The Rail Engineer - Issue 110 - December 2013

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DECEMBER 2013 - issue 110

this issue q RENEW OR REPLACE? 34 q CUMBERNAULD ELECTRIFICATION 58 q IMPROVING WCML RELIABILITY 60 q IS EVERYBODY RED-P? 80

Keeping London Moving

One of London Underground’s big challenges is replacing its ageing infrastructure whilst keeping four million people moving every day. 10

Borders takes off The main works have started. 24

In for the long haul

Thameslink Programme

Collin Carr reports on the current challenges. 14

Bombardier’s president Francis Paonessa. 30

Power from the Park to the Palace A remarkable project in accordance with BS11000. 54 technology � design � M&E � S&T � stations � energy � DEPOTS � plant � track � rolling stock

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the rail engineer • December 2013

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Contents

It’s all happening to programme Collin Carr looks at the progress that has been made on Thameslink, and what is left to do

News 6

30 Borders takes off

Class 68 revealed and modular signalling success.

Keeping London moving…

10

The Track Partnership between Balfour Beatty Rail and London Underground pays dividends.

Borehamwood woken at 2am!

20

How alternative piling methods could have let them sleep.

Renew or replace?

34

A look at heavily refurbished Class 317 and 321 trains as part of the debate on whether to refurbish old or buy new.

Making the wheel-rail interface work

38

43

The technology of running a tram-train on both heavy railways and on-street track.

Copenhagen - challenges for a modern metro

In for the long haul

48

Clive Kessell looks into the latest developments in Denmark’s capital.

Meet Bombardier’s Francis Paonessa

Power from the Park to the Palace

54

Find out what F2A means, and how it is being electrified by a collaboration of client and contractor.

Cumbernauld Electrification Project

40 Tram trials and tribulations

58

More wires are going up - this time in Scotland.

The problem solvers

60

Trying to keep the wires up - on the WCML.

Operate, Maintain & Deliver

64

The new high output electrification train gets ready to start work.

Electrification infrastructure

72

A report on the Whole Life Optimisation Congress 2013.

On parallel lines

88

A look at the similarities between the National Grid and network Rail.

54

See more at www.therailengineer.com

We’re looking to highlight the latest projects and innovations in

Bridges and tunnels

Electrification and Electronic Systems in the February issue of the rail engineer.

Got a fantastic innovation? Working on a great project? Call Nigel on 01530 56 57 00 NOW!

the rail engineer • December 2013

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Editor Grahame Taylor grahame.taylor@therailengineer.com

Production Editor Nigel Wordsworth nigel@rail-media.com

Production and design Adam O’Connor adam@rail-media.com

Engineering writers chris.parker@therailengineer.com clive.kessell@therailengineer.com collin.carr@therailengineer.com david.bickell@therailengineer.com david.shirres@therailengineer.com graeme.bickerdike@therailengineer.com jane.kenyon@therailengineer.com mungo.stacy@therailengineer.com peter.stanton@therailengineer.com simon.harvey@therailengineer.com steve.bissell@therailengineer.com stuart.marsh@therailengineer.com

Advertising Asif Ahmed asif@rail-media.com

Paul Curtis pc@rail-media.com

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Part of

Powering ahead This month we’re looking at the huge expansion of electrification and also at issues affecting light rail and rolling stock along with, of course, our usual eclectic mix of railway engineering tales.

Our electrification feature kicks off with Steve Cox and Peter Webb’s account of how the Palace has been electrified to 25kV. Alexandra Palace that is, not HM’s abode. It was a complex operation and we’re given plenty of technical detail. The existing intense service close to London made matters all the more challenging.

As Collin Carr tells us, the Great Western electrification is about to “burst into action” after years of detailed planning. We will soon see the 23 vehicle factory train capable of prodigious output operating out of a HOOB - one of the more endearing of modern acronyms for a very well stocked cupboard.

Collin has also been chatting to Chris Binns, Network Rail’s head of engineering for the Thameslink programme, to find out what’s going on in and around London Bridge station. A lot is the short answer - and all of it is complex with the station and approaches carried on a maze of viaducts.

Jim De Waele, the chairman of the Federation of Piling Specialists, gives some timely advice on the techniques available to electrification engineers for fixing their masts to the ground. There’s a solution to just about every problem and they don’t have to be noisy either.

Peter Stanton’s articles are linked. They both concentrate on the reliability of overhead line equipment. There’s a project combining industrywide expertise from looking at failure modes on the West Coast main line and endeavouring to eliminate weaknesses in the system. In parallel, a recent congress in London put Whole Life Cost Optimisation under the

microscope. There were major contributions by delegates from railways throughout Europe emphasising that this is not just a UK issue.

Copenhagen’s metro system is comparatively new. The line from Copenhagen to Malmö opened in stages during the 21st century.

The Swedes had learnt from the experience of scores of other systems. They’re now building a new line but, as Clive Kessell tells us, technology has marched on and the latest train control system doesn’t work on the older line. No matter though.

There really was a good reason why Nigel Wordsworth was treading the streets of Nottingham at one o’clock in the morning recently. He was there to catch a tram - after they had stopped running for the night.

But truly, the good reason was to see the first test run of the city’s new Alstom Citadis trams.

Trains can last a long time, probably a generation or two long enough for fashions and attitudes to change. Get hold of what appears to be ageing stock, take out the visible bits, seats and décor, revamp it with modern equivalents and hey presto, a new train appears. This is what has been demonstrated with one of the 317 class emus and a fleet of Class 321s.

Nigel makes the point in his analysis of whether it is more economic to refurbish or replace rolling stock that we’ll never be into a mass production scenario.

There will never be economies of scale. A train consists of many variations: driving cars; power cars; trailer cars and so on. At upwards of £5 million per vehicle there is scope for many strategies.

GrahamE Taylor

To the non-railway world it would seem obvious that trams can run on main line railways and vice versa. To railway engineers, terms like rolling contact fatigue, wheelset steering and the like alert us to the fact that, at anything other than a crawl, trams are not trains. But Paul Allen tells of Huddersfield University’s wheel profile compromise that will enable the realisation of the UK tram/train.

The project to reopen the Borders railway might have had a slow start but it is now well underway with major earthworks complete and activity throughout its whole length. David Shirres’ tour includes some remote locations where the dismantling of bridges back in the late 60s stopped inexplicably, so giving a new lease of life to otherwise doomed structures.

David covered the IMechE’s engineering challenge last year and is encouraging all readers to applaud the contestants planning their entries in the competition this year. Building a loco from scratch is no mean feat and getting it to work on the day just adds spice to the exercise.

The railway industry doesn’t have a monopoly of emergencies or dramatic images of infrastructure.

We have a look at the National Grid and how it managed the progressive failure of one of its large pylons. Why here in a rail magazine? Well, there are striking similarities with our industry and the tale did involve a railway. We just don’t get to dynamite our problems away though!

Although you’ll receive this edition of The Rail Engineer in early December, this will be my last chance to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a safe New Year on behalf of all the production team here at Rail Media. If you’re working this Christmas, then we’ll keep the turkey warm.

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the rail engineer • December 2013

NEWS

Class 68 seen in Spain Four Radical ideas The first four of eight finalists have been awarded investment as a result of entering the Radical Train competition, run by the rail industry’s Enabling Innovation Team (issue 102, April 2013).

The ‘Radical Train’ challenge was set up to seek out proposals for new ideas which aim to make a marked difference in the performance of trains on Britain’s railways, encouraging ideas to re-think the fundamentals about rolling stock.

A total of 56 high level entrants applied and eight were shortlisted in May to develop their proposals further to secure investment.

The first four contracts have now been agreed supporting over £6 million worth of innovation projects in the UK. The EIT is investing approximately £2.5m with the innovators contributing a similar sum. The first four successful applicants are: »» Revolution VLR Consortium

(Very Light Rail) consisting of TDI (Europe) Ltd (Transport Design International), Unipart Rail Ltd, Warwick Manufacturing Group centre HVM Catapult, Trelleborg PPL Ltd , Allectra Ltd and GKN Land Systems for their low carbon, very-lightweight whole passenger railcar demonstrator (pictured); »» Holdtrade Ltd, Transnet, Huddersfield University and HBA Ltd for their radical freight bogie concept; »» Thales and NewRail for their active adhesion monitoring project; »» A confidential investment in emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology.

The first of 15 new Class 68 locomotives being built by Vossloh in Valencia, Spain, has now begun testing.

Fitted with 2,800 kW Caterpillar C175 engines, and with an axle load of 21.5 tonnes, these Bo-Bo locomotives will be used for both passenger and freight operations. The 85 tonne locos will be limited to 100mph running.

Frame-mounted traction motors will drive the bogies, with the traction equipment being supplied by ABB. 68001 was caught on YouTube (thank you ‘dcampetren’) undergoing noise tests before being despatched to Velim in the Czech Republic for further testing. That will be complete by spring 2014. Meanwhile, 68002 will be delivered to the UK before Christmas. The DRS liveries will be applied after the locos arrive.

The new vehicles are a derivative of the EuroLight locomotive that Vossloh launched at the 2010 InnoTrans exhibition in Berlin. As well as being modified to suit the British loading gauge, the UKLight version has a slightly higher top speed and a larger fuel tank.

The same Spanish factory is also producing ten Class 88 locomotives, ordered by DRS a few months ago. These will be 4MW electric locomotives, fitted with a 750kW diesel engine for use off the overhead network.

Delivery is due in 2015.

Crewe to Shrewsbury goes modular During the weekend of 12-14 October, the Crewe to Shrewsbury Modular Signalling Pilot Programme was successfully commissioned by Siemens Rail Automation and the line is now controlled from Network Rail’s Regional Operating Control Centre in Cardiff.

Covering 30 miles of bi-directional signalling, the project included seven level crossings - five of which have now been converted to manually controlled barriers with obstacle detection (MCB-ODs) - and two complex fringes. It was a good pilot of the new concept as it contained many of the application scenarios required to prove the modular signalling solution as well as nearly all the configurable scenarios with which most rural or secondary routes can be re-signalled.

Work began on site in March 2011, with trials of the train detection equipment beginning in July 2011 and extensive testing of the programme continuing through 2012 and 2013.

In the last five years, the concept of modular signalling has been developed by Siemens (formerly Invensys Rail) and others. Working in close partnership with Network Rail, the system enables secondary lines to be cost-effectively upgraded, providing a positive economic case for much needed investment. Siemens’ solution is rooted in a number of core principles, primarily on the basis of simplicity of design and ease and repeatability of the installation processes.

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NEWS

the rail engineer • December 2013

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The recent announcement by Mayor of London Boris Johnson and managing director of London Underground Mike Brown on changes to Tube operations from 2015 included more than the closure of all ticket offices, contentious though that may be.

It was announced that Piccadilly, Victoria, Central and Jubilee lines and key sections of the Northern line will run through the night on Fridays and Saturdays. That of course means that they won’t be available for night-time maintenance, nor for weekend blockades for more major work.

London Underground stated that all the work done over the last ten years, with track replacements and new signalling systems, means that the system is now in better shape than ever before and is resilient enough to support this enhanced service. There will be enough time in normal night-time closures from Sunday to Thursday to keep the lines up to standard.

Of course, it was stressed that lines could still be closed due to any unexpected safety issues, but London Underground is confident that the new arrangement will not cause any short term or lasting problems.

And London Underground track workers will now get Friday and Saturday nights at home!

The end of the line In its heyday, eight trains a day ran from London to Folkestone Harbour, connecting with ferries to and from Boulogne.

However, Folkestone’s last traditional ferry sailed at the end of 1991. It was replaced by the big Seacat catamarans but, with the Channel Tunnel opening in 1994, ferry operators began to consolidate their services and Folkestone’s last link to the continent was severed in 2000.

Scheduled rail services stopped in 2001, although charter and Orient Express trains used the station up until 2009 when Network Rail first proposed closing the station. A heritage campaign sprang up, as the short 3/4 mile line with its 1 in 30 gradient and picturesque viaduct over the harbour has a certain charm.

However, Network Rail issued a statement last month: “An assessment of the line was recently carried out by Network Rail which concluded it would not be financially appropriate or responsible to continue to maintain it.

Network Rail has notified the Department for Transport that it proposes to close the Folkestone Harbour branch line and Folkestone Harbour station.”

Consultation is open until 21 February 2014 so, for this line, first built in 1844, the end is nigh.

Photo: : FOLKESTONEJACK

the rail engineer • December 2013

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the rail engineer • December 2013

D

ating back 150 years, London Underground is the world’s oldest metro system and one of the busiest. With customer demand at its highest level ever, one of the big challenges it faces is replacing its ageing infrastructure whilst keeping four million people moving each day.

“London Underground has one key value time,” explains George McInulty, infrastructure director for London Underground. “Running trains on time is vital, delivering the railway back on time when doing work is key to avoiding disruption to London.”

As part of this focus, Track Partnership - a strategic alliance between London Underground and Balfour Beatty Rail - set out in March 2012 on a journey to transform the way it undertakes the essential rail renewal works which are vital to keeping London moving.

Every second counts The journey started with an acknowledgement that there was a lot of work to be done. Not just in terms of the volume of engineering work - every year the amount of track and drainage replacement is doubling but also in the way the work is delivered.

“We set ourselves on the path to world class delivery. Our vision is that this is achieved through getting it consistently right across the spectrum of safety, reliability, effective use of access, cost and delivery,” explained London Underground’s head of track renewals, John Hardy.

Training fit for purpose Execution of The Track Partnership Way was crucial, and the next step was to drill the team in the correct way to deliver a renewal. So during summer 2012, while the eyes of the world were focused on East London for the Olympics, the team organised the biggest training event in London Underground’s track renewals history at Ruislip Depot in West London. Involving six worksites, three classrooms and 40 engineering trains, it was led by 14 trainers who delivered 15,000 hours of engineering and soft skills training to 1,500 people.

The four-week event, which was operated alongside a ‘dry run’ track renewal, focused on site management, supervision and core engineering skills. Onsite works were completed in a non-operational depot under a series of different scenarios to see how they will react when the pressure is on.

“The Olympics stand down provided an ideal opportunity to deliver this essential training,” explained Steve Naybour. “During the four weeks we had visitors from London Underground’s Track Delivery Unit, Tube Lines, Balfour Beatty and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) who were all impressed to see such an initiative take place.

It really was an event to be proud of.”

Groundbreaking blockade The opportunity to put this training into practice came in October 2012 when a programme of essential upgrade works was required on the Hainault Loop section of the Central Line, between Grange Hill and Newbury Park. The scope involved installation of 11

points and crossing units, track renewals totalling 500 metres, two bridge waterproofing schemes, 319 metres of drainage (including 10 new catch pits to prevent track flooding and signal failures), 650 metres of embankment stabilisations and extensive vegetation clearance works.

Rather than undertaking the works over a series of short weekend possessions, Track Partnership took a different approach and blitzed the work in one closure. This led to the equivalent of 19 days work being completed in 12 days. As a result, the number of hours of disruption involved in undertaking the works was significantly reduced - 288 rather than the 488 needed using traditional multiple weekend closures. In other words, there was 40% less disruption to the travelling public. It also led to cost savings of approximately £5 million to London Underground.

“Blockade working is a key element of the LU closure strategy,” explains George McInulty.

“There are times when the pieces of work required for upgrading assets can be parcelled together in a coherent way that makes sense to all, including our customers who have to endure the pain of railway disruption. The Hainault blockade was an excellent example of more work being done with less overall disruption which means we can do it more efficiently. It was a great overall win win.”

Delivering more with less With the success of the Hainault Blockade under its belt, the next focus was on volume.

During the last seven years the average output for a typical weekend track renewal had been around 400 metres. To increase the pace of progress, some innovative thinking was required.

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

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Keeping London movingâ&#x20AC;Ś

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the rail engineer • December 2013

One of the key components that was identified as slowing down the renewal process was the humble sleeper. It had been 30 years since London Underground had last adopted a new sleeper and the time had come for a new one.

In March 2013, the team introduced the 1502 Fastclip FE Sleeper. Fitted with the Pandrol Fastclip system, this is a sleeper designed for speed of installation. When combined with Balfour Beatty Rail’s New Track Construction (NTC) train, the installation process was automated - allowing the team to deliver volumes of up to 1,200 metres of new track in a single weekend.

Less intrusive Track Partnership also looked at ways of reducing the amount of the network that is closed to support engineering works. The length of track that is closed to support possessions is normally dictated by the number of engineering crossovers that are required to undertake the works.

In April this year trials started on the use of the Non Intrusive Crossover System (NICS). This system, which had previously been successfully implemented by Balfour Beatty Rail on the Tynemouth to Wallsend blockade on the Tyne and Wear Metro for Nexus in August 2012, enables the installation a temporary non-signalled crossover wherever it is required on the network. The flexibility that this provides will ultimately lead to being able to keep more stations open and services running while engineering works are taking place another important milestone in the drive to reduce passenger disruption.

Stealth operations Track Partnership’s ultimate goal is to renew the infrastructure in the centre of London without the need to close the line to its daily service.

Sucking up ballast.

Hainault blockade.

Renewals in track engineering hours will involve completing works by stealth, one part of the infrastructure at a time. In May of this year, Track Partnership deployed a new process from mainland Europe to support this goal. The ballast replacement process, nicknamed the ‘Elephant Vacuum Excavator’, reballasted a section of track without the need to remove the rails and sleepers first.

The introduction of open (or adjacent) line working was another milestone for the team.

Working closely with the ORR, Transport for London and Chiltern Railways, this allowed the latter to keep a service running alongside a renewals site on the Metropolitan line. A robust system of communications between signallers and the works team meant that trains on the Chiltern line continued to run without risk to the working team or the public, who may not have even noticed that the railway was being renewed around them!

Recognition All this innovation has not gone unnoticed.

Track Partnership recently won the Best Customer Initiative category at the 2013 Global Light Rail and Urban Transit Awards.

The judges’ based their decision on how well Track Partnership understood the ultimate goal of the customer - to keep London moving without delaying trains following major infrastructure replacement.

On receiving the award, John Hardy said: “It is great for the team to be recognised for the huge strides we have made in improving delivery efficiency and, particularly, reliability.

We will celebrate, briefly, then get back to delivering our next renewals.”

Looking forward Track Partnership has successfully doubled the pace of the renewing of London’s ageing Tube network, with every weekend seeing more track replaced than ever before. And whilst outputs have increased, disruption to passengers has never been lower.

The success of the Hainault Blockade last October has helped to define the programme of work for the next 25 years. In outlying areas of London, the team will continue to package up works into blockades, significantly reducing the hours of disruption. In the central areas, the engineering hours renewals strategy (effectively, overnight work) will be deployed in areas that need to remain open.

As a result, London will continue to be served by a world class underground system for the next 150 years with fewer disruptions to daily services. This can only be achieved by a team that truly understands what matters to London - that every second counts.

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London Underground has adopted the new Pandrol FASTCLIP ‘FE’ System.

Using the ‘FE’ system has allowed the Track Partnership, led by Balfour Beatty, to use the New Track Construction machine to achieve the highest levels of production efficiency through automation of the clipping system. Using this level of automation, 1200m of renewed track was installed over the period of a weekend.

