Rail Engineer - Issue 133 - November 2015

Engineer

by rail engineers for rail engineers

NOVEMBER 2015 - ISSUE 133

VISIBLE IMPROVEMENTS

The new Thameslink facilities at Three Bridges

NETWORK AND CELEBRATE Join us at the Derby Roundhouse this November for the Rail Exec Gala.

BREAKTHROUGH AT VICTORIA Further progress underground, as teams break through between the new North ticket hall and the expanded South one.

A night of networking and reviewing 2015’s Most Interesting products, projects and innovations.

See the shortlist now on page 86.

www.railengineer.uk

HS2 - THE STORY SO FAR With the Government carrying out a spending review, we take a look at one of the big-ticket rail projects - HS2.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

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Contents

Breakthrough

Further progress at Victoria underground station.

News 6 Commission, Chiltern, Women, Ribblehead, Bond Street, Steel, Infrarail.

18 HS2 - The Story So Far

22 Engineers Do Well At RailStaff Awards

Visible Improvement The new Thameslink facilities at Three Bridges.

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Was It Worth It? How do you evaluate whether predicted benefits are achieved?

26

Mobile Radio; The Next Generation The development of GSM radio from 1G to 5G.

28

An S&T Focus For 2015 A report on the IRSE’s Annual Conference - ASPECT 2015.

32

The Future Of GSM-R? Paris was the venue for a conference on what comes next.

36

Two Days At Rail2015 A return to Long Marston to see what’s happening in the industry.

50

Making A Rail Impact Investing in the latest equipment which can deliver more for less.

58

RVE 2015 Best Yet! 60 Rail vehicle engineers have their own show, and what a success it was.

There was a distinctly engineering flavour at this top industry event.

It’s Like Cement - But Different 64 Rapid-setting cement and concrete from the USA solves many problems.

44 Was It Interesting For You?

Surveillance Of The New Nottingham Trams The new, longer tram system needs more CCTV coverage.

66

Managing Chelsea 70 Repairing the Grade 2* listed Chelsea Bridge used cutting edge software.

Room For Expansion An update on Australia’s current railway projects.

74

Developing And Improving The Workforce 82 The National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR) opens in Northampton.

86

See more at www.railengineer.uk

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

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BIM

in the January issue of Rail Engineer.

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

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

Most Interesting

Editor Grahame Taylor

always most interesting

grahame.taylor@railengineer.uk

Production Editor

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GRAHAME TAYLOR

Nigel Wordsworth

In the month that the new Bond film has been released, perhaps now is the right time to reveal that there is an international railway organisation that is secret. It really is. It is, in fact, SECRET - the SECurity of Railways against Electromagnetic aTtacks. Our new writer Les Giles has an account of the recent World GSM-R Conference and cyber security is the ever-present threat to all communication technology.

nigel.wordsworth@railengineer.uk

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

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

Advertising Asif Ahmed

asif@rail-media.com

Chris Davies

chris@rail-media.com

Jolene Price

jolene@rail-media.com

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Rushing off to buy a new 4G phone? Have you any idea what 4G means, or the predecessors 1G through to 3G? And where’s 5G? What of the radios used by railways?

How many Gs have they got? In a fascinating article, Paul Darlington tells us what all this G business is all about and speculates on the future of this rapidly developing world.

Capacity improvements are all-important nowadays and Clive Kessell heard of many initiatives at the IRSE Aspect conference. At first glance, the notion of virtualcoupled trains would be a winner. Effectively, these are convoys of nose to tail vehicles. But I suppose you could then join them all together as a ‘train’ and reintroduce slip coaches. There’s an idea!

In the first part of two instalments, Nigel Wordsworth has been talking to Andrew McNaughton, the engineer who has been with the HS2 project since its first day.

Beginning at a desk with no computer or telephone, Andrew tells us how the scheme has developed to its current detailed stage. In November, the new Government will carry out its spending review and, in our second instalment, Nigel will follow up on what’s left in the pot.

There’s an unusual spin-off from the Thameslink project. It’s a short, isolated (maybe the wrong word as it’s very much alive) length of 25kV overhead line in the middle of the Brighton line. This isn’t the speculative start of third-rail conversion, but a necessary piece of infrastructure in the Three Bridges train maintenance facility.

With an entire railway and station buried underground there are bound to be unanswered questions when it comes to a comprehensive remodelling. Chris Parker has been getting his head round the minutia of how to erect footbridges beneath Victoria - something which has taxed some of the best brains in the industry.

A warm welcome to Bob Wright who has written about the Chelsea Bridge, otherwise known as Cremorne Bridge.

Built before the Chelsea embankment, its approach spans would have been in the river. In the present day, the extraordinary technology of BIMXtra has hugely simplified the management of data relating to the complex repairs needed to the structure.

In Nottingham, Clive has concentrated on how CCTV coverage keeps tabs on every aspect of running the new trams. At any one time, a passenger might see just the odd one or two cameras, but there are actually 141 of them on the network, backed up by a wall of monitors and 600 terabytes of storage.

It’s been Nigel’s job this month to cover all the exhibitions and awards bashes. Meals, press jollies and the like. Someone’s got to do it! »» The next Rail Live at Long Marston was intended to be in 2016, but you can’t keep a good show down.

Due to popular demand, a local variant popped up in the shape of Rail 2015 in a similar format with holes being dug and track being shifted. And, of course, the weather stayed fine. »» Rail Vehicle Enhancements - RVE 2015 - is an intriguing event. Thirty-five exhibitors are allocated the same modest sized display. It focuses attention on what the companies are really good at, the ideas, the innovation - all with the minimum of marketing bling. Look out for it next year. »» Our sister publication has just held the RailStaff awards. These are the gongs handed out to real people from across the industry. Engineers featured in many of the categories. »» The ‘Most Interesting’ awards event at Derby’s iconic Roundhouse on 19 November is really different.

We’ve looked back at the articles that have been written over the past year and nominated a whole bunch that we reckon are worthy of being deemed ‘most interesting’. Not the biggest, not the most expensive, not the most brash, but just really interesting.

David Shirres, in reflective mood, asks whether any of the rail enhancement schemes in Scotland have been reviewed after completion. It appears that they have and, by and large, they have achieved their initial purposes although testing against something that didn’t happen is tricky!

In any industry that is running full to capacity there are promises to educate, promises to employ apprentices, and quite often nothing happens. But at the newly opened training centre at Kings Heath there really is a purposebuilt establishment to address demographic difficulties caused by an ageing skill base.

From our comprehensive review of all the railway projects on the go in Australia, it will be pretty obvious that there might just be some more skills challenges. And these may well spill back into Europe and ultimately the UK. If you fancy a bit of travel, a lot of sun and some dodgy spiders, then now is the time to shop around.

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NEWS

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Lord Adonis with his favourite magazine.

Rail Engineer reader to head Infrastructure Commission The Government has announced the formation of a new Infrastructure Commission, charged with offering unbiased analysis of the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs.

Announcing the move, Chancellor George Osborne stated: “The Commission will calmly and dispassionately assess the future infrastructure needs of the country and it will hold any government’s feet to the fire if it fails to deliver.”

Chairman of the Commission will be former Secretary of State for Transport (and Rail Engineer reader) Lord Adonis. He commented: “Without big improvements to its transport and energy systems, Britain will grind to a halt. I look forward to establishing the National Infrastructure Commission as an independent body able to advise Government and Parliament on priorities. Major infrastructure projects like Crossrail and major new power stations span governments and parliaments. I hope it will be

possible to forge a wide measure of agreement, across society and politics, on key infrastructure requirements for the next 20 to 30 years and the assessments which have underpinned them.”

Lord Adonis will show his independence by sitting on the crossbenches in the House of Lords.

Pledging to work closely with the new Commission, Michael Roberts, director general of the Rail Delivery Group, added: “Britain’s railway plays a crucial role in the economy, connecting people to jobs, loved ones and leisure opportunities.

Coordinated, long term investment in the network is key. For over a decade the country has benefitted from a rail industry that takes a long term view on infrastructure investment.”

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Piece in the puzzle Network Rail and Chiltern Railways have formally opened a new rail link between Oxford and London Marylebone.

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The £320 million project has included the construction of a new spur line, connecting the Bicester Town to Oxford line to the Chiltern main line, and two new stations: Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village.

The new line makes up the Western Section of the broader East West Rail route, which aims to eventually link Oxford, Bicester, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Aylesbury and Cambridge.

Chiltern will operate two fast services an hour throughout the day between Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village station and London.

The operator will cover £130 million of the project’s total cost, which it, and any future operator, will pay back to Network Rail over the next 30 years.

In figures, the project involved the installation of 60 new signals, eight footbridges, four road bridges and

the removal, or replacement of 36 level crossings.

Mark Carne, chief executive of Network Rail, said: “Investing in new rail links and train stations boosts the economy, providing opportunities for new housing and more jobs.”

Martin Frobisher from Network Rail and Rob Brighouse of Chiltern Railways officially open Oxford Parkway station.

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NEWS

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Women wanted!

Claire Perry MP meets female construction workers at Crossrail’s Farringdon site.

That sounds like a very sexist title, but several initiatives are underway to attract more women into the rail industry.

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Crossrail and its supply chain are working with Women into Construction to create further work experience and employment opportunities.

Originally created as part of the London 2012 employment strategy, Women into Construction is an independent, not-for-profit organisation which aims to recruit women into all areas of construction, from entry level trades roles through to professional construction placements.

Now, Women into Construction has re-located to Crossrail’s headquarters in Canary Wharf where office space has been provided free-of-charge. This will allow even greater collaboration with Crossrail’s own employability and education teams, including the job brokerage service which works in partnership with JobCentre Plus and Young Crossrail.

At the same time, Network Rail has launched the third year of its award-winning ‘Could IT Be

You?’ competition. Encouraging more girls to pursue a tech-related career, the competition offers the chance to win up to £9,000 towards the first year of university tuition fees.

The competition was set up in 2013 by Network Rail’s chief information officer, Susan Cooklin, after she raised concerns about the slide in the number of women entering the UK’s IT sector.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Ribblehead wins!

This year’s Network Rail ‘Lines In The Landscape’ photographic competition has been won by Robert France of Lancaster. His winning shot, chosen from around 500 entries, is of a freight train approaching Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle line.

Diagonal Lift London Underground has unveiled a neat solution to the problem of installing lifts in stations that were never designed for them.

Until now, a costly vertical shaft would have to be dug, as well as horizontal access shafts, to install lifts for those with walking and mobility difficulties, passengers with heavy luggage, babies, pushchairs and other encumbrances.

However, an incline lift doesn’t just go up and down, as any other lift does. Instead, it travels on a gradient so it can replace a set of stairs or an escalator in its original shaft, without the need to dig a new, vertical one.

London’s first incline lift has just opened at Greenford station, in Ealing. As well as being easier and cheaper to install, it also uses 50% less power than a conventional lift.

David Waboso, London Underground’s director of capital programmes, said: “The new incline lift is spacious, quick, and provides much-needed step-free access to our customers at Greenford. It is cheaper to install and cheaper to run and I am hopeful we can introduce this innovation elsewhere on the Tube network in the future.”

Speaking of his win, Robert said: “Ribblehead Viaduct is a magnificent structure, surrounded by beautiful countryside, and I was very lucky to capture it in the last rays of winter sun complete with an approaching train.”

Lines In The Landscape forms part of the national Take a View - Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. Founder Charlie Waite said of Robert France’s winning image: “Robert’s image was a clear winner for me this year.

“The strong arc of the train provides a perfect lead-in to the majesty of the viaduct and the slanting, evening light sculpts beautiful shapes in the surrounding landscape. The cooler colour of the freight cars is also

9

key and provides an accent to the warm tones of the overall picture.

The juxtaposition of modern track and train with the Victorian structure brings to mind both the history of Britain’s railways and their evolution.”

Robert’s prize is an exclusive visit to another of Britain’s railway landmarks, the Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland, where Network Rail will provide him with access to viewpoints not normally open to the public.

The winner of Rail Engineer’s own photographic competition, for images taken on a smartphone, will be announced at the Rail Exec Club Gala Dinner at Derby’s iconic Roundhouse on Thursday 19 November.

PHOTO: ROBERT FRANCE

NEWS

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NEWS

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Bond Street progress continues Bond Street station will be one of the busiest on Crossrail. More than 155,000 passengers use the existing Tube station daily. When Crossrail arrives in 2018, passenger numbers are anticipated to grow to over 225,000 daily.

Two brand new ticket halls - at Hanover Square in the east and Davies Street in the west - are being built to accommodate this demand.

The western ticket hall is structurally complete. At Hanover

Square, excavation for the eastern ticket hall will shortly conclude.

Construction of the 250-metrelong platforms is nearing completion and installation of the frames to support the full height platform edge screens is now

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In addition, London Underground engineers have recently excavated the final passageway linking the expanded Tube station to the new Crossrail station. This means that architectural fit-out of the Crossrail station can begin.

Chris Pateman, Bond Street project manager for Crossrail,

said: “Construction at Bond Street continues to make excellent progress. Since work began over five years ago, our highly skilled teams have worked tirelessly to complete the tunnels and excavate the huge new ticket halls. When Bond Street Crossrail station opens in 2018 it will be a fantastic gateway to Oxford Street and the West End.”

NEWS

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Alongside other notices of job losses in the British steel industry, Tata Steel’s Long Products Europe business has announced that 1,200 jobs may potentially go, 900 of them at Scunthorpe.

This is the division which makes most of the rail used on the UK network and also manufactures the steel blooms used by the rail rolling plant at Hayange in France.

However, the cut-backs only apply to the production of steel plate.

Making the announcement, Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel’s European operations, said: “The UK steel industry is struggling for survival in the face of extremely challenging market conditions. This industry has a crucial role to play in rebalancing the UK economy, but we need a fairer system to encourage growth. The European Commission needs to do much more to deal with unfairly traded imports - inaction threatens the future of the entire European steel industry.”

Tata Steel will concentrate on higher-value markets with a focus on developing stronger and

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Tata Steel cutbacks

lighter products for its customers.

Bimlendra Jha, executive chairman of the stand-alone Long Products Europe business, said: “These proposals mark the next step in reshaping our business to give it the best chance of survival in this fiercely-competitive global marketplace. We are looking closely at the performance of all parts of Long Products Europe as part of a focus on returning to profitability.”

A spokesperson added: “We have announced a proposal to mothball certain assets and withdraw from the reversing mill plate business. Going forwards, we will focus on products and markets which are more attractive and where we have stronger capability. Our position in other products, such as rails, wire rods, sections, special profiles and semi-finished steels, is unaffected by our recent announcement.”

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

Infrarail boosted by Government infrastructure plans The timing of next year’s Infrarail 2016 exhibition coincides well with a strengthening focus by the government on the long-term development of the country’s infrastructure. Earlier this month the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced the creation of an independent National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) charged with offering unbiased analysis of the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs.

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Among early tasks for the NIC are development of a plan to transform the connectivity of cities in northern England, including the proposed HS3 high-speed line, and establishing priorities for future large-scale investment in London’s public transport infrastructure.

Rail already features prominently in the Government’s National Infrastructure Pipeline, its report on planned investments published in July. This identifies future spending of £411 billion on 265 programmes and 299 projects.

Transport accounts for £127.4 billion or 31% by value of this total, nearly three-quarters of that destined for railway schemes. Additional spending is planned by the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This clearer, long-term approach to investing in the UK’s national infrastructure is good news for companies planning to exhibit at Infrarail. Taking place from 12 to 14 April at ExCeL London in the capital’s Docklands, the event will provide a very timely showcase for the latest in rail infrastructure technology and services.

Infrarail will be further enhanced by sharing its venue with the CITE (Civil Infrastructure & Technology Exhibition), which will feature many of the civils products and

services needed for rail projects, as well as for highways, utilities and communications networks.

Kirsten Whitehouse, exhibition manager for both events, said: “Staging these shows together offers many benefits for exhibitors and visitors. Infrarail has an established reputation for showcasing railway infrastructure technology and services, while CITE will provide a timely focus on the civil engineering, equipment, products and skills needs of the broader public infrastructure sector - including, of course, the rail market.”

More information on Infrarail 2016 can be found at www.infrarail.com, with details of CITE at www.cite-uk.com.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

VISIBLE IMPROVEMENTS

The new Thameslink facilities at Three Bridges

F

ar from being seen but not heard, many would say that railway engineers shouldn’t even be seen. The maintenance and upgrading of the network, which proceeds twenty-four hours a day and 365 days a year (yes, really!), should all happen in the background and not affect passengers.

One road includes two bogie drops from Mechan.

That’s probably not a bad philosophy, although it’s not always possible.

There will be times when a piece of work is too large to carry out in the early hours of the morning, even in stages, so the infrastructure has to be shut.

Sometimes this causes localised inconvenience - a few rail-replacement buses over a weekend and a small number of disgruntled passengers.

Major disruption On other occasions, the disruption is more extensive, and hence more noticeable. An 18-mile length of the West Coast main line was closed in July 2013. Nottingham station was shut completely for 12 days and in a westbound direction (towards London) for five weeks.

Major works can only be carried out when the railway is closed, both for safety and often because the tracks have to be removed and replaced, perhaps in a completely different configuration, and there is no getting around it.

The shame is that, when the railway reopens, very often passengers don’t see any difference. They then start to question whether the inconvenience (to them) was really necessary. They don’t notice the improved line speed, the two minutes saved off their journey, the fact that their train gets delayed less often. All they see, if they are observant, are a few bags of ballast lying alongside the railway, some odd-looking items of plant - seemingly abandoned - that disappear after a few days, and a number of pieces of ‘track’ (actually rail) that get rustier over time before they, too, suddenly vanish.

Then there is Thameslink.

The disruption is certainly there, on a grand scale. Ask anyone who uses London Bridge regularly. And the whole mess seems to be going on for EVER. But once the dust settles, there is certainly something to see. A good example is Blackfriars station. Passengers with a bit of time on their hands can lean on the handrail, halfway across the Thames, and just take in the sights of London and its river. Simply stunning!

Rail Engineer • November 2015

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Or go shopping in Borough Market, just outside the much-maligned London Bridge station, and look up at the huge-yet-elegant construction that is the Borough Viaduct, shortly to be brought into use as part of the next tranche of work at the station next door.

The project is certainly leaving a legacy of something to see, and these were only two examples.

Latest landmark The latest structure to be added to this list is a little more discrete but is still quite visible. Just south of Three Bridges station, on the Brighton line near Crawley, Siemens and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) have built a new train depot with large buildings on both sides of the railway. Constructed by VolkerFitzpatrick to plans originally submitted by Arup, it’s hard to miss, really.

On the western side of the tracks is the Main Facilities Building (MFB), a huge ‘shed’ that is 256 metres long and 40 metres wide. It has five roads, each capable of taking a complete 12-car Thameslink train. One is for heavy maintenance, with two bogie drops supplied by Sheffieldbased specialist Mechan.

All of the roads have the rails supported on posts so that there is effectively a large ‘pit’ for technicians working under and alongside the train. Each has a 2.5 tonne overhead crane above it, to make light work of removing HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning), pantographs and other roof-mounted equipment.

Carriage Wash Wheel Lathe Main Facilities Building Under Frame Cleaning Facility Network Rail Three Bridges Railway Operating Centre (ROC) Stabling, Cleaning, CET Roads

Although on the third-rail 750V DC network, one road has a length of 25kV AC contact wire above it. This is so that the new Siemens Class 700 trains, which have to operate on both the 25kV AC network north of the Thames and DC third-rail south of it, can be tested after maintenance. It is not intended to actually be used for test running, though to move a few metres should be possible, but it will allow pantographs, transformers and busbar systems to be checked before trains are returned to service.

Naturally, interlocks are in place to make sure that nobody has access to the trains at high-level while the overhead power is on. These, along with the rest of the depot protection system, have been provided by Zonegreen.

There are no DC third-rails in the workshop (sorry, MFB) - trains are pushed in and out using the depot’s own battery-operated shunter.

Aerial view of Three Bridges Traincare facility while under construction.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

View from the cab of a Class 700.

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The trains are coming At the moment, the whole place is very new, clean almost shiny, and quiet. The loudest noise is the sound of the ventilation fans. Two new trains, also very shiny, sit unmoving on two of the roads. Soon, however, when mainline testing starts next month, things will be a bit more hectic. Seven complete trains, one of them a shorter, eight-car unit, are awaiting shipment to the UK from Siemens’ test track in Wildenrath, Germany. Five trains will be at Three Bridges by Christmas.

A second eight-car Class 700/0 train (the 12-car versions are designated 700/1) is currently undergoing braking trials at Velim in the Czech Republic. Although part of the same family, the 700/0 is viewed as a different train from a 700/1 so it needs to go through its own, independent test programme.

In total, there will be 60 eight-car and 55 12-car trains, all to be built by Siemens at Krefeld in Germany and tested at Wegberg-Wildenrath before delivery. The trains are being bought by Cross London Trains, a consortium of Siemens, Innisfree and 3i Infrastructure, using finance from 19 banks. Eversholt Rail is providing long-term asset management of the fleet.

All those trains will need a lot of space, and the new facility at Three Bridges will play a key role.

As well as the main MFB, there is a new tandem-head wheel lathe from Hegenscheidt outside in a separate building. Also in their own sheds are two carriage wash machines, one on the western side of the main line with the buildings already mentioned, the other on the eastern side to support those trains stabled over there.

A long building lies alongside the eastern carriage wash.

This is the single-road under frame cleaning station, used to thoroughly clean the underside of trains before heavy maintenance and also to remove the unfortunate results from any collision between the train and animals or suicides.

Along with stabling on both sides of the main line, there are also additional sidings alongside the branch to Horsham. This is also the site of Network Rail’s Three Bridges Railway Operating Centre (ROC). Designed and built by Spencer Rail, this opened in January 2014 and will take over, by stages, control of the Brighton main line from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton, as well as the south coast and large areas either side.

High-tech equipment The systems built into the new Three Bridges depot are impressive. Automatic inspection systems using lasers measure and predict when components such as brake pads need to be maintained and renewed. More lasers are used to examine wheel profiles and to decide whether a particular train needs to visit the wheel lathe.

Driver training can be carried out on-site using a simulator. This will provide the specialist training each driver must undergo in order to drive a new Class 700 train, from theoretical practice to practical reality.

With a site that is over 1.4 miles long, on two sides of the main line, and with all of the switches and crossings for the workshops and multitude of storage sidings, the whole depot has to be fully signalled.

Everything has come together into one integrated system. And that’s key. As Iain Smith, programme director of the Thameslink rolling stock project at Siemens, said: “Three Bridges depot is of particular importance to the overall Thameslink Programme due to its role in commissioning the state-of-the-art trains. Without a working depot, we can’t fully test trains, perform maintenance or put them into service.”

Further facilities Three Bridges is just one of the new facilities that will support the Thameslink fleet. A second smaller depot at Hornsey will open in 2016. This will be a 25kV AC depot and was originally going to be even larger than Three Bridges. However, local opposition meant that plans were recast and that Three Bridges was enlarged from three roads to five while Hornsey was reduced in size from a proposed six-road shed to only three.

In addition, improvements have been or are being made to outlying stabling facilities at Brighton, Horsham, Tonbridge, Selhurst, Cricklewood and Bedford.

So there’s plenty to see and, once the first new Class 700/1 train enters service early next year, even to ride on!

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18

Rail Engineer • November 2015

CHRIS PARKER

Breakthrough!

Further progress at Victoria underground station

M

onday 14 September 2015 was a significant day in the London Underground project to upgrade Victoria station. Many readers will appreciate just how overcrowded this Underground station has become and will greatly welcome an improvement in the space available to handle the numbers using it each day. These already exceed the daily headcount at Heathrow Airport, and the growth in usage is expected to continue.

The underground bridge.

The big event mentioned earlier was the breakthrough in the tunnel between the new North ticket hall and the expanded South one. This brought to an end a key part of the complex three-year project at Victoria.

London Underground has been planning the upgrade here since 2009 and, as regular readers will know from previous articles in this magazine, work on site began back in 2012 with jet grouting by Keller UK to stabilise the sands and gravels before tunnelling and excavation could begin.

Underground bridge The work of this project has been carried out largely behind the scenes, with the station remaining fully open with very few exceptions. This has been particularly challenging, given that some tunnelling works have been undertaken less than 30cm away from the operational Victoria line platforms.

When the Taylor Woodrow/BAM Nuttall joint venture was appointed to carry out this project, London Underground admits that there

were something like 70 unanswered questions about how the construction could be achieved. The project teams and their advisors have triumphed in coming up with innovative and creative solutions to each and every one.

One of the few occasions on which part of the station did have to be closed was last Christmas, when preparations for the link tunnel crossing beneath the District and Circle lines were commenced. To allow for this crossing, it was necessary to construct a bridge to carry the tracks over the new tunnel.

One of the unanswered questions was how to achieve this with minimal disruption to passengers.

The solution, which involved a sophisticated temporary works scheme, was devised by the project team working with consultant Tony Gee & Partners.

The complex process involved several temporary headings, driven beneath the existing railway tunnel.

One set was perpendicular to the line, with headings below the intended support bearings for the new bridge deck. These were used to allow the construction of foundations for the bridge support system, and then to permit columns to be installed on these so as to provide the support to the bridge deck.

The new bridge deck was constructed top down during the closure at Christmas, when the track was removed from inside the running tunnel and the required area was excavated down to the design soffit level for the new bridge deck.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

19

The deck was constructed in reinforced concrete in a normal manner, with one exception. This was the inclusion of heavy transverse steel tubes in the deck slab, which required that the slab depth be rather greater than normal to accommodate them.

Side beams and needles The reason for the tubes was that they contained tubular steel ‘needles’ within them which came into play later in the works. Each tube contained two needles, one at each end of the tube, the needles being a snug fit in their tubes.

Once the new deck was complete, supported by the grouted (permeation grout) ground, the track was reinstated and the railway could be reopened.

A second set of headings ran parallel to the tunnel, one either side of the intended bridge deck. In each of these a side beam was constructed, spanning the intended new tunnel to the side of and below the side walls of the existing running tunnel. These two side beams were therefore parallel to the sides of the new bridge deck, one on each side and some distance from it.

This is where the needles came into play. In order to support the side walls of the running tunnel, working from the side beam headings, the needles were drawn out of the tubes within the new bridge deck and connected into the new side beams. The needles were thus each supported at one end by being socketed into the tube they were originally installed in, and at the other by a side beam.

This arrangement permitted the running tunnel side walls to be supported by the needles, to stop them being undermined by the excavation of the new tunnel below. Thus the existing railway and

its surrounding tunnel were fully supported, permitting the excavation of the new tunnel down below to proceed, with normal rail traffic carrying on overhead.

Props to base level were then constructed within timber headings before completion of the remaining excavation to base level within walls temporarily supported by shotcrete before the tunnel is lined and fitted out for passenger usage.

This crossing under the operating railway has allowed the tunnel to be driven to meet up with a drive from the opposite end, so as to link the two ticket halls below ground.

The beam and needles.

20

Rail Engineer • November 2015 Propless solution

Seen from above, the site is compact but close to two London theatres.

A second example of innovation has been the development of a propless tunnelling junction system. There have been a number of challenges in constructing the tunnels, caused by junctions, changes in tunnel section and changes in inclination of the tunnels (for escalator tunnels and so on).

Mott McDonald worked with the project to develop a method of constructing tunnel junctions without complex propping within the operational side of the existing tunnel linings to the excavation and formwork, and this has proven to be safe and economical in use.

The entirely-new North Ticket Hall is now fully excavated, and work is progressing with the permanent concrete linings, stairways and so on, prior to the final fitting out works. In particular, it is worth noting the new access stairs and entranceway to this ticket hall. These will give users a totally new way in and out of the station, directly to the northern end of the platforms. Modelling shows that this entrance should save many customers some five minutes by giving them more direct access and taking them under roads that they currently have to cross at street level.

The South Ticket Hall extension is not quite so far advanced, with some more excavation to complete.

Celebrations The event that led to this article was the staging of the final breakthrough between the drives that lined the booking halls.

