September 2011 i s s u e 83 written by rail engineers for rail engineers available online at www.therailengineer.com Bridge within a bridge Brighton Goods Bridge No. 6 is an impressive and complex 5 span intersection bridge. Jungle or Minefield? Real Time Train Prediction system by Train Companies, ATOC and Network Rail. Boxing Clever A planned, co-ordinated and accelerated programme of signalling renewals. Committed to Scotland BALFOUR BEATTY RAIL CELEBRATES OPENING OF NEW OFFICE IN GLASGOW
Transcript
September 2011
i s s u e
83
written by rail engineers for rail engineers available online at www.therailengineer.com
Real Time Train Predictionsystem by Train Companies,ATOC and Network Rail.
Boxing Clever
A planned, co-ordinated andaccelerated programme ofsignalling renewals.
Committed toScotland
BALFOUR BEATTY RAIL CELEBRATES OPENING OF NEW OFFICE IN GLASGOW
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 3welcome
inisters, prime and sub-prime alike, droppingtheir buckets and spades and hurrying back to
London, the FTSE index nose-diving, smoke risingabove many cities... it must be August! And yet apartfrom a couple of thousand tons of slurry landing onthe Brighton Line, see the Drains and Leaves featureon page 50, all is strangely quiet on the railways.
Our cover story this month is about Scotland.Nigel Wordsworth has been working with BalfourBeatty to summarise many of their major projectsover the past few years. From the Forth Bridgerepainting to the use of air insulated switchgear in atrack sectioning cabin in Paisley, Balfour Beattyhave had a continuous presence north of theborder. It’s also an antidote to the impression thateverything happens in London.
Back in the days of BR – and that is some time agonow – it was not unusual for around 100 signalboxes to be closed every year. Network Rail’s recentannouncement of the closure of 800 boxes at therate of just 50 a year needs to be viewed in thiscontext. The main story though is much less aboutthe closure of signal boxes. There is the parallelproposal to introduce a national trafficmanagement system that is advanced enough toanticipate train moves in the event of disruption.
While on the theme of clever software, CliveKessell gives an account of the Darwin project thatseems to have very similar aims. It’s called Darwin,apparently, because it keeps evolving! The livestockanalogy is continued with the whole prospect ofproviding reliable and current train information tothe public being described as being like a can ofworms or even a bucket of snakes. The public canbe very unforgiving at the slightest error in trainrunning information – and quite rightly so.
Chris Parker’s story is all about a road – thePorthmadog bypass. But in its act of bypassingPorthmadog, Minffordd and Tremadog in NorthWales it manages to impact on four separate railways.
Combine with this the involvement of two majorcontractors in a joint venture working on majorengineering through an environmentally sensitivearea and the result is a complex project indeed.
In that mass of railway lines just to the north ofClapham Junction, Network Rail have made a pre-emptive strike. Replacing a bridge in that part ofthe network was never going to be easy. With thereal prospect of the Battersea power station sitebeing rejuvenated it could be near impossiblesoon. Collin Carr takes us on a journey to BrightonGoods Bridge No. 6 and in the process comes closeup with the realities of working near the famousdogs’ home.
As we head towards the Autumn there are twoevents worth noting in your diary. The InfrastructureShow (NEC, Birmingham, 17-19 October) has amajor rail presence with speakers from Network Rail,Crossrail, HS2, London Underground and manyothers. There will also be a diverse range of leadingsector suppliers and manufacturers showcasing thelatest product innovations.
If you prefer fresh air exhibitions then make yourway to the Long Marston Storage Facility, just 7miles southwest of Stratford on Avon. MacroRail, onFriday 16 September, has fifty organisations,members of the Rail Alliance, demonstrating theirproducts on this complex that has over 20 miles ofprivate track. But remember, Long Marston is vastand it’s easy to get lost – I know!
Returning to Scotland briefly, David Shirres tellsus about Borders Railway which will join Edinburghwith Tweedbank, near Galashiels. Network Rail’ssponsor for the connection to the national networkseemed almost surprised about howuncomplicated this project has been. There wereno issues with weather, access, neighbours or theoperational railway, and their contractor did a goodjob. Perhaps a project team deserves astraightforward project once in a while!
Committed to Scotland 6Balfour Beatty Rail celebrates opening of new officein Glasgow.
Jungle or Minefield? 12Real Time Train Prediction system by TrainCompanies, ATOC and Network Rail.
Bridge within a bridge 16Brighton Goods Bridge No. 6 is an impressive andcomplex 5 span intersection bridge.
Borders Connection 20
Borders Rail Connection project to re-align a 300metre turnback siding.
Make tracks to The Infrastructure Show 22The Infrastructure Show will offer fresh insight intotoday’s major rail infrastructure projects.
Power in Boxes 30
Hidden systems inside trains become ever morecomplicated.
Euro-Freight on HS1 36A container service from Hams Hall to Novarra inNorthern Italy was operated on HS1.
Drainage development 52Designers have put a greater emphasis on gooddrainage design, resulting in product development.
Track, Safety Systems October
Plant & Equipment, Concrete November
in this issue
forthcomingfeatures
4 | the rail engineer | september 2011 news
The extended first phase of theGautrain project in South Africaopened on 2 August. The networknow reaches from Rosebank Stationin Johannesburg to Hatfield Station inTshwane (formerly Pretoria), enablingthe commencement of passengerservices across the 74 km system.
The complete 80 km Gautrain routelinks 10 stations to connect SouthAfrica’s economic centre ofJohannesburg to its national capitalin Tshwane, and also extends out tothe OR Tambo International Airport.
The first part of phase one, the 20 kmroute between OR TamboInternational Airport Station andSandton Station, opened topassengers in June 2010, in time toprovide passenger services for theFIFA Soccer World Cup visitors. Thefinal 6 km section between Rosebankand Park stations will be opened at alater date.
The Bombela Concession Company,which includes Bombardier, wasawarded its contract by the GautengProvincial Government of South
Africa in September 2006.Bombardier’s involvement was todeliver an integrated rail systemincluding a fleet of 96 Electrostarvehicles, the majority of which wereassembled in South Africa fromDerby-produced CKD kits, the Cityflo250 train control system and all thetrack work, power supply anddistribution systems,communications systems, automaticfare collection, project management,systems engineering and integration,and testing and commissioning.
Gautrain phase 1 opens
As this is the Signalling &Telecommunications issue of the railengineer, it is opportune thatNetwork Rail chose this month toannounce the formation of NetworkRail Telecoms. Making theannouncement, Peter Henderson,group asset management director,stated, “Network Rail Telecoms hasbeen created to design and deliver anew, single, unified telecomsorganisation focussing, amongother things, on improving theeffectiveness of our deploymentand use of telecoms assets andmanaging whole life telecoms in the
most efficient manner. The team willbe responsible for all of ourtelecoms assets, strategy and policydecisions, including operating,maintaining and enhancing ourassets. They will also be responsiblefor the design and delivery of theservice to the customer.”
To head up this new operationAndy Hudson has joined NetworkRail as Telecoms Director. He iscurrently vice president fieldoperations and infrastructureengineering at Interoute Telecom,where he has helped transform thebusiness from a fledgling operator
to a successful European carrier.Andy takes up his new post inSeptember.
Clive Kessell, writer for the railengineer who headed up theTelecommunications Engineeringdepartment of BR and who was theEngineering Director at British RailTelecoms before it was privatised,commented, “It is good to seeNetwork Rail recognising thattelecommunications form animportant part of railway operationsby creating this new singledepartment. The wheel seems tohave gone full circle.”
Network Rail Telecoms is go...
TELECOMS
IN BRIEF
New strategic partnershipRSSB and TRL (Transport Research
Laboratory) have agreed a strategicpartnership to share and combineresearch expertise in transport with theirspecific experience in the road and railsectors. Each organisation has acommon vision to enhance the value oftheir services to RSSB members andTRL’s customers around the world.
‘This partnership will build on a wealthof experience in rail and transport andwill enable both organisations todevelop and deliver new, cost-effective,solutions to a broader transport market,as well as the international rail industry,’commented Sue Sharland, ChiefExecutive of TRL.
Cotswolds Redoubled!The £70m improvement work on the
North Cotswold was completed on 22August. Parts of the line betweenWorcester and Oxford have beenredoubled with a total of 21 miles ofextra track having been laid. Signallingand stations along the route have alsobeen improved.
The final part of the project was a 16-day blockade in August when 15 milesof double track were aligned, tamped,stressed and welded between Moreton-in-Marsh and Evesham.
The first train ran through the newsection at 6am and marks theculmination of a project that started insummer 2009 with double track laid inChipping Camden Tunnel.
New stations guideNetwork Rail has published a new
Guide to Station Planning and Design toprovide a source of good practice fororganisations involved in improvingstations, big or small.
The guide does not specify particulardesigns to follow, instead it helps designteams assess whether their plans willdeliver better stations through makingthem accessible and easy to use,integrate well with their communitiesand make a positive economic, socialand environmental impact.
Mike Goggin, director of stations, said:“Our new guide will help anyorganisation planning to makeimprovements to make the rightdecision for passengers and for localcommunities.”
PROJECTS
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 5news
Network Rail has announced thenext stage of its plans to reformproject delivery to save money in therail industry. Projects will bedelivered more quickly as successfulsuppliers will be on standby - readyto go - rather than having to enteranother bid process to win work.
Simon Kirby, Network Rail’smanaging director investmentprojects, stated: “This is ourcommitment to changing the waythat we work with our suppliers.Partnership breeds innovation, cutsduplication, saves money anddelivers more quickly for ourcustomers.
“The geographic focus of thecontracts will build closer relationsbringing a greater understanding ofour safety culture and the need tominimise the impact of work on thetravelling public.”
The time it takes to deliver ‘multiasset framework agreement’ (MAFA)projects - which combine signalling,track and civils - will be cut frommonths to weeks. In the past some ofthese have taken up to elevenmonths to get up and running
causing frustration for Network Rail’sclients and putting off potentialinvestors. In addition, the cost ofdelivery on these projects will be cutby up to 20%.
Six suppliers have been selectedwith the first work already under wayin the Manchester area. In total£750m of work will be deliveredunder the plans.
The six contracted companies are:Balfour Beatty Rail (Scotland),Buckingham (LNW), Carillion (LNE),Colas - Morgan Sindall (West),C Spencer & Volker Fitzpatrick (SouthEast - shared portfolio).
The successful suppliers will workwith Network Rail far earlier in thedesign phase, enabling the industryto better build in safety andinnovation. Being responsible for aparticular region will align supplierswith Network Rail’s new route basedstructure.
UPGRADES
New agreement
Light has been shed on four formerrailway tunnels in the Peak DistrictNational Park which have now beenopened up to the general public ascycle trails.
The National Park Authority isimproving the trail between Bakewelland Wye Dale by opening the tunnelsfor use by cyclists, walkers and horseriders, which have previously beenclosed for safety reasons. The work ispart of the £2.25m Pedal Peak Districtproject, to encourage more people tocycle in the park.
As the project is located within theNational Park, there have beenconstraints as much of the work was
carried out in areas requiring Site ofSpecial Scientific Interest (SSSI)consent from Natural England.Contractor J Murphy & Sons Limited,working for the Peak District NationalPark Authority, has installed newcabling to light up the tunnels on theMonsal Trail which runs betweenBakewell to three miles south ofBuxton. They were constructed aspart of the Midland Railway line inthe 1860s, which closed in 1968 as aresult of the Beeching Report.
Murphy has also carried out sixkilometres of surfacing to the trailand in Headstone, Cressbrook andLitton tunnels.
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6 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
n mid-August, Balfour Beatty Rail invitedNetwork Rail, key rail consultants and
members of both the Westminster andHolyrood parliaments to take part in theirfirst Open Day to celebrate the opening oftheir permanent office in Shettleston,Glasgow.
The full spectrum of rail disciplines wereshowcased including representation fromother parts of the Balfour Beatty Groupincluding Plant and Fleet Services, RegionalCivil Engineering and Engineering Servicesgiving delegates the opportunity to meetand discuss all of their rail life-cyclerequirements from concept to delivery.
Interesting kitSeveral interesting pieces of equipment
had been brought in especially for the day.One of the new B41UE Matisa Tampers, partof Balfour Beatty Rail’s recent £20minvestment in new plant, had been speciallytransported from Cambridgeshire, and therecently approved Air Insulated Switchgear,detailed elsewhere in this feature, that willbe trialled on the Paisley Corridor projectwas brought over from Balfour Beatty Rail’sbase in Offenbach, Germany.
There were a number of other items ofplant on display as well. A Front ShovelExcavator, Base Ballast Hopper, Unimog,Top Ballast Hopper, Doosan and anUltrasonic Flaw Detection RRV allattracted interest.
AddressPeter Anderson, Managing Director of
Balfour Beatty Rail UK, in an address to thedelegates, spoke of the Group’s work inScotland, and specifically important railprojects such as Paisley CorridorImprovements, Glasgow Central Station,Gourock Station, Airdrie to Bathgate RailLink, Edinburgh Waverley Station and theForth Bridge, emphasising the benefits ofthe projects for the local communities.
Innovation - Air Insulated SwitchgearAs one of the exhibits, Balfour Beatty Rail
GmbH in Germany showcased their AirInsulated Switchgear.the rail engineer hasalready reported on asolid conductor beamsystem for overheadelectrification (issue66 April 2010). Sincethen, Balfour BeattyRail has introducedAir InsulatedSwitchgear (AIS). Thishas been designedspecifically to meetthe requirements of25kV 50/60Hz railwayapplications and isderived fromconventional 3-phaseswitchgear.
The Balfour Beatty Rail AIS TracFeed TACswitchgear is developed for use with singlephase (TAC1) and two phase (TAC2) railwayapplications serving all AC feeding systemssuch as conventional, booster andautotransformer.
It is common for switchgear used for 25kVrailway applications to be insulated using SF6gas (Sulphur Hexaflouride). This is a betterinsulator than air, so that the gaps betweencomponents can be reduced while stillavoiding arcing. However, SF6 is a “greenhousegas” as defined in the Kyoto protocol. Thisleads to restrictions both in manufacture anddisposal of the gas. Specifically with regard toswitchgear, the equipment has to bemonitored 24/7 as any leakage will not onlycause the equipment to malfunction but willalso result in an environmental incident.
Clever design has allowed Balfour BeattyRail to utilise air insulation. This provides aproduct that conforms with currentenvironmental requirements, supportsBalfour Beatty Rail’s Sustainability Roadmapand is also easily extendable - there is nolonger the need to bleed off SF6 gas, makemodifications, and then refill.
First introduced on the continent, theinitial trial site for the new switchgear in theUK is at the Paisley Gilmour Street TSC (TrackSectioning Cabin). The requirement for asingle circuit breaker provides an idealopportunity for the trial site at Paisley.
IINSET PHOTO:(centre) Peter Andersondiscusses the newMatisa B41UE withJohn Mason MSP &Ian Davidson MP(right).
Air InsulatedSwitchgear.
Committed to ScotlandBalfour Beatty
w r i t e rNigelWordsworth
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 7feature
Initiative - Overhead Line Training School
Apart from the high-profileannouncements of electrification inEngland, on the Great Western main line andbetween Manchester and Liverpool, therehas been a quiet surge in electrificationprojects in Scotland. The new Airdrie-Bathgate route is electrified, as are the newlines on the Paisley Corridor ImprovementScheme (PCI). And shortly EGIP (Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme) will bestarting - and that is electrified.
So Balfour Beatty Rail has identified thatthere is a skills shortage for electrificationspecialists in Scotland. The company alreadyhas an overhead line training school atKirkby on Merseyside, and drawing fromthat expertise they will shortly be opening anew training span at Shettleston.
Balfour Beatty is currently speaking withlocal schools and colleges and the newfacility will be open in March 2012.
The current PCI OLE team will providemany of the skills required to run theprogramme and several current projects areonly a few miles away. Balfour Beatty Railfully intends to bridge the skills gap inScotland in preparation for theelectrification projects coming up over thenext few years.
Shettleston Community Growing Project (SCGP)
Another key purpose for the Open Daywas to reinforce Balfour Beatty Rail’scommitment to the community, the latestbeing the Shettleston Community GrowingProject (SCGP). A resident-led initiative in theheart of Shettleston, the Project has
instigated the transformation of a derelictsite into a multi-use space for residents,community groups and local schools andwill help reduce carbon emissions by some1,286 tonnes a year. For every Open Daydelegate Balfour Beatty Rail will be donating£10 to this wonderful project.
Peter Anderson commented, “Today hasbeen about celebrating the opening of ournew office here in Shettleston, once againshowing how committed we are tosupporting Network Rail, Transport Scotlandand local communities.”
Key current projectsAs the day unfolded, Balfour Beatty teams
were continuing to put that commitmentinto practice by way of a number of ongoingmultidisciplinary projects in other parts ofScotland. Key standout examples are thePaisley Corridor Improvement and ForthBridge Refurbishment projects.
Paisley Corridor ImprovementsThe Paisley Corridor Improvements (PCI) in
Renfrewshire is a £169.8 million project toupgrade one of the busiest two-trackrailways in Scotland to three and four tracks.As part of this, Balfour Beatty Rail is midwaythrough a £27 million multidisciplinarycontract on behalf of Network Rail toconstruct additional running lines and installassociated overhead line equipment (OLE).
