Rail Engineer - Issue 135 - January 2016

Engineer

by rail engineers for rail engineers

JANUARY 2016 - ISSUE 135

T2at

North Pole

CONNECTED!

CROSSRAIL GETS ITS RAILS

CLOSER CONNECTIONS

Arcow and Dry Rigg quarries are now connected to the Settle-Carlisle line for the first time since 1969.

Now the tunnels are complete, it’s time to start building a brand new railway in the empty bores.

HS2 will connect Britain’s major cities, but where will the stations be? Leeds is a case in point.

www.railengineer.uk

@StobartRailLtd

DALWHINNIE REBALLASTING Stobart Rail were contracted by Network Rail Works Delivery Scotland to re-ballast the Down Line at Dalwhinnie in Scotland.

Project Overview Stobart Rail were engaged by Network Rail Works Delivery Scotland to re-ballast 150 yards of track on the Down Line at Dalwhinnie. The site had several localised wet beds and was displaying signs of poor vertical geometry.

To prevent the reoccurrence of the wet beds, Stobart Rail installed a lined drainage ditch to reduce water coming off the cutting walls and making its way back into the track bed.

Stobart Rail undertook trial holes on the site to determine the most efficient solution to re-ballast.

The presence of rock prevented the use of our ballast undercutter so the hydraulic sleeper/wet bed bucket was used.

Craig Jones

Stobart Rail Senior Project Manager

“I am very pleased with the works carried out at Dalwhinnie. A combination of good planning and teamwork ensured the works were undertaken safely and efficiently.

“It’s always a pleasure to work with the Network Rail Works Delivery Team in Scotland on another successfully delivered project.”

Craig Jones Senior Project Manager e. craig.jones@stobartrail.com Andrew Sumner Business Development and Stakeholder Manager e. andrew.sumner@stobartrail.com David Richardson Plant Manager e. david.richardson@stobartrail.com Stobart Rail Head Office t. 01228 882 300

The main works were completed over one weekend which consisted of three 10 hour shifts. The prior damaged Under Track Crossing (UTX) was replaced in a following shift.

Business Development Update: Stobart Rail have secured the Far North CP5 Plain Line Workbank contract with Network Rail Scotland for the provision of rail maintenance.

Combining this additional works for the Works Delivery Units, and other frameworks such as the Highland Enhancement Programme, will enable Stobart Rail to invest in facilities and people within Scotland. This will allow the company to secure additional contracts and pass on the efficiency to our clients.

stobartrail.com

Rail Engineer • January 2016

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Contents

Crossrail Gets Its Rails Grahame Taylor outlines the start of railway construction under London.

News 7 Newt mitigation, HS2, Northern, station usage, Crossrail 2, ETCS installation.

T2 at North Pole The first Hitachi IEP (Class 800/801) train arrives at its depot.

22 Stations of the Future

16

Connected! 28 Stuart Marsh on connecting Arcow and Dry Rigg quarries to the rail network.

Closer Connections HS2 will terminate in Leeds. But where? Graeme Bickerdike reports.

34

Fastening the Mirrors to New Street 44 Lindaptor redesigned the cladding’s fixing system to make it safe and secure.

Out With the Old, In With the New 46 Simon Taylor tells of a brand new station, 500 metres from the old one.

Bold Inclination Lifts which go sideways? Stuart Marsh investigates.

38

48

Signalling Crossrail 50 As railway construction commences, David Bickell looks at plans for signalling.

Designed to Transform Civils Asset Management

Crossrail Monitoring: Delivering the Three Rs 56 Monitoring by Korec and Morgan Sindall that's Robust, Reliable and Repeatable.

Colin Carr explains CSAMS, part of ORBIS.

Bringing BIM to Euston 64 Simon Hatch describes the work to bring Euston station into the BIM fold.

60 Autumnal Italy

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Growth and Transformation 66 David Shirres reports the views of the chairman of the IMechE Railway Division.

ETCS Live in London!

72 Testing of the new in-cab ETCS signalling system starts on Thameslink.

Sheffield Tram-Train – Making Square Pegs Fit Marc Johnson witnesses the unveiling of Britain’s first tram-train.

74

Innovation in Action Paul Darlington attended the Signalling Innovation Group conference.

76

A Most Interesting Evening Twelve winners and no losers at this year’s Rail Exec Gala Dinner.

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See more at www.railengineer.uk

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

Signalling & Telecommunications

Electrical & Electronic Systems

in the March issue of Rail Engineer.

Got a fantastic innovation? Working on a great project? Call Nigel on 01530 816 445 NOW!

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rosehillrail.com

Rail Engineer • January 2016

A New Year and a New Railway

Editor Grahame Taylor grahame.taylor@railengineer.uk

Production Editor

5

GRAHAME TAYLOR

Nigel Wordsworth

Tunnelling machines are for tunnel engineers.

Railways are for railway engineers. A bit simplistic I agree, but it’s heartening that we can now look at real railway work going on in the brand new Crossrail tunnels.

nigel.wordsworth@railengineer.uk

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

Engineering writers bob.wright@railengineer.uk chris.parker@railengineer.uk clive.kessell@railengineer.uk collin.carr@railengineer.uk david.bickell@railengineer.uk david.shirres@railengineer.uk graeme.bickerdike@railengineer.uk mungo.stacy@railengineer.uk mark.phillips@railengineer.uk paul.darlington@railengineer.uk peter.stanton@railengineer.uk stuart.marsh@railengineer.uk

Advertising Asif Ahmed

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Chris Davies

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In this month’s Rail Engineer, we start off with both a general introduction and a detailed discussion on the signalling by David Bickell, which includes a fascinating snippet. It involves the choreography required to ensure the rapid turnround of services when they get to their destination. The train driver becomes part of the whole exercise, setting off towards the other end of the train at the same time as it creeps automatically towards the headshunt.

Gearing up for the introduction of European Train Control System on Thameslink, Network Rail has been carrying out tests by running a train through central London completely under the control of ETCS. Nigel Wordsworth watches the transition between traditional signalling and the ETCS-controlled central area.

Original thought is (relatively) easy. Turning an original and neat thought into an innovation that is widely used is not easy. Goalposts are constantly on the move.

People are easily distracted. Paul Darlington has been speaking to the folks at the Network Rail Signalling Innovation Group to see what they’ve been up to.

Life in the South East , and I include Essex in this these days - is hectic and fraught with pressured decisions, especially when it comes to commuting. Clive Kessell looks at a whole new world of information arriving on the back of the digital railway.

Even in the crowded South East there’s still room for a new station - a major one at that. This time it’s in Rochester in Kent which has always had a station, but just that little bit too short. Simon Taylor explains how a massive subway has been pushed into position on a layer of nitrogen.

Sending Nigel off to the North Pole recently seemed like a good idea, but it petered out into a visit to a train depot near Wormwood Scrubs. North Pole depot has looked a little sad after its closure in 2007, but it is now spick and span ready to service the new IEP trains.

David Shirres listened to Chris Kinchin-Smith, chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division, who has seen, and been involved in, many of the shift changes in the industry. It seems almost inconceivable that, just 30 years ago, Marylebone station was proposed for closure. In Rail Engineer, we have recently reported on a new service to Oxford via a new chord at Bicester!

Graeme Bickerdike takes a critical look at proposals for HS2 on its arrival in Leeds. Early proposals had a new station separated from the existing - not by much, but enough to destroy any notion of connectivity. Life has moved on, as have the buffer stops of HS2, but Graeme

wonders if the same solutions should be considered for Sheffield, Birmingham and the East Midlands.

Tram trains are on their way. As Marc Johnson explains, they will live in two worlds - coping with road traffic on the one hand and the ‘big’ railway with big and heavy trains on the other. Let's hope the species survives.

Having been around for almost two centuries, the UK railways have had a chequered history when it comes to asset stewardship. Collin Carr reminds us of a few of the high profile failures and outlines how recent developments in the digital world can move us from ‘Find and Fix’ to ‘Predict and Prevent’.

Fog. Yes, there’s fog in Italy. I can vouch for it. The smooth and silent ride of a Zefiro very high-speed train is even smoother and more serene if you can’t see much going on outside. The view from the front cab was an experience but I wonder, in the light of the initial findings of the French high-speed crash, whether many will find their way into such a privileged position in the future.

In equally murky - but this time slightly more predictable - weather, Stuart Marsh went off to his local quarry to see how it is being reconnected to the mainline network after nearly fifty years. It took a fair amount of work to upgrade the infrastructure ready for the new flow of road stone.

A lift that gracefully glides… sideways. That’s what Stuart has been to see. Granted it goes up as well, resembling a short funicular railway. This new device - the correct terminology is ‘inclined lift’ - has been installed at Greenford station, making it the 67th stepfree Tube station.

I particularly liked one snippet of feedback on our ‘Most Interesting’ awards bash at the Derby Roundhouse in November. ‘The best awards dinner which didn’t have the normal two hours of speeches’.

In fact it was all wrapped up in less than an hour. Nigel tells us all. With this event, WE nominate YOU. If your project is ‘most interesting’ then you’re in! Simple.

Christmas and the New year will have happened for you - but it hasn’t for us. You will already know what went on in the long possessions - but we don’t. We’ll catch up next month.

Rail Safety Summit 2016

Safety Summit MAY 2016

After the success of 2015, the Safety Summit will return to the Royal College of Physicians on the 5th May 2016.

Over the past few years there has been a huge push to improve the safety record within the industry, meaning change both in design and process. All areas of the industry felt that this often caused confusion due to the amount of change that happened at one time. Which policy do you implement? Have I missed anything? Which part applies to me?

Whether safety is your area of expertise or you just feel you need to brush up, the event will prove enlightening and create significant discussion points for you to take back to your organisation.

On top of listening to the speakers, you will be able to visit our sponsor exhibition stands and network over a well earned coffee and delicious lunch. The Royal College of Physicians is an award winning grade 1 listed modern building in central London overlooking Regents Park.

With its contrasting mix of old and new facilities, easy access to road, rail and tube - it really is the perfect venue for the Rail Safety Summit.

This event is extremely popular and places are limited, so book now.

Purchase your tickets now at www.railsummits.com

NEWS

7

Rail Engineer • January 2016

Preliminary work has already started on the extension of HS2 to Crewe, which is now planned to open in 2027 - six years early.

The first step was to confirm the route. This enabled residents living within 60 metres of the route to ask the government to purchase their property. Owners living over 60 metres but under 300 metres from the route can apply for homeowner

payments following Royal Assent of the Phase 2a Hybrid Bill.

In another move, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff has been appointed to deliver railway systems designs and engineering for HS2 Phase 2 in a contract worth around £15 million

PHOTO: FARRELLS

HS2 moves on to Crewe over five years. Its work begins immediately on the first 50 miles of track from Birmingham to Crewe.

A multidisciplinary team of engineers and planners from the company’s UK offices will provide railway systems services, including engineering design, construction planning, operations planning, expert advice,

detailed modelling, systems engineering and assurance. This appointment follows WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff’s role as railway systems consultant on Phase 1 of the project where it provided rail systems design and development work and helped HS2 Ltd to deposit a hybrid Bill to Parliament within just 18 months.

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NEWS

Rail Engineer • January 2016

Northern goes to Arriva

The Department for Transport has awarded the Northern franchise to Arriva, a subsidiary of German state railway operator Deutsche Bahn.

STRUCTURAL PRECAST FOR RAILWAYS

Bridge Deck Construction Station Platforms Viaduct Slabs Bespoke Units

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In its franchise pledges, Arriva included the introduction of 98 new trains (281 new carriages) with a top speed of 100mph, the full refurbishment of the remaining fleet and the removal of all Pacer trains within three years, the latter move being no doubt very popular with regular travellers.

Arriva also promised to invest in station ticketing, including new retail facilities at 243 stations that don’t currently offer such services, refurbished seating and waiting areas at 355 stations, improved information and enhanced CCTV security. Staff will be provided at 45 currently unstaffed stations

while video help points will be introduced at 447 stations and customer information screens at more than 160 new locations.

A new Northern Connect service will commence in 2019. A network of 12 long-distance routes, it will provide faster connections across Northern England to Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, including brand new services from Bradford to Manchester Airport and Lincoln to Leeds. Northern Connect services will offer free WiFi, plug sockets, tables, air-conditioning and seat reservations.

The new franchise commences on 1 April 2016.

2016 courses available to book now Leading Self and Managing Others (Level 5) A 2 day course to assist with developing 21st Century Leadership Skills.

20th & 21st January 2016 - Northampton

The new UK flagship Traction and Rolling Stock training centre NTAR, the new multi-million pound, state-of-the-art training centre for traction and rolling stock, was officially opened by Transport Minister Claire Perry recently, and is proud to have already hosted a number of courses, including a week long Railway Engineering Design Technician Apprenticeship workshop, with more than 50 students in attendance.

Introductory Vehicle Technical Course A 10 day course designed for newly appointed Rail Technicians.

7th March 2016 - Northampton Bogie Maintenance A 1 day course covering the maintenance and principles of operation of the bogie.

21st January 2016 - Northampton Introduction to Doors Maintenance A 2 day introduction to the set up and maintenance of train interior, cab and saloon doors.

30th March 2016 - Northampton

We look forward to welcoming you to our unrivalled facilities.

Systems/Schematics A 3 day introduction to the various electrical systems fitted to rolling stock units.

22nd February 2016 - Northampton

For full course details visit: ntar.co.uk/our-courses

To book please call: 01604 594 440

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NEWS

Rail Engineer • January 2016

Project-wide licence for protected species

Whenever Rail Engineer reports on a significant infrastructure project, there always seem to be Great Crested Newts in the way. Or bats. Or badgers. Or crayfish (though maybe not so often crayfish). Or even Roman Snails.

Engineering the future

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Whichever - it all slows the project down and costs money.

But now a group of ecologists from Atkins has developed the concept of a project-wide mitigation licence protecting species which will provide significant cost savings on the 150km long Midland main line electrification scheme over the next eight years.

The ecologists highlighted the likelihood of encountering protected species in areas where they had not previously been recorded as high. This would result in likely delays to the delivery programme and increased costs, possibly as high as £10,000 to

£20,000 per night.

To tackle the issue, they worked with Natural England to secure the first ever project-wide mitigation licence for the scheme covering a number of protected species, the first being great crested newts and badgers.

Previously, a licence has only been granted for discrete zones or in areas where protected species have already been recorded through survey work. Now, the project-wide licence minimises the risk and associated delay by obtaining consent to deal with them as they are encountered, rather than work having to stop once they are found.

NEWS

Rail Engineer • January 2016

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PHOTO: LEE, LIFELIKE

ETCS is coming Forget about test trains - ETCS (European Train Control System) is about to be installed in trains currently in service around London. Eversholt Rail has placed a contract with Alstom’s signalling business SSL to fit ETCS to its Class 365 fleet.

The fitting of ETCS to the fleet is required as part of the Network Rail programme to roll out the

European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) across the UK network. This move to in-cab

signalling brings significant opportunities to reduce the total cost of railway operations and is a step-change in the way the railway will be operated and maintained.

A National Joint ROSCO Project (NJRP) has been established to deliver the trial fitment of ETCS to each of the affected fleets in the UK - the First in Class (FiC). Eversholt Rail’s Class 365 is the first fleet to have its FiC contracted.

The Class 365 FiC design process

will commence shortly with fitment, integration and reliability testing planned for 2017 before conversion of further units in the Class 365 fleet prior to full ETCS operation on the East Coast main line.

The FiC modification will be completed at Alstom’s Wembley Traincare Centre in close collaboration with the project team that includes Eversholt Rail Group, Alstom and Govia Thameslink Railway.

Transport Development Fund. TfL and Network Rail have already made a comprehensive business case submission to Government, and the project will now be considered by the new National Infrastructure Commission, chaired

by Lord Adonis, which is expected to report back in Spring 2016.

The new railway will connect National Rail networks in Surrey and Hertfordshire with an underground, tunnelled section crossing beneath central London between Wimbledon and Tottenham Hale and New Southgate. It will enable 270,000

more people to enter central London every morning at peak time, helping relieve the increasing pressure on London’s transport network.

Responses from a recent public consultation will help shape the proposals for the scheme.

Subject to further development and consultation, TfL and Network Rail will then seek powers for permission to build and operate Crossrail 2. With Government funding and approval, construction could begin in 2020 with the first Crossrail 2 service running in 2030.

Crossrail 2 gathers pace

A new company, Crossrail 2 Ltd, is being set up by Transport for London to take forward the delivery of London’s latest railway.

The new company’s Board, which will comprise of a number of non-executive directors and senior TfL officers, will bring together senior industry expertise and will steer the project through the development phase to the grant of

powers to begin construction.

The proposed railway received a boost in the recent Spending Review and Autumn Statement, as the Chancellor confirmed that the project would be eligible for funding from a new £300 million

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NEWS

Rail Engineer • January 2016

HS2 Ltd is latest Infrarail show partner HS2 Ltd, the company developing the high-speed rail network between London, the West Midlands and the North of England, is the latest organisation to become a Show Partner at Infrarail 2016.

With civils work expected to start in 2017, and enabling works contractors already shortlisted, supplier engagement is now gathering pace. The company’s stand at Infrarail in London will provide further opportunities for companies serving the rail infrastructure market to learn more about a project that is poised to reshape the national network.

Exhibition Manager Kirsten Whitehouse said: “We are delighted to welcome HS2 as an Infrarail Show Partner. Construction of the high-speed network will involve many companies and will require a huge range of products and services.

When you also factor in the needs generated by the investment plans of Network Rail and Transport for London, the outlook for suppliers is very positive. We believe Infrarail plays an important role in these investment programmes, providing companies with a showcase for their capabilities and bringing people together.”

HS2 Ltd joins Network Rail, Crossrail and supplier organisations that include the Railway Industry Association, the Rail Alliance and the Rail Plant Association as Show Partners, all lending their support to Infrarail and, in many cases, contributing to the busy programme of supporting activities now being planned.

Meanwhile, new stand reservations for the exhibition are continuing. By mid-December more than 120 companies had confirmed their participation in the show, which takes place at ExCeL London from 12 to 14 April.

Entry to Infrarail will be free for pre-registered visitors, with online registration opening soon.

Attendees will also have access to CITE 2016 - the Civil Infrastructure & Technology Exhibition, which will feature many of the civils products and services needed for rail projects, as well as for highways, utilities and communications networks.

For more information on Infrarail 2016 including the latest exhibitor list visit www.infrarail.com.

Hendy confirmed for Infrarail The chairman of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at Infrarail 2016.

Sir Peter, who was previously commissioner of Transport for London from 2006 until 2015, joined Network Rail just as questions were being asked about the organisation’s ability to deliver its committed level of work by 2019, the end of Control Period 5.

The ‘Hendy Report’ reshaping the delivery of Network Rail’s five year investment programme has now been published.

With

the Shaw report - looking at the future shape and financing of Network Rail - due in March 2016, there will be plenty of topical news about.

Having accepted Rail Engineer’s invitation to speak at the UK’s premier railway industry show, Sir Peter will be spoilt for issues to be covered and discussed. Be sure to attend Infrarail on the middle day, Wednesday 13 April, at London’s ExCeL, to hear what he has to say.

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NEWS

Rail Engineer • January 2016

Top ten stations Above: Birmingham New Street station. Below: Waterloo station.

Unsurprisingly, only one of the ten busiest stations in the country is not in London. Figures released by the Office of Rail and Road reveal that Waterloo is once again the nation’s busiest station with just over 99 million entries and exits in 2014/15.

Victoria (85 million) and Liverpool Street (63 million) are second and third. London Bridge usage fell 12.3 per cent over the previous year, probably due to the major building works taking place, but still held its fourth spot with 49 million passengers.

Birmingham New Street remained eighth with 35 million, and the big winner was Stratford - up 17 per cent to just under 31 million, enough

for tenth place (it was twelfth last year) and leapfrogging Leeds and Glasgow Central.

The total number of entries and exits across Britain rose by 4.5 per cent compared to the previous year, reinforcing the inexorable rise in national rail travel.

At the other end of the scale, Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire had 22 entries - almost double the figure for the previous year.

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T2at Rail Engineer • January 2016

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

North Pole

Rail Engineer • January 2016

W

hen Rail Engineer was invited to visit North Pole in early December, it seemed like a good opportunity to sort out Christmas presents. When the itinerary arrived, the route was found to be via St Pancras and Paddington. However, it was not then to catch a plane at Heathrow for the snow-covered North. Instead the next leg of the journey would be by bus.

For the trip wasn’t to Santa’s North Pole at all, but to Hitachi’s new depot at the edge of Wormwood Scrubs.

North Pole depot opened in 1994 as the maintenance facility for Eurostar trains, then operating out of Waterloo. A six-road, 400 metre long light maintenance shed and a fourroad heavy maintenance workshop were built, along with separate buildings for a wheel lathe and a carriage wash.

When Eurostar moved to St Pancras in November 2007, maintenance moved to Temple Mills near Stratford and the North Pole facility became surplus to requirements.

Reworked for IEP Until, that is, the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) was announced. Two related classes of trains were to be purchased for use on the Great Western and East Coast main lines. These were ordered from Hitachi Rail Europe and would be built in a new factory at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham, although the first 12 pre-series trains would come from Japan for main line testing.

The new Class 800 units will be bimode trains, capable of running off an overhead 25kV electrical supply but also fitted with underfloor MTU diesel engines so they can

17

operate away from the electrified network if necessary. Both five and nine-car units will be manufactured.

The related Class 801 trains, also in five and nine-car variants, will operate solely on electrified lines. However, they will have one of the MTU diesels fitted so they can be driven out of a neutral or failed section if necessary and can manoeuvre in depots and sidings.

Great Western is not taking any five-car 801 units, although Virgin East Coast will have twelve.

Three depots will look after the Great Western fleet: at Swansea, Stoke Gifford and at North Pole.

Hitachi Rail Europe, and leasing company Agility Trains, submitted planning applications to reuse part of the North Pole site in 2011.

Following approval, work started to completely

18

Rail Engineer • January 2016

remodel the six-road, 400 metre long main shed and turn it into a modern facility that could undertake both light and heavy maintenance on the new train fleet.

Due to the length of the building, even the nine-car Class 800/801 sets will be under 250 metres in length. The decision was taken to have the wheel lathe inside the main building and to only have carriage washes outside. The old 200-metre heavy maintenance shed, which was anyway on another part of the site, was not included in the plans.

