Railway Strategies Issue 112 Final Edition

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

Final Issue 112

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New fleet makes earlySeedebut page 7

Interview: Adrian Terry

A new way of thinking FOCUS ON

Security

NEWS

FOCUS ON

Rolling Stock

Birmingham & Doncaster to host new High Speed Rail College Abellio wins the ScotRail franchise New ÂŁ2.5m research programme to improve cyber-security

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Chairman Andrew Schofield Managing Director Mike Tulloch Editor Gay Sutton editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Managing Editor Libbie Hammond Editorial Designer Jon Mee Advertisement Designer David Howard Profile Editor Libbie Hammond Advertisement Sales Dave King Head of Research Philip Monument Editorial Researchers Keith Hope Gavin Watson Tarj Kaur-D’Silva Mark Cowles Administration Tracy Chynoweth

From the Editor

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Thinking outside the box

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hat is innovation? It’s a question I’ve asked many times during my career. And I can distil the many different replies into one characteristic: it’s an attitude of mind that is constantly looking

at the normal things in life, spotting the difficult or awkward and realising there is a problem to solve.

For many of us, the natural response to irritation or difficulty is to work around it. Eventually we no longer notice there was a problem. The true secret to innovation is therefore the gift of being able to look at the mundane with fresh eyes and recognise an issue that can be eradicated by better design or an engineered solution.

At Railway Strategies we frequently feature new innovations and ideas, and the continued introduction of smart ticketing and its latest extension, contactless payment, are both examined in this issue.

Of course innovation always involves a element of risk, the extent of which depends on many factors. Of great concern, particularly for smaller companies, are the risks attached to collaborative innovation, sharing your ideas with other companies, organisations or individuals. If that is a worry for you, turn to page nine, where Russell Edson outlines a few simple steps that can enable collaborative innovators to protect their IP and business interests.

We are always keen to hear from our readers. If you have any comments, or would like us to tackle a particular subject in the upcoming months, please contact me at: editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk

Railway Strategies by email Issue 112 ISSN 1467-0395 Published by

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Features

Interview - Adrian Terry 4 Enormous challenges face the UK rail sector. We hear how Network Rail is responding by training its engineers to cut bureaucracy and think strategically - Gay Sutton Ideas sharing - good or bad? 9 Collaborative innovation can work well if some simple steps are taken to protect IP and business interests - Russell Edson, patent attorney A goal-den opportunity? 10 As Qatar constructs a railway network for the 2022 World Cup, opportunities abound for UK contractors and subcontractors Darren Fodey, lawyer Clamping down on ‘walking out’? 13 Tough new strike laws are on the cards after the next election.

What are the implications for the rail industry? - Mandy Higgins

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Harming the Welsh economy 23 Arguments over who will pay for the electrification of the Valleys railway is threatening to delay the mainline upgrade - Richard Selby Bringing speed to the rail network 27 Contactless payment systems are beginning to make an impact on the transport ticketing process. We review the potential - Chris Davies

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Coiled for performance 28 How the manufacture and maintenance of HV coils affects long term performance of generators and motors - Richard Emery Customer satisfaction 31 The role the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) is likely to play in the new rail franchising process - Farah Al-Hassani

The right people in the right place 32 Frontline staff play a crucial role in safety on the railways. Much can be gained by understanding and managing performance - Mary Clarke

Profiles Atkins Rail 54 Powernet Oy 60 Centro 63 Tenmat 68 Wildside 71 TPG 74 Datum 76 Thermit Welding (GB)Ltd 78 Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) 80 Touax Rail 85 Unipart Rail 88 Murphy Group 90

Joined up journeys 34 If rail is to become the transport of choice then passenger journeys have to be a satisfying experience from start to finish - David Watts

Flood management at Didcot 36 Didcot Parkway’s vulnerability to flooding was a critical element in its re-design. We see how the issue was addressed - Gary Morton Engineered to last 44 Using the latest anti-corrosion products across the rail network to provide engineered protection with minimum disruption - Chris Lloyd

Light at the end of the tunnel 48 Leaky feeder technology and why it looks set to make a return, providing rail communications underground - Mark Weller The smarter investment 50 As Government pushes for all local transport to be ITSO compliant, we review the progress and future of smart ticketing - Russell McCullagh Tackling an invisible problem 52 How the rail industry is helping India’s railway children escape the dangers of life by the tracks

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Industry 7, 8, 18 Stations 20 Skills 26 Infrastructure 30,42 Appointments 41 Rail Alliance 47 Conferences & Exhibitions 96

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Focus on Rolling Stock Reducing the cost of wheel maintenance 14 The latest from Huddersfield University on research into extending wheelset life Dr Adam Bevan and Paul Molyneux-Berry

Focus on Security Threat detection and recognition 17 What the EU backed ARENA project could do to improve cost effective security on the railways - Dr Maria Andersson Intelligent monitoring 19 How video analytic technology is being harnessed to protect the safety and security of rail passengers and assets - Steve Orr

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Tomorrow’s technology today 21 The latest trials report from the SECUR-ED consortium, working to develop a security platform for Europe’s railways - Udi Segall Eyes in the cloud 24 How the shortcomings of traditional CCTV systems can be addressed by moving some of the workload into the cloud - James Wickes

Focus on Asset Management

A sense of wellbeing 38 Sensors are powering the next generation of structural health monitoring - detecting faults and causes well ahead of failure - Mike Baker Combating cable theft 43 How cable theft is being tackled on the French railways engineers remotely locate breaks in wiring as they occur - Arnaud Peltier

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INTERVIEW I Adrian Terry

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Adrian Terry, head of sales and business development capability, Thales Learning & Development

A new way of thinking

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ith billions of pounds of precious public funding being pumped into the rail infrastructure under CP5, a remit to create a rail network that is truly fit for the future but to build, maintain and manage it at a reduced cost, Britain’s railways face an enormous challenge. Moreover, the industry is striving to fulfil its duty to improve safety for its engineers as well as the public, which can be an expensive exercise. So how is Network Rail attempting to square this circle?

The starting point “Network Rail has always been very successful at planning, commissioning and delivering individual projects,” explained Adrian Terry, head of sales and business development capability at Thales Learning & Development. “If a bridge, stretch of track, or signals needed repair or replacement for example, the work would be carried out very efficiently.”

But this type of work essentially retains the status quo, and does not create a network suitable for the future.

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ADRIAN TERRY, head of sales and business development capability at Thales Learning & Development explains to Gay Sutton how Network Rail is training its engineers to cut bureaucracy and think strategically

Major infrastructure new builds such as HS2 and Crossrail are at different stages of development and construction, while the industry is in the throes of implementing a great deal of innovation. There is, for example, the move away from traditional signalling to regional operating centres with associated new technology being installed both lineside and on board the trains, and a whole raft of other innovations are in development.

To achieve all of this effectively, Network Rail believes that change is required. “The challenge,” Adrian said, “is to move away from the traditional planned maintenance approach, and take into account the overall architecture of the railway. That means adopting a strategic customer, risk and needs driven approach – a very different mindset.”

Scale of the challenge Thales has undertaken some research at both the executive and senior engineering levels at Network Rail, comparing and contrasting the two communities and their attitudes to change. The results were

Innovations are being sought to improve ticketing and gatelines

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz At executive level there is a hunger to drive change, challenge existing working practices and remove many of the strictures that they feel have been encumbering the past

Adrian explained, it’s ‘human engineering’. “And that is where we’ve started,” he said.

The wider picture The bulk of Network Rail is staffed by highly skilled and qualified engineers, trained to design and develop effective solutions and make significant decisions on technical issues. “One of the things they haven’t been so good at doing is working across silos,” Adrian continued.

In this fast changing modern world, collaboration across the various engineering disciplines, across the rail operating companies, with suppliers and with other external groups is going to be absolutely essential if this massive investment in infrastructure is to be cost effective, satisfy all stakeholders, and meet the strategic and future needs of the country.

Difficulties inevitably arise across any of these disparate groups. For example, a stakeholder group may be opposed to the proposed project, such as the construction of a level crossing. The programme engineer has to interpret all the arguments and make decisions that will be in the best interests of the travelling public and the rail infrastructure for the future, all within a rapidly changing environment.

“We have been working with those engineering groups to help them look beyond their immediate project boundary and seriously consider not only how the project can be successful but more importantly how it fulfils the needs of the various stakeholders, integrates with the wider system and is good for the future.”

The matter of standards not surprising. At executive level there is a hunger to drive change, challenge existing working practices and remove many of the strictures that they feel have been encumbering the past. At engineering level, the existing structure provides clear guidelines and instructions that give the engineers confidence in the decisions they’re making and the work they’re doing.

“What we are now trying to do is help the engineering community understand they can respond differently to a changing environment and to encourage their leadership to be more structured in their approach to the change process, communicating their intentions and purpose and putting support mechanics and structure in place. Improved understanding and awareness of their fundamentally differing styles to change provides insight that usefully guides action.”

Working with senior engineering managers at Network Rail, Adrian and his team have been focusing on several key areas where gaining this insight provides a different way of thinking to deliver greatly improved performance. This is certainly not simply an engineering challenge,

At each level in the project design and specification process, the idea is to challenge and debate the core assumptions within the project and across the project boundary, ensuring each team doesn’t simply create hugely detailed specifications based on past projects but is driven by clarity of needs and the whole rail system. It sounds simple; in practice it is anything but.

“The rail industry currently works on the basis of very detailed specifications,” Adrian explained. Many of these are legacy standards that refer to the way railways have always been designed and built. “In order to solve some of the more difficult and complex problems we need to push back on some of the detailed specifications, and focus on the purpose and needs of the infrastructure project, release the creativity of the team and focus on delivery of a Total Value solution.”

One element of this is to cut right back on number of standards that are adhered to for the work, to create some operating space in which to consider the full complexities of the job. Adrian has been encouraging Network Rail engineers to challenge the assumptions they’ve been

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INTERVIEW I Adrian Terry

making, to review the standards they apply to each project and only retain those that are still relevant.

The challenge going forward, however, will be to adopt a truly purposeful approach to continue honing the standards and requirements rather than allow them to build up again and revert to a rigid framework.

Systems approach Another element in developing a new mindset is to introduce the tools of the Systems approach. “There is never one single correct approach,” Adrian continued. “So we have been developing a range of tools, and focusing on developing a robust new problem solving structure.” One of the first steps in this highly complex environment is to establish the core principles for each project, to ensure they are valid and grounded. Then to choose the most appropriate tools with clarity and confidence, rather than going by rote through an established methodology.

“One of the exercises we take them through is simple but demonstrates the problem. We ask each person around the table which criteria they would use when deciding which car to buy. The replies are typically diverse – colour, sports car, saloon car, estate car, engine power, speed, carbon emissions, and so on. Each person would make a different decision. We could have a lengthy debate about the relative merits of the cars, but what we’d really be doing is debating from very different perspectives. To gain a consensus of the car that is the best fit for them all, we would have to establish the criteria we will

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be using and then rate them according to their importance to all of us.

Then we would select and run a simple decision making tool that takes into account everybody’s views. This results in a better decision.”

During the GRIP process, for example, (GRIP is Network Rail’s management and control process for delivering infrastructure projects) this structured approach to meetings will be far more likely to lead to sound decisions and an outcome that does not allow conflicts or problems to continue undetected, only to surface at a later date.

“It can be both liberating and challenging,” Adrian said. “By introducing this systems approach and releasing creativity by clarifying purpose we release the engineering talent for problem solving. In other words, how do we solve this problem most effectively, most cheaply and most quickly?”

In practice the engineering managers are being encouraged to challenge and debate the core assumptions of the project at every stage, to be sure it meets the needs of all stakeholders. This puts a completely new set of responsibilities, analysis and strategic thinking onto the engineering community which has previously focused purely on technology and mathematics.

Conclusion “In a nutshell, what Network Rail is striving to do is release the creativity of their people in a way that produces purposeful rigorous outcomes. If they can do that, by moving away from rigid process, methods and tools towards principles, guidelines and structured thinking, then they stand a good chance of success.” zz

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NEWS I Industry

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In FACT 350 tonnes A 350 tonne temporary road bridge has been installed over the Great Western Main Line at Thorney Lane, Iver, ahead of the demolition of the current bridge.

A new replacement will be built to accommodate the overhead electric cables for electrification of the line.

h2% Rail travel is still on the increase.

The number of passenger journeys nationwide reached 393.9 million in 2014-15 Q1, a 2% increase over the 393.4 recorded in the same quarter last year, according to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

£15 million £62 million train fleet begins service ahead of schedule l The first tranche of a new fleet of 10 electric trains destined for the London Midland network, connecting London and the North West, began operating on Monday 6 October more than two months ahead of schedule.

The £62 million fleet provided by Siemens and Angel Trains, had been due to come into service from December. The extra carriages will be running on selected morning and evening peak services between London Euston, Northampton, Bletchley and Tring. The remaining trains are due to be introduced on London Midland’s services ready for the new winter timetable in December.

The fleet of 10 Siemens Class 350/3 Desiro trains are among the most reliable in the UK and include plug sockets in standard class, along with more on-board litter bins and twoplus-two seating. They will be maintained by Siemens at its depot in Northampton, and will be leased to London Midland by Angel Trains.

ScotRail franchise to go to Dutch group Abellio lTransport Scotland has announced that Dutch passenger transport group Abellio has been awarded the franchise to run ScotRail from 1 April 2015 for seven years, with an option to extend to 10.

Abellio’s plans for the ScotRail franchise include the introduction of new trains between Glasgow and Edinburgh as part of the EGIP project, upgraded intercity services, better connectivity and journey times, innovative new fares, major station investments at Aberdeen, Inverness, Perth and Stirling, a £1m community rail programme, and an employee gain share scheme.

The DfT has made a further £15m available for 2015-16 to improve cycle facilities at railway stations.

This funding will be allocated to train operating companies via the Cycle Rail Working Group to improve integration between cycle and rail.

8%i Network Rail has delivered efficiency savings of 15.5% during CP4, 8.0% lower than the 23.5% it had agreed. The lower efficiency was mainly due to additional costs incurred as Network Rail worked to improve train punctuality and reliability.

Injuriesh Annual statistics from ORR show that for the year ending 31 March 2014, workforce injuries on the mainline network increased by 206 (3.5%). Workforce injuries on the London Underground network rose by 302 (8.3%) and other networks by 34 (16.9%).

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NEWS I Industry

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Bam Nuttall fined £140k for crushing construction worker under six tonnes of concrete l BAM Nuttall Ltd has been fined £140,000 and ordered to pay costs of £42,700 following a prosecution by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). The company pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety law in December 2010, during the replacement of a south London railway bridge, and causing a construction worker to suffer life changing injuries.

BAM Nuttall was the principal contractor employed by Network Rail to demolish and replace Pouparts Bridge, located between Clapham Junction and Battersea Park in South London.

The company had sub-contracted the lifting elements of the work to Balfour Beatty Rail Ltd. On 27 December 2010, Balfour Beatty construction workers were preparing to lift a steel and concrete ‘L’ shaped beam, weighing approximately six tonnes, by crane from a railway wagon into its new position on the bridge. The beam toppled over as it was being unsecured from the wagon, crushing the legs of a worker just above the ankle on the floor of the rail wagon. He suffered severe injuries which led to one leg being amputated.

Sentencing at Southwark Crown Court follows an extensive ORR investigation which found BAM Nuttall had failed to assess the risks associated with loading and unloading the beams, and had not planned the activity appropriately. The company also did not provide information about the potential instability of the concrete beam to the workers carrying out the loading and unloading activities.

Parsons Brinckerhoff wins new HS2 contract

Alstom to supply ERTMS level 2 signalling to 449 SNCB trains l Alstom has secured a €70 million contract to supply ATLAS 200 on-board signalling equipment to the Belgian operator SNCB-NMBS for 449 trains in commercial service. Delivery will start in 2016.

The contract covers the design, manufacture, testing and approval of equipment for five different types of train, together with the supply and maintenance of the on-board signalling systems over a ten-year period. The equipment will be fitted to the trains by SNCB-NMBS. The ATLAS 200 provides integrated control over level crossings, standardised braking models that can be varied according to ground conditions and a limited supervision protection mode. It is currently being deployed by Alstom in Denmark, Germany, Austria and Australia.

Alstom was the first company to equip a very high speed line – Rome to Naples in Italy – with he technology.

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l Parsons Brinckerhoff, the global engineering consultant, has been appointed to provide asset information management services to support HS2 through the next phases of development. Creating a comprehensive database of asset information will be critical to delivering a complex project of this nature, and vital for managing its maintenance programmes in the future.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has already delivered railway systems design for the project. Specialists from the company will combine systems integration and operational management expertise to define the asset information management processes, and to create an advanced, reliable system that will allow the client and project teams easy access to a comprehensive database of information.

The scope of the project covers developing an asset information model, which will contribute to the creation of a ‘virtual railway’, as well as the definition of the asset breakdown structures and the asset data dictionary.

In BRIEF

Cornish tea is served l Britain’s first and only home-grown tea, from the Tregothnan plantation in Cornwall, is to be served on First Great Western trains. The deal will see the rail company become one of the plantation’s largest customers.

Tregothnan began supplying England’s first and only tea in 2005, but the private estate has been pioneering botanical firsts since 1334.

Smith Brothers & Webb increases global presence l In response to major rail infrastructure investment in the Far East and the Baltic States, automated train washing machine manufacturer Smith Brothers & Webb is expanding its global presence. The company has forged new working partnerships with Lai Yew Seng PTE in Singapore, and UPA in Lithuania, and is pursuing projects in the Far East and India.

DEKRA acquires Plurel BV l DEKRA Rail has expanded its test service offering through the acquisition of Plurel BV of Utrecht, Netherlands.

Formerly DeltaRail BV, Plurel is a leading test institute for the Benelux countries, specialising in the testing, inspection and certification of rolling stock, infrastructure, and wheelrail interfacing. The move expands DEKRA’s rail activities in Western Europe.

Keeping travellers informed l An updated app, roadworks.org from Elgin, now includes upgrades and maintenance work being carried out

by Network Rail. Motorists using it will be informed of rail-related work that affects roads, such as level crossing upgrades, closures and replacements, bridge and tunnel repairs, and the upkeep of viaducts and flyovers, enabling them to plan journeys more effectively.

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Legal Signals

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Ideas sharing - good or bad?

UK-based engineering businesses need not shrink from collaborative innovation so long as they take a few simple steps to protect themselves. Patent attorney RUSSELL EDSON explains

E Russell Edson, patent attorney and rail industry specialist at Withers & Rogers

ngineering companies in the rail sector are being encouraged to come forward and share ideas in a bid to accelerate research and development, and support the delivery of major planned infrastructure projects such as Crossrail, Crossrail 2 and HS2.

In September, Shift2Rail, a European rail innovation programme with a total spend of almost a billion euros between now and 2021, called for new associate members to come forward to work alongside the eight founder members – Network Rail, Ansaldo, Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, Thales, CAF and Trafikverket. FutureRailway, set up by Network Rail and RSSB to support the delivery of the Rail Technical Strategy, has also been running a series of innovation-focused competitions and challenges to encourage ideas sharing in areas like overhead lines structures and ticket detection systems.

The risks

Bhavisha Mistry

There are many open innovation initiatives already active in the rail sector, and in some cases caution is needed before making a submission. Transport for London (TfL), for example, operates an innovation portal which states that when a company makes a submission it effectively enters into an agreement to license TfL on a non-exclusive basis, and gives TfL the right to distribute the submitted information freely. The CrossRail portal also encourages companies to share ideas and while it agrees not to publish the details it stops short of agreeing to keep the information confidential for any period of time. The HS2 e-sourcing portal operates in a similar way but the user agreement places a much clearer obligation of confidentiality on both buyer and supplier, although no statements relating to ownership or licensing of the supplier’s IP are made.

These initiatives are good in principle and definitely encourage innovation in the sector, but they can pose risks.

Smaller, innovation-led businesses are right to be cautious about making a submission without protecting their commercial interests by at least securing a confidentiality agreement first. The terms and conditions of individual initiatives should be carefully considered to ensure businesses don’t unwittingly gift their ideas to the industry, with no assurance of commercial gain to follow.

The Rail Industry Association has recently established a Rail Innovation Charter to help guide members engaging in collaborative innovation. While establishing some basic principles of fair play, the Charter does not form a binding legal agreement, and members should therefore back it up with appropriately drafted confidentiality and/or IP ownership agreements.

Protecting yourself Before getting involved in collaborative innovation, there are some simple steps you should take to ensure that your commercial interests are protected. Firstly, identify where any intellectual property exists, and if appropriate protect it with a patent or design application prior to disclosure.

Where confidential know-how is present this should be identified, logged and protected with confidentiality agreements if it must be shared during collaboration. If the business is unsure what relevant IP it has, a relatively brief review with a patent attorney can go a long way to identifying what can be protected and how.

Where the business doesn’t have a complete solution but needs others’ input before applying for patent protection, you can approach third parties to see whether they have the skills and resources needed to complete the idea. Initial non-confidential conversations can determine whether the relevant skills are present. Once the right partner is found, a confidentiality agreement can be put in place to allow more detail to be shared.

Ownership agreements should be drawn up early to determine who gets what rights in the end product.

Before development gets underway, clear agreements should be made to define who can exploit the invention in which territories and industries. Rights can be split in many ways to ensure each partner gets the rights they need, in non-overlapping geographical markets and industries.

Rights conferred to an end customer must also be taken into account, and clear provisions can be made which allow the end customer to exploit a development they are funding in their own market, while allowing the suppliers to market the product in other industries or territories. For example, TfL has no obvious need for worldwide exclusivity over a new ticketing system, since its core business lies in running the London transport system. So a supplier can grant a licence to TfL for the UK, or even only for the London transport systems, while still retaining exclusive rights for other geographical or industry sectors.

So there is no need to hesitate about collaborative innovation, as long as you take the necessary steps to ensure your commercial interests are protected before doing so. However, failing to take the right precautionary steps could have a seriously business-limiting effect and leave others to profit from your ideas. zz

Rail Innovation Charter: www.webdoc.org.uk/ihelp/page019.html

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Exports

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Infrastructure and amenities are under development across Qatar

A goal-den opportunity?

Darren Fodey, lawyer in the rail team at Stephenson Harwood

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With the world cup 2022 an immovable deadline, Qatar is moving quickly to construct a railway network.

Darren Fodey, lawyer in the rail team at Stephenson Harwood, discusses the opportunities this creates for both major contractors and subcontractors from the UK

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ow that the bunting has been taken down following this year’s disappointing football World Cup tournament, attention has turned to future football World Cups and the business opportunities they may present. Whilst preparations are well underway for Russia 2018, there remain plenty of opportunities in the build-up to the controversially-awarded 2022 competition in Qatar.

Qatar currently has no operational railway. The football World Cup will bring hundreds of thousands of people to its cities and so it will need quick and convenient ways of transporting those people around. Rail is an ideal option and back in 2008, Deutsche Bahn was appointed to plan a rail system for the country.

There is also a wider social aspect to these plans. As part of its National Vision 2030, Qatar aspires to be “an advanced society capable of sustaining its development and providing a high standard of living for all of its people.�

In this article, we consider the three key rail projects being undertaken in Qatar and how interested parties may be able to get involved in them.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz The changing skyline of Doha

Three key projects Qatar Rail is the procuring authority leading the implementation of the Qatar Rail Development Programme.

The three projects, which are each at differing stages, are: Doha Metro; Lusail light rail transit network; and a long distance heavy rail network.

Doha Metro This project will see the creation of four lines as part of a largely underground rail system in Doha – with some above ground at-grade or elevated sections in outer areas. The project is being implemented in two phases: the first (red and green lines) will open in 2019, with the second (blue and gold lines) opening in time for the football World Cup. When complete, the lines will connect the airport to downtown Doha and the Doha football stadiums.

Integration with the Lusail light rail transit network and the proposed heavy rail network is also planned.

Design and construction contracts have already been awarded and Qatar Rail is in the process of assessing bids for the Phase 1 systems, rolling stock, depot and track work contract.

Lusail light rail transit network Lusail will be a new city for Qatar with a planned population of 200,000, construction of which is currently underway.

As part of the development of this new city, a light rail network will be built. The network will comprise of four lines: the first (yellow line) is planned to open in 2018, with the remaining three opening in 2020. Parts of the network will

be underground (some of which is already complete) and the remainder at-grade.

The final contract for the construction of the Lusail light rail transit network, provision of track, signalling, power supply, electrification and train control systems was awarded in June 2014. An innovative catenary free electrification system will form part of the design.

Long distance heavy rail network This project is, to date, the least advanced: it is still in the design stage. Nevertheless, the first phase, from the Saudi Arabian border to Doha West, Intermodal Terminal and Mesaeed, will be implemented by 2018, with phases two to four set for completion by 2030. Prequalification documents for the design and build of phase one were submitted to Qatar Rail on 01 June 2014.

Freight plays an important role in Qatar’s economy and much of the route is being designed to link key freight interchanges. However, passenger services will also operate on the routes, with diesel rolling stock being required to operate at speeds of up to 200 km/h. The size of this project should not be underestimated: in the first phase alone, 15 bridges, 10 pipeline crossings and numerous camel crossings (as well as the rolling stock) will be required.

Getting involved As we have seen above – and with the 2022 football World Cup an immovable deadline – many of the projects are already well underway, with contractors appointed or

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Exports

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz background, experience and capability. It is only after this process that a shortlist of prequalified suppliers is selected.

The next step is obviously to see the tender documents. Often, this will require the payment of a sum of money to Qatar Rail to receive the documents.

This will need to be paid in advance by electronic funds transfer – and proof of payment will need to be shown when collecting the tender documents – which usually needs to be done in person. The person collecting the documents will also need to have a letter of authorisation on the supplier’s letterhead (stamped with the supplier’s seal) with accompanying identification, together with a copy of the supplier’s commercial registration. The process for receiving the tender documents is therefore a little more complicated than companies may be used to.

Qatar presence During the tender process, there is the opportunity to ask clarification questions of the procuring authority – specific processes for each procurement are set out in the tender documents. As a result of the procurement processes, potential European suppliers will need to have a presence on the ground in Qatar – this will be the same on submission of the tender, which must be by hand in hard copy.

From recent contract awards, it would seem that partnerships with local suppliers are likely to be needed for success in the procurement. For example, recent procurements have seen international expertise and local experience join up in formal partnerships or joint ventures to bid. It may very well be that this is a requirement of Qatar Rail procurements, not constrained by European rules.

