicle tolerances.

The key to the success of this technically complex and challenging project was the depth of experience within the Balfour Beatty Rail engineering and construction teams that worked closely and in harmony with Network Rail’s Thameslink project team.

The result was a successful project, delivered on time and to budget.

Doug Lee, Balfour Beatty Rail Programme Director, National Electrification, stated that, ‘We are committed to innovation and technical development to ensure that Network Rail’s objectives for the future electrification of the UK rail network are fully achieved in a cost effective manner.’

Assessing the position of the section insulators against a passing electrical pantograph gauge.

34 | the rail engineer | december 2011

electrification/power

Screw pile

solution

lineside structure, and A nyanyrailway other building for that matter, is only as good as its foundations.

Because they can’t be seen, buried as they are in the ground and usually covered by the structure itself, they can be forgotten. However, out-of-sight does not make them out-of-mind, particularly when trying to install equipment in tricky locations.

Carillion had just that problem recently when required to install OLE masts along a stretch of the Great Eastern line for Network Rail. Screw piles seemed to be the way to go, so the project team contacted specialists FLI Structures, members of the Haley Group.

Screw pile foundations FLI Structures are leaders in the design, manufacture, supply and installation of Screw Pile foundation solutions. Benefits of our Screw Piles include: • Quick to install - saves you time & money • No excavations or spoil to transport away • No concrete - reduced possession times • Removable & re-usable - provides a sustainable foundation solution • Structures supported include Buildings, Portal and Cantilever Gantries, Platforms, Masts & Towers, Signal posts, OLE, Lighting Columns, Signs, etc

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Bespoke solution FLI were contracted to design, manufacture and install 20 OLE bases consisting of mast, tie and strut foundations. The project presented FLI with several challenges. Firstly, most of the foundations were to be installed behind potentially fragile Victorian retaining walls and the brief was to avoid any surcharge on these walls.

Secondly, the ground conditions were challenging with a high water table and running sand in some areas.

Thirdly, available space was very limited behind the retaining wall to position the foundations, especially as

the foundations had to avoid retaining wall footings, adjacent footpaths and fences. Finally work was to be carried out in possessions during day / night shifts, in a built up area where noise levels had to be minimised. Screw piling did seem to be the best, and probably the only, solution.

The FLI team designed a range of bespoke screw pile foundation solutions to cater for varying gantry spans and loads. Groups of screw piles were selected, with pile diameters up to 219mm, installed up to 7 metres in depth. Steel grillages completed the interface between piles and the OLE structures. A large amount of flexibility was built into the steel grillages to allow the site teams to overcome any issues with buried obstructions and services. This was especially important where bases for an overhead gantry are installed on opposite sides of the rail track as each side has differing physical constraints.

FLI installed the screw piles using RRVs with torque motor attachments.

The installation process was quiet as driven impact hammers were not required, therefore reducing section 61 issues. The retaining walls were unaffected.

Success As Tony Parker, Sales Manager at FLI, commented, “Our success was based on understanding and solving site problems efficiently, and providing safe solutions for our installers. With a strong focus on innovation, we are able to supply foundation solutions to support a wide range of structures in Telecoms, Railway, Highways, Civils and Renewable markets. We take experience from each site and use this knowledge to continue to lead the way in the Screw Pile foundations sector”.

FLI’s success on rail sites has been recognised by Network Rail and Birse Rail, who have both presented FLI with their product innovation awards.

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36 | the rail engineer | december 2011

feature

writer

David Shirres

eastern Asia to western Russia without a change of gauge. Although its potential to attract freight from ships has been recognised since the end of the Soviet era, the Trans Siberian Railway (known as the Transsib) carries only a tiny proportion of all cargo from eastern Asia to Europe.

This is now likely to change as Russian Railways (RZD) implements its plan to enhance the Transsib to create a “Landbridge” and attract freight from ships.

The multi-faceted plan includes infrastructure improvements, new lines, traction and rolling stock, port enhancements and improvements to customs processes. It all sounds very interesting, so the rail engineer was sent to Siberia to learn more.

The world’s longest railway

Ermak Locomotive.

