Rail Professional 9th Edition Industry Reference Book

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Contents

Foreword

A look ahead to 2023 from Lucy Prior MBE, Business Growth Director of Trough-Tec Systems 04

Government and Regulatory

Profiles of bodies and organisations with oversight or responsibility for the rail industry ................................... 10

Infrastructure

Profiles of companies responsible for construction of major infrastructure projects 48

Holding Companies

Profiles of companies that hold franchises for rail routes 56

Passenger Operators

Profiles of companies responsible for the operation of passenger trains ..................................................... 64

Freight Operators

Profiles of companies responsible for the operation of freight trains 106

UK Rail Today A collection of articles on a variety of topics from experts in every area of the rail industry

2023: a year of transition towards a simpler, better (greener) railway?

This time last year, this introduction piece was authored by Ian Fitzpatrick, CEO and Principal of the National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure. His summary of 2021 reflected on the ongoing impact of Covid, falling passenger numbers and a need to catalyse levelling up.

Looking back on 2022, Lucy Prior, Business Growth Director of TroughTec Systems feels that this was a year of confusion; a year in which the railway industry experienced some extremely positive events, versus more sobering incidents and edicts.

Ifeel 2022 was a year of progress, but also a year that endured some significant pause points. We experienced real industry highs: according to the Department for Transport (DfT) rail passenger numbers reached 99 per cent of pre-Covid levels in November. But we also experienced some real lows including widespread industrial action.

We also saw the DfT published its High-Level Output Specification (HLOS) and Statement of Funds Available (SoFA) for Control Period 7. Analysis of these funds shows that the Department has increased the value of expenditure on Operations, Maintenance and Renewals (OMR) for the railway, but the cost-of-living crisis and uncertainty in interest and inflation rates means it is unclear yet if the funds available will actually cover all the investment needed.

Reassuringly the Government stated within the HLOS that: ‘there remains an urgent need for continued modernisation and significant efficiency improvements to bear down on the cost of the railway’ but that it ‘strongly supports’ railway’s recovery.

It is very easy to automatically translate cost-cutting and costsensitivity as being over-focussed on unit prices, and assuming that lifecycle costs and other more complicated ways of assessing value will be overlooked. I have made this assumption myself openly in certain forums and appreciate the fact that my assumptions are always counter-challenged (as well as agreed with), and crucially that we all agree that we can and must do better.

The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail set the tone for costsensitivity by describing a need for ‘a new focus on the escalations in cost, goldplating and over-specification that have occurred since privatisation’, and I agree with this sentiment.

As an industry we must face up to the persistent challenge to ‘do more with less’, however we cannot accept a reductionist approach that means that cheapest wins. For the railway to properly recover and for our mutual end-customers to trust us, and to either keep coming back, or for new customers to transition to rail, we must demonstrate that value for money and long-term performance trumps cheapest up-front cost.

The most significant aspect, in my opinion, of assessing value for money is in ensuring that decision making centres on sustainability. Sustainability in environmental terms and of the supply chain. The clients at the upper end of the supply chain all arguably have the clout and prowess to centre cost management on sustainabilityfocussed judgements, and in doing so they should be at the forefront of contributing to the UK’s commitment to Net Zero, by supporting Network Rail in achieving its own science-based targets. It is important to remember that Network Rail was the first railway company to commit to cutting emissions which limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius: this fact must be the one that influences all cost and value related decision making.

In December 2022, Andrew Haines, Chief Executive at Network Rail and Great British Railways Transition Team Lead spoke at an event in Sheffield, hosted by Arup at which he described a need for the railway: ‘to invest in both building the right things and in the way we work for customers’. He explained that whilst about nine per cent of passengers travel by rail and about ten per cent of freight is moved by rail our mode only accounts for about one per cent of emissions. How much better it could be for our industry and for the planet if we could encourage more to move by rail?

Taking the reopening of the Dartmoor Line as an example; it is widely reported that the project was completed on-time and significantly under budget, with immediate positive effects. An ongoing effect of the project is that private car usage in the region has reduced, this illustrated by a reduction in congestion on local roads. The project also succeeded in ensuring that local bus operators were engaged in the project to provide direct bus links into the train station. This is a perfect example of sustainability-centred decision making on a large scale.

The last time I wrote this introduction article for the Rail Professional Supply Chain Directory I looked at how we should ensure that we design and supply railway systems that can support a more diverse customer profile by operating a railway that responds to peoples’ different needs and requirements.

ensure that public money is spent carefully there is a need for the commercial client to not forfeit sustainability in favour of lower cost.

In the same report the WTTC argues that: ‘the private sector … has a crucial role to play [and] a responsibility to proactively participate in driving decarbonisation … This is especially important for larger businesses, which, in a sector comprised predominantly of SMEs, play an even greater role as enablers and supporters.’

My ask for 2023 and beyond is that the supply chain, its clients, and our mutual end customers are willing to make the most sustainable, most value-led choices. Value itself must relate to our products’ and services’ contributions to Net Zero.

As a supply chain we must strive to provide even more environmentally sustainable options, and we must work hard at making sure the market is aware of these options. In doing so we must also be willing to provide evidence to prove our eco-credentials. And our clients, those larger businesses that are obliged to help drive decarbonisation must be willing to look at these newer, greener options. They must simultaneously help support a culture-change through which those products that do offer better overall efficiencies and sustainability gains are fairly judged against the established and / or cheaper option. Reading back over Andrew Haine’s transcript of his speech in Sheffield I agree that: ‘Network Rail’s different parts must work better together… we can truly create a simpler, better [greener] railway for everyone.’

Back then (January 2020) Covid was simply a rumbling on the international headlines. Since then, our customer profile has undoubtedly changed, as have our customers’ expectations and travel patterns. A recent report by the World Economic Forum and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WEC and WTTC, November 2022) found that 80 per cent of travellers agreed that sustainable travel is a ‘priority’ for them, 71 per cent of them hoping to travel more sustainably; however, the ‘say-do-gap’ still persists; barriers prevent these customers from making the choice they want to make. Interestingly these travellers’ barriers to being able to make the more sustainable choice were due in part to the following issues:

• Limited availability: not enough options available.

• Lack of awareness: not knowing what sustainable products are available.

• Low credibility: lack of transparency and consistency in information presented about a product’s sustainability credentials.

• Price: more sustainable options come at a higher price.

Ironically, I see deep synergies in these barriers to those faced across the rail supply chain. Whilst I do support the argument that we can no longer afford to over-specify, and that we do need to

‘A recent report by the World Economic Forum and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WEC and WTTC, November 2022) found that 80 per cent of travellers agreed that sustainable travel is a ‘priority’ for them.’

‘As a supply chain we must strive to provide even more environmentally sustainable options, and we must work hard at making sure the market is aware of these options.’

Lucy Prior, Business Growth Director of Trough-Tec Systems

CELtek Asset Management System

Control and monitoring of lighting and assets to maximise energy savings and aid safety.

I.o.T capabilities including multi-level platform integration to other manufacturers equipment.

Industry leading technical support and customer service.

Elexon approved.

Distribution cabinets

Available empty or pre-wired.

Full bespoke design, build and test service available.

Wide range of cabinet sizes in 3mm or 5mm galvanised steel with IP55 door seals.

Stainless-steel and GRP models available.

Option for powder coating, upgraded security features, louver panels and cable exit trays.

GIFAS In-ground Units

Provides safe and convenient temporary electrical supply and can also be used to supply data, water and air.

Ideal for train and maintenance crews.

IP65 distribution board manufactured from solid rubber.

Can be used in the closed position for safety.

KEEP PRODUCTIVITY ON TRACK

CUSTOMER BENEFIT

• Standardise Work

• Improve Productivity

PRODUCTS AND

• Automated Tool Control Box

• Automated Tool Control Locker

• Control Inventory

• Reduce Losses

• Control FOD

• Increase Accountability • Oversight Prevention • Calibration and Maintenance Reminders

• Improve Security

• Audit Trail

AUTOMATED TOOL CONTROL

With advanced digital imaging technology and proprietary software, Level 5 Automated Tool Control System (ATC) scans the tool drawer and records which tools are removed and replaced in real time. You know where everything is at all times without your techs being slowed down for a second. The system also knows when tools are broken, allowing you to replace or repair them right away. It’s tool control that works hard to keep your techs working at their best.

ATC BOX

• No individual scanning required

• No RFID tags to install

• No limitations on tool sizeif it fits in the drawer, it works

• Optional polyurea elastomer coated top vs. stainless steel

• Value Add: Networking snapon-industrial.co.uk snaponlevel5.com

WORKS WITH

ATC LOCKER

• Track irregularly shaped items like extension cords, tools kitted in plastic or fabric carrying cases, personal protective equipment and more

• Track serialised items like torque wrenches, multimeters or micrometers

• Fully networkable – connects to Level 5™ administrative interface

• Recharge while storing power tool

FEATURES & BENEFITS

CONVENIENCE

• Intuitive touchscreen interface

• Audible voice confirmation of tool removal and replacement

• Automatic locking

• Errors announced and displayed for incorrect tool position

• 10.1” widescreen, 16:9 LED, resistive touchscreen

• Dual wireless antennas for improved connectivity

• Hardware – 64-bit processor with 8GB RAM

POWERFUL ADMINISTRATIVE SOFTWARE WITH REAL TIME REPORTING

• Comprehensive analysis, reporting, and inventory tracking can be performed from administrator workstations located anywhere on the network in real time

• Reports are fully customisable and exportable to Excel or PDF

• Registers transactions in real time – both at the box and between the box and the admin client

• Real time communication includes email alerts when tools are used, when calibration is required, when tool status changes and lost or broken events

STATE-OF-THE-ART BATTERY POWER

• 16+ hours of battery run-time; 30 minutes of backup power for uninterrupted power supply

• Snap-on rechargeable batteries feature state-of-the-art circuit protection that prevents overload

• 1 year electronics warranty • Extended warranty available • Unlimited number of assigned users • Networking through Ethernet or wireless • 1 copy of ATC software required for each administrator

Department for Transport

The Department for Transport provides strategic direction and funding to the railways in England and Wales and buys rail franchises and projects. Their work is directed and overseen by the Secretary of State for Transport and their team

The Department’s work is directed and overseen by the Secretary of State, Mark Harper MP, and his Ministerial team which is made up of four MPs and one Lords Minister. The Minister of State for Rail Huw Merriman MP is directly involved in rail. The DfT rail portfolio is organised into three separate groups:

• Rail Strategy and Services Group

• Rail Infrastructure Group

• High Speed Rail Group

Rail Strategy and Services Group

The Rail Strategy and Services Group is led by Conrad Bailey, who oversees:

• Developing strategy and policy for the rail sector in the context of broader government policy

• Managing the department’s overall expenditure on rail services and infrastructure

• Ensuring delivery of major projects and programmes including the:

• £5.7 billion Intercity Express Programme

• £7 billion Thameslink programme

• £14.8 billion Crossrail programme (jointly with Transport for London)

• Delivering the ongoing programme of rail franchises

• Effective sponsorship of: British Transport Police, Network Rail, Office of Rail and Road, Rail Accidents Investigation Branch, Transport Focus

Rail Infrastructure Group

The Rail Infrastructure Group is led by David Hughes. This portfolio includes Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Integrated Rail Plan, the Transpennine Route Upgrade, Restoring Your Railway, other Network Rail enhancements, East West Rail and Crossrail.

High Speed Rail Group

The High Speed Rail Group is led by Alan Over and responsible for the High Speed 2 programme and is on the executive committee level for the department’s work on a number of other major rail projects. These projects include East West Rail, Northern Powerhouse Rail and Crossrail 2. He is a member of the department’s executive committee and board.

Network Rail

Network Rail is a central Government body which operates as a ‘not for dividend’ company regulated by the Office of Rail and Road. It owns, operates, maintains and develops Britain’s railway and is responsible for ensuring that the railway is safe and reliable. As NR’s sole Member, the Secretary of State for Transport is accountable to Parliament for the activities and performance of Network Rail. A framework agreement published in July 2019 stipulates that the Secretary of State has the power to appoint and dismiss the Chair of Network Rail and approve the board’s suggested candidate for Chief Executive. The Secretary of State also determines the Rail Investment Strategy and Statement of Funds Available which contain the Government’s plans for investment on the network.

Oversight

The DfT oversees the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) and Transport Focus. The Chair and Board members of the BTPA are appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport directly. Transport Focus has a board of non-executive members appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport (a Chair and five members). Transport Focus is the statutory independent consumer watchdog for Britain’s rail passengers. The TF Board has three other members (in addition to the five appointed by the SofS) who are appointed by Scottish Ministers, the National Assembly for Wales and the London Assembly. The British Transport Police Authority is the oversight body for the BTP, the specialist police force for the rail network across Great Britain.

The Office of Rail and Road is the independent safety and economic regulator for the railways. The Secretary of State appoints the Chair and other Board members. The Secretary of State issues the ORR with general guidance in respect of the exercise of its rail functions. The ORR is responsible for assessing whether the Secretary of State’s proposals are deliverable by Network Rail within the level of public funding available.

London and Continental Railways (LCR) is wholly owned by the Department

of Transport and High Speed Two (HS2) Limited is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Transport.

The East West Railway Company (EWRC) is a non-departmental public arm’s length body set up by the Government to accelerate the East West Rail project – a new rail link between Cambridge and Oxford. EWRC works with the Department for Transport. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) works with the DfT but independently investigates accidents to improve railway safety and inform the industry and the public.

KEY PERSONNEL

Secretary of State for Transport: Mark Harper MP

Minister of State for Transport (Rail and HS2): Huw Merriman MP

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State: Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Director General, High Speed Rail Group: Alan Over Director General, Rail Strategy and Services Group: Conrad Bailey

Director General, Rail Infrastructure Group: David Hughes

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 4DR

Tel: 0300 330 3000

Email: dft@dft.gov.uk Visit: www.dft.gov.uk

Transport Scotland

(Còmhdhail Alba)

Transport Scotland is the national transport agency for Scotland, responsible for the ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper franchises as well as planning and delivering rail policy, strategy and development in Scotland

The Transport Scotland Rail Directorate is responsible for planning and delivering rail policy, strategy and development. It carries out appraisals of capital projects, advises on rail investment decisions and provides the specification of railway outputs that the Scottish Government will wish to buy. The Rail directorate is also responsible for managing the ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper franchise contracts, specifying and funding Network Rail’s high-level delivery responsibilities in Scotland, and liaising with the Office of Rail and Road in specifying and funding the outputs expected from Network Rail.

Transport Scotland has invested over £9 billion in the railway since 2007, which has resulted in:

• New fleets of modern electric trains.

• New and improved services through the ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper franchises.

• 47 miles of new railway, including the Borders Railway.

• 252 miles of electrified lines.

• 16 new stations.

Franchises

ScotRail services has moved into Scottish Government ownership as the ScotRail franchise has ended. The services will be provided within the public sector, by an arm’s length company owned and controlled by the Scottish Government. This is a result of the Scottish Government’s decision to run ScotRail services through what is known as the ‘Operator of Last Resort’. ScotRail staff will transfer to the new Scottish Government owned entity, with their terms and conditions protected. Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth, has expressed an interest in working closely with wider partners including women’s organisations and British Transport Police to improve the public transport system, make it safer and build on the work already underway.

National Transport Strategy

Transport Scotland’s vision, as set out in the National Transport Strategy (NTS2), is for Scotland to have a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system which will help to deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors. The second Delivery Plan for Scotland’s National Transport Strategy has been published, setting out the actions underway for 2022 to 2023. It recognises the key role that transport has in reducing inequalities, delivering inclusive economic growth, improving health and wellbeing, and tackling the climate emergency. At the heart of the Strategy is the recognition to deliver a step-change in behaviour and provide attractive, affordable, accessible and sustainable travel options.

Transport Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government and is accountable to Parliament and the public through Scottish Ministers. Transport Scotland also provides input from a Scottish perspective on reserved rail issues such as: European directives, cross-border rail franchises, the Equality Act and safety and standards.

Rail freight

The rail freight sector is a vital part of Scotland’s economy. The Scottish Government’s vision is for a competitive, sustainable rail freight sector that plays a significant and increasingly important role in Scotland’s economic growth and provides a safer, greener and more efficient way of transporting goods and materials.

This vision is backed by a £25 million Scottish Strategic Rail Freight Fund for the period 2019 to 2024. The fund will support the development and delivery costs of proposals for minor-medium freight interventions aimed at improving the capacity and capability of the Scottish network for rail freight.

Stations

There are currently 360 railway stations in Scotland. Network Rail manages Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. The railway station at Prestwick Airport is owned and managed by the airport authority. The rest are leased to and operated by ScotRail. Scottish stations have improved significantly after considerable investment over the last few years. ScotRail has invested around £20 million in delivering front line improvements to passenger facilities at stations. The Scottish Government announced in 2019 a £25 million investment into rail freight over the next five years in a bid to strengthen the industry.

Transport Scotland aims to make travel as accessible and affordable as possible. To achieve this, we offer concessionary travel for young Scots, disabled travellers, over 60s and ferry passengers. They are committed to ensuring that their facilities are maintained and improved over the course of the current franchise, with further investments being made at stations to support smart ticketing and integrated travel.

Investment includes enhanced cycle facilities, upgraded ticket vending machines, multi-modal customer information screens and smart ticketing equipment.

KEY PERSONNEL

Interim Chief Executive: Hugh Gillies

Director of Rail: Bill Reeve

Interim Director of Transport Strategy and Analysis: Fiona Brown

Director of Low Carbon Economy: Stuart Greig

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Buchanan House, 58 Port Dundas Road, Glasgow G4 0HF

Tel: 0141 272 7100

Email: info@transport.gov.scot Visit: www.transport.gov.scot

Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales (TfW) was set up by Welsh Government in 2016

to oversee public transport in Wales

Transport for Wales (TfW) is a not-for-profit organisation wholly owned by the Welsh Government which exists to drive forward the Welsh Government’s vision of a high quality, safe, integrated, affordable and accessible transport network that the people of Wales are proud of.

The Transport for Wales Board is made up of the Chair, Chief Executive, four independent non-executives and two executive members. Its role is to provide effective leadership for TfW, monitor performance and promote high standards of public finance, all whilst meeting the requirements of its remit as set by the Welsh Government.

From 2023, an £800 million investment will ensure that 95 per cent of journeys are on new trains. More than half the trains will be assembled in Wales. By December of that year, an extra 285 (29 per cent) more services will run every weekday, including improvements on the Ebbw Vale, Cambrian and Heart of Wales lines and the North Wales Metro (Wrexham Bidston). A new service will link Cardiff and Liverpool via Wrexham.

This will create more than six hundred new jobs, including two hundred new ontrain customer service staff, and add thirty apprenticeships per year. A £15 million fund will make stations more accessible. Accessibility issues are addressed by the TfW accessibility panel made up of members who are disabled and older people with a varying range of experience of rail travel. They meet monthly and as required throughout the year with the aim to consistently innovate accessibility policies and advise TfW how to support disabled, deaf and older customers in order for them to have a seamless travel experience. On top of that at least 1,500 new car parking spaces will be created and by 2023 the availability and quality of ticketing facilities will be transformed.

Transport for Wales focuses on planning, commissioning and managing efficient transport by creating transport networks fit for the future that will contribute to the long-term sustainability of Wales.

The intention is to create a rail service that benefits the whole of Wales, as well as

communities along the border in England and to this end Transport for Wales is:

• Working to bring the rail service into line with the regulations for persons of reduced mobility ensuring everyone can benefit from a better service.

• Committed to meeting the requirements of the Welsh Language Standards by providing better Welsh Language services.

• Improving integration with active travel routes making it easier for people to walk and cycle to and from stations.

• Working with bidders to ensure they invest in the skills of their staff and suppliers and that local people have opportunities for employment.

• Investing around three-quarters of a billion pounds to transform the valley lines to Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhymney and Coryton, electrifying around 107 miles of track and upgrading infrastructure to enable improved journey times and more trains every hour.

Sustainable Travel

During 2021/22 TfW worked on the development of a new marketing campaign ‘The Real Social Network’. It is Wales’ first multimodal public transport campaign and promotes walking, cycling, bus and rail use as a sustainable way to travel. This shift towards sustainable transport involves changing the way individuals travel, by improving their travelling experience, making sustainable transport more affordable, and improving integrated journey planning.

Stadler Rail

An extensive programme of testing and commissioning is being carried out on one of the two Stadler built trains, which made maiden voyages into Canton depot, Cardiff in late November 2021. There is a £800 million investment in new trains from manufacturer, Stadler in order to invite a new era of train travel for customers.

New Metros

The South Wales Metro is an integrated public transport network for the Cardiff Capital Region which will involve electrifying around 170 kilometres of track, upgrading

stations and signalling and building at least five new stations. TfW has continued its work on the Metro Central Programme to establish an integrated transport hub, and provifr better connections whilst creating more sustainable travel choices.

The Swansea Bay Metro will transform public transport in the Swansea Bay area, TfW will be introducing new trains on services through the Swansea Bay area, increasing capacity on services to West Wales and between South West Wales and Manchester. From 2024, TfW will be introducing a first-class service between Swansea and Manchester on their new trains.

TfW are continuing to invest in the transformation of public transport in Wales with a focus on creating a joined-up network where integrated ticketing and reliable services make it the easiest option for people travelling across Wales.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive: James Price

Executive Director of Finance and Governance: Heather Clash

Communications Director: Lewis Brencher

Transport Operations Director: Alexia Course Rail Programme Director: Karl Gilmore

Safety and Sustainability Director: Leyton Powell Director of Planning, Development and Advisory Services: Geoff Ogden

Commercial and Customer Experience Director: David O’Leary

Development Director Mid, North and Rural Wales: Lee Robinson

Director of People and Organisational Development: Lisa Yates

IT and Digital Services Director: Dave Williams

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Llys Cadwyn Pontypridd CF37 4TH Tel: 029 2167 3434 Email: contact@tfw.wales Visit: www.tfw.wales

British Transport Police

Policing Britain’s railways, the British Transport Police serve rail operators, their staff and passengers across the country

The BTP is split into three divisions covering London and the South East of England, The Pennines, Midlands, South West and Wales, and Scotland. Their mission is to protect and serve the railway environment and its community, keeping levels of disruption, crime and the fear of crime as low as possible.

BTP employs 3,123, police officers, 233 PCSOs (Police Community Support Officer), 306 special constabulary officers and 1,452 police staff. Due to Covid-19 related travel restrictions, the rail network experienced a significant reduction in passenger numbers. At the start of the third national lockdown in January 2021, Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) managed stations saw just 15-20 per cent of normal passenger use. This reduction in passengers resulted in a change in demand on the Force in terms of crime. In the initial stages of the pandemic crime levels were extremely low (around 30 per cent of previous levels) but returned to near normal levels in late 2020 (around 80 per cent of previous recorded crime).

Targeted intelligence-led deployments and proactive policing operations under Operation Viking and Operation Engulf to deter, disrupt and detect violent crime, resulted in a 29 per cent reduction in these types of crimes. These operations, together

with other crime prevention tactics, such as the deployment of knife arches, contributed to an increase in the number of weapons seized by 13 per cent (752 during 2019/20 compared with 851 during 2020/21).

During 2020/21, BTP officers and PCSOs intervened in 25,997 cases involving vulnerable people. This included identifying and safeguarding children and young people, responding to people in mental health crisis and dealing with domestic abuse, stalking and harassment.

National Strategies

Every three years BTPA sets out medium and long-term objectives for the British Transport Police in a Strategic Plan. This is in addition to the annual policing plans, which cover objectives for the threeyear period from the date of the plan’s publication. In 2020, a decision was made to extend the 2018-2021 BTPA Strategic Plan for an additional year to 2022, due to the current Covid-19 Pandemic. You can read more about the strategic plans in the British Transport Police Association section.

Moving the Needle

In 2020 BTP launched the Moving the Needle action plan, setting out its commitment to tackle racism and unconscious bias and make BTP a fairer more inclusive police force. Moving the

Needle is an ambitious, wide-ranging plan which has been drawn up through discussion with a cross section of the Force’s employees.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Constable: Lucy D’Orsi

Deputy Chief Constable: Adrian Hanstock

Assistant Chief Constable: Charlie Doyle

Assistant Chief Constable: Sean O’Callaghan

B Division – Chief Superintendent: Martin Fry

C Division – Chief Superintendent: Allan Gregory

D Division – Chief Superintendent: Eddie Wylie

Head of Corporate Communications:

Allison Potter Drake

Director of Finance and Commercial Services: Tracey Martin

Director of Strategy and Change: Simon Downey

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Force Headquarters, 25 Camden Road, London NW1 9LN

Tel: 0800 40 50 40

Email: first_contact@btp.pnn.police.uk

Visit: www.btp.police.uk

British Transport Police Authority

With the passing of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, the BTPA was established to oversee the British Transport Police (BTP), review its performance and allocate funding for its budget. It also deals with complaints, recruitment, and managing relationships with the rail industry.

The Authority is responsible for setting objectives for British Transport Police (BTP) before the beginning of each financial year. The BTPA announces these objectives, as well as its strategic direction and performance review of the Force by publishing its annual Policing Plan, Strategic Plan and its Annual Reports. The Policing Plan contains the Force’s priorities for the year and the financial resources expected to be available to deliver the plan. The Strategic Plan sets out the Authority’s medium and long-term strategies for policing the railways. At the end of each financial year, the Annual Reports cover the policing of the railways in that year. The BTPA is also responsible for recruitment of Chief Officers and BTP senior Directors.

Strategic Plan 2022-2027

BTPA will concentrate on crime prevention and safeguarding to reduce the likelihood of people coming to harm on the railways by prioritising:

• Crime prevention by design, target hardening the railway environment to deter volume crime and anti-social behaviour.

• An evidence-based approach to tackle each priority crime type, taking learning about

what works into how we police the railway.

• Developing effective control strategies to tackle threat and harm.

• Partnership with wellbeing agencies to protect those most vulnerable to harm or exploitation.

• Maximise opportunities throughout the criminal justice system to increase positive judicial outcomes and deter offenders from using the rail network.

• Visible policing targeting crime hotspots to provide reassurance to the public and rail staff.

BTPA will deliver a Counter Terrorism capability to play its part in keeping the underground and rail network safe. It will do this by targeting crime that is most harmful to the public, rail staff and the community, including serious and organised crime and exploitation. BTPA will also address the under reporting of sexual offending by making it easier for people to make reports and giving them confidence that those reports will be taken seriously.

Funding and budget

As well as billing the rail industry for the costs of running the BTP, the BTPA determines the budget of the police force and oversees large financial projects. The Authority maintains the accounts of BTP and has them audited each financial year. For 2021/22 the BTPA set a core policing budget of £328.1 million for policing Great Britain’s railways. A total of £255.5 million has been allocated to overground rail services and £72.6 million for London Underground.

Police Service Agreements

The BTPA enters into Police Service Agreements (PSAs) with TOCs and FOCs, PSAs require payment from the train companies to the BTPA in exchange for the policing of the railway and associated property.

When a new rail franchise is awarded by the Department for Transport, the winning company is usually required to enter into a new or existing PSA with the BTPA.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chairman: Ron Barclay-Smith

Deputy Chairman: Andy Cooper

Chief Executive and Accounting Officer: Hugh Ind

Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Chief Executive and Treasurer: Sarah Mcgarel

Communications Manager: Katie Stanton

Member Engagement Manager: Raquel Cortes

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Ivason House, 8a London Bridge St. London, SE1 9SG

Camden Street, London NW1 0EG

Tel: 07900 394397

Tel – Media: 0300 123 9104.

Email: general.enquiries@btpa.police.uk

Visit: www.btpa.police.uk

The British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) is responsible for ensuring an efficient and effective police force for the railways

Department for Infrastructure

(An Roinn Bonneagair)

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) was formed in May 2016 and operates under the direction and control of the Minister for Infrastructure

DfI is staffed by civil servants who are accountable to the Minister for Infrastructure.

The Minister is a member of the Northern Ireland Executive and accountable to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Permanent Secretary, Julie Harrison, is the Accounting Officer for the Department and the Minister’s principal adviser. Julie Harrison chairs the Departmental Board, which directs the delivery of Corporate Governance within the Department.

Details of the arrangements which have been established to ensure proper and effective management of the Department’s affairs are set out in the Corporate Governance Framework. The Departmental Board comprises a further five executive members and two non-executive, independent members.

The Department provides capital and revenue grant funding to Translink for Northern Ireland Railways to operate rail services. The funding helps maintain and develop the rail infrastructure, allows rail services to operate safely and efficiently and helps make public transport an attractive alternative to private transport.

Public Transport Division carries out the governance function of Translink on behalf of DfI and monitors spend of the grant allocated to Translink against plans, ensuring that projects demonstrate value for taxpayers’ money and expenditure falls within budgetary limits.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-2022 to 2025-2026 was published on 4 February 2021. It sets out a long-term vision of infrastructure in Scotland, which supports an inclusive, net zero carbon economy and includes details on over £26 billion of major projects and large programmes, some of which includes: • Glasgow Subway Modernisation –includes a smartcard ticketing system linked to wider integrated ticketing; new

rolling stock and signalling; refurbished stations with improved accessibility including replacing escalators.

• Future Transport Fund – capital to support a range of low and zero carbon investment

• Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan- We will decarbonise Scotland's passenger rail services by 2035, ahead of the UK's target of 2040.

The Department has responsibility for the licensing, safety certification and safety authorisations of all mainline, light railways and heritage railways operating in Northern Ireland in exercise of the powers conferred on it under the Railway Safety Act (Northern Ireland) 2002. The Department regulates railway safety to ensure all Railway Undertakings, Infrastructure Managers and heritage rail operators comply with regulatory duties to provide a safe rail network. In addition, the Department is the Competent Authority for assessing compliance with technical standard on the rail network.

The Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company

The Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHC) is a public corporation and its responsibilities include holding and managing property assets and the oversight, in terms of support, control and supervision, of its private limited subsidiary companies, the principal ones being Ulsterbus, Metro (previously Citybus) and Northern Ireland Railways, trading jointly as Translink. It is expected to operate commercially and has a duty to operate in line with Ministerial policy.

The chairman and other directors of the Holding Company shall be appointed from among persons who appear to the Minister to have had wide experience of, and to have shown capacity in, transport, industrial, commercial or financial matters or to have

other adequate or suitable experience, and the Minister in appointing them shall have regard to the desirability of including among them persons who are directors of, or concerned in the management of, the subsidiaries of the Holding Company.