A formal breakthrough ceremony took place, introduced by Nick Brown, managing director of London Underground, and Craig Prangley, project director at Taylor Woodrow/ BAM Nuttall JV. After the tunnellers joined the crowd through the

opening they cut through from the other heading, they were greeted warmly by their colleagues and the other spectators before David Gauke MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, spoke in praise of their achievements.

All the speakers emphasised the importance of the upgrading of both the Underground network in general and Victoria station in particular.

They thanked the funding bodies, in particular in this instance the European Investment Bank, whose representatives were present.

The EIB has loaned £1 billion to London to fund a range of transport infrastructure work, including the Victoria station upgrade, the upgrading of Bank station which is to commence soon, and the London Cycle Superhighway Network.

Thanks were also offered to the local community, which has borne with the project throughout and with which the project team has worked very closely to minimise inconvenience and disruption, for example by enforcing quiet periods at times when the Apollo and Victoria Palace theatres have matinee performances.

Steve Lousley, London Underground project manager of the Victoria station upgrade, was delighted with the project’s progress and is looking forward to seeing the fully-completed works open on time in 2018.

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22

Rail Engineer • November 2015

HS2 the story

so far

W

ith the new Government carrying out a spending review due to be announced on 25 November, it is a good time to look at one of the big-ticket rail projects around at the moment - HS2.

So far, the HS2 story has been about planning, design, compromise and proposal. The route has been argued over - the term NIMBY (not in my back yard) has come into popular use - and altered several times, which has increased the estimated total cost. The railway is now likely to be largely in cuttings and tunnels, to keep it away from the sight (and ears) of those who live nearby, but that will need extra engineering work.

This is the first of a two-part look at HS2, how it has got to where it is now, and what it plans for the future. In this first instalment, Rail Engineer talks with Andrew McNaughton, the engineer who has been with the project since its first day. After the strategic review has been published and considered, there will be a second article with chief executive Simon Kirby looking forward to Royal Assent and actually getting the construction phase underway.

Three in an office “I started on HS2 on 9 February 2009,” Andrew McNaughton remembered. “The previous month, Geoff Hoon, the Secretary of State for Transport, stood up in the House of Commons and announced that the Government was going to get up a government owned company to examine the case for high speed rail in Britain and recommend a first route if that was the right thing to do.

“So HS2 Limited was setup as a company limited by guarantee, which it still is, and a senior civil servant was seconded to be its economist and chief executive, she was Alison Munro. It had

as its Chairman a previous Permanent Secretary in Sir David Rowlands and it was set up, very deliberately, outside the DfT and separate from the existing rail industry to look at things objectively and from scratch. We were charged with providing advice to Government by the end of the year.

“Day one, I had no phone, no computer, we had a rickety desk in a bit of surplus Government property at 55 Victoria Street where the SRA used to live!

“I was seconded from Network Rail. I was the chief engineer there and so this was a melding of rail knowledge, which was me, with transport planning and economic knowledge, which was Alison. Various people were seconded from the DfT and I also sought out a small number of people

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

that I trusted completely to come and support me.

Then we went out and got, by competitive tender, Arup to be our engineering consultant and Temple to do the environmental stuff.

“The deadline was by the end of the year. So there we were, on the 31st of December, trying to get the printers to work at 17:00 in the evening because our Secretary of State (now Lord Andrew Adonis) had made it very plain that he was going to spend New Year’s Day reading it. The report was about 200 pages long and it had got in it principles that have been with us ever since, such as this is a project to maximise economic benefit.

“So it’s demand-led, not engineering-led, not operational-led, it’s demand-led. The reason you run trains off to Manchester on day one by going up to the West Midlands and then using the conventional existing West Coast main line is because of that first principle, which was to maximise the benefit.”

with a spur with to Liverpool a spur to Liverpool

23 Engineer • November  Reverse  'E' Reverse - a single 'E' -line a single to Newcastle line toRail Newcastle and Scotland and Scotland via East 2015 Midlands, via East Midlands, Sheffield Sheffield and Leedsand with Leeds trans-Pennine with trans-Pennine branches branches from Sheffield from Sheffield and Leedsand to Leeds to Manchester Manchester and Liverpool. and Liverpool.

Figure 2: Comparison Figure 2:ofComparison HS2 Ltd's wider of HS2 network Ltd's wider options network options

Alternatives and proposals That first report was as detailed as the small team could make it. Titled “London to the West Midlands and beyond”, it considered 25 station locations in London. It looked at the case for going via Heathrow, and for not doing so. It analysed around 104 possible routes.

The team behind the report had considered justifications for taking the line up to Newcastle, to Edinburgh and to Glasgow. It looked at the case for a high-speed railway between Leeds and Manchester and other different proposals that were around at the time.

The Conservatives, then in opposition, had suggested a route they called the ‘Reverse S’ - a line that went up to Manchester then went across the Pennines and Leeds, went up to Newcastle and then went back to Glasgow.

There was also an Inverse A which had a trunk route to Birmingham then two lines going north - one eventually to Newcastle, one to Glasgow and Edinburgh and potentially a cross-bar which was Leeds-Manchester. There was even a Reverse E, which had no direct link between Birmingham and Manchester. Everything was considered.

And it all went into the report, which was presented to the Secretary of State on 31 December 2009 as promised. He then published it on 11 March 2010 along with his command paper setting out his own thoughts on the proposals.

The biggest benefits were from getting to Manchester and Leeds, so the Inverse A became a Y - a main route to Birmingham and then two arms, one to Leeds and one to Manchester. The link between Leeds and Manchester didn’t have a good business case to be high speed (defined as over 250km/h or 160mph) but should instead simply be an upgraded, fast railway.

So the plan was for a dedicated, high-speed, passenger railway. Unlike HS1, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, it will only be used by highspeed passenger trains. Why not run other trains too?

“You can smuggle Javelins between Eurostars because there aren’t many Eurostars, there are big gaps in the service and it’s a very short distance,” explained Andrew. “You’ve only got from Ebbsfleet to Ashford that they have to get along where they’re going slower than Eurostars. The route out to Ebbsfleet is only 230km/h so they’re basically running at the same speed as the Eurostars out through the London tunnels. The faster bit of the route is only between Ebbsfleet and Ashford. It’s really not far.

“However, if you run a Pendolino on High Speed 2, you would destroy three quarters of the train paths because of the distance and the speed differential.”

HS2 will be an intensively used line, with trains running close together on twin tracks. There is no space between high speed trains for anything slower, and no slow line to move them onto. So the line will be completely taken up with longdistance, high-speed trains.

Speed or capacity?

Capacity is certainly part of the justification for the new line. The southern end of the West Coast main line is full. Long distance traffic is increasing, freight is increasing, and more and more people are moving out of London to areas such as Milton Keynes and commuting by train. As Andrew said, it’s a “triple whammy”.

“The West Coast is overloaded three times over, and so a big part of our business case argument in our first report was to release capacity on the West Coast. It’s a big chunk of our BCR, of our business cost benefit ratio.

“But it was never designed to be the West Coast main line bypass. We realised very early on that London to the West Midlands was the most urgent priority. You could say it’s always good to build a tree from the root upwards rather than from the branches down but we’re going to run out of transport capacity between London and the West Midlands before we run out of anything else. So as you build a new line, you improve connectivity and you change the way cities work with each other, which is a big thing that has emerged steadily from our original work.”

There are three types of traffic on the West Coast main line (WCML) - long-distance, commuter and freight. HS2 will pull the longdistance out of the equation and leave the other two to run on the current line.

“HS2 will give a transformational increase in capacity,” Andrew McNaughton explained.

“Basically, as a dedicated passenger railway, we can carry more people per hour than two

motorways. It’s phenomenal capacity. It pretty much triples the number of seats long-distance to the North of England.”

Removing the long-distance traffic will allow commuter and freight trains to run on all four lines of the WCML, hence increasing their capacity as well.

So what about speed? Does the new line have to be a high-speed railway?

“We had to study strategic alternatives, so we asked what would be the effect if High Speed 2 were built as a conventional railway, another 125 mile an hour railway? And the answer was we’d never build it because the benefits would only be about half but the costs would be 90% because we’d still be building the tunnels, the bridges, the viaducts, the overhead line, the track and the signalling. In cost terms, the difference between a conventional line and a high speed line is less than 10% for new line but we have double the benefits, so it’s not a difficult decision.”

More politics Two months after Lord Adonis published his command paper, the Government changed to a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, and the project got it’s third Secretary of State in 18 months. Philip Hammond presided over a reassessment of the proposals and the costs were referred to a strategic spending review.

Many questions were asked. Were the stations in the right place? Should the route go via Heathrow? Was the Y Route to Birmingham that then split to Leeds and Manchester the correct one? Every aspect was reviewed, and then reviewed again.

Andrew McNaughton and his team justified not routing the new railway through Heathrow.

It would advantage just 2% of passengers, and disadvantage 98%.

“From our point of view, it was brilliant,” Andrew continued. “Because, when Philip Hammond stood up in the House of Commons in December 2010

19

Photo: Southeastern

24

Rail Engineer • November 2015

and said he was now requiring us to take this to public consultation, it meant we knew that we had produced a report which withstood the examination of both a Labour-led administration and a coalition administration. So the leading politicians of all three principal political parties had subjected our work to review and had accepted it.

“We felt pretty good about that, which sustained us through six months of public consultation over the spring and early summer of 2011. We had the public consultation and the public responded. It was the biggest public consultation in the history of this country with 55,000 responses. We spent the rest of 2011 checking through them one by one and making recommendations to, by that stage, our fourth Secretary of State, Justine Greening. And she announced, in January 2012, her decision on the first stage of the route.

“We made some detailed changes to the route from early feedback from affected communities. We put some more bends in the route to take it away from some communities, we started to lower it and removed some of our more ambitious viaducts. She added some changes that she thought were right having considered all the public consultation.

“Justine Greening’s particular ambition was that, if this railway was going to be around for 150 years, it was going to be a high-quality railway and, if that meant a couple more tunnels, it meant a couple more tunnels, and that’s just fine because ultimately it’s the Secretary of State’s railway, not our railway.

“So around 46% of the route got adjusted in some fashion as a result of that public consultation. Some of it was just a couple of metres up or down… particularly down in the ground a bit more. Some of it was a bit more, but actually 46% of the route was changed in some way as a result of the consultation.

So public consultations do actually have an impact.”

The final result was therefore a combination of engineering design and political compromise - a balance of benefit, cost and impact. The benefits could be identified - journey times and frequency of service. Reliability came across as being very important - not only being able to travel from Manchester to London in an hour and a quarter, with a service every 20 minutes, but to be able to do it reliably, every time. The sort of reliability that the Japanese have shown can be achieved.

Impact can also be assessed. How many people live within earshot of the route? What will the effect of noise be on them, both during construction and when the line is in operation?

What sites of special scientific interest will be affected, and to what extent? And what historic buildings or archaeological remains are on the route?

The final route chosen was one which, outside of London, would require one building to be demolished for every kilometre. In the most crowded nation in Europe, that’s very low. In addition, HS2 will purchase more properties which would be badly affected by construction noise, but these can be sold on once the line is open and overall noise levels drop.

Preferred route At the end of the day, Andrew was very pleased with the final choice. “Discussions about what was the right route were entirely around the balance of benefit, cost and impact,” he commented, “and that stood us in good stead when we went out to public consultation. The Secretary of State’s preferred route, which was the same preferred route as the previous Secretary of State of a different political hue, was the one which actually had the lowest cost of the shortlist. It also had the highest benefits and, objectively, the impacts were no greater than any other route.”

Of course, people will always complain.

Phase 1 will go from Birmingham to London, but it will miss Coventry. Phase 2 will miss Derby and Nottingham, passing almost exactly between them.

“The objective of High Speed is to connect up Metropolises,” countered Andrew. “In a city like London, if you channel everyone through one station, you overload the network. So that’s why we end up with two stations.

“For a region like the West Midlands, you actually need to serve the whole region and we placed the station on the outskirts of the West Midlands region which people could get to easily. That’s a city region of around four/five million people.

“We passed by some fairly big cities like Sheffield, like Nottingham, like Coventry. Those places are not destinations that you can take a whole train to and ever fill it up. You can serve on your way to other places.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

25

“We have followed what others have done round the world; you take the line pretty close to the city, you build a station at a good interchange point.

Other cities get a better service on the classic network. So Milton Keynes, for example - we don’t go anywhere near Milton Keynes - it sees a dozen trains an hour at the moment and ten of them go straight through. In the future, they will all stop, giving a better service.”

So the route is planned, designs have been drawn up, and it now all waits on Royal Assent of the Hybrid Bill. But even the detailed design had its complications. With the speed that technology advances, how does one design a railway that won’t be finished for another ten years?

“If you look, speed has increased progressively over the years,” Andrew stated. “High Speed 1 was opened at 300km/h, it was designed ten years previously. By the time it was opened, the rest of the world was designed for 320. Those lines were opened - by the time they were opened, the rest of the world was designing for 350. There’s always a huge time lag between making the decision about what you’re designing and actually opening.

“Other countries have been designing for 400 for several years and so have we. We don’t open at 400, we open at 360 because, at the time that we’d done the calculations, the increased speed had a very small effect on cost but the benefits were many times greater. So the more we could reduce the journey time, the better the business case. We already can see and touch and travel on a train that would travel at that speed so the technology exists, and is just coming into service. Frankly the world will move on but we’ve designed something that is capable of being upgraded.”

It’s the same with signalling systems. The design calls for ETCS level 2, which is proven technology. If level 3 comes along before 2025, then it can only improve capacity, but the current design is based on level 2.

So that’s how HS2 has got to where it is today, waiting for Government approval to actually get started.

What happens after that is a story for another day…

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26

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Was it worth it?

THE BUSINESS OF RAILWAY ENGINEERING:

DAVID SHIRRES

First passenger train on new Airdrie to Bathgate line - December 2010.

T

he project has been completed, hopefully on time and to budget. To have been approved by the investment panel, it must have had a good business case and so will undoubtedly benefit the local community. So, is that the end of the story?

Transport Scotland doesn’t think so. For years it has applied its Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation (STRIPE) to its road schemes. Amongst other things, STRIPE considers whether a project’s benefits are as predicted and if there are lessons to be learned for future projects. It takes account of HM Treasury’s Green and Magenta Books on project evaluation.

Having seen record investment in Scotland’s railways over the last 20 years, Transport Scotland is now applying a similar approach to rail projects. It is felt that these have traditionally been well developed at the objectives and appraisal stage prior to construction, but less so in respect of evaluation. As a result, guidelines for the evaluation of rail projects have been drawn up.

To test and refine this guidance, three pilot evaluations of recent rail projects were undertaken in 2013/14. These were Laurencekirk station, the Larkhall to Milngavie line, and the Airdrie to Bathgate line.

Laurencekirk’s new station The old Laurencekirk station closed in 1967.

In 2009, a new station and Park and Ride facility was provided at a cost of £3.5 million - £0.75 million under budget. The objectives of the project were to link rural commuters with employment and education, to encourage greater use of public transport through a shift from car to rail, and to improve road safety by a reduction in road traffic.

The 74-page evaluation report included a detailed analysis on the station’s impact on the town and surrounding area. It considered that, overall, Laurencekirk station had performed well against its objectives.

In its first full year, 75,000 passengers used the station compared with the predicted 36,000. Of those commuting from the station, 56% would have driven all the way to work had the station not re-opened and, of the station users who had changed jobs, 62% stated that the station was the main or an important factor in doing so.

The report, however, did note that the project’s objectives were not measurable and noted that it was difficult to demonstrate a direct improvement in road safety.

Larkhall to Milngavie This project opened in 2005 and, at a cost of £35 million, provided two new sections of track: the re-instatement of 4.7km of track to Larkhall complete with two new stations, and a 1.6km extension of Glasgow’s northern suburban line from Maryhill with one new station. Its objectives were to reconnect Larkhall with the rail network, to increase service frequencies by removing an operational bottleneck, and to improve attractiveness for inward investment and land development through increased social inclusion and a shift to public transport.

Following its opening, the frequency of trains to Milngavie and Hamilton has doubled to four trains an hour. Demand at the new stations in 2012/13 was 614,800, 26% higher than forecast, while 49% of commuters in the Larkhall area said they would have driven to work if new stations had not been provided. Overall, rail journey times have been reduced by 10 minutes for 60% of the Larkhall and Hamilton population.

Larkhall station which re-opened in 2005 on the site of a station that closed in 1965.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

27

The evaluation report considered both local impact and that on the wider economy. It concluded that the project has delivered value for money and has met its first three objectives - those that related to the rail network. However, it noted that, in the absence of quantitative targets, it was difficult to judge the achievement of other objectives which concerned social and economic benefit, although there was evidence of a positive impact such as an increased number of houses built at Larkhall.

Airdrie to Bathgate Opened in 2011, the Airdrie to Bathgate project re-instated 15 miles of railway between the two towns to create a new rail link between Glasgow and Edinburgh. It also double-tracked parts of the existing railway and electrified the line throughout. It provided three new stations and cost £300 million.

Its objectives were to provide people along the line with direct access to jobs in Glasgow and Edinburgh, encourage inward investment, promote social inclusion, increase the use of public transport in Central Scotland, offer an alternative to the M8 motorway in order to reduce road congestion, and create an alternative to the main Edinburgh to Glasgow line, hence increasing capacity.

Since its opening, train frequency on the western end of the line has increased from four to six trains an hour and on the eastern end has been doubled to four trains an hour. For the four years up to 2013/14, there has been a 31% increase in passengers, compared with the national average growth of 14%, and an 8% increase in those travelling to work along the line.

A stage 1 ‘light touch review’ has been prepared which gives an early indication of its performance against objectives. Because it takes time for project impacts to work through, a further stage 2 report will be undertaken after the line has been open for five years.

The initial report concluded that the project was meeting most of its objectives, especially that of increasing use of public transport. However, in some cases, it was not possible to show the direct impact of the project. With the completion of the missing link between Airdrie and Bathgate, westbound journey times from Bathgate and eastbound times from Airdrie had been slashed. Evidence collected showed people without cars were using this link to make journeys they would not otherwise have done. Hence the new line

is helping social inclusion and increasing access to jobs. However, there is no evidence that employment has increased as a result.

Since the line opened, West Lothian’s inward investment increased although North Lanarkshire’s remained static. The report acknowledged that it was too early to assess the project’s impact on inward investment. In respect of its last objective, it did, however, conclude that, with some commuters transferring to the Airdrie to Bathgate line, there was a slight reduction in overcrowding on the eastern section of the main Edinburgh to Glasgow line via Falkirk.

Cause and effect These evaluations all showed that the three projects had been successful in terms of, for example, passenger numbers. However, it was difficult to demonstrate that social objectives had been met. A particular problem in this regard is assessing the extent to which a project has been responsible for a particular change, which requires an assessment of what would have happened had the project not taken place. This is not easy, as it requires an assessment of something that, by definition, cannot be observed. For example, would the houses that were built close to a new railway station have been built had there been no new station?

Transport Scotland’s guidance on the evaluation of rail projects explains how this problem can be addressed by, for example, using comparative data and, if possible, establishing a baseline before the project is announced. It describes what might have happened in the absence of a project as ‘counterfactual’ and recognises that establishing the counterfactual is not easy, since by definition it cannot be observed.

Lessons for future evaluations In addition to assessing the three projects, these evaluations also tested the rail evaluation guidance that Transport Scotland has issued to see how it could be improved. Lessons from this included the need to set measurable objectives at the outset and to identify the data required afterwards by establishing monitoring plans, by archiving project documentation effectively and by funders and stakeholders collecting data after implementation. In practice, this requires a rigour and commitment for something that will be done perhaps ten years after a project’s initial feasibility study, at a time when project implementation is not certain.

28

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Mobile radio

PAUL DARLINGTON

the next generation S

tandards are sometimes criticised for stifling innovation, increasing costs and preventing things from happening.

Get it right though, and a good standard for the right application and products can deliver enormous benefits for society and industry.

A good example is the standard that has created the mobile radio. It is now possible to land in virtually any country in the world and within a few seconds a mobile radio will allow a person to communicate with more or less anyone else in the world. This can be achieved using many different device providers, which all work more or less seamlessly together.

There have been several generations of mobile communication devices and standards and work has now commenced on the fifth generation of mobile radio networks, known as 5G. This was the subject of a recent workshop organised by the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI).

ETSI is one of the successes of the single European Community, dealing with telecommunications, broadcasting and other electronic communications networks and services. Set up in 1988 by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), there have been many landmarks over the years including standards to enable technologies that have helped to shape the modern world. ETSI was founded initially to serve European needs, but now has a global perspective and its standards are used the world over.

A new generation of mobile radio standards has appeared approximately every tenth year since 1G systems were introduced in 1981/1982. Each generation has introduced new frequency bands, higher data rates and non-backward-compatible transmission technology.

Generations of mobile phone standards The first generation (1G) of mobile communication networks were based on analogue radio technology.

Although digital data signalling was used to connect the radio base stations to the mobile radio, the voice signal itself during a call was analogue, whereas in all later generations the voice signal is coded to a digital signal. 1G systems originated in Japan and then spread to the rest of the world, but as separate standards with no interworking capability.

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications, originally Groupe Spécial Mobile), was a second generation (2G) mobile radio standard developed by ETSI. It was first deployed in Finland in July 1991. GSM has now become the default global standard for mobile communications, with over 90% market share, operating in over 219 countries and territories with an estimated five billion users.

In 2G networks, the digitally encrypted phone conversations are significantly more efficient and have far greater mobile phone penetration levels than the analogue first generation. 2G also introduced data services, starting with SMS (Short Message System) text messages and later services such as email, picture messages and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). All data messages sent over 2G are digitally encrypted, allowing for the transfer of data in such a way that only the intended receiver can read the message.

2G also introduced the subscriber identification module (SIM) card, which is an integrated circuit chip to securely store the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and its related key. This is used to identify and authenticate subscribers. The original SIM cards were the size of a credit card, but with handsets getting smaller and smaller they are now micro-sized.

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) was established in 1998 to develop specifications for advanced mobile communications. It comprises of seven regional Standards Development Organisations (SDOs), including ETSI, market associations and several hundred companies, and its original scope was to produce the third generation mobile system. However today, 3GPP provides complete system specifications for a number of mobile phone network technologies including 4G and 5G. The first 3G networks were introduced in 1998. While data transmission had been introduced with 2G it was only for up to a few kbit/s and based on circuit switched technology.

This means a ‘call’ or circuit has to be established between the caller and called party, even if no data is being transmitted. 3G introduced faster and more efficient means of packet data transmission and for applications such as mobile and fixed Internet access, video calls and mobile TV, with data transfer rates of at least 200 kbit/s. Later 3G releases (sometimes denoted 3.5G and 3.75G) provided mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers.

With the increased use of the Internet and ever faster broadband, mobiles and devices, greater mobile radio data rates were soon required in order to provide a mobile data experience as good as fixed broadband. In March 2008, the International Telecommunications Union-Radio communications sector (ITU-R) issued a set of requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements at 100Mbit/s for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1Gbit/s for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users).

Rail Engineer • November 2015

5G - The next generation.

Unlike earlier generations of GSM, 4G does not use traditional circuit-switched telephony service but introduced all Internet Protocol (IP) packet-based communications. The spread spectrum radio technology used in 3G systems was replaced by multi-carrier transmission and frequency-domain equalisation schemes, making it possible to transfer very high bit rates despite extensive multi-path radio propagation (echoes). The peak bit rate was further improved by smart antenna arrays for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas. Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE Advanced were formally submitted as candidate 4G systems to the ITU-T in late 2009 and standardised by 3GPP in March 2011.

4G /LTE systems are still being rolled out and in some cases fall short of the ITU-R requirements for data speeds.

Nevertheless, 4G/LTE provides a significant improvement on 3G and offers a mobile data transfer experience similar, if not better, than fixed broadband.

Railway requirements The standard for the railway version of GSM (GSM-R) is based on the GSM 2G standard. This specified the ASCI (Advanced Speech Call Items) requirements for railways such as: »» VGCS (Voice Group Call Service) - allows a great number of users to participate in the same call; »» VBS (Voice Broadcast Service) - compared to VGCS only the initiator of the call can speak, others who join the call can only listen; »» REC (Railway Emergency Call) - a VGCS dedicated and prioritised for emergency; »» SEC (Shunting Emergency Call) - a dedicated group call for shunting operations; »» Multi-Level Precedence and Pre-emption Service (eMLPP) - defines a user’s priority with REC calls having the greatest priority.

Essentially GSM-R and GSM 2G are for voice communications, with limited data connectivity of only a few kbit/s, although GSM-R is being enhanced with General Packet Radio System (GPRS) to provide higher data rates and capacity for the European Train Control System (ETCS). However GSM 2G is now an old standard and system, and some commercial 2G networks have already been replaced with 4G. This means support and expertise for GSM-R based on GSM 2G will soon be difficult to obtain.

So why the need for 5G? Well, there are a number of drivers. Mobile communications requirements and the number of devices are predicted to significantly increase by 2020. There will be new devices such as wearable computers and the Internet of Things (IoT), with mobile data requirements in all kinds of equipment both in industry and the home. Governments are looking to broadband and mobile communications to stimulate economies in order to provide greater GDP and create new jobs.

5G will have greater availability, dependability, reliability and speed, coupled with greater throughput but with less latency and cost. Backwards compatibility with earlier generations has always been a feature of GSM, but making each new generation backwards compatible constrains development. Therefore a key decision for 5G will be how many generations of GSM should it be backward compatible with? Will a new radio technology be required? These key decisions are likely to be made towards the end of 2015.

The standards for 5G will be free and open to all, in order to stimulate innovation and development. Open Source Software (OSS) is seen as one of the key initiatives within the emerging 5G standard. The next two years will be very busy for the 5G standard makers as 2020 has been chosen for the launch date - for political and marketing reasons, not technical, as it is an Olympic Games year. This means the requirements for 5G needs to be agreed by the end of 2015 with standards published by 2018.

However, there is speculation that a 5G service may be up and running for the Winter Olympics in 2018. ETSI and 3GPP are involved with the 5G standard development along with standard bodies from Japan, Korea, China, USA and, more recently, India.

Some of the areas of 4G/LTE development will form the basis of 5G. These include seamless transfer to Wi-Fi and back to licensed radio spectrum, with the objective of making better use of unlicensed spectrum to meet the growing traffic demands. Radio channel (or carrier) aggregation will be up to 32 channels as opposed to 5 with 4G/LTE. (Think of this as using lots of small pipes to carry the same amount of water (data) as one large pipe.) 5G will be a consolidation of existing and new radio technologies to provide greater coverage, speed and a more reliable ‘always-on’ experience.

Of interest to the railway community are the enhancements for mission-critical public safety services that will be included in the standard, which could be used as a basis of a successor for GSM-R. These may include Mission Critical Push to Talk (MCPTT), specific talk groups, mobile-to-mobile communications and indoor positioning for large shopping centres (and railway stations).

Currently, radio systems for mission-critical ‘blue light’ emergency services provide reliable and robust voice and narrow band data capability. An example is the TETRA standard (another ETSI success). TETRA was considered along with GSM as a solution for railway communications

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

with GSM-R being chosen. While some railways are now considering TETRA as a short-term replacement for GSM-R, it has similar obsolescence issues and is predominantly a voice system with limited data capability.

For the emergency services, this can be very embarrassing as members of the public can transmit photos and video of incidents via 4G/LTE, but the emergency services can only talk via their radio system.

5G and the railway Currently, the railway industry is looking to the 4G/LTE standards to form the basis of a successor to GSM-R as an ‘add-on’. However, another option is to influence the 5G standard to incorporate all the railway requirements?

Quality of service, interoperability and testing are seen as being of paramount importance, especially as there will be a step change in data rate and an order of magnitude improvement in performance and latency.

1-10Gbit/s data connections and 1 millisecond end-toend latency are envisaged. The latency requirement will primarily be for autonomous road vehicles, but could this be a requirement for rail sometime in the future?

90% reduction in network energy usage will be a requirement with up to ten-year battery life for low power, machine-type devices. The significant savings in energy consumption over today’s networks will be required in order that the anticipated massive use of mobile connectivity is economically and ecologically viable.

