The Rail Engineer - Issue 108 - October 2013

the rail

engineer by rail engineers for rail engineers

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OCTOBER 2013 - issue 108

this issue q MORE POWER FOR LONGER TRAINS 28 q FORMULA FOR SUCCESS 32 q REMOVING LEAVES ON THE LINE 40 q TURNING BACK TIME 44

Reading’s new train care depot

Traversing Felixstowe Rail freight is on the up. 14

Establishing a trend

HS2 fights back The reason for building HS2. 22

Concern for EMC emissions. 16

FLEXX appeal Bombardier’s bogie family. 18 technology � design � M&E � S&T � stations � energy � DEPOTS � plant � track � rolling stock

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the rail engineer • October 2013

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Contents

FLEXX appeal Bombardier’s bogie family explained

News 6

18 HS2 fights back

New Siemens Academy.

Reading’s new train care depot

8

The construction of a £150 million, 6500 sq. metre depot complex.

Traversing Felixstowe

14

The shift to rail freight makes interesting reading.

Establishing a trend

16

Electromagnetic emissions from rolling stock are a major concern.

Formula for success

32

What has Formula 1 motor racing in common with railways?

22

Removing those leaves on the line

40

A real problem... and no joke at all to the engineers of Network Rail.

Ain’t no mountain high enough!

More power for longer trains

48

Jane Kenyon reports on the Mont Blanc Express line.

Spencer Rail focussed delivery

Electrification everyone is talking about

50

An award-winning engineering and infrastructure company.

Monitoring for movement

54

Under central London, the large-scale monitoring of structures.

28

DIFCAM 57 Digital Imaging for Condition Asset Management.

Turning back time

See more at www.therailengineer.com

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

Electrification and Power

Light Rail and Metro

in the December Issue of the rail engineer.

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

siemens.co.uk/rail

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The result? All the high performance without any of the high drama.

Experience integrated mobility.

Answers for infrastructure and cities.

Editor Grahame Taylor grahame.taylor@therailengineer.com

Production Editor Nigel Wordsworth nigel@rail-media.com

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

Engineering writers chris.parker@therailengineer.com clive.kessell@therailengineer.com

Questions, questions

the rail engineer • October 2013

This month we take a quizzical look at rolling stock, depots and tunnelling along with our usual mix of varied articles about railway engineering. Our cover story by Collin Carr gives an insight into the building of the new train maintenance depot at Reading. But there’s already a depot in Reading, so why the new one? It’s needed because the existing facilities happen to be smack in the way of the new Eastern Chord that will take Southampton freight traffic under the main lines and away from the main station area.

collin.carr@therailengineer.com david.bickell@therailengineer.com david.shirres@therailengineer.com graeme.bickerdike@therailengineer.com jane.kenyon@therailengineer.com mungo.stacy@therailengineer.com peter.stanton@therailengineer.com simon.harvey@therailengineer.com steve.bissell@therailengineer.com stuart.marsh@therailengineer.com

Advertising Asif Ahmed asif@rail-media.com

Paul Curtis pc@rail-media.com

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Part of

The battle lines for and against HS2 are being drawn and redrawn. Seasoned watchers of major infrastructure projects will see it all as a game. It’s a game to attract attention just at the right time to influence politicians and those who have cheque books.

The current flurry is no different.

The ‘anti’ lobby makes their moves and then, this time, there was a rather muted response by those pro-HS2. The Rail Engineer would rather put forward some information from the inside of the industry to help our readers understand the games being played by others. So, we have a plain-speaking piece by Tim Smart - head of engineering and operations, HS2 Ltd. Cost overruns? Forget the rhetoric and speculation. Just have a read of what he says.

Need more capacity in the Southeast? Simple. Try longer trains. Lengthen the platforms, sort out any signalling and track issues and that should be it. Buy some more carriages of course and step up the maintenance facilities.

Anything else? Well, as Nigel Wordsworth reminds us, there’s the tricky issue of power for these electrified lines.

Longer trains with more carriages mean more power is needed. South Eastern Trains is introducing 12-car trains between London and Dartford, Gravesend, Hayes and Sevenoaks. Making sure that they don’t overload a system already at its limit is a fascinating tale.

Along with the wrong type of snow, what other jibe has bedevilled the railway industry

over the years? Leaves on the line of course. Nigel has been to see some serious jetting kit that makes short work of the pesky things.

We have the remarkable tale of the FLEXX Eco bogie. As Jeanette Bowden of Bombardier tells us, this was originally designed by and for the UK market, starting life in the early 1990s as the ‘Advanced Suburban Bogie’ project.

It was a joint development initiative between British Rail Research and private sector industry, with Eddie Searancke, now one of Bombardier’s leading bogie engineers, responsible for its early development. Where will you see it now? It’s under the new generation of Aventra trains and on London Underground and it appears in numerous countries worldwide.

Have we really entered the era of Star Wars technology with the possibility of carrying out tunnel inspections using digital cameras and laser scanners? Chris Parker, on a very convivial day out on the Nene Valley railway, was able to see prototype versions of kit that can detect tiny changes in the state of tunnel linings.

The intention is to use this technique at line speed although the ensuing light-show would be something to behold. Whether this kit can bash bricks at the same time is yet to be seen, and I can’t recall an actual tunnel inspection in an episode of Star Wars.

So, where would you find ‘Y’ shaped steel sleepers? Answer?

On (part) of the 55km Mont

5

GrahamE Taylor

Blanc Express line which runs between Gervais-les-Bains in the French Alps to the Swiss town of Martigny. If you want to know why they have been installed then you’ll need to read Jane Kenyon’s debut article. She gives us an account of how this narrow gauge line was constructed and there’s also news of major works being carried out at the moment to double its capacity.

What has Formula One motor racing in common with railways? That’s the question posed by Simon Harvey, construction assurance engineer (track), Network Rail Infrastructure Projects. Well, it all has something to do with highly choreographed, precision activities. Surprisingly, this can apply to machine movements as well as ‘pit stop’ crews. In the end, the idea is to take time out of tracklaying operations so that possessions can be limited to the ‘white periods’ of the operating timetable.

We have some wise words from John Newton of The Ecology Consultancy on the importance of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). There are 230 on Network Rail’s infrastructure alone and a surprising number on London Underground – the overground bits at least. His advice? Always allow enough time for the appropriate surveys to avoid having last minute show-stoppers.

Despite their imposing appearance, some railway viaducts can keep secrets hidden away.

Graeme Bickerdike has been to the Saltburn Viaduct to see the repairs being carried out to piers and spandrels high above the Skelton Beck. But what is the internal construction of this structure?

Does it have slabs and jack arches under the tracks? Are there any voids? Where does the water go?

Will these secrets be revealed? And just who was Mr. J Young?

6

NEWS

the rail engineer • October 2013

King’s Cross completed Sorting out level crossings The final piece of the King’s Cross refurbishment jigsaw puzzle fell into place at the end of September with the opening of King’s Cross Square.

The new 25,000 square foot space not only replaces the unsightly temporary building that had been there for 40 years, it also reveals the true elegance of Lewis Cubbitt’s design for the first time since the nineteenth century.

Following on from the other notable milestones in the redevelopment programme - reglazing the main train shed roofs, building the new Western Concourse, and the refurbishment of the Great Northern Hotel, the new square completes the public face of the project. Behind the scenes are a new underground service area, a new control room built in the Grade 1 listed Western Concourse, and the complete replacement of the infamous Bomb Gap. No doubt there will be some tidying up still to do, but King’s Cross is the latest of London’s stations to have an impressive new look.

Now can someone please do something with Euston? Or does that have to wait until HS2 and 2026?

New Siemens Academy A new training academy, which will specialise in traction and rolling stock skills, will be built at the site of Siemens’ existing train depot and UK service headquarters in Kings Heath, Northampton. It will create around 100 jobs in its construction and subsequent operation and is expected to open its doors to the first students in Spring 2015.

Siemens is providing half of the funding, with a collaboration of the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE), the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and the Department for Transport (DFT) providing the other half.

It is estimated that there will be a shortage of around 4,500 people in the traction and rolling stock sector over the next five years. The new academy will address that skill shortage which has been caused by a

Much has been written about the dangers of level crossings, and Network Rail is keen to close as many as possible. Indeed, in its submission to the transport select committee earlier this year, Network Rail stated: “We would not contemplate allowing level crossings today if we were building the railway again. We consequently believe that closing crossings and diverting rights of way offers the best solution, but we often face obstacles in seeking to close crossings.”

It appears that someone has been listening as the Law Commission for England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission have published a joint report on the law governing level crossings. In its 297 pages, it commented: “The procedure for making changes to the protective measures at level crossings is cumbersome and expensive and the relationship between the various safety regulation systems lacks clarity. Poor co-operation between those responsible for level crossings can prevent improvements in efficiency and prevent crossings from being made convenient for all users.

“It is difficult to close level crossings. There is no single procedure designed for the closure of level crossings. The current procedures available

for closure only apply in limited circumstances and they can be complicated and timeconsuming.”

The far-reaching recommendations of the Law Commission include “the creation of a new statutory procedure for closing any level crossing, whether public or private, and providing for its replacement, where appropriate.

The procedure will include temporary stopping up of highways and roads for the purposes of carrying out works in connection with closure; extinguishment of private rights of way; planning permission; powers to acquire land compulsorily; compensation and the apportionment of costs.”

The full report and its proposals are now being considered by Government.

combination of an ageing workforce (currently 13,500), technological advances in rolling stock, and underinvestment in the past.

The new Northampton training centre will offer 20,000 man days of training per year and will act as a national ‘hub’ with regional

‘spokes’ located at other train care facilities around the country. The funding agreement will mean that 50% of the academy’s capacity will be taken up by Siemens’ own rail sector employees with the other half being released to the wider UK industry.

NEWS

the rail engineer • October 2013

Higgins to HS2

Latest light rail arrival

Sir David Higgins, who recently announced he would step down from the post of Chief Executive of Network Rail at the start of Control Period 5 (1 April 2014), has now been confirmed as the new Chairman of HS2 Ltd.

Current incumbent Doug Oakervee will leave at the end of 2013 and Sir David will start on a part time basis from 1 January, going full-time when he leaves Network Rail at the end of March.

Commenting on the announcement, Sir David said: “In many ways, I see this new role as a logical extension of the work I have been doing at Network Rail. During my time as chief executive, I have seen for myself

7

the capacity constraints that we work under as a result of unprecedented growth.

“HS2 can help relieve that pressure but in the meantime I, along with the rest of the executive, remain focused on delivering the best operation we can each and every day. I also look forward to working with Mark Carne as he prepares to take over one of the best jobs in the industry.”

Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin said: “The appointment of Sir David Higgins to replace Doug Oakervee ensures that we will continue to have leaders at the heart of HS2 who have a track record of delivery.

His experience...will be essential to ensure we deliver HS2 on time and on budget.”

Britain’s newest tram has now arrived at Nottingham. The Alstom Citadis is the first of 22 new trams being added to the existing fleet which was built by Adtranz (now Bombardier). It arrived by road, but was soon being shown off to the press and the public.

The new trams are part of the Phase Two extension to the Nottingham network which will see trams running out to Clifton and Chilwell, both to the west of the city. Interestingly, the terminus for the Chilwell line at Toton Lane is less than a

kilometre from the proposed new HS2 East Midlands Hub at Toton Sidings.

Once the new tram is fully tested and approved, it will enter service on the current lines next year, in advance of Phase Two being completed by the end of 2014.

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the rail engineer • October 2013

Reading’s new train care depot S COLIN CARR

ince plans to significantly improve the railway at Reading were first launched in September 2008, The Rail Engineer has written a number of articles charting the progress that is being made. Many contracts have been let by Network Rail for this £895 million project and one of the many key milestones recently achieved is the construction of a £150 million, 6,500 square metre train care depot complex, to the north side of the railway.

This work was necessary because the existing train maintenance depot was sitting in the path of a proposed new eastern chord. This is needed to enable freight traffic from Southampton, which has increased in volume by 60%, to pass under the main lines and to continue through the station area without inconveniencing other trains.

BAM Nuttall was already on site developing the station complex and, to accelerate the programme, its team was invited by Network Rail to carry out extensive enabling works including drainage and ground works in preparation for the main contract work. To construct the new depot complex, a contract valued at £36 million was awarded to VolkerFitzpatrick.

Scope amended

Right: Zonegreen DPPS System: Intelligent Powered Derailers.

Two weeks into that contract, the DfT amended the scope of work to include features required for the planned electrification of the Great Western main line route. James Corker, VolkerFitzpatrick’s project manager, explained that this amended approach increased the scope of the contract by approximately 20%. In addition, it had the potential to increase the time on site by about twelve months. There were clearly some significant challenges ahead for James and his team.

Jacobs Engineering completed the design of the new 210 metre long, 37 metre wide depot shed which included three light-maintenance through roads, together with a single-road heavy-maintenance shed designed to accommodate a 15 tonne gantry crane and 15 tonne Mechan jacks. VolkerFitzpatrick then began constructing the new depot in January 2011, which now

included enhancements to allow for future stabling and servicing of electric trains, providing a capacity for 147 vehicles made up of a mixture of diesel and electric trains.

Congested site The work started with the installation of 279 continuous flight augured piles of 450 to 600mm diameter in preparation for the construction of the main depot. As James explained, the site was very congested due to access demands for other contractors but they managed to complete associated drainage works including interceptors, pump chambers, soakaways and holding tanks as well as a fuel farm. Numerous undertrack crossing and duct routes were constructed as well as a substation and troughing routes to complete the groundwork

Volke rFitzp atrick wins six de pot p rojec ts in 2 013

Leading the way in depot construction VolkerFitzpatrick continues to be a market leader in rail depot construction with significant contract wins this year.

We are now looking to recruit high calibre professionals for a variety of roles throughout the organisation.

For more information please visit www.volkerfitzpatrick.co.uk

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the rail engineer • October 2013

The complex also includes main stores, a workshop, plant rooms, signalling room, a three storey production management office with seventeen associated buildings with car parking space for thirty vehicles. There is also a myriad of additional buildings; water storage pump building, oil, coolant and fuel systems stores building, four substation buildings, incoming services building, security building, admin building, east & west cleaners accommodation, water storage building and a carriage wash plant room.