Travel Survey 2020

The Travel Survey for Northern Ireland (TSNI) started in 1999 and is produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure. It collects information on how and why people travel within Northern Ireland, and details information on journeys taken by mode of travel and purpose of journey. Covid-19 has had a knock-on effect on the usual publication timetable of the reports, therefore the 2020 report was published on 10 March 2022, and instead of the report covering its usual three year period, it only reports as a single year.

KEY PERSONNEL

Minister for Infrastructure: John O'Dowd

Permanent Secretary: Katrina Godfrey

Deputy Secretary – Resources, Governance and EU Group: Declan McGeown

Director of Safe and Sustainable Travel Division: Chris Hughes

Director of Finance: Susan Anderson

Director of Corporate Policy and Planning Division: Sian Kerr

Director of Transport Policy Division: Liz Loughran

Director of Gateways and EU Relations: Bernie Rooney

Director of Public Transport Division: Jackie Robinson

Head of Internal Audit: Tracey Woods

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Department for Infrastructure, Departmental Co-ordination Unit, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Belfast BT2 8GB

Tel: 028 9054 0540

Email: info@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk Visit: www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)

Formed on 1 April 2011, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority is run jointly by the leaders of the ten councils and the Mayor of Greater Manchester

Over the last decade several devolution agreements have been signed between Government and the GMCA. These agreements brought new powers and responsibilities to the region, including transport. To deliver these devolution agreements, it was decided that Greater Manchester should have an elected Mayor to act as a directly elected point of accountability for the GMCA.

The GMCA is both a political entity and an organisation in its own right. The political part of GMCA provides direction, governance, and oversight of the work they do on behalf of the city region for our residents and businesses. GMCA as an organisation translates that political direction into action through teams of dedicated experts across a range of functions and services.

As a political entity, GMCA comprises the ten local authorities that make up the city region. The Authority is Chaired by the Mayor, Andy Burnham and is led by the Chief Executive, Eamonn Boylan. Functional executive bodies, such as Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), are responsible for the delivery of services with the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee (TfGMC) and its sub committees managing the TfGM and creating the transport policy on behalf of the GMCA, however some decisions still require approval by the GMCA. TfGM delivers the GMCA’s transport policies, by coordinating transport networks across the region, deciding where to invest transport funding, and owning and running the Metrolink tram service. TfGM is a key partner in Rail North and Transport for the North.

The GMCA gives local people more control over issues that affect their area.

It means the region speaks with one voice and can make a strong case for resources and investment. There corporate objectives include:

1. Deliver core and devolved services for the public.

2. Secure, and manage, funding and investment at Greater Manchester level for agreed activity.

3. Work with the ten local authorities in Greater Manchester to drive collective activity that puts Greater Manchester at the forefront of tackling social, economic, and environmental issues.

4. Ensure Greater Manchester is speaking with one voice – developing, leading and implementing our evidence-based strategies, building our networks and partnerships and influencing policy.

GMCA coordinates transport services through the public body Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040

Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 sets out Greater Manchester’s longterm ambition for transport. The vision is for Greater Manchester to have ‘Worldclass connections that support long-term sustainable economic growth and access to opportunity for all’. It sets out a strong commitment to provide a transport system which: supports sustainable economic growth and the efficient and effective movement of people and goods; improves the quality of life for all by being integrated, affordable and reliable; protects the environment and supports our target to be net zero carbon by 2038 as well as improving air quality; and capitalises on new technology and innovation.

The Five-Year Transport Delivery Plan provides the detail of the schemes to be delivered to support progress towards the longer-term ambitions and targets. As additional funding is secured in the future, subsequent updates of the Delivery Plan will identify the schemes that provide the detail for the broad interventions identified in the 2040 Transport Strategy document.

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the local government body responsible for delivering Greater Manchester’s transport strategy and commitments. TfGM implements the decisions made by GMCA and the Greater Manchester Transport Committee GMTC to improve transport services and facilities in Greater Manchester.

TfGM owns Metrolink – the UK’s largest light rail network – and plan for its future, including the new Trafford Park line.

KEY PERSONNEL

Mayor: Andy Burnham

Chief Executive: Eamonn Boylan

Head of Communications: Sarah Keaveny

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Tootal Buildings, 56 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 6EU

Tel: 0161 778 7000

Email: enquiries@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk Visit: www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk

London TravelWatch

London TravelWatch is the official watchdog organisation representing the interests of transport users in and around the nation’s capital since July 2000

London TravelWatch was set up by Parliament to be the official voice of London’s travelling public. Funded by the London Assembly and accountable to it via the Assembly’s Transport Committee, the watchdog represents users of the national rail network in London and the surrounding commuter belt and international rail passengers using Eurostar. It also represents all those who use buses, the Underground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), dial-a-ride, trams, taxis, cable cars and river transport, as well as cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians and other users of London’s principal road network.

The watchdog aims to secure a better journey experience for everyone travelling in and around London: commuters, leisure travellers, visitors and tourists however they travel. Its multimodal remit reflects the way most people use transport in London – making active choices between modes and interchanging from one mode to another in the course of a typical journey. London TravelWatch carries out a variety of activities, including:

• Commissioning and carrying out research, evaluating and interpreting the research carried out by others, to ensure that its work is based on the best possible evidence.

• Investigating complaints that people have been unable to resolve with service providers.

• Reviewing over enquiries from transport users, taking up cases with the operator when the original response the complainant had received was unsatisfactory.

• Monitoring trends in service quality as part of an intelligence-led approach.

• Regularly meeting with and seeking to influence the relevant parts of the transport industry on all issues which affect the travelling public.

• Working with a wide range of public interest organisations, user groups and research bodies to ensure it keeps up to date with passenger experiences and concerns.

• Speaking for the travelling public in discussions with opinion formers and decision makers at all levels, including the Mayor of London, the London Assembly, the Government, Parliament, and local councils.

In 2021, London TravelWatch brought TfL and the rail industry together to improve cooperation on data sharing, which has led to better information being given to transport users about the busyness of services.

At the start of the pandemic in 2020, TfL removed the facility to pay by cash at over 200 Underground, DLR and Overground stations across the capital on a temporary basis and later in 2020, they proposed to extend this to cover all their stations in London. London TravelWatch research showed the significant impact withdrawing cash would have on passengers, especially those on low incomes, children or the 260,000 adults in London without a bank account. London TravelWatch’s investigation showed that some stations don’t have a Ticket Stop, usually a newsagent or convenience store, nearby, meaning that it would have been harder to top up an Oyster card with cash.

On 21 June 2021, Transport for London Commissioner Andy Byford confirmed that the ability to pay by cash will start to be reinstated at all of the Underground, Overground and DLR stations where it was removed at the start of the pandemic.

London TravelWatch also has a statutory role to assess the impact and make recommendations if proposals are made for the closure of a railway line or a station (or station facilities) within the London railway area.

London TravelWatch keeps its work priorities under review by means of a simple set of criteria. These criteria are similar to those used by other consumer protection and enforcement bodies and allow London TravelWatch to plan and coordinate its activity with other consumer bodies and the London Assembly.

London TravelWatch Board meetings are

open to the public, details are available on its website.

Surveys and commentary

London TravelWatch will routinely carry out surveys and publish commentary on London transport developments. In 2022, London TravelWatch discovered that 13 per cent of rail passengers said the quality of information around strikes from train companies has got worse this year. With a spokesperson saying: ‘There is a real danger that people become desensitised to news about train strikes and they zone out just at the mention of them.’

Commenting on the return of the night tube earlier in 2022, London TravelWatch Chief Executive Emma Gibson said: ‘Our recent personal security research showed that the later in the day it is, the less safe people feel. Frequent and reliable public transport is critical if people are to feel safe travelling after dark, particularly women and girls, older and disabled people and people of colour. So its good news that the Night Tube is returning on the Jubilee Line. Not everyone can afford a taxi or Uber when they need to get home late at night.’

KEY PERSONNEL

Chair: Arthur Leathley

Deputy Chair and Chair of the Policy Committee: Alan Benson MBE

Chief Executive: Joanna Davidson

Head of Communications: David Murdoch

Head of Casework: Susan James

Head of Campaigns and Advocacy: Alex Smith

CONTACT INFORMATION

Correspondence address: London TravelWatch PO Box 5594 Southend on Sea SS1 9PZ

Tel: 020 3176 2999

Email: info@londontravelwatch.org.uk

Visit: www.londontravelwatch.org.uk

National Infrastructure Commission

The National Infrastructure Commission carries out in-depth studies into the UK’s major infrastructure needs and makes recommendations to the government

The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) is an executive agency of the Treasury that provides impartial, expert advice and makes independent recommendations to the Government on economic infrastructure.

The Commission functions in an open and transparent manner, building consensus around its recommendations and engaging across parties and with the public, policymakers, infrastructure experts and relevant bodies.

Recommendations made by the NIC represent the views of the Commission and are not a statement of Government policy. However, the Government is required to respond formally to the Commission’s National Infrastructure Assessment and specific studies it undertakes.

The NIC engages closely with devolved administrations and bodies under their jurisdictions as appropriate, particularly on matters where the respective infrastructure policy responsibilities of the UK.

Government and devolved administrations interact. The NIC ensures that appropriate working arrangements are in place. The Commission’s remit does not include spending where infrastructure investment decisions rest with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Commission undertakes research into specific transport proposals when asked to do so by government, but also advises on broader questions of policy and approach to planning upgrades and new investment in road, rail, and other transport modes.

The National Infrastructure Assessment

The National Infrastructure Commission is charged with preparing a National Infrastructure Assessment once every Parliament, looking at the long-term needs of the main sectors of the UK’s economic infrastructure, including energy, transport, digital communications, waste, water and floods risk management.

The first National Infrastructure Assessment was published in July 2018, and made a series of recommendations for meeting the UK’s infrastructure needs up to

2050. Its core proposals include:

• Nationwide full fibre broadband by 2033.

• Half of the UK’s power provided by renewables by 2030, as part of a shift to a highly renewable generation mix – a target upgraded to 65 per cent of UK power by 2030.

• Three quarters of plastic packaging recycled by 2030.

• £43 billion of stable long-term transport funding for regional cities and new devolved powers for city leaders.

• A national rapid charging network to support a goal of 100 per cent of new car and van sales being electric by 2030.

• Ensuring resilience to drought through halving leakages by 2050, additional water supply infrastructure and demand reduction.

• A national standard of flood resilience for all communities by 2050.

The Assessment recommendations represent a major long-term programme of investment in the UK’s infrastructure. This includes substantial funding for major schemes such as Crossrail 2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The Assessment also highlights the need to shift to a low carbon economy, for example through decarbonising how the UK heats its homes and businesses. Furthermore, the Commission recommends the UK must prepare for connected and autonomous vehicles and these need more time for evidence or technology to develop. The Assessment sets out the actions needed to enable robust decisions to be taken in future.

In November 2020, the government published its National Infrastructure Strategy. The Strategy adopted the majority of the recommendations made in the Commission’s first Assessment. The Commission is now working on the second National Infrastructure Assessment, to be published in autumn 2023.

The Young Professionals Panel

The Young Professionals Panel supports and informs the Commission’s work and ensures a strong voice for the next generation of infrastructure leaders in the Commission’s

work. The second cohort features ten young infrastructure professionals from a range of professions, backgrounds and regions of the country. The Panel has its own agenda and work programme developed in conjunction with the Commission.

Example report

In November 2017 the Government asked the Commission to conduct a new study on the future of freight. The Commission’s study reviewed options to improve the existing infrastructure and recommended ways to use new technologies and processes to transform how freight is moved. A Call for Evidence was issued in January 2018 and an interim report was published on 21 December 2018.

The final report of the study – Better delivery: the challenge for freight –found that through the adoption of new technologies and the recognition of freight’s needs in the planning system, it is possible to decarbonise road and rail freight by 2050 and manage its contribution to congestion.

The government published its formal response to the study in August 2021, welcoming the core themes of the Commission’s report, and announcing its intention to form a partnership with the freight industry to create a ‘future of freight’ strategic plan with a cross-modal focus.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive: James Heath

Chair: Sir John Armitt CBE

Commissioner: Neale Coleman CBE

Commissioner: Professor Sir Tim Besley CBE

Commissioner: Professor David Fisk CB

Commissioner: Andy Green CBE

Commissioner: Professor Sadie Morgan OBE

Commissioner: Julia Prescot

Commissioner: Bridget Rosewell CBE

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Finlaison House, 15 Furnival Street, London EC4A 1AB

Tel: 020 7270 4428 / 1381

Email: enquiries@nic.gov.uk

Visit: www.nic.org.uk

Twitter: @NatInfraCom

North East Combined Authority

The NECA is the legal body that brings together the seven councils of County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland

The North East Combined Authority’s ambition, as set out in its Transport Manifesto is to provide affordable, attractive, reliable, safe, healthy transport choices for businesses, residents and visitors while enhancing the environment.

Working with partners, the NECA provides leadership and a united voice on key strategic transport issues, links strategic transport planning with economic priorities, provides strong representation on transport issues of national significance including rail, air travel, strategic road network and ports as well as providing more effective coordination to enable improvement to the area’s public transport network.

Previously overseen by the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority (ITA), in 2014 the responsibilities and assets of the ITA were transferred to the NECA. From that date the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Area was dissolved. NEXUS manages the functions which it previously delivered within the Tyne and Wear area.

NEXUS is the trading name of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. NEXUS is an independent organisation. It was created in 1969 by the Tyneside Passenger Transport (Designation) Order 1961 in accordance with the Transport Act 1968 and is responsible for overseeing work and ensuring good governance. The vast majority of these responsibilities have been delegated to a committee of NECA – the Transport North East (Tyne and Wear) SubCommittee.

Some responsibilities, such as the setting of transport levies and the approval of the regional transport strategy are discharged by the Authority’s principal decision-making body – the NECA Leadership Board. The NECA has prepared and submitted a bid on behalf of the seven local authorities which aims to obtain in excess of £100 million in funding which will be invested in major improvements to sustainable transport in the area.

The aim of this bid is to help close the area’s productivity gap through better connectivity and more mobility, enabling growth, reducing congestion and improving air quality and public health at the same time.

Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro serves Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. When the Metro opened to the public in August 1980 it was Britain’s first light rapid transit system and was the first railway in the country to be truly wheelchair compatible.

The system was progressively opened in phases through to 1984 when the full 34 miles of the original network became operational with the opening of the line into South Shields. In its first year of full operation there were more than sixty million passenger journeys. The local rail network was privatised in 1996, however, Tyne and Wear PTE, Nexus as it is now called, kept responsibility for the operation of the Metro. The Metro wasextended to Sunderland in April 2002.

North East transforming cities fund bid

In March 2018 the Department for Transport (DFT) launched a Call for Proposals for city region authorities wishing to obtain capital funding from its Transforming Cities Fund (TCF). On 28 November 2019 the North East region submitted an ambitious and integrated programme of capital investments to the Department for Transport, seeking funding from the Transforming Cities Fund. The

region’s programme envisages a £467 million investment in public transport, sustainable transport and supporting capital investment. The programme as a whole represents high value for money – its economic benefits outweigh the costs of investment by a ratio of 3:1 – and can be delivered by 2023.

KEY PERSONNEL

Head of Paid Service: Patrick Melia

Deputy Head of Paid Service: John Hewitt, Jonathan Tew

Chief Finance Officer: Paul Darby

Monitoring Officer (Core NECA): Nicola Robason

Monitoring Officer (Transport): Mike Barker

Policy and Scrutiny Officer: Gavin Armstrong

CONTACT INFORMATION

c/o South Tyneside Council

Town Hall & Civic Offices

Westoe Road

South Shields NE33 2RL

Tel: 0191 643 5339

Email: enquiries@northeastca.gov.uk

Visit: www.northeastca.gov.uk

Office of Rail and Road

The Office of Rail and Road is a non-ministerial government department and is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain’s railway

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is responsible for protecting the interests of rail users now and in the future. ORR does this by holding Network Rail (and in future Great British Railways) to account and keeping the railway safe by regulating the rail industry’s health and safety performance. It also holds HighSpeed1 Ltd (HS1) to account and makes sure that the rail industry is competitive and fair.

ORR holds National Highways to account for its performance and efficiency, and it has economic regulatory functions in relation to railways in Northern Ireland and the UK section of the Channel Tunnel.

Keeping Britain’s railway safe Britain has one of the safest railways in Europe for passengers and workers. With more than 100 HM Railway Inspectors dedicated to keeping every railway safe – from the mainline network, London Underground to light rail, trams, and the heritage sector –ORR works with the rail industry to identify, assess, and manage safety issues.

Inspectors are out on the network every day ensuring all train and freight operating companies and Network Rail manage passenger and workforce health and safety risks appropriately. ORR also offers advice, guidance and conducts research to promote continuous improvement.

ORR’s inspectors carry out investigations into breaches of health and safety law on the railway and take both informal and formal enforcement action, and as a last resort, ORR can prosecute a company for health and safety failings when things go wrong.

Holding Network Rail and HS1 to account

The railway network needs to be run for the benefit of the whole country. ORR oversees Network Rail (and in the future Great British Railways), holding it to account for its performance and service – overseeing whether it is delivering value for money –for passengers, the freight industry, and taxpayers.

As part of this, ORR monitors Network Rail’s train punctuality performance and upkeep of rail assets. ORR is also responsible

for determining operator access when disputes arise between Network Rail and operators.

As outlined in the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, the role of Network Rail is changing through rail reform. ORR’s role will adapt to reflect these changes and ensure ORR remains a strong independent body overseeing Great British Railways. This is essential to maintaining accountability, transparency, and efficiency across the network.

ORR also holds HS1 to account for the performance of its railway for train services, upkeep of the network and that it meets its efficiency targets. ORR is working with the French rail regulator Autorité de Régulation des Activités Ferroviaires (ARAF) to promote competition, full transparency, and fair access to the Channel Tunnel.

ORR works to ensure that rail markets are competitive and fair – for passengers, freight customers, railway operators and taxpayers. ORR does this by integrating its economic, competition and consumer functions and powers.

ORR and consumers

For consumers, ORR plays a key role in improving the rail passenger experience for which it has regulatory responsibility, taking prompt and effective action to improve the service that passengers receive where it is required.

ORR also sets guidance on the standards train and station operators must meet on assisted travel. They do this through; ensuring train companies provide accurate and timely information, particularly during disruption, handling complaint procedures seamlessly, and monitoring how train and station operators handle these situations.

Independent publication of railway data

As the accredited primary provider of railway industry official statistics, ORR publishes a range of statistics, including railway performance, rail usage (both passenger and freight) and safety. This open data and information about the rail industry promotes transparency and a better understanding of Britain’s railway.

The trustworthiness, quality and value of ORR statistics are overseen by the UK Statistics Authority’s regulatory arm – the Office for Statistics Regulation.

ORR IN BRIEF

ORR regulates Network Rail including setting the targets it must achieve and reporting regularly on its performance. ORR also regulates health and safety standards and compliance across the whole rail industry. It oversees competition and consumer rights issues – driving a better deal for rail passengers and taxpayers. ORR regulates the HighSpeed1 link to the Channel Tunnel. ORR also holds National Highways to account for its performance and efficiency against

KEY PERSONNEL

Chair: Declan Collier

Chief Executive: John Larkinson

Director of Economics, Finance and Markets: Will Godfrey

Director, Corporate Operations: Vinita Hill

HM Chief Inspector of Railways and Director, Railway Safety: Ian Prosser CBE

Director of Railway Planning & Performance: Feras Alshaker

Director of Strategy, Policy and Reform: Stephanie Tobyn

Director of Communications: Russell Grossman

CONTACT INFORMATION

Tel: 020 7282 2000

Visit: www.orr.gov.uk

Address: 25 Cabot Square London E14 4QZ

Rail Accident Investigation Branch

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) independently investigates accidents to improve railway safety, and inform the industry and the public

Lord Cullen’s inquiry report on the Ladbroke Grove rail accident in 1999 recommended the creation of an organisation to independently investigate railway accidents to improve safety. RAIB became operational in October 2005 as the independent body for investigating accidents and incidents on mainline railways, metros, tramways and heritage railways throughout the UK.

RAIB employs inspectors and principal inspectors with either a professional railway or investigation background and gives them extensive training in railway operations, railway engineering and investigating. Including the inspectors and the team who provide essential business support, RAIB has a total staff of 44 people.

Investigations are focused solely on improving safety. RAIB are not a prosecuting body and do not apportion blame or liability. Possible breaches of legislation are dealt with by other organisations, usually the police and safety authorities. RAIB’s responsibilities are:

• To investigate causes of railway accidents and incidents where it believes investigation will bring safety learning to the industry.

• Identify the factors that may lead to a similar accident or make the consequences worse.

• Highlight gaps in the railway industry’s safety defences that are revealed during investigations.

• Make recommendations to prevent the same thing happening again.

• Increase awareness of how railway accidents happen and cooperate with other investigation organisations nationally and internationally to share and encourage good practice.

Whenever RAIB investigates, it publishes the results as an investigation report. RAIB also produces safety digests that highlight learning points which have emerged from the preliminary examination of an event.

RAIB investigates accidents and

incidents which occur on the UK main line networks (Network Rail and Northern Ireland Railways), London Underground, other metro systems, tramways, heritage railways and the UK part of the Channel Tunnel. Operators of these types of railway and tramway have a duty under the law to notify RAIB of some types of accidents and incidents.

RAIB monitors operations on the major networks through various industry reporting systems and has the legal power and discretion to decide to investigate any event that occurs on a system that is within its scope, not just those that it is notified of as a requirement.

RAIB recognises the continuing efforts of the Office of Rail and Road and Network Rail to radically alter the way that track maintenance activities are delivered, with a fundamental move away from working on lines that are still open to traffic and reliance on warnings provided by lookouts (so called red zone working).

Some events on the main line railways that result in death or serious injury will not be investigated by RAIB (and in some cases they do not have to be notified to RAIB). There are two main reasons why this may happen. In many cases, from the information available at the time, it appears that the person concerned has deliberately trespassed or otherwise put themselves in harm’s way. If RAIB is satisfied, after making enquiries, that although an accidental sequence of events has resulted in tragic consequences, there are no safety lessons to be learned, RAIB will not investigate further.

RAIB priorities

As it is based in operational centres in Derby and Farnborough, RAIB is able to respond quickly to accidents in any part of the UK. RAIB prioritises:

• Continued delivery of high-quality investigations and the dissemination of timely and effective safety learning.

• Working with other railway accident investigators in the UK to share good

practice and to help improve the quality of investigations throughout the industry.

• The active exploration of new ways of working with the other transport accident investigation branches to promote improvements to its effectiveness, efficiency and resilience, whilst also safeguarding RAIB’s functional independence in the selection and conduct of investigations.

• To review and revise RAIB’s documented working arrangements with British Transport Police and the Office of Rail and Road.

• Continuing to improve how RAIB manages investigation data.

• Continuing to explore ways of communicating RAIB safety learning in a way that better meets the needs of stakeholders (including the use of social media).

• Working to improve information exchange with railway accident investigation bodies in Europe and beyond.

• Forging new working relationships with the rail industry and academia.

• A fresh examination of the way RAIB recruits and develops its talent to promote greater inclusion, and improve the diversity of its team.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents: Andrew Hall

CONTACT INFORMATION

Tel: 01332 253300

Email: enquiries@raib.gov.uk

Visit: www.raib.gov.uk

Address: The Wharf, Stores Road, Derby DE21 4BA

Rail Safety and Standards Board

The RSSB (Rail Safety and Standards Board) is an independent body, working with its 88 member companies to drive improvements in the British rail system

Drawing on experience and expertise from across the sector, it brings all aspects of light rail safety under one roof while providing a central resource where colleagues can access the latest guidance and standards documentation.

Its role is to help the rail industry continually improve its health and safety performance in order to reduce risk to rail employees, passengers and the public at large. RSSB does this through developing standards, providing analysis and insight to health and safety data, carrying out research, promoting sustainability principles, and facilitating the industry’s technology strategy.

• RSSB’s strategic priorities are:

• Supporting healthy and safe collaboration and informing industry decisions to reduce risk and harm.

• Supporting enhanced performance and efficiency updating standards, modernising systems, informing and enabling innovation.

• Supporting the application of sustainability principles

RSSB members include Network Rail and other infrastructure managers, all the train operating companies (TOCs), all the freight operating companies (FOCs), rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs), infrastructure contractors, and suppliers.

Sustainable Rail Executive (SRE) by RSSB

The SRE is a pan-industry group of rail industry leaders, committed to sustainability leadership who will be responsible for a new Sustainable Rail Strategy. The group will oversee and promote the development of an ambitious, affordable, and coherent sustainability programme to make rail the leading mode of sustainable transport.

SRE’s representatives are drawn from: Chiltern Railways by Arriva, Crossrail, Department for Transport, DB Cargo, Eversholt Rail, HS2, Network Rail, Office of Rail and Road, Rail Operations Group, Rail Delivery Group, Rail Freight Group, Railway

Industry Association, RSSB, Siemens, Transpennine Express.

Five-year plan

On 4 April 2019, RSSB published its 20192024 Business Plan, outlining how it will work over the next five years to support a safer railway into Control Period 6 (CP6) and beyond. Setting out how RSSB will meet a range of industry priorities and challenges to put passengers first, the plan focuses on the crucial areas of safety, health and wellbeing, sustainability, efficiency, innovation and the future post-Brexit.

RISAS and RISQS

RISAS is the Railway Industry Supplier Approval Scheme. It ensures that suppliers of critical products have the appropriate systems, processes, competence, resources, facilities and procedures. Companies undergo a challenging assessment by a Railway Industry Supplier Approval Body (RISAB). The assessment involves on-site interviews and evaluations to get proof that the company can meet the standards expected.

A successful assessment leads to the award of a RISAS certificate. This is evidence that an independent, robust, rigorous and transparent assessment of the supplier has taken place, by experts.

These details are added to the RISAS website which holds a searchable database of companies who hold RISAS certificates and details the products and services they cover. RSSB manages the scheme on behalf of the rail industry providing its profile and governance. RSSB also accredits the RISABs.

RISQS

RISQS is recognised and supported by the rail industry as the most effective means of deriving assurance and managing supply chain risk. It gives the industry’s 100-plus buyer members the assurance to do business with confidence with 4,000 supplier members. It’s an open, fair and transparent way for them to be formally recognised as capable providers of products and services to the GB rail market, on a smart, quick, easy web-based platform. Suppliers can be

audited once via RISQS for their capabilities avoiding the need for them to be subjected to multiple, duplicate auditing from different buyers.

CIRAS

CIRAS is an independent, not-for-profit confidential reporting service, funded by its members. Its ambition is to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of staff and passengers across the transport sector. Transport workers can get in touch and CIRAS listens to their concerns in complete confidence.

CIRAS raises the concern with the relevant company and sends the response back to the person who raised the concern so that they know what action has been taken. CIRAS members use the intelligence they receive from reports to reduce risk, improve safety and wellbeing, and foster a positive safety culture. CIRAS also works with its 2,000-strong member community to share learning and good practice.

Starting out as a charity working with one train operator over 20 years ago, today CIRAS members span construction, transport operators including bus, light rail, tram, urban metros and mainline rail, and the transport supply chain. CIRAS is part of the RSSB Group.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chair: Mike Brown

Chief Executive Officer: Mark Phillips

Chief Financial Officer: Hannah Kingsley

Chief Operating Officer: Johnny Schute

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: The Helicon, 1 South Place, London EC2M 2RB

Tel: 020 3142 5300

Email: enquirydesk@rssb.co.uk

Visit: www.rssb.co.uk

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is the Regional Transport Partnership for the west of Scotland

The Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive (GGPTE) was created in 1972 to oversee all suburban railways in the Glasgow area. In the 1980s it was replaced by the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (SPTE). In 1996, the Executive was reincorporated as a body consisting of councillors drawn from the twelve Council Areas which succeeded Strathclyde Region.

In 2006 Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (and Authority), along with the WESTRANS voluntary regional transport partnership, was replaced by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. It is part of the transport framework created by the Scottish Government, which is made up of a national transport agency, Transport Scotland, and seven Regional Transport Partnerships. As part of this reorganisation SPT gained responsibility of the region’s transport planning; analysing all travel needs and developing the transport system for now and the future.

SPT is the largest of the seven regional transport partnerships. SPT’s role involves planning and delivering transport solutions for all modes of transport across the region, in conjunction with member councils and industry partners. It runs the Glasgow Subway, a host of specialist bus services and is responsible for delivering public transport.

The Partnership consists of 20 elected members representing the twelve constituent authorities in the west of Scotland and between seven and nine appointed members.

In March 2021 the Chair and Vice-Chairs of SPT presented a proposal to evolve SPT into ‘Transport for Strathclyde’, a more powerful authority in control of one network across the region. It called for a new parliamentary Bill to empower the body and a ‘public transport social contract’ with the public which guarantees access to work, health, education and recreation – ‘without breaking the bank or planet’.

Rail

Glasgow has the largest network of suburban railway lines in the UK outside of London. SPT is no longer involved in the everyday operation of the rail network. The rolling stock was operated on behalf of SPT by First ScotRail (also part of FirstGroup) until March 2015, since April that same year Abellio ScotRail has operated rail services under the ScotRail brand.

Subway

The Glasgow Subway is the only underground metro system in Scotland. Originally built for the Glasgow District Subway Company, the railway first opened in 1896. The Subway is generally recognised as the world’s third oldest underground railway, after London and Budapest. And the only one that has never been expanded from its original route.

The Subway forms a circle in the centrewest of Glasgow and carries 13 million passengers each year. The entire route is underground, contained in twin tunnels, 15 stations are distributed along the route length of over six miles. Eight of the stations are north of the River Clyde which dissects the circular route.

In 1977, Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive closed it for major modernisation works. The railway in its present form reopened for operation on 16 April 1980. Now part of SPT, the railway is one of the few in the UK remaining in public ownership and is ‘vertically integrated’, which means SPT’s responsibility covers all aspects of operation and infrastructure.

In 2016, SPT took a significant step forward in improving its Subway and is currently undergoing its biggest modernisation programme in more than 30 years. A £288 million funding package for the work is being supported by the Scottish Government. As well as the new trains, the Subway’s signalling equipment, control systems and control centre will all be replaced, and the upgrade will include

new platform screen doors. Glasgow Subway modernisation continues at a rapid pace. Having now completed all 15 stations including two city centre flagship stations all with the intent to; improve accessibility, introduce more smart technology ticketing, and provide a fresher look to its stations, all while minimising disruption.