It may not be possible to meet all these requirements with a single radio technology, and some, in particular the latency requirement, may not be met until well into 5G’s lifetime. Mobile edge computing will be a feature in 5G and reducing the need (and latency) to take everything back to the core of the radio network for processing.

The European Union established a 5G Public Private Partnership (5GPPP) in 2013. This programme will invest an EU budget of €700m in research, development and innovation on 5G over the next six or seven years, matching a corresponding investment by industry.

The technologies and techniques being considered include making use of new spectrum bands including low frequencies below 1GHz and millimetre wave spectrum above 6GHz, increasing use of shared spectrum, very large MIMO, non-orthogonal waveforms, moving networks, context awareness, and integrating broadcast solutions into a 5G interface. Using millimetre wave spectrum will be very challenging, in particular for the design of test equipment. The mobile radio industry will have to adopt expertise and knowledge from its military engineering colleagues who have used such frequencies for years.

With the dramatic increase in data throughput for 5G radio, additional spectrum will be required - but the problem is that radio spectrum is a finite resource with many competing uses. To date, the railway industry has been very fortunate in obtaining its own dedicated radio frequency spectrum bandwidth for GSM-R. However, it is very unlikely that the radio spectrum agencies will be able to continue to provide this luxury in the future, and railways will have to share radio spectrum with other users. This will be a challenge for the rail industry to accept, but providing rail-dedicated radio bandwidth is similar to providing each train operator with its own dedicated track. The latter is a wasteful use of limited resources and is not sustainable.

It will be interesting to watch the development of 5G over the next five years and to see if it will become a successor to 2G GSM-R.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

CLIVE KESSELL

An S&T Focus for 2015 P

eriodically, the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) offers the industry an opportunity to show off its successes and expose some of the challenges. This is the Aspect conference, and the ninth one was held in London recently, attracting both speakers and delegates from all parts of the globe.

It is all too easy in the UK to imagine that our railway is the only one in the world with problems of capacity, technology update and financial control, and it is some comfort to learn that virtually all railways face similar challenges.

Growth and capacity The European Shift²Rail initiative, ongoing since 2009, was described by Jacques Poré from Alstom Transport in France and represented a keynote theme to the event. The original intent to build up rail usage is now extended to finding ways of coping with this increasing volume. The thrust is very much ‘Providing More for Less’ with a target based around three challenges: »» Capacity - up to 100% increase; »» Reliability - a 50% improvement required; »» Life Cycle Cost - a 50% reduction required.

These items impact on all types of rail - high speed, intercity, regional, urban & suburban and freight. Research priorities are set out in a number of innovation programmes - energy and mass, advanced traffic management and control, cost effective infrastructure, seamless and attractive railway operations using IT solutions, and sustainable and attractive freight.

Each of these will lead to technology demonstrators which will commence in 2016, initially with prototypes in laboratories, then integration and demonstrations at system level, and finally the implementation of

successful technology. The funding allocated is a €920 million budget covering up to 2023, €450 million coming from the EC and the rest from industry with eight founding members contributing €270 million and other major stakeholders €200 million.

Specifically for signalling, work will focus on: »» Development of communications systems GPRS, EDGE, 4G, Satellite; »» Adding ATO to ETCS; »» Moving Block provision on main line railways; »» Trackside train detection including satellite options; »» On-board train integrity; »» Zero on-site testing, replaced by simulation; »» Standardisation of engineering and operational rules; »» Investigating virtual-coupled trains, i.e. convoys; »» Dynamic traffic management; »» Network attached object controllers in wayside equipment rooms; »» Cyber security and online key management.

This represents a considerable ‘shopping basket’ and Rail Engineer will keep a close eye on progress.

Technological innovation A common problem amongst European Railways is the age and variety of signalling interlockings, many becoming obsolete within

20 years. Looking to the future, Maarten van der Werff from ProRail in the Netherlands described the EULYNX project which has the objective of producing a common architecture with common apportionment of functionalities, standardised interfaces to create a safe closed network but borne upon open standard telecom networks, and the connection of interlocking peripherals to this network.

Known as a Cluster Project, the outcome will be a system design based upon mainstream solutions as used in the automation and telecom industries, the use of COTS (commercial off-theshelf) equipment, a modular philosophy and a new electronic interlocking and train detection spec for both conventional and ERTMSequipped railways.

Signalling secondary and rural lines has attracted a number of solutions down the years but a new system, based on satellite positioning, has recently been developed by Siemens under a 2012 UIC programme. This SATLOC system was described by Teodor Gradinariu from the UIC and Lucas Redding from Siemens UK. Trains have an on-board unit and driver’s MMI (man machine interface) screen containing a route map of all relevant lines, an odometer and a combined satellite / 3G aerial unit. Baseline positioning is obtained from track mounted balises and ongoing position is derived from GPS Galileo signals.

Train location is accurate to one metre, this being continually transmitted to the control centre via the public mobile networks.

Movement authorities can be given for the sections ahead, typically to the next passing

Rail Engineer • November 2015 loop. Switches are either trailable or, for facing point operation, moved and locked by an adjacent RFID (radio frequency identification device) - again activated via the public mobile network. The system is installed on a trial basis in Romania with reported successful results. The system aims to be low cost, with more facilities than the RETB system deployed in Scotland, but less sophisticated than the Regional ERTMS system akin to Level 3 as developed in Sweden.

Train control is getting evermore data hungry and the use of IP (Internet Protocol) with MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) is an obvious choice to service the need. But is it safe for mission-critical applications and how would it be managed? Benoit Leridon from Alcatel-Lucent considered the question. The statement that nowadays ‘no telecom = no signalling’ may well be true, but telecom lifecycles are typically 5-7 years whereas signalling is 30 years plus. Is this reconcilable?

The answer is yes since, whilst the hardware and software will develop, the basic building blocks will be there for a long period and any advances have to be backward compatible. IP/ MPLS is a distributed architecture that can adapt a network for all applications. The IP addressing structure allows for differentiation in criticality, such that a signal control IP address cannot communicate with a passenger information system, for example.

Critical applications (not just signalling but such as SCADA systems as well) must have a high order ranking to guarantee delivery in the required time and must be compliant with EN50129. Resilience and redundancy will be all-important with a fast re-route (15msec) if failures occur. Lower order applications will still have good quality service if high order

requirements do not use all the available bandwidth. Hardware advances have enabled the IP/MPLS router, the SDH and PDH connections and firewalls to be contained within the same box.

This whole scenario is more than a vision, it is a reality just around the corner.

Radio considerations The vexed question as to the life expectancy of GSM-R and any future replacement was discussed by Chiel Spanns from the Netherlands, now working for the ERA. It took from the early 1990s until 2006 to get the technology stable and is predicted to be in use until 2030. Thereafter, there are many options but, whatever is selected, the transition will itself be a challenge.

Many suggest that 5G will be the answer. This will use a combination of technologies, always connecting to the best signal to give a fast and secure service. The functional architecture will be decoupled from the physical layer with the first 5G systems expected to be in operation for the 2020 Olympics.

Even if this is the chosen technology, the challenges for the railways will be considerable: »» Product lifecycles for the radio are much shorter than typical rail assets; »» Business models of public operators are very different to rail operations; »» Defining one single radio technology, starting in around 2022, will be impossible; »» Spectrum options need to be decided continuance of GSM-R band, new band for railways, share with public safety bands, use non-harmonised spectrum; »» Ownership and control may not be with the railways; »» Migration is likely to take 10 years;

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»» Co-existence with GSM-R is essential; »» How to balance costs between infrastructure and rolling stock?

Success will be judged as to how cost can be reduced by using standard technology and products. This will mean requirements will have to be re-written, both for operational and normal usage conditions. Applications must be determined for all types of line, and decisions made on the requirements for interoperability and whether split usage between public and dedicated networks is acceptable.

Studies are underway to probe these questions with answers by the end of 2016. The aim is to have a first deployment by 2022.

GSM-R potential Can more be made of GSM-R in the meantime? Joanna Binstead, from Siemens at Poole who make the on-train mobile, certainly thinks so. Only about 20% of the available processing power within a GSM-R set is used for current applications. Other potential uses are: »» DAS (Driver Advisory System) - algorithms are already developed for the radio screen and the storage of timetable and route data. With a combined terrestrial and GPS aerial installed, trains can quickly and easily be equipped with a low cost DAS application using the GSM-R network for the distribution of data. The system is already under trial with one TOC and results will be made known soon. »» Remote Condition Monitoring - on board sensors exist on many trains and integrating these into a ground reporting system using GSM-R is straightforward. Should the train be equipped with sensors for recording track defects, these can be reported in real time. »» Passenger Information - connecting the

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

IRSE chief executive Francis How. GSM-R radio to the PA system so that live announcements can be made from control to passengers has been part of track-to-train radio specifications for many years but still needs to be resolved in terms of desirability and driver distraction. »» Remote Software Updating - most trains are now equipped with an on board data bus.

Periodically these need software updates that can only be done at depots meaning not all trains receive them at the same time.

Downloading the update via the GSM-R radio would overcome this constraint.

Some of these ideas may appear fanciful but could well become part of the Digital Railway vision.

Automation Many railways see automation as the means of optimising the operational railway. Whilst ATO is one such opportunity, there are many more tasks that could benefit by being automated.

However, Daniel Woodland from Ricardo Rail explored the potential risks.

Accidents in Washington DC and Santiago were caused by overreliance on automated system performance. Human errors may be reduced

by automation but risk still exists. De-skilling of staff, delayed reactions, incorrect assumptions, attention conflicts and preparation errors are just some of the situations that might occur, all magnified if the automation system fails.

The dynamics of a train service are fundamentally unstable and automation has to be perfected over time with changes often being necessary when real passengers are involved.

Badly implemented automatic systems are often switched off and get a bad name.

Automation is not a holy grail.

Performance improvements Whilst new forms of signalling and train control are a major factor in increasing capacity, there are other elements in this challenge. The ONTIME project, funded by the EU, has a number of objectives aligned around better timetable compilation and improved decision support to controllers and drivers.

Clive Roberts from Birmingham University explained how the project had progressed with 19 partners and Network Rail as leader.

Capacity may be defined as ‘traffic volume X infrastructure occupation’, where on busy routes problems easily multiply when real time train running does not match the timetabled service.

Junctions and stations are the crunch points and the philosophy of first come, first served often leads to yet more disruption.

New algorithms have been developed, firstly to mitigate the effect of minor perturbations and secondly to optimise asset usage when major disturbances occur, either for planned engineering works or significant incidents. This has resulted in a Perturbation Management Module with four elements:

»» Traffic State Monitoring that collects real time data on traffic conditions; »» Conflict Detection and Resolution that compiles the traffic evolution within a certain time period; »» Train Path Envelope Computation to calculate the time allowances available for a train to proceed to timetable with minimum use of energy; »» Human Machine Interface to give real-time information to signallers and controllers on a screen visualisation of the current traffic state.

The optimised plan has a combination of all four elements working together. Five locations in Europe have been tested in simulation, the ECML being chosen for the UK. Results show significant performance improvements but the main benefit is likely to be cross border traffic in mainland Europe. The relationship and integration with Traffic Management Systems (TMS) and DAS networks now being implemented needs to be understood.

Safety and security realisms Safety, quite rightly, is at the core of all control and command systems. The safety industry has mushroomed over the last two decades, due partially to some unfortunate accidents but also because of software usage in signalling equipment. Is it all justified and will the final approvals guarantee a safe outcome?

Roger Short, former chief engineer at Atkins, has studied the subject for many years and discussed the process of safety assurance. A Safety Case is essentially made up of many documents, detailing system requirements, safety apportionment, system validation and system acceptance.

Rail Engineer • November 2015 Have the verifiers and assessors understood all of this as a paper-based exercise? The mental capacity to absorb all this information is considerable and the complexity of the data will only compound this with the requirement for cross referencing, own knowledge input and inherent technical complications. Maybe the final sign off is not as robust as one would like to believe.

Software security is even more complex - so says Peter Sheppard from Ricardo Rail. The standard to follow is EN50128, which can be hard enough to understand for new systems let alone applying retrospective changes.

Risks are numerous and considerable. The project team will have to check whether the baseline is suitably certified and accurate, be aware of creeping changes in any past application and how these might be found, know which standard to use (50128:2001 or 2011), assess any changes of hardware and their implications and impact on failure mode and rates, be sure of the quality of existing documentation and the integrity of the function such as its SIL rating, and lastly recognition that verification, validation and testing is so complex it is not possible to test everything.

It is all too easy to believe that, because a system was validated before, any changes will also be safe and reliable. Beware particularly

of guaranteeing that a system is SIL4 if legacy software is to be re-used. Re-working code is difficult but using some rules can help: »» Partitioning - isolating the re-used software; »» Interface control - restrict the use of the reused software features; »» Diversity - implement with diverse re-used software; »» Safety and credibility - check as far as possible beforehand; »» External safety implications - check interlocks to limit consequences of failure; »» Software watchdogs - use wherever possible.

Cyber security has taken on an importance almost in the same league as safety, but is it the threat that many predict? Michael Bastow from Atkins explained it has potential impact on many vital industries - power, oil and gas, water, air - and the measures being taken generally are also applicable for rail. Several standards and guidance are available but it does require a collaborative effort from government departments, infrastructure managers and suppliers.

Risk assessment of the threats is important in terms of access control, use control, data integrity, data confidentiality, response time to events and resource availability. Some standard countermeasures should be adopted: network segmentation and firewalls, encryption, intrusion detection, anti-virus software and

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updating, social awareness and training, configuration management, data logging and sharing.

A challenge to the audience was given by Andrew Love from Interfleet: he will buy a drink for anyone associated with a signalling control system if they have not had a hacking attempt before the next Aspect conference takes place.

How’s that for a prediction?

Other topics A conference such as this covers a multitude of subjects, too many to report on in a single article. Level crossings are an ever-present safety concern in all countries. Ed Rollings from Network Rail outlined some of the improvements being made in the UK, most of them aimed at mitigating the sometime-stupid behaviour of motorists and pedestrians.

Automated testing, non-disruptive stage works, openness to use of other industrial practices, scalable train control systems for different types of line, plus ways of ensuring signalling competence into the future, were some of the other topics presented. As Francis How, the new IRSE chief executive, pointed out: the IRSE has a duty to educate its membership in the skills of railway command and control including commercial and financial elements, with senior engineers having a responsibility to mentor the young and those new to the industry.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

The future of

GSM-R? LES GILES

O

ne of the benefits of attending any major industry conference is the opportunity to network and to renew old acquaintanceships. Having been involved with the development of GSM-R since 1993, when the UIC first decided it needed an international standard digital radio system, the recent World GSM-R Conference presented just such an opportunity. It was great to meet up with former colleagues from different railways and companies. Even more so when it is so long since I’d met them that I just couldn’t put a name to the face - or perhaps that was just old age.

The UIC GSM-R Conference is held biannually to update railways and manufacturers on present issues and future developments. This year’s conference, held recently in Paris, examined the success of GSM-R in becoming a global system, just like its forebear GSM. However issues surrounding security and availability challenges, improving assessment of equipment, the problem of interference from newer 3G and 4G public mobile phone networks which use wide bandwidth radio channels, and the evolution and technology for future systems that will take over from GSM-R, are all topics that have to be resolved.

The good news for the railway industry is that the GSM-R Industry Group has agreed to support GSM-R systems until 2030, but of course this doesn’t mean that changes will not take place before then. Instead, just like public mobile networks, the mobile radios will continue to support GSM-R functionality even when a new radio bearer technology is introduced. This means that there will be mixed networks and multi-functional mobiles during the changeover, and possibly for ever.

Two networks compared The key issue is the period anticipated for the definition of new technology and development and approval of new equipment. One of the benefits for the railways is that they will have skipped a generation in the development cycle, having missed out 3G (UMTS).

Speakers from two countries, both of which started planning their networks in 2006, made for interesting comparisons. China now has the largest GSM-R network in the world, with 33,750 route km covered, over 10 times that of Austria which has only 3,200km. Neither network is completely finished.

Christian Sagmeister from ÖBB was able to define some of the benefits following the switch from analogue networks to GSM-R - a cost reduction of 10%, improved availability, additional functionality and the support for ETCS Level 2 which is already operating in some areas.

In contrast, the China Rail speaker, Liang Yiqun, concentrated on the future. He proposed that, to change technology from GSM-R, new frequency bands for railway use should be sought from the World Radio Conference 2019.

This would be a major change. Currently Europe has a common radio frequency allocation for railways of 2x4MHz in the GSM 900 MHz band, with a further 2x3MHz available in some countries in busy areas.

Having led the successful negotiations for the original radio spectrum, I know how difficult it was to get agreement through the CEPT, and now the Electronic Communications Committee (ECC). Other countries have to negotiate separately for their spectrum allocation so that some areas of the world have finished up with a nonstandard (for railways) radio spectrum - one example is New South Wales with a spectrum in the 1800MHz band.

A change to a fully global spectrum allocation would obviously improve interoperability and reduce manufacturing costs but would be extremely unlikely to be successful because of the competing requirements from other users.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015 Cyber security threat The conference session on security and availability concentrated on cyber-attack on signalling and communication networks, particularly as the use of ERTMS spreads. Virginie Deniau from IFSTTAR (French institute of science and technology for transport, development and networks) and coordinator of the SECRET (security of railways against electromagnetic attacks) project, is a specialist on this very subject.

She explained that SECRET assesses the risks and consequences of electro-magnetic (EM) attacks on the rail infrastructure. It develops preventive and recovery measures as well as protection solutions to reinforce the security of a rail network subjected to intentional EM interference with the intention of disturbing commandcontrol, communication or signalling systems.

Some EMC (Electro-Magnetic Compatibility) recommendations will also be provided to more specialised standardisation committees at hardware level within CENELEC, CEN or ETSI. Jean-Michel Evangehelou of Kapsch CC described its approach to optimising recovery from failure or attack to provide 99.9995% availability of GSM-R networks. This was based on duplicate MSCs (Mobile Switching Centres) operating continuously, rather than one being on standby, and duplicated MSC-BSC (Base Station Controller) links.

Combating interference The RF interference into GSM-R from 3G and 4G public networks, which are replacing GSM in the 900MHz band, is a key issue affecting railways operators today. It is prevalent where the 3G and 4G transmitters are close to the railway and the GSM-R transmitter (BTS) is some distance away so that the signal strength of the GSM-R transmission is blocked by the high-level out-of-band transmissions or intermodulation in the mobile receiver.

This has been demonstrated by two reports of measurements carried out in 2013 in the UK and Germany.

Whilst previously the interference from Public GSM was resolved by coordination (i.e. changing the channel in use), because 3G and 4G transmissions are wide band and have higher out-of-band transmissions, this is no longer possible.

ECC Report 229 identifies the solutions available: 1. Improve the public network transmitters by fitting filters to reduce the interference levels into GSM-R cab radios; 2. Increase the power output of GSM-R BTS (Base Stations) or add additional BTSs - a costly and not always practical solution; 3. Improve the train mobile receiver signal by fitting better train antennas, though this can be of limited benefit; 4. Fit external or internal filters on the train which will resolve the issue but is costly and prevents roaming into the E-GSM band which is mandated in the GSM-R specifications; 5. Improve the mobile receiver which, depending on the design of the train radio, could mean fitting a new receiver module or alternatively a new radio unit. ETSI has produced an improved specification (TS 102 933-1 v1.3.1: RT; GSM-R improved receiver parameters) that will be referenced in the Railway GSM-R specifications for purchase of new equipment.

The Mobile Fixed Communications Networks (MFCN) viewpoint on this issue was presented by a representative of Orange France. He agreed that there were common objectives with the railway community. Nevertheless, he insisted that corrective action in their networks is less efficient than any action taken at the cab radio and that a European deadline for a transition period is necessary, during which additional mitigation measures will be required to avoid GSM-R interference.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015 Suppliers such as Sierra Wireless and Funkwerk have developed filters and new receiver modules and some governments (for example Sweden and the Netherlands) are providing finance to the railways to speed up the fitting process. Sweden has decided to push ahead with fitting all train units with filters, although this is unlikely to be the cheapest solution in other countries as evidenced by the emerging costs in the Netherlands of €2,0004,000 to supply and fit a new receiver and €2,500-5,000 for a filter.

In response to a question, Otto van Rooy of the Netherlands Ministry of Transport considered these actions would future proof its GSM-R system for the foreseeable future.

Short-term enhancements The conference proceeded to examine the move from the current GSM-R to IP-based next-generation systems, a development which has already been defined by the European Railway Agency (ERA), the UIC and the GSM-R Industry Group.

Frequentis explained that GPRS, the first level GSM Packet Switching system, is being implemented on most GSM-R core networks to Release 4, so enabling packet switched ETCS to be implemented.

Klaus Mindel, representing UNIFE/UNISIG, noted that GPRS has already been included in the ETCS SRS 3.5.0.

He suggested that a radio bearer independent structure for ETCS is a priority for suppliers so that, in the future, flexibility will exist in its implementation around the world.

Whilst that was clear for a future implementation, it didn’t explain how this would support interoperability in Europe today.

GPRS has already been shown to give a major capacity boost for carrying ETCS Level 2 data from trials on the SNCF high speed line. Transmission delays for movement authorities averaged around one second for the current circuit switched implementation (with one user per channel) and 800ms for GPRS with four users per channel.

However, the spread was greater with GPRS, being up to 2.35 seconds as against 1.4 seconds for circuit-switched.

This is why, in the longer term, a higher speed data transmission system needs to be implemented.

SBB (Swiss Railways) thinks that, in the short term, this will be EDGE, an improved version of GPRS, which will carry up to 14 parallel sessions per GSM-R radio channel rather than a maximum of seven with GPRS. So far, no tests have been carried out on the vulnerability of ETCS data using EDGE to RF interference, so there is a question mark here. SBB was also of the view that the data link supporting ETCS should operate on an unacknowledged basis, because the acknowledgement extends the time of the transmission process too much.

Longer term solutions The next session dealt with preparing for the future.

THE UIC/ERA/EC Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) project aims to have a completed specification by 2018. This will be a mix of ETSI and railway-specific standards.

The first step is an update on the user requirements, which should be available at the end of 2015. This is being followed by the Architecture and Technology Group report in Q2 2016 and a Spectrum Group report. It is apparent that the LTE standards (Long Term Evolution or 4G) will almost certainly be adopted. It is anticipated that the railwayspecific features will be totally independent of the radio communication bearer, making the next generation railway systems being defined, not as LTE-R, but LTE plus R. However there are issues to be resolved, for example - will dedicated radio frequencies be available for the railways, particularly for ETCS support? And what about direct train-to-train mode, and group calls? Functional addressing and location-dependent addressing are nominally outside the radio network but dependent on it.

One of the related issues is the choice of frequency band the railways should be pursuing. This appears an open question currently in Europe. If the compatibility issues can be overcome, the best option is to stick with 900MHz, but with the flexibility of LTE perhaps the use of a higher frequency band (such as 2.6GHz) could be adopted in busy areas. One of the suggestions is that sharing a network with the emergency services, as is currently about to happen in Finland, could be the way forward.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015 Tony Gray from the TETRA and Critical Communications Association (blue light organisations) sees their future in LTE but believed that Release 12 implementations, available in 2017, would contain too many propriety interfaces. Release 13 (end of 2018) would be standardised at the right level, but would take until 2023 to be fully proven. This matched the view of Cheil Spaans of the European Railway Agency that possible deployment of LTE by the Railways should not be before 2022.

Explaining the technology options So what is LTE? The following explanation is based on the content of the 3GPP website where more details can be found. LTE is the access part of the Evolved Packet System (EPS). The main requirements for the new access network are high spectral efficiency, high peak data rates, short round trip time as well as flexibility in frequency and bandwidth.

GSM was developed to carry real time services, in a circuit switched manner, with data services only possible over a circuit switched modem connection, with very low data rates. This has been adopted for the first implementations of ETCS Level 2. The first step towards an IP-based packet switched solution was taken with the evolution of GSM to GPRS, using the same air interface and access method, TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access).

To reach higher data rates in UMTS (Universal Mobile Terrestrial System), a new access technology named WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) was developed. The access network in UMTS is a hybrid as it emulates a circuit-switched connection for real-time voice services and a packet-switched connection for data services. This step in UMTS development is where the IP address is allocated to the User Equipment (UE) when a data service is established and released when the service is released.

The Evolved Packet System (EPS) is purely IP-based.

Both voice and data services will be carried by the IP protocol. The IP address is allocated when the mobile is switched on and released when switched off.

The new access solution, LTE, is based on OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and in combination with higher order modulation, large bandwidths (up to 20 MHz) and spatial multiplexing in the downlink (up to 4x4) high data rates can be achieved. The highest theoretical peak data rate on the transport channel is 75 Mbps in the uplink, and in the downlink, using spatial multiplexing, the rate can be as high as 300 Mbps.

The LTE access network is simpler than GSM, being based solely on a network of base stations and so generating a flat architecture. There is no centralised intelligent controller, and the eNBs (Evolved Node B, basically an intelligent base station) are normally inter-connected via the X2-interface and towards the core network by the S1-interface. The reason for distributing the intelligence amongst the eNBs in LTE is to speed up the connection set-up and reduce the time required for a handover. The railway special requirements, such as functional addressing, will have to take place outside the radio network.

LTE in 2023, or 5G? The conference provided a useful update on the current GSM-R technology with pragmatic options for overcoming some short-term difficulties. There is a solution for the current interference problems, albeit at a cost, and the financing of this has to be a national issue. Packet-based transmission is able to support ETCS and the implementation needs to be progressed with a degree of urgency.

The changeover to LTE is unlikely to start until 2023, although the flexibility of the ongoing programme will mean that current GSM-R features will be supported up to 2030.

The railways need to work together to support negotiations for frequency allocations as this is still a major issue for the future.

The assumption that LTE will be the successor to GSM-R may be challenged by some as, by the time the specification and planning activities have begun to happen, the 5G specification will be finalised and early deployments implemented. This may be a better solution and no doubt many will voice opinions as time progresses.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

Engineers do well at RailStaff Awards Rail Engineer of the Year Andrew Loveday of Amey receives his award from Jeff Marshall, from award sponsor Morson International, and event host Colin Flack from the Rail Alliance.

H

ere at Rail Engineer, we are somewhat immune to claims that something is ‘unique’. All new products are ‘unique’, or ‘innovative’, or ‘a world first’, or any other superlative that the PR company can dream up.

We’ve heard them all before and we tend to delete them before we write any report.

However, there are occasions when the claim is justified. Take the annual RailStaff Awards, for example. Within the rail industry, there is no other awards event that only recognises people, not companies. The people and teams which make the railway industry what it is stand on the stage due to their own hard work and initiative.

Of course, there is still a spin-off for companies. The nomination and voting process is a great team-builder and having a finalist does wonders for staff morale and recognition.

How does it work?

The process is that people can be nominated into 20 categories by anyone - colleagues, managers, even customers. Those nominations are checked to make sure they are valid, then they go up on the Awards website.

A public vote takes place, again open to anyone, and, depending on that voting profile, the top 10-20 in each category have their nominations forwarded to the panel of judges. They then select a winner and two ‘highly commendeds’.

Having 10-20 finalists in each category sounds a lot - with 20 categories this year that was a total of 300 finalists. But when you consider that there were a total of 1,200 nominations, and approaching 40,000 individual votes were cast through the website, only 25% of those nominated go in front of the judges.

Those finalists are spread right across the industry. A total of 94 companies and organisations had finalists there on the night, and to hear the cheers erupt from the various tables as their company name was read out was to realise just how much support everyone present was giving.

Some of those companies were so involved in the evening that they also sponsored it. But many didn’t.

The two main infrastructure owners were both represented - Network Rail and Transport for London. The train operators were there, from Arriva Trains Wales to Virgin Trains East Coast, infrastructure contractors, consultants, security companies, cleaners, recruitment companies, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, plant specialists and even a highway company (was he lost?).

But the really good thing about the RailStaff Awards, that makes it stand head and shoulders above any other event in the industry, is the spread of people that attend. Directors of London Underground and Network Rail rub shoulders with track workers and plant operators. Chief executives of train operating companies mix with the drivers, crew and station staff that keep their trains running. And, as always at industry events, a bit of networking goes on as well.

