The Rail Engineer - Issue 103 - May 2013

the rail

engineer by rail engineers for rail engineers

Reading Station TRANSFORMED 4-all over 2 legs Three bridges installed and one removed. 20

www.therailengineer.com

MAY 2013 - ISSUE 103

this issue q TRANSFORMING 460S 38 q TIGHT TIMESCALES AT HOLYROOD 40 q TRENCHLESS RENOVATION 56 q 100 YEARS OF THE IRSE 60

Network Rail successfully completed an 11-day programme of upgrades over Easter weekend. 10

Sir David Higgins Interview

CAF trams for Midland Metro Stuart Rackley checks out Urbos 3 trams. 24

Squeezing more from the tube Challenging capacity improvement programme. 28

More from the top. 16

TECHNOLOGY | DESIGN | M&E | S&T | STATIONS | ENERGY | DEPOTS | PLANT | TRACK | ROLLING STOCK

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Contents

More from the top Sir David Higgins speaks with Nigel Wordsworth. In the second part he looks at the longer term issues facing the industry.

16 Reshelling a 455

News

6

Secretary of State opens new Institute of Railway Research.

4-all over 2 legs

20

The team from Network Rail and HOCHTIEF revisited the sites of three bridges near Slough for the second leg of a project for Crossrail.

CAF trams for Midland Metro Expansion Project

24

CAF has started construction of 35 new Urbos 3 trams that will replace the current fleet for Midland Metro.

Squeezing more from the tube

28

David Shirres investigates the various challenging capacity improvement projects being undertaken by London Underground.

32

Transforming Class 460s

38

Work is currently under way by Wabtec Rail at Doncaster and Loughborough involving the refurbishment and conversion of 60 former Class 460 vehicles.

Trackbed Testing

IAF - The home of Yellow Plant

46

Nigel Wordsworth previews the world’s largest fair in the field of track technology which takes place on 28-30 May in Germany.

Understanding the condition of substructure is vital for maintaining good track geometry.

Trenchless Renovation

44 Great little grinder

54

The technique of driving pipes and small bores through the ground and under an obstruction without having to dig a trench.

One hundred years of the IRSE

60

The Institution of Railway Signal Engineers celebrated its centenary in 2012.

Formal recognition only arrived with the formation of the IRSE and its first meeting on 25 February 1913 at the Grand Hotel in Birmingham.

Clive Kessel reports.

See more at www.therailengineer.com

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

Stations

Surveying

in the July Issue of the rail engineer.

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

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the rail engineer • May 2013

Editor Grahame Taylor grahame.taylor@therailengineer.com

Production Editor Nigel Wordsworth nigel@rail-media.com

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

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

Advertising Asif Ahmed asif@rail-media.com

Paul Curtis pc@rail-media.com

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

Telephone: 01530 56 00 21 Fax: 01530 41 21 66 Email: hello@rail-media.com Website: www.therailengineer.com Editorial copy Email: news@rail-media.com Free controlled circulation Email: subscribe@rail-media.com The small print the rail engineer is published by RailStaff Publications Limited and printed by Pensord.

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Fifteen articles in one page Just checking through this edition of The Rail Engineer I find that there are fifteen articles I would like to highlight – which doesn’t give me many words for each one, so please forgive the brevity.

Eleven days at Easter and what a difference that made in Reading and for passengers who have been working their way round what must have seemed to be the perpetual building site. Collin Carr looks at progress to date and forward to the new two kilometre railway viaduct to the west of the station.

We feature rolling stock and depots this month and kick off with Stuart Rackley’s review of the new trams that will be appearing in Birmingham. The Urbos 3 light rail vehicles by CAF have five segments articulated on three bogies. It takes a moment or two to work out how they’re put together.

Unsurprisingly, when a 25 tonne lorry fell on the roof of a moving train, the damage was extensive.

But thanks to the ingenious reuse of some obsolete stock the affected unit has been returned to traffic.

And, on the theme of mixing and matching rolling stock, we have the tale of the additional vehicles inserted into the rakes of class 458s for South West Trains.

Again, it was a matter of seeing what was in the cupboard before going off to buy a brand new vehicle. Of course, what’s in the cupboard may not be exactly the right shape and size to start with but, given a high degree of rolling stock skill and attention, it’s amazing what can be built.

For many depots, gone are the days of the ubiquitous, wandering 08 shunter. Given that many of the loads being moved are comparatively light – perhaps less than 100 tonnes – many moves can be done by tiny radio-

controlled units no bigger than a dining table. There seems to be a Mechan shunter for just about any demand.

Last month, in an interview with Nigel Wordsworth, Sir David Higgins covered the early days of his tenure and his coming to grips with a fragmented industry.

This month he describes how he pushed on an open door that was Devolution and how to cope with a six foot high business plan.

It’s a little surprising that the first railway control office was not introduced until 1907, perhaps waiting for technology to catch up. Today, the principle of having centres of control is accepted just about everywhere and so Clive Kessell is able to give us a view of what is done in many parts of the world The Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) held its first meeting on 25 February 1913 at the Grand Hotel in Birmingham.

Clive describes how, 100 years later to the day, the IRSE celebrated the event with a reenactment in period dress along with a resume of the changes that the industry has seen. Look out, though, for what was said at the 2063 re-enactment.

Welcome this month to David Bickell, whose debut article for us covers the practical issues of signalling control from the early days right through to the latest miniaturisation developments.

It’s a fascinating journey and one that joins up all the dots for nonsignalling engineers.

Maybe exhibitions are always with us, but this month we cover two of them – one in retrospect and one in anticipation. (Railtex will be underway or just finished by the time you read this).

Nigel has been to SIFER (Salon International de l’Industrie Ferroviaire) in Lille. You may just detect that it was the cuisine

5

GRAHAME TAYLOR

on the various trains and in the exhibition that left the most lasting impression.

Internationale Ausstellung Fahrwegtechnik (IAF) takes place in Münster, Germany, 28-30 May. This is the show for big yellow machines that carry out the heavy maintenance of track and pointwork. There will also be a machine that’s the world´s largest mobile snow melter – yes, melter!

David Shirres has been down the Victoria line to show us how a 21% increase in passenger capacity has been achieved. It’s not just about longer trains or smarter signalling. Elsewhere on the London Underground a similar story continues with ever more capacity needed.

A novel analysis technique of track foundations seems to be to bombard them with acronyms.

TRE, ABS, GPR, FWD, MOABS, SERB, FWD, RTST – I think that’s all of them. They’re ably explained in David’s piece on how conventional highway practices are being extended to the rail industry.

In the second part of our trilogy on trenchless renovation we’re guided through the techniques of tracing and inspection of pipes and drains. Then there’s the tricky issue of renovation and how and, indeed, whether to do it. Watch out for the concluding article in the Autumn which will cover replacement methods.

I particularly like articles which deal with truly tricky problems but which are out of sight. A typical example is the story of Holyrood Street substation refurbishment in a glory-hole tucked out of the way near London Bridge. Dodgy brickwork, drainage and air quality along with tight timescales made this project a classic.

Maybe you weren’t counting, but that’s all fifteen…

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NEWS

the rail engineer • May 2013

Fast Italian The first high-speed Frecciarossa 1000 train has left AnsaldoBreda’s Pistoia factory to begin testing. At a launch ceremony held at the rolling stock manufacturer’s site in Italy’s Tuscany region recently, chief executive of AnsaldoBreda Maurizio Manfellotto said the unveiling of Italy’s newest highspeed train was “a source of pride for the company and for the whole of Italy”.

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Designed for railways across Europe, the Frecciarossa 1000 has an active suspension system and will be capable of reaching operating speeds of 360 km/h. Bombardier and AnsaldoBreda are building 50 of the new high-speed trains for Italian operator Trenitalia.

The first train was named after Italian sprinter Pietro Mennea, who

died recently. Mennea won the 200 metre gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and his world record time for the distance, set in 1979, stood for 17 years before eventually being broken by Michael Johnson in 1996.

Testing of the new train is underway at AnsaldoBreda’s Pistoia ahead of the start of full revenue service in 2014.

Minister opens Huddersfield IRR Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLaughlin, opened the Institute of Railway Research (IRR) at Huddersfield University on 15 April. The IRR’s team of researchers, headed by its director, Professor Simon Iwnicki, had been Manchester Metropolitan University’s Rail Technology Unit which had specialised in vehicle dynamics, switches, crossing and rolling contact fatigue However with Huddersfield’s offer of better facilities, Simon and his team moved over the Pennines last summer. Within a few months, Huddersfield University had modified its Technology Building to provide the IRR with a reception area, laboratory, research offices and meeting room. As well as providing a good working environment, this will no doubt help attract industry research partners.

The Minister was clearly impressed and spent the morning at the IRR to inspect its facilities,

hear about its research and meet its researchers and students.

This included a look at the partbuilt miniature locomotive to be entered in this year’s IMechE Railway Challenge. In an interview with The Rail Engineer, he advised that the Government’s support of rail research was part of its commitment to the industry which included the unpopular decision on HS2. He also cited record levels of investment but acknowledged the stop-start nature of rolling stock procurement was an issue for the industry.

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NEWS

the rail engineer • May 2013

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Euston to be bigger and better

It has already been announced that Euston will be the London terminus for HS2. Now, plans for that station have been announced as HS2 Ltd has looked at the best way to accommodate high speed trains without having to knock down and rebuild the entire station.

The proposal involves retaining platforms 1-15 (of Euston’s 18 platforms) at their current level

with some modifications (this includes removing platforms 9 and 10 so that adjacent platforms

can be lengthened – resulting in 13 long platforms) but improving the station around them – with a new concourse. There will also be eleven new platforms for high speed trains next to the existing platforms.

In addition, there will be

potential for new homes, offices and shops above.

Better connections with the Underground, including a new Underground ticket hall and a sub-surface pedestrian link between Euston and Euston Square Tube are included in the plans.

All of this work should be completed by 2026. Outlining the new plans, HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Alison Munro said: “We are looking at an option for Euston Station which would see new platforms built as part of an integrated, redeveloped station with a combined concourse, new western entrance and improved facilities across the integrated terminus.

“Whatever option is adopted, Euston would be the gateway to the Midlands and North with improved facilities for passengers and better connections with the Underground.”

1926 693000

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NEWS

the rail engineer • May 2013

Easter slide The new Loughor Viaduct in South Wales was successfully slid into place over the Easter period. Issue 101 (March 2013) described this project to replace a single-track wooden viaduct over the Loughor estuary with a more modern twin-track structure.

The replacement bridge was built alongside the old one on temporary supports and new piles were placed under the original structure, all while the railway remained open. Then, over Easter, the railway was closed and the old bridge deck demolished. Then the new bridge was slid sideways into place.

Jon Kite, senior project manager with Carillion, said: “The challenge was to deliver a new 235 metre rail viaduct, constructed in an environmentally sensitive area over a fast flowing estuary with minimum disruption to the railway. In a 249-hour possession we demolished the existing railway viaduct,

constructed new abutments, slid the new one sideways into position and completed the permanent way works to connect to the track on the original alignment.”

Demolishing the old deck took 67 hours using cranes and barges to cut and lift it out. The slide itself took another 14 hours, and

270 people were involved in the work at Easter.

The new deck was complete with waterproofing, ballast and track, so all that Carillion had to do after the slide was connect it up to the rest of the Swansea to Llanelli line which is also being redoubled between Loughor and Gowerton.

Borders gets going!

Yianni catapults out

Work on the Borders Railway, being built between Edinburgh and Tweedbank, has now officially started. After a false start due to a change in funding model, Network Rail has taken over construction of the 30 miles of new railway which will include three existing stations and seven new ones – at Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange, Gorebridge, Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank.

Steve Yianni, Network Rail’s technical director (or head of innovation), has been appointed as chief executive of the new technology and innovation centre for integrated transport systems.

Some preliminary earthworks have already taken place along the route, which has included a considerable amount of mining remediation work in the area of the old Monktonhall colliery. But a recent ceremony at the site of the new Shawfair station marked the commencement of the main construction phase which will deliver the new railway by 2015.

The first works will involve the excavation of the track alignment for the new line through the Monktonhall area and the excavation of the site of the new Shawfair station. The earthworks programme, which will create the line of route and base for the

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railway track, will now begin to roll-out along the route throughout summer and autumn.

The £294m scheme is being delivered by Network Rail and principal contractor BAM Nuttall on behalf of the Scottish Government and, once complete, will offer a fast and efficient alternative to the congested local road network.

The Catapult centre, which is being set up by the Technology Strategy Board, will focus on innovation for efficient and sustainable ways to move people and goods (freight) across national transport systems including road, rail, sea and air.

The Transport Systems Catapult is part of a network of world-leading technology and innovation centres established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board as a long-term investment that will open up global opportunities for the UK and generate economic growth for the future.

With investment from public and private sectors of around £1bn over the coming few years,

Catapults represent one of the most important developments in UK innovation and technology, and they will make a major impact for years to come.

Commenting on his appointment, Steve Yianni said: “The integration of transport systems presents many opportunities for UK businesses and I look forward to working with the industries across road, rail, marine and aviation to bring these to reality”.

Well known in the rail industry, both as the driving force behind innovation at Network Rail and as the chairman of the last Rail Innovations conference held at Birmingham University last September, Steve starts his new role on 1 August.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

Reading Station

TRANSFORMED Colin Carr

B

efore Easter, Reading Station was a major building site. The travelling public could see what Network Rail was trying to do but it took a degree of imagination to appreciate what it would look like. Then came the Easter break, and the station area was totally transformed and it looks incredibly impressive. Without doubt, passengers can now enjoy a bigger, brighter, better equipped station after Network Rail successfully completed an 11-day programme of upgrades over the Easter weekend.

Following this intense period of work, Graham Denny, Network Rail’s senior programme manager of station works, reflected on what had been achieved: “It’s gone absolutely brilliantly. We opened

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some of the improvements over the Easter weekend and then we opened the new platforms at the end of the blockade ready to receive the first train when it came in at 04:40”.

Passenger information One can imagine the relief that the team must have felt since Reading station is used by 14 million passengers annually and any delays could have caused major problems.

Station users will now have more space, easier access to platforms, and new passenger information screens. With passenger numbers predicted to more than double to 30 million by 2030, these new improvements are essential.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

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“This project is probably the biggest engineering project on the GWML railway since it was built by Brunel.”

The new platforms have two sections, A and B, to enable trains of varying lengths to occupy different ends of each platform at the same time, thereby improving efficiency and timings for customers. Each platform now has escalator and step-free access to the new passenger footbridge. Some existing platforms have also been upgraded to the same specification.

More than 2,000 engineers from Network Rail and its team of contractors including Costain, the principal contractor for the station reconstruction, worked round the clock through Easter from late Thursday evening

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through to the early hours of Tuesday morning to carry out the carefully planned work. This intense period of work enabled Network Rail to complete the work over the Easter period which would ordinarily have taken around 20 full weekends.

Footbridge demolished The existing footbridge, that spanned the station from the multi storey car park in the north to the booking office on the south side, was successfully removed.

This was necessary so that the new platforms could be extended.

It also ensured that signal sighting for the new signal and track layout would be acceptable and that there would be sufficient clearance for the overhead wires for the recently sanctioned Great Western main line (GWML) electrification project.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

A 500 tonne mobile road crane, supplied by Ainscough, was used to do this. The bridge was removed in three stages by Costain’s subcontractors, Gilpin Demolition. The first stage took place before Easter, when the north end of the bridge leading to the car park was removed.

During the blockade, the track had to be adequately protected and the remainder of the bridge was broken up in two stages, lifted out and then cut up and taken away from site in skips. This sounds quite straightforward, but care was needed firstly to protect the track and secondly to ensure that the work did not interfere with essential engineering train movements. As Graham explained: “It was a significant logistical challenge, and also it turned out to be quite a public spectacle with crowds watching throughout the night.”

Now that the old footbridge has been removed, an existing subway will provide the sole means for pedestrians to get from one side of the station to the other. The intention is for the subway to become a separate responsibility from the station infrastructure and to be maintained by Reading Borough Council. New lighting and a digital CCTV system has been installed in the subway to provide an important route into the city centre for those who live on the north side of the Thames.

New passenger transfer deck Even before the Easter period, contractors had been working flat out for about six weeks to ensure that the new passenger bridge would be ready in time. The flooring was a big task and the freezing weather did not help. There were over one hundred sub contractors working to ensure deadlines would be met.

New escalators were installed, new lifts and then electricians were employed to carry out testing to ensure that everything worked correctly. Graham described them as ‘the last men standing’ and that they did an excellent job.

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Whilst all this was progressing, subcontractors were fixing the impressive blue and grey cladding, ensuring that everything fitted correctly. Inevitably, reality on site was slightly different to the drawing office design and minor modifications were successfully introduced.

As a result, the station now has two new entrances, four new platforms and a new 110-metre long, 30-metre-wide passenger footbridge, with escalators and lifts providing step-free access to the new platforms.

Track and signalling modifications Fifty one new turnouts have been installed

by Carillion throughout the station area during this period of intense working. The contractors have been under enormous intense pressure to ensure that their plant and machinery was always in the right place at the right time. To ensure that happens requires a huge amount of thought, planning and preparation from engineers who know what they are doing and understand what is happening around them. All this work was carried out without incident, ready for signalling testing.

With all the changes being made to the track rail layout, hand in hand with this has been the introduction of revised signalling. The local element to this in the Reading area was carried out by Invensys and included all the new point machines and signals to operate the revised layout. The work required had previously been described in issue 99 of The Rail Engineer (January 2013) when an invitation in late 2012 to see the ’state of play’ was taken up.

Signalling modifications The Reading area is controlled from the Thames Valley Signalling Centre at Didcot which replaced the old Reading Powerbox in 2011. The heart of the signalling system is the Invensys WESTLOCK computerised interlockings and the DeltaRail Integrated

Electronic Control Centre (IECC) that provides the operating ‘front end’ to the signallers as well as providing intelligence for train routing and information systems.

DeltaRail’s contribution to the improvements during Easter 2013 involved making modifications to the existing IECC ‘Classic’ equipment relating to Reading IECC A and IECC B along with minor updates to the adjacent Didcot IECC ‘Scalable’ – the company’s new flagship Signalling Control System. The ‘Classic’ data changes were successfully installed / commissioned on time overnight on the 28/29 March 2013.

The existing Sonning relay interlocking was de-commissioned with associated changes being implemented to the IECC RII (Relay Interlocking Interface) sub-system to support this recovery. This Reading Stage F project work undertaken for the commissioning also included all IECC data works to support the next stage of the programme, known as Reading Stage H, providing Network Rail with a significant time and funding efficiency.