Equipped for electrification The project also saw the first overhead wires installed for Network Rail’s £895 million Great Western Electrification Programme. More than 2000 metres of overhead line was installed on 211 head spans from the east sidings to the west sidings, along with depot ballasted track. The work incorporated overhead line electrification piling, the construction of the overhead line structures and bases and the installation of the wiring and associated bonding.

VolkerFitzpatrick became the principal contractor (PC) after BAM Nuttall had completed the initial enabling work. All the associated signalling work was carried out by Siemens with VolkerFitzpatrick retaining the role of PC. However, the significant amount of ballasted trackwork required outside the depot buildings was installed by Carillion which became the PC whilst this work was in progress and then returned the role to VolkerFitzpatrick. Quite a challenging set of arrangements for the project manager and one can only imagine the paperwork involved.

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As those readers who have worked in train depots know, although trains move around at very low speeds their movement can be insidious and therefore potentially very dangerous. To minimise this risk, VolkerFitzpatrick procured the services of Zonegreen, a Sheffield based company to install its SMART Depot Personnel Protection System (DPPS) designed to control the movement of trains and safeguard staff working in the depot environment. James described the system as the “most advanced of depot protection systems”.

This intelligent control network has been fitted to all lines throughout the depot. The system allows vehicles at Reading to be moved in and out of maintenance areas quickly and efficiently without endangering employees working in the vicinity. The system has ensured that the depot has adequate capacity not only to service current diesel trains but also the new electric vehicles set to replace the Great Western Main Line fleet in 2017.

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the rail engineer • October 2013

Using a convenient Windows format, the Depot Manager software can be configured to carry out the following operations: »» Display the location of personnel »» Record all aspects of depot protection »» Display status of plant and equipment »» Identify vehicles when used in conjunction with Zonegreen’s train identity system.

Improving depot efficiency The innovative software provides a complete overview of the depot on a plasma screen from the supervisor’s office, considerably increasing depot efficiency by monitoring, planning and analysing data. It can also be linked to other equipment, such as lifting jacks, bogie drops, train identity readers, train washes and wheel lathes.

The system displays the status of machinery on a large plan view of the depot and identifies the location of workers and their position on each road. Events are logged automatically, including user and vehicle movement. This gives accurate information that is readily accessible should an incident occur. Maintenance details are also recorded to create historic reports of operations which are invaluable when investigating downtime and the use of plant and equipment, road end control panels, train detection equipment, warning signals and personal data keys to protect staff and infrastructure in busy rail depots Tony Hague, Zonegreen’s managing director, explained that their depot protection system is renowned throughout the rail industry for its quality and proven reliability emphasising that they had worked closely with the team at Reading to integrate it into this highly complex development. Also, Tony was keen to point out that everyone involved in this work is pleased with how well it is performing. He also acknowledged that future upgrades were a key consideration throughout the design and construction phase stating that Zonegreen is confident that its technology will continue to keep the depot’s staff safe for many years to come.

Satisfying all needs The system is clearly very important to the eventual lease holder First Great Western (FGW) and it featured prominently in the handover process. As James explained, the handover not only involved the end user but also the Route Asset Management team representing the owner Network Rail. Often there

the rail engineer • October 2013

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Awards which is a scheme designed for the Reading project by Bill Henry, Network Rail’s project director.

James was pleased to point out that to date no other contractor has received this prestigious accolade twice.

The Reading Festival site runs alongside the depot, so the site was closed down for the four day duration of the festival - probably a well earned rest for the workforce who were working shifts around the clock.

The organisers of the festival took full advantage of the new train shed structure to project lighting and images onto the shed which then reflected back onto the festival crowd. Now it is a quiet field full of cows.

Collaborative working

were two points of view that had to be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction and Zonegreen worked closely with VolkerFitzpatrick to resolve these issues to the satisfaction of the end user.

It is clear that James is very proud of the end result.

Not only did VolkerFitzpatrick hand over the completed work without encroaching on the additional twelve months that could have been added to the contract but they completed 750,000 man-hours with only one minor RIDDOR reportable accident. They received 56 STAR awards through Network Rail’s award scheme, never failing an assessment, as well as two Platinum Badger

Clearly this has been a very successful contract for all concerned. First Great Western has a state of the art depot, including the Zonegreen safety system, for maintaining its existing diesel fleet and for the electric train fleet of the future. Network Rail has a sustainably designed asset and VolkerFitzpatrick along with its supply chain has not only completed the building of a challenging depot complex but the team were awarded BS11000 certification for collaborative working on this project. This is something that James and his team must be particularly proud of.

No doubt, Network Rail’s operating team will also be pleased and relieved that yet another milestone has been achieved and the day when the old depot is demolished, the viaduct to carry the main line over the junction is completed and the new freight chord is introduced is now a step closer to reality.

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the rail engineer • October 2013

Traversing

Felixstowe R

ail freight is on the up. The statistics may get overshadowed by those for passenger train journeys, but they are impressive. Statistics published by Freight On Rail, the industry partnership which promotes the shift to rail freight, make interesting reading.

These include the fact that the rail freight industry has achieved a 48% growth in tonne kilometres since 1994/95 with half the number of locomotives and two thirds of the wagons employed at that time. In the latest reported year alone, from 2010-11 to 2011-12, the amount of freight moved increased by 10%.

All this freight has to come from and go to somewhere. In many cases, that is one of Britain’s container ports, of which Felixstowe is the biggest. Thirty shipping companies operate from Felixstowe and the port welcomes over 4,000 ships a year. In terms of containers, last year the port handled over 3.4million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) - that’s a lot of containers.

New North Rail Terminal Small wonder, then, that Felixstowe has good rail connections. However, even two rail terminals and over fifty rail movements a day (25 trains in and 25 out) was not enough.

So, owner Hutchison Ports has invested £40 million in a new North Rail Terminal and other improvements including ten kilometres of new railway. This provides nine new freight roads bringing the total on site to twenty.

VolkerFitzpatrick was contracted to undertake the construction of the 730 metre long terminal which included a novel feature - a 30 metre long traverser. Using this, locomotives could be uncoupled from their trains, traversed sideways to a run-around

road, and then run back to the other end of the next consignment of loaded wagons. It would save a lot of shunting and space.

Designed to handle loads of up to 170 tonnes (current freight locos are around 130 tonnes so the specification included a degree of future-proofing), there was nothing like it in the UK so VolkerFitzpatrick turned to Sheffield-based handling specialists Mechan which had built traversers before, but nothing on this scale.

A question of size At 30 metres long and weighing 90 tonnes, Mechan’s factory wasn’t even large enough to assemble the behemoth. So a temporary unit was rented 12 miles away which had the necessary space and overhead craneage.

Design and manufacture took a year.

Then the next problem was how to get the enormous construction to the docks. It wouldn’t fit on a train, so the only solution was to take it by road, in one piece, down the A14.

Leicester Heavy Haulage, based not far from The Rail Engineer in Coalville, was asked to undertake the tricky task.

With detailed advance planning, the 200 mile trip took two days with only one overnight stop. Mechan engineers then had to lift the traverser into position, VolkerFitzpatrick had already prepared the pit and track, and commission it. The Felixstowe maintenance team, 60 engineers split over three shifts, also had to be instructed how to operate and maintain it.

the rail engineer • October 2013

15

Reflecting on the project, Mechan’s engineering director Martin Berry said: “Installation of this traverser was a real landmark occasion for us. It has been such a huge undertaking, not only because of its size, but also in terms of the technological developments within its design.”

Still more growth Following test running, the transverser was ready for the grand opening of the new terminal by the Duke of York in June.

Since then, demand has increased still further and there are now a total of sixty train movements (thirty train arrivals and departures) a day. Freightliner is the major operator at Felixstowe, with around twothirds of the train activity. GB Railfreight operates most of the rest with DB Schenker currently only running a couple of trains a day. So the traverser is already earning its keep.

The new terminal complements work by Network Rail on the Strategic Freight Network.

The Ipswich cord, which will open in April 2014, will allow trains to run directly to the North East. At the same time, that North East route will become gauge cleared for 9’ 6” containers to Doncaster and Leeds. This will make the onward movement of freight even easier, and no doubt encourage even more growth in this sector.

Clemence Cheng, chief executive officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited, owner of the Port of Felixstowe, is certainly pleased with the improvements: “Rail is becoming the mode of choice for an increasing number of shipping lines, forwarders and shippers to move their goods to and from ports. It provides cost, environmental and reliability benefits for many customers and the Port of Felixstowe offers more rail services, to more destinations, more

often than any other UK port.

“The new North Rail Terminal will increase still further our rail capability. By allowing us to run longer trains, as well as more of them, it will allow users of the port to improve the efficiency of their supply chains and at the same time reducing cost for them.”

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The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Framework Programme FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement no “285259”. The Consortium members are: Ceit, CAF I+D, Cedex, Ifsttar, York EMC Services, Trafikverket, and Lulea Tekniska Universitet.

16

the rail engineer • October 2013

TREND

Establishing a DR ROB ARMSTRONG, CONSULTANT ENGINEER, YORK EMC SERVICES

E

lectromagnetic emissions from rolling stock are currently a major concern for train manufacturers and railway infrastructure operators. Rolling stock is required to meet specific harmonised EMC standards and must therefore be tested appropriately.

However, these standards do not completely address interoperability issues resulting from rolling stock interference with signalling systems. These include GSM-R transmissions, and train-borne balise transmission modules (BTM) used with balise-based systems including ETCS and ERTMS. In addition, these standards do not cover representative worst-case conditions - transients generated by the rolling stock or infrastructure such as those caused by discontinuities in the feeding and track circuit systems.

Determining responsibility Even in trains that are tested fully to the EN50121 series of EMC standards and pass, problems can arise when in service. If this should occur, the technical solutions are not always straight forward. In addition, the question of who is responsible for the lack of compliance can be difficult to answer and agree on; for example is the rolling stock manufacturer responsible due to excess emissions, or the infrastructure manufacturer for inadequate immunity?

Resolving this is especially difficult if everything has been tested to accepted standards. The length of time it takes for the field testing to solve this kind of problem and to go through the certification process again, varies between three months and twelve months, and may require a large investment by whichever party is ultimately deemed responsible.

In addition to the challenges of responsibility and technical solutions, railway infrastructure operators can suffer loss of service (availability reduction) caused by the rolling stock electromagnetic incompatibility with the rest of the railway system. To take the worst case example, this could be safety critical signalling systems.

Project objectives

The TREND project (Test of Rolling Stock Electromagnetic Compatibility for Cross-Domain Interoperability) was therefore established with an objective of addressing this situation by: 1. Designing a test setup that enables the harmonisation of rolling stock approval tests for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) which focuses not only on interferences with broadcasting services but also on railway signalling systems; 2. Identifying and designing possible cross acceptance test sites and/or methods that reproduce representative worst case conditions for both steady state and transient phenomena; i.e. a universal test setup which can be used for full system testing. These representative worst case conditions will be obtained from a combination of experiences from the project members such as those of York EMC Services and from electromagnetic modelling of the rolling stock, rail and feeding infrastructure.

the rail engineer • October 2013

The TREND project has been split into four main research areas - Spot signalling systems (such as BTM), track circuits, GSM-R and broadcasting services (including TV, Radio, Wi-Fi and GSM).

»»

Two years in As of October 2013, the project is in month 24 of a total of 30 months, up to which point there have been some major achievements stemming from the completed Work Packages, the sections into which EU Seventh Framework Programmes (FP7) are divided. Work Package 2 brought together some examples of situations where the current EMC standards had proved insufficient in ensuring compatibility.

The project consortium has a great deal of EMC experience and all members had some example situations to draw upon. From the results of Work Package 2, the areas of concern regarding the compatibility of rolling stock were identified, leading to the four research areas mentioned above being defined.

The next task, under Work Package 3, was to undertake a thorough investigation of the current EMC standards for railways. After a detailed analysis of the standards from the point of view of interoperability and ease of testing, the following conclusions were drawn including points which remain unaddressed in the analysed standards: »» On board emission testing - arising from concern about hand held transmitters

»»

»»

»»

»»

»»

on board the train and in the station environment; Categorising and measuring transient emissions - both conducted and radiated transient emissions are not accounted for in any of the reviewed standards; Neutral sections - identified as a problem area, particularly in Sweden, where neutral sections are not treated correctly in the analysed standards. EN 50121 makes a specific point of avoiding neutral sections; Radiated emission limit - the emission limits in EN 50121-X can be interpreted as being too high, allowing interference on radio systems at large distances from the railway.

Frequency range - both the lower and the upper frequency limits are insufficient to take into account the changing electromagnetic environment; Conducted emissions from substations and/or passing trains should be included in EN50121-2; Up to date testing - it is thought that the standards do not keep up to date with advances in technology, as evidenced by interference problems with GSM-R systems.

These points were then used to drive the remainder of the TREND project, with the aim of creating a measurement environment or set of environments in which some of the points identified can be addressed.

17

Pantograph arcing Work packages 4 and 5 involved the electromagnetic simulation and derivation of the worst case scenarios that could be encountered in the railway environment. As part of Work Package 4, a measurement campaign was carried out in Sweden which involved looking at the worst case scenarios within the TREND research areas.

One such area is pantograph arcing which was investigated by deliberately icing the catenary to provide almost continuous pantograph arcing. This was measured line-side and via an appropriately placed GSM-R antenna and the results fed back into the electromagnetic model in order to increase the latter’s usefulness.

As the TREND project enters the final six months, all partners are focused on the creation of test environments and measurement techniques in order to achieve the project objectives. It is hoped that the development and understanding of pantograph arcing and time domain measurement of transient emissions will be realised. The remaining work packages allow the development of novel test methods that will help to address some of the issues raised earlier on in the TREND project. The outcome from the remaining project time and the culmination of the project objectives will be a set of test methods and/or environments that recreate the representative worst case scenarios regarding rolling stock emissions that could affect interoperability.

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18

the rail engineer • October 2013

JEANETTE BOWDEN

T

ucked away under most locomotives and railway carriages are a pair of bogies. Hidden from passengers below the platform edge, trains literally couldn’t run without them. How they perform markedly affects the ride and therefore the comfort of those passengers, yet they are often overlooked.

One of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of bogies is Bombardier Transportation. The company has a large range of them for all applications, from heavy freight locomotives to trams. Bogies from the FLEXX family go under most of the electric and diesel multiple unit (EMU/DMU) trains that Bombardier produces, but they have to cope with a wide range of operational challenges

depending on where the train is running and the job it is being asked to do.