This year, the theme of the evening was ‘Out Of Africa’ and many of the guests were in fancy dress. There seemed to be leopard-skin print everywhere and the face painters were busy. In total, 1,000 people came to Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, attended a drinks reception, had dinner, watched great entertainment, cheered loudly through the awards and danced to the music afterwards. Uniquely, (there’s that word again), they also rode on the dodgems, staggered through the Fun House, and ate popcorn and candy floss - all at a rail industry event. Staid and boring it was not!

Naturally, the awards themselves are the highlight of the evening. The twenty categories are for everything from Apprentice of the Year to the Samaritans Lifesaver Award. Some are obviously for engineers, others,

Rail Engineer • November 2015

45

What they thought of it…

“The key thing is they’re being recognised by their peers, so the people being nominated are being nominated because people think they’re good and that’s who they work with, which is brilliant.”

John Smith, managing director, GB Railfreight.

such as HR person, are obviously not. This year, however, the engineers seemed to do particularly well.

Apprentice of the Year As well as improving his engineering expertise, Ben Cox of the Costain Skanska joint venture has firmly grasped responsibility for day-to-day operations and the management of health and safety onsite.

This is evident from the respect he has from his seniors, the site supervisors. He has been responsible for weekly checks of key safety equipment as well as updating all signage and inductions on a constantly changing site.

Costain Skanska has absolute faith in Ben’s ability to manage the safety procedures that govern the wellbeing of all staff and visitors to site.

Highly commended: Tom Wilson (Merseyrail) and Max Woof (Atkins).

Depot Team of the Year The Hitachi Rail Ashford train maintenance centre has been recognised as a centre of excellence and has contributed to the Class 395 high-speed services being scored among the best in the UK by passengers. As Hitachi Rail ramps up to delivery of the first Class 800/801 trains for the InterCity Express Programme (IEP), the flagship service offered at Ashford has acted as the blueprint for a fully integrated support infrastructure that will give Hitachi Rail a combination of new, refurbished and existing depots in the UK. Highly commended: Bristol Driver Depot Team (Great Western Railway) and Doncaster High Output Depot (Network Rail)

Lifetime Achievement Keith Jessop has worked in the rail industry for over 47 years, starting in 1968 as a junior technical officer in the eastern region chief civil engineering drawing office. He went on

to work as divisional civil engineer in York, chief civil engineer in Euston, divisional civil engineer Leeds, chief civil engineer York survey section and as central training manager, eastern region.

In 1997, Keith decided that he wanted to pass on some of the knowledge he had gained and set up a training company called Intertrain. Keith has grown the business to such an extent that he is now the managing director of one of the largest providers of track safety training in the United Kingdom.

Highly commended: Dennis Moss (Bombardier) and Ann Turner (Virgin Trains East Coast).

Outstanding Customer Service Gail Satchell joined the Siemens Rail Automation (SRA) Capability team in February 2015 as a technical training administrator.

Having joined the team from another industry, she faced the challenge of having to ‘hit the ground running’. Gail’s demonstration of excellent customer service has been crucial to the performance of the whole company by playing a major part in ensuring the development of competence for SRA employees and external customers. She has provided clients and partners with the confidence that SRA has a safe and skilled workforce involved in their projects such as Reading Station, Thameslink, Crossrail and many others.

Highly commended: Lauren Hynes (Intertrain) and Robert Richmond (QTS Group).

Project Manager Ankur Ankur has made a real difference to EGIP (Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Project). He has coordinated with multiple parties, between design, plant and installation teams and ABC and Systra’s teams. He has helped brief and train the Scottish teams on ROC’s overhead line electrification systems and

“From a UK standpoint, rail is the biggest and best currently. I think it’s important we recognise people who make the standout achievements, go the extra mile and we’re proud to support it.”

Jeff Marshall, client service manager, Morson International.

“The industry puts a lot into our business, it enables us to put more money into research and development, so in response we want to put something back into the rail industry and this is a good way of doing it.

“This is the third time we’ve sponsored it and we will continue to do so because it rewards individuals, not the companies they work for, and it's the individuals which make the business what it is.”

Phil Mounter, rail division head, Westermo.

“I think it’s very important we recognise the individuals within the industry for an Awards because often it is the company which has been recognised. If they are very large organisations, the individuals feel a bit left out that they have done the hard work and somebody else, their MD or the director, has won the award.

“It is important to recognise the individuals behind the successes to empower their peers to do an excellent job.”

Manoj Agrawal, managing director, Softech Global.

“I think that individuals make the rail industry, without those individuals the companies - the train operating companies, the freight operating companies, Network Rail - they wouldn’t make the rail industry... ...It’s vital that we recognise the people, the personalities, the hard work the individuals put into the rail industry.”

Andrew Sumner, business development manager, Stobart Rail.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

brought a real sense of camaraderie to the project, having spent a long time on site supporting and coordinating with the various parties.

Highly commended: Lee Berry (Merseyrail Electrics) and Robert Hickey (Network Rail).

Rail Engineer For the last year, Andrew Loveday has been the site manager and lead civil engineering operative for Amey Rail’s contribution to the Crossrail Outer Area Project. Andrew has shown great leadership and innovative skills to successfully deliver the civil engineering construction of nine separate structures. This delivery has been complex, with access problems and working within safe operating limits of both track and machine capabilities. The work has also required great liaison and communication skills with the many other works contractors employed on this section of line.

Highly commended: Andy Merritt (Network Rail) and Matt Bower (Network Certification Body - NCB).

Rail Infrastructure/ Possessions Team With over 100 years of experience, the PPS Rail team has been critical to the delivery of work on the Anglia route as part of Crossrail. PPS Rail has

played a key role interfacing with the National Supply Chain team and the route access team. With experts in track operation, possession planning, NROL, isolation, S&T and health and safety, PPS Rail boasts an integrated planning team able to jump in and assist whenever necessary.

Highly commended: Harbury Landslip Emergency Response Team (Network Rail) and Van Elle Rail team (Van Elle Rail).

Rail Person of the Year John Matheson was identified very early on as having exceptional potential. Alongside his work at Bridgeway Consulting, John

has studied for - and passed with distinction - an ONC in civil engineering. He often acts in a safety critical role and is the main mentor for both new COSS and ES. Highly commended: Tomasz Leski (Abellio Greater Anglia) and Lee Clinton (Telent Technology).

Rail Plant and Equipment Person or Team In April 2014, Network Rail decided to in-source the delivery of High Output Track Renewals (HOTR), worth approximately £100 million per annum. Over the subsequent 11 months, Network Rail’s High Output insourcing

Rail Engineer • November 2015

transition team delivered this multifaceted change programme, successfully completing the transition of 507 individuals on 26 March, 2015. It’s a seven-days-perweek operation, employing 800 staff on site and 400 people in maintenance and office-based roles.

Highly commended: Keltbray Electrification Plant Team (Keltbray) and Gareth Richardson (TXM Plant).

Rail Safety Person Adrian Fricker of Network Rail has been instrumental in establishing and promoting the work of the Track Safety Alliance (TSA), an industry-wide group which focuses on improving the health, safety and wellbeing of track workers. Having defined and set up the leadership and management structure of the alliance, he set about organising staff reps and technical forums for front line staff, technical staff and leaders of the principal contractors. More than 1,500 track colleagues have attended these forums to openly discuss and debate safety issues like working at height, PPE and fatigue.

Highly commended: Mateusz Lawrynowicz (Bridgeway Consulting) and Dorian Colling (Volker Fitzpatrick).

Signalling & Telecommunications Person or Team Thales Ground Transport Services (TGTS) has been engaged by London Underground (LU) to install, test and commission its radio-based SelTrac system at Old Dalby Test Track (ODTT). Gareth Harrison, installation manager, Lee Tarr, tester in charge, and their teams were given an aggressive programme to deliver the facility to London Underground for the initial demonstrations in August 2015, which is key for delivery of future works.

In the face of various issues, the Old Dalby Test Track Installation and Test Teams of Thales and London Underground

remained calm and focused, avoiding the potential to rush and panic to get the job completed.

Highly commended: Claire Beranek (Network Rail) and the Junction Lighting Design Team (Network Rail).

47

“The industry is made up of people and organisations. I think it’s really important to recognise the individuals that contribute to the success of the rail industry in the UK. “It’s nice to be able to recognise the achievement and, certainly for an award like Apprentice of the Year where you’ve got a young person who’s new to the industry, I think it’s really good to get that sense of achievement early on in their career.

“For me the Apprentice of the Year Award is probably the most important one of the night because those young people are the future of the industry.”

Lawrence Dobie, director of rail, Shorterm Group.

And there’s more…

It would be churlish not to mention the other winners, just because they aren’t engineers.

Tim Brawn of First Transpennine Express won the David Maidment Award for Charity.

Since 2005, Tim has been involved with the Railway Children charity, with a large involvement in Three Peaks by Rail, during which time the event has raised £2 million.

He has also run three charity railtours, in association with The Branch Line Society on behalf of First TransPennine Express, which have raised in excess of £70,000, a figure that would certainly not have been achieved without Tim’s commitment to the project.

Virgin Trains East Coast’s Christmas Charity Charter Train and Lee Hallam of Linbrooke were highly commended.

First Group’s Tyler Corbisher was awarded Graduate of the Year. Amongst the projects he has delivered is the setting up of a digital

“Project manager roles are incredibly intense when they’re doing something but, at the same time, incredibly rewarding when they’ve delivered something.

“For me, the project manager’s role is one of those things where you can look back at something and say that’s what I did, and so I think to be able to reward that kind of effort and determination that often goes with that is very much what this is all about.”

James Collinson, managing director, Network Certification Body (NCB).

“If you can recognise an individual for their talents, it also inspires others to strive for that. If you see some people winning these things, it helps them strive to win it themselves and then you get more from everybody. It’s a reward, as well, for the hard work they’ve put in.

“It makes individuals feel special and it makes the teams feel special because, if one wins, they all win and it just helps the whole team bond together and work a little bit harder to be honest.”

Tracey Pope, operations and support director, Protrack Solutions.

“It’s wonderful to see RailStaff in the way they’re recognising absolutely everybody, especially at the sharp end of the industry. People that are often unsung heroes, people that go about their daily jobs without really ever getting the recognition that they deserve.”

Mick Barker, employee director, First Group.

48

Rail Engineer • November 2015

rostering system for the revenue protection team, which until now had been completely paper based, and delivering training for frontline staff on an ongoing project about management deployment during the first hour of disruption. He has also produced a report on a notorious poorly performing branch line on the causes, and key locations, of delay, with theories backed up by appropriate data.

In this category, Oscar Tucker of Furrer & Frey and Rob Williams (Costain Skanska JV) were highly commended.

The Rail Manager category covers a lot of potential roles, and this year it was Brian Keenan of Heathrow Express who won. Brian used his first aid training and performed CPR on a gentleman who was taken ill on a train inbound from London Paddington. He continued to provide CPR and used the station defibrillator until paramedics arrived at the scene, saving the passenger’s life.

Pam Williams of Northern Rail and Simon Cassidy of First Great Western were highly commended by the judges for this category. So this year all three Rail Managers work for train operators.

Northern Rail’s Knutsford station staff won the Rail Team of the Year.

The company is continually receiving

plaudits, from letters of appreciation through to a write-up in the local newspaper detailing the exceptional customer service received at the station.

Young Rail Professionals and the Merseyrail Safety Team were presented with Highly Commended certificates.

Human Resources and recruitment teams are sometimes almost forgotten, being in the home office rather than out on the front line.

However, they play a crucial role.

For example, Charlotte Mollart and the Morson team have made an outstanding contribution to the Crossrail, electrification and Great

Western Route Modernisation programmes. She and the team work tirelessly in finding competent, quality staff in a market where the demand for experienced people is extremely high.

Also not forgotten were Gemma Platt, Senior HR Advisor at GB Railfreight and Jason Garside of NTRS, who instead were Highly Commended.

Missed train, saved life There are always some amazing nominations received for the RailStaff Awards. The one for Virgin Trains’ Gary Campbell read: “After attending a meeting in Crewe and missing his

Rail Engineer • November 2015

49

“The whole success of the rail industry, at the moment, is around people and the way people work together, people and relationships.

“It passes on the benefits that we have in this boom time for railways to the wider community and it also has a real benefit to teams who contribute.

It pulls the teams together, improves morale, and it gives something back to the wider community.”

John Hardy, head of track programme, London Underground (Track Partnership). train home, Gary was approached by Heather Hodkinson and told about a suicide note in the ladies toilet. When they entered the toilet and found one of the cubicles locked with no response from inside, Gary forced entry and was shocked to find a woman hanging in the cubicle. Acting quickly, Gary lifted her so that Heather could cut her down.” Their quick thinking saved the woman’s life so well done to both Gary and Heather.

Sam Kariuki of the Land Sheriffs and Rachel Stockton (Northern Rail) were highly commended for this one.

After spotting a young female acting strangely on a footbridge, Daniel Byrne of Merseyrail asked her if she was ok. She responded in a positive and friendly manner and said that she was waiting for the next train, but something didn’t sit well with Daniel, so he continued to monitor her. When she didn’t board the next train, he approached her again and found her crying. She told him she couldn’t carry on, so he contacted the BTP and kept her calm for the time it took for them to arrive. His diligence that day potentially saved a life and won him the Station Staff of the year award.

Peter Hazeldene (Southeastern) and Keith Matthews (Northern) were recognised as being Highly Commended.

More medical dramas, this time on London Underground, featured in the winning nomination for Train Driver of the year.

Whilst approaching West Acton station an emergency handle was operated on Frank Hoffman’s train and he was informed that a passenger had collapsed. Frank stopped the train and attended to the passenger, who wasn’t breathing, and began performing CPR. He continued until the paramedics arrived before returning to his regular duties. The paramedics said his swift actions saved the passenger’s life.

Stuart Creed (Great Western Railway) and Jim Finnie, Train Manager for GB Railfreight, also caught the judges’ eye.

Training is very important on the railways, and Abellio Greater Anglia’s ‘Inspire’ employee customer service programme was introduced to develop and encourage staff to put the customer at the heart of everything the company does. The early success of this has led to the programme team implementing a second phase of the programme this year, endeavouring to lead by example and winning the coveted Trainer/Training Team of the Year award.

Close runners up, and Highly Commended, were Jayson Gill at Virgin Trains East Coast and Paul Humes of ISS Labour.

So that was the 2015 RailStaff Awards.

Nominations are already being made for the tenth such event, to be held at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on Saturday 8 October 2016.

Put it in your diary, nominate your colleagues, vote for everyone and, above all, join in!

See you there…

For more information on the 2016 RailStaff Awards, go to www.railstaffawards.com

“Out of all the awards that exist, for me Safety is number one and it’s the one I enjoy the most. It means a lot to me to meet these guys and to be able to issue the award. The RailStaff Awards is one of those dates in the diary I always look forward to.

It’s a great event.”

Pino de Rosa, managing director, Bridgeway Consulting.

“The rail industry has got an exceptionally passionate group of people working there, so it’s really good to be involved in something that recognises individuals who have that passion and to award something positive in the industry.”

Noel Dolphin, managing director, Furrer+Frey GB.

“It was really down to a team effort for us. At the depot at Ashford we’ve got 100 odd people who work day in day out, 24 hours a day seven days a week, 365 days a year. The award is about them, what they put in.”

Nigel King, fleet manager, Ashford Fleet Maintenance depot.

“Nothing happens in any industry, particularly this industry, without everybody really going above and beyond what they’re asked to deliver and it’s that extraordinary effort that really makes the projects happen and that’s why we need to recognise people.

“To recognise people, young people, coming in at the start of their careers is as important as recognising people who have done a lifetime of achievement.”

Jo Gretton, head of legal and commercial, Telent Technology Services.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

Two days PLANT & EQUIPMENT

at Rail2015

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

Smaller displays inside the marquee.

L

ast year’s Rail Live exhibition, organised jointly by Network Rail, Rail Alliance, Rail Media and MacRail and held at the Quinton Rail Technology Centre at Long Marston site near Stratford-upon-Avon, was a great success.

4,000 visitors met 400 exhibitors over two days of blazing sunshine in June 2014.

However, the challenge in putting on that show was immense. Heavy on-track machines came in from all over the country. Colas and DRS had front-line locomotives parked up and there were tampers and inspection trains and all sorts of expensive equipment on display.

On top of that, several plant suppliers seemed to have a large part of their fleets on hand and most of the specialist Network

Rail technical departments (electrification, signalling, track safety) were there so, in some ways, work on the railway stopped for the week.

Because of this, and because major innovations don’t happen every year, Steve Featherstone, Network Rail’s track programme director, decided not to run the show in 2015 but to wait until 2016 for the next one, to spread the load.

Exhibitor pressure But a number of the exhibitors had found that the show, one where they could dig holes, give live demonstrations, run plant, and generally make a mess, was a good one for them. Formal exhibitions where attendees are in suits, and work gets done in comfortable surroundings, have their place. But the best way to show off plant and equipment is to see it running - and that can’t be done in the country’s neat and tidy exhibition halls.

So Rail Alliance, working closely with Rail Media, set out to put on a different show for 2015. Initially intended to show off the innovation process and backed by Future Railway, it grew as more of the previous year’s exhibitors joined the party. Stand sizes were still restricted, but demand increased so much that the show had to be put back from June to September to allow plans to be changed and everyone to be accommodated.

In theory, that could have put the whole show at risk due to the weather, although some would claim that the weather in June can be just as unpredictable as the weather in September. And they were nearly proved right. Set-up day was wet, and muddy, and taxed everybody’s patience.

The fear was that the Wednesday, first day of the show, was forecast to be as bad.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

First impressions Arrival was painless. Parking at Long Marston Aerodrome was easy (following directions from the traffic team from ISS Labour and the signs to the drag strip pits) and on hard standing, albeit with some rather large potholes. After a short pause to put on waterproof boots (essential) and a high-viz jacket (compulsory), there was a row of coaches waiting to take visitors to the show site about a mile away.

Off the bus, walk to Shannon Rail’s caravan ( they were controlling entry this year) where pre-printed passes were inserted into plastic wallets and hung round necks, and then straight into the site.

Pino de Rosa and his team were at the entrance, handing out casino chips which were, in fact, tokens for a cooked breakfast on the Bridgeway stand. His offer was

gratefully accepted and Bridgeway became the second port of call, after collecting a show guide from Rail Media’s Jolene Price and Karen Payne. Rail Media’s own stand was right next door to Bridgeway so, after a quick stop to see the team, it was time for a bacon sandwich.

Talking with Huw Thomas while munching on said sandwich, he enthused about the company’s new IBEX slope crawling rig. Designed to take core samples and drill holes safely on slopes of up to 55º, this impressive piece of kit has been developed jointly with Dando Drilling International.

Nearby was what looked like a shipping container full of water. It actually allowed Bridgeway’s divers to demonstrate how they undertake the underwater inspection of structures.

Rail Media’s Matt Stokes, who had been walking steadily around the site carrying what looked like some sort of ancient totem used for religious processions, became very

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PLANT & EQUIPMENT

As things turned out, it wasn’t. Overcast but dry, the rain held off for both days of the show. Colin Flack’s team at Rail Alliance had also been careful in positioning the stands to avoid known bogs so the land drained well and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

In the end, around 2,500 visitors attended to see what the 200 exhibitors had laid out for them. The second day was a bit busier than the first - perhaps those put off by the weather forecast delayed their visit by a day - but that had the effect of balancing out the attendance. As it was, the show was busy, but not uncomfortably so, and everyone got a chance to take in all that there was to see thanks, in no small part, to the skills of the team at Topcon for marking out the exhibition space.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

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52

Innovation Hub lecture theatre.

excited by all the water. His ‘Roman standard’ was actually a 360º camera on a pole - and all six camera heads were waterproof! So they ended up in the container with the diver, producing stunning video and confirming that the cameras were indeed leakproof.

Having exhausted the entertainment at Bridgeway, it was time to take in the rest of the show and see what caught the eye.

Looking around

Bodyguard's F1 simulator.

TPA Portable Roadways, part of VP plc, had what looked like a brightorange level crossing on its stand.

Closer inspection showed it to be a UTAS - the patented Universal Track Access System. Richard York explained that it is a heavy-duty, steel, three-piece assembly that allows heavy plant to cross the track without damaging it and can also be used as a RRAP (road-rail access point) to get machines on and off track. With a 50 tonne capacity, even the largest machines can use it, although the components are heavy and have to be removed if trains want to come past.

If weight and portability are a consideration, then TPA also has a lightweight foam access ramp system (LWF) constructed out of two-metre long foam sections, each of which weighs under 25kg so they can be easily hand-carried into position.

Richard Casey of Horizon Utility Supplies presided over several different products on his stand.

Horizon is a distributor and developer of kit, and two different types of OLE connectors were on show. Those from CPI (Connector Products Inc) of New Jersey, USA, are bolted connectors which were being demonstrated on a tall yellow rack simulating the real-life environment - complete with pigeons sitting on top.

Klauke battery-operated hydraulic cutting and crimping tools were also being shown on the Horizon stand, and the ease with which one could cut through large diameter cable was impressive.

ISS Labour, the kind people who had provided the labour and traffic management support so vital to the show, had an interesting stand,

housed in its own bouncy castle.

Topically, chief executive Simon Higgens explained how the company provides a managed OLE service to Babcock and ABC while fellow director Colin Kelly pointed out that the company specialises in OLE isolations, training and has even hung wires with Network Rail’s own OCR team. Administration director Nicki Sunderland was keen to speak of the welfare ‘village’ that ISS had provided to the Box Tunnel project, as described in last month’s Rail Engineer.

A visit to the Anderton stand gave the opportunity to see one of Rail Engineer’s stars. To advertise its lightweight concrete troughing, the company has used a photograph of a young lady holding a trough, seemingly without straining. She was on the stand, and no - she wasn’t

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Eye-catching Just around the corner, and there was an exhibitor messing with a wooden fence post in a bright yellow plastic bucket. In fact, he wasn’t showing off either the post or the bucket, but what filled the gap between them.

Postcrete is a new, fast-setting concrete from Tarmac, and it was being shown on the Keyline stand.

Dig a hole, place the new fence post and hold it vertical, fill the hole with water, tip in the Postcrete which is a ready-mix of dry cement and fine aggregate, and that’s it.

The concrete starts to set in five minutes, so ensure that the post is self-supporting and move on to the next post.

It’s so simple.

But that wasn’t the only eye-catching item on the Keyline stand. A large drainage catch-pit sat on the ground. Nothing special about that, but the duct entries were adjustable. So the one pit, with the correct adaptors, can be used with various bores of pipe and with those pipes at various depths. It doesn’t work any better than a conventional catch pit, but it does cut down inventory and improve delivery times. Neat!

Talking of neat, Aquarius was showing off its latest big boys’ toy nearby. Well-known for its road-rail conversions of Land-Rover Defenders, there is now a three-axle, six-wheeled trailer to go with it. So a work team can all fit in the Land-Rover, load two and a half tonnes of kit onto the trailer, and whizz down the motorway to the job, accessing the railway at a handy RRAP.

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PLANT & EQUIPMENT

built like a Russian shotputter. In fact, she explained how the latest Anderton concrete troughs had straps to hold the lids down and fins inside to secure the cables, both deterring and preventing thieves from dragging cables out and stealing them.

When Collin Carr interviewed Steve Featherstone recently, one of the products he enthused about was a long, high-speed rail clamp, a device which will enable overnight track works to be returned to service at 80, 90 or even 100mph line speeds.

And there it was, on the Holdtrade and GB-Rail stand.

Two long yellow plates, made in France by ALR, held in place by four Robel rail clamps. Hamlet Cromwell and Richard Mulhall explained that normally only two clamps are used but, for these specially made plates, using four gave the desired result and the high-speed handback.

Simple, but it works.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

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54

Universal Track Access System (UTAS) shown

by TPA Portable Roadways.

RAIL2015 wasn't just about plant and equipment.

To show how good it is, one of the Aquarius team spent both days driving up and down a 100 yard length of track with a trailer full of plastic cable troughing on the back. Another good example of the benefits of an outdoor show.

Parked alongside the track was another Land-Rover but this one had a drilling rig in the back. Developed for Aspin Foundations, it is used for ground investigations in the four foot, drilling right through the ballast into the trackbed beneath. If necessary, the whole rig can be unclipped and manhandled into the cess, but, for most applications, an investigation between the rails suffices.

Just up from the Aquarius stand was a large marquee. In here were a number of smaller, tabletop displays, some just with a few posters and others which had obviously had some attention paid to them.

Infrarail and Railtex exhibition organiser Mack Brooks was there, promoting Infrarail 2016 (12-14 April at ExCeL if you want to know). It was a great demonstration that the industry has a place for two different types of exhibitions - one in a large hall and the other at a unique working railway venue. It’s horses for courses.

Nearby was A Proctor, manufacturer of the Spacetherm insulation for points heaters described in last month’s issue.

Ged Weedon had three lengths of rail, all of them made of wood for lightness.

One was painted blue, one red, and one a natty graduation between the two. It was all to show how hot or cold a rail was, he said.

Then there was a man sitting on a park bench. He seemed comfortable, but what was he doing there? And where had the park bench come from?

Then the penny dropped. The park bench WAS the display. It was actually a waiting room bench for stations, made by Erlau. Presumably, towards the end of the day when exhibitors and visitors were all getting tired, this would be one of the show’s more popular exhibits!

Flexicon had a display of tubes and conduits used to protect wiring on trains, and Colin Legg explained how special versions had been produced for particular markets.

PCAT (Pre Cast Advanced Track) was proudly displaying its awardwinning system which, courtesy of an Innovate UK/RSSB competition win, will soon be under construction and on trial at the QRTC test track at Long Marston. A world beating slab track system conceived, designed and manufactured in the UK! At the end of the marquee was the Innovation Hub and lecture theatre, complete with speakers from Future Railway, RRUK(A) and prize winning innovators presenting on Innovation and other topics.

Credit where it’s due Colin Flack, Rail Alliance’s chief executive, was standing outside the theatre. He was characteristically upbeat about the show’s success.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

was told that, next year, he might have to wear a high-viz top hat as well, he indicated that it might be Mr Brunel’s turn in 2016.

The other variation on PPE was on the Quattro stand, where two girls clad in orange lycra were looking after the British Superbike that the company sponsors in the British Championship. To ensure compliance, stand manager Polly Rivers had painstakingly sewn reflective stripes onto the girls’ lycra jumpsuits. Nice one Polly!

More exhibitors Gioconda’s squidgy trains are legend - Rail Engineer has a full set of five different colours. Very handy for both squeezing for stress relief and for lobbing at errant colleagues in the office. The Rail2015 offering was a dark grey one (already in the editorial collection) and the stand also had some clever new variations on Gioconda’s wellknown signal-sighting software, now with added GPS. Probably the furthest-travelled exhibitor was Andrew Melvelle. His Melvelle Equipment Corporation is based in Newcastle - the one in New South Wales, Australia. He

Bridgeway's diver positions Rail Media's 360° camera.

PLANT & EQUIPMENT

“Reacting to pressure from our members, originally we were just going to create a bit of space, get 50 companies or so together, and that would be the show. It rather took off from there,” he commented.

It all started with the first Rail Alliance show four years ago, Macro Rail, which was in a warehouse on the Long Marston site. Then Network Rail’s shows followed, the National Plant Exhibition in 2013 and Rail Live last year.

“The link is Scott Harrison, who was then at Network Rail,” Colin explained. “He had attended Macro Rail and was looking at a site at Gloucester for the Network Rail show, When he found it wasn’t suitable, he thought ‘why not Long Marston?’ He gave me a call, came and looked around, and the whole thing snowballed into Rail Live after a further visit by Steve Featherstone’s team.” Colin kept being interrupted by exhibitors and visitors who wanted to tell him how good the show was, and he seemed very pleased about that.

“The team worked hard to pull it all together,” he praised, “and we couldn’t have done it without our industry partners, particularly ISS Labour and Rail Media, so thanks must go to them as well.”