The SPT is passionate about its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint through finding ways of adopting sustainable policies and practices where possible. Work is ongoing across SPT to identify measures to improve energy efficiency, reduce water consumption and minimise waste. The SPT also have a JourneySharing community, helping commuters connect where they have similar journey details to save money, and reduce CO2 emissions.

Once the modernisation plan is complete, and it has been fully tested, the Subway will move from its current partially automatic trains to Unattended Train Operations (UTO). SPT administers a range of integrated travel tickets, such as ZoneCard, Roundabout and Daytripper giving discounted fares on buses, trains, ferries and the Subway.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive: Valerie Davidson

Director of Finance: Neil Wylie

Director of Subway: Antony Smith

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 131 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5JF

Tel: 0141 332 6811

Email: enquiry@spt.co.uk Visit: www.spt.co.uk

Transport for Greater Manchester

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is a not-for-profit local

Government

body responsible for delivering the transport strategy set by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)

More than 5.6 million journeys are made across Greater Manchester’s transport network each day. TfGM coordinates transport networks across the region, decides where to invest transport funding, and owns and runs the Metrolink tram service. It builds and manages bus stations and transport interchanges, provides travel planning and timetable information to passengers, and promotes walking and cycling as safe and healthy choices. The Greater Manchester rail network is now used by around forty million passengers a year. This is an increase of thirty per cent over the past decade and TfGM has an influential voice in developing the best possible rail services in Greater Manchester.

TfGM assets include 99 Metrolink stops across the light rail network, 120 tram vehicles, 15 Park & Ride sites, 20 Free Buses, over 15 transport interchanges and many other properties.

In 2021, TfGM marked ten years since its inception after a reform of local government in Greater Manchester granted the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) more powers and led to a rebranding.

Since the rebranding, TfGM has delivered many high profile and successful projects and schemes, including:

• The £1.5 billion ‘Phase Three’ Metrolink expansion between 2010 and 2015, which saw new lines through dozens of local communities, with extensions to Rochdale via Oldham, Ashton-underLyne, East Didsbury and Manchester Airport.

• The £350 million Trafford Park line in March 2020, adding a further 5.5km of track and six new stops to serve one of the region’s major employment, leisure and retail destinations.

• New transport interchanges in Rochdale, Ashton, Altrincham, Wythenshawe and Bolton, while Radcliffe and Wigan now enjoy new, state-of-the-art bus stations.

• The award-winning £122 million Leigh to Ellenbrook Guided Busway in April 2016 which, prior to the pandemic, required extra services to help cope with demand.

• The delivery of the first 55 miles of safe cycling and walking routes by the end of 2021, with plenty more schemes in the pipeline for delivery as part of the Bee Network, a plan for the UK’s largest cycling and walking network.

• The TravelSafe Partnership – a multiagency body led by TfGM and Greater Manchester Police, that takes an intelligence-lead, problem-solving approach to tackling crime and ASB on public transport.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Operating Officer: Bob Morris

Finance and Corporate Services Director: Steve Warrener

Head of Rail Programme: Simon Elliott

Communications Officer: David Stevenson

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 2 Piccadilly Place, Manchester M1 3BG Tel: 0161 224 41000

Email: customer.relations@tfgm.com Visit: www.tfgm.com

Anochrome Technologies Ltd provides a global source of specialist coatings on both small and large batch sizes which include Solid film lubricants, Aesthetic / decorative, EMC/RFI shielding, Anodising, Pad / Screen Printing High temperature Performance ,High end Zinc flake corrosion and to add to the already long list we have a new product range called Anoshield which is a Duplex system for high-end corrosion used for the harshest of environments which is proving itself well in the Nuclear, offshore rail and tunnelling sectors gaining approvals with various certification body’s as it is used to replace existing technologies.

Full Technical back up and support are available to assist you in your requirements please contact:

Anochrome Technologies Ltd

Commercial Road Bloxwich, Walsall, West Midlands WS2 7NQ

Email: sales@anotec.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1922 404604

Wolverhampton Electro Plating Ltd provides A global source of Zinc Flake coatings, organics Mechanical plating Electro plating, phosphating covering a vast array of market sectors Auto motive construction, Oil and Gas , Rail and Nuclear, to name a few. using the latest Bulk processing Robotic Technology available on the market this provides a high end Quality ,Fast ,competitive reliable product to meet the ever increasing demands the market place require.

Full Technical back up and support are available to assist you in your requirements please contact:

Wolverhampton Electro Plating Ltd Wood Lane, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton WV10 8HN

Email: sales@wepltd.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1902 397333

Anochrome Ltd

Anochrome Ltd provides offers high levels of service and satisfaction to all its customers and meets in full, the requirements of a wide range of markets, offering bulk processes including vat zinc and vat zinc nickel electroplating lines with a comprehensive range of passivates and torque modifying top coats including the latest heavy weight trivalent passivates.

The Cathodic Electrocoat or E-cote line has recently been upgraded to improve performance, of both the paint system and the operation and is capable of supplying competitive volume racked products to many automotive and industrial specifications.

Commercial Road Bloxwich, Walsall, West Midlands WS2 7NQ

Email: sales@anotec.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1922 404604

Inlex locking Ltd

Inlex locking Ltd the thread locking and sealing specialists of the group provides a fully comprehensive range of thread locking and sealant products for today’s high-tech fastening applications. Applied via robotic and automated equipment using the latest technologies, application of reactive microencapsulated adhesives and non-reactive thread and under head sealants systems provide the solution to the perennial problems of sealing metal to metal joints, whilst not affecting the integrity of the joint. The latest technology at Inlex allows duplex patches to be applied featuring two different products on the same fastener or if required single application of the same material on both thread and under head in one application.

The latest Technology for Protection against Weld Splatter and Electrodeposited Coatings (KTL0 to the vast array of services provided by Inlex is omniMASK.

Inlex-Locking Ltd

Wood Lane, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton WV10 8HN

Email: sales@inlexltd.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1902 397300

Transport for London

Transport for London (TfL) is the integrated transport authority responsible for delivering the Mayor of London’s strategy and commitments on transport

Every day around 30 million journeys are made across the network and TfL keeps the city moving, runs the day-to-day operation of the Capital’s public transport network and manages London’s main roads.

The services operated include London Underground, London Buses, Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, TfL Rail, London Trams, London River Services, London Dial-a-Ride, Victoria Coach Station, Santander Cycles and the Emirates Air Line. TfL provides modern ways to pay through Oyster and contactless payment cards and provides live travel information via the app TFL Go, which allows users to get live updates on their journey, and advises on the most accessible routes for those with reduced mobility.

The TfL programme of transport capital investment is one of the world’s largest. It is modernising Tube services and stations, transforming the road network and making it safer, especially for more vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. It is also working hard to help customers with reduced mobility access stations, as one third of London underground stations are now step-free.

TfL Rail

TfL started managing the Liverpool Street to Shenfield rail service in May 2015 and the running of eleven stations between Acton Main Line and Taplow (excluding Slough station) in December 2017. Those stations transferred to TfL Rail outside London were included because they are part of an existing rail route.

TfL Rail does not affect the ‘fast’ trains that serve major stops such as Southend-onSea. These are still the responsibility of the Government and run alongside TfL services. TfL has overall responsibility for the train frequency specifications, standards for station facilities and overall performance as well as fares and revenue management.

Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex, visited Paddington Elizabeth line station on 17 May 2022 to mark the completion of the transformational new railway ahead of its

opening later on in May 2022. It is due to run twelve trains per hour between Paddington and Abbey Wood, transforming travel across London and the South East by improving transport links and cutting journey times. It will initially operate as three separate railways, with services from Reading, Heathrow, and Shenfield connecting with the central tunnels from autumn 2022.

Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) opened in 1987 and operates as a driverless, computerised system with performance and dependability among the best in the UK. The DLR network of 45 stations has multiple connections with the Tube, buses, National Rail, Overground, river and coach services and runs 149 vehicles.

The DLR is currently the busiest light railway in the UK, with over 400,000 journeys made each weekday.The DLR is operated by KeolisAmey Docklands (KAD) under a franchisee contract awarded by TfL. It operates the trains, stations and maintains much of the network. KAD took over the franchise from Serco Docklands in December 2014.

A contract was awarded to Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, S.A (CAF) in June 2019 to replace some of

the oldest trains operating on the network. The new fleet of walk-through trains are expected to start entering passenger service from 2023 providing a number of customer improvements, including the latest audio and visual real-time travel information, air conditioning and mobile device charging points.

London Overground

TfL is responsible for London Overground – a group of orbital lines serving many areas of the Capital. Launched in 2007, around a third of all Londoners are within walking distance of a London Overground station. There are six London Overground routes that, together, form an outer London orbital network. This route travels through 23 London boroughs, as well as southern Hertfordshire and serves 112 stations. Upgrades to London Overground stations is ongoing, with improved ticket halls and gates, installed lifts, widened entrances, improved shelters and increased cycle parking to name a few of the improvements to service.

In November 2016 Arriva began to manage the network’s stations and trains on a day-to-day basis. Network Rail manages and maintains most of the track and signals, as London Overground is part of the National Rail network.

QUICK FACTS

• Rumour has it that the Bakerloo line was created after a group of businessmen complained that they couldn't get to and from Lord's Cricket Ground quickly enough.

• Opened in 1863, The Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon was the first, urban, underground railway in the world.

• One third of London Underground stations are now step-free.

• The average additional journey time required for step-free journeys has now been reduced to around 6.7 minutes, comparing to 9.5 minutes back in 2016.

• Her Majesty became the first reigning monarch to travel on the London Underground in 1969, when she opened the Victoria line.

• Although a number of Jubilee line stations are among the Underground's newest, the line also serves some stations that originally opened over 100 years ago.

• No other city is as defined by its transport system as London.

London Trams

TfL took over the running of Trams in 2008 and completely refurbished the Trams network which had been created eight years earlier. Trams offer frequent services from Croydon to Wimbledon, Beckenham Junction, Elmers End and New Addington. TfL sets the specifications for tram frequency and overall performance, is responsible for fares and revenue, carries out maintenance, and plans and funds improvements and extensions to the network. The tram network has 17 miles of track, 34 trams in the fleet and 39 stops. It serves seven National Rail stations and more than fifty bus routes. Tram Operations (TOL), a subsidiary of First Group, operates trams day-to-day under a franchisee agreement with TfL. TOL’s contract will expire in 2030.

With an expected passenger growth of 60 million by 2030 there is certainly room in the next eight years to upgrade the network and accommodate this passenger growth. This includes plans to provide seamless local journeys within south London by integrating trams with the Tube, and other local rail networks.

London Underground

London Underground, better known as the Tube, opened in 1863, it is the world’s oldest underground railway network, and one of the largest. The Tube spans 270 stations and over eleven lines. TfL is responsible for all aspects of the Tube’s operations including running the trains, stations and control centres, making sure the Tube is safe and secure, and collecting and protecting

fares revenue as well as the maintenance and renewal of most of the infrastructure used by the Tube, although some services run over track that is the responsibility of Network Rail.

As the city continued to recover from the pandemic, and despite hybrid working becoming more of a norm TfL figures show that tube ridership increased by more than 25 per cent between the months January and February of 2022. With stations in the heart of London’s financial district, like Bank and Canary Wharf seeing ridership numbers back on track.

KEY PERSONNEL

Commissioner: Andy Byford

Director of Communications & Corporate Affairs: Matt Brown

General Counsel: Howard Carter

Chief Capital Officer: Stuart Harvey

Chief Finance Officer: Simon Kilonback

Chief Operating Officer: Andy Lord

Chief Safety, Health and Environment Officer: Lilli Matson

Chief Customer & Strategy Officer: Gareth Powell

Chief Executive, Crossrail Limited: Mark Wild

TFL’s Director of Customer Operations: Nick Dent

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ

Tel: 0343 222 1234

Email: Contact via website Visit: www.tfl.gov.uk

Transport for the North

Transport for the North is the country’s first Sub-national Transport Body, formed to transform the transport system across the North of England, providing the infrastructure needed to drive economic growth

Transport for the North became England’s first Sub-national Transport Body in April 2018, bringing together the North’s 20 Local Transport Authorities and eleven Local Enterprise Partnerships to enable the North to speak with one voice on the transport infrastructure investment needed to drive transformational growth and rebalance the UK economy.

Strategic Rail

The Strategic Rail programme is key to ensuring the synergies between the North’s classic rail network, the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme, together with HS2 Phase 2b and Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), through the Integrated Rail Programme (IRP), are fully optimised.

In operational terms, the programme partners with the Department for Transport in overseeing and managing the region’s biggest rail operators – Northern Trains Limited and TransPennine Express. The Rail North Partnership, informed by the advice and guidance of the Rail North Committee and the Department for Transport, oversees and manages the performance and delivery targets of these operators and works to ensure they are both fit for purpose and future-proofed.

In 2020, with the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, the above work took on a special significance as both regional and national government effectively took control of the operators to ensure they could both meet national needs in providing essential transport links and have some protection against the economic effects of the pandemic. Rail recovery continues to be a key focus for the programme.

The Northern and TransPennine Express rail services run through 25 local authority areas, including the 20 authorities that sit on the Partnership Board of Transport for the North. They engage regularly with representatives from all 25 authorities through our Rail Officer Reference Group.

Northern Powerhouse Rail

Northern Powerhouse Rail is a major strategic rail programme that will deliver radical improvements to train service frequencies and journey times, to better connect the key economic areas in the North

of England. Delivered over a phased 30-year period, the programme will transform eastwest rail travel across the region to enhance connectivity, capacity and reliability.

By linking the east and west of the North, as well as linking with HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail will deliver vastly improved regional rail connections, providing modern, high-speed, low-carbon services which will improve the passenger experience, and encourage a modal shift from cars to trains, contributing greatly to the decarbonisation agenda.

Northern Powerhouse Rail will also release capacity in the existing rail network, supporting improvements in the local and freight services on which much of the region depends, as well as improving connectivity to international gateways including Manchester Airport. The programme will connect the major urban centres of the North, and under-served communities, to generate opportunity, attract investment, create jobs and move the North towards a more integrated economy that will ‘level-up’ the region and boost UK productivity The North’s economy will flourish with proper investment. Regional strengths in advanced manufacturing and research have already attracted investment from Boeing in Sheffield and Siemens in Goole, while recent announcements of the new UK Infrastructure Bank in Leeds and ‘Treasury North’ in Darlington, as well as the announcement of three freeports in the region in the 2021 budget, show confidence and ambition for the North. To maximise and expand upon this ambition, the North’s creaking rail infrastructure must be improved.

Ultimately, Northern Powerhouse Rail - delivered in full alongside HS2 and the Transpennine Route Upgrade – will define the North’s economic prosperity for the rest of this century, boosting jobs and growth, while also playing a significant role in reducing carbon emissions in the region and delivering tangible transformational benefits to people and business.

Transport for the North (TfN) and Department for Transport (DfT), working with delivery partners Network Rail and HS2 Ltd, has carried out substantial work to develop options in each NPR corridor. New lines and significant improvements to

Martin Tugwell, Chief Executive of Transport for the North

existing lines would free up capacity and reduce disruption, enabling more services on local lines, increasing opportunities for both workers and consumers.

Stay in touch

Transport for the North produces a regular podcast on all things transport and the Northern Powerhouse, covering topics such as devolution, levelling up, economic growth, productivity, investment and more. It is available via the TfN website and on Spotify and Soundcloud. The All Points North e-newsletter highlights the top stories each week – sign up via the TfN website.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chair: Lord Patrick McLoughlin

Chief Executive: Martin Tugwell

Rail and Roads Director and Deputy Chief Executive: Darren Oldham

Finance Director: Paul Kelly

Strategy, Policy and Communications Director: Katie Day

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 2nd Floor, 4 Piccadilly Place, Manchester M1 3BN

Tel: 0161 244 0888 Email: info@transportforthenorth.com Visit: www.transportforthenorth.com

‘TfN continues to use its evidencebased approach to make the case for strategic transport improvements across the whole of the North.

West Midlands Combined Authority

Led by the Mayor of the West Midlands, the WMCA brings together 18 local councils and three Local Enterprise Partnerships to oversee the transfer of powers and funding from Whitehall to the West Midlands

The authority consists of 18 local authorities and four Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) working together to move powers from Whitehall to the West Midlands and its locally elected politicians. It includes the seven metropolitan West Midlands councils (constituent authorities), ten non-constituent authorities/councils and one observer council, as well as the Mayor of the West Midlands.

The transport arm of the WMCA is Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) which coordinates investment to improve the region’s transport infrastructure and create a fully integrated, safe and secure network. It is also responsible for assessing and planning for the region’s future transport needs so the network can meet the demands of businesses and a growing population. The expansion of the Midland Metro tram system is just one of the many projects that TfWM is delivering to help meet those future needs. Where they are adding:

• Up to 50 extra trams.

• New control, communications and passenger information systems.

• An upgraded depot, control room and maintenance.

Midlands Rail Hub

The Midlands Rail Hub is a £2 billion package of improvements to transform east-west rail connections. The project was awarded £20 million in the March 2020 Budget to develop the scheme to outline business case. The plans outline a programme of new and upgraded infrastructure that will be implemented in phases between now and 2033. It will strengthen rail links between Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry, Derby, Hereford and Worcester, improve services to Wales and the South West and allow more people to access HS2.

HS2 Connectivity Package investment

The WMCA has been a strong advocate for the planned HS2 line and has put in place

a £4.4 billion HS2 Growth Strategy to make the most of HS2 arriving in the West Midlands. As part of this Growth Strategy there is a Local Connectivity Package of 20 transport schemes to effectively ‘plugin’ the two new HS2 stations to local transport network.

These schemes include the transformational East-West Metro with tram extensions to Dudley/ Brierley Hill and through East Birmingham to North Solihull and the HS2 Interchange station.

West Midlands Rail Executive

The region is looking to reverse some the Beeching cuts by reopening rail lines to passenger services for the first time in decades. These include the Camp Hill line serving suburbs in South Birmingham and the line between Walsall and Wolverhampton. University station in Edgbaston, is undergoing major redevelopment with new station buildings, bridges and platforms to accommodate the 3.5 million passenger journeys it sees every year. Doubling the capacity of what is already considered one of the busiest railway stations in the country will provide huge safety benefits, improve customer experience, and enable the station to meet future demand, whilst also contributing to tackling the climate emergency.

Local rail services are co-managed by the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) – a partnership of 16 local transport authorities – and the Department for Transport under the West Midlands franchise. Services are run by West Midlands Trains (a joint venture between Abellio, East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui) but branded West Midlands Railway.

Levelling Up Growth Prospectus

The blueprint setting out what is needed to level up the region was launched by the West Midlands Combined Authority in October 2022. The Levelling Up Growth Prospectus sets out how the West Midlands Combined Authority is working as a region to tackle

the various challenges they face, and how they aim to fire up the regional economy by driving forward a new, green industrial revolution while attracting major private sector investment.

The prospectus looks at ways to expand its existing levelling up programme with:

• More flexible funding to build affordable, zero carbon homes and unlock stalled investment through new Investment Zones.

• New ways to encourage people onto public transport through mobility credit schemes, new e-mobility powers, and a dynamic role in Great British Railways

• Powers to help key growth sectors for the region flourish and drive innovation in low carbon businesses such as electric car manufacturing; battery production; low carbon, modular homes; and utilities such as wind and solar power.

• Greater control and influence over investment into the region’s energy system so it is more resilient to price hike shocks and able to speed up the decarbonisation of infrastructure and industry.

The Levelling Up Growth Prospectus serves as long term vision for the West Midlands.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: Laura Shoaf

Director of Programme Development: Sandeep Shingadia

Director of Rail: Malcolm Holmes

Director of Policy, Strategy and Innovation: Mike Waters

Director of Communications: Siobhan Bassford

Director of Operations: Clare Boden-Hatton

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, West Midlands B19 3SD

Tel: 0121 200 2787

Email: customer.services@tfwm.org.uk Visit: www.wmca.org.uk

Transport Focus

Transport Focus is an independent watchdog tasked with getting the the best deal for passengers

With a strong emphasis on evidence-based campaigning and research, Transport Focus ensures that it knows what is happening on the ground. It uses its knowledge to influence decisions on behalf of passengers to secure improvements and make a difference.

Transport Focus is the voice of transport users. It carries out research on transport user experiences and needs for the future. This includes the large scale National Rail Passenger Survey where over 50,000 rail passengers give their views on rail journeys twice a year.

Transport Focus also carries out weekly surveys, obtaining the views of approximately 500 rail passengers each week. Passengers rate how satisfied they

were with their overall journey and a range of aspects including the punctuality of their service, the value for money of their ticket and a number of Covid-related measures.

Structure

Transport Focus is an executive nondepartmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Transport. It is run by a management team and led by a Board of non-executive directors. It has existed in one form or another since 1947. It was formed by the Transport Act as the Central Transport Consultative Committee (CTCC) plus a network of regional Transport Users’ Consultative Committees. Over the years it has changed its name as it took on responsibility for bus, coach and tram passengers, and then road users.

Transport Focus makes major decisions at Board meetings, held in public four times per year. Decisions are also made at monthly management team meetings.

Transport Focus can have up to 14 Board members. The Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Greater London Authority each appoint a member to the Board. The remaining appointments are made by the Secretary of State for Transport. Recruitment to the Board is based on merit. Appointments are regulated by The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chair: Nigel Stevens

Chief Executive: Anthony Smith

Director: David Sidebottom

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Albany House 86 Petty France, London SW1H 9EA Tel: 0300 123 0860 Email: info@transportfocus.org.uk Visit: www.transportfocus.org.uk

Light Rail Safety and Standards Board

Established in 2018, the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board (Light Rail SSB) is committed to further improvements to what is already one of the safest forms of public transport

Drawing on experience and expertise from across the sector, it brings all aspects of light rail safety under one roof while providing a central resource where colleagues can access the latest guidance and standards documentation.

In a report published in 2022 on the organisation’s work to date, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said the Light Rail SSB is adding value to the light rail sector and supporting continued improvements in managing safety.

In assessing whether the Light Rail SSB is on track to deliver Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) recommendations that followed the fatal Sandilands derailment in 2016, the regulator also found that the organisation is providing guidance and tools to improve the sector’s understanding of risk.

At the heart of this approach is the development of an Integrated Risk Management Framework that has been developed in partnership with key stakeholders, including its members and statutory organisations such as the ORR.

It also incorporates a series of interconnected projects that run in parallel with each other to deliver a comprehensive platform that is already making a significant contribution to light rail safety.

Key elements of the framework include the continued development of a Tram Accident and Incident Reporting (TAIR) database, a pioneering online reporting system aimed at enhancing tram safety. As well as the integration of the ORR’s Risk Management Maturity Model (RM3) into the light rail sector.

Whilst all tramway and light rail services have different challenges and potential hazards, the TAIR database enables them to add their own data to the platform and contribute to the most comprehensive risk management tool developed for the light

rail industry in the UK. With strong support from across the wider light rail community and funding from the Department of Transport, the LRSSB is also taking the lead on numerous research projects.

These initiatives have been fully incorporated within a sector-wide Risk Model and the introduction of new Bowtie Risk assessment database. Combined, these projects provide a continual development cycle that progressively drives down industry risk to as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) levels.

LRSSB continues to support research and development projects in a number of important areas in particular in technology providing obstacle detection and avoidance systems. The initial results are promising for the UK light rail sector as the technology is now being utilised in Europe.

LRSSB is structured by the LRSSB Board which consists of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Non-executive Chair, 4 Bon-executive Directors, the Managing Director of UKTram and an ORR Observer. In May 2020, LRSSB appointed a new Chair, Sue Byrne, and a new CEO, Carl Williams, in October 2020.

The current management structure of LRSSB consists of a CEO, Administration Manager and Safety and Assurance Manager, with the intention to recruit further posts in safety engineering and data analysis. LRSSB has also been supported by UKTram colleagues during the year.

Case study

In Spring 2022, LRSSB was invited by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and Midland Metro Alliance (MMA) to conduct a compliance review of their processes against the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations (ROGS) to help ensure a safe and smooth handover of the multi-million-pound extension to West Midlands Metro to the operator, West Midlands Metro.

MMA utilised LRSSB’s BowTieXP

software system to develop a comprehensive database of assessments as it prepared for the opening of extensions to Edgbaston Village and Wolverhampton Railway Station. Named after the shape of graphics to illustrate its core principles, BowTie contains eight elements: hazard, top event, threats, consequences, preventive barriers, recovery barriers, escalation factors and escalation factor barriers.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chairperson: Sue Byrne

Chief Executive: Carl Williams

Administration Manager: Erica Pearson Safety Assurance: Mark Ashmore

Head of Engineering Safety & Innovation: Craig O'Brien

Head of Commercial: Jamie Swift

CONTACT INFORMATION

Email: info@lrssb.co.uk Visit: www.lrssb.org

Address: LRSSB, 16 Summer Lane, Birmingham, B19 3SD

East West Railway Company

East West Railway Company (EWR Co) was set up by the Secretary of State for Transport in 2018 to develop East West Rail, a railway with customers and communities at its core

The company’s role is to oversee the work already underway on East West Rail between Oxford, Bedford and Milton Keynes, to develop the case for the section between Bedford and Cambridge, and to integrate the two sections of the project to get the best results for all the communities between Oxford and Cambridge.

East West Railway company works with four key stakeholders: The Department for Transport, Network Rail, East West Rail Alliance, East West Rail Consortium. In January 2021, the Government announced £760 million to support the new East West Rail line.

The investment means further vital construction work can begin and represents an important milestone in the East West Rail project. The funding is for part of the line between Oxford and Bletchley/Milton Keynes and means this section of East West Rail is expected to be up and running by 2025. Delivery of this stage is expected to provide work for 1,500 people, injecting an estimated £1.1 billion pounds into the local economy.

The first section of railway on East West Rail Phase Two was successfully commissioned over the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2021.

In the Chancellor’s Autumn statement of 2022, the Government confirmed its commitment to EWR and the East West Railway Company is now in the process of finalising recommendations for consideration by Government in the early part of 2023.

About the East West Rail project

East West Rail intends to create a new direct connection between Oxford and Cambridge. Serving communities across the area, it intends to bring faster journey times and lower transport costs as well as ease pressure on local roads.

East West Rail is planned to be delivered in three Connection Stages:

• Connection Stage One: Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes

• Connection Stage Two: Oxford to Bedford

• Connection Stage Three: Oxford to Cambridge

Network Rail was responsible for developing the first part of the East West Rail, connecting Oxford with Bicester, and is a partner in a construction alliance to deliver Connection Stage 1 of the project, where East West Railway Company and Network Rail are acting as the Department for Transport’s joint sponsors.

East West Railway Company is now developing the route to enable services to run to Cambridge via Bedford and plans to seek statutory powers under the Planning Act 2008, following a period of extensive consultation.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive: Beth West

Chair: Neil Sachdev

Strategy Director: Will Gallagher

Programme Delivery Director: Ian Parker

Engineering Director: Simon Scott

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 1 Grafton Gate, Midsummer Blvd, Milton Keynes Mk9 1Fb

Tel: 0330 1340067

Email: contact@eastwestrail.co.uk

Getlink

On 20 November 2017, Groupe Eurotunnel changed its name to Getlink, the group manages cross-Channel transport for passenger vehicles, trucks, Eurostar passengers and rail freight trains which travel through the Channel Tunnel

In 1802, French mining engineer

Albert Mathieu-Favier put forward the first ever design for a cross-Channel fixed link based on the principle of a bored two-level tunnel. Twohundred years later, Eurotunnel became the first private company to be granted a rail operator’s licence valid across Europe, following the liberalisation of rail freight.

25 per cent of the trade between the UK and the European union is carried through the tunnel, with 320 daily trains, more than half of which carry goods.

Each year, Eurotunnel safely transports more than 20 million passengers, 1.6 million trucks, 2.6 million cars, two billion tonnekilometres of freight and, eventually, one gigawatt of electricity.

Since 18 September 2021, a new crossChannel freight service has been open to all transporters, using an unaccompanied mode through the Channel Tunnel. The crossing is managed by Eurotunnel Le Shuttle Freight and operates 24 hours a day and six days per week. Departures are from the Group’s two terminals in Calais or Folkestone with a capacity of 8,300 trailers per year. The Eurotunnel Border Pass allows transporters to speed up the border crossing by digitising their administrative exchanges with the border authorities.

This new rail service, which emits 40 times less CO2 than ferries (compared to Calais-Sheerness route), enables customers to decarbonize their logistic chain by choosing rail. The modal shift also contributes to the French government’s objectives of doubling the share of rail in freight transport by 2030 and to UK government plans to decarbonise freight set out in the Green Industrial Revolution plan.

At the end of 2021, Eurotunnel and CargoBeamer signed a partnership for the launch of a new, 100 per cent unaccompanied rail freight transport service across the Short Straits, from Calais to Ashford. The extension of the rolling motorway from Perpignan to Ashford is a logical step in developing a future international intermodal network between

the Channel and the Mediterranean.

A second route from Domodossola, in the Alps region, to Calais was also extended to Ashford after its launch in early October 2021.

Energy Efficiency action plan

This action plan in line with the 2019-2025 Environment Plan, will enable the Group to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 per cent by 2025. Its deployment has already saved nearly 40 GWh per year on traction electricity.

The Energy Efficiency plan is built on concrete actions such as in-depth moderation of daily use by all employees and partners of the Group (reduction of heating instructions in buildings, eco-gestures oriented towards lighting or digital uses in particular), the continued development of eco-driving, and even accelerating bulb replacements with LEDs in the Concession. All these actions will generate up to nine per cent additional savings by 2024 on auxiliary consumption, i.e., up to 5 GWh.

Cross-Channel rail freight boost

At the start of 2022, Getlink and CAT Group launched a new cross-Channel rail freight service transporting Toyota vehicles, for a period of six years, between Toton (UK) and Kolin (CZ) via Onnaing (FR). This new traffic alone represents growth of +15 per cent in annual cross-Channel freight on a like-for-like basis, compared to 2021. It will significantly reduce CO2 emissions by promoting the modal shift of more than 8,500 trucks to rail per year, thus avoiding the emission of more than 8,000 tonnes of CO2.

Powering Digital Transformation

In 2022, Salesforce, the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) was selected to support Eurotunnel’s digital transformation journey and enhance engagement with customers by leveraging Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Eurotunnel will leverage the Salesforce platform to further improve the services it offers to

its customers and create the outstanding travel experiences at the core of its strategic ambition.

