Railway Strategies Issue 131 July 2016 by Finelight Media Group

Issue 131 July 2016

Ambassadors

for rail

Rail Week campaigns to change perception of the industry

NEWS

Cost and schedule pressures could delay HS2 Thameslinkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Class 700 takes a maiden voyage RAIB publishes lessons from 2015 rail accident

FEATURE

How to prepare for emerging and disruptive technologies

Europe â&#x20AC;&#x201C; initial reactions and impacts of the Brexit vote

Why abandoning the tangerine ticket is not so smart

Chairman Andrew Schofield

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From the Editor

Editor Gay Sutton editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Managing Editor Libbie Hammond Art Editor Gerard Roadley-Battin Advertisement Designer David Howard Profile Editor Ben Clark Staff Writers Jo Cooper Ben Clark Andrew Dann Advertisement Sales Mark Cawston Darren Jolliffe Dave King Rob Wagner Sales Director Joe Woolsgrove Operations Director Philip Monument Editorial Researchers Keith Hope Tarj Kaur-D’Silva Mark Cowles Administration Tracy Chynoweth

Issue 131 ISSN 1467-0395 Published by

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The shape of things to come Welcome to the brave new world

ast month’s EU referendum was perhaps the most significant event in our history since the Berlin Wall came down and, over the coming months and years, the long term impacts and benefits will gradually become apparent. But for now, as we strive to come to terms with a future that has yet to be negotiated and crafted, there is huge uncertainty. In this month’s issue, we attempt to gauge some early reactions to the Brexit vote. Our World Focus is on Europe, and we have called on Natasha Levanti of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering to give us an initial strategic summary (p 17), and we follow this with a taster of industry opinion and reaction. What emerges from these responses is a clear sense that companies now want to roll up their sleeves and get on with it. The decision, whether they feel it’s good for them or bad, has been made. It’s down to us to tackle the situation and make the best of it. It’s a healthy and dynamic attitude, and one that speaks of flexibility and responsiveness – everything the sector has been moving towards with its focus on customer service, innovation and investment. Continuing with the theme of innovation, Mike Grimsey discusses the complex facets of preparing for and taking part in innovation, working in collaboration to lead from the front with a well prepared plan rather than react from the back when innovation from elsewhere disrupts the flow of the past. One area where innovation is moving rapidly is in ticketing. Our focus this month is on ticketing, not only looking at some of the technologies and new processes that are driving change, but also examining some of the issues and questions that still need to be addressed. I hope you enjoy this month’s issue. If you have any opinions you would like to share with us, please drop me an email: editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk

Railway Strategies as you want it

Railway Strategies is available by email as a digital magazine, or by post in print format. This means you can read the magazine in the format that is most convenient to you. To secure your supply of Railway Strategies in the format you require, contact our subscriptions manage Iain Kidd: ikidd@schofieldpublishing.co.uk The new and refreshed Railway Strategies website can be found at: www.railwaystrategies.com. We are on Twitter: @Rail_Strats, and on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/RailManagement-8480954/about. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or other) without prior written permission being obtained from the publisher. While every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content at time of writing, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

Features Innovation in action â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are we ready? 8 How we need to work together to prepare for emerging and disruptive technologies as they unfold MIKE GRIMSEY

4 Cover stor

News Industry 4 Infrastructure 6 Rolling stock 14 Appointments 18 Conferences & exhibitions 37

Focus on Ticketing

The way forward 12 Discussing the new IT, concepts and technologies behind the relentless rollout of contactless ticketing NIGEL HYSLOP Not so smart? 15 Some of the uncomfortable questions that still need answering before we abandon the tangerine ticket RICHARD FARMER

World Focus Europe Moving forward post Brexit 17 Examining the impacts and implications of the leave vote on the rail sector NATASHA LEVANTI Brexit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what the industry says 19 Initial thoughts and reactions from rail businesses around the UK Europe gives its backing 20 Reporting on the adoption of a new resolution to improve competitiveness of the European rail supply industry NATASHA MARIE LEVANTI Harmonising safety standards 21 In Europe or out, how the Fourth Railway Package is likely to influence rail safety in the UK GREIG DUNCAN

Profiles 22 GVB 26 Telent 30 Crossrail

IN BRIEF Trainline prepares for Europe l Following the acquisition of Europe’s largest rail ticket retailer, Paris-based Captain Train, in March this year, Trainline has appointed a European director of communications to drive brand awareness in the UK & continental Europe. Victoria Biggs, will set the European communications strategy and build a team across multiple markets including France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

IOSH rail award entries open

Rail industry reaches out to young people

l The IOSH Railway Group has called for entries to the International Award 2016, which celebrates innovative projects that have solved problems and made a positive impact on occupational health and safety in the rail sector. This year, inspiration is being taken from the strategic objectives of the UK’s RSSB. www.iosh.co.uk/railwaygroup

l The inaugural Rail Week from 27 June to 3 July has seen the whole rail sector come together and reach out to young people around the UK, celebrating the diversity of career opportunities in rail. Led by the Young Rail Professionals (YRP), the event was backed by Network Rail, TfL, DfT and the National Skills Academy for Rail, and comprised of a series of events dedicated to addressing the skills shortage in the rail industry. More than 150 bespoke site visits, educational activities and behind-the-scenes events, as well as dozens of inspiring STEM school outreach sessions, took place up and down the country, hosted by more than 70 organisations from across the railway industry. Highlights included a tour of the Farringdon Crossrail station in central London hosted by engineering consultancy Bechtel. Other events include a tour of the control centre for the Merseyrail network in Liverpool, visits to the Bombardier train manufacturing facility in Derby and the ‘Rocket to Bullet’ exhibition

at the National Railway Museum, York. Meanwhile, Transport for London showcased the complex rebuilding of Bank station, one of the largest upcoming investment projects on the London Underground network, and hosted visitors at Stratford Market depot on the Jubilee Line. Ambassadors such as Kate Wilson – a trainee track design engineer at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in Birmingham who moved into the industry as a career change having spent more than ten years in health and fitness – sought to improve perceptions of rail industry among students, teachers and careers advisors. Kate, aged 28, said: “I would definitely urge people to consider a career in the rail industry – with a massive shortage of skilled engineers, and so many big projects going ahead, there are plenty of opportunities and exciting times ahead. It is definitely the right time to join the industry. One thing I’ve noticed is that once people join the industry, they never leave, which says a lot!”

Panasonic expands into the rapidly growing rail market

continue to operate as a stand-alone business with its own brand, and with the current management team continuing to lead the business. It will become an entity within Panasonic’s System Solutions division. System Solutions managing director Tony O’Brien said: “We already provide a range of technologies and services specific to the aviation and automotive industries, rail is our next strategic key vertical. Following our review of the UK market it became clear that the ADComms business and its management team have developed a fantastic reputation within the sector, with quality delivery and solid engineering innovation.”

Industry partner sought for failsafe track switch l In the latest stage of the two-and-ahalf-year Repoint failsafe track switch project, Loughborough University is inviting companies to tender for a £400,000 contract to develop and deploy a full scale, prototype track switch on the London Underground. Funded by RSSB, it will be progressed alongside RSSB, London Underground, and its supply base. Email: c.vallis@lboro.ac.uk.

Fundraising Trek for Railway Children charity l 150 charity trekkers have completed the 2016 Three Peaks by Rail Challenge, raising close to £165,000 for Railway Children, which supports children at risk on the streets. Since its launch in 2004, the annual event has raised £2.4m, helping the charity reach 5,000 new children in need every year across the world – providing shelter, food, clothing, medical supplies, education and counselling.

Kate Wilson, an ambassador for rail

l Panasonic Europe has acquired leading UK technology integration specialist Alan Dick Communications. The move will provide Panasonic with an opportunity to expand into the rapidlygrowing rail market, incorporating mainline rail, London Underground and other light metro infrastructure in the UK. Alan Dick Communications, trading as ADComms, includes IPS, AIB, and Rail Order, and will

NEWS I Industry IN FACT WCRC fined £200,000

Virgin Trains’ new BEAM app

Virgin Trains beats the airlines to it with ground-breaking new entertainment portal l Virgin Trains has launched a ground breaking new on-board entertainment service, which is streamed directly to customers’ own devices. The new app, BEAM, is available from Apple or Android app stores, and provides a spectrum of free entertainment for adults and children. This includes around 200 hours of

RAIB draws lessons from 2015 rail accident in London l The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has released a report into an incident at Hayes & Harlington station, London, on 25 July 2015 where a passenger’s hand was trapped in a train door and she was dragged along the platform. The investigation found that the passenger had deliberately placed her hand in the closing door in the expectation that it would re-open. After closing the doors the driver either did not make a final check that it was safe to depart, or the check was insufficiently detailed to allow him to identify the trapped passenger.