Responding to tenders

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tenders in the process of being considered by Qatar Rail.

For these projects, sub-contracting opportunities may well be available.

Of course, future phases of current projects will also provide plenty of opportunities for European rail suppliers.

Qatar Rail tends to advertise all opportunities on its website.

As with every procurement, as well as offering excellent technical expertise in the rail sector it is important to understand the procuring authority’s motivations – and what will win the competition. This is another reason why partnering with local suppliers is a good idea – local suppliers will understand many of the economic, political and situational risks and motivations associated with a particular project. Sensible use of clarification questions will also be key to increasing the chances of success in any competition.

Procurement process

A goal-den opportunity?

The procurement process generally follows an approach which contractors will be familiar with. Qatar Rail advertises opportunities on its website and in the local press, inviting potentially interested parties to submit expressions of interest or a prequalification questionnaire.

Following this, there may be a round of interviews with those expressing an interest, whereby the procuring authority has the opportunity to ask questions on

Europe has almost two centuries of experience in the railways – and this is something which is an exportable commodity to those nations taking their first steps towards the development of a modern railway network.

This prospect means there are many opportunities available in Qatar. Perhaps an English company with rail expertise is likely to be more successful than the English football team in securing a World Cup-related victory! zz

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Legal Signals

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Clamping down on‘walking out’?

David Cameron is promising tougher strike-laws in the 2015 Conservative Election manifesto.

Mandy Higgins considers the possible implications for the rail sector

A Mandy Higgins is a partner at national law firm Weightmans LLP

stationary train is often headline news and industrial action in the rail and transport sector has long been a bone of political contention.

Back in February, a two day strike on the London Underground network brought the city to a standstill.

Further high profile public sector action this summer saw many other transport networks grind to a halt.

The Conservatives have hit back in the strongest terms, promising to include in their 2015 election manifesto measures to substantially toughen up current strike laws.

However, Unions argue that a clamp-down is both unnecessary and unfair. Current legislation, they say, is restrictive enough.

The current law The current rules governing industrial action are set out in Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992.

Unions must secure majority support for a strike in a properly organised ballot. A number of stringent procedural requirements must be adhered to otherwise the employer will have grounds to seek damages or an injunction to prevent action going ahead. Detailed rules govern notification to members of a ballot, the voting process and the notification of results and any planned action.

The proposals Bhavisha Mistry

The Conservative party plans is to introduce a requirement that at least 50 per cent of eligible Union members must vote in order for a strike to be lawful.

At present, only a simple majority of those that turn out is needed.

Furthermore it plans to impose a three month time limit after the ballot for the strike action to take place, putting an end to so called rolling mandates by which the actual walk-out may take place months or even years after a vote.

Additional proposals include a requirement to include on the ballot paper details of the nature, form and duration of the proposed action. Members might be asked to vote separately on each element.

Unions would also be required to give 14 days clear notice before starting a strike, rather than the current seven days, and legislative limits would be set on how, where and why picketing during strike periods can take place.

What does this mean for rail and transport?

The first of these proposals has attracted the most attention and may be welcomed by transport sector employers. The more stringent the rules on striking lawfully, the fewer days will be lost to industrial action.

Less dead-time obviously means less disruption to time critical projects and less costs wasted against already tight budgets.

In particular industrial action is a common cause of supply chain failure, which results in considerable annual losses across the rail sector.

The new proposals will arguably serve to protect the significant financial investment being made in the rail sector in coming years. It is perhaps disappointing that a recent independent review set to consider extreme tactics used by Unions to disrupt supply chain has announced that it will make no specific recommendations for change.

If a strike mandate is more difficult to secure, calling a ballot may become a last resort for Unions. The rail sector already has a great reputation for effectively deploying arbitration processes to diffuse conflict, and the new proposals may mean even more emphasis on these existing dispute resolution procedures.

Alternatively there is a possibility that tougher laws might result in an increased incidence of unlawful strikes and the pay, disciplinary and other management issues which inevitably accompany them. Furthermore, the reputational damage resulting from an unlawful strike may be greater.

The Conservative party has undoubtedly taken a bold step in finally nailing its colours to the mast.

However, a 50 per cent voting threshold seems very high and is likely to be out of reach in most cases.

The TUC have stated that this would render lawful strikes “close to impossible”.

It is important to remember that these new measures will only be enacted if the Conservative Party succeeds at the next election. Even then, it is not uncommon for manifesto pledges to fail to make it to the statute book. With Mick Cash, acting secretary of the RMT, promising that the new law will “meet the fiercest possible resistance”, employers in the rail sector will have to watch and wait to see whether these proposals are ultimately shunted into the sidings. zz

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Reducing the cost of wheelset maintenance

Researchers from the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Rail Research have been studying wheelset damage and maintenance practices in an attempt to extend wheelset life. Dr Adam Bevan and Paul Molyneux-Berry discuss their research work

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hrough the life of a rail vehicle, the wheelsets are one of the most expensive components. Wheelset manufacturing costs are high (especially when considering both financial and environmental costs) and they require regular maintenance intervention including: l Inspection for safety-critical damage to wheel and axle l Profile measurement to ensure that flange dimensions remain within standards l Reprofiling on the wheel lathe (typically about once a year) l Renewal of wheelset (typically every 4 to 5 years) – often the axle is re-used with new wheel pans l Renewal of bearings, brake discs and maintenance of traction drive components.

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Dr Adam Beva

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olyneux-Berr

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These activities have significant labour and material costs, but also require the train to be taken out of service which impacts fleet availability and service provision. This may be reduced by scheduling renewal activities together, but often the renewal intervals are governed by the wheel tread damage. Consequently there is a strong demand to reduce the rate of wheel damage, and thereby to extend wheel profiling intervals and wheelset life.

The hunt for a solution Researchers based at the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research (IRR) have been addressing this demand through a series of research projects relating to wheelset damage and maintenance practices.

These include: l Influence of changes in material properties during the life of a wheelset on observed damage l Optimisation of wheelset maintenance to reduce whole-system costs l Investigating the influence of route characteristics,

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz vehicle design and maintenance policy on wheel tread damage l Assessment of alternative wheel profiles, considering both whole-system costs and running safety l Categorisation of wheel damage mechanisms to improve identification and selection of appropriate mitigation.

Investigating wheel cracks The Institute has investigated the changes in wheel steel microstructure and the development of rolling contact fatigue cracks in railway wheels, and how these cracks are influenced by maintenance practices and service conditions. Wheels are manufactured with residual compressive stress to discourage crack growth, but these stresses are influenced by initial manufacture, subsequent maintenance and by running in service.

Recently, the Institute has been investigating these effects using the ISIS ENGIN-X instrument, at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. These experiments applied the Neutron Diffraction technique to measure the residual stresses and material properties several centimetres under the surface of the wheel, and how these change through the life of the wheel.

It is hoped that this research will help improve manufacturing techniques, optimise wheelset maintenance and selection of wheel materials. Thermal influences from wheel slip and slide also cause changes in the wheel steel properties, and will be the subject of ongoing research: the IRR’s Centre for Innovation in Rail (CIR) is currently procuring a full-size test rig to investigate the influences of traction control, brake blending and wheel slide protection on thermal damage in wheels.

Maintenance practices Wheelset maintenance activities are influenced by a large number of factors including depot constraints, surface damage, fleet availability and vehicle design. If these factors are not managed efficiently it can have significant implications on a vehicle’s service provision, track damage, environmental and whole-life costs.

In collaboration with Serco Rail Technical Services, a new software-based decision support tool was developed to investigate and optimise the scheduling of wheelset maintenance activities, known as the Wheelset Management Model (WMM). This model aims to assist in the strategic planning of wheelset maintenance, renewal and inspection policies based on: wheel wear and RCF crack growth rates, probability of generating flats, renewal and maintenance criteria, initial fleet conditions, budget and depot volume constraints and representative unit costs.

The tool allows users to examine the benefits and cost impact of a range of different scenarios to optimise wheelset management strategies, and the capabilities have been demonstrated by predicting the whole-life costs for a range of rail vehicle fleets.

New decision-support tool This work formed part of the development of an industry decision-support tool known as the Vehicle Track Interaction Strategic Model (VTISM), which calculates the whole-life, whole-system costs for the vehicle-track interface. It is therefore possible to quantify the effect of wheelset policy on track maintenance costs, alongside the more direct effect on vehicle maintenance costs.

VTISM is jointly owned by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and Network Rail and managed by RSSB on behalf of the Vehicle / Track System Interface Committee (V/T SIC).

Wheel tread damage RSSB also engaged the Institute of Railway Research to deliver research project T963 – a cross industry research project about wheel tread damage. This research project was supported by the Wheelset Management Group and Vehicle/Track System Interface Committee and the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) Technical and Standards Forum.

A wide-ranging survey of wheel tread damage types and maintenance practices was carried out to investigate the influences of train design, route conditions and maintenance practices on wheel tread damage. The benefit of managing and analysing wheel condition and maintenance records was demonstrated, to assist with the planning of wheelset maintenance and optimisation of reprofiling intervals to reduce wheelset costs.

To disseminate industry best practice, a Wheel Tread Damage Guide was developed, including a common basis for categorising wheel tread damage, information on the causes and mechanisms of wheel damage and methods for managing wheel damage, maximising life and minimising costs.

The research has also been supported by a number of organisations including the wheelset manufacturer Lucchini UK; vehicle manufacturers including Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom; national bodies such as EPSRC, STFC, RSSB and Network Rail; and all UK passenger and freight train operators. zz

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Threat detection and recognition Trains, like trucks, ships and oil rigs are all potential targets for crime. Dr MARIA ANDERSSON, technical co-ordinator for the ARENA project, describes how piracy and the threat of terrorism have resulted in an EU backed initiative that could improve cost effective security on the railways

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rganisations that own, use or transport high value assets recognise the need to protect their goods and employees, especially when they are at their most vulnerable – in remote or isolated situations, at night and when operating alone. By their very nature, trains are potential targets for criminal organisations. Furthermore, monitoring systems, early warning and deterrent technology have not as yet been available to address this need at a remotely affordable cost. As a result, there has been an uneasy acceptance that in certain parts of the world, piracy or theft are facts of commercial life. However, a refusal to accept this situation has helped to push this issue to the top of the EU agenda.

A train is often highly secure in the depot, where it is under close surveillance. But once outside it is a relatively soft target for organised and often dangerous criminals.

Since the terrorist attacks on New York on September 11th 2001 terror organisations have demonstrated their willingness to target mass transportation networks along with other areas of critical infrastructure, and the United Nations agreed proposals to enhance the security of dangerous goods such as chemical liquids, gas, or radioactive material in transport.

Security on the move The impossibility of securing all transport routes means trains need to be equipped to detect threats themselves.

Advance warning offers the chance to deter or repel an intruder.

The European Commission-backed research project called ARENA (Architecture for Recognition of thrEats to mobile assets using Networks of Affordable sensors), has attempted to deliver a solution which could work in a wide range of transport scenarios including rail.

Swedish defence research agency FOI co-ordinated a seven-strong research partnership drawn from five EU

countries. These partners were: maritime design and engineering company, BMT Group; ITTI, an IT company from Poland; SAFRAN Sagem Défense Sécurité of France; electronic security company SAFRAN MORPHO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research; and the University of Reading.

The three year project investigated a system applicable to a range of different deployments: stationary platforms relative to the land such as a truck or train stop; stationary platforms relative to the sea, such as ships in port or oil rigs; mobile platforms relative to land, such as trucks or trains in transit; and mobile platforms relative to the sea, such as ships at sea or oil rig support vessels.

The research built on existing work on the surveillance of public spaces. No new sensor development was done.

Instead, the team focused on exploiting existing, lowcost sensor technologies like visual and infra-red video, acoustic sensors, seismic sensors and radar. It also built on other work, such as the Integrated Mobile Security Kit where a multi-sensor surveillance system is installed in a van which can be brought to public space when needed.

Another contributing technology, known as ADABTS, addresses automatic detection of abnormal human behaviour that might signal crime is afoot.

ARENA also aimed to minimise the nuisance the system might cause if it were to go off for no reason. Humans are naturally good at putting together lots of fragmentary information and signals and spotting what is a threat and what is not. Machines are not. The ARENA system combined complementary sensors to reduce false alarm rates. The threat-detection task was also broken down into four interconnected steps: object detection, object tracking, event recognition and threat recognition. The fewer the bystanders, the easier the system could interpret what is going on, meaning that it would be easier to detect a threat in a quiet railway siding than alongside a busy platform.

ARENA’s innovative combination of existing surveillance technology provides autonomous monitoring and situational awareness of the environment surrounding critical mobile assets, alerting personnel to threats. In achieving this goal it has the potential to fill the yawning security gap that can be a cash cow for criminals and potentially a loophole exploited by terrorists.

A growing refusal to accept that piracy, hijacking and thefts are facts of commercial life, has helped to put the issue to the top of the EU agenda. ARENA may signal the beginning of a fundamental shift in the balance of power away from criminals, improving the safety of transport personnel and ultimately, cutting costs for everyone. zz

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Construction begins on Dawlish resilience scheme l Construction has begun on a £8m project to increase the resilience of the sea wall in Dawlish.

In February 2014, the path and railway line was severely damaged by massive waves which left the south-west of England without a rail connection for two months. The walkway is the final section of footpath between Dawlish Warren and Teignmouth to be repaired following the damage.

The project, managed by Mott MacDonald, involves raising a 340m stretch of low level sea wall to adjoin the existing high level walkway. The section will be constructed using precast concrete L units and ballast backfill. All works will be undertaken from the seaward side of the railway using two jack-up barges.

James Whitelock, Mott MacDonald’s project director, said: “The main challenges we will face on this project are the weather and sea conditions. With winter fast approaching the aim is to complete the works in as short a time frame as possible, before any major winter storms.”

The project is due for The Dawlish walkway completion in 2015.

CILT sets out 20 year vision for transport planning l Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and the Transport Planning Society (TPS) has published a new report, A Vision for Transport Planning, which sets out the vital role transport planning will have to play if we are to meet the challenges facing the nation over the next 20 years.

The report, which takes a view to 2035, proposes a number of changes including to central and local government structures and policies, and the skills the transport planning profession will require. It calls for a national spatial planning strategy with input from all relevant central government departments, and significant decentralised powers for local authorities to fund and control transport systems.

The Vision challenges the transport planning profession in many ways including; bringing together the wide number of professional fields with an influence on transport, building an in-depth understanding of the priorities of local communities, and developing acute political acumen.

Minister of State for Transport, Baroness Kramer, using the key at London Victoria station

£2.5m to reduce cyber-attack threats to critical infrastructure l The rail network is part of the critical national infrastructure set to benefit from a £2.5 million research programme into the cyber-security of the UK’s vital industrial control systems. The aim is to help mitigate threats from hackers or malware infiltrating systems that support the critical national infrastructure.

The research teams, from Queen’s University of Belfast, the University of Birmingham, City University London and Lancaster University, will work with industry partners to understand and analyse the risks from cyber-attack, examine how risk is communicated to business, and provide effective interventions to counter the risk. Metrics and software tools will be produced so that non-technical decision makers can assess cyber-security in the context of their business.

Co-funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the UK’s National Cyber Security Programme, the work will be coordinated by the Research Institute in Trustworthy Industrial Control Systems, based at Imperial College London.

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Southern integrates Smartcard with the Oyster system l Southern has introduced a new Travelcard upload option for its smartcard, known as the key. The functionality extends to the majority of ticket types including season, returns and Travelcards, available on most of the Southern network outside the London boundary. The key also provides access the entire Oyster network in London making it possible to travel from Bognor Regis to Bethnal Green or from Eastbourne to Ealing Broadway on rail, tube and bus using the card.

Tickets can be bought online, and passengers just need to touch in and out. Purchases are protected if the card is lost or stolen, and there are none of the drawbacks associated with physical tickets, such as loss of information on a mag stripe, jamming in ticket gates, or fading ink.

Southern’s commercial director Alex Foulds said: “We are delighted that our vision has become a reality. It’s fantastic news for thousands of our London commuters who can now use their Key smartcard for their entire journey to and from work.”

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Intelligent monitoring Video analytic technology is likely to play an increasingly important role in safeguarding passengers and rail company assets. Steve Orr discusses some of the key solutions available and the return on investment they can offer

R Steve Orr is mobile products technical manager at AD Network Video www.ad-group.co.uk

ailway operators face a multitude of issues and challenges. Theft, vandalism, assault and terrorism present serious dangers to the customers, assets and the reputation of the operator.

Incidents on railway property have declined after years of rampant crime, thanks to greater surveillance and new legislation such as the Scrap Metal Dealer’s Act. However, despite highly commendable improvements, such as a 37 per cent drop in cable theft in the last year, the costs and losses still remain. In the case of cable theft that amounts to more the £12.75 million.

Just one example of cable theft’s effect on rail operations took place in 2011. A mere 30ft of cabling was stolen from track outside London Bridge. The disruption was staggering: over 1,650 trains were delayed at a cost to Network Rail of £640,000.

Video analytics technologies are maturing, becoming more sophisticated in offering assistance in managing and reducing the above dangers in conjunction with other initiatives. Let’s look at some technologies that can make a significant impact on tackling these challenges.

Alarm handling Alarm triggers, activated by video surveillance monitoring systems, can result in deterrent or proactive actions to protect assets and passengers. Built-in alarm handling capabilities can trigger a range of activity such as switching lights on and capturing data inputs. Activity detected in an image, using video motion technology, can result in the activation of an alarm trigger.

Systems are also capable of changing the stream dynamically. The resolution of recorded video can run at a lower level to conserve storage space, but recording rate and resolution can be increased to capture the footage generated from an event trigger. The captured video can then be sent to a RVRC or responder. An event database can be created, to enable fast reviews.

Automatic number plate recognition Theft, including carjacking, is a growing issue in customer car parks, as are violence and the threat of terrorism.

Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) is a mature technology that can capture key evidential video when implemented with good planning: slowing down cars as they enter car parks and positioning cameras in the best optimal places to capture information. Moreover, wanted

cars can be placed on a hotlist and ANPR technology used to alerts the authorities to their presence.

For the railway operator, adverse media coverage, such as the Morrisons carjacking in Manchester recently, can damage the brand and trust in the service.

Therefore demonstrating investments in customer comfort and safety will provide dividends through improved reputation.

Some early fire detection systems such as visual smoke detection (VSD), which use surveillance monitoring, can be combined with security – a possible cost saving. VSD is a mature technology that creates alerts by analysing smoke and flame behaviour. It can focus on key points or wider areas and its effectiveness is not impeded by issues such as smoke stratification or movement across its field of view.

Improving camera footage The better the quality of the camera the more clearly defined the image, therefore fewer cameras are needed to monitor large areas and this can reduce cost. Current HD cameras can be four times as powerful on a standard view as traditional cameras. Our 1080 cameras, for instance, are ten times as powerful.

HD cameras can more effectively cover larger areas such as car parks, stations and lengths of track. And prosecutions through evidential quality footage will prove a deterrent, reducing the frequency of offences. This is a key aspect of the ROI on investment.

Using surveillance solutions effectively Surveillance is complicated by various facts. People are unpredictable, they come in different sizes, move at different paces and directions and can have luggage.

The environment also presents challenges: changing light and weather conditions, and of course the movement of trains. These all affect monitoring activities such as counting passengers.

Surveillance monitoring solutions will improve. The current generation of solutions, implemented with proper planning and integration and operated by trained staff are already highly effective. There is a cost however – effective solutions do cost money. Yet, the return in safeguarding passengers, reducing theft and vandalism and delays, and improving the reputation of the operator and industry means that it can create value, and sometimes within a short time frame. zz

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The latest design for Glasgow Queen Street station

Network Rail seeks public opinion for Glasgow Queen Street station design l Network Rail has unveiled updated designs for how the proposed £104m transformation of Glasgow Queen Street station will look, and launched a second round of public consultation on the proposals. The new designs reflect changes made to the plans following the first round of consultation with passengers and public.

Scotland’s third busiest station with 20m passengers a year, Glasgow Queen Street needs to expand to meet predicted growth to 28m passengers by 2030, and to accommodate the longer trains that will be running on key routes in the future.

As well as overhauling Queen Street’s rail infrastructure and operational capabilities, the redevelopment will transform passenger facilities and improve how the station interacts with the surrounding city.

With construction work due to begin in 2015 and complete in 2019, the project will include redeveloping the east side of the building to extend the Buchanan Galleries and create new passenger facilities over two levels.

Redesigning the concourse will double public floor space, extend platform lengths, improve passenger circulation and enhance waiting areas, entrances and catering/retail space. The current 1970s entrance is to be replaced and the hotel extended above, with a 500m2 modern glass frontage. The aim is to create a landmark, modern station which reflects Queen Street’s role as a gateway to the city.

Innovative customer information first for Cumbria l Maryport station has become the first station in Cumbria to offer real time train information via an environmentally friendly, solar powered customer information screen (CIS).

The ‘green screen’ receives real time train running information from GPS trackers built into Northern Rail’s Cumbrian Coast trains. The screen has ultra-low power consumption making it an ecologically friendly way to check when the next train is due to arrive.

The first-ever screen of its kind has been installed at Maryport through a partnership between Northern Rail and Cumbria County Council which funded the £27,000 initiative.

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A new station for the Coventry-Nuneaton line l Construction is now under way to build a new station at Bermuda Park on the Coventry-Nuneaton railway line.

The new station will serve over 5,000 local residents as well as the North Warwickshire & Hinckley College Innovation Centre. Major housing and office developments have taken place in the area and more development is planned for the future.

Rail Minister Claire Perry said: “Bermuda Park is seeing major redevelopment and the new station is a crucial part of this. The scheme will also mean upgrades for the Coventry-Nuneaton railway line providing job opportunities for many people.”

The Department for Transport has contributed £4.75m to these improvements which also include a new station at Coventry Ricoh Arena and platform extensions at Bedworth.

Bolton station trials connectivity for Northern Rail l A four month trial to provide customers at Bolton station with free Wi-Fi connectivity has just begun. The trial will be provided through a partnership between public transport experts LetsJoin and Northern Rail, which manages Bolton station.

Customers will be able to register and access the internet for free using smart phone, tablet or laptop while at the station. They will also benefit from unrestricted access to the LetsJoin infotainment channel which includes the latest news, weather and entertainment along with localised train running information.

If the trial at Bolton is a success, Northern plans to rollout station Wi-Fi to more stations across its network.

Improved passenger flow at Fenchurch Street l A new entrance has been opened at Fenchurch Street as part of the station’s £4m upgrade. Located on Cooper’s Row, the new addition will improve the flow of passengers through the station, easing rush-hour congestion in the most crowded areas. It is a third entrance for the station, adding to the existing front entrance on Fenchurch Place, and the Tower Hill entrance.

This represents a major milestone in the joint station upgrade between Network Rail and National Express train operator c2c, which will also create a second staircase from the station’s mezzanine level to the Cooper’s Row and Tower Hill entrances.

Fenchurch Street is the busiest station on the c2c route, with over 230,000 passengers a week using the station at peak times.

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Tomorrows technology today Work is going on across Europe to develop a powerful security platform that can use existing and future technology to its full potential. UDI SEGALL updates Railway Strategies on the latest trials from the SECUR-ED consortium

T UDI SEGALL, director of business development at NICE Systems www.secur-ed.eu

here is a wealth of technology available to rail operators to improve the safety and security of passengers, staff and infrastructure. Yet whilst there has been huge investment in upgrading infrastructure, systems and sensors, a lack of standardisation, compatibility and cost can limit the ability of operators to use them to their fullest potential. However, big strides are being made to change this.

In July this year I was in Bucharest, Romania for the latest SECUR-ED satellite demonstration. SECUR-ED is a consortium made up of large and medium-sized European public transport operators from Madrid, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Lisbon and Bucharest. Working together with public transportation industry experts such as Thales, Alstom, Ansaldo and Bombardier, as well as leading physical security industry vendors including AXIS and NICE, the group is working together to create packaged modular solutions that enhance urban transport safety security.

These solutions are then evaluated during live ‘in-the-field’ demonstrations.

The event followed successful demonstrations in Milan, where its depot protection solution was trialled, and in Berlin, where control room training and simulation solutions were presented. Working with Regia Autonoma de Transport Bucuresti (RATB) which operates a network of buses, trams and trolleybuses in Bucharest,

two demonstrations were put to the test that address issues affecting every rail network – handling aggressive behaviour towards on-board ticket inspectors and detecting unauthorised access to restricted areas.

Aggressive behaviour In the first scenario AXIS, NICE and Bombardier looked at the common problem of aggressive behaviour towards ticket inspectors. Sadly, this type of incident is on the rise.

The Municipal Transport Authority (ZTM) in Poland has reported 21 cases of physical attack on its inspectors in the first half of 2014. There have also been recent reports of an inspector being attacked on a train in Scotland and another being shoved off a train in Wales.

The SECUR-ED consortium has developed a comprehensive solution that builds upon a small application developed for smartphones, which creates a ‘panic button’ an inspector can press if feeling threatened.

In this test simulation, a ‘distressed’ RATB Inspector pushes the panic button on the device and in doing so triggers an alert in the NICE physical security information (PSIM) management platform – the NICE Situator – installed at the RATB command and control centre. The alert contains the GPS co-ordinates of the device so it is able to automatically locate the nearest on-board AXIS IP dome camera and display a live high-quality video stream

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from the vehicle using Bombardier’s LTE (4G) wireless network. In addition, pressing the panic button also initiates a three-party call with the police and the control centre in which the ticket inspector can report the incident and request police back-up.

Crucially, as the inspector’s GPS co-ordinates are sent with the alert they can see on the GIS map, displayed onscreen, exactly where on the line the train/tram or bus is, and the next station at which the police can board. With the live video feed displaying and capturing the incident as it unfolds the police dispatcher and command centre operator are able to observe events in real-time.

Once the situation has been handled the extensive recording and reporting capabilities of the solution (included within NICE Situator) means the entire scenario can be fully reconstructed and shared with all internal and external relevant parties, who can in turn replay the incident as part of the investigation, to collate evidence for possible prosecution and to help deliver operator training, process improvements, or changes on the ground, as part of a continual cycle of improvement.

Of course, this type of situation could be addressed with older technology, for example using a mobile NVR and 3G rather than LTE. However, SECUR-ED is focused on looking at how we look not only to solve today’s problems with today’s technology, but how we address the problems of today and tomorrow with future technology capabilities, to achieve tangible results. Therefore with the move towards high definition (HD) and 4K cameras, the progress of LTE and the advances in PSIM technology we are demonstrating the true potential of such an integrated approach to situation management.

