Railway Strategies 101 early

RAILWAY F o r S E N I OR R A I L M A N A G E M E N T

Issue 101 Early Edition

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz S T R A T E G I E S

NEWS

Neasden updated

Revamped LU depot to provide S Stock fleet maintenance

New chief executive for Network Rail ORR: rail travel reaches record levels Capacity increase for Waterloo revealed Electrification factory train unveiled Rail delivers business boost Rail crime continues to fall

Interview

Returning to Lloyd’s Register as transportation director, Paul Seller talks about his plans for the organisation

Lakes line to be electrified Watford improvements scheduled

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From the Editor

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Chairman Andrew Schofield Managing Director Mike Tulloch Editor Martin Collier editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Managing Editor Libbie Hammond Art Editor Jon Mee Advertisement Designer Jamie Elvin Profile Editor Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs Advertisement Sales Dave King Head of Research Philip Monument Editorial Researchers Keith Hope Karl Riseborough Gavin Watson Alex Merritt Administration Tracy Chynoweth

Rail benefits

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hen it comes to helping to get the country moving, in every sense, the investment in Britain’s railways is playing a vital role. Figures released recently by Network Rail suggest that the rail supply chain has benefited by

over £17 billion over the last four years, and that over £6 billion of this investment has been with small and medium-sized businesses.

In the last year alone, over £3 billion of work was generated for UK businesses with over a third going to SMEs. It is estimated that over 90,000 full-time jobs have been sustained by this investment.

Looking ahead to the next Control Period, it is suggested that about 99 per cent of the approximately £25 billion expenditure on planned enhancements and renewals – on projects such as Crossrail, Thameslink, the Northern Hub, Electrification and the Borders railway – will be undertaken by UK companies. In a separate report Network Rail examines the potential benefits that HS2 might bring,

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once it reaches Leeds and Manchester, and explores ways in which HS2 could be integrated with the conventional rail network and how to allocate the released capacity.

Issue 101 ISSN 1467-0399 Published by

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Railway Strategies by email

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zzzzzzzzzzzzz Contents ISSUE 101 Early Edition

Features

Interview – Returning to make a difference 18 Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs Rail franchising in the UK – a model for the future 23 Vivek Madan

18 Interview

Seeing clearly 36 David Thomasson Driving a change in culture from ‘Find and Fix’ to ‘Predict and Prevent’ 38 Network Rail and Thales Sense of purpose 40 Robin Butler An expanding network 42 Colin Flack

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Opportunities for higher education in rail freight and logistics 48 Marin Marinov How to build a younger workforce 50 Sharon Glancy

Profiles

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Econocom 9 Spence Ltd 24 Rosehill Rail 52 UK Power Networks Services 56 Foundation Piling Ltd 62 Civil Rail Solutions 64 HaslerRail 66 Saudi Railways Organization 69 Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG 73 Crown International 76 Volante Verkleidungssysteme 78 Centro 82 Tube Lines 85 Fourway Communication 91 Iarnród Éireann 94

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News Industry News 4 High Speed Rail 16 Research 21 Stations 26 Rolling Stock 29 Security 35 Rail Alliance 41

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Conferences & Exhibitions 96

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Focus on...

Rolling Stock Big hitters 30 Alistair Dormer

Focus on...

Revenue Management 14 NFC needs an open standard rather than a ‘killer app’ to make it fly 32 Jörg Suchy All aboard: how airline-style pricing is putting the passenger rail industry back on track 34 Peter Shearer

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Rail investment delivers business boost Investment in a bigger, better rail network generated more than £3.2 billion of work for businesses across Britain over the last year, according to new figures released at the beginning of August by Network Rail

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ore than a third – around £1.2 billion – of the money spent

by Network Rail on enhancements to the UK’s rail network in 2012/13 went to small and medium-sized businesses.

This expenditure helped to support economic growth and jobs across a range of industries from telecoms suppliers and glazers to solar energy engineers and security providers.

This investment has sustained over 90,000 full-time jobs nationwide in addition to the 34,000 people directly employed by Network Rail, generating significant financial returns to central government through tax revenue and savings on benefits as well as boosting local economies.

The enhancement schemes carried out by Network Rail’s major projects division included the redevelopments of King’s Cross, Reading and Birmingham New Street stations, Crossrail, the Thameslink Programme upgrade plus dozens of other schemes to improve stations, lengthen platforms and build new railway.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said: “Investing in infrastructure has a direct effect on the economy, creating jobs, and giving Britain the infrastructure we need to build a stronger economy and fairer society.

“This report is excellent in highlighting the opportunities for small and medium sized businesses that come with infrastructure investment. That is why we have set out £100 billion of investment in infrastructure over the next Parliament, including supporting the largest programme of investment in rail since the Victorian era. I’m very glad to see that Network Rail are doing their bit to drive sustainable and balanced economic growth across the UK.” Simon Kirby, managing director of Network Rail Infrastructure Projects, said: “The rail industry is increasingly recognised as a key contributor to our national, economic and social well-being. Across Britain, investment in a bigger, better railway has provided a massive boost to hundreds of businesses of all shapes and sizes, supporting sustainable economic growth and jobs.”

Overnight work on the recently opened Hitchin flyover

Birmingham New Street station is a major redevelopment project

The redevelopment of Reading station is well advanced All photographs courtesy of Network Rail

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The rail industry’s supply chain is both extended and varied, ranging from professional services to the construction industry. Rail investment is therefore an important driver of growth across many of the UK’s industrial sectors.

In the last four years, Network Rail has generated £17.3 billion of work for its supply chain, of which £6.2 billion has been with small and medium-sized businesses – a 22 per cent increase on the previous four years. Planned enhancements and renewals expenditure between 2014 and 2019 is approximately £25 billion, with 99 per cent of this work to be undertaken by UK-based companies.

Capital investment in rail also pays back over the longer term through wider socioeconomic benefits. A good example of this is the Northern Hub project, designed to boost the economic growth of the north of England through value for money improvements to rail services. The project delivers wider economic benefits valued at over £4 for every £1 invested, and it has been estimated that this project alone will deliver an annual contribution to the northern economy of £2 billion.

Simon Kirby continued: “Every day, more than three million rail journeys are made in Britain and the railway transports millions of tonnes of goods between ports and shops. But railways don’t just move people and freight. Railways connect homes and workplaces, businesses with markets, create jobs, stimulate trade and support the growth of a balanced economy.

“Network Rail will have a pivotal role to play in driving sustainable economic growth over the next five years, with plans to add 700 more trains each day between the key cities of the north, increase London’s rail capacity by 20 per cent, build new lines to increase capacity in Scotland and electrify hundreds of miles of railway so cleaner, faster trains can run. By continuing to invest in rail, we are investing in the future of Britain.” zz

Network Rail Web: www.networkrail.co.uk

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Rail travel in Britain reaches record levels l New statistics published at the beginning of August by the Office of Rail Regulation show that rail use is on the rise as Britain’s railways clocked up 1.23 billion journeys in 2011-12. This accounts for a six per cent increase in rail passenger journeys compared with the previous year – the highest since records began in 1995-96.

The data highlights passenger journeys within Great Britain, looking at travel within and between 11 regions – East of England, East Midlands, London, North East, North West, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.

The data also shows that: l The total number of rail journeys within England was 1.11 billion – 749.8 million of those started or ended in London, accounting for about 67.3 per cent l Rail journeys within individual regions increased by 6.8 per cent compared with 2010-11 and rail journeys between the 11 regions were up 4.3 per cent from 2010-11. l The total number of rail journeys for Scotland was 87.1 million – up 4.7 per cent on 2010-11. Over 90 per cent of journeys were within Scotland. Areas that saw the largest growth were West Lothian and East Ayrshire, which grew by 17.0 per cent and 11.8 per cent respectively. l The total number of rail journeys for Wales rose to 28.1 million – up 2.9 per cent from 2010-11. Journeys between Wales and other regions went up by 5.2 per cent compared to 2010-11 – exceeding nine million journeys for the first time. l London had more rail journeys than any other region – 754 million. London was the origin or destination for 61.3 per cent of all rail journeys in Great Britain. The number of journeys within London grew by 9.0 per cent compared to 2010-11.

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A new strategic partnership is forged l Leading academic experts and industry decision-makers have joined forces to set up a new partnership for rail research. The University of Huddersfield and RSSB have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, sealing a deal to pool resources and talent for research into system and engineering risk modelling to support informed decision making and future risk prediction. Each organisation is putting in funding of £0.5 million per year to fuel a £5 million five-year programme.

Research will be carried out and new techniques developed to fill the gaps that are identified in system and engineering risk modelling, as well as issues around human capital, and educating the next generation of railway professionals.

To view the statistics and a summary of the methodology, see: http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/ Anson Jack (right) and Simon Iwnicki sign the MoU on 24th July 2013 at RSSB’s offices in Angel, London

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Neasden updated

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l Neasden is one of the largest depots on the London Underground network. Rebuilt in the early 1930s, there has been no major refurbishment until now. The introduction of the new airconditioned S Stock trains meant that a major upgrade of Neasden Depot was required. It is one of the most complex depots and upgrade works took place while supporting the maintenance of the Metropolitan line fleet, plus stabling for 20 Jubilee line trains. Works to complete the new maintenance facilities were completed earlier this year and included the installation of a train lifting machine – one of the very few in the UK, a training school, a wheel lathe and a cleaning shed. As part of the SSR upgrade programme, Neasden Depot will provide light maintenance facilities for the Metropolitan line fleet and heavy maintenance for the entire S Stock fleet of 191 trains.

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Shining a light on Britain’s rail industry

l Network Rail has announced that Mark Carne, formerly executive vice president for the Middle East and North Africa for Royal Dutch Shell, is to be its next chief executive.

Mark will join the organisation on 6th January 2014 before formally taking over as chief executive from David Higgins on 1st April 2014.

Mr Carne, 54, studied engineering at Exeter University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

Knorr-Bremse acquires Railcare business l Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems (UK) Limited has acquired the rail vehicle component and overhaul business of Railcare. The acquisition sees the UK Company of the global KnorrBremse Group taking over the Railcare operational sites at both Springburn in Glasgow and at Wolverton near Milton Keynes.

Following the acquisition Knorr-Bremse has formed a new company called Knorr-Bremse RailServices (UK) Limited. This company now joins the three other established KnorrBremse Rail Group operations in the UK. Located at Melksham in Wiltshire is the UK engineering and manufacturing headquarters, at nearby Corsham is a satellite precision machining operation and at Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire, Knorr-Bremse operates a specialist HVAC facility.

Knorr-Bremse RailServices (UK) Limited will be fully supported by Knorr-Bremse UK but will operate as a specialist company with its own identity. The company will continue to offer customers its previous portfolio of services and remain fully focused on train maintenance and repair.

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tesy Image cour ind Evance W d Turbines Lt

© Transport for London

New chief executive for Network Rail

l The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has published the first in a series of new statistical releases to help build understanding of how Britain’s railway is performing. These comprehensive publications will form a series of quarterly national statistics offering context and commentary on latest data trends as well as detailed explanations of the methodology used in collecting the data.

The report (www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.3016) examines rail performance and punctuality in the passenger and freight sectors in Great Britain from 1996-97 to June 2013.

Quarterly statistical releases in the series are: l Passenger Rail Usage – 19th September 2013 l Freight Rail Usage – 3rd October 2013 l Passenger Rail Service Satisfaction – 17th October 2013 Transparency for the railways is about ensuring passengers are able to make the right travel decisions, and helping Governments and rail customers really understand what they are getting for their money. The industry has made strides forward in improving transparency over recent years – using latest technology and publishing more data on train performance to communicate more effectively with passengers, and sharing more information than ever before on the costs and funding of the railways.

Wind turbines at Bathgate depot l ScotRail has installed two wind turbines at a West Lothian railway depot. The 5kW Evance turbines are now up and running at Bathgate depot. It is the first time that wind turbines have ever been installed at a ScotRail depot.

The project will save almost eight tonnes of CO2 per year, as well as producing approximately 14,000kWh of electricity – enough to power a small railway station like Greenfaulds. It is estimated that they will save the rail operator around £4500 in energy bills every year. This money will be reinvested in more renewable energy schemes on Scotland’s railways. The 17.75-metre-high turbines are sensitively sited away from homes on the south side of the depot, in the car park area.

Air-conditioned trains on the Circle line l New fully walk-through Tube trains, which allow better access for customers, are being rolled out on the Circle line from the beginning of September as part of the introduction of 53 new trains on both the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines. In addition to airconditioning, the new trains will have automated visual displays and station announcements, as well as CCTV, dedicated wheelchair areas, wider doors and walkways and lower level, easier to reach passenger alarms.

With seven carriages the new trains are longer than previous rolling stock on the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines, providing 17 per cent extra capacity and helping to relieve pressure on busy parts of the Tube network.

By the end of 2016 there will be a total of 191 walk-through, air-conditioned trains on 40 per cent of the Tube network – running on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Senior management changes at ORR l The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has announced that Tom Taylor is to join as director of corporate operations and organisation development. It also announced that Cathryn Ross, currently director of rail markets and economics, is to leave the organisation in October to take up the role of chief executive of Ofwat. Tom joins ORR from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), where he is currently finance director. Cathryn Ross originally joined ORR from Ofwat in August 2011 and has led the periodic review of Network Rail, working closely with programme director John Larkinson, the draft determination of which was published on 12th June.

Transport Systems Catapult centre l Milton Keynes has been chosen to be the location for the Transport Systems Catapult – one of the first of its kind in the world – based on a variety of criteria. The centre will be a national hub for transport modelling and monitoring, enabling UK businesses to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to today’s transport needs.

750th Crossrail trainload

GBRf

l GB Railfreight (GBRf) has celebrated moving its 750th trainload of excavated material from Crossrail’s tunnels in west London to Northfleet in Kent. This marks the movement of over 850,000 tonnes of muck from the Crossrail site. The Class 66 loco left Northfleet on 23rd July at 19.27, arriving at Westbourne Park at 23.00.

Its return journey was on Wednesday 24th, departing Westbourne Park at 04.02 and arriving at Northfleet at 07.02. This represented a significant milestone in the excavation of material created by Crossrail Tunnel Boring Machines, Phyllis and Ada.

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Watford improvements l Major improvement work on the West Coast Main Line at Watford will get underway in 2014 to improve the punctuality of train services on Britain’s busiest mixed-use railway line. The £81 million improvement scheme begins in May 2014 and continues over 16 days between 9-25 August 2014. Further work is also scheduled to take place over Christmas 2014 and in early 2015.

During the project, passenger trains will be unable to use a 12-mile section of the West Coast Main Line around Watford Junction station. The signalling at Watford will be upgraded alongside new junctions and track to provide more flexibility for train services and better reliability. Alongside this project, Network Rail intends to increase the line speed of the fast lines through Watford to 125mph, from the current 80mph, and is investigating the feasibility of this.

The work in detail: l Three junctions will be renewed to the north, south and in Watford Junction station itself to improve the track layout and make it more reliable. l Over nine miles (15km) of track to renew l Upgrades to the overhead line equipment in the area to make it more reliable. l Renewing crossovers to facilitate future maintenance of the main line while keeping train services running. l The signalling along 12 miles of railway between Kings Langley – Watford Junction and Bushey will be completely renewed to improve reliability and provide more flexibility. This work includes 11 new gantries, 39 signal posts and approximately 120km of cabling. l The signalling power supply system will also be upgraded.

Electric route for the Lake District l Electric trains could soon be serving destinations in the heart of the Lake District as Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin unveiled his plans to electrify the Windermere branch line in Cumbria. The Government is keen for the ten miles of track, which runs between Oxenholme Lake District station on the West Coast Main Line and Windermere station in the National Park, to be converted to allow electric trains to run on the route. Once the proposed £16 million scheme is agreed faster, greener more reliable electric trains could link Kendal, Burneside and Staveley directly to Manchester by 2016.

TfL ticketing bidders shortlist l Following the issue of the OJEU in March for the contract to take the capital’s transport ticketing systems into the next decade, Transport for London (TfL) has announced the shortlisted bidders: l Cubic Transportation Systems Ltd l LG CNS Co CNF l Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH. The shortlisted bidders will be invited to submit detailed bids with the contract awarded by October 2014. The new contract will commence from August 2015 upon the expiry of TfL’s current contract for ticketing systems. The Electra contract term is for seven years with an early exit option at five years and extension options of up to three years.

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Safer environment at Willesden

Glass for Class 800/801 l Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd. has announced that it has signed a preferred contractor agreement with specialist glass manufacturer Romag, based in County Durham, to supply glass for the Class 800/801 trains for the Intercity Express Programme. Both companies aim to reach close of the long-term build and support contract shortly, enabling Romag to immediately launch the necessary design and development work. Delivery of the windows will start in spring 2014, securing high quality jobs in the region with a potential to create additional capacity when supplying at full volume.

LOROL

l Through the joint investment of more than £750,000, a collaborative multi-party improvement scheme at Willesden Junction has created a much-needed safer and more secure station approach for passengers and the local community.

The refurbishment project, which was completed seven days ahead of schedule, re-opened in July. The works have created a safer environment for passengers, staff and the local community with improved road conditions, new lighting and an increased number of CCTV cameras. Transport links have also been improved with new bus stops, shelters, cycle racks and short-term parking bays.

New head of rail systems

Improvements to the station approach road with widened footpaths and new bus stops

l WSP has appointed Chris Lawrence as head of rail systems, overseeing the growth and wider development of WSP’s multi-disciplinary rail business. Chris joins WSP from Arup where he was rail engineering practice leader for the UK MEA Region, and global rail skills leader. He previously ran the Arup office in Singapore and has over 30 years’ experience in the industry.

Chris Lawrenc e

Econocom is the European leader in Technology Finance For over 40 years, Econocom has been providing strategic finance solutions to the railway industry, ensuring that train operating companies provide the best travel experience to their passengers.

Econocom can finance a wide range of assets, such as:

Technology made easy.

❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑

Hardware: PCs, laptops, servers, tablets.

Software projects Kiosk information systems Driver advisory systems Ticket machines Hand held devices: PDAs Epos terminals Catering logistics CCTV Multimedia and digital displays

Econocom is active in 18 countries and, every day, 3,700 employees assist more than 20,000 clients across Europe.

In 2012, Econocom reported €1.54 billion revenue.

ECONOCOM PLC

T: +44 (0)208 940 2199 E: info.gb@econocom.com

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W: www.econocom.com/uk Twitter: @Econocom_UK

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A helping hand – country Chris Labrey nd UK and Irela r fo manager

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Econocom’s financing expertise is helping many customers enhance their business with digital solutions

ounded 40 years ago, Econocom is Europe’s largest independent provider of technology finance and associated services. The company is present in 18 countries with nearly 4000 staff and achieved revenues of just over €1.5 billion in 2012.

With expertise in distribution, leasing, services and telecoms, and an innovative range of enterprise solutions, Econocom assists businesses in transforming their IT systems and management of digital projects. As such it has a presence in all industries with a number of vertical markets, one of which is rail.

“The main service we provide to rail is technology finance, especially for train operating companies (TOCs),” elaborates Chris Labrey, country manager UK and Ireland. “The biggest challenge is accommodating the franchise nature of the rail industry but we can help TOCs

with financing towards the end of these terms. The main strength of the business is our experience as we are able to build our solution to fit the customer, not some product set we might have.”

For example Econocom is working with one TOC to redesign the food and beverage part of its business. This includes delivery of food to the factory gate, inventory management, and all the way through to the passenger’s plate. The entire project is then financed over a term to suit the client.

Another significant project was the financing of all the desktops, servers and laptops at the London Olympics. Econocom is not purely concerned with financing of products though, but more a complete digital solution. As to the future of such things in rail Chris says: “Leaving the trains aside for a

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moment, passengers are constantly becoming more technology demanding. I can see the customer experience being improved with digital solutions.

“Contactless payment on-board trains is coming and TOCs might want to evaluate the tablet devices into seats similar to the airlines for longer journeys. Both of these are income generators and differentiators.”

It doesn’t stop with the customer experience though. Chris also believes that Econocom can play a role in technical developments such as ERTMS and ETCS: “This technology is more than likely to be upgraded in the future and technology finance can assist here to smooth the investment spikes of the initial purchase and subsequent upgrades. In addition, being independent of any manufacturer means that Econocom is able to finance the eventual choice from the four ERTMS systems being evaluated at the moment on the Hertford Loop.”

With a client list that includes First Rail, the BBC and Capita, Econocom is keen to dispel the myth that only clients with low cash reserves look to finance to fund their technology investments. “As you can see from our customers above, they choose Econocom because they want their business to stay agile whilst they invest in new technology. Market conditions for standard technology are static with some companies being forced to invest in technology because their existing set-up can’t cope. The digital solutions market, on the other hand, is growing fast because people can see the competitive edge it gives them.”

The next five years see Econocom looking to double its revenues to €3 billion through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.

Within this includes the recently announced plans to acquire Osiatis, a large European player in the IT services market. At the same time the company’s strategic plan is to further embrace what it deems the ‘Digital World’.

“We see embedded technology growing everywhere,” clarifies Chris. “Interactive kiosks, multimedia information and advertising screens, mobile technology, intelligent trains and buildings – all of this equipment should communicate with each other making it truly smart technology. We are set up to help companies acquire this technology and by financing it intelligently, the cost can be mapped with the productivity.” zz

Econocom PLC Tel: +44 (0) 208 940 2199 Web: www.econocom.com/uk

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Key lifting role for overhead crane at Edinburgh tram depot l The Gogar depot, serving the new Edinburgh tram network, is using a double girder 6.3 tonne travelling crane, installed by Street Crane Company, to maintain the fleet of 27 trams and support the Unimog track maintenance vehicle. The 19 metre crane, with a 5.5 metre height of lift, spans three tracks within the depot and runs almost the full length of the building to give maximum flexibility in transporting materials. Elevated access platforms at the eastern end of the building allow engineers easy access to the vehicle roof and covered pits permit access to the undercarriage. Jacks, located in the floor in the western end of the building, enable carriage bodies to be lifted from the tram bogies.

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RSSB research

Recent research reports from the RSSB include: Published research T848 AeroTRAIN (a TrioTRAIN project) – Aerodynamics: Total Regulatory Acceptance for the Interoperable Network T997 Managing occupational road risk associated with road vehicle driver fatigue Projects recently started T952 Future Traffic Regulation Optimisation (FuTRO) T1003 Standardisation of coupling arrangements T1019 Reliability modelling of the Brighton mainline T1029 Designing a tool to support duty holders in the assessment of train dispatch risk For further information please visit: www.rssb.co.uk

Management buyout at Quattro Securing the West Coast Main Line to improve performance

Network Rail

l Network Rail has confirmed that it is installing over 100 miles of new lineside fencing along the West Coast Main Line to secure the line and improve performance on the route. The new fencing between Rugby and London Euston is part of a package of projects worth nearly £40 million, aimed at improving the reliability of the infrastructure and punctuality of train services on Britain’s busiest mixed-use railway line.

l The Quattro Group has been bought by its management team, led by finance director David Callé, who assumes the role of CEO. Previous owner John Murphy has retained a significant David Callé stake in the business and has taken over as executive chairman. Quattro Group was founded

by John Murphy in 1989 and has since grown into a £40 million business.

New chief executive for Freightliner Group New fencing along the West Coast Main Line

Brakes for Hitachi Class 800 trains l Hitachi Rail Europe has signed a contract with Knorr-Bremse which will see Knorr-Bremse supplying the braking system for the new Hitachi Class 800 series trains destined for UK operations. Knorr-Bremse will be supplying the entire braking system for the new trains including the brake control, bogie equipment and the air supply system.

l Freightliner Group has announced that Russell Mears will be appointed as group chief executive Russell Mears from Monday 30th September 2013.

He will succeed Peter Maybury, who will retire from the position of chief executive but remain with the company as chairman. Russell is currently chief financial officer for the Group and has worked with Freightliner since privatisation in 1996.

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Network Rail faces unprecedented increases in passenger and freight demand

At the beginning of September Network Rail published its response to the Office of Rail Regulation’s draft determination for the period 2014 to 2019, CP5

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etwork Rail welcomes the recognition in the determination of the significant progress the industry as a whole has made in the last decade on train performance, value for money, affordability, and, above all, safety as the company continues to meet unprecedented increases in passenger and freight demand at the same time as renewing our Victorian network.

During CP4 Network Rail has identified and begun to address the major challenges that those two goals confront us with, particularly in our approach to sustainable asset management and optimising the inevitable trade-offs between performance and capacity constraints.

Network Rail is determined to keep working with the rest of the industry to maintain, and build on, that progress, which is why we have used the time since the determination to analyse, in detail, the ORR’s proposals, particularly given its assessment that the chances of us reaching the targets it has set are less than fifty percent.

The strategic business plan Network Rail published in January set out the fundamental changes we are committed to carrying out in our culture, working practices, use of technology and collaboration with our customers and partners. The ORR’s draft determination requires us to go beyond these ambitions and deliver even higher levels of performance and cost savings with less investment, and less money to operate and manage the railway, and with less funding for enhancements.

As a result, Network Rail believes that the cumulative impact of the scale and pace of change that the ORR has proposed across a range of activities makes the package as a whole unbalanced.

David Higgins, Network Rail chief executive, said: “The regulator’s determination provides the opportunity for Network Rail and the

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s, David Higgin s Network Rail’ ive ut ec ex f ie ch industry to build on the progress and success of the last decade, but whilst there are many aspects of the draft which we welcome, taken as a whole we believe it is unbalanced and, therefore, unrealistic.”