As an innovative player, Eurotunnel Le Shuttle will continue to improve passenger experience using digital solutions and best practice. Eurotunnel Le Shuttle was the first cross-channel operator to deploy a digital wallet to speed their customer’s journey through the Terminals.

The Salesforce Marketing Cloud solution will enable Eurotunnel to engage with customers across multiple channels in a more personalised manner and bring them great value at every point of their journey.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: Yann Leriche

Deputy CEO: François Gauthey

Chief Operating Officer – Corporate: Michel Boudoussier

Chief Operating Officer – Safety and Ethics: Philippe de Lagune

Chief Operating Officer – Europorte: Pascal Sainson

Safety, Sustainable Development and Business

Services Director: Patrick Etienne

Commercial Director – Concession: Jo Willacy

Chief Executive Officer – ElecLink: Steven Moore

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: UK Terminal, Ashford Road, Folkestone, Kent CT18 8XX

Tel: 0844 335 3535

Email: communication.internet@getlinkgroup.com Visit: www.getlinkgroup.com

High Speed 1

High Speed 1 (HS1) is the UK’s first section of high-speed rail and operates along a 68-mile-long railway between St Pancras International in London and the Channel Tunnel

Operating as both a domestic and international service, the line carries passengers from St Pancras International in London to the Channel Tunnel and connects with the international high-speed routes between London and Paris, London and Brussels and London and Amsterdam. HS1 Ltd has the 30-year concession to own and operate HS1, as well as the stations along the route: St Pancras International, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International. In July 2017 HS1 Ltd was acquired by a consortium comprising of funds advised and managed by InfraRed Capital Partners Limited and Equitix Investment Management Limited.The cost of construction was £6.2 billion.

HS1’s domestic service, Southeastern High Speed, was introduced in 2009 and transports passengers from St Pancras International to Kent. Journey times to Ebbsfleet International are only 17 minutes, with Ashford International just 37 minutes from St Pancras. In 2018, approximately 15.7 million journeys were made on Southeastern High Speed.

Socioeconomic benefits of High Speed 1

In 2017, HS1 Ltd published a report entitled ‘10 Businesses at 10 Years’. The report presents real life examples of how HS1 has helped ten of the most exciting businesses in Kent to grow and prosper.

An accompanying survey of leading Kent businesses showed that:

• 91 per cent of those asked said that their business has benefitted from HS1

• 89 per cent said that HS1 has made Kent a more attractive place to set up a business

• Over one third said that HS1 was a factor when choosing to set up their business in Kent

• Over 80 per cent said that HS1 had helped their business grow

• One hundred per cent said that HS1 will play an important role in the future growth of Kent.

Dyan Crowther, CEO of HS1 Limited, said: ‘As the nation’s first and only high-speed railway, HS1 has been a catalyst for growth,

generating economic, cultural and social value in the regions it serves and the UK more widely.’

Passengers using HS1 have doubled since launch, with services carrying over twenty million domestic and international passengers each year and with an unrivalled average delay per train of just eight seconds.

A report independently produced by Visit Kent and tourism economists Destination Research revealed that for every HS1 leisure journey made to Kent in 2016, £81 was added to Kent’s local economy.

Almost 6,000 tourism sector jobs in Kent have been created and supported by HS1 with the total economic contribution to Kent’s visitor economy, since domestic HS1 services began, estimated at over £311 million. The findings demonstrate further the remarkable growth of Kent’s visitor economy, the value of which has increased by £1 billion since 2003. Kent’s visitor economy is now worth in excess of £3.8 billion and it is expected that the line will provide at least £10 billion of further regenerative benefits over the next 50 years.

Freight rail services

HS1 Ltd is in a state of readiness for freight operating companies to operate high-speed services on the network. Being a highspeed railway network, which provides high economic value to its customers, there are significant benefits to be seen by freight operating companies, in particular those who deliver time critical commodities to its customers. As such, the high-speed rail network provides a dynamic transport infrastructure which leads to substantial commercial benefits for organisations.

Growth

Approximately 50 million people visit St Pancras International every year, for both the station’s retail offering and its rail services to Europe and Kent. Passenger numbers on the high-speed line are set to rise to 127 per cent by 2044. The total number of trains on HS1 is at 73,402 (201819). This is mostly attributed to the increase in timetabled international services which are up 386 compared to 2017-18. In 2018, HS1 Ltd announced that it would be working closely with other infrastructure managers to help develop new routes, including a direct passenger service to Bordeaux.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chairman: Keith Ludeman

Chief Executive Officer: Dyan Crowther

Chief Financial Officer: Mark Farrer

General Counsel & Corporate Services Director: Lucy Clarke-Bodicoat

Commercial Director: Wendy Spinks

Engineering Director: Richard Thorp

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 5th Floor, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG

Tel: 020 7014 2700

Email: info@highspeed1.co.uk

Visit: www.highspeed1.co.uk

High Speed Two (HS2)

High

HS2 will link eight of the UK’s major cities and serve millions of people. Travelling between the cities of the Midlands and the North will become much easier. HS2 will free up extra capacity for local passenger and freight services on the existing network. So, as well as efficiently carrying millions of people, the new railway will benefit those who never use it.

Economic value

HS2 will begin rebalancing the UK economy long before the trains start running. It’s already beginning to boost economic development in the Midlands and the North, and to ease pressure on London by creating opportunities elsewhere. HS2 will create around 25,000 jobs and fuel economic benefits worth over £103 billion to the UK.

Route

HS2 will connect London to Edinburgh and Glasgow, running from Euston through the new station at Old Oak Common and then onto Birmingham. From there it will split off and run to the East Midlands Hub in one direction and to Manchester Piccadilly via Crewe in the other direction.

That first stretch to Birmingham is Phase One which is expected to be completed by 2026. The second is Phase Two. It will be delivered in two phases: Phase 2a extends from the West Midlands to Crewe and is due to open in 2027. Phase 2b continues the line to Manchester and also joins the existing railway just south of Wigan. Meanwhile Phase 2b’s eastern leg runs from Leeds via HS2’s East Midlands Hub to Birmingham. Phase 2b services will begin in 2033. The remainder of the journey north will use the East Coast Mainline to connect the East Midlands Hub to Newcastle.

Ecology

HS2’s specialist ecology teams will plant over 300,000 trees, bringing the total to 730,000, across the Phase One route between London and the Midlands to over by Spring 2021. HS2 funding is available for a wide range of independent environmental projects to benefit nature and communities along the route. This could include creating new parks and play facilities, investing in

green spaces in urban areas, regenerating areas along canals, and conserving and enhancing the historic environment. By working in partnership with organisations and individuals, HS2’s Green Corridor will deliver a positive, long term legacy for the natural and historic environment, and for people and communities across the country.

Graduate recruitment scheme

The opportunity to join one of Europe’s biggest infrastructure projects, and play a role in levelling up Britain, will become a reality for the 17 people who secure a place on HS2’s coveted two-year graduate programme. With a major engineering programme ahead, HS2 is bolstering its infrastructure directorate by offering the opportunity for engineering graduates to join the teams charged with overseeing the delivery of the stations, tunnels and viaducts along the 140-mile section of the first phase of the railway.

Freight

Throughout 2021, more than 180 freight trains are delivered material to the site taking the equivalent of 12,670 trucks (HGVs) off the road and saving 30,150 tonnes of carbon – the equivalent of flying from London to Edinburgh 930 times.

The train – operated by DB Cargo UK and Hanson – delivered 1,650 tonnes of aggregate that will be used in the construction of the temporary Calvert Railhead. Across the whole HS2 project, 15,000 freight trains are set to be used to haul 10 million tonnes of aggregate to construction sites – taking the equivalent of 1.5 million HGVs off the UK’s road.

Station

Arup’s design for HS2’s Interchange station received a gold award at 2020’s World Architecture News (WAN) awards ceremony. The awards bring together the most senior and influential professionals from across Architecture internationally to recognise and celebrate excellence.

The year’s awards, held online due to lockdown restrictions, saw designs for the new Solihull HS2 station recognised in the ‘Future Projects – Transport’ category for their sustainability credentials and the

station’s glue-laminated timber structure, which judges said is a ‘very impressive response to sustainable design for the future’.

Chiltern Tunnel

In May 2021, a 170 metre long Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) covered the first mile cutting through a mix of chalk and flint beneath the Chiltern hills just outside London. Named ‘Florence’ by local school children, the TBM is one of two identical machines excavating the twin ten-milelong tunnels. A second machine, named ‘Cecilia’ is a short way behind, with both TBMs expected to break out in around three years time.

Designed specifically for the geology of the Chilterns, each machine is a selfcontained underground factory, digging the tunnel, lining it with concrete wall segments and grouting them into place as it moves forward.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: Mark Thurston

Chairman: Allan Cook CBE

Chief Financial Officer: Michael Bradley CB

Infrastructure Director: Chris Rayner

Safety and Assurance Director: Emma Head

Human Resources Director: Neil Hayward

General Counsel and Company Secretary: Nicole Geoghegan

Managing Director – Phase Two: Tim Smart

Strategic Director for Stakeholder Engagement and Communications: Aileen Thompson

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Two Snowhill, Snow Hill Queensway, Birmingham B4 6GA

Tel: 0808 143 4434

Email: HS2enquiries@hs2.org.uk Visit: www.hs2.org.uk

LCR

LCR is a skilled commercial developer and the UK Government’s regeneration and placemaking expert. It has a 25-year track record of creating exciting new destinations for people to live, work and experience

LCR uses its skills in land assembly, placemaking and development to unlock regeneration opportunities. Its unique position on the cusp of the public and private sectors allows it to transform the most complex sites, using an imaginative approach to problem solving to bring forward schemes that deliver homes and jobs, and create value from public sector real estate assets. The team’s considerable experience includes the delivery and sale of the High Speed 1 railway and the associated multibillion-pound, mixed-use developments at King’s Cross and Stratford City – two of London’s most successful regeneration stories.

Major projects

LCR’s current projects include the £1.1 billion regeneration of the Mayfield site in Manchester. Working with U+I as its development partner, the project will deliver a mixed use community at a 24-acre site adjacent to Piccadilly station.

In Stratford, east London, LCR and Lend Lease are continuing to bring forward International Quarter London (IQL) – a £2.4 billion urban regeneration which will deliver four million sq.ft of Grade A office space, new homes and community facilities, within a 22-acre site. Nearly one million sq.ft of office space is already let or pre-let at IQL, to organisations including the FCA, Transport for London, Cancer Research UK and the British Council.

In central London, LCR is delivering a new retail, restaurant and leisure destination in the heart of the South Bank. Set to open in Spring 2021, it will feature 135,000 sq ft of local, independent and national retail and leisure operators. LCR has also transformed the nearby railway arches at Leake Street into a creative and leisure destination, populated by local independent businesses and startups.

Strategic partnerships

Using expertise gained from delivering some of the UK’s most successful regeneration projects, LCR collaborates with local authorities, LEPs, government agencies and private developers to deliver

outstanding developments. It provides long-term support and forms joint venture partnerships to create the conditions to ensure every destination reaches its full potential, with a focus on driving public value through delivering meaningful outcomes, not short-term returns.

Origins in the rail industry

LCR was formed in 1994 to bid for the contract to build and operate the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) and to own the UK arm of the Eurostar International train service. It won the bid in 1997 and spent the following ten years delivering on its promises for High Speed 1, until it sold a 30-year concession for the project for £2.1 billion to a consortium of Borealis and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund. LCR then moved from the private to public sector, becoming a limited company wholly owned by the Department for Transport.

KEY

PERSONNEL

Chairman: Nick Markham

Interim Chief Executive: Peter Hawthorne

Development Director: Adrian Lee

Asset Management Director: Lucy Robinson

Managing Director for Strategic Partnerships: Jamie Kerr

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 20 Cranbourn Street, London WC2H 7AA

Tel: 020 7391 4300

Email: info@lcrproperty.co.uk

Visit: www.lcrproperty.co.uk

Midland Metro Alliance

Each of the partner companies brings a complementary area of expertise to the alliance. The real focus, however, is on leaving a legacy of skills and experience for the region, even after the extensions are complete and helping the West Midlands attract regeneration and investment.

Ongoing projects

The Midland Metro Alliance is working with Transport for West Midlands on a number of projects for the West Midlands Metro network, each in differing stages of development, design or delivery.

Wolverhampton City Centre Metro extension

As part of the Wolverhampton Interchange, the West Midlands Metro extension will run from a junction with the existing West Midlands Metro system close to the current terminus at Wolverhampton St. George’s through to Wolverhampton Railway Station. West Midlands Metro will stop at the city’s Bus Station on Pipers Row, before continuing to Wolverhampton Railway Station, allowing easy interchange with other modes of transport. in an area of the region where most journeys are completed by private vehicle.

Birmingham Eastside Metro extension

The Secretary of State for Transport has announced that he has decided to make the Midland Metro (Birmingham City Eastside Extension) Order and relevant documents to this order can be found via the Statutory Information tab below.

The Birmingham Eastside Metro extension to Digbeth will serve the High Speed 2 (HS2) station at Curzon Street, separating from the existing West Midlands Metro line at Bull Street. The route is planned to consist of 1.7 kilometres of twin track running from Bull Street to a new terminus at High Street Deritend. The scheme includes four additional West Midlands Metro stops serving the east of Birmingham City Centre.

The extension will service the Eastside regeneration area offering connections with

New Street, Moor Street and Snow Hill Railway Stations, in addition to the new HS2 station. The scheme also includes a new bus interchange adjacent to Clayton Hotel Birmingham to provide an efficient bus, Sprint and coach interchange with HS2.

Sustainability

Each project has an overarching Project Sustainability Plan, detailing how the project is to contribute to the sustainability objectives and how the project will manage any environmental impacts.

All new projects are registered with CEEQUAL and will complete a CEEQUAL Assessment to assess the sustainability of the scheme against a benchmark of industry best practice. The CEEQUAL process is externally verified giving assurance of the quality of the awards.

All new construction works will also register with the National Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS). The CCS is a voluntary code of practice that seeks to minimise any disturbance or negative impact (in terms of noise, dust and inconvenience)

sometimes caused by construction sites to the immediate neighbourhood; eradicate offensive behaviour and language from construction site; and recognise and reward the constructor’s commitment to raise standards of site management, safety and environmental awareness beyond statutory duties. As with CEEQUAL the code offers an external validation of the scheme performance against industry best practice.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 4th Floor Alpha Tower, Suffolk St Queensway, Birmingham B1 1TT

Tel: 0121 643 8729

Email: communications@metroalliance.co.uk

Visit: www.metroalliance.co.uk

Network Rail

Network Rail runs, maintains and develops Great Britain’s tracks, signalling, bridges, tunnels, level crossings, viaducts and 20 key stations

Network Rail is a public sector arm’s length body, giving it commercial and operational freedom. Its main customers are the TOCs and FOCs which provide services on Network Rail’s infrastructure.

Network Rail owns, operates and develops Britain’s 20,000 miles of railway track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and 20 of the UK's largest stations.

In 2014, Network Rail began devolving day-today responsibility for railway businesses to eight strategic geographical areas. In late 2018, new Chief Executive Andrew Haines announced plans to deepen devolution, with 14 routes sitting under five new regions – Scotland’s Railway, Wales and Western, North West and Central, Southern and Eastern. These new regions became operational in June 2019.

Performance

On 1 April 2019, the rail industry introduced a new, more detailed and precise set of measures to better understand train performance. The additional ‘on time’ measures reflect that good performance needs to be delivered throughout the whole journey and that every minute matters for passengers.

The official measure of punctuality used up until then, known as public performance measure (PPM), considers trains to be punctual if they are five or ten minutes after schedule, for short and long-distance journeys respectively, at their destination, but the new measures report cancellations and the proportion of trains arriving to the minute at every station on the timetable.

Network Rail also measures its safety performance using a model produced by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). It measures safety from the perspective of passengers at stations and all aspects of interaction between the general public and the railway.

Control Period 6

Network Rail runs five-year long Control Periods which it uses to determine priorities for investment. Each Control Period begins on 1 April and ends on 31 March to coincide with the financial year. Control Period 6 began in April 2019.

Strategic Freight Network

The Strategic Freight Network (SFN) aims to create a network of freight capable rail corridors across Britain by upgrading the existing network and building new infrastructure at key locations to allow more freight to travel on rail. Schemes currently underway include gauge clearance, train lengthening and capacity building.

Eastern

With railway from the borders of Scotland to the nation’s capital, Eastern region is critical to the success of Britain. It is an incredibly busy region, operating some of the busiest and most congested rail lines in the country, transporting large numbers of commuters to and from busy cities including Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Norwich, Cambridge and London. The region is also home to other major transport hubs including three

airports and 13 freight ports, connecting millions of people every day to city, town, coast and country, to friends and family, jobs and leisure, as well as goods to businesses here and abroad.

North West and Central North West & Central (NW&C) is the ‘Backbone of Britain’ – the economic spine linking the United Kingdom’s main cities, connecting workers with jobs, people with loved ones and bringing goods to market.

The infrastructure runs from London Euston and Marylebone in the south through the Chiltern and West Midlands regions, the North West of England and Cumbria before joining with Scotland at Gretna. NW&C is home to the West Coast Mainline, the busiest mixed-use railway in Europe, serving London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Southern

The new Southern region serves passengers and freight operators from Devon in the West to Kent in the East and links Wessex, Sussex and Kent as well as Network Rail High Speed.

With over 5,800 employees, the Southern region is responsible for more than 700 million passenger journeys each year. Over the next five years the region will invest £6.3 billion to operate, maintain and renew the railway. Over 7000 passenger and freight services operate on the region every weekday – more than a third of Britain’s rail services. Southern moves over 266,000 tonnes of freight each week and owns and maintains 3,300 miles of track, 4,986 bridges, 895 level crossings and 7,990 signals.

Wales and Western

With a 5,000-strong workforce and 2,700 miles of railway, these routes exist to serve communities and businesses of Wales, the Thames Valley, West of England and the South West Peninsula.

Wales and Western transports commuters to key employment hubs including London, Cardiff, Bristol,

Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, directly serving London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest international airport and providing connections to Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, and London Gatwick airports. Wales and Western supports leisure and tourism in all of these areas and supports critical freight services, notably aggregates, moving millions of tonnes of freight every year.

Scotland’s Railway

Scotland’s Railway covers a large geographical area from the Borders to Thurso at the far tip of the North East of Scotland. It provides rapid access along busy commuter routes to the country’s seven cities. It fulfils a variety of travel needs from business and leisure to daily commuter services, including cross border services; it supports rural services and the needs of freight customers alike.

Over 2,500 daily services support the needs of communities and business across Scotland and the border to England, operating the largest suburban rail network outside London which meets the daily needs of customers into Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chair: Sir Peter Hendy CBE

Chief Executive: Andrew Haines

Managing Director, Route Services: Susan Cooklin

Group Director, Safety, Technical & Engineering: Martin Frobisher

Group Director, System Operator: Jake Kelly

Chief Financial Officer: Jeremy Westlake

Group HR Director: Pauline Holroyd

Group Communications Director: Caroline Murdoch

Managing Director, Eastern region: Rob McIntosh

Managing Director, North West and Central region: Tim Shoveller

Managing Director, Southern region: John Halsall

Managing Director, Wales and Western: Michelle Handforth

Managing Director, Scotland’s Railway: Alex Hynes

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 1 Eversholt Street, London NW1 2DN

Tel: 020 7557 8000

Email: Contact via website Visit: www.networkrail.co.uk

Abellio UK

its customers’ experience by delivering the more reliable, simple and sustainable transport services they rightly expect.

Return to UK-ownership

A new UK-run transport company is set to operate four of the country’s rail passenger services and over 50 London bus routes by the end of this year. A management buyout from the state-owned rail company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen will pave the way for a new UK-based company to take over all Abellio UK’s existing services, serving millions of rail and bus passengers in London, Liverpool, the Midlands and East Anglia. The new company will be called Transport UK Group Limited.

Led by Managing Director Dominic Booth, who has decades of experience running public transport services in the UK, this deal has been widely welcomed by industry partners and experts. Completion of the buyout deal is subject to formal approval from partners including the Department for Transport, Transport for London and Merseytravel as well as regulatory consent from the Office for Rail and Road.

Over 15,000 people are employed across its operating companies, which collectively serve over a million passengers in England and Scotland every day. A wholly owned subsidiary of Dutch rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Abellio was founded in 2002 to take advantage of the liberalisation of the European transport sector, and it now has operations in the UK and Germany.

Abellio first entered the UK transport market in 2003 and has since established itself as one of the UK’s foremost rail owning groups, accounting for nearly one in five of all UK rail customers – the largest it has been in its operating history.

Its UK rail franchises are Merseyrail (a 50:50 venture with Serco), Greater Anglia (a

60:40 venture with Mitsui), West Midlands Trains (a 70:15:15 venture with Mitsui and JR East) and East Midlands Railway.

After taking its first steps into the London bus market in 2009, the company now runs around eight per cent of all London bus services. Abellio wants to make it easier to travel, by providing comfortable, reliable journeys which are simple for people to plan, buy and use. To this end, the company is investing heavily across its UK rail franchises to transform its services, improve its customers’ experience and help to deliver a sustainable zero carbon future. Through its £3 billion investment in new trains for all its operating companies, Abellio is delivering more seats and services.

This investment and innovation reflect Abellio’s strong commitment to improving

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director Abellio UK: Dominic Booth

Chief Operating Officer Rail: Dave Kaye

Financial Director: Chris Harris

Managing Director Rail Retailing and Digital Business: Stewart Fox-Mills

UK New Trains Project & Fleet Director, and ScotRail COO: Alex White

Human Resources Director: Andrew Meadows

Director of Communication: Allan Watt

Managing Director, Abellio Group: Angelique Magielse

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 5th Floor, The Culzean Building, 36 Renfield Street, Glasgow G2 1LU

Tel: 0141 320 0620

Email: communications@abellio.co.uk Visit: www.abellio.com/uk

Arriva UK Trains

Arriva UK Trains operates multiple rail services through the open access model the concession model, or passenger service contract, two franchises and one concession

The CrossCountry network is the most extensive rail contract in the UK. Stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance, and from Stansted Airport to Cardiff, it calls at more than 120 stations. Based in Birmingham, CrossCountry connects seven of Britain’s ten largest cities, delivering services every weekday that equate to some forty million passenger journeys a year. CrossCountry has been awarded five stars under the EFQM ‘Recognise for Excellence’ accreditation and the coveted UK Excellence Award by the British Quality Foundation.

Chiltern Railways provide scheduled passenger services along the M40 corridor between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street, to Aylesbury via Amersham. Following an investment of £250 million, Chiltern Railways run a service between Oxford and London Marylebone, on which route they enjoy a successful partnership with Bicester Village.

Chiltern remains one of Britain’s most popular and reliable train operating companies, regularly scoring in the top quartile of all operators for customer satisfaction and punctuality in national rail passenger surveys.

Grand Central is an established fully commercial train operating company connecting the North East of England and Yorkshire to London under an open access agreement. It has been providing high quality rail services since 2007 and delivers customer satisfaction that is regularly among the highest scoring of all operators. Grand Central has done this while growing passenger numbers and introducing real competition on the East Coast Main Line, exerting downwards pressure on ticket costs for passengers.

Arriva Rail London operates the London Overground network under contract to Transport for London (TfL). The seven and half year concession commenced in November 2016, with the network linking 23 of London’s 33 boroughs.

Working in partnership with TfL, Arriva Rail London has delivered improvements for customers through more frequent services, new trains, better facilities and improved interchanges, and has developed stations and lines to meet increasing passenger

demand. The partnership also supports new homes (such as new links to Barking Riverside), jobs around stations and the environment.

Arriva TrainCare

Arriva’s TrainCare business provides maintenance depots and servicing facilities for electric and diesel trains. In recent years, Arriva TrainCare has grown following substantial investment in developing heavy maintenance work.

Operating from five depots in strategic locations across the country, Arriva TrainCare currently provides overnight and heavy maintenance services to several train operating companies and ROSCOs, along with post production support for new train manufacturers.

Arriva Road Transport Services

Arriva Road Transport Services offer rail replacement, minibus and taxi provision, duplicate transport services and event transportation hire across the UK.

KEY

PERSONNEL

Arriva CEO: Mike Cooper

Arriva Chief Financial Officer: Christian Goeseke

Managing Director UK Trains: David Brown

Arriva UK Trains Finance and Commercial Director: Amanda Furlong

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Arriva plc, Admiral Way, Doxford

International Business Pk, Sunderland SR3 3XP

Tel: 0191 520 4000

Email: enquiries@arriva.co.uk

Visit: www.arriva.co.uk

First Group

First Rail is the UK’s largest rail operator, with many years of experience running all types of passenger rail operations across the country;

comprising long-distance, commuter, regional and sleeper services

First Rail operates four Department for Transport contracted services – Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and TransPennine Express. Alongside this it also runs two open access operators – Hull Trains and Lumo. It also operates London Trams on behalf of Transport for London.

First have proposed and delivered over £650 million capital investment into the franchises since 2006. Since they began running rail operations, they have introduced more than 740 additional vehicles across various franchises, which has also led to the creation of new depot facilities and jobs.

The customer app for First operating companies has been downloaded more than one million times; First is working with councils to introduce smart ticketing and has led one of the largest roll outs of free Wi-Fi on the UK rail network.

Owner

First Group owns Great Western Railway (GWR) which operates the Great Western rail franchise area. This includes South Wales, the West Country, the Cotswolds, and large parts of Southern England. On 30 March 202 FirstGroup signed a Direct Award with the Department for Transport to continue operating GWR services until 31 March 2023, with a possible extension of up to one further year.

The South Western Rail franchise was awarded to FirstGroup and MTR in March 2017. They began operating the network on 20 August 2017 and will continue until at least August 2024. SWR operates almost 2,000 services per day across the network, providing commuter, inter-urban, regional and long distance services to passengers in south west London and southern counties of England.

First Group introduced refurbished trains to the Portsmouth-London line in late 2019, with new suburban rolling stock due in the next few months. Timetable changes in May and December 2019 added more than 350 new services per week.

First Group also owns TransPennine Express which provides vital connections

between key cities in the North of England and Scotland.

TransPennine Express operates intercity services on three main routes:

• North TransPennine

• South TransPennine

• North West and Scotland

Frist Group will operate the franchise until at least 2023, and during that time TPE is overseeing an investment which lead to an 80 per cent rise in capacity at the busiest times of the day and increase connections between the largest cities in the North and Scotland by 55 per cent by 2019.

TPE has now begun to introduce 220 new carriages, and new services, including Liverpool to Glasgow, and extending its East Coast route from Newcastle to Edinburgh.

Hull Trains

First Group open access operation of Hull Trains began service in 2000, making 90 journeys a week between London, Hull and intermediate stations, and transporting more than a million people annually – an increase of more than ten times since inception. First Group have secured track access rights to operate the service until 2029.

London Trams

First Group operates the London Trams network on behalf of Transport for London, which sees patronage of around 29 million passengers per year. Passenger numbers have increased by more than ten million since the start of operations.

KEY PERSONNEL

Non-Executive Chairman,

Chair of the Nomination Committee: David Martin

Chief Executive Officer: Matthew Gregory

Managing Director – First Rail: Steve Montgomery

Chief Financial Officer: Ryan Mangold

Group Employee Director: Ant Green

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 395 King Street, Aberdeen, Scotland AB24 5RP

Tel: 01224 650100 Email: contactus.fec@firstgroup.com Visit: www.firstgroupplc.com

Go-Ahead Group

Go-Ahead Group provides 23 per cent of all passenger journeys in the UK through its operating companies, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)

Govia

Go-Ahead’s UK rail operation (Govia) is a joint venture between Go-Ahead (65 per cent) and Keolis (35 per cent). In the years since the privatisation of rail operations, Go-Ahead’s rail division has delivered profitability, strong cash flow and good returns on capital; and continues to do so.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) began operating in September 2014 with Great Northern and Thameslink routes. Southern and Gatwick Express routes were integrated in July 2015. It is the largest and busiest single rail franchise in the UK: in terms of passenger numbers (around 25 per cent of all train passenger journeys), trains, revenue and staff (6,500 people employed).

The franchise encompasses King’s Lynn in the north and Brighton in the south, serving London as well as several important regional centres including Cambridge, Luton, Peterborough, Portsmouth and Southampton. It also provides direct links to major airports (Gatwick and Luton) as well as St Pancras International.

GTR will operate under its ERMA until the end of its contract term in March 2022, with the potential for a further extension.

KEY PERSONNEL

CEO of Go-Ahead: Christian Schreyer

Since foundation in the 1980s, Go-Ahead has transformed from a small bus operator in northeast England to a FTSE 250 company.

It employs 27,000 people in the UK and overseas, who work hard to deliver safe, reliable and value-for-money services for passengers.

Go-Ahead has a devolved approach to the management of its bus and train operating companies. They are run autonomously, are locally branded, and the management teams are empowered to respond directly to the needs of the local communities they serve. Working in this way ensures Go-Ahead

retains strong local expertise and can focus on the needs of customers and adapt quickly to changing conditions in local markets.

It is the largest operator of bus services in London, running around a quarter of London’s buses and outside of London, its regional bus services account for around eleven per cent of the UK market.

Go-Ahead also runs bus services in Singapore and began running services in Ireland in 2018. The company operates rail in two German states – Bavaria and BadenWuttemberg – and has a rail contract in Norway.

Chief Financial Officer: Sarah Mussenden

Chairman: Clare Hollingsworth

Group Company Secretary: Carolyn Ferguson

Managing Director, Business Development: Peter Robinson

Strategy and Transformation Director: Louis Rambaud

Customer and Commercial Director: Mark Anderson

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: The Go-Ahead Group plc, 4 Matthew Parker Street, Westminster, London SW1H 9NP

Tel: 020 7799 8999

Email: communications@go-ahead.com Visit: www.go-ahead.com

Keolis

Keolis operates public transport networks on behalf of three hundred transport authorities around the world. It is now present in 16 countries across four continents

Established in the United Kingdom since 1996 and employing 9,500 people across its businesses, Keolis has become a reference public transport operator due to its operation of several emblematic train, tram and metro networks including:

• Govia, the joint venture created between Keolis UK (35 per cent) and its partner Go-Ahead (65 per cent), which operates Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), the train network in the London area, since 2014.

• KeolisAmey, the joint venture created in 2014 by Keolis UK is a British company specialising in the operation and maintenance of transport networks Docklands Light Railway (DLR), the automatic metro network, since 2014 – Keolis (70 per cent) and Amey (30 per cent) and Greater Manchester's Metrolink, the UK's largest tram network, since 2017 – Keolis (60 per cent) and Amey (40 per cent).