PHOTO: DAVID SHIRRES

The 5,772 mile long Transsib, running from Moscow to Vladivostok, is the world’s longest railway. Its construction in just 13 years, from 1891 to 1904, was a remarkable achievement which included constructing bridges across many substantial rivers and the crossing of extensive mountain ranges, all in one of the coldest and most remote environments on earth.

There was no economic rationale for the railway at the time. It was built for political reasons to hold together a vast nation and protect its eastern borders. Indeed, when opened in 1904, it was soon used to move troops for the Russo-Japanese war. Russia lost, one reason being the lack of capacity of the original single line railway.

Since then the line has been progressively doubled and electrified. Electrification of the line commenced at 3,000V DC in the 1930s, and from the 1960s at 25kV AC with the final section completed in 2002. As a result, 24% is still electrified at 3,000V DC and there are three locations where the voltage changes.

The 2,687 mile Baikal Amur Mainline (BAM) railway branches off the Transsib to the north terminating at the Pacific port of Sovetskaya Gavan. This line was started in the 1940s but was only fully completed in 1991. It was built as a strategic alternative to the Transsib which runs close to the border with China. It is a largely single-track railway with only the 913 mile western section electrified, and most of its route is built over permafrost.

Other significant branches off the Transsib are the Trans-Mongolian and TransManchurian lines. The Trans-Mongolian crosses the Gobi Desert to the Chinese border where there is a rail link to Beijing, while the TransManchurian also provides a route to China. From 1901 to 1935 it was originally part of the Transsib, with China agreeing to a route through Manchuria which reduced the distance to Vladivostok by 700 miles.

The Russian Transsib route, avoiding Manchuria, opened in 1916. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1935 and promptly changed the gauge to standard. At the Chinese border both routes still change gauge from Russian 1520mm to 1435mm standard gauge.

Some say that Russia chose its broad gauge for defensive reasons. Indeed the break of gauge caused Hitler’s troops significant logistical problems. Today, however, it is a significant barrier to crossborder freight transit.

Transsib freight today Transsib frequently carries 71-wagon, 6,000 tonne freight trains which are over a kilometre long. It is a crucial transport link which handles 50% of Russia’s imports and exports. Its importance is highlighted by the fact that the Trans Siberian Highway was only fully paved in 2010. Domestic freight is primarily oil, coal and timber. In 2010 the Transsib carried 748,544 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) of container traffic with domestic, import, export and transit traffic being respectively 66.3%, 16.8%, 14.4% and 2.4%.

Although still a low percentage, transit traffic is 78% greater than it was in 2009 as a result of RZD’s initiatives to promote the Transsib as a Landbridge. With a freight transit time of typically 15 days between eastern Asia and Europe, about half that by ship, RZD believe that Transsib freight is an attractive option. As an example, since 2008 Globaltrans has been running four container trains a day from the port of Vostochny on the Sea of Japan with goods from Japan, China and Korea. TransContainer, a subsidiary of RZD, operate further regular services between China and Europe over the Transsib.

Transsib vs. Container Ships The 21,000 TEU transit traffic on the Transsib compares with 13.5 million TEU on ships from eastern Asia to Europe. The comparison table explains why Transsib container transport costs are higher than by ship. The Transsib Landbridge is therefore best suited for time sensitive cargos, particularly since ocean carriers introduced extra-slow steaming to reduce fuel costs. As an example, Transcontainer’s 2010 Annual report shows that 17% of RZD’s transit cargo is auto parts for which a reduction in transit time would reduce inventory costs.

PHOTO: RUSSIAN RAILWAYS RZD

has many railways, but the Trans A siaSiberian is the only line which links

Trans Siberian Landbridge

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 37

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Ship - Landbridge Container Shipping Comparison Transsib Landbridge

Ship

Distance travelled by one tonne of rail freight on a gallon of diesel = 246 miles (Network Rail figures).

Transsib distance is half that of Ship so fuel costs per tonne only slightly higher than for ships.