While the bogies within the FLEXX family typically have different characteristics to suit a wide range of requirements, the common factor is that they have been developed by dedicated teams of highly-specialised engineers with a strong focus on the end goal be it speed on dedicated or curved track, lighter

weight, frame flexibility, low maintenance, or a combination of several of these factors. The result is a range of bogies for both high speed trains and high capacity metros, from China to Sweden, not to mention closer to home in the UK.

Comfort at speed As an example, FLEXX Speed bogies are being delivered for the V300 Zefiro trains for Trenitalia which are manufactured in Italy by a partnership between Bombardier and Ansaldo Breda. These bogies were derived from a design that was originally developed for

19

FLEXX appeal the rail engineer • October 2013

Bombardier’s bogie family explained

the Zefiro trains currently operating in China.

However, as the Italian market has different requirements, certain modifications had to be made.

The design of the Italian routes placed additional demands on the suspension system. The requirement to run at 360 km/h (225mph) on track designed for 300 km/h (190mph) meant that special measures were needed to achieve a good ride comfort. So these latest bogies feature active lateral suspension which enables them to improve ride comfort while travelling at speed.

Containing operating costs is also important.

With the first major overhaul scheduled only after five years, during which time the bogies may have run around 2.5 million km, the bogies had to be designed for minimal maintenance.

Mechatronic milestone In a parallel development aimed particularly at routes with curved track, Bombardier has developed the FLEXX Tronic WAKO system.

This is claimed to be the first fully-mechatronic suspension system in railway applications in that it combines mechanical and electrical engineering with computer technology. Its aim is to allow for higher speeds on curved tracks without compromising passenger comfort through compensation of the natural roll movement of a train car body.

Integrated into the existing secondary suspension, FLEXX Tronic WAKO tilts the car body to the inside of the curve around a virtual rotating point generated by the anti-roll bar system. This enables trains, particularly double-

deck coaches with a high centre of gravity, to run over 15% faster in curves. In turn, this brings shorter journey times on existing tracks, avoiding the need for significant infrastructure investment.

With a simple, fail-safe mechanical design and fully-redundant electronics and actuation, the new suspension also provides up to 100-times more reliability than achieved by classical active systems.

20

the rail engineer • October 2013

FLEXX Tronic WAKO will start its first service in 2015 with the FV-Dosto double-deck trains ordered by SBB in Switzerland. With 290 trains on order, and the provision for additional options, this fleet will form the backbone of SBB’s future railway service.

Flexible frame for challenging tracks While high speed creates certain unique challenges, bogies at the other end of the product spectrum may have to deal with difficult track conditions such as those posed by intensively-used, high capacity metro systems.

Such is the case with the bogies that Bombardier has developed for London Underground’s Victoria line and the subsurface line trains. These FLEXX Metro bogies feature an innovative flexible frame, which enables them to cope with the track irregularities inherent on this heavily used system.

Rubber-jointed flexible H-frames give improved performance on networks with challenging track twist. In addition, elastomeric components in the primary suspension give a high level of steering performance, helping to reduce noise and vibration.

As well as in London, specialist FLEXX Metro bogies have found applications as far afield as Bucharest and New Delhi.

Designed in the UK The FLEXX Eco bogie was originally designed by and for the UK market and has subsequently became a global success. The product started life in the early 1990s as the ‘Advanced Suburban Bogie’ project, a joint development initiative between British Rail Research and private sector industry, with Eddie Searancke, now one of Bombardier’s leading bogie engineers, responsible for its early development. He explains the progression of the project: “We started with a list of objectives, including goals to reduce mass by 30% and aerodynamic drag by 40% compared with existing EMU

bogies in the UK market. Bearing in mind that UK passenger bogies were already relatively lightweight in comparison with the rest of Europe, these were significant challenges, but encouraged us to literally ‘reinvent the wheel’.

“Consequently, we produced a radically different design of bogie which featured an inboard bearing design. This already gave us considerable advantages in terms of weight reduction. Coupled with a smaller wheelbase and hollow axles, it enabled us to achieve our target weight reduction and also made the bogie extremely aerodynamically efficient, hence also providing environmental benefits of improved energy efficiency.

“Another advantageous by-product of the inboard bearing design is its ease of maintenance and maintainability, with, for example, improved access to the wheels and brakes. The components were also designed with longevity and low maintainability in mind, principles which have endured to today’s FLEXX Eco bogie products.”

It is not just the improved access that contributes to better maintenance. The bogie also has a lower unspung mass, leading to lower wear on track, wheelsets and components. As a result, maintenance intervals have been extended significantly.

Following years of intensive testing on the UK network, as well as trials by Germany’s Deutsche Bahn and NSB (Norwegian Railways),

the FLEXX Eco bogie was incorporated within the Class 220/222 Voyager and Meridian trains and Class 172 which form part of the Turbostar DMU family. There are now around 1,000 units in operation worldwide with the UK fleet alone operating over three million miles per week.

The FLEXX Eco has also found applications in EMUs and it is no surprise that the bogie has been incorporated within Bombardier’s new generation Aventra train for the UK market.

In this application, the lightweight bogie design also helps with the reduction of the overall vehicle mass, meaning the new trains will be around 20% lighter than the current Electrostar.

Not just UK metro A capability for high speed operation was not originally part of the FLEXX Eco concept.

Nevertheless, it has been tested at 275km/h (170mph) on a Shinkansen in Japan and also at 392 km/h (245mph) beneath a German ICE2, demonstrating excellent stability. As a result, a development of this bogie has been chosen for Deutsche Bahn’s new ICx fleet, 300 of which have been ordered from Siemens.

The first trains are due to enter service in 2016.

Reinforcing its versatility for all markets and applications, the FLEXX Eco platform will be used in the new C30 metro trains being provided by Bombardier for Stockholm’s Red Line with the first service planned for 2016.

The bogie’s low weight and minimal impact on the track met key requirements for this contract.

All in all, that’s not a bad endorsement for a product originally designed by and for the UK. Today, Bombardier has approximately 35 dedicated bogie engineers within its 350-strong UK-based engineering team working on providing the latest in bogie technology to the world market.

FLEXX, Zefiro, WAKO, Aventra, Electrostar and Turbostar are trademarks of Bombardier Transportation.

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22

the rail engineer • October 2013

TIM SMART, HEAD OF ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS, HS2 LTD

PHASE 2 - LEEDS Phase 1 : Phase 2 STREETHAY JCN

COLWICH WEST JN

COLWICH EAST JN

RUGELEY NORTH JCN

ARMITAGE JCN

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HS2

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he reason for building HS2 can sometimes be obscured in the fog of argument about whether people work on trains, benefit-cost ratios (BCR) and the like. There have been a number of negative comments in the media during the latter part of the summer concerning the likely outturn costs of HS2. Some from notable sources, but it is far from clear on what real basis these comments have been made.

It seems to me they were made more on the narrow and short sighted view that big infrastructure projects are not successful in meeting cost targets than a proper understanding of the proposals and strategies behind HS2.They also ignore recent successful projects such as the Heathrow Terminal 5, 2012 Olympics and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link - HS1.

Looking back at HS1 As the first truly high speed rail project in the UK and drawing heavily on the French TGV experience, HS1 faced a number of challenges on technological, commercial and environmental grounds - all similar to those HS2 is facing today.

Despite some early issues, Section 1 of HS1 from the Channel Tunnel

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through to Fawkham Junction, with the challenges of passing through Ashford, was delivered on time and under budget in 2003. In 2007, Section 2 through to St Pancras was opened on time and within budget.

By employing sound engineering techniques, modern commercial strategies and with a better focus on project control brought about by more up to date management, HS1 was able to deliver to plan.

Furthermore, in the final analysis, the HS1 financial model that eventually emerged proved very effective. It delivered an investment grade piece of infrastructure and an associated income stream for the Government, following the successful conclusion of a competition for the sale of a 30 year concession (and yes, the

Government gets to sell it again) to a joint venture of Canadian pension funds. In doing so, this subsidised the building of the railway for the taxpayer by over ÂŁ2.5 billion.

Additionally, pension funds need steady, predictable and relatively risk free investments. By purchasing HS1, two of the wealthiest pension funds in the world who are in the business of making canny economic decisions have voted with their dollar in support of high speed rail investment in the UK.

Preparing the figures HS2 is currently in the final stages of preparation for the Hybrid Bill for Phase 1 (London to Birmingham).

This, amongst other things, means we must have a reference design in sufficient detail to ensure we can build, operate and maintain HS2 to provide the expected benefits.

To do this, a more significant amount of engineering has to be carried out than that directly evidenced by the spatial arrangements articulated on the drawings, plans and sections

the rail engineer • October 2013

23

HS2 fights back Boundary

DELTA JCN Platform 4

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WASHWOOD HEATH DEPOT

100

CURZON STREET

which form the key engineering documents underpinning the Hybrid Bill. This has involved designing all the key elements along the route in sufficient detail to deliver the required railway parameters and balance the engineering proposals with other important environmental factors, associated mitigation and of course cost.

HS2 has been working with some of the world’s leading consultants and contractors to make sure we

have robust railway engineering design proposals with associated construction plans appropriate for the reference design of the Bill. This forms the foundation for the initial cost estimate and it is a matter of fact that, as the engineering design develops and responds to consultations, so a more advanced understanding of the engineering solutions and risks emerges and the cost profile will change.

The estimate for Phase 1 was established in the Baseline 3 cost review. The Secretary of State announced in June this year a target cost of £17.16 billion (at 2011 prices) including a 10% risk allowance. During the spending round process the Chancellor agreed an indicative budget of £21.4 billion (2011) for Phase 1.

The increase reset the cost to take account of scope revisions and allowed an appropriate and prudent contingency for the future ‘unknown unknowns’ which any project of the scale of HS2 simply must include at this stage.

Further efficiencies One thing this is not is an open cheque book. This is about making proper and reasonable allowances for the emerging design and other issues that large infrastructure projects demand based on sound engineering and commercial principles and judgement. As more detailed information and data accumulates through the life of the project this contingency, can and must be effectively managed - and managed does not necessarily mean spent.

Opportunities for efficiencies will be identified and managed. HS2 is under no illusions concerning the challenge for achieving effective delivery. As the programme of any infrastructure project moves forward, the inevitable conflicting priorities of cost, time and quality will emerge. It is critical that the client organisation steps up to the plate to ensure the path through the cost-time-quality triangle is the right one, and costs will be under the closest scrutiny.

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24

the rail engineer • October 2013

It is an understatement to say this has its challenges, and anybody who has delivered a successful infrastructure project will tell you that this will require firm, responsive, nimble and highly competent client management demanding sufficient autonomy and empowerment from a Government sponsor.

Dealing with this challenge is something HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport already have well in hand. HS2 has established a framework plan to deliver 20% efficiencies going forward, realising that this starts with the client and key commercial and governance strategies. It also involves aligned incentives and working collaboratively with the supply chain and other key stakeholders such as Network Rail.

They too must be capable of rising to the challenge and delivering on it. I have no doubt that they will and this has already been affirmed in a letter to the Daily Telegraph in early September by a number of CEOs of the UK’s leading consultants and contractors. So to those who assert that HS2 will cost significantly more, I would ask - on what basis do you make these statements? Have you done the work that HS2 has done?

Connectivity not speed There has also been much chatter within the media about HS2 either diverting money from other infrastructure projects, or that the

money allocated for HS2 would be better invested in enhancing the existing rail network. Again, to my mind this demonstrates a further misunderstanding of what HS2 will deliver. It is not about getting to Birmingham or Manchester, Leeds or any other northern city faster. It

the UK and not just London. HS2 provides the backbone to achieving this and will work in harmony with other transport solutions.

In terms of capacity over the distances proposed, HS2 can move more people per hour more sustainably than other forms of

is about capacity and connectivity.

Network Rail has stated that it cannot provide the future capacity the nation will require by piecemeal upgrades.

It is an immovable fact that passenger numbers have doubled to 1.5 billion over the last two decades and the demand for freight has grown by 60% since privatisation. As the UK population expands we must find sustainable solutions to underpin our transport need which is vital to ensure a thriving and vibrant economy across

transport. The distances between London and the northern cities which HS2 will serve are particularly well suited to high speed rail as the most efficient means of moving people. It is not practical to enhance our highways or airports for these distances and we must look to encourage a modal shift from short haul air to rail. This also has the not insignificant advantage of handing capacity back to our airports to serve other longer haul destinations for which rail is not so well suited.

INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE DEPOT MAINTENANCE LOOP 2

@ 116 km

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the rail engineer • October 2013

The West Coast main line, Britain’s busiest intercity route, will be full within 15 years despite the fact that it has already been upgraded at a cost of some £9 billion by Network Rail between 2004 and 2008. Further enhancements are simply not practicable and cannot deliver the capacity which the nation requires.

We must take a long term view on the solution to our rail network issues as we have seen in other parts of Europe, Asia and now even in the US. HS2 will be the long required step change for UK rail and enhance the existing network by releasing significant capacity which pretty well forces a complete recast of the national time table. The published August 2012 economic case for HS2 set out a modelled train service and there have been comments from some quarters about possible reductions in service in some areas.

However, this boils down to a debate on how best to utilise this released capacity and this is a very good position to be in for the UK’s transport planners.

This released capacity also means there is much better proposition for freight services which of course takes goods off our congested road network and helps relieve capacity here too. All this reinforces the point that HS2, by its very existence, enhances and complements existing transport systems and not just the rail network.

Top down or bottom up?

Some of the criticism in the media has also dwelled on the economic case for HS2. To my mind this is always a difficult area, as to obtain a true picture one must look at the wider economic benefits and these are more difficult to predict and therefore not always adequately accounted for in traditional cost benefit analysis.

In the UK, Europe and many other parts of the world rail projects are typically financed ‘top down’

In the US the significant element of financing for infrastructure projects comes ‘bottom up’ from local sources such as the individual states and cities and is therefore raised via local taxes. Under these circumstances there is much more of an incentive placed on demonstrating regional benefits in terms of growth and job creation which brings into sharper focus the supply side of the economics equation. Consequently, in the US, methodologies have been developed

from Government money. The BCR predictions for infrastructure projects under these arrangements typically focus on the demand side economics which, to my mind, often do not take sufficient cognisance of the supply side benefits.

to provide a better understanding and predication of the regional benefits of infrastructure projects at a much earlier stage.