Amongst the issues Network Rail is concerned about are: l The proposal to cut our renewals budget by a further £594 million on top of the £2.2 billion of savings we had already identified in our plan. This does not reflect the additional costs involved in focusing track renewals on critical routes which are more complex, and therefore expensive, because of their higher rates of use and difficulties of access. l The expectation that we should deliver an additional £800 million of property income and enhancements on top of the £1.8 billion we had already aimed for. We, and independent property consultants, consider this to be unrealistic. l Our plan to update antiquated industry IT systems has been cut from £614 million to £338 million and our plan for a special budget for research and development to stimulate much-needed technological innovation to drive efficiencies has been reduced from £300 million to £50 million. l A significant increase in the level and degree of regulatory oversight which will result in Network Rail having to report on a total of 3700 measures.

l An assumed cost of financing which is too low because it does not reflect current market conditions.

As a result of these, and other real concerns, Network Rail is asking the ORR to restore £1.4 billion of the £2.4 billion it cut from our original plans (contained in the strategic business plan published in January).

Network Rail is also asking the ORR to review the regulatory regime it is proposing for CP5 since it believes the current proposal will: l Add additional cost through duplication of effort l Deny the company the flexibility it needs to manage the risks inherent in a highly complex industry l Deny the industry as a whole the flexibility it will need to manage jointly the trade-offs between capacity and performance in a period when demand will continue to grow and there will be inevitable disruption as we continue to deliver the biggest rail investment programme since the Victorian era.

Mr Higgins concluded: “We had already set ourselves tough, challenging targets for the next five years in terms of further improving performance, safety and continuing high levels of investment to grow and expand our railway.

The ORR’s response to our plans calls us to deliver too much, too quickly and is, overall, simply unrealistic. It would be irresponsible for us not to be open and honest about the scale of the challenge that would pose for us as an organisation.” zz More information on Network Rail’s strategic business plans can be found here: www.networkrail.co.uk/publications/ strategic-business-plan-for-cp5/ An interactive timeline of the periodic review process can be found here: www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/ about/key-dates.php

Network Rail

Network Rail’s response to the ORR draft determination for CP5

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Crossrail

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Connaught Tunnel refurbishment completed ahead of schedule Working in the cofferdam earlier this year

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rossrail’s ‘race against the clock’ to complete a key part of its work to the Victorian Connaught Tunnel in east London has been completed ahead of schedule.

Earlier in the year, dam walls were installed in a section of the Royal Docks that runs above the tunnel to allow Crossrail workers to access the tunnel from above. However, the dam had to be removed by the first week of September to allow ships to pass through the dock ahead of a trade exhibition at ExCeL London.

Following three months of work around the clock, the work has now been completed, the dam walls have been removed and the dock has been re-opened.

A cofferdam the size of a football pitch was installed and 13 million litres of water were drained from the Royal Docks. This allowed workers to deepen, widen and strengthen the

The Royal Do

cks being re

-flooded

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nnel in July

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central section of the tunnel so that it can accommodate new Crossrail trains.

Sections of the tunnel were in a poor condition and parts of it were narrowed during the 1930s so that the dock could be deepened to accommodate larger ships with brickwork removed and steel segments installed. This material has now been removed and a larger, stronger structure has been put in place in preparation for the start of Crossrail services in 2018.

The tunnel was built in 1878 and has not been in passenger use since December 2006.

It is the only existing tunnel that will be re-used for Crossrail.

Andrew Wolstenholme, Crossrail chief executive said: “In refurbishing this Victorian rail tunnel, the team at Connaught has had to think on its feet and overcome some unique challenges. It is a source of great pride that our engineers and everyone on the project continue to deliver, often in difficult and complex circumstances.”

Linda Miller, Connaught Tunnel project manager said: “It was a race against the clock to get the work completed and the dock re-flooded, so it’s great news that we’ve got it finished ahead of schedule. It’s been a fantastic effort by the whole team to get the job done safely, quickly and effectively.”

When the southeast section of Crossrail opens, up to 12 trains an hour in each direction will run through the Connaught Tunnel, reducing journey times and supporting the wider regeneration of the Royal Docks. As well as widening and deepening the central section of the tunnel, the work at the site will include laying new tracks, waterproofing, installing water pumps and cleaning the 135 years of coal and soot from the bricks. zz

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NEWS I Industry

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Electrification factory on rails Network Rail

A factory on rails – the first of its kind to be used on Britain’s railways – will slash years off the time it will take to electrify the Great Western main line

Network Rail

Regional director Robbie Burns with the piling rig on the HOPS

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ith 235 route miles to electrify from Maidenhead in the East to Swansea in the West – and many thousands of trains to keep running while the work is done – Network Rail is working with German manufacturer Windhoff to build the High Output Plant system (HOPS) train to do the job.

This 23-vehicle train, in effect several trains in one, will work its way west, building the railway electrical infrastructure as it goes.

Project director for Network Rail, Western and Wales, Robbie Burns, said: “Electrifying the Great Western is a big challenge but the benefits for passengers and the wider economy will be equally huge. Electric trains are more reliable, cleaner, accelerate faster and use less energy.

Their fuel cost is 45 per cent lower than diesel trains, and they are also cheaper to maintain.

“But electrifying such a long stretch of line in such a short timeframe, while also making sure passengers can still take trains to where they want to go, is a challenge we need new technology to meet.

“The factory train will allow us to work overnight, when the network is less busy, and will also mean we can keep trains running. It’s a

step change in the way we work in the UK and we are looking forward to starting next year.”

Operating six nights a week, the £40 million HOPS will do its work after dark, with adjacent lines open for business at speed – if not maximum speed – aiming to sink up to 30 piles per shift.

This equates to the usual length of one stretch of conductor wire – between 1200 and 1500m. And there are 17,000 piles to be sunk before Swansea.

Electrifying the Great Western using the HOPS will be a much more efficient process than methods used in this country in the past, with work able to be carried out while trains are still running.

Without it, the work would need to be undertaken at weekends, with disruptive line closures. It is intended to have electric trains running to Swansea by 2018.

How it works With several consists in one train, the HOPS will leave the purpose-built depot in Swindon and split up to head to different parts of the line at its 60mph top speed. It carries enough supplies and equipment to avoid having to bring anything to the trackside on lorries and staff can be picked up at

The piling rig on the HOPS

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stations en-route.

The different consists are: l A piling rig, with two MPVs with Movax vibro piling heads, which literally vibrate the steel piles into the soil, two pile carrying wagons, and finally a Fambo hydraulic percussion hammer MPV for tougher ground l An excavation and concrete batching consist. This will feature an Hitachi excavator plus a Kniele concrete unit which will mix concrete from onboard aggregate, cement and water tanks l A structures consist, which will erect the Series One masts, portal booms and twin track cantilevers. It is intended to carry 30 masts for erection, per night l Ancillary conductor consist, which will install the earthing wires, return wires and small parts such as registration arms and other equipment l The contact and catenary consist, which will string up the remaining wires, under tension.

Another unit will install other articles such as catenary wires under low bridges, neutral sections and record information such as height and stagger.

Each consist will include two MPVs with full driving cabs, powered by MTU power packs, which can be driven at 60mph off-site. On-site driving cabs will allow the train to be driven very slowly in possessions, such as when installing contact wire.

Proposed electrification schemes On Tuesday 8th January 2013, Network Rail set out its plans to build a bigger, better railway for Britain over the 2014-19 funding period. These plans included the following electrification schemes: l Great Western Main Line (Maidenhead to Oxford, Newbury, Bristol and Cardiff) and Thames Valley branches l Cardiff to Swansea and Welsh Valley lines l Midland Main Line (Bedford to Corby, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield) l North-West Electrification Scheme (Liverpool to Manchester, Manchester to Preston and Blackpool) l Transpennine Electrification Scheme (Manchester to Leeds and York) l Electric spine (Southampton to Nuneaton and Bedford via Oxford)

Network Rail

The concrete batching section of th e HOPS

Where it will be The HOPS will be maintained and restocked at the High Output Operating Base (HOOB) near Swindon. A further distribution site in the town will act as a stockpile for materials, which will be delivered to the HOOB when needed.

Around 200 people will work on the HOPS project overall, employed by operator Amey, and recruited from along the route of the line.

It is intended that many will train on the equipment they are installing, before being ‘left behind’ to work as maintenance staff on the overhead, leaving the railway a legacy of highlyskilled railway electrical engineers.

The piling rig gets to work on the HOPS

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High Speed Rail

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HS2 benefits to extend across the rail network – Network Rail study

Network Rail

Over 100 towns and cities on Britain’s existing railway lines could benefit from quicker, more frequent journeys and better connections when HS2 phase two is complete, according to a new report published by Network Rail

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he report on released capacity, ‘Better connections: options for the integration of High Speed 2’, sets out initial proposals for how HS2 could be integrated into the national rail network once the second phase connecting Birmingham with Leeds and Manchester is complete.

It considers three broad approaches to how the capacity released by HS2 could be used in advance of more detailed assessments of the benefits: (i) ‘Do minimum’ approach – this would keep train services on existing lines broadly the same but

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offer reduced crowding and increased choice for passengers between high-speed and conventional long-distance services at certain locations. (ii) ‘Incremental’ approach – this seeks to replace long-distance services on the existing network which are replicated by those provided by HS2, allowing the capacity to be used for improved inter-urban connectivity and/or additional commuting capacity.

This approach could free up freight paths and provide new journey opportunities on all north-south routes.

The capacity released on the West Coast Main Line when Phase 2 completes could mean an additional service for places like Crewe, Stafford, Winsford, Hartford, Acton Bridge and Warrington. It could also improve connectivity between Northampton and Manchester or between Birmingham and North Wales.

For the East Coast Main Line, it could mean additional journey opportunities between Manchester and Newcastle and between Newcastle and Edinburgh.

On the Midland Main Line the released capacity could be used to provide more seats and improved connectivity between Sheffield/Nottingham and Leeds. (iii) ‘Integrated connectivity’ approach – a more radical concept which would see all future rail services planned in a ‘hub and spoke’ model to complement and work in conjunction with HS2 which would provide ‘hub to hub’ services.

This approach would see the high-speed lines become the principal means of long-distance travel with services on the existing network set up in a feeder pattern to improve connectivity to the HS2 hub and the surrounding area.

For example, most people travelling through Crewe are on direct services to Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Preston, Glasgow and London. This constrains capacity for improvements to other services.

The integrated connectivity approach would see as many long-distance services as possible transfer on to the high-speed lines, freeing up space for local connectivity. This could mean that the towns and cities surrounding Crewe could see improved services, for example Stoke could see the number of services increase from two to four with a potentially faster and more reliable journey.

Paul Plummer, Network Rail group strategy director, said: “HS2 provides an opportunity to fundamentally reshape our railway in a way that incremental improvements simply cannot deliver. It is a chance to stop playing catch-up on capacity and instead look at how the rail network could deliver a stepchange improvement towards key national goals – economic growth, reduced carbon emissions and an improved quality of life for communities and individual passengers.

“This study is part of a wider programme that looks at how the high speed and existing lines might work together as a single network. We will continue to work with local authorities and other stakeholders to understand how we can make best use of HS2 and welcome feedback on this initial study in advance of more detailed assessments of the benefits.”

Network Rail held a series of workshops with stakeholders to make sure that the report took into account local aspirations for connectivity and journey opportunities as well as plans for local and regional development. The workshops were attended by representatives of local authorities, passenger transport executives and chambers of commerce and were extremely valuable in determining priorities for future rail services.

The approach found to offer the greatest potential benefits was the integrated connectivity, or ‘hub and spoke’, option. This would see long distance services principally provided by HS2, with services on the existing network set up in a feeder pattern to provide frequent and reliable connectivity between surrounding areas and the ‘hub’ stations. It was felt by all stakeholders that this approach could create new opportunities to improve inter-regional, commuter and freight services and promote a shift in journeys from road to rail.

An incremental approach was also found to deliver significant improvements for passengers on the East Coast, Midland and West Coast main lines, with up to 100 stations on routes between London, the Midlands, the north west and the north east and Scotland potentially benefitting from faster and more frequent services offering new and better connections.

The ‘Better connections’ report complements an

Example of ‘Hub and Spoke’ approach . Crew

Network Rail

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initial study published by Network Rail and Passenger Focus in January 2012 which looked at how capacity released from HS2 Phase One, between London and Birmingham, could be best used to meet passengers’ priorities.

This study found that one of the biggest groups to benefit would be commuters travelling between Northampton, Milton Keynes, Watford Junction and London Euston, where the worst overcrowding on the West Coast Main Line is forecast in the coming years as demand for rail continues to grow. zz ‘Better connections’ can be downloaded from www.networkrail.co.uk/highspeedrail and Network Rail is seeking feedback on its contents to inform more detailed assessments of how to maximise the benefits of HS2. This work will inform Network Rail’s long-term planning process, which is also subject to consultation.

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INTERVIEW I Paul Seller

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Paul Seller – transportation director at Lloyd’s Register

Returning tomake adifference Returning to Lloyd’s Register as transportation director, Paul Seller tells Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs about his plans for the organisation

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Chris Knowles

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Lloyd’s Register’s London headquarters is steeped in the organisation’s 250 year history

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here is a difference to Lloyd’s Register,” says Paul Seller when asked about his reasons for coming back to the organisation to take up the reins of its rail and metro business.

“Firstly we’ve got longevity: Lloyd’s Register has been around for over 250 years and can trace its roots to an 18th century coffee shop in London. Few bodies last that long, let alone remain as consistently successful or reputable over such a time span.

Much of this can be attributed to our independence from shareholder dividends, meaning we are free to be absolutely impartial in our work.

“Secondly, we are an organisation with strong interests in promoting education and research into engineering. We invest in programmes that help develop skills and attract quality engineers into the various sectors we serve.”

“This means there is an ethos throughout the organisation which is ‘do something that matters’ which is important to all our staff. We’re a home for people who want to see things done properly. And it is a genuine privilege to be returning to lead such a high quality group of people,” he enthuses.

Making a difference Which all stacks up. For at the heart of the organisation is a charity, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, with a mission to protect life and property, and advance transport and engineering education and research. The charity is funded by an operating arm – the Lloyd’s Register Group Limited which provides independent assurance and expert advice services.

Having recently assumed the role of transportation director, it now falls to Paul to oversee the growth of its consultancy and assurance services within the rail industry. “The Lloyd’s Register Group is keen to extend its presence in the rail and metro sector,” he notes.

“My task is to use this backing to support that growth. We already have a work portfolio that extends across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and the past 18 months have seen us secure roles on major projects such as Crossrail, Etihad Rail and the Taiwan High Speed network. Now is the right time to capitalise on that progress.”

Serving strongly Paul previously spent ten years with the organisation between 2001 and 2011. During this time he managed the UK services team and became global business development director. This was followed by two-and-a-half years working for Bombardier Transportation where his most recent responsibility was ensuring that the mainline and metro division possessed effective safety, homologation and qualification testing processes.

Reflecting on what he brings back from this time away, Paul says: “It has given me an excellent ‘client-side’ perspective, which has reaffirmed my belief that at Lloyd’s Register we already serve our clients

There is an ethos throughout the organisation which is ‘do something that matters’ which is important to all our staff www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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INTERVIEW I Paul Seller

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Left: Lloyd’s Register has a growing rail business in China and Asia

Below: Lloyd’s Register’s teams conduct stringent safety assessments on all forms of rolling stock

trackside perform r a range ts s li ia c e p s fo egister s t service Lloyd’s R ard managemen o and on-b s se of purpo

well with some very talented engineers amongst our ranks, including specialists who are amongst the best in the world in their field. My number one priority is to develop the business without losing that technical edge or our client focus.

“Take our assurance and certification work as an example: there’s no getting away from the fact that sometimes all a client project manager is primarily focused on is getting from A to B – to achieve acceptance, or equivalent, as efficiently as possible. They want people to come in and lift the burden, not add to it. And our approach has always understood that. Our assessors are not ‘clipboard holders’ standing on the sidelines dutifully ticking things off – we won’t just turn around and say “that’s not acceptable”. We’ll see it as part of our responsibility to get ahead of the project, anticipate its requirements, flag up problems in advance and carefully explain the issues, thus vastly reducing duplication and overall paperwork. As a project manager this is highly valuable,” he continues.

Future direction The first step towards formulating the future of Lloyd’s Register’s rail activity is for Paul to reacquaint himself with each of the offices around the world, and from that put together a formal growth strategy. “We are all agreed on the ‘big picture’,” he notes. “We know what sort of business we want to be in, say, five years time, and the areas we need to look at in order to achieve our ambitions. For example, we are widely known for our independent assurance, but we also offer support through technical advice and intend to extend that area of the business.”

One area that has progressed strongly is its Transportation Academy, which has grown to now offer over a 100 different courses across rail safety, performance and management disciplines. Courses such as the Common Safety Method for Risk Assessment have proved particularly popular in the UK. Meanwhile projects like the design of a new biomass

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Lloyd’s Register’s UK rail team moved to Derby’s Pride Park in April 2012 freight wagon for Drax Power demonstrate how Lloyd’s Register can also provide specialist expertise away from the assurance roles it is traditionally known for.

“I think there is an increased understanding about rail’s overall importance in our rapidly urbanising society. It is also an industry that has rediscovered its appetite for new ideas and methods to improve efficiency. That means increased demand for innovations ranging from advanced traction technologies and in-cab train control to procedural improvements such as predictive maintenance, asset management and energy monitoring. These are technical areas in which Lloyd’s Register has a lot of specialist expertise to offer,” concludes Paul. zz

Lloyd’s Register Tel: +44 (0) 20 7423 2949 Email: transportation@lr.org Web: www.lr.org/rail

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Research News

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DynoTRAIN project nears completion

The Institute of Railway Research’s head of research, Dr Yann Bezin, (front row, second right) along with the rest of the IRR team

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project that could enable manufacturers of rail vehicles to use virtual testing of trains in order to ensure safety standards throughout Europe while making huge savings on development costs has relied on a key contribution from a research team based at the University of Huddersfield.

Named DynoTRAIN, with a total budget over €5.5 million euros, the four-year project, now nearing completion, has received funding from the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme (Grant Agreement number 234079) and among the partners – alongside manufacturers and rail infrastructure bodies in seven European nations – is the Institute for Railway Research (IRR), which occupies a purpose-built suite of labs at the University of Huddersfield.

The IRR’s head of research is Dr Yann Bezin, who explained that an overall aim of DynoTRAIN was to speed up the process of certifying rail vehicles so that they can run safely on tracks throughout Europe.

“Before you are allowed to run a vehicle in a country you need to make sure it is safe and that implies a lot of physical testing,” said Dr Bezin.

“So you build a prototype of the train and it is tested through an intensive and long programme of physical testing.”

This is costly as well as time-consuming.

“If you build a fleet of vehicles to sell, the cost of a full train would be spent on certification. That is quite a large proportion, because you don’t sell hundreds of trains,” said Dr Bezin.

A speciality of the IRR is in the development of modelling software that can simulate the dynamic

behaviour of railway vehicles, leading to estimate the safe operation of a train in differing conditions.

“One of our tasks as part of DynoTRAIN has been to build mathematical tools that take data collected from different countries about the track and synthesise that data into a representative track that you would use in a virtual test environment,” explained Dr Bezin.

Manufacturers would be able to use virtual test tracks to make adjustments to vehicles according to the conditions in which they would be used. It is hoped that the findings of DynoTRAIN, including the IRR’s contribution, will help to establish virtual testing as a valid route to certification.

But it relies on a massive database of information about real tracks and real railway systems and this was gathered as part of DynoTRAIN by assembling a special train – locomotives, passenger carriages and freight wagons – fitted out with a battery of testing equipment, such as a laser system that captured the shape of the rail every 25cm over thousands of kilometres.

This train ran in Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland, capturing the characteristics of different tracks in different countries, including high speed lines and slower, local services.

This furnished a huge amount of information that could be used in order to help validate vehicle models and build virtual test tracks.

“DynoTRAIN has been a very useful project, involving all the key players in the industry,” said Dr Bezin. The Institute had developed a tool that was of interest to railway manufacturers and could be used to build a database of virtual tracks to aid the safety certification process. zz

For further information, please contact Dr Yann Bezin at: University of Huddersfield Institute for Railway Research Email: y.bezin@hud.ac.uk Tel: 01484 473 732 Web: www.hud.ac.uk

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Supply Chain

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Why supply chain maps could prevent the rail industry from having its own‘horse meat’scandal Rail companies should create maps of their supply chains to prevent an ‘industry version’ of the horse meat scandal. That’s according to supply chain management company Achilles, after research showed that 40 per cent of businesses procuring only in the UK have no information about their suppliers’ suppliers. Despite this lack of information, 92 per cent felt ‘confident’ in their ability to manage potential issues.

Annette Gevaert is director of rail and transport at Achilles, the leading provider of supplier information management services

Contact details for the Achilles Link-up team are: Tel: 01235 838 193 Email: Link-upbuyer@achilles.com Web: www.rail.achilles.com

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chilles runs Link-up, the supplier registration and pre-qualification scheme for the industry.

The company commissioned an independent survey of 130 procurement professionals working in a wide range of sectors – including rail and transport – to ascertain their key supply chain challenges. (Research was conducted on behalf of Achilles by IFF Research in March 2013 amongst 131 directors, procurement managers and buyers of large UK businesses with over 250 employees.)

Results showed that; l 40 per cent of companies procuring only in the UK, including the rail and transport sector, had no information about their Tier 2 suppliers l 18 per cent of all companies – including those in the rail and transport sector – had no information about Tier 2 suppliers.

Annette Gevaert, director of rail and transport at Achilles, said: “Like most businesses, the rail sector is now dependent on increasingly complex and globalised supply chains. Rail is a safety critical industry, with people at its heart, and we must take proactive steps to address potential risks in supply chains before they affect People, Planet and Profit.

“The horse meat scandal unfolded in a different sector but the same issues – caused by a lack of supplier visibility – could easily affect the rail industry.

“Our research suggests that businesses do not know who their Tier 2 suppliers are and yet they remain ‘confident’ in their risk management processes – without the benefit of a complete picture of information.

This suggests that procurement professionals are either unaware of the risk posed by Tier 2 suppliers, or overly complacent in their existing systems. By creating maps of supply chains across all tiers the rail industry could gain visibility and traceability of potential risks and act as a role model to other sectors.”

The situation is also reflected among SMEs. A third (30 per cent) of companies with a turnover below £25 million have no information on their suppliers’

suppliers, compared to only 13 per cent of companies with a turnover of over £1 billion.

Edward Funnell, rail policy spokesperson for The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, said: “This study should come as a wake-up call to rail companies and the Institute welcomes the fact that this research has been undertaken.

“While many companies take good care to ensure their suppliers comply with high standards of care to ensure that products are safe, how many are checking the levels of compliance with quality and safety standards of their suppliers’ suppliers?

“Many ‘Tier 2’ suppliers may well be excellent providers, but as recent events have shown, when it comes to the manufacture of safety-critical products, companies who procure products from their suppliers need to ask questions of their suppliers’ suppliers too. Dented reputations, safety scares, unwanted media attention and additional financial and legal costs are much costlier than taking a little time to carry out checks on those who supply your suppliers.”

Achilles provides supply chain management and supply chain mapping services. This allows companies to maintain accurate data and ‘map’ their extended supply chains, to view supply information beyond Tier 1 suppliers. An automated ‘cascading invitation’ from buyer to supplier to supplier’s supplier ad infinitum gathers comprehensive information about the supply chain, protecting buyers from global events and allowing best practice in the mitigation of risk. zz

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Franchises

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Rail franchising in the UK – a model for the future VIVEK MADAN considers some alternatives to the current franchising process

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he Government’s announcement in June that it would invest £16 billion into Britain’s rail infrastructure is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. However, recent failures have once again highlighted that a cash injection on its own is not the answer to improve our rail network. The West Coast mainline fiasco, for instance, brought to the fore the limitations of the Government’s current franchising model, emphasising a broader malaise in Government’s relationship with the private sector. As a result, the Government is taking stock and spending time getting its house in order, recently publishing a revised strategy for managing franchise bidding and delaying many of its scheduled tenders.

The issues surrounding the franchising process have reignited the debate around ‘which is better’ for our railways – franchising or public sector management? However, this structural and politicised way of looking at the issue will not lead us to the right answers. We need to begin by asking more fundamental questions – focusing on what investment and management expertise are required to create a world-class transport infrastructure for consumers and how this can be provided.

Looking more closely at the West Coast bid, the blame for its failure was laid at the door of the overstretched civil servants, who lacked the technical skills to correctly assess the bids, as well as an overarching lack of leadership. West Coast isn’t the only example of long-term deals between the public and private sectors in rail to have collapsed – the failure of the East Coast mainline, which is still under direct Government control after the franchise collapsed in 2009, is another well-known example of a similar type of mismanagement.

However, the real issues at the heart of the franchising process are more deep-seated than this. We would argue that, regardless of execution, the current process is designed for failure: the parameters under which contracts come to market are flawed, the operational risks transferred onto bidders have been

ill thought through, and wider social goals are not addressed at all.

Although ensuring that the public purse gets a good deal is important, there is far too great a focus on trying to squeeze every last pip out of companies at the bidding stage – in essence, trying to get as high a guaranteed revenue stream as possible rather than thinking more strategically about what the public needs from a railway. The long-term economic objectives of building a world-class infrastructure for consumers and creating better connectivity to drive economic growth are not set as specific aims for bidding companies, meaning that the whole process is defined by financial requirements.