ARS (Automatic Route Setting) sub-system modifications were made in order to support the new signalling layout, ensuring optimal ARS operation and regulation in and around the Reading Station area.

State of the art solution DeltaRail, in conjunction with Network Rail, implemented the core requirements of module E420 of the Signalling Principles Handbook, concerned with Overrun Detection and Management - a solution deemed to be ‘stateof-the-art’.

Whilst Network Rail has temporarily postponed the commissioning of the Reading Train Care Depot (RTCD) until May 2013, all IECC data including associated Train Describer modifications have already been incorporated providing Network Rail with a ‘flick the switch’ solution.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

“It turned out to be quite a public spectacle with crowds watching throughout the night.”

New viaduct work underway There is still much to do. Graham remarked that “this project is probably the biggest engineering project on the GWML railway since it was built by Brunel”. As regular readers will be aware, Balfour Beatty has been appointed as principal contractor to build a new two kilometre railway viaduct, valued at £70 million, to the west of the station alongside the old

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depot. This will separate the heavy freight trains heading north from Southampton docks from the GWML. The good relationship between contractors also includes train operator First Great Western, which is fully integrated into the process. Over the coming months, more platforms will be upgraded with the station elements of the project due for final completion by February

2014. The programme as a whole will upgrade the station and unblock the bottleneck on the railway serving it – so trains won’t need to queue while approaching the station. All work is scheduled to be completed by 2015, a year ahead of schedule and, hopefully, there will be many more articles for The Rail Engineer to write, reiterating the success that has been achieved to date.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

More from the top

L

ast month, Network Rail chief executive Sir David Higgins described how he approached his first few weeks in the rail industry. In this second part he looks at the longer term issues facing the industry but, first of all, he reflects on a topic that, regardless of organisational structure, nobody can ignore.

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

An area which I am really very unhappy with, in terms of our performance, is track-worker safety. It is just totally unsatisfactory that people should be put at risk. Our systems of getting track access, our systems at work need reforming. We need more training at frontline supervisor and track-worker level.

You’ve changed your safety philosophy recently from the Safety 365 system to this new Life Saving Rules system. Is that partly in reaction to that specific problem?

Well, I think the whole idea of league tables encourages a certain type of behaviour. I want to stamp that out and say this isn’t about league tables it’s about having a safer system of working. The classic safety pyramid says that to avoid one fatality we’ve got to have a thousand close calls reported, so we should be encouraging people to report. We should have a culture where there should be no blame if something happens, even though it doesn’t result in an accident. People should be encouraged to report because, only by

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reporting close calls, near misses, whatever you wish to call them, are we going to work out what’s unsafe on the railway that we need to correct.

Certainly, the standards, access to the track and the assessments we use need to be reformed because they’re not fit for purpose in terms of providing simple, clear instructions or direction. So, we’ve brought in the life saving rules, but we are in the process now of streamlining all of our other rules to come up with, ideally, a hundred rules maximum - maybe a few more - that say very clearly what you can and can’t do. Then everything else - the how you do it - should be advisory or should be best practice or available as advice.

But it shouldn’t be a rule.

You have landed up in a very fragmented business and perhaps past management have tried to centralise it, but you have deliberately split it into manageable chunks.

We had people in separate organisations for very good reasons - to get the supply chain sorted, to drive down costs and build up performance.

But although this was very successful, it’s now more sensible for decisions to be made locally

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the rail engineer • May 2013

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I would like more flexibility to be able to align ourselves with our customers. But why should a customer really co-operate with us on our cost of renewals, because there is no benefit to them in the short term? In fact, all there is, is disruption! So I would like more flexibility on that area. Hopefully we’ll have some progress with the next round of consultation with the ORR.

You’re using public money. Do you find that it’s all a bit onerous and it’s a bit long winded and you can’t get ideas through as quickly as you’d like?

because that’s where our people and the train operating companies face the customers every single day. I am a huge believer in empowering organisations to make decisions rather than having all the experts sitting at head office. So you need the best, most experienced people right at the customer interface.

It has to be the right thing to combine maintenance and operations but organisations don’t change over night. So much is down to people’s behaviour, gradually building trust within an industry and within an organisation.

It’s going to take a long, long time to filter through for us to reap all the benefits. It’s not as if you turn a light on and suddenly everything changes!

Was that process actually under way before you got here?

Yes, of course it was. Nothing I have done is new. I am not the genius that works these things out from scratch. I remember the very first meeting I had with what became the Rail Delivery Group. I asked what could we do to make life easier for customers, and straight back came the request to stop this silly divide between ops and maintenance. Devolution was already spoken of. Alliances were already under way. Even ‘Project Dime’ in the work of the projects business was making much earlier engagement with suppliers, with stricter discipline on client definition. All that stuff was under way.

My reaction? “Great, let’s do it. Let’s launch devolution straight away. Today! It’s a great idea.” So, all I did was to push forward existing ideas within the organisation.

You then split the business again because you created this infrastructure projects organisation. So, what was the logic behind that?

Well, the logic was that infrastructure projects is, as I see it, a service-based business

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which should be competitive and bought and used on its expertise, not because it is a monopolistic supplier. Despite the complexity and scale of the work that’s being done it’s necessary to prove that it is the calibre of the organisation that could win work here and ultimately overseas, not because it has a monopoly.

So that caused them to look at themselves and say: “Well, if we were a separate, independent, private company how would we look?” And the first thing they discovered was that their margins, overheads and operating costs were high compared with international benchmarks.

As I remind everyone, we didn’t build High Speed 1. A French company designed it and an American company delivered it. We weren’t called in to deliver Crossrail, that was designed by a French company with an American company delivering it.

And we haven’t been called in to deliver High Speed 2 today. Interesting isn’t it? So my message to our organisation is that we need to be in a position where we are the natural party that the government or investors choose to bring in to deliver major projects.

Regulations are a necessary part of any monopoly for starters, and certainly any monopoly that benefits from the billions of pounds that we get. You can’t fight it and the public expects it. It’s their right. It would be different if we didn’t take any public subsidies.

That’s the price we pay of being a monopolistic, publicly funded infrastructure company.

Whatever comes out of the next control period negotiations will be incredibly difficult to achieve, no matter what. Therefore we’ll have to change, again, to get more and more efficient, otherwise we’re never going to hit the targets. You just can’t take more trackworkers off maintaining the track and think things will go well. It just doesn’t work. You have to look at the underlying procedures and processes we have. You have to get real productivity improvements rather than just cutting workforce.

Are there other areas where you have people making demands on you, or setting targets for you, or stopping you doing things, that are really frustrating for you?

Most of our issues are self imposed.

I’ll start by saying that we’ve got an unbelievably fragmented railway system which is very, very complex and complicated to work with but, hell, that’s an excuse, we should get over that.

One of the big features of the railway is also it’s a mixed railway. It sounds an obvious statement. We have a very dense, congested, mixed network which is a fact of life and therefore there are a huge number of interdependencies.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

If you miss your targets, you get fined.

But it looks like fining Network Rail, which is publicly funded, is a self defeating principle. Where does fine money come from?

Well, the money comes from the money we’re given. I mean, there has to be some sanction if we miss targets, I can understand that. But ultimately we’re a not for-dividend company. We’re a full profit company, but we’re not for dividend, and anything we make is invested back in the railways.

But, you know, in the end we agreed back in 2008 a certain settlement, and in return for that we agreed to deliver a certain set of outputs. So, if you don’t want to live by that process, then don’t expect to be treated as an independent company, just become a government department, become a cost centre and apply every year for budget controls.

That’s the alternative, so if you want to bid for a control period then you have to expect to deliver outputs. If you don’t there is a financial penalty.

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 18

And you feel that the not for dividend status that you have, and the stand alone company that you have, is the right way to run the railways rather than being a government department?

Of course, absolutely right. There is no doubt.

OK, you have compiled your business plan, presumably the next thing is to get it through the ORR? We have spent a year putting a massive amount of work into our plan along with the ORR. There’s ninety pages on the website but 22,000 pages is what they will get. I believe it was something like 6 foot 6 inches tall if you stand it up.

So somebody has had to write 22,000 pages and somebody else has got to read 22,000 pages?

Correct, yes. And it has taken us a year, basically, because what we did this time was to compile our initial industry plan, which is basically top down head office driven, with what we think the railways should cost. Then we went out to our routes and we said that now you are devolved, now that you have customers out there, you prepare your route plans bottom up and tell us what you think is the right plan to run the railways. Then we’ll merge it with our version.

So, it’s a much more rigorous process now. I would always like to have a greater supplier involvement and greater customer involvement, but we are a long way ahead of where we were in the last control period. It’s a much more thoughtful, resilient document.

I don’t expect an easy settlement, but what I do want is a settlement we know how we can deliver, because in the last control period we got 3 billion less than we thought and then we spent the best part of two years trying to work

out how the hell we were going to make it work. As a result the industry suffered because a lot of the work slowed down dramatically.

We are trying to forecast forward what will happen in the next 5 years - what improvements, productivity, technology, external events will occur. And it’s understandable that the Regulator expects results based on things which haven’t been thought of which will improve productivity and of course that’s reasonable. I am sure we will come up with ideas. But trying to estimate what those are and how they will work and then enter a binding settlement that doesn’t constipate the industry is a challenge!

But then, also in the next 5 years, you’ll have work come up or be thrown at you that you weren’t budgeting for now.

That’s what happened this time, the growth we’ve had within the industry is substantially higher than anything anyone ever expected.

We’ve had substantially higher growth than was ever predicted at the start of CP4 on our rail network.

We are coping with a 50% increase in 10 years, 25% in 5 years, 8% last year. It’s a huge struggle, particularly when you are set a budget. You have to say, as things change, that you need to be able to change the settlement.

That’s not something anyone as a Regulator would like but that’s how you have to operate.

So the first challenge is that we need to convince the ORR to give us the money we’ve asked for. But then we still need to be flexible because we know a year, two years down the line, we’ll be back to try and change the settlement - but for specific reasons.

With a courteous farewell, Sir David gathered his papers and made his way to yet another meeting with the Regulator. That’s life at the top.

22/04/2013 15:54

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the rail engineer • May 2013

over two legs I

ssue 100 of The Rail Engineer reported on the enabling works for Crossrail that were carried out at Christmas near Slough on the Great Western main line. On that occasion, principal contractor HOCHTIEF removed three brick arch bridges (two road bridges and one footbridge) and installed a new steel composite footbridge. At Easter the scores were reversed, with three bridges installed and one removed during a 104 hour, all lines rail possession.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

These bridge works were carried out by Network Rail, on behalf of the Crossrail project, to enable installation of overhead line electrification on the Crossrail West Surface Works section between Paddington and Maidenhead. The four bridges had inadequate clearances for the new overhead lines.

Long-span footbridges HOCHTIEF and designers Hyder developed a repeated footbridge design which was used at three of the locations. One of these, at Horton, was the one installed at Christmas. This gave the team the chance to optimise the construction of the remaining two similar bridges, at Old Stockley Road and Trenches, which were installed in the Easter possession.

The footbridges cross all four running lines in single spans of 33 metres, which allows for future flexibility in the track layout.

A clearance of 5.6 metres from rail level is provided, placing no restrictions on the overhead lines.

The decks are of steel-concrete composite construction.

Weathering steel was used for the main girders to minimise future maintenance requirements. The twin girders and bracing were fabricated and assembled by Mabey Bridge in Chepstow and transported to site in single 33 metre lengths, one day ahead of the installation date. The beams were lifted as complete 29 tonne units by 500 tonne cranes at each location and landed on support trestles.

Once the beams were installed, eleven five-tonne precast deck units were landed using the same mobile cranes. The precast deck units were fitted with the parapet framework ahead of installation, providing immediate edge protection for operatives working on the bridge deck and also reducing both the work carried out at height and the total amount to complete within the rail possession.

There was sufficient time at Trenches to place the in-situ concrete element of the deck slab via a 50 metre mobile concrete pump. To do this over the Easter weekend, special arrangement had to be made for Hanson Concrete to open their Acton batching plant for a few hours on Easter Saturday.

21

to raise the approaches to the bridge to achieve the full 5.6 metre clearance, hence only 5.2 metres is provided at this bridge.

This part of the programme called for the largest crane of all.

A 1000 tonne mobile crane was used to lift the giant portal and parapet units into position. The Liebherr LTM 11000DS was supplied

by Ainscough Crane Hires Heavy Lifting Division and is one of the largest mobile cranes available in the UK. Taking all three sites into consideration, there was a serious concentration of lifting power within a five-mile radius.

The Middlegreen Road bridge was the most complex and posed several logistical challenges. All lifting was carried out from Bloom Park, to the north-west of the site. Within the site compound, HOCHTIEF had to accommodate the 1000 tonne mobile crane complete with 56 metre long lattice boom, four precast cill beams (for the existing abutments and piers), ten precast portal units weighing up to 31 tonnes each, and eight precast parapet units.

The precast concrete units were fabricated by Banagher Precast Concrete in Co. Offaly, Ireland, and delivered to site and unloaded throughout the week leading up to Easter.

The various elements had to be accurately installed to ensure fit and were connected together using temporary supports. As the items were being delivered from Ireland the week before installation, HOCHTIEF and Network Rail carried out a joint visit in early March to Banagher’s fabrication yard where they reviewed progress and quality and carried out key dimensional checks.

Big lift at Middlegreen Road The fourth bridge, at Middlegreen Road, is the only one to carry vehicles. Precast concrete portal units were installed on the existing piers and abutments to retain a three-span bridge. It was not viable

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the rail engineer • May 2013

The programme was scheduled to take a total of 60 hours, with the lifting operation being completed in 36 hours and the steel fixing, shuttering and concreting of the in-situ deck pours completed in another 24 hours.

Down comes Horton The demolition at Horton followed the completion of the access ramps to the new footbridge installed at Christmas, allowing the footpath to be switched to the new bridge a few weeks after the demolition of the old one. These works were carried out by Gilpin Demolition which was also responsible for the successful demolition of the three bridges at Christmas 2012. Horton bridge was demolished in a similar fashion with track protection consisting of Cordek polystyrene blocks covered by 150mm thick deep timber navvy mats used to form the crash deck beneath the bridge and the access track from the site compound.

The bridge was demolished from track level using two 35 tonne and two 21 tonne excavators fitted with grab and breaker attachments. The machines were located on both sites of the bridge with all three spans worked on simultaneously. The brick arisings dropped onto the timber crash deck where they were loaded into dumpers and stored in the site compound. The limited space in the compound meant it was a snug fit to store all of the demolition plant, track protection materials and spoil. The week after Easter was spent removing all the arisings, plant and equipment and, within a week, it didn’t look as though anyone had been there.

The demolition was a critical item in the Crossrail Outer Integrated programme. As the track protection blocked all lines, no trains could pass through the works whilst the demolition was underway. The works were therefore sandwiched between engineering train movements serving other projects

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There is still work to be done on Trenches, Middlegreen Road and Old Stockley, with construction of the access ramps, approaches, fencing, landscaping and street lighting to be completed prior to them reopening in Summer 2013.

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Delivering in joint venture, an upgraded Reading Station with 5 new platforms and 30m wide passenger footbridge with escalators and lifts providing step-free access to all platforms.

HOCHTIEF has a long standing reputation for successfully delivering innovative solutions for the rail industry. We provide technical expertise earned from over two decades of experience in the UK and our 140 year legacy operating worldwide. From station upgrades to major railway infrastructure schemes, HOCHTIEF has been at the forefront of developing cost effective solutions at the highest quality and safety standards for discerning clients.

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Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 23

(UK) CONSTRUCTION

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ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

the rail engineer • May 2013

CAF trams for Midland Metro Expansion Project is being expanded by Morgan Sindall under a £13.8 million contract. The work includes a 42 metre extension to the main building, additional maintenance berths, four more stabling sidings and a separate testing and commissioning building. A new sub-station will be required and there will be upgrades to the overhead electrification and telecom infrastructure. Completion is planned for the middle of 2013.

Tram design STUART RACKLEY

I

t is now approximately a year since Balfour Beatty won the contract from Centro to extend the Midland Metro light rail line by 1.3 km through central Birmingham as part of a £128 million project to increase capacity. A general outline of the extension, and its route down Corporation Street to Stephenson Street and New Street station, was described in issue 101 (March 2013) of The Rail Engineer.

That article also mentioned the new trams that will not only run on the new extension but also on the whole network. Spanish train manufacturer CAF (or Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles to give its full name) has now started construction of 25 new Urbos 3 trams that will replace the current fleet of 16 Ansaldo Transporti trams which have been in service since 1999.

Spanish success CAF is an international leader in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of equipment for the railway industry. It was founded at the beginning of the twentieth century and now has a presence in 25 countries and is involved in 45 urban transport projects throughout the world (high speed, intercity, suburban, underground, tram and light underground).

Research and development is a priority for CAF

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which has technological centres in six locations in Spain.

The Urbos 3 light rail vehicle was developed from the successful Urbos 1 and 2 which provide trams for services in Bilbao, Malaga, Vitoria, Seville, Edinburgh and Antalya. Urbos 3 boasts numerous improvements and, to date, has been ordered by, and delivered to, light rail and tram networks in Spain, Brazil, France and Sweden. The first vehicles are due for delivery this autumn and, starting next year, the new trams will operate on the current route from Snow Hill to Wolverhampton and then over the extended line to New Street when it becomes operational in 2015. They will provide a service of 10 trams per hour in each direction with an increased capacity of 210 passengers per tram compared with the current 156.

To accommodate maintenance and servicing of the new fleet, the depot at Wednesbury

The new Midland Metro Urbos 3 is a standard (1,435mm) gauge, 2.65 metre wide, bi-directional, double-cab ended tram with a low floor throughout. The vehicle consists of five segments with four articulations. Three of the modules (C1, R and C2) are mounted on bogies and the other two modules (S1 and S2) are suspended. The overall length of the tram is 33 metres, 9 metres longer than the existing Ansaldo stock, and it has a maximum operating speed of 70km/h (44mph).

The modular design of the body shell combines low weight with simpler and quicker manufacturing processes. The majority of the elements are made of light aluminium alloys and extruded sections. These are complemented by high strength carbon steel in the C and R modules and composite components in the suspended S1 and S2 modules.

The bogie is of proven design, as used in all CAF low floor trams, having independent rotating resilient wheels. The bogies under C1 and C2 modules are powered with one traction motor per wheel, whilst the intermediate bogie under module R is a trailer. The bogie frame is made of cast steel and welded plates with a double primary and secondary suspension system.