This is something I would like to see developed further in the UK. Fortunately, in the case of HS2, this has been addressed in the KPMG

Platform 6 Northolt Tunnel 130

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To HS1 Link To St Pancras

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the rail engineer • October 2013

100 report. This report shows benefits to the UK from HS2 of up to ÂŁ15billion per year, with regions in the north benefiting twice as much as those in the south. As an engine for growth, HS2 will be a significant opportunity for the UK to realise these wider benefits and, with the announcement that Lord Deighton is to lead the growth task force, these will become even clearer in the future.

Proven benefits A report published in 2009, after the construction of HS1, revealed ÂŁ4 billion of regenerative benefit along its route.

This is evidenced right now by the impressive new development for higher education, affordable housing and commercial property currently being constructed at the back of St Pancras.

One can point to the success of the 2012 Olympics, the economic boost the Stratford area has received following the opening of the Westfield shopping centre and the growing retail success at Ashford as examples of how high speed rail has underpinned regional transformation. This provides the real, hard evidence of the stimulation and regenerative benefits caused directly by high speed rail.

In terms of potential for growth I would also cite the often maligned Jubilee Line Extension Project (JLE) in this regard. This did not have the highest BCR and did run late and over budget. However the JLE opened up the development of Docklands with its associated significant economic benefits for London. Furthermore, as well as providing critical connectivity for East London, it delivered a fabulous architectural heritage to the underground system. Would we suggest now that the JLE has not been important for London and we should not have built it?

So as HS1 and the JLE have provided important economic and regional growth for London and the south east, HS2 will deliver these benefits to the great cities in the midlands and the north which have long been deprived of decent connectivity. It will promote growth and more importantly the jobs associated with this growth.

As a nation, we need to get firmly behind HS2. Dealing with the solution to our transport problem is a big ticket item for the UK and demands serious infrastructure and serious decisions. I wonder, where would we be now if the Victorians had shied away from this responsibility?

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the rail engineer • October 2013

the rail engineer • October 2013

29

E

lectrification - everyone is talking about it. New 25kV AC overhead line systems are planned, or already going in, on the Great Western main line, in the North West, up the middle of the country and in the South Wales valleys. It is therefore easy to forget that the commuter heartland of the Home Counties is already fully electrified, but using a 750V DC third-rail system. Of course everyone knows it’s there, but it isn’t talked about - it just is.

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

More power for longer trains

30

the rail engineer • October 2013

More power needed So, to redress the balance, The Rail Engineer decided to look at some major work taking place in Kent. Here, South Eastern Trains is introducing 12-car trains between London (Cannon Street, Charing Cross and London Bridge) and Dartford, Gravesend, Hayes and Sevenoaks. These Class 465 units will replace the current 10-car units giving much-needed extra capacity on the routes.

However, one inescapable fact of life is that 12-car trains use more electrical power than 10-car trains. And as the existing power supply system was already at its limit, improvements were needed.

Network Rail therefore contracted UK Power Networks Services (UKPN Services) to upgrade most of the system before the introduction of the new trains in December 2013 - and then bring the rest of it up to the same standard by the end of 2014 when extra trains will be added to the timetable.

The DC power for the third rail system is provided by a series of substations along the line. Between these are Track Paralleling Huts (TP Huts) which supply the other ends of the two sections, a system known as double-end feeding.

Currently, the system runs at a nominal 660V but the introduction of the new 12-car trains will require this to be uplifted to a nominal 750V. There are naturally losses along the track but it is essential that the supply doesn’t drop below 660-680V around Farringdon, 680V at Southwark and 695V at Cannon Street to prevent trains shutting down.

Enhancement is needed To bring the power supply up to the new specification involved a lot of work and a tight timescale. Phase 1, to be completed by December 2013, was forecast to be around £30 million and included the renewal of

DC switchboards and the upgrade of track equipment at 18 substations, three of which also needed new transformer and rectifiers.

In addition, the voltage uplift had to be carried out at more than 20 substations and one completely new TP hut had to be installed along with re-sectioning work. Taking into account the work required at other TP Huts, a total of 48 locations were involved in this Kent Power Supply Enhancement (PSE).

Lee Ramsay, UKPN Services’ section manager, explained that most of the work would be changing out the old DC track breakers in the TP Huts and half a dozen of the substations. Changing the breakers would also require the cables to be changed, particularly due to the higher voltages and currents (now up to 7.5kA). What’s more, those cables would have to be doubled up for 30% of the distance from each end of the section, when the bulk of the load would be met by supply from one end.

In the centre of the section (40%), where power would effectively be fed from each end, a single cable would be sufficient.

1000mm² braided aluminium cable was selected for the positive feed, with 800mm² being sufficient for the negative return. Cables were sourced from Western Rail Services and Cleveland Cable and the longer stretches were laid down using cable drums on a special lorry fitted with a HIAB. Much of the cable laying has been undertaken by Sonic Rail Services (SRS). Short lengths are being placed by hand and special low-smoke zero-halogen (LSZH) cables will be used through the tunnels at Blackheath, Greenhithe and Elmstead Woods.

While the new cable was being installed, checks were made on the quality of the earthing and any irregularities notified to Network Rail.

In many cases, new earth farms were installed - eight earthing pins 2.5 metres apart in a grid connected by braided copper cable.

UKPN Services supplied all of the cable and other fittings. Breakers, transformers and rectifiers were free-issued by Network Rail, with the DC breakers and the permanent DC breaker modules coming from Hawker Siddeley Switchgear.

Restricted access As much preparatory work was done as possible, as the actual installation of the wiring had to take place in short, 2.5-hour possessions at night (access was normally limited to 01:00 to 04:30). One of the biggest challenges for UKPN Services’ construction manager Jonathan Hedge was arranging access overnight. With the co-operation of Network Rail’s project manager, Mark South, this never became a problem but sometimes the sequence of installations was changed to fall in with planned blockades and possessions.

The new kit was installed in stages during the week and fitted to a temporary TP hut with the new breakers. Then the actual changeover of each section took place on longer, weekend possessions. Following that, the redundant cable and the temporary hut would be removed. There were four such TP Huts available so these were rotated along the route. Scheme managers Mark O’Callaghan and Ed Leonard had the complex job of arranging the schedule and making sure that the free-issue equipment arrived in the right place at the right time.

After all the work is completed, and the old cables and temporary breakers tidied away, the sites will be landscaped. Terram Weedguard geotextile will be overlaid with 150mm of recycled ballast and the fencing will be modified to suit the new installation.

And that’s it - more or less. Some of the substations and TP Huts contained asbestos so that is being dealt with. Phase 1 will be finished by 1 December 2013 ready for the new trains and the new timetable. So if you ride on one of the new 12-car trains in the New Year, between London and Gravesend, just remember where the power comes from.

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32

Formula the rail engineer • October 2013

for success

SIMON HARVEY, CONSTRUCTION ASSURANCE ENGINEER (TRACK), NETWORK RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

I

f one was to ask a member of the public what motor racing and railways had in common, a blank face would probably be the initial response. Given time, perhaps some tenuous comparisons would eventually be made both see drivers piloting their vehicles with hundreds (or thousands) of horsepower at their command, around tight radius curves against the clock, for example. The comparisons would probably end there. However, a new renewals approach, successfully trialled by Network Rail and Balfour Beatty at Tottenham Hale in London, adds another.

Photo: jENNY WEBB

Blink and you missed it To the casual observer, motor racing pit stops are fast paced and blurred as the team change the car’s tyres in seconds before sending the driver hurtling around the track to complete more laps. However, once slowed down, the whole process can be seen in detail as being beautifully choreographed, with each activity timed to the millisecond, each member of the pit stop team co-ordinated and playing their part in a dance of break-neck speed.

This does not occur naturally and requires much planning, direction, training, and practice to perfect.

The ‘F1’ approach, as it has been termed, has been developed to improve control over cost, time, safety and quality. It employs some techniques which are already used in conventional renewals. Modular S&C and 3-D machine control have demonstrated their worth elsewhere on the network for a number of years, but it is perhaps the human element of the renewals equation which has been the focus of this approach.

The team members employed have been hand picked and developed into a multi-skilled workforce. This helps to provide a certain level of redundancy. For example, if a team member were to fall ill, there would be another individual within the team with an identical skill set who could step into the breech.

Multi-skilling provides other benefits. Traditional job demarcation would have seen one set of individuals cutting a rail, and a

separate set of individuals employed to move the cut rail into position.

The new approach sees one set of individuals completing both tasks, and, with this demarcation eliminated or significantly reduced, a highly efficient use of labour resource is possible.

Without risk of repeating the Carnegie Hall joke, another key element in this approach is practice. The benefits of practicing tasks are fourfold; firstly, practice promotes team building and

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34

the rail engineer • October 2013

engagement, secondly, it presents the opportunity to test and refine techniques before they are used in anger, thirdly, it provides a realistic training environment, consistent with that which will be experienced in reality, and fourthly, allows improvement in the time taken to complete the task.

Only so much can be achieved through simulation, and so the Grange sidings in Stoke-on-Trent were used as the practice ground for developing and practicing the techniques required for the approach.

With mid-week S&C installations being one of the primary objectives, it is now possible to utilise exactly the same highly-skilled labour resource which is available for weekend work, and this promotes the virtues mentioned earlier. This is not an approach which uses ‘weekend warriors’.

In concert with multi-skilling, this may eventually present labour savings as less resource is used more often, and these economies will be realised through a steady and fully populated work bank.

Cooperation and coordination The process requires close cooperation between the designers and project engineering staff to ensure that the ‘buildability’ of the design has been optimised.

The 3-dimensional co-ordinates of each component can then be established to provide positional control on site.

Installation quality is one area which has received particular attention. The use of laser beacons, introduced to renewals in the 1980s to control bulldozers in two dimensions, is relegated for use as a contingency measure only, and modern Total Station 3D machine control is used in its place.

As well as providing a means of machine control, the 3D model used in the system can also be the means of providing absolute positional measurement. This allows each rail, each joint and each bearer to be positioned with impressive accuracy first time. It is also used to accurately position each track panel when lifted off the wagons by the Kirow crane. By locating each panel at or very near its final design

position, the line and level of the track is set very much earlier in the installation process.

The front chord offset file required by the tamper is generated using Amberg, GG-05 or GEDO track measuring devices, referenced to the original design. As the installation tolerances are much improved, the final lifts and slues are minimised, and this contributes to track quality longevity once the track has been opened to traffic.

Standing back On some traditional relaying sites (for the right or wrong reasons) it is not uncommon to observe the relaying supervisor perhaps becoming too involved in detailed elements of the work, often being the first person to grab a bar or shovel and jump into the excavation. Whilst this does demonstrate an admirable work ethic and can serve as a motivator for staff on cold and wet winter nights, it does risk the person in control of the site losing the crucial overview of all the activities under their control.

Photo: jENNY WEBB

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36

the rail engineer • October 2013 Photo: TESSA BROOKS

The role of a supervisor in the F1 approach is firmly re-established as the one controlling mind over all activities on site, with individual tasks delegated to task managers.

The supervisor is in continual contact with those task managers, and is therefore in a position to safely co-ordinate plant, labour and other resources about the site as required in order to meet the installation programme.

In common with most track renewals, the approach uses a fast-paced installation programme, and therefore meticulous planning and co-ordination is required. Each engineering train must arrive on time, with the right wagon consist and the correct materials. Each tamper must arrive pointing in the correct direction. All plant must operate as intended and without failure. Each possession must be granted at the allotted time.

Where there may be little contingency time built into conventional renewals to take account of such eventualities, the lean programme used in the F1 approach is much more vulnerable to these upsets. To this end, the project team has engaged with its

suppliers to minimise the risk of such occurrences. As highlighted in the recent article “Keeping IP on-track� (issue 104, June 2013), initiatives are underway in the supply chain to improve the level of plant reliability.

Test bed The recent renewal of 2531, a crossover located at Tottenham Hale in London, served as a test bed for the F1 approach. Two weekends of preparation preceded the core works which took place in mid-June, over four midweek night possessions each of eight hours duration.

On the Monday night, 2531A Points on the Up road were renewed with tamping taking place on the Tuesday night, and 2531B points on the Down road were installed on the Wednesday night and tamped on Thursday. Stressing and followup tamping of the layout took place over subsequent weeks. All programmed work within the core possessions was completed with possessions handed back ahead of programme.

The F1 renewal approach is very much in its infancy. However, the signs so far demonstrate that, thanks to its delivery team, it is well off the starting grid.

Photo: jENNY WEBB

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38

the rail engineer • October 2013

Mineral Composite Technology

A

s this modern world flies through time, boundaries are continually being pushed in pursuit of new more effective/efficient materials. Never has this been more important than in the arena of manufacturing these materials and leaving behind a minimal ‘carbon-footprint’ of CO2 in the process. One such technology that is surely going to be heard about in the future is Mineral Composite Technology.

Since the mid-nineties, various companies have been looking at the concept of producing hybrid construction materials using natural rock and high performance fibres - Mineral Composite Technology. A spin-off from one of these in 2005 was TechnoCarbon Technology (TCT), based near Munich, which has developed a material called CFS.

The concept When mineral materials such as granite and basalt are combined intelligently with carbon fibre, they can be used as a construction material in place of steel, aluminium and concrete.

Firstly, the granite is cut to size. It is then pre-loaded and, whilst still under pre-load, is sealed (using some very technical knowhow) with a fine layer of carbon fibre. This combination can be ramped up or down according to the amount of strength the individual application requires.

The result is a material for use in many of the applications normally associated with concrete that has twice its impact and pressure strength. Due to the carbon fibres, a degree of flexibility is introduced into this material that concrete doesn’t have and therefore an ability to absorb and damp down, shock/vibration.

It can, therefore, cope with, and withstand, torsional stress.

One major problem with concrete is the fact

IAN MCMEEKIN

that there are, from day one, hairline cracks that allow the ingress of water. This then freezes, starting the gradual deterioration and eventual break up of the material. CFS has absolute frost resistance as there are no hairline cracks.

Light weight CFS has almost the same actual weight as that of aluminium and, therefore, can be used in applications such as bridge building and tunnelling where weight saving is a consideration. In addition, there is no thermal elongation with CFS (which can be a problem for concrete and aluminium).

But the big feature of this new material is its ‘green credentials’. There are 50% fewer CO2 emissions when producing CFS and there is an almost unlimited availability of the natural stone.

The product is also aesthetically pleasing.

Designers can use their creative flair, emphasising the subtle colours of the natural stone, a possibility that concrete simply doesn’t allow.