There seemed to be only one fellow at the show not dressed in orange (or, in a few cases, yellow), and that was George Stephenson. He visited the show and gave a short talk in the theatre, and it was great to have the famous engineer take part.

A closer inspection showed that George was in fact Felix (Schmid from University of Birmingham) and he was actually complying by wearing a high-viz bow tie. When he

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

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56

Mabey Hire Pipelifter for concrete pipes with 300-1200mm I.D.

Capel Group had a variety of equipment on show.

was showing a rail unclipper that uses vibration to loosen old, rusted-in clips.

Unlike impact hammers, it doesn’t damage the sleeper so new clips can be reinstalled easily.

Steve Featherstone happened past. “We’ve got a couple of these,” he said. “Good bits of kit. We should make more use of them. I’ll have to talk with…” and he was on his way again.

As well as the Anderton lightweight concrete troughs mentioned earlier, and a couple of polymer versions (Trojan’s TroTrof and TroTed and the TTS Trough-Tec system that is made in Japan), BCM was showing a system for elevated troughing.

Darin Ballington and David Lomas explained that it came in two-metre lengths with lids that bolted down.

The increasing use of these troughs for high-voltage cables, which don’t

bend very easily, has led to the development of new larger-radius curves and transitions.

Staying safe With all visitors wearing some form of high-viz jacket (with the few notable exceptions already mentioned), there were several PPE suppliers showing off their wares.

Bodyguard had a Formula 1 simulator, with new marketing manager Parveen Nar drumming up interest for it, while STEL was showing a bright orange wheelbarrow. Safeaid Supplies and Gore were there with racks of clothing, as well as a couple of others.

Talking of safety, there had recently been an unfortunate collapse of a ditch while it was being dug. Mabey Hire launched a new aluminium shield system at Rail2015 - the two aluminium sidewalls are cross-braced

with steel tubes but these are arched to go over ducts laid in the bottom of the trench. Richard Hinckley explained that this ‘hogsback’ system, developed in conjunction with Network Rail, can also be use for joining two ducts in the six foot, something that other systems can’t do. “No other product at this show will have the impact on safety that this new system does,” he boasted.

RVT Rentavent showed some enormous green fans, and Edward Taylor described how they had been used to keep the air fresh inside Box Tunnel during the recent works - another company involved in that interesting product.

Demco had a tent full of track drainage components, with its TerraRange of pipework and filters and its well-established STAKKAbox catch pits. Peter Harris was on hand, keeping an eye on the display and advising visitors of the complexities of the subject and a few simple solutions.

SPX, manufacturer and supplier of level crossing equipment and Clamplock points machines, had an interesting display of its new series 3 equipment. General manager Scott Harrison explained that a host of upgrades and improvements had been incorporated into the new models. It certainly attracted attention from the show’s visitors.

Steve Featherstone spent some time looking at the new kit and seemed impressed.

Opposite was the stand that Steve claimed was, for him, the highlight of the show. Popaloo is a convenient one-person tent with a portable toilet inside. Compact and easily carried, it addresses the needs of female engineers who find it more difficult to go behind a bush than their male counterparts. “We’re attracting more female engineers onto the railway,” Steve claimed, “and we have to give them the facilities they need. This is just the sort of product that will do that.”

A loo in a tent in the middle of a field makes sense, but a bus shelter? Actually it was a Rail Waiting Structure, more commonly seen on station platforms than in fields. Andrew White was only too pleased to discuss the relative merits of polycarbonate, laminated and toughened glass, as well as

Rail Engineer • November 2015

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PLANT & EQUIPMENT

future plans for the product. One has even been used as a ticket office, albeit with a few additions to the basic structure!

So that was the show - Rail2015. The highs and lows?

Apart from the unexpectedly dry weather, the remarkable organisation and the knowledge and dedication of all the exhibitors, there were a few things that have to be mentioned. Rob Hopkin on the public address, promoting the next talk, or the next demonstration, or who was giving away free food, and trying to prevent exhibitors from packing up early on the second day while visitors were still looking around the site (a forlorn hope but he tried hard).

Cisco did a great job in actually making Wi-Fi work in a Warwickshire field, while there was the disappointment of not winning a bottle of Welsh Whiskey in the Welsh Government’s raffle, despite sweet-talking Mike Gillard.

The one question on everyone’s lips was, what will happen next year?

Colin had the last word in this “We are delighted to confirm that Rail2016 (incorporating Rail Live) is being planned for 15tand 16 June next year and that the Network Rail supply chain will be fully involved. The theme will continue to focus around Ingenuity and we will be looking to create an environment where we can encourage a wider range of participants including schools, colleges and universities. We will be working with partners such as NSARE and Young Rail Professionals to achieve this, along with HS2 and TfL. We will also be using the show as the climax of the first year of the Rail Supply Group/Rail Alliance Mentoring Scheme… exciting times, watch this space!”

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

impact Making a rail

W

ith its continuing drive for increased efficiency and the resulting cost savings, Network Rail has encouraged its contractors, and their sub contractors, and THEIR subcontractors, to invest in the latest equipment which can deliver more for less.

In the latest control period, for example, efficiency has to increase by 20%. That means every shift has to produce 20% more work, or a set project has to be delivered 20% more quickly and 20% more economically.

It’s a tall order and one which, frankly, Network Rail is struggling to achieve. But that doesn’t ease the pressure on contractors. If anything, it makes it more intense.

This need for speed reaches right across the railway. Every infrastructure project is looking for these savings. Traditionally, one of the more time-consuming elements of a project is the

groundwork. With access to the railway limited, and with contractors often having to set-up and then break down the site so that trains can run during the day, the need to achieve more in a shift has never been more intense.

Investment is the key During its 30-year history, Van Elle Group, based at Pinxton, Nottinghamshire, has established a reputation for delivering high-quality piling and ground engineering solutions for its clients.

A key element in the Group’s activities is its involvement in railway projects. This division

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Facts and figures Three compact models are available from the Ipswich-based manufacturer.

The DX20, DX25 and DX30 models offer dropweights of 1.5 tonnes, 2 tonnes and 2.5 tonnes respectively with maximum impact energies of 20kNm, 25kNm and 30kNm. Blow rate at rated energy for all the models is approximately 60 blows per minute.

As standard, each hammer is fitted with an 800mm diameter drive cap which is well suited to the common application of driving 762mm and 610mm diameter tubular piles used in the construction of electrification stanchions. It also accommodates other common sizes, such as 457mm, 406mm and 305mm steel piles.

Important features of the DX range include a hydraulic double-acting cylinder which produces high impact energy and a fast blow rate with a low hydraulic power requirement. The new models have the ability to drive piles with an ultimate load bearing up to

PLANT & EQUIPMENT

has gained significant experience and expertise in both design and construction, enabling it to undertake rail projects of all sizes and complexities for Network Rail and its contractors.

To carry out its piling and foundation work, Van Elle has invested around £15 million in plant and equipment during the last few years.

This substantial investment has resulted in the purchase of various railrelated machines including a number of DX impact piling hammers from British firm BSP International Foundations.

Based in Ipswich, BSP is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of piling hammers and related equipment.

BSP has specifically developed the DX hydraulic drop hammer to drive tubular steel piles to support electrification staunchions, gantries and other railway projects requiring foundation piling. It has been designed as an attachment for mounting on road/rail or tracked hydraulic excavators with an operating weight of around 32 tonnes or more.

When mounted to the machine’s boom and dipper arm configuration, the hammer can be quickly erected from a horizontal transport position to vertical.

Side tilt adjustment of five degrees left and right allows it to cope with the track’s cant. During piling, the hammer is automatically guided or crowded in the vertical plane.

59

1800kN and, during operation, there is total control over hammer stroke and blow rate. Weighing from 4.5 tonnes for the DX20 up to 5.8 tonnes for the DX30, the hammers can be transported easily and be operational on site in a matter of minutes.

According to Van Elle Rail, the BSP hammers, mounted to a tracked/ wheeled excavator or the company’s Colmar RRVs, are the best solution for driving steel tube piles accurately, quickly and safely. They can be used to work alongside the company’s vibrating hammers as piles can be lifted, positioned and vibrated down before the BSP impact hammer completes the installation process using a rapid blowrate. This pile installation system offers principal rail contractors and Network Rail an unrivalled solution to OHLE signal and gantry bases.

Recent rail projects involving the DX hammers include the installation of 610mm and 762mm diameter driven piles for the Great Western’s OHLE work on behalf of Amey, and piling for both Birmingham New Street and Reading stations for Volker Fitzpatrick and a Costain/Hochtief JV respectively.

Van Elle Rail’s investment in new rigs, equipment and staff training ensures that it has the resources to carry out rail projects of all sizes and complexities successfully and safely. The company is also a Network Rail plant operating scheme provider and a principal contractor’s licence holder.

Now that the TransPennine and Midland main line electrification projects are being resumed, and with HS2 to come, Van Elle’s investment in new plant and equipment, particularly the new range of BSP hammers, has been made at just the right time.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

RVE 2015 best yet!

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ail Vehicles and Enhancements - RVE 2015 - did just what it says on the tin. Billed as “the only single-theme Expo aimed at the engineering of rail vehicles for refurbishment and enhancements”, the one-day show changed venue for its fourth year, moving to Derby’s Riverside Centre early in October.

It was very much a move for the better. The main exhibition hall was larger and accommodated the wide range of exhibitors with ease while not looking empty, and there was a buzz about the place all day.

This is a working show. Exhibitors were given limited space in the main room for a couple of pop-up banners, a table and a small display. No more was needed and it kept everyone on an equal footing.

The specific focus kept it sensible as well. It was all about the technology that goes into rail vehicles. So there were radios, and seats, and pantographs (OK - they actually go on top), and cables, and connectors, and passenger information systems, and even aromas (do you want your carriage to smell nice?).

Just through a doorway was another room, set up as a seminar theatre.

Here Ian Walmsley, journalist for another publication (one you can buy in Smiths!), presided over an interesting series of talks and seminars that ran through the day.

Introducing the NEW Aquarius Road2Rail Trailer A flatbed trailer capable of traveling on road & rail for the versatile transportation of a 2.4 tonne payload; loading area of 1.95m x 3.25m. Supplied with drop sides & integral ramps for the loading of rubber tracked plant. The R2R Trailer with R2R4x4 will be Available for Hire Nationwide from November 2015.

Aquarius’ brand new R2R Trailer with TTS troughs & a R2R Plant Trailer towed & propelled by an R2R 4x4: a payload capacity of 5900kg. Maximising your possession: all can be preloaded, on tracked under live OLE & delivered to your rail worksite quickly.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

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Started with a bang But what of the show in detail? It started early with a networking meeting

by Rail Alliance in the theatre. Bacon cobs (baps, rolls, butties - call them what you will) were provided, along with tea and coffee, so the early birds could have breakfast, network with colleagues and hear a couple of presentations on 'sensitive design' from Veronica Elena Bocci and Luis Chomiak.

Meanwhile, next door, banners were being erected, tablecloths hunted down, and everyone was bustling about getting ready for a 9am start. Rail Media’s stand was up and ready early, and we seemed to be the designated table supplier, if only because the pile of tables had been leant against the wall next to our stand!

All was ready in time, and the first of around 500 visitors came through the door. Within half an hour it was really quite busy!

It was time for a cast around the show and, without naming everyone there (if you want to have a full list, the website is still live at www.rve2015.co.uk), there were certain stands that caught the eye.

Lots to see Harting had several boxes of connectors and jumper cables, including a neat way of pulling new cables through tight spaces in older vehicles. The cables are fitted with a slimline connector, looking a bit like a telephone plug. A pulling eye can then be snapped to this connector and used to pull it through bulkheads and cramped spaces. Once the cable is where it is meant to be, the eye is snapped off and the appropriate connector to interface with the equipment snapped on. Very convenient, and a great idea.

Insurance specialist Jobson James was next. Their advice to clients was simple - read the contract. In particular, check it for insurance implications as clauses in some contracts can invalidate insurance, which isn’t something you want to discover when it’s too late and everything has gone pear shaped.

GAI-Tronics had one of those stands you hate to be next to.

Demonstrating how their on-board telephone system not only connected the crew with the driver but could also be used to make PA announcements

ENERGY FOR THE RAILWAY ELECTREN UK, part of the ACS holding group, is a company specialising in power distribution and overhead line equipment for the railway industry with over 25 years’ experience. Our main principles are: safety at work, innovation and new solutions and collaborative working.

Since 2013 we participate very actively in the improvement of rail infrastructure in the UK. Today we can be proud to participate in different projects: • Involved in the NR CP5 National Substation Supply Framework. ELECTREN UK is member of the Switchgear and Substation Alliance (SSA), a joint venture appointed for providing new designed compact air insulated switchgear [CAIS] substations with low maintenance demands and low environmental impact.

• Contractor of Lundy Projects in the Reading Depot electrification works (electrification of the First Great Western Reading Depot), in addition to the Great Western electrification project.

• Designing electrification solutions to avoid bridge and tunnel reconstruction thanks to the support of the Future Railway Programme (RSSB).

• London Underground HV substation framework.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

Comprehensive displays

was very interesting, but must have got on the wick of the stands next door by the end of the day. Still, they made their point and the system can even be run from the operator’s control room. Handy!

Design Analysis had one of the best logos on display. The company performs finite element analysis on train components, both for new build and refurbishments. The logo was made up of lots of little elements, reflecting the company’s activities, and was very eye-catching. So, too, was the rest of the display as a lot of it focussed on crash structures and their performance.

Signature Aromas make smells. A lot of people in railway carriages make smells too, as do the brakes and some of the electrical gear, but Signature Aromas’ are much nicer and you can choose what ‘flavour’ (is that the right word for a smell?) you want.

Brecknell Willis had a complete pantograph on its stand, and several experts, but not much else, while fellow Wabtec-company Mors Smitt next door had a few banners to show off its signalling capabilities. Both stands were busy.

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Hima-Sella’s stand was no bigger than anyone else’s, but they had a lot on it. GSM-R handheld radios by Funkwerk. Selective door opening equipment. A clever in-cab display that was actually two half-sized displays fastened together, so in the event of failure one half could still display vital information and get the driver home. This was a great innovation by partner Deute-Werk and one of the German company’s engineers was on hand to explain it all.

RDS was showing a video train positioning system. Knorr-Bremse (neé Railcare) promoted its vehicle maintenance and repair capabilities. Another recent name change, Ricardo Rail (formerly Lloyd’s Register Rail) was talking to visitors about certification and testing. I M Kelly had seats on display (not for sitting in, even by footweary exhibition visitors). HydraPower Dynamics was discussing hydraulic hoses while Elmatic had a range of heater elements on its table.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

63

Sister companies Brentto Industry, a supplier of high-quality castings, forgings and machined components to the rolling stock maintenance industry, and labour supplier Skills4Rail were alongside the Onyxrail stand.

There was a lot more to see than can be mentioned here. Infodev passenger counting systems, BTROS cable looms, Televic passenger information systems, DC Airco heating and ventilation, Road & Rail Protec video systems for route monitoring, driver-only operation and such details as pantograph monitoring, all of these had interesting displays and experts available to talk with visitors.

All this and seminars too

CCTV specialists Comtrol - ‘Power To Communicate’ - was demonstrating an anti-bridge strike system it had developed with TEW Plus. Naturally this can’t prevent bridge strikes, but a dedicated camera which monitors a graticule on the other end of the bridge can detect movement, both that expected from a train passing but also from something striking the bridge. If the movement is permanent, all the alarms go off. It’s solar powered too!

Rail Order, part of ADComms, works with its customers to reduce cost through initiatives such as consignment stocking, kitting of service components and just-in-time supply.

Lighting specialist McGeogh’s stand was hard to get close to - it was so bright! LED tubes were the focus here - direct replacements for both 24V and 110V fluorescent tubes.

Onyxrail had a central stand. The turnkey enhancements and maintenance provider delivers both complete project solutions or individual components to the rail traction and rolling stock industry. It can also offer highertechnology manufacturers a route to market in the UK and elsewhere.

Macrete Macrete NCENCE 1-2 page 1-2 page Feb Feb 15-paths.indd 15-paths.indd 1 1

There was a lot to see in just one day. And that is without the seminar programme going on in the next room. Ten talks were crammed into six hours, covering everything from vehicle design to operations. Speakers from technology companies Interfleet, Knorr-Bremse, Wabtec and Interfleet were interspersed with those from Porterbrook, Eversholt, East Midlands Trains and Vivarail.

Just outside the door of the building, telecommunications specialist Westermo had brought its mobile showroom and training centre, which was parked in the sun, attracting visitors as they arrived and as they left.

All in all, it was a very successful day. The programme was packed, the hall was full, and visitors had something to see and someone to talk with from the moment they arrived (or even before, if the Westermo team got hold of them). Organiser Kevin Lane said simply: “I’m really chuffed.”

When pushed to say a bit more, he added: “There are lots of big names here, going around and seeing our exhibitors, so it’s been a great success.

Chuffed covers it.”

The next RVE event is already planned - 6 October 2016 at the Riverside Centre in Derby. So if you’re involved in Rail Vehicles and Enhancement, put the date in your diary. And if you didn’t exhibit this year, but should have done, Kevin has about six spaces spare…

27/01/2015 27/01/2015 14:23 14:23

Rail Engineer • November 2015

CONCRETE

64

but different It’s like

cement

W

e all live in a world where any form of disruption is a major issue which dramatically affects our wellbeing. The infrastructures we use on a daily basis, especially rail, roads and highways, constantly need maintaining as they are often used at full capacity. This problem also extends to utilities - water, gas and electricity distribution - power stations, marine environments and others. Much of this infrastructure, especially within cities and large towns, now can’t cope with the demands put upon it.

The net result is that these indispensible systems have begun to wear and fail at a higher rate and speed than may have been the case in the past. They now require a higher level of repair and maintenance to keep them operational, and this has to be carried out with less access time to keep traffic flowing and trains moving.

As a result, there is an ever-increasing need for high-performing products to achieve the best level of repair in the shortest time.

A lot of infrastructure repairs require the use of cement. It’s easy to buy, simple to use, and relatively foolproof - in normal circumstances.

Re-engineering the product Portland cement has been the standard for many years, but also has had some shortfalls. It shrinks excessively, can’t be accelerated without negative effects, is susceptible to attack by prevalent chemicals and reacts destructively with certain aggregates. None of this

makes it ideal to use in today’s highpressure maintenance environment.

CTS Rapid Set products provide cementitious solutions to this problem, with products that cure in a very short time and allow operations to continue with a minimum of disruption. There is also a specialist selection of additives available that give versatility of use to the three main products that are used to cover most repair and maintenance works.

Market leaders in USA, CTS Rapid Set products are fast becoming established across Europe, Asia and Australia and have recently been introduced to the UK. The three main products have recently been added to the London Underground Approved Products Register and are likely to be adopted for use within LUL civils maintenance works.

Rapid Set Cement is an advanced high-performance hydraulic cement that provides structural strength in one hour. It is manufactured with the same raw materials, equipment and

processes used to make Portland cement yet has reduced shrinkage and superior resistance to chemical attack.

Precise selection and proportioning of the raw materials, many refinements throughout the manufacturing process and comprehensive quality control combine to give Rapid Set superior performance and a unique chemistry.

When Rapid Set cement is used in concrete, it provides superior performance in terms of rapid strength gains, reduced permeability and low shrinkage. Traditionally, when fresh concrete is placed using conventional Portland cement, the heavier particles settle and displace the water mix which then forms capillaries as it rises to the surface as bleed water. After the concrete has hardened, these capillaries become routes of entry for substances that attack the concrete and reinforcing steel.

When Rapid Set cement is used in concretes, repair mortars, or any other Rapid Set products, it produces ettringite crystals that rapidly consume water and create a threedimensional lattice. This stops the settling and displacement process, eliminating the capillary formation which reduces permeability and resulting in a more durable concrete.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

65

Comprehensive range

CONCRETE

Rapid Set cement forms the basis for several easy-to-use products.

Cement All is a multipurpose product that can be used for general concrete repairs, doweling, anchoring, industrial grouting and form work. It can be used from a feather-edge up to 100mm thick, the surface does not need priming, and can be water cured.

It has an initial set time of 15 minutes and can be trafficked in one hour.

Mortar Mix is a versatile product that can be used for general concrete repairs to floor slabs, vertical and overhead applications. It is a high performance blend of Rapid Set cement and quality sands. Mortar Mix is non-metallic and has no chlorides and, when mixed with water, it produces a workable high-build mortar that can be applied anywhere from 10mm to 150mm thick. It too sets in 15 minutes and can be trafficked in one hour.

Concrete Mix is a multi-purpose, fast setting product that can be used for repair and construction of floor slabs, machine bases, and general concrete repairs. It is a blend of Rapid Set cement, grades of sands and 8mm aggregate.

When mixed with water, Concrete Mix produces a workable, high-quality concrete material that is ideal where fast strength gain, high durability and low shrinkage are desired. It can be applied from 50mm - 600mm in depth, is durable in wet environments, sets in 15 minutes and is ready to traffic in one hour.

In addition, there is a range of specialty additives for retarding setting, increasing flow ability and including reinforcement fibres.

All of which can come in handy when repairing a railway at two in the morning when trains are due to start running in a couple of hours.

CONTACT 0131 603 9862 info@lineworx.co.uk www.lineworx.co.uk

Š Copyright KORODUR

66

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Surveillance of the new

Nottingham Trams

CLIVE KESSELL

S

ince late summer, the Nottingham Tram network (NET) has more than doubled in size with the opening of its southern and western extensions to Clifton and Toton respectively. 27 new stops have been added, making a total of 51.

The new lines are a mixture of street-running and dedicated routes, the most spectacular feature being the new stop at Nottingham Midland station located on a bridge spanning all six platforms. Those with a longer memory will recall that there was once a bridge carrying the erstwhile Great Central main line across the station at the same spot. Who would ever have placed money on a new bridge being erected some 45 years later for a similar transport purpose.

The NET follows standard practice for tram control with stop/go signals being an illuminated horizontal or vertical white bar - also a diagonal bar to indicate a route divergence - with most points being ‘spring’ operated except for six at key junctions which are motor-controlled with locks. ‘Drive on sight’ is the normal routine, the signals being used at road intersections in conjunction with normal traffic lights and at places where the routes diverge. The pattern of service is from Clifton South to Phoenix Park and Toton Lane to Hucknall, thus integrating the new extensions with the original lines to the north.

A seven-minute service operates on all lines during the morning and evening peaks, with 10 minute frequency during the daytime and 15 minutes in the early morning and late evening.

The extensions involved laying 17.5km of new track and the purchase of 22 new trams, making 37 in total.

The entire network expects to see 20 million passenger journeys each year, 55,000 of these being regular commuters.

Controlling the network The main depot is at Wilkinson Street, north of the city, where trams are cleaned and maintained, and also where the main control room is sited. Most desks in the latter are multi-functional with the operators’ screens being able to access more than one facility.

Trams are equipped with GPS positioning, so the location of every tram in service can readily be seen. A red/green light system on the illuminated route diagram indicates whether a tram is late or running early so that operators can take whatever action is necessary to get back to the scheduled timetable. It has to be remembered that, with the various road junctions and street running sections, there are many occasions when disruption can occur. A video wall provides the controllers with a constant picture of the actual minute-by-minute operation.

A CCTV viewing suite has also been provided at Clifton Park and Ride that can view the CCTV network, and the security officer is able to take control of the cameras from this location. Inside Out Group has also been successful in obtaining the security contract with Nottingham Trams Limited and provides the security services at this site.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

67

Viewing the operation Constant video surveillance is a necessary part of any modern tram network and Nottingham is no different. For the extension lines, a contract was awarded to Inside Out Group, a local firm that has come to specialise in CCTV monitoring and control. The company’s origin was described in issue 116 (June 2014), the earlier focus being on time-lapse photography which included a record of the new tram bridge being slid into position across the main railway station. The company was revisited recently to learn of the design and implementation of the new CCTV network.

The main contractor for the tram extensions has been Vinci Construction, the civil engineering division of Taylor Woodrow. In partnership, Alstom was engaged to provide the power supply, the overhead line system and the telecommunications network. Inside Out Group had to establish a close working relationship with both these organisations since CCTV provision had to fit in with both building construction and power requirements.

The technical design of the CCTV system is based on IP-specification cameras borne upon transmission bandwidth within the fibre optic cable network provided by Alstom. The cable and transmission network is designed in ring formation that allows full redundancy with automatic re-routing of traffic should a cable

get cut. A dedicated four-fibre link is run to each camera from the transmission break out points, ranging from between 5 and 550 metres in length dependant on the distance involved, this being part of the Inside Out Group contract.

Typically there are two cameras for each tram stop but more are provided at the main interchanges such as the railway station and at the terminal stations.

The NET extension project is very much geared to ‘park and ride’ encouragement so big car parks have been provided at both Clifton and Toton, with surveillance of these areas being an important requirement. The cameras generally monitor the ticket vending machines and the passenger help points. All have pan, tilt

and zoom capability and, should a help point be activated, the associated camera picture will immediately be shown on a control room monitor so that anything untoward can be viewed. Cameras are generally mounted on poles, high enough to be out of reach of vandals and graffiti daubers. Power comes from the station supply, which was part of the Alstom contract. The total number of cameras on the extension lines is 141.

At Wilkinson Street, there are 12 screens in the video wall, eight associated with the two extension lines and four from the original network. Each picture can be called up on the controller’s desk screen from where the camera can be remotely adjusted to zoom in on any

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

incident. The video screens normally show the busy areas of the network such as the city centre and the railway station.

Each camera has an individual IP address to the v4 standard but this might need to be changed to the incoming v6 standard in due course. The zoom capability of the cameras is 22 X optical with digital zoom on top of that if required, the average data rate to each camera being 3.5Mbit/sec. At Clifton, the viewing suite has two large screens, each capable of showing multiple images but able to zoom in on any particular site.

There is continuous recording of all images from every camera with a date and time marker to enable any postincident analysis to be carried out relatively quickly. The recording capability is huge, with nearly 600 terabytes being needed to meet the 30 day requirement. This requires 14 recorders, each of which can handle up to 250Mbit/sec, which allows for full redundancy and load balancing should a recorder go faulty. The rate of recording for all cameras is full HD 1080 pixels at 25 frames per second every day of the year.

Inside Out Group is not a manufacturer of CCTV equipment and was thus free to select the most appropriate cameras and monitors for the NET requirement. The chosen supplier has been Pelco, a Californian-based company and part of the Schneider Electric Group, with Pro-Vision of Shrewsbury as their UK distributor. These products have more capacity with a better specification and reliability record when compared to others and are proving satisfactory in service.

The future Inside Out Group is the first to admit that being a local firm was a factor in them being selected as the CCTV contractor. The nearness of its main premises meant a ready base being available for the storage of piece parts, tools and test equipment with experienced engineers immediately available to resolve any technical issues. It also enabled a close relationship with other contractors to be established. The overall NET extension project had

a number of delays (the opening was some eight months later than planned) and, with the CCTV having to be one of the last elements to be installed, having the flexibility that a local participant offered counted for a lot.

The original NET lines will shortly have their CCTV monitoring equipment upgraded to the same technical specification as the extension and Inside Out Group is assisting in the design process. This will bring the total number of cameras to around 220. Maintenance of the system will be by specially-trained NET staff. Again, a local presence means that immediate second line assistance can be given if problems arise.

A case study will demonstrate to other customers the Inside Out Group’s capability to provide surveillance systems. It is not a large firm and knows that it must cut its cloth accordingly. Other metro networks and rail depot security are seen as its natural expansion with the knowledge that it will entail providing a facility base at wherever new business is won.

Thanks to Donna Bickley, managing director, and Simon Glover, chief technical manager, for their assistance in preparing this article.

70

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Managing

BOB WRIGHT

Chelsea C

remorne Bridge, known as Chelsea Bridge in rail circles, was constructed in 1863 and today carries around 18 trains per hour over the River Thames - that’s passenger services operated by TfL and Southern as well as freight. The bridge is believed to be the second oldest of its type in the world and is one of the earliest railway bridges crossing the Thames surviving in its original form.