Darwin goes live at customer information systems around the UK l The new harmonised Darwin customer information system, designed to deliver accurate and consistent train information across Britain’s rail network and to train users where and when they need it, has now gone live. The new £9m system feeds live information from the industry’s central train running information engine, Darwin, to railway station screens and staff as well as to online channels and mobile apps, including the National Rail

films, TV episodes, magazines and games, and is complimentary to all Virgin Trains customers. If the destination arrives before the end of a film, BEAM will remember exactly where it left off, allowing customers to finish their new favourite viewing on the return leg. More advanced than anything currently available on planes, the service was developed by Virgin Trains in conjunction with GoMedia. It is available on all Virgin Pendolino services on the West Coast route and will be rolled out across all Virgin Voyager services by September 2016. It is also now being rolled out on Virgin Trains’ East Coast services. The investigators found that the train driver and other railway staff believed that if someone had a hand trapped in a door it would not be possible for the door interlock light to illuminate and a driver to take power. This is not the case. RAIB has identified three learning points: improving train driver awareness of the limitations of train door interlocking technology and the importance of the final safety check when dispatching a train; the potential for drivers to be distracted by the use of mobile communication devices; and the importance of putting processes in place to identify drivers who are showing signs of sub-standard performance or not engaging positively with safety measures.

app. The information includes real-time arrival and departure predictions, platform numbers, delay estimates, schedule changes and cancellations. To gather all this information in one place and make the relevant calculations, Darwin takes feeds directly from every train operator’s customer information system and combines it with train location data provided by Network Rail. The system replaces 66 separate customer information systems operated by train operators and Network Rail, and has been installed at all stations with information screens, some 1600 in total.

l West Coast Railway Company has been fined £200,000 for breaches of health and safety laws after a train passed a signal at danger near Wootton Bassett in March last year and stopped across the busy Great Western main line junction. Train driver Melvyn Cox also received a suspended four-month prison sentence.

Metrolink journeys · 10.1% l Greater Manchester’s Metrolink network is busier than ever according to figures from DfT. During the year 2015/16 more than 34.3m journeys were made across the network, 10.1% up on the previous year. Customer satisfaction has also improved by 4% over the same period, rising to 89%.

15 extra apprentices sought l Network Rail is looking to recruit 15 additional apprentices for its 2016 intake. The company, which takes on 150 apprentices a year, has vacancies at Manchester, Stockport, Preston, Warrington, Liverpool, Crewe, Carlisle, Stafford, Sandwell & Dudley, Bletchley, Banbury and London Euston. The three-year scheme, starts on 24 September. www.networkrail.co.uk/ apprentices

£3,000 fare dodging in one day l In one of the biggest exercises ever mounted at Euston station, London, forty revenue protection and security staff carried extra ticket checks at platforms across the station on 21 June. 104 fare dodgers were issued with penalty notices and a further 4 were interviewed under caution. The value of the dodged fares was in excess of £3,000.

IN BRIEF BAE Systems builds foundations for the Digital Railway l BAE Systems has delivered the first iteration of an industry architecture proving that it is possible to deliver and integrate the required combination of engineering and IT disciplines for the Digital Railway programme. This creates a foundation for programme planning and ongoing industry engagement to carry the programme forward.

Rocks thrown at rail workers l A major weekend of work repairing the sea wall on the Dover line was marred last month by of a group of youths throwing rocks at workers. One of the rocks, thrown from the cliff, missed site workers by inches and could have caused serious injury of death. Appeals are being made to parents to talk to children about the dangers of this kind of behaviour.

Crossrail design exhibition opens in London l A new exhibition showcasing the design of Crossrail’s stations, art and public spaces has opened at London Transport Museum. It includes a rich collection of material along with images of the new stations, and a film showing the journey passengers will take from street level to platform. The exhibition is open for a year.

Badgers to get a good deal in the future l Network Rail has developed a new methodology for building railside structures that will protect badgers living by the railway. Information from the ecology survey was used to decide on the position of foundations so existing badger setts are not disturbed. Network Rail is now looking at how this can be used on other projects.

Engineers working on the embankment at Middlewood

Emergency work is completed between Buxton and Manchester following rain induced landslip l Repairs to the railway between Manchester and Buxton were completed in less than two weeks after a landslip closed the line at Middlewood. Around 6,000 tonnes of material was dislodged as a result of heavy rain on 12 and 13 June, when about two inches of rain fell in less than two hours. A section of embankment had to be rebuilt and track and ballast replaced.

Alongside these major works, other material from the railway and neighbouring land also had to be removed and several sections of the cutting slope repaired. Terry Strickland, area director for Network Rail said: “The landslip and wash away of material meant that it was impossible to run trains through the area and a temporary closure of the line was unavoidable.”

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff wins Network Rail’s Digital Railway contract l Network Rail has appointed WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff to provide design and engineering services on the Digital Railway’s Multi-Functional Design Framework (MFD). The contract, which supports the delivery of the European Rail Traffic Management Systems (ERTMS) on the UK’s railways covers a range of strategic engineering and project

management services. The rail team has also been appointed on two further contracts within the digital railway programme: development of the safety and security case, which includes system safety management and cyber security; and provision of independent assurance services which includes expert advice, assurance and auditing.

£4bn to be ploughed into West Midlands transport infrastructure over next 10 years l The new West Midlands Combined Authority, formed through devolution of power from Whitehall, will drive more than £4bn of transport infrastructure construction over the coming decade, including more tram extensions, new suburban rail lines, cycle routes and better motorways. Working through its transport arm, Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), the authority will prioritise schemes that underpin and support

economic growth, housing and skills. Schemes include more Metro extensions in Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country, new rail infrastructure to bring local services to suburbs like Kings Heath, Moseley and Castle Bromwich, improvements to key motorway and road junctions and a comprehensive cycle network. The aim is also to ensure the region has transport links in place to connect and feed into HS2 when it opens.

NEWS I Infrastructure

Successful upgrades for Hornsey depot ahead of Class 700 introduction

IN BRIEF Cordant to guard Crossrail sites l Cordant Services has been awarded preferred supplier status following a competitive tender via Carillion Rail. Cordant is to provide bespoke security solutions including manned guards and security technology at Crossrail sites to ensure Carillion equipment is fully secured and monitored.

Hornsey signalling l Work to upgrade the Siemens traincare facility at Hornsey has been successfully completed, in preparation for the introduction of Class 700 trains on the Thameslink line. Hornsey is one of two new hi-tech rail depots being built by Siemens, following a combined investment of over £300m. It is scheduled to open this summer. After 5 years of planning, the final upgrades took place over the Spring Bank Holiday without disrupting depot functionality. A new

signalling system has replaced hand-signalling, creating safer, more controlled and efficient movement of vehicles in and out of the depot. An innovative depot personnel protection system (DPPS) has also been installed. Providing performance monitoring software, it allows maintenance supervisors to remotely monitor the status of roads and plan maintenance tasks and train operations more effectively. The system also helps separate staff and train movements and provides detailed records of all activity.

HS2 programme to be extended and cost overruns addressed l The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a progress report on the HS2 programme, stating that it is facing cost and schedule pressures. Options for extending the opening date for phase 1 are now being considered, and steps are being taken to bring cost estimates within available funding. According to the NAO, the 2026 opening date for phase 1 is at risk despite good progress with some major procurements. The Department for Transport (DfT) has asked HS2 Ltd to revisit the programme schedule in order to increase confidence for delivery from 60 % to 80%, without increasing costs. It has also asked HS2 to assess the impact of extending the timetable for opening Phase 1 by up to 12 months. Since the previous NAO report in 2013, tender documents for major civil engineering contracts on phase 1 have been issued, and the preferred route for phase 2b is to be announced later this year. The report says that that the delivery schedule for HS2 was too ambitious. The first

of three formal delivery review points was delayed by 10 months because HS2 would not reach the required level of capability in time. HS2 needs to build organisational capability, and produce fully assured plans to complete work on schedule, it says. The report outlines the cost pressures. Phase 1, now costed at £27,384m, exceeds available funding by £204m. There is less contingency to deliver than the DfT and HS2 were aiming for, and this forecast assumes that planned efficiencies totalling £1.47bn are delivered. The 2015 Spending Review estimated phase 2 would exceed available funding by £7bn, and some elements are still unfunded. £9bn potential savings have been identified, £2bn of which have been secured. The impact of these pressures could reduce programme scope, and lower the benefit cost ratio. The DfT has asked HS2 to explore options for reducing the programme scope in ways that do not have a significant impact on programme benefits.

Murphy develops new safety concept l Construction and engineering firm, Murphy, has pioneered a new safety concept in the Crossrail tunnels under the Thames, which can now be rolled out companywide. Safe T Zone is a device for telehandlers which minimises unsafe movements of underslung goods by limiting the operation of the telehandler and restricting its movement.

Manchester’s summer of improvements begins l The final stage of the transformation of Metrolink’s St Peter’s Square tram stop in the centre of Manchester has begun. No north/ south trams will operate across the city until the end of August when the new stop opens. At the same time essential track maintenance will take place on the Eccles tram line.

Go- ahead for Wolverhampton tram extension l Plans to extend the Midland Metro to a new interchange at the railway station in Wolverhampton have been given formal approval by Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin. Preparatory work on the £18m extension can now start later this year with completion scheduled for 2019.

INNOVATION

Innovation in action -

are we ready? GHD’s Mike Grimsey explores a cultural shift in industry attitudes towards innovation and the potential impacts on Britain’s future railway

Below Mike Grimsey, technical leader for rail at GDH

aving recently taken on the role of technical leader for rail at GHD, Mike is passionate about delivering transformative and meaningful industry improvements through the promotion of innovation and implementation of new technology. For this to be truly achieved, however, he believes it is vital for the industry to work together to play its part in better showcasing the attractiveness of the railway sector, to encourage sustainable inward investment from the private sector, particularly in the area of emerging technologies. If we are to be successful in our determination to attract the best entrepreneurial talent from the private sector, then we need look no further than the spectacular achievements of Elon Musk and his pioneering SpaceX, Hyperloop and Tesla technologies as an incentive to characterise the ‘art of the possible’ within a railway

industry that is determined to meet the needs of future societal demands for mobility. In establishing the Rail Supply Group, the Government has created a united ‘shop window’ for the industry and this should be commended. Furthermore, with the recent launch of the Sector Strategy, signs are promising that at last, both inward investment and global exports will more noticeably characterise the activities the industry undertakes as it responds to the challenges of the Rail Technical Strategy in creating the railway of the future. Within our industry, we have mostly become familiar with the Rail Technical Strategy and its 4Cs challenge, as well as its drive for embedding a culture of whole systems thinking. Mike, with his former organisation and now with GHD, has been heavily involved in the promotion of these priorities, through the delivery of evidential research and technical advice to customers including the Department

long term. Finance organisations are increasingly calling upon the views of ‘Futurists’; intelligent, techno-savvy, young professionals, to predict future scenarios upon which these institutions may base their business-critical investment decisions. A key element of being prepared is to evolve as reliable as possible, evidence-based, business-critical views about known emerging technologies, such as autonomous systems, robotics, artificial intelligence etc, in order that we can assess and prepare for their impacts. The harder task is to predict scenarios that meet future societal expectations and demands for mobility. These expectations will result from the disruptive impacts of presently unknown technologies that are certain to emerge. We only need to look at how the smart phone has transformed our lives and behaviours, in ways we could never have imagined only ten years ago.