At first sight, the project looks quitestraightforward. 4.5 miles of a widely spacedtwo-track railway are being upgraded tothree tracks with an additional 1.5 milesection of four tracks between GlasgowCentral and Paisley Gilmour Street. However,this six-mile stretch of railway handles morethan 300 trains every day and forms anotorious bottleneck to services operatingon the Ayrshire Coast and Inverclyde lines.There is no way it can be closed during theupgrading process.
The very nature of converting a busy two-track railway into three and four tracksinevitably requires a lot of constructionaccess, and managing this whilst minimisingdisruption has been the biggest challengefor the project team, as Balfour Beatty Rail’sProject Director Doug Lee explains: “As well
as heavy traffic on the route, the schemealso demands the installation of 39 pointends within tight schedules, significant civilengineering and modification of the OLE.
“Because of access problems on this busyroute, the project does not comprise of asimple linear progression of works. Instead,staged works feature heavily - 26 stages overa 12-month period. If we miss a stage oroverrun on any one of them, it will seriouslyimpact upon the later stages.”
Access for the construction activities islimited to short possessions and theimportance of maximising their use is criticalto meeting a demanding programme ofworks. The frequency and nature of thepossessions vary throughout the project tosuit the traffic demands and manyweekends have been planned for 11 plus 8hours duration rather than the traditionalstraight 29 hours. In this way, the railway isrestored to traffic for the busiest part of theday, from late morning until mid evening.
Safety is always important on anyrailway project, but it is even more criticalwhen overhead electrification isinvolved.
As one of the major players in theinstallation and maintenance ofoverhead electrical equipment, BalfourBeatty Rail is naturally very determinedto fit this type of work into its Zero Harmphilosophy hence it’s no surprise to hearthat it has decided to create dedicatedisolations teams.
The first of these has been deployed inScotland. The team consists of anIsolations Manager, supported by anIsolations Supervisor, Nominated Personsand Earthing Assistants.
With this expertise, Balfour Beatty Railis capable of satisfying all IsolationPlanning and Implementationrequirements both internally to theirown project works and externally to anumber of main contractingorganisations throughout the railindustry.
Balfour Beatty Rail Isolations canmanage possession and isolationplanning requirements for all trackaccess works with a high level of focus ona safe provision of a timely and efficientservice which is recognised as ‘Best inClass’.
Dedicated Isolation Teams
Airdrie-Bathgateelectricficationbeing installed.
Paisley CorridorImprovements.
8 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
The most recent possession was for 72hours over the weekend of 6 August 2011.12,000 man hours were worked over thatweekend, split between Balfour Beatty Rail,Network Rail and Invensys Rail. An extensiveprogramme of electrification, signalling,track work and civil engineering formed partof the first major commissioning stage of theproject as a whole. The second part will takeplace over Christmas 2011 although therewill be some significant interim track andelectrification works during Septemberinvolving four 54 hour possessions.
The project is on track to be deliveredsuccessfully and on time at the end of 2011and is of strategic importance to BalfourBeatty Rail. “We are very keen to maintainour business presence in Scotland and PCIforms a vital part of our business plan in thisrespect,” says Doug. “This contractdemonstrates the strength of ourpartnership with Network Rail north of theborder and we look forward to delivering afirst class service.”
Refurbishment of the Forth BridgeBalfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering is
currently undertaking a works contract, inpartnership with Network Rail, to refurbishthe Forth Bridge.
The works on the Forth Bridge are carriedout in a series of phased operations at anumber of locations at any one time.Complex access scaffold is erected and thework areas screened from the environmentbefore the existing layers of paint, appliedover the last 120 years, are removed usingan abrasive blasting technique. Steelworkrequiring maintenance is then repairedbefore the new paint is applied in threeprotective layers, to preserve the steelworkfor years to come.
The Forth Bridge is a marvel of Victorianengineering, carrying the East Coast Main Linerailway over the Forth Estuary by way of a2.5km cantilever bridge. Designed by Sir JohnFowler and Sir Benjamin Baker and constructedby Sir William Arrol at a cost of £2.5 million, itincorporates 55,000 tonnes of steel heldtogether with some eight million rivets.
This unique structure has been inconstant operation since its opening in1890 by the then Prince of Wales (later KingEdward VII) and has been the subject of the
legend “like painting the Forth Bridge,” ajob that has never been completed.
The bridge in fact has only everbeen painted in a single
operation when it wasbuilt but has been
continuously
maintained ever since, with painting beingcarried out where and when it wasrequired.
The contract is set to mark the end of themodern myth when the painting on theForth Bridge comes to an end in 2012.
Recent successesWhile Balfour Beatty can’t lay claim to be
the first painters of the Forth Bridge over acentury ago they can rightfully put theirstamp on a number of high profile railprojects successfully delivered in Scotlandover recent years.
Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station Edinburgh Waverley railway station is
immense. It covers an area of 25 acres in thecentre of Edinburgh and is used by over 19.2million passengers a year. It is Britain’s secondlargest station after London Waterloo.
The station was first opened in 1846 andwas rebuilt between 1892 and 1902. In 2008Network Rail delivered a £150 million projectto improve the infrastructure of the stationand provide much-needed extra capacity.This included two new, longer platforms andthe reintroduction of platform 5, extensivetrack remodelling and new signalling to allowfour more trains to pass through the stationper hour each way, and extra platformcapacity for longer commuter services.
Improved appearanceThe next stage was to improve the
appearance of the station for passengers. In2009 Balfour Beatty Regional CivilEngineering was awarded a £50 million 3-year contract to refurbish and completelyre-glaze the 34,000m2 station roof with clear,strengthened glass to shed new light on thestation concourse and platforms.
The project will see all of the old glazing onthe roof replaced including a large sectionmade of clear plastic sheeting, the result of alow cost temporary fix made twenty years ago.
The station’s original Victorian ironworkfeatures are to be repaired and repainted whilenon-essential station furniture, buildings andredundant high level walkways will beremoved. In addition, new lighting and roofdrainage systems will be installed, footbridges
renovated and the concourseand platforms will be
resurfaced.
Kirow craneinstalling new trackon Paisley CorridorImprovements.
The painting onthe Forth Bridgecomes to an endin 2012.PHOTO: EIFION
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 9feature
Safety deckWork commenced with the installation of a
‘safety deck’ at the east end of the station.This is being moved east to west across thestation as the roof works progress. Forincreased safety and environmentalconsiderations, the safety deck and theworking areas are encapsulated.
Safely above the safety deck, the projectteam is stripping away old glazing, abrasivegrit blasting the steel work to strip off oldlayers of paint and installing a supportsystem for the new glazing. This will bemade up of 28,000 new glass panels, the firstof which was put in place on 21 April 2011.
Throughout the work the station willremain operational. Close workingrelationships between Balfour Beatty andNetwork Rail’s station personnel wererequired from the outset to ensure there isminimal disruption to passengers, trains andthird parties while delivering safely a qualityrestoration of this historic station.
The contract is on schedule to becompleted by November 2013.
Airdrie-BathgateThe Airdrie-Bathgate Railway Project was
the longest new conventional passengerline to be built for over 100 years. As part ofthe £300 million scheme, funded byTransport Scotland and delivered byNetwork Rail, Balfour Beatty Rail wasawarded a £55 million contract in May 2008.This involved the double-tracking of thesingle line between Airdrie andDrumgelloch as well as laying two tracksbetween Drumgelloch and Bathgate. Theentire route from Airdrie to Edinburgh’sHaymarket Station was electrified with a25kV AC classic booster system including theprovision of new traction power supply sitesalong the route.
The railway infrastructure work naturallyfell into two distinct sections. The first wasthe operational railway between Haymarket
and Bathgate. This used the existingEdinburgh-Glasgow lines from Haymarket toNewbridge Junction in West Lothian andthen the recently double-tracked branch toBathgate where it included a new lightmaintenance depot complex. The secondsection covers the route from Bathgate toAirdrie which extensively comprised a newtwo-track electrified railway.
Birdsmill ViaductOne of the more challenging aspects of
the contract was the construction ofoverhead line equipment on the historicBirdsmill Viaduct. Built in 1849 and nowGrade B listed, the multi-span masonrystructure is located to the west ofNewbridge Junction, carrying the Bathgatebranch over the River Almond. Access forconstruction plant and equipment waslimited and, to add to the complexities, theworks had to be undertaken in the harshwinter months of early 2010. To completethem safely and on time, a coordinatedapproach was necessary to dovetailfunctional engineering and constructionrequirements, coupled with strong workingrelationships between contractor BalfourBeatty Rail and client Network Rail.
Due to the limited access to the bridgefrom ground level, plant and materials werebrought in by rail. The first constructionoperation on the viaduct was to install theOLE mast mounting brackets. This involvedremoving some of its masonry to make wayfor a new cast-in-situ concrete plinth,installing the bracket mounting bolts, coringthrough the outer masonry to makeprovision for the tie bar, and then installing
the brackets themselves. As much of thiswas carried out on the river spans, the use ofscaffolding would have been very difficultand costly. As a result, specialistsubcontractors undertook the work using arope access system. Once the brackets werein place, the overhead line gantries could beeasily installed.
New trackOn 7 June 2010, Balfour Beatty Rail’s New
Track Construction (NTC) machine startedwork. This high output system can lay newtrack at a rate of up to 250 yards per hour byimplementing a continuous process ofsleeper and rail installation onto a pre-prepared formation. The unit comprises atruss wagon, reception wagon, self-poweredwagon and sleeper carrying wagons. As wellas high output production, other benefitsare high quality track installation and lowermanpower and plant requirements as wellas reduced risk of injuries during trackinstallation compared with traditionaltechniques. The NTC provides a means ofconstructing track that is consistent withboth Network Rail’s ‘Safety 365’ and BalfourBeatty’s ‘Zero Harm’ policies.
Overhead line foundations, structures,cantilevers and return conductor wiringwere the first elements of the new-buildsection to be installed. Carrying out thiswork before the track was laid providedflexibility in the type of plant and equipmentthat could be used. When the trackbed hadbeen prepared and rail positioned, the NTCunit came into operation. The final elementsinvolved the overhead line wiring, tampingand stressing.
First glazing getsmoved into positionat Waverley Station.
Airdrie-Bathgate -Winner of Bestproject - large(projects valued over£20m) at the 2011Network RailPartnership Awards.
Power supplyA new traction power supply was provided
via a 2x18MVA feeder station at Bathgate inwhich a Distribution Network Organisationcompound has been installed that containstwo 25kV disconnectors. Sectioning of thesupply for the new-build railway isundertaken by track sectioning cabinslocated at Raiziehill and Drumgelloch.
This taxing project, made morecomplicated by the logistical problems ofwork spread across 40 miles of centralScotland, was completed by Balfour Beattyover a two-year period without an over run.
Glasgow Central StationGlasgow Central Station is the largest of
the two main line stations in Scotland’ssecond city, and is the second busiest stationin the UK outside of London (BirminghamNew Street is slightly busier). It was firstopened in 1879 and, as passenger numbersgrew, has been enlarged and rebuilt severaltimes since.
With the recent resurgence in rail travel,and the improvements to the PaisleyCorridor that runs out of Glasgow Central, itwas time for another rebuild. Balfour BeattyRegional Civil Engineering was contracted todo the work, including the removal of theexisting platform 12 and the construction oftwo new 150m long platforms on the site ofthe short-stay car park.
Big improvementWork started on the new platforms at the
end of September 2009 and full timetabledoperations commenced on 24 May 2010.The Glasgow Central works are the biggestimprovement to passenger facilities at thestation since 1906 when the original 1879station was increased from eight to 13platforms. Today the station caters for 34million people per year and further growth isforecast. As a result, two new platforms havebeen constructed, each able toaccommodate six-car trains.”
Glasgow Central Station is built on twolevels and an extensive labyrinth of tunnels,vaults and arches exist beneath the site ofthe new platforms. This necessitated theinstallation of new structural columns andbeams as well as the casting of a concreteslab to support the new platforms andassociated track, S&C, OLE and signalling.The reinforced concrete supporting columnswith integral transverse beams were cast in
situ, partly on new foundations with loadsspread through existing foundations. Aconcrete slab was cast in situ on top of thecolumns; the slab track was then installed.
Platform 12Work was carried out over Christmas 2009
to permanently close the existing Platform12 (formerly 11A) and remove the track andoverhead power lines. Platform 12 was neveroriginally planned for passenger use. At thetime of construction it was actually calledthe ‘fish, fruit and milk platform’ but itbecame increasingly used for passengertrains in recent years as the numbers andlength of trains using the station increased.However it was very unpopular withpassengers because its location on thebridge over the Clyde was physically remotefrom the rest of the station and it was alsoout beyond the cover of the roof. The newplatforms solve all of these problems.”
Miller’s archClosure of this platform permitted the
track slewing and S&C work needed tocreate a route to the two new platforms, theentrance for trains being constructedthrough the station’s famous arch. Thisimpressive feature, built as part of thestation’s 1906 extension, was designed bythe Caledonian Railway Company’s architect,James Miller. A collection of modern flat-roofed buildings had cluttered the base ofthe arch and these have been demolished tofully reveal the grandeur of the originalGrade-A listed structure.
The arch was never designed to have trainspassing through it so it’s fortunate that itoffered sufficient clearance to accommodatetwo tracks and it certainly provides animpressive entrance into the station. Nowthere is a clear unhindered view of the archand, for the first time, this extends below itsoriginal visual base at platform level to reachthe new tracks. To maintain consistency withthe overall arch appearance, the newlyexposed sub platform section of arch hasbeen stone clad as part of the project andreplacement period doors have beenprovided in the arch abutments.”
Confusing?The platform renumbering at Glasgow
Central sounds somewhat confusing.Platform 11A, which had been temporarilyrenumbered as 12, has been replaced by thenew Platform 12. The new Platform 13 didnot previously exist. The original Platform 12
has become Platform 14 and the old 13 isnow 15. There should be no confusionhowever about the benefits delivered by thenew platforms and station enhancementsthat Balfour Beatty has delivered.
Gourock StationGourock Station was always a bit of an
afterthought. When the Caledonian Railwayfirst built the Inverclyde Line, it terminated atGreenock Central. However, this was furtherfrom the quayside than the Glasgow &South Western Railway’s Greenock (Prince’sPier) so the Caledonian was losing business.They therefore extended their line toGourock Pier which opened in 1889.
The new station was right on the quay andwas built to handle a large number of ferrypassengers. It had three platforms, one onthe quayside and two as an island platform,and extensive glass canopies over all three.However, in the 1980s these were cut back,and by 2006 the whole station was lookingtired and dilapidated. The station hotel hadbeen demolished, as had the old pier, and allthat was left were the three platforms, aclosed station building, and a portable ticketoffice. Various improvement schemes for thearea had been proposed, including movingthe complete station, but nothing had beencarried through.
So in 2010 Network Rail awarded a £4million contract to Balfour Beatty RegionalCivil Engineering to improve matters. A largepart of the work was to improve the seadefences but in addition the platforms wereto be renewed as were the canopies andOLE equipment. The existing overheadwiring was fastened to the old canopies, soBalfour Beatty’s initial task was to removethat and erect conventional gantries. Thisleft the site free for the removal of thecanopies and installation of thereplacements.
One platform face at a time has been takenout of service so that they can be resurfaced,and the whole project is on schedule forcompletion in November 2011.
In SummaryIn summing up to delegates at the open
day, Peter Anderson commented, “Today hasbeen about launching our new office here inShettleston, once again showing howcommitted we are to supporting NetworkRail, Transport Scotland and localcommunities. Balfour Beatty is here to makea difference and I would like to thankeveryone involved.”
10 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
Glasgow Centralstation caters for34 million peopleper year.
Re-coping theplatform atGourock Station.
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12 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
or Minefield?
roviding accurate, understandable andtimely information to the travelling
public is an ever present challenge. Describedonce as not a can of worms, more a bucket ofsnakes, this is a fairly apt description for thetask. Anyone who thinks it is easy has noconcept as to what is required or how itshould be done. The recent hard winter withlarge amounts of snow demonstrated theproblem all too clearly. Train services wereinevitably disrupted and particularly in thepolitically-sensitive electrified third rail areasof the former Southern Region. Here themassive build-up of snow and ice on theconductor rail made it a huge challenge justto keep trains moving, let alone providingaccurate information as to which serviceswould be operating. It is rarely as bad as this,but even minor disruption can present asignificant challenge to the flow of trainrunning information.
So why is it so difficult and what can bedone to improve things? the rail engineertalked with Chris Scoggins, the ChiefExecutive of National Rail Enquiries, part ofthe ATOC sphere of operations, to find out.
Old and Emerging RequirementsThe occasional train traveller usually
associates passenger information assomething that he / she acquires from theInternet to look up train times and faresprior to making the journey and at thestation to get confirmation of train runningand platform. These two elements remainvitally important and the accuracy of theinformation at this stage can have asignificant impact on the perception of railtravel. The classic engineering terminologyof right and wrong side failures just do notapply in this scenario. Wrong informationgiven out is as damaging as not having anyinformation at all; indeed some wouldargue that displaying wrong messages isworse than showing nothing.
The seasoned traveller, however, increasinglywants much more than this. The advent ofmobile phone networks and on-air dataprovision has meant that personalisedinformation for the planned journey should becapable of being given out both prior tojourney commencement and en route. Anydisruption that would cause the journey to bemodified should be advised by text messageor email direct to the person’s mobile device,be it laptop, iPhone, Blackberry or mobiletelephone. With this upping of the facilities
comes the need for even greater accuracy sothat the intending traveller can modify theirday’s schedule with confidence.