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ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

The vast majority of equipment is installed on the tram roof, making it easily accessible. This includes the traction and auxiliary converters, braking resistors, pantograph, HSCB (high speed circuit breaker), battery, saloon and cab HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems.

This ease of maintenance, together with the lightness of the equipment, will reduce the consumption of resources and energy during the tram’s working life.

In the event of a failure to part of the traction system, there is sufficient capacity to allow the tram to continue in service as long as it retains 75% of its total capability, a feature which reduces the risk of service disruption.

The tram is not expected to operate in multiple. However, in a recovery situation, one tram loaded with passengers at a density of six passengers/m² is able to rescue another failed, empty tram under any track condition and with gradients up to 8%. For this purpose, the vehicle has an emergency folding coupler at each end, stowed behind the body end fairing, and an umbilical cord for communication and emergency braking.

The tram’s braking performance meets the requirements of EN 134521, with a deceleration of 1.2m/s² provided for service braking and certain emergency cases, while a deceleration of 2.8 m/s² can be developed on application of full emergency braking.

There are three separate braking systems on the tram: » Electro-dynamic regenerative brake (EDB): the braking method used in service braking. This either returns power to the overhead wiring or dissipates it by the rheostatic resistors; » Hydraulic friction brake (FB): using one brake disc and calliper per wheel, this is utilised in service braking only to blend at high speed and during the EDB fade out stage at low speed. It has a major role under emergency brake demand and, together with the Magnetic Track Brake, guarantees the minimum secure braking of 1m/s²; » Magnetic Track brake (MTB): two per bogie, used for emergency braking only.

Sanding is available at the leading bogies and applies automatically when low wheel / track adhesion is detected. The wheel slide protection (WSP) system on all bogies automatically adjusts the traction/braking effort in low friction conditions, both in traction (slip) and when braking (slide), to optimise performance

Passenger comfort The total capacity of the tram is 210 passengers (54 seated + 156 standing). The overall accessibility criteria meets with the requirements of the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR) 2010.

Seats are specifically designed for daily use being comfortable, modular, individual, interchangeable, vandal proof and lightweight. The interior arrangement offers rapid access and egress of passengers to/from the tram through a sliding-plug door system. The overall layout provides for the continuous movement of passengers throughout the saloon.

Full HVAC systems are provided for both cab and saloon areas. In addition, passenger information and CCTV systems provide on-board, automated audible and visual information (through LED & TFT displays

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 25

the rail engineer • May 2013

25

and speakers). CCTV surveillance and on-board communication systems provide security for passengers and staff at each door.

Less able passengers are catered for by the 100% low floor which is only 350mm above the track, including the door access area. The gap between platform and tram is minimised to allow easy wheelchair access and two specific areas for the disabled are provided strategically close to the doors. Handrails are provided that allow safe movement through the tram and the support fixings are colour contrasted.

The CAF Urbos 3 tram ensures passengers have a good level of ride comfort and low noise levels of 70dBA internally and 79dBA externally at 60km/h. CAF has collaborated over the aesthetics and styling with Avant-Premiere, a company which has an excellent reputation and experience in the design of rail and transportation systems.

The tram is fitted with an event recorder (black box) which records the tram activity and can be interrogated in case of any incident. Also fitted is a passenger counting system while the tram control and monitoring system (TCMS) controls the connection, disconnection and operating modes of the auxiliary systems. It also coordinates and manages the flow of information along the tram and its systems, and informs the driver (through a display screen) of the tram’s status in real time.

Catenaryless capability The Urbos 3 tram is fitted with passive provision for the future upgrade and installation of an autonomous power supply system (ACR - Acumulador de Carga Rapida), based on a design utilising both supercapacitors and batteries. These will increase the amount of regenerated energy as the system operates, recovering and storing the tram’s kinetic energy produced during braking operations. The result is a significant increase in the system’s efficiency as the energy stored during braking can be used again later, with savings of around 20%.

In addition, ACR can provide the tram with power to run along short sections without overhead wiring. Both the Seville and Zaragoza networks operate in this way, running without overhead wires in the historic centres of both cities. The Urbos 3 trams in Zaragoza cover five sections without wires - a total distance of 2km.

Every platform along the existing route has been modified to accommodate these new longer, and wider, trams. This work was carried out during a two-week closure at Easter 2013 and will enable both old and new trams to operate during the changeover period.

No other interface issues are envisaged between the Urbos 3 and the Midland Metro Network. The tram is capable of operating reliably to meet the required Mean Distance between Failures target, set for the annual average distance of 95,000km per tram.

CAF is aware that its industrial activities can affect the environment, so the company’s general policy includes environmental protection as one of its priority objectives. To this end, the CAF group owns a hydroelectric plant, integrates solar energy panels at its plants and operates in renewable energy using solar and wind energy. As a result of this effort, CAF has developed the world’s first verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) - The Green Yardstick - for the Urbos 3.

It really will be a green tram.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

Safety-first at Tysley

T

yseley depot first opened in 1908 to serve the newly constructed North Warwickshire Line which gave a more direct route from Birmingham to the South West. It included two turntables, one for passenger and one for freight locomotives, and a large repair workshop dubbed ‘The Factory’.

Its heyday was in the mid 1950s when there were 100 locomotives based at Tysley. A new diesel multiple unit depot was opened in 1957 and subsequently expanded, but that spelt the end of steam operations. The passenger roundhouse was demolished in 1968 and the freight side narrowly escaped the same fate but is now part of the Tyeseley Locomotive Woks museum.

The modern DMU depot went from strength to strength, however, and has been enlarged several times. Today it is operated by London Midland and is home to its class 150 and 172 trains.

Recent improvements In the last few years there has been a series of upgrades at Tyseley, commissioned

by Network Rail through their principal contractor J. Murphy & Sons Limited. This is to support London Midland’s expansion in Birmingham and Network Rail’s commitment to improving workplace safety. It has included the introduction of a £1.6m washing facility, capable of cleaning 120 trains each day.

Upgrading an older depot also brings the opportunity to improve safety provisions.

As part of this, Tyseley is the latest facility to implement Zonegreen’s SMART Depot Personnel Protection System (DPPS™). This

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 26

intelligent control network has been fitted to all 13 lines at Tyseley and provides safer working conditions for maintenance staff and increases the speed and efficiency with which trains are moved.

Tony Hague, Zonegreen’s managing director, explained: “Rail depots built in the last 20 years report significantly fewer accidents than their older counterparts, thanks to the availability of the latest technology. DPPS reduces the margin for human error when trains are being moved, allowing essential maintenance to take place without endangering lives or damaging expensive equipment. We are encouraged to see Network Rail investing in safer working practices as operators upgrade their facilities and we were happy to help London Midland lead the way.”

with Zonegreen’s knowledge, diligence and response to our requirements during the design and installation process. In such a busy depot, safety is paramount and the DPPS™ is easy to use, more reliable than its predecessor and offers much better protection for staff.

It gives us invaluable information about the status of all roads from a central computer and has quickly become an essential part of our daily operations.”

Zonegreen’s SMART DPPS is already installed in some of the largest and most sophisticated maintenance facilities in the world, including Eurostar’s Temple Mills, and the Dubai Metro depots at Jebel Ali and Rashidiya.

High-tech safety DPPS uses powered derailers, road end control panels, train detection equipment, warning signals and personal datakeys to protect staff and infrastructure in busy rail depots. Zonegreen’s flagship technology can be combined with the firm’s Depot Manager software to offer a complete depot overview and a fully traceable system.

Dave Harris, site service manager at London Midland, added: “We have been very pleased

22/04/2013 14:56

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the rail engineer • May 2013

ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

Squeezing more from the tube

DAVID SHIRRES

A

nyone strap hanging on a crowded Victoria line train could be forgiven for not believing that, a few months ago, its upgrade gave a 21% increase in passenger capacity. The reality is that the various challenging capacity improvement projects being undertaken

by London Underground (LU) barely keep pace with London’s insatiable demand for tube travel.

This much, and more, was explained by LU’s Malcolm Dobell and Kate Whelan in a recent presentation to the IMechE Railway Division’s Scottish Centre.

To the second operation Malcolm Dobell, LU’s head of train systems, opened his presentation by outlining the principles of Metro operation. Delivering high capacity needs high acceleration and braking rates (1.3 m/s² and 1.15m/s² respectively) and consistency from Automatic Train Operation (ATO) and control of station dwell times. Short headways from lots of signals or moving block signalling is needed as well as lots of wide doors that open and close quickly.

The operation needs to be managed to the second, with particular attention to train despatch.

A good example of this ‘to the second’ operation is the need to turn around trains in 218 seconds at Brixton on the Victoria Line.

In this time a driver shuts down his cab, a different driver opens up the cab at the other

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 28

the train driven clear of the platform. It has been assessed that this requires at least 203 seconds.

Upgrading an automated tube

end, passengers have to leave and board the train, a route is set over the crossovers and

This 218 second turn around is needed for the new 33 trains per hour (tph) timetable introduced in February with the completion of the Victoria line upgrade. The increase from the previous 27 trains per hour comes from the provision of new signalling and rolling stock to give a 21% capacity increase. However, in the time taken to upgrade the line, ridership has increased by 25%, from 160,000 to 200,000 passengers per day.

When it opened in 1968, the Victoria line was the world’s first full-scale Automatic Train

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ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS Operation (ATO) railway. The recent ATO-on-ATO upgrade replaces the original fixed block system with Westinghouse’s Distance to Go signalling as explained in The Rail Engineer issue 98 (December 2012). As this new system overlaid the old signalling, it was installed largely without disruption.

At 133.3 metres, the 2009 Victoria line stock forms LU’s longest deeptube trains - three metres longer than the 1967 stock it replaced. This uses the extra platform length that had been provided due to initial uncertainty about the original ATO stopping accuracy. It is also 40mm wider than normal tube stock, to take advantage on the line’s slightly wider tunnels.

The 47 new eight-car trains were built by Bombardier, 39 are required to provide the service.

Extra train capacity serves no purpose if passengers can’t get to them, so an essential part of LU’s capacity improvement programme is made up of station enhancements. The recent addition of the northern ticket hall at Kings Cross tube station is one example, as are various ongoing enhancements including those at Victoria underground station. Here, in 2018, a new booking hall under Bressenden Place and nine new escalators are to be provided.

The energy dissipated by extra trains adds to the problem of cooling the tube. LU’s approach to this issue is described in issue 98 of The Rail Engineer (December 2012) which also provides more information about Kings Cross tube station.

Modelling the future Kate Whelan, LU’s lead systems performance engineer, has a love of modelling. This much is clear from her enthusiastic description of LU’s railway engineering simulator (RES), a bespoke application developed by LU which models system operation (including rolling stock, signalling, track and power) to a high level of detail. For her, the RES is an essential tool to ensure optimum system performance.

the rail engineer • May 2013

29

RES modelling trains through planned new layout at Baker Street.

In her presentation, Kate described how the RES translates business and operational requirements into engineering projects and is then used to verify and validate project design proposals in order to deliver the required timetable. As an example, RES has been used to specify the remodelling of Baker Street as part of LU’s Sub-surface Lines (SSL) upgrade (The Rail Engineer issue 85 - November 2011). Currently, 14 trains per hour (tph) run from the Metropolitan line platforms over the flat Baker Street junction, meshing with 12 tph from the Circle Line to give 26 tph through the junction. In addition 8 tph from Harrow terminate at Baker Street. After the upgrade, the train service will be respectively 16 and 16 tph (32 tph through the junction) with 12 tph terminating at Baker Street.

An extra 65% Transport for London’s leaflet ‘Our Upgrade Plan - Improving London’s Underground’ gives an overview of all LU’s upgrades. It shows that by far the greatest peak capacity improvement is an impressive 65% by 2018 for both the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. These form part of the SSL network, the other lines being the Metropolitan and District for which capacity improvements of 27% and 24% respectively are planned.

The SSL network has 310 track kilometres, of which 85% is actually on the surface, with multiple flat junctions requiring inter-meshing of the different lines service timetables. It carries 1.3 million people a day, 25% of LU’s ridership. Part of its network is also shared with the Jubilee and Piccadilly lines as well as ‘heavy rail’ (Chiltern and South West Trains). So whilst its current operations are challenging, a 65% increase in capacity requires a quantum change. This requires a system performance engineering approach using RES to model all aspects of the system including new trains, new signalling and train regulation systems, control centres, track upgrades, changed layouts and power upgrades.

Enter the S stock For passengers, the first obvious improvement is the new S stock with its air conditioning, a first for LU. The £1.5 billion order for Bombardier to supply 191 new S stock trains between 2010 and 2016 is said to be the largest in UK railway history. It comprises of 58 eight-car S8 units for the Metropolitan Line and 133 seven-car S7 units for the other sub-

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 29

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the rail engineer • May 2013

Station cooling at Green Park.

surface lines. The S7 and S8 stock trains are respectively 24 and 2 metres longer than their predecessors and have through gangways and revised seating. Their introduction gives an immediate capacity improvement (25% for the Circle Line).

Prior to the introduction of this stock, platform extensions were required, although at stations where this was prohibitively expensive, selective door operation is used. To cope with the additional air conditioning load and the eventual performance upgrade, power supplies were improved with high-conductivity stainless steel/aluminium conductor rails.

Further supply upgrades will be required for the increase in train frequency prior to commissioning the new signalling system in 2018.

CITYFLO - a quantum leap As has been seen, the system wide approach to the SSL upgrade involves many projects, for example the renewal of 36 junctions between 2015 and 2018. However it is the new train control system that offers the greatest capacity improvement. This is Bombardier’s CITYFLO 650 system for which a £354 million contract was awarded in June 2011. CITYFLO 650 is a variable moving block Communications Based Train Control (CBTC).

The system has four elements: Automatic Train Protection (ATP), Automatic Train Operation (ATO), Train to Wayside Communications (TWC) and Automatic Train Supervision (ATS). Train location is determined from a combination of tagged base stations and axle-driven tachometers. The system has no external signals, track-circuits or trip cocks.

Therefore, unlike most re-signalling schemes, it can be installed with minimal impact to the existing signalling system.

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ATP has train and trackside components to perform safety critical tasks such as train detection, safe train separation and junction control. ATO ensures the train is operated to a defined speed profile and stops accurately. The TWC provides secure radio communications between all elements of the system via leaky coaxial cables or line of sight antennas. A significant level of redundancy is built into all these systems.

With its ATS functionality, CITYFLO 650 is far more than just a signalling system. ATS actively manages the train service in accordance with the operator’s requirements. This includes start-up, changes to service frequency and the management of headways. Crucially it controls train movements to ensure there is no conflict as trains arrive at the junctions which currently constrain the capacity of the SSL network. The Rail Engineer issue 85 (November 2011) has more information about CITYFLO 650 and the SSL upgrade.

It all sounds quite wonderful, but then so did a similar signalling scheme proposed as a solution for the problems of the West Coast main line 20 years ago. In this case, however, there is a proven system which is already in successful operation on 14 networks, including Madrid’s lines 1 and 6 and Shenzen’s L3 metro.

Another factor is that LU has procured CITYFLO ‘as is’ and, where necessary, is modifying its processes to accommodate it. Other risk mitigation is extensive test track testing and RES simulation.

Lessons for main lines In his presentation, Malcolm considered whether main line railways could benefit from applying the principles of metro operation. For metros, train separation is typically less than 300 metres at 50 km/h compared with over

2000 metres at 160 km/h. Main line has mixed traffic with varying traction and rolling stock (T&RS) performance and stopping patterns all of which reduce capacity. As a result, main lines do well to achieve 12 tph compared with a metro’s typical 30 tph.

Despite these differences, he felt there were transferable lessons. Metros can only achieve their train service by detailed attention to every operational aspect, requiring a production line approach. Metros do not have the problem of mixed traffic which can be alleviated by attention to dwell time and consistent T&RS and stopping patterns. Whilst it is evident that infrastructure improvements such as passing places and flyovers will also increase capacity, these needed to be modelled at an engineering level to optimise design as LU do with their RES software.

150 years and going strong This year LU is 150 years old. From carrying 60,000 passengers in 1863, there are now over a billion journeys a year. Over this time, ‘The Underground’ has expanded and adapted itself to take this extra traffic which will continue to increase with 1.3 billion journeys forecast for 2020. Accommodating this extra traffic through the small tunnels and over complex flat junctions that are part of LU’s heritage is a significant challenge for which it has solutions.

With today’s safety regime, running a steam train that ran over the original Metropolitan lines to celebrate its 150th birthday was a significant achievement. This shows the same can-do philosophy and attention to detail that LU applies to both its day-to-day operations and upgrade projects. So it is good to see that one of the details of the SSL upgrade is the requirement to fit CITYFLO equipment to LU’s heritage trains.

22/04/2013 14:56

ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

the rail engineer • May 2013

31

for important jobs Small orders

R

ailways may be high-tech these days, but there is still a lot of old kit out there. Some trains date back to the 1980s, albeit with several refurbishments along the way, and the full gamut of signalling equipment is still in operation from mechanical levers through British Rail relays to modern electronics.

Keeping that lot running can be a nightmare. A lot of the spare parts for sub-systems are hard to find and some even have to be completely remade in small quantities, which is expensive even if a manufacturer can be found who will do it.

It is therefore good news that precious metal contacts and precision metal pressings specialist Samuel Taylor Limited (STL) is currently reviving its traditional links with the rail industry utilising many unique tools and accumulated knowhow dating back from the 1960s and 70s. Some of the company’s expertise and tooling retrieved from the company’s tool storage racks is set to save a significant amount of time and money for rail subcontractors tasked with refurbishing power switches and associated metal contacts and components within trains.

A wide range of products While the UK-based supply industry has dwindled and often moved overseas, STL has maintained its prototype and small order manufacturing capability within the UK. It has even

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 31

expanded its core volume precision stamping market with the addition of several new heavier presses.

Recent investment at STL in state of the art tool design software and toolroom EDM machines can also be focussed on rail refurbishment or new design projects. According to STL’s Sales Manager Carl Siviter, “the company has a range of product solutions to suit most applications.”

Exhibiting at this year’s Railtex show in London, the company is particularly aiming to forge new connections with rail subcontractors who need access to STL’s knowledge and capability in electrical contact materials. With their precious contact materials potentially fitting a wide range of switches that can be found in electrical train engines as well as the carriages, the firm’s tools and expertise are likely to help rail engineers to carry out rail refurbishments in the most efficient and cost effective way.