The 3D model constructed using the survey data.

Known as the ‘Backbone’, this data rich 3D CAD model provided locational reference for the BIMXtra management of all later survey and repair activities.

Chelsea Bridge is a Grade 2* listed structure comprising five spans, each approximately 45 metres long. The spans are slightly skewed and constructed from three pairs of wrought iron lattice girders with lateral and spandrel bracing. Four mass-filled stone piers support the bridge spans across the river bearing on firm London Clay below the river bed.

Masonry arch viaducts carry approaching rail traffic and these would have been regularly flooded by the Thames before the construction of Chelsea Embankment.

However, they are now used as storage units and were also the site team’s office and welfare facilities.

Planned refurbishment 150 years of rail traffic and the harsh riverine environment had taken its toll on the wrought iron structure and, in 2012, Network Rail awarded the scheme to Kier to repair, strengthen and apply a protective coating system to the bridge, to extend its life by a further 25 years.

The nature of the work was not expected to be unusual, as the repair and strengthening of wrought iron and lattice structures, as well as working on bridges over water, are all fairly standard in the rail industry.

However, what was unusual was the sheer volume of components making up the bridge’s superstructure.

Kier’s team had to undertake a detailed condition survey of its 9,000 structural elements and their connections to accurately identify and locate any defects. This information would then be used to produce detailed, timely and practical repair solutions while maintaining an assurance process throughout. Project manager Colin

Barnes realised that managing all that data could well be as challenging as the management role of nearby José Mourinho.

Colin had used 4D visualisation techniques in the roof and facades project at Kings Cross and, at an internal BIMXtra presentation, became enthusiastic about the possibilities of using the technology to simplify data management on Chelsea Bridge. BIMXtra is a collaborative workspace where consolidated project information can be viewed, edited and compiled into intelligent revision controlled information.

His project team collaborated with Clearbox, a former Kier company that was spun off in 2013, to develop the BIMXtra system to carry out the recording of defects, detail the associated repairs and record the completed works in one elegant, integrated solution. Clearbox tailored the application to the project’s specific requirements and further streamlined workflows as the project progressed.

The system delivered significant time, cost and programme savings when compared to traditional paperbased methods, and ensured that the site team could maintain a consistent high level of quality assurance.

Benefits of new technology Whilst the BIMXtra system was developed to establish a benchmark, spans 1 and 2 were surveyed using traditional paper-based methods. Working from the scaffolded structure, two engineers took three weeks to record data and enter this manually into the database. Span 3 used both methods for comparison, with the new BIMXtra method taking two engineers just four days. Thereafter this became the sole methodology. Over the whole

Rail Engineer • November 2015 bridge, the system achieved savings of £864,000 and 21 programme days, providing greatly increased assurance and resulting in further savings in document management.

In addition to the survey cost and time savings, the use of BIMXtra also resulted in a faster turnaround on design solutions and technical clarifications. Assurance was much improved with clear, consistent repair details reducing the risk of non-conformance while human error was virtually eliminated with no re-work required.

The availability of centralised, accurate and robust data, shared across the two organisations, allowed the team to conduct real-time desktop reviews and audits of progress and assurance. This was especially valuable given the challenging logistics for managers visiting every part of the structure.

So what did BIMXtra add to this project? Colin described it as “a 3D model of the bridge, enabling every one of its 9,000 components, its condition, designs of any repairs, progress and assurance, all to be simply and accurately identified, recorded and shared by our engineers using iPads”.

At the start of the contract, the team had available the original but unreliable construction drawings and a 2D survey carried out by rope-access engineers back in 2000. From this, the 3D model known as the ‘Backbone’ was constructed, a data rich 3D CAD model that provided locational reference for later survey and repair activities.

Details were recorded for every element, ranging from whole girders to small brackets.

The engineers had real-time access to the model from the bridge, using Wi-Fi or 3G-linked iPads. They took photographs of every element, pinned to the relevant

location on their screen. The engineer then selected, from a standard list, the details of any observed defects such as cracks, reduced sections or corrosion, failed or missing bolts or rivets, and added text to further describe specific problems.

The data entered by the engineer on site was instantly synchronised back to the BIMXtra database and used to automatically generate a survey sheet, allowing the designer to promptly produce a work sheet including repair instructions, standard repair details and sketches if necessary.

Each defect repair proposal was colour coded to aid the authorisers’ understanding. Red - critical to stability and structural integrity, requiring individual designs, Amber standard minor repairs such as missing bolts, knife-edging

71

The successful repair of around 10,000 defects has ensured that this 150 yearold iconic structure is now in excellent condition and ready for another 25 years of intensive use.

Kier is a leading property, residential, construction and services group, which invests in, builds, maintains and renews the places where we live, work and play.

With a network of 88 UK offices, we have the technical expertise to undertake some of the most significant construction, civil engineering and service contracts anywhere in the country.

Our strengths in the rail sector include: • In-house multi-disciplinary design team • Civils construction and design & build • Signalling design, installation and test of mechanical, RRI and SSI • Major projects including Crossrail, King’s Cross, HS2, Solum, National Footbridge Level Crossing Replacement Framework, W&W Renewals CP5 Framework, Type C Signalling Framework • BIM Xtra

www.kier.co.uk

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

An encapsulated suspended scaffold access deck above the River Thames provided the sole access for survey, repair and painting works, reached from a moored barge at mid-stream.

Grit blasting and priming of the superstructure enabled engineers to clearly identify and record the various defects to every structural member.

and rust-jacking of members, and Green - no affect for 25 years life, ‘nice to have’ repairs. Typically there were 1,700 Red/Amber and 500 Green for each span.

Documentation was electronically signed off by the surveyor and designer, authorised by Kier’s managers and finally by Network Rail’s project manager. The system’s electronic workflow and designated authority levels ensured that this governance was both timely and accurate. Every stage and every change was datestamped and could be accessed by Network Rail and Kier managers using their iPads or PCs. As works were completed, engineers used their iPad to verify each task’s completion against its whole history - its survey, location, defects and repair details. Photographs of the completed repairs were added to the record together with any relevant notes. As tasks were signed off on the structure, the progress records were instantly updated.

The status of each task was available for progress review using colour coded images, complementing formal reporting.

The repairs Whilst the use of BIMXtra simplified the challenge of managing the huge volumes of data, the physical works to refurbish Chelsea Bridge were equally challenging for Colin’s team, given its location.

A system access deck was designed and installed to the existing external bridge beams. This provided a safe working area without compromising the strength of the structure and allowed normal train services to continue.

Installation of this was carried out from barges and pontoons on the tidal River Thames.

It was at this stage the engineers’ scaffold-based inspection found that the anticipated 100 defects per span was a significant underestimate as around 2,000 per span were identified. As a result, the cost of the works increased, although Network Rail now has an iconic structure in excellent condition, ready to stand up to the next 25 years of intensive use.

As well as developing large scale applications, the project team also developed bespoke small-scale applications to manage the works packages. One of the key structural concerns identified whilst developing the design was the insertion of additional shear bolt capacity in connection between the top flange and the deck troughing. The design stipulated a strict minimum number of bolts which had to be achieved in each zone and this was reflected in defect repair proposals.

The challenging programme, and the difficulties of installing the bolts in the existing structure, required a thorough approach to the monitoring, inspection and compliance of this aspect. The BIMXtra process included a tracker on the number of bolts installed against the design specification - where the design was achieved, and where additional bolts would be required to meet the design.

Managing a winning team Summing up the successful completion of the project in September 2015, Colin told Rail Engineer that the high quality, transparent and detailed BIMXtra surveys had been of mutual benefit to both Kier and its subcontractors.

They had also provided Network Rail with the most detailed condition survey of the structure that has ever existed.

He added that the Chelsea Bridge project has been the pinnacle of his long career. In common with José down the road, Colin believes that he found the winning formula for success.

@StobartRailLtd

NATIONAL LEVEL CROSSING RISK REDUCTION PROGRAMME Stobart Rail were contracted by Kier Construction to

complete the civils work at the new footbridge at Haydon

Bridge in Northumbria. The old level crossing was removed

in accordance with the National Level Crossing Reduction Programme.

Project Overview As part of the National Level Crossing Risk Reduction Programme the level crossing at Haydon Bridge was removed and replaced with a new footbridge to improve safety.

Stobart Rail completed all the civils work associated with the installation of the new steel footbridge.

Delays and variations in the programme resulted in Stobart Rail working closely with Kier to ensure the works were delivered in time for the bridge installation.

Stobart Rail staff demonstrated exceptional flexibility.

The civils work included the installation of Piling Matt, footbridge works, fencing, concreting and excavation works.

Adam Payne, site manager from Kier made the following comments: “Stobart Rail completed the civils works associated with footbridge installation at Haydon Bridge. The works were completed successfully to a good standard with no accidents or major safety concerns to raise. The on-site project team were enthusiastic and helpful throughout.”

The project delivery strategy was developed utilising in-house expertise, successfully completed, with its objectives delivered safely and on time and within budget.

This project was completed between June – August 2015.

Craig Jackson Project Manager e. craig.jackson@stobartrail.com Andrew Sumner Business Development and Stakeholder Manager e. andrew.sumner@stobartrail.com Dave Richardson Plant Manager e. david.richardson@stobartrail.com Gary Newton Contracts and Estimating Manager e. gary.newton@stobartrail.com Stobart Rail Head Office t. 01228 882 300

stobartrail.com

74

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Room for

expansion NIGEL WORDSWORTH

H

owever you measure it, Australia is huge. A vast island continent separating the Pacific and Indian oceans, it is the world’s sixth largest country by total area. Comprising the mainland, Tasmania and a number of smaller islands, it has a population of only 23.6 million, slightly more than Madagascar and slightly less than Yemen, ranking it 51st in the world.

The country consists of several major urban areas, all of them on the coast.

The five largest, Sydney (New South Wales - 4.7 million), Melbourne (Victoria - 4.2 million), Brisbane (Queensland 2.2 million), Perth (Western Australia - 1.9 million) and Adelaide (South Australia - 1.3 million) are home to over 60% of the nation’s population between them. Unsurprisingly in a country this size, there’s a lot of empty space in between.

Australia has six states, the five mentioned above plus Tasmania, and two territories - the Australian Capital Territory (Canberra is the nation’s capital and the territory has a total population of 385,000) and the vast Northern Territory (520,902 square miles yet with a population

of only 233,300, most of whom live along the Stuart Highway that connects the capital, Darwin, with Alice Springs and thence down into South Australia).

In terms of railways, this geography has given rise to three distinct types.

Each major conurbation has a metro network, built and funded by the state government. These are a mish-mash of gauges and include conventional metro, underground and tram systems.

There are some inter-city trains, though the distances involved are so huge that many people fly. All of these services are standard gauge.

So too are the heavy haul freightonly railways that bring bulk materials from the many mines down to the coast. These tend to be privately

owned by the mining companies concerned.

An outline of the whole Australian network can be found in issue 85 (November 2011).

As Australia, with the world’s 51st largest population, has the 12th largest economy, it is a comparatively rich nation. So it can afford to develop its rail networks to take account of its growing population. Much has changed since that 2011 review.

Queensland The single rail bridge over the Brisbane River forms a natural bottleneck. In 2007, an Inner City Rail Capacity Study said that a new bridge would be needed by 2016 because the Merivale Rail Bridge would no longer be able to cope. Several changes of government and almost an equal number of plans later, nothing has been built although the Cross River Project is under development.

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76

Rail Engineer • November 2015

The new Bombardier NGR train for Queensland.

However, 75 new six-car trains have been ordered from the Bombardier NGR consortium, comprising Bombardier Transportation, John Laing, ITOCHU Corporation and Uberior, which recently announced its unified brand as Qtectic. The first train is scheduled for delivery in late 2015 and the contract incudes construction of a purpose-built maintenance centre to maintain the new trains for the next 30 years.

The Gold Coast Light Rail system commenced operations in July 2014 between Gold Coast University Hospital and Broadbeach. Stage 2 of this project will take the line north to Helensvale, an extension which has to be in service by the time of the Commonwealth Games in April 2018. It is being delivered by GoldLinQ, a consortium of McConnell Dowell Constructors, Bombardier Transportation Australia and KDR Gold Coast.

New South Wales Sydney Metro, announced in June 2014, will extend the North West Rail Link and connect directly with the Central Business District (CBD), delivering a new rapid transit line and provide a second harbour crossing through the CBD and on to Bankstown via Sydney’s Inner West.

The scheme will include three new CBD underground stations and five new above ground stations, allowing 60 per cent more trains in the peak across the entire rail network and catering for an extra 100,000 people per hour.

New construction falls into three geographical areas. A three kilometre section of new tracks between Chatswood and the St Leonards area forms the northern corridor works; the Sydney Harbour rapid transit crossing will be approximately 12.5km of twin tunnels from northern

Sydney to the Sydenham area, including the crossing beneath Sydney Harbour and a new underground CBD rapid transit line; and the western extension to Bankstown will upgrade and convert the existing 13.5km rail line from Sydenham Station to Bankstown Station to metro line.

As a result of these works, Sydney Metro will have two component parts: »» Sydney Metro Northwest formerly the North West Rail Link (NWRL) - a 36-kilometre link from Rouse Hill to Chatswood, expected to open in 2019; »» Sydney Metro City and Southwest - formerly Sydney Rapid Transit (SRT) - a 30-kilometre rail project from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour, through the CBD and west to Bankstown, expected to open in 2024.

In conjunction with the Sydney Metro developments, the Western Sydney Rail Upgrade Programme will deliver benefits for train customers across all of Sydney by fixing the fundamental issues faced by the city’s busiest train line, the T1 Western Line.

This work includes new traction power supply systems, new high speed rail turnouts, and better train stabling and maintenance systems.

Specifically, the project will: »» Introduce Automatic Trains Operations (ATO) between Parramatta and North Sydney; »» Introduce Automatic Train Control (ATCS) signalling between Penrith and the city, replacing line-side rail signals with in-cab signalling; »» Upgrade rail tracks at pinch points; »» Reduce Sydney’s biggest rail bottleneck near Redfern;

»» Upgrade the current traction power supply and signalling systems.

Alstom was awarded the $400 million contract to deliver the automated trainsets and signalling for Sydney Metro North West. Alstom will supply 22 Metropolis trainsets as well as the Urbalis 400 communicationsbased train control (CBTC) for the network, which is being delivered and operated by the consortium of MTR Corporation (Australia), John Holland, Leighton Contractors, UGL Rail Services and Plenary Group.

NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan The NSW Government has a strategy to address the challenges of Sydney’s transport system. When completed, the modernisation of the Inner West line and the construction of the CBD and South East line will form the new Sydney Light Rail network that will provide reliable, high capacity services running north from Central to Circular Quay along George Street, west to Pyrmont and Dulwich Hill, and south east through Surry Hills to Moore Park, Randwick and Kingsford.

The extension of the Inner West Line was opened to the public in March 2014, while major construction of the next phase is just starting. Stage 4 will involve feasibility investigations into possible extensions and expansion to meet demand as well as supporting potential light rail schemes.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

PHOTO: QR NATIONAL

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Installing points at Dalrymple Bay coal terminal.

Another development is the new CBD and South East light rail network. This will improve travel times throughout Sydney with the 12km light rail line extending from Circular Quay along George Street to Central Station and Moore Park, then to Kingsford via Anzac Parade and Randwick via Alison Road and High Street.

The winning bidder was announced in October 2014 as the ALTRAC consortium of Transdev, Accion Infrastructure Australia, Alstom Transport Australia and Capella Capital. The estimated $2.1 billion contract will cover the design, construction, services relocations, operation, maintenance and finance of the new network.

Laing O’Rourke Constructions started preparatory work soon after the contract was let, and the line is expected to start operating at the beginning of 2019. Key features of the project include the construction of 20 new stops, interchanges at major rail stations and with ferry and bus services, a stabling facility in Randwick and a maintenance depot in Rozelle.

The network will have the capability to carry up to 9,000 passengers per hour in each direction with services every two to three minutes during peak periods in the CBD and every five to six minutes between Moore Park and the Randwick and Kingsford branches.

In a further development, the Western Sydney Light Rail Network is a proposed light rail project that will

connect Parramatta with Macquarie Park and Castle Hill. This will require the construction of 30km of track and the purchase of 21 trains to operate a 10-minute service frequency.

Feasibility studies are ongoing.

A further light rail programme is being developed for Newcastle, 100 miles north-east of Sydney. The scheme preserves rail access to the historic heart of Newcastle, improves connectivity between the city and the foreshore with two new road and additional pedestrian crossings, and enables longer-term tram and tramtrain extensions in Newcastle and the Lower Hunter.

With regards to freight, a partially constructed scheme from the 1980s is likely to be completed. This is the line between Maldon in the Southern Highlands and Dombarton near Port Kembla. The work already completed includes 35km of earthworks such as major cuttings and embankments and the installation of ballast. A bridge and tunnel portals were also partially built.

The Maldon to Dombarton line would provide additional rail freight capacity directly in and out of Port Kembla and help cater for the forecasted doubling of freight movements in NSW over the next 20 years.

Completion of this line will include constructing, at four kilometres, one of the longest freight tunnels in Australia along with a 250-metre bridge over the Cordeaux River and another of 190 metres over the Nepean River. With a crossing

underneath the Hume Highway and the building of three new road overbridges, new track will be installed for the entire line along with new signalling systems, power supplies, fencing and other ancillary infrastructure. Transport for NSW engaged Parsons Brinckerhoff to complete the pre-construction technical design work.

Rolling stock also features in plans for the state. In May 2014, the NSW Government announced an investment of $2.8 billion to replace the intercity fleet with around 65 new trains (520 carriages) for NSW TrainLink services. Four bidders have been shortlisted to tender for the supply and maintenance of NSW’s next intercity train fleet. These are Alstom Transport Australia, DownerCNRCRC Consortium (Downer EDI Rail and CNR Changchun), Stadler Bussnang and UGL/MEA/CSR Consortium (UGL Rail Services, Mitsubishi Electric Australia and CSR Corporation). The contract is expected to be awarded in 2016 with the first trains entering service three years later.

In addition to all this, the New South Wales Government is implementing a Transport Access Programme (very similar to the UK’s Access For All scheme) to ensure that stations are accessible to all users and have good lighting, signage and help points.

Victoria A $2 billion plan for 83 new trams and trains across Victoria’s light rail, metro and regional train network includes, in the 2015/16 budget: »» 37 new high capacity metro trains ($1.3 billion); »» 20 new E-Class trams ($274 million); »» 21 new VLocity carriages ($257 million); »» 5 new X’Trapolis trains ($90 million); »» Maintenance and refurbishment to extend the life of the current Comeng train fleet ($75 million); »» Extending the life of the B-Class Tram fleet ($21 million).

Melbourne Metro Rail has become a priority project and involves the development of a nine-kilometre rail tunnel under Melbourne’s CBD, including five new underground stations to be located at North Melbourne, Parkville, CBD North,

Rail Engineer • November 2015

PHOTO: BOMBARDIER

CBD South, and Domain. Construction of the link will unblock the City Loop and allow an additional 19 train services to operate across the network during the peak, which is the equivalent of 20,000 extra passengers. $300 million has been committed to complete the planning, design and early works, and the Aurecon/ Jacobs/Mott MacDonald (AJM) Joint Venture was appointed as the technical, planning and engagement advisor for the Melbourne Metro Rail Project in April 2015.

There are currently 1,800 level crossings across Victoria, the most in Australia, including 170 on Melbourne’s electrified suburban rail network. Many of Melbourne’s busiest train lines cannot add more services during peak periods because to do so would mean boom gates at busy level crossings would stay down for most of the hour, causing traffic gridlock. Funding for the Level Crossing Removal Programme will be sourced from the Victorian Transport Building Fund (VTBF) and is estimated to cost around $5 billion over eight years.

The Victoria state government also has plans to extend the existing South Morang railway line to Mernda. While many aspects of the project are still to be finalised, it is likely to include eight kilometres of new duplicated track from South Morang to Mernda, full grade separations with no new level crossings, a new station at Mernda and provision for additional future stations and one additional station between Mernda and South Morang. The project is estimated to cost between $400 and $600 million.

The Murray Basin Rail Project involves standardising 1,133 kilometres of freight rail, allowing freight trains from the North West of Victoria greater access to the Ports of Geelong, Melbourne and Portland. Larger trains will be able to carry more on each journey, thereby increasing the capacity

and reliability of the line. $220 million in state funding has been announced towards a $416 million package of railway gauge standardisation and upgrading works in north-western Victoria.

The Victorian Government is investing $100 million to revitalise Flinders Street Station by 2019. Funding will be used to undertake urgent heritage restoration works and upgrade station platforms, entrances, toilets and information displays.

Western Australia Funding has been approved and committed to the Forrestfield - Airport link to improve connections to and from Perth Airport, the eastern suburbs and regional centres. The 8.5km rail link will spur to the East off the existing Midland line just past Bayswater station and will be underground for 8km in twin-bored tunnels. The shortlisted three consortia for the contract to build the new $2 billion line are JHL JV (John Holland and Leighton Contractors), SI-NRW JV (Salini Impregilo and NRW) and Forrestfield Connect (ACCIONA Infrastructure, BAM International and Ferrovial Agroman). The Government expects to award the design and construct contract in mid-2016 with completion aimed at 2020.

The new Perth Stadium project will incorporate a $358 million integrated train, bus and pedestrian approach. This will support a cultural shift of reliance on cars and move, within an hour of an event finishing, up to 50,000 people or 83 per cent of a capacity crowd. This includes 28,000 people via the newly developed Stadium station. Laing O’Rourke and AECOM were selected to build the infrastructure, which must be completed by 1 June 2017 in time for the opening events at the new stadium.

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AUSTRALIAN PROJECTS QUICK OVERVIEW QUEENSLAND COMMITTED FUNDING

• Queensland Rail’s Network Infrastructure Program: $569.4 million • New Generation Rolling stock Project and maintenance facility: $304.6 million • Moreton Bay Rail Link: $136.8 million VICTORIA COMMITTED FUNDING

• Melbourne Metro: $1.5 billion committed in 2015/2016 budget • $2 billion plan to deliver 83 new trams and trains • Cranbourne Pakenham Rail Upgrade: $2-2.5 billion project delivered by a consortium of MTR, John Holland and UGL Rail • Flinders Street Station upgrade: $100 million New South Wales UNDER CONSTRUCTION

• Sydney Metro - Northwest section: $7.5 to $8.5 billion • Sydney Light Rail Network: $1.6 billion CBD and South East light rail network COMMITTED FUNDING

• Newcastle Light Rail: $340 million funding secured via Port of Newcastle lease • Western Sydney Light Rail Network: $10 million feasibility study with an additional $400 million secured • Sydney Metro City & Southwest: $84 million for detailed planning works

Delivery of a new A-City Class 4000 Adelaide Metro train.

Western Australia COMMITTED FUNDING

• Stadium Rail Project: $358 million • Forrestfield - Airport Link: $2.2 billion with construction expected 2016 Australian Capital territory COMMITTED FUNDING

• Capital Metro Light Rail: $51.8 million Territory Various States COMMITTED FUNDING

• Inland Rail: $300 million for pre-construction works for $4.7 billion freight line

Rail Engineer • November 2015

PHOTO: ACIL TASMAN, AURECON, HALCROW, PARSNONS BRINCKERHOFF, PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS

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Australia Capital Territory

South Australia

Capital Metro is the proposed light rail network that would link Canberra Airport to Parliament House through a 12km route from the city centre to the developing suburbs of Gungahlin in the north. In March 2014, the Capital Metro Agency appointed a technical advisory consortium led by Arup and including HASSELL and Parsons Brinckerhoff together with local specialists.

The plan is to start building the light rail system in 2016 by way of an availability-based public private partnership (PPP). The Territory will retain patronage risk associated with the project. The PPP will be delivered under a contractual arrangement that comprises design, construction, light rail vehicle supply, operations, maintenance and finance. The concession period is expected to extend for 23 to 24 years, including a 20 year operations and maintenance period.

Plans are being drawn up for a new tram network in Adelaide. Although much work remains to be done, the proposed AdeLink network includes: »» CityLink - CBD tram loop running at regular intervals along Morphett Street, Sturt Street, Halifax Street and Frome Street, connecting to other tram lines and train stations; »» ProspectLink - from the city to Blair Athol via Prospect Road; »» PortLink - from the city to Outer Harbour, Port Adelaide, Semaphore and Grange, replacing the existing diesel train, and a new line to West Lakes and Semaphore; »» WestLink - to Henley Square via Henley Beach Road with a branch line to Adelaide Airport; »» EastLink - to the University of South Australia’s Magill Campus via The Parade; »» UnleyLink - to Mitcham via Unley and Belair Roads.

Development of the PortLink is likely to be the first stage, with the Outer Harbour rail line converted to light rail standards along with new routes to Semaphore and West Lakes. The CityLink loop around the city centre is also planned in the short to medium term.

On the main rail network, Adelaide’s trains have historically all been diesel-powered. A programme of electrification is part of the State Government’s ongoing investment in public transport. The Seaford Line was the first line to be electrified, opening to passenger services on 23 February 2014. In May 2014 the Tonsley line was electrified and sections of the Belair Line have also been electrified while 22 A-City Class 4000 three-car sets have been delivered by Bombardier Transportation.

The State Government has committed $152.5 million to electrify the Gawler line. Early works are being undertaken, with work recommencing in 2017-18, initially from Adelaide to Salisbury. These early works include commencement of utility service relocation works, manufacture of nearly 500 masts, installation of nearly 300 masts and footings and rail track modification works as necessary for electrification. Laing O’Rourke was awarded the $10.2m project development contract for electrification major works in February 2011.

Freight The Australian Federal Coalition Government has commissioned the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to design and construct an inland rail line west of the Great Dividing Range linking Melbourne through Regional New South Wales to Brisbane - known as the Inland Rail project.

The route will be approximately 1,730km and would aim to provide a competitive alternative to road freight between Melbourne and Victoria. Inland Rail will utilise 41% of existing interstate rail line through Victoria and southern NSW, although it will require approximately 400km of track upgrades, predominately in NSW, and an additional 600km of new track through northern NSW and south-east Queensland, requiring an estimated $4-5 billion to complete.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

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PHOTO: QUEENSLAND RAIL

Queensland Rail dieselpowered tilt train.

PHOTO: QR NATIONAL

The line will be much straighter than the existing route via Sydney, allowing 1,800-metre long trains, with an axle load of 21 tonnes and carrying double-stacked containers (clearance 7.2 metres) to run at speeds of 115km/h (70 mph). The total travel time of 20 hours and 30 minutes will be seven hours shorter than the existing route.

Three sections of the railway have been designated as priority projects by the Inland Rail Implementation Group, which will bring immediate productivity or reliability benefits to the corridor: »» Parkes to Narromine will require 106km of existing track upgrades.

Preliminary environmental, cultural heritage, flooding and geotechnical investigations are underway.

»» Narrabri to North Star - 183km of existing track upgrades and potentially 3km of new track.

Once again, the preliminary environmental, cultural heritage, flooding and geotechnical investigations are being undertaken within the ARTC corridor. »» Rosewood to Kagaru / Gowrie to Grandchester. These sections need 72km of new dual gauge track and largely follow the Southern Freight Rail Corridor, connecting the Queensland network with the Interstate Network. The five-kilometre long Toowoomba Range tunnel and a shorter, 500 metre tunnel near Grandchester form part of this route.

This article draws heavily on the UK Trade & Investment ‘Rail Industry Australia’ report prepared by Leah Gartner and Ayden Darmenia. For more information on doing business in Australia, contact leah.gartner@ mobile.ukti.gov.uk or ayden.darmenia@ mobile.ukti.gov.uk.

Through UKTI, the British government is taking its Northern Powerhouse campaign on the rode. Part of this international trade tour will focus on opportunities for the North’s rail industry overseas. First stop - AusRAIL. AusRAIL, held at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre between 24-26 November, is the largest rail event in Australasia, regularly attracting around 450 exhibitors and 7,000 visitors. The event is supported by the Australian Railway Association (ARA), Institution of Railway Signalling Engineers (IRSE), Railway Technical Society Australasia (RTSA) and the Rail Track Association Australia (RTAA).