Looks like new!

By the time of the December visit, the facility was virtually finished. There was even a preseries train sitting in the building, a five-car bimode, manufactured in Japan and the first to be fully fitted with seats and an interior. Code named T2 (test train 2 - to become 800002), it is scheduled to be loco-hauled to Stoke Gifford to continue the test programme next year. The pre-series trains have already covered 30,000 miles on the Signal Protected Zone (SPZ) on the East Coast main line.

Sister train T1 (800001), which is devoid of an interior but is fitted with a variety of monitoring equipment, has been conducting tests on the SPZ for the last few months. The third test train, T58, is so numbered as it is actually the first of the East Coast tranche of the order and will also be the first nine-car unit to run (800101).

Hitachi Rail Europe managing director Karen Boswell welcomed Rail Engineer to the North Pole facility, saying she was pleased we would both get the opportunity to look at the new depot and to get “up close and personal” with train T2.

Depot manager George Staines then showed off the new facility. It looks brand new, rather than a refurbished 1994 structure. Main contractor VolkerFitzpatrick has done a good job of completely remodelling the interior. The six roads now have inspection pits, which they never had before, and the floor has been both strengthened to take the loading of the lifting jacks and excavated for the bogie drop and the wheel lathe.

Numbered with road 1 nearest to the office accommodation (and to the Great Western main line which runs alongside the building), the first two roads will be used for general maintenance.

Road 3 is fitted with a complete set of jacks to lift an entire train, supplied by Mechan. In fact there are, on the face of it, too many jacks. This is so that, if two five-car units arrive coupled together, the entire ten-car consist can be lifted as one unit.

Road 4 includes a bogie drop, also supplied by Sheffield-based specialist Mechan, while Road 5 has an overhead crane to remove roof-mounted equipment such as pantographs and heating and ventilation units (HVAC).

Road 6 is the home of the new Hegenscheidt wheel lathe. George Staines explained that the shed is so long that there can almost be a production line arrangement as a whole train passes over the lathe. “A luxury,” he said.

Overhead lines power three roads, with worker safety assured through the installation of a Zonegreen depot protection system, and there is a small shunter for moving trains when needed.

Outside, a new access from the Great Western main line has been created. Trains enter from the East, in the direction of Paddington, and pass by

Rail Engineer • January 2016

a carriage wash supplied by Wilcomatic. As well as being able to enter the workshop, storage sidings are located to the south of the facility, and here are workstations where the diesel engines can be refuelled, the toilets emptied and water and water tanks refilled - all these units are from Derby-based Garrandale.

Both the sidings, and the twin turnback roads at the other end of the workshop, are controlled by a Bombardier LOPS (locally operated points system), installed by VolkerRail as part of the trackwork alterations.

All aboard Having viewed the new depot, it was time to walk through the train. One of the MTU diesels was running to provide on-board air conditioning and lighting.

Starting at the front (first class end), the central driving position gives a great view of the line (or in this case, the workshop) ahead. The controls for ERTMS and other signalling systems surround the driver, and the GSM-R radio and other equipment are within easy reach.

Behind the cab, the galley stretches down both sides of the corridor for a surprising distance. It takes up the equivalent of 20 seat spaces, but is correspondingly well equipped.

In fact, there are four levels of catering installation on IEP trains. Level 1 is the full galley supporting a first-class at-seat service. Level 2 is still an at-seat service but without the full galley. Level 3 is a café-bar in the centre of the train (which takes out 16 seats) and level 4 is provision for an at-seat trolley facility.

Jon Colley, programme manager at Virgin Trains East Coast, confirmed that its trains will be fitted with a level 1 galley in first class and a level 3 café in standard class.

First class seating takes up the rest of the first coach. Set out in a 2+1 format, the seats are finished in dark grey. This is a standard for IEP. Both launch customers, Great Western and

East Coast, will have the same basic colours and arrangements although touches such as antimacassars will be branded.

Through the door into the second coach and the floor rises in a slope. This is to give room for the underfloor diesel engines. While these MTU-supplied V12 700kW units, which meet European Stage IIIB emissions regulations, are very compact, they still need a slight increase in floor height - hence the slope.

Thereafter, the IEP Class 800/801 train is as you’d expect a modern train to be. Standard class seating is 2+2 with a mix of airline-style

19

and tables. There is accommodation for two bicycles, in a separate storage compartment, and both disabled and conventional toilets. The sliding doors are unusual, but are as used on Hitachi’s Class 395 Javelin for Southeastern. It’s a very modern train, but using tried and proven technology.

Both first and standard-class seating and tables are mounted on rails in the floor, so can be changed if either the mix of passengers changes or a new franchise-holder wants to alter the arrangements. Even the galleys are removable, though the water supplies and

20

Rail Engineer • January 2016

drainage would have to be disconnected, but it is not the work of a moment as first class and standard class carpet colours and other details are different - it is all possible but would involve a major refit.

Power is provided at each seat, with both conventional 13A three-pin sockets and also a USB charging connection.

Luggage racks are included, as well as sturdy overhead storage. Hitachi’s brief was to provide for one small bag for each passenger and one large bag for every four passengers in standard class and for every two passengers in first.

The next step Testing is continuing. When the Stoke Gifford depot is complete, T2 will transfer there to

continue the programme. The trains are rated for 125mph operation, although 140mph is achievable with minor modifications.

As for the future, pre-series trains T3 and T4 are undergoing final pre-delivery testing at Hitachi’s Kasado works. T5 and T6 are being manufactured at Newton Aycliffe, with T5 being hand-built by the team that will become the specialists who train the next 200 team members joining the facility in the next few months. Construction of T5 is expected to take twelve weeks, as the workforce continues the knowledge transfer from Japanese colleagues and the standard operating procedures are tested and verified. .

Thereafter production will be ramped up until it hits one train a week at the peak.

With the trains due into service on the Great Western main line in 2017, there’s still a lot to do.

There is some debate as to whether the line will be fully electrified in time, or whether the service will need to start with the bimode trains using their diesel engines, at least for part of the route.

Be that as it may, the Hitachi Rail Europe team is confident that the trains will be ready on time, with all but 12 of them built in the UK by a British workforce. Yes, some major components will come from Japan, but no train builder sources all of its major components from one factory. Train manufacture is a global business, and Hitachi Rail Europe is just the latest manufacturer to spread its wings and open a new factory in a new market.

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22

Rail Engineer • January 2016

Crossrail gets its rails

ALL PHOTOS: CROSSRAIL

GRAHAME TAYLOR

T

he tunnelling is finished. It’s time to start building a railway.

Ok, here at Rail Engineer we’ve taken an interest in the Crossrail tunnelling machinery. We’ve marvelled at the wonders of steering a delicate path through all the services and foundations beneath London. We’ve looked at the logistics of shifting all the spoil and the creation of a wetland nature reserve twice the size of the City of London at Wallasea Island in Essex.

Rail Engineer • January 2016

ALL PHOTOS: CROSSRAIL

But we’re really railway engineers, not tunnellers, and so it’s now, with the tunnels completed, that our enthusiasm for the project really kicks in. Over the coming months we’ll be looking at how an almost bare tunnel will be kitted out with the paraphernalia of a railway and how all that stuff is integrated to form a complete system capable of running a service of up to a train every two minutes.

This month, David Bickell covers the signalling and the transition from Network Rail to the Crossrail system and back again. In future issues, we’ll be looking in detail at the track installation equipment and how everything fits together, as well as delving into the power requirements and the overhead power delivery system.

And amongst all this there will be coverage of the logistics involved in not only feeding this voracious project but how all the various sites are kept safely apart. Of course, everything will depend on telecoms right through and beyond the construction phase.

But this is all to come. In the meantime we look at how things are at the moment with the rumble of the tunnelling machines now a thing of the past.

The contractor undertaking the Crossrail railway systems main works, contract C610, is ATC - a Joint Venture

comprising Alstom, Transports Sud Ouest (TSO) and Costain Limited.

Gregg Purcell (Crossrail’s railway systems construction manager) and his team weren’t waiting for the last bucket of spoil to be transported along the Thames before they got into the tunnels. As each TBM receded into the distance, and its roar became more and more muffled, the railway began to take shape behind them.

The bore has not been left as a plain tube. It’s not entirely without a railway form. The tunnel construction team built mass concrete - ‘first stage’ concrete - up to just below slab track level along with walkways on either side. These walkways are a crucial part of the scheme of things.

It is on them that specialist multi purpose gantries run conveying the first components to make up the track structure, as we’ll see in a moment.

Track types The track support comes in five different assembly types: »» There’s direct fixed track - used in the Victorian-engineered Connaught Tunnel; »» For most of the railway there’s standard track slab using fibre reinforced concrete; »» High attenuation sleepered track - similar to standard slab - is used only in a few small areas to reduce noise/vibration; »» Floating track slab (light) is used to reduce noise and vibration underneath Soho; »» Floating track slab (heavy) will be installed to reduce noise and vibration underneath the Barbican.

Direct fixed track has been used within Connaught Tunnel. The track bed, a concrete reinforced structure, allows engineers to create a flat

23

Lead image: Multi-purpose gantry lifts sleepers into place.

Above: Preparing for the concreting train.

108 metre long sections of rail waiting to be installed.

24

Rail Engineer • January 2016

Concreting train begins its first journey on Crossrail.

surface on top of the significant undulations in the ground and to work within the height restrictions which are a feature of this Victorianengineered tunnel. A total of 2.6km of direct fixed track has already been installed.

Floating track slab (light) goes in between Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street to minimise noise and vibration impacts from the operating railway on nearby recording studios and hotels which is a requirement of the Crossrail Act. The track slab is cast and then jacked up so that it ‘floats’ on a combination of elastomet rubber bearings and heavy-duty springs installed beneath it. A total of 1.97km of floating track slab (light) will be installed.

Floating track slab (heavy) will be used in the Farringdon area due to the close proximity of the Barbican. It sits on heavy-duty springs. A total of 1.34 km of floating track slab (heavy) will be installed.

Due to the extra depth added by the spring base of the floating track, a stiff shallow slab is needed.

To ensure that the shallower slab remains durable and effectively minimises noise and vibration, an unusually dense concrete called Magnadense is used. Magnadense, manufactured by LKAB Minerals, is over twice as dense as normal concrete due to its natural iron ore content.

Heavy!

Behind this one word, Magnadense, lies a whole story of engineering discovery in the UK. It’s a concrete type used extensively in Sweden as a way of making sure that house basements are heavy enough not to float in the high water table over there. There has been little use in the UK until now and so this has been a steep learning curve.

Gregg’s aside: “On the team is a gentleman who has poured vast quantities of the stuff in the French nuclear industry and his experience has helped with a range of novel issues that we have had to overcome.

This concrete is so dense that a full concrete lorry will be heavily overloaded. Road vehicles have to run half full to keep within standard HA loading. Batching plants have to learn how to handle it. Costs rise.”

Short test tracks will be used to test the construction methods, materials and equipment as well as for training purposes. A 100 metre long stretch of standard track slab has been built at Plumstead, a 30 metre section of direct fixed track has been constructed beside the Connaught Tunnel in Silvertown, and a 100 metre curved section of floating track slab has been built at Old Oak Common.

The majority of the track in the central section (about 80%) is standard track slab. This amounts to a total of 41.2km.

When constructing the standard track slab, the initial sequence of work is carried out by four multipurpose gantries which transport and accurately position around 70,000 sleepers and 57km of rail in Crossrail’s central section. Each gantry, operated by a single person, will run along the raised curbed sides of the tunnel’s first stage concrete mentioned earlier.

After positioning 108-metrelong sections of rail along a stretch of tunnel, the gantry then carries and deposits sleepers at carefully measured intervals before lifting the rail into place on top of them. The track is then secured in place using clips, props and jigs before it is welded and the formation is concreted into position.

Two gantries will operate from Plumstead, one from Westbourne Park and the other will install the floating track slab underneath the Barbican estate.

The bespoke gantries have been manufactured for Crossrail by Metalliance in France and were delivered to London in August 2015.

Railheads The two main temporary logistics centres for Crossrail’s railway systems are located at Plumstead in southeast London and Westbourne Park in west London. These will be used by the

Rail Engineer • January 2016

many different engineering trains during the fit-out of the tunnels and stations.

Plumstead is the larger of the two railheads with a total of eight tracks, an overhead gantry crane to supply engineering trains and an operations centre to coordinate the activity.

At Westbourne Park, the previous railhead that was constructed for the transport of excavated material from the western tunnels is being replaced with a new three-track railhead. The materials needed for the western tunnels fit-out will be stored and loaded onto construction trains at a temporary storage depot at Old Oak Common and brought to the Westbourne Park railhead.

Concreting train The concreting train is a sophisticated mobile underground concrete batching factory, which is the reason for its significant length. Dry materials are loaded onto the concreting train, which then batches the concrete. At 465 metres long, this train plays a key role in creating the standard track slab.

Refurbished and brought to the UK from France via the Channel Tunnel in August 2015, it will be based at Plumstead and used in the installation of standard track slab. At its peak production rate it will be able to install up to 250 metres of concrete track slab a day.

Running and maintaining the concreting train is a 24-hour operation. Concrete pouring will take place during the night with restocking and maintenance being carried out during the day. When the concreting train is not operating in the tunnels, it will be split in two due to its size and will be located on two of the eight railhead tracks.

Concreting shuttle A concreting shuttle will be used to construct the standard track slab in the tunnels between Royal Oak Portal in west London and central London.

Pre-mixed fibre reinforced concrete, provided by a batching plant at Paddington New Yard, will be loaded onto the shuttle. The concrete shuttle will be delivered to Westbourne Park in January 2016.

The main difference between the train and the shuttle is that the train is loaded with dry materials, the shuttle with conventional ready-mixed concrete. It has around half the output of the concreting train but is much shorter - a factor driven by the limited room available at its stabling point in Westbourne Park.

Gregg observes that, with the shuttle, “you’re up against the clock the moment you load it up!”

25

Above left: Temporary track installed at North West entrance to Connaught tunnel.

Above right: Rail waiting to be lifted onto sleepers.

Track installation Around 70,000 sleepers have been manufactured for Crossrail by SBC Rail (Stanton Bonna) in Nottingham, a Consolis Holdings (SAS) company.

These sleepers will be delivered into the Crossrail tunnels in bales by construction trains from Plumstead and Westbourne Park.

The multi-purpose gantry.

26

Rail Engineer • January 2016

A specialised welding machine will be used to join the 108-metre-long sections of Crossrail’s permanent rail together. Tata Steel will supply more than 57km of its heat-treated, wear-resistant rail. The steel blooms are being manufactured at Tata Steel’s plant in Scunthorpe before being rolled at the company’s Hayange mill in northern France and delivered to the Plumstead Railhead via the North Kent Line. Tata Steel will also deliver rail to the Westbourne Park railhead from January 2016 to support the track installation process in the western tunnels.

Drilling rig

Above and below: The multi-purpose gantry in operation.

As part of the tunnel fit-out, over 250,000 holes will be drilled to accommodate brackets for cabling, walkways and other equipment to support the operation of the railway.

ATC Joint Venture will deploy a state of the art, precision automated drilling rig which will drill many of the holes required, minimising the need for manual drilling. The Crossrail drilling rig was manufactured by Rowa Tunnelling Logistics in Switzerland and arrived in November 2015.

Once the track slab has been laid, the rig will sit on the track and move its way through the tunnels drilling the holes in pre-determined locations.

The machine has a dust suppression

system in place, producing a clean and accurate drilled hole every time.

The drilling rig works in conjunction with real-time 3D laser surveys of the tunnel to ensure accuracy.

Powering Crossrail The Crossrail route will be powered by a 25kV overhead line system. A rigid overhead conductor bar will be installed in the tunnels.

In the central section, traction power for the Crossrail trains will be provided by two new bulk supply points from National Grid at Pudding Mill Lane in the east and Kensal Green to the west.

A 22kV high-voltage network will be installed by AC (just Alstom and Costain without TSO) in the central section from Royal Oak Portal in the west to Limmo Peninsula in the east with an 11kV high voltage non-traction spur to be installed from Limmo through to Plumstead. This network will supply mains power to each Crossrail station, shaft and portal within the central section.

Crossrail’s communications and control systems New communications and control systems will be installed throughout the new Crossrail stations and tunnels. These include: »» Customer information systems customer information displays in ticket halls and concourses and at each platform screen door; »» CCTV - Digital cameras for station control and security while views of the platform are also transmitted to the drivers cab for driver only operation (DOO); »» Radio - Provision of radio infrastructure / network for operations and emergency services; »» Public Address System - For general and emergency announcements.

Current Crossrail progress Construction of the logistics centre at Plumstead is complete. The construction of the Westbourne Park temporary railhead is underway.

The first delivery of permanent rail was made in August 2015 and installation of permanent track is also underway.

So, that’s the state of railway engineering on Crossrail. If you’re really bereft of the delights of tunnelling, then there will be three whacking great machines chomping their way through the London Clay from next year. However, these will be constructing the Thames Tideway - a tunnel just a little larger than Crossrail, but which will be transporting something considerably less wholesome.

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28

Rail Engineer • January 2016

STUART MARSH

L

et’s set the scene. The rain was stair-rodding it and the wind was at gale force. The normally majestic backdrop of Pen-y-Ghent was lost somewhere in the grey murk and the land surrounding the work site was standing in water.

‘Go and get me some good pictures of the new sidings project at Helwith Bridge,’ the Production Editor had said … ‘And make sure it’s sunny!’

Well, what did he really expect?

This was the Settle and Carlisle line after all!

Wind and water or not, the construction activity continued unabated. These seasonably dampened works were part of a £6 million scheme to once again connect Tarmac’s Arcow quarry near Horton-in-Ribblesdale with the national rail network. Funded by Tarmac Holdings Ltd, the scheme has been managed by Network Rail, with design and implementation

work being awarded to Story Contracting (civils and track work) and Babcock Rail (signalling).

Arcow and its near-neighbour Dry Rigg quarry, both owned by Tarmac, have been worked under various ownerships for more than a century and there was a previous rail connection here. The then Ribblesdale Lime Company’s extensive sidings were controlled by the adjacent Helwith Bridge signal box. Closure of the sidings and signal box came in 1969 and road haulage has been in operation since then. Now, as you read this article, GB Railfreight is set to haul the first trainload of road stone out of Arcow quarry in fifty years.

Earthworks Providing the new rail connection has been no small achievement. To all intents and purposes, a 750-yard stretch of entirely new railway has been built, ending in a siding fan within the Arcow quarry stocking ground. Indeed, this new line even has its own Engineering Line Reference AQL (Arcow Quarry Line).

The previous sidings formation was deemed unsuitable for today’s requirements, particularly with regard to the curvature of the approach track. A new trailing connection has therefore been made with the Settle and Carlisle line, about 400 yards north of the old connection.

The new approach track leaves the Down main line on a falling gradient of 1 in 100, runs parallel with it for a short distance and then curves away across boggy agricultural land. In doing so, it is carried on a new embankment that reaches a maximum height of 3.5 metres before it meets the 20-metre high screening bund at the south end of the quarry site.

Constructed 25 years ago to satisfy Yorkshire Dales National Park (YDNP) planning conditions, the screening bund is built on a truly massive scale.

Cutting a V-notch through it for the new railway has required the removal

PHOTO: STORY CONTRACTING

Connected!

Rail Engineer • January 2016 of 60,000 tonnes of material. Although unsuitable for use on the embankment, the excavated quarry waste has nevertheless been put to good use within the quarry site to form new roadways.

Raising the new embankment has required 26,000 tonnes of material that, in order to minimise transportation, was sourced entirely from within the quarry. The earthwork design was therefore tailored to suit this available material. Of all the rock materials used, only the track ballast, sourced from Shap quarry, had to be transported to site.

Settled Not surprisingly, the construction of a substantial embankment over soft ground can present some problems. George Stephenson achieved success at Chat Moss by ‘floating’ his railway on bound bundles of heather and brushwood. But, taking a more modern approach, the solution adopted at Arcow quarry has been to surcharge the earthwork with additional material in order to hasten the settlement process. The technique used was more sophisticated than just depositing lots of material and hoping for the best, as Chris Sidwell, project manager for Story Contracting, outlined.

“We needed to avoid slippage and rotation at the embankment toe, which could occur if we added material too quickly,” Chris explained. “Although a geogrid was incorporated into the base of the embankment to provide stability, a crucial factor was the height of the water table.

As material was added to the embankment, the increased downward force produced an increase in the ground water pressure, causing the water table to rise. It was this that could destabilise the embankment.

“Accurate measurement of the ground water pressure was vital. The technique, provided for us by Central Alliance, involved drilling boreholes down to between four and seven metres below ground level. Vibrating wire piezometers were lowered into the holes to the level of the natural water table, where they were then encased in sand cells.”

These devices have a flexible diaphragm that responds to external pressure changes. A wire attached to the diaphragm is tensioned and can be made to resonate by an electrical coil. The resonant frequency of the wire can be measured. In other words, the resonant frequency of the wire changes in sympathy with the external pressure acting on the sensor. The pressure measurements at Arcow were recorded by data loggers at three-minute intervals to produce a plot of pressure against time.

Chris continued: “As the embankment material was added and compacted, we could see a sharp rise in the water table pressure, which then gradually subsided.

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30

Rail Engineer • January 2016

T O P

O F

S U R F A C E

F I L L

DATA LOGGER

150MM DIAMETER PVC CASING

BENTONITE SLURRY

150MM DIAMETER PERFORATED PVC CASING

CIRCULAR STEEL PLATE

BACKFILL WITH BENTONITE/CEMENT

BENTONITE PLUG 25MM DIAMETER STEEL TUBE

COMPACTED SAND BEDDING

VIBRATING WIRE PIEZOMETER

(500 MM)

SAND CELL VIBRATING WIRE PIEZOMETER TIP

GEOTEXTILE LAYER AT EMBANKMENT FOOT

(100MM ABOVE TOP OF BENTONITE PLUG)

ROD AND PLATE SETTLEMENT MARKER

Laying the foundations for the rail link from Arcow Quarry to the main SettleCarlisle line (background).

When the pressure slowly returned to its former level we knew we could safely add more material. Thus the ground water pressure, and therefore water table level, when plotted against time, formed a characteristic saw tooth graph.”