FASTCLIP ‘FE’ provides fast and reliable automation of the clipping process, with a range of machine capable of clipping speeds of up to 70 sleepers per minute.

T R A C K

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the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

the rail engineer • December 2013

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COLLIN CARR

Doesn’t time fly! It’s about nine months since we last updated readers on progress for this most prestigious and complex of projects - Thameslink. The last article focused on London Bridge station, the demolition of the old shed roof, the reconfiguration of platforms and the construction of the new concourse. It also highlighted the complexity of building a new viaduct over Borough High Street and the Victorian market place, providing a new pathway to the completely revamped Blackfriars station that now majestically spans across the river Thames.

It’s all happening

to programme

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the rail engineer • December 2013

Photo: JONATHAN WEBB

Recent developments

On time

The viaduct has recently won the prestigious British Construction Industry Awards “Best Practice” Award. It was designed by Atkins in association with architect Jestico & Whiles and the principal contractor for the work was Skanska UK. During 2004 and 2006, amidst the HS1 work at St Pancras, two single bore tunnels were constructed for Thameslink.

They are known as the Canal Tunnels and they connect the Midland main line at St Pancras International with the East Coast main line just north of London King’s Cross. Over recent months there was an announcement that new track has been placed throughout the tunnels by Carillion and overhead 25kv catenary power supply is currently being installed

by Balfour Beatty. Carillion is also installing slab track and associated emergency walkways throughout the tunnels.

At about the same time, the first batch of Class 377 trains has entered service. These trains, configured as 8-car and 12-car units, are now running between Bedford and Brighton. The trains are provided by Bombardier and they will allow some of the Class 319 trains to be refurbished whilst waiting for the new Siemens-built trains to be introduced in 2015 and beyond.

With so much happening, it was time to visit Thameslink’s Chris Binns, Network Rail’s head of engineering for the Thameslink programme, to find out about the current challenges. Chris, who has been associated with the Thameslink project since 2008, was only too pleased to discuss recent progress.

The team has produced detailed staging diagrams which cover all the work throughout the whole period from 2013 up to 2018. These go through ten key integrated station and track remodelling stages underpinned by large folders of charts showing staging sequences and diagrams, covering each event down to the hour. A minimum 14-day buffer has been built into each critical stage of the programme. Chris was very pleased to announce that to date, everything was happening in accordance with the programme.

The no “man-marking” approach adopted by the project is standing the test of time, demonstrating that the most suitable person for the job is appointed, irrespective of their employer. It is an approach that Chris feels is essential for ensuring that the project will be delivered on time and to budget.

London Bridge station The old train-shed roof has now been completely demolished, exposing the Shard’s sheer walls of glass. Reflections of clouds and crane jibs mirror the adjacent sky lines.

The entrance to the station is now covered by a light, functional, flat roof structure. Borough Market viaduct melds into the urban array of Victorian buildings as though it has always been there. However, it still awaits its raison d’être, that is to carry track and eventually trains.

The architect for London Bridge station itself is Grimshaw. Their remit has been to convert the existing split level, highly congested station with its six through platforms and nine terminating platforms, into one single level station with nine through

platforms and six terminating platforms - all linked together by an open concourse offering lift and escalator access to every platform.

The plan is for platforms 4 and 5 to be dedicated to Thameslink and the new proposed track layout is designed accordingly.

To achieve this vision, Network Rail decided to go underground amongst the maze of Dickensian arches to construct the new concourse - starting from the south and working though to the north of the station along the line of the existing footbridge.

Costain has been appointed as the principal contractor for the station work by Network Rail, supported

by WSP and Hyder for the design work and, so far, platforms 14, 15 and 16 have been closed and demolished by sub-contractor, Keltbray.

New platforms The old arches have also been demolished and three viaduct spans of steel beams, each 24 metres long, are now in place ready to receive precast concrete units that will span the new concourse and support the new platforms 14 and 15. Some areas have an additional fourth infill span of between 6 and 15 metres. This section of work is well underway and programmed to be completed

by March 2014. Track will then be re-connected and the platforms will become operational. After this, adjacent platforms 13 and12 will be taken out of service, the arches demolished and similar structures will be constructed to accommodate the new platforms, extending northwards.

Between the terminating platforms and the through platforms there is a two metre difference in level so a new retaining wall will be constructed and the access to the concourse work will switch from the south to the north of the station with the intention of handing over the southern portion of the newly constructed concourse to operational use. Bachy Soletanche piling contractors have already started work in the north area, preparing the foundations for

the construction of the viaducts to support the new through platforms over the concourse area.

When the construction is complete, each platform will be protected from the elements by a simple canopy structure. Where the canopies cross the concourse, a structure with northern light glazing will span between the canopies, thus ensuring that the concourse area is light as well as weather proof.

Removing old bridge decks Meanwhile, a contract has been awarded to Skanska UK to strengthen 33 bridge decks which currently carry the rails and baseplates on longitudinal timbers. This configuration is usually a nightmare to maintain and forms an immovable object when it comes to slewing the tracks, an essential requirement of the project both to the east and the west of the station. This reconstruction work is now well underway as is piling work to the west of the station in preparation for the new through lines from platforms 6 to 9 that will provide a pathway onto the new Borough Market viaduct.

In conjunction with this work, Balfour Beatty has been installing significant lengths of plain line track as well as S&C units. To date, six new S&C elements have been laid in with around 340 metres of associated track, as well as 1,430 metres of new plain line track.

Chris emphasised the important point that the Thameslink project has not got a remit to improve the whole infrastructure. Its role is confined to the pathway allocated for Thameslink services. No doubt, the local track maintenance team would like to have all longitudinal bridges reconstructed and probably a few more miles of track relayed but in reality, that is not how it works.

Of course there is a significant amount of associated signalling work which is being carried out

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the rail engineer • December 2013

routes; remodelling transformers and rectifiers to ensure that they are capable of responding to the power demands of the new train frequency.

Driver focus Once the main trackwork is complete, the frequency of the trains will initially be up to 20 trains per hour in the core area (Blackfriars to St Pancras).

However, when the new Siemens trains are introduced, they will have Automatic Train Operation (ATO) integrated into the train design. This will be the first application of ATO on the main line although it does feature on LU lines such as the Victoria and Jubilee line.

The intention will be for drivers to select ATO through the four mile corridor through central London.

This will then control the train’s movements, releasing the driver to concentrate on the passenger/ train interface. This can be quite a challenge when dealing with 12-car sets.

The added benefit of ATO will be accurate, controlled regulation of

trains through this central area of the system and will mean that the frequency of trains can be increased from 20 to 24 per hour by 2018.

There is one more very important element of this project that hasn’t yet been mentioned, and that is the proposed construction of a new structure known as the Bermondsey ‘diveunder’`. Last December, Skanska UK was awarded a contract worth up to £60 million by Network Rail for the design and construction of the Bermondsey diveunder plus associated structure strengthening works. As Chris pointed out, this contract is a crucial component of the final phase of the £6.5 billion Thameslink programme.

Critical element The diveunder will create a major grade-separated junction on the eastern approach to London Bridge station. This will allow, for the first time, Thameslink lines to cross the Kent lines unimpeded on their approach to the station. It will also help to increase the number of trains which can serve London

Bridge station. The diveunder will be formed from a series of new structures constructed along the line of existing operational railway viaducts. The intention is to reuse existing structures wherever possible to reduce disruption and waste; sustainability at work no less.

The track layout to the west will also be reconfigured to ensure that Thameslink trains will be able to travel round into Blackfriars station without conflicting with other train movements. Preliminary enabling work has already started on this critical piece of infrastructure.

Talking of critical, there was mention earlier of the new twin bored Canal Tunnels that will link the Midland main line with the East Coast main line. Chris

explained that one of the million and one things that they have to consider is the potential for this new link to upset the power supplies of the two main line routes. As a consequence, detailed electrical testing has been carried out to ensure that voltage and current outputs would not be affected by the linkage created by the tunnels. The tests conducted confirmed that there would not be a problem and Chris was able to sign a letter permitting the rails to be connected.

This is a good reminder that the devil is in the detail and the consequences of getting it wrong don’t bear thinking about.

Chris and his team have quite a challenging job: a job that, clearly, they are doing very well.

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the rail engineer • December 2013

Borehamwood woken at 2am!

L

ooking at the headlines in the local papers, it seems that the town of Borehamwood was rudely awakened one Saturday night by Network Rail doing some piling on the railway. This was necessary to replace some overhead electrification portals and masts and was part of planned works which will continue at weekends until June 2014.

Neighbours had been informed, but perhaps Network Rail underestimated how far sound travels at night. An apology was issued with an assurance that more would be done to explain the work to residents.

However, this situation does illustrate an interesting problem. With the railways becoming ever busier, more work has to be done at night. Some of that work is inherently noisy, with piling being perhaps one of the worst offenders. Various options exist, with some being more effective than others in particular ground conditions and some being noisier than others. So can efficiency be traded off against noise? And what options are there for the railway engineer with a foundation problem?

The logical place to turn to for answers is the Federation of Piling Specialists. The Rail Engineer asked chairman Jim De Waele for his analysis of the options open to railway engineers.

Piling and rail applications Construction projects in the railway environment, perhaps more than any other, are particularly challenging and bring with them a multitude of demands and considerations, many of which are applicable to piling.

Issues such as noise, space, time constraints and when works can be undertaken, which for rail is typically weekends and / or overnight, all impact on the project and that is without including rail’s own unique health and safety considerations, structural requirements and the demands and issues specific to the local geology.

Whilst the geology cannot be altered, the Federation of Piling Specialists (FPS) always recommends engaging with the proposed piling contractor from the outset. Their experience, help and advice can positively impact the success of the project. They can also provide valuable technical input regarding the type of piling techniques available, their pros and cons and help address some of the issues typically encountered.

Whilst a detailed technical overview of all available piling techniques is beyond the scope of this article, some of the more common methods and their applications to railway schemes are presented in the table.

A wide variety However, railway projects can vary widely from Overhead Line Electrification (OLE), signalling masts and gantries through to stations, tunnels, and bridges. OLE forms the main part of recent rail schemes to which piling applications have been applied.

In urban areas, noise is typically the biggest environmental concern, and few would argue that a hammer driven through the night is going to win rail or the piling contractor any friends. Of course, there are various non-percussive techniques that that can be considered to address this and so involving the piling contractor at design stage is critical in making sure the right solution is implemented.

When considering the preferred method of piling, there are a number of considerations that need to be accounted for, marrying the design requirements with the local conditions along with the machines and methods available to the project team. This means that the piling technique can only be optimised with the involvement of the principal contractor, the piling specialist and the designer.

However, experience suggests that often this team is formed too late in the construction cycle to allow the optimum solution to be considered.

The fact is that there is no “one size fits all” technique, all piling techniques applied to rail applications are a trade-off to some degree and schemes need to be planned accordingly.

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

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the rail engineer • December 2013

Matching method to application Over the years, various piling types have come to the fore. When installing piles for OLE masts, the driven pile is now the most common.

Nowadays this is commonly a 610mm tube and can be installed from a road rail vehicle (RRV) such as a Mega or Giga Railer. There are also some “high output” trains on the network and dedicated rail mounted piling rigs that also are able to install these piles.

Where noise or vibration restrictions are in place then similar piles can be “spun” in. However, these foundations are normally 457mm or 355mm in diameter recognising that the power of the equipment is inevitably restricted.

All these steel piles can be used in conjunction with tie rods or soil nails to provide additional lateral capacity when necessary. Being made of steel there is no curing time and with the fitting of an adjustable head plate, the OLE mast can be connected on top of the pile immediately after the pile is set. On a similar theme, H piles have also been used in the past, being either vibrated or driven into the ground.

For signals and light weight structures screw piles are often selected.

These again can be installed using RRVs, readily adapted with a rotary motor.

In and around stations, where concrete can be easily delivered to the site, bored micropiles are likely to be cost-effective and there is a range of piling rigs that can be sourced to suit the access conditions.

Whatever method is chosen and applied, it is going to be a compromise of often conflicting demands, be that local geology, plant, access or possible noise pollution issues and health and safety. This does not mean to say that any methodology is set in stone. Working with the piling contractor from the outset will allow all factors to be taken into account, which instead of arriving at a compromise solution will instead allow an optimal solution to be delivered that meets everyone’s needs and with the minimal of disruption to all.

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the rail engineer • December 2013

To Edinburgh

SHAWFAIR CITY BY-PASS

ESKBANK HARDENGREEN

NEWTONGRANGE

GORE GLEN

GOREBRIDGE

FALAHILL

HERIOT

FOUNTAINHALL

STOW

BOWSHANKS

TORWOODLEE

GALASHIELS

TWEEDBANK

Borders G takes off

DAVID SHIRRES

the rail engineer • December 2013

25

alashiels saw its last passenger train on 5 January 1969, the 21:56 Edinburgh to St Pancras sleeper. This was the last train between Edinburgh and Carlisle over the Waverley route - one of Beeching’s most savage cuts which left the Scottish Borders as the only UK region without a train service.

The route was not protected after closure, so houses were built on the trackbed which was also cut by road improvements including the Edinburgh city by-pass. These blockages are now being removed as the northern part of the route is being re-opened. After an absence of 46 years, Galashiels will soon be seeing passenger trains again.

The new Borders Railway starts at a turnback siding at Millerhill and is 30.5 miles long with seven new stations. To provide a 30 minute service frequency, the line will have three passing loops of 2.1, 3.8 and 4.0 miles long. It will use the signalling island concept with power supplies provided only at loop ends and train detection by axle counters. The only continuous cable will be a buried fibre optic for communications.

The signing of this agreement last November enabled the main contract to be awarded. This is a £294 million design and build contract let in December 2012 to BAM Nuttall, which also happened to be the one remaining bidder for the original DBFM contract.

The contract is target cost with pain/ gain/share arrangements.

Prior to this, a significant amount of advanced works had been undertaken.

In preparation for the DBFM contract Transport Scotland had arranged utilities clearance and work to protect the route such as scour protection.

Advanced works undertaken in 2012 under BAM Nuttall’s framework contract included vegetation clearance, fencing, environmental mitigation, mining remediation and property demolition.

Getting to the start line

The contractor gets a GRIP

Following a feasibility study in 1999, and three years of debate in the Scottish parliament, the act authorising construction of the Borders Railway received royal assent in 2006. Transport Scotland’s original intention was to let a Design, Build, Finance and Maintain (DBFM) contract for the project.

However, after all but one of the bidders withdrew, it was decided in 2011 that Network Rail should deliver the project.

At this time, Network Rail could not undertake any significant works. Design and constructability studies were needed for a robust estimate of cost and programme before the agreement for it to become the Authorised Undertaker could be signed. This requires the project to be complete by summer 2015 for start of service in autumn 2015.

In March 2012, BAM Nuttall was awarded a framework contract for advanced works. This included a £2 million package of design work which was contracted to URS, Atkins, Donaldson and Delta Rail. This early involvement had the benefit of its original DBFM work influencing design at late GRIP3 (option selection) stage.

For example, the whole life costing exercises which Network Rail and BAM Nuttall have undertaken has influenced the decision to use concrete sleepers.

To encourage local companies to become suppliers and subcontractors, BAM Nuttall arranged a ‘meet the buyer’ event in March. Over 200 local businesses attended the event and, during 2013, more than 450 companies from the Lothians and Scottish Borders

26

the rail engineer • December 2013

have provided products and services to the project. These include Forth Stone, which is restoring stone structures including the iconic Lothianbridge Viaduct, and RJT Excavations, currently working on major ground works.

BAM Nuttall will be calling on BAM Rail from Holland to lay track using the technique used for HSL-Zuid, the new Dutch high speed line. Unlike the recent track laying on the Airdrie Bathgate line, this does not require welded rails to be in place beforehand.

The main works started in April and now the scale of the project is obvious to anyone driving by.

After a good summer, major earthworks were completed by the end of October and signs to BAM Nuttall’s 41 access points are evident. This was therefore a good time to accept project director Hugh Wark’s invitation to see how the works are progressing.

Roads in the way The tour starts at the derelict site of the old Monktonhall colliery on the outskirts of Edinburgh. For its first 2.2 miles, the Borders railway follows a new alignment which will soon transform this area into a development of 4,000 houses around a new station at Shawfair (0.8 miles).

However, this requires significant alterations to the existing road network. For example, the new alignment overlays the A6106 for 600 yards.

There are many utilities in these roads which require diversion to yet-to-be-built new roads.

Track laying will start here next summer making these roadworks very much on the critical path.

The Edinburgh city by-pass (2.0 miles) requires a new rail overbridge immediately east of the busy Sheriffhall roundabout.

Diversion of traffic onto a temporary dual carriageway in September enabled the original carriageway to be excavated down to track level for the new bridge construction which is being built with passive provision for a future grade separated road junction. After its completion, traffic will use the original carriageway by May, allowing removal of the temporary road.

Improvements to the A7 created two further blockages.

At Hardengreen (3.8 miles) part of the embankment has been replaced by a roundabout. At Gore Glen (6.4 miles) the A7 crosses the original line in a cutting. These obstacles require two substantial new viaducts. To further complicate matters, some of the original line’s cuttings have been filled with excess material from these previous roadworks.

To the summit From Gorebridge, the tour continued along the trackbed in Hugh’s LandRover. The line’s tourist potential is evident from the excellent views from the top of a massive embankment, including some of Borthwick Castle where Mary Queen of Scots was besieged in 1547.

Cutting work stabilisation work is underway at Tynehead, including the installation of rock-fill drains to prevent the landslips that had been a problem when the original railway was operational.

After twisting and climbing at a gradient of typically 1 in 70, the line reaches the 880 feet summit at Falahill (13.0 miles). Here is

perhaps the most difficult road interface for the project with the road and rail design having to avoid the properties at Falahill. A proposed revised layout recently received planning approval. This new scheme will avoid problems with underlying peat and a high pressure gas pipeline.

Hugh explained that each local resident was consulted prior to this submission. His team is trying to address their concerns within the project constraints but he acknowledges that “there is no easy solution at Falahill that satisfies everyone”.

Rock south of Falahill has to be removed regardless of this outcome. This is being done by blasting with two blasts a week planned for 14 weeks requiring short precautionary closures of the A7. A derogation to the Code of Construction Practice, which prohibited blasting, was agreed on the basis that it is the least disruptive technique.

Bridges and tunnels After the summit the line follows the twisting Gala water which it crosses on 14 bridges.

This is a salmon river and an environmentally sensitive area with in-river work only permitted between July and October.

Hugh advised that the bridges are generally in good condition.

Currently each one is being encapsulated for repairs including blasting back to bare metal to apply new surface coatings.

28

the rail engineer • December 2013

The end of the line is at Tweedbank (30.5 miles). Here a 240-space car park and local road connections offers a good railhead. To meet the Scottish Government’s requirement for charter trains, the station design is for nine-coach platforms with sufficient siding length for 12-coach trains plus two locomotives.

Different challenges

At two particularly inaccessible locations, bridge beams were removed when the railway was dismantled. It is not known why this dismantling stopped after only two bridges but Hugh was glad that it did. As part of the work to reinstate these bridges in September a 450 tonne crane installed four new 20-tonne beams at the Ryehaugh Water bridge (27.0 miles).