QR National coal train (Dawson Mine).

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

Developing and improving the workforce

T

he National Training Academy for Rail (NTAR) opened recently in Northampton. Transport Minister Claire Perry MP (above) performed the ceremony, saying: “The opening of the National Training Academy for Rail is a major milestone towards delivering a network of transport infrastructure skills colleges and training academies, promised as part of our transport skills strategy.

“This new facility – and more like it – are just what the country needs to ensure we develop a workforce with the advanced skills required to build a transport network fit for the future.”

Purpose-built adjacent to Siemens’ Kings Heath traincare facility, the new training academy is 50% funded by Siemens and 50% by the Government.

In return, Siemens will use half of the estimated 20,000 training-days per year, with the balance being available to the industry at large.

The academy was established in response to a forecast skills shortage in traction and rolling stock of around 8,000 people over the next ten years.

It is estimated that an additional 4,900 technicians and engineers will be required by 2025 simply to keep pace with today’s need and a further 3,300 will be required as a result of future projects and technology. With around 4,000 more due to retire by 2023, the task is made greater still, especially given that over half the workforce will reach retirement age in the next fifteen years.

Impressive site Accessed via the security gate to Siemens’ Northampton depot at Kings Heath, the new NTAR building lies behind the depot itself. An impressive edifice, a sliding shutter door gives easy access to the main workshop on the right-hand end of the building while a conventional but good-looking glass door opens into a bright and airy reception area with a grand view of the main line into Northampton.

The main training areas are on the ground floor. The aforementioned workshop, actually named the Fowler Training Hall, is the largest space, and here students will be able to be taught and work on a ‘deconstructed train’. The major elements of a train have been separated out and are spaced around the shop. A bogie sits on a piece of track which spans an inspection pit so students can work on it form underneath, simulating real-life workshop practice.

A set of carriage doors sits in a frame. At the opening, academy director Simon Rennie commented that these were Siemens doors but that different manufacturers had different approaches to door technology.

He therefore appealed to colleagues from Hitachi and Alstom, who were in the room, to donate examples of their latest products. And he was only partly joking – the Academy has largely been set up with donated equipment from various sponsors.

Illustrating this, the workshop also has a complete CET (controlled-emission toilet) set-up. All the components normally hidden discretely under the floor are on display, as is the system for emptying and refilling the tanks. This system was provided by EVAC. HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) systems are important to passengers and are becoming increasingly more complex. So there was one, on a frame sitting in the middle of the floor, with a Panasonic Toughbook on top of it – mute testimony to the technology embedded in such equipment these days.

The Snap-On tool cabinets were impressive – there were at least four of them, fully kitted out with everything students may need. There is certainly no need to be short of a screwdriver in this workshop!

A Dellner coupler and a couple of Brecknell-Willis pantographs are also here on stands, and a driver simulator takes up part of the right-hand wall. This can be used to train drivers, and to give other students an appreciation of a driver’s job so they can appreciate what will happen to a train once it leaves their hands.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Specialist classrooms On either side of the corridor to the workshop lie the major classrooms, which are dedicated to specific aspects of railway engineering.

The Bell Digital Railway Suite is one of them. Here, AD Comms has developed a suite of core competencies required to support the evolution of the railway infrastructure towards a digitally enabled environment. All the major components of digital communications technology, whether normally found on the station, line-side or on-board, are here and NTAR even uses real Network Rail data for live Passenger Information Systems (PIS) – there is a GSM-R mast outside the building.

Many view the Collins VR Suite as the ultimate paperfree classroom. NTAR approached Milton Keynes-based interactive software specialists Pauley to transform traditional content into dynamic training courses which would be truly immersive, engaging and cutting-edge.

Pauley developed a wide range of interactive material to be delivered on a combination of screen-based devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets and 90inch touchscreens. Some courses create virtual reality environments using the Oculus Rift VR headset - a first for the UK rail industry.

Signalling is covered in the Fleming ERTMS Suite.

Equipment here will simulate full system ERTMS and will include the driver interface and a route through Reading. The equipment will be PC-based initially but will be updated in stages to include a driver’s console and on-board ETCS equipment.

Originally, the Tesla Suite was earmarked for the smaller components of rail electrification and overhead line equipment. However, this is now going to be installed outside so this space offers new opportunities as a driver training suite using touch-screen/interactive technology – the equipment that is currently in the workshop.

Upstairs, there is a large central multi-functional space with furniture designed in pods so that tutor groups of 6-12 and small meetings can take place and make effective use of the space, which can also be rearranged into a conference theatre for up to 125 attendees.

Three study and assessment rooms lead off this main space. Turing, Hawking and Dyson have smart boards to capture training sessions and the ability to stream content to mobile devices allows collaboration between other venues and locations with compatible equipment.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

What’s in a name?

Fowler Training Hall Sir Henry Fowler, born in Evesham, Worcestershire, in 1870, was appointed as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Midland Railway in 1909.

During WW1 he was director of production at the Ministry of Munitions and also assistant director general of aircraft production. He returned to the Midland and, after grouping in 1922, became deputy CME of the London Midland & Scottish Railway and then CME in 1925 until he retired in 1933.

Bell Digital Railway Suite Alexander Graham Bell, who was born in Edinburgh in 1847, is credited with inventing the first practical telephone as he was awarded the first US patent for one in 1876. This development actually derived from his work on hearing devices as a result of both his mother and wife being deaf.

Open for business

Collins VR Suite

Students are now starting their educations at NTAR. Courses are available on a wide range of topics covering induction, rail conversion and basic technical training, as well as teaching the specific skills that will enable trainees to undertake traction and rolling stock operational and technical roles.

In addition to pure training, NTAR will support employers and aid the removal of barriers to entry by offering a service to manage apprenticeship schemes. In short, it will source and manage courses from a network of colleges, enrolling apprentices, registering their accreditation and managing both their learner plans and Skills Funding Agency (SFA) contracts.

Professional development is also an important part of its offering, and NTAR will work with existing engineers to improve their skills, develop their knowledge and introduce them to new technology and techniques.

Simon Rennie, general manager of NTAR, said at the opening: ”Our ambition is to focus on transforming training in traction and rolling stock to genuinely contribute to tackling the skills gap in a way which both raises and creates standards, provides a fantastic learning environment, delivers innovation and, when put together, helps transform the perception of our industry to one where the breadth of technology and career opportunities are understood and developed.”

Developing a co-ordinated national network of transport infrastructure skills colleges and training academies is one of the key aims of the Government’s transport and infrastructure skills strategy. Crossrail chairman Terry Morgan was appointed earlier this year to develop the strategy, which will also set out how the Government will deliver on its ambition to create 30,000 apprenticeships in roads and rail over the next five years.

Archie Frederick Collins (1869, South Bend, Indiana, USA) was an early developer of wireless telegraphy and also a prolific author on a variety of technical subjects. After being involved in a scandal concerning fraudulent claims as to the readiness of his equipment for commercial implementation, Collins served a year in prison which ended his direct involvement in scientific research. However, his publications inspired many others to take up scientific careers. He was a member of both the Royal Aero Club and the Royal Astronomical Society.

Fleming ERTMS Suite Sir Alexander Fleming, another Scot born near Darvel, Ayrshire, in 1881, is best known as the discoverer of penicillin in September 1928. This happened almost by accident as he noticed that a dish of bacteria he was studying had become contaminated by a fungus which had killed the bacteria. Fleming was continually frustrated trying to commercialise his discovery, but WW2 gave this the impetus it needed and a team at Oxford finally succeeded in time for D-Day in 1944.

Tesla Suite Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 to a Serbian family is Smilijan, which at the time was Austrian but is in modern-day Croatia. He first became involved in telephone equipment while working for the Budapest Telephone Exchange and later transferred to Continental Edison in France, designing and making improvements to electrical equipment. In 1888 he patented an induction motor that ran on alternating current, a design he then sold to Westinghouse. Later, Tesla also became involved in X-ray experiments and in electrical and radio transmission, including demonstrating a radio-controlled boat at Madison Square Garden in 1896.

Turing, Hawking and Dyson study rooms Alan Turing, born in Maida Vale, London in 1912, was a pioneering computer scientist who developed code-breaking equipment during WW2. His ‘bombe’ was an electromechanical machine that helped break the German Enigma codes.

Stephen Hawking, born in Oxford in 1942, is a well-known physicist and cosmologist. His work on black holes and gravitational singularities, his views on the universe and artificial intelligence, as well as his fight against motor neurone disease, have made him both popular and respected.

James Dyson (Cromer, Norfolk, 1947) is the inventor of the dual-cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner and, as such, the darling of many households.

More recently he has turned his attention to hand driers. He also set up the James Dyson Foundation in 2002 to support design and engineering education.

ices

operational and technical roles.

We will help your people develop their capability with respect to a particular fleet, a particular role within a depot – and with expertise in a range of ‘real’ component parts.

This training will typically take the form of short/medium form courses designed to take skilled intake from other engineering sectors (at Level 3 and 4) and equip them to be job-ready as soon and as effectively as possible.

NTAR will support employers and aid the Overview removal of barriers to entry by offering a service to manage apprenticeship schemes. In short, To deliver the railway to which Britain now aspires, o we will:

that will act as a flagship for UK engineering experti

• Source the courses a network andfrom support economic growth, requires not only exc of colleges engineers but also world-class management. Quite s

• Manage those colleges we need leaders, managers and supervisors who are • Enrol the learners of delivering results under ever greater pressure.

• Register the accreditation

NTARplans is working with a number of partners to provid • Maintain the learner

unique suite of management and leadership develop • Manage the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) programmes and qualifications, tailored to the speci contract.

of rail employers. The objective is to ensure that tho

Enhanced apprenticeship lead ourmodules industry are able to access, develop and refi

skills they need to deliver improved performance an

We have also constructed enhanced technical long term sustainable business. and leadership modules to form part of the apprenticeship schemes themselves, to enhance the quality of existing apprenticeships.

Alignment with new Trailblazer standards NTAR is attuned to the development of the new ‘Trailblazer’ standards; redefining what it means to be a Rail Engineering apprentice. Our apprenticeship services will evolve in order to respond to the new standards once they go live in 2016/17.

Innovating and inspiring your workforce Contents

15 © NTAR 2015

What is NTAR?

6

Our Customers

8

Our Partners

9

Courses and Services

12

Our Qualifications

18

Technical Training Courses

20

Apprenticeships

78

Professional Skills Development

90

CPD Modules - IMechE

92

CPD Modules - IRO

100

CPD Modules - IRR

114

Professional Skills Development - Other Courses

120

The Digital Railway - ERTMS

126

The Digital Railway - Advanced Telecoms

136

Leadership and Management

156

Contact us

172

13 © NTAR 2015

© NTAR 2015

Fundamentals of Systems Engineering for Rail for Industry Leaders Learning Objective and Course Overview This course will provide an overview of why systems thinking and systems engineering is important for all leadership roles in the rail industry. This will be achieved by showing examples from rail and other sectors of complex systems and how they interrelate to deliver the industry’s product/s.

Qualification Successful completion of all the elements of a module will allow its accreditation towards a postgraduate qualification in railway leadership once this has been put in place.

Location Northampton or University of Birmingham

Introductory Vehicle Technicals (for non-technical staff) Learning Objective and Course Overview The course is designed for new employees who have recently joined the rail industry.

It will introduce candidates to the common and differing features of the vehicles in service across the industry and the main components of the local class of vehicle.

Delegates will be tested on their knowledge at the end of the course.

Qualification Successful completion of this course, together with four others from those at the same level, will qualify the candidate for the NTAR Award in Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance.

Location Northampton

3 Days

10 Days

Dates 17-19 Nov, 6-10 Dec

Dates 30 Nov, 11 Dec

Attendees 12

Attendees 8

Cost £1,000

Cost £2,500

© NTAR 2015

Bogie Maintenance

EVAC Toilets

Learning Objective and Course Overview A course covering the maintenance and principles of operation of the bogie.

Learning Objective and Course Overview An overview of the EVAC toilet configuration, designed to give delegates the knowledge they need to successfully carry out routine maintenance and fault finding.

Qualification Successful completion of this course, together with four others from those at the same level, will qualify the candidate for the NTAR Certificate in Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance.

Location Northampton 1 Day Dates 3-5 ,10-12, 17-19, 24-26 Nov 1-3,8-10, 15-18 Dec 12-14, 19-21, 26-28 Jan Attendees 8 Cost £375

Qualification Successful completion of this course, together with four others from those at the same level, will qualify the candidate for the NTAR Certificate in Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance.

Location Northampton 1 Day Dates 3-5 ,10-12, 17-19, 24-26 Nov 1-3,8-10, 15-18 Dec 12-14, 19-21, 26-28 Jan Attendees 8 Cost £375

Leadership Management Systems 2nd Module Learning Objective and Course Overview To deliver the railway to which Britain now aspires, one that will act as a flagship for UK engineering expertise and support economic growth, requires not only excellent engineers but also world-class management. Quite simply,we need leaders, managers and supervisors who are capable of delivering results under ever greater pressure.

Qualification Our courses are underpinned by qualifications that we have developed in conjunction with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).

Location Call for details 3 Days Dates 13-15 Jan, 2-4 Feb Attendees 12 Cost £1,000

Call now to book your course on 01604 594 440 or visit ntar.co.uk

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

Was it Interesting for you?

(If so - you might win a prize!)

Industry Awards evenings.

Just those words conjure up images of a large room, lots of men in dickie bows and black suits (with the occasional woman in a brightly-coloured dress mixed in), a highly paid yet ineffective comedian who is slightly too blue for his audience, and a well-known person trying to keep order and read out the winners before his audience heads for the bar.

Sounds familiar? Rail Media doesn’t arrange evenings like that. Elsewhere in this issue, you will find a review of the RailStaff Awards. Organised by our sister magazine, it featured 1,000 party-goers, nearly half of them women, a lot in fancy dress, all having a whale of a time watching African-themed entertainment and then riding on the dodgems and falling over in the fun house.

Oh, and 20 awards were given out too - to deserving PEOPLE from the industry, not faceless companies.

It was a great evening. Were you there? Why not? Make sure you are next year - Saturday 8 October at Ricoh Arena, Coventry. Bring your partner and be ready to PARTY!

But if you insist…

However, it must be said that industry awards have their place. So Rail Media organises one of those too but, as you’d expect, with a difference.

For a start, no-one has to enter. After all, companies have spent all year telling Rail Engineer, RailStaff and Global Rail News why their project is so special, what’s new about their latest development, or how a particular initiative is a potential world-beater. So we know what is going on in the industry - you don’t have to tell us again. That saves you time and effort, and means we can include everything that we know about, not just those which can be bothered to enter.

Sadly, though, not all of it is interesting. Even the most high-profile and expensive projects can be routine and some new products are just - dull.

What gets us excited are the interesting things that engineers and others have to do to solve problems. The really neat ways of doing things and the totally off-the-wall ideas that actually work.

Hence - the Most Interesting Awards.

A panel of ‘Industry Experts’ - actually the Rail Engineer, RailStaff and Global Rail News editorial teams - puts together a list of everything that floated their boat during the year from October 2014 to September 2015.

Then, once everyone had a fresh cup of coffee, the hard work started. The list was split into twelve categories and then whittled down to six finalists in each. It took quite some time, and a lot more coffee, but only one person stormed out and slammed the door - it was really quite civilised.

However, inter-publication relations were now strained so there was no way that a winner could be decided upon, and anyway it would be unfair for us to be judge and jury, so a group of unsuspecting and independent people was roped in to form the panel of judges. Only one of them said no, pleading excess work (he must have heard us coming), so the rest were duly sent a pack of all the articles featuring the shortlist and asked to rank them in order.

To find out which they picked, you’ll have to come along to the Rail Exec Gala Dinner on Thursday 19 November at Derby’s iconic Roundhouse. There you will be able to network with colleagues, have a good dinner, and witness the awarding of the prizes for yourself. But there will be no comic, and no dickie bows required (unless you want to in which case you can please yourself). There will be some great entertainment and you are guaranteed to have a good time.

A challenge Before you come, read through the list of finalists below and make your own choice on who will win each category.

Fill in the form - either use the one on page 95, or download one from http://rail.media/mi-form and bring it with you.

If your selection matches the judges, you could win A SUPER PRIZE on the night. So make sure you join in.

Anyway, listed here are the 72 finalists split amongst the 12 categories. You may even have been involved with some of them, in which case you should bring your colleagues and see if you win. Even if you don’t, you’ll have a good time.

But you will be on the edge of your seat when they say: “And the winner is…”

Rail Engineer • November 2015

So, here’s the short list:

The Most Interesting initiative in safety and sustainability Selby Swing Bridge Refurbishment

Grid-blasting this 125-year-old swing bridge would have required a full environmental wrap and risked contaminating the bearings. Switching to the Termarust system, using a high-pressure water jet, operating at 8,000psi and 90°C, allowed the paint flakes to be collected easily by a Terram membrane and the uncontaminated water to be returned to the river below.

Audio Guides to Stations for the Sight Impaired

A small headset paired with a Windows Phone application uses boneconducting technology to transmit information to a partially-sighted or blind person. Working with a network of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi beacons, the application helps both orientation and navigation and also allows the wearer to build up an understanding of their surroundings.

Red Light Cameras at Level Crossings

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

Wallasea Island

Over three million tonnes of excavated material from Crossrail has been used to raise part of Wallasea Island, in the Thames estuary, by 1.5 metres, creating lagoons and protecting them with new sea-walls. Now the first of those walls has been breached, allowing tidal flow into the marshland and creating an important new intertidal marshland habitat for a variety of plants, invertebrates and birds.

Closed-Cell Cable Insulation

A completely new synthetic rubber has been developed for use as an insulation material around pipes and cables. Armaflex Rail SD is a flexible closed-cell elastomeric foam which is self-extinguishing, does not propagate fire or produce burning droplets. It has an extremely low smoke density and also offers protection against harmful microbes, mould and mildew.

PDSW (Planning & Delivering Safe Work)

PDSW is a wholesale reform of the way infrastructure projects are planned and delivered safely which, ultimately, makes clear who is responsible. It creates the new role of Safe Work Leader (SWL) - a single, accountable person responsible for safe work, from planning through to delivery. PDSW also introduces a new electronic permit tool (Proscient) that allows the SWL to plan, risk assess, deliver and hand back work more efficiently.

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The Most Interesting original design ECML Capacity Enhancement

To take best advantage of Hitachi’s new IEP trains, a capacity improvement programme was proposed for the ECML involving 35 separate schemes for a total cost of over £1 billion. That was later reduced to 20 schemes and £650 million. Further discussion led to a revised design with 12 schemes for £247 million as giving best value, showing what original thinking and good design can achieve.

Tomorrow’s Train Design Today

Future Railway’s competition, supported by the Royal Institute for British Architects and the DfT, was formulated to help shape the future of train design in the UK. It was split into two strands, medium and long-term. The initial 48 entrants were whittled down to a short list of 10 and finally three - 42 Technology, PriestmanGoode and Andreas Vogler, which shared £2.2 million to develop their designs further.

VR Design for British Bullet Train

Hitachi’s immersive stand at Railtex 2015 featured a 3D interior walkthrough of the AT400 - the company’s proposal for a high-speed train for HS2. Using 3D glasses to view the virtual-reality display, visitors could witness innovations such as seat reservation lighting, holographic displays and smart tables that interact with passengers’ phones and tablets - just some of the intuitive technology that tomorrow’s high-speed trains could have.

Verve - Train for the UK

Siemens is targeting the long-distance EMU market with its Desiro Verve, the company’s proposed new train for the UK. Cars will be 23 metres long, three metres longer than the Thameslink Desiro City, and will be equipped with uprated bogies to give them a top speed of 125 mph. The Verve features a more aerodynamic front end than the Class 700 and an interior configured for intercity travel.

SUSTRAIL

31 organisations in 12 countries shared the work on this European initiative to increase the performance of the entire rail freight system. In the UK, work was undertaken to design an improved freight bogie and to reduce weight, as well as to develop high-performance track. This was combined with work on coated wheelsets and improved braking that was carried out on the continent, resulting in a final vehicle design that was tested in Romania.

Closed Loop Pantograph

A pantograph operates in a particularly harsh environment. It is exposed to all weathers, it rubs along the overhead contact at high speeds, and up to 300A at 25kV passes through it with, sometimes, severe arcing. Using Fibre Bragg Grating sensors, which are immune to electromagnetic interference, to continuously measure pantograph forces, a control mechanism has been developed to change the contact pressure and ensure a reliable contact with the overhead wire.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

The Most Interesting development in support equipment

The Most Interesting training and development programme

Mobile Flash Butt Welder

National Training Academy

With maintenance time on the railway severely constrained, Network Rail ordered 10 Mobile Flash Butt Welders to reduce the time taken to replace defective rails. A Holland flash butt welding head from the USA is married to a Doosan excavator by GOS Engineering and the result is that up to 600 metres of track can now be re-railed, stressed and welded in a single eighthour shift rather than the four shifts it could take previously.

With an aging railway workforce coupled with the demand for signalling testers being at an all-time high, Linbrooke’s National Training Academy is primarily geared up to provide training for signalling works testing. The site’s authentic platform and tracks incorporate various styles of signalling, point operating and train detection and protection equipment, providing a realistic and accessible set-up for safe and practical training.

Forensic Engineering

Mobile Technology Training Centre

The Technical Investigation Centre investigates equipment failures in a laboratory setting to identify the cause. It covers most engineering disciplines and provides an independent investigation service for failed assets such as relays, cables, signals, train detection and protection items and electrification equipment. Once the root cause is identified, recommendations are made to reduce the likelihood of failure.

A self-contained display and demonstration vehicle, Westermo’s Mobile Training & Technology Centre delivers a wealth of technology, demonstrations and new information directly to organisations. The custom-built vehicle provides a comfortable and feature-packed area in which engineers and managers can find out more about the latest communications technologies and discuss which solutions are available for their project.

RETB in Scotland

ORBIS Work Orders

Radio Electronic Token Block train control used the old BR National Radio Network so, when those radio frequencies were reallocated, that caused a problem. As the aging equipment also needed replacing, a £20 million programme was initiated for Telent to re-engineer all the radio elements within the system. At the same time, Train Protection and Warning System emergency braking was introduced to prevent trains from overrunning a token section.

Road-Rail Land Rovers

Land Rovers are versatile all-terrain vehicles and it is this which makes them so attractive for road-rail applications. Their small size allows them to be put on and off track quickly but also means their payloads are small. Aquarius, the company which makes the road-rail conversions for the vehicles, has developed a range of road-rail trailers which solve this problem by increasing the overall payload. It also allows trailers to be dedicated for particular functions.

Off Load Switching

The increase in electrification activities has led to a demand for new techniques and equipment to make installation easier and operations more efficient. One good example is a new type of load-break switch from Morris Line Engineering which can be operated with the associated circuit breakers closed and the line live. The switch may be opened or closed with load from trains drawing current without damage to the isolator.

Level Crossing Barrier Mechanism Improvements

The arm of a level crossing barrier can be over nine metres long, meaning that the centre of gravity is 4.5 metres from the mechanism that raises it.

Long term, this can give rise to reliability issues. Analysis of over 70 failed power packs allowed specialists at Howells Railway Products to come up with a modified design that underwent 50,000 cycles of testing and can be retrofitted to existing installations.

Network Rail is digitising how it manages complex rail assets and infrastructure through ORBIS (Offering Rail Better Information Services). This addresses the way in which data is collected and evaluated, turning it into useful information which, when analysed, can be used to generate predictive insight. One example, the My Work app, has improved the work order management process for maintenance teams across the industry.

Knowledge Without Borders

The Next Generation Rail 2015 conference, organised by RSSB and RRUKA, was an opportunity for the best and brightest of the next generation of Britain’s railway leaders to learn from one another and to broaden their horizons. Entitled ‘Knowledge without Borders’, it included talks from experienced railway professionals from across the world sharing their experiences of running railways in Japan, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United States.

Railway Challenge

The IMechE’s annual competition brings together teams of university students, industry-based apprentices and graduates to develop, design and manufacture a 10¼-inch gauge locomotive, with the intention of attracting new blood into the railway industry. The entries are subjected to a range of performance trials and the teams also have to deliver a business case. With seven entries, this year’s was the largest ever, and TfL was also the first team to retain its title.

Brathay Trust

A charity with a mission to improve the life chances of children and young people experiencing difficulties in their lives, Brathay Trust worked with the High Sheriff of Cumbria to create the World of Work event. It allowed businesses to understand the expectations and aspirations of young people taking their first steps towards the world of work. It was also an excellent opportunity for Stobart Rail to inspire young people to pursue careers within the rail industry.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

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The Most Interesting international participation by a UK company Liefkenshoek Rail Link

Montpellier Bypass

Connecting both banks of the Port of Antwerp, the Liefkenshoek rail link is a direct route of 16.2km for freight traffic between the port facilities on the left bank, the Waaslandhaven and the Deurganck Dock, and the right bank - the Antwerp North marshalling yard. It has the longest rail tunnels in Belgium running at a depth of up to 40 metres under the Scheldt river - more than half of the railway runs through tunnels.

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

Frecciarossa 1000

California High-Speed Rail

Built in Italy by a partnership of Bombardier and AnsaldoBreda, the new Frecciarossa 1000 - officially a V300ZEFIRO - has a top commercial speed of 360km/h and is capable of reaching 400km/h - making it the fastest regular passenger train. A total of 50 eight-car Frecciarossa 1000 trains have been ordered.

Rhine-Ruhr Express

As the California high-speed rail project gathers pace, WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff will work on a seven-year, $700 million rail delivery partner contract with the California High-Speed Rail Authority and has Network Rail Consulting, the international consultancy arm of Network Rail, as part of its consultant team. Meanwhile, Jacobs has been awarded a contract to provide design services for the Construction Package 2-3 (CP 2-3), the continuation of construction south towards Kern County.

Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia public transport bodies have awarded National Express two of the three operating contracts for the region’s future Rhine-Ruhr Express (RRX) network, six new lines connecting the cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Dortmund. National Express has said the contracts, which commence in 2018 and 2020 through to 2033, will generate around €1 billion.

Norwegian ERTMS Programme

Jernbaneverket, the Norwegian infrastructure manager, has taken the decision to adopt ERTMS nationwide with a project lasting from the present day until 2030. It is only the second country to have taken this bold step and it has been influenced in part by its near neighbour, Denmark, which made a similar pronouncement back in 2012. The Norwegian project is to be based on three major signalling contracts covering the whole main line railway network.

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

Proud sponsors of the Rail Exec Gala Hiview House, Highgate Road, London NW5 1TN T +44 20 7267 4366 F +44 20 7482 3107 E info@murphygroup.co.uk

www.murphygroup.co.uk www.murphyinnovation.com

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

The Most Interesting railway infrastructure development Markshall Farm

The steep cutting sides of Markshall Farm Curve, near Norwich, have caused problems for years. The site is 600 metres long with access only at one end, so the solution chosen by designer Byrne Looby Partners was to lay a heavy mesh material over the cutting slope. Main contractor B&M McHugh and Aspin Foundations used rope access and Platipus Anchors to secure sheets of Maccaferri Macmat® type R erosion matting/mesh over a 12 week period.

Farnworth Tunnel

What do you do when a tunnel is too small? The answer, in the case of Farnworth tunnel near Bolton, is to fill it in and then start again from scratch.

J.Murphy & Sons used 7,500m3 of foam concrete to fill the existing northbound tunnel, built in 1838. A nine-metre diameter tunnel boring machine then rebored the tunnel - taking out concrete, old brickwork and some virgin hillside - to construct a new tunnel 270 metres long, wide enough for two tracks and electrification.

Platform Extensions on North London Line

The London Overground Capacity Improvement Programme (LOCIP) extended 31 platforms over 17 stations to accommodate five-car trains.

However, some had to be extended over unstable ground, requiring piling, while others were over bridges which had to be widened or replaced. Dyer & Butler, working with Tony Gee, came up with several novel solutions and the project was delivered in less than 12 months using 3D modelling and Level 2 BIM.

