SIGNALLING AND TELECOMS
66
Rail Engineer • March 2016
Humberside resignalling
T
he resignalling of Britain’s railways continues apace. An interesting mix of replacing life-expired assets, introducing new technology and recontrolling great swathes of the network into 11 Rail Operating Centres (ROCs) is taking a great deal of Network Rail’s time and money as it approaches the end of the second year of Control Period 5.
One of the latest schemes is just getting started, the resignalling of the line between Ferriby and Gilberdyke, on the north side of the Humber. It’s not a vast distance, about eight miles or 13 minutes on the train, and the overall objective is to undertake the resignalling and renewal of life expired assets - some of which date back as far as the 19th century – whilst also delivering the signalling and telecommunications preparatory works for elements of the proposed future electrification of the route from Selby to Hull. The project will transfer control of the rail network in the area to a new York ROC workstation with automatic route setting as part of these works. Saltmarshe existing relay interlocking and its level crossing, renewed in modern form, will also be recontrolled to the York ROC ‘Brough workstation’ which is to be installed as part of this project.
New technology On the face of it, this is a routine job - the resignalling and renewal of life expired assets, some of which date back as far as the nineteenth century, whilst also delivering the signalling and telecommunications preparatory works for elements of the future electrification of the route to Hull. However, some of the technology being used is new to the British main line network. Following the successful UK implementation of Ansaldo STS’s SEI technology at St Pancras International on HS1 and on the Cambrian Lines ETCS level 2 infrastructure, Network Rail has selected the SEI interlocking and the MTOR object controller. The contract has been awarded to the consortium of Ansaldo STS and Linbrooke Services Limited – with Arup providing Ansaldo’s UK railway system design deliverables. Ansaldo
STS is now 40 per cent owned by Hitachi, with the Japanese company bidding to acquire the balance. With a contract worth in the region of £34.5 million, the consortium is implementing Ansaldo’s SEI NG (New Generation) technology. This provides a flexible Computer Based Interlocking (CBI) architecture that utilises modern tools and techniques for the delivery of the safety software and provides a finished infrastructure that is European Train Control System (ETCS) compatible. Ansaldo STS will be the leader of the consortium and the system authority for the SEI NG interlocking architecture design and delivery and will also be responsible for systems integration testing and the extension to the necessary UK product approvals. Design will progress from scheme plan and level crossing Approval in Principle (AIP) to the final Approved for Construction (AFC) design for the entirety of the signalling system and its level crossings and interfaces/fringes within the renewal area. With detailed design and design integration delivered by Arup for Ansaldo STS, Linbrooke will provide the detailed design for the telecoms IP bearer network that supports the CBI architecture, working with Network Rail Telecom’s TENE group. Linbrooke will also deliver the site management and all construction works, including fringe signalling system alterations, patrolman’s lockouts, train detection by track circuits and axle counter systems, point operating equipment, level crossings of MCB-OD & MSL form with associated controllers and a Hot Axle Box Detector (HABD). For the entirety of the scheme, Linbrooke will undertake the role of the UK overall Tester in Charge. Ansaldo STS will undertake the offsite principles testing of the SEI NG system and the onsite integration with the signaller’s workstation at the York ROC.
External connections To provide the high availability lineside power supply for the resignalled assets, Linbrooke will provide all E&P requirements, including the delivery of a manually reconfigurable signalling power supply distribution system and the associated 11 new DNO connections. This will include one new brick-built Principal Supply Point (PSP), three new Auxiliary Supply Points (ASPs) and 40km of new 650V class II signalling power cable installed in a high security buried route, together with associated route-wide earthing and bonding arrangements. As Ansaldo’s interlocking product - including the object controllers - requires Ethernet connectivity, Linbrooke will be designing and installing a new FTNx sub-access layer between Howden station and North Ferriby as well as between Gilberdyke junction (pictured above) and Goole SB. Utilising Cisco IE200 switches situated in REBs and temperature controlled lineside cabinets to install the Ethernet’s point of presence along the route, ASR 903 routers will also be installed in existing and new FTN nodes in order to complete the diverse path and form part of Network Rail’s ISIS Area 3600. In addition, 43 new network cable distribution cabinets are to be installed in the project area to facilitate the transfer of around 130 telephony circuits to the York ROC. The project is due to commission in March 2018 and reach completion in August 2018.