STL’s managing director Alastair Gordon commented: “Holding on to our small order capability has been a good decision in the face of trends over recent years towards more high volume manufacture

and automation. Of course, we are also able to provide that kind of volume, with high speed pressing capability available where required, but the small order capability is perfect for serving niche or smaller markets.”

The company’s commitment to the rail sector has also been manifested by STL’s recent

decision to join the Rail Alliance.

Aiming to provide businesses with the opportunities to network, collaborate and innovate with suppliers and customers alike, the B2B organisation’s membership base spans all aspects of the railway and supporting industries and unites representatives from the public and private sector.

Samuel Taylor Limited engineering excellence made in the midlands ISO9001:2008 approved & inhouse 3D cad design toolmaking prototypes volume production

Email info@sam mueltaylor.co.uk www.samuelta aylorr.co.uk .

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ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

the rail engineer • May 2013

Reshelling a 455 PHOTO: RAIB

the lorry off onto the left hand cutting face alongside the train.

The brakes on the train came on automatically, possibly due to damage to a brake supply wire. As the train slowed down over the next 14 seconds the lorry scraped along the side of the train, breaking up. Coach seven was damaged, but a large section of the wreckage made a heavy impact on the forward door of coach eight, stoving it in badly.

This knocked the whole carriage sideways, deflecting the track 350mm to the right and derailing the rear bogie although the whole train remained upright. The conductor rail was also pushed out of place.

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

G

uy Fawkes’ Day, 5 November 2010, and the 15:05 South West Trains service left Guildford for Waterloo. It was an eight-car train, made up of two Class 455 electric multiple units coupled together. Twenty minutes later, it was departing Oxshott station.

At the same time, a DAF 75 ready-mix concrete lorry was travelling south on the A244, from a concrete batching plant at Byfleet to a construction site at Epsom. At the wheel was a driver with only three weeks experience, in his first week as an unaccompanied driver following a period of training. With 14 tonnes of concrete on board, the vehicle weighed a total of 25.6 tonnes.

Over the edge The A244 crosses the railway close to Oxshott station. It approaches the bridge (Bridge 11) at a slight left-hand angle. As the lorry came up to the bridge, its front left wheel made contact with the end of the bridge parapet which was obscured by vegetation.

The impact was severe enough to break one of the wheels studs. Following through, the rear of the lorry also hit the parapet end.

PHOTO: RAIB

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After travelling a little further down the bridge, the lorry hit the left hand brick-built parapet, demolishing 14.3 metres of it which fell onto the railway below. Most of it fell harmlessly onto the side of the cutting, but some masonry landed on coach five of the train that was coincidentally passing under the bridge at the time. There was a loud bang heard inside the train and luggage was thrown off the overhead racks. However, there were no injuries caused to the train’s guard and the fourteen passengers who were in the carriage at the time.

However, a few seconds later the lorry, dragged off the bridge after its left hand wheels had demolished the parapet, landed on the front left-hand corner of coach six.

The force of the impact crushed the roof downwards, detaching the cantrail from the corner post. The angle this created rolled

The aftermath There were ten passengers travelling in coach six. One was badly injured and trapped by the collapsed roof while five others were less badly hurt. Fortunately, there were no passengers in coach eight.

Once the train had stopped, the driver informed the local signaller who blocked the line, turned off the power and informed emergency services. The guard, using a ladder from the cab, got all the passengers off the train with the exception of the badly injured one who was trapped. An off-duty police officer who had been travelling on the train stayed behind to comfort that passenger until paramedics arrived 18 minutes later.

The lorry driver had also been trapped in his cab, but he was safely removed to hospital where he remained for two days.

The result of this accident was a badly damaged Class 455. All four carriages were in need of repair, so the whole unit was shipped off to Railcare in Wolverton near Milton Keynes for an engineering assessment.

PHOTO: RAIB

22/04/2013 14:56

ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

Anyone got a bodyshell?

The general condition of the train was good, it had only returned from heavy overhaul one month earlier. Being a steel bodied train, its coaches are derived from British Rail’s successful Mark 3 design, the engineers at Railcare were able to repair three of the cars by conventional means. The rear coach needed a lot of work, the roof and side had been extensively damaged and the door needed to be completely replaced, but it was at least repairable.

The coach that was struck by the lorry, however, was in far worse condition. The weld that joined the cantrail to the front corner post had failed. This stopped the post supporting the roof and absorbing the energy of the impact, which is why the whole roof had come down over the first ten seats. Structural engineers from Railcare and

the rail engineer • May 2013

consultants Atkins discovered that there was a significant diagonal twist to the whole structure. The coach was therefore basically scrap.

Unsurprisingly, Class 455 bodyshells are in short supply.

Fortunately, Railcare knew of a Class 210 coach that was in storage belonging to Eversholt Rail. Class 210 was a prototype class of diesel multiple unit which was built in the 1970s but withdrawn in the 1980s.

Only seven coaches had been built, and most of those were scrapped.

However, one was located and, like the Class 455, it was a Mark 3-derived unit.

The Class 210 coach was obtained and shipped to Wolverton for inspection. On arrival, Railcare engineers went over it in detail both to establish its condition and how it differed from the Class 455 coach it would become.

33

Spot the difference The most obvious difference was that the 210 was a DMS (driving motor standard) so it had a driver’s cab at one end. That would have to go but, fortunately, one intermediate end on the 455 MSO (motor standard open) could be reused.

The other differences were more subtle, but potentially equally problematic. For example, the entire headstock assembly, including the dragbox, would need to be changed.

The dragbox of the Class 455 is shallower in the area above the traction motor when compared with the Class 210 and it was not

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22/04/2013 14:56

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ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

the rail engineer • May 2013

practicable to modify the existing Class 210 dragbox to gain the necessary clearance required.

The most significant difference from the perspective of structural strength was the thickness of the material used for the vehicle solebars; 6mm as compared with 8mm of the Class 455 MSO. Also, while the basic underframe arrangement of the Class 210 and Class 455 is very similar, some differences do exist. The Class 455 uses, almost exclusively, cross members made from 6mm thick steel compared with 5mm thick on the Class 210.

As a result of these and other differences, the Railcare engineering team, supported by Atkins, set about developing proposals for the conversion. Before being implemented, these were checked using a finite element analysis (FEA) model which was specially developed to ascertain whether the discrepancies could remain or further stiffening would be needed.

Atkins was able to confirm that the main structure could remain as-built, although some cross members would need to be replaced.

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 34

Brackets, bolsters and bogies So far as the mechanical side was concerned, there were a number of brackets and other structures needed to support the traction control equipment. The distance between the centres of the air bags also differs between the two vehicles (50mm) and for this reason it was necessary to replace the bolster assembly resulting in two new bolster sub-assemblies being manufactured.

To remove and replace the bolsters on the Class 210 introduced further risks to the task of converting the vehicle; the alignment of the bolsters is critical to achieving the correct cross-axle wheel load tolerance and the vehicle’s swept envelope could have been upset.

Externally, the old ventilation equipment was removed from the Class 210 bodyshell, new carlines and 3 new roof mounted ventilator cowls added and the roof skin modified to make this area the same as a Class 455. Some local modification to the roof skin was required and the interface plate welded into position. The Class 455 has a gutter running the length of the vehicle, just above the orange coloured overhead cable warning line. This feature is not present on the Class 210 and had to be added.

Both motor bogies on the Class 455 MSO had suffered significant damage and the

bogie frame side wall has been dented.

One of the override beams has been bent along with distortion of the lateral damper and both traction links and brackets. The bogies were removed and the damage to the frames repaired by the engineering team at Wolverton. Then, to maintain the existing warranty, they were sent to Unipart Rail for C4 overhaul.

After the interior had been refitted, largely taken from the original Class 455 with some new parts, the body was completely repainted and it was difficult to tell it actually came from a different train.

In March 2013, over two years after the accident, train 455913 was ready to re-enter service. It had been a complex task as Phil Mitchell, projects and engineering director for Railcare, explained: “The challenges of taking one kind of vehicle and making it into another are significant. Not only are you undertaking a significant repair but ensuring that all aspects of the newly built vehicle comply with the design and build specification of the Class 455. We are really pleased with the outcome of this complex project and look forward to supporting the test phase and seeing the train back in passenger service.”

The train is now undergoing final sign off before traction tests and trial running. It is expected to be back carrying passengers shortly.

The facts of this incident are taken from Railway Accident Investigation Branch report 13/2011.

22/04/2013 14:56

Atkins is a leader in the industry, driving transport forward in the UK and overseas.

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Plan Design Enable Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 35

22/04/2013 14:56

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ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

the rail engineer • May 2013

O

ne of the biggest logistical challenges in any depot or yard is moving vehicles about.

Locomotives and trains may not have any power if they are under maintenance or repair, and carriages and wagons are just dead weights that have to be shunted about. The traditional solution is to have one or more shunters available. Small but powerful locomotives, these can couple up to trains and vehicles and move them around the site.

However, there are problems with that solution. Shunters are expensive (£100,000+ second hand, £600,000 for a new one) and, being trapped on the track, they can only access a road from the end. Older models, such as the ubiquitous 08, can be a bit of a devil to start, and their large diesel engines are sometimes not very environmentally friendly.

Small but perfectly formed Enter the road-rail shunter - small, manoeuvrable, and capable of being inserted onto the track almost anywhere.

Mechan, the well-known manufacturer of all types of depot mechanical-handling equipment such as lifting jacks and bogie drops, has now introduced two models of shunter to the UK market.

Rotrac shunters are manufactured in Bavaria, Germany, by Zwiehoff. They are highly efficient, powered by internal batteries, and emission free. They are also radio controlled.

The 250-tonne Rotrac E2 was launched in 2011 and quickly picked up awards for its performance. It is tiny, with a plan of only 2.3 x 1.8 metres (7 x 6 feet), and sits on four 500mm diameter, solid rubber-tyred wheels. These

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 36

allow the E2 to drive around the depot and also provide good grip on the steel rails. Guidance when on-track comes from four adjustable flanged wheels which can accommodate gauges between one 1,000 and 1,676mm.

The complete shunter weighs between three and four tonnes, depending on configuration.

It is powered by 620Ah, 48V lead-acid batteries driving four 26.5kW electric motors, one on each wheel. The drive system is well proven, being used by Linde in its fork-lift trucks and other vehicles.

A bright-yellow drawbar easily connects the shunter to its load. The radio control handset is easy to use and having both axles steerable allows the Rotrac E2 to turn in a 0.9 metre radius. There is even a boost button to help pull-away performance.

Big brother The Rotrac E2 was well received by depot operators around Europe, so it wasn’t long before Zwiehoff produced a larger model, the E4. Launched at InnoTrans in 2012, it can pull loads of up to 500 tonnes and the higher capacity has resulted in a machine which is larger in all respects than the E2.

22/04/2013 15:48

ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

the rail engineer • May 2013

37

Shunt it!

The plan is bigger, now 3.7 x 1.9 metres (12 x 6 feet), and it sits on 750mm diameter wheels.

The 80V batteries drive 37.5kW motors and the whole vehicle weighs 7.5 tonnes. But the same Hetronic NOVA radio-control system is employed giving good manoeuvrability.

Together, these two Rotrac models, E2 and E4, cover the needs of most depot operators, whether hauling trains onto wheel lathes or moving vehicles under repair from one area to another. They can also be used by freight handlers who are making up or breaking down trains, and even recover vehicles from storage yards.

Richard Carr, Mechan’s managing director, said: “Energy efficiency and carbon emissions are becoming increasingly important to rail operators and

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 37

consequently, to companies that serve the sector. Mechan works hard to develop and source greener, cleaner alternatives to the gas guzzling locomotives that have been central to the operations of rail depots and the innovative Rotrac shunters fit this remit perfectly.”

If these two models don’t meet a customer’s requirements, there are other options. Zwiehoff’s RR40B shunter weighs 40 tonnes and can pull 4000 and the company is also well known for its Mercedes Unimog conversions, but Richard Carr and his team at Mechan are confident that the E2 and E4 will satisfy most UK customers for now.

QUALITY / SAFETY / RELIABILITY MECHAN RAIL DEPOT EQUIPMENT We design, manufacture, supply and maintain a comprehensive range of equipment for use in Rail Depots and Workshops. Standard and bespoke designs are available to suit customer requirements. Customers include Freightliner, Direct Rail Services and Electromotive.

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• Locomotive Lifting Jacks up to 45t capacity • Bogie and Wheelset Changing Systems • Turntables and Traversers for Locomotives • Bogie Rotators • Equipment Handling & Storage solutions • Shunting Vehicles Davy Industrial Park Prince of Wales Road Sheffield S9 4EX

info@mechan.co.uk www.mechan.co.uk +44 (0)114 257 0563

Mechan will be at Railtex in London, 30 April to 2 May, and Zwiehoff is exhibiting at iaf, Münster, Germany on 28-30 May.

22/04/2013 15:49

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ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

the rail engineer • May 2013

PHOTO: JONATHAN WEBB

Transforming 460s B

ritain’s railways are attracting more passengers than ever before, despite all the grumbling about higher fares. This success is, in turn, putting pressure on capacity.

Network Rail is working hard to increase the overall capacity of the railway so that more, longer trains can be run every hour. The Rail Engineer always contains reports on projects to extend platforms, redouble single-track railways and improve signalling so that trains can be run closer together.

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 38

A family of Junipers South West Trains has a fleet of thirty 4-car class 458 trains that were built by Alstom at Washwood Heath in Birmingham in 1998. They are used on the London Waterloo to Reading service, and also run down from Ascot to Guildford on weekdays. However, they are often packed, so a capacity increase is well overdue.

The Class 458 is one of the Juniper family of trains. Another member of that family, Class 460, ran the Gatwick Express service until September 2012. All eight 8-car sets went into store, pending another use for them being found.

South West Trains had a use for them, but it didn’t need a small class of 8-car trains.

What it needed was 5-car trains which could be coupled together to form occasional 10-car rakes.

Being the same family, a plan was drawn up to split up the Class 460s and build them into the existing Class 458s, lengthening them.

Doing the maths, the eight Class 460s are made up of 16 driving cars with cab ends and 48 intermediate cars. If 30 of those are used to lengthen the Class 458s by one carriage each, that leaves 18 – or six new train’s worth.

Those six new trains will need 12 driving cabs, available from Class 460 with four left over to be used as spares. Simples!

But, on closer examination, it became more complicated than that. First of all, the cabs on the Class 460s don’t have corridor connections.

The entire cab end would need to be replaced if trains were going to be coupled together.

PHOTO: RICHARD GENNIS

However, there is no point to all this work unless the train operators have the trains to run. They need extra, and longer, trains to fill these new paths and to let more passengers on busy routes have a seat.

Buying new trains is one answer. However, they are expensive, and even getting approval to make the purchase can be problematic.

Consider the order for new trains for Thameslink which has still not been signed by the Department for Transport, two years after the decision was originally announced.

So it is much quicker, and cheaper, to rework existing stock. However, that can also be a problem. Short trains cannot simply be stretched – they need extra carriages put into them. And while new coaches can be bought for modern trains such as Pendolinos, which Virgin has just done, it is not always possible.

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

22/04/2013 15:49

ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

the rail engineer • May 2013

39

Getting started

PHOTO: RICHARD GENNIS

Even though the existing Class 458 cabs do have corridor connections, they are suitable only for use by staff as they have a step in them. To make them usable by passengers, they too would need major work.

Next, and getting into more detail, the intermediate coaches would not necessarily have the correct equipment fitted. To make these two trains into one fleet, they would have to be as mechanically identical as possible. So, various coaches would need traction equipment removed, or compressors added, to make them conform to one specification.

And then, of course, the old Gatwick Express interiors would have to be removed and Class 458 interiors installed.

In short, every single coach of the Class 460 donor vehicles would need a major rebuild, as would all 60 driving cabs on the original class 458s. It was turning into a major job.

To start things off, two class 460 trains were taken out of storage. Six intermediate coaches went to the Wabtec workshops at Doncaster to be turned into Class 458 coaches. The four driving cars went off to Brush at Loughborough (now also owned by Wabtec) so that the cab ends could be removed and new cabs fabricated which would be similar to those on a Class 458 but with different gangways and couplers.

By the end of April, these vehicles were nearing completion. The first three carriages at Doncaster had been rebuilt and painted, and were just waiting for their interiors. The driving cabs were coming together at Loughborough. The first train should be complete by the end of May and, after testing and commissioning, ready to undergo trials on the South West Trains network towards the end of June.

A second train will be completed a couple of weeks later, and that will allow testing of a ten-car train with them both coupled together.

If all goes to plan, these two new Class 458/5 trains will enter passenger service in September, closely followed by another two. This will bolster the fleet so that a couple of Class 458s can be withdrawn and sent to Doncaster and Loughborough. These will be the first hybrid trains, so not only will one ex-Gatwick carriage be integrated into each one but the train management systems of the two different classes will have to talk to each other. More testing and commissioning required.…

But, at the end of the day, South West Trains will have one class of thirty six 5-car Class 458/5 trains. Mechanically, they will be identical, simplifying both servicing and operations. Visually, they will also be virtually indistinguishable, the only give-aways being that some window sizes and interior panels may look a little different.

And that will leave just four Class 460 driving coaches left over. They will be stripped for spares, unless anyone has a use for two nice 2-car trains, one careful owner?

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WHICH HAS NOT BEEN POSSIBLE - UNTIL NOW! PHOTO: RICHARD GENNIS

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 39

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40

the rail engineer • May 2013

Tight timescales at Holyrood

T

he upgrade and redevelopment of the Thameslink route continues. With one of the major stations, Blackfriars, now largely complete and open for use, the next major challenge is London Bridge station. Situated almost under the Shard, which at 306 metres (1,004 ft) high is the tallest building in the European Union, the station will be largely rebuilt. This is a significant piece of work that includes three of the nine existing platforms being closed and replaced with three new through platforms. There will also be a programme of track layout remodelling to streamline paths so that the increased number of trains can pass through the station without hindrance.

As an early part of the programme, Network Rail contracted UKPN Services to provide a new signalling power supply substation at Holyrood, close by London Bridge. UKPN Services has a good track record in delivering power supply projects for Thameslink, but the new Holyrood substation was to be one of the most challenging yet.

Challenges for Christmas For a start, the timescale was tight. The new substation was to be commissioned over Christmas 2012, giving the contractor just six months to deliver the project. Any slippage would have an impact on the development project as a whole as well as Network Rail’s ability to continue running rail

services with minimal disruption.

In addition, the project was challenging in that it was to be built in existing archways that were damp. There was evidence of water seepage in the area where the high voltage electrical switchgear would be housed and the brickwork was in poor condition.