Applications So this could be a very useful material. But what will it be used for? Well, the humble railway sleeper could be one application, particularly the long sleepers used in S & C. The additional flexibility could bring design benefits

and the ease of manufacture in various shapes and sizes could be an advantage as well. An example of a railway sleeper manufactured

by TCT was on display at the IAF exhibition in Münster, Germany, earlier this year (above).

A company called Spada in Switzerland is using this technology to manufacture its high end range of skis and ski poles. They have found it to be lighter and more flexible than aluminium.

Early next year a house is being built in Germany made exclusively from panels made out of Mineral Composite Technology. They are 40% thinner and 40% lighter than before and need no outer layers of cladding. Consequently, the house will be far quicker and easier to build and truly sustainable.

Where else can a lightweight, strong, flexible and sustainable material be used? Answers on a postcard please…

Looking at

lipping

the rail engineer • October 2013

39

PHILIP BEATY & PAUL INSLEY

A

ny good investigator will explain that the key to solving a puzzle is to understand it completely. Without that knowledge, attempting to come up with an answer is simple guesswork.

It’s the same in engineering.

Predicting how a mechanism will behave under a particular set of circumstances is only possible if all the parameters are known and understood. This is why a series of tests has been undertaken by LB Foster Rail Technologies and the University of Sheffield into the phenomenon of rail-end lipping.

When steel wheels run on steel track, the contact pressure of the wheel and the speed at which it is travelling can deform the rail surface. Where there is a joint in that track, a lip can be formed at the end of each rail. If that joint happens to be an insulated one, with a non-conductive endpost separating the two rails, the lips can overlap that endpost, bridging the gap and making contact. This obviously negates the insulation and plays havoc with signalling and train detection circuits.

Testing programme LB Foster Rail Technologies has international expertise in the development, testing and manufacture of both dry and glued insulated joints. To be able to offer customers guaranteed service life for those joints, the problem of lipping has to be overcome. So the company recently set up a knowledge transfer programme with the University of Sheffield to develop new test methods to build

knowledge of joint performance and damage mechanisms.

A collaborative project was undertaken to experimentally model the lipping of the railhead over the endpost using a scaled testing technique. Profile measurements of the samples before and after testing were taken, showing the dip that is created by the deformation of the steel. After testing, the lipped steel is clearly visible in images of the sectioned pieces which show deformation of the steel over the 0.5mm wide nylon endpost insert.

Further work being carried out includes etching the samples to gain an understanding of the microstructural behaviour of the steel. Testing is planned to include different steel grades, endpost thicknesses and insulation materials.

This work will be presented this year at the World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR 2013) in Sydney.

Full-scale deflection Another range of tests has looked at full-scale joint deflection to investigate the fatigue performance of insulated joints. A full-scale rolling load test enables simulation of moving load using a real wheel profile to look at lipping and compare with the smaller-scale testing.

The results will be used to analyse the failure modes of insulated joints. New designs will then be compared with a focus on these important failure modes, the target being to increase the life cycle performance of the joint.

While being undertaken in a narrow field, this work could be crucial to improving the reliability of track circuits in

Twin disc profile measurements.

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www.lbfoster.co.uk Sectioned samples that show lipping.

the future. With the increasing reliance on automated signalling systems to increase train frequency, any failure can cause havoc with timetables. LB Foster engineers aim to use the knowledge they have gained in working with the University of Sheffield to ensure that these problems are minimised in future installations.

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40

the rail engineer • October 2013

Removing those…

NIGEL WORDSWORTH

O

ne of the more infamous causes of train delay is “leaves on the line”. It is almost a joke these days, another wacky reason why trains are late along with “the wrong sort of snow”. However, it is a real problem, and no joke at all to the engineers of Network Rail’s National Delivery Service (NDS) who, every autumn, have to cope with it.

leaves on the line Defining the problem

On the face of it, having a main line train delayed by a few fallen leaves seems preposterous. But it is actually more than a few leaves.

And it isn’t so much the leaves themselves as what they do to the railhead that causes the difficulties. Steve Featherstone, Network Rail’s track director, explains: “As leaves fall onto the rails they are crushed by the wheels of passing trains. Over time more leaves fall and are crushed by more wheels of passing trains.

“This high pressure crushing turns them from things that we would recognise as leaves into the equivalent of a ‘Teflon’ coating on the rails.

Teflon is more commonly found in non-stick frying pans and, whilst it is great for cooking, having non-stick rails is a major risk as the trains can just slide along the rails when they try to stop.”

In the autumn, leaves fall from trees all across the country. However, there are certain areas where the problem is known to be more significant. Adam Doy is the business manager (seasonal) at NDS. “In terms of risk throughout the country, those areas where there is a lot of vegetation have the potential to suffer poorer adhesion and those areas where the network is exceptionally busy (London commuter zones) are always challenging. It tends to be the case that autumn starts in Scotland first and ends in the south in terms of leaf drop off. One significant variation depends on the type of trees which are adjacent to the railway with the larger leaves (sycamore) tending to fall first and the smaller (oak) later - again much of this is dependent on whether the summer has been wet or dry.”

Photo: DARREL HENDRIE

Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Specialist machinery So as the leaves start to fall, NDS deploys its arsenal of weapons against this unlikely menace. Network Rail has a fleet of 24 dedicated rail head treatment trains (RHTT), essentially two or three modified flat wagons normally hauled by Class 57 or 66 locos at either end, although Class 20 are used sometimes, along with ERTMS-fitted Class 97s on the Cambrian line.

The equipment on the trains includes high pressure water jets to blast the compressed leaf residue off the rail surface and an applicator for an adhesion modifier, which Steve Featherstone describes as “looking like wallpaper paste with sand mixed in”. Large tanks for both water and the adhesion modifier are also included.

42

the rail engineer • October 2013 Photo: ALLAN MCKEVER

The high pressure water jets run at 1,450 bar or 22,000 psi, and deliver a flow rate of 92 litres/ mile when running at 60mph (46 litres to each rail), so this is serious kit. The nozzles are designed by a specialist manufacturer (WOMA), which has the requisite skills and competence to deal with such a high pressure piece of equipment. They are normally used in industrial engineering metal cutting and have the ability to cut at a rate of 10mm/30 seconds. For safety, the system automatically shuts off when the train’s speed drops below 3mph to prevent any potential damage to the infrastructure.

The adhesion modifier is delivered at a flow rate of 2-6 litres/minute, depending on the type of product being used and the speed of treatment (normally 40-60mph).

In addition to the RHTT, another six of which are currently on order with three being delivered this year, the same equipment is fitted to 32 multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) so, at the peak of the leaf-fall season, 59 trains are deployed around the network.

Managing the operation The operation of the water jet and adhesion modifier is controlled by an on board operator who has the ability to lay both treatment modes through on-board controls - Cattron remote control units (RHTT) and bespoke consoles (MPV). The operator, prior to each shift, is provided with a ‘tick sheet’ which denotes the exact locations where treatment is to be applied (water jet and/or adhesion modifier). These are known as ‘drop sites’.

The locations to be treated are compiled outside of the autumn season and are put together by an adhesion specialist within the route team based on known areas of low adhesion, areas where there is a great deal of vegetation which has historically caused wheel slip, etc. In addition, Network Rail has the ability to alter treatment to respond to sites in the event of a station overrun or loss of train detection to improve adhesion and remove any ‘mulch’ caused by the wheels crushing the leaves.

Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Photo: ALAN CRANSHAW

Running any fleet of special trains on a crowded rail network is not without its complications.

A certain amount of ‘down time’ is required back at one of the 22 autumn seasonal locations in order to replenish the water tanks, fill up the adhesion modifier and carry out the necessary examinations on the equipment. Getting this balance right and also getting the physical ‘paths’ on the network is always a challenging balance to obtain.

There are a number of operational restrictions depending on the location such as permissive working and platform sharing which have to be factored into the treatment circuits.

Network Rail also provides treatment on the Metropolitan line in order to service Chiltern Railways, so there is a need for close working with London Underground to ensure that the train plan is workable. Network Rail also needs to modify the locomotives so that they are ‘trip

the rail engineer • October 2013 Photo: SCOTT BORTHWICK

cock’ fitted in order to comply with LU rules and regulations as well as the FEA(F) wagons so that they are permitted to run.

Major exercise Over the months of the leaffall season, the fleet of trains can cover a lot of ground. 3,500 treatment circuits are planned, making up one million miles of treatment at 230,000 individual sites. It’s a big operation and one which NDS plans for throughout the year.

And it is a problem that isn’t going away. In fact, various enhancements in other areas of train operation have made the leaf

problem worse. Adam Doy explains: “There are a number of factors which have the ability to influence the situation. Modern lighter trains, which are more economical to run, are less aggressive to the infrastructure so they don’t clean the rails to the same degree as heavier trains. Changes in modern braking systems, from brake blocks to disc braking, no longer removes debris/mulch from the wheels. And alterations to the method in which the signalling systems operate (track circuit/ loss of train detection) make them more susceptible to failure through leaf fall than historic signalling systems.�

Photo: DAVID ENEFER

Cutting back vegetation so that trees are further from the track could alleviate matters.

But the increasing amount of overhead electrification makes that problematic as much can only be done while the power is switched off, and in any case the cost of the vegetation control has to be factored into the equation.

Leaves mostly fall from mature trees, defined as trees that are 150mm in diameter at a height of 1 metre from the ground.

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that can also drop leaves onto the line. It costs about ÂŁ1,000 to cut down and dispose of a mature lineside tree. So the total cost of clearing mature trees from the lineside would be about ÂŁ2.5 billion, even assuming that the ecologists would let Network Rail do it.

So, as wholesale tree felling seems to be out of the equation, Network Rail has to deal with the ongoing problem at this time of year. With another three new trains to be delivered next year, the only solution seems to be to keep on blasting!

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44

the rail engineer • October 2013

Turning

1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 Typical brickwork damage at the corner of one of the piers.

I

t won’t sweeten the bitter fares pill commuters have to swallow. Ministers won’t be queuing to have their faces seen on site. There’s no great innovation; no new tech. This is engineering at its most elemental. Dirty; frontline; nuts and bolts. Far removed from the shiny façade of New Street or Crossrail’s laser-guided TBMs. But why shouldn’t we record - and celebrate - the comparatively workaday? Most of the railway is precisely that, and the industry would fail were it not for the army toiling in the shadows.

So why here, a single-track backwater that hasn’t seen regular passenger services for more than 50 years?

Because this formed part of a spectacular railway, clinging to cliff tops and meandering around hills. It boasted two tunnels that never should have been and launched its trains over ravines on viaducts built from wrought iron, timber and concrete. But south of Loftus, the coastal route linking Middlesbrough with Whitby was sacrificed at economics’ altar on 5th May 1958, saving a projected £58,000 on structural maintenance costs, some of it earmarked for the mile-long Sandsend Tunnel which has since partly collapsed.

The northern section survived as far as Carlin How and was joined in 1974 by five miles of reincarnated track to serve the Boulby potash mine. Today, with the plant working at full tilt, it’s an important freight corridor. This then explains Network Rail’s ongoing project to repair another of the line’s impositions on the landscape - a Grade II listed viaduct over Skelton Beck on the southern fringes of Saltburn.

Think of a number It’s a very distinctive structure, predominantly built in red brick but with huge rock-faced ashlar footings and a masonry oversail. Breaking the tree line to reach skywards 156 feet, the viaduct features 11 segmental arches: 60-foot spans with a 20-foot rise. The soffits

GRAEME BICKERDIKE look almost as good as the day they were laid, but the effects of the prevailing westerly wind and easterlies off the adjacent North Sea have taken their toll on the pier ends. Meanwhile water draining from the deck and then leaching through the brickwork has painted a consistent tide mark a few feet above springing level.

The consequential damage has kept brickies occupied for decades. One of them - J Young - helpfully dated his repair: 25th October 19…well, 15 possibly, or maybe 19.

Ironically, the brick he chose for his inscription has not lasted well.

The most recent project of substance saw May Gurney come here in 2006, addressing defects to four piers and three spans. Seven years on, the inspection regime has identified the need for piers 2, 3 and 4 to become the focus of attention, together with the spandrels above them. Undertaking the work on Network Rail’s behalf, at an anticipated final cost of £446,000, is Amco Rail.

Whilst the job itself is…routine, the planning and logistics have not been plain sailing. Helpfully there is a field beneath the structure which has served as a compound before, but the only access to it is through

the rail engineer • October 2013

45

Photo: four by three

back time a quiet residential area, then via a steep, twisting lane.

This is used by walkers - resulting in the need for large vehicles to be preceded by a marshal - and can become impassable when conditions become inclement, hence the summer programme. Actually finding the viaduct is sufficiently awkward for the fire brigade’s specialist rope access rescue team to have had a dummy run, just in case.

Amco arrived in mid-June and will have returned the field to nature by October, hopefully before the weather turns. The scope of works was initially very loose as the precise requirements couldn’t be identified until the team had examined the structure at close quarters.

That demanded a scaffold with two-metre lifts and external stair towers to be tied into the structure with Excalibur bolts, initially wrapped around the three piers before then being extended across the spandrels faces.

This took Rainham Industrial Services a full five weeks to erect, although substantive works started as soon as the first section had been completed, independently verified and scafftagged.

Back to basics We don’t invest a lot of time thinking about bricks.

Why should we - they are the epitome of mundane.

But our railways were constructed with many billions of them, at a time when Standards - as we know them today - were unheard of. Horses and carts bore the burden of moving bulk building materials during the Victorian era, a logistical limitation that generally meant bricks would be fired as close as possible to Erecting the scaffold has been a mammoth task.

Photo: four by three

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

the rail engineer • October 2013

PHOTOS: FOUR BY THREE

46

Out of sight

Recasing takes place where the brickwork has spalled by more than 50mm. their point of use. Quality and size was consequently variable; nevertheless bricklayers felt compelled to use whatever they were offered. So some structures comprise a hodgepodge of different bricks, complicating any subsequent refurbishment.

Saltburn Viaduct presented two key challenges. The first revolved around the aesthetic demands of its listed status.

Keen to avoid more of the shiny patch repairs that are already evident on the structure, Cleveland & Redcar Council initially asserted its preference

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for a perforated brick that was visually similar to the originals, but was undesirable from an engineering perspective due to its greater susceptibility to freeze-thaw action and the premature bursting of its faces.