Unauthorised access to restricted areas Intruders to train yards and depots pose a serious threat to the safety and security of public transport vehicles. On one end of the spectrum is the ill-intent sabotage of safety systems and at the more pervasive side are acts of theft and vandalism, whether it is graffiti, stealing metal, or damage to rolling stock. The cost of this can run into many thousands of pounds, as well as endangering the lives of the intruders. In the second SECUR-ED demonstration, the consortium worked together to test their joint xsolution for rapidly detecting unauthorised access to restricted areas.

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The solution combines outdoor thermal and pan-tiltzoom (PTZ) cameras, advanced intruder detection video analytics, and PTZ tracking to detect breaches and follow an intruder’s movements.

Similar to the first trial, once alerted to the incident the operator in the control room is presented with a live feed from the nearest camera to the reported intrusion, enabling the operator to locate and track the suspect.

The operator follows pre-defined response plans embedded in NICE Situator, giving him step-by-step instructions on the course of action to take. For example, depending on the circumstances the operator might be directed to use the loudspeaker, turn on bright lights, or dispatch security.

As in the first demonstration the incident is fully captured and can be shared, reconstructed and replayed.

From a professional perspective it has been fascinating to see how the concepts devised in SECUR-ED meetings rooms have been transformed into real solutions that provide tangible value for rail operators. With innovations in camera technology and the bandwidth of LTE, we have moved far from grainy black and white images from analogue cameras on a closed circuit. We now have broadcast quality images that can be streamed in real-time (from a moving train!) to the control room from any point on the rail or bus network. Now, combine this with a PSIM system that enables the operator to make sense of the information they are receiving, by integrating with other systems and sensors, and guiding them in managing the situation, and subsequently reviewing and reporting on the incident, and you have a very powerful and future-proof solution.

NICE is involved in large-scale projects with rail operators around the world, but participating in SECUR-ED it has been gratifying to work with other organisations as part of a team, in what is a fantastic example of collaborative security. We have listened to the needs of rail operators and shared our expertise to develop solutions that meet their specific needs, using the technology of today and tomorrow. It also has personal significance for me as my father used to ride the RATB tram as a child. It reminds me of the importance of what SECUR-ED is really about and what everyone taking part is striving for – safety and security across every rail network around the world. zz

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VIEW– Welsh electrification row

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Harming the Welsh economy The ongoing argument between the UK and Welsh Government over payment for the Valleys rail electrification is threatening to delay the main line upgrade between London and Swansea, potentially harming the economy, says RICHARD SELBY

Richard Selby is co-founder of Pro Steel Engineering

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he main line upgrade between Paddington and Swansea is due to be completed in two stages by 2018. This development – at a total cost of over £1 billion – is set to cut some 20 minutes from the three-hour journey time while newer, larger trains on the line are intended to increase capacity and improve service efficiency. Alongside this main line upgrade, it has also been announced that the Welsh Valleys commuter lines will be upgraded, in a bid to give two-thirds of people in Wales access to an electrified train service from their local station.

However, since this work was announced in July 2009, the UK and Welsh Governments have been at loggerheads as to who should pay for the additional electrification of the Valleys commuter lines. Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb has recently said that a deal on who will pay to electrify the Valleys rail network should be ready in a ‘short number of months’, describing the issue as ‘a bit of a litmus test’ for joint working between Wales (which has a Labour majority Government) and Westminster (where we have a Conservative-Lib Dem coalition of course). The issue for businesses and Network Rail is exactly how long this will take, with engineering teams requiring enough time to cost and plan work in.

The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, is also more upbeat about the talks, stating that he thinks there is ‘a reasonable prospect’ that they will come to an agreement.

However, he too has offered no timescale commitment.

The row developed after Prime Minister David Cameron said in an interview in October last year: “It’s this government that’s putting the money into the electrification of the railway line all the way up to Swansea and, of course, the Valley lines.”

However, it was reported that in a letter to the First Minister of Wales, the Prime Minister wrote that the UK Government will pay directly for the electrification from London to Cardiff and then the stretch from Bridgend to

Swansea. There was no mention of Cardiff to Bridgend or the Welsh Valleys lines, though. And so the arguments began.

While it may not be important to many of the public who pay for the line – as ultimately we all pay our taxes – what will cause concern is the then Welsh Secretary David Jones saying the dispute could have knock-on effects over electrifying the main line to Swansea. He said the delay over the Valley lines – which includes the section of the main line between Cardiff and Bridgend – could cause problems over the upgrade of the route to Swansea.

This argument seems to have distracted decisionmakers from the very reason the electrification announcements were made in the first place; to improve infrastructure in Wales in a bid to boost its economic competitiveness.

Even before the announcement was made, groups of large businesses including Virgin Media, Amazon and Royal Mail had already met to press the case for further electrification. This work has been cited as a much needed upgrade that will lead to further growth, boosting job creation and economic prospects in areas badly hit by the recession.

As a business based in South Wales that provides services across the UK, I’m sure I’m not alone in urging for leaders in both the Welsh and UK Governments to sit down at the negotiating table in order to find a swift resolution to this dispute. In ‘a short number of months’ just isn’t good enough. This row has been rumbling on for over a year now.

Meanwhile, companies are stalling over launching or expanding their operations into Wales, harming job creation and inward investment from the rest of the UK. While it is understandable that both Governments want to keep their costs down, perhaps they should not have announced this significant work before such critical decisions were made?

The Welsh economy has been in desperate need of a shot in the arm for some time now, and many thought it would arrive with this investment. Now, we are at risk of delays, harming the development of Welsh companies relying on these improvements to rail services.

A stronger economy in Wales boosts the strength of the UK economy as a whole, so it’s clear that we need this rail electrification sooner rather than later. With faster rail services, Wales immediately becomes a more attractive investment for businesses. These delays threaten this potential, harming the businesses that want to compete on national and international scales. We must not forget the ends while we discuss the means. zz

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Security

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Eyes in the cloud An indispensable security tool, traditional CCTV systems struggle to meet the needs of the rail industry. Cloudview CEO JAMES WICKES, discusses how those shortcomings can be addressed by moving at least some of the surveillance workload into the cloud

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James Wickes is CEO of Cloudview

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y its very nature the rail industry presents enormous challenges to those concerned with security and safety. Indeed it’s hard to think of any other organisation with such a huge and diverse infrastructure to protect, starting with over 20,000 miles of track plus 32,000 associated bridges, viaducts and tunnels. Add to that in excess of 2,500 stations plus thousands of crossings, signal gantries and associated communication lines and you start to understand the scale of the problem. Not to mention a multitude of offices, stockyards, storage and other commercial premises across the country, many in remote and unattended locations.

Keeping such a huge network secure is a full time job, but physical policing can only go so far when it comes to keeping out vandals, graffiti artists, metal thieves and the like. CCTV has long been used to fill the gaps, but traditional surveillance solutions can be expensive to both install and operate, especially in isolated locations far from normal human habitation and services.

Reliance on local storage can be a real issue too, making it difficult, for example, to locate and access

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relevant recordings when needed. That, in turn leads to extended response times, often to such an extent that, in some cases, CCTV is no longer a deterrent. Added to which a lack of interoperability across CCTV platforms is of major concern in an industry where ownership and responsibility for security is shared by multiple stakeholders, each with their own budgets and priorities.

Fortunately, there is now a way of addressing many of these challenges, through the use of a new type of cloud-based product known as VSaaS, short for Video Surveillance as a Service.

Evolution not revolution One of the pioneers of VSaaS, Cloudview is leading the charge towards enhancing surveillance by moving it into the cloud. That said, it’s important to understand that there’s not a lot that’s revolutionary about the technology involved. Rather it’s more about doing things differently.

To this end Cloudview takes footage straight from standard CCTV cameras but, instead of just recording it locally, uploads the video to secure servers located in the cloud where it can be accessed by anyone with

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz an internet connection, a browser and the appropriate security credentials. More than that, Cloudview’s servers also host the monitoring, management and alerting tools needed to collect and analyse that footage, minimising the need for expensive, complex and often incompatible on-premise systems or the highly trained staff needed to operate them.

Of course we recognise that, as is the case in the rail industry, most companies will have significant CCTV investments already. As such we’ve designed Cloudview to work with any existing system – whether based on analogue, digital or IP cameras – and to do so alongside existing local monitoring and recording arrangements.

All that’s needed is the addition of a tiny box of electronics – the Cloudview Visual Network Adapter (VNA) – connected to each camera. This, in turn, can be connected to the internet using either a network cable or wirelessly by plugging a standard WiFi or mobile 3G dongle into the USB port provided. An SD Card can also be added to capture footage should the link to the network fail or be vandalised and for a full belt-and-braces solution a USB hard disk attached for local high-res video backups.

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Cloudview is a highly secure CCTV control centre in the cloud, ready to start work immediately, that’s also incredibly easy to use via its intuitive dashboard display The Cloudview box

Accessible and secure Small enough to fit inside most weatherproof housings, the VNA comes pre-configured for installation in minutes by unskilled staff. Moreover, it does away with the need to invest in additional hardware such as network video recorders (NVRs), banks of displays or custom monitoring tools, although these can still be deployed if required.

All you really need is a browser to both manage when and how camera footage is collected and remotely view recordings and live video feeds. As such, Cloudview can be accessed from any laptop, tablet or smartphone, from anywhere with internet access and without the need for complex VPN arrangements. Instead Cloudview will automatically apply bank-level security to both encrypt communication across the internet and protect footage when stored. An optional digital watermark can also be applied for legal verification and selected areas blanked out (redacted) if required.

Command and control What you get with Cloudview is a highly secure CCTV control centre in the cloud, ready to start work immediately, that’s also incredibly easy to use via its intuitive dashboard display.

Through this interface you can, if wanted, configure cameras to record continuously but that would require huge amounts of storage and human eyes to search for suspicious activity. To minimise those overheads, therefore, scheduling tools can be used to limit recording to particular times of the day with, as a failsafe, the option to also trigger recordings in response to specific events such as a sensor being activated.

In addition Cloudview can screen incoming video for

motion independent of any technology built into the camera itself. Tools to both set the area to be monitored and the sensitivity level are provided to do this, together with a separate scheduler to tell Cloudview when and how to issue alerts (either by SMS or email) when something suspicious happens.

Better by cloud Just about anyone can use Cloudview, but we’re not expecting it to replace existing surveillance systems. It can, however, enhance and add value to those systems and nowhere is there more scope for this than in the rail industry with its massive network of rails, buildings and unattended sites, poorly served by traditional CCTV technologies. It’s also a very flexible solution that can be deployed standalone; alongside existing CCTV products and to add video verification to intruder alarms without the need for a full surveillance setup.

Affordable and non-disruptive, Cloudview is a scalable solution that’s convenient, quick to install and easy to operate. Adding, we would suggest, a whole new dimension to the concept of video surveillance, well worth investigating by those in the rail industry. zz

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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NEWS I Skills

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New High Speed Rail College location announced l Birmingham and Doncaster have won the bidding to provide the new National College for High Speed, providing specialist vocational training to the next generation of engineers working on the HS2 project. The college is to be located in Birmingham’s city centre Science Park and Doncaster’s Lakeside Campus, with a governing body chaired by Crossrail chairman Terry Morgan.

The sites were selected following a consultation process which attracted very strong proposals from across the country. All bids were assessed against a range of criteria including the size and availability of a site, accessibility, and the potential to develop strong links with employers and providers operating in the sector.

The college will be led by employers from the sector and will set industry standards for training based on emerging technology and the use of cutting-edge facilities, with trainers who are expert in their field.

The next step is to build the college sites, develop the courses which will be at level four and over, and identify a network of education providers who will be part of the National College in a ‘hub and spoke’ model.

Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable said: “This is the next step in building the highly skilled specialist workforce needed to develop the biggest infrastructure project this country has ever seen, and to enable our rail industry to compete in future global markets.

The process has demonstrated a real commitment from all parts of the country to the development of a cutting edge training facility and a rail workforce which is the best in the world.”

New EAL qualification to support investment in rail elecrification l The first engineering students on a new 18-month apprenticeship scheme in Overhead Line Construction (OLC), have begun their training.

Created by SPL Powerlines in conjunction with specialist training provider Intertrain and EAL, the apprenticeship will provide training to EAL Level 2 NVQ diploma level in Rail Engineering Overhead Line Constructions and EAL Level 2 Certificate level in Rail Engineering Underpinning Knowledge.

The 14 young people were chosen by SPL from more than 200 applicants aged 18-24.

Each will have an individual training plan combining classroom learning with practical, on-the-job training and regular assessment throughout their apprenticeships. They will be utilising the Rail Engineering Overhead Line Construction Apprenticeship framework developed by Semta, which is responsible for engineering skills for the future.

It is estimated overhead power lines sector will need around 2,000 skilled workers by 2016 which is 10 times the current capacity.

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Birmingham & York get safety on track in China l Effectively managing safety and risk across China’s vast and complex railway network is to be boosted by a new graduate diploma at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.

The programme was jointly developed by the UK’s Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE) at the University of Birmingham, and the High Integrity Systems Engineering (HISE) Group from the University of York.

Until now there has been little educational provision in China for train experts in risk assessments and management. The Railway Risk and Safety Management graduate diploma at Zhejiang University aims to address the current skills shortage, with the first students enrolling during October.

The broad, interdisciplinary approach of the course covers such areas as railway systems engineering, risk and human resource management and safety-critical systems engineering. On completion of the graduate diploma, students at Zhejiang University are then eligible to undertake a Master of Research (MRes) in Railway Risk Management at the University of Birmingham.

MTR opens cutting edge train simulator training centre in Sweden l MTR Corporation, which operates the London Overground and the Stockholm Metro, has unveiled its newest state-of-theart driver training facility in Sweden.

The new facility is part of MTR’s ongoing programme to deliver consistently world-class performance on the Stockholm Metro, which has already seen on-time performance rise to over 95 per cent.

In London, where punctuality on the Overground has risen to over 96 per cent, improvements have also seen customer satisfaction rise to over 90 per cent.

MTR intends to apply the learnings and best practice from both Stockholm and London to future services including Crossrail, where MTR was recently appointed as operator by Transport for London.

It took over 18 months to develop the new simulators. All 110 kilometers of track, 100 stations and four train depots in the Stockholm metro system were filmed to create highly detailed, exceptionally realistic simulations.

The life like accuracy and huge range of potential scenarios, mean that as well as training new drivers the simulators can be used to train existing drivers in how to best handle challenging scenarios, which would be very difficult to train for in passenger service.

Jeremy Long, CEO – European Business said: “The new simulators precisely replicate how a train behaves. They will allow us to simulate scenarios we could not easily create on actual track. They will improve new driver training and enable existing drivers to be better trained to deal with infrequent but challenging scenarios.

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Ticketing

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Bringing speed to the rail network Contactless payment is increasingly gaining traction on the transport network among time-pressed travellers looking for convenience and speed. CHRIS DAVIES, managing director of Global Payments explains its business potential

I Chris Davies, managing director of Global Payments

n the world of transport, speed is of the essence.

Enabling customers to pay for their tickets quickly can be the difference between whether they catch or miss their train. As a result, over recent years, the need to make card payments faster has become imperative as passengers turn to plastic for smaller payments at ticket offices and machines.

By way of illustration, the latest card expenditure statistics from the UK Card Association show that card spending overall amounted to £47 billion in June, up £0.2 billion on May. Additionally, the statistics showed lower average transaction values, likely to have been driven by the increasing use of contactless payments.

Contactless payment is especially well-suited to transport, as it enables busy passengers to pay for tickets within seconds. The cardholder simply taps their card on the dedicated reader, and makes an instant payment for any transaction under £20, powered by near field communication (NFC) technology.

Why has it taken so long?

So why is contactless payment only gaining traction on the transport network now? Although it was introduced in the UK in 2008, it is only now beginning to gain a wider appeal. Cardholders have been reticent for a number of reasons, and security concerns in particular have featured. However, contactless benefits from the same range of advanced security features found on a standard chip and PIN card, with transactions processed through the same secure network. In addition, the £20 limit in place ensures that theft of the card cannot lead to large losses, although any unauthorised transactions are still covered by the issuing bank as they would be with chip and PIN. NFC-powered barriers have been used on the transport network for over a decade. Oyster, for example, was introduced by Transport for London (TfL) in 2003, and allows the user to simply tap and charge their card on the dedicated readers. Oyster was used for 80 per cent of all TfL journeys by 2012.

Subsequently, TfL has now rolled out contactless payments on the full Tube network and parts of National Rail, with cards benefiting from the same fare savings which are activated when using an Oyster card. As the NFC infrastructure was in place for Oyster, it was a natural step to expand acceptance to cards. It’s not

just in London that the benefits of contactless card acceptance are being seen. This year, Merseyrail, the busiest transport system outside of London, which carries more than 100,000 passengers on a typical working day, introduced contactless payments across its network.

Overcoming the challenges The use of contactless is now evolving. Rather than simply enabling travellers to pay for their ticket at a kiosk or a machine, debit and credit cards can function as the ticket and be directly tapped on barriers. One of the challenges to implementation has been educating passengers on using new payment methods. For example, card clash can occur when the holder presents two ’eligible’ cards to the reader (for example a debit card and a pre-paid ticket). The passenger may intend to use the ticket, but the reader charges the debit card instead.

Another future issue to consider when using a debit or credit card as a ticket is interoperability among different providers. For example, a passenger could potentially tap in while boarding a service from South West Trains, then change platforms midway through their journey and tap out from an East Midlands Trains service. Connecting these from a payments perspective would be extremely convenient for the customer, but requires coordination to be delivered, as National Rail would need to operate a centrally managed system; an organisation such as the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) would be able to put this in place.

The future Accepting contactless will become increasingly important for rail operators as it reaches the next stage of its development through mobile payments.

As Apple has recently announced that it will be adding NFC technology to the next iPhone, the numbers of passengers using mobiles to pay could increase significantly.

Undoubtedly, there are practical challenges to be overcome in implementing a nationwide contactless payments acceptance infrastructure on the rail network.

However, as traction for the payment method grows, it has the potential to bring unprecedented efficiencies to both passengers and operators. zz

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Maintenance

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Coiled

for performance

The long term performance of high voltage (HV) generators and motors can come down to the manufacture and maintenance of the HV coils. RICHARD EMERY, takes us behind the scenes at the Sulzer Birmingham Service Centre, to explain the intricacies of the coil manufacture and maintenance Richard Emery is head of technical services at the Sulzer Birmingham Service Centre

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n any industry unplanned downtime can be costly, but for those operating HV generators and motors in the rail sector, unexpected failures can cause huge disruption and financial losses. It is therefore important to employ a system of maintenance, testing and monitoring to ensure that any signs of impending failure are highlighted at the earliest opportunity.

The next step is to ensure that once an issue is raised, the equipment in question is scheduled for maintenance in a properly planned operation so as to minimise any disruption. This planning stage will also include what maintenance actions will be required and which suppliers will be required to complete the repair. In some cases this will involve the replacement of some, or all, of the high voltage coils within the equipment – and it is here more than ever that the decision making process could affect the future reliability and performance of the machine in question for years to come.

The manufacture of high voltage coils is a very precise science and the design and construction methods will vary between suppliers, as will the testing procedures, which form the bulk of the proof the client has of the quality of the finished product. Obviously, when repairs are unplanned, speed is crucial in getting the equipment back up and running, but this cannot be achieved to the detriment of quality, which has much longer lasting implications.

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The insulation system Key to the performance and reliability of HV equipment is the insulation system, which is made up of insulating tape and resin, which seals the winding and prevents moisture ingress. The design and construction of the insulation depends on the application and it is important that the site survey conducted by the repair shop gathers all the necessary information and measurements to ensure an effective and reliable repair is completed.

The more common method of insulation is vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI), which is very competitive in terms of cost when compared to B-stage fully cured coils, but may not be appropriate or even possible for some applications. VPI requires the taped coils to be inserted into the stator core, connected and braced in position before lowering the complete assembly into the VPI tank. The vacuum applied to the tank removes the air and moisture, replacing them with a resin which is then cured to form an encapsulated solid mass.

This process can only be applied to those machines that can be removed from site and are small enough to fit inside the vacuum tank. One other disadvantage is that it is very difficult and much more expensive to effect a coil repair to a machine that has VPI insulation, due to the solid mass of resin which makes removal and replacement of a single coil impractical. The alternative is to use individually cured, B-stage resin rich coils, which

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz can be transported to site to allow the repair or complete rewind to be completed.

The use of B-stage resin coils is predominant in the rewinding of larger machines but this method also delivers benefits for smaller machines. The construction of the B-stage coils allows the resin to flow to the end of the winding and bond the layers of insulating tapes to produce a more homogenous insulation and sealing of the winding.

In most cases the use of modern insulating materials will improve both the dielectric and thermal performance when compared to those used by the OEM during original manufacture.

In fact, approximately 90 per cent of the insulating performance is achieved before the curing process takes place and many machines can enter service without the curing process being completed. This will take place over a period of 3 to 6 months under normal operating conditions, with no adverse effects to performance.

In addition, each B-stage resin coil can be independently tested before being installed, giving the repair centre and the client peace of mind that every coil has passed the numerous tests required. In contrast, the machines undergoing repair using VPI coils can only be fully tested once all the coils have been installed and the VPI process completed.

Quality assurance Of course, quality assurance (QA) is crucial and there are several standards which must be met, especially for the testing of HV coils, which is carried out both in-house and by external, independent, laboratories. Starting with the basic raw materials and right through the manufacturing process, a series of continuous checks are in place to ensure every coil is produced to the exact design specification.

For every job a set of wooden formers are created to replicate the stator slots to allow the shape and fit of the coils to be checked quickly and efficiently. In addition, go, no-go gauges are used to check the coil dimensions against the stator specification. These gauges are quicker and more accurate than using micrometers, which can introduce errors through a simple misreading of the scale.

At Sulzer, at any point in the manufacturing process where the shape of the coil could have changed, an additional check is made to ensure the coil is still to specification. After each application of a press or heat, the coils are placed back into the formers to be certain that the finished coil will fit exactly during final assembly.

In addition, if there is any perceived change in the materials used in the insulation system, then a sample coil will be subjected to voltage endurance testing in order to prove the insulation properties and reliability are unchanged. Suppliers have been known to change specifications of their materials without providing such information to the end users and so periodic sampling is conducted to ensure the overall quality of the finished

product is maintained.

The electrical testing of the completed coil includes the Tan, which is a measure of the integrity of the slot wall insulation, where a lower figure indicates a better quality coil. At Sulzer Coil Manufacturing in Birmingham, the figure achieved is always less than half the international standard, with an aim to realise less than one third of the standard. This can only be done by the continuous attention to detail which is encouraged throughout the manufacturing process.

Independent checks Further testing is carried out on sample coils by independent laboratories, including the thermal endurance test, which is carried out at 30kV for 500 hours, a simple enough task for a high quality coil.

However, a more difficult test is done at 35kV for 250 hours but once again the attention to detail pays off, and all the coils manufactured by Sulzer at Birmingham have also passed this standard.

For those involved in the operation and maintenance of large HV rotating machines, there are many choices when looking to repair or rewind such equipment. The key to a successful project is ensuring that those involved will be able to deliver a high quality product, precisely, quickly and with the necessary support to ensure a timely completion. zz

Below: Continuous checks are made throughout manufacturing to ensure every coil is produced to the exact design specification

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NEWS I Infrastructure

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Two route options unveiled for Midland Metro extension l The public are being invited to give their views on plans to extend the Midland Metro, a new tram route that was originally designed to link Bull Street in Birmingham city centre to the HS2 high speed rail station at Curzon Street. The proposed extension, will continue on into the heart of the Digbeth area.

The scheme, including construction and rolling stock, could cost up to £130 million depending on the route chosen.

Two options have been drawn up by Centro, the region’s transport co-ordinator, and Birmingham City Council, linking New Canal Street with a proposed terminus and multistorey car park at Adderley Street. Option 1 is the shortest at just over 1km, and follows Fazeley Street before turning onto Liverpool Street and then Adderley Street. Option 2, just under 1.5km, runs along New Canal Street and Meriden Street before turning left on to High Street Deritend, and then turn left into Adderley Street.

The extension could be open by 2023, ahead of the scheduled opening of HS2 in 2026.

Centro chairman, Cllr John McNicholas, said: “The Eastside extension will help cater for the movement of the 12,000 West Midlands people expected to arrive at the HS2 station every hour and provide fast and convenient public transport options to the east of the city.”

Computer generated images of how the Metro trams would look in High Street Deritend

Winners announced in £3m electrification competition l Funding worth £3million has been announced for nine winning proposals to reduce the cost of electrification schemes by avoiding the need to reconstruct bridges and tunnels.

Altering and reconstructing bridges and tunnels is roughly 25% of the cost of electrification schemes and so this was a smart area for investment in new ideas to reduce the costs involved.

The nine successful proposals to trial innovative technology-enabled solutions are being funded as part of a FutureRailway competition managed by RSSB, and in partnership with Network Rail and the Department for Transport. Competition winners were Balfour Beatty, DGauge, Electren, Freyssinet, IDOM, PCAT Consortium, Tata Steel, TRL and URS. Feasibility studies will run until January 2015 after which finalists will be chosen to proceed to the demonstrator phase.

David Clarke, director of FutureRailway, said: “The conventional wisdom was that everything worth trying had already been tried. It is really pleasing that we are announcing the start of the feasibility studies on nine very credible but novel ideas from innovative suppliers. We hope this will in time lead to the railway being able to deliver more electrification with the funding available.

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Rebalancing Britain – HS2 report l A new report by HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins – Rebalancing Britain: from HS2 towards a national transport strategy – goes back to basics and examines the rationale behind the second phase of HS2 and how this can be met. It also addresses the importance of developing connectivity across the north of England, and making HS2 an integral part of a wider transport system with the potential to spread growth across the country.

The report’s four main proposals are: l Take forward both legs of the proposed HS2 Y-network – the alternatives will not bring the same capacity, connectivity and economic benefits l Improve the rail services between east and west – sharply reducing journey times between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull will stimulate local economies l Northern cities should speak with one voice – local authorities from five key cities should join together to form a new body l Set out a timetable to develop a new transport strategy – decide on an approach for improving rail and road connectivity across and within the region north of Birmingham.

The report sets out a series of conclusions for phase two of HS2.