The contract covered conceptual design, detailed design, procurement, installation and commissioning for all aspects of the new electrical substation.

When UKPN services broke the work down into its constituent parts, it included: » Diversion of 11kV feeders on track and installation of a new trough route; » Design of a water tight environment suitable for

»

»

»

»

»

an electrical substation, installation of a new lining to the entire structure to provide increased water integrity and provide aesthetic design together with the provision of a new drainage system; Repairs and upgrade to the current structure to ensure it was fit for purpose and the construction of a new floor capable of housing the transformer and rectifiers; A robust piling design and construction execution plan for working in a confined location and the construction of a stand-alone steel structure to support the lining, cable management and other facilities. This frame could not be tied into the existing civil structure walls and arched ceilings; A complete cable management system within the archway, along the walls adjacent to neighbouring properties and finally onto and along the railway infrastructure; Blast proof walls to ensure robust operation in case of a catastrophic failure Design, procurement and installation of transformers,

switchgears, battery charger and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) equipment; » Installation of low-voltage cabling from the transformers to the signal box; » Enhance security and integrity of the final building.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 40

22/04/2013 15:49

the rail engineer • May 2013

Planning for success Due to the complex nature of the London Bridge works, and an opportunity on Thameslink to accelerate the overall programme, UKPN Services were set a six months target to complete the project and commission the new substation during the Christmas 2012 blockade. In order to achieve this, daily progress and interface meetings were held with other inter-related project stakeholders, project teams and contractors on a regular basis to ensure everyone was working towards a common goal. Meetings were also held with the local council and associated neighbours to keep disruption and/or disturbance to a minimum.

During the later stages of the project, daily flash reports were used to ensure all the team were focused on agreed targets and, for the Christmas closure works, hour-by-hour schedules were produced and reviewed on a daily basis to ensure all work was executed effectively.

Construction complications The team faced major challenges from the limited site access, unknown ground condition and the state of the arches and archways. The only access to the site was through entrance doors located in Holyrood Street having a dimension of 2.4 metres high by 1.9 metres wide. This

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 41

necessitated close collaboration with other projects and a number of neighbouring businesses to manage site deliveries both for equipment, plant and materials.

The removal of existing cladding on the archway wall exposed the poor condition of the brickwork which then required grit blasting, removal of loose and perished mortar and re-pointing. In addition, asbestos was detected during a survey and had to be removed safely by a specialist contractor.

Following an assessment of the existing foundations, it was confirmed that piling was required to support the new equipment bases. 58 piles to a depth of nine metres had to be installed within a confined area on a challenging schedule.

The poor condition of the archways presented further challenges. The brickwork was extremely damp, the air quality wasn’t good nor was the lighting, and there was limited room for construction. Drainage was inadequate and had to be redesigned and incorporated into the building design due to the complexities of the associated electrical equipment.

The new steel structure was designed and installed within the electrical switch room that would house the associated electrical switchgear, transformers and rectifiers. This frame supported the water containment by

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installing appropriate lining sheets on it which did not allow water penetration. The design of the structure and placement of the lining had to accommodate sub-structures to enable a cable management system to be installed and also inspection hatches for future maintenance requirements.

Achievements Despite all of the challenges, UKPN Services successfully and safely completed everything in a little under six months. The 11kV feeders were diverted, the new troughs and cables installed, and the almost-unusable arches completely refurbished to produce a water-tight and stable location. The transformers, rectifiers and associated equipment were supplied, installed, commissioned and energised on time.

In addition, despite the challenges and tight timelines, the project team remained focused on environmental issues and recycled 95% of waste with less than 5% going to landfill. During construction LED technology was used to provide temporary lighting instead of that normally found on complex construction sites, effectively reducing the electrical requirements significantly.

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the rail engineer • May 2013 Seen at SIFER NIGEL WORDSWORTH

Day trip to SIFER I

t is cold and dark. Snow is still lying in the gutters and on the banks, there is a bitter wind, and there is the hint of ice on the tarmac underfoot. It is 4:30 in the morning in March - the time of day when one wonders what one is doing here.

However, inside the station building at East Midlands Parkway it is warm and bright. The geothermal heating that was installed when the station was built only a couple of years ago is working well. At this hour of the morning the café isn’t yet open, but after a look at the various network maps and timetables it is time to go back outside and over to platform 2 for the 05:06 East Midlands Trains service to St Pancras.

It arrives bang on time. A First Class ticket gives access to a wide and comfortable seat and copious amounts of free coffee to get things started. The raisin flapjack is welcome too.

Opening the laptop, the train’s on-board Wi-Fi is working well and there is time to answer several emails and catch up with all the work that should have been done yesterday.

Welcome to Eurostar Just over an hour and a half later, the train arrives at St Pancras - on time. Off the train, down the escalators and along the main concourse, and then there’s a left turn towards the Eurostar check-in. Business Premier has its own, and there is a very attentive antipodean lady to check tickets and point out the direction to the Business Premier lounge.

More welcoming staff, and it is time to relax with a great cup of freshly brewed coffee and a croissant. France beckons.

There is time for contemplation. At least it is daylight outside and the day has started. It will be quite a long day - a trip to Lille to visit SIFER 2013. This is the French equivalent to Railtex, taking place a month before the English show and run by the same organising company, Mack Brooks. The whole team will be at Railtex at the end of April so it is a good opportunity to see how the French do things.

The lounge staff are attentive and in a good mood. There is some hilarity - a new uniform will be introduced in a month’s time and a few people have it already, on trial. One has managed to wash hers, and shrink it, to the

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amusement of her colleagues.

Then it’s down the stairs, up the travelator, and onto the 08:04 to Brussels, and Lille. There is a welcome at the door and directions to the correct seat. Plug in the laptop, it’s a good job the continental adapter is in the bag as the train has French-style sockets, and it’s off to France.

A breakfast tray appears. Bread roll, croissant, butter, jam and a yoghourt. And, of course, more coffee. Very continental. However, just as the cutlery is being unwrapped, the hot English Breakfast appears. Bacon, sausage, egg and tomato. Very impressive!

There is a short delay just before the tunnel, explained by the train manager who announces that the train is waiting for clearance to enter, but otherwise the trip is smooth. Arrival at Lille is just a few minutes late, a consequence of being held earlier, but it is of no significance.

Lille is French!

Lille has two stations. Lille Europe is the one used by Eurostar services and some others, while more regional trains use Lille Flanders, a short walk away. Just beyond that, and over the railway lines on a main road bridge, is the Lille Grand Palais, home to the 8ème Salon International de l’Industrie Ferroviaire (SIFER).

It is a very French show, in the same way that Railtex is very British. There are a lot of companies exhibiting which only supply the French railway industry. There are multinationals too, though maybe not as many as might be expected, and several collections of stands organised by various regional clusters imagine the Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum with a pavilion of members, but in this case there are four or five of them.

Several of the names are familiar though, and will be seen at Earls Court during Railtex next month. ABB lines up alongside its new acquisition Thomas & Betts. Moxa, RuggedCom, Fuchs, and Westermo are all there. So too are some UK companies - Rosehill Polymers and LPA.

There are also some interesting exhibits to catch the eye. Dutch company R.EN.S - Railway Engineering Systems - is at the front of the hall. At first glance, their display consists of a big yellow trailer. However, closer inspection reveals it was actually a clever mounting which can turn almost any piece of construction plant into a road-rail machine. The trailer is mounted on rail wheels. The machine is driven up integral ramps onto the bed of the trailer and its wheels are seated in four wells on the bed. These wells include rollers, which pick up drive from the machine and power the rail wheels through a chain-drive system. An on-board compressor energises the built-in air-brakes.

The advantages of this Rail/Road Trailer seem obvious. A specialist piece of kit can be used on a rail site even if no dedicated road/rail version is available. And if it breaks down, it can easily be removed from the trailer and replaced by another. It seems to be a wonderfully versatile piece of equipment. Brand new, this is only its second public outing. The example on display will be staying in France with plant hire company LocMaFer and orders have already been received from Switzerland and Spain. Manufacturer R.EN.S is looking for a UK distributor - get in quick!

In a completely different vein, systems automation specialists Prosyst is happy to discuss its collaboration with Bombardier to develop active rolling stock monitoring. Taking information from sensors on board the train, performance and condition data is sent back to a central control centre in real time. Not only is this information compared with the design specification, but the performance characteristics are put into context in terms of ambient temperature and operating demands.

This allows maintenance decisions to be made as to what needs doing, and when. Nearing the end of a three year, €3 million project supported by the i-Trans and Advancity clusters, the system is now running in passenger service on the Nat Ile de France network (SNCF Class Z 50000).

As usual at a show, there are some quirky stands as well. ROV Développment has a small tracked robot for inspecting culverts and pipes, while BODET’s display is a wall full of different styles of clocks, all telling the same time.

The head of interoperability for the European Railway Agency is present. He is French. “But the French don’t want interoperability?” he is asked. “I know. It is a problem,” is the slightlyfrustrated answer. The Germans aren’t over keen either, but apparently the Irish are big supporters. There is a story there, to be sure.

Rosehill Polymers, manufacturers of the HoldFast level crossing system in the UK, has some new anti-trespass panels on display.

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The ‘spikes’ are now offset, so there is no clear path between them. The change was originally requested by the Dutch. Is that so they can no longer ride bicycles between the rows?

Gourmet’s guide One area that SIFER is much better in than Railtex is catering. For lunch, there is an excellent cold buffet, a choice of hot main courses, desserts, and all with red or white wine that is ‘on tap’ and served in earthenware carafes. Why can’t the British do that? Chairman of the organisers, Stephen Brooks, states that it is down to the UK venue owners. They insist

that only their own contracted caterers are used - who usually only understand fast food.

At SIFER, Mack Brooks brings in its own caterers, and it shows. Apparently, the sister show in Italy, EXPO Ferroviaria, has equally impressive cuisine.

At the end of the day there is a networking event for exhibitors and visitors - champagne, kir and canapĂŠs naturally. Then it is off for the ten minute walk back to Lille Europe station.

The 20:30 Eurostar arrives on time, and dinner is served almost immediately. Ham with chicory and mashed potatoes and, of course, wine - a 2009 Medoc. It is one of the new Eurostar menus created by master chef Raymond Blanc.

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Excellent!

No delays on the return and a timely arrival at St Pancras. There are some extra ticket and passport checks, apparently Johnny Foreigner sometimes uses the Lille service to try and sneak into the UK uninvited, and then it is out into the main concourse and up the escalator to where the 21:25 East Midlands Trains service is waiting.

More free coffee and free Wi-Fi, and a discussion with a fellow passenger about the impending temporary closure of Nottingham station for reconstruction, and before long the train pulls in to East Midlands Parkway, without fuss and exactly on time.

The car park is still dark, and still cold, but it is 18 hours later - at the end of a day trip to SIFER.

TAILOR-MAKING TOMORROW’S RAIL

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Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 43

At Tata Steel, our team is committed to working in partnership with you to define your optimum rail solution.

We listen, consider, advise, create and deliver much more than just rail – sustainable rail solutions that work better, last longer and provide outstanding value.

Let’s build tomorrow’s railway together.

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U

nderstanding the condition of substructure is vital for maintaining good track geometry. With trackbed investigation now recognised as good practice, some engineers might dismiss this statement from the 2012 Rail Technical Strategy (RTS) as obvious. However, the issue is how to obtain this understanding with increasingly limited possession times for trackbed surveys. So it’s hard to disagree with the RTS’s call for improved trackbed assessment techniques. One company developing such techniques is URS, which has a single supplier framework contract with Network Rail for trackbed investigation and design. Its trackbed investigation work has developed techniques that are now industry standard practice. This has also resulted in two innovation awards. In November 2010 URS’s “Total Route Evaluation” techniques won British Expertise’s Innovation award. In March its Rail Trackbed Stiffness Tester was a joint winner of the innovation award at the Railway Industry Association (RIA)’s Technology and Innovation Conference as reported in last month’s The Rail Engineer.

Total route evaluation In 2001, a report to the Rail Regulator showed that Railtrack was spending £200 million per annum on track renewals yet not achieving the required track quality improvements. At the time, trackbed investigation was traditionally undertaken by slit trenches up to 200 metres apart.

This was slow and labour intensive and did not identify issues between sample points and beneath the ballast, which often led to incorrect track renewals specification. Such investigations are essentially required to assess trackbed condition and track layer stiffness, the elastic rail deflection under wheel loading. The problem is that the subgrade, buried under the track, is the primary determinant of overall track stiffness.

Hence there is a clear relationship between trackbed stiffness and track quality.

In addition to the requirement to optimise track renewal specifications, an understanding of the subgrade is needed to determine the track’s critical velocity. This is the speed at which excessive ground vibrations occur as the waves from trains’ shock loading on individual sleepers resonate with the ground’s natural frequency. Typically, this starts to be an issue on soft subgrade at speeds of 140 km/h.

So it is not surprising that trackbed investigation is the subject of various research projects. For its part, Scott Wilson (since acquired by URS) started trackbed research 15 years ago through a joint venture with the University of Nottingham that became URS’s Pavement, Trackbed and Materials Consultancy. This led to the development of the Total

Route Evaluation (TRE) methodology which uses a number of techniques including Automatic Ballast Sampling (ABS), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Springbox testing and Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD).

ABS abstracts a ‘core’, typically of 0.9 metres, which is analysed for its chemical and engineering properties. This technique has several advantages over historic trial pitting techniques, one of which is that many samples can be taken in relatively short track possessions.

GPR assesses the thickness and condition of upper trackbed layers and provides information between ABS sampling points. It is a good technique for initial trackbed assessment at a route level but, if used to specify renewals, has to be calibrated using ABS data.

The Springbox, developed by URS, is a 250mm cube filled with test material. This has spring-loaded faces, the forces on which are measured when a pulsed vertical load is applied to the test sample. It is particularly useful for stiffness assessment of ballast for new railways. As will be seen, for rail, FWD is a novel technique still under development.

Mast operated Automatic Ballast Sampler.

DAVID SHIRRES

Thumping good trackbed testing PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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TRE in action URS uses TRE for several overseas rail infrastructure asset owners as well as in its national framework contract with Network Rail for trackbed investigation and design.

This requires site investigations at over 500 track renewal sites per year with testing of recovered materials undertaken in its dedicated laboratory in Nottingham. The results are then used to design track renewals in accordance with local trackbed conditions.

TRE has also been applied on a route basis, and for track enhancements. Previously, on the West Coast project, TRE was employed to ensure the effectiveness of the ballast cleaning programme.

Using desktop studies and high speed GPR calibrated from material testing, a “toolkit” was developed to provide indicative particle size distributions of material layers to assess residual ballast life to optimise ballast cleaning to save millions of tons of material.

More recently, TRE was used on the Great Northern Great Eastern upgrade to determine residual ballast life and trackbed limitations. This also tested the suitability of various alternative trackbed treatments.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

To enhance operator safety, URS recently developed its Mast Operated Automatic Ballast Sampler (MOABS), which has now received product acceptance following a year of intensive development.

This is used to drive one metre long tubes into the trackbed at depths of up to two metres, and replaces the previous ABS technique. The tubes have plastic liners which hold the sample. A SERB (Specialist Excavation of Railway Ballast) machine collects representative ballast samples for fouling assessment and for Springbox testing.

On the other side of the world, increased iron ore production required a 250% increase in rail traffic with axle loads potentially increased to 40 tonnes on a 426 km long rail line in Western Australia.

This required GPR surveys with detailed intrusive investigations at discrete locations to assess trackbed condition and determine the optimum maintenance and renewal strategy including the use of ballast cleaners. TRE has also been applied in Malaysia and Jamaica to ensure trackbed was fit for planned tonnage and linespeed increases.

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Measuring the bounce The idea of testing a pavement by measuring the effect of a weight dropped on it originated in France in 1963. However French (and British) road engineers were sceptical and the following year the idea was taken up by Denmark’s National Road Laboratory which, by 1975, had developed a practical working model of the Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD). By the 1980s FWDs were in widespread use, particularly in Sweden and the Netherlands. During the 1990s the different interpretations of FWD data resulted in European guidance for incorporation in national

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Rail mounted Falling Weight Deflectometer.

standards such as the UK Highways Agency Design Manual for Roads and Bridges.

FWDs provide a load pulse of typically 30 to 120kN via a circular plate in contact with the pavement surface. Deflection measurements are taken at several radial positions and the actual load applied is measured by a load cell. The graph of radial distance against deflection is known as the deflection bowl and provides information on the stiffness of different subgrade layers.

Rail trackbed stiffness tester Dr Matthew Brough was the right man to present URS’s entry in the innovation competition at the recent RIA conference. As director of pavements, trackbed and materials, he has been involved in trackbed research for the past 15 years. URS was the first company to use an FWD in a rail environment, something that Dr Brough and his team have pioneered. For example, FWD was used in Ireland on over 100 miles of track underlain by peat to assess the impact of increasing line speeds that could have exceeded the trackbed’s critical velocity.

Use of the FWD for trackbed testing requires rails to be unclipped, a beam placed on the sleeper to which the load is applied, and sensors placed on the trackbed. As Dr Brough explained, applying the load to the unclipped sleeper provides detailed trackbed information with no influence of rail and components. In contrast, train-mounted stiffness measurement techniques, although good at identifying problem locations, determine the overall system stiffness making it more difficult to isolate the causes of problems in the trackbed and subgrade.

Thus the FWD provides valuable trackbed data.

However, it is currently mounted on a road trailer to which rail wheels are attached for use on the track so on and off tracking is slow and it is difficult to switch lines. As a result, it can only be used during weekend possessions. To make the best use of possession opportunities, the development of a bespoke Rail Trackbed Stiffness Tester (RTST) was proposed.

The intention is to develop an RTST compliant with Network Rail’s product approval within a year. URS considers this requires a three-phase programme: the development of a prototype; further refinement after laboratory trials in a full scale pavement test facility; and field trials to develop industry-ready analysis tools to better understand stiffness, its impact upon performance and remedial solutions.

This would enable RTST to be used in midweek possessions, reducing the cost of FWD testing by 35% and providing an improved understanding of trackbed condition resulting in far greater cost savings from better specified track renewals. Dr Brough also advised that the RTST was the subject of significant international interest with consequent overseas business opportunities. Having made such a clear case for the RTST it was perhaps not surprising that the judges of the RIA/RSSB’s innovation competition decided that it was worthy of a joint first prize.

Ticking innovation boxes The RTST involves technology transfer from the road industry to directly address a Rail Technical Strategy requirement. It provides improved asset information and potential business for UK plc. It therefore ticks many innovation boxes. As last month’s article on the RIA innovation conference showed, it is one of many real innovations in the rail industry.

