News

Mechan highly commended for innovation

Sheffield-based rail depot equipment specialist, Mechan, is in the running for a national accolade celebrating the achievements of those pushing the industry forward. The firm has been shortlisted in the ‘small scale project’ category at this year’s Railway Innovation Awards for a bespoke bogie drop it created for Norwich’s Crown Point depot.

The awards showcase outstanding innovations and novel technologies from across the rail sector and are judged by a panel of industry experts. Winners will be announced at a special ceremony in London on July 1.

A bogie drop allows complete bogies and other underfloor modules to be changed at track level, without decoupling the train. This means the process can be completed in less than two hours and vehicles return to service more quickly than using traditional methods, which require the carriages to be lifted or split.

Mechan’s specialist engineers designed and built the custom-made unit for Crown Point to enable underframe equipment to be removed from Stadler and Bombardier trains. The drop had to be completely bespoke as the Stadler vehicles have articulated bogies, meaning two carriages need supporting during removal.

Lindsey Mills, Mechan’s Sales Director, said: ‘We are honoured to be shortlisted for the prestigious Rail Innovation Awards – the longest running awards in our industry. We pride ourselves on creating equipment that meets the specific needs of depots and to have our design and build skills recognised by our peers is a fantastic endorsement of our work. We look forward to finding out who has won the coveted prize in a month’s time!’

To find out more about Mechan’s award success or its wide range of rail depot maintenance equipment, telephone (0114) 257 0563, visit www.mechan.co.uk or follow the firm on Twitter, @mechanuk.

CONTACT Messe Berlin GmbH Messedamm 22 14055 Berlin Germany T +49 30 3038 2376 innotrans@messe-berlin.de

New hi-tech weather stations closely monitoring heatwave on the railway

A network of new hi-tech weather stations are in action for this first time during hot weather to reduce rail delays on the West Coast main line, and rail routes in the West Midlands and North West. Last year a system of 60 solar-powered weather stations were installed* to monitor extreme conditions in real-time so railway staff can keep more trains moving instead of imposing region-wide speed limits.

Right now across Network Rail’s North West and Central region they’re being used to predict where the railway could be at risk of damage with temperatures hitting 30°C in places in June. The hot weather, particularly direct sunlight, can cause track temperatures to reach more than 50°C. Steel rails absorb heat easily and tend to hover around 20 degrees above the surrounding air temperature. When steel becomes very hot it expands and rails can bend, flex and, in serious cases, buckle.

By using the new technology, Network Rail teams are ready to respond to any issues caused by the heatwave and impose speed limits in local areas if they are needed. The network of 25,000 volt overhead electric cables which power cables is also susceptible to the hot weather. It can cause the steel wires to overheat and expand causing them to sag. They can then hang too low and get caught on passing trains causing them to come down. Railway staff are ready for this challenge on the West Coast main line south of Crewe, in the West Midlands and on the Chiltern line.

In the longer term the data gathered will help Network Rail weather experts to predict which parts of the network are more vulnerable to bad weather before it even hits. Since 2015 in Network Rail’s North West and Central region, extreme weather has caused half a million minutes of train delays – or more than 400 days.

HS2 welcomes planning approval for major Birmingham viaducts

HS2 Ltd has been granted Schedule 17 consent by Birmingham

City Council for two viaducts which will take the new high speed railway into Curzon Street Station in the city centre. Curzon Viaduct No.3 and Lawley Middleway Viaduct are part of the Curzon Street Station Approach area, which is made up of four connected viaducts between Duddeston Junction Viaduct and Curzon Street Station in central Birmingham. The other viaducts are Curzon Street No.1 Viaduct (furthest from the station) and Curzon Street No.2 Viaduct.

A number of design refinements have resulted in a shorter construction programme and less concrete needed to build the viaduct, bringing positive environmental and community benefits. The viaducts are being designed by a Design Joint Venture of Mott MacDonald and Systra and architects Weston Williamson + Partners, all working for HS2’s civils contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI joint venture.

The Curzon Viaduct No.3 is approximately 300 metres long, the height above ground level varies between 5 metres to 6 metres, it is 65 metres wide at the widest point and will be supported by 30 piers. As it approaches Curzon Street Station, the deck of the viaduct widens from a single deck at the eastern end to four separate decks at the western end.