These include: l Continue with the planned route into Manchester city centre via the airport – keeping open the option to add a new airport station l Need to review the best station solution for Leeds to include provision for increased east-west services through the city. l The line should be extended to Crewe by 2027 – six years earlier than originally proposed. l A new station at Sheffield Meadowhall remains the best way to serve the wider South Yorkshire region l That the East Midlands hub should be near the proposed site at Toton but its precise location needs further work.

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Franchising

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Customer satisfaction With changes to the rail franchising process on the horizon, Farah Al-Hassani looks at the new focus on customer satisfaction, and the role NRPS is likely to play in decision making and auditing performance

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Farah Al-Hassani is a lawyer in the rail team at law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP

Bhavisha Mistry

he National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) results show the national average figure holding steady and passenger satisfaction remaining at a near record high. Yet despite this promising statistic, the results by route and category paint a less optimistic picture with wide variances in passenger satisfaction amongst train operators and many operators scoring poorly across the board, from reliability and punctuality to managing delays.

The forthcoming round of new franchises is viewed by many as a chance to address the disparity in satisfaction levels and increase accountability to rail passengers – and recent activity suggests that NRPS is likely to play a key role.

NRPS is undertaken by Passenger Focus and provides a network-wide view of passenger satisfaction with rail travel. It serves as an important indicator of performance to operators and a useful tool for identifying trends in performance over time.

Train operators have individual responsibility for implementing measures to improve passenger satisfaction but few have historically faced contractual targets or financial penalties: franchise targets have traditionally focused on measures such as punctuality and crowding rather than softer service quality type measures.

Change is however on the horizon, thanks in large part to the recommendations of the Brown Review which followed the collapse of the West Coast franchise procurement in 2012.

One of the key recommendations was to place greater emphasis on improving service quality for passengers in the franchising process, by attaching higher scores and weighting to quality in bid assessment.

Brown recognised that in order to improve overall service, the needs and expectations of passengers ought to be given much greater attention. Several recommendations were made to enhance the use of NRPS, including more closely reflecting results in franchise commitments and ensuring its use in performance-monitoring.

A new focus on quality The DfT has since published a new methodology for awarding passenger rail franchises which places significantly greater emphasis on service quality outcomes. It is an unequivocal endorsement of Brown’s recommendations which sees the introduction of a specific quality score in bid evaluation, intended to reflect

bidders’ abilities to meet the most important issues of each franchise.

Train operators are now being challenged to improve services across the spectrum of passenger experience and put service at the heart of all company decisions. A new focus is evident in the recently awarded TSGN and Essex Thameside franchises and the ITT for the East Coast franchise – and the DfT has indicated through its consultation exercises for the Northern, TransPennine Express and Great Western franchises that a similar approach is to be expected on future franchises.

The DfT has worked closely with Passenger Focus to develop the service quality specifications for forthcoming franchises and consider mechanisms for incorporating NRPS results to ensure appropriate passenger benefits are delivered.

The result is new, contractually binding benchmarks linked to NRPS results which will be used to determine performance against benchmarks set out in the franchise agreement. Train operators will, as a minimum, be expected to achieve the benchmarks to demonstrate delivery of good customer service which is measured and tested against customer expectations. By setting targets, it will ensure a focus on the customer which many argue was lacking in past franchises.

The benchmarks are based on a variety of indicators of passenger satisfaction drawn from NRPS results. Bidders will need to provide compelling evidence during the bid phase to demonstrate how their initiatives and actions will achieve the benchmarks and deliver a high level of customer service, whilst also highlighting potential risks and how these might be overcome. Higher scores may be rewarded to those exceeding minimum requirements and demonstrating innovative ideas, again signalling the DfT’s commitment to rewarding “quality” bids.

The future Although the new NRPS obligations are by no means revolutionary, the changes will nevertheless place greater obligations on all parties and provide a renewed focus on improving passenger satisfaction. The extent to which bidders meet or exceed the requirement to improve service quality now forms an important part of evaluation and bidders will need a clear evidence base and management initiatives to persuade the DfT of their capability to improve passenger satisfaction. Using NRPS to help benchmark and incentivise improvements should help train operators focus on passenger needs and inherently improve satisfaction levels. zz

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Health & Safety

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The right people in the right place Britain has one of the safest rail transport systems in Europe but there is still room for improvement. MARY CLARKE takes a look at the human element

T Mary Clarke is CEO of Cognisco

he Annual Safety Performance report 2013/14 released in July by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) revealed that a record number of the public were killed on Britain’s railways last year, and 293 trains went through red lights and signals.

The report said that 300 people were killed, either by taking their own lives or from accessing areas out of bounds. There were also 293 signals passed at danger last year, 43 more than the year before. While suicides are impossible for rail companies to safeguard against, errors made by front line staff shouldn’t be happening.

The risks involved in trains going through a red light are all too clear. Such incidents could cause crashes and derailments and lead to serious injuries and even deaths.

The boss of Network Rail, Mark Carne, has said he wants to make the network safer and his predecessor Sir David Higgins also regularly said that safety came first in everything he did on the network.

Reducing risks on the rail network But what exactly can be done to improve rail safety, especially as more trains are running and passengers

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numbers are growing?

One of the key things is ensuring rail employees are competent in their roles and comply with regulations at all times. Organisations operating in high risk industries with a mobile, disparate or fluid workforce are often frustrated by the inability to identify individual employees who are currently qualified, licenced or capable of carrying out a given task or operation.

Holding a record of employee certificates and licences is not enough when you need to be confident that the people you select today are currently qualified, licenced

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and trained and will work or deliver in the way you need them to.

For those operating in regulated industries like rail, the ability to prove compliance and competence of each individual at a specific time and date, is critical in meeting industry standards and also in reducing the significant cost, time and resource involved in any incident related litigation or enquiry.

Tackling human error Over the past ten years investigations into major rail accidents have highlighted human performance as a contributory factor. Misunderstanding or employee error can result in safety breaches that cause injury and death. Driving through a red light is likely to be a result of human error, and before rail companies can prevent such incidents they need to identify why they are happening.

It could be an error of judgement, a lack of knowledge, a lapse in concentration, even possibly intentionally – as can happen on the roads where someone feels they have just enough time to get through a red light. Rail bosses need a better understanding of their employees and their likely behaviour on the job.

All rail companies must have formal competency management systems in place to maintain and assess the competence of operators responsible for safety critical work and ensure front line workforces are monitored and assessed.

Maintaining a consistently competent workforce is crucial to reduce exposure to risk of serious incidents and help to identify gaps and issues in current workforce competence or qualification. Such systems identify currently qualified staff regardless of their location and can rapidly build and deploy new teams with the right skills and experience.

These systems also offers visibility of upcoming assessments or licensing requirements, essential for ensuring that the organisation is compliant with industry regulations.

Network Rail and Eurostar We have been working with both Network Rail and Eurostar for several years to implement penetrative situational judgement assessments, and our competency management system, my*KNOW, not only provides them with a unique insight into their employees’ competencies but also their skills, knowledge and confidence. The system allows for different elements such as observation, training intervention and assessment, maybe even allocation of self-evidence of a competency to be recorded, audited and reported on.

An assessment provides insight not only into how knowledgeable a person is but how they might act when performing their jobs and the decisions they might make at work by asking employees a series of multiple response questions based on common on the job scenarios.

The results reveal a heat map of the strengths and

weaknesses the individual has in relation to their role.

It highlights knowledge gaps, but more importantly the confidence factor shows which areas might be an issue or pose a risk. The more confident they are the more likely they are to carry out that decision. If the subsequent knowledge is poor this is potentially a high risk.

The key objective for Network Rail was to minimise risk, to ensure that only competent people carry out safety critical and safety-related work, and to comply with the requirements placed upon them most notably in line with the ORR (Office of Rail Regulation). They needed a formal competency management solution to maintain and assess the competence of operators responsible for safety critical work, and for managers to have an up to date competence record and schedule, training needs, progress and performance of every individual – all in one place.

The system, referred to internally as the Academy is the central hub which measures the competence of over 11,000 front line operators including signallers, controllers, graduate engineers, station staff and capacity planning employees, and provides insight into other HR, training, simulation and verification systems.

For Eurostar and Highspeed, their key goal was complete visibility of the competence of their front line, engineering, rolling stock and maintenance staff, as well as a simple way of reporting on the status and scheduling of competencies, tying this into existing assessment and training frameworks. The system tracks their assessment processes, and in Eurostar’s case it logs driver observations, training courses, as well as medical facts, documents and the processes and schedules for assessments too.

In all cases the system has given uniformity in managing competence across each company, regardless of nationality, function, role or location. And for the first time, managers have complete visibility of the global workforce and accessible data about the team, route, depot and individual competence status. The robust reporting facility makes it easy for managers to produce regular reports which can be used internally or externally for auditing and compliance purposes.

Conclusion Human behaviour is always going to play a part in health and safety on the rail network, and having a better understanding of how front line staff behave while performing their job is essential for minimising risk, improving health and safety and ensuing regulatory compliance. This competency management system has gone one step further, by joining all these elements in to one centralised function, producing live transparent, accessible data. It provides a cradle to grave approach and links not only their competencies but all the requirements that the individual needs to optimise their performance and improve the performance of the organisation. zz

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Planning

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Berlin’s new station, an excellent example of joined up thinking

Joinedup journeys

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ars seamlessly take passengers from A to B, but public transport passengers often face awkward and time-consuming changes. This is extraordinary given that in the UK, the issue was first recognised in the 1947 Transport Act. Many would argue that a joined-up approach to transportation enjoys widespread political support, but a lack of will, and structural issues make this a particularly intractable challenge.

Passenger pain For passengers, the need to interchange can arouse strong emotions – it is something people would rather avoid, a moment of stress and uncertainty, and a point where the difference in service culture between different elements comes sharply into focus. Often interchanges are designed to serve the needs of operators, not passengers.

Getting it right is about understanding the joins across the system – architecture and space, service, information, etc. All need to work seamlessly together and be passenger focused. Transport in the UK is run as a commercial enterprise by individual organisations and it doesn’t feel like a single ecosystem: different brands, different operational models, different service quality.

The experience of say arriving on a Virgin train and transferring to the tube or a bus puts you into two very different experiences.

Operators have become customer-centred, but few have worked together to eliminate gaps where their different systems come together. However, as they increasingly see the commercial value in being more passenger-focused, there is the prospect of change for the better.

How can this be achieved?

David Watts is managing director of CCD Design and Ergonomics

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In the battle between public and private transport, one area that has been given too little attention is making the passenger journey a satisfying experience from start to finish.

David Watts considers the issue

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Stations are a key element of the joined-up journey, but they are not the only element to consider. Tickets, customer information systems, rolling stock all form part of making the journey either a single or disjointed experience for the passenger.

New transport systems offer the opportunity for joinedup thinking, and as a green-field project with a long planning phase, HS2 should deliver seamless interchanges which are necessary to make the high-speed, high volume, high frequency network operate reliably. It has been designed with passenger needs at the very heart of the trains, and station interchanges to be at the cutting-edge of creating a positive passenger experience.

One of the guiding principles of route selection and station location has been interconnection. This will shape the final service by designing for joined-up journeys, changes in mobility (eg better provision for cycling), and using data to support interchange and ticketing strategy.

Similarly, in the Middle East places like Jeddah are building a whole transport system in one go. In the Netherlands, not surprisingly, the needs of cyclists have become an integral part of station design, and the new station in Berlin stands as an excellent example of joined-up journey thinking.

But in the real world, where not everything is new,

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz great strides can be made. For example, ticketing is one opportunity using existing technology. It is almost impossible to buy a door-to-door journey ticket but modern technology is more than capable of solving that problem, and allocating revenue to the right company.

Even in London, if you take a journey by tube and then jump on a bus, you end up paying twice. By contrast, Hong Kong’s Octopus card allows free interchange to a certain extent.

Harnessing technology Technology is the key to creating a much more passenger-centred approach to many areas of the journey. So far technology hasn’t supported interchange in any meaningful way – it offers tantalising glimpses of what the future could hold for integrated journeys, but its adoption is frustratingly slow and piecemeal.

There are efforts to provide some information displays in some stations about bus or metro services, yet passengers have to work to get real-time information.

Third-parties are developing whole journey planner apps using available data, but these lack mechanisms to help passengers respond to problems in real-time or to rebook a leg of the journey.

Smarter technology could deliver benefits. If ‘the system’ knows you are getting off at a station to transfer to the local tram system it could reserve your seat in a carriage near the right station exit. There is a great opportunity to support passengers better and create more personalised and adaptive services.

The element of design Then there is the physical environment. New and redeveloped stations are usually well designed to accommodate future growth in passenger capacity, but perform less well in accommodating future interchange growth – so the taxi rank, bus stops or cycle racks don’t have similar space.

Good wayfinding is fundamental and should be extended to provide better information before arrival.

Before the passenger even steps off the train, they should be given the information they need to make the next step in their journey – find the exit, find the taxi, find the platform for metro…or where to pick up a BorisBike.

At London Bridge a new concourse will link the new and thriving riverside with Guy’s Hospital and Bermondsey’s increasingly upmarket backstreets. The integration of the wayfinding system as part of the master planning will have a significant effect on improving the interchange experience of everyone using the station, whether they are transferring trains, catching a taxi, a bus, boat or completing their journey on foot.

Increasingly, architects use master-planning to improve the interchange. At Reading, the new extension not only expands train routes into and across this strategic gateway to London, but also provides seamless access either side of the station with the conversion of an

old platform access tunnel into a major pedestrian thoroughfare, linking regeneration zones either side.

The King’s Cross redevelopment sought to tackle the problem – although it is far from perfect – it does manage to handle huge numbers of people through massively constrained spaces to allow them to get from A to B.

Western gateline at the new extension to Reading station, seen from the east

In Holland Excellent examples can be seen in the Netherlands, where high quality cycle parking in sufficient volumes has encouraged more people to arrive by bike and not car. In Haarlem, directly under the bus station in front of the Central Railway Station there is space for over 5,000 bicycles. In Houten the Transferium is the perfect for transferring from one mode of transport to the other.

There is parking facility for over 3,000 bicycles located directly under the platforms making it an integral part of the station. Even in the US, changes are afoot with the North Hollywood subway station planning indoor parking for cycles.

Creating joined-up journeys is no easy task – if it was there would be no need for this article. There are structural, cultural, physical and technological issues to be overcome. Service providers must look beyond their own boundaries and appreciate the commercial benefits rather than just look within. Getting the interchange right is key to great customer experience and making it work for passengers means seeing it as an integrated journey and therefore focus on the joins. Ultimately all the bits have to work in harmony and this requires a change in service attitude which involves providing a graceful and planned handover at each stage rather than passengers being dumped on the pavement! zz The Houten Transferium in the Netherlands is an ideal space for changing from one mode of transport to another

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Facilities Management

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Flood management at Didcot The newly renovated Didcot Parkway station in Oxforshire is very vulnerable to flooding. GARY MORTON of ACO Water Management discusses the solutions to this problem Gary Morton is head of sector development at ACO Water Management

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idcot Parkway, the main rail station for the prestigious Oxford Science Vale, has been undergoing a £6.7 million programme of redevelopment, aimed at boosting the economy of Didcot and Oxford Science Vale, and promoting regeneration of the Didcot Gateway.

The station’s vulnerability to flooding was a major consideration in its re-design. As more paving, road surfaces and car parks were going to be constructed in an area already susceptible to flooding, the amount and speed of surface water run-off would increase, further affecting natural drainage.

Finding the right solution Traditionally excess water was removed by installing underground pipes to carry water away as quickly as possible. However, although this can prevent local flooding it ultimately just transfers the flooding problem elsewhere.

With the Environment Agency now promoting the use of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) to address this problem, main contractor Balfour chose the unique modular

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design offered by StormBrixx, which can be installed quickly, with minimal disruption.

The sustainable surface water management scheme (developed by Jacobs Engineering Group), utilises space beneath two of the station’s three new car parks, to accommodate StormBrixx attenuation tanks with sufficient capacity to hold and safely discharge run-off from across the redesigned pedestrian piazza and forecourt.

The space issue “In order to achieve the volume required, we had to excavate virtually the entire deck area of the two car parks,” said Balfour Beatty site agent, Tony Mills.

“Restricted by a major trunk road on one side and the rail track embankment on the other, it left very little free space for the ground workers and tank installers to store equipment. Tight installation schedules added to the challenge. To avoid delays we needed to have all the tank components on-site to allow the build team to work unhindered once the excavation stage was complete.”

Key to Balfour Beatty’s decision to use ACO StormBrixx

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz was its unique modular design, which allowed all the tank components to be stacked, transported and stored in just 25 per cent of the space required by conventional cratebased systems. Less cumbersome and easier to handle, StormBrixx produces a stronger more stable structure that can be configured to any size or location, overcoming the construction limitations and drawbacks suffered by traditional tanks.

“By using StormBrixx,” Tony Mills added, “not only were we able to hold sufficient stock within the tight space to keep the laying team adequately supplied, but we were also able to reduce transportation costs as both tanks could be loaded onto a single truck. This had the added benefit of significantly lowering the whole operation’s carbon emissions.”

How the tanks work The two tanks are inter-connected with a single discharge (limited to a maximum 10 litres/second) to an adjacent watercourse. The upstream offline tank has a volume of 297m3 and only fills if run-off flow rates from its catchment exceed 4 litres/second. The downstream online tank attenuates both the run-off from the offline catchment as well as from its own.

Run-off discharge rates from both catchments are controlled using two ACO Q-Brake Vortex flow control units. The discharge from the online tank first passes through an oil separator before being released into the watercourse.

As the tanks are set up to attenuate storm water, each is wrapped in a two part membrane that prevents any infiltration into the surrounding sub-soil and eliminates

any silt penetrating the tank walls. First a welded geomembrane liner system sits immediately adjacent to the tank walls; this is then encased in a protection fleece, which safeguards the integrity of the overall structure.

The future With more and more railway stations being developed there will be an increase in the number of car parks, and associated roads and pathways. The issue of surface water run-off is therefore only going to increase.

This, combined with the increase in extreme weather conditions, makes flooding an even greater issue. Storm water management should now be a top priority for any development. In the long term it will help to ensure that costly flooding damage is kept to a minimum. The space-saving storm water attenuation tank, StormBrixx, can utilise space beneath the car park for example, so that land can be used to its fullest. The Didcot Parkway project is a great example of how this can be achieved.zz

Installation of the storm water attenuation tank

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Asset Management

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in situ Sensors

Sensors monitoring ageing infrastructure

A sense of wellbeing MIKE BAKER discusses how sensors are powering the next-generation structural health monitoring. Not only can engineers now detect infrastructure faults well in advance of failure, but they can accurately pinpoint the cause Mike Baker is managing director of Sherborne Sensors www.sherbornesensors.com

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tructural health monitoring (SHM) is an emerging field that provides information on demand about any significant change or damage occurring in a structure. It has been employed for many years in civil infrastructure in various forms, ranging from visual observation and assessment of structural condition, to technology-led approaches involving deployment of an array of sensors that can include accelerometers, inclinometers and strain measurement devices on site. These sensors can be deployed on a permanent basis or moved on and off site each time a fresh set of data is required.

Conventional forms of inspection and monitoring are only as good as their ability to uncover potential issues in a timely manner. One of the major difficulties with SHM instruments for example, is managing the huge volumes of data that sensor arrays generate. Meanwhile, visual inspections and evaluations are insufficient for determining the structural adequacy of railway bridges or buildings.

Sensors have been used in the railway industry since

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its inception, with a recent emphasis on SHM. There have been major advances in communications, data transmission and computer processing, which have enabled SHM solutions to acquire vast volumes of data in relatively short periods of time and transfer it via highspeed fibre-optic or wireless connections to a central database. Subsequent analysis and modelling of this data can provide critical intelligence for maintenance and management strategies, as well as improved design.

Shoring-up rail transport structures The immediacy and sensitivity of SHM enables it to serve a variety of applications. It can allow for short-term verification of new or innovative designs, as well as the early detection of problems and subsequent avoidance of catastrophic failures. When implemented as part of a maintenance strategy, it can assist with the effective allocation of resources, reducing both service disruptions and maintenance costs.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz One of the core drivers however, is the growing requirement for refurbishment of critical transport infrastructure. Many owners and operators need timely information to ensure continued safe and economic operation of ageing infrastructure, while the construction and engineering industry faces a mounting challenge to shore-up supporting civil structures. Deterioration can be due to multiple factors, including the corrosion of steel reinforcement and consequent breakdown of concrete, or the fact that some structures may be sound, but have become functionally obsolete – for example a bridge that is no longer able to support growing traffic volumes, vehicle sizes and weights.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), one in four bridges in the US is either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. In Canada, more than 40 per cent of operational bridges were built over 30 years ago and have been impacted by the adverse climate and extensive use of de-icing salts. And in the UK, an increasing number of bridges and other structures need to be strengthened to comply with legal minimum requirements specified by European Community legislation. For railway operators and contractors, this legislation is of paramount importance, rendering SHM an invaluable resource.

Sensors in the loop The aim of SHM is many fold, including monitoring the in-situ behaviour of a structure accurately and efficiently, to assess its performance under various service loads, to detect damage or deterioration, and to determine its health or condition in a timely manner.

SHM describes the confluence of structural monitoring and damage detection, with the physical diagnostic tool being the integration of various sensing devices and ancillary systems. The latter can include data acquisition and processing, communications and networking, and damage detection and modelling software powered by sophisticated algorithms.

Field-proven technologies lie at the heart of SHM innovation. For the past few decades, closed loop sensors have proven to be highly robust, reliable, repeatable and accurate in a variety of applications where extremely precise measurements are required.

Bridging old and new Improvements in electronics packaging and assembly methods have allowed the sensing devices employed in SHM solutions to become smaller, more cost effective, and so sensitive that there is no longer a need to excite a structure in order to gain vital information about its integrity. By placing the right number of sensors in the appropriate positions on a bridge for example, analysts now have the raw data required via ambient sources such as wind gust loads, foot falls, and traffic flows.

Moreover, advanced algorithms have been developed that allow asset owners and managing authorities to

SHM monitors for damage or deterioration acquire both short and long-term structural integrity assessments that prove essential in taking decisions regarding repairs and upgrades, strengthening projects, financing, insurance, and dispute resolution.

SHM’s benefits have also been clearly demonstrated at a remote steel bridge in the heart of Brazil’s Amazon basin. Supporting freight trains carrying 10 per cent of the world’s iron ore each year, the bridge had been rolling back and forth whenever an ore carrying heavyladen train was crossing. A horizontal crack had also appeared in one of the supporting concrete girders, with train drivers returning to the mines reporting increasingly violent vibrations as they crossed – despite their cars being empty.

A sensors-based SHM solution was brought in to monitor the bridge over a period of time and, using its data collector devices and advanced analysis techniques, discovered that the crack in the concrete was not the cause. Rather, it was the frequency of the movement of the returning trains coupled with that of the bridge.

The solution was simply to reduce the speed of the trains by 20km per hour when they crossed the bridge un-laden, and the vibration was eliminated, without the

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Asset Management

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Even wind gusts or foot falls can generate the data required need for costly engineering works to the bridge. The use of sensors in an environment as volatile as the Amazon shows the durability of the system in extreme conditions, working consistently through heavy rain, humidity and heat.

Using conventional methods, a displacement sensor would have been placed over the crack to measure how it responded to ambient vibration over time. But such a device would not have told the bridge owners why the crack had come about, and whether it had anything to do with the movement in the structure.

In this scenario, an SHM solution takes raw vibration data from field-proven and trusted sensors, and turns it into valuable information enabling analysts to provide a holistic diagnosis of a structure. This ensures asset owners and management authorities are fully-equipped with the knowledge to establish the most appropriate strategy for modifying a structural system to repair current weaknesses, minimise further issues and thus prolong the life of the asset.

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Wireless innovation As more capable sensors are deployed, the opportunity exists for engineers to find even more efficient and effective ways to acquire data, analyse the vast volumes being stored, identify areas for improvement and most importantly, act on the information provided. Automated SHM for example, brings a number of benefits, such as enabling cost-effective, condition-based maintenance as opposed to conventional schedule-based approaches.

Current commercial monitoring systems suffer from various technological and economic limitations that prevent their widespread adoption. In particular, the fixed wiring used to route from system sensors to the centralised data hub represent one of the greatest limitations since they are physically vulnerable and expensive from an installation and subsequent maintenance standpoint. The introduction of wireless sensor networks in particular is attracting significant interest.

A wireless sensor network consists of nodes, which can range from a few to several hundred sensors, with each node connected to one or several sensors. This model

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provides a practical solution for bridging information systems and the physical world, with a substantial amount of railway line being covered, and then consequently monitored by a single display.

Wireless solutions are shown to reduce installation costs and sensor installation times dramatically. They also increase safety levels because they can often be configured remotely or prior to installation, and exchanged easily for calibration and maintenance. Conversely, the more permanent a sensor installation, the more costly the maintenance requirement tends to be. In addition, a solution that combines both wireless data transmission and battery operation, together with low power consumption is preferable.

The Wireless Tilt System (WTS) developed by Sherborne Sensors for example, is designed to provide structural engineers with a complete measurement solution able to record and log data remotely without the cost and complexity of traditional wired methods.

The engineer simply fits the low power inclinometers to strategic points on a given structure or component thus helping to determine range of motion, as well as any structural weaknesses and whether maintenance is required. This simple and cost-effective solution is extremely beneficial, especially when multiple readings must be obtained.

Building business intelligence Although implementing change in the rail and transport industries takes time, new approaches to SHM can deliver immediate benefits to asset owners, financiers, and public authorities in reducing the risk of litigation, improving public safety, and the sustainability of critical transport infrastructure. Using the latest SHM solutions, structural performance detection and monitoring can be performed continuously, on a periodic basis, or in direct response to an event that may have affected the structure.

A variety of innovative structural integrity assessment solutions are being developed that provide the vital information that analysts use to compare the dissipation of vibrations with either the predicted behaviour of the structure given its design and materials, or with baseline measurements captured earlier. Customised servo accelerometers for example, are central to the data collector devices used to capture these baseline measurements and enable users to establish whether a structure transfers loads as designed.