Information SourcesThe railway operates to a timetable and
from this it should be possible to derive datathat is capable of being fed to all users whopromote and publicise train travel. However,as in all modes of transport, the delay anddisruption that can occur will cause thetimetable to be deviated from in bothplanned and unplanned situations. It isduring these times that informationprovision is at its most important and it hasbeen a challenge for the rail industry overmany years to get accurate updates to therunning of services collated and distributedto those that need to know.
Enter the Darwin concept - an initiative anddevelopment by the Train Companies, ATOCand Network Rail to get much greateraccuracy in the compilation of traininformation data and the distribution of it to awidening user community. Described as aReal Time Train Prediction system, Darwindraws data from a number of sources, assessesthe information and then intelligently predictswhat this will mean to the ongoing trainservice. The sources are:
P
Jungle
Clive Kessellw r i t e r
• Integrated TrainPlanning System(ITPS) - this is theNetwork Rail basictimetable, which iscompiled twice ayear but updatedevery 24 hours &distributed everynight to all railcompanies andexternal bodiesthat requiretimetableinformation
• TRUST (TrainReporting UsingSystem TOPS) - asystem that logstrain movementsand timing atselected passingpoints on thenetwork,distributing thereport to train andnetwork controloffices
• Train Describers(TDs) - the part ofthe signallingsystem thatinforms signallersof the identityand whereaboutsof every train onthe control panelwith all berthsteps (real timetrain movements)being available asa data message
• Control RoomInformationControllers -known as theTyrell system thatis used to providestructuredmessages to TOCstaff oncancellations,short trainformations, etc.
• Some CIS controldesks where traindepartureupdates aredecided locally
• DarwinWorkstations -provided in theNational RailCommunicationsCentre (NRCC)and in TOCcontrol officeswhere directinput to thesystem can bemade.
All these information packages are sent to Darwin as they happen so a high number of data messages are constantly being received.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 13feature
What does Darwin Do?The success of any traveller
information system will lie in its abilityto predict the future to a high degreeof accuracy. The algorithms of Darwinare designed to:• Store the basic timetable data plus
planned short term amendments• Receive train running data from
various sources to be able to predicthow the train service is operating inreal time
• Identify trains that are not running toschedule
• Compile the necessary data toproduce amended train runninginformation along the railwaygeography
• Send this data to passengerinformation communicationsdistributors provided by various thirdparties, including over 30 mobilephone companies, who will make thisavailable to customers.
A typical situation could be theimposition of a temporary speedrestriction maybe because of extremeheat or high winds. The system mustassess how any reduction of speedwill affect train running times, not justfor a single train, but for all trainsusing that route. In the predictionsmade, train timings need to bemarginally optimistic so as to ensurethat passengers get to the departurepoint before the actual train arrival,thus perhaps dissuading people thatthey have time for the final cup ofcoffee!
Darwin is a new system that wasintroduced in 2009 but it had twopredecessor systems that first wentlive in 2003. Darwin and itspredecessors recognised the need fora national system by which customerscan access the best possible real timerunning information for all trainsnationally, using all the normal, easy
to use, customer contact channels.Initially the service was offered onlyas stand alone information but is nowbuilt into journey planners as well.Darwin is constantly evolving (henceits name!) and is now at Generation 3.
The Darwin Architecture andSupply Base
The main Darwin contract is withThales Group who, as well as doing thedevelopment work, also host thesystem, manage the provision of theservice and maintain the entire Darwinarchitecture. The work is done fromtheir Stockport premises. However,National Rail Enquiries own theintellectual property rights of thesystem and the programming code.Other specialist firms are used byThales when the need arises. Such isthe pace of change that a new releaseis being issued every 4 months.
Darwin runs in a live/liveconfiguration from two data centres inthe north of England, each site being aduplicate of the other and linkedtogether by different commercialtelecom providers. Should one site fail,the other has the capacity to operatethe entire system. The NRCC (NationalRail Communication Centre), located atDoncaster, is responsible formonitoring the quality of data withinDarwin. They can give valuableassistance to the TOC control roomsshould they need help in keepingDarwin up to date with high levels ofoperational decisions during severedisruption.
Impact on Station BasedInformation Displays
Automated provision of passengerinformation systems at stations hasbeen around for more than 30 yearsbut often suffered from the accuracyof the data that was used to drive thedisplays. The former Southern Region
Agant iPhone presentation of DarwinWeb Services showing service details.
14 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
of BR pioneered a system to actuatedisplays and announcements from atimetable data source but it was foundnecessary to have a dedicated team at theWaterloo HQ to amend the data so as tocover special workings, weekendengineering work, diversions and platformchanges. Gradually this system wasexpanded to all busy areas of the nationalrail network and was improved over timeby the many suppliers now offeringproducts in this field. However, if disruptionoccurs and the planned timetabledeteriorates, the system quickly fails tocope, with the result that much misleading(or even wrong) information is posted todisplays causing mild humour at best andridicule at worst.
Using Darwin data to provide a real timeupdating of station information systems wasa natural progression and a trial has recentlystarted at 17 Virgin stations on the WestCoast Main Line, including majorinterchange points such as Crewe, Prestonand Birmingham International. This has beendone in co-operation with Amey who werethe original providers of the station CISequipment and who link the station systemstogether with an independent data network.
It is not the intention that any station CISsystem connected to the Darwin data sourcewould need a hardware upgrade. Somemodification to the data provision routineswill be necessary, which Thales will provideas part of their Darwin contract. The Virginstations trial has been operational for nearly2 months and it is calculated that theaccuracy of the displayed information hasimproved to 99%.
Usage and Future PlansStatistics for general rail enquiries are
illuminating. In 2002 there were 62 milliontrain enquiries made to National RailEnquiries primarily by telephone. In 2010,there were 250 million but less than 5% ofthese was by phone. The increasing relianceon data sources tells its own tale.Information has therefore to be provided tocater for business and public data accessingand more than 180 licences have beengranted for the receipt of Darwin outputs. 30of these are mobile phone suppliers - usedmainly for iPhone, Android and Blackberrycustomers - with a small charge being madefor every user application. An average useraccesses the system twice a day, mainly tocheck how a particular train service is
running. Web sites such as Twitter andbroadcasters (BBC and ITV) also receive thedata for onward transmission as do sometravel agents. More licences are beinggranted all the time.
Rolling out Darwin data to station CISsystems nationally is a longer term project.A phase 2 rollout to 1900 stations is seekingfunding later this year with a 2 to 3 yearimplementation. This will include the majorstations that are managed by Network Rail.Getting real time train positioning data isstill a problem on lines not provided withtrain describers and equipping trains withGPS receivers is being investigated as apossible solution.
Darwin is seen as a major step forward inboth the quantity and accuracy of trainrunning information on offer for publicconsumption. It will interface with varioustypes of communication media as well asimproving the displayed information atstations. At a time when certain sectionsof the media find rail transport an easytarget for criticism, the work being doneby the industry through Darwin will go along way to dispelling the perception thattrain service information is ofteninadequate.
Agant iPhonepresentation of
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Departures atNottingham.
Agant iPhonepresentation ofDarwin Web Services:Departures at StPancras.
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222 222
16 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
n the south bank of the Thames,opposite Victoria station, sits the
sprawling, disused site that houses the well-known landmark Battersea Power Station.Alongside is the smaller but just as wellknown Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.
Between the two are the Up and DownFast and Reversible lines to Chatham fromVictoria that pass over the Batterseareversible line, the Up Stewarts Lane lineand two sidings. The structure that carriesthe Chatham lines over the others is knownas the Brighton Goods Bridge No. 6. Thebridge is an impressive and complex fivespan intersection bridge with skews thatvary from span to span.
The bridge was constructed in 1913, justbefore the First World War. The constructionof the deck for each span consists of wrought
iron longitudinal girders, cross girders andrail bearers. The up and Down Chatham linesare both supported on cross-sleepered trackon longitudinal timbers, whereas thereversible line runs on wheel timbers.
Major investment The longitudinal girders span between
padstones supported by brick piers andmasonry abutments. The main girders arediscontinuous over the intermediate piersallowing each span to behaveindependently. The structure is hemmed in
O
Collin Carrw r i t e r
Span 5 basereinforcementinstallation.
BRID
GE within a
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 17feature
by the Dogs’ Home and the power stationand although there have been many falsestarts with schemes to rejuvenate the powerstation site, there is now a growing certaintythat a new £5.5 billion scheme will transformthe location. The underlying concern forNetwork Rail is that if the schemeprogresses, access to their Brighton GoodsBridge No. 6 is likely to become even moredifficult so now is the ideal time to carry outany remedial work that may be necessary.
For many years, structures with timberdecking and wheel timbers have createdsignificant challenges for the maintenanceteams involved. Previous assessmentsundertaken by Atkins Rail in 2004 concludedthat the structure was generally sound butthat the cross girders limited the routeavailability of the structure. Network Rail haddecided that at such an important location,any new structure would have to complywith full RU loading. Therefore, knowing thattrain disruption had to be kept to anabsolute minimum, Tony Gee & Partners,design consultants, prepared variouspreliminary schemes for Network Rail toachieve this objective. Subsequently, theseschemes have been developed into moredetailed options by the current designer,Mott MacDonald, and BAM Nuttall has beeninvited to undertake this project as part oftheir 5 year Framework Contract withNetwork Rail. The work is valued atapproximately £7.6m.
Christmas blockadeThe innovative design that was chosen
included the need for regular weekendpossessions and sequential blockades of therail filled Spans (3, 2 and 1) leading up toChristmas 2011 and then, from ChristmasEve, a 9 day blockade, closing all lines for 3days and then the top three Chatham linesfor a further 6 days. Work started on site inthe spring of this year and there arecurrently about 50 operatives working dayshifts, 7 days a week. From the start ofAugust the workforce will double and thesite will become operational round theclock, increasing the momentum of activitythat will continue right up to the Christmasblockade.
Animal welfareHowever, before any real engineering work
could start, a significant number of dogkennels, exercise areas and recognised dogwalking routes had to be relocated. Twoweekly liaison meetings were organised withthe Dogs’ Home to ensure that the walking
routes for the dogs were realigned well inadvance. A cattery had to be relocated aswell and buildings demolished, and anumber of health & safety issues had to beaddressed relating to the proximity of theanimals. Contaminated ground conditions,created by man as well as animals, had to bemanaged, a “super highway” constructed fora cluster of important and potentiallydangerous cables, and an ordnance surveyundertaken to ensure that there were nonasty surprises still lurking around fromWW2.
Concrete Box designThe design chosen is interesting and
demands a significant level of site ingenuity.An in-situ reinforced concrete box will beconstructed in each span with the top at thelevel of the soffit of the existingsuperstructure. These concrete boxstructures will be different for each of the fiveunique and individual spans and must becompleted before the Christmas blockade.
The new reinforced concrete boxes aredesigned to carry the required rail loading sowhen the existing superstructure isremoved, no additional strengthening isrequired. This removal will take place duringthe Christmas blockade using a large mobilecrane. The newly exposed top face of theconcrete box girder that this will reveal willthen be made waterproof. A suitabledrainage system will need to be installedand 3,000 tonnes of new ballast imported byan end discharging ballast train provided byNetwork Rail. New track will be laid acrossthe five spans for all 3 lines, top ballastplaced and the track aligned, stressed andtamped ready for the demanding post-Christmas timetable.
That all sounds quite straight forward,but the tricky bit is how do you create astructure from concrete in-situ, within a
bridge, whilst avoiding too muchdisruption? This is where the on-site skillsof the site team have been tested. Theproject has identified five key milestonesleading up to the Christmas blockade, onefor each span. Span 4 cuts across part ofthe Dogs’ Home so, as there is no railwayunder the bridge, this span was used to tryout the proposed method of working andbecame the first milestone. This wasfollowed by Span 5 which was in progresswhen this article was written. Spans 3, 2then 1, are programmed for September toDecember.
Method of workingConcrete was poured to form the base slab
to span 4 in March this year, followed by theconstruction of the side walls. A polythenemembrane was inserted between theexisting abutments and piers and the newconcrete forming the walls to enable them toact independently.
Reinforcement couplers were cast into thewalls approximately a metre below the soffitof the existing superstructure. These weredesigned to receive the connectingreinforcement bars that would extend downvertically from the top slab of the box girder.So far, it was all relatively straight forward.The real challenge was how to construct thetop section of the concrete box to enable itto fit directly below the soffit of the existingsuperstructure whilst minimising disruptionto trains.
Bob Snow, Project Manager BAM Nuttall,explained to me how they addressed thischallenge. With the invaluable assistance oftheir sub-contractor Kilnbridge ConstructionServices, and especially their Pre Construction& Engineering Manager, Plamen Petkov, threetables were constructed onto which asubstantial 32mm diameter reinforcementframework was fixed to form the top section
of the concrete box. The tables weresupported on trestling so that they were atthe correct required height for installation.
Wheels were fixed to the base of thesupporting trestling and angle rails bolted tothe base of the new concrete box. Then eachtable in turn was moved into its final positionusing Turfers and the reinforcement coupledtogether to form the roof of the concrete box.Intermediate staging enabled the verticalreinforcement to be coupled to the side walls.
The devil is in the detailWe have to remember that no two spans are
the same so the challenge for the Kilnbridgesteel fixing team is substantial and the devil is
definitely in the detail. So far the technique isworking well and during a 24 hr possession ofthe Chatham lines, the timber walkwaydecking was removed exposing thereinforcement, 2 concrete pumps wereinstalled alongside the structure and over an 8hour period a 300 cubic metre concrete pourwas successfully completed. It is proving to bean effective method requiring substantial on-site skills. Only four more spans to go!
In times gone by, the area around the powerstation was used as a water treatment plant sothe ground conditions are a little suspect,especially around spans 1 and 2. Four pilingrigs have been brought to site to be operatedby Keller Geotechnique. They will install over
150 reinforced concrete piles over 12 weeksduring weekend possessions to strengthenthe existing ground foundation within thespans. The piles will vary from 300 to 450mmdiameter and will be founded into Londonclay ranging from 18-22m below ground level.
The work so far is going well. Thetechnique they are using to cast a bridgewithin a bridge, five times, is proving sound.The plan is to ramp up to round the clockworking so that everything will be ready forChristmas when the old five spansuperstructure is removed.
The train operating companies involvedunderstand and support the overall plan.The dogs and cats appear to be takingeverything in their stride and there is noevidence of stray paw marks in newly castconcrete. It is estimated that a total of 1,100tonnes of reinforcement and 4,500 cubicmetres of concrete will be used. There will beballasted track in place which will be mucheasier to maintain. The structure will haveadequate clearances and walkways toprovide a safer environment.
By the New Year, trains will be running overthe reconstructed Brighton Goods Bridge No6 and Battersea’s famous animal residentswill no longer have their walks interrupted.
Turnback siding lifted prior to connectionwith track on new curved alignment.
Clipping upnew track.
20 | the rail engineer | september 2011
David Shirresw r i t e r
cotland’s new Borders Railway willconnect Edinburgh with
Tweedbank, near Galashiels. It will runfor around 30 miles, largely over thecourse of the old twin-track Waverleyline that ran between Edinburgh andCarlisle and closed in 1969. New track
will be laid on the old trackbed, largelyas a single-track railway with passingloops, commencing early in 2012 andwith trains running in 2014.
As reported in the rail engineer issue78 (April 2011), the newly rebuiltrailway will connect to the existingNetwork Rail system just beyondNewcraighall station. This is currently aterminus providing a Park and Rideservice close to the Fort KinnairdShopping Park, 4.5 miles SE ofEdinburgh. Normally trains reverse atthe station, but when station dwell-times conflict with freight trainmovements at the adjacent Millerhillfreight depot a turnback siding is used,typically four times a day.
RealignmentNetwork Rail’s Borders Rail
connection project was to re-align this300 metre turnback siding along theBorders Rail centre-line converting itfrom a straight siding to one with a 300metre radius curve. As the realignmenttakes the siding onto land not ownedby Network Rail, Transport Scotland hasarranged for ownership of part of theland acquired by the Borders Railproject to be transferred over toaccommodate the siding.
Transport Scotland’s delivery strategyfor the new Borders Railway is a Design,Build, Finance and Maintain contract.As a result the operation andmaintenance of the Borders Railwayinfrastructure will be undertaken bythe construction consortium ratherthan Network Rail. For this reasonTransport Scotland require theinterface with Network Rail to be asstraightforward as possible. NetworkRail’s project achieves this by laying 30metres of track beyond the existing
boundary and placing the buffer stopsexactly on that boundary. The BordersRailway contractor can then make a railconnection without impacting onNetwork Rail infrastructure.
UncomplicatedSandy Tuckerman, Network Rail’s
sponsor for the project, seems almostsurprised about how uncomplicatedthis project has been. There were noissues with weather, access, neighboursor the operational railway, and thecontractor, Colas Rail, did a good job.Sandy explained that the project is aTransport Scotland requirement basedon Scott Wilson’s reference design forthe Border Railway project. However asthat design did not quite meet GRIPstage 4 requirements, Scott Wilson wasawarded a small contract to develop itto GRIP 4 so that a Design and Buildcontract could be let. This contract waslet to Colas Rail in December 2010 forabout £720k. Colas’ finalised design toGRIP stage 5 included passive provisionfor a double track junction, moving asignal and OLE mast, and vehicleincursion mitigation measures on abridge above the siding. The latter isrequired as the siding is now tobecome a passenger railway. Colas sub-contracted civil design work to MLMConsulting Engineers.