The eventual objective was to add about one metre of additional material to the embankment, which was then allowed to settle for 28 days. During this time, the embankment level dropped by approximately 0.1 metres, with the rate of settlement decreasing as time passed. By studying the characteristics of this phase in the settlement process, the level of the embankment, with its surcharge of material removed, could be predicted into the future. When the ongoing

(600 MM)

BENTONITE PLUG (300 MM)

settlement rate was known to be within manageable limits, the track could be laid.

During the embankment forming process, the level of the settlement was measured by means of rod and plate markers, the plate being installed at the original ground level. Future settlement at rail level will be monitored for some time by means of surface settlement markers fitted at cess level.

Deadline The scheme project manager for Network Rail was Joelle Caldarelli, who was pleased to point out that the project had progressed from the planning stage to completion in a little over a year. “Physical work started on site in the summer, with the project

time working towards the critical milestone of a 78-hour line closure, scheduled to take place between 23 and 27 October. As it was, to the great credit of Story Contracting and Babcock Rail, the vital preparatory works were completed one week ahead of that schedule.” The crucial blockade was necessary for the switches and crossings to be installed at the tie in.

Another aspect of the project that Joelle is happy with is the footbridge that carries a public footpath across the access line adjacent to the quarry bund. She explained: “At just the right moment, a lattice footbridge became available to us after its removal from a site in Camden.” Following complete refurbishment, the bridge, which has an eight metre span, was installed onto stone-faced abutments and now provides an excellent vantage point from which to view the sidings. “It’s nice to be able to reuse a beautiful piece of Victorian engineering in this way,” said Joelle.

But the project wasn’t without its challenges, with one issue being the discovery of Great Crested Newts.

These protected, but seemingly omnipresent, amphibians were found to inhabit a natural dewpond adjacent to the route of the access line. Bowland Ecology installed newt fencing around the work site and a temporary dewpond was created nearby to relocate the captured amphibians. The newts will be returned to their original pond upon final completion of the landscaping.

Rail Engineer • January 2016

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32

Rail Engineer • January 2016

PHOTO: STORY CONTRACTING

Value

Signals

Within the quarry site, no substantial earthworks were required.

The development has two sidings and a 135 metre long loading ramp has been constructed adjacent to siding number 1. YDNP planning conditions have dictated that a dust suppression facility should be provided. Water misting stanchions have therefore been installed between sidings 1 and 2. The water misting starts automatically when the presence of a front-loading shovel is detected.

Planning restrictions also limit the operating hours of both the Arcow and Dry Rigg quarries and restrict the maximum number of trains leaving the quarry to five per week.

Aggregate from Dry Rigg quarry will be hauled the short distance to Arcow quarry by road for onward transportation by rail. Each quarry produces road stone that is nationally important. It is a form of grit stone that has a high PSV (polished stone value), which makes it suitable for use on motorways, either as coated stone (within asphalt) or as a top dressing.

The properties of the Arcow and Dry Rigg products are slightly different, so the two materials will be transported in separate rail wagons.

Each siding is able to accommodate up to eight 75-tonne wagons, so initially the maximum train weight will be 1,200-tonnes. It is estimated that this will remove 16,000 lorry journeys each year from the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

GB Railfreight will haul these loads using Class 66 locomotives and VTG-leased HYA bottomdischarging bogie hopper wagons.

The destinations will be Hunslet East, Agecroft and Bredbury. The Arcow sidings connect with the Down (northbound) line, meaning that all trains will travel to Blea Moor before heading south.

To allow the locomotive to run round at Blea Moor, Babcock Rail has installed signalling enhancements there. It is now possible for Down trains to directly access the Up goods loop at Blea Moor. Previously this was not a signalled move.

Noticeable is the replacement of signal BM29, formally a running shunt signal, by a Dorman ‘lightweight’ three-aspect colour light signal, complete with position light junction indicator (feather), plus a ‘cats eyes’ subsidiary signal and route indicator.

The main line and trap points at Arcow are controlled from a local ground frame. Rather than clunking levers and point rodding, power operation has been favoured, making use of SPX Rail Systems inbearer Clamp Locks. Control is from a shunter’s panel that is released from the lever frame at Settle Junction signal box.

Because the new points are located within an Intermediate Block Section that uses axle

counters (issue 67, May 2010), and because of the need to shunt trains ‘inside’ at Arcow quarry, additional track circuits have been added into the axle counter section.

As part of the new signalling arrangements, Babcock Rail has needed to alter the mechanical lever frame interlocking at Settle Junction and Blea Moor signal boxes something of a dying art these days.

Win-win It’s a symptom of the times that many freight paths on the Settle and Carlisle route are now largely unfilled. Whereas once they were commonplace, you could wait a long time today to see a coal train breasting Ais Gill summit. Having a new freight flow on the line is therefore good news indeed and GB Railfreight was very pleased to sign a new contract with Tarmac.

The residents of Settle and the Dales aren’t arguing with this development either. Even though there are some planning restrictions on Tarmac’s operations at Arcow and Dry Rigg, transferring much of the aggregate output to rail will allow these quarries to operate at greater efficiency.

It’s hard to see a down side.

Maybe we should all be singing along to Errol Brown’s classic hit, ‘Everyone’s A Winner.’ Come to think of it, some hot chocolate wouldn’t have gone amiss during our site visit!

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

closerconnections

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or those of us afflicted by a get-on-with-it culture and a lifestyle built on thrift, there is something rather uncomfortable about HS2. Back in the autumn of 1890, visionary industrialist Sir Edward Watkin presented to Parliament his proposals for an ambitious new main line - 92 miles in length - connecting the coal-rich North Midlands with a terminus at London Marylebone. Engineered for speed, it boasted a generous loading gauge, curves rarely tighter than one mile in radius, a ruling gradient of 1:176 and just a single level crossing.

Like HS2, opposition to Watkin’s plan was organised and vociferous, not least from the companies whose lucrative business he was intent on partly pilfering. But nothing got in his way - neither nature nor vested interests. For two miles, the line burrowed through sandstone to reach a station in the heart of Nottingham and, to placate an enraged MCC, a route was cut-and-covered under the Nursery End of Lords Cricket Ground.

The Great Central’s London Extension still stands out as a truly exceptional railway, delivered with limited mechanical assistance for the 2016 equivalent of around £1.2 billion. And less than eight years after the plans’ ink had dried, mineral traffic started to repay that investment.

Out of town

The Labour government established HS2 Ltd in 2009 and, without one sod being turned, expenditure reached almost £700 million in its first six years. That is - like it or not - the nature of life in the 21st century, costs being launched skywards by the jet engines of regulation, consultation, uncertainty, bickering, froth and newts.

But worthy of even more note than HS2’s current price tag (which exceeds the combined Gross Domestic Product of Latvia and Estonia) are the compromises that £55.7 billion bring with it. In Birmingham, the line

stops tantalisingly short of the connective hub at New Street whilst those visiting the East Midlands’ will alight in a residential no-man’s land between Nottingham and Derby. As for Sheffield - England’s fourth most-populous city - serving it will be a station four miles away. Yes, HS2 offers raw speed but with the slightest whiff of EasyJet. It should of course be recognised that HS2’s Leeds and Manchester legs - known as Phase Two - won’t be nailed down until the autumn, including their respective station sites. There are apparently no dissenters to the East Midlands Hub at Toton, however Sheffield’s political and business leaders have, from the outset, made clear their opposition to a station next to the retail nirvana of Meadowhall Shopping Centre, claiming that it would significantly restrict the potential for growth.

Their position has particular resonance in the context of Transport for the North’s objective of radically improving links between city centres.

HS2 asserts that the difficult engineering task of routing the line through Sheffield - instead of around the eastern side of it - would add about £1 billion to the overall project cost. But a study undertaken for the City Council suggests that more than double that amount would accrue in economic benefit from establishing a central station, not to mention 6,500 additional jobs and significant residential

Rail Engineer • January 2016

development opportunities. Leigh Bramall, the council’s deputy leader, pointed out that “it is absolutely vital to get it right”, recognising that whatever we build now will be with us forever. He could have said “it is absolutely vital to get it done cheaply”, but chose not to.

U-turn if you want to

An artist’s impression of the new HS2 station, alongside the canal wharf and southern entrance to Leeds Station.

VISUAL: HS2

STATIONS

Those hoping for a change of heart in Sheffield might take comfort from Sir David Higgins’ interim report on HS2’s station in Leeds which tackled a number of issues familiar to the campaigners in South Yorkshire. Under the original plan, trains there would have terminated on New Lane, south of the River Aire and around 330 metres from the new southern entrance to Leeds’ current station. According to the report, whilst this site “fulfilled HS2’s brief”, there was a danger that it would have been “too detached from the existing station and too isolated from the city centre.”

Several negative impacts were identified: »» The walking distance of between 5-10 minutes brings difficulties with connectivity and undesirably exposes passengers to the elements (note: also applies in relation to Birmingham New Street) »» HS2 services are “too isolated” for those starting their journeys in the city centre (note: also applies to Sheffield) »» The absence of a shared HS2/classic concourse could potentially act as a passenger mindset barrier »» Regional and local authorities had serious concerns about the proposals, particularly in relation to the quality of the linkage and the City Council’s wider aspirations for a landmark redevelopment on the south side of the River Aire.

Against this background, HS2 Ltd published a report in November 2014, entitled Rebalancing Britain, which recognised the importance of finding a solution that delivered broader connectivity across the Leeds City Region. Four months later, George Osborne launched his Long Term Economic Plan for Yorkshire in which he asked Higgins to reconsider options for Leeds’ new station.

35

GRAEME BICKERDIKE

It’s worth noting that, in London and Leeds, HS2 will connect the country’s two biggest financial services centres, as well as helping to create an integrated economic and manufacturing zone of more than ten million people east of the Pennines/Peak District. The Leeds City Region alone contributes 5% of the UK’s annual economic output, amounting to £60 billion. Leeds is already the busiest station in northern England, with passenger numbers expected to increase by 114% over the next 30 years. The Northern Powerhouse and new HS3 trans-Pennine route are likely to fuel that growth. So any redevelopment of Leeds Station had to be built around its likely future role as the region’s connective hub. In other words - just as in Sheffield - getting this wrong would have huge, long-term consequences.

Rail Engineer • January 2016

STATIONS

36

Nature of the challenge Stakeholder engagement resulted in the emergence of five guiding principles against which all potential options for the new station would be measured.

Those principles stipulated that: »» the classic and HS2 stations should share a common concourse, accessible from the city centre, South Bank and waterfront »» the new station should become an integrated transport hub with improved car and bus access »» capacity should be created for a two-thirds increase in services resulting from the Northern Powerhouse and HS3 »» enough through train paths should be provided to enhance both local and Northern Powerhouse services »» the design should reflect the station’s significance as a local, regional and national landmark.

Non starters Today’s Leeds Station is built on a hill falling south from the city towards the River Aire. Much of it is supported on vaulted brick arches which now host restaurants, shops and exhibition space. Completed in 2002, the station’s last significant redevelopment provided five new platforms (making 17 in total) with improved passenger access, a glass roof, additional tracks on its western approaches and the transfer of signalling control to York. Only two tracks enter from the east side, accommodated on an 1860s viaduct, more than half-a-mile in length.

Coupled with modern urban sprawl, those Victorian structures act as physical constraints to the HS2 station, whilst the need to keep within the project’s overall Phase Two budget ruled out heavy engineering solutions such as tunnelling or double-decking.

Despite this, three options were identified for further development and analysis.

The first suffered from broadly the same shortcomings as the original proposal, using the same site on the south side of the river but with slightly better linkage to the classic station. Stakeholders did not regard it as an improvement.

Differing fundamentally, the second option offered an integrated station with HS2’s tracks approaching from the east into platforms on the southern side of the site. This raised the possibility of connections onto the classic network and through services being established as part of the Northern Powerhouse.

However, with no opportunity to extend the station southwards, the impact on capacity would have been considerable. Analysis indicates that, from the west, 53 hourly services will eventually be needed to meet predicted passenger demand into Leeds, but limited platform space would have capped the number at 44. Alongside those serving HS2, room would only have been available for 11 classic platforms; a future requirement for 22 is conceivable. There was also concern that HS2’s easterly approach would constrain capacity for the growth of regional services, negatively affect adjacent heritage and bring operational disruption during the construction period for as long as eight years.

T-junction HS2’s preferred route into Leeds is along the Aire Valley from Woodlesford, following the corridor of the Castleford/Wakefield Kirkgate line. The original plans show the city’s 900-metre long station stopping short of the river, thus creating the disconnect that so concerned the regional leadership. The third option bridged that gap by bridging the river, joining the existing station at right angles.

Whilst this overcomes many of the problems identified with the initial proposal, it is not without its issues. In partnership with the Environment Agency, assessments will need to be carried out to understand the structure’s impact on ongoing flood alleviation schemes, water quality and river habitat improvement work. It also has the potential to sit uncomfortably alongside the city’s adjacent conservation area and canal wharf, now a thriving public space after years of sympathetic redevelopment. The alignment of the station would also lengthen a dingy 100-metre thoroughfare created by Neville Street passing beneath the existing station - a longstanding cause of concern from a personal safety perspective.

Rail Engineer • January 2016

You are though left to wonder what’s different about the East Midlands, Birmingham and Sheffield where all the same shortcomings are evident to some extent. Isn’t direct connectivity to existing major rail hubs key to fully exploiting HS2’s potential? Doesn’t the inherent benefit of high speed - faster end-to-end journey times - rely on stations being right at the heart of major commercial and population centres?

The new station will sit across Neville Street, currently a major road into the city centre.

VISUAL: HS2

STATIONS

The positives though are overwhelming, resulting in a clear consensus emerging around this option. It provides the shared concourse and easy connectivity considered by stakeholders to be vital, as well as establishing better pedestrian access between the city centre and South Bank regeneration area.

The station’s future capacity is not compromised, with land remaining available on its north side for extra platforms catering for growth in Northern Powerhouse services.

There is also the opportunity for through trains to/from HS2 via a link with the Castleford/Wakefield Kirkgate line.

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Sauce for the goose “Quite rightly,” Sir David Higgins asserts, “local and civic leaders made clear their view of the limitations they saw in our original proposal, in particular its failure to connect local, regional and HS2 services and to connect into the existing city centre, and the plans for its expansion.” HS2 should be commended for its willingness to engage with those concerns and come up with something that better fits the bill.

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The world comes with compromises, but you’d like to think that £55.7 billion would buy you very few of them. The word did not apparently feature in Sir Edward Watkin’s vocabulary, as his now-redundant tunnels under Nottingham demonstrate. With its transformational potential, HS2 could heal some of the economic wounds inflicted on Sheffield by industrial decline. The city will be keen to enjoy the same persuasive success that Leeds has in securing the right station for its future.

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REVISED HS2 STATION (Left) An aerial visualisation of how HS2 will meet Leeds’ classic station at right angles, allowing a shared concourse to be created.

VISUAL: HS2

LINE FROM CASTLEFORD/ WAKEFIELD KIRKGATE FOOTPRINT OF ORIGINAL HS2 STATION

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

Stations

of the Future

STATIONS

CLIVE KESSELL

A

seminar in 2014 (issue 117, July 2014) launched the Stations as a Service (StaaS) initiative, aimed at investigating ways in which railway stations might serve a greater purpose than just places to catch and alight from trains. Although initiated by the RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board) and Innovate UK, the prime movers for this were Cisco supported by Telent. Now, some 18 months later, a follow up seminar - Stations of the Future - has been held to report on the progress made with some new ideas being launched but others not being pursued.

In the intervening period, Network Rail has initiated its ‘Digital Railway’ project and the thrust of the recent event was very much to align and integrate station operations and facilities with the objectives of that initiative. Clearly, Cisco is a dominant supplier of digital networking equipment but wishes to be much more than a component part provider.

Phil Smith, the CEO of Cisco UK and Ireland, emphasised the challenge of digital thinking across many industries, with rail being no exception. The use of data to improve decision making is all part of the StaaS vision and Cisco is pleased to be leading the project along with Telent, Imperial College, Network Rail, ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) and others.

The Cisco CREATE (Collaborative Research and Emerging Technologies) concept initiative involves a number of projects within their Internet of Everything (IoE) Innovation Centres. Nick Chrisso, who heads up the group, explained that StaaS, along with other projects, is in broad order terms a four-stage process: »» Discover - identify new markets and technology; »» Connect - involve large corporations and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises); »» Lead - develop projects and events; »» Disrupt - smart cities, new architecture, commercial models.

Perhaps Deploy rather than Disrupt would be a better descriptor when applied to the rail industry as it receives rather too much criticism for the latter!

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PHOTO: SKIDMORE, OWINGS + MERRILL

Rail Engineer • January 2016

STATIONS

Suggested design for Penn Station, New York.

The StaaS scope

Developing the deliverable

Defining the commercial role of stations is not easy but Ersel Oymak, Cisco’s innovation technology manager, put four areas of concern forward: »» Physical security of people and property; »» Use of stations by multiple train operators; »» Retail interconnection at larger stations - ticketing, linkage to other modes; »» Passenger experience of the end-to-end journey.

These have been put to Imperial College, London as subjects for an academic study, with many potential issues and deliverables being identified including the need to understand policy legislation and standards, the development of a technical reference architecture and how to disseminate across all swathes of the user and supply industry.

The previous seminar reported on the intent to trial StaaS at three stations in the Abellio Greater Anglia franchise - Liverpool Street, Colchester and Ingatestone - these being examples of large, medium and small stations. Early investigation soon discounted Liverpool Street as the magnitude of the task was just too big for a trial. Work has progressed, however, for Colchester and Ingatestone, and Telent has produced laboratory models of how a StaaS service might look at both stations.

Telent already has a product named MICA (Management Integration and Control of Assets) that has been deployed at a number of stations. This, by its name, is capable of monitoring such items as CCTV cameras, help points, public address equipment, clocks, fire alarms and suchlike.

This seemed a good starting point from which to develop additional facilities at stations and integrate them onto a digital platform.

Thus, for Colchester, the building of the model at Telent’s Warwick premises has included all these existing assets. It is recognised that many stations will have modern equipment with many useful years of life remaining. Thus it is important that a StaaS system can incorporate these, even if the equipment is analogue and has to be encoded to interface with the digital solution.

Getting more services into different parts of a station can be difficult and expensive if cable routes do not exist. An obvious solution is to use radio by equipping the station with its own Wi-Fi network, but will this be reliable in an electrified railway area? Tests done at the trial stations indicate that heavy freight trains and fast passenger trains will cause the most interference and may limit the bandwidth available to ensure a strong signal.

Rail Engineer • January 2016

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Top: Telent sample control room. Inset: Phil Smith CEO CISCO UK/Ireland.

In most cases, however, the use of Wi-Fi will offer a more flexible opportunity when additional facilities are required.

Large terminal and/or interchange stations will usually have their own control room, which too often have many different screens and telephones. They may even service a number of stations in the immediate area. To be effective when other systems are introduced, the screens must be made multi-functional with easy navigation and alert techniques for the station controller. Getting this right will be part of the modelling process and encouraging people who currently do the job day-in day-out to test the configuration needs to be part of the development.

The role of SMEs Whilst Cisco and Telent are spearheading the project, obtaining the creativity of SMEs is encouraged and, indeed, is part of the funding requirement. A number of these companies gave presentations on the day, thus demonstrating the skills and expertise that can exist at that level.

Bronze Labs is a small company, based in Telford, specialising in data modelling for mobile applications. For StaaS, its contribution is to think up events that might happen at a station, then to model the problem and ascertain how use of mobile data might help or resolve the situation. Examples quoted were: i) if someone were to witness a potential suicide, ii) how a disabled passenger could ensure access to his/her train, iii) how a cleaner might obtain additional or specialised equipment to rectify a dirty condition.

Omnifi, based in Whitechapel London, is building a ‘station portal’ that could be accessed by the public, without need for an individual app, that would detail all information about the station including next train data and

whether services are on time or delayed. It might also give information on amenities local to the station such as food outlets, entertainment and emergency service assistance.

Alchera Technologies specialises in data gathering within transport systems, particularly cameras and video recording (of which there are now 11 million cameras nationwide). By monitoring what is going on at a station in real time, predictions can be made of passenger movements and crowd control.

Davra Networks, a Dublin-based company but with a London office, specialises in asset monitoring of CCTV, lifts, lighting, noise levels, barrier operation and other typical station equipment. The intelligence of the system can then be used to adjust these assets according to emerging need and also produce maintenance records of work done.

Grassfish, an Austrian company based in Vienna, designs software for public-usage plinths using its experience of marketing and people behaviour. A prototype of the unit to be trialled at Colchester and Ingatestone was shown, deploying large touch pads with easily identifiable icons.

A TV screen at eye level would typically be showing the international and local news but could switch to another application if a traveller enquiry needed visual information. A camera on top would give personal recognition of the user.

All these companies are passionately interested in becoming part of the StaaS initiative and value the opportunity to work with the likes of Cisco and Telent.

The TOC perspective Whilst good ideas abound, the project has no future unless the train operating companies (TOCs) see the value of it. Mike Gray, group digital officer for Abellio, which runs the Greater Anglia franchise, was generally supportive but with a note or two of caution. Both Colchester and Ingatestone are a challenge in disseminating the right kind of information and additional broadband capacity will be needed.

The emergence of StaaS has caused thinking on how the project might impact on future franchise bids. Would the adoption of StaaS be a potential bid differentiator? Indeed,

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

STATIONS

might StaaS become a requirement in a future franchise specification? These are possibilities but it is clear that information technology will become a much stronger element for station operation in the years to come.

Caution must creep in as to who will pay for StaaS adoption on a station-wide scheme and the present offerings will need to be at a more affordable price than those indicated. It must also be aligned to the real work that the industry needs and, in brutal terms, it must be shown to deliver a greater revenue stream from the stations that are equipped.

The business case

Suggested design for Penn Station, New York.

Payback is an all-important question. Dr William Wu from Imperial College has modelled the likely factors changes in demand (hopefully an uplift), changes in costs, technology simplification, ergonomic elements, accounting benefits, passenger flow control and general economic implications. The result for the 148 stations in the Greater Anglia franchise does show a positive return over a tenyear period but it is recognised that the future is always unpredictable. The model also predicts the impact of delay to a StaaS rollout.