The challenges ahead

for Transport, RSSB and its Future Railway team. Whilst the importance of engaging the private sector is vital, Mike believes it is of equal importance to work closely with academia. Through collaboration with the academic world, innovative capital may be unlocked and given a route to market in a way that can keep up with the rate of progress within the technology sector.

Preparing for the future Interestingly, in speaking with like-minded businesses within other sectors, such as banking, finance or insurance (industries that are ultra-sensitive to the impacts of emerging technologies) it is fascinating, says Mike, how aligned their challenges are with ours in the transport sector. Crucially, the steps these businesses are taking to safeguard their businesses might offer us a glimpse of how we can position ourselves ready for action in the

Returning to the here and now, we must recognise that many of the obstacles which have stood in the way of innovation in the railway industry have resulted from its unique characteristics and circumstances. These have helped to shape our inherent cautiousness to encourage change/progress because of the perceived risks imparted as a result of doing so. Some examples might include the investment timeframes that infrastructure managers and rolling stock owners are locked into once committed to a particular solution. Another example, rightly, is the role of our colleagues in industrial relations who protect the rights of our workforce in the face of huge pressure from advocates of automation. Another includes the real and perceived safety risks associated with introducing new and previously ‘unproven’ technologies and the likelihood of funders to secure any return of their investments. In acknowledging these barriers we can begin to scale up the challenges to be overcome, as indeed they must. For the railway as we know it to survive and prosper in the future, it has to embrace the future wholeheartedly. The railway must be fit for the 21st century in meeting the ever-growing customer needs and our changing patterns of mobility. This is not a challenge to be underestimated, particularly when we factor in that we have a growing population to provide for. Despite the popularity of digital communication tools, there is no indication of any slow-down in our incessant demand to, and right for, transport mobility.

INNOVATION

Pieces of the puzzle Change is inevitable and accelerating and we have to question whether we are prepared or, as may prove to be the case, do we find ourselves having to retro-fit a disruptive innovation that by virtue of its impact, changes how we think and act forever thereafter? Mike thinks that we are more prepared that we appreciate, we just have to create the right environment within which to promote and accelerate the rate of change, based upon a business model that achieves the right balance between opportunity, risk and value. There is another interesting dimension to this puzzle and that is, to consider the unintended consequences that result as the future inevitably unfolds. Let us consider the emergence of autonomous systems (driverless cars) on our strategic roads (oh yes, they are coming and will be here before we know it). There has been so much emphasis on these wonderful technologies yet, much less in terms of their impacts on legislation or transport policy, on standards and practices, and, critically, on human behaviour and acceptance.

Just imagine, how will we feel and behave driving our cars in the middle lane of a motorway, beside conveys of electrically-coupled driverless vehicles in the adjacent lane? Interestingly, the Docklands Light Railway hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seemingly attracted such concerns, even in the knowledge that it has a driverless system â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there are certainly some learning points for the railway industry here as it errs towards a driverless future.

The changing face of mobility So, how are changing views and expectations set to alter the way we think about mobility? Mike reflects on two interesting and corroborated views, garnered from different sectors. The first is rather surprising and quite challenging, and it is that transport is seen in some sectors as being the single largest obstacle standing in the way of the economic health and vibrancy of our cities. The second is that today, our world is less about countries and more about cities, in terms of economic well-being and future growth. In short, the transport

Conclusion

industry has to recognise that it has many challenges to overcome if it is to deliver the services to be demanded of it by our future generations. Particularly when we factor in that our mobility will undoubtedly adapt to the capabilities of emerging technologies. What does this mean? Well, maybe in the (near) future, we won’t own cars (these trends are already emerging in urban environments), rather we will buy mobility services that suit and reflect the needs of the journeys we plan to make. Maybe in the future, trains will behave more like cars and cars, more like trains, if we think again about the analogy of electrically coupled vehicles. Let’s imagine just how wonderful it would be to have real time passenger guidance systems, intelligent assets that can inform us of their availability in an utterly reliable and pro-active (pre-emptive manner) and demand-led services that provide customers with the flexibility and customisation we crave. To imagine that we might almost entirely re-think how we build things and energise systems. This isn’t a pipe dream; this will be a reality that we have to be ready for.

Mike returns for a moment to the Rail Technical Strategy, enthusing that he remains a committed advocate of its vision. However he also believes that we have to think big and not to be worried about the risks that many will visualise to prevent or slow down the inevitable pace of change. We have to create the space, time and belief to take these big steps to securing the future of mobility to create a legacy to be proud of. We might also give serious consideration to developing a Transport Technical Strategy that provides an entire network/system perspective (road, rail, sea and air) of our mobility and economic transportation needs, as they become less modally relevant and more focused on journey delivery. Are we ready? Well, the industry has carried out a lot of work around innovation maturity and industry readiness levels, resulting in an evidence-based view that there is much to do. Maybe this is a wake-up call for us to re-think how we go about this challenge, if we are to combat, for example obsolescence and lack of affordable flexibility as our world increasingly demands progress through innovation. Maybe we need parallel investment in applied research alongside major investment programmes to hasten routes to market. And of course, we all perform according to how we are measured, so if we are not measured in terms of implementing our creative capital, why will we do it? So maybe the solution to our challenge is more of a human nature and requires a more convincing ‘can do’ approach. So, are we ready? Absolutely, the industry is standing by and waiting so let’s embrace it and enjoy the future. It’s looking ‘bright’.

Mike Grimsey Mike Grimsey has enjoyed a 30 year career in the rail industry spanning both technical, management and business leadership and have featured evidence-based research, planning, design and construction. Prior to joining GHD, Mike was responsible for the rail business at the Transport Research Laboratory, a highly respected, independent research and consulting organisation.

The GHD Smart Seeds programme Launched in Australia in 2013 to harness the intellect and enterprise of young professionals, the programme sees young people working with industry sponsors to generate fresh ideas to solve the real industry challenges. Mike is currently making arrangements to bring the Smart Seeds programme to the UK, and will be seeking to work closely with interested parties and sponsors.

TICKETING

The way forward

Nigel Hyslop, president and managing director UK at Global Payments, discusses the relentless rollout of contactless ticketing across the rail network, and the new IT, payment choices and mobile apps that are powering its progress

Above Using a contactless terminal

Above Nigel Hyslop is president and managing director UK at Global Payments

wo years ago we wrote here about how contactless payments were just starting to gain traction on the transport network, with timepressed travellers beginning to turn to contactless for convenience and speed. Fast forward to 2016, and what’s changed? The latest Card Expenditure Statistics* from the UK Card Association show that total UK card spending amounted to £51.9 billion in March 2016, up from £46.4 billion in the same month two years ago – a 12 per cent rise. This growth can be largely attributed to the ongoing migration of payments from cash to cards, boosted by the increased use and acceptance of contactless cards, not least at ticket offices on the rail network. Indeed, according to the UK Card Association, in March this year contactless payments accounted for 15 per cent of total purchases, which is an increase from 6 per cent just 12 months ago. Alongside this, there has been a consistent decline in average transaction values (ATV) since 2011, mainly driven by the continuous migration of low value cash payments to cards.

What does this mean for rail companies? There are two parallel contactless payment stories at play on UK’s rail network and it is important to differentiate between the two when looking at trends: retail payments – the payments customers make when they purchase tickets from a ticket office or machine; and transit payments – the payments made when customers use their contactless card as a ticket by pressing it to the barrier to get to the platform. Looking firstly at retail payments, the rollout of contactless payment systems for retail purchases of tickets – at a ticket office – has accelerated in the last two years and its rollout across the network is well underway. Just two years ago, Merseyrail, the busiest transport system outside of London, which carries more than 100,000 passengers on a typical working day, was the first UK rail company to introduce retail contactless payments across its network**. Currently, quite a few of

*UK Card Association: Card Expenditure Statistics March 2016 **BBC News: Contactless payments introduced on Merseyrail www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-24794486

makes it relatively simple for TfL to roll out contactless across its own ticket barriers; secondly, same-day journeys within London almost always cost less than £30, which is the upper limit for contactless payments. But this is about to change. A pilot contactless scheme is currently underway on Chiltern Railways and more are expected to follow in quick pursuit, with much of the industry predicting that paper tickets will no longer exist by 2020 – an assertion backed by the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, last year. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) is heavily committed to making this happen and is playing a pivotal role in moving contactless forward across the networks. The UK Card Association, supported by ATOC has been running monthly workshops with rail and bus companies and the cards industry for over a year now, enabling them to discuss how the TfL style system would work across the rest of the network.