• Tramlink Nottingham, the joint venture formed by Keolis UK (80 per cent) and Wellglade Limited (20 per cent) which has operated Nottingham's tram network since 2011.

KeolisAmey joint ventures

KeolisAmey Metrolink, a joint venture

between Keolis and Amey, took over operations and maintenance of Manchester’s Metrolink for a period of up to 10 years from July 2017.

The KeolisAmey Metrolink tram system is the largest of its kind in the UK. It serves 99 stops across eight different lines along almost 103 kilometres of track, with a fleet of 120 modern trams catering for more than 34 million journeys a year.

KeolisAmey Docklands was awarded the franchise in July 2014 to operate and maintain the Docklands Light Railway in London until at least 2024.

Go-Ahead joint ventures

Govia is a joint-venture between Keolis (35 per cent) and The Go-Ahead Group (65 per cent). As the country’s busiest rail operator, Govia is responsible for 5,500 services and more than one million passengers per day. It operates two major commuter rail franchises, Southeastern and GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway), serving over 500 stations.

GTR

GTR, which stands for Govia Thameslink Railway, is the largest train operating company in the UK and was created following the merger of Great Northern, Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express in July 2015.

Tramlink

Keolis is part of the Tramlink consortium responsible for the operation, maintenance and ongoing expansion of the Nottingham tram system. In December 2011, Tramlink entered into a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) agreement for 22 and a half years. Together Keolis, Trent Barton, Alstom and Vinci, are the industrial shareholders in the Tramlink Nottingham concession company.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chairman of Keolis UK: Sir Derek Jones

CEO: Alistair Gordon

Chief Financial Officer: Virginie Merle

Managing Director of KeolisAmey Docklands: Abdellah Chajai

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Evergreen House North, 160 Euston Road, London NW1 2DX

Tel: 020 3691 1715

Email: comms@keolis.co.uk Visit: www.keolis.co.uk

MTR Corporation

In June 2000, it was re-established as MTR Corporation Limited and was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in October 2000. In December 2007, the operations of the government-owned rail operator, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, were merged into MTR. The merged rail network comprises nine commuter railway lines, a light rail network and a highspeed airport express link with an average weekday ridership of more than 5.6 million passengers in Hong Kong.

Globally, MTR delivers services for over 13 million people each day, more than 4.7 billion journeys every year.

Acknowledged as one of the world’s leading operators of metro, commuter and airport rail systems, MTR also has a successful international consulting business and is a recognised world leader in Rail + Property development, managing shopping malls, retail units, apartments and other major buildings along some of its lines.

Global footprint

MTR offers worldwide railway consultancy and contracting services. Clients served include metro companies, government authorities and rail system suppliers in the Mainland of China, India, Australia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

In China, MTR operates the Beijing Metro Lines 4, 14, and 16 and the Daxing Line extension, Shenzhen Metro Longhua Line and the Hangzhou Metro Line 1. Further projects and concessions in development include Hangzhou Metro Line 5, and property projects along Shenzen Metro Longhua Line and Tianjin Metro Line 6.

In Australia, MTR operates and manages the Melbourne Metro and, in September 2014, the Northwest Rapid Transit Consortium (of which MTR is a shareholder) was awarded the Operations, Trains and Systems Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contract for the Sydney Metro Northwest project in Sydney.

MTR also operates and manages Stockholm Metro, the MTR Express intercity service between Stockholm and Gothenburg and Stockholm Commuter Rail Systems in Sweden.

United Kingdom

In the UK, MTR has been connecting people and communities for almost 15 years and has an established track record of excellence. It operated the London Overground in partnership with Arriva for ten years, and currently operates TfL Rail services on behalf of Transport for London and South Western Railway in partnership with FirstGroup. Its track record on the London Overground and TfL Rail are particularly well known within the UK’s rail industry, with the company twice winning both the National Rail Awards’ Passenger of the Year Award and London Transport Awards’ Rail Operator of the Year.

Elizabeth Line

MTR Elizabeth line’s operations will eventually cover all aspects of train and passenger service operations including:

• A fleet of 70 brand new high-capacity trains, 200m long, each featuring nine walk-through carriages.

• Up to 24 trains per hours in each direction through the central tunnel section once fully integrated.

• The operation of 28 stations, serving 41 stations in total.

• Platforms with lengths of up to 250 metres – more than twice the length of current Underground platforms.

KEY PERSONNEL

CEO UK: Steve Murphy

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: MTR Corporation Limited, Third floor, 123 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5EA

Visit: www.mtreurope.com

MTR Corporation was established in 1975 with a mission to construct and operate an urban metro system for Hong Kong

Serco

Serco has global expertise in the design, setting up, operation, and maintenance of heavy rail, metro and light rail operations across the globe – from the turnkey operation of the Dubai Tram to redefining a luxury experience on the Scottish Caledonian Sleeper

Serco Rail Technical Services

SRTS is part of Serco’s Transport business, which operates various transport services around the world (primarily rail but also air, sea and road related). A specialist provider of Rolling Stock Testing & Commissioning (T&C) and technical assurance services, it is uniquely placed to provide a deep technical and practical insight into GB railway operations. Today it has over 50 years’ experience across a broad range of rolling stock and infrastructure technical services through the rolling stock development lifecycle. SRTS provides engineers at client depots and routes across the GB rail network. SRTS works closely with train manufacturers to successfully deliver extensive and complex rolling stock testing programmes at sites and other worldwide test tracks and depots.

Caledonian Sleeper

Serco began operating Caledonian Sleeper in April 2015 after it was selected by Transport Scotland to manage the new 15- year franchise back in May 2014. Total revenue to Serco over the franchise period is estimated at up to £800 million, of which approximately £180 million will be in the form of franchise payments.

In 2019, Caledonian Sleeper’s service was transformed when it debuted 75 new carriages across its Highlander and Lowlander routes – delivering on a commitment made when the contract was won. The fleet, built at a cost of £150 million, has been part funded by capital grants from Scottish Ministers and from the UK Government.

Dubai Metro

Serco first began operating and maintaining the initial ten stations on the Red Line from the official opening of the Dubai Metro in 2009. Expansion of the Metro has seen

the Red Line grow to 29 stations, while the Green Line, opened in 2011, added an additional 20 stations. The Red Line expansion for Expo 2020 adds 15 kilometres and connects seven stations. At that point, the Dubai Metro will have a total network length of 90 kilometres and over 120 trains running at peak times. Serco’s more than 2,000 employees on the Dubai Metro continue to deliver excellent operational performance and record numbers of passenger journeys.

Merseyrail

Merseyrail is a 50/50 JV between Serco and Abellio. Serco have redesigned the model of delivering a city region wide rail transit system through a model of operational excellence by focussing on delivering high levels of predictability, reliability, punctuality, trust, safety and customer service. All of which has led to Merseyrail consistently being at or around the top of the league on customer satisfaction and operational performance.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chairman: John Rishton

Group Chief Executive Officer: Rupert Soames OBE

Chief Executive Officer, Serco UK and Europe: Mark Irwin

Group Chief Financial Officer: Nigel Crossley

Managing Director, Transport for the UK & Europe: John Whitehurst

Group Human Resources Director: Anthony Kirby

Group General Counsel and Company Secretary: David Eveleigh

Group Strategy and communications Director: Kate Steadman

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Serco House, 16 Bartley Wood Business Park, Bartley Way, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9XB

Tel: 01256 745900

Email: generalenquiries@serco.com Visit: www.serco.com

Avanti West Coast

Under the West Coast Partnership, a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia which celebrated its first anniversary in December 2020, First Trenitalia is committed to delivering a range of passenger enhancements for InterCity West Coast services including new and upgraded trains, simplified fares, more destinations and improved onboard experience.

The programme will transform all 56 of Avanti West Coast’s Pendolinos which have served routes between London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Edinburgh for close to 20 years, clocking up more than 270 million miles – enough to go to the moon and back more than 500 times. Rail manufacturer Alstom will oversee the refurbishment at their new depot in Widnes in the North West securing 100 skilled jobs. The first refurbished Pendolino was returned to service in April 2022, boasting as the UK’s biggest train upgrade with some of its new features including:

• 25,000 new, ergonomic Standard Class seats.

• Conversion of one First Class carriage on each of the 35 eleven-carriage Pendolinos to provide more than 2,000 extra Standard Class seats.

• The introduction of a new onboard shop.

• Improved lighting and new interior carpets.

• Greater use of technology with customerfriendly passenger information screens.

• Power points at every seat.

• New carpets throughout using sustainable British wool.

The upgrade programme will run until 2024 when the last of the 56 strong fleet is expected to leave Widnes. UK suppliers will benefit from 80 per cent of the £117 million investment, which is financed by Angel Trains, one of the UK’s leading train Asset Management companies.

High-Speed Rail

West Coast Partnership will invest £1 million plus as part of the University of Leeds’s plans for The Institute for High Speed Rail and System Integration. The

research tie-in will help deliver a UK centre of excellence for rail engineering in the Leeds City Region and is intended to drive improved customer experience and operation of HS2.

When fully operational, the Institute will be capable of simulating the conditions found on busy rail networks, the findings of which will play a key part in the shaping of HS2 services.

In the community

Avanti West Coast has launched a new fund to encourage ideas to improve stations and local communities along its route. The Customer and Communities Investment Scheme (CCIS) encourages applications from projects that address regeneration challenges and tackle social needs across the regions served by Avanti West Coast. The money will be awarded to the successful bidders over a two-year period.

This investment by the inter-city operator is part of its focus to support projects across the routes and regions they serve and create a difference that benefits the community. There are three phases of the CCIS, which spans five years and is set to provide a total of £5.5 million in funding.

For more information on what kind of social, environmental, and economic development issues are eligible for the scheme, please visit: www.avantiwestcoast. co.uk/about-us/sustainability/ community-hub

KEY PERSONNEL

Interim Managing Director: Steve Montgomery

Exec Director, Finance: Craig Forster

Exec Director, Commercial: Sarah Copley

Operations Director: Nick Westcott

Exec Director, Customer Experience: Natasha Grice

Exec Director, Projects: Michael Weston

Exec Director, Technology: Rob Tyler

Marketing Director: Mike Greenup

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4DN

Customer Support Phone: 0345 528 0253

Email: customer.resolutions@avantiwestcoast.co.uk

Visit: www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk

Avanti West Coast operates the 400-mile long west coast route that serves cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and London, as well as Scotland and North Wales

Blackpool Tramway

Home to mainland Britain’s first electric tramway, the Blackpool Tramway is the last surviving first-generation tramway in the UK

The oldest part of the tramway, along Blackpool Promenade, was opened on 29 September 1885, originally using conduit collection. The electric supply was converted to overhead power four years later.

Over 130 years later and 2017 was a redletter year for the Tramway as September saw the eightieth anniversary of the Brush Car tram and in October a collection of illuminated heritage trams paraded along the promenade for the first time in the tramway’s history.

Modernisation

Over five million passengers rode the Tramway in 2016 and in 2012 it underwent renewal efforts which saw modern light rail trams operating along the eleven miles of coastline. The £100 million redevelopment was completed in April 2012 and involved the relaying of track and the building of a new depot.

Other upgrades included a brandnew fleet of Bombardier trams that have reduced journey times by up to 15 minutes. Bombardier’s trams have level boarding and step-free interiors as well as designated disabled/pushchair areas. The vehicles are 32 metres long, split into five sections and can accommodate up to 222 passengers.

Heritage

Heritage Blackpool is unique to the UK as it has the freedom to operate unmodified vintage trams throughout the year under its heritage brand, Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours. The Heritage Tram Tours have gone from strength-to-strength since 2014 and is a fine example of modern day voluntary working, with up to ninety per cent of its workforce being volunteers.

There are twelve different types of car that have been used on the tramway over its 133-year lifespan, with some travelling around the world, like the iconic Boat car which was used in the USA during the 1970s.

Global Light Rail Awards

The Blackpool Tramway won the award for the Most Improved System in 2020/21. Blackpool Trams saw a resurgence in customer numbers after the Blackpool

staycation boom brought about by travel restrictions in the wake of the Covid lockdown. Coupled with seamless ticketing and low fares, the Tramway extension is well on its way to completion as it opened for testing in June 2022 and is set to open in the Spring of 2023 to provide an integrated train, tram and bus network for Blackpool.

New upgrades

The improvements previously made to the tramway received such a positive response from the public that at the end of 2018 Blackpool Transport alongside Blackpool Council began further upgrades. The existing tramway service operates between Starr Gate and Fleetwood Ferry from approximately 05.30 until 23.30, with a peak service every ten minutes.

The tramway extension will leave the existing route at North Pier, via a two-way double track junction. The route will cross the Promenade highway and enter Talbot Square, which is being remodelled to provide segregation of trams and highway traffic. The existing pedestrian signals on the Promenade will be replaced by a signalled

intersection. A new eastbound tram stop is to be located in Talbot Square, to allow interchanges with the existing North Pier tram stops. Beyond Talbot Square, a double track alignment continues eastwards in the centre of the highway.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Jane Cole

Director of Organisational Development: Karen Cooper

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: C/O Blackpool Transport Services Limited, Rigby Road, Blackpool FY1 5DD

Tel: 01253 473001

Email: enquiries@blackpooltransport.com

Visit: www.blackpooltransport.com

Built and operated by the London Tilbury & Southend Railway in the 1850s, the current c2c rail service has operated under a number of different names and ownership during its 160-year lifespan. The line was once known as the Seaside line until spending a few unfortunate years nicknamed the ‘Misery Line’ in the 1990s after privatisation, with fifty years of nationalisation in between. Trenitalia paid £72.6 million for c2c after being awarded a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Passport enabling it to bid for franchises without needing to resubmit corporate data.

21st century service

c2c currently serves 26 stations on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway line from London Fenchurch Street to the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex including Grays, Leigh-on-Sea and Southend-on-Sea. The main route from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness is 63 kilometres with a fastest journey time of 58 minutes.

As c2c is mainly a London commuter railway and the typical journey is between 40 and 80 minutes, it does not offer First Class seating. Its Class 357s have standard high density ‘3 + 2’ seating to meet high demand at peak times, however 17 trains were converted into a metro style with ‘two and two’ seating and grab handles.

London Underground’s District line connects with c2c indirectly at Tower Hill (for Fenchurch Street) and directly at West Ham, Barking and Upminster. Tickets are fully interchangeable between the two operators. There are also interchanges at Limehouse and West Ham with Docklands Light Railway and at Barking and Upminster with London Overground.

Record breaking

The Transport Focus survey of October 2022, which interviewed rail passengers across the country, revealed that c2c tops the league with 96 per cent overall satisfaction rate among the passengers surveyed. c2c also comes in first place among train operators for punctuality/ reliability, with 96 per cent of passengers saying they were satisfied and 91 per cent

saying they were satisfied in terms of the level of crowding.

c2c has also led the rail industry in being the first company to introduce customer friendly new products such as Automatic Delay Repay for customers whose journeys are delayed, Flexi-Season tickets for parttime workers, and Personal Punctuality Reports which allow customers to track exactly how punctual the trains that they were on have been.

Technology

The c2c app called c2c Live provides a one-stop-shop for c2c passengers with everything from personalised journey information to buying tickets, and even paying for car parking.

Developed with IBM, this is the first app made by a UK rail company to include nationwide door-to-door public transport journey planning, enabling users to plan a route for any journey anywhere in the UK.

Other developments include the c2c Smart card which allows c2c season ticket holders to switch from paper tickets to an Oyster-style tap-and-go smartcard ticket they can use anywhere on the c2c route.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Rob Mullen

Engineering Director: Jeff Baker

Delivery Director: Laura McEwen

Finance Director: Philip Leney

Commercial Director: Clare McCaffrey

HR Director: Donna Thorpe

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 2nd Floor, Cutlers Court, 115 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BR

Tel: 0345 744 4422

Email: contact@c2crail.co.uk Visit: www.c2c-online.co.uk

Caledonian Sleeper

by Travel magazine. Both singled out the Highland route to Fort William, known as The Deerstalker, as ‘one of the world’s most unforgettable train adventures’ and that it ‘isn’t a train ride, it’s an escape’.

In 2019 Caledonian Sleeper was ranked in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate United Kingdom Travelist which ranks the 500 greatest experiences across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands.

Accessibility

Caledonian Sleeper has worked to ensure the best possible experience for guests with access needs. With a new range of accessible accommodation, the service is committed to ensuring accessible guests have the space they need to travel comfortably and safely between London and Scotland.

Reducing plastic usage

Caledonian Sleeper runs on two routes – the Lowlander and the Highlander. The Lowlander route connects Scotland’s two biggest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh, with the capital of the UK while the Highlander connects London with Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness.

The Caledonian Sleeper serves 48 stations overall – 43 in Scotland and five in England – and is a key part of Scotland’s transport offering that delivers unique journey and tourism opportunities. Services run in both directions six nights a week, with the trains calling at dozens of other stations along the way.

Features and investment

In 2019, the service took a giant leap forward with the introduction of its new trains – 75 carriages debuting across the Lowland and Highland routes. The fleet, built at a cost of £150 million, has been part funded by capital grants from Scottish Ministers and from the UK government. Designed to accommodate the modern-day traveller, the trains offer accommodation ranging from new comfort seats for the budget traveller to rooms with

double beds and en-suites – for the first time in the history of Caledonian Sleeper. Accommodation includes:

• Completely redesigned comfort seats with personal locker, reading light and charging point.

• Classic Rooms (solo or shared use with an option of interconnecting rooms, toiletries included).

• Club Rooms (solo or shared use with ensuite, station lounge access, breakfast, luxury toiletries included).

• Caledonian Double (double bed with ensuite, station lounge access, breakfast, luxury toiletries included).

• Accessible Rooms (double or twin, toiletries included and directly adjacent to accessible toilet).

Other features are included on the new trains, such as a hotel-style key card entry system, charging panels and Wi-Fi throughout the train.

Global appeal

In 2015, the sleeper train service was named as one of Lonely Planet’s Super Sleeper Journeys and in 2014 it was named one of the best six railway adventures in the world

Since 2015 the Caledonian Sleeper has partnered with ARRAN Sense of Scotland to supply their guests with bath and shower gels, shampoo, conditioner, handwashes and body lotions. Since the start of October 2022 all of their fleet has been fitted with eco-friendly refillable dispensers to replace the single use plastics in the Caledonian Double and Club rooms, reducing virgin plastic use by 81 per cent and liquid waste by use to 75 per cent.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Kathryn Darbandi

New Trains Programme Director: Magnus Conn

Guest Experience Director: Graham Kelly

Finance Director: Chris Gemmell

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 1-5 Union Street, Inverness IV1 1PP

Tel: 0330 060 0500

Email: enquiry@sleeper.scot Visit: www.sleeper.scot

Since Serco took over the Caledonian Sleeper franchise in 2015, the overnight service between London and Scotland has gone from strength to strength

Chiltern Railways

Chiltern Railways began the franchise in 1996 following privatisation. The TOC is owned by Deutsche Bahn and is part of Arriva

switching to battery power to cut emissions and noise in populated areas. Magtec’s new range-extender generators charge the traction battery and deliver power to the traction motor. They are smaller and more efficient than existing diesel engines and comply with the latest emissions standards. The battery is also recharged by the train’s regenerative braking system, increasing overall efficiency and further reducing emissions.

The launch of HybridFLEX

Chiltern Railways launched HybridFLEX, Britain’s first 100mph capable batterydiesel hybrid train into passenger service in February 2022. It is formed of a 20-yearold diesel train that has been fitted with a powerful battery allowing it to run solely on battery power when departing and arriving at stations. This train runs between Aylesbury and London and significantly cuts CO2 emissions, saves fuel and reduces noise and air pollution.

At the end of 2017 passenger and freight train companies, Network Rail and their suppliers, launched a ‘single plan’ for Britain’s railway. Dave Penney, who was Managing Director of Chiltern Railways in 2017, said: ‘Over the next 18 months alone, our investment plans will mean more trains, running more punctually, with value-for money tickets that are easier to buy and use, and better information at people’s fingertips when things do go wrong.’

The Chiltern Railways app

The Chiltern Railways app that was launched in 2018 makes journey planning, and accessing the latest travel information and buying e-tickets easier. The app allows a seamless booking process by setting up an account its easier to save favourite journeys and seat preferences when booking. The capacity tracker enables customers to view the capacity of each carriage on the train prior to boarding.

Rolling stock

Chiltern Railways also determined that additional DMU vehicles would be needed to account for the planned network growth. In

2015, it took nine Class 170 units on lease following the expiry of the contract between First TransPennine Express and the trains’ owners, Porterbrook.

These units were cascaded to Chiltern on a phased approach and were converted into a Class 168 unit configuration to ensure full compatibility and integration with the other Chiltern DMU units. All nine units are now in passenger service bringing additional capacity to the fleet.

Decarbonising

Chiltern Railways has been awarded a new contract which includes commitments to continue working towards decarbonising and modernising its fleet. Chiltern is working with Magtec on the Hybrid DMU project with Angel Trains, Britain’s leading train asset management company. The £4 million Class 165 Hybrid DMU project aims to reduce carbon and gaseous emissions, whilst addressing local air quality and noise pollution issues. The Hybrid DMU train’s electric drive offers improved acceleration compared to its diesel-only counterparts, potentially reducing journey times for passengers. Its smart drive system is able to detect proximity to stations or depots,

HybridFLEX is the product of a four-year partnership between Chiltern Railways, Porterbrook and Rolls-Royce. A service will initially operate between Aylesbury and London Marylebone with plans to bring the new type of train to the London to Oxford via Bicester Village route in the coming months.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Richard Allan

Commercial & Customer Strategy Director: Eleni Jordan

Engineering and Safety Director: Ian Hyde

Finance Director: Richard Johnson

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Banbury ICC, Merton Street, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 4RN

Tel: 0345 600 5165

Email: customer.service@chilternrailways.co.uk Visit: www.chilternrailways.co.uk

Edinburgh Trams

Edinburgh Trams began operating in May 2014, achieving profitability in 2016 which was a full two years ahead of schedule

QUICK FACTS

• 27 trams in the current fleet

• 16 stops including four railway station interchanges

• 8.7 miles of track on the current line

• Over eight million predicted passenger journeys in 2022

• Trams running every seven minutes

Edinburgh Trams to travel to and from airport, with these journeys increasing by 56 per cent between 2015 and 2018. The look of the trams has changed in the last five years and it’s not unexpected to see a clown’s face or an octopus holding Christmas presents gliding along Princes Street.

During its first year of service the network carried nearly five million passengers – more than 360,000 ahead of its prelaunch target. This had grown to almost 5.5 million by its second year which contributed to the TOC making a profit so soon. Edinburgh Trams’ 8.7 mile network has 16 stops that stretch from Edinburgh Airport in the west to York Place in the east.

Ticketing

Regular users of trams and buses in the city can use the Ridacard, which gives the best value travel whenever it’s used. Fully contactless, one-week, four-week and annual tickets can be stored on the card, with the latter two offering savings on the weekly rate.

Passengers are also able to use their smartphones for travel by using Edinburgh Trams’ free app. It provides users with live information on the quickest way to reach their destination and enables m-tickets to be downloaded and activated as needed.

A new feature was added to the app in November 2015 that for the first time allowed users to ‘share’ tickets, so tickets can be sent through the smartphone’s native sharing technology such as Bluetooth, AirDrop, e-mail, social media or text. Edinburgh Trams, and its sister company Lothian Buses, also partnered with Google Maps from the beginning of 2016 to provide real-time travel information.

Significant safety initiative

The city’s tram operator secured top honours in the ‘Significant Safety Initiative’ category at the 2022 Global Light Rail Awards in London. Excelling in the ‘Significant Safety Initiative’ category follows a series of exercises, carried out in partnership with the emergency services and other key stakeholders, to test the operator’s responses to potential emergencies and its safety management processes.

Colin Kerr, the organisation’s Head of Safety and Projects, said the recognition at what are considered the light rail sector’s Oscars was a testament to the hard work and commitment of everyone involved.

Eight year anniversary

Eight years in and residents have embraced Edinburgh’s new transport kid with a steady growth in users totalling 27.7 million customer journeys since 2015. Year-on-year they have reported increasing patronage, with a total growth of 40 per cent between 2015 and 2018. In 2018, carrying 7.3 million people to work, college, on much-needed holidays or just to enjoy all the capital has to offer.

Keeping up with demand, Edinburgh Trams strove to improve the existing timetable and soon increased services by 23 per cent offering more trams and more seats, and reducing the travel time between Edinburgh Airport and the City Centre to less than 30 minutes. As a result, there has been significant growth in those choosing

In 2017 the City of Edinburgh Council transferred the advertising rights to Transport for Edinburgh and Edinburgh Trams, and the first commercial agreement took place with CR Smith who had 18 trams within the fleet branded with various scenes from across Scotland. 2018 saw Edinburgh Trams advertising at full occupancy thanks to new partnerships with Diageo, Parabola, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Qatar Airlines and others as well as small-to medium local businesses and complimentary advertising for local charities.

Not one to rest on their success Edinburgh Trams have continued to push the boundaries on industry norms by being the first UK system to allow bikes on board, supporting the city’s desire for integrated transport and active travel. Making the system truly accessible, Edinburgh Trams permitted mobility scooters on board, allowing those who need that bit more support able to travel safely and confidently.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Lea Harrison

Chief Executive – Transport for Edinburgh: George Lowder

Operations Manager: Sarah Singh

Head of Safety and Projects: Colin Kerr

Head of Operations: Sarah Singh

HR Manager: Sue Bucher

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 1 Myreton Drive, Edinburgh EH12 9GF

Tel: 0131 338 5780

Email: customer@edinburghtrams.com Visit: www.edinburghtrams.com

Elizabeth Line

The Elizabeth Line stretches more than 60 miles from Reading and Heathrow in the west through central tunnels across London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east

Renamed and rebranded as the Elizabeth line in 2016, the first new Class 345 trains entered passenger service in June 2017 between Liverpool Street and Shenfield. But that was only phase one. The trains will be rolled out over five phases, phase two saw TfL running trains from Heathrow and Hayes & Harlington to Paddington in May 2018. As of November 2022, the three branches of the Elizabeth line – east, west and central – are now connected. Meaning customers can travel into and through central London without changing at Paddington and Liverpool Street National Rail stations.

Station upgrades

Forty-one new and improved stations are served by the Elizabeth line. The line is split between above ground and underground tracks, with 13 miles of twinbore tunnels having been dug under London.

Each station has its own, distinct character, conceived by different architects to reflect the environment and heritage of the local area. However they all share the same features at platform level that give customers a consistent experience, such as:

• Platform edge screens – a safety barrier that helps to keep the platform cool and provides lighting, signs, speakers and CCTV.

• Passenger information above each door –showing departing services.

• Signs designed to be easily legible, with clear, accessible language helped by symbols

• Newly-designed seating.

Crossrail Art programme

Launched in 2022 alongside the opening of the new Elizabeth line, Crossrail Art Foundation and Crossrail Limited have delivered a line-wide exhibition working with nine artists who have made public artworks for the new Elizabeth line stations, designed and built by Crossrail.

The programme has worked with seven London-based art galleries and an advisory panel of art-world representatives to deliver a series of works that are both physically and conceptually integrated into the fabric of each new below ground station, and often

make a point in referencing aspects of the station’s location within the city.

Accessibility

Lifts have been installed at every Elizabeth line station to ensure stepfree access from the street all the way to the platform. The enhancements to the older stations have included improving accessibility at the ticket office windows and wider entrances to ticket halls.

Better trains

The new trains are 200 metres long and can carry up to 1,500 people. The trains use up to 30 per cent less energy by tapping into the electricity produced whilst braking and then pumping that back into the power supply, just like a Formula One car.

The trains have three double doors per side which open onto a clear area which allows for easier access to the metro-style and bay seating within. Other features include multiple wheelchair dedicated areas and mixed-use seating that can be flipped up to accommodate wheelchairs.

Manufactured by Bombardier Transportation, the Elizabeth line operates seventy of the EMUs (electric multiple units) and carries half a million people across London every single day.

Shorter journeys

The Elizabeth line is now fully integrated into the existing London transport network, which has reduced travel times across the

board. As Londoners commuting times tumble as Canary Warf to Liverpool Street, a trip which used to take 21 minutes, now takes just six minutes.

Other journeys like Paddington from Tottenham Court Road take just four minutes, compared to twenty minutes previously. British companies won 96 per cent of the contracts for the project. The Elizabeth line, which was originally called Crossrail, is managed by TfL. Crossrail Limited constructed the new railway and the project is jointly sponsored by the Department for Transport and TfL.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: Steve Murphy

Managing Director for MTR Elizabeth Line: Nigel Holness

Chief Operations Officer for the Elizabeth Line (TfL): Howard Smith

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ

Tel: 0343 222 0000

Email: Contact via website Visit: www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/elizabeth-line/

Enterprise

Enterprise is the cross-border intercity train service between Dublin Connolly in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast Central in Northern Ireland

Jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann (IE) and NI Railways (NIR) Enterprise operates on the Belfast to Dublin line. The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I)) introduced the service as the ‘Enterprise Express’ in August 1947 in an attempt to compete with air travel which was challenging the railways as Swissair and Pan Am both began using Shannon Airport as a stop-off on transatlantic flights in the Spring of that year.

The initial service ran between Belfast Great Victoria Street station and Dublin Amiens Street station, which was renamed Dublin Connolly in 1966. Customs checks were limited to the Belfast and Dublin terminals to reduce journey times by ensuring that journeys were non-stop.

In October 1950 the service was extended beyond Dublin to Cork. This proved unsuccessful and ceased in September 1953 when the governments of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland nationalised the GNR as the Great Northern Railway Board (GNRB). In October 1958 the GNRB was dissolved and its assets and liabilities were split between Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) and the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) – the predecessors of Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) and Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) respectively.

Following the completion of the Belfast Central Line Project, the Belfast terminal moved to Belfast Central station in 1976. The service was upgraded in September 1997 with a new timetable and new coaching stock from French train makers De Dietrich Ferroviaire (now Alstom DDF). At this point the service, which had operated under either the IÉ or NIR brands, was branded separately as Enterprise.

The service has suffered disruption, particularly during the Troubles, when it was regularly halted by bomb threats. Since the Northern Ireland peace process, however, such disruption has diminished. Renewed investment in recent years has seen the line upgraded to continuously welded track capable of ninety mph running along the southern part of the route, as part of Iarnród Éireann’s rail network upgrades.