When placed either singly or in an array on bridges or other structures for a period, data collector devices record a structure’s three-dimensional movement in extreme detail. Sensors have played a key role in improving rail travel reliability, and maintaining the integrity of structures vital to it. However, determining the most appropriate sensor technology for the application, and also the interpretation of the data, is where the knowledge and experience of a specialist supplier of sensor technology comes to the fore. zz

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Abellio Greater Anglia brings in customer service expertise l Neil Grabham has joined Abellio Greater Anglia as head of customer service for the East. He is responsible for customer service provision at stations in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex including Shenfield, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.

Neil’s background is in retail and logistics with well known high street brands. He has spent the last ten years at H Samuel in various management roles, ultimately developing and leading the prestige area in Central London.

Commenting on his new role, Neil said: “I am very excited to join the team at Abellio Greater Anglia. I have been really impressed so far with how well my team works under sometimes challenging circumstances and I look forward to working with them to improve customer service still further over the coming months.”

International rolling stock expert joins Steer Davies Gleave l Rolling stock engineering specialist Anthony Oyo, has joined international transport consultancy Steer Davies Gleave as an Associate within the advisory division.

Anthony brings extensive international experience in rolling stock maintenance, fleet strategy development and fleet management.

A Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Member of the Association of Project Management, Anthony has delivered project and change management and technical support to government and multilateral infrastructure investments in Europe, Africa, USA, Australasia and Asia.

Anthony has recently returned to the UK from New Zealand where he acted as project director for the £200 million new train procurement for Greater Wellington Regional Council. In New Zealand he also led the independent verification and validation process for the new Auckland electric multiple units and the rolling stock technical evaluation for the Mauritius Light Rail Transit project.

NEWS I Appointments

Bombardier’s Josef Doppelbauer to steer the European railway sector’s future as executive director of ERA lDr Josef Doppelbauer, formerly chief technical officer of Bombardier, has been elected executive director of the European Railway Agency (ERA), with effect from 1 January 2015. His role will be to transform ERA from an agency drafting rail interoperability and safety specifications into the one-stop-shop for vehicle authorisation and safety certification.

He will also develop its role as system authority for the European Rail Transport Management System (ERTMS). Under his guidance, ERA will work closely with National Safety Authorities across Europe to carry out the new tasks of vehicle authorisation and safety certification.

Dr Doppelbauer has 25 years of experience in railway technology, including signalling, communications and control. Having started his career at the Alcatel Research Centre in Vienna, Dr Doppelbauer eventually become chief technical officer for Alcatel Transport Automation Solutions in 2001 prior to joining Bombardier Transportation in December 2002 where his roles included VP project management and chief technical officer, culminating in his appointment as vice president research and technology, Bombardier Transportation in January 2014.

Since the early 1990s, he has been involved with the development of the ERTMS. His international work experience includes posts in Austria, France, UK, Sweden, and Germany. He is currently chairman of the European Rail Research Advisory Committee (ERRAC), and between 2011 and June 2014 he was the chairman of the steering committee of the joint technology initiative SHIFT2RAIL. CER executive director Libor Lochman said: “I expect Josef Doppelbauer to fully acknowledge the needs of the whole railway sector in all the fields of the Agency’s future activities – from vehicle authorisation processes to safety certification or operation, safety and maintenance – which should all lead to the cost reductions crucial to railway undertakings and infrastructure managers. The vitality and competitiveness of the European railway sector as a whole are essential and the European Railway Agency should be the major contributor to this target.”

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Millar Crawford moves to COO of Thales Ground Transportation l Millar Crawford has been appointed chief operating officer of Thales Ground Transportation Systems. He will serve as senior vice president and chief operating officer, with responsibility for all business lines within the Ground Transportation Systems globally.

As Thales’ participation in the ground transportation sector continues to grow, Millar will oversee the successful delivery of all ongoing transportation contracts. At the same time, he will lead the deployment of Thales’s performance programme within the division.

Millar joined Thales in 1981. His experience with the group includes management roles ranging from engineering and purchasing to project management and operations, as well as several executive management positions. He has gained extensive international experience that spans the United Kingdom, France and Canada, serving military as well as civil markets.

Until August 2014, Millar was chief operating officer of Thales Australia.

Mathieu Dunant joins the board of SYSTRA l World leader in mass transit infrastructure engineering, SYSTRA, has appointed Mathieu Dunant to the executive board.

Aged 44, Mathieu is a graduate from the Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale des Techniques Avancées in France. He started his career working for a consultancy firm, then launched an internet network start-up before joining RATP in 2003 where he worked first as director of passenger information and on-board systems and then as director for Line 14. In 2009, he was appointed managing director of RATP DEV America in New York before returning to Paris in 2012 to manage RAPT DEV Africa/America.

From 1st October 2014, SYSTRA executive board will be comprise: CEO Pierre Verzat, Mathieu Dunant as executive vice president France, Frédéric Delorme as executive vice president operations, and Bruno Schmitt, executive vice president, finance and administration. www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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NEWS I Infrastructure

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Network Rail unveils plans to reduce flooding around Exeter l Over the last two years, flooding at the Cowley and Stafford bridges in Exeter has resulted in four weeks of disruption, meaning numerous delays and closures on this part of the Great Western Main Line, loss of profit for businesses in the area and a huge inconvenience to local residents.

Over the last year Network Rail has been studying the area to establish the cause of the flooding and assessing various options to reduce the chance of it happening again.

Based on these findings, the preferred solution is to remove the weirs that span the river River Exe at Pynes, Exwick and Cowley. The river should then return to its natural state, and the water level will fall by up to a metre.

Joanna Grew, Network Rail’s commercial scheme sponsor for the project, said: “Over the years, flooding at these two bridges has caused huge disruption on the Great Western Main Line, severely inconveniencing passengers and harming the region’s economy. As a good neighbour, we are also aware of the extensive problems it causes the local community, which is why we have been working to find a long-term solution.

“The preferred option of removing the weirs is the most favourable as it would not only limit the chances of flooding in the future, it is also the option that provides good value for money for the public. We are now working with the council and other stakeholders to gather their views on our proposal and will keep the local community updated on our progress.”

l Virgin Trains is to upgrade passenger Wi-Fi capability across its entire fleet. Scheduled for completion during the summer of 2015, this is one of the largest UK train connectivity deployments to date.

The contract, which has been awarded to Nomad Digital, will include the provision of up to 12MBPS connectivity on Virgin’s 56 Pendolino trains and up to 8MBPS on its fleet of 20 Super Voyagers.

This is a significant increase in onboard bandwidth, as well as an improvement in connection availability across all routes.

Graham Leech, Virgin Trains executive commercial director, said: “WiFi is top of the list of areas where customers want improvement so we’re delighted to be moving ahead with this. It will give customers even more to reason to choose to travel with us.”

£30m more funding for HS2’s neighbours

Flooding at Cowley

DfT still learning from experience l Following a review of the five large-scale rail projects that have taken place in the UK since 1998, the National Audit Office has drawn up a list of lessons the Department for Transport (DfT) should apply to current and future rail programmes.

The review highlighted the many challenges the DfT has encountered in these large and complex projects. While it concluded that the Department has made progress in its management of rail infrastructure programmes, responded well in managing risks and controlling costs on programmes such as Thameslink and Crossrail, and taken action on many issues raised in previous studies, there still remain areas it needs to address or provide more focus: l Developing clear strategic business cases and scrutinising economic analysis of the estimated benefits of new railways l Economic assumptions also need to reflect changes in real-life behaviour l The Department needs more programme management capacity and skills l Beneficiaries of new transport could contribute more funding and finance The five rail programmes reviewed were: Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1), West Coast Mainline modernisation, Crossrail, Thameslink and HS2.

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l Transport Minister Robert Goodwill has announced that a further funding of up to £30m is to be made available to residents and local communities close to the new HS2 railway between London and Birmingham. The money is for public projects such as measures to support local economies and employment, refurbishing local community centres, and nature conservation.

Community groups, business support organisations, charities and non-governmental organisations will be able to bid for grants from the new Community and Environment Fund or the Business and Local Economy Fund, once construction starts in 2017. Grants will be awarded until the end of HS2’s first year of operation in 2026.

Robert Goodwill said: “These new funds, totalling £30 million, are in addition to the comprehensive package of support we have already announced and will further help communities and businesses make the most of this once in a generation scheme.”

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Asset Management

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Combating cable theft Arnaud Peltier explains how the issue has been tackled in France, using an innovative solution that enables engineers to remotely locate breaks in wiring as they occur

I Arnaud Peltier is president of WiN MS

www.win-ms.com

nfrastructure managers and operators in the rail sector are only too aware of the hazards associated with cable theft.

In Berlin recently, the removal of a cable worth EUR 40 impacted on over one million city commuters heading to work. The irate customers duly complained about their disrupted journey. Consequently, an extra layer of negative perception around service reliability exacerbated the initial theft.

This is bad news for everyone. Marketing teams flap about share value and hope that shareholders will keep the faith and see the bigger picture. The stakes are high at every level – these problems can even escalate to derail planned modernisation programmes.

The battleground International metal theft is a bitter battleground with big rewards for the victors and even bigger penalties for the losers. More often than not, the bad guys have been winning: but how – and why?

When safety specialists are regularly seen to be sidetracked from their carefully planned maintenance schedules in order to attend to the growing number of, sometimes quite minor, ad-hoc emergencies, the trend can amplify into a domino effect. Even if the flashpoints aren’t that frequent, they are still prone to increased scrutiny. So where are the solutions?

Bhavisha Mistry

system has proved itself one hundred per cent reliable.

There were no false alarms raised and no cable theft was attempted. WiN MS co-founder Marc Olivas said: “Following the trial, we are pleased that the device is now fully accredited by SNCF.”

The solution The system is a low cost bolt-on to existing infrastructure. It does not require complex construction or detailed scheduling to install. This removes the risk of any further traffic interruptions. The service can be applied with ease and speed.

The WiN MS INFRA automatic notification devices are geared to monitor any wired infrastructure that could be targeted by thieves, including telecommunication networks and electric distribution.

How it works To combat the plague of cable theft, the automatic alarm system involves boxes plugged in to existing cables, up to 14 km apart. Their sensors are immediately triggered if a cable is cut, and record and specify the exact location details.

WiN MS have also worked in collaboration with Vossloh Cogifer (under the BTW brand name). This resulted in the successful installation of the device this summer, a first in the French railway sector.

Addressing the problem in France

Scale of the problem

France has an extensive modern railway network. The CEA LIST institute is a leading French research centre for smart digital systems. One company has emerged from this research initiative with a very clear commercial intention. WiN MS, a member of Starbust Accelerator, focuses on developing efficient and commercially robust solutions to alleviate the difficulties faced by transport industries in maintaining and monitoring their equipment and wiring.

Last summer, WiN MS undertook a live trial and installation in France with its partner SNCF. The test investigated a new service covering electrical breakdowns, and now incorporates all of the consequences emerging from an attempted cable theft.

The pilot verified the automatic notifications via a WiN MS security device. This device enables the operator to remotely locate in real time any cut to the wires. The new

In 2011, SNCF estimated that cable theft resulted in 350,000 working hours lost per annum in France, where cable theft leads to a loss of almost EUR 30 million each year and accounts for 6,000 hours in train delays.

Network Rail in Britain says that metal theft costs the infrastructure company £19 million (EUR 23.7 million) per year. It costs Europe’s railways hundreds of millions of euros (source: uic.org).

The rail industry works to a long-term cycle. Prevention is far better than cure to address the immediate and growing problem of cable theft, and this solution has been crafted and tested to gain the required certification and operational reliability that the industry expects.

Effectively combating cable theft enables the maintenance staff to focus on their planned technical maintenance, to modernise on time and within budget. zz

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Corrosion & Painting

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White Horse bridge at Wembley station

Engineered to last Many of the UK’s major rail stations and much of its infrastructure are undergoing significant renovation. CHRIS LLOYD discusses the use of effective anti-corrosion and engineered protection

Chris Lloyd is director of Flexcrete Technologies

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he Government is committing billions of pounds to improving the rail network. As a large part of this infrastructure is over 100 years old, extensive maintenance is required to make it fit for purpose, during which disruption must be kept to a minimum. A key element in the refurbishment process is corrosion protection and the right choice of anti-corrosion products is vital. Where site access is restricted and time limited, for example, it is important to specify rapid curing products.

Protecting cast iron in London’s tunnels One interesting example is the London Road Shunt Tunnel project, which involved coating the tunnel’s cast iron lining on behalf of London Underground. The tunnel is part of the London Road depot, opened in 1906 as the maintenance facility for what is now known as the Bakerloo Line.

The shunt tunnel comprises 176 bolted cast iron rings with an internal diameter of just under 4 metres, and can accommodate up to 10 trains. A survey of the tunnel had

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revealed that the segments of the lining were in good condition but in need of effective, long-term protection against corrosion. The coating specified for this work was Cemprotec E942. A two component, waterborne, epoxy and cementitious modified polymer coating, E942 London Road shunt tunnel

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Artist’s impression of the new concourse at London Bridge station provides years of stand-alone corrosion protection under demanding operational conditions.

Applied to a thickness of just 2mm by brush or spray, the coating requires much less surface preparation than alternative products. It can be applied to damp substrates and achieves a bond when just the surface rusting has been removed. By comparison, most alternatives require removal of all surface contaminants and corrosion byproducts back to bright metal.

The water-based composition of Cemprotec E942 is another critical factor. It does not release any strong odours or hazardous solvents during application, and is non-toxic. So it can be safely applied in enclosed locations. As it is CE marked in compliance with BS EN 1504 and compliant with LU standard 1-085 Fire Safety Performance of Materials, it’s also particularly useful where there are tight controls governing the use of hazardous products.

Concrete and reinforcing steel Cementitious coatings such as this are frequently specified to increase the durability of concrete in new construction as they can be applied to freshly cast ‘green’ concrete without waiting for a full 28 day cure.

High performance coatings reinstate concrete cover and provide structures with additional protection against freeze/thaw cycles, de-icing salts, water and chloride ion penetration, thus ensuring that the life span of the structure is both achieved and extended.

Reinforced concrete must have an adequate thickness of concrete covering the steel reinforcement bars; the depth and quality of the concrete cover is vital, as the relatively thin layer of concrete protects the reinforcing steel from corrosion by maintaining an alkali environment and preventing the ingress of chloride ions and other fuels for corrosion.

One interesting application has been on the White

Horse Bridge, a state-of-the-art £20 million footbridge that crosses Wembley station leading up to the new Wembley Stadium. The bridge’s four arches mirror the now-famous arch of the stadium itself. On event days, as many as 8,000 people an hour cross the footbridge.

During construction it was found that the abutments supporting the main arch had insufficient concrete cover to the reinforcement, and a rapid method of reinstatement was required without resorting to costly recasting.

Cemprotec E942 was chosen because a coating of just 2mm would provide in excess of 100mm of effective cover, as well as a complete barrier to water under 10 bar pressure. Additionally, it would not require specialist skills or equipment to apply and would cure rapidly enabling early backfilling – an important consideration to minimise disruption.

Fast-track construction is often a key requirement for rail projects, as demonstrated by the £500 million development of King’s Cross station. Newly constructed plant rooms required a permanent waterproofing system and Cementitious Coating 851, a waterborne, cementitious modified polymer coating, was specified for application to green concrete. After pouring, the concrete slab was left to cure overnight and then prepared with a stiff brush and thorough soaking. The 851 was laid to a thickness of 2mm and Cemprotec EF Grit was cast into the surface to provide a slip resistant finish. Over a period of four days the concrete was cast and waterproofed, and heavy machinery installed just a few days later.

The challenges at London Bridge station High performance structural mortars and fairing coats have been specified to enhance the concrete finish and increase the durability of construction at London Bridge station, where the £400 million redevelopment programme includes a new concourse at street level and

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Corrosion & Painting

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improved entrances and exits. The work is said by Network Rail to be the most ambitious redevelopment of any London station in a generation, and one of the most technically demanding projects ever undertaken on the UK railway.

With a project of this scale and complexity, a high volume of fresh concrete is being cast. Rapid construction is also critical as the station will remain open throughout, to minimise disruption to passengers. To aid rapid construction an advanced, waterproof, low density, class R3 structural mortar called Monomix was specified.

Incorporating the latest proven cement chemistry, microsilica, fibre and styrene acrylic copolymer technology, Monomix is a pre-packaged, single component product that only requires the addition of clean water. This creates a mortar that can easily be applied by trowel to a thicknesses of up to 80mm. Suitable for application to vertical, horizontal and overhead surfaces, it has exceptional bond strength,

Ă–resund Tunnel joins Sweden to Denmark

d Investigation

Ă–resund Tunnel

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excellent tensile strength and abrasion resistance, high diffusion resistance to acid gases and chloride ions and low permeability to water even at 10 bar pressure. Its high compressive strength reaches 23.5MPa within just 24 hours, increasing to 42MPa within 28 days.

Monolevel FC an engineering quality fairing coat was then used to finish the project. Applied in a thin screed to vertical and horizontal concrete, it is suitable as an exposed finish without needing further protection or coating, and was specified in white to match the colour of the freshly cast concrete.

Working further afield Flexcrete products also have a successful track record of use in international projects, one example being the Ă–resund Tunnel, a rail/road tunnel which connects Sweden to Denmark. Originally constructed in 2000, Cementitious Coating 851 was specified for concrete cover enhancement on segments of the tunnel at the time of construction. Some 10 years later the engineers returned to take a core sample of 851 and confirmed that the coating was still performing well, with effective protection against chloride ion penetration and cover to the steel reinforcement. Independent tests have shown that 851 combats chlorides for over 25 years.

High performance repair mortars and cementitious coatings can solve a range of complex problems associated with buildings and infrastructure in the rail sector. They meet the demands of rail refurbishment and construction projects, offering an ideal solution for fast-track construction, anti-corrosion protection, waterproofing and concrete cover reinstatement. zz

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Rail Alliance

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Recent new members of the Rail Alliance

For further information, please contact: The Rail Alliance Tel: 01789 720 026 Email: info@railalliance.co.uk Web: www.railalliance.co.uk Perpetuum Ltd Developer of a suite of remote condition monitoring systems based on innovative algorithms and award winning vibration energy power harvesters, delivering comprehensive and concise information from complex condition datasets particularly around maintenance intensive mechanical assets such as wheelsets, gearboxes and traction motors.

Tel: 02380 765 888 Email: info@perpetuum.com Web: www.perpetuum.com/rail

Portaramp UK Ltd Market leader for access ramp solutions specialising in the design and manufacture of lightweight portable ramps to give safe passage for both user and operator.

Tel: 01953 681 799 Email: sales@portaramp.co.uk Web: www.portaramp.co.uk

MIRA Ltd MIRA Rail Engineering Safety Centre – for rail vehicle structural and interior crashworthiness design, consultancy and testing.

Tel: 024 7635 5000 Web: www.mira.co.uk

diesel trains with biodiesel mixes at competitive prices.

Tel: 01606 833 330 Email: info@convert2green.co.uk Web: www.convert2green.co.uk

Safe Route FM Ltd Provider of pedestrian tunnel systems Tel: 0207 619 3470 Email: info@saferoute.co.uk Web: www.saferoute.co.uk

Dyer Engineering Ltd Dyer Engineering specialises in precision machined, high integrity fabrications, comfortably handling repeat batches of components through to bespoke, large scale fabricated structures.

Tel: 01207 234 315 Email: enquiries@dyer.co.uk Web: www.dyer.co.uk

Dilax Systems UK Ltd DILAX Systems UK Limited is an established supplier of passenger counting systems to the UK rail industry, with over 1000 rail vehicles installed with the system in the UK and Ireland. The company provides a complete solution, including all hardware

and software, to enable flexible reporting of passenger load information matched to timetable data automatically. Passenger load data is available in real-time. All system components are designed in-house to railway quality standards. Link-up audited and IRIS certified, DILAX also supplies seat management systems including seat occupancy and seat reservation solutions.

We support our customers with project management, commissioning and installation expertise.

Tel: 02073 269 821 Email: nigel.fountain@dilax.com Web: www.dilax.com

Panasonic System Communications Co. Europe Panasonic System Solutions delivers large scale integrated B2B technology solutions and services for the transportation industry which allow organisations to achieve classleading levels of performance, service and productivity. That means increasing returns on investment and decreasing costs of technology ownership.

Tel: 0845 450 831 Web: business.panasonic.co.uk

Censol Ltd Specialist in spill management systems which contain absorbent pads, socks, mats and rolls to manage spills, leaks and hazards in the workplace. Also manufacture a range of impregnated wet wipes and low linting dry wipes for the rail, aerospace, engineering and clean room industries.

Tel: 01159 727 070 Email: info@censol.co.uk Web: www.censol.co.uk

Convert2Green Ltd Manufacturer and distributor of second generation biodiesel and biofuels made from used cooking oil collected in the UK. Supplier to over 1000 road vehicles including Bidvest 3663 fleet, Environment Agency Fleet, Biffa kerbside collection vehicles and United Biscuits primary distribution fleet. Looking to supply

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Communications

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Light at the end of the tunnel Radiating cable technology – often known as leaky feeder – has a crucial role to play in the railways of tomorrow, says MARK WELLER, business development director at rail telecoms specialist AlanDick Communications

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adiating cable technology is nothing new in the UK rail industry. Originally designed for use within the mining sector, the robust telecoms system – which uses coaxial cable to transmit and receive radio waves underground – is perhaps best known for its adoption throughout the London Underground network.

The solutions overground Traditional distributed antenna systems (DAS) may well be more readily adopted by Network Rail on over-ground lines and in shorter tunnels across the UK. However there are significant problems with this

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technology where subterranean distances of over one kilometre are concerned.

Wherever possible, DAS antennae are located at the head end of tunnels, with radio waves being transmitted from the portal down the length of the line. This solution has inherent benefits from an operational perspective, negating the need for construction and maintenance work within the tunnel, which could cause line closures, safety issues and additional cost.

While the general rule tends to be: don’t work in tunnels unless you really have to, issues of propagation and RF reliability make radiating cable the only viable option in many cases.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Is radiating cable set for expansion?

Looking ahead to the changing landscape of the rail telecoms infrastructure, the future looks increasingly bright for radiating cable technology. There are three main drivers to this predicted growth in radiating cable adoption: the need to upgrade the UK’s ageing and new network, the growth in demand for richer RF services such as 3G and 4G and the introduction of the European Train Control System, which is due for full level two solution by 2020.

In addition, the UK’s largely Victorian tunnel infrastructure is in need of upgrade from a telecoms perspective, the many headline-grabbing projects such as Crossrail, HS2 and initiatives such as One North, will all require radiating cable solutions.

The insatiable demand for data rich telecoms services from both the rail industry and passengers alike is a huge driver that will necessitate the introduction of 3G and 4G technology across the rail network. Cellular operators are understandably keen to introduce their services onto the railway, however many UK tunnels are still only able to provide 2G technology.

Finally, the Europe-wide introduction of ETCS – the signalling, control and train protection system designed to replace the many incompatible safety systems currently used by European railways – will inevitably require the use of radiating cable solutions where longer tunnels are concerned.

provide trouble free telecoms coverage, without the need for expensive and disruptive retrospective upgrades and repairs. Issues such as cable installation, distances from tunnel walls (to reduce longitudinal loss), predicting and addressing body losses, shadowing, fast fading and multiple paths are issues that require careful preparation and planning to avoid costly time and budget issues later on.

Planning for the future Clearly, looking forward to the challenges of the ETCS, a gold standard radiating cable solution will need to be implemented in tunnels. The system ADC designed for Heathrow Express is a case in point. It had to be resilient, so that if one of the repeaters failed, there was enough power in the coaxial cable to still deliver a minimum level of coverage. Developing a solution that provides not just the standard industry performance of 75 per cent, but something above 95 per cent is where many leaky feeder solutions will need to be in future.

Radiating cable solutions are a mature, well understood range of technologies that have perhaps been overlooked or even avoided by rail industry engineers. As new challenges emerge in the sector, this tried and tested solution has huge potential to deliver a robust and reliable communications coverage. zz

Installation and maintenance Current GSM-R systems are deployed as the primary carrier for voice communication with the driver, other personnel on trains and trackside engineers. Over the next ten years this same infrastructure will need to incorporate ETCS – which is due to go live with Crossrail in 2017.

However, the design, installation and maintenance of radiating cable systems is more complex than might first appear. While the uninitiated might assume it’s a case of ‘plug and play’, the reality of developing a robust and operationally efficient RF solution involves careful planning and a thorough understanding of the rail industry.

The technology Due to the often unforeseen impact of geology, tunnel dimensions and even the impact of moving trains and equipment, a range of techniques can be employed to ensure operational integrity. The use of optical repeaters is one such innovation that is increasingly used in the rail industry to solve the challenge of longitudinal loss with conventional feeders.

One of the major advantages of radiating cable is its broadband width. While DAS typically delivers 10-20 MHz, radiating cable can achieve much higher frequencies of one GHz and over. The key difference between DAS and radiating cable is that the former is not resonant – so can easily accommodate bandwidth.

While radiating cable technology is not new, the devil is certainly in the detail when delivering rail projects that

Radiating cable technology – How it works l Radiating cable (or leaky feeder) systems can be described as a garden hose with holes inserted along its length to allow the escape of water. This coaxial feeder cable ‘leaks’ the radio signal in or out along its length, thus creating a continuous coverage area along the tunnels in which the cable is strung. The cable has regular openings in the outer shield, which permit RF energy to enter or leave the cable. It can receive and transmit signals down its entire length.

Wireless devices can interface with leaky feeders. They can receive radio signals from the cable and transmit data back. The data can include voice, video and computer data.

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Ticketing

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Demand for smart technology is continuing to exceed paper ticketing

The smarter investment Transport is considered the single biggest infrastructure challenge of the modern age. Russell McCullagh, reviews the progress so far with smart ticketing, and the contribution it could ultimately make

A Russell McCullagh is managing director of Ecebs

s with any public service, efficiency in transport is the key. While smart ticketing isn’t new, recent developments and those anticipated for the near future are expected to transform the rail industry.

This technology allows for more effective and streamlined processes and improved operator efficiency, in turn protecting the taxpayer’s pocket.

This has been recognised by the UK government. A considerable number of rail franchises are up for renewal in the next five years and smart ticketing is a key criterion for new Train Operator Company (TOC) tenders. It was recently announced that cities in the North of England are investing £15 billion in improved transport connections in the region and integrated, interoperable ticketing will play a major role in the realisation of these plans.

The role of ITSO The Government is pushing for all local transport to be ITSO compliant (the UK standard for smart ticketing) in the next few years for this reason, ensuring that commuters will be able to travel using the same ticket across different regions managed by different TOCs using different modes of transport.