The solution came as the second issue was tackled, that of compressive strength. The bulk of the brickwork here has a rating of about 20N/mm2 or less, just a fraction of the stipulated 75N/mm2 that’s the current lower limit for engineering brick.

Using the latter for repairs would have created hard spots within the structure and the potential for cracking at the interface between old and new, so the team was charged with finding a brick of comparable strength to that used in the 1870s. The closest match came from Birtley Brickworks, 30 miles away in County Durham: their 73mm Old English with F2 freeze-thaw resistance (the same as engineering brick) and low soluble salt content. The availability of this product is now being flagged up to asset management teams responsible for similar structures elsewhere.

The objective with the repairs is simply to keep the weather out.

There is a basic formula: where more than 50mm of spalling has occurred, the brickwork is recased.

Elsewhere they grind back perished joints to 20mm and then repoint them using a traditional mortar - four parts sand to one part Portland cement to a quarter part lime. To give you an idea of scale, around 25m2 of brickwork required replacement on Pier 2.

The activity isn’t difficult, but does demand a degree of diligence and skill.

Amongst the problems posed by our Victorian structures is how to gain an insight into their interior design and condition. An original 1870 plan of Saltburn Viaduct suggests that the piers feature masonry slabs at 10-foot centres - tying the sides together - as well as three jack arches above at least one of them. But it’s all rather uncertain, so part of the project involves taking 75mm core samples through Pier 4 to prove whether any voids are present, possibly accompanied by a CCTV survey. “Until you look inside, you cannot determine any water damage or structural movement”, contends Paul Pickering, Amco’s Site Manager, “so the cores will help Network Rail to identify the need for future works.”

Similar activity will be carried out on the deck during a Saturday night possession, using a small rig mounted on a rail trolley. “If there are jack arches present but no inspection hatches, that means they’ve not been looked at”, explains Network Rail’s Construction Manager John Reay. “The core drilling will provide confirmation.

We might then consider filling any voids with lightweight concrete to remove any doubt, as we have elsewhere.”

Without ceremony This is one of those lowkey ventures that are easy to overlook. It has no background noise; only the clank of scaffold tubes disturbs the skylarks, or occasional bursts from the grinder. There’s something very appealing about it. But don’t let the atmosphere mislead you - there is a tangible output.

Behind the debris netting, labourers are re-engineering the brickwork to secure the flow of potash. It’s what the railway does, without a fanfare.

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48

the rail engineer • October 2013

I

n the shadow of central Europe’s highest mountain, The Mont Blanc Express line is a narrow-gauge single railway line winding its way just over 55km between Saint Gervais-les-Bains in the French Alps to the Swiss town of Martigny.

Way back when the journey between Geneva and Chamonix took seven and a half hours by cart, the Freycinet Act was passed (1879) to expand the French railway network and build branch lines. The Paris-LyonMéditerranée (PLM) railway company was granted the concession to build and run the La Roche-sur-Foron to Chamonix line. The first section, La Rochesur-Foron to Cluses, opened in

valley, the PLM took the decision to build a separate line using metre gauge. This in turn offered the ability to construct curves of tight radii, 150 metres in the French section and as tight as 60 metres in Switzerland.

The new line gave the PLM the chance to test out a pioneering method of electric traction via a third rail. The power was provided by two specially constructed hydroelectric power

This sector was arguably more challenging than the French one.

With even steeper gradients of up to 200mm/metre, a 2.5km section of rack and pinion was required to assist vehicles both up and down the slope. The track was laid on steep embankments and specially constructed ledges and through a number of tunnels.

In urban areas of the Swiss line, electric traction was provided via a catenary wire. Initially, engineers feared that a build up of ice on the catenary wires would prevent a good contact.

Trains did not run throughout the winter until tests proved that

the French Swiss border, it was another two years until the Chamonix to Châtelard section was completed. This final section thus connected Saint Gervais through to Martigny. The drilling of the tunnel caused a number of engineering headaches, mainly due to fissures and moraines in the rock allowing the passage of large volumes of water. A footpath was provided alongside the track giving pedestrian access through the tunnel. necessary as the two valleys were often cut off from one another after heavy snowfall due to the high risk of avalanches. A feeder wire from

the winter weather did not cause the previously envisaged issues.

This 19.1km section of the route opened in 1906.

one of the existing power stations to sub-stations near Argentière and Vallorcine provided the additional electric supply.

The footpath was removed in the Col des Montets tunnel in 1980, and the track was embedded in concrete to convert it to mixed use. This provides access to freight traffic during periods of avalanche risk when the road over the Col des Montets is closed.

High tunnel

1890 and, after being unable to find a solution to circumnavigate the Prarion mountain, the line was extended only to Saint Gervais.

Narrow gauge Rather than the ambitious tunnel initially planned through Mount Prarion, the PLM looked to follow the course of the River Arve around the mountain. Due to the constraints of constructing a line along a narrow mountain

stations located on the River Arve adjacent to the track and supplied directly to the track at 580V. It proved successful and was introduced on the Saint Gervais to Chamonix section that opened to the public in 1901. To this day it remains one of only two third-rail electrified lines on the entire French network.

On the Swiss side of the border, work on the Martigny to Châtelard line through the Trient Valley commenced in 1902.

Incorporating the 1883 metre long tunnel under Col des Montets - incidentally the highest part of the route at just short of 1396 metres altitude - and taking the line right to

Road traffic using the Grands Montets Tunnel in heavy snow.

the rail engineer • October 2013 Recent works After renewal and re-railing work in the 1950s and 1980s, a project to upgrade the French part of the line was approved during the middle of last decade. Work started in April 2012 with the aim of doubling the current capacity of one train/hr in each direction. It consisted of partial track renewals, 14km of plain line and seven units of S&C, resignalling, electrification improvements, renovation of the Col des Montets tunnel, a bridge renewal and a bridge reinforcement.

Alpine weather conditions constrained some of the

by installing an intermediate rail of 46kg/metre and placing transition welds at each rail interface. Breather switches are not used between the CWR and the jointed S&C, instead three flexible joints are created allowing longitudinal rail movement.

In tight curves with radii less than 130 metres, ‘Y’ steel sleepers are installed which offer a greater lateral resistance. As the name suggests, these sleepers are Y-shaped with two rail fixings under one rail, and a single chair under the opposite rail. They

49

has allowed the remodelling of a safer road layout. The concrete supports were constructed for the bridge and the deck was constructed off site and rolled into position in June 2013.

The line has been totally or partially blocked since April 2012.

Work on the renovation of the Col des Montets tunnel should be complete by Christmas. The automatic block signalling is the final tranche of work and is expected to be finished in spring 2014.

Contrary to the name of the line, the journey may not be considered by most

high enough!

Ain’t no mountain

JANE KENYON

construction work to certain times of the year - winter 2012/13 saw a total of four metres of snowfall. The track renewals incorporated formation work during which time new drains were installed. Signalling fibre-optic cables were also laid in preparation for the main resignalling work next year, and the track was re-ballasted and re-railed on new steel sleepers.

Throughout the plain line sections, the standard rail section used is 36kg/metre flat-bottom rail. The 18 metre long rails are welded in-situ to create CWR (continuously welded rail) which, owing to the gauge, the rail profile and local rail temperatures, is stressed to 20˚C as opposed to the UK standard of 27º.

The S&C is constructed in 50kg/ metre rail. Transition between the plain line and S&C is achieved

Special sleepers Plain line renewals, with the exception of small sections between S&C, are predominantly laid on steel sleepers. One sleeper in every five is elongated to include a ceramic support for the third rail.

The ‘new’ third rail is reclaimed running rail from the re-railed sections and replaces the former bullhead one at a voltage of 800V.

are constructed of two I-beam cross-section and are interlaced in alternating directions.

At Le Fayet, a new bridge replaced the previous four metre wide brick arch and 72 metres of embankment with a metal and concrete structure. The former was located above what had become a busy road junction and the removal of the narrow underbridge

as ‘Express’, the 55km will take approximately 1hour 20 minutes. Tucked away in a corner of the Northern Alps crossing the French Swiss border, the history is fascinating and the methods used are interesting. The scenery is without doubt breathtaking, so why rush? Perhaps 80 minutes isn’t quite long enough!

50

the rail engineer • October 2013

OLE upgrades.

Spencer Rail

A

F cused Delivery

s the end of Network Rail’s Control Period 4 draws ever closer, specialist engineering firms across the country are all looking to the opportunities in CP5. One of these is Spencer, a company that The Rail Engineer first came across building train depots such as the one at Etches Park in Derby. Now, Spencer Rail seems to be involved in a much wider variety of work, so it is a good time to find out more.

At the turn of the year, Spencer Group went through a reorganisation of its business, with Spencer Rail becoming its own entity as the parent company rationalised its business streams to better reflect the industries in which they sit.

Rail as an entity Raj Sinha is Spencer Rail’s managing director.

He explained the change: “Although Spencer has been a very well-known business in the rail sector for over 20 years, our journey in the last five years has been incredible. We grow stronger by the day in all that we do and this hard work and determination has been rewarded with some very prestigious, albeit challenging, programmes of work.

“Whilst we have one eye on CP5, there is an incredible amount of work still to be completed and we are working closely with Network Rail and our supply chain partners to deliver safely, on time, in budget and to a great quality. That has to be where our focus is right now.

“Over this past year, we’ve been developing our collaborative working approaches which have enabled us to better align our goals and expectations with those of our clients and this is certainly paying dividends. BS11000 is now an integral part of our business model and

management structure. It is something that we have fully amalgamated into our working practices.”

While Spencer Rail could be considered relatively new to rail engineering, albeit with 20 years under its belt, it now has become an award-winning engineering and infrastructure company. From station upgrades in Scotland to electrification projects in Manchester, new chord creation in Ipswich to platform extensions in Wessex, the company has a strong order book.

Team building

Spencer Rail has several specialist in-house teams which focus on particular aspects of any project. The telecoms teams, for example, support project delivery on large multidisciplinary works whilst also undertaking specialist works on operational communication networks and station information and surveillance systems (SISS).

The company also employs a large team of electrification and plant (E&P) specialists in design, management, engineering and delivery.

This specifies, installs and maintains electrical infrastructure on national rail networks and includes experts in all three core E&P functions in the UK - contact systems, distribution and plant (which also covers protection and control systems).

Safety first with Spencer Rail.

the rail engineer • October 2013

The team has worked on depot facilities, stations, interchanges and bridges and can boast expertise in line side signalling and permanent way. It has constructed new chords, including ground improvements and earthworks embankments for new track and overhead line equipment (OLE). While now considered a total rail infrastructure company, an extensive heritage of civil engineering ensures complementary buildings and ground works can also be delivered to the same exacting standards.

renewal of more than 1,400 metres of plain line, the renewal of seven point ends (three crossovers and one turnout) as well as more than 2,600 metres of conductor rails.

Along the way, 39 new signals have been installed as well as 49 new location cabinets with all the associated fit out and cabling, together with 11 power supply upgrades.

The project has seen Spencer Rail utilise an innovative construction methodology devised by the company’s in-house design department which minimises disruptive possessions. This The Sudbury black box: Innovation in safety.

Control centres and ROCs In 2006, Spencer was contracted to build the first UK signalling control centre, eventually completing three of these first generation facilities - East Midlands, West Scotland and Thames Valley. Following on this success, and as Network Rail further developed its programme to concentrate all of its signalling and control for the network into 14 rail operating centres, Spencer was awarded the contract to deliver the first of the second generation ROCs at Three Bridges in Crawley.

“We’ve been pleased to be a partner in the delivery of these control centres which will become the heartbeat of the rail network for years to come,” Raj Sinha commented. “It really enables us to apply some of our traditional engineering experience whilst also giving us a unique insight into every aspect of rail industry operations.”

sees all components carried into position manually, mitigating the requirements for heavy plant and reducing the wet trades. This is achieved through the use of mini-piles, steel frame and GRP decking - a method which saves time and money.

51

sites around the country. Upgrades have been completed at Dalmuir, Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Northfield and Selly Oak while work is still under way at Carlisle, Dalmarnock, Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead and Leighton Buzzard.

Work is now starting on several West London line station upgrades. Spencer Rail has, under the existing MAFA (multi asset framework agreement), been appointed to carry out platform extensions and install the associated infrastructure and services at Clapham Junction, Imperial Wharf, Shepherds Bush, West Brompton, Watford Junction, Norwood, Purley and Kensington Olympia A few of these station improvements have developed into larger projects. Gravesend railway station in north Kent, for example, runs many commuter services operated by Southeastern.

The station is 24 miles (38 km) from London Charing Cross and currently has two central through-lines for freight trains and peak-time, non-stopping passenger services. It also has Up and Down loops serving two platforms.

When high speed (HS1) services to London St Pancras International were introduced in December 2009, the station became a major interchange for metro and high speed services.

A team from Spencer Rail, under programme director Tom Kerins, has been brought in to deliver a substantial alteration to the tracklayout for a new platform and to extend the current platforms to accommodate 12-car trains. The bulk of this work will take place during a 15 day blockade over Christmas. A new footbridge and lifts to all platforms will also be installed as part of AfA.

Larger contracts, more responsibility As the company developed, so too have the packages of work. Currently a large team is based in the company’s new London offices in Waterloo with a site office in Sunbury completing the £30 million Wessex Package 7 platform lengthening programme across 57 station sites.

Delivered in four-station batches, with more than 2,500 metres of platform being constructed, Spencer Rail is responsible for the

Operation control at the ROC: Three Bridges.

Access for All

Ipswich chord

Spencer Rail’s London teams are also focusing on platform lengthening and station upgrades to Putney, Wokingham and Thornton Heath stations, the latest to be built under the Access for All (AfA) scheme. However, this programme has also seen Spencer Rail involved at other

In total contrast, the Ipswich Rail Enhancement Programme is part of a larger project to upgrade the cross-country freight route from Felixstowe to Nuneaton via Ely, Peterborough and Leicester. The new 1.4km chord, north of Ipswich goods yard, will link

52

the rail engineer • October 2013

the East Suffolk line and Great Eastern main line. It will remove the need for freight trains travelling to and from the Port of Felixstowe to use the sidings adjacent to Ipswich station as a turning point, eliminating a major bottleneck on the busy Great Eastern main line and freeing up capacity for both passenger and freight services.

Construction of the new chord includes the widening of the embankment carrying the Great Eastern main line, the reconstruction and widening of the bridge over Sproughton Road in Ipswich, a new railway bridge across the River Gipping, a new railway embankment on the south-eastern side of the river and reconstructing the existing railway bridge carrying the East Suffolk Line railway over the river.