Similarly, social aspects such as ridership and economic development should be set as a key indicator of success. Encouraging more people to use rail should be one of the ultimate aims of any contract. The public sector has had some successes in this, particularly with Merseyrail and NI Railways, which have seen a spike in numbers in recent years.

Although there is no one template for public sector contracting that we would urge the Government to follow, there are a number of lessons that can be learned from similar processes in the UK and from other countries in creating successful partnerships between the public and private sectors.

The ‘Alliance’ approach used in rail public private partnerships in Australia, such as the one currently being tendered for Sydney’s North West Rail project, offers an example of how risk and reward can be more sensibly shared. Rather than tendering on unknowns, a procurement process lasting over a year where shortlisted bidders and the state government develop bids based on an ‘open book’ approach to costs, means that more innovative solutions can be designed. This approach also means that both the public and the private sectors can focus on what they’re really good at – the public sector keeping its role managing the ongoing policy of the railway including fare-setting, while leaving the private sector to

operate complex assets efficiently.

Rewarding bids on a specific set of success criteria that goes beyond financial goals into more societal goals is also becoming more widespread in other parts of the UK’s public sector. Although these sorts of contracts have grown more rapidly in sectors where goals can be more easily measured, like in the reform of the prison service for instance, there are similar measurable goals that could be applied to rail franchise operators. Increasing the number of low-income riders, growing the number of tourists that visit regional destinations and reducing anti-social behaviour on trains are just three potential goals that could be accounted for by a franchising agreement.

It is absurd that a strategic asset so vital to the nation’s economic wellbeing as the rail network is being managed entirely for yield.

Our rail fares are among the highest in Europe – and still, franchise-owners are going bust.

While it is clear that the franchising model we have today is not perfect, root-and-branch change without an adjustment in underlying attitudes will not deliver the changes we need.

There are examples out there of successful and sustainable public private partnerships in the rail sector that work to the benefit of customers, business and government alike.

It’s our responsibility to find a solution that will ensure we create a world-class rail system that will serve the economy and is fit for purpose for future generations.zz

Vivek Madan is a Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants, leading its Business and Government Services practice. OC&C has widespread expertise in advising the public sector to maximise its tendering processes.

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SPENCE ltd

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Hendon Retail Park, design and build

Ensuring the highest quality development whilst keeping the wheels turning for Network Rail

Maryland redevelopment

Victoria station façade: clean, repair and roof refurbishment

Building up Further significant contract wins see Spence Ltd building further on the foundations laid in the rail industry

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ounded by Robert Spence in 1973, Spence is still family owned and independently run today. Alongside the continuing traditions and ethos, the company is also a growing business delivering a range of outstanding projects in rail and commercial property with its skills in civil engineering and construction.

An open and honest approach to business, and determination to always give the highest quality and craftsmanship of work, has enabled Spence to build many long-term relationships with its clients. At the core of this is first understanding the client’s needs through implementing previous experience and knowledge, listening to issues, and providing detailed cost-benefits analysis. This then allows Spence to create the best possible solution, which can be delivered by its own in-house engineering, architectural, mechanical and electrical capabilities and skilled workforce. A trusted team of sub-contractors and suppliers are also available for specialist requirements.

These high standards are maintained through a management system that incorporates ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and

OHSAS 18001. Spence also holds a Network Rail Principal Contractor Licence and Linkup Approval, which is testament to its work in the rail sector. Furthermore the company was delighted with the news in February that it had ranked 7th out of 36 key suppliers and contractors in Network Rail’s PRISM performance table.

This set something of a tone for the year as shortly after Spence was awarded two threeyear frameworks by Network Rail, anticipated to be worth £8 million per annum. The contracts cover building, civil engineering and associated works to all operational buildings along the Kent and Sussex routes for services operating out of major London terminal stations. This includes 335 franchised stations, depots, line-side building, and four major terminals.

Specific services performed by Spence will include emergency reactive works as well as delivery of bespoke projects. The award follows on from Spence’s earlier success in gaining a commercial property framework for non-operational property throughout the Midlands, South and West England, and Wales. It also further underlines the company’s

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Especially recognised has been Spence’s work with Greater Anglia on station upgrades and refurbishment projects. This includes the flagship regeneration of Maryland station within a 92-hour possession ahead of the London 2012 Olympics. With the Greater Anglia franchise having been extended by two years, Spence will continue to support the operator in these programmes.

This year has also seen Spence sign its largest ever single project contract to date for Network Rail commercial property at a value of £8.5 million. Specifically this means the refurbishment of Victoria Place shopping centre, which sits above Victoria station in London, and is part of the overall site redevelopment. The work includes structural changes, mechanical and electrical installations, complete refurbishment of common areas and shell core preparation for new retail areas.

As demonstrated by these contracts

Tottenham Hale toilet refurbishment Spence’s main activities include design, refurbishment and upgrades, new build and fit-outs, civil engineering, station works, and mechanical and electrical installations.

However, the company also has a history of assisting in more innovative concepts.

This includes the replacement of the lighting system of the Peak Hour Subway at Waterloo station with a new LED installation. Working closely with Network Rail, Spence created the system from scratch, and then implemented it with minimal disruption. The new lighting has not only approved conditions for passengers,

but also delivers significant running and maintenance cost savings, and a reduction in the station’s carbon footprint.

Elsewhere Spence assisted with a prototype trial for a new system designed to deliver a de-icing solution to the third rail using the trains themselves. As part of the scheme, 1000-litre storage tanks and specially designed pump and pipe systems were installed on the trains, with the test successfully taking place on live track with very positive feedback.

With Control Period 5 now beckoning, Spence is keen to see the different types of work that will be briefed by Network Rail.

The company then intends to align itself with these where possible through its specialism in construction and civil engineering. Having already become even more deeply involved with the industry over the course of the year through significant contract awards, it seems Spence remains a name of choice for the future as well. zz

Web: www.spenceltd.co.uk

Scorpos Scorpos is a family-owned company that subscribes to the same values as Spence – quality, safety and value for money.

Started in March 2006 by Helen Forbes, Scorpos Recruitment Ltd was a traditional permanent recruitment agency with a focus on white-collar placements. In June 2010 Scorpos began supplying temporary labour, skilled crafts and operatives to businesses in the civils and construction industry.

The Scorpos Construction division was formed and is headed by George Cruciuc, a civil engineer with over ten years’ experience of labour supply on large and small projects e.g. Leicester Square, M25 widening.

In December 2011 Scorpos became a Link-up Qualified Supplier for contingent labour (track, building works, civil and electrification), on-track safety and warning services, and machine/crane controllers. The Scorpos Rail division was established and is headed by Sam O’Reilly, a working COSS. Sam works closely with Spence on various projects, the first of which was at Maryland station and required supply of labour for an initial 92 hours possession over Easter, and three further 24-hour week-end possessions.

Scorpos appreciates and values the relationship with Spence and looks forward to supplying Spence on many future projects.

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• New platform 4 at Nottingham, with an East Midlands Norwich service and Cross Country train stabled in platform 5 Mansfield Junction, Nottingham East and Nottingham West l All signalling designed with electrification in mind so disruption will be reduced when the wires come to Nottingham (in five years).

Funding for the scheme comes from Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation.

The resignalling is part of the wider Nottingham Hub scheme, which will see the station’s historic porte cochere turned into a new entrance hall, and a southern entrance constructed. This will link to the Nottingham tram station, being built on a bridge over the railway.

Network Rail is working in partnership with Nottingham City Council and East Midlands Trains on the Hub station project itself. Construction will conclude in 2014.

Nottingham’s tram project is due for completion later that year. zz Network Rail

fter five weeks of around-the-clock effort, six miles of new track, 143 new signals, a new platform, the work of 2000 people and over 30,000 bus movements, a full train service has begun again at Nottingham station.

Network Rail’s £100 million investment in the railway through the city has seen its 1960s-era signalling and track pulled up and replaced with modern equivalents to a new, more efficient and flexible design. This will improve the reliability of the train service in the East Midlands and complement the work going on to improve the station.

A revised bank holiday train service started again at 0531 on the morning of Monday 26th August and Tuesday 27th August marked the start of the first full working day timetable for the new systems and infrastructure.

The new track and signalling layout at Nottingham allows for greater flexibility, uncorking the bottleneck on the approach to the station which has for many years resulted The first in trains at a stand waiting for platforms to tr Nottingh ain out of am to th become available. With the number of trains e West in five w eeks and passengers using Nottingham station predicted to grow, this flexibility will enable Network Rail and East Midlands Trains to run a more reliable service. platform 7 (formerly platform 6) During the work East Midlands Trains kept l 143 new signals passengers moving with a service of more than l Six miles of new track 700 bus movements a day linking Nottingham l Three signal boxes and Trent power with East Midlands Parkway, Derby, Beeston, signalbox closed and replaced with two new Alfreton, Grantham and Newark. workstations at Derby signalling centre l Two level crossings renewed (Carlton The project in detail: and Colwick) l One new platform created in the station and l Two level crossings closed and replaced ‘passive provision’ left for a future platform 8 with footbridges (Sneinton and Trent Lane) l Platforms resurfaced and canopy built on l Three major junctions redesigned at

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Green light for Nottingham

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Cab view of the new layout to the West of Nottingham station

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Capacity boost for Waterloo www.railimages.co.uk

Plans are being developed to deliver a transformational capacity increase on one of Europe’s busiest rail networks

Waterloo station, with the former Waterloo International platforms beneath the curved roof in the background

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he blueprint to deliver capacity for almost 10,000 extra peak-time passengers on the route in and out of London Waterloo by 2019 could involve a staged programme of additional, longer trains, platform extensions and re-openings, as well as signalling, track and power supply improvements.

The vision has been spearheaded by the management team at the South West TrainsNetwork Rail Alliance working in response to the Department for Transport’s rail investment strategy to future-proof one of the country’s key commuter networks. It includes key improvements around London Waterloo as well as bringing the remaining four platforms of the Waterloo International Terminal back into use.

Work is already underway to bring Platform 20 of the former International Terminal back into service from spring 2014.

However under proposals developed by the Alliance, Platforms 21 to 24 could also be brought back into passenger service providing extra capacity from Waterloo, the UK’s busiest railway station. Plans are being developed to extend platforms 1-4 to accommodate longer trains and to carry out track and signalling improvements to maximise the benefits of the platform developments.

The first phase of the plan will see the procurement of more than 135 additional

carriages which will run in ten-car formation on the suburban routes of the network. This procurement process has now started and depending on the proposal selected, the first additional trains could be delivered as early as 2016.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Britain needs a strong economy if it wants to compete globally and effective transport links are absolutely key to that.

This is why the Government has embarked on one of the biggest programmes of rail modernisation ever.

“It’s also vital to cost effectively create additional capacity at Waterloo – the capital’s busiest railway station – making the proposals from South West Trains and Network Rail doubly important.”

Tim Shoveller, managing director of the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, said: “Our network is currently one of the busiest in Europe carrying almost 210 million passengers a year.

“We already have confirmed plans in place to deliver improvements in capacity over the next two years. However, the huge success of the railway in the UK means it will get significantly busier in the next two decades and beyond. There is also a need to invest in the infrastructure to improve the daily reliability for today’s customers.

“The Alliance between South West Trains and Network Rail means we are working more closely together, thinking big and creating plans for the long-term to deliver significant improvements for passengers.

“The blueprint we are developing in partnership with the Department for Transport is a massive programme of work and requires significant investment. These plans will greatly improve what is a key part of the country’s transport infrastructure and ensure our rail network continues to support economic growth.”

Plans are already in place to deliver capacity for an additional 23,000 extra peaktime passengers per day through the roll-out of an additional 108 carriages by the end of 2014. These carriages, secured through the Government’s High Level Output Specification programme, will provide longer trains on key peak-time services. Work has already taken place on the lengthening of platforms at over 60 stations to enable ten-car trains to operate on key routes.

The South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance currently runs around 1700 trains a day in and out of London Waterloo, carrying nearly 210 million passengers a year.

However, with the huge growth in rail travel in the UK, this is forecast to increase to nearly 380 million a year by 2030. zz

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Rail

Demoliti on in progre ss

An impression of the completed station at Manchester Victoria material used at the Eden Project and the roof at Manchester Piccadilly station l Sympathetic refurbishment to Grade II listed parts of the Victoria Buildings, (including the war memorial, glass dome, Soldiers Gate and the wall map) restoring them to their former glory l Refurbishment of the external glass canopy, new lighting and glazed entrances to revitalise

the Victoria Buildings l Revamp of existing retail spaces and provision of new retail facilities for a better shopping experience l Improvements to the ticket hall and external improvements to the paving on station approach l Electrified rail lines to the station.

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assengers using Manchester’s Victoria station are only one year away from enjoying a newly revitalised, lighter and brighter station as part of a £44 million investment programme being delivered by Network Rail. The project to rebuild the station includes replacing four sections of the old, leaky steel roof which will be recycled and replaced with a new roof which will flood the station with natural light.

Demolition teams are working throughout the summer to remove the old roof and will shortly be installing new steel beams up to 120 metres long which will support the new roof structure. The roof is due for completion in summer 2014 with the station refurbishment scheduled for completion early in 2015.

The redevelopment of the station includes: l Improvements to the footbridge spanning platforms 3-6 allowing for future growth in passenger numbers l The old leaky roof will be replaced with a new structure made from ETFE, the same

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Raising the roof at Manchester Victoria

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to be included?

Battery-powered trains could run over non-electrified lines

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etwork Rail and its partners have begun work to create a prototype battery-powered train, part of an industry study into the feasibility of using electric trains on parts of the network which have not been electrified. This could see Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit (IPEMU) trains running on battery power over non-electrified lines, before charging at terminal stations, or using their batteries to run over diesel lines in otherwise electrified parts of the railway.

Electric trains are quicker, quieter, and more efficient – making them better for passengers and the environment. The potential to spread those benefits while not having to put up miles of wiring would be cost-effective and sustainable.

Network Rail’s director of network strategy and planning, Richard Eccles, said: “We see this project as an important element of our strategy of increasing the electrification of the rail network, delivering improved sustainability whilst reducing the burden on the taxpayer.

If we can create an energy storage capability for trains, electric traction can be introduced to more parts of the network without the

need to necessarily extend the electrification infrastructure.

“As the principal funder and delivery manager, we have done a great deal of feasibility work before reaching this stage, both to define the outputs we seek from the trial and to build confidence in the project across the industry. We are working with our partners to drive this innovation forward.”

Funding is coming from Network Rail, the Enabling Innovation Team (hosted by the Rail Safety and Standards Board) and the Department for Transport.

David Clarke, director, Enabling Innovation Team at RSSB said, “Energy storage on trains is a typical example of a development that’s good for passengers, taxpayers and the long term future of the railway but where it is difficult for individual businesses to make the business case to invest in the technology. To help prove the business case we are funding up to 30 per cent of the technology demonstration.

“We see the IPEMU project as a good example of something that will work according to the R&D but no one will invest in without seeing a full scale demonstrator. By supporting this programme we are helping to

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take innovation out of the lab and de-risk its potential introduction onto the railway.”

Working closely with Derby-based train manufacturer Bombardier and operator Greater Anglia, the project will use one of the operator’s Class 379s as a test-bed to determine future battery requirements and what kind of train might be needed.

This train will be adapted by Bombardier and fitted with two different forms of batteries: lithium (iron magnesium) phosphate and hot sodium nickel salt. The batteries will undergo many lab tests before being fitted to the train.

Bombardier said: “We are very enthusiastic to be collaborating in this groundbreaking project with Network Rail. This project is an innovative development to provide an integrated battery system as a power source for the well-proven Electrostar train.

Bombardier recognises the potential benefits that this technology could bring to the rail industry and the travelling public.”

The modified 379 will then undergo a variety of tests ‘off network’, including the facility at Old Dalby. Should those tests prove successful, the train will then run on an electrified branch line on the Anglia route, yet to be chosen, with its pantograph down. This is so that if there is a problem, it can raise its pantograph, and collect power again. This running will be both in – and out of – passenger service.

Once the programme is complete, by the end of 2014, the unit will be returned to its former state and will run as a normal unit again in service.

Data gathered during the experiment will be used to determine what form any future Independently Powered Electric Multiple Unit (IPEMU) will take, be it a straight battery unit or hybrid. Any future IPEMU would most likely be designed as a new train and not an adapted unit, to minimise energy consumption.

Footnote A study carried out for the Department for Transport in 2010 by Lloyd’s Register Rail, TRL and Birmingham University examined battery powering of trains. The report concluded that the approach was certainly feasible but that the operating costs of battery powering would be greater than for an equivalent DMU at that time.

The authors suggested that R&D into cheaper or longer-life batteries could eventually result in operating cost parity with existing DMU rolling stock. The full report may be found at www.trl. co.uk/downloads/bc/20110302_Battery_ Powered_Trains_Report_PPR551.pdf

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Big hitters After Hitachi Rail Europe’s success in the Intercity Express Programme, Alistair Dormer outlines the latest addition to that contract

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s part of the Agility Trains consortium, in 2012 Hitachi Rail Europe was delighted to sign a new £4.5 billion contract with the Department for Transport (DfT) for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP). This will see the delivery of 92 new electric and bi-mode trains to replace the ageing fleets of the West and East Coast Mainline, as well as other benefits. Just a year on and the company has further cause to celebrate having secured the option for an additional 30 nine-car Class 801 electric trains for the East Coast Mainline.

“This is a firm endorsement of the train and service offering that we provide, which will give us continuous manufacturing in County Durham up to 2020, and means we will be the major partners for East Coast Trains in their delivery of the service,” states Alistair Dormer.

As executive chairman and CEO of Hitachi Rail Europe, as well as having helped secure the IEP transaction for Agility, it is Alistair’s aim to grow the company’s business further and these additional trains are the first step towards doing that.

Reflecting on these considerable successes, Alistair outlines what he believes made Hitachi stand out in the contract selection process: “If you look back in history we delivered the Javelin trains to Southeastern six months early. Those trains worked straight out of the box, saw a very successful Olympics, and we continue to support Southeastern with a very high quality train, which is reliable on a daily basis.

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“I think that has a bearing on our ability to support customers. The rolling stock on the East Coast Mainline has been in service a long time, so this is about making a step change in terms of the product that we can provide, but also gives the operator the ability to provide a modern comfortable train in order to grow their revenue. The great thing about the new trains is it shows that investment is going into the East Coast and the passengers will be travelling on brand new state-of-the-art trains,” he continues.

When it comes to the design of those assets, Hitachi Rail Europe has been listening closely to what passengers want. At the top of this list is more reliable journeys, but comfortable seats, more leg room, more space for luggage, catering, air conditioning, and the ability to store bikes close to seating are also key concerns.

Of the design Alistair says: “It aligns with everything that the operator wants to do, it’s just giving them the technology in order to deliver it. The design is progressing very well and we aim to have that finished by the end of the year. Clearly the trains are going to be longer at 26-metres rather than the current 23 with a lot more seats. They’re also considerably lighter and therefore more energy efficient with a 12 per cent saving in electricity compared to the existing stock.

“Most important is really the customer environment and experience, so we are working very hard to make sure that it is fit for purpose in the 21st Century. As we’ve seen

Standard class on the West Coast Mainline new trains do attract more customers so I think putting this new fleet in will be a big boost to East Coast Mainline, but also the north-east of England and Scotland by improving the rail service on that important corridor.”

Whilst the current infrastructure imposes a 125mph speed limit, the new trains will be capable of 140mph enabling them to adapt with changes implemented during their 30 year lifespan. Likewise the interior design will be very flexible so that it can be changed, modified and upgraded in the future in line with shifts in customer demands.

Like those trains announced last year, the new fleet will be constructed in Hitachi Rail Europe’s new state-of-the-art factory in County Durham. This £82 million investment in manufacturing in the north-east of England is expected to generate around 730 new jobs, and significant opportunities for the UK and European supply chain.

“So far we have signed a contract with the main developer, and have just completed a series of archaeological surveys at the site,” explains Alistair. “We are now looking to appoint the actual builder with an eye to the factory opening in the middle of 2015. We’ve

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already started recruiting in the area, hiring a plant manager and HR manager, and more of that will come next year. We’re also engaged in the task of working through the many and varied suppliers we wish to work with. We had a fantastic response locally with more than 1000 interested parties approaching us, and will be progressively letting contracts over the next few years.”

He continues: “This is a very significant investment by Hitachi and we intend the facility to be there for many years, so now is the opportunity to find the right partners that we can work with on a long-term basis. What this latest contract gives us is a stable workload up until 2020, but we still have the capacity for

more so are actively looking at other business.

We are one of the shortlisted builders for Crossrail and are very interested in other contracts in the UK and Europe.”

Although probably best known in the UK for its rolling stock, Hitachi is also working in other areas such as signalling and traffic management. The company’s ETCS equipment is in operation on the Cambrian line in Wales, which is the first time a supplier has fitted equipment on a locomotive communicating with another supplier’s trackside equipment. Hitachi Rail UK has also developed a traffic management system which helps signallers and controllers manage disruption on the network and gives

Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe plant

Wardell Armstrong Archaeology have been on site since April, conducting an archaeological dig where the Hitachi Rail Europe train factory will be built. Construction will start at the end of 2013 with completion of the work scheduled for 2015.

From left: Frank Giecco - archaeologist, Darren Cumner - manufacturing plant manager for Hitachi Rail Europe, Bill Grafton - Merchant Place Developments, Mark Bickle - partner at Michael Eyres partnership, and Martin Railton - project manager at Wardell Armstrong Archaeology optimum decision support in the case of failures in normal day-to-day service. This is up and running in its London office, and the company is now training with Network Rail in the use of that system.

“All of these things – new trains, ETCS, and traffic management contribute hugely in terms of improving efficiency, delivering extra capacity and reducing the overall lifecycle costs of the railway. I think a company such as Hitachi with our strong background in electronics and IT as well as engineering, is uniquely placed to blend experience from other markets into the railway and bring some exciting solutions to bear,” concludes Alistair. zz

Hitachi Tel: +44 (0) 20 7970 2700 Email: rail.enquiries@hitachirail-eu.com Web: www.hitachirail-eu.com

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NFC needs an open standard rather than a‘killer app’to make it fly JöRG SUCHY highlights why an open standard is in fact the real key to bring NFC technology to the mass market, with transport and retail the first sectors to benefit

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n the NFC (Near Field Communications) market there has been plenty of talk about the ‘killer app’, the one application or use case that will instantly drive adoption of NFC in the mass market.

Suggestions so far have ranged from payment and ticketing to accessing exclusive content and tracking car keys. But what if the ‘killer app’ we’re all looking for isn’t an application or a use case at all, but an open standard?

Near field communication (NFC) is a set Jörg Suchy is associate director, smart card and NFC business development at Samsung Semiconductor Europe

of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few inches. Present and anticipated applications include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi. Communication is also possible between an NFC device and an unpowered NFC chip, called a ‘tag’.

NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats, and are based on existing radiofrequency identification (RFID) standards including ISO/ IEC 14443 and FeliCa. The standards include ISO/IEC 18092 and those defined by the NFC Forum, which was founded in 2004 by Nokia, Philips and Sony, and now has more than 160 members. The Forum also promotes NFC and certifies device compliance. It fits the criteria for being considered a personal area network.

[Source: Wikipedia]

What’s holding back a number of the applications for NFC, many of which are already very successful, is the fact that you’re restricted to one particular application – sometimes in one particular place. Is that really making life easier or just adding technology for the sake of it?

Consumers are looking for a convenient ‘one size fits all’ solution that allows them to take the train, do their shopping or redeem coupons within a single, unified application. Just as the majority of us don’t like the idea of carrying the umpteenth loyalty card in our physical wallet, the idea of having to deal with a plethora of incompatible ticketing, payment and loyalty apps on the phone will scare potential users away.

An open standard, driven by new retail and transport applications – that often intersect – could turn out to

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be the supposed ‘killer app’ NFC has been waiting for.

We’re already seeing some innovative use cases for NFC in the transport sector, supplementing contactless ticketing with loyalty schemes and crossing into the retail space by supporting businesses located in and around stations. For people using the train or bus every day they may have multiple loyalty cards for coffee, newspapers, restaurants and maybe even other retailers they regularly visit while waiting on a platform.

Combining multiple loyalty schemes into a single application on a smartphone makes life easier for the consumer – but if they’ve only got one of their regular shops signed up then they’re still having to carry other cards around and NFC becomes a hassle not a help.

In the transport sector contactless technology has already taken off – from the traveller’s perspective, NFC-enabled phones have huge benefits over paper tickets. The use of NFC technology in mobile phones and contactless cards enables quick and easy ticketing, immediate access control as well as providing essential travel information such as journeyrelated details and updates.

Aside from the environmentally friendly aspect of reducing paper waste, they are much more convenient than plastic cards with no fumbling around in a handbag or wallet at the barrier. And since NFC-enabled phones can hold multiple applications, they allow the consumer to choose which type of ticket to use.

People are quick to adapt to technological change if it makes their lives easier. The pace at which commuters swapped from using traditional ticket to the Open Loop payment system in London proves just that as the numbers of contactless transport fare payments is increasing at a steady pace.

Open loop vs closed loop In a closed loop system, a contactless card is effectively used as a prepaid credit card but the transactions may only take place with a single organisation/card issuer (e.g. Oyster) In an open loop system, a contactless credit or debit card, or an NFC-enabled smartphone, may be used to effect the transaction.