Work started on site in February.Colas’ first work was vegetationclearance both along the newalignment and of an adjacent largeopen area to provide working space.Originally it was envisaged that accessto the site would require theconstruction of a steep temporaryaccess road. However this was notnecessary as DB Schenker, the project’sonly neighbour, agreed that the site
S
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following inspection and Form B design services for
could be accessed through their depot.DB Schenker also made available aderelict building which was repaired toprovide site accommodation andwelfare facilities.
28 hoursAs the turnback siding had to be kept
operational, all work affecting theexisting railway infrastructure was doneduring a single 28 hour possession atthe end of May. Prior to this curvedtrack on the new alignment, consistingof CWR CEN56E1 rail on 560H steelsleepers with check rails, was laid on theland adjacent to the siding. During thepossession this new track wasconnected to a point about halfwaydown the existing siding and the firsthalf of the siding was slewed to alignwith the new curved track.
The signal and OLE mast were alsomoved during this possession withsignal installation and testing sub-contracted to NRL Ltd. This signal allows
trains to reverse beyond the junctionentirely on Network Rail controlledinfrastructure, thus retaining the currentturnback facility which Network Railconsider may be necessary in the eventof disruption on the new BordersRailway. The vehicle incursion mitigationwork on the overbridge, raising curbsand painting handrails, was undertakenby the VGC group.
Work was completed on the projectat the end of May, four months beforethe planned September completiondate, at a total cost of just over£1million, £0.5 less than budget. Thiswas perhaps a reflection on the projectnot having to face any of the difficultiesassociated with most railway projects.But then why shouldn’t hard pressedproject teams occasionally get astraightforward project? Trouble-freethis project may have been, but with itscompletion the stage is now set for theconstruction of the remaining 48.7 kmof the Borders Railway.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 21feature
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Future Rail’s Flash Butt Welding Machine in action.
he Infrastructure Show (NEC,Birmingham, 17-19 October) will offer
visitors a fresh insight into today’s major railinfrastructure projects. There will be anopportunity to understand how theseschemes are managed to reduceenvironmental impact while still meetingspending targets. And, of course, there willbe the chance to see the latest product andsystem innovations in the sector.
A major highlight of the show will be itssector-focused hubs and Keynote Theatre.These will feature expert speakers fromNetwork Rail, Crossrail, HS2, LondonUnderground and others in a series of free-to-attend talks. The Rail Hub will also providea forum for visitors to meet with specialistsuppliers and manufacturers and see majorproject updates from the biggest clients.
The Rail Hub’s Crossrail Focus Day will takeplace on Monday 17 October. Lee Davies,Costain’s Rail Contracts Director, will offer asupplier’s perspective on the project and
Martin Rowark, Crossrail’s Head ofProcurement, will discuss procurementissues. In the afternoon Daniel Evans,Contracts Manager at Maccaferri, will host apanel debate looking at partnercollaboration and innovation.
Tuesday 18 October is designated NetworkRail Focus Day. Chaired by the rail engineer’seditor, Grahame Taylor, seminars will seeMark Prior, Head of Transportation at ECHarris, speak on Managing Cost and TomSmith, Chairman, Association of TrainOperating Companies (ATOC), will give hisviews on how will things change under arestructured Network Rail. Other talks on
this day will see Network Rail presentersdiscuss sustainability and value for moneyissues whilst Dr David Cheer, RockfallMitigation Specialist at Maccaferri, will telldelegates how the innovative use ofmaterials can create durable, value formoney construction without incurringadditional project risk.
A highlight of the Keynote Theatreprogramme takes place at 10:00 on Monday17 October with Mike Ashley, Head ofStations at London Underground, takingpart in a Leaders Panel alongside Steve Fox,Chief Executive at BAM Nuttall and RichardCoakley, Vice President of the ICE. They willdiscuss how best to deliver majorinfrastructure in the UK.
In the same theatre on Tuesday, AndrewMcNaughton, Chief Engineer at HS2, willanswer the question, ‘How will High SpeedRail 2 shape the future of rail constructionand travel in the UK?’.
A diverse range of leading sector suppliersand manufacturers showcasing the latestproduct innovations will also be attendingThe Infrastructure Show. Among the majorexhibitors already confirmed for the eventare ACO Technologies, Cleshar ContractServices, Costain, CPM Group, CU PhoscoLighting, JCB, Peri Ltd, Severn Trent Services,Vinci Construction UK, Korec, Kosran, RMDKwikform, Tony Gee & Partners and Topcon.
A full exhibitor list and registration detailsare available from www.infrastructure-show.com.
T
22 | the rail engineer | september 2011 infrastructure show
Make tracks to
w www.infrastructure-show.com
The Infrastructure Show
Izumi Products UK
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 23infrastructure show
Izumi Products UK Ltd offers you
the widest selection of high quality
hydraulic compression, crimping
and cutting tools, cable cutters and
hydraulic pumps for the
Transmission and Distribution,
Telecoms and General Industrial
Markets.
We manufacture quality products backed by quality service
that supports our customer’s needs.
Tel: 01388 777 132
www.izumi-products.co.uk
Although predominantly serving the
Electricity Supply Industry, we also
supply:
• The Railways
• Private electrical engineering
companies
• Offshore oil companies
• Wholesalers to electrical
contractors
zumi Products UK Ltd. wasformed in 1995 by three
electrical distribution engineerswith experience in the electricityconstruction industry in the UK &South Africa. The Company isassociated with the Izumi ProductsCompany of Japan, as well as othermanufacturers in Japan, U.S.A andSouth Africa.
Izumi Products Company hasover 60 years experience in themanufacture of innovative precisionhydraulic tools for the ElectricityDistribution Construction Industryworld-wide. In that time it hasdeveloped a global reputationthroughout the power industry as areliable manufacturer of hydraulicequipment and tools. Since 1962,Izumi has pioneered thedevelopment of wire connectingand cutting tools, as well as manyother related products, showing anunsurpassed quality and range ofproducts.
Product developmentAs a result of its own development
and associated companies, IzumiProducts UK Ltd. offers a wide rangeof compression and bolt-downfittings, steel hardware andhydraulic tools to suit every type ofsystem in use today. Connectorscover voltages from LV to EHV and
are suitable forswitchgear andtransformers as well asaluminium or copper overhead linesystems. Friction-welded fittings areavailable where copper andaluminium systems meet.
Hydraulic cable and stay cutters runfrom 20mm - 130mm diameter, withsingle and double acting hydrauliccrimping tools from 5 - 200 tonnes.Single and double-acting hydraulicpumps with various drives areavailable as well as standard andnon-conductive hydraulic hose andcouplings, all specially designed foruse in the electricity distributionindustry. Izumi specialise in workingwith customers to develop newproducts to match their changingneeds.
Izumi can also supply a widerange of products used in theconstruction of overhead powerlines including winches,puller/tensioners, lifting structures,ladders, conductor pulling clamps,radial clamps, cable socks,conductor pulleys and stringingblocks, galvanized steel wire anti-twist rope, working platforms,meter counting devices,dynamometers, tirfors, lifting hoists,swivels, conductor strand strippersand insulated operating rods.
IShay MurtaghPrecast
hay Murtagh Precast is theleader in the manufacture of
precast, pre-stressed and post-tensioned concrete products in theUK and Ireland. Supplying bridgebeams, culverts, retaining walls,liftshafts and bespoke products, thecompany is also seen as an industryspecialist in the manufacture andconstruction of concrete tanks.Already supplying leadingcontractors with products for Rail,Highways and Utilities, ShayMurtagh’s complete package ofdesign, manufacture and deliverygives the client a full service withclarity, efficiency and quality ofproduct.
Value engineeringis a cornerstone of thecompany and it strives to giveclients the most economical, efficientand durable design. Having earlierthis year published the Bridge BeamTechnical Manual to EuroCodes, ShayMurtagh Precast also provides an in-house service of design to EuroCodesfor culverts and other products.
Regular exhibitors at theInfrastructure Show, the ShayMurtagh Precast team will be onhand to discuss up-coming and on-going projects. There will also bepaper and electronic copies of theBridge Beam Technical Manualavailable at the stand.
S
RA16Stand
3A830
Stand
Monday 17 October 2011 CROSSRAIL FOCUS DAY
Chairman: Nigel Wordsworth, Publications Manager, the rail engineer
10:00 Crossrail – the progress and prioritiesAndy Mitchell, Programme Director, Crossrail
11:00 Delivering value from Crossrail ProcurementMartin Rowark, Head of Procurement, Crossrail
14:00 Minimising the environmental impact of CrossrailRob Paris, Head of Planning, Environment & Transport, CrossrailMike de Silva, Sustainability Manager, Crossrail
15:00 Partner collaboration and innovation discussionHow can collaboration help to further cut costs? What can be learned from other projects?Daniel Evans, UK Contracts Manager – UK – Ireland, Maccaferri
Tuesday18 October 2011 NETWORK RAIL FOCUS DAY
Chairman: Grahame Taylor, Editor, the rail engineer
10:00 The outlook from ATOC – how will things change under a restructured Network Rail?Tom Smith, Chairman, ATOC
10:30 Delivering innovation and ensuring value for money at NetworkRailSteve Yianni, Director of Engineering, Network Rail
11:00 Managing cost – how can the supply chain work more closely with clients to ensure that unnecessary costs are eliminated?Mark Prior, Partner, Head of Transportation, EC Harris
12:00 How can we continue to ensure that UK rail offers good value, reliable services, without compromising safety?Paul McMahon, Deputy Director, Railway Markets & Economics, Office of Rail Regulation
13:00 Reducing the cost of track renewals delivery across the south eastMick Rayner, Head of Mainline Operations, Balfour Beatty
14:00 Supply chain arrangements and partnering with Network Rail – what has changed and where we’re heading Ian Ballantine, Head of Procurement and Contracts, Network Rail
15:00 Case study presentation – how can innovative use of materials create durable, value for money construction without incurring additional project risk?David Cheer, Rockfall Mitigation Specialist, Maccaferri
The Infrastructure Show 2011 - Rail Hub presentations
he development and upgrade ofthe UK railway network continues
as major infrastructure projects such asCrossrail and the electrification of theGreat Western Railway escapedgovernment spending cuts. LondonUnderground works are also ongoingto reduce journey times and handle thepredicted increase in passengernumbers.
Whether the works are overground orunderground, achievingElectromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)continues to be vital in developing asafe and reliable railway. As a leadingprovider of EMC assurance to therailway industry, York EMC Servicescontinues to offer cost-effectivesolutions to prime contractors and sub-contractors alike that allow them tomeet their legal and contractualobligations.
Services, experience and expertise“Determining the most cost-effective
solution to ensure EMC for large,complex infrastructure projects canappear challenging for contractors,”says Nick Wainwright, OperationsDirector of York EMC Services.“However, with YES’s range of services,experience and expertise, we canquickly determine the solutions
available and then work with thecustomer to deliver the preferredsolution in a timely and cost-effectivemanner.”
YES provides EMC consultancy,testing and training for the railwayindustry. Services include thedevelopment of management plans,control plans, hazard studies andcompliance reports as well laboratoryand on-site testing, and the provision ofelectromagnetic site surveys.
YES has recently providedconsultancy and on-sitetesting services formajor projects in theUK, South Africaand Australia.
An established market leader for EMC Consultancy, Testing and Training services.Years of expertise, experience and a solid track record of solving EMC problems and demonstrating EMC for railway projects in the UK and worldwide.
PROVIDING ASSURANCE FOR THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY
AD0006
24 | the rail engineer | september 2011 infrastructure show
York EMC
3A860CStand
accaferri Ltd is the UK subsidiary of theworldwide Maccaferri Industrial Group,
specialising in retaining structures, erosionprotection, rock-fall mitigation embankmentstabilisation and concrete fibre reinforcementtechnology. Renowned as the inventor of theubiquitous wire-basket Gabion, the Companyhas developed hugely over recent years andnow operates over a wide spectrum ofconstruction industry sectors.
Through its Rail and Infrastructure Division,Maccaferri will be showcasing the latestdevelopments in embankmentreinforcement and erosion preventionproducts and highlighting its range of rock-fall mitigation systems for use in tracksideand related applications.
GabionsRecent landmark projects for the Company
include work on the re-opening of theAirdrie to Bathgate link in Scotland, wheremain contractors BAM Nuttall and Carillionmade extensive use of retaining walltechnology from Maccaferri.
Stone filled Gabion retaining walls werebuilt along several sections of the line toallow widening of the rail corridor and tocreate space for the construction of a newstation complex at Caldercruix, midwaybetween Airdrie and Bathgate. Here, Carillionengaged the Company’s specialistinstallation team, Maccaferri Construction toprovide design and build expertise.
The £300 million, 24km long Airdrie toBathgate project was a major investment inScotland’s public transport network and wascompleted in late 2010.
Rock-fall mitigationNear Denby Dale in rural South Yorkshire,
Maccaferri Rock-fall mitigation systems havebeen used in a programme of remedialworks on a 14.0m deep rail cutting byNetwork Rail partnership contractor,Construction Marine Ltd and designers, URSScott Wilson.
Here, weathering over the last 160 yearshas resulted in significant weakening ofthe quarter mile long cutting’s 50 degreesides with consequent risk of instabilityand rock fall onto the line. With block sizestypically in the range of 200 - 600mmdiameter, there was a significantprobability these could cause a derailmentshould they become dislodged andtumble to the line.
The solution was the installation of anetwork of high strength, dynamic rock-fallcatch fences from Maccaferri, comprisingcontinuous, steel-cable mesh panels andenergy dissipaters, stretched betweenarticulated vertical posts. These were placednear the bottom of the slope to preventdebris spilling onto the line.
Top down rope access techniques andnight-time working were used to allowinstallation of the catch fence system whilsttrains were still running. Only limited nighttime possession was required whichreduced the construction costssignificantly.
Fibre-reinforced concreteOn an international scale, Maccaferri has
pioneered the use of concrete fibre-reinforcement technology in the manufactureof pre-cast tunnel lining segments for the railindustry. Fibre reinforcement replacesconventional steel cage reinforcement andsaves time and production costs.
The steel fibres, which are about the sizeand shape of a small paperclip redistribute theforces within the concrete, restraining themechanism of formation and extension ofcracks - literally ‘stitching’ the sides of aforming crack together.
Maccaferri occupies a leading position infibre reinforcement technology in Europe andtheir materials have been used extensively inhigh profile projects including the newBarcelona Metro extension, where fibrereinforced concrete was used to fabricate the7.0m diameter lining segments forunderground tunnels.
M
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 25infrastructure show
Rockfall Mitigation Systems Slope Reinforcement Erosion Protection Basal Platforms Pavement
Reinforcement Construction
Geotechnical Solutions
Maccaferri Type 4 DF Series, Debris Flow Fence
For technical literature packt: 01865 770555e: [email protected]: www.maccaferri.co.uk
Geotechnical design, supply and construction
From concept to completion
30512 Maccaferri Half page Rail Engineering March AD 2011. RFN.indd 1 31/01/2011 09:07
Maccaferri
3A556
Stand
RA19
Stand
26 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
Railways4Bypass1
his is a story about a bypass. However,before you check the front cover to
make sure that this IS the rail engineer andnot the Road Builders Gazette, please beassured that it includes a considerableamount of railway engineering.
The Welsh Government placed a £35million contract in December 2009 for theconstruction of 5.3km of new road takingthe A487 around the towns of Porthmadog,Minffordd and Tremadog in North Wales. Ajoint venture (JV) partnership of BalfourBeatty and Jones Bros Civil Engineering UKwas asked to construct a 7.3m widecarriageway on the flood plain of the RiverGlaslyn to the north of the Cambrian Coastmainline railway.
Along with sub-contractors Balfour BeattyRail and Cleveland Bridge UK, the JV hasbuilt 8 new bridges, a number of smallerstructures and a considerable length ofembankment to create the substructure forthe new road. 450,000m3 of fill, weighingabout 900,000 tonnes has been used on the
project. It was sourced from the adjacentMinffordd Quarry and transported direct tosite by a network of haul routes. As a result,106,000 road wagon movements wereavoided on the existing highway network.
Four railwaysFour different railway lines have been
affected by the work. The obvious one isNetwork Rail’s Cambrian Coast line, the lineof the bypass running close to it over muchof its length. Also involved are theFfestiniog Railway (FR), the Welsh HighlandRailway (WHR) and the Welsh HighlandHeritage Railway (WHHR). The FR is wellknown. The WHR is the relatively newly
restored andreopened heritageline operated by theFR. It runs fromCaernarfon on theroute of the formerWelsh Highland linefor most of its length,but deviates from itat the Porthmadogend to join into theFfestiniog Railway’sPorthmadog Station.The WHHR is aseparate, shorterheritage railway thatoperates on theoriginal line of theWelsh Highlandthrough thePorthmadog area.