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Ecebs helped develop the ITSO Part 11 specification (downloadable smart ticketing technology) in 2007 in anticipation of a growing demand. We understood that a cloud based secure ticketing scheme based on the Government mandated ITSO specification would open up lower cost smart ticketing to a wider market and that’s exactly why we delivered smart ticketing in the cloud with our Paragon remote ticket download (RTD) software.

As with any form of consumer technology, the aim is to make things simpler for commuters and fit in with their lifestyles. A more convenient service means a happier, loyal commuter which resonates well in operator-customer relationships. The Government and local authorities – in their efforts to improve existing infrastructure that will encourage public use of mass transport, reducing congestion and carbon emissions – are looking for an effective service that is designed to meet needs now and in the future.

The growing use across the UK Many commuters are too busy checking emails, updating Twitter or reading their online newspaper to visit the ticket kiosk and stand in line. In a digital world, we can quite easily go through an entire day without touching a piece of

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz paper, including rail tickets. Transport operators can earn commuter (and customer) loyalty by providing facilities that allow them to access tickets anytime, anywhere and at the touch of a button by adopting technology like Ecebs’ RTD technology.

RTD, has been adopted by a large number of transport schemes across the UK allowing customers to purchase and pickup their tickets at a wide variety of outlets from corner shops to travel centres. Crucially RTD also enables self service ticket retail and delivery through web and mobile channels. Nottingham City Council, allows commuters to download their travel tickets to smartcards using a mobile phone or tablet, equipped with near field communication (NFC). NFC is the same technology that enables consumers to swipe their bankcards to pay for a coffee without inserting the card and entering a PIN number.

Nexus in the Northeast has also incorporated RTD into its ticketing strategy, where passengers can use Pop Cards on a pay-as-you-go basis and upload credit using their NFC device or home computer, and at local shops or metro stations. These cards can be used across different modes of local transport: bus, rail, and tram allowing commuters to benefit from a truly interoperable system. SPT in Scotland have also adopted RTD to deliver zonecard travel products for the Bramble smartcard used by the Glasgow Subway.

Forward momentum As inter-city connections improve, updates to local links are vital to ensure commuters truly benefit. It has been reported that the journey from London to Edinburgh on the new HS2 could be as short as three hours – it therefore doesn’t make sense that travellers could then spend 1015 minutes in queues to buy tram tickets; or visit a cash machine and then a shop to make change for the bus.

If interoperable ticketing was available on a larger scale, commuters could potentially use their ITSO smartcard from their starting point in London to their end point in Edinburgh city centre and back without ever needing to visit ticket machines or handle cash. ITSO provides that potential, all it takes now is for transport scheme operators to complete adoption of the technology that will allow the current implementations and future developments to deliver this vision.

Added sophistication We are already starting to see this become a reality in the South East of England as the South East Flexible Ticketing (SEFT) programme develops. The programme aims to ensure all 12 TOCs involved adopt an ITSO compliant, interoperable smart ticketing system. In 2011, the Government committed to an investment of £45 million in SEFT to deliver a range of flexible ticketing products

Nottingham City Council’s self service ticketing system more aligned to current travel needs, allowing for reduced queueing times and faster entry and exits from stations.

These benefits, only two of many, will support the growing need to handle more travellers in less time.

SEFT, like other smart ticketing initiatives, will provide TOCs with an opportunity to make informed decisions about the use of their resources. Smartcards and mobile ticketing enable operators to analyse customer data and use this insight to plan ahead. They know how many people are expected to get on rush hour trains, how and when they purchase tickets, and exactly when they use them. As passenger numbers grow, it isn’t as simple as adding another carriage on to a busy train. Extending platforms to accommodate longer trains would take a major investment in infrastructure that isn’t an option.

Operators can instead work smarter, providing incentives like a free cup of coffee or loyalty points, to encourage passengers to use the next train with more seats available.

What should we aim for?

Smart ticketing technology plays a key role in improving operator efficiency and more importantly, can help to reduce or avoid investment in major infrastructure changes. We are already seeing local examples of how integrated, interoperable ticketing is being adopted, but what we need now is for a nationwide adoption to ensure the joined up system works. The perceived costs of technology and smaller infrastructure changes, like smart enabled ticket gates, often deter TOCs and local authorities. But these costs are eclipsed when compared to larger infrastructure investments such as the refurbishment and extension of a mainline station.

We work smarter by adopting technology to deliver tangible benefits; scheme operators and government bodies acknowledge that smart ticketing is the way forward for the transport industry to deliver a modern flexible ticketing solution that improves the customer experience while reducing cost. Smart ticketing is no longer just a future vision, the future is now. zz

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Social Responsibility

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Tackling an invisible problem How the rail industry is helping India’s railway children escape the dangers of a life by the tracks

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utside Kolkata’s Sealdah railway station, in India, a thousand tarpaulin-covered homeless families scrape a living amongst streets overflowing with raw sewage and filth.

An estimated third of Kolkata’s population live in slums and a further 70,000 people are completely homeless.

Travelling around Kolkata is a real assault on the senses.

Like every other city in India, the noise of streets choked with traffic can leave your ears ringing. What sets Kolkata apart is the sheer scale of poverty, deprivation, illness and suffering.

This year, 112,000 children will arrive at railway platforms across India, fed by the world’s second largest rail network. They are running away from poverty, abuse and neglect. Most are in search of a better life. But the problems they face on the streets are often far more dangerous than those they have left behind.

For almost 20 years, Railway Children has set itself the challenge of reaching these children before an abuser can.

Railway Children is an international children’s charity that

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funds, trains and works with grassroots organisations in the most deprived communities in India, East Africa and the UK. Thanks to Railway Children’s support in the UK, particularly from individuals and companies within the rail industry, the charity has been able to reach and rescue 8,762 children at risk on the streets in 2014. Of those children rescued, Railway Children successfully returned 2,502 to their families and nearly 1,000 have settled back into school. And in the last three years, a total of 27,000 children at risk in India have been rescued and protected by the charity.

Railway Children’s strategy is to make railway stations in India safer for these children. By working closely with railway police officers, government police and local shopkeepers, Railway Children ensures its own rescue workers are not alone in looking out for and protecting children at risk.

Gaining the confidence of a frightened and traumatised child, who is likely to have developed an in-built distrust

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz of adults, is one of many challenges Railway Children’s street workers face every day. The solution has been to train former street children to become peer workers, as well as existing street children to be basic first aiders.

Their first-hand experience and unique understanding makes them easier to approach than any adult.

Whenever they find new children, they bring them to the charity’s child protection booths within the station.

At these booths, Railway Children staff take personal details of every child they come into contact with and work out the best way to help each child. This might mean a short stay care home, where education, food, clothing and medical care can be provided, whilst we try and reunite them with their family. If this is not possible, a long-stay care home or a government home might the best option, where they’ll receive ongoing care, support and education.

Railway Children has so far established five childfriendly stations across three states in India. Sealdah Station, where two million people arrive every day, is one of these stations and where Samir was found.

Samir was just nine years old when he ran away from home. His father was an alcoholic and used to beat him and his mother frequently. He was spending more and more time on the streets and started attending the Railway Children-funded Drop in Centre project at Kolkata’s Sealdah station, often also staying in the night shelter.

Two years later, while attending the centre, Samir showed an interest in becoming a Child Health Volunteer.

He received first aid and hygiene training. Samir would go out onto the platforms at Sealdah station looking for new children arriving who may be in need of medical attention. Dressed in a white coat with a red cross on the back, Samir was an important link for children arriving alone and too frightened to turn to an adult for help.

He explains to them the dangers of being alone on the platform and streets, and offers to show them a place of safety. Samir now works at the centre and has trained to become a rescue worker.

Over 12 million children live on the streets in India.

Such huge numbers mean people have simply stopped seeing them. Children like Samir can quickly fade into the background and become invisible. But by bringing the right people together at street, community, and government levels, change is happening and these children and their needs are becoming more visible.

Railway Children’s child-friendly station model has already shown how small changes can make a huge difference in helping these children, not only in the short term but also in giving them opportunities that turn their lives around for good. The charity’s long-term goal is to replicate the model and make every station in India child friendly.

www.railwaychildren.org.uk.

Buy a child a happy future this Christmas

There are more than 11 million children living on the streets in India, with 112,000 children arriving alone at 35 of India’s largest railway stations every year.

When a child runs to the streets they face all manner of dangers.

That’s why it’s so important Railway Children reaches them first.

Sometimes it can be days or weeks before the charity finds them.

They’ll be hungry, tired, traumatised and often in need of medical care.

Every Railway Children Christmas gift that is bought has the potential to transform the life of a child like Samir and give them a chance of a happy future.

Nourishment and Nurture

Children survive alone on railway platforms, living in poverty and squalor, facing the risk of abuse and exploitation every day. Lack of access to food and drink can lead to illness, disease and malnutrition.

When we find them, our first priority is to meet their basic and immediate needs. Providing hot, nutritious food is the first crucial step to helping a child in desperate need. From Railway Children’s new range of Happy Future gifts, Nourishment and Nurture will provide a child like Samir with food for a whole month.

Band-aids and Bandages

Children suffer horrific injuries, jumping trains and taking huge risks.

Lack of hygiene and access to food and drink can lead to illness and disease. Our Band-aids and Bandages gift will help us to patch up a child’s bumps and bruises and provide them with medicine, playing a vital part in gaining their trust and ensuring their safety.

Exclusive range of Christmas Cards 2014

The cost of one pack of cards is £4.25 and will feed a child in India for a week. Help Railway Children fight for children living on the streets by choosing from its new and exclusive rail-themed Christmas cards, based on a selection of classic paintings from the magnificent Fighting Duchess to the historic steam train The Bristolian.

The charity’s full gift range can be found at :

www.railwaychildren.org.uk/shop

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Image courtesy of the Staffordshire Alliance

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Atkins’ Rail business

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Aerial image of Norton Bridge which is part of the Stafford Area Improvements Programme

Philip Hoare group managing director

Shaping the future When Atkins appointed Philip Hoare as the new group managing director of its Rail business, it did so in the knowledge that his attributes would spur the business on to address the challenges of the 21st century

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fter a couple of particularly difficult years, the rail sector has received a welcome boost of funding and the development of opportunities from CP5,” begins Philip, expressing his delight at Atkins being the designer of choice for over 60 per cent of the track kilometres to be electrified. “Two years ago we set out to really focus on those opportunities, which has involved assessing resources, targeting recruitment, and opportunities to bring skills and expertise from elsewhere in the Atkins business, particularly from within Scandinavia. The team has focused on the market and we are really pleased with our achievements in terms of securing opportunities.”

Holding an important role as the lead design organisation on the Great Western Route Modernisation Programme, the business has also secured a strong position on three electrification frameworks, signifying

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Atkins’ CEO Uwe Krueger (third from right) with Professor Peter Woodward (first right) and the Heriot-Watt team in front of the GRAFT II test rig. This image was taken in 2013 when Atkins and Heriot-Watt signed an MOU to create a Centre of Excellence for High Speed Rail.

Graft II is the UK’s biggest purpose-built laboratory test track bed.

its continued growth within the sector. “CP5 is not only great from our perspective but equally on a much broader context, with electrification reducing journey times and providing greener, quieter journeys across the UK rail network. Delivery of the projects will see a demonstrable improvement in our rail network,” explains Philip. As well as electrification contracts, the business continues to deliver a number of major signalling projects. “We secured two signalling frameworks in the South East in 2012 and we’ve just created a new partnership with Network Rail to deliver these schemes more efficiently. The new partnership, the ‘Southern Signalling Partnership’, will adopt many of the collaborative tools and techniques that are being used on other projects. It is all about working together, to best deliver the demanding programme over the next few years,” he adds.

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Atkins’ Rail business

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Atkins engineer on site Atkins is at the forefront of electrification design, well versed in procuring sufficient design resources and providing that capacity to the market. The next five years holds great opportunity to bring new people into the rail sector, and to use the experience held within the ageing workforce. In 2014 alone, Atkins’ Rail business employed 25 apprentices and incorporated 26 graduates into its team. “Our strategy is very much about bringing new people into our organisation and allowing them to grow the business. We have also developed links with the armed forces and looked across Europe at how different universities train and develop people, recruiting applicants from signalling specific degrees, and essentially trying to be as broad as we can to make sure that we can bring resources into the UK,” says Philip. Significantly, over the last three months the company has added 100 people to the Rail business, demonstrating the commitment of growing to meet requirements.

Within the demands of a big programme, it is essential that contractors and clients are able to work well together to achieve their goals. Philip explains: “As one of the first in the rail industry to achieve BS 11000 certification, we have taken a critical review of our own organisation, behaviours and how well we work with others. Network Rail is a key client, and working collaboratively with that organisation is key. We focused initially on our signalling teams and driving those behaviours across the

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rest of our Rail business.

“We are also part of the Stafford Area Improvements programme, which is one of the first projects delivered

by Network Rail as a pure alliance. Within that alliance we are breaking new ground in terms of how we work, ensuring that the best person for the job is on it, with responsibility taken across the portfolio of delivery.

There is a single board of members formed from each organisation, managing and governing the project, and it is great to see the rail sector moving in this direction,” he adds.

There is real passion and drive for safety within the rail environment, with focus on operational safety and ensuring that the network is running safely, avoiding unforgiving incidents and injuries. With many years experience from within the highway sector, Philip points out: “Safety has been an interesting journey for me in terms of my perceptions of safety in rail versus safety in the highways sector. While the network is the safest that it has ever been, the safest network in Europe, which is something to be proud of, workforce safety has reduced. There have been a greater number of incidents, and that is something that we have to tackle within the industry. We are doing a number of things within our own organisation, looking at how we are able to increase the number of close calls reported, which will re-enforce our safety culture and prevent serious accidents from

Webro is delighted to be the chosen supplier for Atkins Rail project at Bank station. Webro will supply the entire infrastructure technology backbone including London Underground approved high quality racks, data and fibre optic cables and connectivity. Our 16U – 48U EMC shielded CER racks manufactured by Rainford Solutions are used for housing critical system equipment and have been designed to Atkins exact specifications for a more efficient design, installation and delivery.

Our cable and connectivity solution manufactured by Brand-Rex is a 10 Gigabit RailSafe Cat6a S/FTP high quality data cable and flame retardant non metallic armoured 12 and 24 multi loose tube fibre optic cables designed for IP addressable high level data networks. All used to connect between CCTV cameras, Passenger Help points and the Control Room.

For more information Webro www.webro.com T +44(0) 115 9724 483 E info@webro.com Brand-Rex www.brand-rex.com T +44 (0)1592 772 124 E marketing@brand-rex.com Rainford Solutions Ltd www.rainfordsolutions.com +44(0) 1744 889 886 E sales@rainfordsolutions.com

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Atkins’ Rail business

Images courtesy of the Staffordshire Alliance

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Piling works as part of the Stafford Area Improvements Programme occurring. This extends to our entire supply chain and our partners that we work with in all these collaborations, so I think that ‘more work to do’ is how I would describe that.”

A wealth of capacity across its team in the UK and supporting resources in India effectively provides 1800 people dedicated to the UK rail sector. As the business continues to rapidly grow its overhead design resource in electrification to meet the demand of contracts, another strength is highlighted as Philip indicates: “Across our businesses in Scandinavia we have got a significant level of rail resource and expertise. In Denmark we have rolled out electrification and ERTMS across most of the network over the last ten years, and we are able to draw on the skills, expertise and resources from other parts of the world to support projects in the UK, either through training and developing staff or directly utilising teams from Scandinavia to support UK delivery. We are doing a similar thing in the US where we now have a team of people that can also support UK signalling design if required. Whilst we continue to build a strong base in the UK, we need to complement that with flexibility to support clients and managing peaks in workload through using resources elsewhere.”

Network Rail is looking to rapidly introduce new technology into the network, whilst also minimising risk and maintaining safety. The UK is in a position to learn from Europe and elsewhere in the world, adopting new technology. “By working more closely with European and US colleagues we should be in a position to integrate that new technology much more quickly. We are not a technology provider ourselves but we do know the UK railway network well and with our skills, expertise, and deep routed experience, we will be able to translate

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and navigate that new technology into the UK environment,” says Philip.

The introduction of new technology holds an exciting future for the UK, but with Network Rail’s aspirations of a ‘digital railway’ being achieved by 2029 there is both support and scepticism in the sector about the achievability of this target. Commenting on that view, Philip said: “At Atkins we are excited about the prospect of a digital railway and believe in the importance of having aspirational targets. We are looking at our own business strategy and setting up a team to focus on the digital railway, supporting that with focus on ERTMS, and working on introducing new technology into the UK market in a signalling perspective. Although the opportunity in essence is moving away from what traditionally may be seen as our design areas, we are really keen to get involved.”

With the market currently opportunity rich Atkins moves into the future, recognised as a strong provider of design solutions in the rail environment, around signalling, electrification design and traditional network design.

Concluding, Philip says: “We are incredibly excited by HS2, Crossrail 2 and the onset of the digital railway, and I want to make sure that as a business we put ourselves in the best position to be able to support the market, through bringing new skills into Atkins, working closely with existing and new partners, and a greater focus on technology. I am here to shape our organisation so we are better placed to support that growth in the UK rail industry while maintaining a relentless drive to improve safety in our sector.” zz

www.atkinsglobal.com/rail

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Powernet Oy

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Bright sparks Driving the provision of optimum power supply solutions since 1982, Powernet Oy has further strengthened its capabilities in custom designed products within the rail industry over recent years

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ith its roots firmly entrenched in power supply, Powernet Oy has developed into a wellreputed provider of highly efficient and reliable power supplies and battery chargers over the last two decades. Previously featured in Railway Strategies in September 2011, the company, an established leader in its local market of Finland, is under new ownership and has strengthened its focus on developing a wider presence across Europe, as vice president of sales & marketing, Harry Lilja, begins: “Powernet Oy was founded by two entrepreneurs 22 years ago; since then there

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have been a number of changes and today we are no longer a privately owned enterprise. We were acquired

by Norwegian investment firm, Verdane Capital, in early 2011; our new owners were keen to take Powernet to the next level and develop our progress in the export market.

This has been our focus over the last three years and we are now a company that has expanded into the central European region, in comparison to being a predominantly local business when we last spoke. “Our manufacturing operations have also gone through a transition and are now outsourced to two well-known

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Powernet labratories EMS companies in the region; this is a big change for us but means we have a scaleable supply chain and can easily turn up the number of units we can manufacture when compared to our volume levels at our own factory.”

Active in the rail and transportation, industrial and renewable energy industries, Powernet Oy has a comprehensive understanding of power supplies and the importance of delivering quality renowned products that can work in the harshest of conditions. As well as developing products with a strong reputation for endurance in demanding applications, the company is proud to provide long-term reliability, knowledge and support to its customers; indeed, by delivering the best possible custom and standard products, alongside superior technical support, Powernet has become a leader in its field.

With long-term experience in designing, manufacturing and installing both standard and custom design power supplies for the rail and transportation industry, Powernet has gained an impressive customer portfolio that includes London Underground, Helsinki Tramways, Stadler Rail and MPower Australia. “We work with ten to 15 key customers within the rail industry; some of them are of course existing customers, while others are new customers with whom we have a project coming up.

Another development for the company over the last three years is our move into more custom-made products, which come from a customer’s real need for a solution.

There is always a project in the pipeline and a customer waiting for a solution; we don’t just put products on the shelf in the hope someone will find them,” explains Harry.

“We want to establish partnerships, which means open dialogue that is ideally with engineering departments

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Powernet Oy

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Powernet AD9000 System

Powernet ADC9000 UTA

at managerial level. It is important to develop close partnerships because trains are intended to operate for up to 40 years, while power supplies have a lifespan of up to 20 years before components need to potentially be upgraded or replaced. The relationships we have with our customers are extremely long because they last at least the lifetime of the current project and product,” he adds.

Proud to have developed extensive R&D capabilities, alongside strong sourcing and manufacturing competences, Powernet’s solutions serve applications such as train communication and monitoring systems, high efficiency on board battery chargers and auxiliary power supplies, on board power distribution and railway signalling/communication systems. Suitable for electric, diesel-electric, hybrid, gas turbine and fuel cell-electric locomotives, the company’s power supplies and power

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conversion equipment complies with stringent design requirements and specific design standards. Having stepped away from customised solutions, the company strives for efficiency and reliability, as proven by its ADC9000 Rail Power range that had new modules exhibited at Innotrans in September 2014.

The Powernet ADC9000 series design product platform includes EN50155compliant power supplies and battery chargers that range from 500W to 3200W; the company then works with the customer to deliver bespoke enhancements to the final products as required. The range includes ADC9000/500-1000W, standard-compliant AC/DC battery chargers; the 500W battery charger with 230VAC 2.5A input and 24VDC output can be used in conditions from -40 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius.

Covered by an LLC resonant converter topology, the 500-1000W power range achieves efficiency levels above 90 per cent, which means a cooler device with lower power consumption and a higher operating life expectancy.

Meanwhile, the ADC9000/1-3kW, standard-compliant battery chargers, power suppliers and converters includes ADC9000 3.2kW *400VAC/110VDC and 3.2kW, 3*400VAC/24VDC battery chargers and 3.0kW 110VDC/24VDC converters, while 3.2kW AC/DC and 3.0kW DC/DC versions for various voltages are also available.

Following the company’s success at Innotrans and the developments it has put in place over recent years, the company is in prime position to take on any request that comes its way, as Harry concludes: “With our manufacturing now being outsourced there really are no limits for Powernet because we now have the capacity and manpower to scale up easily. There are signs that the rail market is strong due to infrastructure developments and the need to transport people; although we work in multiple segments we anticipate the rail part of the business to grow the fastest from some 20 per cent of our revenue in 2014 to 35-40 per cent over the coming years.” zz

www.powernet.fi

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CENTRO

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Curzon Street

Innovative thinking With the prospect of HS2 drawing ever closer and a host of works already underway, Centro is working to deliver improvements to the West Midlands’ transport network

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Geoff Inskip

perating as the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive, Centro is tasked with facilitating the promotion and development of public transport across the region. Through its efforts the organisation aims to deliver world-class transport solutions to the West Midlands and distinguish itself as a leading service provider.

The organisation was last featured in Railway Strategies during October 2013, when Centro Chief Executive, Geoff Inskip, discussed its on-going investment into the Midland Metro tram route between Wolverhampton and Birmingham city centre. Today the project is going well, with the first of the new tram units recently going into public service, as Geoff elaborates: “We got the first four trams into service during September 2014 and the larger fleet is on its way in. We are currently running a mixed fleet with some of the older trams in with the newer ones but by the New Year all the old vehicles will have been taken out of service and replaced by the new models.”

The first new trams to go into operation are part of an overall fleet of 21 Urbos 3 vehicles. Valued at £40 million, the new fleet was built by Spanish manufacturer CAF and each tram is individually a third larger than the 16-strong

fleet of existing models allowing an increase of passengers from 156 to 210 per vehicle. Since going into service, the trams have been greatly successful and generated significant positive feedback, as Geoff observes: “We hear a lot of comments saying that the trams are ‘fabulous and fantastic’, so I think they have a real ‘wow factor’ for the Black Country and Birmingham.”

Alongside the success in increasing capacity between Wolverhampton and Birmingham city centre, Centro is also busy developing several other projects. Said Geoff: “From the point of view of the Midland Metro we have reached a very exciting phase. We now have the funding to link New Street with the new HS2 station at Curzon Street, and moving on from Curzon Street, we’ve got a commitment from the government in the next phase of the Local Growth Fund to get to Adderley Street, in Digbeth.

So altogether we are looking at something like another £180 million of funding coming in.

“Certainly there is big momentum behind the Metro and now, as far as Birmingham and Solihull are concerned, we are looking to press ahead with Metro from the HS2 station in the city centre out to the airport. This is a significant extension and we will be carrying out some

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New-Canal-Street

feasibility studies on this in the near future.”

He continued: “I should also add that on the other end of the line at in Wolverhampton, we are building the interchange project there in two stages. The first was to build the bus station and the second stage is to rebuild the railway station along with extending the existing Metro route to it. We are currently talking to DfT, Network Rail and the rail operators about that and hopefully within the next 12 months we should secure a funding package for a massive improvement at the Wolverhampton end as well. So that would provide a Metro link from Wolverhampton Station at the interchange to New Street and Curzon Street in the long term, which means we have good access for people in Birmingham and the Black Country to HS2.

“I think it is important to make sure that public transport is properly integrated with HS2 at both the airport and Curzon Street. If you look at the Birmingham Curzon Masterplan there are some amazing visuals that illustrate what the Metro will look like underneath the HS2 station.

I think all of the joint work we are doing there with HS2 is going to pay dividends.”

While rail is a major part of its business, it must be remembered that Centro also deals with buses, the Metro and network infrastructure such as park and ride facilities, bus stations, stops and shelters. The organisation is keen to offer innovative services in all areas, and to this end in July 2014 Centro and Birmingham City Council launched a public consultation into the Midlands’ first bus-based rapid transit system, called Sprint. This will feature

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vehicles that look and operate like a tram but without tracks or overhead cables.

Geoff elaborates on the system: “We call Sprint Metro’s ‘little sister’, because we feel that it’s almost a pre-Metro arrangement. We are looking to put it into places where we think that, longer term; we can develop a Metro network. At this stage money is not always available in the amounts that we need it and therefore we are looking at something more innovative. Sprint will provide a rapid journey and an alternative that gets people out of their cars and onto public transport.”

Innovative thinking and a willingness to adapt and change for modern requirements are present in many of Centro’s projects, and as Geoff noted, this has resulted in world-class results – not only in performance but in other areas too: “We’ve got a very good delivery record; I think

Shoosmiths Members of Shoosmiths’ national transport and infrastructure group are proud to have advised Centro on the procurement of the new tram fleet, infrastructure projects with options to extend rights for future Metro development and are currently advising on the Wolverhampton scheme and other Metro new routes work.

The Shoosmiths team works with Centro, as with their other light and heavy rail clients – understanding the client’s point of view, identifying with their commercial objectives, and providing on-point advice – without the legal jargon!

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Winckworth Sherwood Nationally recognised as leaders in transport infrastructure authorisation, including the development of light rail systems in the UK, Winckworth Sherwood are proud to have partnered with Centro for over 30 years regarding the Midland Metro. We advised Centro on the authorisation and implementation of the first phase from Snow Hill to Wolverhampton, which was authorised by an Act of Parliament. It opened in 1999 and our involvement continues to this day – we are advising on the City Centre extensions and development of the system. Our working relationship is based on practical legal advice, sound strategic input and value for money.