The next question is how other cities and towns in the UK can benefit, is it worth a small town spending money to roll out its own contactless technology for

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the few routes it operates? Probably not. But it would be worth it if the cards can be used up and down the country or potentially around the world where the system costs are reduced.

With ticketing, there’s a clear consumer benefit in contactless ticketing working across multiple towns, cities and even countries. Yet we are still a long way off using your phone’s ticketing app to get from your local train station to London St. Pancras, take the Eurostar to Paris and then hop on to the Metro, purchase a ticket with the app for the local fare collecting service and travel to your hotel.

So what is really needed is the implementation of interoperable standards across platforms and across borders within the transit fare market. We are seeing some promising co-operation on a European level taking a step in the right direction. Yet in order to make the cross-border open standard for ticketing applications a reality, it is absolutely crucial that transport stakeholders act now.

NFC provides the ideal interface that allows for convenient, secure and quick ticketing, payment, as well as for value added services such as loyalty point collection and coupon redemption. However, an open standards-based solution remains the missing success factor for customer acceptance. There have been a variety of research studies analysing the reasons for sluggish NFC adoption and most of them point at one clear problem, the lack of interoperability between existing implementations.

The OSPT Alliance The Open Standards for Public Transport (OSPT) Alliance is helping the transit community move towards the next generation of secure, cost-effective, and flexible fare collection solutions through a global, multi-provider community.

The OSPT’s charter is to define a new open standard for secure transit fare collection solutions, while providing industry education, creating workgroup opportunities, and catalyzing the development and adoption of innovative fare collection technologies, applications, and services.

The Alliance is also building a global ecosystem of transit operators, transit consultants and integrators, technology solution providers, and government agencies to stimulate development and delivery of next-generation fare collection solutions.

Web: www.osptalliance.org

This is where CIPURSE, the standard developed by the OSPT Alliance, can really offer something, delivering multiple applications alongside tickets.

From the beginning, the OSPT Alliance has made a tremendous effort to educate the market on the importance of an open standard for transportation and Samsung is committed to work towards the same goal, for that reason it was only ever going to be a question of time until the momentum started to build.

This isn’t something just promoted by technology vendors either. The Greater London Authority included an interesting statement in its 2011 report ‘The Future of Ticketing’, stating that “Any new ticketing system should, as far as possible, be compatible with those provided by other transport operators”. Such a statement directly supports the call to implement a standard transportation scheme and not a selection of proprietary solutions.

It is vital for any organisation to demonstrate they understand the market trends and provide flexible products, giving users the best solution in order to achieve their aims, whilst introducing new features within a short period of time. When it comes to transportation, the industry is already in a position to use existing solutions to implement the OSPT scheme.

Proprietary software and hardware, favouring limited vendors, can only create limited consumer benefits.

Consumers need to know they can use their NFC device across applications and geographies without issue and this means a need for communication, and more importantly, action. This, from key players throughout the value chain, is crucial to the technology’s success. zz

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All aboard: how airline-style pricing is putting the passenger rail industry back on track PETER SHEARER notes the success of agile airline-style pricing in the rail industry and says that further innovation can be expected in order to smooth demand and leverage customer data

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Peter Shearer is industry head of passenger travel at JDA Software

he rail industry continues to face financial challenges, with Network Rail being told by regulators that it needs to find cost savings of around £2 billion. Despite this, recent figures from The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) have shown that it isn’t all doom and gloom for the UK rail industry. Passenger journeys were shown to have risen by 52 per cent between 2006 and 2012, stealing market-share from airlines on domestic routes.

Indeed the development of airline pricing strategies has been widely touted as the reason behind this growth as increased demand needs to be managed smartly: recently released figures from ATOC reveal that sales of cheap advance fares have grown even faster, rising by 103 per cent (see reference). Advance fares are now used by around four out of every seven rail passengers on these routes. The only way to successfully sell so many discount tickets confidently, knowing that margins are not being diluted, is to apply airline-style pricing techniques to determine the best mix of tickets sold in order to maximise revenues.

Taking a leaf from the airlines book Deregulation of the passenger rail industry – liberalisation, splitting network management from train operation, and particularly allowing international competition in home markets – have all meant that rail transportation companies have been facing increasingly steep competition. Moreover, the rise of the Internet, and the emergence of low-cost airline carriers who offer reduced price flights across domestic routes, has given rise to a new normal: consumers are now driving the market, making travel choices, comparing prices and companies in real time, based on pricing models and incentives. This suggests that consumer decisions are being made based on price, and not necessarily on brand. As a result, rail companies have had to develop strategies around offering simple, attractive pricing to attract today’s customer; in much the same way as consumers compare prices online, rail companies are starting to use this market information to make better pricing decisions.

Today, rail operators have moved away from the distance-based pricing models to a more flexible structure. There has been a marked shift from a system where prices are regulated to a single ceiling price, to one where TOCs are free to determine prices

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fluidly. This gives rail operators the flexibility and agility to respond to the market and remain competitive.

As a result, railway companies are becoming cleverer about how they price year round, not only during peak periods.

What do we expect in the future?

The industry will have to keep innovating with pricing if it means to stay ahead. To do this, it is likely that we will be seeing greater price differentials across the peak/ off-peak periods, identifying different time bands within the peak with variable pricing across those time bands to try to smooth demand and avoid some of the severe overcrowding problems that the industry currently experiences. Supporting this, the movement to other forms of fulfilment – paper tickets giving way to smart cards or m-tickets on mobile phones – will accelerate, allowing customers to buy a bundle of journey opportunities effectively, rather than a single one-sizefits-all travel pass.

The other big trend we expect to see great development in is leveraging customer data to drive promotions and brand loyalty by linking the customer to revenue management. For instance, an operator could share information with the CRM system to look at opportunities to run a promotion, or to look at other chances to push travel opportunities that are not likely to sell out. Operators could push out a promotion to customers who might be interested in a particular market. Linked to this, rail operators are going to be learning more about their customers’ purchasing behaviour from their interaction with the operator through websites or other channels.

In the passenger rail industry, there is now more than ever a general understanding that the pricing paradigm has shifted. Train companies need to know that to be successful they must meet the needs of passengers and deliver high levels of satisfaction and value for money.

The good news currently seems to be that passengers are voting with their feet, and taking more journeys than at any time since the 1920s. Now it is up to the train operators to innovate and sustain these interest levels and build on them. zz

Reference http://www.atoc.org/media-centre/latest-pressreleases/2013/04/29/airline-style-discounting-by-railcuts-aviations-market-share-100822/

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NEWS I Security

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Crime on railways falls again Crime on Britain’s railways continued its long-term downward trend with a two per cent fall in notifiable offences in 2012/13. However, this year has seen a significant rise in theft of passenger property, up 16 per cent, largely driven by rises in and around London

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his is the ninth successive year that crime has fallen and comes against a background of a vibrant and healthy industry, with rapidly growing passenger numbers and infrastructure.

Whilst the headline rate of crime declines, the targeting of easily saleable high-tech devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and organised pickpocketing activity, has created a rise in theft offences. Since June, the British Transport Police (BTP) has been rolling out Operation Magnum, aimed at combating thefts of personal items, luggage and pickpocketing. “2012/13 has been an exceptional year in our history, with the Force playing a crucial role in the success of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games,” said Chief Constable Andy Trotter.

“At the same time, we have taken care of business as usual and reduced crime for the ninth year in a row. I think that is a very good performance and represents great value for money, particularly in the context of a budget reduction in real terms of 14 per cent since 2008.

“Increases in theft of passenger property, particularly those targeting smartphones and tablets, reflect the growing problem throughout London and the UK. “We have made great inroads into the problem of cable theft, which has been a major disruption factor on the rail network.

This year cable crime was down 47 per cent, building on a 13 per cent reduction last year.”

Violent crime showed a small increase in 2012/13, with an additional 201 crimes across the network.

“This is the first increase in violent crime for six years,” says Andy Trotter.

“Serious assaults are down almost eight per cent, but there has been an increase of over three per cent in common assault.

BTP Chief Constable Andy Trotter Racially-aggravated harassment is a significant contribution to the increase in violent crime, which I think reflects a growing intolerance amongst the public of this sort of incident.”

Within the violent crime category, assaults on rail staff are down five per cent.

Michael Roberts, chief executive of the

Association of Train Operating Companies, said: “It’s good news that the overall crime rate on the railway continues to fall, but the rise in some crimes will be a cause for concern for passengers which is why we will continue to work closely with the police in cracking down on offenders.

“Train companies take the safety and security of their passengers and staff extremely seriously and spend millions of pounds on dedicated security staff, providing funding for the British Transport Police and improving CCTV. We will continue to do all we can to keep customers safe.”

Of BTP’s 12 crime groups, eight show reductions and four increases. zz

CRIME

2011/12

2012/13

No +/-

% +/-

TOTAL CRIME:

54, 972

53,885

-1087

-2.0

Violence against the person

7922

8123

+201

+2.5

Sexual offences

1009

925

-84

-8.3

Criminal damage

3934

3452

-482

-12.3

Line of route offences

1395

1200

-195

14.0

Theft of passenger property

14,909

17,292

+2383

+16.0

Motor vehicle/cycle offences

8732

7430

1302

-14.9

Robbery

623

530

-93

-14.9

Theft of railway property

5962

4834

-1128

-18.9

Public disorder offences

5054

4765

-289

-5.7

Fraud Offences

880

920

+40

+4.5

Drugs

3679

3460

-219

-6.0

Other crimes

873

954

+81

+9.3

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Network Surveillance

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Seeing clearly When it comes to transport surveillance, DAVID THOMASSON tells Railway Strategies that the benefits of digital video technology are plain to see

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David Thomasson is business development manager for transportation at Axis Communications

aving perhaps long been associated with the grainy images of analogue cameras, a shift towards digital video technologies continues to widen the scope of surveillance. More and more operators are realising the benefits that digital IP or network video cameras offer, particularly in terms of monitoring an expansive network such as rail.

“The transport environment is fairly unique in its complexity,” begins David. “Security incidents can occur anywhere – onboard trains at stations, depots, and along the infrastructure itself. The dilemma is to be able to cover all of these parts, and it’s important to appreciate that the larger transport systems handle hundreds of incidents every day.”

Since developing the world’s first network video camera in 1996, Axis Communications has been the global leader in this technology. In fact when you take into account all security cameras whether network video or analogue, the company is still the market leader in terms of sales – despite having never manufactured an analogue camera itself.

Driving change “One of the main drivers in the shift from analogue to network video is image quality or resolution,” explains David. “As with the demand in the consumer market, so a similar trend towards HD can already be seen in the video surveillance market. Another main advantage with network cameras is that they are not a closed system like analogue.

“By transmitting data over a standard Ethernet cable, these cameras are essentially an open networkbased system – whether that is a local network or the internet. This enables real-time viewing at any authorised location in the world, simultaneously, giving station security, management and operation centres, the authorities and emergency services access to the images – even on the move.”

This helps at every stage of an incident from detection and evaluation to response and investigation.

However David believes that network cameras shouldn’t purely be limited to security applications, but considered more in terms of surveillance: “Using proven video analytics, the same camera can be used for many things such as facial recognition, crowd management through people counting and flows, intelligent perimeter protection, smoke detection, and even audio analytics in conjunction with microphones.”

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No limits The rapid progression of technology means that many of the limiting factors initially associated with network cameras are no longer in effect. This includes bandwidth and storage requirements through the use of image compression, which has little or no effect on quality but reduces the amount of data to be transmitted. “Advances in compression technology mean that the bandwidth and storage requirements are about 20 per cent of what was required a few years ago. At Axis we have developed our own powerful

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processing chip, which offers one of the most efficient implementation of this in the industry, thereby reducing bandwidth even more than comparable cameras,” notes David.

“Low light levels have also historically been problematic for network video cameras,” he continues.

“But not now, as we have developed a new technology called Lightfinder, which enables the camera to see in near complete darkness, without any additional light source, and in colour. Another development from our R&D department is Corridor Format, which delivers a vertically orientated 9:16 portrait shaped video stream from the cameras. This is particularly appropriate for the transport sector as in many surveillance situations the area being monitored is more vertical than horizontal in shape. This includes passageways, platforms, onboard vehicles, track and tunnels.”

As this technology improves so does its application from monitoring stretches of track for maintenance purposes to the wider use of video analytics. At the same time uptake by the transport industry appears to be growing, and with Axis the first company to have network video cameras approved by Network Rail, the benefits are clearly being seen at all levels. zz

Web: www.axis.com

Betuweroute case study : Network camera images show whether route is ready for completion Mission & solution The ‘Betuweroute’ is a 160km railway that runs from Rotterdam in The Netherlands to Zevenaar on the border with Germany. Construction on the line began in 1995 and was completed in 2007 at a cost of €4.7bn.

One aspect of the 600 different tests being conducted was to determine whether the signals and subsystems functioned properly. In an ideal situation the entire test team would be located at the front of the locomotive because the data collected there is essential to the tests. However, due to a lack of space, the team had to search for an alternative solution; this was found in Axis’ network cameras. The cameras are mounted in and around the test train and record images of the railway and the surroundings. This makes it possible to view the images at any time or from any place.

Result Streamed over the internet, the images were instantly available in the moving test centre. The test team could view the images from one of the carriages, providing an excellent overview of the surrounding area. Another benefit this provides is the ability to save the images so they can be reviewed later.

Network cameras provide convenience A total of six network cameras were installed in the test centre for the Betuweroute. Four of these were placed in the locomotive itself, and two others were

Betuweroute train showing network camera on the front of the locomotive linked to the front and rear of the test train to monitor the sections of track.

These cameras can be used both indoors and outdoors and offer the great advantage of a fixed focal distance and a fixed zoom lens. As a result, oscillations and vibrations have little influence on the image quality.

Everard van Rees, test manager for the Betuweroute commented: “We opted for network cameras because they provide convenience due to the simplicity of the cabling. In total, our test train is 100 metres long and consists of five separate carriages. If we were to use cables, various signal amplifiers would be necessary. With IP cameras, just a single Ethernet cable is required that makes the images available via a network. The images can then be accessed via each camera’s individual IP address.

“Thanks to the Axis network cameras, the tests are proceeding very smoothly. We have a good view of the Betuweroute and can therefore determine whether the Betuweroute is ready for completion or not.”

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Asset Management

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Driving a change in culture from‘Find and Fix’ to ‘Predict and Prevent’ Network Rail, winner of ‘Project of the Year’ at the 2013 Real IT Awards, and its partner Thales see growing industry recognition for how Intelligent Infrastructure Management can lead to a better service for train operators and passengers

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he award of ‘Project of the Year’ in the Real IT Awards 2013 for Network Rail’s Intelligent Infrastructure Programme incorporates an Intelligent Infrastructure Management (IIM) system for Remote Conditioning Monitoring (RCM) from Thales UK and marks the recognition of a remarkable story of technical and management innovation. It is a corporate The Real IT Award business IT success story that combines s skills, disciplines and teams involved in railway maintenance working together to deliver an end-to-end solution. This has directly resulted in an estimated reduction of around John Smith, programme manager for 418,000 delay minutes for Network Rail, Intelligent Infrastructure at Network Rail delivering an improved service for the travelling said: “Intelligent Infrastructure is delivering a public and freight operators significant improvement in the performance Described as a ‘game changer’ in IT, the of our network and is the catalyst for programme was also selected as winner of the changing the way we maintain key railway Innovation in Technology award. The judging assets. The combination of technology and panel, made up of senior IT professionals in business transformation enables us to make leading global, European and UK organisations, informed asset management decisions concluded: “This was a great project full of and interventions, improving availability and innovations in the use of technology and reducing whole life cycle costs in the future.” management processes, leading to significant Alistair McPhee, vice president of Ground savings for both Network Rail and their Transportation Systems at Thales UK said: passengers.”

“Intelligent Infrastructure Management The Intelligent Infrastructure Programme programmes can transform railway operations, is a partnership between Network Rail and increasing network availability, reducing Thales that started with establishing a joint delays and making the customer experience steering group to manage the design and smoother and more reliable. At Thales we implementation of a solution that could worked closely with our customer Network monitor more assets than ever before without Rail on a daily basis, reinforcing our role in the taking them out of service. Bringing core provision of efficient and sustainable solutions competencies to the programme Network for railways of the future.”

Rail transferred additional responsibility to Thales during implementation. The adoption Developing an innovative solution of a national, centralised, condition monitoring to degrading performance solution is a major step forward in the rail sector Network Rail sees technology as a key enabler and the UK approach is significantly in advance to managing the UK railway infrastructure. of European rail infrastructure systems.

Traditional maintenance regimes are based on

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a cyclical schedule of site visits that relies on maintenance staff spotting potential problems.

This ‘Find and Fix’ approach can lead to overmaintenance in which assets are replaced according to schedule rather than requirement.

The challenge was to develop a system to complement and refine the prevailing maintenance processes coupled with the vast amount of information available to maintenance engineers. There had been previous experience in several RCM systems, which were proprietary, asset-specific and proved to be somewhat inflexible and costly to purchase and maintain.

As a private enterprise operating a public utility, Network Rail is a regulated company.

The investment panel requested that a pilot was carried out before the funding for a national system was approved. Network Rail selected Thales UK to carry out a pilot in 2009 to monitor different aspects of asset types on a section of track between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The potential benefits, when extrapolated across the entire network, were greater than originally estimated.

On completion of the pilot, approval was given to proceed with the first phase of national rollout for two asset types, Points and Earth

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ten incident control centres where they analyse data and make decisions based on real-time information. They liaise with Maintenance Fault teams and Operations Control to agree the least disruptive course of action for potential failures. Additionally over 1000 maintenance staff have received training to ensure use of the system is embedded across the organisation. l Process: A change in culture and maintenance processes were moved to a single nationwide ‘Predict and Prevent’ process using the Intelligent Infrastructure system as opposed to a ‘Find and Fix’ assetspecific, localised approach.

Cost savings advantage The introduction of a common platform allows for the removal of silo-specific, proprietary, expensive, dedicated solutions. The roll-out of monitoring using Intelligent Infrastructure is significantly more cost-effective on a ‘per asset’ basis, allowing for better use of maintenance budgets and a wider range of critical assets to be monitored. The solution is unique in its flexibility in that new, advanced asset model behaviour algorithms can be developed by Network Rail or Thales using commonly available analysis tools (e.g. MATLAB).

Leakage Detection for Signalling Power Supplies. Further phases have subsequently been approved taking the total number of assets monitored to about 30,000 and extending the scope to Track Circuits, Points Heating and Rail Temperature Monitoring.

The Intelligent Infrastructure Programme takes a radical three-pronged approach: l Technology: To support the heterogeneous asset base including future installations the MIMOSA data standard was adopted and refined for use with rail infrastructure, providing a standardised way of exchanging asset condition information. Assets report their condition in a common language enabling the creation of a single monitoring system. The constantly enhanced WonderWare software, a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) package, from Invensys was selected. Mandating a technology standard allows the use of cost-effective COTS solutions to develop an enterprise-wide asset monitoring system.

Network Rail is currently able to monitor 30,000 installations across five different asset types using one system, with the capability to extend this even further in future. l People: A team of dedicated monitoring technicians was created, and are located in

The Intelligent Infrastructure Programme in numbers l Over 400,000 delay minutes saved l Up to 30 per cent reduction in service-affecting failures on assets fitted l Eliminated over c. 15,000 site visits l c. 1000 staff trained on the system l c. 30,000 assets currently funded for monitoring (current status c. 20,000) l c. 183,000 point swings per day l c. 11,000 data loggers distributed across the railway l Dedicated monitoring staff located in ten incident control centres across the UK

Intelligent Infrastructure and future proofing From the outset the programme adopted a rigorous approach with a focus on return on investment. The programme team identified

the highest priority assets by undertaking a detailed analysis to identify assets representing the largest potential cause of disruption. This approach yielded results with reduction in delay minutes and increased maintenance efficiency.

The programme continues to identify ‘high return’ assets bringing them into the system.

For Network Rail there has also been a cultural change on a national scale.

Maintenance teams are better prepared than ever before when maintaining the railway infrastructure. Network Rail is providing a better quality service for train operators and passengers with the reduction in the frequency of faults and failures of trackside assets.

The service is highly scalable. A further five new types of asset are to be added during CP5, including level crossings and HPSS point machines. Network Rail closely monitors success on a per route basis to ensure that lessons learnt by one route are transferred nationwide. The programme is looking to enhance performance through the use of sophisticated analysis techniques such as fuzzy logic, weather data to correlate temperature and precipitation information, and data exchange with rolling stock operators to enhance its communication with trackside teams through the use of mobile technology.

David Taylor, business development director for Ground Transportation Systems and the IIM programme leader for Thales UK says: “The continued success of the IIM programme and the innovative approach it provides to condition monitoring is delivering a real benefit for our customer Network Rail. We believe it is the largest rail infrastructure remote condition monitoring solution globally. The IIM solution is now being recognised not just in the rail sector but in the wider IT services sector.”

Thales has applied the same technology to provide predictive monitoring capability on rolling stock, having applied the solution to Class 66 freight locomotives. The system has also been piloted in a metro environment and is being considered by rail infrastructure providers in other countries, including Germany. zz

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Instrumentation

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Sense of purpose Robin Butler explores some of the applications for sensors within the rail industry

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lthough perhaps not the most conspicuous pieces of equipment on the railway, sensors play a vital role in the performance of the network. Accelerometers, inclinometers and force transducers are some of the broad sensor groups employed by the industry, working across a wide range of applications.

Day-to-day uses Typically this includes the acceleration and brake control of trains, predominately for passenger safety and comfort by preventing too rapid acceleration or deceleration, but also to ensure that the train doors align to the correct parts of the platform. Sensors are also used to achieve the correct angle on tilting trains for travelling around bends, and feed back into the train’s monitoring system to ensure that speed is controlled on such curves.

“The sensors that are used in the rail industry are operating in very harsh environments and therefore need to be extremely robust,” notes Robin Butler.

“This includes extremes in temperature, shock, and vibration amongst other factors. It is vital that the sensors are able to withstand this over many years of operation whilst delivering precision measurements for often critical functions. Rail is a very regulated and safety focused industry, and as such like all other technologies used in the sector sensors have to be proven to be effective in this environment.”

“In the event of a serious incident with the train, the information gathered by the sensors could also be

used to judge whether the train was accelerating or braking too quickly or if the emergency brakes were applied, amongst other things,” he continues.

Another key application for sensors is track maintenance and monitoring. This includes the use of single and dual-axis inclinometers to ensure the track is aligned correctly and in a good state of repair. “When it comes to monitoring the rail network, sensors are often used as part of a proactive system to identify issues before they become safety critical such as general wear and tear or the effects of subsidence. This may be as part of a wheeled vehicle, which travels on the network and uses sensors to record data such as rail gauge, inclination and offset.

These figures can then be compared with previous logged data to ensure that any changes quickly become apparent,” explains Robin.

Specialist requirements Although a vast array of standard sensor products are already available, certain applications can require a customised solution. This can be anything from a simple modification such as a change in connector system or integration of a special filter network to give a particular output, to the complete design and development of a new product to meet a customer’s specific application requirements. “In essence this type of sensor would work better in the application as it is designed specifically for it,” highlights Robin.

“As such you don’t have to compromise on the performance by using a standard product and the unit can be designed to be installed directly into the application without the need for new connectors or other modifications.”

As new developments such as high-speed, new signalling technologies, and driverless trains all come into effect more, sensors will have an even greater role to play in tomorrow’s railway. “The more technology advances in the general design of railway stock and related items within the industry, the more diverse the range of sensors will need to be to support these applications,” describes Robin. “If you think about high speed alone, the faster a train travels the more control is required for accelerating and decelerating and the better condition the track needs to be in to ensure safety, and sensors can assist with that.” zz Robin Butler is sales and marketing director at Sherborne Sensors

Web: www.sherbornesensors.com

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Rail Alliance

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Recent new members of the Rail Alliance Alan Dick Communications

Ballast Tools (UK) Ltd

Purcell

Alan Dick Communications is a key supplier to the UK rail signalling and synergy upgrade programme working with major Tier One suppliers. Having worked with Network Rail for over ten years, they have an unrivalled understanding of the FTN and GSM-R network. The business has delivered major integration, upgrade, spares management and first line maintenance programmes for Network Rail as well as for major operators such as Vodaphone, Airwave and T-Mobile.

Tel: 07721 632 617 Email: jason.pearce@alandickcomms.com Web: www.alandickcomms.com

Ballast Tools (UK) Ltd has been a major supplier of tools and equipment for the maintenance of rail track and permanent way since 1990.

Tel: 01793 697 800 Email: dineshpatel@btukltd.com Web: www.btukltd.com

Purcell is a leading architect and historic building consultancy.

Tel: 01206 244 844 Email: ruth.baker@purcelluk.com Web: www.purcelluk.com

Hydrapower Dynamics Ltd

Rail Order Ltd specialises in the supply of traction and rolling stock, spares, in-house repair and assembly, train presentation materials and equipment to the UK rail industry. Clients include train operators, maintainers and infrastructure companies. Recently acquired by Alan Dick Communications, they now benefit from 56,000sq.ft. of advanced facilities.

Tel: 01724 292 860 Email: barry.larcombe@rail-order.co.uk Web: www.rail-order.co.uk

Aqua Aqua is a manufacturer of rail track drainage systems and signalling ancillary products.