The line has two tunnels - at Bowshanks (24.0 miles) and Torwoodlee (26.9 miles). The line in Bowshanks tunnel will be double-tracked as part of a dynamic loop. Tunnel clearances are such that this, and the design requirement to provide clearance for future electrification, is challenging. For this reason the tunnel will have slab track.

Recently, Bowshanks bat flaps made the news - Hugh commented that any stories involving wildlife on the project website always get large numbers of hits. The tunnel was boarded up and a series of one-way flaps and pipes were fitted to prevent bats returning and encourage them to roost in bat boxes provided in nearby trees. This work was undertaken by IKM Consulting, engaged by BAM Nuttall for environmental support.

To replace level crossings on the old line, two new bridges and associated road junction works are required at Heriot (14.7 miles) and Fountainhall (17.5 miles).

These are being built using the rock from Falahill.

Shoehorned through Galashiels Galashiels (28.4 miles) is constrained within a narrow river valley. Originally, the town had a railway station, train shed, goods yard and sidings. After closure, this land was used for an industrial estate, road improvements, housing and a supermarket. There is now just enough space to get a single line railway through the town with some deviation from the original route and new bridges over and under new roads. The new single platform station is 500 yards away from the original station site and there is no space for a car park but the bus station nearby will provide a public transport interchange.

Some might think that Hugh is lucky to have a project with virtually no impact on the existing railway. Instead his project has other significant challenges and the re-opening of 31 miles of old railway is the longest new UK domestic rail route for over a hundred years. This is a high profile project which Network Rail is expected to deliver to time and budget.

With the line having been closed for over 40 years, many are affected by its construction.

For this reason, external communications are a high priority. Hugh has a regular slot on Radio Borders and the project has its own website (www. bordersrailway.co.uk).

Hugh considers environmental issues to be amongst his greatest challenges. In addition to the Bowshank bats, the project required the closure or temporary

relocation of 100 badger sets and moving lamprey eels in the river which involved the use of special techniques to safely catch the fish.

A particular environmental challenge was the mining remediation work that was started in late 2012 around the old collieries at the northern end of the line. Over 4,000 tonnes of grout has been pumped into old mines, which also needed 300 km of drilling.

The Borders Railway webpage “How to build a railway” lists seven stages of which the third stage, earthworks, is almost complete. The project is now focusing on structures - there are 42 new bridges and 95 to be refurbished before BAM Nuttall’s Dutch team can start track laying next year.

With 13 years from the initial feasibility study to start of main works, the Borders Railway has had a slow start. However, the project is now on track so that, in 2015, the Scottish Borders will once more be part of the rail network with all the social and economic opportunities this will bring.

The Rail Engineer has covered the Borders Rail project from the start. More information can be found in issues 78 (April 2011), 83 (September 2011) and 94 (August 2012).

the rail engineer • December 2013

29

DAVID SHIRRES

A CHALLENGE FOR 2014 The National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering considers that the rail industry needs around 3,000 additional engineers in the next five years.

With a recent government report revealing an annual shortage of 40,000 science and technology graduates, these engineers will be hard to find. The UK rail industry must therefore do all it can to attract its engineers.

IMechE rises to the challenge To do its bit, the Railway Division of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) has been running its Railway Challenge since 2012 (issues 94 and 106 – August 2012 and August 2013). Project manager Rachel Pearson explains that it is intended to “inspire young engineers into the rail industry”. The obvious pride and enthusiasm demonstrated by teams at the last event shows that this aim has certainly been met.

Rachel advises that entries for the 2014 event have been received from three of the previous teams: Huddersfield and Birmingham Universities plus Interfleet with two new entrants: Transport for London and Sheffield University. She anticipates other entries before the 13th December closing date. With four entries in the last competition the event is starting to grow.

Small locomotives - big challenges The challenge requires teams to design and build their own miniature (10 1/4” gauge) locomotive to a performance specification. Locomotives are first scrutineered for compliance with the specification. They then face traction, energy storage and ride comfort challenges. New next year is a noise challenge and deduction of points for locomotive failures.

The event is similar to Formula Student which started in 1998 and last year attracted around 120 entries, many from outside the UK. Rachel advises that lessons learnt from Formula Student include the collection of stickers for each aspect of scrutineering.

The Railway Division hopes its challenge will also become a large scale international event. Indeed Delft University and the French Transportation Engineering School (ESTACA) are both interested in the 2015 event.

As with the real railway, infrastructure capacity is a constraint. In its current format the competition can accommodate ten teams. Any more entries would create a problem that Rachel would welcome. She is confident it would be overcome.

Innovation in miniature The potential for innovation is another industry benefit. To date, locomotives have featured novelties such as hydrogen fuel cells and mechanical energy storage.

This impressed David Clarke, director of the Enabling Innovation Team which sponsored the 2013 event. David felt such innovations had potential application on the real railway. He also commented: “The Railway Challenge is a great way to promote innovation and provide young engineers with the opportunity to show what they can do as well as giving them the necessary skills to promote innovation”.

The rail industry challenge The Railway Challenge is clearly a worthwhile event with great potential benefit to the rail industry and there are clearly opportunities for greater industry involvement. Only one major company, Interfleet, has been involved to date. Such engagement must be mutually beneficial given the competition’s benefits. This includes the opportunity to attract the next generation of rail engineers.

2014’s Railway Challenge will be held at the Stapleford Miniature Railway on 28 and 29 June. Spectators are welcome to attend. For potential entrants this is a “must see event”, if only to learn how the seemingly daunting task of building a locomotive is actually an achievable challenge. It is also good to see the teams having real fun.

By creating its challenge, the IMechE’s Railway Division has provided a great service to the rail industry. It has also, in effect; challenged the industry to become more involved. This could be sponsorship, entering a team or assisting Universities to do so. For its part, The Rail Engineer is keen to promote the Railway Challenge. But don’t just take our word for it.

Come to Stapleford next year and see for yourself.

Further information on the Railway Challenge is available from http://www.imeche.org/railway/railwaychallenge

30

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

In for the l o n g haul Bombardier Transportation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and supply of railway rolling stock and signalling systems. Here in the UK, there are three main businesses - train manufacture at Derby, servicing at various locations around the country, and signalling which has a factory in Plymouth.

the rail engineer • December 2013

NIGEL WORDSWORTH Until recently, the various businesses had their own management, but with an overarching Bombardier UK board to look after the legalities of doing business here.

Francis Paonessa is president of Rolling Stock and Services, so The Rail Engineer went along to the Derby works to meet him.

UK organisation Francis started by commenting on the recent merger of the Rolling Stock and Services business in the UK, with him in charge of both.

“Essentially, we’ve made a business decision based on what makes sense for the customer.

Traditionally, the two businesses have had separate business leaders. When I joined, Bombardier was very much organised by product stream and therefore was part of the big passenger division. But for a number of business reasons that’s changed over the last three years and instead of a ‘one size fits all’ we’re much more aligned to the country’s needs. In the UK it makes the most sense of anywhere in Europe to have services and rolling stock in one bundle.”

But that direct management responsibility doesn’t extend to the Signalling business.

“I’ve no operational responsibility for Bombardier signalling but we work together closely on relevant projects. I chair the Bombardier Transportation business in the UK, so I do have responsibility for, by virtue of being a UK legal director of the company, things like health and safety, product safety and the co-ordination that we do generally

for activities that happen in the UK. And those get covered off at our monthly board meetings.”

So safety is seen as a main board issue.

“Absolutely, it’s critical to any modern, responsible rail business. Irrespective of how your division is structured on a practical note, it’s your legal directors that go to jail in the event of H&S failure. So the law has no interest in an organisation’s internal structure, the buck stops with the UK legal entity and the directors, and that’s a very good thing for rail safety in the UK. There is anyway a high focus collectively on safety issues and safeguarding passengers, train crews and our staff, or anything that comes in any of the divisions or any of the business units in the UK, those are discussed as a number one priority at the board meetings.”

Engineering for export But on a day-to-day basis, Francis looks after the allied rolling stock manufacturing and servicing businesses. On the face of it, that is very UK-focussed, and the British market is notorious for having peaks and (mostly) troughs in its train procurement programme. Does having to concentrate on British products preclude Derby from manufacturing for export?

“No, not at all. The way in which we tend to look at export is Bombardier’s fundamental philosophy, which is to serve the country from the country it’s in. Clearly that can’t happen everywhere in the world. So where that can’t happen we then look at what’s the right product fit, and what perhaps is the right cultural or economic fit with that country.

“So the Gautrain project in South Africa worked very well from here as it was an Electrostar platform that we chose to bid with. We were building a whole new railway, so

31

gauging wasn’t an issue at all. And there’s a good cultural understanding between the UK and South Africa.

“If we look at other places in the world, some have a product that’s more closely aligned with our German business unit or our French business unit. All the products, particularly the people movers or monorails that come out of our North American business, can work better for some markets than others. So it’s partly what product fits and then it’s partly what country fits and the workloads of the sites at the time.

“What’s perhaps not always visible is that whilst the manufacturing of trains for export doesn’t always happen here, a great deal of the engineering of other projects in Europe is actually carried out in Derby. So the team here have worked on Swiss double-deck trains, we’ve worked on the King Abdullah monorail for Saudi Arabia and the Sao Paolo monorail for Brazil. We’ve also done a bit of work here by basically sharing engineering expertise which is relatively straightforward to do because we have a global standard for our IT and we can interface with other projects and other countries. So particularly for the English speaking countries like North America and Canada, it’s very easy for our really experienced team of engineers here to support their workload activities.

32

the rail engineer • December 2013

Balancing workload “I tend to look at the new build business as two separate business units. One is the upfront engineering project management and procurement, which is almost always out of sync with the production workload that’s going through the site. So when I’m looking at the business in the totality, trying to make sure that we’ve got both halves of the business well balanced, it’s obviously easier for us to do sub-contract work in engineering than manufacturing, because the shipping cost isn’t there with only electrons going backwards and forwards, than it is for us to move hard chunks of material around. And as the move in many countries is more towards localisation in any case, I think the business model we’ve got here works well.”

So although the slack periods in engineering can be taken up by designing for other countries, isn’t it much more difficult to fill those troughs in manufacturing?

“It is. But we have structured the business and the way we manufacture in such a way as to minimise that problem. We design and build the trains in Derby and that means we have complete control on the manufacturing process and how we structure tasks and utilise teams. While we acquire some of our major items from elsewhere in Europe notably bogies from Bombardier’s specialist manufacturing facility in Germany, - the vast majority of each train is manufactured by us in Derby. We source 92% of the components by volume for our trains in the UK, and use a modular build and production line process to speed up train assembly. Our plant does everything from panel cutting and shaping, to electrical loom development, painting and

final assembly. We’ve recently taken back the manufacturing of toilet cubicles in-house - so we have a diverse skill set!

“We’ve moved the manufacturing process from needing rail-specific technicians in the main, although we still need some clear specialities which we maintain, to one where we can really reap the benefit of the huge labour pool in the Derby area that supports manufacturing and assembly in general. That means that we can use the workforce that’s around us.

“At times like now, when we’ve got three projects in manufacture, we can supplement our core workforce with third party skilled labour which we can bring in from the outside.

And we gear our processes, our management structure and our supervision to be able to cope with that specifically.”

Post-Thameslink Those changes in structure were brought in after the much-publicised failure to obtain the Thameslink contract, and the headlines that a large part of the workforce was laid off as a result.

“There are a few layers of subtlety that sit below the headlines, so the truth is yes, there were a thousand or so agency staff who left at the end of their contract. However we also had to look at almost every single function in the business and then lost about 250 of our own permanent staff. So it was at that point that we took the decision really to restructure around one project and we cut back to a layer where we could do that.

“The bit that’s not really seen is the consequential knock-on to things like our white collar staff in engineering, project

management and procurement. We don’t want to harp back on the past, but it was certainly a big trough at the time and, as a business, we really needed to make a big decision about whether we were going to maintain the design and manufacturing capability in the UK, or not. We thought long and hard about that, we decided that we would do and we supported our white collar front end engineering with a lot of third party work from outside.

“We’ve also taken a decision to invest £20 million of our own money in our new product platform which is Aventra. And those are big business decisions so we could potentially have lost a lot more people, particularly in that core front-end engineering, if Bombardier hadn’t decided to support the business in the UK and actually invest in it for the long term.

So we mitigated the impact of Thameslink significantly, we’ve invested for the future, the business has been very successful since and we’re committed to having a design engineering presence in the UK.”

the rail engineer • December 2013

“Because office staff aren’t the larger numbers, they don’t make the press but they are the absolute heart of the business as well. You can’t have one without the other. And you sure as heck can’t bring your engineering capability back once you’ve lost it. For this reason we are the largest employer of rail engineers in the UK, we have around 350 at present, and that’s before you include manufacturing and maintenance staff.

“We’ve got a proud heritage and history here of engineering and building new rolling stock.

If we, as a business, hadn’t made that decision to invest that would have been gone forever.

So the UK would be left with no rolling stock design capability.”

The engineers in the design and engineering departments need very particular skills.

“The pool in the UK of railway specialists is gradually shrinking at the edges so we have clearly brought in skills from other compatible industries. And it’s quite interesting where they come from but there’s a certain clear mind-set that you need in rail because it is a very large engineering package with high complexity, high integration with its environment that has a very low production run by manufacturing standards.

“So what you tend to find here are rail engineers and people that have come out of aerospace or defence who find it easier to sit in an environment where you have a big design project but you’re building a relatively modest number of units. And that has a fundamental impact on the way in which we do the design, the time of the design and the kinds of things that we do in that engineering package or, more importantly, don’t do.

33

Because we sell the prototype - the car industry would never sell the first car they manufactured.

“It’s quite difficult to come from the car industry, move into rail manufacturing and suddenly find, well hang on a minute we’re only building such a short production run, and where’s the 100 pre-production prototypes where we’ve engineered it down to the Nth level of detail? We can’t recoup the costs of engineering down to the Nth level of detail in our operations. But there’s a higher level of skill required in the manufacturing than there would be on a car assembly line, so the two aren’t directly compatible.”

Project management The obvious Bombardier product is a train, but the company these days is as much about project management as train supply. “We have had huge success in our Systems division worldwide. We talked about Gautrain, a cracking example where Bombardier, as a lead in the consortium, provided the infrastructure, provided the signalling, provided the trains.

Now we’re providing the maintenance and the support of the network. Delivering something in isolation is relatively straightforward, delivering the complex integrated piece, working with key major suppliers is a whole different level of complexity and that is the role we step into in systems division.

“If you’ve got a customer that doesn’t want to carry the system integration risk, you need someone who’s prepared to do it. We’re prepared to do it. And if you are prepared to step into that space then you need to be prepared to build depots, lay track, put in infrastructure, put in signalling. We’ve got a

great track record in doing it and if you look at our recent projects like the ones in Saudi Arabia, or in Sao Paolo - these are massive flagship projects for the countries and the cities involved, trusted to Bombardier.

“I think the benefit of Bombardier is we’re happy to operate in whatever space customers want. So when we’ve got very experienced operators like in France and Germany we’re not going to step into that space for Deutche Bahn or SNCF, that’s not what they want from us. Take other areas like South Africa where that’s what they do want, then we’re happy to step into that space too. So the flexibility that we have within the company and the products means that we’re perfectly capable of delivering a train if that’s what’s needed, or we’re perfectly capable of delivering a train as part of an overall integrated package of network signalling and let’s not forget the downstream support of those products.

“We’re there for the 30 years of the product if that’s what you wish.”

34

the rail engineer • December 2013

T

rains are expensive. They are expensive to buy, expensive to maintain, and expensive to run. So far as operating costs go, a lot of work is being done which has formed the basis of several articles in this magazine. More efficient motors, better bogie designs and lighter trains (which consume less power and have less impact on the track) all reduce day-to-day charges for track access and energy.

Clever maintenance regimes, involving remote condition monitoring and only replacing or maintaining items when they really need it, can keep down servicing costs.

The cost of a new train But not a lot can be done to make a new train much cheaper. As technology improves, some items do come down in value. But modern trains now come with a lot of ‘extras’ which improve the passengers’ quality of life but all add to the bill.

At the end of the day, an average four-car train is still 140 tonnes of high-technology, lowproduction-volume kit which is always going to be expensive. Depending on the exact quantity and specification ordered, a ‘simple’ metro train will be between £1 and £2 million per car while a modern high speed train with all the bells and whistles can be as much as £5 million a vehicle. So 25 four-car trains can easily be £200 million and up.

The low volume doesn’t help. Our example of 25 four-car trains is a total of 100 cars.

But that will include driving cars; power cars; trailer cars; cars with accessible toilets, or with conventional toilets, or with none at all; probably 25 pantographs; and fifty cab ends.

And with a growing safety regime (not that safety hasn’t always been important, it is just much more documented these days), the design of the new train has to be checked, certified, approved and then tested - even if it is based on an earlier model.

While the rail market is growing, and demanding more and more capacity, there will always be a need for some new trains.

This will include new fleets for new railways - Thameslink and Crossrail are obvious examples, but other new lines will need new trains as well. Airdrie to Bathgate used old trains cascaded from elsewhere, but ScotRail had to buy a fleet of new 380s to plug that gap in its network.

But then there is the question of what to do with older train fleets as they reach middleage. The basic frame is still sound, so is the bodyshell although it may be a bit tired in places, but the dark and worn interiors are not attractive to passengers.

What about the old?

In former times, some new paint and vinyl outside, and some new paint and seat covers inside, would have got the train back into service for a few years. However, with new franchises looming, which could well run for fifteen years, operators will want a fleet of trains that will last them the length of the franchise. And it must be remembered that, while a new franchise has to take over staff

Renew or NIGEL WORDSWORTH

from the outgoing one, it doesn’t have to take on the trains. Those will be out of lease at the end of the old franchise, and the new operator can demand completely different equipment if there is a strong case for it.

So a simple freshen will not do - leasing companies need to have a product that will be appealing to both operators and passengers alike. Of course they can just scrap the old fleet and buy new, but that is an expensive option. Not only do the new trains have to be funded, there is probably residual value in the old ones which will need to be written off - and leasing companies don’t like writing off assets.

The answer is to do a heavy refurbishment, almost a renewal, on the old fleet. New traction equipment will be more efficient, use less power and require less maintenance.

New toilets, seats, lighting, passenger information systems and air conditioning will keep the passengers happy. And the fact that the finished train is less than half of the cost of a new one will please the banks as well.

This work has already started. As new franchises get closer, expect more innovative thinking as the fleet owners prepare their products for the next fifteen years.

Replace?

Heading in a

new direction Launching in December 2013 with new seats, air conditioning and a brighter, quieter environment, the Class 321 Demonstrator is a high capacity, competitive and reliable commuter train. During a year-long trial, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re measuring public reaction by inviting passengers to complete a survey. If you get the opportunity to travel on the Demonstrator please let us know what you think at

www.greateranglia.co.uk/class321 or alternatively

www.eversholt-innovations.co.uk Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re proud of this train and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking forward to receiving feedback following the launch.

Our vision.

Your choice.

In partnership with

36

the rail engineer • December 2013

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

A

revised version of the Class 321 train used on Greater Anglia has just been revealed at Wabtec’s Doncaster works. Greater Anglia runs 94 four-car Class 321 trains on its network. 66 are classified as Class 321/3 while 28 are the very similar 321/4, 17 of which were cascaded from London Midland in 2009.