So what’s next?

the nation’s ticket offices offer contactless payments, however it’s expected that by 2018 all stations to offer contactless payments for purchases up to £30 in their ticket office and self-service machines. The technology is in place, and customers are ready for it – with those who were once reticent to use their cards for contactless payments, either because of security fears or lack of confidence, now doing so without even thinking. So, on the retail side, there is a focus on rolling out contactless technology across the network to reduce queuing times and provide a quicker customer experience. This will include Apple Pay and Android Pay. The transit model, on the other hand, is still in development and is currently only being offered by Transport for London where customers can touch in and out of stations using their contactless card in the same way as a pay-as-you-go Oyster card. In this regard, London continues to run at its own pace, with tap-in-tap-out payments at turnstiles now being the norm rather than the exception. There are two main reasons that London has been able to offer this so much earlier than other parts of the network: firstly, it is a self-contained transport area, which

In order to roll out contactless for transit payments across the full network of train operating companies (TOCs), there needs to be a system to collect all the journey taps that a customer makes on any given day. This is to enable train companies to automatically work out the best fare for the customer so that no one is disadvantaged by tapping in and out. This requires a back office to collect all the taps – like the one TfL currently uses – which is currently in discussion with ATOC. Revenue protection is also key when customers travel across various parts of the rail network on one journey. Controls need to be in place to ensure that customers can’t exploit the system. For example, so that a customer can’t get away with tapping in at London Kings Cross, tell the ticket inspector that they are alighting at Stevenage, but then stay on the train until Edinburgh. One innovation that solves this is a mobile ticket app, which is currently in use by many TOCs. Customers download the app to their phone, purchase the ticket using their stored card details and then the ticket details are download to their phone in order to travel. It’s hoped that apps can be developed to the extent that the phone will be used as a virtual ticket using contactless technology at the ticket barriers. Another method that is being developed is Card As Authority to Travel. This will enable customers to visit the rail website, which will ask them to nominate which card they would like to give Authority to Travel. When they touch that card to the barrier it will open because the card has been pre-authorised. Some transport networks have been at the cutting edge of new payment technologies for over a decade, with TfL introducing the Oyster card as early as 2003 – long before contactless payment was even available for retail payments at ticket offices. But customer expectations are constantly rising and TOCs are going to great lengths to introduce new contactless updates to the rest of the network. It’s going to be an exciting few years to come.

NEWS I Rolling stock

The Class 456 in South West Trains livery

New fleet of carriages increases capacity by 42% on South West Trains l The £65m introduction of 108 additional and refurbished carriages has now been completed on South West Trains, providing space for more than 23,000 extra passengers during the busiest times of the day. This roll out is a vital part of the biggest improvements made to this network for decades – providing longer trains for many of the network’s busiest services. The number of train carriages in service on the South West Trains network has increased from 1,022 in 1996 to 1,449 – an increase of 42%.

The additional carriages are comprised of Class 456 and Class 458/5 carriages – all of which feature wider doors to help passengers get on and off the train, improved seating, full CCTV and new flooring. The Class 458/5 trains were created by integrating the Class 460 fleet, previously used by Gatwick Express, into the network’s existing 4-car Class 458 fleet to create a fleet of 36 5-car units. A further 150 new carriages will start to be introduced next year as part of a £210m investment.

Thameslink’s first new 12-carriage train enters passenger service l Thameslink’s first new Siemens-built Class 700 train took its maiden voyage on the 10.02 passenger service from Brighton to London Bridge on 20 June. Unit 700108 is the first of 55 new 12-carriage trains to be introduced onto Thameslink services. The train was given a gentle introduction on the Brighton line, making a total of four trips during off-peak times, and nine trips the following day. The new train is capable of carrying up to 1,750 passengers in air conditioned comfort and has now begun operating regularly on the Thameslink route through central London between Brighton and Bedford. The 12-carriage format, which is half as long again as most Thameslink trains, is destined to run during peak times from Brighton, and once the new fleet and timetable have been introduced, over 1,000 extra standard class seats will be available in the crowded morning peak. Ultimately 115 new trains will be introduced on the expanded Thameslink network, running to new destinations such as Peterborough and Cambridge. A further 60 new 8-carriage trains are on order.

First train in passenger service, at Brighton station

Freightliner incorporates recycled parts into new wagons for Tarmac l Freightliner has become the first UK rail operator to build new European Standards compliant box wagons from a significant proportion of recycled materials. A fleet of 23 new wagons, now in operation for Tarmac, were made using recycled parts from redundant HHA (102t) coal hoppers.

Wagon builder Greenbrier Europe and Freightliner determined that, with some modifications, the bogies and some of the braking equipment from the hoppers would be compatible with an existing design of box wagons that Greenbrier had previously produced.

TICKETING

Not so smart?

Richard Farmer believes that rumours of the demise of the tangerine ticket may be a bit premature, and discusses some uncomfortable questions that need to be addressed before we sling our magnetic tickets and grab for a ‘smarter solution’

Above The smart ticket

s debate continues to focus on the death of the tangerine ticket, there seems to be some disparity between what the future will hold for the ticketing industry and how quickly the move to a smart option can really be facilitated. Like any new technology, it was to be expected that people would be excited by the benefits that a smart option could bring to travellers throughout the country. The thought of a single card that could provide multi-modal travel and top-up options seemed to be a positive step forward. The reality however is that the vision is immediate but the implementation will take time, alongside significant investment. We should have learnt our lesson following the suggestion that commuters would be turning their backs on paper based tickets in favour of mobile phones. The truth is that less than 10 per cent of transactions are as a result of mobile technologies and paper based tickets are still a popular and preferred option for many.

Helpful and unhelpful

Above Richard Farmer is sales and marketing director for BemroseBooth Paragon, a leading supplier of transport tickets

Announcing the death of a product that is still used every single day is premature to say the least and unhelpful at best. Rather than communicating a staged plan that will educate, inform and update passengers about the changes that will be made – in order for the transition to be seamless – there are comments made that leave us all baffled. As a company that works on both sides of the debate, manufacturing millions of magnetic stripe tickets and also offering smart and contactless solutions, it can be challenging to sit back and watch the debate rage on when we know that what we should be doing is working together and using our collective knowledge and advice

to manage and facilitate change that will have a huge impact on travellers throughout the country. As a specialist within this industry, we believe that it would make more sense to get around a table and discuss how we approach the change from one ticket to another and how we support a phased transition. We can’t expect that commuters will swap from one ticket to another overnight, this is simply unrealistic. We know that a great deal of work has taken place over recent years, not least to update some stations throughout the country to become smart enabled. It is also fair to say however that there is still a long way to go before smart ticketing can be facilitated on every bus and in every train station throughout the country.

Working together is the key Rather than dismissing a product that continues to support millions of journeys every single day, we should be considering how another product can become just as popular, while bringing extra benefits to travellers and passenger transport organisations wherever they are based in the country. If we work together not only will we be in a stronger position to correctly implement these changes, but we can take the time to support an industry that has relied on the paper based tickets to keep thousands of people in employment. We are missing the bigger picture with this debate and in actual fact we are being anything but ‘smart’ in the way that we are addressing the changes that we know are inevitable. The evolution from tangerine ticket to smart card will have a lasting impact on a number of industries and we need to make sure that they are ready for that.

WORLD FOCUS - Europe

Moving forward post Brexit

Following the Referendum vote for Brexit, NATASHA LEVANTI of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering looks at some of the impacts and considerations for the UK rail industry

fter much fallout from the decision of the UK voting population to leave the European Union, the UK rail sector is scrambling to ensure that the connectivity seen through the United Kingdom’s rail network is retained, and to ensure the continuity of the many improvements scheduled for the future. Worries range from the impact on large scale projects designed to connect vast areas such as Crossrail 2 and HS 2, to research or development projects, ERTMS, electrification, inter-European connectivity and EU initiatives impacting the rail industry. Things within the UK rail industry will change. While such changes to the industry will be dependent upon what is negotiated during the withdrawal process, what is certain is that going forward we must work to ensure that the UK rail industry unites to build the competitiveness of UK connectivity. The UK rail is renowned throughout the world as a historically connected network, not just servicing the UK, but also connecting beyond borders – particularly European Union member states. Now more than ever internal developments within connectivity are important, as the UK strives to pull together as a country, progressing productivity through the efficiency in access that modern rail provides. As such we must ensure that ongoing projects are secured, and the various challenges overcome.

But what are the challenges ahead? The majority of uncertainties exist regarding the conditions of UK rail operators, as well as project investments and follow through. Many UK rail operators are concerned with their ability to bid for franchises, collaborate with or operate within the EU. Yet, while the ability of UK operators to participate in the EU tender processes is dependent upon the negotiation process, which would include amongst other topics a discussion of the UK’s continued use of the EU rail systems, it is unlikely that UK rail operators would be restricted in their access to tender. The simple reason why is due to the international trade rules that stress reciprocal treatment, meaning that the UK operators in the EU and EU operators in the UK will likely have parallel

arrangements. That considered, UK operators will most likely have to continue to comply with the health and safety as well as tendering standards of the EU, in order to operate there. Project investments and follow through have been a key areas of concern for many, particularly since current plans for rail to improve UK connectivity are extensive. The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, currently serving as Secretary of State for Transport, made a point on 28 June to assure the continuance of long term rail projects, emphasising the strong benefits of infrastructure in economic security and continued progress. He specified that ‘HS2 will rebalance our economy and generate colossal benefits of the supply chain’, along with the electrification of ‘over 850 miles of railway’, and other efforts to deliver ‘better service for passengers through a franchising system’. It is important that going forward such political support continues, as connectivity will be vital to ensure global competitiveness.

