ELECTRIFICATION |
65
The PWI and electrification Railway infrastructure is changing to decarbonise and the PWI is here to help electrification engineers share and gain knowledge to meet the challenge
T
he U.K. government has committed to reaching netzero carbon emissions by 2050. Transport must decarbonise for the betterment of society and our planet. Rail is already one of the cleanest forms of transport, but the only practical way for large parts of the network to fully meet the decarbonisation challenge and operational demand is overhead line electrification. In recent years, the PWI’s membership has grown and welcomed a wider range of rail infrastructure engineers. That has allowed the Institution to enhance the scope of knowledge and information sharing that it can offer all PWI members. Supporting and making the case for electrification has been a key aim of the PWI. As members of the PWI, electrification engineers join a community of rail infrastructure engineers, gain access to continuing professional development (CPD) resources, formal training, and can pursue professional registration. Knowledge sharing The PWI is a community of rail infrastructure engineers committed to sharing knowledge to develop and maintain their skills of its members and supporting them to progress in their careers. To do so, the PWI provides CPD opportunities and resources to its members including the PWI Journal, lunch and learn webinars, technical seminars, Section meetings, and technical training. Electrification has become a prominent feature in the PWI’s library of resources which increases the PWI community’s knowledge and understanding. Every quarter the PWI Journal explores the most relevant industry topics from electrification to high-speed rail to sustainability to safety, through a range of technical articles written by industry experts, academics, and engineers. Recent articles around electrification have included ‘Data driven overhead line equipment (OLE) construction assurance for electrification
Lawrence McEwan MPWI Principal Construction Manager – Network Rail
projects’, ‘Earthing and bonding on ac electrified railways’, and ‘Larkfield to East Kilbride electrification project – alignment through design.’ Another way for electrification engineers to not only stay on top of the latest industry developments but also connect with other rail professionals is to attend their local PWI Section meetings. Held in-person or online PWI Section meetings include a presentation from speakers and a Q&A session. The PWI also hosts Lunch & Learn webinars every two weeks on a Tuesday. In October 2021, the PWI’s ‘Cost Effective Minimum Clearances’ online conference explored the methods available to the rail industry to reduce the cost burden of electrification for civil engineering interventions, if applied effectively. Following the conference, the PWI held its ‘Electrification: Delivering the business case’ seminar in April 2022, which delved into other topics around electrification.
At the seminar rail industry experts and leaders including Bill Reeve (Director of Rail, Transport Scotland), Warren Bain (Technical Director (OLE), PBH Rail), and Anne Watters (Engineering Manager, Amey) spoke about the importance of cross-sector collaboration, successful electrification projects, rail’s green credentials, and cost effectiveness. As well as hearing from speakers, PWI seminars and Section meetings provide electrification engineers with the opportunity to network, connect, and share knowledge with other rail infrastructure engineers. The PWI intends to hold an annual electrification technical seminar going forward. All the presentations recorded at PWI Section meetings, Lunch & Learns and articles in the Jouurnal are accessible through the PWI website. Training The PWI has a proud history of delivering high-quality technical training courses led Rail Professional