The Cambrian Line was the most affectedby the new bypass. 850m had to berealigned by up to 25m onto a newembankment built alongside to make wayfor the new road. A new 3-span viaductcarrying the bypass across the River Glaslynis only about 50m upstream of the railwayriver bridge. In addition, a bailey bridge wasbuilt over the river above the new viaductsite to carry the haul road. Where the roadand rail routes run side-by-side, newbridges and culverts were built beneath theroad connecting with existing equivalentsunder the rail line. Finally, a level crossingproviding the existing road access intoMinffordd Quarry became redundant as thequarry will in future be accessed from thenew bypass.
Shorter routeThe realignment necessitated first the
construction of a new rail embankment,then the laying of new track onto it. Trackinstallation was carried out by Balfour BeattyRail. On 7/8 May this year the line was closedand bus substitution services took overwhilst the existing line was cut and slewedover at each end of the new embankmentand connected to the new tracks. This raisedan unexpected issue, for the JV at least. TheCambrian Line is the site of Network Rail’sERTMS trial, and the new railway is actuallyabout 7m shorter than the old alignment.Network Rail’s signalling team recognisedthe significance of this and updated theERTMS system software for the route beforethe line was reopened after the diversion.
was removed, since, as already mentioned,access to the quarry was to be diverted viathe new bypass.
Nearby, a small drainage culvert passingunder the original railway route had to bereplaced by one under both new road andrail embankments. However, theenvironmental requirements for the sitedictated that a large structure be built withsufficient headroom for bats to fly from oneside to the other, so what was originally aculvert a few hundred millimetres indiameter has now become a significantstructure. Apparently this is not the onlysuch example on the route of the road, andsome culverts are “almost high enough for adouble-deck bus”!
Hydraulic modellingThe Cambrian Line was also affected by
construction works and plant operations inother ways. At the river crossing,construction upstream of the piers of thenew road bridge and of the temporarybailey bridge could have had an effect onthe river bed and the foundations of the railbridge. Network Rail insisted upon hydraulicmodelling before work began, and regularmonitoring of the river bed and rail bridgefoundations throughout the works and aftercompletion, to ensure that there was no riskto their structure. Given the Glanrhyddaccident in the 1980s when 4 people died asthe result of the scouring away of thefoundations of a rail bridge, their concern isunderstandable.
One of the largest crawler cranes in Europewas brought in for the construction of thepermanent river bridges. This 630t monsterwas quite large enough to affect theadjoining railway should there be anymishap during its use, and so detailedmethods of working were agreed withNetwork Rail beforehand. The sameprocedure was adopted elsewhere whencranes or similar plant were to be usedwhere they might affect railsafety.
Ffestiniog Railway A new bridge carries the Ffestiniog Railway
over the new bypass. It was constructedalongside the line on temporary trestles byCleveland Bridge. In January 2011 the JV wasgiven a 4 day line closure by FR duringwhich they built the concrete abutments ofthe new bridge and dug out the “plug” of soilfrom between them. On 7 February the deckwas slid into place on the abutments andwithin a week the complete structure washanded back to FR. Track was relayed overthe bridge while additional
works were carried out on either side,including the remodelling of MinfforddStation and double-tracking through it. Thefirst train crossed the new bridge on 2March, only 6 weeks after the line wasclosed.
The FR gave the JV a great deal of co-operation, including an agreement for atemporary level crossing at Minffordd.Manned by a JV employee who was trainedas a crossing keeper by the FR, this plantcrossing allowed the removal of 10,000m3 ofmaterial, cut out of the existing ground dueto the differential level between the rail andnew road levels, without the use of any
public highways, a great benefit to thelocal population.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 27feature
(top)Launching theBailey bridge overthe river Glaslyn.(middle)Ffestiniog bridgeslide.
Earthworksoperation.
28 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
Welsh HighlandIn contrast, the new
road crosses over theroute of both the WHRand WHHR. A site for thenew bridge was chosenwhere the 2 lines lie closetogether. The structure isa 3-span design, alsofabricated and erected byCleveland Bridge, while itsconcrete substructure was built by the JV.The two railways pass through the bridge’scentre span, the side spans allowing accessfor both the local landowner and for futurehighway maintenance. A temporary levelcrossing over both rail routes wasestablished at the site and the WHHRinsisted on a different approach here fromthat taken by the FR at Minffordd as the linewas to remain open during the works. AWHHR employee was used as crossingkeeper, and gates, traffic lights and atelephone were all provided for his use. Aconcrete slab formed the crossing surface,
and one of the duties of the crossing keeperwas to ensure that the flangeways in thiswere kept clear for the passage of trains.
Environmental mattersThe Environment Agency was heavily
involved in the project, especially regardingthe Glaslyn river crossing, and so were otherenvironmental organisations, archaeologistsand wildlife organisations. All placedconstraints and requirements upon theconstruction team with provisions beingmade for the protection of reptiles, bats,badgers and birds. Virtually the whole of the
site lies in the floodplain of the river andthis too also causedcomplications. Allthese issues, and theneed to liaise with thefour separate railwaycompanies involved,required careful anddetailed pre-construction workplanning andagreements.
Local involvementBoth Balfour Beatty
and Jones Bros arerightly proud of theirliaison with thepublic throughoutthe contract. They
have held regular meetings with localcouncillors to give them advance notice ofworks and established a visitor centre closeto their own offices. This providesinformation about current works and futureplans and is open every working day. Even alarge print of the route map withappropriate captions placed in the windowof a local Tesco has proved popular.
The project team has supported localcharities and allowed the mountain rescueteam to use the visitor centre in theevenings as a training room. They haveconsulted local stakeholders about theappearance of the structures on the road,and have sought the views of the relevantrailway companies about the colour andappearance of the new rail bridges. When,in response to a number of accidents andincidents across the railway network, therewas a local campaign about level crossingsafety, the contractors joined with the FR towork with IoSH and a local organisationcalled “Working Well Together” on a twoday event. It included a practicaldemonstration on FR premises whichhighlighted the real danger to people ofmisusing a level crossing.
The new Porthmadog, Minffordd andTremadog bypass is due to open inDecember 2011. On completion, it willrepresent a true joint venture betweenthe two main contractors and four railwaycompanies. There aren’t many projectslike it….
View of both thebypass andCambrian Linefrom Minfforddquarry.(right) Thetemporary gatedconcrete crossingfor both the WHRand the WHHR.
A visit by the thenDeputy FirstMinister IeuanWyn Jones.
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s trains become more and moresophisticated, the hidden systems
inside them become ever more complicated.Nowhere is this more evident than in theever-increasing power supply requirements.With both AC and DC bus bars, and high andlow voltage power take-offs, it is extremelycomplex, even a nightmare!
It’s not surprising that the trainmanufacturers leave their power supplysolutions to a small number of specialistcompanies. So the chances are that, whenyou sit down on your high speed train,intercity train, regional railway or metrosystem, somewhere on board the power isbeing provided by global power supplycompany Powerbox.
PowerboxEstablished in Sweden over 37 years ago in
1974 and now represented in over 16countries including Europe, US, Asia &Australia, this leading power supplier iskeeping the railways running on a dailybasis. Their main products are AC/DC, DC/DCand DC/AC power convertors but their unitscan be found throughout the train.
At the front, they will be in the headlampsand wiper units. In the driver’s cab theypower displays, adjustable seats and on-board communication systems. Then there isthe actual propulsion unit of the train itselfwhere one will find Powerbox products inthe IGBT (Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor)control, braking systems and on-boardcomputers as well as the battery chargingand system power generation areas.
Even microwaves need powerBut that is not all. In the buffet they will be
providing power for microwaves, coffeemaking machines, cash registers, fridgesand chillers. There are power solutions fortoilets and internal doors as well as obviousapplications such as lighting.
As Train Operating Companies give theirpassengers more added-value, so therequirement for electrical power increases.Warren Venn, UK Sales Engineer forPowerbox, explains. “We started to see aninflux a few years ago with not just first classseating having carriages with powerprovided to their seats but with it beingfitted as standard throughout most intercityoperators. If you take Virgin’s Pendolino onthe West Coast Main Line, or ChilternRailways Bombardier Class 172s, more andmore trains have seating fitted with ACpower for laptops, phone chargers, etc. Onsome of the longer distances in the UKcertain carriages are even fitted with in-seatentertainment systems.” And all thosefacilities need power.
Shine a lightThe change to LED lighting from
standard filament or fluorescent typeshasn’t reached all rolling stock yet,although some companies are stillassessing it, but as carriages arerefurbished then the lower-power LEDs arebeing fitted. Although they use less power,
A
30 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
Powerin boxes
they still use it, and it’s a different form ofpower than the original designs. So it ismore work for Powerbox.
Even with similar trains built orrefurbished for different operators, powerrequirements vary. The first phase of anyproject Powerbox work on is to assessexactly what the client is looking for interms of reliability and deliverability. Withrolling stock life being extended all thetime, components have to last longer andbe adaptable to constant changes.Operators and leasing companies expectproducts to have a certain lifetimeguarantee. But as more and more train
operatingcompanies andmanufacturers are signingcontracts for supply and service of the trainsfor 25 or 30 years, as is the case in the recentThameslink contract, they want to knowthat not only have they got a product thatwill last the distance but that the companybehind the product will be there to supportthem.
Not just trainsThe new Thameslink and Crossrail
contracts, plus new trains for the electrifiedGreat Western and Liverpool to Manchesterlines, can only mean more business forcompanies such as Powerbox. However,rolling stock is just one side of their business.There are also applications on theInfrastructure and in and around stationsthat need similar power supplies, such as therecent developments in modular signalling.
Powerbox is also involved with a powersystem to supply trackside equipment in allareas of the UK. Their figures suggest thatthe new technology could save Network Railup to 30%.
The new unitsare AC-DC with a powerrange from 100Watts upto 2kW built within a 19”rack system which isfitted trackside with 24Vand 120V outputs. Theentire system isintended to be installed,maintained, repairedand eventuallydecommissioned in theminimum possible time.It must have the provision to bequickly and easily repaired orreplaced and this will beachieved by use of plug-incomponents or groups ofcomponents.
So next time you see ahighly-complicatedsystem, whether it be ashiny new train or asophisticated signallingsystem, you can bet thatthere will be a Powerboxlabel inside itsomewhere.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 31feature
Powerbox alsomanufacturespower systems fortracksideequipment.
32 | the rail engineer | september 2011 signalling & telecoms
ssue 81 (July 2011) of the rail engineerfeatured a report by Stuart Marsh on
the Hickleton and Moorthorpe signallingrenewals scheme between Sheffield andLeeds. Invensys successfully resignalled theareas of Hickleton, Moorthorpe Station andSouth Kirby (representing around elevenand a half miles of track , a large proportionof which is bi-directional). The Type BNetwork Rail project covered 52 SignallingEquivalent Units and saw the transfer ofboth the Moorthorpe and Hickletonsignalling control areas to a new WESTLOCKcomputer-based interlocking at York IECC,as well as lineside renewals and theinstallation of a number of new RelocatableEquipment Buildings and Location Cases.The completed project was commissionedat the end of May.
In his report, Stuart commented that thearea had become a hotspot for cable theft,and even stated “And it’s not just cables -the signal box at Moorthorpe has beenburgled several times.”
Fire!The ink was hardly dry on that article
when, on Thursday 21 July, vandals struckand set fire to a location case atHickleton. At 22:50 the loss of three SSImodules was reported by Network Rail,the cause being identified as a fire atlocation case 24/33. An immediateassessment was made of the extent of
the damage, resulting in the case beingdeemed to be beyond repair.
At 05:00 on Friday 22 July Invensys Railwas notified of the damage, with NetworkRail requesting that the company mobiliseas quickly as possible to replace thedestroyed location case. Following the lossof the case, trains had to be stopped andcautioned leading to inevitable delays.
Recovery planA recovery plan was agreed at 12:00 on
Friday, with Invensys Rail undertaking tomanufacture, supply, test, install andcommission the replacement location case,with the Infrastructure MaintenanceDelivery Manager (IMDM) at Sheffieldtaking responsibility for clearing the siteand preparing it for the arrival of thereplacement case. The team agreed thatthe new case would be commissioned intime for the railway to return to normaloperational service by 06:00 on Tuesday26th July - allowing just 90 hours to deliverthe project.
To help expedite the process and ensureclear lines of communication between allparties, a small project team wasassembled with key members fromNetwork Rail, Invensys Rail and IMDM. Anemail chain was established to provideeach member of the team with regularprogress updates against the agreed plan.
I
Arson
Delivery • Partnership • InnovationObviously a winning combination
Find out how we can help you succeed, visit www.invensysrail.com or call 01249 441441
Proud to be Network Rail’s Supplier of the Year 2011
Network Rail’s
Supplier of the YearInvensys Rail has been named as Network Rail’s Supplier of the Year. We’re delighted to have our commitment to customers recognised in this way.
In the face of such a challengingschedule, the team welcomed one pieceof good news - the fact that an on-siteinspection had established that the tailcables were undamaged (having beenaway from the heat of the fire) and sowere capable of being re-used. A further16 cables were tested and removed, aswas the damaged location case, inpreparation for its replacement. All thiswork was carried out in a ‘rules of theroute’ possession to avoid furtherdisruption.
A temporary 650v generator was deliveredto site, with a Network Rail IncidentResponse vehicle used as a site office.
Two teamsIn the meantime, Invensys Rail had
mobilised two teams to manage theproject. At its manufacturing plant inChippenham, the company’s pre-wireteam were working around the clock toprepare a replacement location case fordespatch to site, whilst in York, a projectteam was assembled at the company’sregional office to manage the logistics ofthe installation, testing andcommissioning.
Just 72 hours from the initial projectmeeting, the replacement location case leftChippenham, with a factory test certificate,for delivery to site at 20:00 on Monday 24July. By 21:30 all of the tail cables werewired back up and a disruptive possessionwas agreed from 22:00 to allow testingwork to take place.
Signalling was then handed back to YorkIECC at 04:45 on Tuesday 25 July, over anhour earlier than planned and just over 100hours since the arson attack itself. In total,the incident generated 1,350 minutes ofdelay every 24 hours up to and includingthe time when it was returned to service.
ExtraordinaryCommenting on this extraordinary
project, Network Rails’ Programme Managerfor LNE, Rod Moorcroft said: “We are simplydelighted, and couldn’t have done thiswithout Invensys Rail. The combined projectteam, including Network Rail maintenanceand investment staff as well as ourcolleagues at Invensys Rail and IMDM, wasabsolutely determined to achieve a speedyrestoration of normal signalling. I am verygrateful to all those who put in additionalhours over a weekend and Monday night inorder to get this job done in a very quicktime indeed. The dedication of all of the staffreally showed and there was an air of quietdetermination on site on Monday night asthe location was lowered into place!”
Echoing Rod’s comments, Invensys Rail’sProject Delivery Director, Rob Cairns, said:“Having only recently been awarded theaccolade of Network Rail’s Supplier of theYear for 2011, this project reallydemonstrated our commitment anddetermination to meet Network Rail’s needs,however challenging the circumstances.There was a great spirit amongst the wholeproject team, which helped deliver such anoutstanding performance”.
34 | the rail engineer | september 2011 signalling & telecoms
Timeline
Thursday 21 July22:50
• Location case 24/33 suffers arson attack
Friday 22 July05:00
• Invensys Rail notified of the urgentneed to replace the entire location case12:00
• Plan created and agreed • Parts required for recovery phase
assembled • Resources identified and assigned• 650V test plan agreed• Site security arranged from 22:00 Friday
to 10:00 Tuesday• Signalling signed out of use on RT3187
22:00• Site security cover begins • Site prepared for delivery of generator• Incident van moved to site
Saturday 23rd July00:01
• Sign into possession at 00:01 • Disconnect and Lock off 650V
Signalling Supply • Disconnect power cables • Deliver Generator to site • Lock off supplies to and from Location
24/33• Test three core power cables • Connect generator at Hickleton HABD
24/39 towards Bolton on Dearne• Reconnect power towards 24/04 • Identify each of the tail cables • Controlled disconnection of four data
link and ten tail cables• Insulation and continuity test four data
link and ten tail cables • Disconnect MET • Bag up all cables• Prepare Location for lifting • Tidy site
07:45• Possession given up
Sunday 24th July• Complete any outstanding testing
Monday 25th July09:00
• Old Location case removed 12:00
• New location case leaves Chippenham• Site passed across to Invensys Rail
20:00• Replacement location case delivered to
site21:30
• Installation complete22:00
• Disruptive possession to allow testing
Tuesday 26th July 04:45
• Signalling handed back to York IECC• Tidy site • Recover incident van, toilets etc.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 35signalling & telecoms
WeOS
Back tocopperhe information revolution on Britain’srailways places increasing demands on
communications networks. By design, astandard Ethernet network has a transmissionlimit of 100 metres (328 ft) over UTP(Unshielded Twisted Pair) copper cables. Toimprove capacity, these are being replaced bymore modern fibre-optic cables capable ofpassing more data over longer distances.However, this is an expensive process. It alsooften leaves behind the redundant coppercables which are now either unused or hostone or two legacy circuits.
New rangeSo a new range of equipment from
Swedish telecommunications specialistsWestermo could be especially useful. Knownas Ethernet Extenders, they can transmitdata at rates of up to 15.3 Mbit/s over anoperating distance of as much as 10 km (6.2miles) over the existing copper cables. Inpractical applications however much greaterdistances have been achieved. Previouslyinstalled cables, for example a localtelephone network, old RS-485 network orpilot cables can be reutilised. Speed anddistance have been tested at an accreditedtest house using different cables and withand without simulated noise.