Steve Pears and Peter Felton from Telent take a more positive view in that it is going to be a government-led requirement to produce better information and integrated facilities at stations, so it is going to happen anyway and to provide this by traditional methods will be a lot more expensive. They may well be right.

Next steps Rolling out real systems at Colchester and Ingatestone is an important next step and this will happen in 2016.

The value to both staff and travellers can then be given a real test. One question must be how the ‘undesirables’ within society will react to the plinths but, with superior TV monitoring and links to the police, it is to be hoped that the potential for vandalism can be minimised, just as it is for automated ticket machines.

Station information systems have improved considerably over the past two decades and, providing the train service is running more or less to timetable, then passengers feel confident with the information displayed or heard. It is when major disruption occurs that this can quickly go amiss with both local staff and passengers not knowing the ongoing train service situation. Whether StaaS can improve on such a situation needs to be explored. Links to Darwin and TMS (Traffic Management Systems) may well be the answer.

Some of the earlier predictions as to what might prove possible e.g. a ‘click and collect’ service at stations for travellers ordering things on line, will not be pursued for the time being. StaaS should perhaps be seen as a specific element of a transport system linking to other projects being developed for the air and bus industries.

Whatever, StaaS has moved on from where it started and is now very much Stations of the Future. We shall keenly watch to see what happens.

PHOTO: SKIDMORE, OWINGS + MERRILL

Rail Engineer • January 2016

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

Fastening the mirrors to New Street

M

uch has been written about Birmingham’s stunning New Street station. With its light, airy atrium and mirror-finish cladding, which almost seems to make the station disappear when seen from some angles, the new New Street is light-years ahead of the old, 1960s concrete box.

A Hollo-Bolt and (left) installed.

The cladding is a work of art in itself. Curved mirror-fish stainless steel panels are fastened to a steel frame bolted to the outside of the earlier concrete building. In fact, that’s not strictly true as, in many places, the frame had to be bolted through the weak façade of the older building and anchored to the main station structure.

To test the system, Network Rail set up some early prototype panels next to the sidings at Bordesley Green. This gave stakeholders, and

Rail Engineer, a chance to see how the finished station might look four years later.

Design, manufacture and installation of the complicated cladding was entrusted to Portuguese specialist Martifer. It was a taxing contract - every part of the frame and every mirror-finish panel was unique. Good record keeping and planning was to be as important as good manufacturing processes to make sure every item was fastened in the correct place.

Health and safety One change had to be implemented before Martifer started fixing the panels to the building, and it delayed the whole process for a while. On the grounds of safety, the fastenings that held the stainless-steel cladding to the building had to have a projected life longer than the 40 years planned for the panels themselves, so there

would be no chance of a panel becoming detached. This ruled out the use of the self-drilling screws which Martifer had been planning to use.

Therefore, Network Rail’s civil engineering team for the Birmingham New Street Gateway Project explored various cladding fixings from the UK, European and USA markets. They even considered using a riveted connection as used to assemble high-performance aircraft for the station cladding.

Finally, it was decided that Lindapter’s Hollo-Bolt was the best connection solution for the façade because it met Network Rail’s safety and maintenance needs and Birmingham Council planners’ requirements. The station engineers took advantage of Lindapter’s free connection design service and the research and development department to receive a fully engineered solution.

To meet the requirement, the Lindapter R & D team developed a bespoke M5 countersunk Hollo-Bolt in stainless steel grade 316, which exceeded the maintenance and safety requirements, complemented the design of the façade and provided a rapid installation process.

The attention to detail from the research and development engineers even meant that a self-adhesive soft-foam cushion was developed to cover the spanner so that the mirror polished façade was not scratched during the installation process.

Many uses With extensive experience in manufacturing fixings for both the construction and rail markets,

Rail Engineer • January 2016

connect the building services, various station fittings and over 60 premium retailers’ shop fronts.

As a premium British manufacturer, Lindapter has industry-leading product approvals, gained since the company first developed the blind fastener in Bradford in 1948. Today, the Hollo-Bolt is the only expansion bolt for structural steel that is featured in the BCSA and SCI design guide ‘Joints in Steel Construction’.

It is also the only expansion bolt to be approved for use in all seismic design categories A to F, for resisting wind loads and seismic loads, from Californian based ICC-ES.

STATIONS

coupled with industry leading approvals including a range of components fully approved by Network Rail, the engineers at Martifer and Network Rail were reassured that the designed component would be ideal for the application.

In fact, Lindapter products have been used throughout the £750 million renovation that has improved the Birmingham New Street and Grand Central building by making it three times bigger, brighter and more accessible. As well as securing the stainless steel façade, Lindapter connections have been used to

45

(Above left) Installing the mirrorfinish panels along Stephenson Street.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

STATIONS

SIMON TAYLOR

Out with the old, in with the new

T

he Medway town of Rochester, some 30 miles east of London, is an historic place.

It was a centre for the pre-Roman Cantiaci tribe. In the late-Roman period it became a walled town and construction of the current cathedral began in 1080.

Sadly, Rochester lost its status as a city in 1998 upon the creation of the Medway Unitary Authority. However, it has now gained something else - a brand new station.

That’s not to say that Rochester didn’t have a station before. It did, on the Chatham main line, but that only had ten-car platforms and services were planned to start using twelvecar trains.

In conjunction with the local council, Network Rail made a bold decision.

Rather than enlarge the old station, and therefore disrupt travel while the changes were being made, it would build a completely new one.

A site was chosen that was 500 metres west of the existing station and which could form part of an integrated transport hub, connecting trains, buses and, via a new subway, give pedestrian access to the station, the high street, and the new mixeduse Rochester Riverside development, which will include 1,500 new homes.

The new station would allow twelve-car trains to call at the town, in conjunction with improvements to the signalling and track in the area.

Further development, including the removal of the signal box and a third platform introduced at the station, would further increase flexibility and improving reliability.

Network Rail appointed three key contractors to work on the project.

Atkins were to act as lead designer for the resignalling, with Spencer Group building the station and Balfour Beatty building the track and electrification.

Pedestrian underpass One of the biggest challenges of the project was the construction of an 850-tonne pedestrian subway connecting with the new station. It was built ‘off line’ and adjacent to the existing rail embankment, then installed during a 96-hour blockade over Easter 2015.

The reinforced concrete subway, which is 28 metres long, 7.6 metres wide and 4 metres high, was slid 36 metres into place after the Spencer Group team had excavated through the embankment the previous day.

The team, assisted by specialist contractor Freyssinet, used ten jacks to lift the structure off the ground by 100mm. Each jack was bolted to a compressed nitrogen pad, which ran along a steel skid-way, with each pad then being pressurised with nitrogen gas.

The pads acted like a ‘minihovercraft’, riding on a cushion of nitrogen along the skid-way. This greatly reduced the friction between the subway and the skid-way, meaning that a pushing force of only eight tonnes was required to slide the structure into place.

Tom Kerins, operations director at Spencer Group, said: “Installing the subway was an extremely important and challenging aspect of the works

Rail Engineer • January 2016 at Rochester. Moving such a large structure into place presented us with a number of logistical challenges but, by using innovative technology, it was completed without incident and ahead of schedule. It was the first subway slide of this type carried out in the UK using this technology.”

A wider context

partners and Network Rail. Working as a one solutions-driven team, Spencer Group and its collaborative partners designed innovative delivery approaches and achieved engineering savings in the provision of a successful engineering solution that will benefit millions of passengers every year.

Local content Throughout the project, Spencer Group endeavoured to use a supply chain representing a wide and diverse spread of local organisations.

Companies included: Sian Formworks from Gravesend, a family-run contracting company for civil engineering; Reinforced Concrete Projects; CCS Scaffolding from Gravesend; ASH from Ramsgate; CRS from Ashford; Gallagher from Maidstone; and McNealy Brown from Sittingbourne. A concerted effort was also made to use local workers, with around 90 per cent of the Spencer Group workforce employed from the area.

Spencer Group has an excellent record of maintaining good community relations in civil engineering projects of this kind and Rochester Station was no exception.

Everyone in the team worked hard to minimise disruption in the town centre during the works.

The result is a new station in Rochester that is crucial to Network Rail and Medway Council’s shared vision of regeneration - improving access to Rochester’s historic town centre and attracting London-bound commuters to the new Rochester

STATIONS

The replacement of Rochester Station is at the heart of the £145 million East Kent Phase II programme to upgrade a 33-mile stretch of East Kent’s railway network which was last renewed in 1959. This major multidisciplinary undertaking has involved several of the industry’s main contractors, with the Spencer Group being responsible for delivering all of the civil engineering elements throughout the programme.

This included the extension of platforms at Strood and Sole Street Stations to accommodate the 12-car trains now in service. In addition, the team created a turn-back facility at Rainham in the form of a new 12car bay platform.

The project in the Medway area followed on from the award-winning remodelling of Gravesend Station, which Spencer Group delivered during an intensely successful 15-day blockade.

East Kent Phase II has been described as an industry model for collaborative working, with the achievement of BS11000 accreditation for Spencer Group.

To create a culture of collaborative working from the outset, an alliance was formed between all supply chain

47

Riverside development. To cope with the expected rise in weekday travellers, there will be five additional morning rail services into London.

The station and its underpass allows residents to take a quick stroll between the riverside and town centre or hop on a train and be in London in 35 minutes.

David Statham, managing director of train company Southeastern, which operates the new station, spoke for all of the stakeholders at the opening: “The station is closer to the heart of Rochester than the old one used to be, which is great for residents, great for local traders and great for the hundreds of thousands of sightseers that visit the area each year for its festivals and amazing heritage.”

It was also a great success for Spencer Group, which had pioneered a new technique in installing the allimportant subway.

48

Rail Engineer • January 2016

BOLD INCLINATION C

aptain Kirk and Spock leave the bridge of the USS Enterprise and enter the turbo-lift that’s always ready and waiting. A voice command sets things in motion. Sometimes travelling vertically, sometimes diagonally and sometimes sideways, the lift hurtles at breakneck speed and never a jolt or a g-force is felt.

Well, that’s the fictional twenty-third century for you but, artificial gravity apart, it raises some interesting thoughts about lift design, and even about the similarities between lifts and railways. There’s no reason why a lift should always have to travel vertically, so could a diagonal lift be useful?

London Underground clearly thinks so. Almost resembling a short funicular railway, except that there is only one car, just such a device has now been installed at one of their stations. Hailed as a first, it was formally opened on 20 October 2015. It’s one of several that are set to be installed at stations across London.

The lift and its mechanism are separated from pedestrians by glass panels.

Step free The correct terminology for the device is Incline Lift.

This new facility has been installed at Greenford station, making it the 67th step-free Tube station. Serving the Central Line and forming the terminus of the national rail Greenford Branch Line, the station was opened in 1947, with operational responsibility being transferred entirely to London Transport in 1967.

Greenford station is above ground level and it was the first London Underground station to have escalators linking the street-level entrance with the platforms. Until 2014, it remained the last London Underground station to retain a wooden-treaded escalator. Ealing Council partfunded the feasibility study to provide step-free access for the disabled, or indeed parents with buggies, and it has worked closely with London Underground in the delivery of the project.

Although this system is a first for London Underground and indeed the wider UK rail industry, incline lift technology has been used before. Although it’s not commonplace, notable examples can be found at the Eiffel Tower, Niagara Falls and in the UK at Imperial War Museum North in Manchester. Also, the so-called London Millennium Funicular is in fact an incline lift. At Greenford station the new lift travels on a 30% incline alongside new escalators and a widened staircase. It has a travel time of 45 seconds and can carry approximately 800 people per hour.

Savings An advantage of using incline lift technology rather than a vertical lift is the cost saving it offers. This has certainly been the case at Greenford. Although the equipment itself is more expensive than that needed for a conventional lift, it is estimated that there has been at least a 50% saving in the costs of the civils. In particular, the costs and disruption

ALL PHOTOS: LONDON UNDERGROUND

STATIONS

STUART MARSH

Rail Engineer • January 2016

49

mobility problems, is the use of jumbo control buttons. The lift is also equipped with the KONE E-Link remote monitoring system to ensure high availability of the equipment.

Although the new lift is not suitable for every location across the Tube network, similar lifts are being installed

by KONE as part of the Crossrail station developments at Farringdon (two) and Liverpool Street (two). TfL is also examining where else they could be introduced on the Tube in the future.

Mobility

Specific In the Greenford installation, the glass-sided car is hauled by cables along an inclined track. An electric motor drive is located in a machine room at the top of the incline, together with the power supplies and a back-up supply system.

The system has several features specific to the London Underground application, including a new style of landing and car door actuation. In conventional lifts the electrically operated car doors usually have a clutch mechanism that unlocks the landing doors at each floor and pulls them open. To improve reliability, the Greenford installation has separately powered car and landing doors. The pressure sensitive door edge strips have LEDs that illuminate green when the doors are open and flash red when they are closing. As an energy saving measure, LED technology is also used for both the car and shaft lighting.

New European safety rules for lifts that follow an inclined path were released in July 2014 under the Standard EN 81-22. Whilst basing their design requirements around this, London Underground has improved upon it in several ways in order to comply with its own operating model. For instance, close attention has been paid to the recovery of passengers following a power failure. Another enhancement, perhaps minor but valuable to people with

STATIONS

created by the excavation of a lift shaft are avoided. The operating costs are also less, with a 50% saving in energy usage over that of a conventional vertical lift.

The incline lift equipment installed at Greenford was designed and manufactured by Hütter-Aufzüge GmbH. Based in Glinde, Germany this company has specialised in elevator engineering since 1876. It is now amongst the world leaders in incline lift technology. The installation work was, however, undertaken in partnership with KONE GB, which holds an existing contract with Transport for London (TfL) for lift and escalator supply and maintenance.

Interestingly, KONE has now gone on to produce its own incline lift design, the first of which has just been installed on the Helsinki metro system.

In 2015, the Mayor of London brought forward a target for more than half of stations on TfL’s underground and rail networks to be step-free by 2018. As part of this plan, around forty more Underground and Overground stations will become step-free over the next 10 years.

This forms part of a £326 million investment scheme that includes funding from the Mayor as well as London Underground. It will include major stations such as Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Vauxhall and Victoria and those delivered through the Step-Free Access Partnership Fund - the Mayor announced in October 2014 an extra £76 million fund for step-free access schemes where contributions can be found from developers and other third parties. Tower Hill and Vauxhall Tube stations are set to become step-free by the spring of 2016.

The number of journeys made by step-free routes each year is expected to almost treble, from 77 million now to 227 million in 2023. Commenting on the Greenford scheme, Isabel Dedring, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: ‘The Mayor has set an ambitious target of ensuring that more than half of TfL’s stations are step-free by 2018. This lift is [one of] the first of its kind in the UK and a great example of the many innovative projects now underway to achieve that. We’ve got one of the most accessible public transport networks of any major city, but more needs to be done to ensure people can get around our city easily.’

TfL will be working hard to install a raft of measures, including new lifts and raised platform sections at Tube and rail stations across the Capital. This makes the difference between disabled people being able to travel alongside everyone else, or having to take time-consuming alternatives.

It’s heartening that real progress is being made towards an equal and accessible transport system in London. However, we may have to wait a while longer for the advent of artificial gravity and inertia-free turbo-lifts!

The new incline lift fits neatly alongside the existing staircase.

50

Rail Engineer • January 2016

The Prime Minister at the completion of the tunnelling phase.

Signalling Crossrail

T

unnelling for the £15 billion railway was completed last May with the final two TBMs, Elizabeth and Victoria, being decommissioned. The task of fitting out the tunnels and stations, installing track, OHLE and signalling is now well under way.

Crossrail was invented to increase capacity for east-west journeys, relieving the Central and Jubilee lines as well as providing wider connectivity along the Shenfield - Liverpool Street - Central London - Paddington Heathrow - Reading axis. The Sponsors’ Agreement was signed in 2008 committing Transport for London and the Department for Transport (TfL and DfT) to finance the scheme, with contributions from Network Rail, Heathrow Airport, Canary Wharf Group, City of London and London business. Crossrail Ltd developed the specifications, designed and is implementing the construction of the new railway through central London. On completion it will hand over the infrastructure management for the new section to Rail for London (RfL), a subsidiary of TfL. The signalling and communications contractor is Siemens. However, as regards the signalling systems on the train, Siemens is sub-contracted to train builder Bombardier. MTR Crossrail is the company holding the concession from TfL to run the trains.

Rail Engineer was invited to meet Siv Bhamra, Crossrail railway systems and commissioning director, to hear about the challenges of providing the signalling, control and communications systems.

Crossrail consists of three sections. The Central Operating Section (COS) runs from a point between Portobello Jcn and Westbourne

Park in the west, and Abbey Wood in southeast London, and from Stepney Green Jcn to Pudding Mill Lane Jcn. This is all new railway and signalling for which Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) moving block signalling is to be deployed.

At the western end, Crossrail trains join the Great Western main line (GWML) and operate under the supervision of ETCS level 2 as an overlay to existing lineside signalling to Airport Jn and Heathrow terminals. For trains continuing along the GWML to Maidenhead/Reading, conventional signalling with Automatic Warning System (AWS) / Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) will be used west of Airport Jn.

In the east, Crossrail meets the Great Eastern Main line, joining into the ‘electric’ lines shared to Shenfield, also using lineside signalling fitted with AWS/TPWS. The depots which will look after the new Bombardier-manufactured trains will be at Old Oak Common and Ilford.

Opening strategy Crossrail will be commissioned into service on a staged basis. Stage 0 took place in May 2015 with the ‘TfL Rail’ brand taking over the existing Class 315 service between Liverpool Street main line (dubbed ‘high level’) and Shenfield.

Stage 1 in 2017 sees the introduction of the new 145 km/h (90 mph) Class 345 Bombardier Aventra trains. The units are powered by 25kV AC but there is space for third rail power equipment for possible extension of services

DAVID BICKELL

Liverpool Street station.

Rail Engineer • January 2016 further into Kent. The production run for this stage will consist of seven cars per train, each with three doors per side to help meet dwell times, as the platforms at Liverpool Street and elsewhere are not long enough for the final nine-car fixed formation. Platform lengthening to the standard 240 metres is under way at various stations with selective door opening provided for those stations which cannot be extended.

Stage 2 in 2018 sees Crossrail replace the Heathrow Connect service between Paddington high level and Heathrow Airport with a four trains per hour (tph) service using the nine-car Class 345.

Stage 3 takes place at the end of 2018 when trains start running on the COS from Paddington low level to Abbey Wood. Stage four in 2019 sees the opening of the Stepney Green Jct to Pudding Mill lane section, providing a through service from Paddington low level to Shenfield. In Stage 5 at the end of 2019, the final link at Westbourne Park opens to facilitate the full Crossrail service.

The need for CBTC The planned throughput of trains per hour from central London is: »» 2 tph to Reading »» 4 tph to Maidenhead »» 4 tph Heathrow »» 10 tph to Hayes and Harlington »» 14 tph turning back at Westbourne Park The total of 24 tph through the central section could potentially become 30 tph.

At the east end there is a 50:50 split at Stepney Green Jcn: »» 12 tph to Shenfield »» 12 tph to Abbey Wood

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The specification is for 110 second headways with 60 second dwell times at Paddington and Liverpool Street, putting trains 50 seconds apart. Independent modelling showed that this can only be achieved using a moving block signalling system. It was considered that developing ETCS Level 3 in the timescales was too risky, whilst GSM-R is a 2G system that might not be sufficiently capable. Thus CBTC was chosen for the COS. However, the Crossrail route comes under the European interoperability regulations and hence a derogation has been secured from the Command Control and Signalling Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI). The derogation will include a commitment to migrate to ETCS Level 3 when there is sufficient confidence that a mature product can deliver the specification of the sponsors.

Siemens Trainguard mass transit system Trainguard MT is new to the UK but has been successfully used in Beijing and Copenhagen. The schedule compiler, timetable processor, Trainguard MT units and Westrace interlockings in the route control centre (RCC) at Romford are linked to the Airlink central system router which is hard wired to a lineside Ethernet radio bus installed along the COS. Access points (AP) exchange data with the train-borne equipment using a 2.2 GHz standard Wi-Fi signal.

On board the train, automatic train operation (ATO) drives the train and automatic train protection (ATP) ensures that the movement authority is not exceeded.

ATP movement authority is updated every 0.4 seconds and ATP position reporting is also every 0.4 seconds. ATO receives target arrival time for next station, updated every five seconds. ATO recalculates and drives to the most energy-efficient profile whilst meeting next station arrival time subject to movement authority.

Platform screen doors will be a feature of Crossrail's underground stations.

52

Rail Engineer • January 2016 Track preparation work on south east side of Connaught Tunnels

Every effort is being made to achieve a reliable CBTC system. However, secondary train detection in the COS is provided by axle counters, which cover the use of engineering plant and failure of the CBTC train. This allows the signaller to move failed trains safely. A failure of an axle counter will not impact on the normal service if all trains are running with healthy CBTC. Platform screen doors, supplied by KnorrBremse, will be provided in the underground stations for ventilation strategy and to keep heat in tunnels and out of stations so the latter don’t need to be air-conditioned. Platform screen doors and train doors are opened and closed at the same time, synchronised and controlled by the signalling system. Above each platform door will be a customer information screen.

Auto-reverse A new facility called ‘auto reverse’ is being provided at Westbourne Park (no station) for turning the 14 trains per hour in the reversing sidings. The driver selects ‘auto reverse’ on leaving Paddington station and walks back through the train, obviating the need for drivers to ‘step-up’. By the time the train gets back to Paddington (about a mile) the driver should be in the other cab ready to form the next eastbound departure.

The facility has the capability to turn round a full 30tph service. There is just time for the driver to walk back through the train whilst in the reversing siding but doing so on departure at Paddington gives that extra time that will also help recover from perturbation.

Auto reverse (AR) is not provided on Network Rail infrastructure. There will also be the possibility to use AR into and out of the

stabling sidings at Abbey Wood so the driver will be at the correct end of the train to finish a shift or, when coming on duty, to start a new run westwards. Service trains will, however, normally reverse in the station. AR may also be used at Custom House and anywhere using crossovers in the central section.

Signalling west Network Rail is carrying out significant preparatory works on both west and east legs of what will become the Crossrail route, funded by DfT within an investment budget of £2.3 billion. There is a major track layout reconfiguration at Heathrow Airport Jcn to provide full grade separation of trains to/ from the airport line (issue 124, February 2015). Other works include a dive-under at Acton and turnback facilities at Maidenhead.