Planning for the future Train owner Eversholt Rail had to consider how best to offer these trains to potential new operators when the Greater Anglia franchise was due to expire in July 2014. As it happens, that franchise has now been extended until 15 October 2016.

With new franchises likely to last for 15 years, and the original Class 321s having been built 25 years earlier in 1988, work would be needed if the new operator was to take the fleet on. Plans were therefore drawn up and unit 321448 was sent to Wabtec’s facility at Doncaster for modification.

Eversholt Rail’s intention was that this train would be a true demonstrator. It would show both operators and passengers what was possible and offer alternative solutions.

It was therefore decided that two cars would be restyled in ‘metro’ format and two in a ‘suburban’ style.

New interiors First of all the whole train was stripped out of all its seating and interior panelling. Only the lower side panel would be reused - everything else would be replaced.

The train was already fitted with a passenger information system - dot-matrix displays coupled to an audio message. Air-conditioning

was installed in the saloons with overhead units. This, coupled with new overhead LED lighting, meant that the driver’s cabs also had to receive new overhead systems as the previous installation had the air ducted in from a unit in the saloon roof, something that was no longer possible.

The heating was also replaced. A new blown system was run down both sides of the cars

under the seats, and all other under-seat equipment was relocated to allow for both the free passage of the heated air and easy cleaning.

As air conditioning was fitted, the original, opening-hopper style windows were replaced by one-piece sealed double-glazed units which also make the carriage interiors appear lighter.

The larger glass area and the lack of cross bars transformed the look of the carriage and will reduce the draughts.

The partitions to the vestibule areas were replaced by glass to improve visibility and give that ‘light and airy’ feel.

Key features of the

Class 321 Demonstrator > New Saloon and Cab Air Conditioning > New saloon heating > Suburban and Metro layouts > 2 vehicles Suburban with refurbished existing seating > 2 vehicles Metro with extended entrance to allow easier access, new high back seats > New First Class area with power operated doors, new leather seats with power sockets > Standard toilet refurbished > New wheelchair accessible toilet > Two wheelchair spaces > New energy efficient LED lighting > New modern glazed windows

Our vision.

Your choice.

In partnership with

38

the rail engineer • December 2013

Refreshed facilities One of the toilets was refurbished. It is still a hopper toilet, dumping its contents onto the track, but plans are afoot to replace this with a CET (controlled emission toilet) when the full class is refurbished.

The other toilet has been completely replaced by a Spanish-built wheelchair-accessible toilet cubicle. This comes as a plug-in unit and it has a CET system. It is also quite large and takes up the space of about seven seats. However, that cannot be avoided and a lot of effort was made to fit a couple of single seats back into the train to minimise the net loss.

Alternative seating All of the above applies to the complete train.

The biggest difference between the two ends is the seating arrangement.

In ‘metro’ style the seating is two-by-two.

New seat designs have been incorporated from ATD, a Coventry-based firm that normally manufactures car and luxury vehicle seats.

However, the new styles were fully approved and tested and had lightweight formedaluminium shells with firm, foam inserts.

Fabric colours are a mixture of greens, blues and purples as this is a demonstrator and shows no allegiance to any particular operator. It also gives users some idea of what is possible.

Due to the seating arrangements, the aisles are wide and, in peak periods, may have people standing two abreast. New ‘pretzel’ hand-grabs have been fixed to aisle seats so that they are convenient for several standing passengers to hold on to, and overhead handrails have been eliminated.

There are no large tables between facing sets of seats, but small triangular ones are included which can take a coffee cup or two. Balancing a large laptop on one may be a challenge though.

In the ‘suburban’ end the seating is more compact, being three-by-two. This leads to narrower aisles so only conventional handholds are needed.

As shown, the train does have a small firstclass section. This has larger, leather-covered seats in a two-by-one arrangement and full-sized tables. Again, this is a demonstrator so the ‘production’ versions may be different, or even have no first-class section at all the mixture of the seating will ultimately be determined by the future fleet operator.

Behind (and under) the scenes In the driver’s cabs, as well as the new air conditioning, there are new seat covers and fresh new paint. Otherwise, as the mechanical working of the train has not been altered, everything is as it was before.

Externally, the train has a smart new grey livery.

There are plans to update the traction package. This will involve replacing the existing Brush DC traction motors with asynchronous AC motors. The new motors will have to fit in the existing locations on the bogies and mate with the current gearboxes. As the urgency was to get the interior demonstrator finished, this traction package will be fitted next year as a separate project.

Once the new traction is in place, then some revision of the driver’s control desk will be needed to accommodate the instrumentation for the regenerative braking that will then be possible.

Back in service Andy Course, chief operating officer of Eversholt Rail, explained that tests in Doncaster on the revised train were almost complete. “We shall be carrying out some further testing and checks at Greater Anglia’s depot at Ilford,” he commented, “And then we hope to put it into service in December.”

Passengers will be surveyed, using a dedicated website, for their views on the revisions and the two different seating arrangements. Then, once their views are known, Eversholt Rail will be able to finalise the package to offer future operators.

“This is part of a major programme offering an affordable, value-for-money solution to the rail industry,” Andy continued. “Our Class 320 trains are also undergoing a major upgrade. The Class 321 demonstrator is almost ready for passenger service and we are just commencing a major upgrade to Class 318 trains. On top of this, the Class 315 PRM (Persons of Reduced Mobility) work will be completed in 2016 and we have committed to Class 365 heavy maintenance, refresh and PRM work too.”

It sounds as though Eversholt Rail’s Class 3XX trains will all look very different in a few years, giving these dependable units a new lease of life.

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

BOMBARDIER and The Evolution of Mobility are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries

OF BRITAIN WITH AVENTRA

For over 175 years, we‘ve been building trains for Britain. And we continue this long tradition. Along with investing in future generations of young, innovative engineers, we are creating dynamic new trains, such as BOMBARDIER AVENTRA, for Britain‘s passengers – today and in the future.

Follow us on Twitter @AventraTrain

www.bombardier.com

Sabrina Ihaddaden Graduate Mechatronics Engineer for AVENTRA Bombardier Transportation

40

the rail engineer • December 2013

Class 317 half old, half new

W

hen The Rail Engineer last saw train 317722, it was parked in a corner of Bombardier’s Ilford depot (issue 98, December 2012). The interior was missing from two carriages, all of the traction equipment was out from under the frame, and it looked quite forlorn. In fact, this was to be the new Class 317 demonstrator for Angel Trains. It was one of nine 4-car units last used by Stansted Express which have been in storage since early 2012.

The plan was to show how a total refurbishment could change a train.

So two cars were being left as they were - the Stansted Express seats had been covered in plastic sheeting to protect them. The other two cars would be completely refurbished and the contrast between old and new would be easy to see.

There would be other changes as well. Out of sight of the passengers, the old DC traction system would be replaced by a modern AC one and various other technical improvements were planned.

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

Smart new interior Twelve months later, and the project is almost complete. The Rail Engineer caught up with 317722 again while it was undergoing final test at Bombardier’s Derby factory. Stuart Benford, Angel Trains’ project manager, and Peter Keighron, his Bombardier equivalent, were also on hand to explain just what they had done to the train behind them.

“The 317 is a good unit,” Stuart started off. “It’s not in the first flush of youth, and there are some features that needed improving, but the basic train is sound and quite capable of giving many more years of service.”

Apart from the smart new paint, the most obvious change is the interior. Comparing the two ‘new’ cars with the two old ones is like comparing chalk and cheese. The original Stansted Express carriages are dark and old-fashioned. In contrast, the two that have been refurbished are light, airy and somehow seem to have more room.

Part of that may be down to the seats. They are identical to the ones currently being fitted to new Class 377 trains at the Derby factory - in fact, there is a rumour that a production manager is still looking for two sets of seats that seem to have been ‘misplaced’!

The vestibules are also very different. Gone are the large luggage racks from the airport services, and spaces around the doors are now larger and more open. However, due to the thinner backs of the new seats, there has been no change to the number of seated passengers overall.

Additional details LED lights brighten up the interiors as well, and the carriages are now PRM (Persons of Reduced Mobility) compliant. With passenger information systems included, the carriages now have all the features of a new train.

As this is only a demonstrator, the original hopper windows have been retained. However, these can always be changed in the future if the operator requires.

Some other small details have been improved as well. One problem with the doors is that, in autumn, leaves get carried into the carriage on passengers’ feet. These then get trapped in the doors and carried into the door pockets buried behind the panelling of the carriage. From there, it is a devil of a job to remove them. As part of this refurbishment, much larger access panels have been fitted to those pockets, so making life easier for hard-pressed depot staff.

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42

the rail engineer • December 2013

Under the frame Those door pockets are not the only hidden improvements. Major work has been undertaken on the drive train to make significant changes.

Gone are the old DC traction motors. “DC motors are not as good as AC,” Peter Keighron explained. “They don’t regenerate, and they don’t like winters.”

Working with Bombardier engineers from the propulsion centre of excellence at Västerås in Sweden, Peter’s team have developed a special version of the proven MGA280 motor. This fits exactly into the same mountings as the original DC motors, so no modification is needed to the two power bogies.

Class 317 trains have one power car, with two power bogies, and three trailer cars. Of course, the half-and-half approach that the interior received is not applicable here - the entire traction system has been replaced and both driver’s cabs modified to suit.

All of the new control equipment fits under the frame of the power car, but that leaves no room for the battery pack which has to be moved to the adjacent carriage.

“This is all proven technology,” Peter commented. “The traction package is similar to that which we use on both London Underground’s new S-Stock and on our Electrostars. It is also used on the Delhi Metro.”

In theory, the new AC motors would be more powerful than the originals. However, as the trains are used in multiples to make up eight and twelve-car consists, the performance of the modified units has been engineered to be similar to those on unmodified trains.

Similarly, the control system has to be compatible so that units can be coupled together and driven from either one cab of this train, or one cab of an unmodified one. However, the new motors will have more tractive effort and will accelerate for longer, reaching the top speed of 100mph more quickly.

In the cab, the only change to the driver’s controls is that the panel now contains a gauge indicating the performance of the regenerative braking.

The new ‘Dynamic Brake’ display on the driver’s console.

Final testing After the unit has been tested at Derby, both in the laboratory and on the short test track, it will be given its first run on Network Rail infrastructure. This programme will be conducted out of Ilford during the night in a signal protection zone (SPZ). Greater Anglia drivers will undertake the tests with a view to the train entering passenger service in February 2014.

Once Abellio and its passengers have experienced the unit in normal service for several months, Angel Trains will then be able to assess how best to offer Class 317 trains to future franchise holders in the Greater Anglia and other regions.

When asked whether it is worth all the effort to refurbish an old train to such an extent, Stuart Benford is in no doubt. “Despite all the work we have done, this train can be leased out to an operator for half of the capital cost of a new one. There is good life left in it yet, and it makes perfect sense for us to rework these trains so they can work more efficiently and economically for the duration of the next franchise.”

the rail engineer • December 2013

43

Making the wheel-rail interface work Preparations for the UK’s first Tram-Train PAUL ALLEN

T

he Tram-Train concept allows a railway vehicle to run in two operational modes; as an on-street tram serving city centres but also as a commuter train running on the existing local rail network. This dual operation concept provides great flexibility and efficient use of railway infrastructure and connections.

Tram-Train first became popular in Germany and is now spreading rapidly through Europe.

The Sheffield-Rotherham Tram-Train scheme represents the UK’s first trial of the concept and has provided the project partners, the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Northern Rail, Stagecoach Supertram (SST) and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive with many challenges.

Examining the interface One of the key issues to be tackled in this project is the wheel/rail interface. In essence, this is how the wheels contact with the running rails, check rails, guard rails and switches and crossings (S&C) during operation.

The wheel/rail interface is very important not only to the safe running of the vehicle but also to maximise wheelset life and to minimise wear and tear on the infrastructure. Getting this interface correct for a vehicle running on one rail system can be problematic but to optimise the interface for two very different systems is a major challenge.

Under contract by Network Rail, a team of engineers at the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research (IRR) has been developing a new wheel profile for TramTrain that can operate on both Network

Rail and SST track whilst minimising wear, rolling contact fatigue (RCF) and derailment risk and meeting all of the relevant industry standards.

David Crosbee, IRR Senior Research Fellow explains: “The first issue encountered when developing the new wheel profile was that SST and Network Rail use very different wheel and rail profiles. The SST trams use a modified DIN type wheel profile with a mix of BS80A vignole rail and 55G2 grooved rail. In contrast, Network Rail predominantly uses BR P8 wheel profiles running on BR113a rails. Add to this the fact that new rails wear to adopt a different shape, usually similar to the mean shape of the wheel profiles running on them, and we end up with an eclectic mix of different rail profiles that we have to work with.”

Worn rail profiles from both SST and Network Rail infrastructure were recorded using a MiniProf Rail instrument for use in the wheel profile development. Given that the Tram-Train traffic will form only a small proportion of the overall route traffic on both infrastructures, the wear on Network Rail and SST rails will be dominated by the existing vehicles. As a result, it was assumed that the existing rail profiles would remain a similar shape post Tram-Train introduction.

Due to the wide range of new and worn rail profiles present on the Tram-Train route, reducing the number of wheel/rail combinations prior to the wheel design stage was necessary. Given that new rails will wear to a worn shape in a relatively short period of time and that many of the existing rail section types have already worn to a common shape, the SST aspect of the work employed a single representative worn rail shape. Likewise, a similar approach was adopted for the selection of a representative rail profile for Network Rail infrastructure.

Performance assessment A combination of vehicle dynamic simulations and bespoke in-house software was used to assess the performance of the existing Network Rail and SST wheel profiles on the two infrastructures. The analysis included the calculation of contact patch stresses, rolling radius difference, contact angle and T-gamma - the energy dissipated in the contact patch, used to predict rail wear and RCF propagation rates throughout the route for a range of operating conditions.

Early on in the study, it was found that, due to the gauge corner of Network Rail rails having a considerably larger radius than the flange root radius of the SST wheel, severe two-point contact occurred. This condition creates two distinct contact regions, one on the rail head and one towards the rail gauge corner. The resulting net wheel-rail

44

the rail engineer • December 2013

BR113a inclined 1:20 - New Typical NR Worn SSG2 - New BS80A inclined 1:40 - New Typical SST Worn

Tram-Train Profile Current SST Profile BR P8 Profile

contact forces cause reduced wheelset steering and increased levels of wheel and rail wear. Therefore the SST DIN wheel was deemed unsuitable for use on Network Rail infrastructure. Conversely it was found that a P8 wheel profile on SST rail resulted in similar levels of wear to the standard SST wheel. As a result, a hybrid wheel profile based on a P8 profile with the addition of the SST flange tip and flangeback geometry was developed and further optimised Tram-Train Profile for the two railway Current SST Profile networks.

BR P8 Profile

The back is important When a rail vehicle negotiates S&C, and also tight curves with check rails, the back of the wheel flange provides guidance through contact with the check rail. The location of the check rail on the track is based on the backto-back spacing of the wheelset and, although SST and Network Rail tracks have the same nominal track gauge of 1435mm, the current SST vehicle’s wheelsets have a larger wheelset P8 Derived Treadspacing of 1379mm when back-to-back and Flange Profile

NR Switch Blade Compatible Flange Toe

compared to the BR P8 back-to-back spacing wheel flangeback will also require that of 1360mm. This is due to tramway wheels SST increase the lateral clearance to guard NR Checking having a narrower flange for negotiating rails over bridges and viaducts to prevent Surface grooved rail on street running sections of unwanted contact with the stepped region of track. the flangeback.

The difference in back-to-back spacing The design of the wheel flange was a SST also Checking Surface means that SST vehicles are not able to safely key part of the study. A particular constraint negotiate Network Rail infrastructure. It was was the requirement to demonstrate that the P8 Derived Tread therefore necessary to design the flangeback new wheel profile could negotiate Network and Flange Profile of the Tram-Train profile to provide the correct Rail switch tips with the permitted maximum flange thickness and back-to-back spacing level of residual switch opening. Analysis work NR Switch Blade tip clashed with the for running in grooved rail, whilst providing aCompatiblefound profile Flangethat Toe the SSTFlange running surface checking surface at the correct back-to-back switch tip in this condition and it was therefore spacing for compatibility with Network Rail necessary to adopt a flange angle which was check rails and S&C. This was achieved by similar to current approved Network Rail wheel creating a stepped wheel flangeback, providing profiles at 68°. two sections with different effective back-toIn relation to the existing SST wheel profile, back spacings. the lower flange angle does reduce the NR Checking Surface As a result, the Network Rail checking absolute levels of flange climb protection, surfaces are located some distance up however vehicle dynamic simulations have the back SST of the wheel. To ensure on-going proven acceptable derailment performance.

Checking Surface compatibility, Network Rail is required to raise In addition, precedents exist in other light the check rails throughout the Tram-Train systems such as Manchester Metrolink for route by 50mm. The adoption of a stepped running a heavy-rail flange angle within

Flange tip running surface

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

45

NR Checking Surface

SST Checking Surface P8 Derived Tread and Flange Profile NR Switch Blade Compatible Flange Toe

Flange tip running surface

the tight curves of a tramway and the vehicle manufacturer will also optimise the vehicle suspension parameters to further mitigate any increased risk.

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And the tips A final key issue which was addressed in the study was the distinct differences in the flange tip geometries between SST and Network Rail profiles. On the SST system, as with many tramways, the wheel profile is designed to run on the flange tip when negotiating embedded crossings.

The reason for this is to support the weight of the vehicle when passing over the discontinuities in the running rails. The flange tip of the TramTrain profile therefore had to incorporate a flat flange tip design for compatibility with SST embedded track.

The prototype Tram-Train wheel profile will now be subject to scrutiny by the SST project team and the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB).

The IRR will also be collaborating with the vehicle manufacturer, Vossloh, to ensure that the final vehicle design will be fully compatible with the Tram-Train route. Once the new wheel profile is approved for running on the mainline, Tram-Train test running can begin in earnest.

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Tram trials and tribulations 46

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

On the crossover outside Nottinghamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Royal Theatre.

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the rail engineer • December 2013

47

omething unusual has been seen recently on the streets of Nottingham. It has been appearing unexpectedly, surprising taxi drivers and club revellers in the early hours of weekday mornings.

At 2am on a Friday morning, one such amiable chap walks past a large green object, stops, and approaches the men in yellow jackets that are accompanying it. “Is that the new one, mate?” he asks.

“It is,” he is told, and after a short while looking at it, he wanders off - impressed. For this is one of Nottingham’s new trams, under test outside the Theatre Royal.

station, and to ensure that the tram could safely traverse the special lift-over crossover alongside the Theatre Royal (as described in issue 98 (December 2012).

Belt and braces

Cross-checking

The first new Alstom Citadis tram arrived in Nottingham from the Spanish factory a few weeks ago (issue 108, October 2013). Since then a further two have been delivered, and testing has been going on for the last three weeks.

This initially was along the off-road sections, from the Wilkinson Street northwards to Phoenix Park and Hucknall. But for the last couple of nights, the tram has turned left out of the depot, onto the streets.