Handling Stages - excludes to and from Port/ Railhead

From Japan & Korea • Port of Origin • Russian East Coast Port • Gauge Change Europe Railhead

Infrastructure Costs

Rail Infrastructure Maintenance

None, other than Ports

Transit Issues

Customs at multiple border crossings.

Potential theft from containers.

Different rail networks.

No unauthorised access to containers.

Pirates are a hazard.

Assume 1 TEU = 10 tonnes.

Typically 7000 TEU ship burns 200 tons and sails 600 miles per day = 0.01 miles per gallon for 70,000 tons of cargo.

Distance travelled by one tonne shipping cargo per gallon = 700 miles.

Transsib in seven days In 2009 RZD adopted the “Transsib in Seven Days” project as part of their strategic plan. This will require £1 billion to be spent on track improvements by 2015, and a further £900 million invested in the BAM and Transsib to: • reduce choke points in the eastern part of the Trans-Siberian to e.g. additional and longer loops • develop railway freight hubs on the border with Mongolia, China and North Korea to increase throughput where there is a change of gauge • upgrade rail infrastructure at ports of Nakhodka and Vostochny, close to Vladivostok • modernise and upgrade container terminals to international standards • reconstruct the Russian section of the Trans-Manchurian railway with a new border terminal at Zabaikalsk for the change of gauge with an annual capacity of 500,000 TEU. In addition, port capacity is being enlarged. A recently completed project increased Vladivostok’s capacity to 600,000 TEU per year.

Currently, Transsib trains travel 700 miles a day at 50 mph, taking 9 days from Vladivostok to Russia’s border with Belarus. The trains require an inspection every 450 miles, 24 locomotive crew changes and 4 locomotive changes. One planned operational improvement is changing wagon examination methodology so that the complete train receives a thorough examination at a wagon depot prior to departure, allowing train inspections to be done every 1750 miles. This technique was used on a test train in 2009 which travelled from Vladivostok to Moscow in just less than 7 days, covering 845 miles per day.

Freight trains are generally restricted to 50 mph on the heavily trafficked Transsib.

Another objective of the 7 day Transsib project is to increase daily travel distances to 940 miles by 2014 through improved operations, track renewals and better rolling stock permitting higher speeds to 62.5 mph.

Until recently, customs clearance, even for transit cargos, could take up to 5 days. RZD has developed new IT systems to facilitate customs inspections and give their customers real time consignment tracking.

Electronic goods declarations, together with customs agreements with trading partners, have reduced clearance times to a matter of hours.

The Ermak Between 2008 and 2015, RZD plan to purchase 7,500 new locos and modernise a further 4,000. For Transsib and BAM in 2010/11, this includes purchasing eleven T2M7A diesels, re-engining 56 diesels and the construction of 103 Ermak 3ES5K freight locomotives by Russian train-maker Transmashholding, Russia’s largest train

From China • Railhead • Gauge Change Russia • Gauge Change Europe • Railhead

• Port of Origin • Destination Port

builder employing 57,000 and with a turnover of £1.5 billion, which entered into a co-operation agreement with Alstom in 2009.

The Ermak is a 12,300 hp locomotive made up of 3 x 25kv Bo Bo AC locomotives that operate as a single unit with no pantograph on the middle unit. It has regenerative braking, can operate in multiple with a locomotive at the rear of the train and has microprocessor traction drive that takes account of gradient profile to minimise shock load on couplers. Cab heating provides a constant temperature of 16 C even in Siberian winter conditions.

(Above) Vladivostok Container Port.

3ES5K Technical Characteristics Weight Axle load One hour rating Continuous duty rating One hour tractive effort Continuous duty tractive effort Maximum speed in operation Length over buffers

288 tonnes 24 tonnes 9,840 kW 9,180 kW 696 kN 634 kN 110 km /hr 52.5 metres

PHOTO: DAVID SHIRRES

Fuel

38 | the rail engineer | december 2011

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ambitious is the idea for a rail connection to the United States through a Bering Strait tunnel. New rail links in Russia and Alaska could offer the intriguing possibility of a future train journey from London to New York via the Transsib.