Tel: 01695 51933 Email: ian@aquafab.co.uk Web: www.aquafab.co.uk

Hydrapower leads the field in hose and tube manipulation/pipe assembly manufacture up to 90mm diameter covering a wide range of materials, supplied throughout the world to many train builders, operators and suppliers. The company also supplies and maintains a wide range of Finnpower end crimping and hose cutting machinery.

Tel: 0121 456 5656 Email: nchambers@hdl.uk.net Web: www.hydrapower-dynamics.com

Rail Order Ltd

For further information, please contact: The Rail Alliance Tel: 01789 720 026 Email: info@railalliance.co.uk Web: www.railalliance.co.uk

Outline Events Programme – 2013 Date

Location

Event

Organiser/Contact

20 September (tbc)

W Midlands Chamber of Commerce

ERDF HiTech Rail Project Launch Breakfast Event Details tbc

Rail Alliance

25 or 26 September TBA (tbc)

Members’ Meeting & Networking Event Details tbc

Rail Alliance

24-27 September

Poland

TRAKO 2013

www.trakofair.com

3 October

TBA

RVE 2013

Onyxrail Ltd

4 October (tbc)

W Midlands ERDF HiTech Rail Project Launch Chamber of Breakfast Event Commerce Details tbc

Rail Alliance

5 October

ICC, B’ham

Rail Staff Awards 2013

8-10 October

Sweden

Elmia Nordic Rail 2013

www.elmia.se/en/nordicrail

24/25 October Coventry

Moving People – the Inside Story Railway Interiors Convention In partnership with Coventry University Enterprises & Rail Media Group Details tbc

Rail Alliance

12-14 November Cologne Railway Interiors Expo 2013

www.railstaffawards.com

www.railwayinteriorsexpo.com

If you are interested in attending one of the Rail Alliance’s events or would like to find out more about becoming a member of the Rail Alliance, contact Rhona Clarke on rhona.clarke@railalliance.co.uk www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Rail Alliance

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Rail Alliance Hub

Colin Flack – chief executive of the Rail Alliance

An expanding network As well as business-to-business networking, the Rail Alliance is increasingly assisting its members in other ways as well

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ver the last four years, the Rail Alliance has become the foremost businessto-business networking organisation of its type within the rail sector.

Spanning all aspects of the industry, as well as those supporting it, the Rail Alliance helps enable companies to network, collaborate and innovate with other suppliers and customers in order to grow their business.

Chief executive Colin Flack describes the current reach of the organisation: “We’ve recently signed our 400th paid member in

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total, with the active membership currently numbering between 250 and 300. At the same time this is continuing to broaden with more of the larger companies now, as well as the smaller ones, really engaging with us. I think we’re seen to add value at both ends of the supply chain from the company that wants to get into the rail sector to the larger players looking to consolidate their supplier base.”

The Rail Alliance is also working to strengthen its own offering to this end, particularly around its ability to help people

network. “We enable companies to meet each other, further their knowledge and understanding and therefore target themselves better. That’s the area we’re really concentrating on, but as a follow on to that we are also working much more closely with Network Rail in the field of product acceptance,” reveals Colin.

“The real challenge for any company is always going to be the route to market,” he continues.

“Companies will always innovate with new products and services, and improvements to old ones, but it all amounts to naught if you can’t actually get someone to buy them. That final bit of the process is what’s so desperately important, and if we can help companies with that then that’s a really valuable role.

Product acceptance and business-to-business networking are the two areas going forward that we feel we need to be doing in order to make people’s businesses better.”

Recently the Rail Alliance’s facility at Long Marston was the site of Network Rail’s Plant show, which saw 250 exhibitors and 3500 visitors over two days. “This introduced the world to what we have here at Long Marston, and certainly for our members we see this as an important move forward. We just announced a new joint testing voucher scheme with the Enabling Innovation Team (EIT) (www.futurerailway.org/eit) that will enable companies to come to Long Marston and use our facilities at a subsidised rate,” enthuses Colin.

“In this way we can ensure that our services are made as widely available to the small and medium enterprise (SME) base, universities, and academic bodies as possible. It’s also intrinsic for that product to market piece as

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Robert Hopk

in, executive sponsor of Bi director of the Rail Allianc rmingham Ga e, Andrew Sk teway and Co id lin Flack, chie more, Network Rail sche f executive of m the Rail Allia e nce

the ability to demonstrate developments at a very early stage, almost pre-prototype, is very beneficial. The disaggregated nature of the railway means it’s often quite hard to work out who your customer actually is. It’s therefore easy to end up with a product that any group of people would recognise as being valuable to the railway, but the cost of which falls into one area and the value derived into another. That’s an area where the Rail Alliance can help bring people together and work through some of those issues,” he continues.

The Rail Alliance has also started a European Regional Development Fund project with strategic partner the University of Birmingham.

This £2 million project will extend over the next three years helping local companies develop Network Rail plant show at the Rail Alliance’s headquarters in Long Marston

and demonstrate new concepts. “There is a huge amount of money being spent on the railway at the moment, and will continue going forward, so that gives investors confidence that this a sector worth being in. For many companies working in rail is a complete no-brainer at present because there’s just so much opportunity at so many different levels,” notes Colin.

“Another one of the areas we’re working in is looking at companies’ supply chains,” he elaborates. “Global sourcing has become commonplace, but I think the procurement world is waking up to the idea of whole life costs rather than just purchase price. As such UK companies can bring real value to the sector, and it’s a shift that we need

to encourage and stimulate. Because rail is a traditional sector, it has a lot of received wisdoms which I think are there to be challenged, such as ‘we don’t make that in the UK’.

“The West Midlands for instance has a phenomenal manufacturing heartland, but we don’t seem to recognise it. Likewise we have companies manufacturing and supplying rail overseas, but not in this country. It’s a unique view that we have as an organisation within the railway, because we recognise that a lot of companies that supply into rail aren’t ‘railway’ companies per se and identifying those is an important piece of groundwork.”

As well as his role at the Rail Alliance, Colin has also been appointed to the UK Trade and Investment Rail Sector Advisory Group, a senior industry group that assists UKTI in developing its policy. “I think the reason for this goes back again to that unique perspective and the fact we have this reach across a broad range of companies so I can bring that experience to the table. It enables the other players to perhaps understand the SME world better, which is vital as some of these are very pivotal and important businesses, yet the rail sector is dominated by a very small number of multinational corporate companies,” he describes.

In the past the Rail Alliance has found that the relationships between the two have often been too adversarial and as such one of the things Colin hopes to do in his new role is reduce that friction, increase levels of understanding and get people collaborating better. In particular it is often a lack of understanding of implications that leads to one party unwittingly making life more difficult for the other, so bringing those different perspectives together could help alleviate such challenges.

“I think in some ways it’s more of the same,” concludes Colin when thinking about the future of the Rail Alliance. “We’re driven by what our members want and we can change direction very easily as the situation dictates, but at the moment we’re looking to continue to extend our reach, help members network together and to develop that route to market. It’s really about keeping ourselves at the heart of the supply chain of the railway.” zz

Rail Alliance Tel: +44 (0) 1789 720 026 Email: info@railalliance.co.uk Web: www.railalliance.co.uk

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Railway Strategies

Live

2013

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Inspiring excellence For its seventh edition, Railway Strategies Live moved to a prestigious new venue in London and brought together an impressive line-up of speakers and exhibitors under the banner of how to create a modern railway for the next generation

Railway Strategies Live 2013 in association with the Rail Alliance was sponsored by: Gold TBM Silver Achilles Comply Serve Bronze Baldwin Boxall Dilax Systems UK Ltd Morson Group Railway Industry Association Selectequip Track Access Services Van Elle Rail

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n The exhibitio

ed discussion

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ailway Strategies’ seventh annual supply chain conference, hosted in association with the Rail Alliance, was held on Thursday 27th June 2013 at the Royal Geographical Society, London.

Conference chair Colin Flack, chief executive of the Rail Alliance, welcomed the many delegates gathered in the prestigious surroundings ahead of a fascinating day’s programme. The proceedings commenced with an overview of the Rail Alliance, emphasizing its credentials as an enabling B2B networking organization rather

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than a lobbying trade association and noting that the organization was soon to play host at its Long Marston headquarters to Network Rail’s Track Innovation Showcase. The RA’s current themes are: route to market and an overarching need to find a better way to gain product acceptance. Colin then outlined the £22 million Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) collaboration being led

by Productiv which aims to develop, validate, certify and generally de-risk new low-carbon technologies for rail.

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Prof. Clive Roberts

The Hi-Tech Rail Project This then led neatly to the introduction to Birmingham University’s Prof. Clive Roberts who had just been awarded European funding for the Hi-Tech Rail Project to support SMEs in the West Midlands through focused knowledge transfer. The aim of the project, which also involves the Rail Alliance, is to bridge the ‘valley of death’ between basic research and product development and scale-up. With reference to Technology Readiness Levels on a scale of 1-9, Prof. Roberts gave several examples of technologies that had been developed and which were now proceeding towards the scale-up phase: track condition monitoring; conductor shoe monitoring; points monitoring; and traffic management simulation. Professor Roberts is now keen to hear from ten SMEs in the West Midlands who could benefit from this project’s funding (c.roberts.20@bham.ac.uk).

50 per cent of executives say their CI initiatives are “not or somewhat effective” at helping achieve operational or market objectives.

Commitment frequently wanes in year three of a CI programme. The point is, however, change is not just about tools, it is about people. Toyota’s people strategy is: “Brilliant process management is our strategy. We get brilliant results from average people managing brilliant processes. We observe that our competitors often get average (or worse) results from brilliant people managing broken processes.” Richard went on to discuss the cascading of KPIs to the point of impact, thinking of processes as patients, and measuring the health of the process. He then considered some examples of CI in action, e.g. equipment overhaul improvements, design change time reduction, visual fleet planning improvement, pit-stop maintenance, resource planning, passenger flow, train turnaround time reduction, ticket office process improvement, and food preparation process improvement.

In his final segment Richard cited the case of the acquisitive Danaher company, whose watchword is ‘Kaizen is our way of life’. The company’s financial performance speaks for itself and presents a powerful argument in favour of CI, which requires a deep emotional commitment at all levels through deployment: change yourself, not others.

Chris Rolison

Collaborative Assurance

Martyn Chimera

A view from the next generation

Richard Holland

TBM (Gold Sponsor) Richard Holland’s contention is that mature Continuous Improvement (CI) companies grow faster. He also said that around

across sectors and companies did not really exist. The YRP seeks to plug this gap and now has 1300 members. The YRP aims to promote the railway industry to the next generation (through an ambassador system), to inspire young railway professionals (by providing access to senior industry figures), and to bring together young people from all sectors and companies in the railway industry (through events, fundraisers, social networking etc). Martyn then gave his view of the industry (healthy) and public perception of the industry (often negative), which he put down to a lack of public relations effort. We are facing an ageing workforce so must counter the negatives through such initiatives as the YRP ambassador approach, and the YRP Awards which recognise achievements. In summing up Martyn stated his ideal legacy for a future generation: a positive perception of the railway industry; continuous long-term investment; manageable debt; and innovation.

The Young Railway Professionals (YRP) was formed in 2009 with the aim of bringing together young people from across all sectors of the railway industry. Their current chairman, Dr Martyn Chimera joined the industry in 2008. At that time it was evident that ‘senior members’ of the industry had many networking opportunities not open to younger employees.

There seemed to be a gap, post-privatisation, as companies facilitated internal networking and the institutions facilitated networking on a disciplinary level. The opportunity to network

Comply Serve’s founder, Chris Rolison, presented his view of how to demonstrate value for money through collaborative assurance. Who is looking at assurance? The Government’s Major Projects Authority (MPA) certainly is, seeing it as “a new mandatory system of assurance … to reduce the financial risk to the taxpayer and increase the likelihood of successful project delivery.”

They define assurance as follows: “The role of assurance is to provide information to those that sponsor, govern and manage a project to help them make better informed decisions which reduce the causes of project failure, promote the conditions for success and deliver improved outcomes.” The McNulty Report also says: “...ensure a clear programme assurance strategy and detailed assurance approach that progressively demonstrates that the programme is on course to deliver the benefits’. Network Rail says that “In its simplest

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Railway Strategies

form, assurance will demonstrate that what we say we are doing is what we are actually doing, and this in turn will match what we are supposed to be doing.” The MPA assurance measurements are: time, cost, quality, scope, risk and benefit (variance against business justification). The Collaborative Assurance approach delivers: systematic capture of assurance information to improve project performance; a single source of knowledge for projects to easily access lessons produced by assurance; improved visibility of the health of projects – with fewer surprises; and transparent reporting of assurance across project organisations.

As a consequence, assurance reduces financial risk and increases opportunity to demonstrate value for money.

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assurance regimes, and using the strength of the community to also address other risk areas, e.g. financial, sustainability. Finally, Annette turned to collaborative supply chain management, citing the recent horse meat scandal, Bangladesh garment factory tragedy, and the interruption to automotive supplies caused by crises in Japan. 40 per cent of businesses have no visibility of their suppliers’ suppliers. The automotive industry has developed a supply chain mapping tool to address this issue. Rail should take note!

next five years. There is a huge list of projects ranging from additional route electrification to the Northern Hub. Safety improvements continue to be a priority. Network Rail will be challenged to achieve excellence in asset management, with more money being released once progress is visible on civs structures and climate resilience. Passenger will benefit from greater reliability and station investments; freight operators will benefit from the strategic freight network and infrastructure improvements. Network Rail will aim to avoid any procurement hiatus between CP4 and CP5 by earlier requirement signalling. The final determination, following feedback from Network Rail, will be due in the autumn.

Richard Price

The ORR’s draft determination

Annette Gevaert

Achilles Link-up Engage and beyond A year ago, at Railway Strategies Live 2012, Annette Gevaert, the UK director of Achilles’ rail and transport sector, announced that Link-up Engage would be launched in 2013 – and that has now become fact.

Advances incorporated in the new version include a modern user interface, onscreen feedback, a shorter questionnaire, and it features a cross-community platform to reduce duplication between, say rail and utilities. Buyers now have a more flexible search suite and there are new collaborative features such as Additional Questions.

Savings of some £5 million per year are expected by using this easier process. Next it will be the turn of the audit process to be overhauled. Industry consultation has started and a rollout programme is planned for autumn this year. Annette then turned to ways in which even more efficiencies can be achieved, such as using the information available to further reduce companyspecific PQQs, reducing the duplication of audits, recognition of third parties and other

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Making his second consecutive appearance at Railway Strategies Live, ORR’s chief executive Richard Price gave a spirited resumé of the recently published ‘draft determination’ of Network Rail’s programme for Control Period 5 (2014-2019). Network Rail is currently experiencing the pressures of growth and the industry is now seeing variable punctuality. The CP5 settlement will contribute to counteracting decades of underinvestment and will benefit both passengers and freight. Network Rail will be challenged on asset management and encouraged to work collaboratively with customers. Passenger numbers have risen 50 per cent over the last decade and freight is expected to grow 10-20 per cent in the next five years. Whilst passenger satisfaction is high and the industry’s safety record is good, there is no cause for complacency.

We need to keep raising efficiency, keep increasing customer satisfaction, keep improving asset reliability, and TOCs & FOCs need to work together in a more commercial way. ORR has produced a “balanced package” with some tricky challenges and some flexibility. A PPM of 92.5 per cent will be required. Enhancement and improvement funds will amount to £12 billion over the

David Clarke

Enabling innovation “Innovation is not invention” – so began David Clarke, director of the Enabling Innovation Team (EIT), part of the Technology Strategy Leadership Group (TSLG). EIT helps to facilitate demonstrator projects and innovation across the rail industry – it is the delivery arm of the TSLG. In turn, TSLG takes direction from Rail Delivery Group and is facilitated by RSSB. UK rail is a success story with increasing expectations and new opportunities for the supply chain. Europe represents the largest part of a £100 billion global rail market. EIT was set up to help address the innovation gap and to de-risk innovation in order to improve outcomes.

Some £10 million per annum is available for this purpose to co-invest with innovators now, with £50 million available in CP5, to be leveraged to £80-100 million. There is strategic ‘pull’ from the RDG, R&D ‘push’ from TSLG, RSSB, RRUK and Network Rail and supplier response provided by the Rail Industry/Innovation Association and Rail Alliance, all being enabled by the EIT, the Technology Strategy Board, and the Transport Catapult. The EIT’s ‘service offer’ currently takes the form of Radical Train

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Demonstrators, the £1 million Customer Experience Prize, Independently Powered EMU, Open expressions of interest, and Testing Vouchers worth five days of testing with two days of engineering time at a cost of £750. Other approaches to ‘de-risking by innovation’ include strategic, co-funded, and Angel investor (for a royalty return). David also reviewed other innovation activity and challenge workshops before highlighting the study underway to map capabilities and markets for the rail sector, covering heavy rail, metro, light rail and tram. Finally he described the Innovation Guidance Tool which has now been launched with its various filtering options to aid identification of guidance, advice or funding for ideas.

through TUCA, the tunnelling academy in Ilford. The whole programme is moving surely and certainly towards its phased opening in 2018/2019.

David Waboso

Modernising the London Underground

Andrew Wolstenholme

Crossrail – the story so far Crossrail’s CEO, Andrew Wolstenholme presented an object lesson in how to deliver a new railway, and, moreover, one that involves a vast amount of civil engineering and tunnelling.

The complexity of the project and the scale of the equipment involved are both staggering.

The railway is projected to bring £42 billion of benefits, employ 14000 people, feature 24 ten-car trains per hour and provide 200 million journeys per year. To date, 13,882m of tunnel have been bored under London. Vast station boxes have been created at e.g. Canary Wharf and Woolwich. Oversite developments are being planned and executed. Rolling stock is being put out to tender. The project has been subjected to rigorous economic, environmental and social scrutiny and is being delivered by a team of what Andrew refers repeatedly to as “pioneers”. The project has five key tenets: safety – first and foremost; inspiration – belief in the power to change things for the better; collaboration – we’re stronger together; integrity – we keep our promises; respect – we treat people as we’d like to be treated.

The project has learned from CTRL, T5 and the 2012 Olympics and will leave a legacy for Crossrail 2, the Thames tunnel etc., notably

In the final presentation of the day, David Waboso, London Underground’s director of capital programmes, talked about how to create a sustainable railway to last another 150 years. London is at the heart of the UK economy but its transport system assets are ageing and often well beyond their economic life. Demand is outstripping supply on the Underground network. There is a programme of total planned growth of 50 per cent in progress, and several improvements such as the Northern line upgrade are on the horizon.

Much has been delivered – Victoria line

upgrade, ELL extension on the Overground, S8 fleet in service on the SSR – and much remains to be done, such as station upgrades at Bond Street, Victoria, Tottenham Court Road and Paddington. The introduction of new standardised rolling stock for the deep level Tube is to come, providing a total system improvement. David is passionate about keeping successful teams together and not disbanding them at regular intervals (an act of vandalism he says). Only this way can long-term benefits accrue from the combined experience of the team members. The notable reduction in core signalling upgrade costs for the Northern line is testament to that, with even greater reductions predicted for the SSL upgrade. And if we could only achieve ‘right first time’ engineering then costs would tumble dramatically. London Underground has also realised the folly of abandoning its apprenticeship programmes two or more decades ago and is now establishing an active programme once more.

In conclusion The formal proceedings concluded with a panel discussion involving the day’s speakers (and others) taking questions from the floor.

Following this, Colin Flack thanked the speakers for their excellent contributions, as well as sponsors and exhibitors for their support, and delegates for making the day a success. zz

For information about attending or participating in next year’s event, please contact Mark Cawston: Railway Strategies Tel: 01603 274 130 Email: info@railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Training

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Opportunities for higher education in rail freight and logistics NewRail – the Newcastle Railway Research Centre – launches a modern, research-based MSc in rail freight and logistics. MARIN MARINOV explains further...

T Dr. Marin Marinov is the manager of NewRail’s Rail Education Group

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he world is changing fast. The global rail freight and logistics industry is no exception. More skills are needed for railway professionals and logisticians than ever before, which necessitates a higher level of qualifications to be continuously developed.

Recent surveys conducted within the context of two rail education-focused projects revealed that 72 per cent of respondents believe that more people will work in railway positions in their company three years from now: a significant potential for railway higher education in the future.

Future rail freight professionals who serve in the industry must be able to master increasing levels of new information technologies, innovative approaches and system complexities which differ from the historical concepts and practices that concentrated more on orthodox methods. Such a critical need must be addressed in rail higher education to include modern logistics principles and practices.

The university programmes in rail freight and logistics should be more globally oriented, employing an interdisciplinary approach and promotion of transferable skills such as creativity, R&D, innovation and flexibility.

The surveys also found that higher education in rail operations, management and logistics will benefit both service users and providers in improving their economic performance and trade facilitation.

Individuals will also be benefited for their prospective career paths.

In response, NewRail has designed a modern, research-based MSc in rail freight and logistics. The programme aims to develop the student’s ability to

initiate and carry out advanced performance systems analysis, and research projects to solve managerial and engineering-related problems in rail freight and logistics. Specifically, the programme aims to equip graduates with the skills and qualifications necessary to pursue a management and/or engineering career in rail freight and logistics.

The programme places an emphasis on the growing interest in rail freight services and the international aspect of logistics, as both of these promote a more mature distribution of freight. Alongside this, freight transport planners and managers will be provided with the chance to view rail freight and logistics together, from a wider perspective, allowing them to appreciate the increasing importance of rail freight and logistics policy and practices both national and international for a sustainable future.

The programme was designed with the purpose of: l Preparing students to engage in life-long learning and critical enquiry with skills in research and knowledge acquisition and an appreciation of the value of education to the wider community l Providing students with internationally recognised qualifications, which meet the requirements of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications and of other benchmark statements for applicability of output standards to Master Degrees l Provide the global rail and logistics industry with employable and enterprising graduates prepared for taking on managerial, operational, commercial technical, and financial responsibilities.

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas: 1. Railway engineering 2. Rail freight operations and management 3. Rail economics and planning 4. Freight transport logistics 5. Rail transport policy, safety and security 6. Inter/multi-modal freight transport 7. Rail project risk and value management.

The learning outcome from the programme is a sound understanding of rail management, engineering and logistics concepts, operations, economics, technologies and policies and practice, with a focus on effective freight distributions.

The degree programme is innovative in character,

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integrating research-based teaching activities such as independent studies, team and independent assignments and workshop assignments.

Specifically the programme includes a range of multidisciplinary activities such as: lectures with discussion; major research projects; panel of experts; analytical and simulation modelling; performance analysis, case studies; scenarios; surveys; lean production systems, systems design, evaluation of network policy and strategy, optimisation of investment choice, economic assessment; road mapping; web conferences and technical visits.

The programme framework provides a multidisciplinary multi-cultural environment to learn and

develop the skills and qualifications necessary to pursue a management and/or engineering career in rail management, engineering and business logistics at large. zz

For further information, visit: http://www.ncl. ac.uk/newrail/education/msc.htm NewRail would like to acknowledge the support of the European Commission, who provided the majority of the funding for the development of this MSc course.

Tel: 0191 222 3976 Email: marin.marinov@ncl.ac.uk Web: www.newrail.org

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Training

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How to build a younger workforce Customer service and personal development training will help passenger transport sector build a younger workforce, says SHARON GLANCY

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Sharon Glancy

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assenger transport companies need to invest specifically in customer service and personal development training to retain the next generation of workers, finds the People 1st Training Company Retention Index (Ref.1).

The recent State of the Nation 2013 report (Ref. 2) from People 1st, the sector skills council for the passenger transport and travel sectors, showed that the next big challenge for the sector will be recruiting younger workers to replace an ageing workforce. The Retention Index shows the type of training that will make a difference to the people who are entering the industry.

“We know that the next big challenge for the sector is attracting the next generation of workers.

But beyond attraction, they also need to start thinking about the things that will keep them in the long-term,” comments Sharon Glancy, managing director of the People 1st Training Company.

“Training can have a positive financial impact too – we know from our State of the Nation report that 48 per cent of passenger transport and travel businesses that trained staff in the last 12 months saw their financial turnover increase.”

The Retention Index found that almost three quarters (74 per cent) of HR directors and training managers feel that personal development training can have the highest impact on retention, followed by people/team management (55 per cent) and soft skills/customer service (54 per cent). This is compelling when the State of the Nation Report revealed that 81 per cent of employers identified customer service skills as the most important for their business in the next three to five years.

Sharon Glancy says: “People 1st’s State of the Nation report showed that only about 35 per cent of passenger transport and travel businesses provide training based on personal development needs, and yet this has been identified by the Retention Index as the most important training need that is most likely to have an impact on staff retention, so there is a mismatch between what employers know and what they choose to invest their training budget on.

“This research shows that skills like customer service and team management are among the most valued by staff and not only do they meet key skills needs for passenger transport businesses, but they can also have an impact

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on retention. This is something we’ve known at the People 1st Training Company for quite some time – employers who have used our WorldHost customer service training programmes have told us that their staff feel they have been invested in when they undertake the training and the business has seen staff motivation improve as a result. In addition, our Management 1st training programme helps managers – particularly new managers – address some of the challenges they face. When their employer invests in this training, they feel more valued and supported.

“In terms of personal development, we also offer train the trainer programmes, which help people develop the skills to deliver effective training – again, many delegates see this as a real investment in their skills and future career.”

The HR directors and training managers surveyed say that frontline staff are the type of employee most likely to stay by being offered regular and relevant training – the group with the highest percentage of current turnover (23 per cent on average). To improve retention respondents felt that their training budgets would need to increase by an average of 43 per cent.