The Northern Ireland section of the line was also upgraded to run at speeds

of ninety mph on many sections of the line. The Enterprise brand aims to be politically neutral, there are no Irish Rail or NI Railways logos inside or outside the train, only Enterprise specific branding, all announcements are made in English and not in Irish, and purchases are dual priced in Pounds Sterling as well as in Euros.

Operating eight services in each direction, Monday to Saturday and five journeys in each direction on Sundays, the journey takes just over two hours. If an Enterprise set is unavailable, either a NIR or an IÉ set can be used. Both NIR and IÉ have equipped a number of their DMUs to each other’s specifications so they may be used in the event of a breakdown.

Strategic Development Plan

Enterprise put out a document titled the ‘Strategic Development Plan’ in June 2018, detailing the projected population growth along the Dublin-Belfast corridor and how both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland plan to develop the railway.

The three initiatives laid out in the plan are:

• Introduction of an hourly service frequency between the two cities.

• Infrastructure enhancements to improve journey times and connections.

• Electrification through investment in infrastructure and rolling stock.

• The long-term goal of electrification set out in the plan recommends replacing the existing rolling stock with electrically powered units by 2035. A new fleet of nine train sets would be required to permit an hourly service, which could come by 2024.

Rail Freight Strategy 2040

Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail Freight’s Rail Freight 2040 Strategy is an ambitious vision positioning rail at the centre of Ireland’s freight transport system. It recognises the sustainable benefits that rail provides and invites all stakeholders to work collaboratively on its’ implementation over the coming years as a contribution towards achieving Ireland’s climate objectives and wider strategic national outcomes.

Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail Freight 2040 aims to achieve:

• A five-fold increase in the number of rail freight services, to include over 100 new weekly services across the rail network

• A resulting reduction of 25,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, with rail freight emissions per unit as little as 16 percent of HGV emissions

• Avoiding the requirement for 140,000 HGV journeys on our roads annually

• Rail Freight 2040 was prepared in consultation with stakeholders, and operations and case studies across Europe were examined. The strategy aligns with Project Ireland 2040, the Climate Action Plan, as well as the European Union’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and EU Green Deal, and supports the national decarbonisation goal of a 51 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.

The Strategy outlines 25 initiatives and a cumulative investment of approximately €500 million (£440 million). within five strategic pillars, which are:

• Enhancing connections with sea ports.

• Developing a network of intermodal terminals.

• Addressing rolling stock requirements.

• Network developments.

• Policy initiatives.

KEY PERSONNEL

CEO: Jim Mead

Director Infrastructure Manager: Don Cunningham

Chief Financial Officer: Aidan Cronin

Director Human Resources: Ciaran Masterson

Commercial Director: Gerry Culligan

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Enterprise c/o Iarnród Éireann

HQ, Connolly Station, Amien Street, Dublin 1, D01 V6V6 Eire

Tel: +353 1 836 6222

Email: info@irishrail.ie

Visit: www.irishrail.ie/Enterprise

Gatwick Express

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: Patrick Verwer

Chief Operating Officer: Angie Doll

Engineering Director: Steve Lammin

Gatwick Express operates 160 services carrying around 13,000 travellers a day and covers around 1.6 million miles a year. Running between London Victoria station and Gatwick Airport, the airport train service departs every 15 minutes, enabling passengers to reach the airport, which is located directly beneath the train’s south terminal, in around 30 minutes.

Gatwick station upgrade

Network Rail is delivering a vital upgrade to Gatwick Airport Railway Station to relieve crowding, improve accessibility and reduce delays for commuters and leisure travellers across the South East. With the number of customers visiting the station set to grow, this important investment will upgrade the railway station and help the airport to play an even bigger role in the local economy’s growth as a hub for international visitors. It will be delivered between May 2020 and 2023, with two years of intensive platform works between May 2020 and May 2022.

Infrastructure Director: Keith Jipps

Head of Safety & Health: Emile MacDonald-Williams

Marketing and Communications Director: Myriam Walburger

Head of Engineering and Asset Management: Dave Hickson

Head of Network Operations: Mark Boon

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 1st Floor, Monument Place, 24 Monument Street, London EC3R 8AJ

Tel: 0345 850 1530

Email: customerservices@gatwickexpress.com Visit: www.gatwickexpress.com

Glasgow Subway

The 15 stations of the Subway are distributed over a six mile circuit of the West End and City Centre of Glasgow, with eight stations to the North of the River Clyde and seven to the South. There are two lines: an outer circle running clockwise and an inner circle running anticlockwise.

Upgrades

The full-scale upgrade will ensure that the highest quality of service is delivered to the 40,000 passengers who use the Subway every day. The Glasgow Subway is 120-years old and is the third oldest underground system in the world behind London and Budapest. A £288 million funding package for the work is being supported by the Scottish Government and rebuilding work is happening right across the network.

Station refurbishment

Key improvements to accessibility, safety and information provision are being introduced. With progress to date including; St Enoch Station with its two new glass canopies has undergone the most comprehensive transformation bringing new life to the historic St Enoch Square. As well as Buchanan Street Station which has also undergone modernisation complete with new travelators which acts as a very important link to Queen Street Station.

Modernisation

In 2011/12, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) secured funding from the Scottish Government to fully upgrade and modernise the Subway. This included the refurbishment of all 15 stations, a strand of work which was completed in 2022.

In 2013, SPT also introduced a new Smartcard ticketing system as part of the modernisation programme which has revolutionised ticketing options across all forms of transport in the region with train and bus operators all developing smart ticketing options. SPT are continuing to work with other travel operators to develop more integrated travel options for commuters. In the future the Subway Smartcard could be used seamlessly between different transport modes (such as bus, train and ferry) and even to buy other everyday

items such as coffee on the way into work.

With more than 230,000 Subway Smartcards now in operation, SPT continues to work with transport operators and Transport Scotland to develop more integrated ticketing opportunities across the region.

In 2016, SPT announced a significant step forward in the modernisation programme with the award of contract for the new rolling stock, signalling and equipment to the Stadler Bussnang AG/ Ansaldo STS (now Hitachi) Consortium. The contract worth £200 million will include the 17 new Subway trains which are of the same length and size as existing rolling stock but made up of four-car sets as opposed to the current three-car sets. They also feature open gangways to maximise the space available. The first of the new trains was on show at InnoTrans 2018, the international Trade Fair for transport technology in Berlin, by leading manufacturer Stadler.

As well as the new trains, the Subway’s signalling equipment, control systems and control centre will all be replaced bringing improved availability and reliability to passengers. The system will include new platform screen doors, which will be ‘half height’ to preserve as much space and openness within the stations as possible while still maintaining passenger safety and security.

Once the new full system is in place – trains, signalling, operational control centre, platform screen doors – and has been fully tested, the Subway will move from its current partially automatic trains to Unattended Train Operations (UTO).

Transport Focus survey

The 2018 Transport Focus survey reported overall passenger satisfaction reached 97 per cent, whilst 95 per cent of surveyed passengers said that they were satisfied with the Subway’s level of punctuality. 80 per cent said that they were satisfied with the value for money the service provides.

KEY PERSONNEL

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Broomloan Depot, Robert St, Lanarkshire, Glasgow G51 3HB

Tel: 0141 332 6811

Email: enquiry@spt.co.uk

Visit: www.spt.co.uk

The Glasgow Subway carries 13 million passengers each year, and is currently undergoing its biggest modernisation programme in more than 30 years

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) operates Great Northern, Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express

GTR is the largest and busiest single rail franchise in the UK: in terms of passenger numbers (around 25 per cent of all UK rail journeys), trains, revenue and staff (7,574 people employed).

The franchise encompasses King’s Lynn in the north and Brighton in the south, serving London as well as several important regional centres including Cambridge, Luton, Peterborough, Portsmouth and

Southampton. It also provides direct links to major airports (Gatwick and Luton) as well as St Pancras International.

East Coast Digital Programme

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has sent its first Great Northern train to be upgraded with cutting-edge in-cab signalling as part of the government-funded East Coast Digital Programme. The upgraded train will work with a new operating system

that continuously communicates with each train and provides signalling information directly to a computer screen in the driver’s cab, meaning signals at the side of the railway track are no longer required. As well as reducing delays and improving reliability, the digital system will also create the potential for more trains to use the route, between London King’s Cross and Peterborough, when the programme completes at the end of the decade. GTR expects the upgraded train back in July, after which it will start upgrading the rest of the 28 trains of this type in its fleet.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: Patrick Verwer

Chief Operating Officer: Angie Doll

Managing Director – Thameslink & Great Northern: Tom Moran

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 1st Floor, Monument Place, 24 Monument Street, London EC3R 8AJ Tel: 0345 026 4700

Email: communications@go-ahead.com Visit: www.go-ahead.com

Grand Central Rail

queuing at stations or waiting for tickets to be delivered, customers can now pay for their fare online. Available on desktop and mobile devices, tickets stay available until ten minutes before departure and after purchasing customers receive an email with a downloadable PDF that features a barcode scanned by crew and ticket gates.

Grand Central has a six-month reservation window which is continually updated on a rolling basis. Grand Central was able to make the upgrade after adopting the new Rail Availability & Reservation Service (RARS) system and working with its suppliers.

Trains

Grand Central’s first route was launched in December 2007 and linked London Kings Cross with York and the North East.

In May 2010, this was joined by the West Riding service, linking Doncaster, Bradford and West Yorkshire with London – most recently adding Low Moor in 2017.

In August 2014, Grand Central was granted an extension of its operating rights until December 2026.

Routes

Grand Central connects Yorkshire and the North East to London with two routes. Five daily services on the North East to London route run between Sunderland and London King’s Cross calling at Hartlepool, Eaglescliffe, Northallerton, Thirsk and York. This route is known as the North Eastern service.

Four daily services which run on the Yorkshire to London route operate between Bradford Interchange and London King’s Cross calling at Halifax, Brighouse, Mirfield, Wakefield Kirkgate and Doncaster. Some services also call at Pontefract Monkhill.

This is known as the West Riding or West Yorkshire service.

In May 2018 Grand Central commenced operating services on the West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Blackpool after the Office of Rail and Road granted fellow Arriva subsidiary Alliance Rail Holdings access rights for ten years.

Passengers

In the Summer of 2020, the Transport Focus National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) reported that Grand Central enjoyed an overall customer satisfaction score of 95 per cent, as well as topping the Value for Money table with a passenger rating of 74 per cent. Travellers also reported a 95 per cent satisfaction rate with Grand Central’s punctuality, and strongly improved scores for onboard aspects of the journey following a £9 million refurbishment programme.

E-ticketing

Grand Central Rail introduced e-ticketing towards the end of 2017, allowing customers to buy tickets online and display them on their mobile or tablet device. Instead of

Grand Central operates an allAdelante fleet, with its ten Class 180 trains receiving extensive refurbishment and updates to improve passenger comfort in 2018. Grand central has five named trains: The Ashley Jackson which is named after Yorkshire Artist Ashley Jackson and the James Herriot train which is named after the famous North Yorkshire vet and author. The Hart of the North train was named following Grand Central’s ‘Name Our Train’ competition in the Hartlepool Mail and the other two trains are named after William Shakespeare and Wakefield Kirkgate station.

Address: Grand Central Rail, Northern House, 9 Rougier Street, York YO1 6HZ

Tel: 0345 603 4852

Email: customer.services@grandcentralrail.com Visit: www.grandcentralrail.com

Great Northern

Since 2016 Great Northern has invested in new trains and increased services. It has doubled overall capacity on the Cambridge to London route and installed new air-conditioned trains from Cambridge to King’s Lynn.

Rolling stock

At the end of 2019, Great Northern completed a £240 million train fleet renewal and introduced 25 six-carriage Siemensbuilt Class 717 units on the route between London Moorgate and Stevenage, Hertford North and Welwyn Garden City. The new trains have capacity for 943 people, an eleven per cent increase on the old 313 trains they replaced. The new 717s also feature a ‘snow mode’, which changes the way the brakes work to improve reliability in snowy conditions.

Routes

As part of the East Coast Digital Programme, The Northern City Line to Moorgate in central London will begin transition to ETCS in 2022 with the aim of switching off conventional signalling in 2023. The system will then be rolled out across the East Coast Main Line from London as far as Stoke Tunnels, south of Grantham. In October 2022 Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has sent its first Great Northern train to be upgraded with cutting-edge in-cab signalling as part of the government-funded East Coast Digital Programme. GTR expects the upgraded train back in July, after which it will start upgrading the rest of the 28 trains of this type in its fleet. GTR has two other train types that operate on this route which came with the technology built-in and this is already being used to test the system on the stretch of line to London Moorgate.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Operating Officer: Sean English Finance Director: Carol Bainbridge Head of HR: Angela Newsome

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Grand Central Rail, Northern House, 9 Rougier Street, York YO1 6HZ

Tel: 0345 603 4852

Email: customer.services@grandcentralrail.com Visit: www.grandcentralrail.com

Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway (GWR) operates trains across the Great Western franchise area, which includes South Wales, the West Country, the Cotswolds, across southern England and into London

Express Train (IET) from manufacturer Hitachi, with a further 127 (Class 802) carriages – 15 trains – still to be rolled out during 2019.

Replacing 40-year-old High Speed Trains, the IETs have up to 24 per cent more seats per train. Following completion of Network Rail’s electrification to Newbury new Electrostar, suburban commuter, trains have also been able to run to the town for the first time having been rolled out across London and the Thames Valley during late 2017 and 2018.

Mobile assistance

At the end of 2019 GWR launched a mobile Customer Assistance Team to help those with reduced mobility to be able to travel with confidence. GWR’s new ten-member mobile team means that a member of staff can travel with the passenger, taking care of the entire journey experience and ensuring continuity of service. Launched in December 2019 the team has now helped over 500 customers.

GWR provides high speed, commuter, regional and branch line train services, and before the covid-19 pandemic helped over 100 million passengers reach their destinations every year. GWR was recently awarded an extension to its direct award franchise (called DA3), which will run up to 31 March 2023, with an option to extend for a further year.

Routes

GWR runs trains between London and Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Oxford, Exeter, Reading, Swindon, Plymouth and Windsor. In 2021, the Government restored the Dartmoor Line, allowing services to resume for first time in half a century on 20 November 2021, the service will run hourly from May 2022. This successful reopening was awarded for ‘Outstanding Teamwork’ and

Rolling Stock

GWR is working on plans to reduce the carbon emissions of its train fleet, with a view to removing all diesel-only traction from the network by 2040 in line with the Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan. In the Summer of 2021, GWR ran the first electric-only train to and from South Wales when it used a twelve-car Class 387 to run electric-only from Swindon to Cardiff. More than £7.5 billion has been spent on electrifying the region’s routes from London to Newbury and Cardiff and track upgrades, as well as improvements to stations, the opening of new stations and the introduction of hundreds of new trains.

Before Christmas 2018 GWR took delivery of its final Class 800 Intercity

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Mark Hopwood

Engineering Director: Simon Green

Customer Service and Transformation Director: Richard Rowland

Director, Compliance, Sustainability & Environment: Joe Graham

Finance Director: Duncan Rimmer

Director of HR: Ruth Busby

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Milford House, 1 Milford Street, Swindon SN1 1HL

Tel: 0345 700 0125

Email: visit website for all enquiries Visit: www.gwr.com

‘Outstanding Contribution to Society’ at the National Rail Awards 2022.

Greater Anglia

Greater Anglia provides intercity, commuter and rural services throughout Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire

Greater Anglia operates 1,300 train services per day across 133 stations. With the inception of the new franchise in October 2016, Abellio announced it would invest £1.4 billion in fleet replacement which resulted in 33,000 new train seats at morning and evening peak travel times. Greater Anglia is owned by ‘NS’ in the Netherlands who operate the rail services, stations and facilities on much of the Dutch network, the Department for Transport (DfT) awarded a further contract for Greater Anglia to operate services until 2025.

Rolling stock

As part of a £1.4 billion investment in transforming train services in East Anglia. Greater Anglia is currently in the process of replacing all trains in its fleet with brand new ones, which are all longer, with more seats, USB and plug sockets, fast free Wi-Fi, air conditioning and improved accessibility features as well as dedicated cycle spaces.

Throughout 2021, Greater Anglia introduced new commuter trains to replace all the company’s old trains on Great Eastern Main Line routes between Liverpool Street and Southend Victoria, Braintree, Southminster, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Colchester, Clacton, Walton-on-the-Naze and Harwich. In March 2021, the first of 133 Aventra Class 720 trains being built by Alstom in Derby was introduced on the Clacton to London route. In September of the same year, the trains ran for the first time on the Harwich and Walton-on-theNaze branch lines.

The full introduction of new trains are now in service on every single route in the Greater Anglia network, with many routes operated exclusively by new trains.

Carbon emissions

Greater Anglia commissioned environmental consultancy WSP to assess its environmental impact which revealed that in 2020/21 financial year Greater Anglia reduced its overall Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by eleven per cent. This is in addition to the eleven per cent reduction in 2019/20, meaning that the company has reduced CO2 emissions by 21 per cent over the last two years.

Accessibility campaign

Greater Anglia is supporting a new campaign aimed at helping people with disabilities travel on trains more easily.

The Department for Transport has launched ‘It’s everyone’s journey’ – an advertising campaign to highlight how everyone can play a part in making public transport inclusive. The Department for Transport’s new campaign aims to show other passengers the impact their unconscious behaviour can have on disabled passengers and encourages them to make small changes to their habits when travelling, such as:

• Be prepared to give up a priority seat.

• Be prepared to help each other.

• Be patient with each other.

• Don’t charge through busy platforms.

• Respect all accessible toilet users.

Greater Anglia is working to make its trains and stations more accessible, with its fleet of new trains more accessible by design with level boarding, large wheelchair spaces and accessible toilets on every train, the introduction of virtual online station tours to help with journey planning and

confidence, Accessibility & Inclusion training for staff, and upgrades to improve access at stations and car parks across the network.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Jamie Burles

Engineering Director: Martin Beable

Senior Commercial Manager: Brett Chalkley

Asset Management Director: Simone Bailey

HR Director: Katy Bucknell

Finance Director: Michael Robertson

Customer Service Director: Andrew Goodrum

Head of Safety, Security and Sustainability: Jay Thompson

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 18-20 St Andrew's Street, London, EC4A 3AG

Tel: 0345 600 7245

Email: contactcentre@greateranglia.co.uk

Visit: www.greateranglia.co.uk

Hull Trains

Hull Trains operates long-distance services between London King’s Cross and Hull and Beverley

Hull Trains is a non-franchised, open-access operator running up to 94 direct services a week from Hull and the East Yorkshire region direct to London King’s Cross.

Rolling stock

Hull Trains’ high-tech bi-mode, electric and diesel, trains are one of the most modern and innovative trains on the UK rail network. The Hitachi inter-city fleet has consistently ranked inside the top 10 for reliability, often being three times more reliable than the industry average. The Paragon Fleet replaced the old Class 180 fleet following a £60m investment in 2019. Each train in the fleet carries a name

symbolic to the city of Hull, following a public vote in 2022. Hull Trains is part of FirstGroup plc.

Best in class

In 2022, Hull Trains was named ‘Best in Class’ after receiving a Golden Spanner award, recognising the most reliable fleets in the railway industry. Hull Trains was awarded a Gold – the highest accolade possible – in the 2nd Generation new intercity category.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing

Head

Head of Safety and Environment: Mark Shepherd

Head of Commercial Development: Tom McFall

Head of On Board Experience: Patrick Tobin

Head of Customer and Stakeholder Engagement: Paul Jackson

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: South Wing, Cherry Court, 36 Ferensway, Hull, HU2 8NH

Ferensway, Hull HU1 3UT

Tel: 0345 071 0222

Email: customerservices.hull@hulltrains.co.uk

Visit: www.hulltrains.co.uk

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Southampton Tel: 023 8069 8700 Email: sales@stauffsouthampton.co.uk

www.stauff.co.uk

London North Eastern Railway

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) operates long-distance intercity services on the East Coast Main Line from London to North East England and Scotland

The company is owned by the Department for Transport (DfT).

LNER took over the InterCity East Coast franchise in June 2018, after the previous privately owned operator Virgin Trains East Coast returned it to the Government following sustained financial difficulties. LNER is the second time that a Government appointed operator of last resort has taken control of the InterCity East Coast franchise; between 2009 and 2015 the franchise was operated by East Coast following National Express East Coast defaulting.

Routes

LNER runs from London Kings Cross to Leeds, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh Waverly, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness.

Rolling stock

In May 2019 LNER introduced the first of its new Azuma trains on the East Coast Route. The Azuma trains were built at Hitachi’s rail vehicle manufacturing plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, the 65 trains provided an extra 12,200 seats, and with an expanded timetable, increased capacity into London’s King’s Cross station by 28 per cent during peak times.

Passengers

According to the National Rail Passenger Survey by Transport Focus for Spring 2020, 91 per cent of passengers had ‘overall satisfaction with the journey’. LNER was the first in the industry to roll out its trial of an ‘at-seat’ catering offer. The ‘Let’s Eat at Your Seat’ service enables customers in Standard to order and pay for food and drinks from their phone in the comfort of their own seat. LNER was also the first train company in the UK to use new artificial intelligence software to better manage disruption. When services are disrupted, the new system by JNCTION, aims to help LNER ensure any delays are kept as minimal as possible.

New service

On 13 December 2021, LNER began direct Azuma services between Middlesbrough and London King’s Cross. Additional LNER Middlesbrough services are planned in the future following the completion of further works around Middlesbrough station which are currently being drawn up by Network Rail and following a significant timetable change on the East Coast Main Line.

Station upgrades

LNER invested more than £14 million over the 2020/21 period in improvements to stations and facilities. From a total transformation of Doncaster Station to new travel centres and toilets at York, a customer lounge at Berwick and car parks at Durham and Grantham, LNER has created first class facilities right along the East Coast of the UK with further improvements to come.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is investing £800,000 into station waiting rooms across the East Coast route. Considered the most comprehensive renovation in almost 20 years, customers will be able to relax and recharge in comfort in new leather seating which has built in USB and plug socket charging points for phones and laptops.

Onboard Connectivity

In July 2022 London North Eastern Railway (LNER) announced an edgecasting proofof-concept trial that enables people to stream thousands of shows from ITV Hub in ultra-high definition – without eating into personal data or the train’s Wi-Fi bandwidth. The trial service was available on three electric Azuma trains running between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh.

Rail users increasingly expect to have seamless connectivity while on-board trains. According to LNER data, 69 per cent of customers say that good-quality Wi-Fi is an important consideration for them when choosing how to travel, rising to 75 per

cent and 79 per cent of solo and business travellers, respectively. However, when faced with glitchy Wi-Fi, 76 per cent opt to use their own 4G or personal hotspot, while almost a third (30 per cent) stop using their device altogether.

LNER customers will be able to watch more than 6,000 episodes, picking up straight from their own ITV Hub account by logging in to LNER’s free onboard Wi-Fi.

The innovative proof-of-concept is powered by the Netskrt edge Content Delivery Network (eCDN). This combines cloud-based machine learning with networkaware edge caching, storing on-demand content on-board LNER’s world-class Azuma trains, meaning that customers will have the same high-quality viewing experience they would enjoy at home, even when going through tunnels or hard-to-reach network areas. Shows upload while the Azuma trains are on-the-move, meaning that the catalogue is constantly updated and passengers have access to the latest content. Shows are available to watch as soon as they are published on ITV Hub.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: David Horne

Commercial Director: David Flesher

Engineering Director: Dr Linda Wain

Customer Experience Director: Claire Ansley

Safety and Operations Director: Warrick Dent

Finance Director: Tim Kavanagh

CONTACT INFORMATION

Tel: 0345 722 5333

Email: customers@lner.co.uk

Visit: www.lner.co.uk

Address: East Coast House 25, Skeldergate, York YO1 6DH

Elegant technology, integrated with you.

Infinitive Group help customers make data-driven decisions that drive digital transformationaligning technology, people, and process to increase revenue and system performance, reduce cost, and mitigate risk.

Email us at: info@infi nitivegroup.co.uk

Call us on: +44 (0) 1908 018 900 Or visit our new website at: www.infi nitivegroup.co.uk

Arriva Rail London took over the London Overground network in November 2016 and supports TfL in delivering further improvements for customers on the already hugely popular network. The vast majority of the London Overground network is operated on Network Rail tracks, which are also used by other rail operators, freight and maintenance services. 187 million journeys were made on the Overground in the year 2019/20, compared to just 33 million when it launched in 2007/8. One third of Londoners live within walking distance of a London Overground station and overall satisfaction scores were at 87 per cent on the Spring 2020 National Rail Passenger Survey.

A fleet of 106 trains operate on the network comprising 49 four-car and 57 fivecar electric trains. These trains make around 17,000 station stops each day. In 2020, Class 710 ‘Aventra’ trains began operating on the West Anglia routes, replacing the legacy fleet of Class 315s and 317s. The new Class 710 trains feature walk-through carriages, airconditioning, live network information and improved accessibility.

Stations

New London Overground trains run on all services to Liverpool Street from Chingford, Cheshunt and Enfield Town stations. Over half of London Overground stations have step-free access from street to platform. A further five stations are proposed to be made step-free by 2024 as part of the Department for Transport's Access for All scheme. Transport for London has built a four-kilometre extension (1.5 kilometres of new track) of the London Overground Gospel Oak to Barking route into the Barking Riverside development in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

The extension provides an essential rail link to support the development of Barking Riverside, serving both new and existing residents. The opening of the new station in July 2022 completes the first extension of London Overground since 2015. Barking Riverside station is fully step-free, bringing the total of step-free stations across London Overground to more than 60.

London Overground

The London Overground, known to Londoners as the Orange Line, launched in 2007 and runs along a circular route around inner London, connecting 23 boroughs of the capital city and parts of southern Hertfordshire

London Overground

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Paul Hutchings

Performance Director: Matt Pocock

Finance Director: Steve Best

Customer Experience Director: Stella Rogers

HR Director: Oli Gant

Engineering Director: Kate Marjoribanks

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ

Tel: 0343 222 1234

Email: overgroundinfo@tfl.gov.uk

Visit: www.tfl.gov.uk/overground

KEEP ON TRACK

Bender is a leading authority in electrical safety, with proven experience in the rail industry.

An approved Network Rail supplier, Bender UK has worked in the industry for over two decades to ensure maximum availability, prevent downtime, maintain uptime and to ensure operational efficiency. Bender continuous insulation monitoring and earth fault location solutions measure system status and pinpoint the location of failure and degradation and issue warnings and alarms, to improve rail safety, and ensure timely rail services for passengers.

Bender’s rail capability includes monitoring of signal power, points heating, rail crossings, underground networks and rolling stock, supported with predictive maintenance and software solutions.

www.bender-uk.com

Tramtrack Croydon Limited (TCL) was awarded a 99-year concession to build and run a tram system in 1996. The Tram system opened in 2000. As well as on street running, it made use of a number of disused railway alignments. Part of the line between Wimbledon and Croydon actually follows the route of the Surrey Iron Railway which first opened in 1803 with horse drawn trains, some 22 years before the much more famous Stockton to Darlington Railway.

In June 2008, TfL bought out TCL, and set about refurbishing trams, track, and tram stops, which had received little investment since the system opened. In June 2012, six new trams were introduced, enabling services in central Croydon to be increased from eight to twelve trams an hour, and allowing a new route from Therapia Lane to Elmers End. A total of 34 trams run in a circle round Croydon and then carry on west and east for 39 stops. In April 2016, services between Wimbledon and Croydon increased from eight to twelve trams per hour, following the completion of works to build an additional tram platform at Wimbledon station.

Passengers

Since 2000, the number of passengers on the network has increased from 14 million to around 30 million today, and this is expected to reach nearly 60 million by 2030. An upgrade to the trams network is acknowledged to be needed to accommodate this growth. Trams for Growth summarises TfL’s proposed 20-year plan to accommodate growing demand, improve reliability and support the regeneration of Croydon town centre and the wider south London.

Tramlink

Trams 2030

Passenger numbers are expected to grow to nearly 60 million by 2030, Trams 2030 summarises TfL’s proposed 15-year plan to accommodate growing demand, improve reliability and support the regeneration of Croydon town centre. Trams 2030 sets out TfL’s ongoing works (including the Wimbledon line enhancement programme), the current proposals including major upgrades and expansions to the network, such as Dingwall Road Loop, and the longer term plan for trams in south London.

Rolling stock

The original fleet comprised 24 articulated low floor Flexity Swift CR4000 trams built by Bombardier Transportation in Vienna numbered beginning at 2530, continuing from the highest-numbered tram 2529 on London’s former tram network, which closed in 1952.

In 2006, the CR4000 fleet was refurbished, with the bus-like destination blinds being replaced by an electronic dot system. In 2009 the fleet was repainted into a new green livery. In January 2011, Tramtrack Croydon opened a tender for the supply of ten new or second-hand trams from the end of summer 2011. The trams will be used between Therapia Lane and Elmers End. On 18th August 2011, TfL announced that Stadler Rail had won a £16 million contract to supply six Variobahn trams. They entered service in 2012.

In August 2013, TfL ordered an additional four Variotrams for delivery in 2015, for use on the Wimbledon to Croydon link, an order which was later increased to six. This brought the total Variotram fleet up to ten in 2015 and twelve in 2016 when the final two trams were delivered.

The tram supports a set of up to seven cars, is available as a uni-direction or a bi-directional vehicle. It has a lightweight construction and meets the crash standard conforming to EN 15227. The individual way in which TRAMLINK can be developed and built is demonstrated by the configuration options: track gauges of 900, 1,000 or 1,435 mm, different lengths and widths, and even a version to run without overhead contact lines are all possible. The interior can be configured and equipped individually; the positioning of the doors can also be adapted to suit requirements. KEY

London Trams

CELtek Asset Management System

Control and monitoring of lighting and assets to maximise energy savings and aid safety.

I.o.T capabilities including multi-level platform integration to other manufacturers equipment.

Industry leading technical support and customer service.

Elexon approved.

Distribution cabinets

Available empty or pre-wired.

Full bespoke design, build and test service available.

Wide range of cabinet sizes in 3mm or 5mm galvanised steel with IP55 door seals.

Stainless-steel and GRP models available.

Option for powder coating, upgraded security features, louver panels and cable exit trays.

GIFAS In-ground Units

Provides safe and convenient temporary electrical supply and can also be used to supply data, water and air.

Ideal for train and maintenance crews.