Transsib’s bright future

New Lines The construction of new rail lines creates further opportunities for Transsib freight transits. In 2008, work started to reconstruct a 40 mile rail line from Hasan, near Vladivostok, to the North Korean port of Rajin where a new container terminal is being built. Rajin is a North Korean Economic Special Zone and is leased to China, which otherwise has no other access to the Sea of Japan. Freight trains are expected to start running on this new line at the end of 2011.

In the West, Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to undertake a feasibility study to build a 350 mile broad gauge line from Košice in Slovakia to a new international container terminal in Vienna.

This line is expected to be completed by 2016 at a cost of €4.7 billion and will eliminate the need for transhipment at the Russian border due to the change of gauge.

In 2009, a 195 mile line between Bam in Iran and Zahedan in Pakistan was opened to provide a rail link from Europe to India. In 2013, this will be joined to a rail link between the Persian Gulf and the Baltic Sea with the completion of a 235 mile rail line between Astara and Qazvin on west side of Caspian

Sea. The new line is the result of an agreement between Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia, and will be connected to the Transsib.

A rail project still under consideration is extending the BAM railway to Sakhalin Island with a tunnel to Japan. Even more

It is always good to see more freight carried by rail, but few in the UK would consider rail capable of capturing traffic from ocean going ships. RZD expect to do just this. Although almost all traffic between eastern Asia and Europe is currently carried by ship, RZD’s strategy is to make the Transsib Landbridge increasingly attractive for time sensitive cargos. Implementation of this strategy will require significant investment in infrastructure, traction and rolling stock, so it will be interesting to see if this presents any opportunities for European and UK suppliers.

This article was written following a press trip to Vladivostok and Irkutsk organised by Russian Railways (RZD) whose assistance in the preparation of this article is greatly appreciated.

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40 | the rail engineer | december 2011

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Signalling products

for the seven day railway

it is these two factors that make being a railway signalling engineer such a challenge.

So the company is very pleased to be able to announce the first three products created from the ethos set in 2008, combined with the knowledge and passion all the company’s staff has for the improvements required in delivering signalling systems in the UK. With Modular Signalling, Modular S&C and Plug & Play initiatives now firmly in place as a way of achieving cost savings going forward, SigAssure believes it has invented and developed the base line for achieving these requirements.

Modular Technology Interface System (MTIFS)

(Lead) Changeover of signalling equipment can be done live at the PCIU. (Inset) PCIU can be installed quickly and cables attached.

November 2008, SigAssure UK was I ncreated by a team of railway signalling engineers who were convinced that the railway industry in the UK was entering a new and exciting phase - one that required new products and processes, supported by innovation, to deliver cost savings in the whole life cycle of a project and the railway system.

Jump forward to May 2011 the new company was mature and confident enough to be able to offer a new product line to the industry in the form of the SiG brand.

Everything SigAssure has been expecting to achieve and be part of has always reverted back to Safety and Innovation, and

The ability to install, on site, signalling equipment that requires no further testing, checking and the minimum of site effort and skills to make it ready for commissioning has been a constant challenge for the Signalling Engineer. There are national initiatives, supported by Network Rail, that require this ability to be provided by design and this should be considered the standard in the future. SigAssure are pleased to be part of the improvements in the efficiency of signalling system build and testing activities with the PCIU and TCIU products.

The Plug Coupler Interface Unit (PCIU) is designed to replace the standard signalling disconnection box. It meets the requirement to bring plug-coupled cables into a central point for disconnection and this is its main achievement. The Plug Couplers need to be

secure away from tampering, vandalism and unsafe acts of disconnection so the Integral Support LockForm (ISLF) system accompanies the PCIU in all track side environments to act as its support into the ground or a structure as well as providing the security against unauthorised access to the couplers. This has all been achieved whilst maintaining a universal modular approach, and also the ability to install and connect - ‘Plug & Play’ without the need for bolting systems and complex cable terminations.

The PCIU is designed to interface cabling to all types of signalling equipment currently in use on Network Rail infrastructure. A sealed unit, there is no requirement to test its electrical connectivity & integrity on site.

Traditionally signalling equipment is purchased and put together on site each time, no matter how standard the item is, which is time consuming and open to interpretation of quality or technical mistakes.