It is also one indication of the greater priority now given to trackbed investigations, with the formation of Network Rail’s Track Stiffness Working Group being another example. This group was formed to share best practice, solve problem sites, and define future research in the field of track stiffness.

As Dr Brough says, “If you don’t pay for a site investigation up front, you will end up paying for it anyway,” which is true for any project. Although this lesson now seems to have been learnt for track, there remain possession access constraints. It’s good to hear that, with the development of the RTST, these too will soon be less of an issue.

Combined GPR and ABS investigation results.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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the home of yellow plant

I

t must be the time of year for exhibitions. This issue of The Rail Engineer looks back at SIFER (Lille, France, 26-28 March), will be handed out at Railtex (London, England, 30 April-2 May) and looks forward to iaf (Münster, Germany, 28-30 May).

iaf? What’s that?

The 26th Internationale Ausstellung Fahrwegtechnik (iaf), or International Exhibition for Track Technology, has over 200 exhibitors from 21 countries in a large exhibition area in the indoor and outdoor area of Halle Münsterland.

With around 25,000 attendees, iaf is the world’s largest fair in the field of track technology.

Promoted by the VDEI (Verband Deutscher Eisenbahn-Ingenieure - the German Society of Railway Engineers), iaf takes place only once every four years. It is THE place to see big yellow machines up close as well as the plethora of smaller machines and devices that make a railway engineer’s life easier.

Some of the exhibitors may be unknown to

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British visitors, but others will be very familiar. This is the show that the major track equipment suppliers favour, even over the well-known InnoTrans exhibition in Berlin.

firsts. This year the focus of Plasser & Theurer’s presentation will be on three main topics.

First of these is the continuous-action maintenance of switches and crossings. Two new ballast cleaning machines will be on display. The URM 700 is the first machine to be able to perform nonstop maintenance of turnouts as it has

infinite adjustment of the excavating width. The ZRM 350 has a two-way design, enabling it to travel on rail or on the ballast formation using crawler tracks. It also carries equipment for supplying new ballast and placing it in layers.

Tamping of S&C is not neglected. The Unimat 09-475/4S N-Dynamic is an all-in-one machine for tracks and turnouts.

For the first time, all the functions needed for the maintenance of turnouts are combined in one machine: placement of ballast, ploughing, profiling, tamping,

Three aspects of Plasser & Theurer Plasser & Theurer needs no introduction.

Under the slogan “Quality cuts costs”, there will be 16 heavy-duty machines on display from its current production range, including some world

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stabilising and sweeping. Together with another new machine, the Unimat 09-4x4/4S, a continuous-action one-sleeper tamping machine with three-rail lifting and four-rail tamping, this series of universal tamping machines now has new operator-friendly controls.

Secondly, Plasser & Theurer is devoting special attention to mobile rail treatment, specifically its new welding robot - the APT 1500 RL. This road-rail welding lorry gives a perfect weld every time as alignment is fully automatic and all of the processes are measured and documented.

The third focus will be Plasser & Theurer’s worldwide service network. The company has up-to-date training facilities and iaf will see the world premiere of the new 09-3D mobile tamping simulator.

the work module, leaving three compact elements that take up as little space as possible.

In addition to the clipping machine and its new modules, iaf will see the world premiere of several other new hand-operated machines.

These will also be in a modular design with work and energy modules that may be combined freely. The company has chosen a new form of energy supply that has proven itself during the period of testing.

ROBEL will also show its Mobile Maintenance System 69.70 (MMS). This maintenance train is an enhancement of the proven Mobile Maintenance Unit (MMU) that was first shown at iaf 2003 and consists of the ROBEL 69.50 MMU as a working unit (WU), a ROBEL 69.45 intermediate wagon (IW) and a ROBEL 69.40 traction and supply unit (TSU). This results in

ROBEL for mobile maintenance

an all-in-one train system which can replace the more common train formation of an MMU with a flat wagon.

Close by, visitors will find the MMU compact 69.60, which is probably the first track construction machine in the world with two work areas positioned above each other.

Based on a ‘classical’ MMU or MMS, ROBEL has developed a machine that is particularly suited for maintenance in urban tunnels as well as by welding teams.

On first glance, the compact design is the outstanding feature of this machine. Located behind a driver’s cab, which is based on the company’s track vehicles, are two work areas.

The upper area houses the staff facilities, the lower area contains the open work area towards the track already known from the MMU. The side walls protecting the workers can also be extended sideways. At the end of the machine is a small work room used to prepare and support work on the track.

ROBEL also introduces its service portfolio at the trade fair. This includes the reconditioning of accessories and vehicles as well as post-

German track equipment specialist ROBEL will be exhibiting both new and wellestablished machinery.

The 34.02 clipping machine, which was introduced at last year’s InnoTrans, is one of the highlights and will feature the new work and energy modules announced in Berlin. Work modules for FE-Clips and for the installation and removal of E-Clips will be shown while new energy modules with either a more powerful petrol engine or a diesel engine will also be on show.

Owing to its modular design, the new machine can be transported more easily and is more manageable than similar machines.

Any 34.02 clipping machine consists of three basic components: work module, transverse travelling gear and power. As each of the various modules weigh around 70 kg, they can be transported more easily than conventional clipping machines which can come in at up to 200 kg. The power packs have been designed for easy stackability and the transverse travelling gear can be easily separated from

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accident repair and overhauls. In addition, the repair of entire machines and wheelsets can be carried out as well as the checking and overhauling of safety-critical areas and damage and accident assessments. Deutsche Bahn rates ROBEL as a Q1 supplier and the company also has an ÖBB workshop approval as well as a British RISAS certificate for the refurbishment and production of wheelsets.

These facilities have been certified according to ISO 9001:2008.

Greenwood - high precision profiling With 20 years of international experience, the Danish company Greenwood Engineering A/S is the world-leading manufacturer of high precision, full contact profiling equipment for the global railway sector. Its MiniProf measuring systems are simple, handheld tools for monitoring the cross sectional profile of wheels, rails and brakes.

Initially developed in 1992, and with more than 1500 end-users globally, the MiniProf brand is well established in the worldwide rail industry. Key to this success is the ability to make extremely accurate profile measurements and calculations which enable the user to monitor and analyse the conditions of wheels, rails and brakes.

MiniProf is also available in a TwinHead configuration to obtain the maximum accuracy when joint profiles are measured simultaneously. Based on high-resolution technology and direct contact measurements, the MiniProf system gives the best accuracy available on the world market and generates exact and reliable measurements without being affected by oil, dirt or reflected light.

Constructed from titanium, MiniProf uses fixed reference points in the measured profile to ensure consistency and repeatability in the measurements. It comes with its own software and can be adapted to fit almost all kinds of profiles.

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Windhoff’s trains and attachments

SRS Rail Systems International goes Chinese The British road-rail vehicle specialist, well known for its heavy lorries which undertake a variety of roles in railway maintenance, will be showing off its latest international collaboration.

Qingdao is a beautiful Chinese seaside city with a population of about 7.5 million and a reputation for wonderful beer, but there is much more. Four years ago, Qingdao hosted the Olympic Sailing competitions and, last year, one of the World’s fastest trains on

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conventional track was rolled out at the Chinese State Railways Sifang Limited’s factory. This ultra high speed train has already run at 500kph.

Now CSR Sifang, working together with SRS Rail System International Limited, has manufactured a new road-rail vehicle. Based on the established principle of converting a popular commercial truck, the new vehicle employs the very latest technology and carries the latest equipment. CSR Sifang and SRS Rail System International will market the Sifang SRS vehicles world wide.

Windhoff Bahn-und Anlagentechnik GmbH is currently constructing the high-output train which Network Rail will use in the electrification of the Great Western and other main lines. At iaf, Windhoff will present two sections of this train for Network Rail.

The company will also show five attachments for performing track construction work using an excavator. These will be: ballast broom, tamping unit, sleeper layer, mulcher and sleeper exchanger.

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Balfour Beatty Rail construction

Railcare melts snow

Infrastructure construction and maintenance companies will also be present at iaf. Balfour Beatty Rail is an acknowledged market leader in designing, supplying, construction, maintaining and managing rail infrastructure. It offers single-discipline and multi-discipline solutions to meet customer needs in the areas of overhead contact lines, power supply, signalling, rail plant and track.

At iaf, Balfour Beatty Rail will be presenting its experience in all of these areas, particularly in the construction of new railways through tunnels.

The Swedish railway company Railcare Group will be showing the world´s largest mobile snow melter, the SR700. This is intended for strategic railway yards and depots and has a capacity of 1200 cubic meters of melted snow in 60 minutes under single line operation.

Railcare Group specialises in developing new ways of maintaining railway infrastructure. Its Railvac air/ vacuum ballast excavator will be familiar to regular readers of The Rail Engineer (issue 92, June 2012).

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Nord-Lock meets even the smallest challenge Even the smallest components aren’t neglected by iaf’s exhibitors. For example, the Nord-Lock Group is a world leader in bolt securing systems and is focused on solving the toughest bolting challenges. The company offers a unique combination of bolting expertise and a wide product range, including wedge-locking technology and Superbolt® tensioners, all designed and developed inhouse.

Nord-Lock’s production system includes rigorous internal testing and full traceability. Its products hold several certificates from independent institutes including AbP, ABS, DIBt, DNV and TÜV. In addition, tools available through Nord-Lock Performance Services add value throughout a project. Assistance is also available during the design phase with joint simulation and testing.

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:RUNLQJ WRJHWKHU

A CHINESE TALE Qingdao is a beautiful Chinese seaside city with a population of about 7.5 million and a reputation for wonderful beer, but there is much more. Four years ago Qingdao hosted the Olympic Sailing competitions and last year one of the World’s fastest trains on conventional track was rolled out at the Chinese State Railways Sifang Limited’s factory. This ultra high speed train has already run at 500kph.

Now CSR Sifang, working together with SRS Rail System International Limited, have manufactured a new road rail vehicle. Based on the established principle of converting a popular commercial truck, the new vehicle employs the very latest technology and carries the latest equipment.

CSR Sifang and SRS Rail System International will market the Sifang SRS vehicles world wide.

Ä€ÄśÄšŕšťä‡‚Ęƒá‡¤ ç&#x;˘á ťâ&#x;śÄšŕšťÄ€ÄśâŠ˛â¤˝ ÄˆÇžŕ§‘ä‡‚ĺƒ–Ĺ?ăŒ‘ă•“ ŕžĄáŤ¨Čľáˆťä‡‚ŕŻŽćťŹç—?ਅƳĞ뺔ʴâ&#x;ść°”Ķྡ᫨ ä‡‚çš¸ß“ć°˜ć°˜Ä?âżźĆłâżžëş”ŕš„áŽ–â€ŤÝ“â€Źëş•ç&#x;˘á ťâ…śß— ŕť„ĹŽß–ĆŞŕ˘‹Ç¤áˆ™ě­°Éźä‡‚áŤ­ĺ•śă‚´ć §ëş•ŕŚ’áŽ–ç&#x;˘ á ťŕš„âœ´âŚ‰ć­™ŕĽ€â…śß—ŕť„ŕşťĘƒěŹ˜ć­›ć´”ÄŒć˜…ě­°ĺźą ĆŞÄžăž“ÄŒâ¤ąá¸ťä‡‚âŚ‰ć­™ëş”ć°”äœ“ćĄ çś&#x;沢䇂⌉歙 ⤹çś&#x;ě­°ĺźąâž?沢᯳毙‍ܧ‏ェá?šâž? ؉濛뺔 ăłžŕşťç&#x;˘á ťŕš„âœ´âŚ‰ć­™Ä?545 ŕšťç˜¤ěŽ”ćŁťä°žěŹ˜Ř‰ŕ§­ ⅜ߗ਀Ë?ëş•Ü˛ć˛ĽÄ€äœ“âœ¤ŕ˝‚ä‡‚ćŁťěŽ”Ä°ă˝Ąć­™ëş” ࿌Ƴć­&#x;â?ŠÄ€äœ“âĄŒć˛–ä‡‚ŕŽ˝Ä˘ŕ¤?ć­™ä‡‚ŕĽŚăľ•ëş•âœ¤ ä‡‚ć­™ć­šćż”ă˝ĄĆŞâ¤ąâœ¤ä‡‚âˆŚâĽťáŽ™ć­°â¤˝â¤ąăłžČąä‡‚ ě­¤á†Œëş”ç&#x;˘á ťŕš„✴Ä?545ŕšťç˜¤ěŽ”ćŁťä°žěŹ˜á?ŒŘ‘਄ Ⓜ⇜á?Œ5KHCPI 545NKCPI[İ㽥歙â?šŕ¨Šŕšťç˜¤áŤ¨ ŕť?ëş”

$0..&3$*"- 536$,4 0/ 5)& 30"% t VERSATILE TOOLS ON THE TRACK For road rail at its best call: 0044 ( 0 ) 870 050 9242, email info@srsrailuk.co.uk or visit our website www.srsrailuk.com

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 51 656B/DXQFK LQGG

VISIT US 28-30 MAY AT THE IAF/ VDEI EXHIBITION IN MĂœNSTER OPEN AIR STAND 5139

INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

SALES HIRE 22/04/2013 15:56

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the rail engineer • May 2013

Environmental qualities of Trojan cable protection products monitored monthly to ensure suitability.

In acknowledgement of its work, Trojan Services Ltd was awarded the Network Rail Environmental Award in 2008.

Since then, Trojan has supplied over 300,000 TroTrof units to various Network Rail projects and maintenance teams, as well as to London Underground, Nexus Tram, Manchester Metro and Nottingham Tram.

Further development

PHOTO: RACHEL MILLER

I

n 2002 Trojan Services Limited began researching the use of recycled polymers for railway cable ducting as an alternative to traditionally used concrete. At the time approximately 2 million tonnes of plastic waste was produced in the UK, with only 400,000 tonnes being recycled, the bulk of which was packaging materials. However, during the past 10 years, the raw material stream has been increased to include end-of-life products as well as domestic and industrial waste.

By 2010, of the five million tonnes of plastics used per year, 2.4 million tonnes was packaging according to the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP). 1.7 million tonnes came from households and the rest from commercial and industrial companies. Items such as plastic bottles, pots, tubs, trays, films and plastic bags were the most common types of household plastic waste while commercial and industrial packaging waste streams were largely made up of stretch-wrap films, which are often used to cover goods during shipping, and returnable transit packaging such as pallets, crates and drums.

Made from waste

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Trojan’s first cable trough product - TroTrof® - was given Network Rail Product Acceptance in 2008 after extensive independent testing and test site installations which were

PHOTO: RACHEL MILLER

From these waste raw materials, Trojan indentified at an early stage of product development that the most suitable polymer for rail applications was polypropylene due to its high strength and impact resistance. Using this material as a base, a formulation was developed that fully complied with Network Rail’s specification for troughing products.

The result was a range of troughs which were approximately five times lighter than

concrete. They also met the following criteria on a Network Rail ‘wish list’: » Quality - All products and material are produced to ISO 9001; » Sustainability - Higher life expectancy = lower life cycle costs; » Reliability - No breakages during transport and installation; » Traceability - All products can be traced to raw material batch; » Deliverability - Automated processes guarantees quality delivered products; » Health and safety - manual handling, no sharp edges, can be worked using hand tools, COSSH studies show no harmful particulates when cutting; » Environmental - fewer transport movements with 1000 complete units per truck, no waste as all offcuts can be recycled ensuring no expensive landfill costs, lower carbon footprint.

After receiving feedback from Network Rail, Trojan enhanced the design of both the TroTrof lids and troughs to allow interaction of concrete lids onto TroTrof bases. More importantly, the lid of the TroTrof was redesigned to allow for a 100° centigrade temperature range (-25°c to +80°c) overcoming any problems from the expansion and contraction of the lids. At the same time, Trojan designed the lid to eliminate the need for manual gapping. They are now automatically gapped when the lid is fitted to the trough.

In 2009, in answer to a request by Network Rail’s route maintenance director for Scotland, Trojan designed and developed a combined walkway and cable trough route - TroTred® - to overcome the problem associated with over capacity trough routes and the need for a safe cess walkway.

Having completed the necessary independent and site testing, Trojan supplied 22,000 TroTred units to the Airdrie - Bathgate route in 2009/10. Following this success, the

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the rail engineer • May 2013

More new products Trojan Services Limited continues to design innovative products using polymer which are either made from recyclate or can be recycled at the end of life. The latest one is TroBord, a ballast board made from HDPE which is ten times lighter than the equivalent concrete product, ensuring that Trojan’s products continue to answer the demands for HSEA and CDM rules compliance.

PHOTO: RACHEL MILLER

product was specified by Network Rail for the Paisley Corridor Improvement Project. Both of these installations proved the efficacy of the product, and as a result the product has been widely used and specified Thameslink, Crossrail and various re-signalling projects. In recognition of its efforts, Trojan was awarded the Network Rail Partnership Award for Innovation in 2010.

In use it was found that, when walking on TroTred in certain weather conditions, the static build-up created by the high-visability clothing did not dissipate through the TroTred to earth. As a result, Trojan modified the raw material compound to ensure that a route to earth was provided. Following this final tweaking of the product, full Network Rail Product Acceptance for TroTred was obtained in October 2011.

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Since starting to supply recycled polymer products, Trojan has used approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste material that would otherwise have ended up in landfill. In addition, transport movements have been reduced from an estimated 2,000 down to 560 trips. Not only has this reduced the cost of transportation, but has contributed to lower carbon emissions.

Trojan estimates that with current and future contracts, its usage of recyclate for the rail industry over the next three years will average 3,000 tonnes per year. This new market for recyclate has contributed to a UK reprocessing company making the decision to invest £1.2 million in doubling its capacity to 45,000 tonnes per year.

Another £1million has been invested in four new injection moulding machines to service the business, ensuring continuance of supply as volumes increase. Trojan Services Ltd continues to invest in its UK-based business utilising the latest CAD design capabilities, raw material technology and processing techniques to ensure that it offers the UK rail industry the maximum benefits from a UK supply base.

Recycling today's waste for tomorrow's products

Quality Sustainability Reliability Traceability Deliverability

Trojan Services Limited continues to develop its

TroTred® offers projects a convenient combined

awarding winning range of innovative products using

walkway and large capacity cable trough route,

high quality recycled materials, making it the UK’s

eliminating the need for a separate cable route and

leading supplier of polymer cable troughs for the

walkway. This has been used widely across the UK

railway and civil engineering industries.

where its relative lightness and easy installation

TroTrof® is our cable trough range which is in wide use

reduces time and costs.

across the UK network. We currently supply two sizes

TroBord® is an award winning ballast board,

of trough – C1/43 and C1/9. Other sizes are available

which weighs a fraction of the weight of current

on request.

concrete units.