IP65 distribution board manufactured from solid rubber.

Can be used in the closed position for safety.

London Underground Ltd

Over 150 years ago the first trains ran on the first underground railway the world had ever seen, today the London Underground is the fourth largest underground network in the world

Each year the London Underground carries over one billion people across the nation’s capital, the same number as the United Kingdom’s National Rail network. The network is just under 250 miles in total length, with just over one station for every mile track there are eleven lines serviced by 270 stations. Opened in 1863, the first journey was on what is today the Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines from Paddington (Bishop’s Road) to FaFor the first one hundred years the Underground, nicknamed the Tube, was funded by private companies, the current operator, London Underground, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL).

Trend setting

In the 1860s only basic signage – the station name and exit – was provided, in 1892 the first rail map was shown at stations on the District Line with the first free map being distributed to the public in 1908. That same year the world-famous roundel, the red circle logo featured at every station and all the Underground signage, first appeared.

The London Underground made several advancements throughout the 19th Century, many of them coming before any other city in the world had even built its own underground line. The first tunnel was opened in 1880 with the first deep level electric line coming ten years later in 1890. By 1884 there were over 800 trains running on the Inner Circle every day, less than ten years later the Government had approved five more underground lines. Six different lines had been opened before the turn of the century.

The Oyster card was first introduced in 2002, other cities, like Hong Kong in 1997 with the Octopus card had brought in their own automatic touch ticketing cards. Others came later such as the SmartLink card in New York 2007 and the Opal card in Sydney which was expanded to include the city’s light rail in 2014.

Modern organisation

In order to keep up with the pace of growth

London experienced at the turn of the new millennium, multiple changes were made to the Underground’s organisational structure and operating procedures. The first change came with the creation of TfL in the Summer of 2000.

For four years the Underground was reorganised into a public-private partnership (PPP) where private infrastructure companies carried out upgrades and maintenance work on the system. This arrangement was short lived however and in 2003 the London Underground became a subsidiary of TfL. Of the two private companies that had been working on the Underground as part of the PPP scheme, one went into administration in 2007 and TfL assumed control of the other in 2010. Passenger fares account for 92 per cent of the current operational expenditure.

Global brand

The Underground is a world-famous brand, with ridership records broken almost every day during the 2012 London Olympics. The Tube carried athletes and spectators across the city during the sporting event and one year later was ranked as the most improved brand according to London’s Buzz rankings. In May 2017 TfL struck its first global licensing deal, looking to capitalise off the iconic London Underground imagery with products like designer chairs using tube seat patterns and creating new designs using Harry Beck’s schematic underground network map.

The classic aesthetic has been used unofficially for years, with various products like t-shirts adorned with the famous phrase ‘mid the gap’ embossed over the roundel sign and other fashion items incorporating the famous visuals.

Customer experience

On a working day, three million trips are taken using an Oyster card. Contactless bank cards are integrated with the same technology and so also allow passengers to travel seamlessly across the network. TfL continues to improve and expand the Tube. A huge signalling upgrade is currently being undertaken on the

District, Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.

The £5.4 billion project will increase capacity by forty per cent and make journeys quicker and more reliable. A new extension is also being built to the Northern line.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Mark Wild

Finance Director: Tanya Coff

Director of Renewals & Enhancements: Caroline Sheridan

Director of HR: Jean Cockerill

Director of Network Operations: Nigel Holness

Director of Asset Operations: Peter McNaught

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ

Tel: 0343 222 000

Email: Contact via website

Visit: www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/trams/

Merseyrail

The Merseyrail commuter network incorporates two lines, the Northern Line and the Wirral Line

The self-contained network operates over 600 regular services per day, every 15 minutes, to 68 stations throughout the Liverpool City Region, including four underground stations in the city centre that receive services every few minutes, with its Liverpool Central station being one of the busiest outside of London.

The City Line refers to local and regional stopping rail services out of the main line platforms of Liverpool Lime Street railway station. Many of the City Line routes are shared with inter-city express services and are operated by Northern Trains.

Merseyrail is a 50:50 joint venture between Serco and Abellio, run as a concession agreement with governing body Merseytravel. As part of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Merseytravel delivers transport projects that support the economic growth of the region.

Serco and Abellio took over from Arriva Trains Merseyside in 2003, winning a 25year contract. The company operates a fleet of 59 trains and employs 1,200 people.

Rolling stock

In February 2017, Merseytravel ordered 52 new EMUs from Stadler for a complete fleet renewal. The modern Stadler EMUs are future-proofed, having been prepared for the retrofit of ERTMS and dual voltage equipment, and thus comply with the Liverpool City Region Long Term Rail Strategy. On 26 August 2021, Stadler handed over the first of 53 trains to Liverpool City Region. In July of that year trials undertaken on new Stadler-built trains using battery technology were successfully completed, paving the way to the potential expansion of the Merseyrail network, with services reaching as far as Wrexham and Preston.

Rail Ombudsman

Merseyrail has partnered with local schools in the Liverpool City Region alongside the Rail Ombudsman to educate a new generation of rail users on safety when using the network. The Rail Ombudsman has launched the ‘Young Person’s Train Guide’ – a rail byelaw campaign aimed at young people empowering them to use trains confidently. The campaign seeks to target

and address this problem by supplying interactive exercise packs to schools and youth groups that can either be completed by young adults independently, or as part of the PSHE curriculum through teacherled worksheets, competitions and blog style content.

Merseyrail will be introducing this into the work it does with schools such as Maricourt High School in Maghull on travel confidence and rail safety – a positive addition to the work the rail operator already does with many schools across the Liverpool City Region.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Andy Heath

Commercial Director: Suzanne Grant

Human Resources Director: Jane English Safety and Engineering Director: Mike Roe Operations Director: Zoe Hands Finance and Transformation Director: Paul Bowen

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Merseyrail, 9th Floor Rail House, Lord Nelson Street, Liverpool L1 1JF Tel: 0151 555 1111 Email: comment@merseyrail.org Visit: www.merseyrail.org

Metrolink

Owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated by Keolis/ Amey, the Metrolink tram system connects all major railway stations and tourist attractions within Manchester

Owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the sprawling tram network boasts 93 stops, and spans 60 miles across seven of the ten districts of Greater Manchester, with a fleet of 123 trams, the M5000 model, manufactured by Bombardier.

Built in three phases over three decades, the network serves Bury, Oldham and Rochdale in the north, Ashton-under-Lyne in the east, Eccles and MediaCityUK in the west, and Altrincham, Wythenshawe, Chorlton, Manchester Airport and East Didsbury in the south. Construction work on the transformational £165 million Second City Crossing (2CC) finished in late 2016 – the final phase of a £1.5 billion investment to expand the network.

A section of the line opened between Victoria station and an award-winning new stop at Exchange Square in December 2015 thanks to fast-track funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

Following three years of construction work, the final section of the Metrolink Second City Crossing, between Exchange Square and St Peter’s Square, was opened to passengers on 26 February 2017. 2CC allows Metrolink to run more services through the heart of the city on a new route running from St Peter’s Square along Cross Street to Victoria Station. It also gives Metrolink greater operational flexibility and improved service reliability.

As part of the 2CC package TfGM has undertaken a programme of city centre

stop expansions and improvement works. This culminated with an expanded new look stop opening in St Peter’s Square in summer 2016, following a 14 month build programme which saw services run through the city on a single line of track.

Contactless journeys and The Bee Network

The tram network’s touch in/ touch out system allows customers to travel quickly, securely and flexibly across the network without the need to download an app or buy a paper ticket. Initially launched in July 2019, it was further enhanced following the roll-out of the Bee Flex Weekly in September 2021 and by 17 September more than five million contactless journeys.

The Bee Network is TfGM’s vision for an integrated transport system which will join

together buses, trams, cycling and walking by 2024, with rail incorporated by 2030, to transform how people travel in Greater Manchester.

KEY PERSONNEL

Head of Metrolink: Danny Vaughan

Managing Director: Guillaume Chanussot

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Metrolink Trafford Depot, Warwick Road, Stretford, Manchester M16 0GZ

Tel: 0161 205 2000

Email: customerservices@metrolink.co.uk Visit: www.metrolink.co.uk

Northern

Northern

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, employing more than 6,000 people and running regional and commuter services across the north of England. The operator has retired its entire Pacer fleet and has introduced 100 brand new trains, part of a £500 million investment in regional rail. It is offering customers ‘a better way to go’ with further improvements across the network including the renovation of station facilities, better lighting, upgraded car parks and enhanced CCTV coverage.

Northern provides more than 2,500 local and regional train services every day across the north of England, serving a population of nearly 15 million. There are more than 100 million passenger journeys made on the network each year.

Northern Trains Limited is owned by DfT OLR Holdings Limited (DOHL), which took on the operation of Northern rail services on 1 March 2020.

DOHL is led by the same team that successfully managed the transfer of Virgin Trains East Coast into public ownership to become LNER in 2018. It was established by the UK Government’s Department for Transport to fulfil the Secretary of State for Transport’s requirements under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993 – which places a duty on the Secretary of State for Transport to continue to provide rail services if a franchise is terminated.

Improvements

Northern is continuing a rollout of new state-of-the-art trains with a top speed of 100mph and delivering extra capacity with a new fleet. New technology is being trialled to identify crowding pinch points to reduce overcrowding and work is underway to extend platforms at 30 stations across the network to allow for longer trains and to improve journeys.

Neville Hill engineering depot

On 17 October 2021 Northern took full control of the Neville Hill depot in Leeds. The depot, which currently employs around 550 engineers, technicians and train presentation operatives, is a critical element for rail services in the North and

had previously been jointly managed by Northern and East Midlands Railway (EMR). All former EMR employees have transferred to Northern as part of the deal and join the more than 6,000 colleagues already working for the publicly owned operator.

National Rail Awards

Northern won three awards at the 2022 National Rail Awards. The station team at Bolton won the Medium Station of the Year award and the team at Buxton won a commendation for Small Station of the Year. The awards recognise the important part Northern’s stations play in the local community and the work carried out by Northern to make the station as inviting as possible for customers. Northern is also celebrating success for Train Presentation Operative Vinnie O’Brien who won a LifeSaver Award for saving the life of the customer by administering first aid until paramedics arrived.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Nick Donovan

Safety and Environment Director: Andrea Jacobs

Commercial Director: Mark Powles

Engineering Director: Jack Commandeur

Finance Director: Teresa Broxton

Regional Directors: Chris Jackson (Central & West), Tony Baxter (East), Kerry Peters (North East)

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Northern House, York YO1 6HZ

Tel: 0800 200 6060

Email: enquiries@northernrailway.co.uk

Visit: www.northernrailway.co.uk

covers an area taking in Newcastle and Carlisle across to Liverpool and Manchester, then to Huddersfield and Nottingham

Nottingham Express Transit (NET)

Award-winning network goes from strength to strength

Following the opening of two new extensions in 2015, Nottingham’s popular tram network now stretches 20 miles across the city and wider conurbation. From Hucknall and Phoenix Park to the north of Nottingham to Clifton in the south and Toton in the west, the network has a total of 51 stops including key locations such as Old Market Square in the heart of the city, Nottingham railway station, the Queens Medical Centre and the prestigious NG2 business park. The award-winning system first opened in 2004 and is now operated and maintained by Nottingham Trams Ltd (Keolis) on behalf of concessionaire Tramlink Nottingham.

In December 2011, the consortium was awarded a 23-year concession by Nottingham City Council to manage the delivery of the NET Phase Two expansion project and the ongoing operation of a network which has fast become a real success story.

Patronage

Since the opening of the lines to Clifton and Toton the network has consistently seen substantial growth in patronage and, in the year to 31 March 2019, it recorded nearly 19 million customer journeys – an increase of 5.6 per cent on the previous twelve months. The tram’s popularity has been driven by a range of innovative marketing campaigns, community engagement activities and an increasingly dynamic approach to customer communications.

These measures have been supported by improvements in operational performance, with general reliability levels standing at around 97 per cent, leading to customer satisfaction feedback which consistently ranks amongst the best in the country for public transport operators.

Contactless journeys

On 27 September 2021, contactless payment became available across the network. Nottingham Contactless is a partnership between Nottingham City Council, NET

trams, Nottingham City Transport and CT4N (who run the Linkbus/Medilink network) to make paying for bus and tram trips even easier by using contactless.

Rolling stock

The network operates a 37-strong mixed fleet of Bombardier Incentro AT6/5 and Alstom Citadis 302 trams, all maintained within its Wilkinson Street depot headquarters. NET took delivery of 22 Citadis models in preparation for the expansion of the network while the Incentro trams have been in operation since 2004 and recently underwent a major refurbishment programme.

In addition to adopting a fresh, new look they are also benefitting from a full mechanical overhaul, replacement floors and new interior fittings aimed at boosting reliability, comfort and accessibility.

All of Nottingham’s trams have been named in recognition of historic characters, well-known literary figures, scientists, community leaders, actors and sports stars related to the city.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Chris Wright

HR Manager: Maria Dobney

Head of Customer Experience: Jo Bentley

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: NET Depot, Armstrong Way, Wilkinson Street, Nottingham NG7 7NW Tel: 0115 824 6060

Email: info@thetram.net Visit: www.thetram.net

Pre Metro Operations

Pre Metro Operations runs the Stourbridge Shuttle in the West Midlands, a turn-up-and-go service using environmentally-friendly Class 139 railcars

Pre Metro Operations (PMOL) was founded in 1999 as an independent train operation company with the aim to establish innovative and low-cost light rail transit services on branch lines across the UK.

The company first saw the potential to help connect the Stourbridge community with the rest of the Black Country using light rail technology on the Stourbridge Town to Stourbridge Junction branch line.

Between 2005 and 2006, the company used a prototype Parry People’s Movers railcar during a trial period to test the viability of using light rail innovations on the Stourbridge branch line.

Running this experimental service was a huge success, and PMOL subsequently decided to make the service permanent, receiving depot and operating licencing from the ORR. In 2009, the company launched seven day operations at Stourbridge, replacing the existing heavy rail operation.

Using two newly constructed Class 139 LPG fuelled, flywheel hybrid railcars, PMOL ran light rail transit services on the branch line with high reliability and efficiency; providing Sunday service on the line for the first time since 1914.

The Stourbridge operation continued to see patronage grow, frequency increase, emissions have been cut, and service operation costs have been reduced. In recognition of this, Pre Metro Operations was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ at the Global Light Rail Awards in 2016 and 2017. They remain the only award winning VLR operators in the UK.

The Stourbridge Shuttle currently operates seven days a week with basic tenminute frequency. The reliability of the service was 99.84 per cent in 2021, having operated 500,000 miles and completed over six million passenger journeys to date. The service has become ever popular within the local community. PMOL now runs the service on behalf of the West Midlands Railway franchise and is scheduled to do so until 2026.

In light of the Restoring Your Railway DfT initiative, promoted by the Government, the company is ready to

work with scheme developers, transport franchises and investors looking to establish cost-effective and green solutions that will restore Britain’s railway connectivity using a highly effective business model, vast amounts of experience, and over two decades of expertise in the light rail industry.

Not being tied to any one vehicle manufacturer, the company is also working with leading UK light rail innovators to create a brighter, cleaner, and greener future for Britain’s railways.

Stourbridge

The Stourbridge Shuttle remains the UK’s most reliable train operation, recording an average PPM rating of 99.84 per cent in 2021. In October 2021, Stourbridge was named Britain’s favourite station after winning the World Cup of Stations 2021, organised by the Rail Delivery Group. Out of more than 2,500 stations across the country, Stourbridge was shortlisted as one of 48 qualifying stations participating in the weeklong tournament of Twitter polls. In the final round Stourbridge overtook Glasgow Central in the last minutes taking 43.3 per cent of the votes, with Glasgow Central agonisingly close with 40.9 per cent.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director and CEO: Philip R Evans

Company Chairman: Geoff R Lusher

Company Secretary: Steve Jasper

Director: Professor Alan Wenban-Smith Director: Mathew Taylor

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 54-56 Hagley Rd, Stourbridge DY8 1QD Tel: 01384 441385 Email: info@premetro.org Visit: www.premetro.co.uk

ScotRail

ScotRail is the national railway franchise of Scotland and since April 2022 has been operated by an arm’s length company owned and controlled by the Scottish Government called Scottish Rail Holdings (SRH)

Each year the London Underground carries over one billion people across the nation’s capital, the same number as the United Kingdom’s National Rail network. The network is just under 250 miles in total length, with just over one station for every mile track there are eleven lines serviced by 270 stations. Opened in 1863, the first journey was on what is today the Circle, Hammersmith & City, and Metropolitan lines from Paddington (Bishop’s Road) to FaFor the first one hundred years the Underground, nicknamed the Tube, was funded by private companies, the current operator, London Underground, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL).

Trend setting

In the 1860s only basic signage – the station name and exit – was provided, in 1892 the first rail map was shown at stations on the District Line with the first free map being distributed to the public in 1908. That same year the world-famous roundel, the red circle logo featured at every station and all the Underground signage, first appeared.

ScotRail provides over 94 million passenger journeys each year, with over 2,300 intercity, regional and suburban rail services a day, more than 340 stations, and 1,016 trains serving Scotland’s railway.

Between 2014 and 2019 Scotland’s Railway electrified 325 kilometres of the country’s central railway network. This investment supported the introduction of a new £370 million fleet of 70 faster, greener, modern electric trains, the class 385 built by Hitachi, with 44 per cent more capacity for customers.

More than 76 per cent of passenger and 45 per cent of freight journeys are already electrified on Scotland’s Railway, and rail is already the most sustainable mode of public transport, contributing only one per cent of Scotland’s overall transport carbon emissions.

On 8 April the last of ScotRail’s upgraded Inter7City high speed trains has arrived in Scotland. The upgraded Inter7City high speed trains initially operated on the East

Coast mainline between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, but now run on the following routes serving all seven Scottish cities. The refurbishment programme was carried out by Wabtec Doncaster (coaches) and Brush Traction Loughborough (power cars) from late 2017 through to 2021.

Four years of ScotRail and Hitachi Rail

In 2022 ScotRail and Hitachi Rail celebrated four years of Class 385 passenger service, which has delivered record reliability and shorter journey times for passengers on Scotland’s Central Belt. Upon its introduction, ScotRail’s Express train became Scotland’s fastest train and was the UK’s most reliable new fleet for twelve months. It has remained in the top three for UK train availability ever since. Over the past year, the fleet has an average of 52,212 MTIN (meaning Miles per Technical Incident), which is over three times higher than the industry average. In total, the British built train has carried approximately 34.3 million passengers to their destinations. The fleet of 70 trains has racked up 26,557,229 zero-emission miles, which is the equivalent of travelling from Earth to Venus.

Being 100 per cent electric, the Class 385 is already playing a major role in decarbonising Scotland’s railways by 2035. It has reduced CO2 emissions by 72 per cent, a carbon saving of 41,432 tonnes CO2e. This is equivalent of saving the CO2 emissions from over 14,600 return flights between London and Tokyo, or the construction of over 800 homes.

This milestone in passenger service is also a celebration of collaboration between ScotRail, Transport Scotland, Network Rail and Hitachi Rail – ‘Team Scotland’. The commuter fleet was built at Hitachi Rail’s UK factory in County Durham and was part of £1.3 billion investment in new trains and infrastructure funded by the Scottish Government and Network Rail.

Motherwell station redevelopment

Now entering the fifth phase of the redevelopment project, work is underway to expand the station concourse which will

make way for an enhanced station forecourt and building with glazed roof, creating a brighter, and more modern station.

North Lanarkshire Council are also carrying out work to overhaul the public realm outside the station building to create a new transport hub, with support from the Glasgow City Region City Deal.

This includes an expanded bus facility, new station access road, car drop-off area and blue-badge parking, as well as improved facilities for taxis and pedestrian and cycle access.

Once complete, it will improve links between bus and train services as well as reducing congestion in the town centre.

The £14.5 million project will deliver a host of further benefits for customers including improved ticket retailing facilities, an enhanced retail environment with food and drink offering, and refurbished waiting facilities.

KEY PERSONNEL

ScotRail Alliance Managing Director: Alex Hynes

ScotRail Alliance Communications Director: Sue Evans

ScotRail Alliance Infrastructure Director (Scotland Route): David Dickson

ScotRail Chief Operating Officer: Angus Thom

ScotRail Finance Director: James Downey

ScotRail HR Director: Gerry Skelton

ScotRail Sustainability, Safety and Assurance Director: David Lister

ScotRail Commercial Director: Lesley Kane

ScotRail Operations Director: David Simpson

ScotRail Engineering Director: Syeda Ghufran

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: First floor, Atrium Court, 50 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6HQ Tel: 0344 811 0141

Email: customer.relations@scotrail.co.uk Visit: www.scotrail.co.uk

South Western Railway

South Western Railway provides commuter inter-urban, regional and long distance services to passengers in South West London and southern counties of England and Island Line services on the Isle of Wight

Island Line

The Island Line runs north to south along the east of the Isle of Wight and has existed since 1864 and in 2021 The Island Line was closed for a £26 million transformation of the railway’s trains, stations and infrastructure as part of South Western Railway’s Journey to Better. The new Class 484 fleet is made up of former London Underground trains, extensively refurbished by Vivarail in Long Marston.

National Rail Awards

South Western Railway’s (SWR) Shanklin station on the Isle of Wight has succeeded in winning an award at the prestigious National Rail Awards, winning in the small stations category.

South Western Railway (SWR) was awarded the South Western franchise in March 2017, and took over from South West Trains on 20 August 2017. SWR is owned 70/30 by FirstGroup and MTR. The company operates commuter services from London Waterloo to south west London and suburban and regional services in Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset, as well as regional services in Devon, Somerset, Berkshire and Wiltshire. Its subsidiary Island

Investment

On 14 2018 November South Western Railway’s first fully refurbished and reconfigured Class 444 train entered passenger service, offering additional seating capacity and high quality improvements to passenger accommodation.

The refurbishment and reconfiguration of the train is part of SWR’s £50 million Desiro interior upgrade programme. The project is being delivered by the trains’ manufacturer,

Siemens Mobility and is designed to increase much needed seating capacity in standard class and bring the interior accommodation up to date with some state-of-the-art features including enhanced Wi-Fi; inductive charging tables and at-seat power; and a full refurbishment of passenger accommodation using quality materials.

The refurbishment of the Desiro fleet is part of a £110 million programme to refurbish five fleets in all by the end of 2020, equating to over 900 carriages. The final refurbished Desiro train, a Class 450, joined the existing Desiro fleet and entered passenger service on 9 January 2020. The refurbishment was completed by the trains’ original manufacturer, Siemens. The investment was financed by Angel Trains and is part of SWR’s wider £1.2 billion plan to offer customers more capacity and frequent trains, quicker journey times and better connectivity, together with station improvements and a better, smarter ticket buying experience.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Claire Mann

Operations and Safety Director: Jacqui Dey

Engineering Director: Neil Drury

Performance and Planning Director: Steve Tyler

Customer Experience Director: Alan Penlington

Finance Director: Kenny McPhail

HR Director: Sharon Johnston

Commercial and Business Development Director: Peter Williams

Communications Director: Yvette London

Major Projects Director: Mac Andrade

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Friars Bridge Court, 41-45 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NZ

Phone: 0345 600 0650

Email: Contact via website Website: www.southwesternrailway.com

Southeastern

Southeastern operates regional and commuter services in south east London, Kent and parts of East Sussex

•

SOUTHEASTERN BY NUMBERS

• Operating over 1,600 trains a day.

• Carrying more than 400,000 passengers.

• Serving 180 stations and covering 540 miles of track.

• 392 trains.

• Over 4,000 employees.

• 140mph top speed on the UK’s first domestic high-speed service.

Southeastern has been running the train service between London and Kent and parts of East Sussex since 2006. One of the busiest networks in the country, it includes the UK’s first domestic high-speed service with Javelin trains. The operation of all Southeastern services transferred from London South Eastern Railway (LSER) to SE Trains Limited on 17 October 2021.

Rolling stock

New City Beam trains were introduced on routes between London, Dartford, Hayes and Sevenoaks in 2022. In March 2023 a £27 million upgrade for very high-speed passenger trains will begin.

Eversholt Rail, Southeastern and Hitachi Rail signed an agreement to upgrade the Class 395 Javelin trains that provide high speed services between London St Pancras and Kent.

The upgrade will future-proof the UK’s only very high speed passenger fleet, which has already delivered record levels of reliability, passenger satisfaction and a £1 billion boost to the Kent tourism economy.

The initial phase of the project will take seven months and include design, engineering and procurement, with the upgrade to the first of the 29 trains commencing in March 2023 at Southeastern’s Ashford Depot.

The scope of the £27 million programme includes:

• Full interior refresh, including new carpets and seats, with proposed new seating layouts to assist people with reduced mobility.

• Live passenger information system (PIS) upgrade including media screens from 2024.

• CCTV system upgrade.

• USB at-seat charging.

Southern

Southern operates routes in south London, between central London and the south coast, through East and West Sussex, Surrey and parts of Kent and Hampshire

Southern manages 156 stations and operates around 300 new or refurbished trains. It is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since August 2001 and the Gatwick Express service since June 2008.

In July 2015, the franchisee was subsumed into GTR, but the Southern and Gatwick Express brand identities were retained alongside those of Thameslink and Great Northern.

GTR has introduced 12 Class 171 vehicles for Southern. Southern operates the majority of commuter services from its Central London terminals at London Bridge and London Victoria to South London and Sussex, as well as regional services in parts of Hampshire, Kent and Surrey.

It also provides services between Milton Keynes and Croydon via the West London Line. It also operates services from Brighton to Southampton and South Croydon to Milton Keynes Central.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: Patrick Verwer

Chief Operating Officer: Steve White

Chief Financial Officer: Ian McLaren

Engineering Director: Gerry McFadden

Infrastructure Director: Keith Jipps

Operations Planning Director: Scott Brightwell

Business Improvement Director & Deputy COO: Alex Foulds

Passenger Service Directors: Angie Doll

Head of Safety: Mark Whitely

Human Resources Director: Andy Bindon

Communications and Marketing Director: Collette Dunkley

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 1st Floor, Monument Place, 24 Monument Street, London EC3R 8AJ

Tel: 0345 127 2920

Email: comments@southernrailway.com Visit: www.southernrailway.com

Stagecoach Supertram

Stagecoach Supertram has been serving the city of Sheffield since 1994 with four tram lines calling at 50 stops

LeppingsLaneMIDDLEWOOD

HERDINGSPARK

Railway Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) distributes electricity to trains at 750 volts DC, which is considerably more than the power on most tram systems. Around 14.5 million passengers use the tram every year.

Tram Train innovation

Northern Rail to pilot this pioneering technology. The seven Stadler built tram trains have been in public service since September 2017.

Staff

Around 330 employees maintain and operate the trams from the Nunnery depot.

The tram is owned by the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, which built the network at a cost of around £240 million. It was opened in stages between 1994 and 1995 and was run by South Yorkshire Supertram (SYSL) until 1997, when Stagecoach bought the concession for £1.15 million that gives it control until 2024.

The tramway is served by eight park and ride sites enabling easy parking for car users wishing to complete their journey by tram. Four sites offer paid for parking and the other three sites have free designated parking.

Tram train vehicles that can operate on both mainline rail and tram tracks rolled out on 25 October 2018, making it possible to make a single journey between tram stops and conventional rail stations.

Three Tram Trains an hour travel on the Supertram network from Sheffield Cathedral to Meadowhall South, before proceeding over a new section of track linking the tram line to the rail track called the Tinsley Chord and on to the national rail network to Parkgate Retail Centre via Rotherham Central station.

The Government funded programme is a partnership between South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), Network Rail, Stagecoach Supertram and

KEY PERSONNEL

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Nunnery Depot, Woodbourn Road, Sheffield S9 3LS Tel: 0114 272 8282 Email: supertram.enquiries@supertram.com Visit: www.stagecoachbus.com/supertram

Stansted Express

The Stansted Express ferries passengers from Stansted Airport to central London in just 47 minutes, connecting to the Central, Hammersmith and City, Metropolitan, Circle, Victoria and Jubilee Lines

Stansted Express trains leave from a station directly below Stansted Airport every 15 minutes, reaching the London Underground station of Tottenham Hale in 36 minutes and London Liverpool Street in 47 minutes.

The Stansted Express service is operated by Abellio Greater Anglia in a franchise that will last until 2025.

Ticketing

Unlike the Heathrow Express and the Gatwick Express, which require the purchase of premium tickets to use the services, normal rail tickets are valid on the Stansted Express.

Customers can purchase tickets six months in advance and are able to access their ticket within the Stansted Express app.

During the Summer months capacity on the service is expanded by 5,000 seats to accommodate increased holiday travel. This is made possible by increasing the number of carriages on the trains from eight carriages to twelve.

Airport experiences

A First-Class ticket on Stansted Express gives passengers access to airport security FastTrack. The same ticket also allows for unlimited luggage.

Managing Director: Jamie Burles

Address: 11th Floor,1 Stratford Place, Montfitchet Road, London E20 1EJ Tel: 0345 600 7245

Email: contactcentre@greateranglia.co.uk Visit: www.stanstedexpress.com

Translink

(Northern Ireland Railways)

Translink operates train services connecting cities, towns and villages throughout Northern Ireland and some cross border routes

Translink runs public transport services across Northern Ireland, with the operations of NI Railways, Ulsterbus, Metro and Glider managed under a single team. Translink carries 1.5 million passengers every week and operates over and maintain 300 miles of rail track.

Rolling stock

Translink aims to operate a zero-emission fleet across the network by 2040, with 21 new Class 4000 CAF train carriages entering service on the NI Railways network at the end of 2021. In the coming years, Translink will introduce a fleet of new bi-mode trains for use on the NI Railways network, as well as working towards the electrification of the rail network by 2035. Translink is also participating, along with colleagues in Irish Rail and other key stakeholders, in an allIreland Strategic Rail Review, initiated by Government Ministers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, to discuss potential expansion and greater connectivity across the island-wide railway network, as well as participating in the UK Government’s Union Connectivity Review.