Train Detection in Summit Tunnel

Following a disastrous fire in 1984, the old high-powered reed tunnel track circuits were reinstated but without the mid-point repeater. This led to reliability problems and increased maintenance. Other solutions were tried, unsuccessfully. The system has now been replaced with one of the first installations of Bombardier’s EBITrack 400, which can be fed by very long cables, keeping all of the equipment outside of the tunnel for easy maintenance.

Scarborough Bridge

The Most Interesting approach to train operations Chaffers Lane Level Crossing

Located at Bakerhouse Road, Nelson, Chaffers Lane crossing is unusual as it is operated by the train crew and not by a crossing operator. The driver has to bring the train to a halt, reach out of the window, and pull a chord to start the crossing sequence. Changing this to an automatic, treadle-triggered operation required risk assessments and standards derogations, making it more complicated than might be imagined.

IPEMU Battery Train

Fitting batteries to an electric multiple unit (EMU) allows it to go off the electrified network onto non-electrified branch lines, or into depots, or to carry on working if the infrastructure has failed. Those batteries can be recharged once the train returns to the network. The Independently Powered EMU, a joint project conducted by Network Rail, train owner Abellio and manufacturer Bombardier to prove the concept, was tested in passenger service.

COMPASS

With the increasing centralisation of signalling control, failures have a much greater impact. Trains can be stopped for extended periods before permission is granted for them to move under temporary working arrangements. The Combined Positioning Alternative Signalling System (COMPASS) uses all the modern forms of communication to determine train position, direction and speed so that a movement authority can be given for a train to proceed.

Alert Gateway for Data Monitoring

There are now so many sources of data on the railway system that information overload becomes a real problem. The London Underground Asset Performance, Jubilee Northern & Piccadilly line (APJNP) control centre alone receives 225,000 individual alerts triggering more than 200,000 alarms per day - 1,800 per minute. Telent’s new Alert Gateway System presents only those actually requiring action to the operators.

Northern Line goes CBTC

Just 40 metres off the end of Platform 4 at York, the four 22-metre wrought iron and timber spans were 140 years old and badly in need of replacement.

Story Contracting faced the challenges of getting the new bridge decks through York’s road system and finding somewhere to place the huge crane and two smaller cranes that would be needed. Narrow streets, tree preservation orders and 16” water mains made thorough planning and liaison with local bodies essential.

Following much-publicised problems in converting the Jubilee line to Communications Based Train Control (CBTC), the Northern line has recently been fully equipped and commissioned using Thales Seltrac CBTC technology with only minimum disruption to the train service and hardly any of the users even noticing that an upgrade had taken place. As a result, capacity has increased to 26 trains per hour (tph) on the Bank branch, and 30tph down to Morden.

Stafford Area Improvement Programme

Introduction of Class 319

An upgrade which encompasses eleven new bridges, 10km of 100mph track, major river and road diversions and three new junctions is a major project. Part of a £250 million scheme, it is designed to remove the last major bottleneck on the WCML, at Norton Bridge. Delivered by a Pure Alliance of Atkins, Laing O’Rourke, Network Rail and VolkerRail, the work includes creation of a grade separated junction and resignalling Stafford station.

Northern Rail’s introduction of a fleet of Class 319 EMUs on the newly electrified Liverpool Lime Street-Manchester Airport route has brought about a new, enhanced, role for onboard staff. The 319s have door controls spread across the vehicle, allowing conductors to remain with passengers throughout their journey. Northern has implemented a new training course to help them adapt to this more customer-facing role.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

The Most Interesting community engagement activity Earls Court Station

Over the last two Christmas holidays, Track Partnership (London Underground and Balfour Beatty) renewed track and ballast through one of London Underground’s busiest stations. The overall station public/workforce segregation was commended by the general station manager as there were no complaints from passengers and no-one in the station was really aware of any works going on, such was the lack of intrusion or disturbance.

New Route to the West

The destruction of the railway at Dawlish in February 2014 left Cornwall and West Devon cut off for two months. Network Rail looked at the cost of constructing various alternative routes but couldn’t justify the expense. Now Greengauge 21 and the Campaign to Protect Rural England has proposed the reuse of the old LSWR route through Okehampton and is pressing for a political decision to be taken rather than a strictly commercial one.

Borders Railway

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Lend A Helping Hand Campaign

The platform-train interface, the gap between the platform edge and the train, is a dangerous place. Statistically, four people a year die there with young (intoxicated) men and older women those most at risk. To combat this, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has recently launched a platform-train interface strategy. Staff at stations are being briefed and the risks highlighted in a series of press adverts and posters.

TravelSafe Policing

A dedicated policing team has been deployed across Manchester’s tram and bus crime ‘hotspots’ over the next three years under a new Travelsafe Partnership pilot. The three-year pilot scheme will see 16 police constables, police community support officers, special constables and security personnel deployed across Greater Manchester’s bus and tram network. Data gathered from operators will be used to target patrols where they are most needed.

Crossrail Archaeology

To date, Crossrail has found more than 10,000 artefacts spanning 55 million years of London’s past at over 40 construction sites. It is the UK’s largest archaeology project. Preliminary excavations at the Liverpool Street site in 2011 and 2012 uncovered more than 400 skeletons and numerous artefacts.

More recently, a mass burial site suspected of containing 30 victims of the Great Plague of 1665 has been unearthed at the same site.

As passenger services resume on the Borders Railway, the Campaign for Borders Rail has urged those lobbying for the reopening of other rail lines to learn the lessons of its 17-year struggle to galvanise public opinion and convince Borderers that they really could get their railway back. The Levenmouth Rail Campaign, seeking to reopen a six mile branch line in Fife, and STARLink, which wants the same at St Andrews, are learning from the Borders experience.

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

Contact us on 01332 344 443 to find out how we can help to achieve your recruitment objectives.

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

The Most Interesting major infrastructure project Selby Swing Bridge Refurbishment

The 40-metre long Span 4 of Selby Swing Bridge, built in 1889, can be rotated through 90° to lie parallel with the northern bank of the River Ouse.

125 years later, and with 130 trains a day crossing the bridge, a complete rebuild was needed. Principal contractor Kier Group subcontracted most of the mechanical, electrical and hydraulic engineering work to AMCO. Both the bridge and the swing mechanism were rebuilt during a six-week blockade.

Birmingham New Street Station

The £600 million overhaul of Birmingham New Street has resulted in a much brighter, bigger and more modern station with lifts and escalators linking all platforms to concourse level for the first time, significantly improving accessibility and passenger flows. Designed to cope with 40,000 to 60,000 passengers a day, the station now handles around 175,000 - 35,000 more than when Network Rail started the refurbishment six years ago.

Stockley Viaduct

Heathrow Connect services, which will become Crossrail trains in due course, had to go the wrong way on two separate lines to access the airport.

This clearly constrained the service so a new twin-track bridge was built over Christmas 2014 by Carillion, to a design by Jacobs, to carry the lines safely over the Great Western. Although now in service, more work will be needed over the next two Christmas breaks to complete the complex task of installing the access ramps.

Harbury Landslip

On 31 January, 350,000 tonnes of embankment, extending for over 150 metres, slipped on the approach to Harbury Tunnel near Cheltenham, closing the route. Engineers from J Murphy & Sons were already on site, dealing with an earlier problem, so they were quickly engaged. 560,000 tonnes of material was removed from the site and remedial work carried out on the damaged tunnel portal. The work was completed inside six weeks, three weeks earlier than anticipated.

Winchburgh Tunnel

As part of EGIP electrification, Winchburgh tunnel, just east of Linlithgow on the route out of Edinburgh Waverley, required track lowering up to 200 mm and the installation of slab track at a cost of £17 million. As a result, Scotland’s busiest line was blocked for 44 days. Principal contractor Morgan Sindall chose the ÖBB- PORR Austrian slab track system for the tunnel and also installed a new drainage system and fixings for the electrification conductors.

Carmuirs Tunnel

The twin single-bore tunnels at Carmuirs did not have sufficient clearance for electrification. Rather than drop the track through the tunnels, contactor BAM Nuttall removed all of the ground over them, converting the twin bores into a cutting. The Forth & Clyde canal, which ran over the top of the original tunnels, was blocked and removed, then reinstated in a concrete aqueduct constructed from precast segments.

The Most Interesting new product ERTMS from Hitachi

Hitachi has emerged as a significant potential contributor for ERTMS signalling systems within Europe. The company has been developing an ETCS-type product for the past eight years for the Chinese market - CTCS 3 (Chinese Train Control System) is equivalent to ETCS Level 2 but without some of the sub-set requirements. Now, Hitachi’s on board equipment is on test in the UK at ENIF (ETCS National Integration Facility) fitted to a Class 97 locomotive.

Fuel-cell Powered Trains

Fuel cell drives convert chemical energy from a fuel (hydrogen) into electricity through a chemical reaction - a proven technology used in the automotive industry which is completely emission-free, the only waste product being water. Alstom is building 50 Coradia trains powered by fuel cell technology. They will use less energy, thanks to an intelligent energy management system, and the noise level will be drastically reduced compared to conventional diesel trains.

High Performance Track

Managing Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) is both costly and time consuming in an industry that has a drive towards lower maintenance costs, shorter maintenance windows and greater track availability. To combat RCF, Tata Steel has produced HP335, a High Performance rail steel with a minimum Brinell hardness of 335HB. 600km of this new rail is now in use, delivering life cycle cost savings which equate to a sevenfigure cost saving per year.

New Interface for Old SSI

Solid State Interlocking (SSI) accounts for approximately 45% of UK interlockings and is used throughout the world. It is highly likely to be in use for many years to come, despite being a 30 year old electronic and software product. As the typical life for this sort of technology in other industries is 10 years, ongoing support can present problems.

Park Signalling has produced a range of equipment to interface with SSI, making it compatible with modern technologies.

Oscar Helmet

In a bid to make track work both safer and more efficient, Colas Rail has developed Oscar 2.0, a multi-functional worksite helmet. Three novel functions have been built into it. One detects that the wearer is too close to overhead AC lines and sends a warning signal. The second is a built-in communications system between wearers with a 250-metre range, and the helmet also includes three separate integrated lighting modes, ambient and directional.

Rail Engineer • November 2015

Spacetherm Insulation for Points Heaters

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3D Planning of Pre-Assembly

Points heaters, electric heating elements clipped to the rails which make up a set of points, prevent ice forming and keep the switch blades moving. However, they are quite inefficient as a lot of the heat is lost to the atmosphere. A Proctor Group has developed the Spacetherm® Point Heat Retainer Strip which offers improved performance by directing the heat towards and into the rail, reducing the energy consumed in heating the points system and improving response times.

Siemens uses 3D projection to display the components and assemblies of a new train straight out of the design software. Wearing 3D glasses, viewers can select each element of the train and see how it interacts with others. By panning and rotating the view, objects can be inspected from all sides. The build sequence can be tested and any conflicts, whereby a component cannot be installed as it will be blocked by something else, can be sorted out before manufacture commences.

The Most Interesting Innovation

Obstacle Detection on Level Crossings

Blown Fibre

Burying cable in pipes is not new, with cables being pulled through on a draw wire. However, the pipe would often sag or even break over time and inserting additional cable could be difficult if not impossible. Emtelle has developed a system of different sized ducts which can be reeled on a drum and buried using a mole plough. Bundles of fibre-optic cable can then be blown through the duct using compressed air for distances of up to two kilometres in one operation.

Rail Adhesion Simulation

Contaminants on steel railway tracks can cause adhesion problems for trains. One of the most common lubricants is the result of leaves being crushed under steel wheels, leaving a thin and very slippery residue. To understand what is happening, ESG has developed WSPER - the wheel slide protection evaluation rig - which simulates these conditions in a laboratory so the effectiveness of braking and management systems can be tested under controlled conditions.

Unlocking Innovation

The Railway Industry Association’s Unlocking Innovation scheme seeks to help the UK supply chain overcome obstacles to innovation. It does so through an ongoing series of workshops which encourage networking and help those present to understand the opportunities for funding and collaboration. Innovators are also given a platform to present their latest ideas to a wider audience and seek potential collaborators.

Obstacle Detection (OD) crossings use radar to confirm a crossing is clear from road vehicles and pedestrians before allowing the protecting signals to come off and trains to proceed. As in all signalling applications, a failsafe interlocking is key to safe operation. Programmable logic controller control systems can now be used in place of relay-based systems as they take up less space, do not need an equipment room, require fewer cables and deliver higher reliability.

REPOINT

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

Rhomberg Sersa Proud Sponsor of the

Rhomberg Sersa Proud Sponsor of the Rail Exec Gala Bringing engineering excellence to slab track installation

Bringing engineering excellence to slab track installation

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Rail Engineer • November 2015

The Most Interesting other thing we saw in 2015 Watercress Line Signalling

New Approach to Asset Management (ORBIS)

The Mid Hants Railway’s Watercress Line runs from Alton to Alresford in Hampshire. With growing traffic levels, one-train working between Medstead and Alton was becoming a serious restriction. A new loop was constructed, with a new signal box to control it, but the Watercress signalling experts devised a method of intelligent signal and point control such that operations can continue with the box closed and reversion to one-train working.

To manage, maintain and renew a cost-effective, efficient and modern railway system, it is imperative to identify all infrastructure assets, where they are located and what condition they are in. All of this information is being brought together as part of an initiative called ORBIS (Offering Rail Better Information Services), a transformation programme designed to improve the way Network Rail acquires its asset information, how it is captured, stored and used.

Channel Tunnel Fire Suppression

Moulsford Viaduct

At 31.4 miles long, the Channel Tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world. Three fires, all on trains carrying lorries, have resulted in a great emphasis being placed on fire suppression and control.

A full-tunnel simulator allows staff to practice dealing with fires and, once a year, the tunnel is closed entirely overnight so that a full-scale practice can take place. Trains carry smoke hoods and a water-spray suppression system is installed in the tunnel.

There are two Moulsford Viaducts, side by side. Outwardly similar, the first was built by Brunel in 1839 while the second, to increase capacity, opened in 1892. However, internally they were very different. Brunel’s structure is full of cleverly designed voids to reduce weight and cost. The later structure is not. Providing permanent access from between the two bridges, to remove the need to close the railway and access the interiors from above, was therefore a challenge.

Rope Access Inspections

Chris Scott Inventor

There are a host of large structures on the railway, many of them inaccessible. To install scaffolding to inspect them on a regular basis would be impractical so examinations of viaducts (both externally and inside internal voids), tunnel vents and portals, steep cutting sides and even some station interiors are carried out by engineers using rope access. All have been through intensive training and the safety record is impressive.

The sense of innovation that characterised the Victorian railway age is not dead. There are still problems for which there are no off-the-shelf solutions. Chris Scott is one of the people who solve those problems, in his case particularly those involving tunnels. These include mobile crash decks, protective workforce shelters, a 10-tonne bogie for transporting materials that ran along the six-foot and an elevating platform for drilling 6,200 holes into Whiteball tunnel.

O US T , N I O RK J WO AND T E N TE BRA THE E L CE OWN STING’ CR TERE N 2015 ST I ‘MO N RAIL I

19 TH

NO VE MB ER

20 15

THE ‘MOST INTERESTING’ AWARDS

Exec Gala

BOOK NOW AT WWW.RAILEXECGALA.COM CALL 01530 816 456 railexecclub

@railexec

®

Rail Engineer • November 2015

95

A challenge: YOUR WINNERS ARE...

Before you come to the event, read through the list of finalists below and make your own choice on who will win each category.

Fill in this form and bring it with you. If your selection matches the judges, you could win a SUPER PRIZE on the night. So make sure you join in.

The Most Interesting approach to train operations

The Most Interesting major infrastructure project

Alert Gateway for Data Monitoring, telent

Birmingham New Street, Atkins/ Mace/ Coleman

Chaffers Lane Level Crossing, Network Rail Manchester

Carmuirs Tunnel, BAM Nuttall Ltd

Compass, Future Railway

Harbury Landslip, Murphy/ Network Rail

Introduction of Class 319, Northern Rail

Selby Swing Bridge Refurbishmentn, Kier Group plc

IPEMU Battery Train, Bombardier / Abellio / Future Railway/ Network Rail

Stockley Viaduct, Carillion/ Jacobs

Northern Line goes CBTC, Thales

Winchburgh Tunnel, Morgan Sindall

The Most Interesting community engagement activity

The Most Interesting new product High Performance Track, Tata Steel

Borders Railway, BAM Nuttall

Spacetherm Insulation for Points Heaters, A Proctor Group Ltd

Crossrail Archaeology, Crossrail Limited / MOLA

ERTMS, Hitachi Rail

Earls Court Station, Track Partnershp

Fuel-cell Powered Trains, Alstom Transport UK Ltd

Lend A Helping Hand Campaign, RSSB

New Interface for Old SSI, Park Signalling Ltd

New Route to the West, Network Rail

Oscar Helmet, Colas Rail

Travel Safe Policing, TfGM / RATP

The Most Interesting development in support equipment

The Most Interesting original design Verve - Train for the UK, Siemens Closed Loop Pantograph, Brecknell Willis & Co Ltd

Forensic Engineering, Atkins / TIC

ECML Capacity Enhancement, Jacobs Engineering UK Ltd

Level Crossing Barrier Mechanism Improvements - Howells Rail

VR Design for British Bullet Train, Hitachi

Mobile Flash Butt Welder, Network Rail / GOS / Holland / Rosenqvist

SUSTRAIL, 31 Organisations in 12 Countries

Off Load Switching - Morris Line Engineering, Morris Line Engineering

Tomorrow's Train Design Today, Future Railway / RIBA / DfT

RETB in Scotland, telent Road-Rail Land Rovers, Aquarius Railroad Technologies Ltd

The Most Interesting initiative in safety and sustainability

The Most Interesting other thing we saw in 2015 Channel Tunnel Fire Suppression, Eurotunnel Chris Scott Inventor, AMCO / Network Rail / PPS Rail / ISS

Closed-Cell Cable Insulation, Armacell UK Ltd

Moulsford Viaduct, AMCO

PDSW (Planning & Delivering Safe Work), PPS Rail Red Light Cameras at Level Crossings, Carillion / Futronics / Vysionics / SEA

New Approach to Asset Management, ORBIS - Network Rail /

Capgemini / CSC

Selby Swing Bridge Refurbishment, Termarust / Kier Group plc

Rope Access Inspections, Sopan Engineering

Audio Guides to Stations for the sight impaired, Mircrosoft / Guide Dogs /

Watercress Line Signalling, Mid Hants Railway Plc

Network Rail / Future Cities Catapult Wallasea Island, Crossrail

The Most Interesting innovation

The Most Interesting railway infrastructure development Farnworth Tunnel, Buckingham Group / J Murphy & Sons / OTB Engineering

3D Planning Pre- Assembly, Siemens Blown Fibre, Emtelle

Markshall Farm Curve, Platipus Anchors / Macaferri / Aspin Group /

Network Rail

Obstacle Detection on Level Crossings, Atkins / GE Transportation / Pilz

Platform Extensions on North London Line, Dyer & Butler Ltd / Tony Gee

Rail Adhesion Simulation, ESG

Scarborough Bridge, Story Contracting Ltd / Mabey Bridge / Moore Concrete

REPOINT, Loughborough University Unlocking Innovation, RIA

The Most Interesting international participation by a UK company California High-Speed Rail, NRC / WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff / Jacobs

Stafford Area Improvement Programme, Network Rail / Atkins /

Laing O'Rourke / VolkerRail Train Detection in Summit Tunnel, Network Rail / Bombardier

The Most Interesting training and development programme

Frecciarossa 1000, Bombardier / Ansaldo

Brathay Trust, Brathay Trust / Stobart Rail

Liefkenshoek Rail Link, BAM / Vinci / CFE

Knowledge Without Borders, RSSB / RRUKA / YRP

Montpellier Bypass, Bouygues

Mobile Technology Training Centre, Westermo Data Communications Ltd

Norwegian ERTMS Programme, Atkins

National Training Academy, Linbrooke Services / NTRS

Rhine-Ruhr Express, National Express

ORBIS Work Orders, ORBIS - Network Rail / Capgemini / CSC Railway Challenge, IMechE & Entrants

96

Rail Engineer • November 2015

RECRUITMENT

TEL: +44 (0)161 817 5022

EMAIL: info@d2rc.co.uk WWW.D2RC.CO.UK

D2 RAIL & CIVILS LTD

TO APPLY

is a successful RISQS approved company providing multi discipline project management, planning and visualisation services to the railway industry in both contracting and client organisations.

Due to an increase in workload we are looking to recruit dynamic individuals with an engineering or multi discipline construction background in the rail industry.

Interested candidates should have a proven record within a specific Rail Construction discipline but preferably in multi-discipline railway programmes of work. Please send your CV to info@d2rc.co.uk

Project Engineer / Manager

BIM / Visualisations Manager

Primavera P6 Planner

LOCATION: MANCHESTER

LOCATION: MANCHESTER

LOCATION: MANCHESTER

SALARY: £££ EXCELLENT, NEGOTIABLE DEP ON EXPERIENCE

SALARY: £££ EXCELLENT, NEGOTIABLE DEP ON EXPERIENCE

SALARY: £££ EXCELLENT, NEGOTIABLE DEP ON EXPERIENCE

CONTRACT & PERM

CONTRACT & PERM

CONTRACT & PERM

As Project Engineer / Manager you will be required to work in a client environment to create a multi discipline project delivery plan from a concept or preliminary design stage. During the creation of the multi discipline plan the successful individual will liaise with other discipline engineers / managers to provide an integrated multi discipline work plan. The role will require management of other team members both within the business and in the clients’ organisation to deliver the required outputs.

As a BIM / Visualisations Manager you will be required to manage a small team to produce outputs to the client. The outputs will form 2D & 3D Microstation models, 4D construction sequences and Visualisation material. The successful applicant will be expected to use intelligent systems to support BIM related work.

The role will report directly to the director and you will be expected to report on costs and outputs on a periodic basis.

As Planner / Senior Planner you will be required to work in a client or contractor environment. You will be required to create a multi discipline project delivery plan from a preliminary design stage through to delivery.

During the creation of the multi discipline programme the successful individual should have the ability to create a first pass programme to allow liaison with other discipline engineers / managers to provide an agreed detailed integrated multi discipline programme.

The ideal candidate will...

The ideal candidate will...

The ideal candidate will...

•

Have a proven background in major construction or rail projects.

•

Have a proven background in Microstation and CAD applications.

•

Have a proven background in major construction or rail projects.

•

Will have an understanding of multi discipline project delivery (ideally in the rail environment)

•

Be capable of fitting in to and managing an existing department to deliver the clients requirements.

•

Will have an understanding of multi discipline project delivery (ideally in the rail environment)

CREATIVE

CO NSTR U C TIV E

COLL A BORATIV E

P L A NNING

D2RC Half Rail Engineer October 2015.indd 1

30/10/2015 12:38

Safety Engineering Career Opportunities RAM and Systems Engineering in Signalling, Rolling Stock, Infrastructure and Operations Hartham Park, Wiltshire (Working from home or other locations if necessary) Ebeni is one of the UK’s leading engineering consul-

we constantly strive to retain values of excellence,

What it takes to work for Ebeni

tancies. Established in 2004 we have a proven track

benefits and integrity. If you take pride in delivering

record within the Aerospace and military markets

tangible benefits to clients and the industry as a

which has been the catalyst for the rapid growth we

whole and particularly like to go the extra mile to

have seen over the last three years.

deliver excellence then you might be just the person we are looking for.

All roles demand a high degree of energy, drive and the relevant experience in the fields of safety, systems and reliability. With this in mind any successful candidates are likely to hold a degree level qualification and have a portfolio of successful project delivery.

uals to join us in the long term development of our

We are especially interested in people with proven

The role will be based at Hartham Park but we are happy to

service. We are looking to extend our rail capability in

experience in safety engineering, RAM and systems

discuss the option of working from home or other locations

order to take advantage of the exciting opportunities

engineering in signalling, rolling stock, infrastructure

if necessary.

the global rail markets and UK projects such as HS2,

and operations.

Moving forward, we are looking for talented individ-

Crossrail, IEP and the Digital Railway currently offer.

To apply...

If you have a passion for ensuring the products and

If you think you might be just the person we are looking

Are you ambitious, with vision, drive and the ability

systems that people rely on are safe and fit for pur-

and would like to meet with us and find out more about the

to take a leading role in implementing activity to help

pose and have the knowledge or the desire to work in

opportunities on offer at Ebeni then please send a copy of

a fast growing business pursue its goals? At Ebeni

the Railway industry then we want to hear from you.

your CV to: Jo Bettles Email: jo.bettles@ebeni.com

www.ebeni.com

Ebeni Half Page Rail Engineer October.indd 1

or call +44 1249 700767

30/10/2015 12:39

The QTS Group is one of the UKs leading Rail Infrastructure, Engineering and Training Contractors. We are renowned as one of the best providers of engineering solutions on the UK rail infrastructure and are looking to recruit senior management staff to further strengthen our team.

We are looking to fill the below positions as soon as possible: Contractors Responsible Engineer (CRE Civil Construction ) Region: LNE Based: Wakefield Office As part of a young and dynamic delivery team, this position consists of providing technical support to the project team delivering schemes under a General Civils Framework contract and larger tender items in the LNE region.

Project Manager Region: Western Based: Swindon We are aiming to develop a dedicated delivery team to support our client in this region and are searching for an experienced and dynamic civils project manager to lead this team.

We are always looking for new talent, so check our website regularly for any new openings.

If you think you have what it takes to join our team send your CV to the email address listed.

Join one of the fastest growing companies in the UK

Professional Head of Infrastructure The railway is a complex system with multiple interfaces delivered by many different organisations. At RSSB we bring these different organisations together to make collective decisions, supporting our members to achieve their objectives of improving safety, performance and value for money. We span the whole system, including in our membership infrastructure companies, train and freight operators, rolling stock owners and suppliers to the industry.

A key element of our activity is fulfilled by a programme of work concerned with standards. This requires the facilitating of industry decisions on standards, managing revisions to GB standards and supporting development of European standards so that they are fit for purpose in GB.

Role​description: The purpose of this role is to be RSSB’s Professional Head for Infrastructure, leading and developing the team of five infrastructure experts, taking overall responsibility for the suite of Infrastructure Standards and contributing to the technical leadership of RSSB. This will involve attending and chairing a range of cross-industry groups as well as involvement in relevant European committees.

The scope of Infrastructure standards includes all railway infrastructure other than signalling, telecommunications and electrification equipment.

It also includes the management of risk from the railway environment. The scope therefore includes track, drainage, earthworks and structures supporting or protecting the track, other adjacent structures and buildings that could affect the safety of the railway, tunnels, station infrastructure, infrastructure for access to or along the railway,

level crossing surfaces, lineside security and environmental conditions, (managing the risk from vegetation, weather and water). It also includes those structures used to support signalling, telecommunications, electrification, lighting and other equipment, (for example, gantries).

This technical scope is consistent with the scope of the Infrastructure sub-system, as defined for the purposes of Interoperability and described in the Infrastructure (INF) TSIs and includes some items covered by the Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) and Safety in Rail Tunnels (SRT) TSIs. As well as contributing to delivery of the standards programme, the role also provides support to the innovation, research and development programmes and acts as a focus for specialist advice within RSSB and response to enquiries from industry.

Candidate​criteria: The successful applicant will be a chartered engineer and able demonstrate technical authority across a broad range of infrastructure disciplines. They will be an experienced meeting chair able to lead key industry committees and represent RSSB at

meetings with senior level stakeholders in the GB rail industry and internationally. They will have carried out research enabling them to oversee in-house and contracted research. They will hold a fellowship of a relevant professional institution.

​To​find​out​more​about​these​exciting​opportunities​or​to​ enquire​about​other​vacancies,​please​contact​our​team​on​​ 020​3142​5321,​email​your​details​to​vacancies@rssb.co.uk​ or​visit​our​website​at​www.rssb.co.uk

Influencing your energy strategies with integrated solutions UK Power Networks Services is a leading provider of electrical infrastructure with significant experience of working on high profile transport projects such as High Speed 1, High Speed 2 and Crossrail.

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