Based on current spend, passenger transport companies would need to spend £2300 a year on each member of frontline staff to retain those joining the industry now.

Sharon Glancy says: “With such a clear need for entry-level staff we want to help passenger transport organisations direct investment into the kind of training that will retain the right level of employee. This is fundamental to building a younger workforce.” zz

References Ref. 1: The Retention Index research was conducted by independent research company Illuma in May 2013. One hundred telephone interviews were conducted amongst HR directors and training managers across a range of leisure-based industries including passenger transport industries.

Ref. 2: State of the Nation Report 2013 Passenger Transport and Travel is the second report from People 1st that surveys more than 1400 employers in the sector to analyse current labour market trends, skills and education and training needs.

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Communications

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Digital frustration costing passenger transport industry £1.2 billion The passenger transport industry may be missing out on sales to the tune of £1.2 billion by failing to connect effectively with customers digitally, says O2

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Anna Holness, managing partner of O2’s Passenger Services commented:

“Nearly all of us have used some form of digital technology to plan journeys or buy tickets, so we understand how convenient digital services can be in today’s busy world. The industry is making efforts to provide passengers with the digital tools they want; however there is still room for improvement. The priority now is to create a seamless experience for the customer offering realtime, multichannel information which will ultimately improve the passenger journey.”

Ben Dowd, head of business at O2 commented:

“Passenger transport companies have embraced many aspects of digital, but there is still a huge amount of scope to transform the services provided to passengers.

With the arrival of 4G, ubiquitous connectivity will only make these technologies more central to the consumer experience. From providing reliable real-time information and ensuring customer services embrace social media, to creating a consistent multichannel experience online and en-route, the impact of successful digital services will be the deciding factor when it comes to engaging and retaining customers.”

ew research conducted for O2 by expert analysts Conlumino found that passenger services companies, such as rail and bus operators, are struggling to harness digital technologies despite the fact that the majority of passenger spend – 64 per cent – is now influenced by these digital channels.

From comparing prices and planning routes in advance to checking for delays whilst travelling, mobile apps and online sites are now a crucial part of a passenger’s journey. Whilst 30 per cent of transport operators think they are doing a good job in adapting to new technology, customers disagree, with 96 per cent of consumers dissatisfied by some aspect of their digital journey: l A large majority (84 per cent) are confused by websites and apps l 87 per cent are frustrated by the lack of real time travel information l Almost nine out of ten are annoyed when prices aren’t consistent across different outlets, highlighting the need for a truly multichannel experience With the number of Brits planning ‘Staycations’ rising year on year, bus, rail and coach companies are set to benefit from the millions of additional journeys being made over the summer months.

This presents passenger transport operators with an opportunity to boost their bottom line through digital engagement. The study shows: l Digital is the preferred way to find passenger transport operators: Over 80 per cent of people have used digital channels to plan journeys and look up prices l The station is no longer the place for purchases: more people are now buying tickets via websites and apps (66 per cent) than in person or over the phone (53 per cent) l Real-time information crucial: 65 per cent have used digital methods to check for travel news updates – four times the number of people who still rely on more traditional services such as station updates or over the phone information Passengers are telling the industry what they want; a more informed, integrated experience, where they can manage tickets and access

current information, not only about their journey but the destination too. Companies such as rail and bus operators need to keep pace with the rapid evolution of mobile technology and ensure the right support is in place to adapt and ensure passengers can receive real-time updates on any device.

The rapid evolution of mobile technology has the power to transform the passenger services industry. Data and analytics tools are available to provide a deeper insight into passengers’ behaviour and needs to inform marketing plans and improve services overall. Mobile technology is becoming indispensable to employees too; companies that equip teams with smart devices and the right digital tools will be ahead of the game in delivering a seamless and enjoyable service for passengers. zz

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ROSEHILL RAIL

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With nearly 20 years’ experience, Rosehill Rail’s manufacturing process yields superior railway crossing panels

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osehill Rail designs and produces rubber railway crossing systems for rail authorities throughout the world and is the largest manufacturer of rubber crossing panels in the UK. These panels are manufactured from a blend of recycled tyre rubbers without heat and are chemically bonded under pressure and de-moulded in 25 minutes, which is a clean, quick and energy efficient method of manufacture.

Furthermore Rosehill crossing panels do not pose any risk to the environment, do not react with soil or water and will not leach chemicals or emit any harmful vapours or odours into the atmosphere. They are marketed in the UK by Holdfast Level Crossings and branded with the Holdfast name.

The Rosehill Rail team is dedicated to meeting rail customers’ needs by providing a service that operates on a global basis. It is also a division of the Rosehill Polymers group who are world leaders in the production of polyurethane systems. It is this expertise,

which provides the basis on which all of the other divisions depend, Offshore, Highways, Mouldings, Sports & Play and Biomed, and this innovation and diversity has been the driving force behind the company’s success.

Until relatively recently Rosehill would have been an unfamiliar name to most in the UK rail industry but the company actually developed the method of cold curing rubber crossing panels as far back as 1994. At that time Rosehill’s chairman Michael Hopkinson was approached by an American company Riedel Omni to improve the production methods of their rubber crossing panels which were being manufactured by vulcanisation using high levels of energy, taking 17 to 20 hours to produce and de-mould each panel.

After successful trials in the US, Riedel Omni adopted the Rosehill method of manufacture improving their production output enormously by reducing the production cycle to one hour.

In 1999 Riedel Omni closed and Rosehill acquired their mould technology, designing and

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building a plant at the Beech Road factory to manufacture the panels.

The moulds were re-engineered for the new Rosehill process including fitting hydraulic systems to each mould in order to employ an efficient production process. As such the initial investment was in excess of ÂŁ2,000,000.

During its long history in the rail industry Rosehill has amassed a wealth of experience working with a range of global rail infrastructure companies and operators on a wide variety of projects. The knowledge and experience gained has enabled Rosehill to provide crossing solutions that are perfectly tailored to any requirement.

For example Rosehill manufactures two systems which are made to fit the contours of the track taking into consideration the sleeper profile, rail type, fastener and gauge and can accommodate gauge widening, check rails and tight radii.

Each panel is marked when moulded so that it can be clearly read from above i.e. the

Rosehill Rodded Crossing system

Rosehill Anti-Trespass Panel

crossing grade, rail type, sleeper type, fastener and year of manufacture, which makes it easy to check on site that the panels meet the required specifications.

The first of these is the Rosehill Baseplated System, which is ideal for shorter crossings and for cutting into turnouts and tight bends that are particularly found in tram and city rail systems, something few others can accomplish. The panels can be made in various grades to suit traffic conditions, from heavy traffic to track access or pedestrian and have approval in many countries including Network Rail in the UK. The Rosehill Rodded System has been designed particularly for heavy traffic and extreme situations but can be employed in any road crossing. The principle is both simple and

ingenious; each panel is manufactured over length and by means of rods moulded within the panels is compressed down to 1.8 metres long and held under compression during its lifespan.

The advantages are that dimensional stability is maintained in all conditions irrespective of temperature fluctuations and the pre-compressed panel combats compressive set from the wheel tracks of heavy, high speed vehicles which over an extended period can result in distortion and gapping. The panels can be manufactured for wide, standard or narrow gauge and are particularly useful for longer crossings and those at an acute angle to the road. They also come with Network Rail approval and that of other countries.

Both systems are quick and simple to install,

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ROSEHILL RAIL

Supertram pedestrian crossing documentation, including technical specifications and bills of material are controlled by documented procedures as detailed in the company Quality Systems Manual. Rosehill operates a quality assurance system complying with the international standard ISO9001:2008 which is audited annually by the National Quality Assurance board. The process is lant p computer controlled and operated by a g n ri tu Manufac fully trained experienced staff and maintained under contract by specialist engineers.

Traceability is achieved by recording on as demonstrated by the initial installation for the computer the production data, weight check Rodded System’s Network Rail trial, which can be viewed on the Rosehill website (www.rosehill rail.com) where all the timings are logged. As part of the installation process Rosehill Lifting Pins have been designed specifically for use with both systems and each set is accompanied by the appropriate test certificate and instructions for use and maintenance. Two sets can be used in tandem to install the gauge panels which form a natural tent shape ideal for lowering straight into the gauge.

A further development from the Rosehill range is the new improved design of rubber Anti-Trespass panel which is in extensive use throughout the UK rail network. The panels can be incorporated at the ends of level crossings or on station platforms. The new design incorporates more diverse mouldings making them both a physical and visual deterrent to trespassers, cable thieves, etc.

Manufacture is controlled by detailed Rosehill Rail stand at Railtex 2013 operating instructions. All associated

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and visual check of each panel at the time of manufacture. Each panel can be traced to the order and manufacturing batch. This enables checking against the engineering drawings if needed at a later date.

Rosehill Rail is looking forward to a positive future in terms of growth. The product range is proven and Rosehill Rail is working with many new partners around the world to develop new markets. This will not only lead to Rosehill Rail crossings being seen more widely in use but it will also help railway administrations to achieve savings over existing monopolistic sourcing, by introducing more competition into the market place.

Another positive aspect is that existing Rosehill Rail distributors are continuing to achieve growth at a time of worldwide economic downturn. This reflects well on the product range as more customers realise the benefits of using Rosehill level crossing systems.

Rosehill Rail has attended Railtex in London and IAF in Munster so far this year. Both of these rail exhibitions have resulted in excellent feedback and sales opportunities.

Other rail exhibitions where Rosehill Rail will be present are: Nordic Rail, Sweden (8-10 October 2013) and Eurasia Rail, Turkey (6-8 March 2014). Rosehill Rail looks forward to welcoming new and existing customers to their stand at these and other major rail events. zz

Web: www.rosehillrail.com

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UK POWER NETWORKS

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Making theconnection Making the connection Having welcomed the announcements surrounding electrification, UK Power Networks Services has the team to deliver such programmes

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s a Distribution Network Operator (DNO), UK Power Networks’ role is to take electricity at high voltages from the National Grid and transform it down to suitable voltages for commercial and domestic use. The company is responsible for three such networks, in the East of England, London and the South-East, which together use more than 160,000 kilometres of underground cable and overhead lines to distribute electricity. As such, the company works to ensure that this infrastructure continues to deliver 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As an independent operating arm under this parent, UK Power Networks Services (UKPN Services) develops and maintains businesscritical energy networks for a variety of sectors.

This includes long-term maintenance contracts for airports such as London Heathrow, London Stansted and London Gatwick, defence contracts such as Project Allenby/Connaught, iconic commercial premises and significant rail projects.

Specifically UKPN Services designed, financed, and built, and the company now operates and maintains the High Speed 1 (HS1) electrical infrastructure on a 50-year contract. The company also delivered the electrical work for the Lewisham extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and has completed several projects on the London Underground including the Victoria Line upgrade programme.

Presently UKPN Services is bringing its expertise to London Underground’s subsurface lines modernisation scheme and various Network Rail programmes including Thameslink and power supply upgrades.

Thameslink in particular has continued to progress well with UKPN Services supporting several phases of the scheme, including Key

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The company’s main remit has been the construction of a new DC substation close to Blackfriars station, which will enable the changeover of the route from AC overhead traction to DC third rail.

Adrian Dixon, head of business development and projects at UKPN Services, said: “While delivering this we encountered some challenges when undertaking the foundations, which created a 12-week delay. However, by working together with the client, we still managed to bring in the project two weeks early.

“We are strongly embedded with the client, which we believe enables us to overcome issues more easily, should they arise, by working out a solution together. Likewise, we also like to be involved with projects from an early stage as it means we can contribute our experience and help influence the approach to be the best possible.”

At the beginning of the year, UKPN Services was successful in gaining a position on Network

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Advanced power electronics products, systems and services for use worldwide in ships, submarines and mass transit systems.

Ultra

eleCtroniCS

Rail Systems

Business Streams

Ultra Electronics - PMES supplies high quality DC power products for traction applications to customers around the world.

• Power & Control (Defence) • Power & Control (Industrial & Energy) • Rail Systems & Transformers • Sensors

Ultra can supply both substation equipment (including transformer rectifier units) and complete turnkey DC substation systems.

The electrical and mechanical designs are commercially competitive, based on decades of refinement, supported by cutting edge software tools, and fully conform with both UK and International standards and practices.

Contact Ultra Electronics PMES Towers Business Park | Wheelhouse Road Rugeley | Staffordshire | WS15 1UZ | UK Tel: +44 (0)1889 503300 Fax: +44 (0)1889 572929 Email: enquiries@ultra-pmes.com

www.ultra-pmes.com

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UK POWER NETWORKS

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Ultra Electronics Ultra Electronics is an internationally successful company with a long, consistent track record of development and growth.

A world leader in power systems for mass transport, Ultra has enjoyed a sustaining, positive relationship with UK Power Networks.

As part of its ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction and growth, Ultra continues to work closely with UK Power Networks to further develop this co-operation

Rail’s Power Distribution System programme in Kent. Due for completion by July 2016, this project is still in its early phases but work will include renewal of switchgear and upgrading of electrical infrastructure at 39 substations and 21 traction power huts. Furthermore, more than 50 kilometres of electricity cable will also be designed and installed.

As in many of its projects, UKPN Services prides itself on its ability to provide a completely integrated service from early consultancy and design, to supply, engineering, construction, installation, testing and commissioning. In many cases this also extends to on-going operation and maintenance.

“Although each industry is different in terms of its regulations, procedures or geographical constraints, the principles of taking energy from Point A to Point B remain the same in many sectors,” said Adrian. “As such we are able to learn across our business to take aspects that work in one industry and apply it to the benefit of another.”

In order to widen this offering even further, UKPN Services is currently developing a partnership with Colas Rail Limited, which will enable it to combine its core skills, expertise and technologies for specific projects.

Stewart Dawson, director of UKPN Services, said: “We specialise in the non-trackside power supply from the DNO connection but, in order to offer an end-to-end solution, Colas brings in its trackside expertise. The intention is that in this way we will be able to offer a one-stopshop for electrification.”

“We’re also looking at innovation. One company we’re talking to is ABB, regarding the innovative ideas that we could bring to the rail sector, not only for new-build projects but also existing assets where we could offer efficiencies such as reducing electricity costs or losses.

“In this way we have a team working with HS1 to look at a regenerative braking scheme

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Delivering Quality Infrastructure Services

UKPNS

ETE/ETM

PWAY / BRIDGE

TRANSPORT & PLANT

Sonic Rail Services (SRS) Ltd have over the last 10 years developed a strong working relationship with UKPNS (formerly EDFE). This started in earnest during the Power Supply Upgrade undertaken between 2003 and 2006.

SRS were the principle DC contractor for SABCo, the joint venture between Balfour Beatty and the then named EDFE. Following on from the Upgrade SRS maintained the close ties with EDFE and latterly renamed UKPNS. The relationship has developed further over time with SRS not only servicing the DC cabling installation works but undertaking GRIP 4 and GRIP 5 design works on behalf of UKPNS, supplying significant project management resource as part of preliminary teams or actual UKPNS core team members for the major projects. SRS have also expanded into completing HV works for UKPNS, with collaborative working the strengths of both company’s skill sets and resources can be realised to deliver other elements of a project together and efficiently.

As such SRS and UKPNS have and continue to integrate their teams to enable the delivery of a broad spectrum of projects and with our collective involvement manage the rigorous process from cradle to grave. Some of the schemes may have been relatively minor however the two companies have virtually partnered on the delivery of some significant projects, some of which are ongoing.

Ludgate Cellars Substation Ineer London Substation Upgrades Blackfriars Station Kent PSE Waterloo Upgrade

Head Office 01621 784 688 London Office 0207 921 0545 Email: post@sonicrail.co.uk Web www.sonicrail.co.uk

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and similarly with London Underground looking at inverter trials. This is an area that we’d like to progress further in order to create more efficiency and savings for the railway and our clients.”

Perhaps of greatest interest, though, has been the recent announcements regarding investment into electrification. “It is good to see the rail industry investing, not only for us as a country but the UK as the whole, as in the past it’s not had the level needed to transform it into a 21st century railway,” said Adrian. “The electrification programme, the Great Western electrification programme, the electrification and plant (E&P) works in the South – all those things are of interest to us.

“Further ahead we have High Speed 2 (HS2).

Given that we are the only UK company that has built a power system for a high-speed line in this country, we have a lot of knowledge in this area and therefore view this as an exciting opportunity.”

The challenge the industry now faces is not the volume of work but finding the skilled personnel to deliver this. UKPN Services has always benefited from a fully-qualified and certified workforce but is continuing to invest in this at all levels in order to meet the requirements of tomorrow.

“There is a major skills shortage across the whole of the UK, which means the industry is even looking outside of Europe to recruit the necessary expertise,” said Stewart.

“Therefore, we are focusing strongly on the next generation of those skills and forward planning to be able to recruit the right people now, working with universities, schools and colleges to encourage young people to take that career path. Within our company we have

UK POWER NETWORKS

training centres and recruitment campaigns which we can use to deliver basic electrical training before taking them through to get the specialist skills needed to work in rail,” he continued.

“Because power goes across the bounds of

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different industries, in terms of being the same volts and amps, we are able to move people across for different industries and give them that education in rail,” said Adrian. “It’s about attracting those people into rail but at the same time promoting and increasing the skills of our present workforce.”

One of the ways in which UKPN Services is looking to achieve this is through a focus on safety. The company has embarked on a new safety culture programme, which aims to look at making sure safety is foremost in every employee’s mind by the end of the year.

“It’s about bringing that culture into the way people operate and think,” said Stewart. “Our vision is to win more contracts and to deliver the projects and objectives safely, on budget and to a high quality. The main element of that is staff and having the right people, which to me is key for us to be able to develop the relationship with our clients and therefore secure more projects for the business.” zz

Web: www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk

An ISO 9001:2008 Accredited Company

Founded in 1951, Transformers & Rectifiers Limited have supplied Transformer/Rectifier Units and Auxiliary Transformers to both Network Rail and London Underground over many years.

Additionally the company has supplied similar equipment both nationally and internationally.

Our considerable strength in design and build of both standard and bespoke products, coupled with our geographical location close to the heart of the british railway industry gives us a distinct competitive edge.

Contact

15-16 Woodbridge Meadows, Guildford, Surrey, England, GU1 1BJ

Tel: +44(0)1483 568281 Fax: +44(0)1483 504961 www.transformers.co.uk

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Foundation Piling Ltd

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Topof thepile Succeeding in the most challenging environments, Foundation Piling Ltd is an expert in foundation and piling solutions for restricted access areas

F

oundation Piling Ltd was originally formed in Birmingham in 1980 as West Midland Piling and Foundations Ltd, before relocating to Shropshire in 1982. As today the company specialised in providing piled foundations for civil engineering and building projects, with particular emphasis on restricted access requirements. At the time the piled underpinning market was in its infancy, and as such the company quickly developed its reputation.

With various other independent companies with regional titles being formed in the following years, it was in 1993 that these were all brought together under the Foundation Piling Ltd name.

As an independent company, Foundation Piling

is able to respond to its customer requests quickly and efficiently, anywhere in the UK or Ireland.

From the beginning the company has prided itself on innovation, leading the way in terms of technically advanced, practical ground engineering. Foundation Piling’s extensive knowledge of soil behaviour and unrivalled experience of challenging jobs helps to minimise risks and enables it to succeed in locations that are often considered unworkable. It is for these reasons that the company has developed a reputation as the specialists’ specialist, and the go-to for many site managers and civil engineers, as well as frequently being called upon by other companies to assist in resolving problems.

In doing so Foundation Piling can call upon what is perhaps the UK’s largest, most modern and versatile range of large diameter, restricted access rigs. The company continually assesses the latest equipment to bring the most appropriate, up-to-date technology to each project. In recent years this has included new Soilmec SR70 and SF50 rigs together with Tescar CF3 Ultra-Low Headroom Rotary Rigs, all efficiently delivered to projects by

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz their own transport fleet. Much of this is designed specifically for restricted access, low headroom, and difficult ground conditions. This includes things like working under overhead power lines, bridges & inside existing structures.

Delivering the works are Foundation Piling’s highly trained operatives, the majority of which are based out of its purpose-built premises in St Martins, Oswestry. The company maintains a policy of continued training and personal development, including participation in the Investor In People scheme, to ensure that a multi-skilled workforce is available at all times.

Each individual has the relevant qualifications for any work they may undertake including CSCS standard, with the foremen also holding an NVQ Level 2 in Piling Operations and SSSTS accreditation.

With each foundation project presenting its own challenges, the wide range of piling techniques offered by Foundation Piling ensures that the most appropriate, and economic, solution is selected. Amongst others this includes CFA bored piling, rotary bored piling, tripod piling, driven tubular and timber piling, ductile piling, soil nails, screw piles and anchors, and retaining wall construction.

Known as Continuous Flight Auger (CFA), this method is the quietest form of piling and suitable for forming piles in most types of soil, including unstable ground, with minimal environmental disturbance. It is an ideal solution for noise and vibration sensitive work, and for use on some restricted-access sites.

Also ideal for use on low headroom or tight access sites are the company’s range of rotary rigs, a number of which have low mast heights particularly suited to piling adjacent to roads and railways.

Another key technique employed by Foundation Piling is tripod piling, with the company currently the largest contractor for this method in the UK. Most of the components can be manually handled and require very little mechanical assistance to negotiate stairways and corridors making tripod rigs preferable to tracked machines in many restricted applications. Furthermore Foundation Piling can also offer electrically powered rigs, which can be used in confined spaces without the need for fume extraction systems.

For more challenging environments such as rock or loose ground, the company can deliver both rock drilled piles and anchors together with soil nails that achieve exceptionally high

Ductile piles store adjace for new Tesco nt to rail trac k at Lawrence Hi ll Bristol

pile capabilities, whilst the driven ductile steel tube system offers substantial support.

As such these systems are often used in industrial works, house extensions, highways, architectural environments and marine applications. When it comes to the rail market though, it is the quick installing screw piles that are an ideal fit to the limited possession times. These are capable of being installed for temporary works, as well as complete projects, and the ability to do so without the need for concrete or grout greatly speeds up the process.

As a business focused around the delivery of solid and stable underpinnings, what has been most important for Foundation Piling in its years of operation is keeping its own foundations strong. This means maintaining the long-held values of innovation, quality, and expertise, that will ensure the ground below remains secure as the company builds its future. zz

Web: www.foundation-piling.co.uk

NDT Services Ltd PILE INTEGRITY TESTING DYNAMIC LOAD TESTING STATIC PILE MAINTAINED LOAD TESTING

UK Office:

Unit 32 Criftin Centre, Oxton Road, Epperstone, Nottinghamshire, NG14 6AT, UK

Tel:

www.ndt-piletesting.com

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Civil Rail Solutions

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Plenty of manpower Providing a wide spectrum of personnel solutions to the rail industry Civil Rail Solutions always delivers the right man for the job

C

anaging er and m on - own il Rail Solutions s a M rk Ma of Civ director

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ivil Rail Solutions is the brainchild of managing director and owner Mark Mason, conceived in 2008 at a crossroads moment as he explains: “I used to play semi-professional football until I snapped my cruciate ligament in my knee. At the time I was helping to build the depot for the Hitachi trains that run on the high-speed link between Ashford and St Pancras, and we came to the end of a piece of work with the next intake not due to start for another couple of months. Being that I was also in plaster, after being on the tools for 12 years I began thinking how I’d worked for some good and some bad companies, and could I do better in supplying good quality men to clients.

“So I approached a senior project manager at Fitzpatrick, before they were Volker Fitzpatrick, and was given the opportunity to supply myself and one other guy. Three weeks

later I had another four personnel onboard and slowly it has grown from there,” he continues.

Over the years Civil Rail Solutions has diversified from being just a labour entity for the railway to also supplying the construction sector. The company recognises there is a need for the provision of high quality, skills specific personnel to meet the exacting requirements of the industry. Fully licensed, with Link-up and ISO:9001 approval, Civil Rail Solutions also offers an in-depth understanding of the challenges and needs of its clients.

“Coming from a background of working on the railway myself, I am well connected with many others working in the industry. As such I knew we would be able to mobilise the right staff for each project,” highlights Mark.

“We understand that we are only as good as the staff that we supply so we have a very strict application process that we adhere to when it comes to taking on new staff. This includes a thorough induction and ongoing competency management and training. This gives our clients confidence that when they choose to work with Civil Rail Solutions that we will deliver only the best, qualified staff.”

Having built up a track record on high

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profile projects, today Civil Rail Solutions’ core staff of 240 work on programmes for many of rail’s biggest Tier 1 contractors.

This includes Balfour Beatty, Amey, London Underground, Colas Rail, Morgan Sindall, Kier, Volker Fitzpatrick and Carillion. “We can supply the complete spectrum of staff from project managers to PTS labourers, LUL operatives and CSCS-CPCS operatives. It’s just as important for us to invest in the newly qualified personnel as the more experienced members of the workforce, because as a growing company we need to bring in the staff of the future,” notes Mark.

Outlining some of the projects Civil Rail Solutions’ is currently engaged on, he continues: “We have a framework contract with Balfour Beatty for the London Underground and are heavily involved in delivering all the drainage programmes for that. We started off with one team, and now have six delivering that work so it’s been a successful niche for us. This is because we’ve been able to put the right staff in for the application each time, so the client has confidence in our ability to deliver this work.