Laws and regulations Legislative concerns will underline many challenges ahead. There is both direct and indirect EU legislation that will impact rail, from the Fourth Railway package (see page 21) to the Resolution on the competiveness of the European rail supply industry adopted on 9 June. Many of these will likely be transferred to UK legislation, particularly to preserve the business of cross borders operators. As Prime Minister David Cameron reminded us in his 24 June address that the UK is ‘a great trading nation, with our science and arts, our engineering and our creativity respected the world over’. A large part of this prowess is within our infrastructure, including rail. It is such strengths that will allow us to face the challenges ahead and together as an industry not only meet these challenges, but exceed them. Currently much work is underway by ACE experts and others regarding the challenges ahead for UK rail. ACE will continue to speak for industry concerns, and ensure that working together across the industry we are able to rise to the any challenges to UK connectivity. For continued updates see: acenet.co.uk/eureferendum.

NEWS I Appointments Laura Shoaf to lead Transport for West Midlands l In one of its final actions before being dissolved the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) has appointed Laura Shoaf to head up Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) – the body that will replace it. Laura, who was strategic director of transport at the ITA, becomes managing director for TfWM, the transport arm of the new West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) which came into effect on 10 June. Laura will be responsible for guiding and delivering the combined authority’s transport strategy to develop a network that fully integrates the region’s road, rail, bus and tram systems. Her appointment was approved at the final meeting of the ITA whose powers and duties, along with those of its delivery body Centro, were transferred to TfWM upon the launch of the WMCA.

Morgan Sindall creates new directorship for rail l Multidisciplinary design consultancy Morgan Sindall Professional Services has appointed Peter Day to the newly created position of sector director for rail. The new post is designed to deliver a more focused approach to the transportation sector, and to help maximise the company’s capability and offering. A highly experienced design and project manager and a recognised Network Rail Design Contractors Responsible Engineer (CRE), Peter has over 25 years’ experience in construction. He is currently working on some the UK’s largest overground and underground rail projects including Crossrail and the Whitechapel station upgrade, where he provides delivery and assurance leadership across all disciplines. He has an open approach to understanding the sector constraints and has driven design industry best practice through his knowledge of how railways are operated and managed. His portfolio includes projects for surface and sub-surface infrastructure, train operating companies, tramways and international stations.

Russell Jackson joins AECOM l AECOM has appointed Russell Jackson as head of rail – UK & Ireland and Continental Europe, where he will be responsible for leading and growing AECOM’s rail business across the region. Russell joins AECOM from Atkins, where he worked in several senior roles, including most recently as director for emerging markets in the company’s transportation division and regional director west in the rail business. With more than 20 years’ experience in rail infrastructure management, Russell has led the delivery of major civil infrastructure, station upgrade, signalling, electrification and rail enhancement projects. Russell will be a major contributor to the strategic team, providing detailed knowledge of the UK rail market to enhance the company’s EMIA offerings and proposals, whilst working within the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe transportation business under Paul McCormick. Russell took up his new post in May.

New general manager for TE Connectivity’s rail unit l Al Ghelani has moved from the post of global pricing manager in TE Connectivity’s global commercial operation to the position of general manager of the rail division of TE’s Industrial business unit. Ghelani assumed the role on 1st June, 2016, and is now based in Swindon, UK, reporting to Thomas Schmidt, president of TE Industrial. A UK native, Ghelani has a mechanical engineering degree from Liverpool University and is certified as a six sigma black belt. Before joining TE three years ago, he spent 15 years at General Electric in commercial, supply chain and pricing leadership roles. “Al has contributed significantly to TE’s industrial business unit over the last three years,” said Schmidt. “TE’s rail business is strategic to the company, more importantly, it is critical to our customers.” Peter van Loo, former general manager of TE’s rail unit has moved to TE industrial strategic growth.

Andy Thomas becomes rail route MD for Wales l Andy Thomas, who is currently managing director of Keolis Hyderabad, India, where he is working on the city’s new Metro system, is to return to the UK as route managing director for Network Rail’s Wales route. Andy has had a wide ranging international career in rail, transport and industrial sectors, including successful strategic leadership roles with Transport for New South Wales in Australia and Transport for London, where he was head of strategic planning and performance. The interim route managing director, Paul McMahon will stay in the post until Andy joins in August. Commenting on the appointment, Paul McMahon said: “The railway in Wales is seeing the biggest investment in generations and we recently published the Wales Route Study that sets out opportunities to continue delivering improvements for passengers. We’re also working closely with the Welsh Government on their aspirations for the next Wales and Borders franchise and the South Wales Metro.”

RSSB appoints technical director l RSSB has appointed Chris Lawrence as technical director. He joins from WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff where he has been director as well as rail technical sector head. Chris, who is a chartered engineer with over 30 years’ experience, previously worked for Arup where he held a number of senior rail positions in the UK and overseas. The new role will support RSSB’s wholesystem perspective of technology as well as underpin its reputation for technical excellence by ensuring it has the right skills for today’s and tomorrow’s railway. RSSB chief executive Chris Fenton said: “Chris brings a true cross-system perspective and a wealth of experience. The industry faces major challenges to deliver, and technology will play a vital role. So it’s essential we have the appropriate skills to best provide the expertise and knowledge for the future.”

WORLD FOCUS - Europe

Brexit – what the industry says “As the country faces a period of change and uncertainty, business must play a stabilising role. A positive, long-term focus on the future is required despite a referendum result that we and many businesses did not want. Business inevitably now faces a period of disruption. At AECOM we will work hard to minimise the impact on our UK operations. As a global company, we serve clients all over the world from our offices in the UK. Our strong team, diversification strategy and international outlook equip us with long-term resilience but we are well aware that many businesses are not so fortunate. It is [also] critical that the domestic agenda is not sidelined as the UK faces a minimum of two years of negotiations to leave the EU. Focus must remain on ... progressing the UK’s ambitious infrastructure pipeline. Schemes such as HS2, Crossrail 2 and the Northern Powerhouse programme are vital to the country’s ability to compete on a global stage, which is more crucial than ever due to this referendum result,” Patrick Flaherty, chief executive, UK & Ireland, AECOM

“There is uncertainty regarding the path ahead. This could trigger a dip in business sentiment and delays in FDI (Foreign Direct Investments). On a positive note though, Brexit could pave the way for Britain to expand trade relations with the rest of the world beyond EU, and this would especially help mitigate risks arising from excessive reliance on one trading partner,”

Frost & Sullivan’s senior partner and managing director for Europe Sarwant Singh

“It is more important than ever that the momentum behind investment in our urban and inter-urban transport networks is maintained. The evidence clearly shows that if we want a resilient economy we need to continue to invest in transport networks of the quality and capacity needed to meet the demands of our cities’ growing economies - as well as improving their connectivity with each other and the wider world,” Dr Jon Lamonte, chair of Urban Transport Group

“The European Union map will be very different moving forward, but different doesn’t mean bad. As a 50 year old family business, Tratos was an early adopter of a pan-European and now global view of the market place for our cable. The company remains fully committed to cable manufacturing in the EU, for us it is business as usual,” Maurizio Bragagni, CEO of cable manufacturer Tratos Ltd

WORLD FOCUS - Europe

Europe gives its backing

Natasha Marie Levanti of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ICE) reports on the latest resolution to come out of the EU Parliament, and its implications for the rail supply chain

O Above Natash Marie Levanti of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ICE)

n 9 June the EU Parliament adopted the Resolution on the competitiveness of the European rail supply industry (2015/2887(RSP), which will serve to increase the ability of those engaged in the rail sector to compete not only within Europe but also globally. As the EU represents the largest absolute market worldwide for both rail products and services, according to the UNIFE World Rail Market Study 2014, it is vital that those involved are fully competitive within global markets. Of the EU market, 84 per cent of needs for supplies and services are met by the European rail supply industry.

Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rail supply industry The European rail supply industry (RSI) accounts for roughly 46 per cent of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total RSI market. European RSI is known to employ approximately 400,000 employees, and the European railway sector overall is cumulatively responsible for more than 1 million direct and 1.2 million indirect jobs through EU member states. The EU, and subsequently many member states, have repeatedly asserted the key role that the rail industry plays in allowing Europe to achieve its goals for mitigating emissions, limiting other negative factors within climate change, and facilitating the essential achievement of the 20 per cent reindustrialisation target, with the rail industry holding the lowest share of EU transport CO2 emissions (only 1.8 per cent). With constant development of rail technologies such as high speed or magnetic levitation, lighter weight materials, satellite based positioning or timing systems, and cross border connectivity, it is imperative that the European rail industry as a whole continually improves.

The resolution takes shape In April, the Members of the European Parliament Industry Committee (ITRE) had adopted the resolution by a large majority. The ITRE committee members within this made know their strong desire to support European rail suppliers, as well as the need for this to be prioritised to ensure that the European industry continues to lead within the greater global rail market.

Despite the current level of research and development at approximately 2.7 per cent of annual turnover, part of the new resolution is to create a renewed European rail industry innovation agenda. Other major aspects of the resolution include supporting SMEs that work within RSI, increasing the investment in rail projects through a variety of existing EU funding mechanisms, increasing global competitiveness of European rail through various trade negotiations, as well as improving the amount of political knowledge and support of the European rail industry. Many of these objectives rest in line with the European Unionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent priorities, including decreasing red tape, fostering innovation, supporting SMEs, and ensuring the competitiveness of European industry on global markets.