Old Oak Common is the main Crossrail depot with 33 sidings and has its own conventional signalling system. The depot is being built by Bombardier.

In a relock exercise between Paddington and Heathrow Airport Jcn, new Alstom Smartlock interlockings, with sufficient capacity to embrace the significant layout changes required to accommodate Crossrail, were introduced in 2011 replacing the previous SSIs. At Westbourne Park the transition between CBTC and ETCS will take place on the move up to 50mph. If a westbound transition to ETCS level 2 should fail, multiple aspect signalling will still be in place (ETCS is initially provided on GWML as an overlay) enabling Crossrail trains to run on conventional signalling using AWS/TPWS under ‘NTC ‘(National Train Control).

For train builders, delivering compatibility between legacy TPWS and ETCS is challenging.

However, UNISIG, the industrial consortium created to develop the ERTMS/ETCS technical specifications, has issued an interface specification for a unit they call a Specific Transmission Module (STM).

The purpose of the STM is to manage the interface between national train protection systems and ETCS to provide seamless train operation. In 2014, Mors Smitt was awarded a contract by Bombardier Rail Control Solutions to install TPWS+STM on the fleet of class 345 Aventra EMUs, providing TPWS/AWS functionality outlined in the latest GE/RT8075 group standard with the STM functionality defined in UNISIG standards.

The need for an ETCS ‘Plan B’ A number of potential risk factors exist in delivering ETCS in the area between Paddington and the Heathrow tunnel portal, including engineering resources, limited delivery experience of ETCS in UK, complexity of rail infrastructure in the area, and modifications to accommodate the new Class 800/801 trains for the InterCity Express Programme (IEP). Accordingly, ‘Plan B’ is being progressed under a £3 million contract awarded to Amey to provide Enhanced TPWS. On the face of it, Class 345 trains could run on GWML using standard TPWS which is already provided, but the issues are complex. The route between Paddington and Heathrow is also equipped with Great Western Automatic Train Protection (GW-ATP). On the approach to every stop signal, ATP monitors the train speed profile in relation to line speed and movement

Rail Engineer • January 2016

authority, sounding a warning to the driver and applying the brakes if there is a digression. As there is no TPWS between Heathrow Portal and the Heathrow terminals, only Class 332 and 360 trains equipped with GW-ATP operate to Heathrow. The Heathrow Connect Class 360 service is to be replaced by a Crossrail Class 345 service. As this latter short section of route is relatively straightforward there is confidence that ETCS will be delivered on this stretch in time for the start of Crossrail services. ETCS takes train protection to a new level, continuously monitoring train speed.

The existing standard TPWS between Paddington and Heathrow Airport Junction deploys Train Stop System (TSS) loops and Overspeed Sensor System (OSS) loops at selected signals, generally those protecting junctions, to mitigate Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD) risk.

However, for the purposes of the regulation, TPWS is considered a ‘train protection system’ only if it is not reasonably practical to install an ATP or ETCS system, as standard TPWS

provides a lower level of protection.

For the new Crossrail service, as it could be considered reasonable to provide ETCS to operate at every stop signal, it is considered non-compliant with the Railway Safety Regulations 1999 (RSR99) if this service operates with TPWS. As the Paddington route already has ATP, and ETCS is ‘Plan A’ for Crossrail, it is apparent that existing standard TPWS would not comply with RSR99, not to mention the sensitivities in relation to the disasters at Ladbroke Grove and Southall.

Significant option analysis work has been undertaken for Network Rail to establish the way forward. Fitting

GW-ATP to Class 345 trains was discounted early on due to additional costs, and risk to timescales for entry into service.

Enhanced TPWS Following extensive review, evaluation and quantification of the levels of safety offered by Enhanced TPWS, it has been found to be commensurate with that of GW-ATP/TPWS for the proposed mix of services and rolling stock. The Enhanced TPWS project will add TSS loops at stop signals currently not fitted with TPWS (generally signals on plain line sections, thus mitigating the risk of a rear-end collision), and OSS

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Crossrail train protection.

54

Rail Engineer • January 2016 Romford Rail Operating Centre.

loops designed to stop a Class 345 train short of a conflict, generally within the overlap for the signal.

Additional OSS loops will also be provided on approaches to buffer stops so as to afford an increased level of speed monitoring at these locations. All other TPWS-protected trains operating over Enhanced TPWS will have a significant benefit from the increased TPWS provision. Trains that have GW-ATP will continue to be operated and protected with GW-ATP until they are upgraded to ETCS. Subsequent to consultation with the interested and affected parties, an application has been made to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for exemption to RSR99 for the interim period until ETCS is commissioned, for which a decision is awaited at the time of writing.

Signalling east Track remodelling works are being carried out at Pudding Mill Lane where the COS joins the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML), Ilford (depot location), Chadwell Heath (turn back siding), Brentwood (turn back crossover) and Shenfield.

At the latter a new bay Platform 6 is being built on the Down side. Currently, Down trains for Southend Victoria cross over from the Down main to gain Platform 5, thereby blocking the path of metro trains, and then take the GEML dive-under at the country end of the station. The new track layout will allow Southend trains to cross from the Down main into Platform 4 for the dive-under without conflicting with Crossrail trains using Platforms 5 and 6.

A relock exercise will see 12 SSIs replaced with higher capacity Alstom Smartlock interlockings, which will provide the additional interlocking capacity to support the Crossrail changes.

Transition between CBTC and conventional signalling with AWS/TPWS will, for the most part, be made whilst stationary in Stratford station. There are three overlay signals in each direction. The human factors are under close

scrutiny and, as drivers will be busy with station duties, the changeover will be automated, the driver only having to acknowledge the mode change and observe signal aspects before setting off along the GEML. The project team are keen to avoid a SPAD trap.

Route Control Centre (RCC) A new RCC is being created on the second floor of Network Rail’s Romford Rail Operating Centre (ROC). The signalling overview screen is along one wall, with CCTV monitoring along the opposite side. Other functions include SCADA, OHL and tunnel ventilation controls.

The MTR Crossrail train operator will have a presence.

The RCC signaller interface is Siemens VICOS, with the overview screen displaying the whole of the Crossrail route. However, the signaller can, of course, only signal trains on the COS. Signalling controls for the west and east sections are located at Thames Valley Signalling Centre and Liverpool Street IECC respectively.

The COS junctions are controlled by Westrace MkII interlockings and simple automatic route setting will be used. A rule-based suggestions screen will give the signaller options in the event of an incident. The signaller can change

minimum dwell times at stations and trip times which all go through the train regulation system to ensure even interval spacing of trains in the COS and right time presentation to Network Rail. This data is passed to the train and the ATO calculates optimum speed profile and maximum acceleration, and will coast as long as possible before braking.

At Abbey Wood there will be a simple interface with the Network Rail signalling system for the transfer of engineering trains.

RSSB (Rail Safety & Standards Board) has been engaged to prepare operating rules for the COS, which will need to reflect the special characteristics of the central section whilst maintaining consistency with relevant national rules where possible.

Siemens also holds the contract for communications networks including SCADA, CCTV, radio systems, and public address.

A backup control centre will be available in a separate building should anything happen to the Romford facility.

Integration testing The new trains are currently being manufactured at Derby. In the spring of 2016, the first trains off the production line will be taken to RIDC at Melton Mowbray (Network Rail’s Railway Innovation Development Centre - formerly the Old Dalby test track). Single train testing will be done to prove all the train systems including the transitions and wayside systems. Design work is complete for a Thameslink-style integration laboratory based in London to test all the software including the wayside signalling and GWML and GEML interfaces.

And finally, in late 2017, the section of route between Canary Wharf and Abbey Wood will be able to be used for extensive live testing of the CBTC systems with multiple trains.

Thanks to Siv Bhamra and Jonathan Osgood from Crossrail, and to the Network Rail Crossrail programme, for help in the preparation of this article.

BO

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

Crossrail monitoring delivering the three Rs

I

n 2018, Crossrail services are due to commence through central London. As most readers know, the £15 billion project will pass through 37 stations and run 118 km (73 miles) from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

The project’s C350 Pudding Mill Lane contract, won by Morgan Sindall, is worth in the region of £100 million and will link the new Crossrail tunnels to the Network Rail infrastructure in the London Borough of Newham. Work comprises the construction of a tunnel portal and a new, elevated Docklands Light Railway station at Pudding Mill Lane, plus associated structures to bring the subterranean railway into the above ground existing rail network. The project will also link new Crossrail tunnels to the existing Network Rail infrastructure.

Critical to the smooth running of the project is an awareness of how the cut and cover tunnel construction work is affecting adjacent rail lines, in this case a 480 metre stretch of Network Rail track and two sections of DLR track totalling another 380 metres. Twenty-four hour monitoring of the track’s condition is therefore imperative if any movement is to be efficiently detected and acted upon. A monitoring system had been established by Crossrail at the beginning of the project but was not delivering reliable, consistent readings, especially in wet weather conditions.

Responsible for surveying and both automated and manual monitoring on this contract is Morgan Sindall chief land surveyor Nick Giles. In 2014, having already successfully implemented an innovative 3D laser scanning solution on Crossrail’s Bridge 53 - a project with restricted access that ruled out an optical solution - Nick was presented with a new challenge, replacing the existing optical monitoring system on the Network Rail and DLR stretches of track (which now fell under his mandate) with a system that would restore the confidence of all parties reliant on its data.

Raising the bar Crossrail was clear in its requirements for a new monitoring system - it had to be robust, reliable and repeatable (the three Rs) if it was to provide total confidence for those depending on it. For Nick, that meant finding a new approach that not only rectified the issues of the old system but raised the bar even higher. Working with Morgan Sindall monitoring data manager Dave Gibbs, and monitoring surveyor Pawel Owsianka, Nick therefore assessed a number of possibilities before opting for a unique two-pronged approach that would provide a level of confidence that had been missing from the old method.

One of over 600 prisms.

Rail Engineer • January 2016

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S8 total station with the Olympic Stadium in the background.

SURVEYING

His solution was to have two systems working in tandem - an optical system for monitoring horizontal displacement comprising total stations and monitoring software, and a flat mesh bi-axial tilt sensor system for monitoring cant and twist consisting of several hundred Senceive high precision wireless tilt meters attached directly to the track. This approach would not only see the two systems providing constant backup checks for each other, but would also enable Morgan Sindall to reduce the number of vulnerable trackside optical instruments.

As part of his optical instrument research, Nick Giles contacted UK Trimble distributor Korec, which had supplied the Bridge 53 laser scanning solution for his previous Crossrail project. During these consultations, Chris Harris, Korec’s geospatial and deformation monitoring specialist, introduced Nick to Trimble’s 4D Control monitoring software, which provides support for the company’s most advanced total station platform, the S8.

Following the evaluation of several manufacturer’s optical systems, Nick selected the Korec - supplied solution of ten S8 Trimble Vision robotic total stations, all managed in real time using 4D Control monitoring software.

The S8s provided Nick with the established technology and reliability that he sought along with sub-mm accuracy and the extra benefits of Trimble’s Magdrive technology, designed to reduce friction and ultimately wear and tear, and a Vision on-board camera for remotely observing anything that might compromise the instrument’s performance such as an obstructed view to a prism.

Ten S8 total stations were subsequently positioned at regular intervals along each section of the Network Rail and DLR track and prisms were fixed to the rails every three metres. This allowed each total station a line-of-sight to up to 60 of the evenly spaced rail mounted prisms.

Flexibility and analysis For Nick, the real strengths of selecting a Trimble system lay with the 4D Control monitoring software, which offered his team a high level of customisation and flexibility along with remote management of all measurement cycles and communications.

The system delivers twenty-four hour coverage with a pre-programmed hourly cycle that first sees the S8s take readings from up to four reference targets for each setup before moving on to the rail-based prisms. This data is then collected by the 4D Control software, which computes and records the results.

This 4D Control provides the rigorous analysis of this data that Nick Giles and Pawel Owsianka

require. The results arrive quickly and easily and, because the raw information is stored in an SQL database, it is easy for Pawel to extract any data he needs to create visual results such as the maps, charts and graphs needed for meetings and client reports.

For Pawel, who looks after data analysis and remote access to the instruments, the customisable nature of the software has been invaluable, allowing him to create the specific software routines he requires for both analysis of the data and report generation.

A drawback to the previous system had been its sounding of multiple alarms which alerted a large number of stakeholders, but without the ‘filter’ of the expert knowledge required Senceive tilt meters monitor cant and twist.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

SURVEYING

Turning data into information

Pawel Owsianka checks one of the Trimble S8s.

Collaboration - Chris Harris of Korec (left) worked closely with Morgan Sindall's Nick Giles.

to interpret them. This had caused frequent delays to works with action being taken when none was necessary.

With 4D Control, Pawel can customise the alarm triggers to provide specific information including tolerances for displacement at any point with pre-programmed trips at 8mm, 15mm and 20mm. This allows him to observe trends rather than ad hoc measurements. Other sets of alarms alert him to factors such as instrument maintenance, damage to an instrument or prism or if the line of sight to a prism has been obstructed.

A major advantage to the system is that Pawel can use it to manage who receives the alarms, allowing the Morgan Sindall monitoring team to establish a new level of security. If an alarm is triggered, an email alert is sent to just three selected members of the Morgan Sindall monitoring team rather than multiple shareholders as the old system had done. One of these three team members can then immediately log onto the system, even from home, and analyse the data before deciding if action is necessary and further parties need to be alerted.

Typically, an initial alarm is triggered if a prism records a movement of 8mm. This information is compared to the findings from the Senceive tilt sensor system and the prism is then ‘watched’ over the next three monitoring cycles, a period of 3 hours, to detect any changes.

Nick reported that a perfect example of the system working exactly as required occurred recently. An alarm had triggered at 8mm, alerting the three selected members of the Morgan Sindall team who then closely monitored the affected prism through its subsequent cycles. No further movement was detected over the next three months. Network Rail was aware of the 8mm alarm from the outset through the regular update meetings but, because no action was necessary, there was no distraction to other parties because of Morgan Sindall’s filtering process. Consequently, when a second alarm was triggered at 15mm, the monitoring team immediately alerted Network Rail, and all stakeholders were informed with full confidence that the alarm was genuine. The track was realigned in less than 12 hours.

Morgan Sindall produces a daily monitoring report for Crossrail. This textual report details any recorded movement, with a graph if an alarm has been triggered, and is a part of the shift review group made up of Crossrail, DLR and Network Rail which meets every morning. A report generated by the Trimble 4D Control software is also used at a weekly review panel meeting. Additionally, all the data, in Crossrail’s preferred format, is uploaded onto UCIMS, the underground construction information management system developed to monitor construction data for Crossrail.

Nick was quick to stress that the customised nature of the reports that Pawel has been able to generate with Trimble 4D Control has enabled Morgan Sindall to quickly and efficiently analyse and observe trends and present its findings in the preferred formats of its stakeholders. Pawel agreed and emphasised that the flexibility of this software is key to the smooth running of the optical system. He can set up infinite formulae to provide customised analysis which is especially useful for examining trends. For example, if settlement on a prism is detected, he can immediately set up a graph that will enable him to compare its behaviour with the five other prisms in closest proximity to provide a wider picture. For Pawel, the software’s flexibility means that it is a work in progress and, as the project progresses, so does the sophistication of the information he can provide.

With a project target end date of 2016, Nick reported that the system is going from strength to strength as Pawel continues to develop and improve the routines on the Trimble 4D Control software. Nick concluded: “Managing the monitoring on this project in-house has brought us innumerable benefits, not least satisfied clients and stakeholders.

“Thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of the monitoring team, combined with the reliability of the Trimble hardware and software, we have been able to restore the confidence of those reliant on the information we supply. This has allowed Network Rail and DLR to avoid any unnecessary possessions and also means that, should a significant movement in the track occur, there is no ambiguity and consequently, in the case of a genuine alert, trains can be stopped immediately.

“Both Network Rail and DLR have reported back that the system has restored their confidence in the monitoring data presented and met their 3R requirements for a robust, reliable and repeatable system. KOREC has been a good partner, providing both consultation and support, and the end result is a system that enables fast and informed decision making, which benefits all involved.”

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

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CSAMS L

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

Designed to transform Civils Asset Management

et’s start with a little test… I suggest that any railway engineer worth their salt should be able to write at least ten different railway acronyms without hesitation, each acronym representing a different system for recording the condition and/or whereabouts of a piece of railway infrastructure.

If you passed the test please read on…

Earlier this year I wrote an article about Network Rail’s determination to create an effective data-driven railway.

In order to achieve this, Network Rail is developing a £325 million transformation programme known as ORBIS (Offering Better Information Services) that is bringing a whole host of different infrastructure data systems together to form an asset intelligence programme designed to transform the way information is captured, stored and then used. The ORBIS programme is now well advanced, with an anticipated completion date of 2018.

Recognising that front line staff are key to the success of this initiative, 200 workshops, which also included external stakeholders, were held throughout the country.

More than 13,000 tablets and smart phones were issued to staff and Wi-Fi was installed in 50 depots. There was no constraint put on the use of this equipment and everyone involved was encouraged to get to know and use it and, most importantly, to think of and suggest ideas for work related Apps that would help them and others to do their job more safely and more efficiently.

See Rail Engineer on iPad in the Apps store.

Civils assets One of the key elements of this transformation programme is the Civils Strategic Asset Management Solution (CSAMS) initiative which is designed to focus on the many civils assets for which Network Rail is responsible. There are many - more than: »» 28,000 bridges »» 600 tunnels »» 20,000 retaining walls »» 22,000 culverts »» 1,400 footbridges (excluding stations) »» 200 miles of coastal defences »» 10,000 miles of embankments In addition to the above list is a myriad of ancillary assets including signal posts, electrification structures and, surprisingly, an avalanche shelter!

Rail Engineer • January 2016

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The majority of these structures are more than 100 years old and some will date back to the mid and early nineteenth century. When they were built, they were not designed to last forever. They were also not designed for the current passenger and freight loading and it was probably assumed that they would be maintained regularly throughout their lives.

Fortunately, many of the structures were over-designed with latitude to carry significant levels of additional loading. However, history suggests that the standards of maintenance over the years have been quite variable.

You only need to research the records held by RAIB (Rail Accident Investigation Branch) to support this view. For example, in 2009 an underbridge at Stewarton collapsed whilst a freight train hauling ten wagons carrying dangerous goods was crossing it. The train was derailed and, as well as a significant amount of damage to track and the surrounding area, fuel seeped into the water courses creating a significant environmental problem.

Why did this happen? It was because the centre main girder was covered in ballast and had been for many years. As a consequence, it was not inspected, became heavily corroded and eventually collapsed.

Another example, also in 2009, was at an underbridge crossing the River Crane. A blockage upstream caused the water to flow more rapidly. The foundations of the bridge are shallow, but this important detail was not known. The increased flow of water created additional scour, undermining the shallow foundations and causing the bridge archway to hinge and partially collapse.

Moving forward to 2014, a corroded signal post collapsed on the Berks and Hants Line; a cover plate moved on an underbridge outside Canon Street Station causing ballast loss; loose masonry was found in the crown of the arch in Watford Fast Line Tunnel during inspection; telecom masts developed a lean at Harpenden - just these few incidents created more than 30,000 minutes of delays.

Improving asset decision-making You do not need to get out a calculator to realise that an initiative that will dramatically reduce this risk will be worth pursuing, and that is the aim of CSAMS. The ‘Solution’ is being designed to deliver a consistent way of maintaining the safety and integrity of civils assets.

CSAMS consolidates the many systems that are currently used for the management of civils assets and supporting an enhanced planning,

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Significant asset failure

delivery and assurance capability for the future. New tools are being developed to enhance the risk management approach enabling the system to provide the engineer with policy-based guidance on when to intervene rather than how.

The intention is to provide the engineer with evidence-based information using data collected over 10 years. This information is fed into a computer model designed to determine degradation of the asset, thus enabling the engineer to determine a maintenance policy best aligned to the business options, moving from a ‘Find and Fix’ approach to a ‘Predict and Prevent’ methodology. A far more sophisticated approach than the concept of ‘Maintenance Holidays’ that some of you might remember!

Capturing data Ellipse 8 is the database that collects essential civils information such as works orders, defect schedules, incident alerts, examination reports, assessment reports, photographs and diagrams for civil structures and many other infrastructure components. CSAMS will use Ellipse 8, which will become the master source for civils data for Network Rail. Also, the data capture for examinations will use the Mobile Works Management (MWM) platform within the My Works App, enabling Examiners to capture data in a more structured manner and thus enhancing the accuracy and consistency of the information being held in Ellipse.

COLLIN CARR

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

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Inside the Severn tunnel.

As part of the ORBIS initiative, CSAMS is gathering its own momentum. It has its own newsletter as well as lead managers for each of seven work streams including Data, System, Business, Solution, Testing, Ellipse, Fieldreach and, of course, Delivery. The aim is to have a robust system ready by the middle of 2016, but the emphasis is clearly on sound preparation and getting it right, knowing that the rewards are substantial.

The immediate beneficiaries will be those involved in the process - the route asset management teams in each route and the asset engineers both within Network Rail and those contracted to supply a structural examination service such as Amey. Then there will be significant benefits to those who are dealing with the safe running of the railway on a daily basis, the engineering teams and technicians and those responsible for their safety.

As more sophisticated technology is imported into everyday working within Network Rail, one risk that they will be taking into consideration is the possibility of a cyber-attack. Fortunately, Network Rail does have a head of cyber security who is kept up to date on all aspects of the ORBIS project.

Potential challenges ahead

Ulvaston Viaduct, Cumbria.

Photo ©Carl Hodge

However, there is still some way to go. Moving existing data into new systems can prove to be a lot more challenging than first considered. The existing systems used for monitoring the condition of civils data will have to be maintained and available to ensure that the operational railway remains safe and efficient. Workshops must continue throughout this transition period to ensure that staff understand what is happening, what is proposed and also to enable the staff to test the logic and robustness of the proposals. After all, they will be the end users.

As already stated, the overarching initiative - ORBIS - is an exciting and challenging undertaking. ORBIS can best be described as an ‘asset intelligence programme’, a transformation programme designed to improve the way Network Rail acquires its asset information, how this

information is captured and stored and, most importantly, how it is then used. Work started in 2011 with an anticipated completion date of 2018.