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we’ve shown that time and again, and we are recognised for creating world-class facilities. The new city centre architecture we have installed in terms of stops and the Interconnect way-finding project has received accolades not just from TfL but also visitors from Berlin and other European cities acknowledging its excellence. I think this is because we are very good at delivery and are always looking to deliver that little bit more in our projects.”

He concluded with some thoughts on the future: “I think we are now in a position where funding is tied up for the next three to four years, through the Local Growth Fund.

This is good but we now need to start working on the next phases, such as further extending the Metro, developing the classic rail network and not forgetting other parts such as the highways network. Although it’s in the early stages, by the end of this year and by the beginning of next year, we will be looking to present the public with a new transport blueprint for the region.” zz

www.centro.org.uk AECOM AECOM has sustained its long term partnership with CENTRO in evolving the Midland Metro Extension in Wolverhampton to fully integrate the city’s rail and bus stations. AECOM work with our clients in a distinctive way – a way that is collaborative, flexible and bespoke, our design expertise has advanced the public consultation and TWA processes to enable CENTRO and the people of Wolverhampton to see further and go further.

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Tenmat

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Enviable reputation Tenmat Railko is a leading reinforced composite manufacturer for the rail industry

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elebrating 100 years of engineering excellence, Tenmat specialises in the design of composite materials, manufactured to suit demanding and bespoke applications. ‘Railko’ a brand name of Tenmat has been supplying high quality railway products to the industry for many years.

Working with clients such as SNCF, Deutsche Bahn, Rolls Royce and Alstom, the company’s reputation is enviable, being approached by major players seeking to address issues ranging from high bearing wear, to redesigning new specialised bearings for industries such as railways, marine, aerospace, automotive and many other high demanding sectors. Tenmat’s rail products include UIC approved Railko NF21 centre pivot liners, Railko NF21 side bearer liners, brake bushes, friction damper bushes and other reinforced bearing material.

“Tenmat design our composite parts to provide the end user with a longer life product so they are able to keep their trains, planes, ships etc in service longer,” says Adam Fletcher, railway business manager. Tenmat is broken

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down into separate operational divisions, bearings/ wear parts, high temperature materials and passive fire protection. “As a whole business we have been enjoying year-on-year growth and with rail as one of our main industries we have had a successful year, working with companies such as SNCF, Deutsche Bahn, Trenitalia and many other major railway authorities. Tenmat Railko products are specified for freight, passenger and locomotive wagons and this has led to our heavy involvement with all the major train manufacturers, where such a standard is the norm. The Tenmat Railko product range is designed for high demanding, niche applications,” he continues.

Tenmat bases its strategy around the quality of the material it uses and although there are several thermoplastic manufacturers, there are very few high performance reinforced thermoset manufacturers.

Tenmats thermoset material is a reinforced fibre mixed with resin and modifiers that gives it strength, heat resistance, water resistance and self-lubricating properties proving successful in demanding applications.

“In 2012 we received the Queen’s Award for Innovation, and further developed new materials that have been used in many other testing applications. We also received the Queen’s Award in 2013 for outstanding achievement in international trade for new innovative material,” points out Adam. The demand for the company’s products reaches

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SBL CPL on bogie

UNICUPLER is an agency for various railway products in the Eastern European market. Reliability, flexibility and technical know-how is its success. UNICUPLER is able to fulfill individual requirements and to support customers with qualified advice on railway subjects. Main focus is concentrated on distribution of RAILKO/Tenmat products for freight cars. The relationship exists for more than 30 years. UNICUPLER’s long lasting experience supports Tenmat to be successful in the Eastern European countries.

far beyond the home territory with 80 per cent exported to clients from all over the world. “One of the most popular products that we supply is aligned to the freight industry with specified wear parts that are used in the ‘Y series’ bogie’. Railko NF21 centre pivot and side bearer liners allow the wagon to manoeuvre around curves in the track. Tenmat have a large product range that is specified for other rail applications including brake linkage bushes, suspension bushes, secondary suspensions, corridor end face plates, hook guide plates, gangway tread plates, axial bushes and friction damper bushes,” he adds.

“We offer a solution with high quality thermoset material, presented with full railway authority and UIC approval. It is a process that has proven to work and led to many successful projects.” In August 2014 the business was awarded an order for the manufacture and supply of thermoset components for the Virgin class 390 Pendolino train fleet, maintained by Alstom, its original manufacturer. The Pendolino type trains are operational all over Europe and as such the opportunities for the business and its components are far reaching, particularly as the Tenmat’s components are fundamental to the operation of the tilting system.

Forecasted growth within the rail industry is looking strong over the next few years, particularly within new build construction. Bogie manufacturers in Eastern Europe are instigating continued manufacturing, and development of the Y series bogie in China and Russia is also ongoing. “In terms of the general market, rail is becoming strong again having gone through a challenging period from 2008. We have seen some growth already and although new build has been relatively

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Y25 CPL + SBL

slow until now, the demand for maintenance remains high. Transportation by road is seen as a non-green way of operating, which has led to increased demand on the rail, and as mileage increases as does the demand for our products,” explains Adam.

In preparation for the coming years, the business Bush in bogie

holds regular events aimed at attracting graduates into the business in line with its heavy focus on developing higher quality products that give the end user longevity of equipment. “There is a big shift in lowering the noise levels of wagons by replacing steel applications with composite alternatives that not only have longevity but significantly reduce the weight and ease of installation, and our strategy works towards achieving these industry goals,” concludes Adam.

Julian Greenhalgh, business unit manager concluded: “Tenmat Railko have always been recognised as the market leader offering high quality products and providing significant differentiation in terms of product quality and enhanced benefits. Inevitably this has attracted a variety of competitors offering sub-standard alternatives, which has had an effect of bringing down prices. However in the past 18 months we have seen a significant number of customers who were using lower priced/quality alternatives coming back to use Tenmat Railko products. Several accidents that have questioned the safety of lower priced alternatives are believed to have caused this shift. Today we are recovering many customers who now want to put safety first and appreciated the benefits of Tenmat Railko products.

“This is good news and allows more investment to be put into the products to keep the product range right at the top of the list in terms of quality, safety and value for money!” zz

www.tenmat.com

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Wildside

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Clearing the way

Over the course of the past 15 years, Wildside has proven itself to be a trusted partner in the provision of fencing, earthworks and environmental services along the UK’s railway networks

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ildside Ltd was founded in 1999 by Nick Penn to provide fencing, earthworks and environmental services along the UK’s busy railway network. Since the company was incorporated it has grown from as few as three or four members of staff to a team of around 40. “I was already doing commercial fencing but not as a limited company so I eventually founded Wildside Ltd,” says Nick. “We then got to know Buckingham Group Contracting quite well early on and as they continued to develop their services in the rail industry, we became one of their regular suppliers.

We started with rail site clearance for them when they were undertaking land clearance and emergency works for Railtrack in 2000 and expanded from there growing on the back of Buckingham’s expanding range of work and our own success in delivering earthworks and emergency works.”

Although the company has remained strong, the cyclical nature of the investment in rail infrastructure has on occasion created challenging market conditions as Nick explains: “The company has grown well but during Autumn 2009 it took a drastic down turn as the availability of work from Network Rail appeared to reduce significantly and our business suffered dramatically. As a result I had to inject a lot of money back into the business to keep

it running, but over the past two years it has grown phenomenally quickly, so the trend is that on the back of CP4 and CP5 the business grows in spurts. It appeared that during CP4 Network Rail spent relatively less money on our type of work, but with CP5 it does seem to be spending money on infrastructure for vegetation clearing and new lines.”

Indeed Network Rail’s five-year £38 billion spending and investment programme has resulted in significant enhancement of railway infrastructure throughout the UK, which has in turn generated considerable activity and income for Wildside. “Today the main works that we undertake involve vegetation clearance, which is where we earn the bulk of our money,” Nick explains. “We are currently involved in a massive project for a joint venture called Buckingham Group Carillion joint venture on the line between Bicester and Oxford. We have been working for 18 months to clear trees for a section of track where they are going to dual the line and this has certainly been an on-going and successful job.”

Prior to this Wildside completed time-critical vegetation clearance and environmental works on the Redditch Branch Enhancement project, which was again part of Network Rail’s CP5 investment. Clearance work for the project began in early January 2014 with the requirement

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Nick elaborates. “We also did all the environmental work there too, including newt fencing and trapping works for newts under the supervision of the consultants Middlemarch Environmental. As a company we like to work to a deadline as opposed to a start time, meaning that if you give me a deadline of tonight the work will be done by tonight. As a business we will throw all of our heart into getting it done by the agreed deadline and this is how we have evolved the company, the client gives us a problem and we give them the solution.”

Through working in close association with environmental consultants such as RSK and Middlemarch Environmental, Wildside is able to further enhance its service portfolio by offering environmental protection services such as those provided on the Redditch Branch Enhancement. Presently similar conservation work

that clearance be completed by mid February 2014 to allow for the completion of construction work by the summer and final landscaping before the end of the year.

Wildside undertook this successfully with a high degree of professionalism ensuring that the project could move forward without delay. “The Redditch Branch Enhancement was another good job that was undertaken for Buckingham Group Contracting under their LNW MAFA Framework,”

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SGC Rail Solutions Ltd

is on going in conjunction with vegetation clearance and ground works on the Bicester to Oxford line enhancement project. “We have increasingly become involved in doing environmental limitation work as well as our traditional services,” Nick says. “Between Bicester and Oxford we have built the bulk of the newt fencing and built several badger sets. We have also built ponds for the newts and this really seems to be the way the business is going at the moment, with a focus on the environmental side with regards to vegetation clearing.

Of course we are still doing fencing, but this can at times be fiercely competitive, and having developed a niche service with an experienced team in our environmental and earth works capabilities, I will be putting more energy into developing that part of Wildside’s service.”

Following its on-going success on the back of CP5 Wildside has recently gained RISQS certification, which was formerly known as Achilles Link-up. Following a highly successful audit, the company is pre-qualified to work with hundreds of organisations and is well placed to build on its growing success, as Nick concludes: “We are a very reactive company, it obviously costs money to be that responsive but I think that it is important to move quickly in this marketplace. We do things at a set price, we don’t go back for extras and we don’t stop work when it is raining. It would be nice to have a three or five year contract with Network Rail as a framework agreement to take over the vegetation management of a section of track, such a the line between Banbury and London for example. To build on our current work and develop a framework agreement would be marvellous.” zz

SGC Rail Solutions Ltd are a growing business providing Recruitment, Safety & sub-contract services to the rail & construction sectors.

Working with companies such as Wildside has enabled SGC Rail to become the successful business it is today.

Wildside are approaching a new challenge and all at SGC Rail would like to wish them luck and we luck forward to continuing our relationship for many years to come.

www.wildsideltd.co.uk www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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tpg – Les Transports Publics Genevois

Lightning connections

Geneva Public Transport, known locally as Transports publics Genevois (tpg), operates most of the public transportation systems within the Greater Geneva area, serving over one million inhabitants

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rom trams to trolleybuses and buses, the Canton of Geneva and neighbouring regions all benefit from the many years of experience of tpg. In 1977 the successor organisation to the Compagnie Genevoise des Tramways Electriques (Geneva Electric Tramway Company) began its own extension to an operational history that dates back 150 years. Managing a complex network of 58 lines and routes is a feat in itself, but this fact is further exemplified when considering the total length of the network that covers over 365 kilometres. The 415-vehicle fleet transports over 470,000 travellers per day, a record only achievable as a result of many years of hard work and commitment.

In a previous interview, Roland Bonzon, CEO commented on the development that has brought the business to where it is today: “Since the late 1990s there has been a massive impulse from the authorities to redevelop the public transport provision. Indeed, Geneva’s network was one of the largest in Europe until the late 1920s. Trams were then abandoned because of the economic recession that proceeded World War II and to make way for the private car era.” Having had substantial growth of 25 per cent across two terms between 2003 and 2010, the business is looking forward with anticipation to growth of 35 per cent at the conclusion of 2014, both in terms of seats and kilometres covered.

The growth witnessed and further predicted is being partly addressed by the Cornavin-Eaux-Vives-Annemasse (CEVA) project, focusing on the connection of the main Swiss railway line into Geneva from the rest of Switzerland. Targeting the construction of the remaining section of an outer ring link through Geneva’s west, south and southeastern suburbs, it will enhance the public transport network of the Geneva region. Having become a trans-frontier conurbation with increasing frequency over the years, thousands of cross-border commuters use tpg’s services daily.

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By 2020, a 40 per cent increase in mobility is expected within the area serviced by tpg, and leading up to that time there will be a dramatic increase in projects as a response to the heightened demand. One example of such a project is the development of the CornavinMeyrin-CERN tram (TCMC) that is to be extended to the region of Saint-Genis-Pouilly by 2015. To achieve this extension, a section of route 400 metres in length is being constructed between the Swiss territory and the TCMC border.

Across the board, the network is well integrated, with a single pricing system that incorporates all public transport operators in the area. Improving its commercial speed through investment can enhance the efficiency and attractiveness of the service. Within tpg’s fleet, 2013 saw the arrival of 19 new Tango trams from Stadler, and a further 13 progressively delivered throughout the last ten months.

This particular design concept incorporates an innovative prototype, one tonne, supercapacitor (supercap) battery, which the tram operator installed on the roof of one unit prior to delivery. It can store the equivalent of the entire kinetic energy of an empty tram moving at 55 km/h, which theoretically is more effective than batteries at absorbing and releasing the high short-term currents produced during braking. Energy regenerated during braking is reused as the vehicle starts to move, when its power requirement is highest, but furthermore allows a tram to run for short distances without an external power supply proving substantially beneficial in reducing energy consumption. Under lowacceleration, low-speed test conditions with careful driving, a distance of 1500m has been achieved.

The prototype underwent extensive testing by TPG, Stadler and traction equipment supplier ABB. Its energy consumption is being compared with the rest of the Tango fleet equipped for conventional regenerative

braking which feeds current back into the overhead supply. The allowance of the tram to move independently without an external power supply is a feature that would prove its worth in an event such as a breakage of the contact line, and the additional investment has subsequently proved profitable.

Each of the new trams, including the few that are still under construction, are pre-equipped with the supercap batteries which means that should the test results be favourable it will be taken up by the other vehicles, in line with the company’s strategy to orientate towards electromobility. This strategy extends beyond tram operation into the renewal of the trolleybus fleet, and new plans for 100 per cent electrical buses.

Striding towards its goals, tpg continues to complement the major European hub with an outstanding service to the public, developing and strengthening the network to maintain its reputation. Through a combination of target driven travel times, supported by network management, and the realisation of future projects, tpg has the connection to catch. zz

www.tpg.ch

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DATUM

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Gas wagon

Having gained recognition in the rail industry for its unique composite solutions, Datum looks to generate further interest with its groundbreaking PRM compliant toilet capsule Turbostar Cab Fronts for Bombardier

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A complete solution

ounded in 1997, Datum has roots firmly in pattern making and foundry work and boasts a distinguished history in manufacturing patterns & tools for foundries. Taking advantage of the transferable skills it developed in pattern and tool making, the company expanded into three premises and established its Composite Products arm in 2002. Since then, Datum’s reputation for supplying fire resistant GRP/ Composite products and turnkey solutions to the railway industry has witnessed impressive growth.

“Datum provides an end-to-end service to clients; from CAD data right through to the finished GRPh product. We can manufacture any item required for a train in-house; that could be anything from a train front, to a PIS display, to a toilet module,” explains managing director David Taylor.

Since previously being featured in Railway Strategies in December 2013, Datum has focused on its strategic partnership between Birley Manufacturing and APA Design Ltd. Set up to strengthen Datum’s supplier scope, the partnership enables all companies involved to identify key target markets such as PRM compliance and in particular the UAT module. With all rolling stock under orders to enable access for ‘people of reduced mobility’ by 2020, the company is keen to provide customers with a brand new PRM Universal Access Toilet module giving faster installation times that will ensure trains return to service quicker.

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The brand new PRM compliant toilet module; developed with the aftersales market and new-build rolling stock market in mind, is unique to the market and is anticipated to generate major interest in the coming months. “We have invested a huge amount of time and energy into this partnership and have come up with a design for a brand new toilet module; as a build-to-print supplier this is a massive departure from our typical operations, but we have been pivotal in the innovative and unique design of this toilet. This partnership has enabled us to get involved in the actual fundamental design of a product, while using our experience in the industry to find enhanced solutions to existing issues,” highlights David.

Discussing the features of the toilet, David continues: “What makes this module different is that it is two piece toilet with a split across the middle, whereas our competitors have separate panels all split vertically.

Because our toilet has only two pieces the installation times are halved and the long-term life-time costs for maintenance are reduced; more importantly, the unit has a single joint, which reduces the risk of any liquid ingress escaping from the toilet into the trains sub frames and causing corrosion issues. This is one of the key pivotal design benefits of this module because a lot of toilets manufactured in the past will leak over time and cause rot to the sub frame of the train underneath. This leads to major overhaul work of the train in the future.

“Our toilet not only eliminates that risk through long-

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since the early days and today Datum prides itself on its state-of-the-art CAD/CAM facility, which includes Pro-E Cad Modeller for solid modelling in addition to five CNC machines with a maximum machining envelope of two metres (X Axis) x one metre (Y Axis) x one metre (X Axis).

Furthermore, in 2012 the company introduced a new Johnford CNC machine to give greater capacity in the Y Axis for high-speed machining, and it has also added a CAD software seat in Pro-e/Creo & NX and Unigraphics.

Alongside its superior facilities, David notes other qualities that have led to Datum’s success: “What brings these blue-chip companies back to Datum is the good quality technical support we offer, as well as the turnkey solutions from CAD design to finished production parts that are ready for use. Whether this is a oneoff product or 1000 off, we can provide a unique and exceptional service.”

Certified to ISO:2008 and preparing to deliver a unique product to the market, the future looks positive for Datum as it continues to evolve with the times and provide a perfect blend of traditional approaches with modern technology. zz

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term corrosion protection, but also provides a potential 50 per cent reduction for installation times. Moreover, the distinctive lack of joints in the module gives a smooth, ‘easy-on-the-eye’ appearance. The toilet will be shown for the first time at Innotrans 2014 in Berlin and is already generating a lot of attention from the ROSCOs and TOCS.” Alongside the unveiling of the toilet module in September, Datum will also be focused on providing solutions to a growing list of blue-chip railway firms.

Indeed, in 2014 alone the company is working with Bombardier for the Southern Contract and has maintained ongoing contracts with Alstom, D B Schenker and Wabtec. “Bombardier is one of our major clients and we are keen to continue this positive relationship and I`m hoping we can work together on the future Crossrail project. Over the past year we have also worked with Alstom on the Juniper Refresh project and have major companies within our customer base,” says David.

All patterns and tooling for contracts are manufactured in-house by Datum using the latest CAD/ CAM technologies, which ensures the manufactured product precisely meets customer expectations. CAD/ CAM has been a part of the company’s operations

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Thermit Welding (GB)

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Supporting the infrastructure In a history that stretches back to the 19th century, Thermit Welding (GB) Ltd was formed to develop and market the aluminothermic business. Associated with the development, manufacture, distribution and technical support for welding processes, the company remains a strategic supplier to the railway industry, developing products and welding methods to meet the demands of today’s modern railways

n 1895 Hans Goldschmidt invented aluminothermic welding and patented the technology. Nine years later, the first aluminothermic weld in the UK was undertaken on track during 1904. For the next 100 years the company’s focus and development addressed welding track for rail, crane, specialist heavy and nuclear industries. “As a group, we have a strong partnership consisting of 23 sister companies working across 80 of the major railway operating countries in the world. Each of those companies is gradually developing technologies to solve problems in their own unique markets, and the result is that we are able to draft in ideas to use in the UK. One such concept is a ballast stabilisation product, introduced at the Network Rail, ‘Rail Live’ event earlier in 2014. Having brought it over from Japan, installation trials begin in November this year,” says Allan Binstead, managing director. Similar products already exist in the market, but this product can be installed in a fraction of the time, preventing lateral slip of the track between two and eight times more effectively.

Despite the age of aluminothermic welding technology, it has been in continual progression, and currently the business is looking in depth at a range of digital and enabling technologies that bring aluminothermic welding into CP5 aspirations and goals. “We aim to automate as much as possible, reducing machine style faults and the reliance on manual operation. As such we have developed the SMARTWELD MONITOR, which is part of a family of electronic based products that assist in this purpose. Following a year of trials with Network Rail, we are about to undertake a large rollout of this product,” announces Allan.

Adding to the family of specialist measuring products, Thermit Welding has introduced a new range of digital straight-edges, enabling clients to measure the condition of the rail head, (e.g. corrugation and weld alignment).

Improving standards in all areas of the railway is becoming a focus, and real attention to detail is being paid to every aspect of the life cycle management of the track. “We are able to measure much more accurately with digital straight edges. Combined with an associated app that works on a mobile device, the operator is able to record accurate data. Such a product has already been in use during the construction of the Edinburgh metro and

Tracksafe Monitor

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the original Channel Tunnel link,” explains Allan. The requirement for digital validation is also something that Network Rail is heavily pushing; and these products support the submission of results in a digital form that proves the work was carried out to satisfaction.

In 2013, the Goldschmidt-Thermit Group acquired the US based business Portaco, a tooling systems specialist producing an equipment portfolio that ranges from power packs and generators through to hydraulic tools and basic hand tools. “Instead of buying in other people’s products, we are now able to work on designing and introducing our own range of tools. One outcome from this new approach, is that we have already launched into the UK, a diesel engine rail weld grinder, the GP4000D and a duet of rail mounted rail grinders; RAILSHAPE ECO and the VM8000. The products have generated a lot of interest.

We’re not standing still, we are taking a step up, looking at customer problems and limitations and finding solutions,” points out Allan.

Other recent technology-based launches include a suite of rail stress and strain measuring equipment, from the portable systems measuring stress-free temperature of the rail, through to static permanently installed systems that are micro-spot welded to the rail, sending back data on the temperature and stress state of the rail at regular intervals. Should any large changes occur, the system automatically alerts an engineer, and results have already proven that the technology works well, eliminating the need for continuous physical track inspection. “What we offer is much more than just welding, and clients are recognising more and more that we have numerous solutions to their problems. Through a process of ‘cross selling’ between our businesses, we can see some real opportunities for customers to save money and perform better.

“We’ve dramatically changed the way we approach product supply and radically revolutionised the lead times for most of our products. One of the strengths

that set us apart in the market place is our capability to make welds for any of the 200 plus rail profiles in the UK. The task today is to enhance the quality and delivery levels, whilst developing new product lines,” says Allan.

One such product has been TRACKBOND, whereby the track ballast is bonded; the business has put a lot of effort into improving the materials and developing clients’ understanding of the product. The company has picked up repeated recent high profile contracts, such as the project on the Dawlish seafront. “We were already in discussion with Network Rail to do some repair work on the original bonded seaward shoulder when the storms hit, so we were able to respond quickly.

“The works came about following torrential weather causing direct problems to the line. The irony however, was when we arrived on-site the sun came out and by mid-March we were issuing sunscreen to our workforce,” he jokes. The ballast bonding technique involves using an engineered adhesive, such as an epoxy based two part material, which is applied to clean ballast in a controlled manner, bonding the stones together, maintaining the voids between the stones. This maintains the drainage capability of the ballast, supporting the infrastructure in an environmentally sensitive way.

With numerous projects and innovative partnerships coming up in the near future, the company’s service is set to continue along this path of frequent demand. The Aluminothermic weld is a very economical way of repair, but there are other rail joining solutions used across the world that have a role to play in the UK industry. The Goldschmidt Thermit Group has announced the launch of a new global technology and innovation centre where it intends to co-ordinate global development activity and undertake baseline research, developing core processes and technologies. “We have a very clear business plan as we drive forward and response from our customer base is very positive,” concludes Allan.” zz

www.thermit-welding.com

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Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)

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Class 365 GN at King’s Cross

Awarded the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise from the Department of Transport (DfT) in May 2014, Govia Thameslink Railway Limited (GTR) took over the franchise in September and has bold plans to enhance services, connections, passenger capacity and stations 80

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ommitted to retaining its leading position as a provider of innovative, high-quality, customerfocused passenger transportation, Govia, a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group (65 per cent) and Keolis (35 per cent), is responsible for approximately 33 per cent of all UK passenger rail journeys through its franchises of GTR, Southern, Southeastern and London Midland. Govia plans to use its extensive knowledge and expertise to implement bold new changes onto the Thameslink and Great Northern routes. CEO Charles Horton says: “We are the busiest rail franchise owning group in the country and our main business at the moment, in terms of rail in the UK, is on challenging commuter networks.”

As the largest ever franchise let in terms of passenger

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Exterion Media Exterion Media is a leading Out of Home media owner in the UK. We allow advertisers to reach and enjoy extended levels of engagement with the UK’s urban audiences through our extensive network of advertising opportunities.

We are committed to working collaboratively with our commercial partners to develop high quality, innovative products that are suited to both the environment and the needs of the audiences that pass through. Customer experience is that the heart of what we do, and we are dedicated to enhancing passenger journeys throughout the UK. Our extensive investment in research tools such as our award-winning audience panel work.shop.play. means that we can provide unrivalled insight into the needs and desires of rail customers.

Our vision is to be number one in engaging urban audiences across the UK, shaping the future of the market by delivering valuable insights, providing operational excellence and building meaningful relationships across all areas of the business.

numbers, TSGN will support the delivery of the £6.5 billion government-sponsored Thameslink Programme during its seven-year term, which will open up new routes across London and improve services to destinations such as Brighton, Cambridge, Luton and Gatwick Airport.

This will introduce state-of-the-art Thameslink carriages from 2016. Additional investment through the GTR franchise of £430 million will see two extra train fleets and significant timetable improvements. This will not only improve train capacity on the network by 50 per cent but will also increase the number of carriages on trains going into London every weekday during peak hours by 26 per cent by the end of 2018. “We will be introducing three new fleets of trains,” confirms Charles.

“This means we will have 10,000 extra seats, which will

Thameslink Class 319 in new Thameslink livery.

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Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)

greatly help with crowding on these services; we will also boost capacity so there will be more space for standing passengers too.”