Spencer Rail will create a new 250,000 tonne embankment, almost three miles of new track, 28 new OLE structures and a vast array of signalling and E&P telecommunications infrastructure while managing four new or replaced bridge structures.

It is a major project, valued by Network Rail at £41 million and designed to take 750,000 lorry journeys off the road every year.

However, Spencer Rail hasn’t taken its eye off smaller, but no less important projects, as Raj Sinha explained. “We’ve had some great successes on huge infrastructure projects such as Ipswich Chord, but then we have also been able to work on smaller, more specific initiatives such as the Sudbury project.”

are required to telephone through to Liverpool Street Integrated Electronic Control Centre (IECC) to request permission to cross.

It is a single block line with eight UWCs (user worked crossings) along an eight-and-ahalf mile stretch of track. At the point which Spencer Rail became involved, the only time the signallers knew the precise position of the train was when it was either in station at Sudbury or Mark Tey. Those wanting to cross would contact the signaller for permission to cross, which would be based on journey times calculated on the speed of the train and the distance between the two points.

Spencer Rail delivered a GPS tracking system which was installed, commissioned, tested and live within a month. The company installed a server which houses all the software in the background to carry all the dataflow from a sophisticated GPS tracking system. Signallers were then given access to a computer screen which details the exact position of the train and a traffic light colour coded system to not only easily pin-point the position of the train, but immediately see if it is safe to cross.

After 12 months in operation, the system has recorded a 96 per cent operational efficiency, not discounting days where the line is not being used and has been rolled out on a permanent basis.

“We were very pleased to be recognised at the Network Rail Partnership Awards for this particularly complex and difficult assignment,”

Sorting Sudbury

Raj commented. “I think looking at this solution probably exemplifies our approach to engineering. It’s about supporting Network Rail to make the railways safer, more efficient and more effective through innovation and creativity. We employ the best people in the best positions to not just deliver solutions such as this, but devise them in the first instance then see them through to conclusion.

And the Sudbury project was indeed a great success, recently being highly commended in the Network Rail Partnership Awards.

The solution was created after a tragedy at a level crossing. The crossing in question was on private land and controlled to gain access to a sewage works. The works operator holds a key to the crossing gates, but drivers of vehicles

“One of the great benefits we have as well is the support and engineering experience of our parent company. Spencer Group gives us far greater resilience, knowledge and expertise.”

Greater collaboration These recent milestones have been supported by an open and honest approach to working closely with key supply chain partners to create a collaborative ethos. Spencer Rail has been pioneering this collaborative approach to business, not only by working closely with strategic partners at supply chain level, but also by adopting an inclusive method of working with Network Rail and those train operating companies that are involved in the projects it is tasked with delivering.

Charlie Spencer, CEO of the Spencer Group, said: “I began the business in 1989. Across the years we’ve diversified and added to our experience and expertise, continually looking to develop as a business - standing still isn’t something we do at Spencer Group.

“Our rail business is packed with tremendously talented individuals and teams.

We are all proud to see how it has developed across the years. Safe and solid delivery remains absolutely critical to the future of our business and everyone understands how important the coming few weeks and months are for all of us.

“While I’m pleased with the work our own teams have completed, I know that without the ongoing support of colleagues across the supply chain and from within Network Rail, none of the successes we have had - and hope to continue to have - would have been possible.”

the rail engineer • October 2013

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the rail engineer • October 2013

T

unnelling takes place largely underground. That may seem to be an obvious statement, but it also means that the work is mostly out of sight. True, there are areas of activity at the portals, and there are trains or lorries taking the spoil away. But further along the tunnel’s route, there is nothing to be seen above ground.

Out of sight, however, doesn’t mean out of mind. While the general public could well be oblivious to what is taking place beneath their feet, engineers are paid to worry. One set will be worrying about the tunnelling itself.

Is it on schedule? Is it on the correct route?

Is the spoil being removed correctly? Are the concrete lining segments available in sufficient quantities?

Another team worries about the overground.

Is the tunnelling work affecting any structures above ground? Or, in London’s case, is it affecting other tunnels (underground railway, sewers, power) in the area?

However many calculations are made, the only true way to know is to monitor those structures and see if they move.

London landmarks Crossrail is the biggest tunnelling project underway at present. Going under central London, it is not surprising that the programme of structures monitoring is equally large-scale.

One element of the work is the construction of the station

tunnels at Whitechapel and Liverpool Street station 30 - 40 metres below the city (known as contract C510). This is being undertaken

by BBMV, a joint venture of Balfour Beatty, Alpine BeMo Tunnelling, Morgan Sindall and Vinci Construction Grands Projets. Work on this £250 million contract began in April 2011 and is due for completion in 2015, three years ahead of the route opening.

Managing the risk of movement caused by this tunnelling was one of BBMV’s first challenges. It needed to know the baseline levels and positions of buildings and streets above contract C510, and up to 100 metres around it, ahead of construction commencing.

And, of course, this information had to be recorded accurately and repeatedly at the start of the contract, during construction and, potentially, for a number of years after completion.

Instruments called ‘total stations’ are widely used on construction sites to measure and record positions. These measure the distance, angle and slope to a reflecting prism and so, when used repeatedly, can detect any shift in the position of that prism relative to the instrument. Automatic total stations can be programmed to monitor a number of prisms, and to do so at regular intervals.

Monitoring for movement

More than 100 of these instruments were supplied for this contract by Topcon to automatically measure movement above ground and manually check tunnel alignment below ground.

Installation For monitoring movement above ground, the challenge was not only in achieving the required accuracy and reliability of results, it was in accessing the instruments and the information measured. Many of the instruments had to be fixed onto the side of buildings from where they collectively measured the exact location of thousands of prisms fixed to other critical structures.

The total stations were installed on buildings such as schools, office and residential blocks and supermarkets. They were mounted at high level using Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs). “Once we identified which buildings needed monitoring, prisms were located on these buildings and total stations installed on others,” said BBMV’s engineering survey manager Alastair Cruickshank. “One of our main concerns was always about logistics.

How will we reach that total station location?

Will we require a road closure? Can the total station see the prisms we need to survey?”

Crucially, once the total stations had been installed (they also need to be connected to a reliable electricity supply), Alastair and his team

the rail engineer • October 2013

wanted to avoid having to revisit them due to the time involved in organising road closures, notifying building owners and the cost of hiring plant and trained personnel. One reason for revisiting an instrument could be if additional prisms were installed on new structures to be monitored, requiring the instrument to be manually programmed to measure the position of each new prism.

Matrix detection An automatic total station manufactured by Topcon provided a solution to this problem. The MS05AX model has a function called ‘matrix detection’ which can routinely scan for new prisms. It is a simple function, but one which was not standard on other total stations on the market.

“Using the latest matrix detection technology from Topcon, the automatic total stations can scan and locate the position of each prism the instrument finds all the prisms,” Alastair recalled.

Without this function, the task of reprogramming each total station to measure every newly placed prism over four years would have significantly impacted on the overall construction programme. “Some locations are very difficult to revisit - the school can’t be accessed during school hours and another near a railway line can only be accessed at night. The roads around Liverpool Street are also very congested making daytime access difficult,” he added.

“Using the MS05AX, we saved a lot of time and we have a system which allows us to add more prisms in any order as necessary and there’s no concern over whether the total station has missed any.

“All other instruments on the market were very similar in terms of specification and price but matrix detection was the big difference - it was one of the main reasons for going with Topcon and it singularly was worth much more to us than the value of the instrument itself. It means we save many man hours which would otherwise be lost to resetting instruments to find prisms.”

Prisms are occasionally lost when buildings are repainted, for example, so the matrix detection function is still being used to scan for additional prisms 18 months after the start of construction.

55

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the rail engineer • October 2013

In operation Out on location, the robotic total stations have to withstand wind, rain and even the occasional indiscretion by pigeons. The total stations are encased in a thin wire mesh cage in some locations to deter pigeons from landing on them.

Each total station works by routinely and automatically spinning 360 degrees on its base and locating and measuring the angle and distance of up to 100 prisms within its sightline. So accurate are the instruments that, on occasion, millimetres of rainfall have been detected after a thunderstorm.

“The MS05AX is one of our highest precision instruments,” says Topcon (GB) technical support manager Peter Roberts. “Typically, most instruments used on construction sites work within a 3-5mm range of accuracy. This instrument works to better than 1mm.”

Readings are sent to a central computer and can be scrutinised by an engineer to assess whether any movement has taken place. The instrument may be programmed to use different software, allowing the engineer to use whichever is most familiar to him or her, or can be run using Topcon’s software. On contract C510, monitoring software is provided by Sol-data.

Information from total stations is reviewed every 12 hours (although measurements are taken much more regularly - every 15 minutes,

if necessary) and if any movement has been detected, established trigger values are consulted and the construction process altered if necessary.

Tiny amounts of movement may be acceptable, but even a small deviation might prompt a change in the tunnelling procedure to counter the movement. More movement, closer to a ‘trigger’ value, will generate an alert.

Well underway Eighteen months into the project and there are 60 total stations above Whitechapel and Liverpool Street Stations monitoring movement and 19 in operation within the station tunnels checking alignment. Ten are used for general surveying across the site.

Alastair Cruickshank is full of praise for the equipment, particularly in the tunnel environment where instruments have to perform reliably while subject to vibration and dust, and in the dark. Readings are consistent and the project team is regularly impressed with the MS05AX’s accuracy and

robustness. “We know exactly when excavation has started because there is a movement of about 0.1mm,” he says.

Tunnelling recently started under the Hammersmith and City Tube Line near Liverpool Street Station where ground movement will be closely monitored to ensure the existing infrastructure and public are safe. There is also compensation grouting on this site to reinstate stresses in the ground which may be temporarily lost due to tunnelling. Ground movement before and after compensation grouting is also scrutinised to ensure the ground is responding as predicted.

So, in fact, it is possible to see tunnelling works from above ground, by looking closely at the sides of buildings.

the rail engineer • October 2013

CHRIS PARKER

57

Digital Imaging For Condition Asset Management

A

sset monitoring is essential if railway infrastructure is to be maintained economically and safely.

It can identify when maintenance is essential and when intervention is not required, so saving unnecessary and expensive interference. However, the railway has a lot of assets. Bridges, tunnels and viaducts, stations and platforms, signalling structures, OLE poles and gantries, electrical power supplies, embankments, cuttings, culverts, track, locomotives, wagons - the list goes on. So the time taken to inspect, analyse and assess each asset has to be reduced as much as possible, but without the danger of missing anything.

Digital analysis

Those items which have electrical power and a feedback signal are relatively easy. Intelligent Infrastructure is an ongoing programme to monitor items such as the performance of points machines and other equipment through power consumption and built-in sensors.

However, what about the inanimate objects? How can a bridge or a tunnel be monitored remotely?

One way is through Digital Imaging for Condition Asset Management (DIFCAM). This system is being developed to permit the fast, efficient and automated visual inspection of structures with the minimum of costly and potentially hazardous human involvement. The project is supported by the Technology Strategy Board and Network Rail and is being conducted by a team consisting of Omnicom, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Atkins.

Digital cameras and laser scanners capture both a 3-D model of the structure and a synchronous highdefinition visual record. Using a high-grade inertialguidance platform, these datasets may be combined to produce high quality 3-D modelling of the asset and also full indexing of the data for later analysis. Newly gathered data may be compared with previous records of the same asset gathered in the same manner, in order to identify new defects or deterioration.

Whilst the prototype has been designed with rail infrastructure in mind, the principles and technologies are intended for eventual wider

58

the rail engineer • October 2013

application to any infrastructure where efficiency, economy and safety in capturing such data are important.

The DIFCAM system comprises three modules - acquisition, processing and inspection. The first is the operational interface with the infrastructure, carrying out the profiling, recording, indexing and stitching re-processing functions and transmitting and storing the results. The processing module incorporates the profile change detection and visualisation algorithms, while the inspection module comprises the inspection software. This last has within it visualisation and schematic presentation capabilities for the use of examiners and inspectors, controls navigation and delivers outputs to maintenance workflows.

System potential The potential applications foreseen by the project team are for the inspection, examination and assessment of defects and changes in condition of a range of types of infrastructure. These include rail and road tunnels and bridges, remote structures such as wind turbines, hazardous structures like nuclear facilities and complex structures (power station pipework for instance).

Key features of the prototype system are: »» Speed of measurement: only 30 minutes

»» »» »»

»» »»

»»

to align the vehicle and measurement at 1m/sec thereafter; Super high resolution imagery; Shape measurements and appearance recorded in combination for the same area; Automated data generation enabling sharing and assessment by multiple colleagues and allowing easy crosschecking; Automated defect identification and reporting; Automated screening capability using digital image correlation for imagery and surface profiling; Forward capability: the ability to cope with higher resolution data and faster measurement as technical improvements become available. The aspiration in rail applications is to be able to capture data at line speed.

These features mean that the platform offers serious benefits. The rapidity of data collection has obvious advantages in such terms as economy of time and staff utilisation, reduced requirements for possession time and, eventually, the ability to run ‘in traffic’ on rail or road. The system creates a full record of each structure that is reusable for historical comparison with both earlier and later records. It can highlight changes down

to as little as 1mm between one inspection and another. The rich spatial data allows 3-D measurements such as the area or length of a defect.

The detail available will allow defects to be identified earlier and so permit advance planning of maintenance activities. Finally, the modular architecture of the platform means that it can be adapted to numerous different areas of application by the omission of particular elements where they are not needed or the addition of further elements where the application requires or when new technology becomes available.

Early trials The project carried out some early work at the National Railway Museum but, since May this year, activities have been concentrated on the Nene Valley Railway, particularly Wansford Tunnel. The Rail Engineer was invited to Peterborough to have a look.

The DIFCAM prototype is based upon a Land Rover Defender converted for road/rail use by Harsco. The inspection system consists of a laser scanner unit on the front of the vehicle and 11 digital SLR cameras and several flash units on a roof-mounted rack towards the rear.

The cameras are commercially available Nikon units with their automated systems disabled so that they can be completely controlled by the

the rail engineer • October 2013

central processor carried inside the road/railer. The prototype system requires the manual set-up of the cameras for each individual tunnel.

This has to ensure that, between them, the cameras cover the full profile of the tunnel, including the floor and track, and that each camera is set to the correct focus for its segment of the profile. In a production version it is anticipated that these functions would be fully automated.