The costs associated with the installation and testing of traditional disconnection boxes is disproportional to the cost of the equipment, and inefficiency continues to be a large cost implication in a project life cycle. When combined with the 30 year requirement to maintain, renew and disconnect these items of equipment for track renewal works, and inefficiency generated by the process and their design, then there has always been room for improvement.

The key to the revolutionary aspects of the MTIFS range of products is that they are supported by an assurance system. The

/&8 .6-5* /03. (0 35 03"/(& )*() 7*4 )&"5 "/% '-".& 3&4*45"/5 ("3.&/54 &OHJOFFSFE GPS SBJMXBZ XPSLFST XIP DBSSZ PVU QSFDJTJPO XPSL TVDI BT XFMEJOH JO EJSUZ PVUEPPS FOWJSPONFOUT UIF OFX NVMUJ OPSN (03& 5&9 )FBU 'MBNF (BSNFOUT PGGFS EVSBCMF IJHI WJT ¿VPSFTDFOU PSBOHF XJUI IJHI MFWFM QSPUFDUJPO GSPN IFBU BOE ¿BNF 5IJT OFX QSPEVDU JT BSD SBUFE UP $MBTT L" XIJDI JT SFHVMBUFE CZ UIF OFX &VSPQFBO TUBOEBSE &/ *40 *O BEEJUJPO (03& 5&9 )FBU 'MBNF (BSNFOUT HVBSE BHBJOTU TVEEFO FYQPTVSF UP IFBU BOE ¿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¾SNBUJPO UIBU UIFZ EFMJWFS IJHI QFSGPSNBODF UP FOTVSF UIF TBGFUZ BOE DPNGPSU PG SBJMXBZ XPSLFST 'PS GVSUIFS JOGPSNBUJPO QMFBTF WJTJU XXX HPSF XPSLXFBS DP VL PS DBMM B NFNCFS PG UIF (PSF 8PSLXFBS 4BMFT 5FBN PO

HPSF XPSLXFBS DP VL

8 - (PSF "TTPDJBUFT (03& 5&9 (03& BOE EFTJHOT BSF SFHJTUFSFE USBEF NBSLT PG 8 - (PSF "TTPDJBUFT

42 | the rail engineer | december 2011

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product is not purchased as a ‘bag of parts’ that requires installation on site, and then tested to prove quality and compliance, but instead they are provided as the finished item. Built, assembled, wired, tested, labelled and accompanied by their application design that has been checked for compliance at all levels of the process. The only effort that remains is to bolt the unit on site and plug the cables in, with a final confidence test of the equipment in question as per the Signalling Testing Handbook stipulations. There is no room for quality issues, no need to test the product as it is a sealed unit with a certificate of test provided, and if failures do occur, a new PCIU can be inserted within seconds without the need to attempt a site repair. The faulty item is covered under warranty, with SigAssure UK making the necessary repairs.

Track Interface Unit (TIU) The Track Circuit Interface Unit (TCIU) completes the range of coupler interfacing, where its specific task is to allow track circuit dis-boxes to be replaced with plug coupler benefits.

Based on the PCIU design, and completely compatible with all forms of the ISLF™ system, with particular attention on the ability to mount the TIU safely to the track system itself - a novel and innovative solution aligned to the requirements of the national Modular S&C project.

The benefits of the rail mounted TCIU is to allow all the normal time consuming track circuit installation effort to be effectively undertaken before the possession, whilst the p-way is being prepared in the factory or adjacent to the worksite. This idea will offer significant time savings, as required from the signalling fraternity in the quest for ‘8 hour S&C’ works.

System benefits

(Top) Completed PCIU with final cables attached.

(Middle) Different size couplers to control main and hunt signals.

(Bottom) ISLF without PCIU fitted at Network Rail trial site, Leicester.