Competitiveness at its heart When it was discussed and adopted during the European Parliament Plenary session, it had the vast support of those in the room, though this was not surprising given the visible support for this throughout Europe as another way to ensure European competitiveness. Much of the attention gained on this topic has been related to the increasing level of competition with Asian suppliers. While 84 per cent of the EU market is being met by European rail supply industry, if global competitiveness is not achieved, this percentage will decline without proportionate increase elsewhere. Such must be avoided, and is the key objective of the resolution that has been passed today. Inevitably, as rail is an essential part of daily transport options for many Europeans, rail also impacts the overall EU economy. Efficiencies in overall productivity of an economy can be made through better transportation, and as is often pointed out in times when transport networks are down, there is a productivity cost associated with poor quality transport. The Rapporteur for this resolution is MEP Martina Werner, done on behalf of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. She is a German Member of the European Parliament with noted involvement and advocacy of actions relating to Energy, Steel, Rail, industries and competitive trade.

WORLD FOCUS - Europe

Harmonising safety standards Greig Duncan of Ideagen explores the background to the Fourth Railway Package, and discusses what it could mean for rail safety across Europe

Top Greig Duncan is rail marketing executive for Ideagen

aintaining a robust and controlled approach to safety on Europe’s railways and the task of interoperability has represented a challenge to the National Safety Agencies (NSAs) and the various legislation parties within the European Commission in recent years. Whilst safety standards on the whole are statistically improving across Europe’s rail sector, (there has been an annual reduction of just under 10 per cent), the majority of recent high-scale and fatal safety incidents (such as Bad Aibling in Germany, the Santiago de Compostela derailment in Spain and Dalfsen in the Netherlands) could probably have been avoided. According to the European Council: “The fourth railway package aims to remove the remaining barriers to the creation of a single European rail area. The end result should be higher levels of safety, interoperability and reliability in the European rail network.”

Taking the lead on safety Traditionally, some critics have falsely viewed the rail industry as being averse to change, dated, and incapable of performing efficiently, due to its switch to privatisation – this happened in a number of countries and not just the UK. The commission’s regulation (EC) 653/2007 of 13 June 2007 advises on the use of a common European format for safety certificates and application documents in accordance with Article 10 of Directive 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and on the validity of safety certificates delivered under Directive 2001/14/EC. Taking the lead from other safety-driven industries such as aviation and oil & gas to roll out and adhere to EU-wide standards and directives could yield positive results. While these industries do not have a fault-free record in terms of safety, these shared standards have helped to promote a collective understanding and responsibility for safety, quality and risk reduction.

There are a number of benefits to introducing a centralised method of logging safety incidents, close calls and non-conformances – the main advantages are that common safety indicators, methods and targets can be enhanced – meaning that risk is reduced when crossing borders. The main challenge in introducing single safety certificates is multiple languages, different cultural approaches to safety and multi-country differences in terminology (Common Safety Indicators were harmonised in 2010). The bottom line is that, once these hurdles are overcome, the rail industry will be more streamlined, efficient and vitally it will be a safer place for passengers, employees and the supply chain.

Becoming more intelligent Transparency in incident reporting will no-doubt help the EU region become more intelligent in terms of smarter analysis of trends in data around incidents and closecalls. A combined shared service would allow data to be analysed almost instantly – which in turn allows the identification of trends in locations and controls can be put in place to potentially stop incidents occurring. The potential is there for a marked improvement from the existing (often unreliable and inaccurate) manual processes involving Excel spreadsheets and paperwork. The UK rail industry has recently taken the steps to roll out their new SMIS+ safety information management and close-call system throughout the industry – an initiative that could conceivably be followed by train operators, national safety authorities and regulators across Europe. With legislative changes on the horizon, it could be a perfect time for a number of key national operators to position themselves to deliver a competitive advantage and leadership in this area – prior to the official introduction of fresh ways of working. Once any initial teething problems have been tackled, the rail industry is perfectly positioned to challenge other sectors as being leaders in safety.

GVB

All

aboard

As Amsterdam continues to grow, GVB is playing a critical role in helping the city remain mobile and connected

Below Alexandra van Huffelen, CEO of GVB

aving been operating Amsterdam’s public transport network – including tram, metro, bus and ferry services – for over a century, GVB has some idea of how to support its many residents and tourists to move in and around the city. However, as the city grows, along with population, tourism, and peoples’ demands for efficient travel, the challenges facing the company today are as pressing as ever. GVB’s 2015 report demonstrated strong financial growth and improvements in customer satisfaction as it helped 800,000 daily customers across Amsterdam, yet

speaking with CEO, Alexandra van Huffelen, it is clear that there is still a lot to do. “The city is growing rapidly at the moment, and it is fantastic that more and more people want to use public transport,” Alexandra begins. “We have one of the most beautiful historic tramlines in the world going right through the city centre, and an increasing number of people are recognising that our growing network of services is one of the most efficient ways of travelling through Amsterdam. However, it is our responsibility to ensure that we can keep up with this growth in terms of our services, the

mobility,” she elaborates. “We are seeing a massive change in the way people are moving around the city. They are using their cars less and turning to their bicycles or public transport, but also to shared forms of transport like car sharing services such as Car2Go, which has a number of electric Smart vehicles available for short term hire within the city. It is our job to work collaboratively with the city and other organisations to ensure that we can connect public transport services with these new modes so that we can provide an even broader, door-to-door service.”

experience we provide for our customers and making sure new developments are connected.” Joining GVB around two years ago from a mixed background of business and politics, Alexandra is leading the company through a number of transformations that will allow Amsterdam’s public transport system keep up with passenger numbers, meet demands for customer satisfaction and integrate effectively with a changing mobility landscape. “One of our biggest focal points is not just on the services that we provide every day, but on the future of

However, the ability of GVB to deliver such an extensive coverage alongside improved service levels is constantly being squeezed by a parallel need to manage a cost effective operation. Under its current concession to 2024, Alexandra highlights that in order to achieve renewal GVB has to work according to a set of valuation criteria, which not only includes service parameters, such as passenger satisfaction and punctuality, but also in how it is able to provide these improvements with fewer subsidies. For the operator this has manifested itself in number of initiatives. “These include strong collaboration with the private sector to ensure we can continue the operation of services that are less frequently used, making sure we maintain our facilities as well as upgrading our fleets to refresh and serve more areas,” Alexandra outlines. “As part of our current investment programme we are renewing our bus fleet from diesel to electric, which not only helps our fuel efficiency, but also contributes to the improving air quality

Perpetuum monitors Amsterdam Combino trams for GVB Justin Southcombe, Commercial Director of Perpetuum, explains that bearing information produced by Perpetuum’s innovative wireless condition monitoring technology will allow GVB to monitor its Combino units keeping them in service for longer and increasing safety Perpetuum, the global leader in vibration energy harvesting and its application in asset management across the rail industry, has expanded into Holland by securing a contract for a pilot project on the Amsterdam tram system with owners GVB Holding NV (GVB). The project covers wheel bearing condition monitoring on three of GVB’s Siemens Combino trams and is an ideal application for Perpetuum’s self-powered wireless condition monitoring solution, especially due to the difficult to access nature of the 100 per cent low-floor trams. The bearing information produced by Perpetuum technology will allow GVB to monitor its most critical Combino units, so that they are not removed from service early, thus limiting disruptions for passengers travelling in Amsterdam. The deployment will also allow GVB to investigate opportunities to reduce its maintenance costs significantly by only replacing the units that have deteriorated, and not the entire fleet, which will allow it to provide a better service at a reduced cost to the city of Amsterdam. Powered by its innovative wireless energy harvesting micro-generators, Perpetuum’s on-board Sensor Systems produce powerful vibration and temperature data, enabling its clients to accurately view the real time health and predict the failure of rotating components on trains, such as wheel bearings, motors and gearboxes. The self-powered sensors can be fitted in less than 20 minutes, having no wires for power or communication, and without the need for special tools or the lifting of the vehicle, and its powerful algorithms can process the data in a matter of minutes. Early models of the Combino trams, with a 100 per cent low floor design, were introduced over a decade ago. However, this innovation in the tram’s build specification inadvertently had a negative impact on the life and maintenance of the vehicle. Indeed, while great engineering advances were made in the new low-floor components, including new bogie frames, stub axles, compact wheel motors and integrated gearbox designs, not all faults were engineered out when early models of the tram were launched. The SKF wheel bearings on the Combino’s powered bogies were ingenious but complicated designs, undertaking large resultant forces, which appeared to be significantly impacting the component’s life, as non-powered bogies do not appear to have the same level of fatigue. There have been two overhauls of bearings in the past 12 years, compared to an expected 30 to 35 year life span, and bearing replacement costs across the fleet are very significant. With 155 trams, this represents an almost continuous workload and loss of fleet availability for GVB, in addition to the financial impacts. As well as the safety benefits real time condition monitoring can bring, Perpetuum’s information will also help GVB to understand more about the tram and how it performs and operates in service so that GVB can develop long-term solutions based on knowledge and fact. Amsterdam’s very old infrastructure has been notorious for poor ride quality and noise and GVB is also very interested in investigating the live track monitoring capabilities of Perpetuum’s system. This is Perpetuum’s first contract in Holland and the company will look to expand its services to other cities with tram systems using the Combino trams, which include Melbourne, Erfurt, Augsburg and many other cities throughout the world. For more details on Perpetuum visit www.perpetuum.com