The viaduct will widen to four separate decks near Curzon Street Station to maximise daylight in the public space underneath. V piers have been developed to support the viaducts because they take up less room at ground level and will also have a side recess for future potential services to be visually integrated. As well as separating the viaduct into four separate decks, the V piers will also help to maximise the opportunities to create a usable and flexible public space under the viaduct.

Collaboration brings STEAM careers to life for 75 female students at Belfast Grand Central Station site

A careers open day, held at the construction site of Belfast

Grand Central Station, brought together 75 female students from five schools in the city for an interactive experience event designed to inspire the next generation of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) talent.

Farrans Sacyr, the main works contractor for Belfast Grand Central Station, hosted the day in collaboration with Translink, W5, CITB and ConstructTuition ahead of International Women in Engineering Day on 23 June.

The five leading organisations have joined forces to build a more diverse and inclusive talent pipeline for the construction sector, with Equality Commission NI figures showing that only eleven per cent of engineers are female.

Year nine students from St. Louise’s Comprehensive College, Hunterhouse College, Strathearn School, Victoria College and Methodist College took part in a site tour, an engineering railway challenge, a virtual reality experience, Minecraft, a structural engineering challenge and workshops on sustainability, health and safety and the commercial aspects of running a live project. The event concluded with a selfie competition, sponsored by W5. Belfast Grand Central Station will deliver a modern, world-class integrated transport hub to enhance local and international connectivity with bus, coach and rail links across Northern Ireland and beyond. It will offer greater capacity with an increase to 26 bus stands, 8 railway platforms, enhanced walking and cycling connectivity, greater comfort and accessibility encouraging greener, active travel for a healthier, smarter city. The Weavers Cross development delivered as part of the project will regenerate the lands around Grand Central Station and facilitate economic growth and urban regeneration.

Belfast Lord Mayor, Councillor Tina Black, commented: ‘It’s wonderful to see these young women being encouraged to consider careers in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. We have an immense amount of talent in our city – and we’ve made a commitment in The Belfast Agenda to help every young person living here to reach their full potential.The investment we’ve secured through the Belfast Region City Deal – and the delivery of landmark infrastructure developments like Belfast’s Grand Central Station – are going to help create new and better jobs in these growth areas, so it’s fantastic to see that employers are making concerted efforts to stimulate a more diverse and inclusive talent supply pipeline.’

Lisa McFadden, Translink Programme Manager, commented: ‘This exciting new fully integrated transport hub will represent a step change for public transport. As a fully multi-modal transport facility it will improve connectivity for everyone in Northern Ireland and beyond and act as a highly impressive gateway. It is the largest construction project undertaken by Translink to date, and requires significant engineering works from building and bridge construction, road upgrade works through to extensive railway and signalling works and we have been delighted to showcase this important project to these female students. As an organisation we are committed to actively encouraging more females to apply for transport jobs. Being part of this event is a great opportunity to demonstrate the many opportunities open to females within the engineering and construction side of our business and show how a career in public transport can help play a major part in tackling the climate crisis and enhance air quality, for a healthier, smarter and more sustainable city for everyone.’

SLC hosts Women in Rail anniversary event

SLC, the rail station design and build specialist, welcomed over 40 people from across the rail industry to its offices in Birmingham’s Brindleyplace on Thursday 16 June. The event – embracing our uniqueness to create winning teams – is the first in a series of special events being held to celebrate 10 years of the Women in Rail charity. It was organised by SLC’s Apprentice Engineering, Lucy Dyer, and it involved activities and networking.

Sam Uren, Engineering Director of SLC Rail said: ‘It was fantastic to welcome so many people to our new office in Brindleyplace. Lucy worked hard to create an event that got people networking and having fun whilst demonstrating the importance of embracing our uniqueness. It was a very enjoyable evening.’

Claire Burrows, Chair of West Midlands Regional Women in Rail Group, said: ‘We are very grateful for the support of SLC Rail in organising and hosting this special anniversary event for us. It was super to be back with an “in person” event and there was a great atmosphere and real buzz amongst attendees.

’Women in Rail was created to improve diversity in the UK rail industry by providing networking opportunities and support for all women within the sector.