The new SigAssure system of PCIU, TCIU and ISLF offers many benefits over current practice: • Universal design, caters for all types of signalling equipment, • Speedy and effective site installation - no risk of quality issue affecting efficient project time, • Achieves the requirements of plug & play standards and the need to plug-coupler all signalling, • A full assurance system on offer, no management time on site, • The sigMALP can transport each item where traditionally they are installed in remote locations, • Allows quick disconnection, re-connection to assist track renewals, • Cable damage and theft issues can be rectified much quicker, thus decreasing train delays, • No need to fault find on site, simple replacement on site as a result of being a sealed unit, • Completely secure from tampering and vandalism, • Use as a switched item to allow re-

controlling of equipment without expensive re-testing, • Can be retro-fitted to assist CAPEX maintenance renewals, • Detailed and site specific design solution is provided with each unit.

The MTIFS, PCIU & TCIU is shortly to undergo first system trials with Network Rail, and is already being installed as part of other Network Rail National Initiatives, as part of product acceptance. These products may well become the industry benchmark for the future of efficient, off site assured signalling connectivity systems.

Developing such a new system cannot be undertaken in isolation.

SigAssure UK is therefore grateful for the support and partnership assistance received from AB Connectors, PELI products, Smart Print & Labels and Vortok International in the creation of the products featured here.

e info@sigassure-uk.com

Point your device at www.rail.co

44 | the rail engineer | december 2011

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Reeve is the latest Chairman of the B illIMechE Railway Division (formerly the Institution of Locomotive Engineers) so he is well placed to give a critical view of the engineering element within the rail industry. the rail engineer went along to hear his Chairman’s address.

Bill started his career as a rolling stock BR sponsored student, holding various T&RS depot posts once qualified. He then became involved with the train-load freight business and gained an insight on railway finances that most engineers never get to understand. Following a spell at the SRA, Bill is now the Commercial Director for Transport Scotland, a senior civil servant with a considerable cheque book. There is no better person, therefore, to give the railway engineering community some home truths and to challenge the present situation with engineering costs.

Why are costs high?

The starting point is that UK rail costs are about 1.8 higher than the European norm.

Why should this be? In 1980, engineering costs were about half of the total railway operating cost base - Civils 20%, M&EE 24% and S&T 6%. In the BR business led railway which Bill joined, a direct connection between revenue and cost was established.

If a scheme was to proceed, it had to pay its way. Notable achievements between 1981 and 1987 were the reduction of real maintenance and overhaul costs in Regional Railways from £102 million to £44 million allied to the introduction of Sprinters which

PHOTO: CHRIS MCKENNA

Stop Board marking the start of the radio token section at Rannoch Station on the West Highland Line.

reduced the fleet size by 55%. The introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) signalling in Scotland for the Far North line cost £400,000 to provide and saved £500,000 in operating costs during the first year. The Public Service Obligation grant fell in real terms from £1.3 billion in 1983 to £650 million in 1990.

A culture of economy made business and engineering managers understand their objectives. Trainload Coal was BR’s most profitable sector and it charged its customers what the business would bear.

With revenue of £249 million and fully allocated costs including infrastructure of £89 million, it provided a contribution of £160 million to general rail funds.

Intermodal freight The situation with Intermodal freight was very different. The road rate price for moving a container 250 miles was £240; to compete with this, rail had transhipment and delivery costs at loading / unloading points of £140, leaving a maximum of £100 cost for moving the container. The only way to make this pay was for a train of 48 containers, less than that meant a loss. Regrettably with infrastructure unable to handle efficient train lengths or 9’6” containers, this scenario could often not be realised.

With the coming of EWS and a policy of reducing costs and aggressive marketing, an upsurge in rail freight occurred. The advent of the Class 66 freight loco was a major factor in cost reduction. However, separating management of cost from revenue was not a winning formula and even the profitable coal business went through a period of loss.

Railtrack’s estimate for enhancing routes to

writer

Clive Kessell

Railway Engineering

Efficiency & Opportunity

december 2011 | the rail engineer | 45

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take 9’ 6” containers was upwards of £650 million. With the annual Intermodal turnover of £150 million, this was a poor investment.

To get 9’6” containers from Felixstowe, the UK’s biggest container port, to the West Midlands and the North West via Peterborough needed gauge widening work costing £180 million. Via London was only £30 million and was also an electrified route all the way. Unsurprisingly, the chosen option was via London.