“We’ve also been building relationships with new clients such as C Spencer. They are becoming a key player in Kent because of the amount of work they have secured, and being based in Ashford ourselves, the south-east and London are markets we have historically been strong in. It also means that we have a lot of staff from the surrounding area, and clients like to be able to source local labour where possible to try and reduce their carbon footprint and environmental impact.”

Five years after its formation, Civil Rail Solutions is very much considered a trusted partner by many, with Balfour Beatty noting that the company is a strategic part of its supply chain. This is a positive endorsement of

Civil Rail Solutions’ ability to deliver and stands it in good stead for the future.

“The market is very much growing,” concludes Mark. “Talking with clients at a director level Control Period 5 is expected to be a very busy time within the industry because of the amount of work out there.

For Civil Rail Solutions it’s about making sure that we maintain the ethos that we built the

company around – steady growth, stringent staff approval, and the knowledge that we are only as good as the labour we supply. If we can continue with the above I believe we will continue to grow and become a key player in the labour supply market within the railway industry. zz

Web: www.civilrailsolutions.co.uk

Reflex Flexible light commercial vehicle & fleet car hire throughout the UK

Fleet Solutions Fleet Stability Peace of Mind Reflex is a brand of LCV Hire Solutions Limited Incorporated in England and Wales company number 07813062

www.reflexvans.com

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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HaslerRail

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On the record A long-time technology leader, HaslerRail AG’s black box solution offers benefits beyond accident investigation

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O

ne hundred and twenty-six years old, HaslerRail AG is a worldwide wellknown name based in Switzerland.

The company’s history is inextricably linked with that of the railway, launching its first products alongside this revolution of mass transport in the 19th century. Over the years HaslerRail has diversified into other technologies such as cell phones, fire protection and measurement systems, but what remains today is very much the original founding DNA of the business.

As such the rail market is the only one in which HaslerRail operates. The company’s core products are event recorders or black box technology, which are traditionally used in the aftermath of an accident to evaluate and assess what happened in order to hopefully improve the safe running of trains.

It is around this primary technology that the company has developed its other products including those with Safety Integrity Levels (SIL) of up to four for use on the most safety critical functions of a train. This includes brake supervision, dead man control and speed restrictions. The third branch of HaslerRail is its offboard software solutions, which support these products through the evaluation, analysis and monitoring of the data recorded onboard.

With the domestic market within Switzerland relatively small for these types of products, from an early stage HaslerRail has focused on international expansion and global operations.

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Today less then five per cent of the company’s revenue comes from Switzerland, with the rest being delivered through exports to major train builders and operators around the world.

With safety being one of the headline concerns of the industry, CEO Alexandre Grêt describes some of the issues affecting this today: “Safety can be achieved through different means, and technology obviously has an impact on that, but on the other side is cost. We know we have very safe systems

these days, so I don’t think the challenge is to improve that per se, but to do it at a reasonable cost.

“The other issue is that safety is often considered a reactive solution, but once a system is installed very little is done in terms of monitoring whether those levels of safety remain consistent over the decades of operation. So the operator needs to maintain the system more or less, what is the availability of the system, what do the trains do if that

Rowe Hankins Limited is proud to be the Sales Agent for HaslerRail and their range of safety and on-train monitoring and recording systems (OTMRs) for the UK rail market.

After many years of building sales for new product applications on behalf of and with HaslerRail, Rowe Hankins has developed a team of trained technicians within its Service Centre to provide the expertise for the overhaul, refurbishment and repair of the many HaslerRail systems that are currently installed within the UK national, urban and underground train fleets.

All work is undertaken at Rowe Hankins’ UK based, IRIS accredited, premises in north Manchester and is also supported by a team of ten engineers with many years experience of working within the rail industry. Rowe Hankins and HaslerRail – making UK rail a safer place.

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HaslerRail

system is out of service – all these issues are not solved. The industry knows about how to build a safe system, but less about how to keep it running safely.”

Also of note is the fact that whilst safety has increased, so has the volume of traffic, and therefore the net result is not less accidents, as recent high profiles incidents in Spain and Switzerland serve to remind. “I think what Spain showed is that the driver is still a critical element in the safety chain,” notes Alexandre. “Even though there are signalling systems that largely exclude the driver from that, the reality around the world is that is not really the case and it will take decades before the majority of networks are equipped with systems that mean the driver isn’t the weakest link.

“Whilst there are commercial aspects to the industry, a large proposition of international railway is funded by government money and this presents an investment challenge. In Europe it is very often the case that trains run through corridors where different signalling systems are installed and the driver changes

from one to the next. For example whilst ETCS is globally accepted as the safest system today, the rollout of this technology is done in patches which means the trains are still running on multiple systems.”

In the past HaslerRail’s technologies were perhaps predominantly used to take a retrospective look at the conditions at the time of an accident, but the company believes they can be used in a much more proactive way: “By looking at the data regularly we can identify where there are safety gaps and how we can close these to prevent incidents in the future,” explains Alexandre. “There are many signalling systems in the world that still operate a speed limit but this is not necessarily checked until something happens. Our data recorders though can tell if the operator exceeded the speed limit or not, so we are building tools around this for automatic data evaluation which will flag up such behaviours so they can be addressed.”

He continues: “We’ve also developed a solution that can monitor the different signalling

The full range of TCMS and communication products

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Boxed products

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sub-systems and the roll-out of new ETCS systems through the use of our data recorders and offboard software AURA. This enables the train operator to verify that the new system is as safe and available as it promised to be on a contractual basis, and to call attention if it’s not. We’ve had success with this in a ETCS application and want to expand that model internationally.”

As a purely rail focused entity HaslerRail has a unique understanding of the requirements of the market to be able to develop products and solutions that truly deliver. It’s an approach the company has continued even in the more difficult economic times. “Although it may have slowed down a little as a result of the global financial crisis, we believe rail is a growing market,” concludes Alexandre. “We have been fortunate enough to be able to invest in R&D during this period, and our belief is that we will emerge stronger with the best and latest technology as a result of that.” zz

Web: www.haslerrail.com

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SAUDI RAILWAYS ORGANIZATION

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All change As current operator of the Saudi Arabia rail network, Saudi Railways Organization is supporting the wealth of expansion projects taking place throughout the country

SRO New Trainsets

S

audi Railways Organization (SRO) operates a railway network of approximately 1800 kilometres which extends from Dammam on the east coast, to the capital Riyadh passing many key areas. Together the Eastern Province and Riyadh Province account for 40 per cent of the country’s population, as well as 50 per cent of the economic activity. The company’s trains carry more than 1.3 million passengers and 450,000 containers each year, which equates to more than 80 per cent of the containers directed to the Riyadh Province through Dammam Port.

Specific lines include the 449-kilometre railway for passengers connecting Riyadh to Dammam through Al-Ahsa and Abqaiq. This line is being doubled and expected to be in service by the end of the year. A second line of 556-kilometres runs from the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam to Riydah, passing

by Al-Ahsa, Abqaiq, Al-Kharj, Haradh, and Al-Tawdhihiyah. A tender study to double the fright line is ongoing and the project is expected to start by the end of the year.

Furthermore the network consists of 400 kilometres of auxiliary lines that branch from these main routes to connect industrial and agricultural areas, and military sites with export ports and residential areas. SRO’s ambition is

to ensure that together these lines create a network of world-class rail transport to support national development, including international connections.

Likewise the company is focused on delivering high quality services and continually developing its performance. Its success in these areas enhances SRO’s value as a whole, demonstrates the advantages of rail to the national economy, and facilitates the further expansion of the network across the country.

In particular, the Saudi Government, realising the value rail transport offers to the national development, has launched a number of initiatives to bring this vital service in line with the needs of the country. This includes major expansion projects to connect the western

and eastern regions, the northern and central parts of the country, and to link Saudi Arabia with the GCC countries. Another aspect of this strategy includes moving towards the privatisation of SRO and opening the door for national and foreign s First clas investments to bolster its ability to support ongoing development.

Currently SRO’s fleet consists of 68 diesel locomotives with 3500 horsepower and 75 passenger cars, which are split between the three different classes of passenger service. In addition, the cargo fleet numbers 2277 cars of different sizes and types, including 838 for double stacking of containers, 784 regular container cars, 47 flatbeds for transporting vehicles, 250 cement cars, 100 rocks cars and 135 grain hauling cars.

In addition to the provision of 33 2000horsepower locomotives for the cargo fleet, SRO plans to expand its passenger and goods transportation activity by about 60 per cent of its current level. This began at the end of 2012 when SRO put eight new sets of luxurious and fast trains in service, each consisting of two locomotives and five cars, which will add

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SAUDI RAILWAYS ORGANIZATION stage of SRO in early 1950s nd ou ar operation

SRO The se

a further 2000 seats to the current capacity with four more sets now under construction.

This reflects the expectation that the number of passengers and cargo will grow after the implementation of the current expansion projects and those now being planned.

At the end of 2010 SRO signed a six-month contract with the German International Co-operation (GIZ) to conduct the Saudi

Railway Master Plan (SMRP) for the period 2010 to 2040. The main objective for this was to put in place a conceptual framework for the long-term development of a future passenger and freight transport network for Saudi Arabia.

The development strategy incorporates the key findings of SANTRAPLAN3, the National Transportation Strategy (NTS) and other strategic planning documents.

days

Contained with the SMRP is a railway network model with a forecast of passenger and freight transport volumes as of 2040.

As such the main recommendations include gradual expansion of the core railway network, and integration of rail into multimodal transport chains to improve overall efficiency and reliability of the transport network.

The implementation of this includes the

CAF GROUP

Providing the latest state-of-the-art and cutting-edge transport technology solutions for SRO

l CAF Group, a global leader in railway technology, covers the design and manufacture of whole range of railway vehicles including driverless metro, catenary-less trams and very high speed trains ( 350kmh OARIS ) as well as global railway solutions through its specialized subsidiaries ; CAF Transport & Engineering / Turn Key and Systems Integration Solutions, CAF Signaling / Signalling and Power Control Systems, CAF Power / Traction Solutions, LANDER ( Simulation Systems), NEM / Intelligent Maintenance Management etc.

A reputed market leader at the forefront of technological development. CAF Group is committed in helping its clients to reach out and embrace new frontiers and reiterates its commitment to providing best-in-class rail mobility solutions for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and SRO. CAF Group, with a global presence on five continents and a presence in more than 40 countries, has worked to develop a sophisticated strategy for Saudi Arabia and the MENA region since its arrival in 2008.

The two contracts signed within 2008 and 2011 for the design, manufacture and supply of the most modern passenger trains for SRO up to 200km/h for the daily services on the Dammam - Line, had become a design icon that signifies the Kingdom’s commitment to developing state-of-the-art and cutting-edge transport solutions for Saudi people. They are based on close co-operation with CAF’s client SRO, with a permanent presence through its CAF Saudi branch that develops the most modern maintenance services for the whole fleet in Dammam and Riyadh on a daily basis.

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construction of 19 lines, at a total length of approximately 9900 kilometres. These are to be delivered in three stages of development, the first of which is goes through to 2025.

One such project is the double line upgrade of the existing two lines between Dammam and Riyadh. This will help reduce trip times for passengers. Work is also underway on the Haramain High Speed Railway ( 350km/h) project, which is intended to link the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah via Jeddah.

Approval has been granted for the planned Saudi Railway Landbridge between Riyadh and Jeddah, and Dammam and Jubail, therefore essentially linking the Red Sea to the Arabian Gulf. This will provide the capability to move large quantities of cargo over long distances, as well as comfortable overland passenger transport. It is forecast that by 2015 the number of traded containers transported by the Landbridge will be over 700,000, which is around eight million tonnes of cargo in total.

It is one of the largest projects to be executed in the region by the Saudi Government and will have a significant impact on the routes for transport in the region. The Landbridge is also considered to be one of the most important elements in the expansion programme due to the nature of the areas linked.

Another key project is the North-South Railway (NSR) or Saudi Railways Company (SAR), which is one of the largest railway projects currently under construction worldwide

by Public Investment Fund (PIF).

SRO as the leader with more than 50 years’ experience in the region, is playing a big role in those expansion projects through

Supco Canada Railway Supply Group Supco Canada Railway Supply Group, an AAR quality certified company, has a decade of extensive experience in design, manufacturing and supply of a wide variety of spare parts and assemblies to first-class international railways. Along with superior products to guarantee the best performance, SCRS has held an exemplary reputation in technical consultancy, maintenance program management services, turn-key maintenance and rebuilt programs, and rolling stock upgrade projects over the years.

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participation in almost all the technical issues from the tendering stage till the final execution. Moreover SRO management is offering its expertise in setting up the operation and maintenance regimes and training programmes for those railways that have already begun operating until they can undertake this themselves. The challenge for SRO is the training that is required to transfer this knowledge of operations and maintenance within the extreme sand/dust, hot, and humid climate of the region.

The plans for the rail network are not only limited to Saudi Arabia itself though.

There is also significant activity within the country surrounding the GCC rail project, which is scheduled to start from Kuwait linking into Dammam in Saudi Arabia, and onto Bahrain through a new proposed causeway. It will also join Dammam to Qatar through Salwa, and Qatar with Bahrain via the Qatar-Bahrain Causeway, as well as Saudi Arabia to the UAE through Al

zzzzzzzzzz Batha terminating in Oman across Sohar to Muscat. The total project covers a distance of approximately 2116 kilometres, 663 kilometres of which will be in Saudi Arabia. The GCC project is expected to have a direct positive impact on the economies, enhance mobility of goods between the involved countries, and freedom of movement of citizens, which will help advance regional investment to the benefit of all. zz

Web: www.saudirailways.org

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Publicly minded Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG is helping to improve the multi-modal and integrated nature of public transport in Dresden

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ne of the most important transport companies in the Dresden and Upper Elbe region, Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe AG (DVB) considers itself to be more than just an operator, but rather an integrated force for public transport. This means that as well as owning and operating the tramway infrastructure, and the light rail and bus vehicles, the company delivers product development, product production and marketing services.

“Product development takes place in a communicative planning process with the state capital city of Dresden as the

cockpit The tram river d e with th ystem s advisory y la p is d

responsible authority,” notes general manager Hans-Jürgen Credé. “The aim of this process is to combine the political requirements with the results of market research in order to harmonise customer expectations with the economic possibilities of the company.”

Passenger figures for DVB have increased by 12 million in the last decade to the current figure of 151 million passengers, and further growth is expected

with Dresden being a growing city with attractive job and tourism opportunities.

Whilst this trend is positive, Hans-Jürgen notes that there is more that DVB wants to do: “An important mid-term goal is to raise the modal split. At present public transport has 20 per cent of this, but we hope to bring this up to approximately 25 per cent. This is an ambitious goal though as improvement to the road and cycle networks mean private transport has also become more attractive.

“Nevertheless, the chances for public transport are very good as it is already clear that city development has increased its dynamic along well functioning public transport routes, and considerable settlements are taking place from the region into peri-urban areas. The necessary intermodal connection points between the regional train, regional bus, city train, tram, and bus system are already very well developed and offer attractive new

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constant alignment of the company with the customers’ needs while considering efficiency,” describes Hans-Jürgen. “This means a close meshed route network, a high frequency of services adjusted to customer demand, and delivery of the lowfloor systems in vehicles and at tram stops to improve accessibility.

“The basis for the high quality and

VEM

The environment and modern public transport – an excellent partnership connections,” he elaborates.

One answer to the growth of Dresden is the Stadtbahn 2020 or light-railrapid-transit 2020 project. The aim of the programme is to switch the highly frequented bus routes to city railway operation and therefore provide a greater

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supply of seats to customers, as well as better timetable stability. In addition, the expected operational concept will lead to greater savings in the area of buses and in the further improvement of the efficiency of the light-rail-transit.

“I see the strength of DVB being in the

VEM is an internationally active manufacturer of technically sophisticated drive solutions in Germany. It has been developing and producing rail traction machines for more than 100 years. Its product range contains highly efficient asynchronous traction motors for electrical or diesel-electrical locomotives, multiple units, trams and working vehicles. It supplements its range of products with main and auxiliary operating generators and their regulating systems. Beyond this, VEM also offers traction motors for hybrid and trolley buses for environmentally friendly local public transport.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz efficiency of our service is the consistent implementation of internal supplier and customer relations within product manufacturing. The key to our success is, however, the great willingness of our employees and partners to implicate changes in the course of successful urban development, as well as image cultivation and employee qualification. In addition, image and market cultivation, continuous product adjustment and customer loyalty management are important building blocks,” he continues.

DVB continues to invest in the modernisation of its business with a programme that has seen its 155-strong bus fleet fully transitioned to low-floor vehicles since 1999, and in the same way only low-floor vehicles operating on the scheduled tram service since 2010.

“From a short and mid-term perspective there are still investments to be made in improving the existing tram routes. Besides that we are implementing modern control technology at traffic lights in order to speed up the buses and trams and improve reliability of all travel chains,” explains Hans-Jürgen.

This is by way of a new control system developed at the Technical University of Dresden which makes it possible to switch free gaps at traffic lights for

Dynamic displays for the customer and comfortable interchanges between tram and bus public transport in such a way that the respective timetables or current needs are taken into account. Therefore a delayed tram would get clearance before one that is at the traffic light but ahead of schedule. In order to meet the free gap in the demand, the project includes a driver advisory system that also generates positive effects for energy efficient driving. This system will be implemented across the entire diameter of the NorthSouth axis.

“We’ve also completed the acquisition of 18 hybrid omnibuses, as long-term the renunciation of fossil fuels and

Interchange between suburban train tram and buses in Dresden-Dobritz

more intensive use of regenerative forms of energy will become necessary. The concept envisages between 20 and 25 per cent savings against conventional fuels by using recuperated energy and our fleet has almost reached these goals. The next step in electric mobility, as we see it, is the establishment of a district bus line operated by a 100 per cent electrically driven vehicle. This bus would have batteries as its storage medium and use the direct current infrastructure at the end of a route to recharge,” highlights Hans-Jürgen.

With Dresden already being a welldeveloped city in terms of public transport, the task now is to raise potential demand through a tight co-ordination of regional, city and traffic planning. “We aim to support the trend towards multi-modal mobility patterns by means of appropriate offers,” says Hans-Jürgen of DVB’s role.

“We have for many years been co-operating with local car sharing companies, and will soon be offering our regular customers access to a bike rental system.

“Likewise, city policy and its willingness to support DVB and the necessary investments financially will also have a substantial influence. This has so far been possible through the communal multi-utility network, which is the common leadership of transport and utility companies under the umbrella of a holding company. Upon this foundation, the sustainable development of the transport company is possible,” he concludes. zz

Web: www.dvbag.de www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Crown International

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Crowning glory Crown International’s innovative gantrymounted signal pole helps address many of the rail industry’s key concerns in safety and cost

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rown International was established in 1991 as a specialist designer and fabricator of road and rail infrastructure products,” begins managing director Mark Stacey. “Common to what we do is the desire to produce innovative solutions which solve problems to deliver the twin benefits of operational cost reduction and increased levels of safety for operatives and users.”

Working for highway authorities, and leading service and technology companies, Crown International’s mission is to design, develop and manufacture road and rail safety equipment to meet the need for secure, easily maintained installations in urban, rural and motorway locations. The company supplies into both UK and overseas markets, where it typically works with main contractors on larger projects such as Balfour Beatty, Serco, Costain and Carillion. However, it has also found that it has an ever-expanding set of contacts within consultancies such as Mouchel and Atkins.

With an in-house team of engineers, Crown International is able to ensure that its products are designed in a way that meets client specifications at an affordable price.

This is particularly important as designing an innovative product is one thing, but designing something that is able to be manufactured at a reasonable cost is another. The use of 3D engineering software and concept designs means that every part fits as it should, and creation of a prototype ensures that once Crown International enters the manufacturing stage any issues have been resolved.

Focusing on the rail market, Mark

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz outlines Crown International’s most recent development: “We designed and delivered a new gantry-mounted pole for signal systems.

This product allows the maintenance crews to access the signal head without having to step down to a platform placing them in proximity to the power cables. It also allows for very quick replacement of signal head equipment as all work can be carried out at normal working height from within the safe confines of the gantry.

“We have supplied over 400 of these gantrymounted counter-balanced signal poles to the West Coast mainline upgrade project, over a three year period ending in 2008. The contract was delivered in a series of phases and required us to design, type approve and then build a unique solution for the problem posed by moving to new gantries and the new power lines. Since this installation we have been providing spares and training to Network Rail and their staff, and working with some of the main contractors examining new product initiatives for deployment on new schemes,” he continues.

The unique properties of Crown International’s gantry system is based on its expertise in counter balance technology. This allows even heavy equipment to be operated by a single person to enable working at a safe height. Many companies can deliver improved safety or reduced costs, but Crown International offer the unique advantage of reducing cost to existing operations and significant reduction to safety risks for operatives. The knock-on effect is reduced maintenance times and improved service reliability.

The company has also been working on other product developments including enforcement equipment for a major safety initiative, which will begin pilot installation over the next few months. The expectation is that there will be a larger scale rollout in the years to follow. Having had success with a different signal pole gantry design on road projects, Crown International is now exploring the possibility of using this system on the rail network as well. This gantry has an advantage in that it can be rotated away from the track and then wound down by the trackside for essential maintenance to signs and signals.

Describing the challenges that the company finds when working in rail, Mark says: “Primarily it is about getting sufficient pre-knowledge of impending projects, and that as an SME we have to work with others to be able to be

considered for work. Clearly more needs to be done on implementing and making work the Government’s policy for opening up opportunities for SMEs. The other major challenge is that Network Rail’s organisation can cause delays and difficulties in the procurement process.

“Railside investment into major projects has, with the exception of Crossrail, not been significant over the last few years. We are seeing signs of improvement though, and alongside talk of big projects the smaller activities will continue although these provide less opportunities for our product set,” he continues.

Taking this into account, Crown International is continuing to look at expanding its product offering to appeal to a wider set of applications, and therefore opening up more of the market to the business. Having long been considered an expert in the field of safety equipment, both the road and rail side of the company seek ongoing profitable growth in order to maintain Crown International’s position as a leading player. zz Top of the enforcement unit

www.crown-international.co.uk Sigma Composites

...a local source... ...to a global capability...

CONTACT Graham Sprowell Technical Business Development Manager Sigma Composites Ltd 16 Top Angel Sterling Business Park Buckingham Ind Est Buckingham MK18 1TH

Tel: Tel: Fax: Email: Web:

01280-825591 (Direct) 01280-824498 (Switchboard) 01280-824408 gsprowell@sigmacomposites.co.uk www.sigmacomposites.co.uk

Sigma Composites specialise in the manufacture of high quality composite components and assemblies for select market sectors, including Rail, so our collaboration with Crown International to find a new & cost effective solution for a Camera Housing Cabinet for a safety improvement & enforcement project, was a perfect match. Our brief is to manufacture flame retardant assemblies to house the camera & operating hardware that are lightweight, strong, vandal proof and withstand all weather conditions.

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Volante Verkleidungssysteme

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Quality inside From top to bottom Volante Verkleidungssysteme GmbH is providing rail with quality interiors

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he company was first associated with interiors in 1983 when it operated as a woodwork and joinery business supplying hotels, health resorts, shops and restaurants. In 1995, the company moved into the rail sector providing simple highpressure laminate (HPL) plywood sandwich panels. Over time it was realised that although this market had special requirements, it also offered significant opportunities.

As such, in 1998 under the name Volante Verkleidungssysteme GmbH was established as a fully independent company by director and shareholder Erich Sperber. Located in Germany at the centre of Europe, the company has grown from 12 employees initially to 80 today. As of 2012 Volante Verkleidungssysteme achieved a turnover of over €9 million, with healthy growth prospects for 2013.

“Our main focus is the European rail interior market,” describes technical manager Dietmar Graml. “Our products are in trains across more than 20 countries. We deliver interior parts to many major manufacturers for new coaches, but also refurbishment projects. We also produce and deliver a wide range of spare parts for companies like Deutsche Bahn, ÖBB, and SBB. All types of vehicles are supplied from subways and trams to commuter and high-speed trains, as well as specific coach types such as dining cars and sleeping cars.”

Interior components that Volante Verkleidungssysteme specialises in include flooring, side wall panels, ceilings, partition walls, compartments, doors, driver back walls, cabinets, tables, restaurant benches, kitchens, counters, galleys, luggage racks, front wall panels, toilet panelling walls, washbasins and beds amongst others. This know-how

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Bistro bench and tables back walls with doors for the new Siemens trains being built for the Thameslink Programme. This includes meeting of fire protection requirements. Volante Verkleidungssysteme is also supplying numerous projects for the Stadler Group within Germany and Switzerland with side

wall panels, cabinets and toilet panelling. One prominent project for the coming years is the new ICx high-speed train for Deutsche Bahn, where Volante Verkleidungssysteme will deliver over 5000 cabinets, 14,000 components for front wall coverings and 130 break room walls with sliding doors.

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is reflected in the many detailed solutions the company has delivered over the years, numbering more than 580 large and small projects.

Even now the company is working on around 50 projects in parallel. This includes development of the driver’s compartments

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Working with all of these different components means Volante Verkleidungssysteme has developed significant expertise in production using different materials.

This broadly included wood, artificial fibres, glues and adhesives, and metals. With more than 4500 square metres of manufacturing facility, the company is able to undertake all steps from pre-fabrication including cutting, pressing and CNC technology, to product completion including final assembly.

Describing the typical manufacturing process Dietmar says: “We begin on the basis of system specification, and usually use a rough 3D model to develop the design. Here all the requirements

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Bench and direction lines are observed and verified using tests and laboratory certificates, including quality checks. Then we use the chosen materials to realise the design, often HPL and plywood laminated sandwich panels, which are milled on CNC machines, have edges cast or stuck on, and are assembled with the other components of the complete system.