CSAMS is a very important element of ORBIS with the potential to move the decision-making process on asset maintenance into the twenty-first century, allowing qualified engineers to make decisions based on fact, as befitting both their profession and their professional status.

One stop shop ORBIS, together with CSAMS, will provide a single source for civils asset information. Coupled with this is a determination by the team involved to ensure that the information is accessible, that it is clear and in one place and, preferably, contained in a screen shot. This increase in visibility will enable engineers to consider the information without distraction and the format will be such that the assessment of risk will be clearly displayed and based on the evidence-based risk modelling referred to earlier.

Access to the right information will enable engineers to focus their attention on the right asset at the right time, enabling them to make decisions, plan work and allocate resources in an effective and strategic manner. A much better approach than trouble shooting after the freight train has left the tracks and a lot cheaper!

So, the rewards are significant. For many railway maintenance engineers it will be a dream come true.

There will certainly be a significant amount of work involved in progressing from where we are now to achieving these objectives, but it is getting closer and the nettle is being well and truly grasped, Reader, your list of acronyms will also have expanded a little more.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

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SIMON HATCH

M

Bringing BIM to Euston

uch has been written about BIM (Building Information Modelling) in recent issues of Rail Engineer.

Originally used in the construction of buildings, which are vertical in nature, it is now being converted and adapted for use on the ‘linear asset’ that is the railway.

However, the railway has buildings too. So using BIM in a station environment is an obvious place to start.

One of the stations which is currently occupying the planners’ minds is Euston, London’s sixth busiest railway station. With such a heavily utilised station, it is easy to see why asset managers need to know all they can about the existing building.

Understanding the station Bridgeway Consulting is working in collaboration with Network Rail to gain an understanding of its information requirements, helping the client to understand key BIM related protocols such as PAS1192-2.

PAS1192-2: 2013 simply sets out protocols for formulising and structuring digital data prior to occupation. It’s not a hugely challenging document to understand when the reader takes away a lot of the acronyms. However, it is quite lengthy and can introduce roles and administrative layers for information management which may appear to be unfamiliar.

Within many infrastructure and construction projects, determining a client’s information requirements gives the opportunity to identify and eradicate issues that may arise. This will ultimately help in formulating its Employers Informational requirements, which will inevitably assist the supply chain to respond via BIM execution plans.

After PAS1192-2 comes the associated PAS1192-3. This is a “specification for information management for the operational phase of assets using Building Information Modelling” or,

in infrastructure’s case, digital engineering. The structured information previously produced on the project will aid the operational use of the assets in question. Once again, identification and collaboration of the asset team receiving this information is crucial to understanding how the information is to be delivered and at what stages of the project.

Enabling works Recently, Bridgeway was appointed to act as principal contractor for the enabling works being carried out at Euston. This involves overseeing various works and decommissioning, utilising various surveys and identification of assets. To this end, a co-ordinated approach has been adopted and the investigation into the utilisation of BIM principles has been undertaken.

In order to help structural assessments take place, an as-built BIM model is currently being

produced from various survey formats, but predominantly laser scans. Modelling of all main structural elements has proved paramount; the optioneering is taking place to potentially widen the station.

Ground investigation data can also be encompassed and simulated in the model from the use of the industry standard .AGS data format, giving the recipient a greater understanding of what lies beneath the asset as well as above it.

It is envisaged that various utility surveys are to be carried out and incorporated into the model giving a greater understanding of the asset and allowing designers to make accurate more informed decisions regarding future design proposals.

Simon Hatch is BIM engineering data manager at Bridgeway Consulting.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

DAVID SHIRRES

Growth and transformation Deltic locomotives at Finsbury Park.

V

iews tend to be polarised on rail privatisation. Those who consider it a failure cite high fares, increased costs and overcrowded trains. Others feel it is a great improvement over an inefficient British Rail as it has attracted more passengers and provided increased investment. As in all debates, there is some truth on both sides.

This much was evident from an address given by this year’s Chair of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division, Chris Kinchin-Smith, which was delivered at the Division’s seven centres and the Institution’s London headquarters. Entitled ‘Growth and Transformation’, it described significant improvements he had witnessed in his career and explained why long-term predictions show a continuing increase in passengers for which further transformations will be required.

British Rail transformations

Prototype High Speed Train.

In 1960, Finsbury Park became Britain’s first purposebuilt diesel locomotive depot. It maintained eight of the 22 Deltic diesel locomotives that replaced 55 Pacific

steam locomotives. As the depot’s senior technical officer, Chris learned many excellent practices from the depot’s management and how the Eastern Region continually increased line speeds to take full advantage of the Deltics’ ability to cruise at 100 mph for mile after mile.

In the late 70s, the East Coast service was further transformed by the arrival of High Speed Trains (HSTs). The development of the iconic HST, the world’s fastest diesel train, was probably British Rail’s best ever investment. It cost £800,000 (£11 million in today’s money) to produce the prototype, which took less than two years to build and was delivered in 1972. Next year, the IMechE’s Railway Division is to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the HST’s introduction to service, which took place on 4 October 1976.

Rail Engineer • January 2016 The introduction of HSTs on the East Coast route saw depots built at Bounds Green, Heaton and Craigentinny.

However, the main base at Leeds Neville Hill was a DMU and coaching stock depot with some buildings dating from the steam era on which just £20 million at today’s prices was to be invested. Chris, then the depot’s traction and rolling stock engineer, and subsequently depot engineer, described the culture change programme required, as previously it had not been a “world beating depot”. This included a huge investment in training and the appointment of shift production managers for a 24/7 management presence. A unified depot management was also introduced to make shunters and carriage cleaners part of the depot maintenance team.

In 1982, BR introduced sector management to give bottom line accountability. Primacy was given to five business sectors (Inter City, Regional Railways, Network South East (NSE), Freight and Parcels). Chris was then area fleet manager, Thames & Chiltern and later, NSE route manager, Solent and Wessex. In both roles, he experienced a changed management ethos that emphasised both growing revenue and reducing costs. Investment to grow the business included new trains on the Thames and Chiltern routes and the Bournemouth-Weymouth electrification, one of 17 electrification schemes implemented by NSE.

67

The final transformation example mentioned was the conversion of some of London’s forgotten railways into a full orbital route around the capital, with new trains and enhanced infrastructure. London Overground’s provision of frequent trains on this route, operating for long hours at staffed stations with no graffiti, is an impressive achievement. Transport for London has created a worldclass service that would have been undreamt of twenty years ago.

Privatised transformations Although the early years of the privatised railway were a difficult time for the industry, there were successes. As a consultant, Chris worked for Christopher Garnett, chief executive of the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), who he regarded as a visionary leader that transformed the company through customer commitment and stakeholder management. He achieved this without new rolling stock and despite the accidents at Hatfield and Great Heck.

A transformation that did require new stock was the way that the ‘red team’, Virgin Trains, had embraced the West Coast modernisation to make best use of the class 390 Pendolino electric high-speed trains. Chris had seen this whilst at the Strategic Rail Authority and noted that a significant part of the successful introduction of these trains was transforming the depots that previously had a traditional outlook. This required a lot of work to change culture and introduce lean processes.

After British Rail proposed closing Marylebone station in 1984, it was saved from closure by Chris Green, director of Network South East. Green then also oversaw an investment programme for the Chiltern route that included new trains and signalling. In 1996, the Chiltern Railways franchise was awarded to a management buyout led by Adrian Shooter, who ran the route from 1993 to his retirement in 2011. During this time, he achieved his vision of rebuilding the Chilterns route, including its redoubling between Princess Risborough and Banbury.

October saw the latest phase of this transformation, a new service to Oxford via a new chord at Bicester.

British Rail’s London Tilbury and Southend (LTS) was known as the misery line. Now, as c2c, it is the UK’s most punctual train operating company (TOC) following the delivery of Bombardier’s Electrostar trains. c2c’s confidence in its performance is such that it has an app that offers passengers instant compensation if their trains are more than two minutes late.

Perception is reality In his presentation, Chris readily acknowledged that his examples of transformation are, to an extent, anecdotal, and he recognised the need to quantify such successes.

For this, he proposed a measure of customer satisfaction, as passengers’ perceptions are the reality. There are a number of such surveys. However, Transport Focus is the one with the largest sample size and longest track record having published national rail passenger surveys twice a year since 1999. Plotting the overall satisfaction indices on graphs for each type of TOC over this period reveals some interesting results.

Apart from a dip at the time of the Hatfield crash, satisfaction for long distance TOCs was between 80 and 90 per cent over this time. East Coast started and finished as the highest scoring TOC, although, for four years up to 2013, Virgin Trains had scored just over 90.

Of the regional TOCs, Merseyrail was consistently the highest scoring, despite its 30-year-old trains. ScotRail and Arriva Trains Wales had scores in the high eighties, whilst Northern Rail had been below eighty for the past few years, perhaps because this franchise was let with minimum subsidy.

Graphs for the London & South East (L&SE) TOCs confirm the success of the Chiltern, London Overground and c2c transformations with these three TOCs scoring around the 90 mark for the past few years. At its lowest, c2c had scored just over 50 in 2001 and, when it first operated in 2007, London Overground’s score was in the mid 60s.

Perhaps not surprisingly, at between 70 and 80 per cent, the larger L&SE TOCs have the lowest passenger satisfaction, although this is an improvement on the 60

Passenger Satisfaction Chart.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

to 70 figure of ten years ago. The current low figure is no doubt a reflection on over-crowding and deteriorating punctuality, plus the disruption being experienced during infrastructure works for the Thameslink project.

The national rail passenger survey shows what passengers want. The biggest impact on overall satisfaction is punctuality, cleanliness and comfort. As far as dissatisfaction is concerned, a poor response to delays is by far the most significant factor. To achieve a high passenger satisfaction score requires trust. This demands emotional engagement, staff excellence and making passengers feel valued or in control, for which the c2c automatic refund app is a good example.

Technology has also made rail travel more attractive.

The Internet offers easy advance purchase and fare visibility as well as enabling better use of time on trains.

Other improvements include better revenue protection and improved car parks. Some of these factors are not easy to model.

It seems certain that a significant part of this growth is due to privatisation. This is the conclusion of economists Oxera who, in a report for the Rail Delivery Group, concluded that changes to the structure of the industry have accounted for between 25 and 75 per cent of the increased traffic. It is, however, impossible to say how the industry might have developed in the absence of privatisation.

Yet more growth?

Passenger growth chart.

Unpredicted unprecedented growth Whatever Britain’s rail passengers may think about their TOCs, they have been travelling in ever-increasing numbers since British Rail was abolished in 1994. At that time, UK rail passenger miles were the same as in 1950 when the rail network was about twice its current size.

Between 1950 and 1994, passenger traffic fluctuated in accordance with economic cycles and other factors. Yet, after privatisation, traffic has steadily risen with barely a blip from the 2008 recession. Now passenger numbers are twice that of 1994.

This demand has risen faster than predicted by any transport models. Moreover, it is far greater than that experienced by other Western European countries - for example, it is more than twice the growth experienced by France and Germany.

So what’s different about the UK? Why wasn’t this growth predicted and what’s wrong with traffic forecasting models? Answers to these questions are needed to understand whether this growth is to continue.

Factors driving the current growth include higher-thanforecast population growth, the boom in the housing market forcing longer-distance commuting, increases in city-centre service jobs and a significant drop in car mileage which has fallen due to rises in insurance and other running costs, changes to company car taxation, increasing congestion and reduced city-centre parking places. In fact, men in their 20s are now driving much less and an increasing number do not drive at all.

Understanding whether this growth is to continue is essential when planning the rail network’s long-term capability. For this reason, the industry has developed a Long Term Planning Process (LTPP) with a 30-year horizon. The LTPP involves all parties concerned and considers four scenarios: ‘prospering in global stability’, ‘prospering in isolation’, ‘struggling in isolation’ and ‘struggling in global turmoil’.

Initial conclusions are that it is unlikely that the factors favouring rail will change in the short-term, so it is concluded that growth will continue. Whilst growth could vary significantly over 30 years, the required increase in railway infrastructure capacity has a very long lead-time.

Hence, the industry’s strategic planning is based on the high end of the demand forecast, whilst other scenarios are used for sensitivity testing.

The LTPP outputs are available on Network Rail’s website. These include four market studies and six of the twelve planned route studies. One of these, the Wessex route study covers some of the UK’s busiest routes and it predicts a 40 per cent increase in growth on both main line and suburban services to Waterloo by 2043. Even without growth, much additional capacity is needed on the Wessex main lines as standing is now commonplace for peak journeys of up to on one-hour’s duration.

To provide the required increase in capacity, various options are considered. The principal infrastructure options include a fifth track from Surbiton to Clapham Junction, a second Crossrail from South West to North East London, and deployment of the proposed (but untried) Level 3 of the European Train Control System.

Clearly providing the required capacity has huge infrastructure implications.

Trains, electrification and skills Network Rail’s LTPP is complemented by the rail industry’s long-term passenger rolling stock strategy (RSS) (issue 115, May 2014) for which Chris is the project director. This uses the same planning assumptions as the LTPP and considers seven generic fleet types (short, medium and long distance electric and diesel, plus very high speed electric). Its low, medium and high predictions for the number of rail passenger vehicles in 2043 are respectively around 19,000, 22,000 and 25,000. This compares with the current 12,775 vehicles shown in the last edition of the RSS.

Rail Engineer • January 2016 Possible electrification scenarios are considered to derive low, medium and high predictions of respectively 62, 71 and 77 per cent for total track miles electrified by 2034. This compares with the current figure of 41 per cent. Whatever the electrification scenario, the last edition of the RSS predicted that, by 2029, self-powered vehicles would be less than 10 per cent of the total.

However, these scenarios are being updated following the review of Network Rail’s enhancements programme

by Sir Peter Hendy and will be incorporated in the next edition of the RSS, due to be published in March.

The RSS gives manufacturers and the supply chain the confidence to develop their production capacity. It also helps create a consensus between Network Rail, TOCs, ROSCOs (rolling stock leasing companies) and Government to match infrastructure enhancement and rolling stock provision as well as highlighting opportunities for standardisation and improving value for money.

To support a significantly increased fleet size, the RSS considers future requirements for depots and berthing.

It stresses the need to ‘future proof’ depots by passive provision for longer trains and also highlights the forecast shortage of engineering skills. This is a particular problem for traction and rolling stock on which 14,500 engineering and technical staff are currently employed. According to research by the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR), a 57 per cent increase in such staff will be required over the next ten years as 4,900 are due to retire while a further 3,300 will be required for the extra vehicles.

To address this issue, the Department for Transport, Rail Supply Group and NSAR are developing a national transport skills strategy, to be published in January.

As part of this, the Government has recently outlined plans to create more than 30,000 apprenticeships in the transport industries by 2020.

Future transformation There is a strong consensus that rail passenger growth will continue into the foreseeable future. To meet this demand, significant infrastructure investment and a large increase in rolling stock is required. If the industry is to manage this additional capacity in a cost-effective manner, an organisational transformation will also be necessary.

As has been seen, transformations take around ten years or longer, require visionary leadership and a true partnership between infrastructure and train operators. This highlights the need

for greater devolution from Network Rail such as deep alliances and joint ventures. In Chris’s view, the extent of devolution so far has been fairly shallow.

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Future fleet size.

Crossrail train illustration.

Today, UK rail has political support. Its contribution to the economy is recognised, as is the severe impact of the rail network failing to meet future demand. Forty years ago, such support could not have been imagined. In contrast, at this time France had just made a start on its high-speed rail network and had rolled out its prototype Train à Grande Vitesse. Work had also just started on Paris’s Crossrail, the Réseau Express Régional.

Projects such as HS2 and Crossrail 2 offer the required step-change in capacity and the opportunity to catch up.

The challenge for the rail industry is to continue to transform itself in order to deliver this extra capacity in a cost effective manner.

Hitachi high-speed train illustration.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

Autumnal Italy PHOTO: TRENITALIA

S

o, what can you see from a high spee­d (very high speed) train in Italy in late October? It really depends on the weather doesn’t it. Think maybe of a late heat haze from vehicles on a parallel motorway and savour the smugness as you flash past. Or think of crisp autumn sunshine glinting off pantile roofs and sun-baked vineyards. Think of blue mountains in the background hardly moving against a silvery blue sky.

Think all you like pal! If it’s foggy, you won’t see a thing!

And fog – or at least heavy mist - shrouded the line between Rome and Milan on a press trip put on especially for the Rail Engineer magazine and, it has to be said, quite a few others from the rest of Europe.

seating arrangements, how a carriage can be converted to a variety of ‘classes’ – although ‘class’ doesn’t seem to be the favoured word these days. It’s service level.

We can feel how it rides. In short, it is very smooth and quiet. The three hour journey was a pleasant experience.

Sleek and silent

Interoperable

Bombardier’s press team had very generously invited us to sample the V300 Zefiro train – in their words, the world’s latest very high speed train. It’s an impressive machine with a superbly dominant nose, the end-throw of which would finish off plenty of lineside furniture in the UK. It is sleek and silent. It seemed to have a cavernous capacity for people and, above all, luggage.

European travellers don’t do luggage by halves. There were families with several trolleys, each of which was laden above head height. And yet it all vanished into the carriages with much of it landing up in the overhead luggage racks – remember them?

It must be said, of course, that much of the scope for swallowing up people and luggage is down to a structure gauge far more generous than we are used to.

Having had the temptation of just sitting back and staring at the Italian countryside effectively removed by the mist, there was time to look at the detail of this train.

Much of it, of course, is hidden out of sight. We could see the obvious flexibility options when it comes down to

But what is out of sight, apart from the scenery? For a start, the Zefiro achieves complete interoperability. It is compatible with different power supplies, signalling and train control systems. This allows cross-border operation on all AC and DC-powered lines.

In September 2010, the Italian railway operator Trenitalia ordered fifty V300 Zefiro trainsets (400 carriages). The V300 Zefiro is the first train in Europe based on the Zefiro high speed train platform. This is used already in China as the Zefiro 250.

Developed jointly with a strategic partner, the V300 Zefiro meets all the latest TSI (Technical Specifications for Interoperability) requirements of most European countries.

Reaching a commercial speed of up to 360 kilometres per hour (224 mph), the V300 Zefiro is also one of Europe’s fastest trains. It comes in eight-car and 16-car configurations. The eight-car train seats up to 600 passengers and has a bistro or restaurant. The 16-car train seats up to 1,200 passengers and includes dining facilities.

Rail Engineer • January 2016

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Four classes, from Standard to Executive.

GRAHAME TAYLOR

Testing Behind all the smoothness lies a considerable amount of technical testing. But how can a train be tested when there are no test tracks long enough to cater for trains travelling at sustained high speed?

It was explained to us that once the basic behaviour of, say, bogies is understood, it is possible to both model their performance and to test them on specialist testing rigs. The industry is mature enough to have a sound understanding of components up to threshold speeds and can confidently predict the effect of a slight increase. These days, with careful modelling, there are few surprises. It’s only when quantum leaps are attempted that unexpected consequences can happen.

More haste…

Milan, and especially Milan airport, has a reputation for being foggy.

And so, with this in mind, many of the press party switched from the comfort of their (very) high speed train to the more sedate trundle of the suburban train heading off to the airport. This involved a confused wander around the nearby ticket machines and a retracing of steps to the departure platforms.

It’s not just fog that concealed the Italian countryside, it’s the haste of journalists that concealed the architectural splendour of Milan Station. This may not be to everyone’s taste given its pedigree, but it would have been worth the odd few minutes to linger before rushing homeward. But speed is always of the essence.

To find out more about our work at Blackfriars visit railsignage.com

PHOTO: GRAHAME TAYLOR

View from the cab in the mist.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

ETCS Live in London!

ETCS test train at St Pancras.

Onboard ETCS installation including GSM-R.

A

lmost every issue of Rail Engineer recently seems to have included an article on ERTMS, or ETCS, or a combination of the two. As a recap, for those readers who have been out to lunch for the last couple of years, ETCS is the European Train Control System - a signalling system designed as a pan European system for lineside signalling. The control system knows where the train is by detecting ‘balises’ mounted in the four foot, calculates safe zones both in front and behind it, and instructs the driver through a display in his cab. If safety is threatened, it will even intervene and bring the train to a stand.

ERTMS - the European Railway Traffic Management System - is basically the ETCS described above with all communication being

conducted via GSM-R radio. It isn’t actually a traffic management system as yet but the intention is to include this third element at some stage. The GSM-R radio is used to communicate between the signaller and train, thus individually instructing each train driver with a movement authority. It is therefore the best way to keep train headways to a minimum in absolute safety, and correspondingly to get the maximum capacity out of any line.

There are several ‘levels’ of this technology. Level 1 is a basic introductory system which retains lineside signals. Level 2 introduces the radio-control for continuous communication and can permit the removal of lineside signals. Level 3, which is not yet in widespread use, or even properly defined, does not require track circuits as train position information is entirely radio based using balises as points of reference.

Don’t forget CBTC

If this all sounds a little complicated, don’t worry - it is. To further confuse matters, here is another signalling system known as CBTC Communications-based Train Control aimed primarily at the Metro market.

This is also a railway signalling system without lineside signals and can be either track loop or radio based. It is not an international standard and each signalling manufacturer can design its own version, incompatible with any other.

CBTC systems may be more advanced - manufacturers can develop their technology as they wish - but they tend to be used on individual lines of metro systems where there is no crossover with another railway.

Thameslink, the railway between Bedford and Brighton, will, when it is fully operational in 2018, have 24 trains per hour running through its central core. This means dwell times at stations of only 45 seconds. To obtain that level of service, ETCS Level 2 will be employed, supplied by Siemens.

Part of the contract is to superimpose automatic train operation onto this.

Crossrail, London’s new West to East railway which will be fully operational in 2019, will also have

Rail Engineer • January 2016

24 trains an hour through its core stations. A slightly different solution has been adopted here. Siemenssupplied CBTC signalling will be employed through the core tunnels, switching to older legacy signalling (AWS and TPWS) as they emerge eastwards and westwards to Shenfield and Heathrow / Reading. In time these sections will be equipped with ETCS Level 2.

Time to test Up to now, all of the attention has focussed on tunnelling and railway construction but, particularly on Thameslink, it is now time to test some of the theories and make sure that the signalling systems will operate as they are planned to do.