Threewolverines
Three models in theWestermo Wolverine range havenow been approved for use on theNetwork Rail communications infrastructure.The entry-level DDW-120 is a simple stand-alone unit for point-to-point applicationsneeding only DIP switches for networkconfiguration.
Next model up in the range is the DDW-220 which has two SHDSL interfaces. Theseallow this unit to be used to create a daisy-chain network with a pair of DDW-120s asthe terminators and DDW-220s spacedalong the chain. The DDW-220 can also beused in multidrop applications providing 4Ethernet ports at each point and can beused with no configuration, but can bemanaged if necessary using web screens orSNMP.
Top of the range DDW-222 is officiallytermed a “Legacy Serial Redundant RingEthernet Extender”. This means that, as wellas functioning in the same way as a DDW-220, this model allows the cables of existingserial networks to be reused to create anEthernet network while still allowing legacyserial devices to function on the newnetwork.
Harshenvironments
All threeWolverinemodels havebeen designedto operate intracksideenvironments. Theunits have been testedto EN 50121-4 and canoperate in extremetemperature ranges (-40 to +70 C). Theyhave been used globally on tracksidesystems benefiting from TBUs (transientblocking units) to ensure reliable operationeven while large transients are interferingwith the transmission lines, caused bylightning or high voltage switching.
Westermo Wolverine systems are soon tobe installed by Network Rail to provide extracapacity using old copper cables that wouldotherwise be redundant. That is, assumingno-one steals the copper.....
T
Three models in theWestermo Wolverinerange have nowbeen approved foruse on the NetworkRail communicationsinfrastructure.
36 | the rail engineer | september 2011 signalling & telecoms
on HS1urostar trains have operated on HighSpeed 1 (HS1) since 2003 and
passenger operator Southeastern began itshigh-speed services using Class 395 trains in2009. The original Channel Tunnel Rail LinkAct of 1996 required that HS1 should be ableto accommodate future freight traffic, sopassing loops were designed into thesystem to allow slower running trains to beovertaken by faster ones. HS1 Ltd has alwaysbeen eager to open its asset to freight trainsand has actively promoted its benefits tofreight operating companies, particularlythose wishing to deliver time-criticalcommodities to their customers that canmake effective use of spare capacity on thehigh-speed line.
Yet, to enable freight, including largergauge freight trains that currently operate inEurope, to travel to the UK, line owner anddeveloper HS1 Ltd had to ensure that theywere fully equipped with the requisitesafety-critical on-board signalling systemthat could operate over the route. Workingfor HS1 Ltd, the high-speed rail engineeringconsultancy SYSTRA led an internationalteam of engineers from freight operator DBSchenker Rail, signalling system supplierAnsaldo STS and the engineering division ofSNCF to make the modifications to enablethe Class 92 locomotives to operate on HS1.The development was financially supportedby the European Commission’s Marco PoloProgramme, which aims to free Europe’sroads of an annual 20 billion tonne-kmvolume of freight, the equivalent of around700,000 trucks per year.
HS1 signalling systemHS1 is a double track line, which was built
in two sections. The Channel Tunnel toSouthfleet section has a prevailing line speedof 300km/h and the section from Southfleetto St Pancras International station, which ismostly in tunnel, has a reduced line speed of230km/h. HS1 signalling was designed for
class ME140 freight trains, which carry lightgoods and parcels and operate at speeds ofup to 140km/h.
For the majority of the 109km line, thedriver receives on-board signallinginformation to advise operating speed,except for a short 1.5km section into StPancras International station which usesconventional line-side coloured light signals.Travelling at high speed, it is not possible fora driver to accurately perceive conventionaltrackside railway signals, so insteadsignalling information is transmitted fromthe track to the train and displayed on thedriver’s controls. The on-board cab-signalling system used on HS1 is a fixedblock continuous ‘track-to-train’ transmissionsystem, called TVM430. It was originallydeveloped in France for the TGV networkand is also successfully used on high-speedlines in Belgium, Korea and by Eurotunnel.
TVM430 works through a combination of:1. fixed infrastructure ‘block sections’;
where the line is divided into finite sections,the length of which varies according to themaximum permissible line speed. Gradientscan also shorten or lengthen a block sectionbecause they have an impact on theminimum braking distance of a train. Eachblock section is separated by a tracksidemarker showing a yellow triangle on a bluebackground.
2. transmitted codes and on-boardequipment; which converts the transmitted‘track-to-train’ code to a target speeddisplayed in km/h in the driving cab, andwhich varies depending upon thecharacteristics of the train. Another part ofthe track-to-train information transmitted tothe train is also used for the Automatic TrainProtection system (ATP).
The on-board speed display indicateseither a line speed, not to be exceeded inthe current block section, or a ‘target speed’to be achieved by the train, which enablesthe train to be safely brought to a stop.
E
Euro-freightOverhead view of
HS1 Freight loops.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 37signalling & telecoms
Furthermore, the speed display may beflashing to advise the driver that the nextblock section is more restrictive.
So each train, depending upon its speed,weight and braking characteristics, musthave the correct parameters on board for aparticular route in order for the on-boardsignalling system to function correctly.
Hardware and software modificationsThe Class 92 locomotive is equipped with a
driver-operated control switch whichenables the selection of the type of train,and this informs the on-board software ofthe right settings to use.
The hardware and software tasks for thisprogramme of work were individuallycomplex. The TVM430 signalling system wasdeveloped and manufactured in France andthe safety processes and tools were unique,in their application, to HS1, under a UKsafety management regime.
Furthermore, since the original HS1 designmeant that only ME140 trains could beoperated, SYSTRA and Ansaldo-STS usedspecialist design software to produce newroute-specific cab-signalling speed tables fordifferent classes of freight trains, namelyME120 (light goods, 120km/h) and MA100(heavier goods, 100km/h).
Since the HS1 signalling system is based onblock sections, evaluations had to assess newsafe braking curves for different train types,corresponding to the gradient, line speedand other characteristics of the trackthroughout its length. Following this safetyvalidation process, it was apparent that the
MA100 could not meet the HS1 block sectionsafety requirements, due to their lessefficient braking performance. As a resultMA100 trains hauled by Class 92 locomotivesare not authorised to operate on HS1.
Signalling system supplier, Ansaldo STS,provided the Class 92 locomotive with anupgrade of the TVM430 software (version 3).SYSTRA then validated the software and itsparameter modifications. After independentchecking, an ‘HS1 Class 92 TVM430 SafetyCase’ was produced in accordance with UKrail safety standards.
One of DB Schenker’s Class 92 locomotiveswas retrofitted with the new software,containing the relevant parameters for HS1infrastructure and type tests were carriedout on the installed software by Ansaldo STSand SYSTRA to ensure that the functionalinterfaces between the TVM430 system andthe Class 92 locomotive worked effectively.
HS1 is readyHS1 Ltd is in a ‘state of readiness’ for
freight operating companies to use itsassets and in June 2011, it published itsFreight Access Terms. Plans by rail freightoperators to run regular services willundoubtedly open up the UK to theEuropean rail freight network.
A container service from Hams Hall in theMidlands to Novara in Northern Italy wasoperated on High Speed 1 to test theoperation of a loaded freight train on thisrailway. The assessment was declared anoutstanding success by both DB SchenkerRail and High Speed 1, with a fault freeoperation being completed.
The train was the first of five such loadedfreight train trials that took place on HighSpeed 1 during May and June 2011.Regular freight operations on HS1 are notfar away.
38 | the rail engineer | september 2011 signalling & telecoms
BuildingFrank Van Campenhoutw r i t e r
hen designing a telecommunicationsnetwork, the interconnections of the
different elements can be arranged invarious patterns. These arrangements arecalled the network’s topology, and this canbe physical (the arrangement of thehardware and actual connections) or logical(how data is actually transferred within thenetwork).
Metro & Rail infrastructures have specificnetworking requirements that are differentfrom the traditional office or factoryautomation environments. A metro orrailway line has a stretched physicaltopology, which can extend over longdistances. The fibre-optic communicationcables normally run alongside the track, andit is good practice to install them somedistance apart or along different routes onboth sides of the track to provide spatialredundancy in case of a cable break.
Due to the fact that the physical topologyis stretched and that all communicationsfibres run through one or two fibre-opticcables, the optimal logical networktopology for the backbone is a ring, which ifbroken can still maintain communication toall devices. Where alternative rail routesexist, it is good practice to configure thering using different routes back to the nodepoint. For large nationwide networks withinterconnected lines, a meshed networkprovides additional redundancy.
ApplicationsThe most important network applications
are of course signalling installations, such asERTMS or CBTC, which control and monitorrail or metro operations. The same networkcan be used for VoIP (Voice over IP) basedtelephony services and public address (PA),
passenger information systems (PIS),wireless access for passengers & devices inthe stations and along the track.
For remote surveillance and access controlof the stations and level crossings IP videocameras may be added, which can bemonitored in real time or recorded centrallyto document incidents.
Applications supporting Power overEthernet such as VoIP phones, IP CCTVcameras or wireless access points, can bepowered via PoE+ ports (IEEE 802.3at).Remote locations away from the main linecan be accessed over optical fibre.Depending on the available fibre layout thisaccess network can be a star or a redundantEthernet ring.
When combining different applications on asingle network, the network has to take carethat there is no mutual interference betweenapplications. Traditionally VLANs (Virtual LocalArea Networks) have been used to make alogical separation between application sub
networks. Howeverthese VLANs don’tguarantee bandwidthavailability. That’s whythe SLAN concept(Segmented LAN) isintroduced whichreserves a dedicatedamount of bandwidth(hard QoS) for eachtraffic engineeredVLAN.
Bandwidthguarantee
The use of timeslotsto provide aguaranteed amount ofbandwidth (SLAN) toeach applicationmakes the networkdeterministic. Thenetwork management
system dedicates a specific and configurableamount of bandwidth to every individualservice. The huge advantage of this is thatthe bandwidth is always available for theapplication and that there’s no bandwidthcontention between the differentapplications. This also means that thenetwork can guarantee that adding a newapplication to the network will have noimpact on the performance of signalling orSCADA system, which simplifies networkplanning and reduces project risk.
Bandwidth in abundanceIndustrial networks are available with a
bandwidth of up to 10Gbps, which easilymatches or exceeds the bandwidthrequirements in modern metro & railoperations. This high capacity also allowsthe creation of multiple independentGigabit Ethernet subnetworks (SLANs) on asingle backbone.
Reliability & availabilityThe networking technology used should
have a proven track record of highreliability and availability in metro and railapplications worldwide. The main systemcomponents can be equippedredundantly to maximize systemavailability.
W
networksFig1: Redundantring topology
Fig2:All applications aremapped inconfigurablechannels with adedicatedbandwidth.
Fig3: Differentapplication networklayers (SLANs) arecreated on a singlephysical network.
Fig 1
Fig 2
Fig 3
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 39signalling & telecoms
If possible protection switching in case ofcable breaks or equipment failure should bebased on hardware (L1) instead ofRSTP/MSTP (Rapid Spanning TreeProtocol/Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol)(L2) or routing protocols (L3), which makesprotection switching extremely fast (50ms)even for large networks.
For secondary redundancy (in case allfibre links are broken) back-up links over apublic network, radio or satellite link can beused by means of MSTP or the embeddedOSPF (Open Shortest Path First) routingprotocol.
Operational costsThe main operational cost is the cost of
network unavailability, which is avoided bythe industrial design and network reliabilityas described above.
The network should have an “install andforget” approach. The centralised networkmanagement system must providemonitoring, event logging and GUI based
configuration of the complete network,including occasional remote firmwareupdates.
If the network is deterministic and if thefull configuration database can be preparedoff-line the project risk and execution timeare greatly reduced.
Cyber SecurityPublic transport systems are considered to
be critical infrastructure. Therefore theprotection of these installations is of theutmost importance. Not only the physicalsecurity should be considered, which can beincreased by access control, CCTV or othertechnologies; also the cyber security aspectcannot be neglected.
Legacy interfacesThe topics above outline the main issues
when it comes to the transmission ofEthernet and IP applications in a reliable anddeterministic way. However, often not allapplications are Ethernet or IP based. Some
applications are simply not available with anEthernet interface, for other devices the IPcapable version is more expensive. And thenthere is a lot of existing equipment in thefield that is too costly and cumbersome toreplace... So it can be useful if the networkalso supports analogue voice, serial data oranalogue video applications directly,without the additional need for externalconvertors or codecs.
The increasing use of Ethernet & IPcapable devices in the public transportsector drives the need for reliablemultiservice backbone networks that aresecure, have a long service life and aremaintenance free. The use of industrialgrade networks providing bandwidthreservation, fast restoration, network widemanagement tools and securecommunications is the best guarantee forlow operational costs in critical metro andrail applications.
CCTVSCADA TelephoneCCTV SCADATelephone
Open Transport Network
CCTVSCADATelephone
10 Gbps Backbone Up to 48 GbE ports L1, L2 & L3 networking and routing SLAN bandwidth provisioning per service Hard QoS - Deterministic communication 100+ nodes per redundant ring network 50ms network redundancy Redundant AC & DC power supply Easy to confi gure & maintain Long term availability
ad 190x130_The_Rail_Engineer_18aug2011.indd 1 19/08/2011 18:07:11
w www.otnsystems.com
Fig4: The additionof an OTN networklayer (L1)
Fig5: Centralisednetwork widemanagement
Fig 5
Fig 4
40 | the rail engineer | september 2011 signalling & telecoms
ichard Lungmuss, when he wasNetwork Rail’s Director of Maintenance
in Scotland, had a bit of a problem. Heneeded a solution to over-capacity cableroutes resulting in cables lying unprotectedon the ballast. In addition to this he was alsolooking for a safe walkway to beincorporated into the design of the solution.
Traditional concrete cable ducts didn’tseem flexible enough in their design to copewith high-capacity routes, so his mindturned to polymers and he starteddiscussions with Trojan Services who alreadymanufactured the TroTrof polymer cabletrough range.
TroTredThe result was TroTred, an adaptable
polymer trough system that is the samewidth as a safe-cess walkway - 700mm.Manufactured as 5 separate components,which can be assembled into the finishedtrough either in the depot or onsitedepending upon the project’s requirements,this novel approach combines the walkwaywith cables buried under walkers’ feet.
As standard, TroTred is 700 mm wide with acentral separator and two 350mm wide slip-resistant lids. Due to its modular nature,even higher capacity routes can beaccommodated by simply adding additionalcentre sections and dedicated mid-sectionlids. Where space is limited, removing thecentral section and replacing the lids with asingle one that is 440mm wide, producesthe equivalent of a C1/43
trough. In even tighter situations, such asover or under bridges, the original TroTrof ismanufactured to the same standards and isa direct replacement for a C1/9 concretetrough.
The twin-segment interior of TroTredallows power cables to be routed down oneside and signalling and telecom cablesdown the other. The separation is enough toeliminate most interference problems. Sonow the safe-cess walkway has replaced theneed for two conventional concrete cabletroughs.
High volumeThe first high-volume use of TroTred was
on Scotland’s new Airdrie-Bathgate line.22,000 sections, or 22km of length, wereincorporated into the design of the longestnew conventional passenger railway line tobe built in the UK for 100 years. Contractorswere impressed by the ease with whichTroTred was installed, and the extra-widetroughs meant even the most complicatedsignalling and communications installationscould be accommodated with ease.
Theft resistantCable theft has been an increasing
problem in recent years. Each lid of TroTredcan be fastened down using hexagon-headed screws, making their removal amore time-consuming problem andtherefore deterring all but the mostdetermined thieves. In addition, cable cleats
can be fastened into the bottomof each trough
segment. These prevent cables beingdragged out of just one access in the trough,thieves now have to remove every lid andcut every cleat - probably more trouble thanthey will bother with.
Improving PaisleyTrojan is currently supplying the Paisley
Corridor Improvement programme. This isone of Scotland’s busiest passenger routesand Network Rail have committed to a fullre-signalling of the route. TroTred has beenfurther developed to include the use ofVortok posts that can be slotted into the unitto create a green zone when maintenance iscarried out. Isolated access to one side of thetroughing route is often all that is needed asonly one of the twin lids has to be removedto expose each segment of the interior.
These latest units have enabled theinstallation team to negotiate restrictedaccess and tight time restraints due to theirlightweight material, flexibility in terms ofadaption and doing away with the need toinstall a separate cess walkway for railpersonnel. Experience gained on the Airdrieto Bathgate project has enabled Trojan toassist the Paisley team to dramaticallyreduce the impact of site-specific issues byoffering TroTred as a solid solution to whatwould otherwise be an extremely difficultcable route installation.
Manufacturing and recyclingAll Trojan products are manufactured
using high quality recycled polymermaterials and an injection moulding
process. Production and
R
forNo
Laying TroTredtroughs on theAirdrie-Bathgateproject.
ToeSteppingTroTred
PHOTOS: RACHEL MILLER / TROJAN SERVICES LTD
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 41signalling & telecoms
materials comply with ISO 9001standards ensuring product qualityand full traceability of componentparts. This attention to quality hasensured products delivered to site arecompliant and therefore projects nolonger need to over-order to accountfor rejects and breakages. All Trojan’sproducts can be recycled after theiruseful life, which has beendemonstrated to exceed Network Rail’sminimum requirement of 25 years. Forlife expired units, and for installers’ off-cuts, there is a recycling option torecover costs as part of the whole lifebenefits.