Here we use our fully networked modern CNC machines. After passing the FAI we launch the series production and deliver just-in-time in synchronicity with our customer’s workflow.”

At all stages it is Volante Verkleidungssysteme’s objective to provide its customers with the highest quality. For this

purpose the company maintains a number of quality management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. It is also classified as a Q1 supplier for Deutsche Bahn, and holds many certificates for major standards such as DIN 6701-2 for gluing, DIN 15085-2 CL4 for welding, and DIN 5510 Part 2 and CEN 45545 for fire protection.

Increasingly Volante Verkleidungssysteme has recognised a trend within rail for manufacturers to expect suppliers to take over the complete development and delivery of comprehensive systems. This might mean ceiling panels including ventilation elements, lighting and speakers, or complete bistro

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz these demands: “Our strategy for the next few years is to expand our skills. A horizontal, and perhaps vertical, diversification is needed to achieve this in the form of new technologies, new materials and new solutions. Employees with a high level of training and academic education will be required, as well as a high proportion of skilled workers. Multidisciplinary project management is also necessary.

“The trend towards complete system suppliers has to be addressed, whilst retaining our core competencies. The joinery work from which we emerged and the wide range of materials used such as plywood, HPL, plastics, light building materials, foam, honey comp, artificial stone, glass, textiles, leather and steel components create perfect conditions for this.

We can develop and produce nearly all rail interior systems from the ground to the ceiling and supply them for when our clients need them,” he concludes. zz Luggage rack

Web: www.volante.de

facilities with benches, tables, bar, and counters.

“A great knowledge of subject areas is therefore necessary,” notes Dietmar. “We have collected a huge amount of experience and know-how from numerous past projects, which can be used for the contracts which follow. Growing demands on fire safety, reliability, durability and cost effectiveness pose major challenges for the future. The aim is to secure long-term project contracts with our customers, and use our specialist expertise in train experience to their benefit.”

With this in mind, Dietmar outlines how Volante Verkleidungssysteme plans to address

HAGN-Technische Elastomere GmbH HAGN-Technische Elastomere GmbH is a nearby Vienna domiciled company which is specialised in distribution of rubber-parts for all kinds of railway vehicles. The product range contains rubber profiles and frames, moulded parts, sponge rubber, rubber-metal-parts and components for the carriage connecting walkways. All products are available with fire behaviour according to DIN5510:2009, NF F 16-101, BS 6853 and EN45545:2013.

Due to primarily specialisation in manufacturers and operators of railcars it is possible to deliver small quantities and to practise a customer-oriented stock.

To assure the required level of quality standard the company established a quality management system according to ISO 9001 and IRIS.

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Centro

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How the Metro extension will look outside the rebuilt Birmingham New Street Station

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With a raft of works underway, Centro is bringing improvements to every part of the West Midlands’ public transport network

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s the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority, Centro is tasked with the promotion and development of ip sk Geoff In public transport CEO of Centro across the region.

Its aim is to transform public transport so that the people of the West Midlands have a world-class system provided by a bestin-class organisation.

One of the ways Centro is working to

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deliver this vision is through the extension of the Midland Metro tram route between Wolverhampton and Birmingham city centre. “This includes 21 new trams, which offer 34 per cent extra capacity as one of the biggest challenges we have with the existing system is that it is nearing capacity in terms of patronage,” describes CEO Geoff Inskip. “The first is to be delivered in October, and then one a month through to 2014. The trams will be operational on the line from late 2014, before being linked into

the new Birmingham New Street station in spring 2015.”

In anticipation of this Centro has adapted its other public services including the reconfiguration of all bus routes in Birmingham city centre. “We redesigned the network around five new hubs giving a family of services going out to different areas,” highlights Geoff. “We also put in new bus shelters, totems, and way-finding information, which we have won a number of awards for. The long-term benefits of the Metro extension include improved access, alleviation of overcrowding, greater reliability, and more frequent trams, as well as contributing to the increase in economic activity in the region. However, even at this stage the value is already being seen as we have been asked to extend the work even further to the new library in Centenary Square through a £40 million funding package from the city council.”

Through its partnership agreement with National Express, Centro is jointly investing over £80 million into the bus network in general to improve the passenger experience. Linked into this is work around real-time and up-to-date information through means such as mobile apps.

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Wolverhampton’s £22 million bus station was opened by Centro in July 2011 Working with Wolverhampton City Council and developers Neptune, Centro also put in a new bus station in the city, which has stimulated the need for greater investment into Wolverhampton, including from the private sector. As such the transport authority is now working with the council, Neptune and Network Rail on a second phase interchange with the Wolverhampton railway station. Stourbridge has also seen

a new bus station to replace its existing infrastructure.

With journeys being increasingly thought about in end-to-end terms, as opposed to a single transport element, Centro’s smartcard ticketing developments are an ideal fit. Known as ‘Swift’ the scheme builds on the integrated ticketing concept that the company already operates. Over the next 12 months Centro will add a

AECOM and Wolverhampton City Centre Extension Integrating street running trams into a well-developed urban area is always challenging. AECOM has been supporting Centro to meet the challenges through the provision of full design and consultation services to develop a 900m extension to the Midland Metro to properly integrate Wolverhampton’s city centre railway and bus stations. Our work in developing 3D visualisations has helped Centro, key stakeholders and the general public to see further and go further.

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range of area bus tickets to the card, starting with Coventry, before moving onto the tram and railway as well.

“All of these elements are part of an integrated public transport package,” notes Geoff. “We are also well on the way with our big commitment “Smart Network – Smarter Choices”, which is about enabling communities to make smarter and sustainable transport choices. Behavioural change is an important element of this, and we see a very good market in younger people who are very aware of the green agenda, and at the same time may not be able to afford a car so are very reliant on public transport.

“There has been something of a shift from car to rail, particularly for longer distance journeys where the issues of congestion, fuel and running costs, and economic austerity come into play for the car owner. For shorter distances we are seeing more people choosing to walk or cycle, which is very positive but also growth on the bus corridors. This is

especially in areas where we have carried out reviews with operators to look at how services can be provided in a more modern, simple, and better way,” he continues.

Longer-term, the proposed High Speed Two (HS2) link remains a focal point as Geoff explains: “High speed rail is key for the West Midlands because of three things; capacity, capacity, capacity. Local commuter services are growing by 14 per cent a year, whilst inter-city connections such as Manchester, Leeds and London are equally busy. Then there is also freight, so high speed presents benefits for all three of these markets by freeing up existing capacity.

“As such a lot of our planning in the coming years will feature around this development, and putting in place the necessary local rail package in the region.

Together with our wider connectivity package, including Metro extensions, we believe this will help to boost the West Midlands economy by £4 billion a year and

create 50,000 new jobs. In this way we are also focusing our agenda on helping people to take advantage of these new jobs by ensuring they have the transport means to get to them. This also requires a lot of strategic planning,” he elaborates.

For passengers across the West Midlands’ public transport provision, Centro’s plans look to have a positive impact. The authority hopes though that a proposed devolution in responsibility for rail could allow it to do even more.

“In 2013 we are focusing on preparing a proposal for this which we can put into government and identifies the benefits for them, passengers and the local area of having a devolved railway. If this is successful we would see responsibility for the railway devolved directly to Centro which would allow us to specify local services with a greater accountability for the operation of these,” concludes Geoff. zz

Web: www.centro.org.uk

l Transport bosses have invited the public and business community to give their views on £31 million plans to extend the Midland Metro in Birmingham city centre. The proposals from transport authority Centro would see the tram system travel through Paradise Circus and up to Centenary Square to help improve transport links and support economic regeneration taking place in the area.

Work is currently underway to extend the system to connect the city’s two largest railway stations, New Street and Snow Hill, and beyond to the historic Jewellery Quarter and the Black Country by 2015.

The proposals, drawn up in partnership with Birmingham City Council, would build on the work taking place to provide further connections to key venues like the ICC, Symphony Hall and Birmingham Museum and Art Galleries.

Trams would run from the new stop on Stephenson Street outside New Street Station, before travelling along Pinfold Street, Victoria Square, Paradise Street and Broad Street before terminating at

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Centro

Proposals for Birmingham tram extension

Metro Town Hall: The Midland Metro at a stop outside Birmingham Town Hall which would be created under the proposals Centenary Square.

New stops would be created at the Town Hall and Centenary Square.

Centro has already received approval to integrate the system with the Paradise Circus redevelopment but are proposing to slightly amend the route to eliminate the need to build a bridge over the Suffolk

Street Queensway tunnels.

Centro aims to submit before the end of this year an application to the Government for a supplementary Transport and Works Act Order which would grant the legal powers needed to build and operate the extension. If granted, work could start in 2015 and be open for public use in 2017.

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Steaming ahead London Underground, AP JNP (Asset Performance Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly), is a business area within London Underground (LU) with a proven track record.

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riginally Tube Lines but now part of LU – it is responsible for the maintenance, renewal and upgrade on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. Over 500 million passenger journeys are made every year on these lines and they play a key role operating part of London’s frenetic transport infrastructure. The Jubilee line was critical in meeting the challenges of the 2012 London Olympics and all lines now face the demands of the capital’s growth as reliance on the city’s transport network is increasingly stretched.

Transport, and in particular the Tube, were vital to the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Games required years of preparation to ensure that the capital’s transport network would be ready for the inevitable influx of passengers during the event. There have been multi-million pound programmes to upgrade and improve the assets. This included the completion of a flagship project upgrading the Jubilee line signalling system to ensure that the network was able to cope with the 60 million journeys

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that were made during the 17-day Olympic period. This equated to a 100 per cent increase in passenger journeys.

As well as major track and infrastructure development, 36,000 components on the current fleet of 63 Jubilee line trains were renewed to make them even more reliable.

This massive piece of work meant that for

every day of the Games it was able to turn out 100 per cent of its fleet to meet the demand.

Following the formidable success of the Games, which saw LU praised by high profile politicians including the Mayor of London and Games’ chief, Lord Coe, LU established a review to decide how best to continue the legacy of the games.

Stewart Mills, director of operations for Asset Performance JNP at London Underground explained: “Our job is to deliver improvements and investments in asset performance and maintenance for London Underground. The Olympics was a hiatus from the norm and LU – and indeed the whole of Transport for London (TfL) – quite rightly has been given a lot of confidence and kudos by demonstrating what could be achieved with an integrated transport system approach.

“TfL’s integrated structure means that it is able to clear many of the barriers that would normally hinder attempts to complete improvements. Activity to support spending reviews and funding allocation, for example, can now be managed much more effectively as the business strives for greater efficiency in its upgrade projects. This is a vital step for London

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Underground as it takes on the increasing challenges faced by an ever growing city like London.”

Stewart elaborates: “We have an obligation with the Mayor of London to achieve a 30 per cent improvement in reliability across the Tube network by 2015. It is what we are driving towards – providing a safe, reliable service in a cost effective way. It is what our customers demand of us and what London needs us to deliver.”

Upgrades to the Jubilee and Northern lines have been vital to London’s thriving economic success. Currently, London Underground continues with a £392m modernisation of the Northern line, which will be completed by the end of 2014. Modernisation started with the Jubilee line,” explains Stewart. “It was about improving capacity and reliability and we have successfully continued to do this. We are providing a service of 30 trains an hour which has increased capacity by 33 per cent.

“The Northern line’s upgrade involves the same new signalling system plus, later, a proposed extension to Battersea, which will

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London Underground AP-JNP

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open up greater access to this part of the capital. The line represents a different challenge from that experienced on the Jubilee line as it is made up of older infrastructure and has twice as many complex junctions, depots and sidings. However, the AP JNP team in LU has maximised the efficiency of its works by utilising lessons learnt from the Jubilee line upgrade.”

As the UK’s capital city continues to grow, continuing investment in infrastructure and services will remain critical to London in the coming years. “We have the oldest Underground metro in the world and we are working with a system which is 150 years old in some parts.” says Stewart. “The continual drive to improve the way we work, coupled with the investment and upgrade work is allowing us to achieve some really excellent results.” zz

Web: www.tfl.gov.uk

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FOURWAY COMMUNICATION

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CIS installation on custom gallows

The rightway With its vast experience, Fourway Communication keeps its clients’ railway telecommunications on the right track

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eginning its foray into engineering in 1949, today the greatest proportion of Fourway’s business is in the rail industry through its subsidiary Fourway Communication. In this capacity Fourway delivers turnkey telecommunication, and technical engineering management and support projects, either as a principal contractor or subcontractor, to rail clients throughout the UK from Network Rail, London Underground and Transport for London through to train operating companies and contractors.

Fourway Communication’s early involvement in the industry means that the company has been able to develop an offering that covers all elements of telecoms from retail SISS communications to trackside operational infrastructure. This allows it to deliver a complete package including CCTV, customer information, cable diversion, public address systems, line side telephony, track structure

gauges, radio systems, and passenger help points, and most importantly to apply these technologies in the context of an operational railway.

Outlining those strengths, speaking previously to Railway Strategies projects director Charles Codrington said: “We have developed a diverse range of multi-discipline skills, coupled with the ability to get right down to the detail of a project. As a company we are about 50 per cent consultancy and design based, and 50 per cent design and build so we can offer a true turnkey solution.

We are really looking to capitalise upon this, particularly in the field of design as we believe that the level of detail that we can offer the client far exceeds the industry norm. By laying this detail down at the beginning of a project we can ensure that there are no unexpected surprises further along.” The company also stands at the forefront of new technologies which are being introduced to the rail sector, or

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being looked at by its major participants. In this way, Fourway Communication has delivered a number of innovative firsts such as specialist CCTV modelling software, and championed developments such as intelligent speakers in station and IP cameras.

Whilst telecoms are usually the major element of such contracts, Fourway Communication is also able to incorporate structural, civil, mechanical, electrical and

Tegrel Tegrel are a UK-based specialist design and manufacture organisation for metal fabrications.

We have worked closely with Fourways Communications amongst other parties, on a number of high profile rail projects including King’s Cross, Reading, Paddington, and St Pancras. These projects included providing aesthetically pleasing brackets, enclosures, CCTV housings, and Help Points, which fit the environment. Tegrel are proud to be associated with Fourway Communications, one of the UK’s leading providers of communication solutions.

New ticket hall Farringdon

signalling work. Likewise the design and build telecoms capability is offered in any size of contract from minor works to large system integration schemes, often in partnership with other contractors, or as individual components including consultancy, design-only and installation-only contracts.

Like all parts of Fourway Communication’s business, design is approached in a structured manner with a high-level system proposal initially produced to identify proposed manufacturers’ products and the means of integration. At the same time system

Specialist design and manufacture organisation for metal fabrications

Tel: 01914146111 Fax: 01914140660 E-Mail: sales@tegrel.co.uk Web: www.tegrel.co.uk

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Tegrel Limited Tundry Way, Blaydon-on-Tyne, NE21 5TT

performance is established in terms of functionality, availability, maintainability and installation, and design risk assessments included at an early stage.

Such an approach benefits the site teams at the installation phase and the company’s planning credentials continue to be drawn upon to ensure tasks are completed safely and on time in accordance with railway procedures.

Site management teams are specially selected for each project to monitor and control site activity, whilst highly skilled operatives deliver the works themselves.

Building on a concept pioneered on the Farringdon station project, Fourway Communication has also launched a new engineering support services division. This sees the company work to assist the client in the management of all third-party system providers, users, operators and stakeholders on a project.

This not only encompasses telecoms, but other rail systems such as signalling and general utilities as one central point of management.

Over the years Fourway Communication has contributed to many landmark projects within the rail industry. This includes most recently the complete design and build of the stationwide telecoms for the Reading Station Area Redevelopment project including the provision of a full Station Management System (SMS).

The company has also worked on the King’s Cross redevelopment project first as a principal designer of the telecoms solution, including the complex temporary and migration arrangements, and then as a sub contractor for the delivery of the permanent works. Fourway Communication is currently delivering the m&e and comms works for the final phase of the King’s Cross redevelopment project as part of the Southern Square package. In addition, Fourway Communication has lent its expertise to the telecoms systems at Manchester Piccadilly station and Birmingham New Street station.

“Migration design has become a key part of many station refurbishment projects because of

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the need to keep the site operational,” Charles also noted when speaking previously with Railway Strategies. “This quite often requires a process of migration where central parts of the telecoms are moved around the station, so we strive to work with our clients early to map out these processes piece by piece.”

One of the things that Fourway Communication prides itself on is value engineering and finding savings for its clients whether that is from a technology or efficiency perspective. It remains the case though that technologies continue to progress and improve, and therefore a large proportion of work is about updating and replacing such life-expired systems. The company is also responding to the growing realisation of the importance of good and effective telecoms within the rail industry. As such, Fourway Communication is tendering for a number of major contracts throughout the UK, as it gears up for what looks to be a very busy 2014. zz The new King’s Cross western concourse

Web: www.fourway.co.uk

Melford Manufacturers of Flat Panel LCD Monitors for Harsh Environments Melford Rail has monitors installed across the rail network in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Every product created by Melford Rail is environmentally tested on site prior to despatch.

Melford is a Link-Up qualified supplier Melford Rail is able to support legacy systems by offering reprogramming and customisation of standard products without the need for an external legacy converter unit.

Melford Rail offers a variety of standard monitors which are fully approved by Network Rail and the London underground (Section 12) for Driver Only Operation (DOO), One Person Operation (OPO) and Public Awareness (PAM) applications.

Melford Electronics Ltd Unit 14 Blenheim Road Cressex Business Park High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP12 3RS UK

Tel: +44 1494 638069 Fax: +44 1494 463358 e-mail: info@melford-elec.co.uk Company reg number: 968851 VAT number: 207831277

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Iarnród Éireann

A new track

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Under the guidance of a new CEO Iarnród Éireann looks to both reduce costs and increase revenue in its operations O

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David Fra

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s the national railway system operator of Ireland, Iarnród Éireann or Irish Rail, provides passenger and freight services over 2500 kilometres of track. The passenger operations break down into three key sectors of commuter transport around Dublin including the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) system, an intercity service connecting key destination such as Belfast, Cork, Galway and Limerick, and some regional routes. In addition, operation of Rosslare Europort sits within Iarnród Éireann.

Although serving around 38 million passengers per annum at present, there is an underlying desire within Iarnród Éireann to grow these numbers, and with this the revenue figures. Having taken up the role of CEO at the beginning of the year, it is down to David Franks to deliver the changes necessary to achieve this as he explains: “One of my first tasks was to complete the restructuring of the business to an infrastructure manager and railway undertaking in compliance with EU directives.

“Both of these parts in turn report through to me so it is a much more integrated business model than the likes of the franchises and Network Rail in the UK. The other thing that I recognised was the enormous cost pressure that the business was under as a result of the austerity that has been felt in Ireland as with some other European countries. As a public sector company we are reliant on subsidies, and one of the big issues has been a huge reduction in the level that is available to the railway,” he continues.

Having faced a focus on cost control throughout his career, David was fairly confident of his ability to put in place arrangements that could deliver the cost reductions that were needed. “The other thing I observed is that there was a lot of emphasis on costs, but not on growing the revenue so one of the things I was keen to do was get people thinking about how we can grow that line. As part of that I am focusing on measures such as

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revenue protection,” he describes.

“We are investing around €13 million in our ‘customer first’ programme, which is to put in place a revenue management system, new pricing engine, replace ticket machines and handheld devices, develop a CRM capability, and link it all to our reservation system on the trains. It’s a real upgrade of our technology, which will give us the capability that has been in place for some years in the UK.” Iarnród Éireann already benefits from one of the youngest fleets in Europe, and the only one that has WiFi on every train, so the business is now looking to maximise the benefits of that. This is particularly in terms of attracting customers onto the train from their car. “Over the last five or six years there has been significant improvement in the motorways of Ireland, and we’ve not be able to invest in the intercity routes to enable us to maintain an advantage on journey times,” notes David.

“This is an area we are focusing on in our five year plan to try and enable us to operate our service more quickly between key destinations.

That’s where the customer first programme really kicks in because if we can balance the loads on our trains then we can also price more effectively.”

Another aspect of this strategy is the introduction of additional frequency on a number of routes. In January Iarnród Éireann introduced a new timetable to speed up journeys to some key destinations such as Cork, and is now putting plans in place to plug gaps on major routes to generate more journeys including moving to more hourly services.

“We are currently spending between €50 million and €60 million on replacement of the signalling equipment in Dublin, which will increase the opportunities to run more trains through the city centre. Clearly this offers potential advantages to the commuter network, but the same routes are also used for the trains that go through to Belfast. A major objective of mine is to get to an hourly frequency for trains between Dublin and Belfast and the investment in resignalling is a key component of that,” elaborates David.

It’s not only in the passenger sector where Iarnród Éireann is looking to grow its figures though. Although freight makes up a relatively small amount of the business, the company sees the scope to increase this and to encourage more businesses to shift to rail. “In the years prior to the banking crisis large amounts of investment were placed in

Robert Pritchard

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz things like modernising level crossings and centralisation of signalling,” notes David.

“Likewise the ability for us to operate longer and into the night in a cost-effective way is there now where it perhaps wasn’t in the past.

This means we are in a very good position to grow our freight operations, and again deliver more revenue to the business.”

With a strong operational capability and good performance results, Iarnród Éireann bears all the hallmarks of an effective rail business, and now looks to leverage the benefits of its modern fleet and renewed infrastructure to improve profitability. “The other aspect of my forward plan is a cultural change programme,” concludes David. “Having spent time in both the public and private sectors I want our thinking to move away from considering ourselves as a public service and more towards delivering to the customer.

This is a fairly significant shift, but one that is important going forward.” zz

Web: www.irishrail.ie

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zz NEWS I Conferences & Exhibitions zzzzzzzzzzz This listing represents a selection of the events about which we have been notified. It is strongly recommended that direct contact should be made with the individual organiser responsible for each event before booking places or making travel and accommodation reservations. Cancellations and other last-minute alterations are liable to occur. The editor and publishers of RAILWAY STRATEGIES are not responsible for any loss or inconvenience suffered by readers in connection with this guide to events.

30 September – 2 October – European Transport Conference 2013 Frankfurt Organisers: Association of European Transport Tel: 020 7348 1970 Email: info@aetransport.org Web: www.aetransport.org

6 November – Vehicle re-engineering – matching performance to today’s railway Derby Organisers: IMechE Tel: +44 (0)20 7973 1245 Email: s_clayton@imeche.org Web: www.imeche.org/events/S1753

8-10 October – Intermodal Europe 2013 Hamburg Organisers: Informa Exhibitions Tel: +44 (0)207 017 5112 Email: sophie.ahmed@informa.com Web: www.intermodal-events.com

12 November – Life Cycle Management Frankfurt Organisers: Europoint Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 698 1800 Email: conferences@europoint.eu Web: www.lifecycleconference.eu

9 October – Rail in the city: the capacity challenge Birmingham Organisers: IMechE Tel: +44 (0)20 7973 1245 Email: s_clayton@imeche.org Web: www.imeche.org/events/S1750

13 November – Track Access Charges 2013 Frankfurt Organisers: Europoint Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 698 1800 Email: conferences@europoint.eu Web: www.trackaccesscharges.eu

14 November – Wayside Train Monitoring Systems Frankfurt Organisers: Europoint Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 698 1800 Email: conferences@europoint.eu Web: www.waysidemonitoring.eu 20-22 May 2014 – Infrarail 2014 London Organisers: Mack Brooks Tel: 01727 814 400 Web: www.infrarail.com 23-26 September 2014 – InnoTrans 2014 Berlin Organisers: Messe Berlin GmbH Tel: +49 (0)30 30 38 - 2376 Email: innotrans@messe-berlin.de Web: www.innotrans.com

Institute of Mechanical Engineers Training Courses Technical training for the railway industry A listing of courses currently available from the IMechE (Unless stated otherwise, all courses are in London) 1st October Introduction to rolling stock Key design principles affecting the performance of railway systems 2nd October Traction & braking Principles of traction and braking for railway engineers 15th October Vehicle dynamics and vehicle track interaction Understand the dynamics of railway vehicles to improve safety, comfort and asset life 16th October Fleet maintenance Improve your processes and fleet maintenance processes 17th October Vehicle acceptance and approvals Introduction to acceptance procedures which apply across the rail network

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11th – 15th November Introduction to railway signalling technologies An overview of railway control systems, subsystems and technologies used on UK main line and metro railways

27th November Optimising fleet maintenance efficiency Understand the issues affecting rail vehicle performance and cost of maintenance.

19th November Train control and safety systems Learn of the systems used on UK fleets that provide safety and train operational control

A downloadable brochure is available at: www.imeche.org/docs/default-source/ learning-and-professional-developmentdocuments/l_d_railway_training_web. pdf?sfvrsn=2

20th November Train communication and auxiliary systems New and existing systems in use on today’s rolling stock fleet

For more information, please contact Lucy O’Sullivan, learning and development co-ordinator: Tel: +44 (0)20 7304 6907 Email: training@imeche.org Web: www.imeche.org/learning/courses/ railway

26th November Train structural integrity Structural integrity, fire and crashworthiness systems found on today’s rail fleets

RAILWAY FOR SENIOR RAIL MANAGEMENT

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Schofield Publishing 10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU

T: +44 (0) 1603 274130 F: +44 (0) 1603 274131 Editor Martin Collier

editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Sales Manager Rob Wagner

rwagner@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

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