So equipment to allow ETCS operation has been installed on the Thameslink route between Elephant and Castle and Kentish Town. A Class 313 test train, previously employed at the ETCS test facility on the Hertford loop, has run through central London completely under the control of the European Train Control System (ETCS) over two weekends of testing. This is

the first time a train on the national rail network has run under the cab signalling system in the capital.

Under the control of the Rail Operating Centre (ROC) at Three Bridges, a crucial aspect of the testing was the transition between traditional signalling, and its associated warning systems, and the ETCS-controlled central area. In 2018, the new Siemens Class 700s will not only transition between signalling systems but also between manual and automatic train control.

Paul Bates, Network Rail’s project director, said: “These test runs were an important step for the Thameslink Programme and the culmination of six years of work at our test facilities in Hitchin and in our lab at Southwark.

It was a credit to everyone who has worked on this project that the equipment worked first time, even on the technically-demanding switchover from traditional signalling to ETCS at Elephant and Castle.”

The next step will be the spring visit of a Class 700 train to the test track and more intensive testing with the 313. Then, in late summer, the Class 700 will begin testing its ETCS equipment between Blackfriars and St Pancras International.

Keith Wallace, programme director for train operator GTR, was very pleased. He said: “This is a significant milestone for the programme and will ultimately lead to a 24 trains per hour service which our Class 700 fleet will deliver in 2018.“

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

MARC JOHNSON

Sheffield tram-train

Making square pegs fit

S

quare pegs in round holes: they don’t fit - at least not without a large hammer. The same principle works for the integration of light and heavy rail systems. Tramways are designed in isolation, they’re not intended to interact with trains or other operators.

On 10 December, Sheffield Supertram unveiled its first new tram-train. Creeping out of the main shed at Sheffield’s Nunnery Depot, it is the first of seven which are being built in Spain

by Vossloh, which is now owned by Swiss manufacturer Stadler, as part of a joint two-year pilot tram-train programme being delivered by the Department for Transport (DfT), Stagecoach Supertram, Network Rail, Northern Rail and the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE).

The introduction of tram-trains will allow Supertram services to travel on the national rail network. Passengers will be able to board one of the new vehicles at Sheffield Cathedral and travel directly to Parkgate Retail Centre in Rotherham, via Meadowhall South and Rotherham Central station, in about 25 minutes.

It is the first tram-train to be built for the UK, but the project is drawing on the experience of tram-train systems in Europe, specifically Karlsruhe. The Karlsruhe Model is often cited as the first tram-train system in Europe and has been the basis of other projects around the continent. The German city has also recently begun operating a new fleet of Vossloh Citylink tram-trains similar to those being trialled in Sheffield.

Although it will be the first tram-train vehicle to operate in the UK, the tram-train concept isn’t new to Britain. Manchester Metrolink trams run on what were the Bury-Victoria and AltrinchamPiccadilly lines connected by an on-street section of tramway through the city centre. As a result, the current Bombardier M5000 fleet have specially designed wheel profiles.

Working with the University of Huddersfield, which was also involved in Manchester Metrolink, Sheffield’s project team has developed a wheel that fits the rail head profiles of both systems, reducing wear rates and mitigating against the risk of derailment, specifically around switches and crossings. As a non-standard profile, permission had to be sought from the RSSB for the new wheelset design before it could be used during the testing and commissioning process.

Automatic Power Control What really makes a tram-train is its ability to adapt to different electrification and signalling systems. Sheffield’s Class 399 vehicles are dualmode, allowing them to operate under the 750V DC catenary on the Supertram network and the national network’s standard 25kV AC OLE. The route to Rotherham will be electrified at 750V DC - a project due to be completed by the end of 2016 - but a dual-mode vehicle was seen as essential given plans to electrify the Midland Mainline to Sheffield by 2023.

The switching process is automated. An Automatic Power Control (APC) system, which uses magnets embedded in the ground outside

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PHOTO: VOSSLOH

Rail Engineer • January 2016

of the rail, separates the two power supplies with a neutral section of track. As the vehicle travels over the first magnet it triggers the circuit breakers to open. The tram-train then coasts through the neutral section before detecting the new voltage and closing the circuit breakers. Although it is an automated process, there is a manual override which would allow the driver to close the circuit breaker if needed.

The signalling system, on the other hand, relies on a manual driver action. On the Supertram network, drivers will use the same visual signals and the vehicle identification system (VIS) employed by the conventional tram vehicles, but the new tram-trains are also fitted with TPWS and GSM-R equipment. Although the TPWS is active at all times, the driver will be required to activate the GSM-R as they pass onto the main line network. “It’s a bit of a reminder that they are now driving a train rather than a tram,” said Rob Carroll, major projects manager at Stagecoach Supertram.

Static testing has already started at Nunnery Depot. By next summer, the operator hopes to have received three of the vehicles from Vossloh’s factory in Valencia. Initially the tram-

trains will be used to provide extra capacity in busy periods, with regular passenger services slated for early 2017.

Testing and validation of the wheel-rail interface began before Christmas and the first vehicle will begin testing on the tram network by the end of January. The 37-metre, bi-directional vehicles are made up of three articulated sections with three motor bogies and one trailer bogie. Each unit has a capacity for 88 seated and 150 standing passengers. Notable features include pneumatic suspension and rear-view camera displays in the driver’s cab.

Alongside the testing of the new vehicles, various infrastructure projects must be completed to allow tram-trains onto the network. Approval has now been given for Tinsley Chord - a 160-metre section of new track linking the two networks together. New stops are also being added at Meadowhall South and at Rotherham Parkgate, platforms are being extended at Rotherham Central station and the entire Supertram network is being re-profiled.

Over the Christmas period, the first of five LED integrated Lightweight Signals (iLS), which are being supplied by Unipart Dorman, was installed

by Carillion on the line to Rotherham.

Setting an example The tram-train pilot will run for two years.

The reliability and popularity of the service will be carefully scrutinised and its success could determine to what extent tram-train technology is adopted and embraced in this country.

Rob said that Sheffield’s tram-train project team was being approached by organisations around the UK. “Manchester has been very interested from the start, so we’re currently having quarterly meetings with Manchester just to relay what we’ve learned.

“We’ve now had a few meetings with Glasgow for the airport link, and South Wales are also interested.”

Glasgow is hoping to introduce a tram-train service between the city centre and Glasgow Airport. A tram-train is preferred over a conventional light rail system between Glasgow Central station and Paisley Gilmour Street. In South Wales, a mixed heavy and light rail network around Cardiff has been on the agenda for some time.

With aspirations to create a light rail connection between Nottingham and Derby, and with numerous tram extensions planned in Birmingham, no doubt other cities will watch Sheffield’s tram-train experiment with interest.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

PAUL DARLINGTON

Innovation in action

I

nnovation has been an essential part of the development of Britain’s railways, right from the start of the railway revolution. Innovation isn’t always about headline grabbing developments or transformational interventions, although of course there have been many of those. Across the rail industry, countless opportunities have been, and continue to be, created, with improvements made on a day-to-day basis. Sometimes they are obvious, others just quietly become the norm and gradually, continuously, they change the entire way the rail community operates: individually, in teams, as organisations and as an industry.

Often an idea can be simple and seemingly straightforward, but turning ideas into reality takes time and effort and, once it’s been achieved, it is often hardly noticed. The Network Rail Signalling Innovation Group (SIG) has been gradually building up a portfolio of design and construction tools that have become part of the day job for many projects. Not every project that could have benefited from an idea has because, often, the innovation or idea has not been communicated as well as it could have been.

This was the objective of the Network Rail Signalling Projects Technical Conference, to help reinforce and spread the word about what SIG can offer, both within Network Rail and externally to suppliers, and highlight the continuously improving suite of tools and processes available to the industry.

Staffordshire Alliance Andrew Ellwood of Laing O’Rourke explained the structure of the Staffordshire Alliance. Unlike some others, this is a pure alliance with every company, including the client, an equal part of the team - all working to a target cost and a shared pain/gain mechanism. This means that everyone has a mutual interest in reducing costs and looking for better and faster ways of doing things.

If one partner has a problem, then it’s everyone’s problem and all have a vested interest in finding the best solution for the project. Innovation is sometimes seen by projects as introducing additional risk with cost and time increasing, but getting innovation right and into projects can reduce on-site labour hours, eliminate high-risk work, mitigate residual risks and reduce costs. Andrew gave a number of examples of where this had taken place.

These included plug-coupled junction lighting, with factory-prepared plug and socket power circuits, pre-wired lighting units, and precast light post foundations supplied by Apex Cables Ltd. Using a few standard system components, such as high quality extruded-aluminium enclosures and die-cast aluminium connector housings, in conjunction with a comprehensive, fully engineered system layout design, a complete pluggable electrical installation is easily achieved. The armoured components provide mechanical strength and protection while also being lightweight, greatly facilitating ease of installation. The armouring also helps to reduce electromagnetic interference.

A simple idea, but this had improved efficiency and reduced costs by 70%. The project has initiated further innovation in the form of

Rail Engineer • January 2016 support posts to mate with preformed slots in polymer walkways, and supports clamped to ground-level troughing. This would not only speed up installation but also eliminate the hazards of ground penetration and striking buried services.

Another innovation explained was the remote/autocutting of rail via a Bluetooth connection between the operator and the cutting tool. Powered discs have been used to cut rails for many years. This is because they are fast and give a well-finished surface with good orthogonality characteristics with respect to the rail.

During this operation, around ½ kg of material, including steel and abrasives, is pulverised and spread throughout the atmosphere. Moreover, the necessary machines are powerful and the operator who handles them has to cope with the weight, vibrations, noise, harmful emissions and serious risks from disc breakage.

The new system is known as Robokatta and is supplied

by Cembre. Making the entire cutting operation automatic moves the operator away from the hazard area, leaving him with the tasks of preparing and managing the operation remotely. The unit is set up by hand and lowered onto the rail, and then the operator walks away to a safe distance while watching the unit cut.

While the rail cutter turns off automatically at the end of the cut, the operator also has an ‘Auxiliary Stopping Device’ on a lanyard around his neck, ready to stop the unit if required. The cutter also notifies the operator when the filters need to be cleaned or maintenance work is needed.

Not only does this make the operation safer in reducing noise, dust and vibration exposure to the operator, but it has also improved the quality of the cut. The increased output of the number of cuts made with each disc has made the introduction of the innovation cost neutral.

Andrew made the observation that some innovations may take time to develop and have approved, which could be outside the timeframe of a single project. However, it was still important and of benefit to the industry for a project to initiate and help develop ideas. This was a welcome and refreshing change as, in the past, some projects have not wanted to be involved in a development that their immediate project would not benefit from and which might impact both programme and budget.

Product approval is seen as a barrier, but it is necessary as some innovation can introduce risk and several projects can be doing the same thing at the same time, so there needs to be central coordination. Bringing a senior sponsor on board will help steer a new product through the process. No technology is a panacea and the key is to identify narrow areas of benefit in which to exploit any new technology.

Virtual and Augmented Reality Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) systems have been around since the 1960s, as Carl Siddons explained, but it’s only within the last 20 years, with more powerful processing systems, software and interface devices, that such systems have been used in mainstream engineering. These are now finding their way into railway and signalling design.

Virtual Reality is a fully immersive simulated environment in which digital objects provide a sense of spatial presence and perception of another environment

to the one the user is located in. Augmented Reality is the process of visually superimposing digital information onto the real world environment, giving a sense of an illusion or enhanced reality. In simple terms, any environment or facility can be created virtually and a user can ‘walk around’ and experience the facility before it is built, therefore allowing the design to be changed and altered to the client and user’s final requirements before any construction commences.

VR and AR systems are used in a wide range of industries. In railway design, they allow any new rail layout, station or bridge to be created virtually. The obvious benefits to signalling and telecoms engineering are for signal sighting and the location of customer information systems. Such systems can also be used for driver route learning.

Signalling National Innovation Portfolio (SNIP) Matthew Weingarth and Neil Archer of Network Rail explained the SNIP programme, which has introduced a number of tools, methods and processes to improve signalling design. The SNIP programme objectives are to: reduce cost and timescales, improve safety, automate data entry, reduce site visits and increase efficiency and automation.

The heart of one of the main tools is data and automation via the System Design Exchange Format (SDEF). This is based on the XML format and is managed and controlled by Network Rail, but it is also compatible with other formats such as Rail ML. It allows a highdefinition video to be taken from a train and then to overlay positional information, pixel by pixel and frame by frame. The system’s business rules and hierarchical structures provide data to describe positional railway infrastructure in great detail, and facilitate the surveying of assets without going trackside.

One example of the output of the SDEF is the production of signal sighting forms. A cab-mounted video of a section of track can be overlaid with the location and height of a signal and any other planned infrastructure, such as a bridge or OLE structure, allowing viewing assessment from a number of angles and points. This also allows the planned location of other structures to be optimised for signal sighting.

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George Clark of London Underground is a VR user.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

Once the location is agreed, the system can automatically produce the signal sighting form.

This has been estimated as producing a signal sighting form 13 times quicker than traditional methods, while reducing trackside exposure to staff and automatically generating data in order to manage the asset throughout its lifetime. The benefits of SDEF are therefore: reduced cost, improved safety, increased efficiency, less time on site, fewer site visits and faster data entry through increased automation.

Future developments from SNIP include AIR (Automatic Image Recognition) and CVM Collaborative Video Modelling. AIR is the use of machine vision components to undertake automated image analysis and to recognise, with reasonable accuracy, the position of railway assets from video images and laser profiles recorded at high speed. The outputs from the AIR tool are monitored against a combination of pre-existing data and video to check consistency with the results analysed in Google Earth. The project has set acceptance criteria for detection, correctness and false positives on the baselined data.

CVM is the consolidation of two pieces of existing software (Positioned Video Pixels and Positioned Video Frames) into a single solution, together with providing additional functionality to the user. CVM will remove the reliance on standalone OmniSurveyor kiosks along with associated support costs.

Currently, the interdisciplinary design checks require site visits or the creation of bespoke 3D computer models. This is costly, timeconsuming and, for site visits, increases the safety risk. Additional functionality will be

created to allow the user to access enhanced measurement tools for such facilities as cable route measurements and clearance data, and enable driver route learning. Track geometry data, such as cant and curvature, can also be overlaid in the video. Delivery of CVM is planned for August 2016.

Benefits to other disciplines The rail industry must either build in the requirements for all disciplines in any innovation idea from the start, or then develop it for other purposes. One excellent example where this has taken place is with the requirement to manage the risk of track workers falling from low parapet walls into underbridge voids.

The Working at Height Regulations 2005 describe this risk as: “Work in any place…where, if measures required by the regulations are not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury”. Across the rail network, there are thousands of underbridges, viaducts and culverts which are all a potential risk, but how high are the parapet walls, and what is the risk? The information of the height of each wall is often not readily available, given that the assets in some cases were constructed over 100 years ago. Despatching workers to physically measure every parapet would create further risk and cost. So what other solutions are there?

Working with Atkins and the Signalling Innovations Group, it was identified that the tools that had been developed for signal sighting could easily be adapted to measure parapet walls using forward-facing cameras and the SDEF system. The benchmark height for an acceptable parapet or fence is one metre. Using

the Positioned Video Frames and Positioned Video Pixels tool, in conjunction with existing train mounted camera footage, 866 ‘open edges’ were identified just on LNE and EM Routes. This has been achieved at a saving of £100,000 and with less physical measurement, and therefore fewer people on track, creating a far safer working environment, all thanks to innovation across disciplines.

Share with pride Successful innovation is great, but so much more benefit can be achieved if it’s communicated to other people and projects. This is where the Network Rail Collaboration Website and SIG Portal comes in, with an opportunity to share innovation ideas, no matter how small and insignificant they may appear. Sharing of lessons learnt and best practice improves current processes, drives improvements in quality and reliability, promotes best practice and helps to share new and innovative ideas.

The objective is to embed new, innovative ideas and methods into ‘business as usual’ and to include them in the induction packs for new starters. The system provides a standard format to reach a wide-ranging audience and is suitable for immediate onward briefing within teams in order to communicate key messages.

The demands on today’s railway are growing, with a need to achieve more, at lower cost and with fewer resources. Everything needs to be better, faster, safer - and all at a reduced cost.

Achieving this is only possible with improved tools, techniques and processes. Innovation, therefore, is as critical to the success of the rail industry now as it has ever been.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

A Most Interesting evening NIGEL WORDSWORTH

Just six weeks after the great and the good of the rail industry had gathered in Coventry for the RailStaff Awards, which celebrate the people that go that extra mile to keep the nation’s railways running, it was time for their directors and managers to get together for the Most Interesting Awards.

Meet the judges:

»» Andrew Boagey, Chairman, Railway Engineers’ Forum »» David Clarke, Director of Innovation, RSSB and FutureRailway Programme »» Stephen Head, Chairman, Young Rail Professionals »» Francis How, Chief Executive, Institution of Railway Signal Engineers »» Simon Iwnicki, Director of the Institute of Railway Research, University of Huddersfield »» Richard Parry-Jones, former Chairman, Network Rail »» Ian Prosser, Chief Inspector of Railways, Office of Rail and Road »» Bill Reeve, Commercial Director, Transport Scotland »» Photo competition: Paul Bigland, Professional Photographer

Held this year in Derby’s iconic Roundhouse, the Most Interesting Awards are for the projects, new products, innovations and developments that the editors and writers of the Rail Media publications Rail Engineer, RailStaff and Global Rail News found most interesting over the past twelve months.

As the most deeply embedded journalists in the sector, Rail Media’s editorial staff know what’s going on in rail, or they should do, so there is no need for companies to make an entry. In talking to Rail Media, they entered automatically.

However, many projects are routine, and many ‘new’ products are developments of earlier models. So, to qualify for the Most Interesting Awards, the entry has to be just that - interesting. That’s not to denigrate the others as ‘uninteresting’ - after all, they are the bread and butter of the industry - but the editors want to put forward the truly novel and unexpected for an award, where the teams and companies involved have really excelled themselves.

Having created the list of nominations, and then developed a short list in twelve categories, it would be unfair of Rail Media to judge the awards as well. So a panel of independent industry figures, from the former chairman of Network Rail to the current chairman of Young Rail Professionals, was invited to help with that aspect. Care was taken that they did not judge a category in which they had an interest.

The result? A collection of the most novel, the most innovative, the most daring, the most inventive and above all - the MOST INTERESTING developments on the railways over the last twelve months.

A night to remember With the short lists announced, representatives of the companies involved gathered at the Roundhouse for the awards themselves.

Originally built in 1839 for £62,000 by Robert Stevenson, today the Grade II* listed building is normally used as the canteen for Derby College. However, one evening in late November, it was converted into a venue fit for the Rail Exec Gala Dinner - the ultimate networking event of the year that would include the Most Interesting Awards.

On arrival, diners were shown into a star-spangled drinks reception sponsored by Ford & Stanley Group, which provides a range of innovative talent services to support employers and the people they seek to recruit, develop and retain.

In creating something ‘most interesting’ in time for the event, Ford & Stanley engaged with students at Derby College to design, develop and manufacture a rail-focused sculpture (below), built entirely out of ex-operational railway parts supplied by local rail business, RVEL Ltd. Art and design students created a sculpture which illustrated past, present and future developments within the industry. The vertical structure represents a tree

Rail Engineer • January 2016

formation, from the original seed invested in rail. As the tree continues to grow, elements of the sculpture begin to evolve demonstrating growth and the progression of innovation and technology over time.

The sculpture was well received by attendees on the evening, with many complimenting the originality and uniqueness of the design concept. Ford & Stanley’s customer focus manager Lynsey Buxton, who led the project, said: “It’s great to see the students getting involved in something different that directly contributes to their education. It’s also great to do something that has direct relevance to the college and the event itself. The sculpture was a real focal point of the evening and attracted a lot of positive attention.”

After the drinks, it was through into the body of the Roundhouse itself for the main event. Welcoming the guests, Rail Engineer editor Grahame Taylor said: “This must be a unique evening in the rail awards calendar. We’re not limited to the biggest, the most expensive the most high profile projects.

We’re here to celebrate the best - the best - of railway engineering.”

The Rail Exec Club is rapidly developing into the industry’s premier networking organisation, with three luncheons, a golf event and a gala dinner every year. Two or three keynote speakers address guests and then there is plenty of time for high-level networking.

The two keynote speakers at this Gala Dinner were Pauline Latham OBE, Member of Parliament for Mid-Derbyshire, and Jon Shaw - engineering director of Network Rail Infrastructure Projects.

Mrs Latham highlighted Derby’s close connection with the rail industry and both its early and continuing development, while Jon Shaw reviewed some of his experiences working for companies as diverse as Hitachi, Bombardier and now Network Rail. Both speakers entertained their audiences and, critically, kept their addresses quite brief.

Then it was time for the dinner, and for a spectacular Manhattan City Stomp floorshow, which was actually mostly above the floor as acrobats hung from both a trapeze and cloth drapes. Guests were truly entertained, and many flinched when a ‘controlled’ descent seemed to be going wrong.

All agreed that it was Most Entertaining.

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Riki Mistry, contract manager at Carillion, said: “Level Crossings have always been a risk for Network Rail in terms of safety. Installing cameras was initially meant to deter people from jumping the crossings, it all stemmed from there.”

Highly commended by the judges was a project to install audio guides at stations for the sight impaired, undertaken by Microsoft, Guide Dogs, Network Rail and the Future Cities Catapult. (Rail Engineer issue 124, February 2015)

A safe start Dinner over, and with everyone suitably entertained, Grahame came back to the stage to signal the start of the awards proper. Sponsored this year by J Murphy and Sons, Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group, Ford & Stanley Group and Taylor Construction Plant, a total of twelve categories were to be awarded.

The first award of the evening was The Most Interesting initiative in safety and sustainability. The Rail Industry’s common purpose is to move people and freight safely and efficiently by rail whilst being careful with the resources used to do it. This cannot be achieved without companies designing products that are sustainable and having policies and procedures in place to ensure that team members come home safe each and every day.

Grahame then invited Simon Iwnicki, director at the Institute of Railway Research at Huddersfield University and one of the event judges, to present this award. Simon opened the sealed envelope, and announced that the winners of the Most Interesting initiative in safety and sustainability 2015 were Carillion, Futronics, Vysionics and SEA for installing red light cameras at level crossings.