Of course, the designers have taken every care to make sure that the new vehicles are fit for purpose, and will run happily on the existing tracks down to Nottingham’s Station Street. But these things have to be checked, with nothing taken for granted. The railway industry is naturally cautious about such things and, although the new Citadis had performed faultlessly so far, the tests have to be carried out.

This crossing, which is only ever used during engineering work, is specially designed to provide a continuous, and therefore jar-free, rail in the running line. The cross-over path is raised up so that the wheel actually runs on its flange over the crossing and is let down again on the other side. This works well with the existing trams but, with a new tram and hence a new wheel manufacturer, it had to be tested.

The tram halted just past the crossing, and the test team disembarked. Driver Ben Hutchinson used a long lever to throw the points and then got back into the tram to bring it slowly back over the crossing. Testing commissioning manager Jim Whittington crouched down to keep a close eye on things, and Alstom’s engineering safety manager Howard Parkinson and Nottingham Express Transit witness Barry Singleton also observed the test.

Ben Hutchinson eased the new tram over the crossing and - nothing happened. He pulled to a halt on the other road, facing away from the city centre, while Jim Whittington returned the points to their regular position. Then everyone got back on the tram as it went back to Forest where it could again cross over and reverse direction.

No news is good news Walking along

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

The first time the new tram runs on a new section of track, it is literally ‘walked’ along. A test engineer walks each side of it while it progresses at a maximum speed of 5km/hr. The testers watch as the vehicle passes trackside objects, and listen all the while - any problems may well first be identified by the change in the noise the tram is making.

At platforms alignments are checked. Is the edge of the tram’s doorway step too high or too low? Is it too close to the platform (or even fouling it), or too far away leaving a dangerous gap?

The Friday run was the third such. In the first two, the tram had been ‘cleared’ as far as Old Market Square and could now run that far at 15km/hr. Tonight, there were three objectives to clear the line to its current terminus at Station Street, to check that there were no EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) problems which could affect Network Rail’s signalling at Nottingham

Once it reached Old Market Square, it would be walked through the stop at Lace Market, with the platform checks being carried out, before stopping at high level at Station Street, overlooking Nottingham station on the other side of the road. The station itself was closed as engineering work was being carried out, but one of the tram test team was sitting in Derby Control Centre, with the Network Rail signallers, to check if anything untoward showed on the display panels.

Nothing did, so that was another tick in the box and the new tram can now safely use Station Street stop.

So that was it - another uneventful night of testing, just the way the test engineers like it.

There weren’t even many taxis parked on the tracks, which happens sometimes as the drivers are used to the network being shut at that time.

But the tram carried two policemen, so even those interruptions were short-lived.

“Move along please. The 01:00 from Wilkinson Street is coming through” - at 5km/hr.

48

the rail engineer • December 2013

Copenhagen

Photo: MARC KJERLAND

CLIVE KESSELL

challenges for a modern metro C ities that invested in the construction of a new metro system in recent years encountered both advantages and drawbacks compared to cities that built systems a hundred or so years ago. Metro systems of old still needed to dig tunnels in city centres but the disruption to everyday life did not have the constraints put upon it that would occur nowadays.

Cities were also smaller and the metro network would be used to encourage development in the suburbs and adjacent countryside, where building the rail infrastructure would be relatively simple. The metro would thus be an engine for growth.

In more recent times, metros have taken on a different role and are built primarily to ease the problems of traffic and urban congestion. This means no green field sites for construction plus having to comply with current day environmental and safety requirements while having minimal impact on the business life of the city.

The plus side is that the lessons of metro operation elsewhere can be taken on board and the layout and capacity of the system can be accurately modelled. It also means that the use of current technology for all aspects of operation can be designed in from the outset and not have to be bolted on as an afterthought.

Copenhagen is one such city, so The Rail Engineer visited Metro headquarters to learn how it came about and the service that it offers.

Copenhagen’s current line When the Øresund link from Copenhagen (København) to Malmö (Sweden’s 3rd City) was being planned, it was realised that this would bring a new influx of business and visitors to the city. Access to Malmö from the wider world would likely be via Copenhagen airport, which in turn would encourage people to visit Copenhagen as well. Thus some form of enhanced urban transport would be required and so a metro line was conceived.

Authorised in 1992, the planning of the route, with all the legal processes that were required, took until 1997 before construction could start. The first section opened in 2002 from Vestamager in the south to Vanløse in the west, including a short section from Fasanvej to Frederiksberg which was a former S-tog (S-train) line. An extension line from the city

centre station of Christianshavn to the airport was opened in 2007, the junction being in a tunnel section.

Construction work was carried out by a consortium of contractors with the control and communications element being awarded to Ansaldo STS. Owned by the Copenhagen Municipality, the system is in effect a Y layout and is operated as two routes, M1 and M2, serving the two prongs of the Y. It is 21km total length with 10km of tunnel, 12km on either elevated viaducts, embankments or level ground, 22 stations of which nine are underground and is double track throughout.

Photo: KRISTIAN MOLLENBORG

the rail engineer • December 2013

The elevated viaduct sections have high level stations accessed by escalators.

Platform screen doors are provided only in the underground stations.

Hardware Thirty-four three-car articulated trains, each 39 metres long, plus three engineer’s vehicles comprise the rolling stock fleet.

Electric traction is the classic 750V DC third-rail system but with the trains converting this for 3-phase AC motors. A two-minute headway is achieved in the city centre section at rush hours, reducing to four minutes off-peak. The line is unusual in offering a 24 hour, 7 days a week service, the train frequency at night being every 15 - 20 minutes.

The control centre and maintenance depot are situated at the south end of the line near to Ørestad station. Daily cleaning and external washing are carried out here as well as intermediate overhauls and piece part replacement when heavy maintenance is required. The line operation and maintenance is outsourced to Ansaldo STS which employs ‘Metro Service’ as its sub contractor, this

being a consortium of firms both local and international with metro experience.

The signalling (more accurately control and communication) system was state of the art at the time of introduction. As would be expected, the trains are driverless using an Automatic Train Control system that comprises ATS (Automatic Train Supervision) plus ATO (Automatic Train Operation) with ATP (Automatic Train Protection), the latter being the safety critical element. The system is fixed block but with moving block capability around station areas.

Reliability and availability were seen as all important so the system uses a resilient fibreoptic network with a distributed architecture.

The whole system is designed for redundancy and this includes the train equipment. Train movement commands are transmitted via jointless track circuits operating in the 9.5kHz to 16.7kHz range upon which digital codes are picked up by the trains.

Traction return current is via only one rail using impedance bonds although there is some cross bonding between adjacent tracks.

Interlockings of the ‘Microlok’ type are provided

49

at stations so as to control points at terminal stations, junctions and in the event of trains having to be turned back at intermediate stations to cater for service disruption or engineering work.

Track loops are installed at station sites for non vital activity such as door control. A 1.1 metre tolerance exists for platform stopping accuracy. Trains are fitted with an emergency driver’s panel in the event of system failure.

The service availability achieves around 98.6%.

Screen doors on the underground section.

50

the rail engineer • December 2013 Photo: JOHAN WESSMAN

Expanding the network With the success of the first line, it was almost inevitable that the city authorities would wish to expand the metro network.

The original line served the city centre, some business areas and the airport but strangely not the main Copenhagen railway station.

A second line has since been authorised in 2011, again with the contract for control and communication being awarded to Ansaldo STS but using the very latest CBTC (Communication Based Train Control) technology.

The line will be entirely in tunnel and will form a 15.5km ring to be known as ‘Cityringen’.

Because of the significant tunnel work needed, it will take some time to build and the inservice date will not be until 2018. 28 trains are to be provided and will also provide a 24 hour, 7 days a week service. The line will provide an interchange with the main line station and an extension line going eastwards from the ring is already planned The CBTC system will differ considerably from that used on the first line and will be based upon continuous train-to-trackside communication via radio with the trains determining their own position within the system. Reference points will come from ‘Track 4 Tags’, in effect a proprietary version of a balise. Both train and trackside will be equipped with vital processors to ensure the highest level of operational safety. The radio system will also facilitate real time video images from the passenger cars.

Planning for failure Maximum train speed will be 90kph with a minimum headway of 75 seconds. The line will be commissioned for UTO (Unattended Train Operation) although it will be possible to drive trains manually at normal speeds, protection being afforded from the ATP element of the CBTC system. In the event of total system failure, the trains will be capable

of being moved at slow speed on the basis of ‘drive on sight’.

The system is being designed to prevent trains being stopped in tunnels midway between stations and thus despatch of a train will not generally be permitted unless there is a clear path to the next stopping point. This will thus protect against situations such as a failed train ahead, detection of fire or smoke conditions, platform screen doors failed and such like.

Rescue trolleys will be available at key points for the use of emergency services.

In the failed train situation, it is planned that rescue will be by the following train being allowed under controlled conditions to couple up to it and push the failed train to the next station. Both trains would then be cleared of passengers at that point, whence the two trains will proceed to a stabling siding or depot.

Great emphasis is being put on regular and accurate communication to passengers in such a situation by both video and audio messaging.

Part of this will be the provision of help call points on every train.

Photo: JOHAN WESSMAN

The technology advancement dilemma Very shortly, Copenhagen will have two metro lines which are entirely incompatible with each other. The only common element will be the cross passages at interchange stations. This demonstrates the rapid technological development that has taken place in the last 10 years. Being ‘closed’ systems, the incompatibility does not matter too much other than the enforced duplication of spares, training and general staff expertise.

Other metro systems are experiencing similar challenges, London being one of them where different lines are being upgraded with systems from different suppliers, none of which have common engineering philosophies except at the highest functional level. CBTC technology is supplied by all the major signalling companies and, whilst all of them provide more or less the same operational features, there is no commonality in design, equipment, or construction. There have been calls for the industry to produce a common specification for CBTC so as to achieve a degree of interoperability or even inter-changeability but little progress has been made.

Compare this scenario to the main line rail situation and one can see why it has taken so long to achieve effective interoperability with ERTMS. One can only hope that the railway control and communication mindset will one day come to terms with the need for both forward and backward compatibility as product technology advances plus some much needed co-operation between suppliers to produce common system designs.

Copenhagen can be justly proud of its expanding metro system, it is well used and performs a valuable service for the city.

Coming to terms with the technology will however be ongoing for some time.

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52

the rail engineer • December 2013

Train wash at Allerton Depot, Liverpool.

Keeping things clean

ANDY COLES

T

he rail industry is constantly evolving to keep pace with the demands on the network and the need to provide an efficient and reliable service to the customer. But, unlike many other industries, it doesn’t have a blank sheet of paper to work with. In many respects, it is the legacy of the rail infrastructure which provides the challenges which rail engineers find themselves working with today.

project has been as a result of introducing a modular train wash solution which is designed to suit the individual requirements of the location and the contours of a range of rolling stock profiles.

This is particularly apparent in the maintenance depots. An increasing work schedule is required on a daily basis using a site, equipment and technology which, while fit for purpose when it was designed decades ago, is now often outmoded.

Meeting requirements

Bespoke solution Perhaps one of the biggest challenges faced by maintenance depots is the cleaning of rolling stock. Having the ability to keep trains clean and well maintained is a given for most train operators but, behind the scenes, a lot of work goes on to ensure that the equipment being used is not only fit for purpose but also able to carry out the work in the most efficient manner possible.

Whilst each depot has a system in place to carry out this task, the on-going introduction of new rolling stock and its aerodynamic nature means that outdated equipment is no longer sufficient to meet the stringent requirements of the operators and Network Rail.

In theory, it should be as easy as installing a completely new system. However, budget constraints and the individual requirements

of each depot mean that there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution and this is one of the main reasons why a bespoke solution is fast becoming the system of choice.

For many people the words ‘bespoke solution’ instantly suggests that it will be expensive but, while this may be true in some cases, the beauty of a bespoke train wash system is that it is designed to fit in with all of the constraints of the depot - and that includes the budget.

Over the past few years, derby-based specialist Garrandale has worked with numerous depots and the success of each

One of the main issues which depots face is the space that is available. Changes over the years mean that this is often not sufficient for the cleaning requirements of modern rolling stock. Nevertheless, it is all that the depot has to work with and therefore there is a need for a solution which meets today’s requirements within the space available.

The flexibility of a modular design takes this into account and allows for a number of configurations, which include cleaning with flails, brushes or a combination of both. Each bespoke system makes efficient use of the

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

53

space available and can be configured to suit the requirements of the TOC including single or bi-directional washing, including skirts, eaves and roofs where applicable.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, a modular solution can be designed to suit the available budget. It is no great secret that budgets are continuously being cut for the installation of new equipment but whole life costs are increasingly becoming more important than initial purchase price.

Environmental management Budget and available space are indeed two very important factors when looking at train wash systems. However, of equal importance is the issue of water recycling and treatment as this goes hand in hand with the ability to make cost savings. Recycling water in train wash systems can provide savings of up to 60%, but this can also raise the issue of environmental management that many depots are increasingly being called upon to address.

Another good example of fluid handling is the safe, hygienic and efficient emptying of CETs (controlled emission toilets) because, as technology has changed, so too has the requirement for an effective solution. Bringing everything up to date is not as difficult or as expensive as it sounds. There are numerous options which range from simple hose systems right through to a single heated cabinet offering both manual and fully automatic systems.

All of these solutions can be configured to suit the individual requirements of the train operator while taking into account the CET technology, the amount of space available and the degree of automation required at each depot. An additional benefit of these bespoke solutions is that they also address the issue of tripping hazards on CET servicing aprons through new techniques such as a suspended hose system which works by automatically retracting the suction hose after use.

Address the future Part of the water recycling system.

A good example of this was a system that Garrandale designed for a customer which needed to reduce the flow of water from its site into the local authority system. This is a common problem in many areas so an investigation was made into storing the water so that it could be discharged over a period of time. This led to the development of a water recycling system which, through the installation of a series of filters, could clean the water that was being stored ready for it to be re-used in the cleaning process.

The result is that the entire cleaning cycle is now carried out in three stages. The first, which includes the application of the detergent, uses fresh water. The recycled water is then used in stage two for rinsing away the detergent while the final rinse uses fresh water to ensure a streak free finish. Waste water is collected from the apron after every cleaning cycle, filtered and re-used providing significant savings over cleaning systems which use fresh water for every cycle by using less fresh water and reducing trade effluent.

Other fluids Handling the waste water from train wash systems is not the only area coming under scrutiny these days. As a result of the evolution of rolling stock, the whole issue of fluids and fuels is seeing an increasing amount of investment. The main issue here is that in many cases the systems being used today were installed when the depot was first built and, as a result, they are no longer the most effective solution available.

The introduction of fuel dispensing solutions is just one example and these can range from a basic manual system through to a fullyautomated one with multiple dispensing points complete with data monitoring and logging.

Providing the rail industry with the necessary infrastructure to continuously evolve requires the ability to deliver the optimum solution.

To do this, engineers need to embrace the challenges and come up with solutions which meet the needs of the future.

Depot equipment is just one area where this is taking place but there is also a realisation that cutting costs does not necessarily mean cutting corners. In fact, quite the opposite - modern engineering practices are allowing train operators to meet maintenance requirements whilst achieving the necessary standards of cleanliness that will increase their scores on the National Passenger Surveys.

Andy Coles is sales and marketing director of Garrandale Ltd.

54

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

STEVE COX & PETER WEBB

F

or some time, Network Rail had wished to ease congestion on the East Coast main line (ECML) by removing the bottleneck between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace.

Passenger growth forecasts made this imperative, so plans were drawn up to bring disused platforms back into use at both stations and convert a line currently used by freight trains to passenger status.

Work commenced in May 2011 on these major infrastructure improvements that included junction remodelling, renewal of switches and crossings, track slews, signalling and overhead line equipment (OLE) modifications as well as station improvements at both Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace.

The complex multidisciplinary project was to be delivered by Network Rail and its principal contractor Balfour Beatty Rail working in a collaborative alliance arrangement. This was the only way that successful delivery could be guaranteed due to the large number of physical interdependent interfaces that existed and the stakeholders involved.

Staging The electric traction power equipment was remodelled and improved in nine major stages that dovetailed into the major infrastructure improvements. The approach taken by the electrification design team in developing the staging was first to produce the final electrification layouts, then to deconstruct these into smaller staged designs based upon the limited time allocated for electrification construction.

The possession regime was generally 24 hours at a weekend and rules of the route during the week, with 52-hour possessions

at Christmas and New Year. The 2012 London Olympic Games also occupied a fourweek period during the summer in which no construction work took place.

Between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace, the existing slow lines were upgraded to passenger standard and to allow a line speed increase from 40mph to 60mph.

This involved track realignment and the associated adjustments to the overhead line equipment including re-grading of the wires and some modifications to the registration equipment to accommodate the increased pantograph movement that occurs when line speed is increased.

Insufficient time existed in the arranged possessions to realign the track as well as to realign the OLE and make the required OLE improvements. In these speed enhancement areas, the OLE design was staged to locate the equipment in a position that would satisfy the operation of trains both on the existing alignment and the new. This meant that most of the OLE modifications could be undertaken in advance of the track alignment in a different possession, minimising impact to the operating railway.

Cantilever arrangement To enhance safety and improve the efficiency of the design, where practical to do so, multiple existing single-track cantilever

the rail engineer • December 2013

55

Power from the Park to the Palace structures were replaced with either portal or two-track cantilevers. Not only did this reduce the number of structures on the railway and improve the aesthetics of the installed OLE, it provided a higher degree of flexibility when developing the staging design and minimised the requirement for temporary support structures The electrification equipment at Finsbury Park was installed to support the platform extensions and the new crossovers. However, the more complex part of the electrification works was at the Alexandra Place end of the project. This required seven of the nine staged designs to accommodate the building of a new Platform 0 and the associated Up Slow 2 line.

Staging also had to support the adjustments to the Up Slow 1, Up reception line and connection to the Up Hertford including the introduction of new crossovers.

All of this work had to be undertaken while keeping the station open to passengers.

To facilitate this, staging foundations and steelwork in the Alexandra Palace area were installed first and then the wiring transferred from the existing structures to the new following the construction of the trackwork.

The works also included the remodelling of the connections to the Hornsey Depot being constructed by VolkerFitzpatrick.

Overhead line equipment The 25kV AC single phase traction power supply for the Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace is provided via the Wood Green and Ferme Park feeder stations through a classic booster transformer arrangement. The slow lines use Network Rail’s Mark 3A simple sagged, auto-tensioned equipment comprising of a 107mm² hard drawn copper contact wire tensioned at 8,930N (2,000 lbs) and an AWAC catenary wire (an aluminium conductor with

two aluminium coated steel cores for strength) set at a tension of 11,000N (2,473 lbs).

The equipment type on the fast lines is Network Rail’s Mark 3D simple sagged, autotensioned equipment comprising of a 107mm² copper/tin contact wire and bronze II catenary wire, both tensioned at 11,000 N (2,473 lbs).

In both cases the equipment is tensioned using balance weight tensioning devices. On the slow lines, where a complete new wire run was required as part of the works, this

56

the rail engineer • December 2013

was installed at the higher-speed Mark 3D specification.