Due to the relatively light weight of thematerial - approx a fifth that of concrete -fewer trucks are required for transport tosite, resulting in fewer forklift truckmovements and general handling of theproduct at the depot and on-site. Thisreduction of carbon footprint, together withthe use of recycled polymers, offers NetworkRail and other customers an opportunity toenhance their “green” credentials.
Constant improvementTrojan is constantly working with its
customers, contractors and the rail industryin general to improve the benefits itsproducts offer. Having supplied products toLondon Underground, Tyne & Wear Metro inNewcastle and Network Rail, Trojan is able togather feedback from a variety of customersand build upon what is already a successfulproduct range. For example, at London
Bridge, where access is extremelylimited, Trojan’s C1/43 dimensioned troughsare being considered for both cableprotection and a narrow cess walkway.
In recognition of the improvement thatTroTred offers rail personnel when workingtrackside, and the environmental benefits,Network Rail presented Trojan Services Ltdwith the 2010 Innovation Award at theirannual Partnership Awards Dinner held atthe NEC Hilton, Birmingham. With suppliesto Thameslink and Crossrail on the horizon,Trojan look forward to continuing tocombine neater and safer cable protectionwith improved personnel safety andreduced environmental impact and unitcosts for some time to come.
produce innovative and outstanding quality products
for the railway and civil engineering industries.
Working closely with Network Rail over the past
decade, Trojan has developed a new, user
innovative cable troughing system. Both the
TroTrof® cable trough and the TroTred® combined
cable trough and walkway have been designed
with quality, sustainability, reliability, traceability and
deliverability as inspiration.
The TroTrof® cable troughing system won the
Network Rail Environmental Award for Innovation in
2008. The TroTred® combined walkway and cable
troughing system has been awarded the Network
Rail Partnership Award 2010 for Innovation.
42 | the rail engineer | september 2011 signalling & telecoms
Boxing
he headline announcing the closure ofover 800 signal boxes is bound to
attract attention. Even more so when therewill be only 14 remaining. But what isbehind all of this? What is Network Railattempting to achieve by the wholesaleclosure of almost every signal box on thenetwork?
Talking all this through with Steve Knight,Network Rail’s Head of OperationsDevelopment, it’s obvious that there’s someserious thinking behind the headline. It’s notjust about the closure of boxes. In NetworkRail’s words, “It’s a planned, co-ordinated andaccelerated programme of signallingrenewals with control moved to fourteennew centres that will feature new automatedtraffic management systems and software.”
BackgroundRight, so what does this mean and why is it
on the table? It’s time to look at the currentsituation and also a bit of history.
There are, very broadly, three types ofsignal boxes. There are the 19th centurystructures with mechanical levers. These arefrequently single-manned boxes in rurallocations. All in all there are about fivehundred in this category. They often controlaccess to and from a branch line. If they’reunstaffed, then the branch is shut and thispredetermines whether late evening or earlymorning trains can run.
In the 20th century, the panel boxappeared from the 1930s onwards followedmuch later by the IECC (Integrated ElectronicControl Centres) and there are a total ofaround two hundred of these. Some of thesetoo are single manned. In recent years theRail Operating Centres (ROC) have beenbuilt which, like the IECCs, have modern
ergonomically designed workingenvironments and VDUs (banks of computerscreens). There are just eight of these at themoment with a further six planned.
High unit costsThe exercise isn’t a witch hunt against the
mechanical boxes on the basis thatmechanical is bad and computers are good.It comes down to economics and a desire toimprove the service for train operators.Typically, the mechanical and early boxescontrol relatively few SEUs (Signal EquivalentUnits)... one signaller in control of just ahandful of levers. In fact, 18% of NetworkControl absorbs 49% of operating costs. Atthe other end of the scale - the area of theROCs - one signaller can control 200 - 300SEUs. In these centres, 12% of NetworkControl absorbs just 4% of Operating costs.
The challenge for Steve and his team ishow to address the issue of high unit costs atthe same time as acknowledging that someof the older, simple equipment is veryreliable - at the moment. But the partydoesn’t go on for ever though. Much of thesignalling stock will need to be renewed inthe next thirty years. Couple with this thedesire to offer improved train operation(capacity/performance/passengerinformation), and a need to drive downoperating costs and what has emerged is astrategy for an accelerated renewal policyalong with another to control the networkmore effectively.
This all might seem a little ‘blue skies’. Butit’s not really. There is no delving intotechnology that doesn’t exist at themoment. There’s no reliance on signalequipment that has yet to prove itself oreven be invented. Steve’s strategy is basedon existing technologies and existing trafficmanagement capabilities.
Closure ratesReturning for a moment to the box closure
proposal it’s worth remembering thatclosures have been going on for at least thelast 110 years. In 1900 there were 10,000
T
w r i t e rGrahame Taylor
clever
44 | the rail engineer | september 2011 signalling & telecoms
boxes. After Beeching there were 5,000. BRhad a relentless programme that closedaround 100 per year. In fact, in the last 10years before privatisation, BR closed moreboxes than exist on the network at themoment.
Then, abruptly, it all went quiet afterprivatisation with only 10 closures a year.The current Operating Strategy is aiming toclose about 50 per year - just half the rate ofthe closures under BR, quite a few of whichwill be within the working memory of manyon the railway.
Predictive modellingSo, with the aim to centre train control on
just 14 buildings, what are the possibilities?Cost savings are one obvious result. Theother Holy Grail is the ability to concentrateinformation from the network so that it willbe feasible to model the running of trains inreal-time and also to predict the behaviourof trains far more reliably than at present.
What traffic management systems (TMS)are used to predict train behaviour at themoment? Well, to be blunt, there aren’t any.There is extensive reliance on experiencedhumans who are very good at what they do.But it can be argued that the very powerfulskills they use in their predictions could beof more use in the management of evolvingsituations. Up for grabs is the ability toreduce reactionary delays. This is the timelost between an incident occurring and thenormal timetable being restored. At themoment, this accounts for 50% of allindustry delays. Laudable though it may beto invest in reliable rolling stock orinfrastructure this 50% just doesn’t go away.Ten million minutes roll up every year and ithas remained stubbornly static. Experiencegained in other parts of the world suggestthat a 20% reduction in reactionary delays ispossible.
Effective communications networkIt’s an uncomfortable fact for signal
engineers and control software systemwriters that they can’t achieve anythingunless there’s an effective communicationsnetwork between the centres. Plonkingfourteen buildings down around thecountry will be a waste of time if they are notable to be sat smack on the top of a largecable linking them with every other part ofthe network and indeed every other centre.Steve is confident that this too is achievableand in most cases already in position.
The linking of buildings using the nationalsecure telecoms network gives someinteresting possibilities. As none of them willhave conventional panel displays - the sortof thing that is dedicated to a particularstretch of line - it is possible for any centre tocontrol any part of the network. With VDUs itcould be possible for them to show a locallayout and then, if an adjacent box is ‘out ofaction’, the layout for a remote location. This‘great idea’ runs into practical difficulties ifthe operators of the centre are unfamiliarwith the new layout. As Steve says, “Much ofall this has to do with people rather than anaddiction to technology”.
Traffic management systemsAlthough seemingly futuristic, the traffic
management system uses proven softwareand processes from across the world, whichwill be adapted and prototyped in newcentres with industry colleagues andsupplier partners. It will be highlyautomated and will largely run itself.
It will include real-timeplanning/prediction and resolution ofmovement conflicts. This is done byoptimising the use of the existinginfrastructure to enable more capacitywithout impacting performance. And as aresult it will include a single operationalinformation system, providing real-timeinformation to passenger and freightcustomers particularly during times ofdisruption.
It’s worth remembering that none of this isSignalling. None of this impacts on theinterlocking. It gathers information from thesignalling interlocking and uses this as abasis for its calculations.
Action plansThese are the ideas - what are the plans? There are three things to do. First of all
build the new operating centres. Theseunlock operating efficiencies. Steve’s view isthat, “We’re about creating an environmentwhere you’ve got all of the bits of running arailway you need in the same place;signalling control, electrical control and thetrain company resource. You will notsucceed unless all the interfaces areseamless.”
As far as the location of these centres isconcerned Network Rail has adopted apragmatic mix of what they’ve already got,where they aspire to have locations in thefuture, and they’ve taken into considerationthings like use of existing buildings, flows oftrain traffic, route customer boundaries.Undoubtedly, people will say that these willchange. They can change but they didn’t
Who points the way when it comes to signalling?
Answers for mobility.
The Siemens answer: The latest Simis W v3 interlocking for the UKSimis W v3 can now work in a de-central mode like SSI. This substantially reduces the civils footprint and cabling required, whilstretaining its central architecture feature for complex stations and allows cost effective solutions for projects of all sizes. It also comeswith hot swappable element controllers which can directly control DC point machines and NR LEDs, enhancing reliability even further.The geographic principle embedded in the Simis W logic allows for a high degree of automation in data engineering, leading toexcellent long term efficiencies like reduced onsite testing and shorter possessions. www.siemens.co.uk/mobility
IRSE Advert:Layout 1 18/04/2011 15:09 Page 1
46 | the rail engineer | september 2011 signalling & telecoms
come about by fluke either. They’ve comeabout though patterns of travel, historicallogical boundaries - and these argumentsbecome less relevant all the time the centrescan talk to each other.
From a technology point of view, thesedebates about boundaries are less relevant.What is important is the people aspect.
Modular Signalling pilot schemesSecondly there’s the accelerated
consolidation - the removal of mechanicalsystems and the re-control of power boxes.
Up to now Network Rail would havedeployed the same signalling renewalsolution on a mechanical route as theywould have on a main line. ModularSignalling is a slightly simpler method ofsignalling for secondary lines and thistechnology will be used to allow mechanicalsignalling renewals to be consolidated intothe new centres.
There are twoModular Signallingpilot schemes today.Crewe to Shrewsburyand Norwich to Elyare both due to becommissioned in thenext year.
“We can create acase to replacemechanical boxes orre-control powerboxes earlier thantheir renewal date
with an aim to get about 80% of thenetwork complete in the next 15 years. It isan acceleration of the renewal process.Undoubtedly, mechanical boxes would carryon, but they incur disproportionately highannual costs in the process and can’tinterface with Traffic Managementtechnology.”
PrototypesFinally there is the introduction of the
traffic management technology whichunlocks output capabilities. There will be anationally specified TMS that will beindependent of interlocking technology.So, for example, it will be able to talk to anInvensys interlocking or a Siemensinterlocking or an SSL interlocking. Andthis independence allows the TMStechnologies to be refreshed morefrequently than the interlockingtechnologies.
Network Rail is talking to six suppliers -Signalling Solutions Ltd, Thales, Ansaldo, GE,Hitachi and Invensys - and aim to build twoor three prototypes before next summer.
Steve points out that, “This is aboutmaking sure that our data can be integratedinto their products. In discussions we needto understand what we want from trafficmanagement and what they are capable ofsupplying.”
There are existing products which areoperated in other parts of the world. Theylargely automate the routine stuff soallowing people to manage the emergingproblems.
“We don’t have predictive capability. We’vesystems which say where trains are and howlate they are, but nothing to say where theywill land up and what to do about it.”
Building a prototype will give a better ideaof the technology and also the training andpeople side. The prototype will probablycentre on a workstation rather than beingbuilt into a resignalling scheme.
Although the headlines focus on the 800signalbox closures, there’s much moreinvolved in this project. Technology andcommunications have advanced to a pointwhere everything is possible. And to agreat extent, if it’s possible to do todaythen, sure as eggs, it’ll be possibletomorrow - and possibly easier.Microprocessors will come and go,manufacturers will come and go, but thebasic architecture of the new operatingsystem will persist for decades to come.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 47feature
acroRail 2011, a brand new railindustry exhibition, will be held
at Long Marston, Warwickshire, onFriday 16 September.
Before you ask why we need anotherrail show, MacroRail differs from otherUK exhibitions in several majorrespects. First of all is the venue. TheLong Marston Storage Facility, just 7miles southwest of Stratford on Avon,has over 20 miles of private track with125 run offs and sidings and currentlyprovides storage to over 1000 pieces ofrolling stock. It also has several largebuildings, formerly army storage sheds,the size of aircraft hangers. So, with oneof the buildings and a length of trackbeing used for the show, there is plentyof room for both on-track and off-trackdisplays.
Rail AllianceSecondly, Long Marston is also home
to the Rail Alliance. So entry to theshow will be free, to both exhibitorsand visitors. This will allow companiesto spend their budgets on theirdisplays, without worrying about standspace costs, making for a betterpresentation to visitors.
Rail Alliance approached 50 of theirmember organisations and suggestedthat they stage an exhibition with livedemonstrations of welding equipment,tamping machines, vegetation controlmachines and shunting depot plant sothat visitors could see the productsdemonstrated in real life situations.
Micro RailThe basic idea came about after last
year’s very successful Micro Rail conceptsaw a group of 15 rail companies co-exhibiting on a ‘value for money’ basis inCentral Hall, Westminster, London. Atthat time, Micro Rail was put forward asan antidote to large expensiveexhibitions. The idea grew from theoriginal 15 companies so that now 50organisations are taking part by invitingtheir customers and potential customersto come along, see what they have onshow, discuss what has been developedand find out how it could benefit theirbusiness in a real rail environment.
Visitors can expect to see RailAlliance members exhibiting rollingstock components, fabrications(including lightweight infrastructurestructures and aluminium extrusions),mechanical and electrical systems,
communicationsdevices, cablesand cableconduits,lighting, weldingequipment and ahost of otherproducts. Therewill be providers ofservices such asnon-destructivetesting, surveyingand mapping, anddrainagemaintenance. Inshort, there will be awide variety ofthings to see.
SouthcoSouthco are another Rail Alliance
member exhibiting at MacroRail 2011.They will be demonstrating theirinnovative fast-track access solutionsfor the rail industry. The companyspecialises in latching, locking, andelectronic access and positioningcontrols for both rolling stock andinfrastructure companies. Widelyrecognised as global experts in thesupply of the next generation ofengineered access hardwaretechnologies for exterior and interiorrail applications, Southco have a triedand tested ‘Vise Action’ compressionlatch which will be on display with avariety of actuation mechanisms. Theunique technology of these latchesprevents panels from openingaccidentally or through constantvibration and also have visualindicators for open/closed positions.
Also on display will be Southco’s costeffective, easy-to-configure and installfixed and adjustable-grip cam latcheswhich are widely used within therailway sector. Visitors will be able tosee for themselves how Southco’srange of hinges and positioningcontrol mechanisms are designed toprovide improved quality to the feel ofkey touch points, such as LCD screens,drop-down tables, headrests andarmrests.
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From Micro to MacroLong Marston.
48 | the rail engineer | september 2011 feature
KorecAs specialists in the provision of
construction, mapping, machine control andrail survey solutions for the Rail Industry, theKorec team will be on hand throughout theday answering questions on their completerail portfolio. On the stand will be a TrimbleR8 GNSS, a range of Trimble’s GPS mappingand data collection systems for vegetationcontrol, asset management etc. and alsoTrimble’s optical and GPS Site PositioningSystems.
Korec will be running a series ofdemonstrations during the day on three oftheir systems:
The Trimble GEDO CE TMD - a multi-function highly accurate track measuringdevice which, along with in-field and office-based software, is approved for use byNetwork Rail.
GEDO Vorsys - a user friendly systemfeaturing two track measurement devices tospeed up the measuring process when usedin conjunction with a tamper.
Sensefly swingletCAM - anunmanned flying camera for aerial mappingprojects that can be launched by hand andweighs less than 500g making it ideal forroute planning and checking track-sidevegetation etc.
4U RecruitmentAchilles Information Ltd Adaptaflex Applied Inspection Arc-Gen Hilta Autodrain Ltd Avdel UK Ltd BCRRE Belvoir Engineering Services Ltd Bernstein Ltd Birley Manufacturing Ltd Bridge Rail Ltd D’Accord Management Services Dandryer Dytecna Eglin Concourse International Essempy Eurostar Excalibur Screwbolts Ferrartis First Components Flexicon Focon Global Key Greenmech Hall Rail Harmon Group iLecsys Independent Glass Institute of Metal Finishing ISC Best Practice Jake Services Kaba Ltd KMandT
Korec Lindhurst Engineering Ltd MAN Group Martin Axford Photography MAS - WM McGeoch LED Technology MIRA Motorail Novo Graf Pathfinder Rail Security Pestokill Ltd Powerbox Group Rail Media Group Railway Benefit Fund Resource Engineering Projects Rockwell Automation RS Components Samuel Wilkes (Engineering) Ltd Sapa Profiles Savigny Oddie SCG Solutions Schroff UK Ltd Southco Manufacturing Ltd Stewart Wittering the rail engineerTappex Group TQ Catalis Trans-Tronic TRB Lightweight Structures Visul Systems W H Tildesley Westermo Data Communications Worlifts Ltd Zonegreen
As specialists in the provision ofconstruction, mapping, machine controland rail survey solutions for the RailIndustry, the KOREC team will be on handthroughout the day answering questionson the complete KOREC rail portfolio.
On the stand will be a Trimble R8 GNSS, arange of Trimble’s GPS mapping and datacollection systems for multiple applicationsincluding vegetation control and assetmanagement and Trimble’s optical andGPS Site Positioning Systems.