Jumping lights at level crossings is already an offense but drivers can only be prosecuted if a police officer witnesses the event. New Home Officeapproved cameras capture evidence data, digital images and video using a combination of scanning radar, advanced computer video analytics and automatic number plate recognition for the detection of offences. (Rail Engineer issue 130, August 2015)

WE ALWAYS ENSURE WE KEEP OUR IDEAS ON TRACK Whether we’re in the design office or on the tracks, everyone at Murphy puts their thinking caps on every day. Across the rail, power, tunnelling, process energy & pipelines, water & wastewater sectors and more; we’re constantly finding new ways to improve safety, save time and reduce environmental impact. Fresh thinking to drive process and product innovations is part of our culture. It’s what’s kept us one step ahead for 60 years.

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Strong support

International design The award for Most Interesting original design was next, presented by Rail Engineer writer Paul Darlington. From a varied list of nominations, the judges had chosen Sustrail - a European initiative to increase the performance of the entire rail freight system involving 31 organisations across 12 countries.

In the UK, work was undertaken to design an improved freight bogie and to reduce weight, as well as to develop high-performance track. This was combined with work on coated wheelsets and improved braking that was carried out on the continent, resulting in a final vehicle design that was tested in Romania. (Rail Engineer issue 131, September 2015) One of the UK participants is the University of Huddersfield, and Professor Simon Iwnicki returned to the stage to collect the award. He said: “This is fantastic and unexpected. It certainly was an interesting project and I hope the results will be useful to the freight industry, shifting freight off the roads and onto rail.”

The judges also chose to highly commend Brecknell Willis’ development of a closed loop pantograph in this category. (Rail Engineer issue 130, August 2015)

When the applause died down, Grahame Taylor announced the next category - for the Most Interesting development in support equipment. “No project in the UK can be delivered without the use of support equipment and as projects become larger and more complex the use of innovative support equipment is imperative for the jobs to be finished on time and within budget,” he said, by way of introduction.

Chris Kearns, project manager at Rhomberg Sersa UK, came to the stage to make this award which, after the obligatory fumbling with the envelope, he announced was going to Telent for replacing RETB in Scotland.

Radio Electronic Token Block train control used the old BR National Radio Network so, when those radio frequencies were reallocated, that caused a problem. As the ageing equipment also needed replacing, a £20 million programme was initiated for Telent to re-engineer all the radio elements within the system. At the same time, Train Protection and Warning System emergency braking was introduced to prevent trains from overrunning a token section. (Rail Engineer issue 125, March 2015) Dave Clarke, sales director of Telent, said: “RETB is an upgrade of the Radio Electronic Token Block system in Scotland which allows the singletrack running of trains up there and it’s really important in those outlying areas that the trains are running and bringing in tourism. The highest asset that Network Rail owns in the UK is on White Corries ski resort and we’re changing out the aerials and flying in new REBs into that area, while working in extremely different conditions and situations.”

Network Rail’s mobile flash-butt welder, developed by GOS Engineering, Holland and Rosenqvist, was highly commended. (Rail Engineer issue 125, March 2015) Commenting afterwards on presenting the award, and on the evening as a whole, Chris Kearns said: “Rhomberg Sersa UK had been contemplating sponsorship of a rail related event for some time but, as newcomers to the world of corporate sponsorship, we struggled to find a vehicle that reflected our own values and aspirations of innovation and improvement.

“Reflecting on last year’s gala we felt that this was an occasion that may be suitable for sponsorship. We were especially attracted to the ‘Most Interesting’ strapline which was an unusual series of awards not seen at most black tie events. Particularly so as our products and services seem to regularly elicit the comment ‘interesting’ in reaction to them.

“We were even more intrigued when we saw that the event was not in London but was in fact in the Roundhouse - a building more than worthy of the title ‘Most Interesting.’ We were also intrigued by the ‘Most Interesting’ themed nature of the event.

“What made us take the plunge was the wide range of projects and the diverse assortment of awards - all of which were more than Most Interesting. We were lucky to be presented with an opportunity to sponsor this event and, looking back with 20/20 hindsight on the event, we were more than delighted to do so.”

Looking to the future “What fantastic winners we have had so far,” Grahame Taylor enthused before announcing the next category - the Most Interesting training and development programme.

“Up-skilling, cross skilling, recruitment drives and employee development are words we hear constantly in this industry,” Grahame continued.

“Whether we are looking to launch new safety initiatives, driving more people into the industry or up-skilling our existing staff, none of this can be achieved without the determination of training and development teams.”

James Wall, managing director of event sponsor Ford & Stanley, joined Grahame on stage to announce that Linbrooke’s new National Rail Academy was the winner.

Rail Engineer • January 2016

With an ageing railway workforce coupled with the demand for signalling testers being at an all-time high, Linbrooke’s National Training Academy, delivered with registered training and recruitment partner ntrs, is primarily geared up to provide training for signalling works testing. The site’s authentic platform and tracks incorporate various styles of signalling, point operating and train detection and protection equipment, providing a realistic and accessible set-up for safe and practical training. (Rail Engineer issue 125, March 2015) Tony Gaunt, Linbrooke’s head of training, said: “Absolutely fantastic. We strive massively and work really, really hard to help all the people that come through our National Training Academy both from the civilian side and public sector. Also we have a massive affinity and passion for military personnel, so we’re really, really pleased.”

ORBIS work orders, developed by Network Rail ORBIS, Capgemini and CSC, were highly commended. (Rail Engineer issue 127, May 2015) Praising the whole event, James Wall of Ford & Stanley commented: “What better venue to celebrate the most interesting innovations and successes across the rail industry than at one of the most historic railway buildings in the UK. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Rail Media in 2016.”

Expanding overseas The fifth award was for the Most Interesting international participation by a UK company. Simon Meades of sponsor Taylor Construction Plant joined Grahame on stage as he explained: “Over the past few years we have seen more and more involvement in international projects by UK companies. This is testament to our industry. We have some of the highest skilled workers in the world and this is being recognised worldwide.”

The project to build a bypass around Montpellier in southern France won this one. The first ‘combined’ high-speed railway in France, designed to carry both passengers and freight, this €1.8 billion bypass of the railway bottleneck at Montpellier joins the existing Mediterranean high-speed line at Redessan, just to the south of Nimes, and connects near Lattes with the route on to southern France and Spain. The joint venture includes Colas and Colas Rail (both Bouygues Construction subsidiaries), Alstom and Systra.

(Rail Engineer issue 129, July 2015)

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Jean-Pierre Margolin, international business development manager, Bouygues Travaux Publics, said: “It’s a great honour for our company to be voted as an international reference.”

Project manager Francois-Xavier de Malherbe added: “It’s a big challenge because the time is short and it’s a new conception.”

The Norwegian ERTMS signaling programme, in which Atkins has a major involvement, was highly commended. (Rail Engineer issue 128, June 2015) Simon Meades was impressed with the whole evening. “Taylor Construction Plant Ltd was keen to support these awards because we strongly believe that industry in general should be recognised and acknowledged for its entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen and a commitment to the wider business community within the rail sector.

“We are also keen to promote the rail industry as a career opportunity for young people. We believe that we work in a dynamic industry which is now driving environmental best practice for future generations and providing an important societal need. All of the nominees and winners are providing, much-needed role models for their younger peers.

“Supporting and applauding successful business is something we always want to do more of and that is why TCP was delighted to sponsor the International Participation by a UK Company award.”

Ford & Stanley are proud sponsors of the RailExec Gala 2015 With over 25 years experience, we understand the recruitment challenges facing the rail industry and the importance of sourcing the right talent for the right role.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

What a development!

With the drive to increase efficiency and reduce costs for infrastructure projects becoming ever more essential, the award for the Most Interesting railway infrastructure development was keenly anticipated. Your author made his way to the stage as Grahame announced: “This award is for a small-scale railway infrastructure project or development in the UK. In the news we hear constantly about the huge projects that are under Ph construction, but it is also the smaller scale projects that can have a huge ot oc om impact on the industry. Many of these projects save time, money and pe tit ensure our network keeps running.” io n The winner was revealed to be Farnworth Tunnel, a project undertaken for w in ne Network Rail by J Murphy & Sons supported by OTB Engineering and the ). rP (left au land Buckingham Group. g i lS B ul he e Pa What do you do when a tunnel is too small? The answer, in the case rif udg f with j of Farnworth tunnel near Bolton, is to fill it in and then start again from scratch. J Murphy & Sons used 7,500m3 of foam concrete to fill the existing northbound tunnel, built in 1838. A nine-metre diameter tunnel boring “I’m privileged to have been part of this important project and to have machine then re-bored the tunnel - taking out concrete, old brickwork and worked with such a brilliant team, whose achievements have been some virgin hillside - to construct a new tunnel 270 metres long, wide recognised with this award.” enough for two tracks and electrification. (Rail Engineer issue 127, Jay 2015) The refurbishment of Scarborough bridge by Story Contracting, Mabey “This job was special,” said Mick Boyle, project manager, J Murphy & Bridge and Moore Concrete, was highly commended. (Rail Engineer issue Sons. “We’ve had a lot of special people. I’m privileged to have worked 126, April 2015) with them all.”

Ray Rawtron, Murphy’s programme manager, added: “As the winners are Happy snapper chosen by reporters who go on site regularly and see the work we do at After six awards, it was time for a break. Over the summer, Rail first-hand, this was a real honour. Farnworth tunnel has been a challenging Engineer had been running a photographic competition specifically for but incredibly rewarding scheme, and the team, led by Mick, showed skill photographs taken on smartphones. With many project reports arriving and determination on the job. at the magazine accompanied by such images, it is frustrating that so

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

many of them are unprintable either because the resolution is too low or because there are problems with the image’s definition.

As Grahame, who frequently has to search for high-quality images to accompany articles in Rail Engineer, said: “Seeing that their phone has a 12-megapixel camera, the same number of pixels as some professional cameras, people think that the results will be good. However, on a smartphone the lens is tiny, frequently dirty, and then the operator has quite often selected a smaller file size to save memory space, reducing the quality of the photo still further.”

So professional photographer Paul Bigland was invited to write an article on how to (and how not to) do it (Rail Engineer issue 129, July 2015). This formed the basis of a competition which attracted 140 entries, most of a high standard.

Paul Bigland had the task of sifting through them to find the winner.

He was interested in not only technical quality but also composition.

Having rejected an early front-runner because it was actually slightly out-of-focus when viewed on a large screen, he whittled the entry down to a short list of ten, then to three, and finally he came up with the winner.

When it was announced, Network Rail track worker Paul Sheriff was astonished. He knew he was shortlisted, after all his employer had released him to travel down from Inverness for the event, but when his photographs of ‘Footsteps in the Snow’ was shown on the big screen he was quite overcome.

Paul Bigland presented Paul Sheriff with his prize, a KAZAM Tornado 350 smartphone, and he then had his photograph taken with Network Rail managing director of network operations Phil Hufton, who is his boss’ boss’ boss’ boss’ boss’ boss (there may be a boss’ or two missing there). The pair spent some time discussing Paul’s work and his entry, giving him a great story to take back north with him.

Two images were chosen as highly commended, Signal on the Forth Bridge, taken by Mark Woodliff of Siemens Rail Automation, and Heli Air by Lee Clinton of Telent.

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Battery powered Then it was back to the MI Awards, as they are colloquially known, and the award for the Most Interesting approach to train operations. To win this award, the judges were looking for the most effective or interesting use of route, rolling stock and crews or the most interesting take on franchising and train operating company management.

The presenter for this award was Peter Darling, HM Inspector of Railways at the Office of Rail and Road, and the winner was the IPEMU Battery Train from Bombardier, Abellio, Future Railway and Network Rail.

Fitting batteries to an electric multiple unit (EMU) allows it to go off the electrified network onto non-electrified branch lines, or into depots, or to carry on working if the infrastructure has failed. Those batteries can be recharged once the train returns to the network. The Independently Powered EMU, a joint project conducted by Network Rail, train owner Abellio and manufacturer Bombardier to prove the concept, was tested in passenger service with excellent results. (Rail Engineer issue 125, March 2015) James Ambrose, principal engineer at Network Rail, described the project as “a game changer”. “Now we’re actually looking at the battery technology,” he continued. “We’re doing further testing on the battery technology to try and take it through to market. We’re working with DfT, we’re working with all the operators and working with manufacturers to try and achieve that goal.”

A project by Thales to install CBTC signaling on London Underground’s Northern line was highly commended. (Rail Engineer issue 127, May 2015)

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

What people said about the MI Awards: Lynsey Buxton, customer focus manager at Ford & Stanley Ltd “It looked incredible! You all did such a great job of organising the necessaries and the drinks reception looked great. It was great to have the sculpture as a focal point at the drinks reception too. A good evening had by all!”

Jon Shaw, engineering director at Network Rail “What a fantastic event - having the shows is just brilliant and the awards only one hour. Best event on the circuit by far - my congratulations.”

Peter Darling, HM Inspector of Railways at ORR “This was a wonderful night’s event and we both really enjoyed it all. I have to say that the ‘high wire’ entertainment was brilliant!! - no safety harnesses needed!!”

Susan Scrivens, PA to John Murphy managing director - North at J. Murphy & Sons “The event was excellent, in fact ‘one of the best we have attended!’ Well done to all the organisers.”

Martin Horsman, managing director at ESG Rail “There’s many, many rail events around. This one’s got differential, it has got a different feel to it, a bit of razzmatazz, a relaxed atmosphere, a great setting - yes, a great success!”

Chris Montgomery, project director at Network Rail “The evening was fantastic, a real culmination of a fantastic day, particularly for us (The Queen opened Birmingham New Street that morning.) It was a great result all round, opening New Street, meeting the Queen and Prince Philip, and then coming here and winning the major project award - fantastic!”

Phil Hufton, managing director - Network Operations at Network Rail “It was a fantastic evening - there are a lot of very proud people that have won some great awards. These are the type of events that we do need to have because we have all walks of life that come here, from track workers to very senior engineers, and collectively they all put on a great show for the industry. I feel really proud that I’ve seen some really pleased and happy people because of the contribution they bring to the travelling public. I think we’ve got to do more of this.”

Danny O’Brien, regional director at J. Murphy & Sons “Our staff and guests really enjoyed the night. Some of the quotes were: ‘the best awards dinner. wasn’t the normal two hours of speeches’, ‘best entertainment they’d seen’, ‘entertainment and bumper cars made it a very relaxed and enjoyable night.’ And to top it all off, we won an award!”

Simon Iwnicki, director at University of Huddersfield-Institute of Railway Research “I thought it was a great evening - well done! Impressive floor show and fun activities compered with aplomb by Grahame!! I was also surprised and delighted (and slightly embarrassed) to receive the award for the SUSTRAIL project - this is a fantastic tribute to the work of all the partners and will be well received by all our colleagues. Great job, many thanks.”

Chris Scott, the inventor with the trophy.

Contented neighbours The award for the Most Interesting community engagement activity followed. “In an industry where most things we do impact on the local community, it is vital to work with that community,” Grahame announced.

“Information gathering, forums and public consultation has become the norm now for any major project, but how the information is then delivered to the public can have a huge impact on what the public feel about it.”

Chris Leech, senior corporate adviser - transport sector, Business In The Community, was invited to the stage to present the award. Chris is leading the Station to Station event for the Queen’s 90th Celebration in 2016. The objective of this is simply to demonstrate the Rail Industry as a “force for good” in the UK, by simultaneously replicating the street party celebrations planned for the Mall on 12 June across UK train stations. Rail Media is the official media partners for this event.

Track Partnership, Transport for London and Balfour Beatty working together, was announced as the winner of this category. Over the last two Christmas holidays, Track Partnership renewed track and ballast through one of London Underground’s busiest stations. The overall station public/ workforce segregation was commended by the general station manager as there were no complaints from passengers and no-one in the station was really aware of any works going on, such was the lack of intrusion or disturbance. (Rail Engineer issue 124, February 2015) Andy Titterton-Fox, project manager, Track Partnership, said: “The project went like clockwork from start to finish. There was a lot of pressure to finish on time, but I’m pleased to say we actually finished ahead of time.”

He added: “There were probably about 200 people per day on site for eight days. It was a complete team effort. It wasn’t just a good plan, it was great delivery. Everyone from top to bottom contributed.”

The Borders Railway, built by BAM Nuttall and others for Transport Scotland, was highly commended. (Rail Engineer issue 131, September 2015)

Big bang!

“Now for a big one, in terms of size of project that is,” was how host Grahame Taylor announced the award for the Most Interesting major infrastructure project.

“What a year it has been in terms of huge projects across the country,” he continued. “The impact that these projects will have on the network will last a lifetime. As the population continues to grow and we see an increasing push on to public transport, we need to ensure that these projects continue and we build a network for the future.”

Andrew Boagey, chairman of the Rail Engineers’ Forum and a judge for the Awards, was a natural choice to make the presentation. He was obviously very pleased to announce that the award went to the team reconstructing Birmingham New Street station, which had been opened by HM The Queen that very morning!

The £600 million overhaul of Birmingham New Street has resulted in a much brighter, bigger and more modern station with lifts and escalators linking all platforms to concourse level for the first time, significantly improving accessibility and passenger flows. Designed to cope with 40,000 to 60,000

Rail Engineer • January 2016

passengers a day, the station now handles around 175,000 - 35,000 more than when Network Rail started the refurbishment six years ago. (Rail Engineer issue 129, July 2015) Speaking on behalf of the companies involved, Stephen Ashton, engineering director for Atkins, said: “It’s a real compliment to Network Rail, Atkins and Mace who have worked really well together to deliver what is a transformation to a station that really is making a difference to Birmingham as a whole.”

The judges highly commended the project to rebuild Selby Swing Bridge, undertaken by the Kier Group and AMCO. (Rail Engineer issue 120, October 2014)

Real steel The use of new products is one way to improve how things are done on the railway, so the naming of the Most Interesting new product was eagerly awaited. Danny O’Brien of event sponsor J Murphy & Sons was to present this one.

“A new product can be anything from a widget that saves millions of pounds each year to a new train that drives heightened efficiency,” Grahame explained to a hushed audience. “By designing new products, we keep the industry moving forward, continuing to evolve and keeping up with the changing times.”

As befits such a category, there was a diverse entry list with products which included a whole signalling system (Hitachi), trains powered by fuel cells (Alstom), interfaces between new and legacy systems (Park Signalling), and new insulation for points heaters.

However the winner was a range of high performance rail from Tata Steel.

Managing Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) is both costly and time-consuming in an industry that has a drive towards lower maintenance costs, shorter maintenance windows and greater track availability. To combat RCF, Tata Steel has produced HP335, a High Performance rail steel with a minimum Brinell hardness of 335HB. 600km of this new rail is now in use, delivering life cycle cost savings which equate to a seven-figure cost saving per year. (Rail Engineer issue 126, April 2015) Daniel Pyke, Tata Steel’s product marketing manager, said: “The UK rail industry had a real problem with rolling contact fatigue. We responded by developing a piece of rail that is more resistant to that, increasing the rail life, improving the safety and reducing the maintenance. So everybody wins.”

The Oscar Helmet, a new safety helmet for track workers developed and introduced by Colas Rail, was highly commended by the judges. (Rail Engineer issue 127, May 2015) Bill Merry, strategy and business development director at Awards sponsor Murphy, said: “These awards showcase the very best that the rail industry has to offer. We were proud to sponsor these awards, which recognise innovative technologies, people and projects from across the sector.”

Being innovative New products shouldn’t be confused with innovation. In introducing the Most Interesting Innovation Award, Grahame Taylor explained that the award was for “an idea or best use of an idea, device, method or process that the editors have seen in the UK Rail Industry in 2015. Innovation is all about thinking outside of the box. Designing something new, innovative and above all useful!”

Ben Parry, East Midlands regional chair of Young Rail Professionals, was called up to make this presentation. As it turned out, it was a local win as RePoint carried the day for Loughborough University.

Modern signalling permits shorter headways, but nodes such as junctions and stations can significantly reduce capacity. Studying the impact of these nodes, Loughborough University asked interested parties what they wanted from a set of points. The answer was instantaneous switching, no maintenance, no failures, no space requirement, zero energy usage, no speed restriction and zero cost. RePoint is the University’s radical new switch design to help meet these needs. (Rail Engineer issue 131, September 2015)

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Below: Simon Iwnicki (left) collects Most Interesting original design from Paul Darlington.

Receiving the award, Roger Dixon, professor of control systems at Loughborough University, said: “It started out as looking at new ways of track switching, taking inspiration from other industries we’ve worked in to see whether we could remove some of the failure modes of track switches and improve the reliability and performance, and enhance the capacity.

“We’re really pleased with the award and we hope it will add also a bit of a trailing wind to helping us get over the next hurdle which is to build that full scale prototype. Over a period of time we came up with a design that was one of many but promising, presented it to industry and industry quite liked it and it kind of moved on from there.”

The Railway Industry Association’s regular series of Unlocking Innovation conferences was highly commended. (Rail Engineer issue 124, February 2015)

And finally…

That just left one award still to be given out, that for the Most Interesting thing we saw in 2015. More of a home for entries that don’t easily fit in any of the other eleven categories than an ‘overall winner’ award, the entries ranged from fire suppression in the Channel Tunnel to rope access inspections.

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

The Farnworth Tunnel team won Most Interesting railway infrastructure development.

However, Network Rail’s managing director of Network Operations, Phil Hufton, announced that the winner was…Chris Scott, inventor.

The sense of innovation that characterised the Victorian railway age is not dead. There are still problems for which there are no off-the-shelf solutions. Chris Scott is one of the people who solve those problems, in his

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case particularly those involving tunnels. These include mobile crash decks, protective workforce shelters, a 10-tonne bogie for transporting materials that ran along the six-foot and an elevating platform for drilling 6,200 holes into Whiteball tunnel.

Quite overcome, first by being nominated and then by actually winning, Chris, whose clients include AMCO, Network Rail, PPS Rail and Innovative Support Systems, said he was “astounded” and humbled by the award.

With Chris being recognized, and applauded by all those present, the formal part of the evening came to an end. There was still plenty of networking to do, much of it alongside the bar, while the more party-minded made for the dance floor. Many even took a ride on the dodgems!

Everyone was complimentary about the evening, commenting that this second running of the Most Interesting Awards had outdone even the previous year’s event in Leicester. Now, they are all looking forward to the 2016 event!

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Rail Engineer • January 2016

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