With OLE remodelling works of this nature in a confined physical geography, it is important that the construction methodology is flexible and agile. Because of this, multi-purpose road-rail machines were used to carry out the work.

Three overhead line support portal structures existed on the project that spanned up to eight tracks. Due to the geographical constraints around the Alexandra Palace area, they had to be lifted into place using a 500 tonne crane to obtain the necessary reach. These portal structures were fully assembled and then lifted into place as a complete unit to minimise impact to the railway operation.

Foundations and steelwork Foundations for the overhead line structures mainly consisted of 610mm tubular steel piles and concrete side bearing foundations. The 610mm piles were made up of multiple sections, each up to six metres in length, spliced together to achieve the required effective depth for structural integrity. These were installed using piling rigs mounted on self-propelled road-rail vehicles. The reinforced concrete foundations were predominantly constructed by machine excavation using road-rail plant.

A number of bespoke foundations were also installed on the project to overcome specific conditions in platform areas and locations where retaining walls or underground services existed.

Before piling, ground penetrating radar was used as a non-invasive investigation method to complement the passive CAT (cable avoidance tool) scan operations when locating buried services and other such obstructions. Ground penetrating radar operates actively by using radar pulses to identify the substructure of the soil.

Radiation in the microwave spectrum is transmitted into the ground and, when the signal hits different objects in the ground, the receiving antenna identifies differences in the reflected signal. The system was effective in locating services and improved the efficacy of foundation installation.

Modified headspans One of the biggest challenges for the Alliance was the modification of the existing overhead line support headspans that existed in the area. This was identified as one of the main risks to the project as, by the nature of their construction, they do not provide mechanically independent registrations. Thus, if a rail vehicle pantograph pulls down one line, all of the lines supported by the headspan support structure will also be impacted. Getting the engineering correct for the headspan modifications was critical to the success of the project.

To modify the headspans, simulation weights were used in various different configurations.

The locations and masses of the weights had to be accurately calculated by the designers and clearly communicated to the construction teams to ensure the headspans were modified correctly.

Material control Balfour Beatty Rail’s own Material Control System (MCS) was utilised to support procurement activities and to accurately and efficiently control materials on site. The MCS software was developed specifically for electrification projects and once again proved to be an essential tool, ensuring that the necessary materials were supplied to site on time, particularly important as the possession regime was stringent.

In keeping with Balfour Beatty’s Zero Harm policy to minimise risks associated with on-track working, as much of the electrification equipment assembly as possible was undertaken in the depot and shipped to site. This reduced the amount of on-site electrification works and improved quality as the items could be inspected in a controlled environment off-site.

Mission Room As reported in issue 93 of The Rail Engineer (July 2012), the Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace Project was one of the first Network Rail projects to use a Mission Room. This is a three-metre cube in which users stand while surrounded by 360° video projection depicting the route. It allows staff rapid and safe virtual access to key parts of the four mile length of the project without incurring the cost or risks associated with actually going on-track to undertake a visual survey.

The Mission Room also allowed engineers to understand the existing OLE equipment in place on the route, facilitating the development of the staging designs.

The Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace Capacity Improvement project was a remarkable project both in terms of collaboration and electrification excellence. It was one of the first projects undertaken by Balfour Beatty Rail in accordance with BS11000, the collaboration standard, and it was also one of the first projects to be delivered using a collaborative alliance model. In terms of electrification, the project succeeded in maintaining an electrified rail service throughout the complex multidisciplinary improvements being made to this high density core traffic route.

Steve Cox is the regional engineering delivery manager north and Peter Webb is head of construction services for Balfour Beatty Rail.

As installed on Cumbernauld

58

the rail engineer • December 2013

PAUL STOREY

Cumbernauld Electrification Project

E

GIP, the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme, is a £650 million project to do just what it says - improve the railway links between Scotland’s two major cities. The Rail Engineer has reported on the project several times, most notably in issue 104 (June 2013).

An additional £40 million project is the electrification of the line between Springburn and Cumbernauld. This will enable the service to be operated from Glasgow Queen Street Low level station, removing two departures an hour from the capacity-constrained High Level station, and will also partially electrify a future diversionary route.

of the Dalmuir to Springburn services to Cumbernauld.

Work on the project, which includes design support from Atkins and piling solutions provided by Aspin Foundations, is now well underway with over 800 foundations and the associated steelwork completed. Installation of some of the 63,000 metres of wiring has commenced.

Well underway

Hardware

Carillion Rail, working in partnership with SPL Powerlines, is currently delivering the Cumbernauld Electrification project which will be completed ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.

The scheme comprises the extension of electrification from Springburn and Gartsherrie to Cumbernauld with alterations at Parkhead Feeder Station and the introduction of new track section cabins at Garnqueen and Cowlairs. Additional work at Springburn is also required in order to provide the necessary infrastructure to enable the extension to

Carmuirs Tunnel

The electrification system chosen for this scheme is the new Network Rail Series 2, which has the capacity for speeds of up to 100mph and is designed to feature fewer component parts. In addition, it has greater maintenance tolerances and is less obtrusive, which offers the added benefit of creating fewer signal sighting conflicts.

As the project will be a boosterless classic system, there is the requirement to install a return screening conductor throughout the route to meet immunisation requirements.

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Post EGIP electrification Haymarket - Inverkeithing Headway Improvement

The Cumbernauld Electrification scheme will also feature Tensorex anchors. These simplify the arrangement and reduce the need for heavy manual weights and for anchoring wires across each line, therefore minimising disruption in the event of a failure or dewirement.

Significantly, the scheme will also be one of the first projects to develop and install Fixed Earthing Devices (FEDS), which will facilitate the remote operation and control of earthing requirements. This technology will bring isolation and earthing procedures into the twenty-first century. It utilises remotely-controlled isolation switches to reduce the need for boots on ballast to carry out isolation and earthing procedures and has the additional benefit of simultaneously speeding up the isolation process.

Pressing on The tight timescale of the project, which is required to be complete for services to support the huge influx of visitors to the city for the Commonwealth Games next summer, presented a series of challenges which Carillion Rail and SPL Powerlines have addressed.

To enable sufficient access to the track to facilitate the works, it was agreed to introduce a pattern of extended rules of the route on each section of the line to enable access between 20:00 and 04:30 on midweek nights.

The project team also overcame the challenge of securing enough materials to feed the on-going construction works in a timely manner. By securing the main steel work from local suppliers, transportation time and costs were reduced and the carbon footprint of the project reduced.

E&G STATIONS 1. Glasgow Queen St

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the rail engineer • December 2013

59

This practice was extended to the procurement of the Network Rail Series 2 equipment. It was ordered in bulk, an action made possible by the unit’s general standard arrangements which reduced the need to stock multiple versions of the equipment range.

One further innovative solution was also created to overcome the limited access point on the route and the logistics of transporting large amounts of material to the site. The series 2 cantilever frames were transported to site using specially-designed racking placed on road-rail vehicles (RRVs), reducing the need for manual handling. In addition, a pulley arrangement was created to install the Tensorex anchor arrangements, which weigh 180 kg and normally require the use of an RRV for installation.

The Omnia cantilever from Bonomi.

Improving skills

36 new entrants to the industry have been recruited and are at various stages of their training.

Among them is a group who are working alongside the experienced linesmen on the Cumbernauld Project which will provide them with invaluable onsite experience as well as help them achieve the next stages of their OLEC framework. Prior to joining the site team, the trainees spent time at Carillion Rail and SPL Powerlines’ training centres in Bishopbriggs and Coatbridge where they worked towards OLEC qualifications through practical training.

To support the wider skills agenda, Carillion Rail and SPL Powerlines are actively supporting the industry and recognised national training bodies to formalise these qualifications into apprenticeship schemes and national vocational qualifications. If this aim can be realised, then trainees and future individuals entering the industry can be presented with long-term career opportunities that will support the delivery of the vast workload that forms the UK electrification programme.

The electrification of the lines at Cumbernauld also highlights the importance of developing new skills for the electrification sector. With the substantial amounts of electrification taking place across the UK in the near future, the industry needs to address the availability of skilled personnel.

Carillion Rail, in partnership with SPL Powerlines, is addressing the issue by employing and training new entrants to the industry using the recently-developed OLEC (Overhead Line Equipment Competency) qualifications. The OLEC framework validates the fundamental training requirements and system knowledge required to work in the electrification sector. Delivered in a modular format, the qualifications enable the continuous developments of new recruits as they progress through the required construction activities and gaining industryrecognised skills and competencies.

Part of Carillion Rail and SPL Powerlines’ investment in this area has been the creation of a network of training spans and centres of excellence to deliver the practical skills training and assessment. To date,

Paul Storey is head of electrification at Carillion Rail

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the rail engineer • December 2013

The problem solvers

Improving overhead line reliability on the West Coast main line.

T

he West Coast main line (WCML) has been at the heart of UK railway infrastructure since the early days of rail development, tracking back to the London and Birmingham Railway and its successors. It has always been a mixed-traffic railway with high density usage and, as such, has always shouldered a heavy traffic pattern and heavy wear.

PETER STANTON

The route was a natural candidate for the earliest 25kV mainline electrification from the late 1950s onwards, culminating in the wires going through to Glasgow in 1974.

This electrification involved heavy rebuilding of the formation and the associated fixed infrastructure but, by the early 1990s, was seen as needing further work to meet expectations at the time.

From this period grew the West Coast Route Modernisation Project which, at its core, was intended to bring the route up to the speeds and reliability required from a modern railway in the twenty-first century.

The work was completed and the visible outcome is the Pendolino Virgin service, the modern EMUs and the heavy freight movement we see today.

Poor performance However, the performance of this most vital UK rail corridor has not recently achieved the level required and Network Rail has made the decision to deliver a major investment programme to reduce delays caused by overhead line failures on the busiest section of the line. Following a six month secondment to Network Rail, Chris Gibb, chief operating officer of Virgin Trains, published his recommendations in November 2012 for the way Network Rail could improve the performance of the London end of the line. The report listed overhead line faults as one of the major causes of delay.

Reflecting on the findings, Dyan Crowther, the route managing director for Network Rail, has said: “We are currently delivering a series of projects to improve the performance of our infrastructure on the southern end of the West Coast main line, which is one of Britain’s most vital rail arteries.” The work is part of a £40 million package of investment aimed at improving performance by targeting some of the most common causes of delay.

Previous experience Before the 2012 Olympics, Network Rail’s Great Eastern lines were the subject of intense scrutiny over reliability to ensure that no delays would occur during the games period. This issue was successfully tackled by the experienced duo of Paul Ramsey and Steve Price. Both have a strong track record in British railway contact system engineering and were ready to tackle a new challenge. So it seemed only natural to ask them to move on to the WCML problem.

the rail engineer • December 2013

Once appointed, they assembled a small team comprising of John Buckner and John Day who literally walked the eighty miles of route between London and Rugby and identified a series of improvements that could be made to the overhead lines and reduce delays on the southern end of the route. Samantha McGowan joined the team to develop the delivery plan. The funding emerged from a professional design review and analysis of existing fault and failure patterns.

Paul and Steve have a team working on the project combining expertise from Network Rail and SPL Powerlines UK and the works have been in process from late April. Paul emphasised their keenness to get started and this has emerged as a team of 16 staff with four mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs) and a five-nights-a-week timetable.

From the end of August, an additional resource from ABC (Alstom / Babcock / Costain) became available to work mid-week nights between Bourne End and Rugby.

Problems identified The team has identified several shortcomings in existing designs which can cause reliability problems. One which showed up in the study is the work-hardening of the catenary - Hanslope, just north of Milton Keynes, was identified as an area of particular risk of this.

A very visible souvenir of early OLE design protocols was the continuing presence of the auxiliary conductor forming what is known as ‘compound’ catenary. This extra wire in the equipment has been seen as a real risk originator and 27 instances of this additional conductor have been identified. The team are planning to remove all of these with the majority scheduled for removal during a New Year blockade.

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61

62

the rail engineer • December 2013

Another piece of equipment to tackle is the ‘swivel’, an integral part of the contact system and one which has brought risk in the past.

Failure of this component can cause the contact system to drop and this had culminated in damage to a train, ironically a diesel-engined Voyager, earlier in the year. A close examination of the engineering involved has led to the fitting of a stainless steel e- clip to retain the swivel pin and this modification forms another part of the menu for improvements.

Similarly, there has been an equipment shortcoming in a twin-clevis fitting. This has led to the total failure of the system in several locations. Paul and Steve were actually witness to the impact of this failure on the North London line - they were on site when there was an event and the balance weights literally hit the floor in front of them! This cast component is now being replaced by a machined type.

Alternative pulleys A long-known Achilles heel of the original mark one OLE design has been the above boom pulleys. These were very difficult

to maintain and caused hardening on the catenary leading to eventual failure.

The West Coast Route Modernisation scheme solution was to install a miniature cantilever on the boom which replaced the pulley and these can now be seen all over the route. The problem with this solution, however, was the time taken to install the piece of equipment - one installation a night being typical. As the survey had identified around 1200 pulleys between Euston and Bourne End, a new solution was required.

Brecknell Willis, the West Country-based electrification equipment specialist worked closely with Network Rail in developing a modified pulley with a deeper groove to allow a catenary line guard to be fitted. This can be installed in around one hour per item, including the fitting of a ‘bird mat’ so necessary to avoid flashover damage when a feathered friend decides to alight in an exposed place!

This modification is not seen as a design change and therefore installation has been treated as a maintenance renewal. Product acceptance was required for the new pulley.

A line cover has been previously installed to cater for limited clearance and to mitigate bird strikes. However, the current design has also led to failures, so installation is not allowed in current schemes. A new design has been developed by Siemens and this is seen as a solution to assisting with situations such as limited-clearance bridges.

Paul and Steve are extremely excited by the whole project and, by the end of week 52 in 2014, it is anticipated that a massive improvement in reliability of the route will have emerged. When talking about the scheme, Paul and Steve describe themselves as ‘problem solvers’. Indeed, that is a most appropriate title for this pair of motivated performance improvers. They will leave a legacy of a West Coast main line even better equipped to serve customers in the twentyfirst century!

the rail engineer • December 2013

Power guidance

63

A

s electrification of the rail industry is gaining momentum and greater electrification capability is required, Integra Consultancy Services’ Power Group, along with partners, is now providing the rail industry with a comprehensive set of electrification design and consultancy services.

Already well known for providing consultancy services to the transportation and construction industries, Integra has recently managed projects for the Docklands Light Railway, Crossrail, London Underground and Network Rail. Now, Integra’s Power Group is leading a growth in the provision of power services to the rail industry, both independently and jointly with power partners where the scope demands it.

Integra Power, along with its partners, is able to improve its effective delivery abilities to individual clients, including

primary contractor and second tier suppliers, as well as to the rail industry directly as a whole. The group can take power systems design from initial concept design to finished detailed design, including SCADA and control systems.

Electrification isn’t just about overhead line equipment (OLE) design. Much work will also need to be done on high voltage/low voltage (HV/ LV) distribution systems, switchgear, cabling layouts and DC traction power. From modelling and design support, through detailed design and

engineering to equipment specification and procurement support, there will be plenty to do. And one mustn’t forget the all-important safety cases.

With its specialist background and reputation, Integra is in a good position to help guide the whole process that will be undertaken in the next few years.

Electrification Design and Consultancy Integra offer a complete range of design and consultancy services for railway electrification, including: AC and DC Traction Sub Stations SCADA Control & Protection

Overhead Line HV Switchgear HV/LV Distribution

Please contact us on your power and electrification needs. martin.marshall@integra.uk.com www.integra.uk.com

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the rail engineer • December 2013

Operate, Maintain & Deliver COLLIN CARR

HOPS: Consist 1 (Foundations) at High Marnham Test Site.

T

he process to electrify the Great Western main line (GWML), which started in 1977, is now materialising. The first 12 miles of railway infrastructure coming out of London already has an overhead electrification power supply for the Heathrow Airport service and overhead line structures are being erected as part of the Reading station area project. The momentum is now gathering and, behind the scenes, much more is happening and it is nearly ready to burst into action.

In March 2012, Amey was appointed by Network Rail to deliver a five year operate, maintain and deliver (OMD) contract to electrify the GWML. The Amey contract is valued at approximately £20 million/ year and forms part of Network Rail’s £1.3 billion programme to increase speed and capacity on this part of the railway network.

Lee Jones, director of operations for rail and metro, explained that Amey’s recent acquisition of Enterprise plc in April 2013 brought on board National Grid high voltage expertise that has bolstered the company’s knowledge and ability to successfully deliver one of

the most important projects for Network Rail over the next five years.

Complementary expertise Like many other infrastructure contractors at present, Amey is busy working through the bidding process with Network Rail for a number of track renewal contracts and other railway related infrastructure projects.

They are working with other European partners including Rhomberg Rail and Sersa to ensure that they are making the latest European expertise available to Network Rail and also Transport for London.

The GWML contract requires Amey to electrify from Maidenhead to Bristol, Oxford and Newbury by 2016, then through the Severn Tunnel to Cardiff by 2017, with possible spurs up the Cardiff Valleys and eventually an extension of electrification to Swansea by 2018. It’s an exciting and demanding programme of work that Lee feels his organisation is more than capable of delivering with their known railway experience, recent acquisitions and of course, the now essential approach to collaborative working represented by their recent achievement, BS11000 accreditation.

The ‘factory train’ The Network Rail team responsible for developing the project has been determined to use the best and most modern equipment available to get the job done. The services of the German plant supplier Windhoff have been procured to build a suitable high output overhead line construction system to a specification which Network Rail has developed over the last three years. The key features of the design include the following rail mounted plant: »» Piling machine to drive a minimum of 16,000 steel tube piles of 610 and 762mm diameter; »» Concrete mixer plus grab to install approx 2,000 reinforced concrete bases; »» Steelwork erection equipment for 15,000 OLE structures; »» Equipment for installing the wires; »» Registration vehicles.

The £35 million system, which is a 23 vehicle ‘factory train’, arrived in this country recently and it is now undergoing trials, final checks and approval at High Marnham. Jim McDermott is Amey’s project director for this contract and he is recruiting 150 staff in total for the project - enough people to provide two train teams capable of covering six night shifts per week along with the associated maintenance and logistics operations. Many of them are now working with the train in High Marnham, learning how it works and becoming familiar and competent in its operations and maintenance requirements.

Army recruits More than 25% of the new recruits have a forces background. It is part of Amey’s ‘Employer of Choice’ policy to support the recruitment of armed services personnel across a number of contracts. Jim was keen to point out the excellent quality of the personnel that they are managing to recruit, stating that not only are they well trained and skilled, but also that they have a very positive attitude to discipline and safety processes as well as having a refreshing enthusiasm. It is clearly an initiative that Amey is very pleased with and proud of.

Jim explained that the ‘factory train’ is designed to complete the construction of the foundations, erect the stanchions and install the overhead line equipment as it moves. The train will be flexible and able to run to site either as one complete consist or as

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66

the rail engineer • December 2013

multiple consists. It can be moved remotely with no driver in cab and it will be capable of installing 1.6km or a ‘tension length’ per night - this is the initial target that Jim and his team aspire to.