GVB

in Amsterdam. We have also installed solar panels on the roofs of our aboveground metro stations. “In addition, we are working closely with the city to try and better understand our customers and deliver a more appropriate service. For example, we are running a lot of big data research to see how people are moving around the city in order to optimise and tailor our services along the lines of when and where people are actually moving.” Indeed, in order to consistently deliver such a service, GVB has a number of innovative technology partners and is continuously seeking to work with new players in the market to gain improvements in rail safety and reductions in both operating and maintenance costs. The company has, for example, recently undertaken

reflect the diversity of Amsterdam in its employment. “We run an intensive programme with the city to help bring employment opportunities to disabled and unemployed people in particular, and are currently looking at employing refugees, especially those who have strong technical backgrounds to complement our maintenance teams,” Alexandra highlights. “In fact, we have very recently hired our first person who has come to Amsterdam as a refugee from Syria, and hope to continue this as we move forward.” Running such a large and rapidly growing transport network through a period of evolution in the way people move around and between cities is no easy task, but GVB’s journey towards becoming a key mobility partner with Amsterdam and surrounding metropolitan areas is as exemplary as it is extensively diverse. “Looking for new solutions from broadening our coverage to partnering with other transport modes, whilst also running an effective every day service for our residents and visitors will all be big parts of our future, and we look forward to achieving this with the city as we move forward,” Alexandra concludes.

www.gvb.nl

a pilot project with Perpetuum, the global leader in vibration energy harvesting to monitor wheel bearing condition, which will help the business to plan maintenance on its most critical Combino units. Furthermore, it is not just on the operation and improvement of its network that GVB’s focus is trained, but also on the socially responsible way it does so. Environmentally, users of GVB will travel carbon neutrally by 2030 and socially it is currently on a big push to

telent

Making

connections Leading the way in communications technology across multiple UK industries, telent is playing a key role in the development of a digital railway

n 1897 Guglielmo Marconi founded The Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company, a business that pioneered wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting throughout its long history. Numerous acquisitions, mergers and sales took place throughout the twentieth century and today a number of leading names across the world can attribute part of their history to the company. One such company is telent, a now privately owned business with a long history of industry experience often found at the cutting edge of communication technology’s rapid progress. At telent’s heart sits an unrivalled reputation for service delivery and a total commitment to innovative communication technologies. From this core the business’s market presence is multifaceted, serving key infrastructure sectors such as telecoms, traffic, rail,

emergency and commercial markets. telent currently holds over 30 years of experience delivering systems and services to the rail industry, providing projects to TfL, Network Rail and numerous TOCs across the network. “One of the great strengths that we have is the company’s level of capability in complex technical communication,” explains Stephen Pears, Managing Director of telent’s Rail division. “We are able to forge ahead with the latest communication technologies whilst being able to deal with old and obsolete systems. Crucially, as we are very much a service organisation, this is underpinned by our people and we possess some very talented and motivated individuals who work really well with clients, have a strong commitment to innovation and to solid service delivery.” telent’s business in the rail industry is supported by a

foundation of maintenance and management services presently being delivered to over 1000 stations on the national rail infrastructure, plus all London Underground stations. Such a widespread workforce not only gives the company an excellent relationship with its clients, but also forms a solid platform upon which innovative technologies and solutions can be built. Such a strong service and dedication to innovation results in a company that is highly flexible and able to develop its capabilities and expertise in response to market trends. The digital railway undoubtedly dominates the industry’s current focus, and Stephen notes that even over the last 18 months, since Railway Strategies last featured telent, the transition to such a network has made significant progress. “What’s changing for us as a business is the impact of

technology and our investment into technology to move forward in support of this transition,” he says. “One of our biggest moves to facilitate this was the acquisition of Telindus UK, which has brought with it Gold Partner status with Cisco and Elite Partner status with Juniper. This really helps take the business into the world of the digital railway and makes sure that we have the future capability and expertise to fully support it.” One key area where a digital railway is already beginning to be realised is in the current electrification programme being rolled out across the UK. Presently telent is delivering a five-year contract to develop the national electrification supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. By utilising a variety of communications systems to provide control to remote equipment, the SCADA control systems allow for a single national control infrastructure, which integrates legacy equipment with new systems, thus allowing much greater flexibility of control. Back in 2014 when we last spoke with telent, Stephen discussed the roll out of SCADA to Network Rail infrastructure. Today, he happily reports that TfL and the London Underground are keen to bring the technology into their own network. “They have now come to market with their requirement for a traction power SCADA system,” he explains. “The approach is similar to the Network Rail project where we’re seeing the need for a centrally managed system that can be operated from multiple locations.” Demonstrating the company’s consistent occupation right at the leading edge of technological innovation, telent’s roll out of SCADA has become very closely aligned with a growing need for cyber security development. Over the last 18 months the company has taken part ownership of a cyber security company in anticipation of this rising demand. “The design of a network, the implementation of a security solution that provides defence in depth, the ability to carry out penetration testing and so on are all becoming key requirements of these new systems,” Stephen continues. “Having the capability to understand cyber security and to deliver these requirements to our customers is incredibly important. At the same time this is new ground for a lot of our customers so it is critical that we can not only respond to these requirements but also support them in the transition.” In addition to the SCADA programme, telent has also been busy continuously developing and implementing its station management system, known as MICA (Management Integration and Control of Assets), which has been in the market since 2006. By enhancing the communication between multiple systems such as CCTV, public address systems, passenger information displays and help points, as well as fire and intrusion detection

telent

systems and lift and escalator monitoring MICA provides a fully integrated management system. CCTV management forms a very important part of MICA and, acting as a management service provider as well as the project delivery partner, telent currently looks after 30,000 cameras across the UK’s station network. “Since we last spoke there has been a marked beginning to the transfer from analogue to IP CCTV systems,” outlines Stephen. “We currently have 1000 IP cameras in seven TfL stations, and by working with a lot of the leading camera and video encoder suppliers in the market, like Samsung, Axis and Bosch we are integrating their systems into ours and helping to develop this for the rail environment. Part of this development provides mobile CCTV monitoring to a local monitor or handheld device.” Whilst MICA was initially rolled out into the TfL network, over the last year Network Rail stations such as Reading and London Bridge have begun to implement the same technology. As with SCADA, cyber security plays an important role in the current development focus of MICA. Stephen points out that with the raised threat of attack to critical infrastructure following events in Paris, the need to

increase station security has followed. He highlights that recent development for MICA has been centred on how secure it is and following tests, telent is confident about its credentials. “It is very important to be able to provide high quality services and to make sure these systems are functioning very well,” he adds. Another area of recent focus for telent is in improving its complete service offering, having agreed a managed service contract for CCTV systems to provide 10-15 year periods of renewals and support for a known cost. “For an operator this means that they don’t need to worry about going out to market every time they need renewals,

instead they get a service that supports them for the duration of their franchise,” Stephen explains. “It is not just technological innovation that we are developing but also the way in which we contract and support our clients from a service point of view. It also means we’re operating in the provision of capital, which is made possible by our own financial strength.” With demand for a digital network growing across the UK’s rail industry, telent and its expanding capability are perfectly placed to continue its leading role in the communications sector. A look at the current market conditions goes some way to bolstering this positivity as Stephen references the ongoing Crossrail and upcoming HS2 projects, plus the possible Crossrail 2 and HS3. “This suggests that the rail network has a great future in terms of investment,” he says. “However, at the same time we are seeing Network Rail and TfL becoming more aligned with the government and therefore having tight budget pressures, so it’s a bit of a mixed picture. “Ultimately, the industry has set the strategic vision for a digital railway and the requirements which that entails, but it’s very much in its infancy. At the heart of this vision is a secure communications network and this has to be highly reliable and able to reach all segments of the industry, it has to have the capacity and the availability, and it has to have the cyber security pedigree. We will be central to supporting this vision and by working closely with our customers and partners we can make sure that these things are delivered along side the best applications to interface with them.”

www.telent.com 29

CROSSRAIL

All systems go

As Crossrail’s progress approaches 75 per cent completion we explore the innovations and challenges of the complex railway systems phase

hen it enters operation in December 2018, Crossrail’s tunnelled section, which passes through Central London and Docklands, will mark the beginning of the end of one of the UK’s biggest construction projects in a generation. Making its way from Royal Oak in the West all the way through to Pudding Mill Lane and Plumstead in the East, over 50km of track –- which will be known as the Elizabeth Line when the railway opens – will make its way

through newly formed tunnels beneath London, passing through ten new stations and onto mainline track to Reading and Shenfield. As the extensive tunnelling work drew to completion in 2015, the installation of the railway systems is now in full swing. Taking on the main works of this phase is ATC – a Joint Venture between Alstom, Transports Sud Ouest (TSO) and Costain. Speaking at the start of June 2016, Crossrail’s Construction Manager for the railway systems phase, Gregg Purcell, gives us an overview of the programme’s progress so far. In the Eastern section, which begins at the Plumstead railhead, track has been installed all the way up the South Eastern branch to Stepney Green where it meets the North Eastern branch coming from Pudding Mill Lane. The 465-metre long concreting train is following this closely and is currently in operation five nights a

week. Out in the west, track has been installed from the Royal Oak portal through Paddington Station to Bond Street, with concreting here taking place three days a week. Throughout Crossrail’s tunnelled section, five different types of track are being used. Eighty per cent of this will be made up of standard track slab, with direct fixed track being installed in the Victorian-engineered Connaught Tunnel and a few small areas benefitting from high attenuation sleepers, which further reduces noise and vibration. However, in two sections underneath Central London, Crossrail is making use of innovative floating track slabs (FTS), which significantly reduce noise and vibration in sensitive areas, with a light version being used under Soho and a heavier one underneath the Barbican. Using the Fisher Street shaft as the main construction hub for FTS, 1.97km of the light system is currently

being installed under Soho, with around 85 per cent of reinforcement cages already put in place to receive the specialist concrete system. “We are looking to start concreting here from the middle of June, and hope to complete a fairly rapid plan of about three months,”

CROSSRAIL

SBC Rail Ltd SBC Rail Ltd are currently supplying innovative concrete track solutions to Crossrail. Around 63,000 Twin Block Booted Sleepers and 4500 High Attenuation Sleepers (HAS) have been designed in close collaboration with Consolis Group sister companies Stanton Bonna and Sateba. The sleepers are primarily designed to attenuate noise and vibration whilst generating savings on both the track construction costs and programme. The HAS is the result of a ten year investment programme between Sateba and Alstom to develop a cost effective alternative to traditional floating slab track. Both SBC Rail and sister company Stanton Bonna are UK members of Consolis, Europe’s leading manufacturer of concrete railway sleepers and bearers with an annual production capacity of 3.5 million sleepers per year and over 40 years’ experience in the production of concrete railway sleepers for high speed lines.