Positioning is established initially, outside the tunnel,

by GPS. Since this cannot operate within a tunnel, the inertial guidance platform and a measuring wheel/tachometer system are used once inside.

A laser profile of the tunnel is taken every metre and the camera/flash system takes a photographic image of the profile at precisely the same position as the laser one as the cameras reach that same location. Currently the flash recharging cycle limits the speed of progress to 1m/sec if the highest, sub-millimetre resolution is to be obtained.

Changes in the structure under examination can be identified by comparing the laser scan data and the photographic data with their equivalents from previous records. Certain defects may be identified automatically, and threshold values for these may be set to trigger particular actions or procedures.

Currently each of the 11 photographic images in one profile takes about a minute to process, meaning that post processing takes about 11 minutes/m of tunnel length. The data for about 1.5km of tunnel can be stored on one 32GB memory card.

Looking forward For rail applications it is challenging and expensive to get the track possessions for tunnel examinations even with such a quick system as DIFCAM on a road/railer, so there is the aspiration to be able to put the system onto the Network Rail New Measurement Train. This will mean some challenges around the issue of image resolution deliverable at the speeds implied by this unless some technological improvements can be made.

In all, some six areas of potential challenge to be overcome for operational readiness have been identified in the trial. The team is looking for stakeholder help in managing these.

The system is potentially applicable to many circumstances outside the rail arena, and a second objective is to engage with stakeholders from other industries.

This was an interesting demonstration of how technologies that have been

around for a while now can be put together in a new way, taking advantage of current advances in processing speed and power, to deliver potentially valuable new tools to asset management engineers. It clearly has some way to go before it is ready to deliver its full potential, but that potential does seem to be a realistic goal.

59

The Nene Valley Railway deserves a favourable mention. It wasn’t the objective of the day, but it will certainly stick in the memory and for all the right reasons.

The trains, the catering and the setting were all great, and the railway has clearly also made an excellent test location for this project.

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60

the rail engineer • October 2013

Once again, a raft of new and updated products has been submitted to Network Rail’s technology introduction department for approval to be used on the railway network.

Many of these are updates, improvements and tweaks of existing equipment, but some are truly new, novel and interesting. The following five items have been singled out

by Network Rail as the most likely to make a difference to the way things are done, and which could bring technical enhancements, efficiency improvements or cost savings.

»» PA05/05607

E and PR clip remover Melville Equipment is an Australian company which has been manufacturing rail track maintenance equipment, geotechnical drilling rigs, portable hydraulic equipment and hand tools since 1982.

The 186 E-Clip remover is designed to remove E and PR Clips that are used to fasten the rail to sleepers. The 186 has the ability to be used on rail sizes from 41kg/m to 68kg/m rail with steel, timber or concrete sleepers.

By using the 186 E-Clip Remover, injuries from traditional methods of removing these clips (swinging hammers) have been eliminated. These include back strain, repetitive strain injury and impact injuries.

This product has been on trial since last year and has now been given a full certificate of acceptance for use on network rail infrastructure.

»» PA05/05800

Catenary maintenance vehicle The LRB17 road-rail catenary maintenance vehicle from SRS Sjölanders in Sweden is built on a standard Volvo truck chassis equipped with the SRS-SVABO road/rail system. On track, the vehicle operates as a genuine rail vehicle with full traction and brake power on the rail wheels.

When entering track in a double track area, the vehicle does not interfere with the adjacent track and it can in most cases be kept open for traffic.

The vehicle in its basic version is equipped with a single flanged rail-wheel axle at the front and a twin-axle bogie at the rear. When on track, drive is hydrostatic with a twincircuit braking system. Over 500 vehicles of this type are already running on railways around the world, including in the UK. A range of equipment can be mounted on the vehicle bed, including elevated

work platforms, cable drum mounts and cranes.

Five vehicles of this type have recently been delivered to Keltbray Aspire for use

on electrification work, and similar vehicles have made their way to SPL Powerlines in Austria, BAM Holland and Infranord Sweden.

the rail engineer • October 2013

61

• NEW TECHNOLOGY • NEW TECHNOLOGY • NEW TECHNOLOGY • NEW TECHNOLOGY • »» PA05/05632

Road-rail grinder Sersa’s new 8-stone light weight general purpose rail grinding machine is capable of grinding on plain line and switches and crossings. It can remove corrugation and particular defects such as squats, head checks and pitting. In addition, it has all the flexibility in operation that comes with a small, road-rail vehicle.

The machine is operated from inside the cabin by a touch panel and optionally from outside by a portable panel (for grinding only). The rail sections in front and behind the machine are monitored by CCTV camera systems.

On the road, the vehicle may be driven like any other piece of construction equipment.

Rotating beacons, rail lighting and painted chevrons complete the safety equipment.

The Sersa road-rail grinder was recently accepted for trial under certificate PA05/05632 and is manufactured by Moser Maschinenbau GmbH.

Taking the grind out of daily maintenance on both plain line and S&C 01904 479968 | george.thompson@rhomberg-sersa.com | www.rhomberg-sersa.com

62

the rail engineer • October 2013

• NEW TECHNOLOGY • NEW TECHNOLOGY • NEW TECHNOLOGY • NEW TECHNOLOGY • »» PA05/05745

1,250kVA enclosed cast-resin transformer This transformer is manufactured by Zucchini Transformers and has recently been approved by Network Rail to undergo a twelve months trial for Manchester ROC. EdM cast resin transformers are used in a vast range of applications and, with over 50 years history, are a reliable answer for distribution systems, energy co-generation, rectiification, traction and other special requirements.

The absence of inflammable insulating liquids, the self-extinguishing materials exempt of toxic gas emissions and the low noise levels and low electromagnetic

emissions all combine to present a responsible solution to environmental protection and public security.

These transformers have power ranging from 250KVA up to 3000 KVA. They are built according to the requirements specified in the main national and international standards BS EN 60076-1 to 5, BS EN 60076-11 and are classified E2-C2-F1 (certificate of conformity CESI No. A90323921).

»» PA05/05404

MFT lightweight trolley The MFT lightweight trolley from Donfabs & Consillia has been designed specifically to meet the demanding needs of railway crews in an emergency scenario, whilst maintaining the smallest possible useable footprint and minimum weight. The unit’s creation has been derived from many areas of customer feedback and Donfabs & Consillia have also designed this unit with straightforward manufacture and ease of maintenance in mind.

The unit is intended to be operated in either direction by pushing the trolley in the forward direction. If there is a requirement to go the other way then it is simply a matter of removing the handle and replacing it on the other end of the MFT. The new trolley is supplied with a fully integrated failsafe braking system. The handle fits into receptacles on either side of the trolley frame. To push the trolley forward the brake release handle must be pushed down and the brakes are applied automatically if the lever is released.

The unit is constructed to allow it to be split in half for transportation and

storage and it is equipped with a set of aluminium wheels which provide durability and minimal maintenance.

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64

the rail engineer • October 2013

W

ildlife has, on the whole, a benign relationship with railways.

After all, rail infrastructure generally has a low operational impact on the wildlife that inhabits it and in many cases when managed appropriately, it can actually provide a benefit to habitats and species.

Much of the landscape that railways pass through is already valuable for wildlife. There are over 4,000 sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) just in England, covering around 7% of the country’s total land area.

These are usually designated for their plant and animal assemblages that reflect a high degree of biodiversity and can also be important geological sites.

Some SSSIs are nationally owned, some owned by local authorities and charities such as the National Trust, and others by public bodies or private landowners.

A special responsibility

Photo: the ecology consultancy

Railway sites As a major landowner, it is not surprising that Network Rail owns a number of SSSIs - about 230 in total, more than 140 of them in England alone! London Underground, part of Transport for London, is also a key owner of property around the capital.

Surprisingly, most of the London Underground network is above ground and passes through around 10% of wildlife habitats in and around London.

These areas are home to a wide range of animals and plants in the capital, many of which are protected species, and must be safeguarded when any adjacent railway work needs to be carried out by either Network Rail or London Underground.

The UK Wildlife and Countryside Act requires that landowners not only protect these locations but, particularly in the case of SSSIs, that they must actively improve those that are declining in quality.

This means the condition of SSSIs, and other essential habitats, must be periodically assessed.

All work that affects SSSIs must be approved by Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)

Photo: the ecology consultancy

or Natural Resources Wales (NRW). In 2010, Natural England announced a target to bring all SSSIs in England into at least “Recovering” status by 2012. SNH and NRW have broadly similar targets.

In the case of Network Rail their delivery teams around the country are tasked with ensuring that SSSIs are protected and they work with independent ecologists to meet their responsibilities.

Following an assessment, 21 Network Rail sites were identified as needing work and a budget of £6.1 million was allocated.

In addition to day-to-day supervision of Network Rail’s portfolio of SSSIs, work is undertaken to improve declining sites to meet government targets. Ecologists are frequently contracted to conduct surveys to assess the condition (or ‘fitness’) of designated land.

On a periodic cycle, set by Natural England, teams of specialists will examine the level of biodiversity and the health of plant and animal communities, comparing this with the previous survey. In this way, they can decide whether a site might require more positive management. Such surveys can take a year to complete since the species involved have their own seasonal activity.

the rail engineer • October 2013

65

JOHN NEWTON, MANAGING DIRECTOR, THE ECOLOGY CONSULTANCY Largely undisturbed Often railway lines pass right though some of the country’s most interesting countryside. A good example of this is the New Forest, which has a range of habitat types including large tracts of unenclosed pasture, heathland and forest, and is home to numerous species of birds, reptiles and mammals, plus some very rare insects. Working closely with the Forestry Commission, Natural England and the New Forest Verderers, the Network Rail’s Eastleigh team carried out £400,000 of improvements to the site which has now been reclassified as ‘recovering’.

In many ways, the railway is a good place for wildlife as further development is unlikely and so the threats to sensitive habitats are limited to accidents from spills or powerlines. In the New Forest, the land around the railway line remains largely undisturbed by both people and agricultural activities.

Large infrastructure improvements, such as the Great Western main line electrification project which passes through the Cotswolds - an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), require extensive consultation with Government bodies and local authorities.

Generally speaking, survey work and desk studies by expert ecologists are required to provide the ecology chapter of the necessary environmental impact assessment (EIA) for such schemes. Surveys for protected bat and bird species are normally undertaken, especially if local sites are known to hold populations. If deemed necessary, mitigation measures are proposed in order to minimise the potential damage to habitats during the engineering phase. In some cases populations of, for example, great crested newts or common lizards will be moved to a nearby habitat whilst work is going on.

With all improvement proposals, large or small, engineers need to factor in the time it may take to have all these essential assessments undertaken. To avoid delays in line-side management, rail engineers and contractors should make sure that surveys are planned well in advance to allow professional ecologists to conduct surveys in good time and plan for any subsequent mitigation.

Photo: the ecology consultancy

Mersey estuary A case in point, work conducted on the site of a proposed rail freight depot proved the value of bringing in early ecological expertise on what was potentially a difficult site. Although the site was on contaminated land, it was considered likely to have populations of protected species such as reptiles, bats and wintering birds. It was also on the edges of the Mersey estuary, an internationally important site designated as an SSSI, a special protection area (SPA) and a Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance). As such it was essential to ensure that there were no indirect impacts from the project on the habitats or special interest features of the estuary.

Specialist ecologists were brought in by the contractors to conduct habitat and protected species surveys of the site. As a result of these surveys they were able to make practical recommendations for costeffective mitigation measures for the important habitats and species found. Because they were brought in at an early stage, issues were identified whilst they could still be effectively managed, and solutions were more easily incorporated into the project.

A lot of work goes on to protect and conserve areas of local, regional and national importance - in terms of habitat and species - along the rail networks. It all helps to keep the railways, and the people that use them, connected with nature. It also helps to ensure that the services provided by the natural environment, such as flood protection, water conservation, and carbon-dioxide storage, are preserved for everyone’s continued benefit.

Photo: the ecology consultancy

66

the rail engineer • October 2013

RECRUITMENT

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EnginEEring DEsign rEcruitmEnt OpEn EvEning

Project Managers required

Wednesday 13th november 4-8pm museum of science and industry (mOsi), Conference Suite, Castlefield, Manchester

The UKDN Waterflow Group is one of the UK's leading specialist contractors working in the rail, water and construction sectors.

We operate throughout the UK across all sectors, and are enjoying strong growth in our Rail Division working on Network Rail and London Underground (TFL) infrastructure and buildings.

WSP, one of the worlds leading engineering consultants, has significantly developed and expanded its portfolio of projects in the Roads and Rail Sectors, to the extent that WSP is now one of the leading UK consultants for the design of highway and rail infrastructure.

This portfolio of projects has resulted in the need to recruit high calibre professionals with the capability to manage and deliver the design of multi-disciplinary projects. We are keen to meet specialists in: n n n n

Permanent Way Signalling Electrification Civil/Structural

n n n n

Highway Design Bridges Structures Communications Lighting Design

If you are a high quality engineering professional keen to learn more about opportunities within our Manchester and surrounding offices please come along and meet us on 13th November for an informal chat.

Our continued investment in people, technology and R&D is key to sustaining our growth. The UKDN Waterflow Group employs over 600 people working from 17 operations centres around the UK. We have the following specific opportunities, but will consider exceptional staff in any discipline: Project Manager – Rail (South West and South Wales) Project Managers / Engineers x 2 (Heathrow) Project Manager – Network Rail Contract (Central London) Experience of working on Network Rail and/or London Underground is essential for all the above roles.

To apply for these career opportunities or to discuss potential for other roles with UKDN Waterflow Group please email:lawrence.donaghy@ukdnwaterflow.co.uk

For more information visit www.wspgroup.co.uk or email lisa.tyler@wspgroup.com No Recruitment Agencies please.

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Signalling Solutions is a company formed by combining the complementary signalling resources and products of Alstom Transport Information Solutions UK and Balfour Beatty Rail Projects.

If you are looking for a new challenge and want to make a real contribution to the success of our business, we have opportunities in the following disciplines: • Design • Testing • Planning • Project Management • Administration • Quantity Surveying • Installation Management • Project Engineering • Health, Safety and Environmental • Systems Engineering

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All the advertised positions have the following benefits: We offer a competitive salary plus a range of benefits including a contributory pension and 25 days holiday.

For more information please visit www.signallingsolutions.com or apply by sending your CV to recruitment@signallingsolutions.com

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a Balfour Beatty and Alstom company