An issue that is concentrating minds at present is that the adjacent line will remain open whilst work is underway. The train is designed to ensure that staff are able to work safely with the adjacent line open. The norm would be to impose a 20 to 40 mph speed restriction on the open line. However, the operating benefits would be considerable if this speed could be increased. As a consequence, various systems are currently being considered whilst the train is at Marnham to see whether this is possible without, of course, increasing the risk to the people involved or other train operations.

The HOOB The train will operate from the HOOB, a £6 million High Output Operations Base which was recently designed and built by Amey and is located close to Swindon station. A 25-stong team is being recruited to manage the base full time and, in addition, a 140,000 sq ft distribution centre has been acquired nearby, designed to house six weeks’ stock of the materials required for the project.

The nightly process will be a finely tuned logistics operation.

The train will arrive at the HOOB every morning having completed its night’s work and it will then be refuelled, maintained and restocked with materials for the The excavator with attachments.

The Fambo Piling Rig tests begin.

next night. Therefore, it will be important that the materials on the train are used each night to avoid double handling and creating a log jam of materials and equipment both in the HOOB and the distribution centre. As a consequence, a significant amount of time and effort is being committed to ground surveys to ensure that the right equipment and materials will be available to respond to the ground conditions that they are likely to experience.

Ground condition survey critical As Jim points out, predicting ground conditions in such an environment is not an exact science as, especially alongside railway lines, they can be extremely variable. His aim is to be as thorough and accurate as possible and, also, to introduce disciplines and processes to ensure that, where the conditions are contrary to expectations,

the response from the team is measured, organised and constructive.

Where the piling is known to be unconventional, for example in station areas and heritage locations, Atkins is providing consultancy design support for the project. Also, the design of the OLE system is being developed by a Swiss Electrification Company, Furrer+Frey. This will ensure that the new contact system designed for Network Rail includes all the latest successful developments that have been incorporated into recent electrification projects built on the continent.

To supply the power, three National Grid supply points have been identified - at Didcot, Melksham and Cardiff. Network Rail has already requested tenders earlier this year to design and build 24 next-generation auto transfer systems to distribute power across the network.

That’s the position to date. A lot has been happening behind the scenes and as Lee said, his focus at present is to make sure that Amey provides a fully operational train for a fully operational railway, thereby supporting the long term Network Rail vision of a seven day railway, where infrastructure work becomes invisible to the travelling public.

Many positive factors It is clear that there are other positive factors emerging from this project. For example, high voltage design skills are in

short supply within the railway environment and Amey has enhanced its expertise in this area through capability acquired through the Enterprise deal.

New methods of working are not only being talked about but also put into practise - the new £35 million high output train owned by Network Rail is an excellent example of this.

These new methods of working introduces the need for new jobs and the development of a new skill base for the industry, one that in turn attracts a different type of recruit who is competent, disciplined and committed to being successful.

Of course, these are not new ideas but this might be one of the first projects that have managed to take into account all these considerations before work has started. For Lee and his team, it bodes well for the future. They now have a flexible railway activity that has grown significantly in the UK market and, through its parent company Ferrovial, Amey is exploring opportunities in Europe and further afield.

For Jim and his team, there is a long way to go, but everything appears to be in order and with the potential of more work on offer as they progress toward South Wales, the motivation for everyone must be high. Work will start in earnest in the New Year and Jim is keen for The Rail Engineer to review progress in future issues.

Quality products for the Quality products for modern overhead contact line modern overhead co

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Electrification 68

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

driving innovation and collaboration

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the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

69

he railways of Great Britain are on the cusp of change. The next decade will see the introduction of a fleet of new high speed trains delivered by the Inter City Express programme, new signalling and control technologies revolutionising train control and traffic management, and a new telecommunications network.

In addition to these three major changes, the industry is embarking on the largest programme of electrification ever undertaken in the UK to provide faster, greener, cleaner and more reliable services for passengers and freight companies.

Each of these programmes will be inspiring to be involved in, however it is the opportunity and challenges they present the industry that is perhaps most exciting. They will drive innovation and smart thinking further and faster in order to ensure that, at the end of the day, they deliver a world-class railway.

The ultimate challenge?

Railway electrification projects are, in many ways, the ultimate in change projects. They bring together all the railway disciplines to change the infrastructure so it can deliver significantly improved levels of service through new rolling stock, higher speeds and greater capacity.

In order to ensure that the industry is ready to meet the challenge of achieving greater value for money, right first time outputs and giving programme certainty, Atkins has spent the last year or so investing in its engineering and design expertise and enhancing tools and processes. This effort has put the company at the forefront of design production for Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) and Power Distribution.

A suite of OLE tools (called TADPOLE) has built on the experience of the last fifteen years and now enables much greater levels of productivity to be achieved with a higher degree of accuracy than would have been possible using traditional methods. These tools are aligned to fully meet the requirements of both implementation contractors and asset maintainers to give those key stakeholders what they need.

BEN DUNLOP Meeting design requirements Railway operators and infrastructure owners are required to design new and existing railways to deliver an infrastructure based on a specific operational timetable. This calls for accurate specification of the power supply arrangement, including the distribution system and locations of feeder and sub stations.

The railway infrastructure also has to be designed and operated within operational limits specified in National, European and International Standards. This will ensure that the designed railway will provide necessary electrification performance for the train operator and ensure a sustainable, safe environment for passengers and maintainers.

Additionally, there is now a requirement within Europe and the UK to provide ontrain metering of energy. In partnership with Birmingham University, Atkins has developed its Multi-Train Simulator (MTS). This undertakes power systems analysis across the full range of power and EMC-related assessments required to deliver a safe system to specification.

The electrification market in the UK has never been so exciting with new technology being rolled out in products, system and installation methods. With a secure programme of investment ahead, the time is right for those organisations with a role to play in delivering the programme to collaborate and share best practice. This will ensure that the industry as a whole delivers the game changing programme that has been provided for CP5.

Ben Dunlop is Electrification Director for Atkins

70

the rail engineer • December 2013

Overheads are a good thing

I

n July 2013, Network Rail undertook a nine-day blockade of the West Coast main line (WCML) between Warrington and Preston to replace four major junctions. It entailed the renewal of three miles of track, representing an overall investment of around £18 million.

Blockades are used infrequently - the last significant one was for the West Coast Renewal - and typically the tracks are returned to use at 50mph. The Wigan to Preston blockade was completed on time and returned to use at 80mph - probably a first for the UK in recent times.

Forward planning Planning for a blockade is a complex undertaking, and last minute design changes usually add extra complexity. Last month (issue 109), The Rail Engineer looked at the preparations that went into getting all the ontrack plant ready for use to ensure that they would be reliable during the works.

However, a similar amount of forethought went into material and component supply. The WCML is electrified, so that attention to detail had to apply to the myriad of parts for the overhead line equipment (OLE).

Unipart Rail is a specialist in supplying items for railway projects. In this case, the procurement and supplier management skills within its new Crewe-based OLE business unit were called upon to ensure that all materials were procured and made available at the right places, and at the right time, in line with the blockade’s requirements.

As with all projects, the material requirements covered a combination of offthe-shelf, made-to-order and scarce products.

This required Unipart’s supply chain experts to manage a wide range of suppliers and also to identify products already in the supply chain that could be diverted without adversely impacting other projects.

Regular daily updates kept the project advised of progress and provided reassurance that the blockade would proceed smoothly with no product supply issues.

The scale of the blockade was huge. With investment by Network Rail of £18 million across four sites, it covered a vast range of track with in excess of 100 men working on each site at any one time.

Collaboration breeds success Through a collaborative relationship with Babcock, the principal contractor for the project, Unipart Rail supplied in excess of 350 different overhead line components and pre-assembled kits totalling £150,000, with over 20 deliveries to designated rail depots and trackside locations. Last minute design changes meant that a further 50 lines were supplied and delivered trackside on the first day.

This project was about more than supplying materials. However, in supporting Babcock and Network Rail in their delivery of the ‘best ever’ blockade on the UK railway network, Unipart Rail helped to ensure that last-minute design changes didn’t de-rail the programme.

Steve McWhan, Babcock’s OLE Manager said, “The integration between the Babcock staff, suppliers such as Unipart Rail, and Network Rail’s maintenance team was second to none and was definitely one of the key factors to the success over the blockade”.

Project overruns cost millions in fines, and impact adversely on the travelling public. This project was returned to operation on time, on budget.

OLE installation during the blockade.

71

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

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72

the rail engineer • December 2013

Electrification infrastructure A report on the Whole Life Cost Optimisation Congress 2013

T

PETER STANTON

he electrification of railways continues around the world, but older systems also require maintenance and renewals as the years advance. The costs of fixed installations on electrified railways can be very significant and much debate occurs over the capital cost of new works. However, the systems can have a significantly long life and much of a system can be refurbished or overhauled to bring performance up to required standards.

such as power feeds and high output plant, securing determination funding for ancillary works and ensuring that infrastructure operator customers are involved in scope, design and development.

Supply voltages may change and the advent of Technical Specifications for Interoperability may also drive a requirement to change configuration. In the extreme the older systems, often pre-second world war, may require total replacement - even including the support structures.

Ramping up in the UK

International discussion The challenge is to come up with the best whole life costs and a recent congress on Whole Life Cost Optimisation in London centred on this very subject. The congress is an annual rail electrification meeting, hosting infrastructure managers to share lessons from construction, maintenance and renewals electrification projects. Its aims were to discuss cost-benefit analysis on latest technological advances and to increase the performance, reliability and efficiency of overhead line and power distribution systems.

Vital to the process is assessing the optimal balance for maintenance versus renewals, perhaps spending more today in order to save on costs over the long term.

The presenters were drawn from a wide range of railway authorities worldwide, sharing their experiences of electrification management and engineering and of completing works with the minimum disruption to traffic. European terminology was the order of the day and in particular one had to become used to the system being OCS (Overhead Contact System) and what the UK describes as the catenary wire being the ‘messenger wire’.

The view from the top Governments are commonly involved with major transport infrastructure works and therefore have a significant interest in the

costs thereof. A national policy should look at the whole life costs although national governments may often be constrained within election periods.

The UK position was put forward very clearly by Paul Fishwick, principal sponsor road and rail projects with the Department for Transport. The scene was therefore set with a statement of commitment to a rolling programme that would support economic growth, achieve best value, boosts the skills base and provide clarity for the supply market.

This was set against a timeline running from 2013 to the announcement of plans for control period six in 2017.

It was refreshing to hear a view that the government has a long term view and was therefore funding line speed improvements, supporting Network Rail’s proposals for asset renewal and simplification and funding major remodelling while seeking other funding resources such as European institutions.

Further optimisation of proposals were integrated with support for big ticket items

Whilst the conference was truly international, the project scene was first set for the UK by Network Rail’s Nick Elliot, southern regional director, who gave an overview of the newly formed Infrastructure Projects business which is divided into four regions. Nick is taking the lead on electrification, so he presented the challenges of control period 5 when Network Rail will move from electrifying 20km of track per annum to in excess of 1000km per annum.

This will increase the proportion of electrified lines from 40% of the network to 51% - an increase of 3,000 single track kilometres.

The main challenge will be the ramping up of spend and the capacity of industry to meet the increased production. Coupled with that is the focus on standards and specifications.

For the UK this leads to considerations of speed capabilities, compliance with European Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs), new system designs and traction power strategies.

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74

the rail engineer • December 2013

Future-proofing Further insight into the UK experience was given by Jeff Davies, route asset manager (electrification and plant) for Network Rail Great Western, followed later by a point of view from the route asset management director, Mike Gallop.

The presentation centred on effectively increasing the reliability of OCS to reduce delays through design. Asset management is a way of thinking and behaving, and significant investments in new electrification should be made with a philosophy of ‘futureproofing’ assets driven by whole life cost decisions. The system is viewed with a traction power strategy and major feeding design - the application, on Great Western, of series 1 OCS and route clearance issues. Traction supply modelling is based on a view of the demand well ahead.

The new OCS design was chosen after considering existing UK designs and European

systems straight off the shelf. Certain principal design requirements were applied, including: »» Meeting future capability / capacity as per the Route Utilisation Study; »» TSI compliant with multiple pantographs at speeds of up to 140mph; »» Compatibility with existing and proposed UK electric traction; »» Improved safety and reliability with less maintenance; »» Adaptable for ‘classic’ and AT power supply feeding systems; »» Operating at 12kA fault levels; »» Compatible with both ‘high Output’ and conventional construction methods; »» Faster installation times; »» Designed for W6a, W9, W10, W12 and UK1 gauges; »» Mechanically independent wire runs with no tail wires anchors above each track.

Whole life cost inputs were usefully defined at this stage as including both design costs and component quantities and cost,

the cost of incidents including labour and disruption, and any renewals and enhancements.

The validation of the system will be undertaken on the UK test installation at Old Dalby.

This will allow full acceptance of the new OLE design and also testing of the new IEP train away from operating Network Rail infrastructure.

TSI compatibility of the new OCS was examined by Andy Mackintosh of Network Rail.

Where the power supply is designed to TSI voltage limits, pantograph head profiles are compatible and rolling stock configurations (dynamic OCS/ pantograph performance) also achieve compatibility. However, in the area of rolling stock gauge and contact wire heights, UK special conditions are applied.

The European view A common theme of all the countries’ representatives taking part though was the realisation that for railway infrastructure, and electrification in particular, whole life cost was a major issue.

The central European railways such as DB, ÖBB SNCB and SNCF placed major emphasis on this and proceeded to explain how they approached their task in the area of existing equipment.

The Belgian infrastructure organisation, INFRABEL, led off with a methodology for undertaking its OCS renewal policy. This looked at several options:-

»» Partial or complete renewal instead of like-for-like occasional replacements; »» Replacement of contact wires after the passage of a number of pantographs; »» Regular monitoring with modern detection tools based on detailed scanning; »» Regular maintenance interventions only on critical points.

The general overview then looked at how the organisation took the analysis forward. Firstly a working group was set up which then looked at the failures of the OCS in terms of the most common reasons, the most common incidents and gathering details of the technical ‘top ten’.

These were looked at in the light of the impact on punctuality and the direction to be taken with the maintenance policy.

In the case of the Belgian infrastructure the conclusions came out of acceptance that there was an ageing infrastructure and that there was a need for ambitious renewal projects and a proper life-cycle policy. Regarding maintenance, the view centred upon automatic instead of manual measurement, lower inspection frequencies and special actions to prevent incidents. There was also an acknowledgement that, in relation to total costs, materials were relatively insignificant in monetary terms.

76

the rail engineer • December 2013

On-Board Energy Metering EM4T II

DV

ITC

EM4T II - DV - ITC The right combination of Energy Meter & Transducers to meet EN 50463.

Whatever the traction network, calculating precise billing data for both supplied and regenerated energy can be accomplished on-board, independently of the energy supplier, with the Energy Meter from LEM. To enable traction system designers to meet the requirements of EN 50463, the LEM EMF (Energy Measurement Function) matches enhanced accuracy Class 0.5R current and voltage transducers with the new EM4TII energy meter.

• EM4TII energy meter rated & certified to Class 0.5R accuracy - Single-phase energy meter - Tracking & logging energy consumption - Four input channels for any AC or DC traction supply network - Calculates active & reactive energy - Compiles a load profile - Stores values - Train identification & location • DV series voltage transducers Class 0.5R accuracy 1000-4200 VRMS • ITC series current transducers Class 0.5R accuracy 2000-4000 ARMS

www.lem.com At the heart of power electronics.

The representatives of ÖBB then added an interesting dimension by presenting their definition of condition category - enabling a quantitative analysis of a system. In their case they referred to a study of the BruckGraz-Spiefield line. The five condition definitions are worth quoting as they can be applied to any system: »» Category 1. State of the system very good, no limitations. »» Category 2. State of the system good, no limitations. The system has small defects. For the longer term (>12 years) repairs required. »» Category 3. State of the system poor, no limitations. The system has gross defects. For the medium term (5-12 years) repairs required in the next few years. »» Category 4. State of the system very poor, no limitations. The system has gross defects. Repairs or renewal required in the next few (1-5 years) years. »» Category 5. State of the system very poor, limitations present. The system has gross defects. Repairs are not possible due to technical / economic reasons. Renewal of the system required within one year.

An option for infrastructure is life extension and this was tackled by the French delegates from RFF. This too looked at a real case study - the design for the ‘midi’ OCS introduced between 1920 and 1935 in the South

the rail engineer • December 2013

77

Furrer+Frey AG Overhead contact line engineering Design, manufacturing, installation Thunstrasse 35, P.O. Box 182 CH-3000 Berne 6, Switzerland Telephone + 41 31 357 61 11 Fax + 41 31 357 61 00 www.furrerfrey.ch

Furrer Frey

®

Overhead contact lines

as too long. The view of the presenters was that life extension gives good results if it is managed as a whole system, taking into account access windows and the capacity of the industry to provide suitable components.

Gaining access

West of France. This is a 1500V DC system which is viewed as a ‘cheap’ design with spans of over 90 metres and a maximum 100kph line speed. Modernisation was desired giving a higher performance corresponding to traffic and market needs.

The system was tackled in segments, the first concentration being on the structure base and foundation as corrosion occurs where water settles at the base of the mast and the assembly attachment points. The base was

dealt with by protective paint and various options for reinforcing the mast. Options for the assemblies included replacement of the full assembly or just the registration arm and the steady arm.

Contact wire replacement is diagnostic based on automatic measurement supported by an IT tool. Solutions include the impact of reinforcement of the contact wire, replacement by alloy copper wire and the installation of an overlap in the case of a tension length regarded

Returning to the UK scene, a major factor in maintenance and renewal is access to the railway. This thorny subject was tackled by Brian Sweeney of Network Rail Scotland in a thought-provoking item dealing with innovative practices for quick and efficient isolations that maintain safety levels. Brian summarised two solutions for better access that are currently being developed - taking thoughts back to first principles in managing risk, issuing permits and dealing with induced voltages.

With the amount of 25kV electrification across the UK network about to increase considerably, the opportunity to introduce new technology and processes needs to be taken to look at reducing this element of whole life cost without reducing safety levels. Industry pressure drives increased train services resulting in a reduction in engineering access while, at the same time, regulations and safety philosophy heavily influence process assembly.

The time taken to attain isolation has been carefully analysed and the average calculated to be 83.5 minutes. This considerable loss of

78

the rail engineer • December 2013

potential working time could be tackled with innovations such as the remote application of earths, which will also avoid the need to walk along track in the dark. Simplified switching could be enjoyed by the electrical control operator although major gains could come from tackling major changes to signalling and electrical control technology / policy.

Two potential solutions were presented which involved advancing IT involvement in isolation management and targeted to at least issue a permit in around 35 minutes rather than the 83.5 minutes currently calculated. The isolation philosophy was coupled to studies in introducing work methods such as ALO (Adjacent Line Open) which is a further work stream undertaken with Network Rail. This involves creating plant control measures in a more safety critical level than has been the case and plant hire companies are cooperating in developing the process.

Regulation 14 of the Electricity at Work Regulations was examined, with a view to the use of a limited permit which would be preferable to working adjacent to live equipment, especially if it is quick and easy to implement. Analysis of ‘safe’ voltages for access suggests that works could be considered where differing degrees of earthing could be applied. However, the summary conclusion was that working under a full isolation is always the preferred option.