Gregg explains. “At the end of May we also took possession of the Barbican section from the Farringdon team, which means we can now commence work on the 1.34km FTS (heavy) installation.” In terms of M&E systems, equally significant progress is being made in the Eastern phase. “From Plumstead we are quite far advanced into the Thames Tunnels with installing physical infrastructure, such as Overhead Line Equipment (OHLE) systems and bracketry for all the permanent cable systems,” Gregg outlines. “In the North East branch our drilling rig is making good progress to prepare those tunnels as well. Temporary services

such as tunnel ventilation, which will be completed by September 2016, and safety systems like the fire mains, are also making good progress – as are the permanent ventilation installations at Canary Wharf, Whitechapel and Tottenham Court Road.” Unsurprisingly, a project of such scale and complexity is not without its challenges. Chief amongst these is to maintain a consistent output of work to meet the tight deadlines posed by the Crossrail programme. “Whilst the timeline is highly achievable, it does require us to keep to a very tight and efficient programme,” Gregg explains. “This include being able to overcome any unplanned challenges – mechanical, plant or even human issues – quickly and effectively. Our 23-wagon concrete batching plant, for instance, is nearly half a kilometre long and has around 2500 individual components and systems. Law of averages will suggest some things will go wrong, so we have to be prepared for this.” Access through stations and shafts, which are increasingly lively development sites, too, also poses significant complexity, with Gregg noting that interface management between the station and rail systems teams is essential to overcoming these. “I was told quite early on that this project would get built because of the people and the relationships, and this has turned out to be absolutely correct,” he says. “I spent a lot of time at the beginning developing relationships with various station teams, explaining what we need and understanding their needs, so that we can all remain professional and do the best to accommodate each other. This is by far the most logistically complex and interface-heavy project I have ever worked on so this approach is absolutely vital.”

CROSSRAIL

Despite the extraordinary complexity of Crossrail, the development programme has proven to be an exemplary showcase of innovation. Four Multi Purpose Gantries (MPG), for instance, have been developed especially for the Crossrail tunnels, allowing the team to handle a range of materials and activities, including the accurate positioning of 70,000 sleepers and 57km of rail, and achieve incredibly high outputs within a single bore tunnel environment. “The MPG solves a whole host of issues,” highlights Gregg. “In terms of pure innovation it’s one of the cleverest pieces of plant I have seen in a long time. Working through the tunnels is a very linear activity, which means we can take a slightly more production line mentality when approaching it, which the MPG supports, but it also provides the ability to magnify operations over 42km and develop some unique solutions in a slightly bigger context.” One such solution is the use of a multi-access manipulator – technology borrowed from the tree felling industry. Used to help install fire mains systems, the highly flexible robotic arm has been attached to a Unimog and is able to manipulate long lengths of pipe into position whilst eliminating much of the human interface and therefore

in achieving high output and an effective workflow. In the North Eastern branch, for example, the drilling rig is completing its work before the tracks have been laid, whilst in the South Eastern the opposite occurred. Logistically, this enables the team to make significant progress on each section concurrently. “With many of these innovations we have been able to maintain the human element as the intelligent component organising, planning and programming the heavy duty labour, which can be carried out by a machine,” Gregg outlines. “Of course, final connections, fixings and fittings still have to be carried out by people, but we have significantly reduced the risks.” This ties into Crossrail’s overarching health and safety programme, which focuses on behavioural safety just as much as it does on mechanising processes. “We run numerous behaviouralsafety and front-line leadership initiatives to ensure that

Davlav Welfare Facilities A full range of welfare units from Davlav have provided the Crossrail workforce with clean and comfortable rest areas. From the totally flexible drive anywhere seven person vans, to the range of towable units. Sizes range from 3.6m x 2.3m up to 6.0m x 2.3m and can be set up ready to use in minutes. All units are HSE compliant and fully equipped with seating, kitchen, separate toilet area and drying room. All drivers and service staff are also Crossrail compliant as well as national rail approved. Davlav are proud to be providing welfare support for this incredible project.

creating a much safer working environment. “It also allows us to maintain a very high standard of output with a very high quality level in a much safer manner,” adds Gregg. Removing the human element from much of the physical process has been a key feature in the development of Crossrail’s one-of-a-kind drilling rig, as well. Using cloud surveying to digitally map the tunnels to a very high degree of accuracy, positions for the 250,000plus holes – to support the installation of bracketry and walkways – are programmed into the drilling rig, which then uses a series of robotic drilling arms to carry out the work. Capable of running on both track and concrete, the drilling rig has been designed to be highly flexible

CROSSRAIL

the right decisions are being made,” Gregg continues. “This is supported by some very sophisticated root-cause analytics, which enable us to interrogate an incident right back to its origin and take appropriate preventative action accordingly.” The Crossrail project is undeniably vast, but the way it has approached such unprecedented complexity by applying intelligent innovation alongside close cooperation is extraordinary. Gregg’s enthusiasm for taking on such a key project typifies the level of expertise and passionate professionalism across that thrives off of delivering such a critical piece of infrastructure to the people of London right across the programme. This is

set to continue over the coming months, when numerous short-term milestones are set to be achieved, each marking even greater progress for Gregg and his team. “In June we’ll start concreting our FTS systems, in July we will turn our concreting train around 180 degrees and in September we’ll be commissioning our temporary ventilation system,” he outlines. “There are lots of challenges ahead, but we have good momentum and all of these phases take us one step closer to November 2017, when we can start handing the tunnels over to rail operators for the beginning of dynamic testing.”

www.crossrail.co.uk

NEWS I Conferences & Exhibitions 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.

14 September UK Rail Industry Forum Where: Denton’s, London Organiser: Waterfront Tel: 02070 671 597 Email: conference@thewaterfront.co.uk Web: www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com/ conference-calendar 14-16 September hEART 2016 An interdisciplinary Transport research conference Where: Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands Organiser: Delft University of Technology Tel: +31 (0)15 278 4915 Email: info@heart2016.org Web: www.heart2016.org/ 20-23 September InnoTrans 2016 Where: Messe, Berlin Organiser: Messe Berlin Tel: +49 30 3038 2376 Email: innotrans@messe-berlin.de Web: www.innotrans.de/en 5-7 October European Transport Conference Connecting the worlds of research, consultancy, policy and practice Where: Barcelona, Spain Organiser: Association for European Transport Web: etcproceedings.org

18 – 20 October Civils Expo (Part of Construction Week) Where: NEC, Birmingham Organiser: Media 10 Ltd Tel: 02032 255 200 Email: sema.tezel@media-ten.com Web: www.civilexpo.co.uk

22-23 November East Africa Rail Where: Radisson Blu Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: Tarryn Theunissen +27 11 516 4044 Email: tarryn.theunissen@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/east-africa-rail/

7-10 November 18th International Wheelset Congress Where: InterContinental Century City, Chengdu, China Organiser: IWC Email: info@iwc2016.com Web: www.iwc2016.com

22-24 November Intelligent Rail Summit Where: Railway Museum, Naples, Italy Organiser: Railtech Tel: +31 627 841 198 Email: mbrouwers@europoint.eu Web: www.railtech.com/intelligent-rail-summit-2016

10-11 November ITA Tunnelling Conference & Awards 2016 Where: Singapore Organiser: International Tunnelling Association Tel: +41 21 693 23 10 Email: awards@ita-aites.org Web: awards.ita-aites.org 14-15 November Rail Revenue, Rail Customer, Rail Ticketing, Rail IT Where: Sofitel Legend The Grand, Amsterdam Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: 02070 921 237 Email: daniel.boyle@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/conference/rail-revenue

7-8 March 2017 Middle East Rail Where: Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, UAE Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: +97 144 402 501 Email: Jamie.hosie@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/middle-east-rail/ 28-30 March 2017 RailTech 2017 Where: Utrecht, the Netherlands Organiser: RailTech Tel: +31 306 981 802 Email: sales@railtech.com Web: www.railtech.com/railtech-2017

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) 1 November 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. 2 November Traction and braking Principles of traction and braking for railway engineers 3 November Vehicle acceptance and approvals Introduction to acceptance procedures which apply across the rail network 7-11 November Introduction to railway signalling technologies An overview of railway control systems, subsystems and technologies used on UK main line and metro railways

8 November Fleet Maintenance - Introduction Improve your processes and fleet maintenance processes 9 November Fleet maintenance - Advanced Understand the issues affecting rail vehicle performance and cost of maintenance

23 November Vehicle dynamics and vehicle track interaction Understand the dynamics of railway vehicles to improve safety, comfort and asset life 24 November Structural integrity Structural integrity, fire and crashworthiness systems found on today’s rail fleets

10 November Train communication and auxiliary systems New and existing systems in use on today’s rolling stock fleet 22 November Train control and safety systems Learn of the systems used on UK fleets that provide safety and train operational control

For more information Tel: 0207 304 6907 Email: training@imeche.org Web: www.imeche.org/learning-and-development/ courses/railway

Editor Gay Sutton

editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Sales Director Joe Woolsgrove

jwoolsgrove@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

www.railway-strategies.com

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