KOREC on track for MacroRaildemonstrating Trimble's GEDO CE Track Measurement Device
and Sensefly's unmanned flying camera
16th SeptemberRail Alliance HQLong Marston Bus Pk
Macrorail Ad Aug 11:rail engineer 24/08/2011 16:27 Page 1
Trimble GEDO CETMD from Korec.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 49
SMC LightingSMC lighting towers have long set
the standard for quality, reliability andperformance. Their 1000W metalhalide lamps give a bright and evenlight to cover the whole of a workingarea. There is also an auto-tilt optionfor directing light to a specific workarea. The lamps can be quicklyretracted from their 8 metre height ifthey need to be manoeuvred underbridges and hazardous overheadpower cables.
The lighting towers are equippedwith an auto-start/stop facility whichreduces fuel consumption by around30%, helping users with their eco-credentials while also reducing costs.
Arc-Gen HiltaA live welding demonstration by Arc-
Gen Hilta will show their NetworkRail-approved Weldmaker 165SP2coupled to an ESAB’s Railtrac BV/BVR1000. This robust super-silentgenerator is neighbour-friendly forcompanies operating in built-up areasand is ideal for working near stations inthe evenings and weekends. Compact
and lightweight, weighing in at a mere77kg, it is easily manoeuvrable fromtrack access points to the worksite foressential repairs.
Being able to simultaneously useboth welding and auxiliary outputsincreases the versatility of this powerfullittle generator, whilst an auto-idlefacility enables it to operate for up to10 hours without needing to berefuelled. Two machines can be linkedin parallel to double the weldingoutput, offering companiesconsiderable cost and time savingswhen on track.
Indoors, Arc-Gen Hilta will be lightingup the old hangars with their new andinnovative Lumaphore soft lightsystem and their Network Railapproved SMC-TL 90 mobile lightingtower alongside a static SL-90. Theseare available in 24V - 240V versions andthe lightweight (only 8.5kg), robusttower is easily transportable. With animpressive ability to light up to2400m², Lumaphore is an ideal lightingsolution for rail projects where space isat a premium and the work site is farfrom an access point.
MacroRail 2011 is totally free to attend with free on-site parking. As Long Marston isa secure site, those wishing to visit Macro Rail 2011 are asked to register theirintention via [email protected] or contact Rhona Clarke on 01789 720 026.
feature
50 | the rail engineer | september 2011 drainage
&Drainsith a long, dull summer behind us andthe promise of yet more dreary
weather to come, the UK is once againbattling with the threat of heavy rainfall andpotential flooding. For most people this justmeans that the flip-flops are put away foranother year and the wellies are dug out,but for the rail community it is a much moreserious concern.
Flooding and water damage have alwaysposed a threat to the UK’s rail infrastructure,given the very nature of the structuresthemselves. With most tracks built beforeengineers had a full understanding of soilmechanics, the soil and rock basedstructures are easily damaged by extremeweather conditions. Flash flooding poses avery real danger to the security of much ofthe country’s railways, and in turn theservices that they provide.
In-depth studyAn engineering study by
Network Rail last year foundthat many asset failures weredirectly caused by water anddrainage problems. Failurescan cause lasting damage toballast and formation, leadingnot only to potential delays inservice, but also to lengthyand expensive repair work.
Network Rail released their‘Interim Climate ChangeAdaptation Report’ inSeptember 2010 detailing the possibleeffects of climate change on the nation’s railinfrastructure and highlighting specificconcerns. The report focused on the dangersof flooding and how it can cause seriousdamage not only to timetables, but also tothe very structure of our railways. With the
report concludingthat flooding is along term, high riskproblem, it is clearthat somethingneeds to be done tosecure the network’sinfrastructure.
South CroydonEven though it was
not caused by badweather, the recentsevere disruption inthe South Croydonarea perfectlydisplayed thedangers of waterinundation andhighlighted theproblems that it cancause. A burst watermain led to amudslide onto abusy commuter line,leaving 2,400 tonnesof debris blockingthe tracks andsevering services onthe London toBrighton Line. Whilstit is true to say that
even the mostsophisticated drainage systems would havestruggled to cope with such a huge amountof water, it is certain that the drainageditches and systems went some way tocontaining a situation that could have beena lot worse. After all, it took clean-up teamsa full night to clear the tracks of debris toensure some services could run thefollowing morning. Without properdrainage would a normal service have beenable to resume so quickly?
Leaves on the lineAs well as ensuring that drainage systems
are in place and working to their fullpotential, another key element in the battleagainst flooding is vegetation management.It is no secret that ‘leaves on the line’ has tobe every commuters favourite excuse forservice delays, but this very real issue is aconcern with regards to track-side drainage.With leaves, branches and vegetation debrisbeing one of the key causes of blockeddrains, it is imperative that this problem istackled at source, helping prevent problemsbefore they happen.
Specialised equipmentThe Quattro Group, one of the UK’s largest
rail plant suppliers, has recognised the needfor such action, and has dedicated an entiredepartment to the maintenance of track-side drainage and the associated problems.As well as cleaning, flushing andmaintaining all types of track drains, thisdepartment also provides a wrap-aroundservice which deals with the maintenance oftrack-side vegetation.
W
Leaves
drainage
This means that Quattro can not only flushand remove blockages in drains usingmodern, custom-designed machines such asMulticar jetters and powerful gully suckers,but their core machines also haveattachments designed to deal with track-side vegetation thus ensuring that problemsdon’t happen in the first place.
CheltenhamAn example of such works was the recent
rehabilitation of 1,000m of drainage forAmey Colas at Cheltenham station and thesurrounding tracks. Over the course of sixweekends, the team was able to use apowerful gully sucker to remove silt anddebris in the system, before using a Multicarvehicle fitted with a powerful jetter to flushthe drains free of blockages and ensure thatthe water was able to run freely.
Such specialised equipment, whilstpowerful enough to tackle the task at hand,remains compact enough to be managed bya team of only two trained operators permachine. This small team ensures that,whilst the job is completed quickly andefficiently, there is no need for the operationto disrupt existing works or cause majorissues with access or transport.
As well as carrying out a clear-up of theexisting drains, the drainage operators werealso able to file a detailed maintenancereport, highlighting areas in which thedrainage system was weakened or neededreplacing. The report detailed the level of siltthat had built up in localised catchpits andlocations in which the pipes were
completely clogged or had even collapsed.Catching such issues quickly allowsmaintenance works to be carried out toreplace or repair areas in the system thatmay cause problems in the future, thusreducing the need for emergency repairs.
Whilst undoubtedly one of the leastglamorous aspects of railway engineering,drainage is one of the core considerationsto the maintenance of the UK’s railinfrastructure. Without proper care andattention, flooding and water damagecould wash away the service that westrive for.
Keeping the drains flowing helps keep thetrains going.
QUATTRO DRAINAGE SERVICESKEEPING YOU RIGHT ON TRACKWith a large fleet of vehicles specifically designed for the cleaning and maintenance of track-side drainage, the QuattroGroup is ideally placed to deal with any drainage problems. Usingour modern fleet, including a number of multicar-mounted jetters and gully suckers (all with integral CCTV for the surveying of track-side drains), the team can not only solvethe problem, but also help diagnose any inefficient areas andhelp prevent further issues.
As one of the UK’s largest rail plant suppliers, the QuattroGroup can guarantee to have not only the right equipment,but also the perfect people for the job. With a team of highly-trained operators working from 13 depots around the countrylast-minute emergencies can always be catered for, and youcan be sure that projects will be completed efficiently and withno disruption to existing works or schedules.
Call us today on tel: 0845 900 2999 or visit ourwebsite at: www.quattroplant.co.uk
ZD262 Quattro R_Eng Drainage Ad:Layout 1 24/8/11 16:43 Page 1 Mudslide at South Croydon.
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 51
52 | the rail engineer | september 2011 drainage
Drainaget has long been recognised that theprovision of drainage in permanent way
work is a vital factor in ensuring theeffectiveness and long-life of ballast.Recently, designers have put a greateremphasis on good drainage design. Thishas resulted in product development toensure that not only is any drainage systemguaranteed to perform its primary functionbut that it offers advantages in terms ofspeed and safety of installation.
Draining Swiss trackA good example of this new product
development was seen recently at LakeThun in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.Here, BLS Netz AG operates a rail networkspanning more than 900 km. Directproximity to Lake Thun and Lake Brienz aswell as minuscule differences in altituderegularly cause the groundwater level torise and penetrate the track bed. After morethan 30 years of service, it was decided torenew the railway line. In parallel withpermanent-way renewal, the existingdrainage system - made of concrete pipes inan open drain trench along the railway line -and the cross drainage to a navigationalcanal also had to be modernised. Accordingto the requirements of RTE 21110 (SwissRailway Technical Code of Practicegoverning requirements for roadbed andballast), the piping system required forrailway line drainage in the roadbed andballast has to meet the figures specified by
the operator,e.g. a clear water inlet opening of at least100cm² and a minimum slot width of 6mm.To ensure reliable operation of such adrainage system over a period of decades,demanding static, dynamic and mechanicalrequirements also have to be met. Thegradient requirements are 0.65 to 11.05 permil.
This construction project was realised withSimodrain® drainage pipes with an outsidediameter of 250mm, SDR (StandardDimension Ratio) 21, and 10mm slotting,specially developed for traffic route drainageby local company Simona. These extrudedsmooth-wall pipes meet the requirements ofsuch a system, and with their large waterinlet area they are capable of handling thespecified 100cm. Using a special slotgeometry and slot arrangement, and withthe excellent hydraulic properties of thepolyethylene (PE) material, the drainageprovided by the system is ‘best in class’ anddesigned for the long term. End-milledslotting avoids undercuts, and hencedeposits and incrustations. In addition, thepipes are easy to rinse out, making them theperfect solution for the Swiss railwayinfrastructure operator.
IdevelopmentDavid Hainesw r i t e r
Group Business Development Director, Burdens Rail
Cubis STAKKAbox UltimaAccess Chamber
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 53drainage
In the UK, Burdens, who have beeninvolved in drainage since the company wasfounded in the 1920s, is currently workingwith Network Rail to introduce the Simonarange of heavy-duty solid-wall PE pipes foruse in pressure zones and critical trackdrainage applications.
CatchpitsInstalling catchpits, a traditionally time-
consuming process, is another area wherenew thinking can pay dividends. Now CubisIndustries, a company with threemanufacturing sites in Ireland and the UK,has developed the STAKKAbox Ultima accesschamber. This is claimed to have numerousadvantages over existing systems,particularly as regards speed of installation.Indeed, because the chamber comescomplete to site, they can be installed in aslittle as 18 minutes by a two-man team.Other advantages are a loading strength of12.5 tonnes, high chemical resistance, anddesign flexibility. Manufactured fromrecycled materials, the chambers offer a highlevel of safety in installation and use, all ofwhich makes the product very cost-effective.Cubis drainage catch pits are approved byNetwork Rail and by Manchester Metrolink,and supplied in the UK by Burdens.
Concrete ClothAnother innovative product, which has
been mentioned in the rail engineer before,is so-called Concrete Cloth, a flexiblecement-impregnated fabric that hardenswhen hydrated. It comes in a roll format with
a PVC waterproof backing and has beenused on several Network Rail contractswhere a traditional concrete pour wouldhave been difficult. This flexible, strong anddurable material is also easy to lay, allowingaround 400m of ditch to be installed in oneday with minimal staff. Concrete Cloth hasachieved a Euroclass B-sl fire rating.
In September 2009, a 140m section ofditch was lined using Concrete Cloth byAmalgamated Construction (AMCO). Theproject was commissioned by Network Railto provide drainage at the top of a railwayembankment in Chipping Sodbury,Gloucestershire. This was the first timeAMCO had used this product for ditch liningand the project was heralded as a majorsuccess. Concrete Cloth proved significantlyquicker and easier to install thanconventional concrete slabconstruction, reducing the projectcost and time on site. The cloth wassupplied in portable rolls for ease ofuse on a site with limited access.Andrew Gurd, construction managerfor contractor AmalgamatedConstruction Ltd, said “ConcreteCloth is incredibly quick and easy touse. It allowed us to line over 100m ofditch in less than 8 hours, with theminimum of manpower and plant.”
Installation begins with digging a V-shaped ditch with smooth, flat sides.Concrete Cloth can be supplied byBurdens either in man portable-lengths(8 linear metres weighs 105kg) or inlarge rolls (120m, 1400kg) if the
necessary plant is available. Once unrolledand positioned, the cloth is hydrated bycontrolled spraying with water - even seawater may be used - with care being takento avoid washout. An excess of water shouldbe used as Concrete Cloth cannot be over-hydrated. Once hydrated, it remainsworkable for about two hours, althoughwarm ambient temperatures may reducethe working time. It hardens to 80% of its 28-day strength in 24 hours and is ready for use.
Drainage products may be largely hiddenfrom view, but that doesn’t mean thatinnovation is not taking place. After all, everyhigh-technology engineering project needsgood drains…
w www.burdens.co.uk/rail
Slotted drainagepipe at Lake Thun,Switzerland.
54 | the rail engineer | september 2011 drainage
evere weather can flood properties andbusinesses, disrupt transport systems
and cause real hardship to communities. Theperformance of any local drainage systemdetermines the level of protection offered soin periods of unstable weather its conditionmust be effectively managed.
Ineffective drainage can have a significanteffect on the performance of railwayinfrastructure and, although flooding isgenerally over a short duration, it doesimpact on the reliability of service. Moresignificantly, poor drainage can have aconsiderable effect on the stability ofearthworks causing land slippage. Ballast lifecan also be shortened and signallingreliability can be reduced.
For those charged with the managementand maintenance of UK rail infrastructure,recent severe weather conditions emphasisethe need for improved asset knowledge todefine, understand, measure and report onthe existing drainage systems, delivering:• A single repository for asset information
including geographic and performancedata.
• Collation of all key asset and performanceinformation.
• Modelling tools to plan and justify capitalinvestment
• Use of predictive tools with meteorologicaldata sets to aid with predictivemaintenance and event management.As experts in the surveying, modelling,
data management and optimisation of suchassets, MWH Farrer utilises smarttechnology combined with technicalexpertise to offer drainage solutions toclients. Richard Leigh, National BusinessManager, comments, “The rail sector mustmanage drainage assets effectively tomitigate risk from severe weather.”
Asset KnowledgeThe basis for successful asset management
is an accurate and robust inventory. For this,existing data needs to be qualified andreliable and accurate new data established.Historic information is held in many differentformats, from paper based records andmicrofiche through to individual surveybooks. The collection of this information isimperative in a model that supports businessserviceability levels, routine operation andtargeted investment. A central repository isrequired to host the corporate data in thestandard geographical information GISformat, which allows data to be easilyaccessed, updated, extracted and imported.
Verification of key facts from varioussurvey types improves confidence in thedata. Collection of historic performance dataattributed to each asset permits historicanalysis to take place, looking at thedeterioration of each asset type andunderstanding life expectancy. Attributedata can then be linked to other business,financial and performance systems tostrengthen investment planning.
Capital investment, maintenance planning,performance management, monitoring andreporting are more reliable and accurateusing developed technical applications.
Key Benefits• Standardisation of asset identification,
information and processes involved incollection and sustainability of data
• Improved ability to meet regulatoryrequirements
• Better design and control over the capitalprogram
• Improvement in investment performance• Reduced numbers of maintenance
programs through predictive replacement
S
Asset ManagementRail Drainage
september 2011 | the rail engineer | 55drainage
+44 (0) 1706 626 258 mwhglobal.com
Farrer Consulting is now part of MWH Global.
MWH asset management solutions for Rail provides specialist wet infrastructure engineering, managing risk to network performance from pluvial weather events and ageing assets. We have market leading expertise and innovative solutions to resolve dif!cult wet infrastructure challenges and strive to deliver ef!cient and sustainable solutions of bene!t to our clients, the environment and local communities.
ASSET DATA COLLECTION SERVICES
FLOOD RISK ASSESSMENT
PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT
S T R A T E G I C S E R V I C E S :
• Reduction in costs to the business• Improved service performance and safety.
Asset AnalysisOnce understanding of asset stock is
improved, the analysis of these assets underdiffering environmental occurrences isforemost in understanding the risk to theservice levels subsequently provided to thecustomer. A dependable system of applyingavailable weather data into RiskManagement Alerts offers the ability tomanage events in respect of drainagesystems. The basis of local predictionenables an appropriate response to beplanned and delivered. The UKMeteorological Office and EnvironmentAgency provide national coverage for severeweather. However this assessment can betoo coarse for an effective response as it may
miss local events within the bigger picture. Abasis of local prediction relative to particularassets enables an appropriate contingencyto be planned and delivered.
Routine monitoring of rainfall relative tolocal catchments and their drainage givesasset operators the information to supportdecisions on event severity and optimise theresponse.
Overall monthly catchment inputs can bereported for the performance of drainagesystems and carbon accounting. To providea tool for weather event monitoring requiresa system to be adaptable to assessingdifferent risks within different topography.This can then be used for both short termand long term climate change issues of assetserviceability.
Rail Signalling Recruitment SpecialistsWe are looking for licensed signalling candidates across all disciplines in London and UK wide.
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Rates are competitive and roles are available on a contract, fixed term or permanent basis.
For more details on available roles, please call our rail team today on 01489 898130 or e-mail [email protected]
1450 Parkway, Solent Business Park, Whiteley, Fareham PO15 7AF
56 | the rail engineer | september 2011 senior appointments
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