PO Box 675, Chichester, PO19 9LG Tel:

0845 074 0407

Web:

www.trojan-services.com

Email:

info@trojan-services.com

All our products are Network Rail approved.

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 53

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the rail engineer • May 2013

Great little grinder

The answer may be sitting in a car park next to some tram tracks. It is a big articulated lorry, smartly turned out and emblazoned with the name ‘Sersa’, a company synonymous with rail grinding and track maintenance. But this vehicle is huge, a large Mercedes tractor-unit with a triple-axle trailer. Surely it is too big? It looks more like a formula one transporter than a track treatment vehicle.

But the rear ramp descends, and a small truck backs out, preceded by its even smaller trailer. THIS is the vehicle in question.

Based on a Multicar M26 chassis, the Sersa GRail1 is a 6 tonne vehicle (including the trailer) with a big black box hung underneath between the two axles. Inside are three cupshaped grinding wheels each side. There are a further two grinding discs on the trailer.

Off and running

T

here are many reasons why it becomes necessary to re-profile rails from time to time.

It may be to restore the profile of worn track. This often happens on curves, or in areas where axle loads are high, or both. The whole top surface of the rail may have to be removed, along with incipient cracks caused by rolling contact fatigue before they get any worse.

Corrugation causes a noisy ride, so removing it will be kind to both passengers and neighbours.

Whatever the reason, the most common solution is to run a rail grinder over the track.

This is a vehicle fitted with several grinding wheels that passes along the affected track, removing the top surface of the steel rails as it goes. Using several wheels allows the grinder to put a particular profile onto the rail. However, each pass doesn’t remove much metal (unlike a rail miller - but that’s another story), so the grinding machine will have to make several passes to have the desired effect.

Driving straight onto the embedded tram tracks, the operator lowers the flanged rail wheels. These are adjustable and, although currently set for standard gauge (1435mm), the one machine can work on anything from 980mm to 1660mm.

Three minutes later, it is off - running at almost 20mph to its work site for the evening.

The embedded tram tracks make it easy, but any level crossing or access point will do.

Small is beautiful Rail grinding is not new - it has been around since the early days. Today, modern computercontrolled machines can yield impressive results. However, they are big, heavy machines looking rather like diesel locomotives. They do good work, but are expensive to deploy and are best suited to a long run of damaged track.

Then what is the best solution for short stretches of track, and light railways with tight curves such as tramways? Often not connected to the heavy rail network, tram systems have a particular problem. What is needed is a small machine which can negotiate the tight curves and restricted clearances.

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On reaching the correct location, the grinding wheels are lowered to the track and adjusted, and then grinding commences. There is a shower of sparks, which can be directed either outwards or inboard, but the noise is surprisingly low at around 70dBA. This is a good feature on urban tram tracks where houses can be close by.

This time the GRail1 sets off at a reduced speed, only about 5mph. A few hundred metres later it stops, reverses, and comes back the other way. More sparks - it is truly bi-directional. On reaching its start point, the vehicle reverses again.

And it goes on until, one hour later, 200 metres of shiny track glints in the moonlight and Sersa’s new minigrinder lifts up its grinding wheels and sets off to the next piece of damaged track.

At the end of the night, the GRail1 returns to its truck and drives up inside again. It is clear of the tracks, and passenger services can resume.

the rail engineer • May 2013

The grinding wheels are adjustable.

The three cup stones, used for head and gauge corner treatment, can be set between 20° field side to 45° inside with variable rotating speeds.

The disc units on the trailer, for gauge corners, lipping, rail grooves and guide rails, are adjustable from 45° inside to 90° inside.

The new grinder has been based in the UK for the last year, and it has already worked on the tram systems in Nottingham, West Midlands and Croydon and the Nexus metro in Newcastle upon Tyne. However, as part of the company’s international operations, it has done sterling work at Nice on the metre-gauge Chemins de fer de Provence and on a number of other light rail systems in Germany and Switzerland.

But this versatile piece of kit isn’t only at home on light railways. It has also proved its worth on heavy gauge. As a trial, it was brought in to smooth out a very noisy piece of corrugated track that was annoying local residents. Working between two level crossings, 500 metres apart, the GRail1 team measured the

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track, removed the corrugations by grinding, and then remeasured the track and its profile, all in a single shift, arriving and departing by road.

It was much more economical than bringing in a dedicated rail-only grinder for such a short section.

Switches and crossings are another area where the small machine excels. Passing backwards and forwards over a couple of turnouts in a station throat, it can again get on track, do the work, and get off track again in a normal nighttime work period.

As well as the low noise, the diesel engine which drives the machine meets European emission standard Euro Cat V. There is also a recovery system built into the grinding mechanism so the majority of the waste materials are recovered.

Currently certified to RIS1530, which was overseen by Interfleet, the Sersa GRail1 is now undertaking approvals to operate on Network Rail infrastructure all over the country.

All in all, it’s a great little machine.

Can we keep it?

Self-sufficient In the front half of the massive trailer is a full workshop where repairs can be carried out and all the tools and spares needed to keep the small grinder running are stored.

The team of two operators are also the mechanics and everything is designed to be simple. Grinding wheel changes take less than one minute and compressed air is used to keep the wheels on the track rather than more-complicated hydraulics.

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Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 56

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So when we say you can count on us for the best seat in the house, we mean it!

Call us today or visit our website: 1-541-484-9621 • wvcorailroad.com

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the rail engineer • May 2013

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Trenchless Renovation

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renchless technology describes the technique of driving pipes and small bores through the ground and under an obstruction without having to dig a trench. It is therefore an ideal technology to employ under a railway as work can be undertaken while the lines are still running.

There are three main applications for this technique. New installation was covered in issue 101 of The Rail Engineer (March 2013). The replacement of existing pipes will be covered in a later issue, but this article will look at how trenchless technology can be used to map, inspect and renovate pipelines.

Surveying the path Whilst most engineers are familiar with the commonly utilised CAT and Genny type cable avoidance tools and metallic pipe tracking systems used in the utility sector today, the location of buried services under rail track has some obvious difficulties when it comes to accessing the track for tracing operations. Safe access to the track site and the safety of operators has to be paramount in any mapping project. To assume that, with ‘end points’ at known locations either side of the track, the utility or service runs in a direct straight line between them often

Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 57

proves incorrect.

This of course assumes that the service being traced is not of manentry size that could be surveyed in a more traditional manner.

Depending on the individual site, whether the track runs at ground level or is on top of a raised embankment can limit the types of tracing equipment that can be used, simply because of the depth at which it runs. CAT and Genny systems have certain depth restrictions depending on the model and power.

They are also not much use for tracing plastic pipe unless it has been buried with a ‘tracer wire’, or unless they can be used in conjunction with a transmitter sonde that is pushed or pulled through the pipe.

However, cables which are laid within a duct beneath the rail track can be tracked using the ‘power mode’ on tracing units. Similarly, by applying a signal to metallic pipes, these too can be traced provided they do not run too deep.

Where this option is not available, there are still other methods that can also be used to track pipe for services such as water, sewers or surface drainage.

The use of gyro-based inpipe tracking systems may be considered. This involves the use of a device that runs independently through the pipe from a known survey start point to the exit on the other side of the track which is also a known survey point.

The readings off the gyro compass and inclinometer within the unit are recorded at short time intervals and, when downloaded to a computer, can be laid out to show the location and routing of the pipe beneath the tracks, not just on plan but by depth also.

The big advantage to this in terms of use on rail track is that, other than access to the known survey start and end points, there is no requirement for personnel to access the track area itself.

To check the state of repair of any pipeline the usual option is the use of CCTV inspection systems. These may be limited on very small diameter pipe but most manufacturers now offer inspection cameras which will fit into most commonly used pipe diameters. Information from this type of survey will indicate whether a pipe is in need of repair or replacement.

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Rehabilitation options There are many different trenchless techniques that can be applied for pipeline rehabilitation projects and there are many practical examples of how trenchless systems have helped to keep rail track operation moving.

Probably one of the most common and well-known pipe rehab techniques is Cure-In-PlacePipe lining or CIPP. Today, this technology is available in a wide variety of forms that include the traditional felt tube but also now include woven tube, glass fibre and reinforced tube (which may also be known as ‘composite’ tube).

The latter are the most recent additions to the lining material spectrum and utilise either carbon fibre or glass fibre reinforcing within the basic liner structure to add strength and structural capability once installed.

A reinforced liner can be made with much thinner walls than traditional liners whilst still providing the same strength. This minimises any loss of capacity in a lined pipe because the diameter

reduction using the reinforced liner is much less than with traditional felt liners.

Traditionally, hot-water-cure resin systems have been the norm for many lining operations.

However, in more recent years, with time constraints being a major factor in lining works, particularly on works beneath rail tracks that are often restricted in terms of access times, rapidcure resin systems have been introduced. These include steamcure, UV-cure and possibly, for much smaller diameters, hot-air-cure options. These new cure regimes can usually provide an effective and strong structural liner in a much shorter installation time than traditional hot water curing. This brings the advantage that rail lines need to operate under restricted speed conditions (if not actual closure) for a much shorter time than with traditional options.

In the case of steam curing, the liner is usually inverted into the host pipe and inflated with compressed air. High temperature

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Issue 103 - tre May 2013.indd 58

www.aeyates.co.uk

steam is then applied through the liner until it cures into place.

Similarly with UV liners, they may be inverted or pulled into the host pipe and inflated. In this case, however, an ultra violet light train is passed through the liner to cure the specially designed resin. In both cases, steam and UV cure, the time taken to complete the cure is considerably less than that for traditional hot water curing and so they lend themselves particularly well to projects where access to and time on site may be limited, as in track access situation beneath rail lines. Access limitations may also include the facts that the amount and size of site traffic for hot-water-cure systems maybe much greater than for the more rapid cure alternatives. Also, a significant source of water may be needed, something that the newer systems do not require.

GRP liners Another lining option that has often been used beneath rail tracks is the sectional GRP (glass reinforced plastic) liner. Particularly aimed at the larger diameter (man-entry size) end of the pipe/ culvert market, these systems are particularly useful on deteriorated pipes that have the option to

operate with a reduced capacity once renovated.

These sectional liners comprise a chain of pre-made units that are positioned inside the existing pipe.

As each liner section or series of sections is completed, the annulus between the old pipe and the liner is grout filled. The grout and liner combination provides the structural finished liner product.

Similarly, the use of ferrocement liners that are constructed insitu would require man-entry diameters in which to work. Whilst not generally as popular as the previously mentioned systems, they do have the advantage that they can be designed to ‘line’ only the most deteriorated part of a pipe line, generally the invert, if circumstances and the structural viability of the remain pipe fabric permits.

So, no matter what the rehabilitation requirement, the trenchless technology options available today can usually offer a time and cost effective solution for the rail engineers under-track pipeline rehabilitation problems.

If, however, renovation is not an option, the trenchless technology solution can replace the entire pipe. But that will be the subject of the next article in this series.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

Looking backwards and forwards One hundred years of the IRSE

» Signal engineers must have extensive knowledge of other engineering departments and rail operations; » Traffic increases will impact on signal engineers’ duties and responsibilities; » Signal engineers must influence the track layout in stations and yards and especially the position of junctions; » Location of signal boxes in relation to pointwork is vitally important since getting it wrong can be very expensive to put right; » For optimum block working, signal boxes should not be closer than 880 yards » When positioning passing loops on single lines, it is important to take account of gradients and over-runs for the safe passage of trains.

CLIVE KESSELL

T

he Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) celebrated its centenary in 2012. Although a body to represent this specialist branch of rail engineering had been in existence since 1891, formal recognition only arrived with the formation of the IRSE and its first meeting on 25 February 1913 at the Grand Hotel in Birmingham. By that time the Institution had 112 members, mostly senior engineers from the many railway companies but with representatives from the major supply industry also allowed to join.

What better way to celebrate this first meeting than to re-enact it on the exact day 100 years later The Grand Hotel is closed for refurbishment but the IET premises at Austin Court made for a suitable replacement in Birmingham City Centre. With five gentlemen entering the stage in Edwardian dress (ok - George V was on the throne by then!), these ‘actors’, who are in fact all professional signalling engineers in their own right, gave a rendering of the first meeting’s content. A nice touch to emphasise the now international membership, was to include one gentleman from India and another from The Netherlands.

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What did they discuss 100 years ago?

The subject was ‘Signalling and its Connection with the Construction and Management of Railways’ presided over by Mr AT Blackhall, GWR signal engineer and the first IRSE President.

The paper was delivered by Mr W Cotterill, chief clerk in the telegraph department of the Midland Railway, on behalf of the paper’s author Mr RJ Insell, chief assistant signal engineer on the GWR, who had been called away to deal with a serious signalling failure.

Some things have not changed!

The content of the paper would be as relevant today as it was then.

Items included:

Through to the present day John Francis, a Past President who has a wealth of signalling knowledge acquired from many years in the industry both railway and supply industry based, recounted the major changes that have happened since 1913. Signal boxes were stylish and functional, typically elevated over the track and gradually equipped with kitchen, hot water and sanitation.

Styles moved with the architecture of the time: art deco, post war functionalism, modular construction.

Mechanical apparatus gave way to control panels, firstly with switches then later with entranceexit buttons, and lastly with modern screen-based technology. Signallers can no longer see the trains and the workplace is more akin to an IT office with no opening windows. Modern day dispatchers have VDUs and lots of colour, but wall mounted overview screens are still valued whenever they are provided.

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the rail engineer • May 2013

Level crossings have moved from gates (a few still remain) to a multitude of technical solutions for the differing types but are still beset by the eccentric behaviour of the public. A greater onus now rests with the signaller to ensure safe operation and passage of trains at full barrier crossings but road users are responsible for their own safety at the others, often resulting in misuse and tragic accidents.

The traditional train graph in active mode via technology screens has become increasingly useful to manage and regulate train services.

So has this advancement improved the train service offering Most of it has, but John believes there are contentious points: colour light signals and complex approach controls may have worsened train path utilisation at junctions; platform usage by short trains do not normally allow multiple occupancy that would be easy with mid platform signals or even permissive working. We may have advanced the science but perhaps gone backwards in the art.

Signal engineers need to have much greater influence over train operators.

The maintainer’s perspective The maintainers’ perspective was studied by Peter Halliwell from Network Rail. A dramatic reduction in staff fatalities has happened since 1950 down from 180 to around 5 per annum. Accessing sites has, however, become more difficult particularly hard for transporting bulky items like point machines.

The Clapham accident and its subsequent report has underpinned the present way of working, with the control of records, a rigid testing regime, single point of responsibility, standardised competence arrangements, fatigue management / control of hours worked, wrong side failure classification and reporting. But is this enough Signalling equipment still suffers from reliability problems. Reliance on localised ‘expert’ knowledge is too dominant with consequential difficulties in acquiring hard data.

The advancement of remote condition monitoring is taking too long. Yet to be properly considered is the question of who takes responsibility for on board train

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mounted equipment which is set to become around 50% of the signalling system within a few years.

Establishing the necessary interrelationship between signalling and rolling-stock engineers needs to be addressed with a degree of urgency.

A driver’s view Has signalling served the driver well This was considered by Paul Le Vesconte, an ex-driver who became an operations manager. The objective is to arrive safely and on time and in general this is achieved.

However, the many different type of signals and different types of block working remain a source of confusion. The migration from exGW ATC (automatic train control) to AWS (automatic warning system) to TPWS (train protection and warning system), but stopping short of full ATP (automatic train protection), has been a welcome improvement but the functionality of AWS has become clouded. Using the system to mark temporary speed restrictions and the approach to an automatic open level crossing (AOCL) can cause misunderstandings. TPWS is good but not that good; it has prevented 80% of SPADs (Signal Passed at Danger). The trial ATP systems on the Great Western and Chiltern main lines were initially unreliable and restrictive on drivers’ techniques.

This has improved over time with different driving styles.

The 1999 accident at Ladbroke Grove, just outside Paddington, with the loss of 31 lives was a wake up call on the need for better train protection systems. Playing around with different types of aspects (flashing yellow, flashing green), aimed at improving junction speeds rather than safety, led to at least one significant accident - Colwich in 1986.

LED signals are generally well accepted, being much clearer and more reliable, but please don’t mix different types of signal on the same route. The advent of cab-tosignaller radio systems has been most welcome and the introduction of GSM-R will overcome the shortcomings of earlier systems.

As to the future, the introduction of ERTMS / ETCS on the Cambrian route must be regarded as a useful

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trial from which many lessons should be learned. The system is not just a change in signalling, it is much more about how a route is operated.

The potential for complexity in the cab is considerable and it must not force complexity into the driving task. The ETCS on board equipment needs to be integrated with on train electronic systems and the display screen (known as the driver machine interface or DMI) must be clearly visible in all lighting conditions.

Some drivers claim that the setup procedures are much too hard, and the system needs to allow the driver to make mistakes, otherwise over cautious driving will result. When failures do occur, as they inevitably will, a robust, degraded mode of operation must be available and the whole system must include provision for possession and staff safety protection.

Control systems Whilst control room technology has advanced considerably over the past 25 years, there are several challenges ahead, said Phil Blacker from Atkins which is a major player in the design and provision of

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the rail engineer • May 2013

signalling systems. Gaining capacity without huge infrastructure costs is one such objective since timetabled train-kilometres are not keeping pace with passenger growth.

Energy efficiency is also important but whilst power for the signalling systems is irrelevant compared to train power demands, the signalling can massively impact on the latter.

Interoperability is a buzz word but it should cost much less than it does and must apply to much more than having trains that can go anywhere.

The need for interoperable subsystems and unified interlocking designs is something that the signalling profession is particularly slow to take up and realise the available benefits. The ‘not invented here’ syndrome continues to prevail.

So where should efforts be concentrated in the control system specialism More is needed to use the latent intelligence of modern computing power, particularly decision support tools and

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automation. There is a need for standards but these tend to mature with technology and new standards will have to evolve. Communication paths for both vital and non vital applications will need high bandwidth availability, with COTS equipment supplied and structured to internationally-recognised open standards.

Obsolescence is an increasing problem and system lifecycles are shortening. Thus designs should prepare for piecemeal sub system replacement but with the requirement of backward compatibility. The overall objective must be to get better system performance with the ‘Five 9s’ (99.999%) target for availability and reliability. Maybe to achieve this, the signal engineer has to become a systems engineer / specialist engineer with a multi-industry knowledge.