Privatisation = increased cost

PHOTO: COWRIN

With privatisation, the rail scene changed completely. Government support rose from £1.6 billion in 1999 to £4 billion in 2002.

Many examples of disconnected thinking between project teams and actual need could be cited. Two such instances were: On the WCML upgrade at Warrington, a trailing crossover needed to be renewed.

The standard called for UIC specified rail to be used in place of the former 113lb rail.

This meant a new track geometry, which would not fit the existing space so a remodelling programme had to be planned. The cost would have been enormous. When a more detailed analysis was undertaken, it emerged that the crossover was never used.

A power upgrade was needed on the Southern network when the new Electrostar trains were introduced as they are 14% heavier than the previous 4CIG and 4VEP stock. The perceived power requirement for the Brighton area increased from 10MW to 22.5MW, which was found to be way overstated when the predictions were compared with actual measurement. The whole scheme had originally been estimated at £100 million but escalated to £1.2 billion before being scaled back to £652 million. If the engineering of the whole system, including the weight of the new trains, had been properly specified in the first place a true cost of between £100-200M would have resulted.

The lessons slowly learned were that project teams must understand the value of the traffic, be given incentives aligned to the whole railway business, challenge standards if existing ones are inappropriate and realise that measurement beats modelling.

Controlling costs The cost problem affects all disciplines. The cheapest provision of a new siding is when the connecting points are hand operated and is most expensive when they are controlled by a computer-based interlocking. The emerging cost of ERTMS schemes could increase still further the cost of providing new rail connections and thus new business. Interoperability problems and software management, even the space and power consumption of on-train equipment, are looking to be expensive ongoing liabilities.

A key test for technology will be whether it can achieve the same reductions in overall cost that previous signalling introductions such as RETB secured 20 years earlier. Even the basics of erecting new signals seem to result in mammoth civil engineering structures - Network Rail uses the picture of a new signal gantry replacing a simple post as an illustration of what must not be allowed to keep happening.

‘More electrification’ is a frequent call, yet the costs for achieving it have soared. The average BR scheme cost around £430,000 per single track km (stk), with the best being achieved on Leeds North West at £281,000.

The forecasts for future schemes currently range from £600,000 to £996,000 per stk. The initial estimate for the Edinburgh - Glasgow electrification was > £1 million per stk!

signals”, yet the signalling system is SIL4 whereas a traditional friction brake is SIL0. If the UK were to adopt magnetic track brakes for main line trains (they are mandatory in Germany above 140kph and are often used on metros and light rail in the UK) the ensuing confidence in a much improved braking system would result in capacity, journey time and performance advantages.

Had they been fitted to the trains involved in the Clapham and Southall accidents, analysis suggests that there would have been 60% less kinetic energy in the former and the latter would have been avoided completely. Magnetic brakes are also beneficial in combating adhesion problems during the leaf fall season, as has been the experience of Tyne & Wear Metro stock when running on Network Rail track.

Some answers Train braking Train braking systems are another anomaly. As a former President of the IRSE once said “it’s brakes that stop trains, not

Encouraging signs are emerging. In Scotland the new Class 380 trains with 23m carriages are, at 168 tons, lighter than the 179 tons of the earlier 20m Class 350. They also have better acceleration and lower station dwell times. Also, the AirdrieBathgate line was let on a fixed price contract and was delivered on time and budget. It took 6 years from inception to opening and many innovations were needed to keep the cost to the contractual limit as the project team recognised the criticality of the fixed price.

Maybe innovation is the key, although British spending on this is poor compared to countries such as Japan which spends twice what we do. The new Stephenson Award for Practical Engineering Innovation is a welcome move but, to qualify for the award, any idea must have a net beneficial impact on rail cost and/or revenue. As Bill Reeve said, “Standards have their place but they are for the guidance of the wise and the strict observance of fools! Above all, remember that good engineering can deliver competitive advantage.”

DC Substation Systems.