“The three fleets will operate on three key routes,” confirms COO Dyan Crowther. “The first is the Thameslink route, which will have the new Class 700

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trains with 1140 new carriages; these have already been ordered from Siemens and are due for delivery from 2016 to 2018. The carriages are fixed formation eight and 12 carriage trains. They will be at the forefront of technology from a data perspective, enabling us to use information from the trains to understand loadings. This will be available to customer information centres and platform staff. It is a revolutionary development, because we will be able to give information to passengers in real time as to where is best to stand on a platform and where to find space when on board and will also be able to have real time discussions with the driver.”

Moreover, there will be 108 specifically designed vehicles (27 x 4 carriages) for the Gatwick Express service; this will not only drastically improve shortcomings in terms of access and luggage storage, but will also include free wi-fi. Meanwhile, the third and final fleet development involves 150 new high capacity Metro trains for Moorgate services in 2018, as Dyan highlights: “You only need to travel on the Northern City line to work out the benefits you will get from replacing this fleet. The trains are 40 years old, the oldest in the UK mainland, and are no longer appropriate for the

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Charles Horton on board the new Class 700 Thameslink train

modern day commuter.”

Committed to enhancing all areas of Thameslink and Great Northern rail services, GTR is also looking to improve reliability and punctuality through restructuring timetables. Charles says: “The first major timetable change will come into effect in December 2015 and is focused on the Brighton mainline. We plan to improve the services on this line by creating more even service intervals with less ‘bunching’ of trains. We’ll be speeding up journey times in places like Worthing, Brighton and Littlehampton. We will also boost Brighton to London services with extra services into Victoria.”

Since operations began, plans for the franchise are now under way and GTR anticipates customers will notice improvements over the coming months, followed by a consistent stream of enhancements over the

Wyndeham Gait Wyndeham Gait is a leading supplier of printed materials to the UK Passenger Transport sector.

Our 24/7 production facility has multi-colour printing, finishing, storage and distribution on-site.

We are an Achilles Link-up accredited supplier of printing services to the rail industry and have over 60 years experience of producing time-critical print publications.

Wyndeham Gait is pleased to supply Govia Thameslink Railway and we wish the franchise much success for the future.

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)

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Charles Horton GTR CEO and Claire Perry Rail Minister at launch of GTR

next three years. Charles says: “We are going to start deploying tablet devices shortly to our frontline staff so they will have better information to pass onto our customers; we also have our On Track app that allows customers to receive train running information too. Over the course of 2015 we will also be providing customers with wi-fi at 104 stations and more flexible ticket options by extending our smartcard The Key right across the franchise.” A £50 million investment on all 239 stations

will improve access, put in new electronic information screens and contribute to major improvements at St Albans, Luton and Stevenage stations.

Confident that it has the people and plans in place to deliver major improvements to customers, the highly experienced and knowledgeable GTR has a challenging, yet exciting seven years ahead. zz

www.thameslinkrailway.com

Cambridge will have direct trains to Gatwick from 2018

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Touax Rail LTD

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A logistics showcase As one of Europe’s largest lessors of intermodal railcars, Touax Rail’s growing reputation is second to none

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Louis Pastré business development and marketing director, Touax Rail

ounded in 1855, Touax has a rich history that can be traced back to when the company began life as Compagnie de Touage de la Basse Seine et de l’Oise, operating as a river transport service on the Seine and Oise rivers. Today the company has grown into a truly global enterprise with a diversified portfolio trading in four areas comprised of shipping containers (600,000 TEUs), modular buildings (three assembly plants), river barges and rail cars. The business ordered its first hopper cars in France during 1954 and over the years Touax Rail has grown its fleet to over 9000 owned and managed rail freight vehicles, serving 70 main clients across five continents. Within Europe Touax Rail works in co-operation with workshops and mobile teams and represents clients in the US through its partnership with Chicago Freight Car Leasing. Furthermore the company is keen to expand its fleet to as many as 10,000 rail cars and to maintain its momentum through a programme of continued diversification of its wagon types.

The company manages its wagons under Vereinigung der Privatgüterwagen-Interessenten (VPI), the German association of parties interested in private freight wagons, which allows it to deliver maintenance such as reprofiling

and revisions closer to its clients’ operational areas. This greatly reduces transportation costs and downtime.

Furthermore Touax Rail gained ISO 9001 accreditation in 2010 and became one of the first companies to achieve Entity in Charge of Maintenance (ECM) certification during December 2011. As such the company’s technical know-how in the field of technical management and maintenance of railcars has seen it contracted to manage the ECM services of a large intermodal fleet of over 1100 wagons over the course of three years. Additionally it has undertaken further projects to supply a large number of coal wagons for traffic between the Benelux and Germany, and gained new clients in existing and new countries, including Poland and Turkey. It has also recently opened a central warehouse to deliver the main spare parts to its clients, in addition to secondary stocks spread over Europe, based on main clients’ routes.

Since it was last featured in Railway Strategies during July 2013, Touax Rail has continued to grow its fleet and won contracts that have enabled it to pursue its ambition of an expanded service portfolio. In October 2013 the company announced that it had won a prestigious contract from Volkswagen Logistics to deliver a fleet

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Touax Rail LTD

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ELH As a very experienced manufacturer, ELH has the capabilities and technology needed for the development and production of special and track friendly bogies for freight and passenger wagons.

The company creates a wide range of products in a variety of options, such as the RC25NT family, which includes the RC25NT-D (with brake discs), the RC25NT-C (with compact brake) and the RC25NT-K (composite brake blocks).

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of 300 high-capacity sliding-wall wagons. The twin-axle wagons were required to have minimum internal height of 3000 mm to enable the transport of mesh box pallets (CKD) and were constructed by Greenbrier Europe at its Świdnica plant in Poland. The manufacturer was able to prove its experience in sliding wall wagons and ensured a close and successful co-operation thanks to a strong commitment

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from the top management, sales and R&D departments.

The first prototype was received in March 2014 with a second following shortly thereafter. During InnoTrans 2014 Greenbrier symbolically presented a prototype Wagon to Touax Rail, where the company triumphantly showcased the prototypes.

Following successful trials of the prototypes, EBA certification and others, Touax has begun the process of delivering the new fleet to Volkswagen, with the first new cars set to arrive in November 2014. “The partnership with Volkswagen coincides with our marketing strategy to lease more wagons to industrial clients, who are interested in profitable and long term agreements,” said Louis Pastré, business development & marketing director.

“Touax is proud to be a partner for inbound logistics, as for many years we have been actively involved in the outbound logistics, transporting new cars on laaers wagons.” Touax Rail was already renting four axle Ha wagons on the market, but was looking for additional optimised sliding wall wagons. The company plans to continue to invest in his segment, offering new wagons for light or heavy cargo.

During July 2013 Louis commented that rail would continue to grow as a vital link in Europe’s supply chain: “Rail market share versus road will increase regularly in Europe. In addition, the European fleet is getting older and needs a strong replacement programme over the coming years. Whilst the market needs 10,000 to 20,000 new wagons per year, the last five has seen only 5000 to 7000 produced. Compared to a European fleet that numbers around 700,000 wagons this represents around only one per cent. This is a structural under-investment trend that should end soon. So far the market remains under full production capacity but is improving, helped by regular replacement of tank wagons as well.”

Indeed the continued success of the company in winning tenders for such significant contracts such as its recent success with Volkswagen would seem to suggest that the future could present a significant opportunity for Touax Rail. Certainly the conditions are right for freight lessors to supply significant added value to clients,

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as Louis elaborates: “These combined parameters will position leasing companies as key partners to accompany this development. Leasing ensures flexibility and low capital expenditure for our clients who need to optimise their organisation, traffic management, and costs. This enables them to focus on their core business of customer service and transportation. In addition, industrial companies are also leasing wagons in order to stay independent from the RUs (railway undertaking) – in the case of lower quality service they keep control of the wagons and simply have to find another solution for the traction.”

Presently Touax Rail is enjoying regular growth throughout Europe despite a challenging market, the US, and is starting in India. “We believe in a continuous recovery of rail business,” said Louis. The group’s wagons are leased on long-term contracts to railways, logistics and industrial clients in intermodal transport and the transport of palletised general cargo. Additionally Touax is the owner of a fleet of wagons transporting mining coal, steel coils and finished vehicles.

Over the next 12 months, Touax intends to offer pocket wagons for the transport of mega trailers and other additional open or covered wagons. Louis added: “Touax Rail offers other solutions like sale & leaseback where clients can prioritise cash allocation while they continue to use the wagons, protecting their market shares/positions.”

Looking further ahead, Louis concluded with Touax’s longer term strategic vision: “Touax Rail expects to

increase its development further in Europe and develop on other continents with internal or external growth, and continue to improve its service level. As such it maintains a wide service base that will support the company for many years to come.” zz

www.touax.com www.touaxrail.com

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Unipart Rail

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Serving the world’s railways

Unipart Rail Supply Chain Services

As part of its international expansion plans, Unipart Rail has further aligned its rail infrastructure and traction and rolling stock divisions and unveiled a new corporate look at InnoTrans 2014

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nipart Rail has further deployed its skills at delivering tailor-made, cost-effective, timely and environmentally friendly solutions to customers with expert capabilities in seven proposition areas: l Products l Supply chain services l Technical support l Consultancy l Product innovation and technology l Overhaul and repair services l Manufacturing The company has provided a unique spectrum of solutions to the rail industry since 1997, and the company’s diverse, innovative services has led to the accumulation of an impressive customer base that includes world-renowned firms such as Siemens, Hitachi, London Underground, Atkins, Network Rail and FirstGroup.

Aware that every client has its own individual requirements, the company ensures satisfaction through a holistic approach to the railway industry. By integrating the skills of its 800 employees, the specifically crafted services and experience in the industry with its desire to find solutions, the company consequentially finds new innovations that not only benefit the customer, but the industry as a whole. Indeed, the company’s certification to BS11000 Standard for Collaborative Business Relationships further proves its commitment to working with its partners to deliver superior solutions at excellent value.

The company has a strong culture of employee engagement that helps to deliver the philosophy of the Unipart Way: A philosophy of working underpinned by a set

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of tools and techniques that: l Form part of its knowledge management system l Continuously improve based upon experience l Enable it to improve faster than the best alternative available to its existing and potential customers And by combining this philosophy with its deep understanding of the railway industry, Unipart Rail is a unique partner across supply chain management, engineering services and consultancy.

Although the company works in two distinct sectors – Infrastructure and Traction and Rolling Stock – there are many areas of synergy where working together delivers efficiencies for its customers such as a combined warehouse at Doncaster and a vehicle fleet that delivers to depots, warehouses and trackside across the country to over 100 delivery points on a daily basis. In overseas markets, the company is also seeing the benefits of a combined approach to obtain new contracts in Australasia and North America.

The combined portfolio of products offered by Unipart Rail is now over 70,000 catalogue numbers including traction and rolling stock products such as bogie subcomponents, traction systems and seating and rail infrastructure’s products includes electronic treadles, LED signals and overhead line equipment (OLE). In June 2014 the company displayed the OLE aluminium cantilever at Rail Live 2014; part of the new ‘specialist product’ services the business offers to its customers.

es ort Servic ical Supp n h c Te il a Unipart R

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz A regular participant at industry events, Unipart Rail was one of the 2500 exhibitors at InnoTrans this year, taking the opportunity to display its corporate rebranding at the biggest rail exhibition in the world as well as a selected range of highly innovative products on display.

The products displayed included Track Pan for undertrain spillage containment, Fiber Protector for improving the cleanliness and life of seats and carpets, Diesolift for improving fuel efficiency, FlexiKitting solutions for delivering parts to line-side locations, TPWSfour for enhanced information systems to drivers, CabCool retrofittable air conditioning unit and an integrated lightweight signal (iLS) created by Unipart Dorman, which has been part of the Unipart Group since 2004.

In addition to showcasing recent innovations, Unipart Rail launched its new brand identity with seven propositions as to how it will serve the world’s rail industry: products, supply chain services, overhaul and repair, technical support services, manufacturing, product innovation and technology and consultancy. As seen on the company’s website, these seven business propositions offer simple clarification on the services available to customers.

This diverse range of available capabilities under

Unipart R a Manufac il tu Services ring tion ct Innova ail Produ Unipart R ology Services n and Tech

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a one-stop-shop business offering will not only benefit customers in need of a specific solution, but also strengthen the company’s plans for international expansion over the coming years.

With offices in Europe, North America, Australia and the Unipart R Far East, as well as a network of distributors and agents a Overhau il l based in other areas, Unipart Rail has already set the and Repa ir foundations for strategic growth. zz Services

www.unipartrail.com

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Murphy Group

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Nethertown, New Thrust Bore Culvert and Associated Embankment Works

Breathing life into infrastructure As one of the leading rail contractors in the UK, Murphy’s mission is to provide exemplary teams that combine excellence in collaboration with market-leading performance in the delivery of civil engineering projects

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Old Lane Bridge, Prescot

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riven by values founded on positive attitudes and behaviours, Murphy works collaboratively with clients as professional partners in fully integrated teams under the BS11000 collaborative business relationships framework. Currently based throughout the UK, Ireland, Australia and Middle East, for over 60 years the company has been delivering innovative, safe and sustainable solutions to the most complex challenges clients face supported by its over 3900 employee base, directly-employed and qualified workforce and over £50m plant and equipment fleet.

Murphy has recently been successful in securing a proportion of the CP5 work bank for Network Rail. This involves delivering a large volume of civil engineering, structures and earthworks schemes over the next five years. The award is the result of the commitment and skill of the entire organisation, not just during the tendering process, but also during the last years of dedication and diligence by its rail teams.

“Whilst a number of our competitors subcontract out large amounts of work, Network Rail appreciate our commitment to employing a direct local labour force for our contracts. This provides us with a consistent safety

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approach and a proactive culture driving the achievement of our never harm goal, in line with Network Rail’s Lifesaving Rules.

“Our direct employment model also give us unrivalled flexibility and agility in adapting to clients’ needs and market requirements. Over the last five years we have undertaken a large volume of emergency works for Network Rail, with our team responding to numerous line closures and successfully getting the railway operational again. Our clients see that our staff are very loyal to the business and they benefit from dealing with the same people across all projects,” says Contracts Director Paul Mohan.

Murphy is currently delivering a number of collaborative contracts and joint venture agreements, recognised as being advantageous for the delivery of a common goal, in line with its clients’ needs.

“When everyone has the same vision to get the job done in a safe, smart and green way then the outcome is more obtainable. Partnerships also ensure that the right people are on the job. We are specialists in platform works, earth works and bridge construction but in quieter periods we would be driven to quote for

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Langwathby Cutting Re-grade with counterfort drains works outside of our comfort zone.

“Under the framework agreements, the hi-tech electrical and overhead aspects of the projects are undertaken by specialists in the field such as Siemens and VolkerRail. The whole philosophy of collaboration and BS11000 is ‘best for project’. Our teams are comprised of individuals who hold not only excellent technical competency levels, but demonstrate collaborative behaviours,” explains Paul.

Over the next five years, Network Rail will be delivering a multi-billion pound portfolio of works, and as a result the company needs competent contractors they can trust in every aspect of safe project delivery.

“Securing CP5 is a fantastic achievement for us that commends the hard work that our skilled team has been doing for Network Rail. Over the last three years we have had a real emphasis on improving our service and have spoken to Network Rail about our weaknesses and bolstered our project management ability to ensure we offer our clients the best possible service. Each of the successful contractors has made a number of commitments to Network Rail in their tender submissions to leave a positive legacy at the end of the framework

period. If the contractors are performing in line with the framework agreement, there is the added incentive that it may be extended for an additional five years.”

With the company’s workforce at the centre of its success, Murphy has been actively training its employees across its regional depots through its accredited training schools.

“We had noticed inconsistencies in the achievement levels through external training companies, so we went out to the market to source a trainer with significant experience. Our decision has paid dividends and we have developed a very strong team, with training co-ordinators in all of our depots.

“There is a concern that there is going to be a shortage of operatives within the industry, but our training provides a structured development programme to ensure a sustainable workforce for the future. As an example, a lot of businesses are struggling with a lack of road-rail operators, despite a large amount of equipment for those activities. Our in-house training scheme has ensured that we stay on top of client and market requirements,” points out Paul.

“A further advantage of our direct employment model is that it gives us the ability to drive our culture of innovation, which has always been a part and parcel of Murphy’s DNA, forward. In the last year, we’ve done a considerable amount of work around capturing, in conjunction with BRE (the Building Research Establishment), the product and process innovations, which we have successfully used within the business.

“We’ve developed a model and a standard template for recording the innovation’s benefits around the sustainability agenda – economic, environmental and

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On the right track with Radius

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adius offers the highest level of service engineer a solution that would in lifting operations, be accepted considering supporting projects of any the inaccessibility of the site scale. Often carried out as plus weight and structural a contract lift (fully-managed lifting restrictions on the brick-arched operation), Radius also supports road-over bridge. clients during the early stages of a With its own lifting project providing feasibility studies to engineers and the latest identify the best solution. From tender AutoCAD and specialist stage right through to completion, software facilities to hand, Bedfordshire Radius aspires to become an Radius is able to fully Wymington, integrated long-term lifting partner. integrate its planning with Having worked on numerous clients’ drawings and projects with The Murphy Group, 3D models, simulating a lifting operation in its entirety, prior whose enviable reputation on the UK’s roads to the on-site operation. is matched by that on its rail routes, Radius Most recently, Radius has been has the technical expertise, knowledge and servicing railway projects including the ‘back office’ facilities to fully support all lifting lifting of existing, new or temporary requirements. bridge structures. Site safety is Finding cost effective solutions is made paramount and some locations easier due to the company’s nationwide involving projects along-side the railway access to cranes and lifting equipment. infrastructure present unique challenges, Radius has been able to demonstrate which the dedicated Radius team is able to this with a proven track record in the use overcome due to its vast expertise. of mobile, crawler and tower cranes.

Radius aims to expand business further Furthermore, faced with limited access within the railway sector, continuing to work on projects and needing to find a speedy closely with its existing customer base while Waterloo Station, L ondon solution, Radius has employed the planning to develop relationships with new use of helicopter lifting when traditional clients. zz craneage just would not have sufficed.

A Super Puma helicopter was used to lift and position new mechanical shire , Bedford plant to various roof levels of the Souldrop concourse at London’s Waterloo Station.

A recent road-widening project deployed the use of a crawler crane to unload and position new pre-cast concrete approach units onto an existing road-over bridge in Souldrop, Bedfordshire. Here, the team had to

For your next lifting project, contact Radius:

01604 622 865

www.radiuscm.com

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Murphy Group

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Hull Spring Bank – Underbridge reconstruction

Carr Lane, Kirkham

Bridge Road, Roby social impact, as well as their application and market potential. We’ve also launched an Innovation Microsite, www.murphyinnovation.com, to share our innovation with a view to encouraging both company and industry-wide innovation.

“Many of the innovations have started as concepts through Murphy Bright Ideas™, an internal initiative we introduced in late 2012 to harness and reward our people’s knowledge and innovative thinking, and have subsequently been developed into tangible solutions.

“We also recognise the important role our supply chain plays in innovating and helping us deliver sustainable infrastructure solutions and have introduced a Murphy Supply Chain Innovation Award earlier this year to recognise innovative supply chain products and processes,” explains Paul.

Focused on achieving a never harm culture, Murphy also introduced a Never Harm Culture Programme, which goes further than reliance on systems to achieve a safer and more productive workplace.

“The Never Harm Culture Programme has been designed, developed and delivered in-house following extensive research and goes beyond traditional approaches, such as cautioning or policing behaviours, and instead focuses on the subconscious and conscious processes which form people’s attitudes and choices,” says Paul.

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Murphy’s Never Harm Culture Team is embedding Network Rail’s Lifesaving Rules by ensuring continual education, thus becoming a natural part of the culture on Rail projects. A three-staged process is being adopted to reinforce the lifesaving rules in the ‘choices’ that Murphy employees make for their actions. By promoting the creation of positive and safe habits and reinforcing them, Murphy are encouraging better choices and developing an environment of openness and trust.

Commenting on the programme, Paul says: “This really changes the mindset of how people work, and makes safety everybody’s responsibility. The programme is implemented across our entire workforce, and down the supply chain and framework suppliers. We have had a lot of Siemens, VolkerRail, and Network Rail employees regularly taking part and providing extremely positive feedback.”

The business has also been active on other projects such as the Enhanced Spend Earthworks contract, awarded in early 2012, involving a design and build contracting strategy for the remediation of soil and rock slopes throughout LNW. Murphy was able to realise a number of efficiencies from the scheme as a result of early contractor involvement. By engaging early with Network Rail and their designers, the company took the entire work bank and programmed it for efficient delivery.

They also invested heavily in research and development,

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz implementing counter- balancing excavators to allow safely expedited programmes.

Murphy has also been heavily involved in Network Rail’s National Electrification Programme. Commencing with three bridges in the Eccles area of Manchester, Murphy was able to pass on large savings to Network Rail through an innovative approach to temporary service diversions. As the bridges which needed reconstruction had a large volume of services such as BT fibre optics underslung, Murphy needed to be innovative to keep down costs and mitigate the lead in time to divert them.

As a result they designed and constructed temporary service bridges for the duration of the construction works. This had significant programme and commercial benefits and has since been adopted as standard practice. The success of these bridges saw Murphy awarded a further tranche to deliver and to date its portfolio of NEP bridges exceeds 20. The key to its success is both adoption of innovation and lessons learned and consistency of teams who take their tacit knowledge from project to project.

Beyond the ongoing large-scale contracts, Murphy is involved in essential repair and maintenance to keep the network running. “It is important not to overlook

the grassroots of the business. Within Murphy, we have 100 teams nationally undertaking emergency and maintenance works for Network Rail. They do some truly fantastic work, essential to the operation of the country’s rail services,” highlights Paul.

As part of the Civils Asset Maintenance contracts, Murphy carries out repairs on both earthworks and structures schemes up to £50,000 in value, with its service commended by Network Rail across the projects.

The family-owned business operates as one big team from a number of regional depots to which it owes its success and the ability to provide a consistently highlevel of service to clients no matter which office they are dealing with.

Through scheduling out itsworkload over the next couple of years, the efficiency of the workforce has been built into the operation with the vision to build on teams and continue to provide the appropriate training.

“We are working with Network Rail to come up with new ideas and more efficient ways of delivering work, and by having foresight of work, we have a huge advantage. A high level of communication with all parties, from councils and residents to other contractors, ensures overall project satisfaction,” concludes Paul. zz

Road Rail Cranes Road Rail Cranes Limited provide lifting solutions in varied and remote locations by accessing and travelling to site via rail. We have added a 150ton DAF unit with four-axle trailer to our fleet and Winter 2014 will see us take delivery of the first of our AC55 City rail-cranes. We are proud to have recently helped to successfully deliver the Chorley Flying Arches and River Chor Aqueduct projects in conjunction with J Murphy & Sons Ltd.

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zzzzzzzzzzz NEWS I Conferences & Exhibitions zz Forthcoming Conferences and Exhibitions 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.

6 November Supply Chain Forum (Rail Sector) Building Centre, London Organiser: Rail Champions UK Email: victoria@rail-champions.com Web: www.supplychainforum2014 eventbrite.co.uk 11-13 November Intermodal Europe 2014 Rotterdam Ahoy Organiser: Informa Exhibitions Tel: 02075 519 611 Web: www.intermodal-events.com 12-13 November Rail Ticketing Europe, Brussels Organiser: Terrapinn Email: philip.kwok@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/conference/ railticketing 18 November Managing Difficult People Wadenhoe House, Peterborough Organiser: Health Courses & Careers Update Tel: 02084 343 648 Email: info@healthcourses.co.uk Web: www.healthcourses.co.uk/html/ Managing_Difficult_People 27-28 November 2014 Annual Polis Conference Madrid Organiser: Polis Email: polispolisnetwork.eu Web: www.polisnetwork.eu

3-5 February 2015 Three Day Rail Conferences Frankfurt, Germany Organiser: Europoint Rail Technology Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 6981800 Email: iputman@europoint.eu Web: railconferences.eu/Conference/page/10585/

17-19 March 2015 Rail-Tech 2015 Utrecht Organiser: Europoint Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 698 1800 Email: info@rail-tech.com Web: www.rail-tech.com

9 February 2015 UK Air-Rail Update 2015 DLA Piper, London Organiser: Waterfront Conference Company Tel: 0207 067 1597 Email: conference@thewaterfront.co.uk Web: www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com

24-26 March 2015 Intermodal Asia 2015 Shanghai World Expo Centre Organiser: Informa Exhibitions Tel: 02075 519 309 Web: www.intermodal-asia.com/

9-11 March 2015 Metrorail Europe 2015 Olympia, London Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: 0207 092 1125 Email: philip.kwok@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/conference/metrorail 17-18 March 2015 Middle East Rail Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: +971 4440 2500 Email: enquiry.me@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/ middle-east-rail

31 March to 1 April 2015 AsiaPacificRail 2015 Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: (65) 6322 2720 Email: sophia.ku@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/asiapacific-rail 15-17 July 2015 RailNewcastle Conference Newcastle upon Tyne Organiser: NewRail Tel: 01912 083 976 Email: www.newrail.org/education Web: conferences.ncl.ac.uk/ railnewcastleconference

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) 4th November Train structural integrity Structural integrity, fire and crashworthiness systems found on today’s rail fleets 5th November Fleet maintenance Improve your processes and fleet maintenance 6th November Vehicle acceptance and approvals Introduction to acceptance procedures which apply across the rail network 24-28th November Introduction to railway signalling technologies An overview of railway control systems, subsystems and technologies used on UK main line and metro railways

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24 March 2015 Introduction to rolling stock Provides a basic understanding of the role of traction and rolling stock within the context of railway systems as a whole 25 March 2015 Traction and braking Principles of traction and braking for railway engineers 26 March 2015 Train communication and auxiliary systems New and existing systems in use on today’s rolling stock fleet 14 April 2015 Fleet Maintenance - Introduction Improve your processes and fleet maintenance processes

15 April 2015 Fleet maintenance - Advanced Understand the issues affecting rail vehicle performance and cost of maintenance

A downloadable brochure is available at: www.imeche.org/docs/default-source/learningand-professional-development-documents/l_ d_railway_training_web.pdf?sfvrsn=2 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

RAILWAY zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz S T R A T E G I E S Schofield Publishing 10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU

T: +44 (0) 1603 274130 F: +44 (0) 1603 274131

Editor Gay Sutton

editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Sales Manager Joe Woolsgrove

jwoolsgrove@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

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