An interview with the future It was appropriate that a ‘spoof’ interview projecting forward to 2063 should be conducted by two younger members, Padric Dunne and Matt Slade. Looking back on the previous 50 years since 2012, some milestone achievements were recorded: 2019 - Condition monitoring became commonplace with 90% of main lines and 100% of metros equipped. Asset failures in operating hours were virtually eliminated; 2023 - Lineside cables were essentially eliminated at last; 2033 - Social media inputs and data led to dynamic alteration of metro timetables to meet hour by

hour demand. External weather conditions allow for control of train braking rates; 2053 - The ‘virtualised cluster’ technology provide for control system hardware. From this technology, it was possible to outsource control centre operation to another country; 2063 - Track-to-train communications have eliminated intermediate signalling. All trains are intelligent with each other and no signallers are now required. Maglev technology has matured such that over and under passing points permit conflicting moves safely.

Fanciful Well maybe some of it is, but good that the budding engineers of the future can create visions of how things might evolve.

Doug McCormick of Atkins brought some realism to the proceedings. He believes that it is paramount that the industry does not lose sight of safety yet still drives innovation forward.

However, the global shortage of signal engineers will prevent technical advancement unless more people can be attracted into the industry. This in turn must not compromise standards and quality and the focus needs to be on the future, not on the past. Big thinking is needed but taking recognition from the solid foundation of signalling’s heritage.

So, the day gave a fascinating insight as to how S&T engineering has evolved from the past. Some predict that the biggest changes to the profession will happen in the next ten years. Only time will tell.

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I

s l o r t n o c c i f f a tr l i a r g n i t a r g e t n CLIVE KESSELL

E

ver since the Midland Railway first introduced an Area Control Office near Sheffield in 1907, the merits of being able to collect operational details that affect the daily running of train services into a single location have been appreciated by railway administrations across the world. Many hundreds of control offices have existed over the course of time and are a major contribution in optimising the decision making needed to run an efficient train service.

Diverse activities such as staff scheduling and rostering of hours, locomotive and wagon availability, train path scheduling, action to be taken during disruption and the planning of engineering works are all tasks that occur on a daily basis and need to be coordinated by a control office.

Initially, this was all achieved by voice technology - telephone calls in essence. Over the years, the advent of firstly teleprinters, then information systems, data bases, and mobile radio communication, have all contributed to the development of complex networks of information acquisition and distribution.

Today, control offices are as important as ever and exist with a vast mix of technology, much of which is incapable of interworking other than by passing information from one individual to another. Controllers’ desks are often cluttered with different screens and telephones for the various data and communication purposes. Not an ideal situation but one that is found in many industries that have a long history.

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Impact of rail privatisation Spearheaded in the UK, rail privatisation has spread to many other countries, generally resulting in initiatives to generate new traffic with consequential pressure on railways to provide the required capacity.

Partly driven by EU Regulations that dictate the financial separation of train services from infrastructure, the future role of control offices was at first seen as an opportunity to ‘go it alone’. Train Companies wished to be totally in charge of their own assets and having their own control office became part of that vision.

Sections within the BR control office structure that dealt with train operations were physically removed to a separate location, more often than not the headquarters of the particular train company. Very quickly, the necessary integration for running a complete railway was lost and achieving the vital control for optimum train service efficiency took a turn for the worse. Blame culture set in whenever disruption occurred and, without the presence of a ‘directing mind’, incidents took far too long to recover from.

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Slowly it dawned on managers that this was not the best way to run a railway and gradually new control offices have emerged that house both infrastructure and train company interests on a single site. This has happened in the UK and elsewhere across Europe. Modern communications systems are fine, but there is still no substitute for people talking directly to each other.

Integrating the technology Having got the people all back into the same room, what can be done to make the man/machine interfaces more consistent and friendly Frequentis is a Vienna-based company which specialises in doing just that. With a history of air traffic control, the company has expanded into developing control systems for the emergency services and railways. It quickly realised that only rarely were entirely new control systems required; much more likely was the request to upgrade an existing installation including the adaptation of many types of external equipment.

In the rail sector, the typical life cycle of communication systems is 15 years. Many are required to function for much longer than this and it becomes a major challenge to get this diversity of technology to appear as a unified function on the controllers’ screens.

The days are long gone when railways specified their own communications and data equipment and the UIC (International Union of Railways) leads the way in focussing on high level user requirements’ specifications.

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The use of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) equipment is becoming commonplace although the product life is only seven years at best.

This scenario needs to be understood within the internationally recognised seven-layer communication model with rail service requirements being constructed around the top two layers and then using a transport/ transmission adaptation layer to bring in the lower physical/data/network levels to the application layer. Services thus become available to many user groups and technical evolution can migrate transparently.

Before this can happen, firms such as Frequentis need to understand the technology of the existing systems that are to be integrated.

Very often, there will be very few records of what equipment is actually installed such as handbooks or diagrams. It is therefore a back-to-basics exercise to capture the network architecture and to learn how it functions. It sounds difficult but, when it has been achieved for the first time, subsequent systems tend to follow a pattern. Once understood, it becomes relatively easy to design an interface that connects ageing external networks to a standardised control front end.

Irish experience The Rail Engineer reported in issue 74 (December 2010) the project in Irish Rail to implement a new national control room strategy based at Connolly Station in Dublin.

Frequentis were contracted to integrate the terminals of the nationwide UIC 751-3 trackto-train analogue radio network into this single location, with links to local signal centres and boxes to enable them to communicate directly to trains. Added to the integration was the landline telephone based control network

such that both radio and landline calls be presented on the same terminal.

The Irish system, consisting of 25 ‘Dicora’ terminals, has run for two years without any faults. The secret of success has been to understand the behaviour of the control operation and to replicate this in the new system. This has entailed some reverse engineering and then to design, install, test and ‘let the customer play’ to ensure the correct functionality. Irish Rail staff did the installation which ensured that the system was fully understood technically before commissioning.

More recently, the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) route from Malahide to Howth has changed over to GSM-R, primarily to free up UIC radio equipment for future spares but also as a precursor for the eventual conversion of the whole network. The new digital radio network has been integrated into the same terminal devices so that call handling is similar to the UIC analogue system.

Austrian developments Austrian Railways (ÖBB ) is busy modernising its entire network that will eventually include nationwide ERTMS Level 2 and full GSM-R coverage. A new control philosophy was considered necessary to embrace this technology rather than continue with the old fragmented regional controls. Much of the initiative has centred around the building of a new Central Station in Vienna near to where the old South Main Station (Südbahnhof) once stood. Eventually all long distance mainline train services will operate from this station.

Having centralised the train service, the logical next step was to centralise the control regime which resulted in an impressive new control organisation being built adjacent to the station. Divided into two parts, it has a signalling element to control the trains in the extended Vienna area which will expand outward as older signalling systems are replaced and a national traffic management centre to monitor operational and information

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management across the country with links to five operational control centres at Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz, Villach and Vienna, the latter also located in the same complex.

High performance data networks are the foundation for both efficient and secure operations as well as providing information and technical services to both passenger and freight customers. The room is segregated into infrastructure, passenger operations, freight interests plus the control of customer information and media bulletins. As the ERTMS network is rolled out, Frequentis has been asked to partner BB in verifying the suitability and integrity of the network and to manage the process of gaining safety approval with a notified body including the supply of independent documentation.

French incident control RĂŠseau FerrĂŠ de France (RFF) is the French equivalent to Network Rail and has the responsibility of managing network performance on a minute-by-minute basis. The associated telecommunications network is huge with many different types of technology in systems installed over the years. It was recognised that a National Rail Operations Control (NROC) would be needed to co-ordinate the diversifying operations that are happening in France and this was duly set up in 2009, located in a former rail building close to Gare du Nord.

The centre works in conjunction with 21 regional control offices but allows RFF and SNCF (the French train operator) to manage the national network jointly from a single site. Day to day running and minor problems are handled at the regional centres but, if anything occurs on a significant scale, an NROC team moves from a monitoring to an active management role. Such incidents might be something that affects long distance trains, a major infrastructure failure or something that is attracting media attention. If a real crisis occurs, then a major incident room is established on site with the National Operations Director in charge.

To achieve all this needs high quality voice and data links to stations, trains and passengers to both receive data on what is happening at ground level and to disseminate information to staff, customers and the media. A journalist is employed at the centre to give out details to the press, radio and television.

Rail Emergency Management Dealing with operational incidents ranging from delays to sick passengers and all kinds of other emergencies has always been a function of the control office. Handling such incidents means having to respond to a number of complex demands. These include making available reliable data concerning the incident location and identifying responsible staff within all internal and external organisations who will be involved, including blue light organisations or any auxiliary forces. Effective incident communication, for the efficient alerting and ongoing incident management, must be provided while ensuring nondiscriminatory information provisioning and the lawful recording of all activities and communications.

Working with BB, Frequentis has developed the REM system as an integrated approach to embrace all these aspects of incident handling. It makes all the necessary information available to managers, controllers and staff via user friendly interfaces and was introduced into service in 2009.

Future Predictions Having been around for over 100 years, it seems a fair assumption that traffic control offices will be needed for as long as railways exist.

The case studies show that integration between infrastructure and train operations is as necessary nowadays as it was in earlier times. Two of the main UK centres are at the Mailbox in Birmingham and at York.

Controlling operations has, however, generally remained separate from signalling control centres or electrification power control. Certainly the activity is different but there is, and always has been, need for close co-operation. Signalling and power control areas are usually smaller than the span of traffic control offices but recent pronouncements in the UK to have only 14 centres for the dispatching (the European word for signalling) of trains may test this assumption. It is possible to foresee that all day to day operational activities could be located in combined centres with ever greater scope for integration. Whatever the future outcome, commercial barriers must not be allowed to interfere with running trains.

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Since September 2008 we have been working on the massive Reading Station Area Redevelopment Programme, with particular responsibility for the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of all the signalling.

Thanks to a fully integrated project team, tight planning and meticulous rehearsals, each commissioning has been completed smoothly and successfully, including the latest phase over Easter 2013. Thanks to this close collaboration between Invensys, Network Rail and all the other contractors, performance has been excellent. This means that the project is on course to be finished in 2015, one year ahead of schedule.

Find out more about what you can expect at www.invensysrail.com or call 01249 441441

Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress.

Working together is success.

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Evolution of signalling control DAVID BICKELL

N

etwork Rail is currently developing the fourteen Rail Operating Centres (ROCs) which will eventually control the entire national network. Meanwhile, the Hertford National Integration Facility (HNIF) project is under way to further develop the European Train Control System (ETCS) already piloted on the Cambrian lines at Machynlleth.

This article is a look at how the mainstream systems in use today have come about. Alas, some readers may be struggling with the acronyms. Is it an IECC or MCS? Can’t tell the difference between SSI and CBI? Where can you find a POSA or an ARS?! Keep reading as we explain how particular products fulfil the functional requirements for the safe signalling of trains.

Signaller Interface The lever frame was invented in the 19th century to enable clusters of points and signals to be controlled from a single point the signal box. This saved labour and speeded up train dispatch by obviating the need for the many men needed to move points individually and hand signal trains on the ground. Metal rodding was used to connect the levers directly to point switch blades and metal wire runs connected levers to signal arms. The length of these runs was limited by the physical effort of the lever pull, thereby necessitating the provision of many boxes to control a line. Large stations would need several boxes.

Many of these mechanical boxes are still in service today, such as Heaton Norris Jcn on the West Coast main line (WCML), their longevity being due to the highly robust and reliable nature of the equipment. Maintaining this mechanical equipment is a dying skill and boxes with small areas of control are labourintensive and unsuitable for the efficient regulation of trains.

The invention of electricity enabled the power operation of points and signals. With this came the development of the panel signal box.

Various configurations of switches and buttons were tried out but the method that became standardised for all large signalling centres built from the 1960s onwards is ‘EntranceExit’ - dubbed ‘NX’ because to clear a signal the signaller presses and releases a button at the Entrance (N) of the route followed by another button at the next signal ahead (or buffer stops for a terminal line), known as the Exit (X) of the route. The interlocking checks the availability of the route, calls and locks points to the required positions, and displays a proceed aspect to the

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driver. Confirmation is given to the signaller in the form of a line of white ‘route’ lights along the track diagram and the signal repeater light changing from red to proceed (the actual light is green for main running signals although a signal may be showing yellow or double yellow. White is used for a shunt/call-on proceed aspect).

The white route lights change to red with the progress of the train.

Many NX panels are still in use controlling the national network such as Wembley Main line and Kings Cross at the southern ends of the WCML and ECML respectively. One of the disadvantages of a panel is the large amount of fixed hardware used - buttons, switches, indicator lights and tailor made faceplates depicting the track layout controlled. Any subsequent changes to the layout involve significant design work and hardware alterations. Whilst the new island platform at Cambridge was successfully added to the NX panel there, modifying a panel would be extremely challenging to cover significant layout changes such as those taking place at Reading.

Electronics arrive With the advent of electronic interlocking and computer display technology, British Rail Research (BRR) developed a Visual Display Unit (VDU) interface with which to control trains as an alternative to the panel. The signaller display is a sub-system of what is known as the Integrated Electronic Control Centre (IECC). This may sound generic but, under BR, it was never envisaged that there would be competing products. IECC is actually a specific product supplied, post privatisation, by the company now known as DeltaRail.

The display system, or ‘workstation’, is designed to replicate all the functions of the NX panel. As there are no buttons, routes are set by using a tracker ball to position the cursor over the entrance signal icon, then pressing the ‘set’ button, followed by the same process for the exit signal. The first installations, commissioned in 1989, were at Liverpool Street and Yoker (Scotland).

After privatisation, with BRR sold off, Railtrack wanted to introduce competition into what it saw as a signalling cartel.

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Accordingly it cast the net around the world for suitable products. First to come was the then Vaughan-Harmon (now GE Transportation Systems or GETS) Modular Control System (MCS) VDU workstation for the Norwich to Cromer resignalling. GETS has done well with subsequent contracts for workstations around the county including control centres at Rugby and West of Scotland.

Invensys (formerly Westinghouse) also has a popular workstation product called ‘WESTCAD’, installed in East and West Midlands and South Wales centres. Two other VDU interface products are in use on the network though these are to some extent non standard and work only with the interlocking products from the respective companies. These are Siemens’ VICOS at Bournemouth and Havant and the Ansaldo STS ‘ACC’ system at Manchester South with an ‘RTC’ variant at Machynlleth. DeltaRail has recently introduced the new platform of ‘IECC Scalable’ (described in The Rail Engineer Issue 92 - June 2012) as an effective solution for all sizes of signalling scheme.

The earliest interlocking is the lever frame. The levers operated by the signaller are attached to tappets which cause rows of bars to slide along as levers are moved to lock or release other levers. There are many still in service,

interlockings which are groups of relays plugged into a frame representing a set of points or a signal, for example. Large quantities of standard sets could now be pre-wired in a factory production facility

some on trunk routes such as at Shrewsbury Severn Bridge Jcn. Then came the relay interlocking. This used large quantities of the BR930 relay, a bulky unit approx 2”x4”x6”, performing the same logic as a lever frame. Relay interlockings are usually located near clusters of points and signals to minimise the length of cable runs.

They may be located many miles from the controlling signal box and are typically linked

off-site. The units would be delivered to site and connected together by multicore cables in similar configuration to the track layout being controlled.

Companies producing these products included Westinghouse (Westpac), GC-General Signal (GEC-GS geographical) and AEI-GRS. Examples of these types are still in service today. The last surviving relay interlocking south of Rugby on the WCML is the AEI-GRS geographical at Kings Langley, controlled from Watford Jcn NX panel. Relay interlockings can be controlled from NX panels and some VDU interface products.

Miniaturisation

The interlocking This is the centre-piece of the fail-safe signalling system. It receives requests from the signaller to move points, set routes and clear signals and executes only if safe to do so.

It thus ‘knows’ the current state of the railway ie points/routes locked, trains in section etc.

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The size of the BR930 relays meant that interlockings require significant investment in bricks and mortar! Once again, BRR was ahead of the game. It developed an electronic equivalent of the relay interlocking known as Solid State Interlocking (SSI) - another generic sounding title that was actually a specific product. BRR designed the system, the hardware was manufactured by Westinghouse (now Invensys) and GEC-GS (now Alstom) by a non-vital electronic timesharing datatransfer system called Time Division Multiplex (TDM). There is a BR standard ‘free wired’ (ie tailor made for a particular track layout) relay interlocking.

With the building of large NX panels, manufacturers invented ‘geographical’ relay

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the rail engineer • May 2013

under a tripartite agreement. Just one rack of electronic modules replaced a large room full of relays.

The first SSI installation was commissioned at Leamington Spa in 1985, controlled from an NX panel. Over time, SSI has proved to be highly successful, being deployed extensively on the national network with considerable export sales.

Storm clouds gathered over SSI when Railtrack took over the infrastructure. SSI was perceived as outmoded - ‘old BR’. The future was with the Computer Based Interlocking (CBI - generic term). Actually, SSI is a CBI, but SSI was apparently dead in the water. The new CBI kids on the block were GETS with the ‘VHLC’ for Norwich to Cromer, Ansaldo STS with ‘ACC’ for Manchester South, Siemens with ‘SIMIS-W’ for Dorset Coast, and Adtranz (now Bombardier) with EBILock for Horsham.

The introduction of this new technology provided major challenges at product acceptance. It was difficult to demonstrate that such products would work safely within the parameters of UK signalling principles, for which they were not originally designed.

This was to cause significant cost over-runs and delays to projects. There was some

unfortunate de-scoping in order to restrain the budget. At Stockport, lever frames which date from the nineteenth century still control the station area! Dorset Coast became just Bournemouth. The Horsham project was abandoned altogether. However, some success was achieved with follow on contracts for the GETS ‘VHLC’, Ansaldo STS, ‘SEI’ at Machynlleth, and Siemens ‘SIMIS-W’ at Havant.

With Network Rail at the helm, there was a dramatic reversal of policy. SSI was firmly back on the agenda and is again being extensively installed around the network. This has encouraged innovative new SSI compatible

products such as Invensys ‘WESTLOCK’ and Alstom ‘Smartlock’.

These workstation and interlocking products will continue to provide for the safe passage of trains for many years to come within the operating environment of the new ROCs. Overlay sub systems will be added to the ROCs as required such as Automatic Route Setting (ARS), strategic train regulation, and ETCS (cab signalling).

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the rail engineer • May 2013

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