PHOTOS: ULTRA ELECTRONICS

46 | the rail engineer | december 2011

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The Challenge of Today’s Railway Sir David Higgins

and Derbyshire D erby Rail Forum once again held their annual conference in the Derby Conference Centre, a truly historic railway location; the training school in the art deco building opened by the LMS in 1938. The conference always attracts speakers of stature and this year was no exception.

The programme participants consisted of Sir David Higgins, Chief Executive, Network Rail; Sir Roy McNulty who chaired the Rail Value for Money study; Terry Morgan, Chairman of Crossrail and Teresa Villiers, Minister of State for Transport. Come the day the Minister was unable to attend but was ably replaced by David Horne, the new Managing Director of East Midlands Trains.

The conference was well supported by members of the Forum and guests while this year attracted some new attention from those protest groups concerned about the failure to win the contract for Thameslink rolling stock by Bombardier. There was therefore a vocal but well–mannered gathering of protesters on the pavement outside the Conference centre. Those arriving were very firmly reminded of the strength of local feeling and the concern for the future of rolling stock manufacture in Derby.

The sessions were chaired by Colin Walton, the UK Chairman at Bombardier Transportation.

First on the podium was David Higgins with a very up beat message about Network Rail. He opened with the very positive news that Network Rail was planning to build a new “Depot” in Derby on land currently owned by the Company.

This was naturally well received by the generally local audience and helped to reinforce the role of rail in the City.

The presentation continued to emphasise the enormous amount of work that would be required on the railway system over the next 30 years in the light of the explosive growth in business, both passenger and freight. He challenged suppliers to step up and meet this demand while Network Rail improved its efficiency and performance. Reference was made to the organisational changes, particularly in the investment area with early firming up of scope and avoidance of client requirement changes as schemes develop. He concluded that Network Rail’s plans for control period five would be a great opportunity for suppliers and a positive period for the rail industry in total.

Driving of Innovation Sir Roy McNulty had been invited back following his speech the previous year and was clearly pleased to be back in Derby.

He emphasised the findings of his study and the level of savings that he felt could be achieved. He expressed confidence that the industry could deliver and that figures of 30% should not alarm rail professionals.

He expected the creation of “An enabling environment” and the “Driving of innovation.”

David Horne brought an air of real local interest having already filled the position of deputy to Tim Shoveller, the previous Managing Director of East Midlands Trains.

He entertained the conference with his views on the need for value for money and proceeded to tell us how East Midlands Trains had examined the views of its customers, as well as potential customers.

It was interesting to hear that the perceived average rail fare was twenty eight pounds whereas in fact the actual is around five pounds fifty pence!

East Midlands trains had adapted their marketing strategy to set budget fares around the level suggested by focus groups as reasonable and has also tackled the perception that it was never actually possible to obtain the bargain tickets online!

David referred to the use of reality show characters such as Jedward and Stacey Solomon in a tactic to connect with younger potential customers!

Crossrail Finally we were treated to an excellent presentation from Terry Morgan, which gave a real insight to the Crossrail works and set the project in scale with national infrastructure developments. As well as the current public route alignment it was interesting to hear that a route had been protected on to Ebbsfleet.

He emphasised that this was not just a Civil Engineering project - it was a RAILWAY project. The tunnel boring will be a significant undertaking with orders for eight tunnel boring machines being placed, sadly not available in the UK. The work for these machines can be put in context as we learned that the Crossrail tunnel bore is 6.3 metres against the 3 metres of a tube tunnel!

Naturally there was particular interest in rolling stock procurement and we learned that there was an intention to procure rolling stock relatively early with a plan to bring it into service on Great Eastern and Western lines. We also heard about the tunnelling academy at Ilford and how it was intended that other than rail projects would benefit from this essential skill development facility.

Finally it was good to hear of the environmental credentials. Spoil will be brought by rail from the tunnelling to a terminal at Northfleet whence it will be used to create an artificial island in the Thames estuary for the benefit of birdlife. We rounded off by hearing the positive news that Crossrail was anxious that the project should benefit SMEs and that they should make every effort to become involved and make Crossrail aware of what they could offer.

The day ended with a valuable networking lunch and I am sure participants went home with the feeling of an event with much value. Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum can be well satisfied with an excellent day!