Well rounded The conference was rounded off nicely by a presentation from John McNaughton of Irish Rail, dealing with the condition of the “DART” suburban system around Dublin. John presented an interesting case study in how to retrieve shrinking performance and optimise maintenance to allow the efficient running of the system to be regained and held.

Overall, the conference gave a very thought provoking challenge as to how the industry should approach whole electrification life costing, giving support to the view that first cost calculations were not the answer. The industry should benefit from the studies that were put forward and assist the growth of electrified railways while optimising the cost of both new and refurbished systems.

An SRS Rail System road rail wiring team stringing catenary and contact wires simultaneously on the Paisley Canal Electrification Project.

A twin drum carrying wiring unit is furthest away.

It is dispensing both catenary and contact wires at 75% full tension.

OVERHEAD WIRING

Linesmen on the mobile elevated work platforms are fixing the two wires in their correct positions temporarily in advance of a scissors platform from which permanent droppers will be fitted.

All vehicles are driven externally, from basket or platform.

Yet another example of SRS Road Railâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expertise and flexibility.

Photograph by Jim W Gillies

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80

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

Is everybody RED-P?

T

o meet the challenges that the upcoming electrification programme presents, the industry will need a highly skilled and specialised workforce. The Rail Electrification Development Programme (REDP) is a collaborative initiative created and led by Network Rail and the Railway Industry Association (RIA) which is readying UK industry for the challenges of major new electrification projects.

Industry collaboration Formed in November 2012, REDP (pronounced red-pee) brings together Network Rail as client with its supply chain equipment manufacturers, designers, contractors and others to identify and seek to address potential pinch points in the electrification programme, through a series of working

chain is a key means of unlocking significant improvements in safety, reliability, value and sustainability. By working closer with our supply partners we will attract innovative solutions and longer term investment.â&#x20AC;?

has been very little electrification work undertaken in the UK which means that we now have limited capability to deliver the upcoming programme of works. With the growth of high speed railway throughout the world, technology

In competition

has greatly improved so that the highest quality linesmen are using machines and tools that did not exist when the first mainline electrification was carried out more than 50 years ago. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This event was set up to help improve the understanding of best practice, share innovation and understand what skills, behaviours and characteristics the best overhead linemen possess and is an integral part of professionalising the workforce.â&#x20AC;?

groups, information streams and learning events.

Simon Kirby, Network Railâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s managing director for Infrastructure Projects, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;REDP is an important step towards Infrastructure Projectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vision of being recognised as the best rail infrastructure project delivery organisation in the UK. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Collaboration with our supply

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One of REDPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s initiatives was the recent Best of the Best Linesman Event held at Network Railâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s training centre in Walsall.

This event pitted Network Rail and contractor teams of OLE constructors in a series of technical and theory challenges, sharing best practice and providing valuable input to new training materials. Alan Stark and Thomas Forgie of Laing Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Rourke, who had travelled from Australia to compete, were declared the winners against stiff competition from teams representing, Carillion Rail, Colas, Keltbray Aspire, Network Rail and VolkerRail.

Richard Wales, Infrastructure Projects discipline lead for E&P, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Since the electrification of ECML, over the last 20 years there

As CP5 approaches, REDP will be organising further learning events and encouraging the sharing of electrification experience across the supply chain. Any suggestions for opportunities in that field are welcome via redp@networkrail. co.uk

Design, supply, install, maintenance, test and commissioning for HV & LV electrical assets for the rail industry

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82

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

Training

the next generation T

he UK rail sector is facing an imminent skills shortage as many of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most experienced electrification engineers near retirement. An innovative approach to staff training and development is therefore essential as the industry looks to the future.

Rail suppliers are being challenged to bring new blood into the arena and increase the skills of existing staff in order to meet the demand. Global engineering, construction and technical services provider URS is a company with a solid strategy in place to help grow its electrification and power engineering team by nearly one third in anticipation of the growing workload in the years ahead.

URSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; current strategy in rail stems from experience gained nearly two decades ago. In 2010, the company acquired the Scott Wilson Group which had purchased two former British Railways design offices in 1995 when the industry was privatised. One of its first tasks then was to develop both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) electrification capability from scratch. As part of that ambition, it created a graduate development scheme accredited by both the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering Technology. In 1997 the company was awarded overhead line electrification (OLE) design accreditation, one of the first firms in the UK to achieve this.

The challenge now in terms of developing the next generation of electrification professionals is just as great as it was 20 years ago. Previous tactics of recruiting qualified electrification engineers from Australia and South Africa are unlikely to be particularly fruitful as these countries are keeping home-grown engineers busy with their own expanding programmes of work. The UK must therefore develop the skills of its own electrification professionals or find innovative ways to attract new talent into the industry.

The next generation of Electrification Engineers.

URS is a leading provider of engineering, construction and technical services. We are recruiting in the UK at all levels of qualification and experience. URS has a strong heritage in rail through our acquisition of Scott Wilson Group and extensive experience of rail electrification design around the world. In the UK we have delivered major multidisciplinary projects, such as West Coast Route Modernisation, Airdrie Bathgate Reopening and Crossrail. Our current portfolio includes High Speed 2, Borders Railway, new programmes of work for Crossrail, North Doncaster Chord, Cardiff Area Signalling Renewals and the national Switches & Crossings Renewals programme.

As a provider of design services spanning the entire project lifecycle, we are hiring across a broad range of disciplines, including overhead line electrification, electrical traction engineering and electrical, civil and structural engineering.

We are also recruiting permanent way, signalling, telecoms and geotechnical engineers, as well as operations managers, project and engineering managers. These opportunities are available across the UK in our Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Swindon and York offices.

Please email your CV and covering letter to: transportation.recruitment@urs.com

URSGLOBAL.COM

84

the rail engineer • December 2013

A global and local approach The company has a comprehensive programme in place so that the bright stars of tomorrow can learn directly from engineers with as many as three decades of experience. It is now actively recruiting for engineers at all levels in electrification engineering and associated disciplines.

URS’ UK operations are feeling the full benefit of being part of the wider Europe, Middle East and India organisation by training the highly experienced OLE engineers in the group’s business in Poland to become familiar with the UK rail system. Once trained, the Polish engineers work alongside their UK counterparts on a number of projects. URS calls this model workshare, where engineers from around the world are brought together to work on projects, regardless of where they are located, as part of a seamless team.

URS is currently intensively training this year’s electrification graduates in AC, DC and OLE skills and power systems work while at the same time developing them to become chartered engineers. As one of the requirements for this is a master’s degree, a unique programme of in-house further learning has been developed which enables graduates with bachelor’s degrees to become chartered.

Aimed specifically at OLE graduates, the one-year, on-the-job training programme is the equivalent of an MSc and is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. URS is the only company in the UK to offer such a scheme. Through this programme, engineers can work, earn and achieve the next step in their qualification without taking a career break or incurring the expense of going back to academia.

Graduates hired in this year’s intake are currently undergoing a comprehensive OLE design course run by senior URS engineers which combines classroom instruction with on the job training involving designing for live and completed projects. All graduates on the OLE design course have an in-house mentor who closely monitors their performance, checks their work and oversees their progress to ensure that their designs meet URS’ quality standards and conform to relevant technical standards.

Training is not limited to OLE work. A similar programme is being run for DC and AC electrification, as well as for special line-side electrical systems engineering. Rob Tidbury, technical director and head of railway electrification and power engineering at URS, explains: “We believe that this intensive training will enable our graduates to actively contribute to the business within a very short time of joining the company, achieving a high level of ability after two years.”

Inspiring the next generation The real key to addressing the skills shortage is to ignite young people’s imagination about the possibilities of an engineering career. Early next year the company will begin a search with local schools to find

candidates to join its new apprenticeship scheme for school leavers. “It’s never too young to start opening young people’s eyes to the wonders of engineering,” Rob says.

URS has also launched a higher apprenticeship scheme across its rail business, covering signalling and telecommunications engineering, among other disciplines. In 2014, the rail business in Swindon will work with local schools to find mechanical and electrical apprentices to join the electrification team at the end of the academic year. These apprentices will work in the office four days a week and learn on day release on the fifth day. Their recruitment will further cement URS’ close relationship with the local community.

An integrated team Electrification engineers are part of a truly integrated team at URS, focused on quality and delivery. OLE, AC and DC engineers work together and gather good all-round experience and knowledge. They also work alongside permanent way, signalling and civil engineering designers so there is a real sense of teamwork with specialists pulling together and developing shared ideas for the good of the client.

Rob explains: “By training new people and allowing them to learn from our strong team of highly experienced electrification engineers, we believe that we can address much of the looming skills shortage. But URS is also recruiting fully qualified engineers for electrification work and we believe we have a lot to offer in terms of opportunity, challenge and career progression.

“People joining us can move forwards in leaps and bounds and even run their own teams within a couple of years. They too can learn the tricks of the trade from engineers more experienced than them, which will enable them to take on higher profile work and quickly develop in their careers.”

That experience includes in depth OLE knowledge but also the intricacies of converting DC electrification to AC, which is necessary in certain areas of the country. Rob continues: “Earthing and bonding can be something of a black art but we have people in URS who have a deep understanding of those processes and who are willing to share that knowledge with more junior staff.”

Technology innovation The development of additional design capability is not just restricted to the development of engineers. As a global engineering consultancy, URS uses a wide variety of technology and software systems to bring value, cost reduction and efficiency to clients.

The company has developed its own innovative in-house software called HORUS that provides access to tens of thousands of drawings comprising the basic design ranges within the UK. It is based on a structured document management system and includes additional functionality such as advanced search functions, printing and direct email facilities.

In addition to accessing design information, HORUS caters for the introduction of new design ranges, third-party products and complementary design ranges outside the standard OLEMI (OLE Master Index) designations. It has a rigorous built-in checking and control process that allows engineers to automatically produce highly accurate bills of quantity for use on site.

The HORUS software enables staff to manage high quality and accurate designs so that they can consistently provide reliable and accurate information into the construction phase. HORUS has been successfully used on all OLE design projects over the last eight years and will be the cornerstone of any future work for the national Electrification Programme.

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86

the rail engineer â&#x20AC;˘ December 2013

The power of design

I

n recent years a considerable amount of electrification asset renewal and system upgrading has been commissioned by Network Rail to enhance operational performance, accommodate new trains or increase the railway service.

Delivery of any asset renewal or enhancement scheme in a timely and safe manner needs to be founded upon accurate, detailed designs to ensure that the clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aspirations are satisfied and that any work can be implemented safely with minimal disruption to the operational network. Scheme design includes a number of disciplines all of which need to be integrated within a single consolidated design. It is therefore important that design

organisations under control of the principal contractor are experienced and are able to work in a proactive and collaborative manner.

Enhancing Kent One such design organisation is EPC Services which has specialised in electrification system design successfully for a number of years with a growing number of clients. Its most notable recent project includes the Power Supply Enhancement

(PSE) which involves renewal of DC switchboards and transformer rectifier units to facilitate an increase of Class 465 units to 12-car formation on the routes between London Charing Cross, Cannon Street and London Bridge and four other routes within Kent.

The electrification design conducted required integration of new equipment within a total of 19 sites that date back to the 1950s. The new design, therefore, involved interfacing modern equipment with legacy systems which presented a number of technical challenges.

Updating historical records EPC Services had to undertake a thorough investigation of the system as historical records needed to be correlated on site and some had to be updated to meet current requirements.

In a number of cases, intrusive surveys were necessary to provide additional information

EPC Services is an approved independent consultancy based in the UK serving the railway industry specialising in electrification system design.

Our expertise covers AC and DC electrification systems and includes conceptual to detailed design in addition to providing construction, testing and commissioning support.

EPCS Ltd would be pleased to discuss any services you may require as we would welcome the opportunity in working with you in the future.

www.epcsltd.co.uk

to provide a baseline to ensure the design was safe, accurate and functional at the point of commissioning. Luckily the knowledge and experience of the design team working within an integrated office enabled the detailed design to be completed ahead of schedule.

The electrical design for all 19 sites was completed between February and September 2013. This assisted the client, UK Power Networks Services, in meeting an extremely accelerated installation programme.

Site work is currently ongoing with 13 of the 19 sites completed so far. The remaining six sites are scheduled for completion before the end of the year to ensure the network is able to accommodate the new services.

New DC Switchgear Panel Installed at Bexleyheath Substation.

88

the rail engineer • December 2013

On parallel lines T

he Dwyryd estuary is a quiet place, a long, long way away from any crowded city. It’s somewhere to watch the sea and the wild life. Where can you find it? It’s just south of Porthmadoc or, to put it another way, just up from Harlech on the Cambrian Coast. An internet entry describes it as ‘hauntingly beautiful, spoilt, some say, by the National Grid pylons’ which stride across from bank to bank.

In its quietness it is constantly changing. The River Dwyryd brings silt from the hills above the Vale of Ffestiniog, and slowly, over the years, the course of the river moves around the estuary. One of the offending National Grid pylons is immersed in the water, but this was not always the case. Built in the 1960s, along with a huge swathe of national energy infrastructure, it was originally on dry(ish) land and remained that way until about three years ago.

Uncanny similarity But, hang on, in the whole of this long and wordy paragraph there has not been one mention of a railway. And, after all, this is meant to be a railway engineering magazine!

Well, for once, this is not a story about track or trains or signalling.

Just as a diversion we are looking this month at an industry that has an uncanny similarity to our own. An industry that has ageing infrastructure, that has emergencies and which responds rapidly to ensure that what it is carrying - in this case rather a lot of volts instead of trains - is transported safely and reliably. So, in this article we are looking at the plight of the marooned pylon and how its seemingly rapid demise prompted the maintenance teams of National Grid into action to safeguard the public. There is a railway involved, so read on!

GRAHAME TAYLOR

the rail engineer • December 2013 On the move The Grid has a programme of works and inspections just like the railways. Theirs is more seasonal though. Through the spring and summer, teams work through their schedule of tasks making sure that they keep their specialist skills up to date. In the winter there’s plenty to keep them occupied with all that the Welsh weather throws at them.

In between the seasons are the autumn inspections and surveys.

National Grid uses LSTC Ltd to carry out detailed route surveys and it was during one of these routine inspections that pylon 4ZC30 was found to be leaning. On closer inspection, it was apparent that the seawater of the estuary had either done for the piled foundations or the bolted connections or both. In any event, the pylon was on the move.

This is not a small structure. At 60 metres high and with a base measuring 18 metres this is a major piece of kit. Coupled with this is the fact that it carries 6 cables at 400KV each along with a leased line to Scottish Power at 132KV. This is nationally strategic power transmission and not something to fool with. It forms a vital part of the electricity transmission network in North Wales.

And a railway Ivan Lea (team leader) and Martin Sankey (overhead line engineer), both based at the Wolverhampton office, took the call. It looked likely that the tower was going to be lost. An emergency conference was held with head office designers and power distribution experts. There was no alternative. The route had to

be severed - or, in railway parlance, there had to be an emergency possession of the line. Electrical supplies were diverted and the area around the site isolated (in a process similar to railway working).

This was not the end of the matter.

Beneath the power lines runs the Cambrian Coast railway and a minor road. The rail service through to Pwllheli was severed with trains terminating at Harlech, so there were no trains to Criccieth or Porthmadog.

It may seem a sleepy backwater, but these trains are well filled, especially with students and school children.

They were destined to be transported by road - the long way round as the minor road over the Briwet bridge (of which more later) was closed too.

The hitherto almost unknown station at Llandecwyn became the focus of attention.

Forces to balance If a railway line has to be cut, then that’s exactly what happens. It’s pretty crude. A large spanner or a burner does the trick generally.

But Ivan and Martin have their lines suspended between 10 and 30 metres above ground level and it’s certainly not just a matter of chopping them down. There are forces to balance in the rest of the route. Dismantling sequences are a design process just as much as any new construction.

As the calculations were being performed for taking the cables down, there was plenty of other activity that had to be considered.

The ailing pylon was surrounded by water, the pylons on either side, whilst notionally on dry land, were practically inaccessible for heavy plant. The structure to the west was in the middle of an environmentally sensitive SSSI (site of special scientific interest), so special measures were taken to avoid permanent disturbance.

The structure to the east was the ‘wrong’ side of the Cambrian coast railway.

Temporary roadways Just like the railways, National Grid has special powers for gaining access, but these are meant to be used for a limited time only while a true emergency exists.

Thereafter it’s down to negotiation

89

90

the rail engineer • December 2013

and diplomacy to enable all the plant and equipment to reach the sites. No formal roads existed and so use was made of the ‘trackway’ system of temporary metal roadways. As the designers came up with their method of working it was obvious that just about every winch in the north of England would be needed to lower all the cables simultaneously. Along with the winches came maintenance gangs drawn from Newcastle, Manchester, Wolverhampton and Leeds. Llandecwn was becoming crowded.

Access to the eastern tower was over a railway level crossing that had to be widened and manned throughout the project. As Martin says, one of the differences between the railway and power industries is the choice of colour scheme for high visibility clothing. National Grid turned up bedecked in yellow with white helmets. So it was all change for access to Network Rail territory with the railway’s favoured orange and blue.

Changed skyline As the days passed, a decision was taken to ease the block on rail movements. Trains were allowed to pass beneath the affected cables with a temporary speed restriction and constant monitoring of the crippled tower. That, at least, eased the transport difficulties for the local scholars, but trains had to stop running after dark.

the rail engineer • December 2013

With preparations complete, the cables across the estuary and the railway were lowered on Sunday 13 October. After a very long day and with darkness approaching, everything was dragged clear of the track in readiness for being cut up. The central tower had been successfully isolated and the initiative now passes to National Grid’s Capital Construction teams and their Energy Alliance Partners (familiar term!) Babcock and Amec. Ivan’s teams have resumed their pre-winter checks and maintenance and, for a while, at least, this part of Llandecwn is relatively quiet. The skyline is radically changed. There are no graceful curves of cabling strung from tower to tower. Instead there are structures that look a little forlorn, bereft of purpose.

91

And what happened next?

But there is a final twist to this saga of the Dwyryd estuary. Close to the power line, the Cambrian coast railway crosses the estuary on the Brewit bridge (Pont Brewitt), a grade II listed timber structure with a narrow roadway clinging to its side. In part of a £20 million project, Gwynedd Council and Network Rail are replacing the bridge with a new railway bridge accommodating a widened roadway free of weight restrictions.

Soon after the power line problem was solved, the old railway/road bridge decided that it too would settle into the mud. Constant precautionary monitoring had revealed that the bridge had sunk 50mm and so, yet again, the line to Pwllheli has been shut. For a station that few have heard of, Llandecwn is achieving a level of national notoriety.

Finally, the affected pylon was demolished.

A temporary solution will be installed to get the line back into operation.

Save the date

18-19 June 2014

The National Track Plant Exhibition, held in July 2013, was a great success. More than 4,000 visitors saw displays and demonstrations from over 200 exhibitors, and there were presentations to attend and network opportunities galore.

Next year, it will be even better. New exhibitors are already clamouring to be included, and the signalling, telecommunications and electrification sectors are asking to be part of it.

It will all happen on 18/19 June 2014 at Long Marston, the same venue as this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show. Put it in your diary now.

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the rail engineer â&#x20AC;¢ December 2013

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