KEY PERSONNEL

Group Chief Executive: Chris Conway

Deputy Group Chief Executive: Gordon Milligan

Chief Operating Officer: Phillip O’Neill

Chief Financial Officer: Patrick Anderson

Director of Engineering & Sponsorship: Clive Bradberry

Director of Infrastructure & Projects: John Glass

Director of Service Operations: Ian Campbell

Corporate Communications Manager: Lynda Shannon

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 22 Great Victoria Street, Belfast BT2 7LX

Tel: 028 9066 6630

Email: feedback@translink.co.uk Visit: www.translink.co.uk

TransPennine Express

TransPennine Express (TPE) is an intercity operator that connects towns and cities across the North and into Scotland

North TransPennine runs from Newcastle to Manchester Airport, Redcar/Middlesbrough to Manchester Airport, Scarborough to Liverpool, Edinburgh to Liverpool and Hull to Manchester Piccadilly. South TransPennine runs from Cleethorpes via Doncaster and Sheffield to Manchester Airport and North West and Scotland runs from Liverpool and Manchester Airport to Preston, Oxenholme, Carlisle, Penrith, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Rolling stock

TPE customers travel on some of the most modern trains in the country following the introduction of three brand new Nova fleets. The state-of-the-art intercity trains feature more seats, bigger tables, plug sockets and USB charging points, free Wi-Fi in both First and Standard Class, access to a complimentary entertainment service and electronic seat reservations.

TPE is currently delivering a £500 million investment into improvements on its network that will transform customer journeys across the North of England and into Scotland. A collaborative partnership between Siemens Mobility, TransPennine Express and Eversholt Rail will see the full 51-strong Class 185 fleet receive a digital upgrade – connecting to the cloud to access real time information.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Matthew Golton

Commercial Director: Darren Higgins

Fleet Director: Paul Staples

Major Projects Director: Chris Nutton

Operations Director: Paul Watson

Customer Experience Director: Kathryn O’Brien

Service Planning Director: Jerry Farquharson

Strategy Director: Louise Ebbs

Finance Director: Carolann James

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 7th Floor, Bridgewater House, 60 Whitworth Street, Manchester M1 6LT Tel: 0345 600 1671

Email: tpecustomer.relations@firstgroup.com Visit: www.tpexpress.co.uk

Tyne and Wear Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro services Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland in the Tyne and Wear region

The local transport authority Nexus owns and operates the system, taking over from DB Regio Tyne & Wear Limited, a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains, in April 2017. Nexus will operate the line for two years until a new operating contract can be agreed.

The Tyne and Wear Metro was the first modern light rail system in the UK when it opened in 1980. It now has sixty stations on a 46-mile network that connects Newcastle Airport with South Hylton on the Green Line and St James with South Shields on the Yellow Line.

Rolling stock

Stadler is building 46 new Metro trains for Nexus, which will be delivered up to 2024. They will be responsible for servicing and maintaining these trains for 35 years, underscoring their commitment to the regional economy. The new trains, which will be 15 times more reliable and will cut energy consumption by 30 per cent, will have modern features including improved internet connectivity, charging points, air conditioning and a step-change in accessibility. Stadler is also in the process of building a new £70 million Metro depot at Gosforth as part of the new fleet project.

The total value of the partnership between Nexus and Stadler, which will include decommissioning of the existing Metro fleet, could rise to £700 million over 35 years, through a contract to maintain the new trains for up to 35 years depending on performance. The Department for Transport will also provide revenue support to help meet the maintenance costs of the new trains.

Depot

The first sections of new sidings have been completed at Gosforth Metro depot as part of the ongoing £70 million project to completely rebuild the depot. A new stabling

area has been created on the site, and the first test trains have been successfully run in. These tracks will be used to serve the new depot and park the new trains when they start to arrive in 2023. The completion of these sidings, knows as ‘stabling roads’, paves the way for further demolition work on the existing depot building, which is 100 years-old.

Venice-Simplon-Orient Express

The Venice-Simplon-Orient Express operates a luxury service from London to Venice, taking in Paris and Verona on the way

Operated by luxury travel company Belmond, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) epitomises the glamour and elegance of the Golden Age of travel. Taking luxury seekers from London to Venice and stopping off at other places across the European continent at cities like Paris, Berlin, Budapest, Istanbul, Prague, Vienna and Verona.

Seasonal service

VSOE runs services between March and November. The journey is not intended as a functional rail service taking passengers from A to B, but as a five-star experience in every sense of the word.

Belmond operates 47 luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruises in 24 countries and that standard comes across in the accommodation, dining and overall experience of the VSOE.

Trains

The VSOE continental leg contains 18 carriages – twelve sleeping cars, three dining cars, a bar car and two former sleepers, which provide accommodation for the staff and storage rooms for luggage and supplies.

By day the twin-cabin rooms look out on the European countryside flying by and by night the rooms are transformed into bedrooms.

The carriages were refurbished in 2017 to bring them up to date with modern standards of safety and comfort. In March 2018 the ‘Grand Suites’ were launched, each of these suites feature a private bathroom and living area fashioned after the 1920s ‘art deco’ style designed by Wimberly Interiors. 2021 brought new Grand Tour routes crisscrossing through Europe. Embark on a thrilling voyage connecting some of the continent's most vibrant cultural hubs. Explore the elaborate canals of Amsterdam – taking in the world-class museums by day

and sampling the Dutch cuisine by night –before boarding the train for your overnight adventure.

KEY PERSONNEL

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial

Officer: Martin O’Grady

Vice President, Legal: Abigail Hunt

Vice President, Trains & Cruises: Gary Franklin

Director of Sales, Trains & Cruises: Lucy Clark

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Shackleton House, 4 Battle Bridge Lane, London SE1 2HP

Tel: 0845 077 2222 Email: reservations.uk@belmond.com Visit: www.belmond.com

Colas Rail

Formerly known as Seco Rail, Colas Rail is a rail freight operator that is a subsidiary of French industrial group Bouygues

Colas Rail Limited is part of the Colas Rail Group, a Colas company – leading in road construction and maintenance, with the inside track on what makes for the ultimate rail infrastructure solution. Colas Rail is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of railway infrastructure services.

The organisation is split into four different sections:

• Rail Infrastructure.

• Rail Services.

• Urban Rail.

• High-Speed Rail.

Rail Infrastructure

Colas Rail is a leading provider of railway infrastructure services – providing design, engineering, project management, construction and maintenance solutions for the light rail, metro, mainline and highspeed markets.

Some of the schemes they deliver include:

• Track Installation, Renewal and Maintenance.

• Signalling.

• Electrification (Overhead Catenary Systems and 3rd Rail).

• High Voltage and Traction Power.

• Rolling Stock Refurbishment and Maintenance.

In 2019, Colas Rail UK won a ten-year contract for the South Rail Systems Alliance (SRSA) across three Network Rail regions in the South of the UK – Western & Wales, Southern and Anglia. The framework creates an alliance between Network Rail, Colas Rail Ltd, and AECOM providing an integrated delivery model for the development, design and construction of track renewals on plain line, switches and crossings.

Rail services

Their services include the operation and maintenance of On Track Plant, which includes operating and maintaining the largest, most advanced fleet of On Track Plant in the UK, and Rail Freight, Rolling Stock Refurbishment and Maintenance, as well as Rail Grinding and Milling services. Their extended depot in Rugby accommodates On Track Plant and

Locomotives up to 148 metres long and undertakes the servicing and repair of On Track Machines, On Track Plant and Locomotives.

Rolling stock

Colas Rail currently operates an extensive fleet of railway assets: 130 locomotives, 500 wagons and two track-laying trains. As well as three ballast clearing machines, 32 ballast tampers, three stabilisers, 13 ballast regulators, 55 road-rail vehicles, 15 loaders, and three concreting trains, across the 20 countries in which it operates.

Included in this collection are several ‘Specialist Wagons’ including eight ‘Slinger’ rail delivery and recovery gantry wagons, one high capacity 125T Kirow crane KRC 1200 UK, 16 PEM LEM switch handling units (PEMs/LEMs) and two Track Relaying Machines (TRM).

Urban rail

Colas Rail has over 25 years’ experience in designing and delivering Light Rail systems in more than 50 cities around the world. In the UK they deliver design, construction and maintenance for light/metro rail projects, they work in partnership with their customers to identify optimal engineering and value-based solutions through Early Contractor Involvement.

Urban Rail transit offers low energy consumption and high efficiency travel, opening up under-populated areas and aiding regeneration. Increasingly becoming an integral part of urban planning, it provides one of the most convenient and safest modes of transportation within inner city areas – enhancing regional quality of life and having a positive impact on the local community, the environment and the economy.

Urban rail works

The Midland Metro Alliance (MMA) was established in 2016 and consists of a consortium of partners including the West Midlands Combined Authority and Colas Rail Ltd. It was established to contribute to the social and economic regeneration of the West Midlands – with the aim of extending the tram network by a further 32 kilometres by 2026.

Construction started in June 2017 with the Birmingham Centenary Square Extension, completed in 2019. Further works include the tramway extensions to Wolverhampton City Centre and Edgbaston due to enter operation in 2021. The Wednesbury Brierley Hill Line will follow in 2023. Dependent on financing, the network will extend to the east of Birmingham, to link the future high-speed line, High Speed 2 (HS2) and towards the airport with the East Birmingham-Solihull branch.

High-speed rail

With over 35 years’ experience managing and delivering high-speed rail projects, the Colas Rail Group have delivered on a variety of projects harnessing a successful track record.

Colas Rail built 74 kilometres of new highspeed double track line from the Channel Tunnel to Fawkham Junction in north Kent, with a design speed of 300 kph, including the OCS and Mechanical and Electrical equipment and services.

Cities are being reinvented all over the world, with mobility being the key to connecting people and boosting local economies. In the UK, Colas Rail are proud to be a partner of choice – helping customers to put the passenger first.

KEY PERSONNEL

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Dacre House, Dacre St, Westminster, London SW1H0DJ

Tel: 020 7593 5348

Email: info@colasrail.co.uk Visit: www.colasrail.co.uk

DB Cargo UK

The company was born in 1996 when assets from the former British Rail freight business were used to form English Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS). In 2007 Deutsche Bahn AG acquired all shares in the company and in 2016 renamed it DB Cargo UK.

Maritime Intermodal

In October 2021, DB Cargo UK announced plans to lease its Mossend EuroTerminal rail freight facility to Maritime Intermodal. The Lanarkshire depot provides intermodal freight transfer between rail and road and is well-placed at the centre of Scotland’s road network, next to the M8 motorway linking Glasgow and Edinburgh. The announcement came two years after Maritime Intermodal took over the lease of DB’s intermodal rail freight facilities in Wakefield, West Yorkshire and Trafford Park in Manchester.

Under the terms of that agreement:

• DB Cargo UK was contracted to run Maritime Intermodal’s rail operations out of Felixstowe and Southampton.

• Maritime Intermodal took on responsibility for DB Cargo UK’s terminals in Trafford Park, Manchester and Wakefield in West Yorkshire, thus strengthening the road haulier’s national network of strategic hubs.

• Maritime Intermodal took responsibility for DB Cargo UK’s existing intermodal customers on its Felixstowe and Southampton services.

Contracts

DB Cargo UK signed a ten-year contract with Brett Aggregates in 2020. The contract will see DB Cargo UK transport millions of tonnes of sea-dredged products every year from Brett’s marine aggregates terminals in Ipswich, Cliffe and Newhaven.

DB Cargo UK was awarded a five-year haulage contract with Tarmac in 2020. This has welcomed a boost for the rail freight company which already runs a range of services for Tarmac to and from Mountsorrel Quarry in Leicestershire and its aggregates facility in Angerstein Wharf, Greenwich, London.

DB Cargo UK has been awarded a twoyear contract to transport China clay for Imerys. DB Cargo UK also signed a fiveyear ‘hook and haul’ contract to transport supplies of sustainable biomass to Drax. Each train will carry around 1,650 tonnes of sustainable biomass to Drax Power Station, which provides flexible and reliable renewable power for millions of UK homes and businesses.

DB Cargo UK has also secured a new three-year deal with fellow rail freight company GB Railfreight (GBRf) to undertake the maintenance of ten Class 60 locomotives for them as well as providing technical infield support.

Logistics

In October 2018, UK manufacturing was given a major boost with the opening of DB Cargo UK’s new £6 million steel logistics centre in the West Midlands. Construction took more than twelve months and saw the German-owned freight operator more than double the size of its existing facility in Knowles Road, Wolverhampton, which receives imported steel from as far afield as Holland and Sweden.

The £6 million project was one of the largest investments in rail freight in the past five years and seen as a major vote of confidence in the UK’s continuing ability to trade and attract inward investment post-Brexit.

The new state-of-the-art logistics centre is now used by some of the world’s biggest steel companies including ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel and SSAB; providing a major boost to local businesses that use their products in their manufacturing processes.

Track infrastructure renewals

In August 2019, DB Cargo UK started work on a multi-million programme of investment to improve track and rail infrastructure at three key sites. The UK’s largest rail freight operator is replacing more than 20 kilometres of track at its depots at Immingham in North Lincolnshire, Rotherham in South Yorkshire and Toton in Nottinghamshire. The investment will further improve the safety and reliability of services.

‘Freight belongs on rail’ campaign

The campaign intends to support the UK in reaching its climate targets as freight transport plays a key role in production of greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of the campaign is to encourage more businesses to choose rail freight over road haulage for their transport needs, thus assisting in the UK efforts to achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

To encourage more companies to switch from road to rail, DB Cargo UK are asking the government to:

• Set out in primary legislation a legally binding target for future modal growth, thus driving greater collaboration and innovation (as we have seen with decarbonisation).

• Work with the rail industry to incentivise businesses to switch their goods from road to rail.

• Establish an efficient logistics sector which has hubs and terminals in the right places, with strong rail connectivity to help avoid a road-led recovery.

• Commit to investing in the infrastructure required to decarbonise rail freight including a long-term programme of electrifying the railways.

• Ensure that the future industry structure supports rail freight growth and unlock continued third-party investment that will allow rail freight operators to deliver greater long-term economic and environmental benefits.

• Make the best use of capacity on the network, using a benefits-led assessment that considers the relative value of different capacity choices and which maximises the opportunities for getting more freight on each train.

• Upgrade Britain’s infrastructure to make it fit for the digital age, which can allow both freight and passenger trains to run more efficiently.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: Andrea Rossi

Chief Financial Officer: Deb Hardy

Chief Transformation and Digitalisation Officer: Marie Hill

Head of Sales: Roger Neary

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Lakeside Business Park, South Yorkshire, DN4 5PN

Tel: 01302 575000

Email: Uk.dbcargo@deutschebahn.com Visit: www.uk.dbcargo.com

DB

UK is the largest rail freight haulier in the UK.

operates freight and infrastructure services, as well as passenger charter trains throughout the UK

Direct Rail Services

Operating for over 25 years, Direct Rail Services (DRS) is one of the UK’s leading national rail freight operators

DRS has a uniquely flexible and efficient fleet of locomotives and rolling stock. Their fleet of Class 88, 68, 66, 57 and 37 locomotives offer unbridled flexibility allowing them to deliver freight services across the network.

The Class 88 is their state-of-the-art bimode locomotive, the only dual powered locomotive in the UK. It can run on overhead electricity and offers industry leading CO2 savings, but also up to 500 miles on diesel power when no overhead lines are available.

Unique amongst UK rail freight businesses, DRS is not only fully accredited to ISO 9001 quality management and ISO 14001 environmental standards, but has also achieved the occupational health and safety approval BS OHSAS 18001.

With a unique blend of skills and experience, the company offers a comprehensive package of rail transport and related services, tailor-made to match a wide range of exacting customer requirements. DRS’s award winning UK-wide operations are delivered from a national network of fully equipped depots and facilities, supported by a 24/7 control centre.

Supporting DRS’s core business of delivering safe, secure and reliable transport services for some of the most sensitive and demanding loads is an ever-expanding portfolio of key rail activities.

DRS operates a unique fleet of locomotives matched with a flexible team of highly trained, fully experienced staff, providing a comprehensive range of infrastructure support services including:

• Autumn Rail Head Treatment Trains (RHTT).

• Winter snow clearance utilising DRS’ own MSP-fi tted locomotives and Network Rail Independent Snow Ploughs and Beilhack Ploughs.

• Overhead line ‘ice breaking’ service.

• MPV weed-spraying operations.

• S&C Video MPV Operation.

• A variety of Test Trains, including Network Rail Saloon services.

In addition to these key services, DRS also supports Supply Chain Operations for Network Rail with the extensive resources

required to facilitate its infrastructure renewal requirements, including the provision of Network Services, Bulk Ballast Services, Delivery Trains and Possession Services.

Nuclear Transport Solutions

In April 2021, Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), a specialist nuclear transport organisation, was launched. NTS is part of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group and specialises in the operational, commercial, engineering, legal, and regulatory expertise that underpin nuclear transport and logistics operations.

Operating from a network of more than thirty depots and sites, from Georgemas in the far north of Scotland to Devonport on the south coast, Nuclear Transport Solutions

operate seven fully nuclear capable regional railheads that are positioned to support decommissioning and new build activities, and safe, high-security stabling facilities at strategic locations.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Chris Connelly

Senior Business Manager: Sabrina Brannan

Senior Operations Planning Manager: Sam Dixon

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Direct Rail Services, Regents Court, Baron Way, Carlisle, Cumbria CA6 4SJ

Tel: 01228 406600

Email: communications@drsl.co.uk

Freightliner Group

Freightliner is an intermodal and bulk haulage rail freight company operating in the UK and Continental Europe

Founded in 1965 in the UK, Freightliner has since expanded into Continental Europe. After a few years operating only intermodal services from ports like Southampton and Tilbury to Birmingham, Manchester and others, Freightliner began operating infrastructure trains for Network Rail in 1999. In the first ten years after privatisation Freightliner trebled the number of services it ran.

Freightliner and sister company Pentalver are owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W). G&W owns or leases 116 freight railroads worldwide organised in eight locally managed operating regions with 7,300 employees serving 3,000 customers.

Intermodal

Freightliner is the leading UK intermodal rail freight operator for the transportation of maritime containers with a comprehensive network offering the complete logistics package or trunk rail moves.

Operating around a hundred services daily, Freightliner moves over 770,000 maritime containers per year from the deepsea ports of Felixstowe, Southampton and London Gateway to all major conurbations in the UK, offering total coverage of the UK network. The combined Pentalver/ Freightliner road fleet consists of more than 350 modern tractor units and over 900 trailers to compliment the rail operations, providing a total logistics solution to their customer base.

Rolling stock

The bulk of the fleet is made up of Class 66 locomotives, which were introduced in 1998. In 2009 Freightliner introduced 19 Powerhaul locomotives; these have the same haulage capacity of 1,800 tonnes and run at the same speed. In 2018/19, Freightliner added eight Class 59 locomotives to their fleet for the Mendip Rail contract.

In 2019/20, Freightliner added 13 electric class 90 locomotives from Porterbrook Leasing to complement its existing ten locomotives. They operate using the 25k overhead line supply, reducing the dependency on diesel traction and contributing to making rail an even more

sustainable and carbon-neutral mode for transporting freight. Rail freight is already producing 76 per cent las carbon per gross tonne mile than road freight, and Freightliner is the largest user of electric locomotives to haul freight. The expansion of the electric fleet helps to improve that footprint further. Some of the locomotives will replace the ageing class 86 fleet which will be retired from service until they can be overhauled and re-introduced as Freightliner expands its electrically hauled services.

FFA-G wagons

In late 2021, 230 new Freightliner FFA-G wagons arrived in the UK from Poland, representing the next generation of energy efficient, 40ft intermodal wagons. The new FFA-G wagon is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work with partners Greenbrier Europe and Wabtec Axiom Rail and is the latest contribution

to Freightliner’s energy-saving strategy. Designed with fuel efficiency in mind, the FFA-G wagon is more than two tonnes lighter per platform than its nearest competitor, driving significantly less weight per train whilst maintaining industry safety standards. The modern low track force bogies ensure significantly reduced noise levels and minimise track damage.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Financial Officer: Patrick Taylor

Chief Commercial Officer: Emma Dempsey

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: 3rd Floor, 90 Whitfield Street, London W1T 4EZ

Tel: 03330 169545 Email: info@gwrr.co.uk Visit: www.freightliner.co.uk

GB Railfreight

where overhead equipment supplying electricity to the locomotives can safely move away once the train is in place and return when the train needs to move again. This would transform the terminal in Northamptonshire to become the first in the UK to demonstrate an innovative overhead electrification system, which indicates the end for diesel on electrified rail routes and boosts the industry’s net zero ambitions. If successful, the moveable overhead system could go on to be deployed at other freight terminals across the UK and support the full decarbonisation of Britain’s railways

New locomotives

In June 2019, GBRf announced three Class 66 locomotives were to be leased from Beacon Rail Leasing and introduced to the UK rail network from Sweden. The locomotives mark GBRf’s continued growth and investment in its fleet. These locos are the most widely operated modern freight locomotives in the European market and will further strengthen GBRf’s already reliable fleet. GBRf have considerable experience bringing locomotives from Europe to the UK. Previous conversions include 66 747/8/9/5/51 from European to UK specification with the assistance of Electro Motive Diesels (EMD).

GBRf’s £3 million building opened in August 2021, accommodates GBRf’s traincrew and office staff including its 24-hour control centre, training and operations departments, as well as the asset management team. The building plays host to three new purpose-built classrooms and state-of-the-art simulators which will be used to develop future generations of talent from the local area and beyond.

Eastleigh and Bescot upgrades

GBRf has completed two major upgrade projects funded by Network Rail worth over £1.5 million, aimed at improving vital Local Distribution Centres (LDCs) in Eastleigh and Bescot.

Both LDC’s act as a focal point for the shunting, marshalling and preparation of trains needed to support vital engineering works carried out by Network Rail.

The work on Eastleigh LDC, in Hampshire, has been two years in the making with GBRf replacing old cabins with updated facilities that provide full recreational capability, offices for management, a meeting room, as well as a vantage point that overlooks the yard. Alongside this, GBRf undertook a car park overhaul, maximising the potential parking for those operating onsite.

Contracts

GB Railfreight (GBRf) renewed its contract with Tarmac for five years from January 2020 to 31 December 2025. GB Railfreight (GBRf) and Rail Stone Solutions (RSS) signed two contracts to support construction on the first phase of HS2.

The deals, with HS2 contractors EKFB (Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial BAM Nuttall) and BBV (Balfour Beatty VINCI) will see GBRf join forces with RSS to deliver aggregates by rail to the high-speed rail project’s main construction compounds.

As part of the deal with EKFB, GBRf will support the training of new train drivers at their new state-of-the-art twin-simulators near Peterborough where the UK’s first and only full-cab freight European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) simulator centre is located.

UK’s first rail freight electrification trial

The Decarbonisation & Electrification of Freight Terminals (DEFT) project, funded by the Department for Transport and Innovate UK, has seen project partners Furrer+Frey GB, Tarmac and GB Railfreight demonstrate a new way of decarbonising rail and lessen freight’s impact on passenger journeys.

Engineers from Furrer+Frey GB designed a Moveable Overhead Conductor system at Northamptonshire terminal

GB Railfreight (GBRF) has taken delivery of a class 18 hybrid+ shunting locomotive as part of a three-month trial with Beacon Rail Leasing, marking the latest expansion of its growing fleet. Manufactured by Clayton Equipment Ltd, the Class 18 is powered by an onboard battery that provides emissionsfree operation where charging facilities are available, or through a regenerative braking system. When challenges with range or operation occur, an efficient onboard Stage V compliant engine can be utilised to increase the locomotives running time. This shunting locomotive will enable low noise and zero emissions, demonstrating a clear contribution to meeting the UK’s net zero carbon targets.

KEY PERSONNEL

Chief Executive Officer: John Smith

Commercial Director: Liam Day

Production Director: Ian Langton

Finance Director: Karl Goulding- Davis

Asset Director: David Goulding

Business Development Director: Tim Hartley

General Infrastructure Manager: Alex Kirk

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: LONDON HQ, 3rd Floor, 55 Old Broad Street, London EC2M 1RX

Tel: 020 7904 3393

Email: info@gbrailfreight.com Visit: www.gbrailfreight.com

Rail Operations (UK)

Rail Operations (UK) is the parent company of Rail Operations Group (ROG), Traxion and Orion

Apart from providing strategic direction to the group, Rail Operations (UK) incorporates a Project Management Office (PMO) to deliver support to major projects, both within the group itself and to external customers. Examples of this include:

• ERTMS support to Crossrail.

• Train planning support to Orion.

• Procurement of the UK’s first fleet of trimode class 93 locomotives.

Rail Operations (UK) specialises in train movements relating to rolling stock delivery, testing, maintenance, modification and refurbishment programmes. Train operations include new build deliveries, train testing, fault-free running and mileage accumulation of new rolling stock.

Current fleet support includes fleet maintenance, modification and refurbishment programmes, fleet cascade or transfer programmes, vehicle / fleet testing (e.g. ETCS fitment) and infrastructure-train interface testing.

Rail Operations (UK) also provides storage regimes to support new build, off lease and redundant rolling stock.

General movements

• Passenger (ECS), ad-hoc freight or engineering rolling stock movements.

• Traction and rolling stock movements for private owners / operators.

Rail Operations (UK) also has a fleet of dedicated locomotives which have been modified with electrical brake translation equipment and a range of coupler types to enable direct coupling to, and through automatic brake control of, most UK EMU types. This negates the need to use historic barrier and translator type vehicles.

Rail Operations Group

Delivering innovation and diversification to the UK rail industry the Rail Operations group of companies provides a range of specialist services to the UK rail industry. These services are principally in support of the rolling stock leasing, manufacturing and engineering sectors and involve everything from project management through to the

delivery and testing of new train fleets. Rail Operations Group partnered with the Barrow Hill Roundhouse to provide a shuttle service to the 2021 Rail Ale Festival. On 4 August 2021 Rail Operations Group operated Retro Railtours’ first tour since 2019.

Traxion

Traxion is a specialist rolling stock management company delivering services related to rolling stock storage and disposals. Today’s rolling stock storage programmes require suitable storage facilities, within which, a varying range of rolling stock servicing or maintenance regimes are provided. Traxion can tailor to include the following:

• Wheel Bearing Rotations.

• Weekly Inspections.

• Transit of the unit to and from an approved engineering provider for more in-depth inspection.

• Arrange with Rail Operations Group transit to and from originating depot to storage.

• Asset surveys and reports to clients at their request.

Orion

Orion started trading in 2020, delivering high speed logistics services across the UK using re-purposed passenger trains employing bi-mode traction systems. Orion has already ordered the first class 769 ‘Flex’ units which will be used to convey light goods and parcel type commodities. These trains can operate over all UK rail routes and will serve national and regional logistics hubs, terminal, principal and regional stations and deep sea and inland ports.

Rolling stock

On 16 February 2021, Rail Operations (UK) completed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Heathrow Airport Limited, the parent company of Heathrow Express, to acquire the fleet of five Class 360/2 multiple units, plus spare parts.

On 14 January 2021 Stadler and Rail Operations (UK) signed a framework agreement for the supply of thirty Class 93 tri-mode locomotives. The advanced locomotives will significantly reduce CO2

emissions for both rail freight as well as potential passenger transport services, underscoring Stadler’s green credentials and demonstrating its commitment to decarbonisation. Deliveries are expected to start in early 2023.

KEY PERSONNEL

Group President: Karl Watts

Chairman: Neil Bennett

Chief Operating Officer: David Burley

Production Director: Paul Orchard

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: First Floor, Wyvern House, Railway Terrace, Derby DE1 2RU

Tel: 01332 343295

Email: info@railopsgroup.co.uk Visit: www.railopsgroup.co.uk

Victa Railfreight

Victa Railfreight is an UK owned business and whilst independent, it maintains a close relationship with all the major players in the rail freight sector

Victa Railfreight holds a UK wide Non-Passenger Train Operators Licence that has enables it to offer ‘last mile’ shunts, local tripping and rail freight feeder services and ‘short line’ capability to a wide customer base as well as ground staff provision for passenger and freight train operating companies. The company acts as principal operators at Dove Holes Quarry in the Peak District on behalf of Cemex UK and at Tilbury on behalf of Forth Ports, in both cases providing both expertise and shunting and train preparation services at these busy locations. In addition, it delivers a large number of safety related training courses to the freight community and also advises on a

wide range of safety, operations and logistics related subjects.

Victa Railfreight offers safety and sustainability evaluations to customers in the form of its Rail Freight Terminal Management packages which facilitate continuous improvement in the safety, operation and sustainability of rail freight facilities. Victa Railfreight has expertise in providing rail solutions for construction projects and is completing an eight-year involvement with the building of the Elizabeth Line under London. Prior to this it provided support to the construction of High Speed 1, Heathrow T5 and other similar projects.

Victa Railfreight is one of the longest

standing members of the Railfreight Group with Managing Director Neil Sime recently completing his two terms as Chair.

Victa currently employs around 70 staff and has a turnover of c£3.5 million. Its dedicated team have long established expertise in the rail industry and freight sector in particular. Victa Railfreight has a reputation for innovation and collaborative working that is driving the business forward and would be delighted to discuss our services with prospective clients.

KEY PERSONNEL

Managing Director: Neil Sime

Contract & Resources Manager: Debbie Simmons

Head of Operations & Safety: Paul Verghese

Third Party Services Manager: Colette Ranford

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Unit 1 The Viewpoint, Boxley Road, Boxley Road, Maidstone, Kent ME14 2DZ

Tel: 01622 690978

Email: enquiries@victa-railfreight.com Visit: www.victa-railfreight.com

Much has been discussed over the last few years about where the future of train communications will lead, particularly with the advent of 5G technology and the benefits this technology can bring

|

For both future Passenger Infotainment and Onboard operational purposes 5G technology will be heavily relied upon. 5G technology will also benefit hugely Train to Train, Train to Ground and Train to Infrastructure, offering for the first time a unified communication platform for the whole Rail ecosystem.

require a Indoor Antenna OmPlecs®-Top 200 WiFi MIMO 4x4 Antenna System

on the quality and capacity of access to the Internet and 5G with its high throughput capability, guaranteed ‘Slice’ availability and low latency is key to offering higher levels of Passenger satisfaction in the future.

trackside wireless infrastructure and the onboard train communication equipment and sub-systems, ANTENNA SYSTEMS

Passenger Infotainment systems using OnBoard Train Wi-Fi is heavily dependent

Rollingstock Energy Control Diagnostic System Vehicle Positioning Passenger Counting Ticketing

particularly trackside-based to enable the performance benefits of 5G to be harnessed fully. On the train itself the Outdoor Antenna OmPlecs®-TOP 200 AMR 5G / LTE MIMO 4x4 Antenna System Indoor Antenna OmPlecs®-Top 90 WiFi MIMO 2x2 Antenna System

‘link’ between the ROUTER Signalling System Telematics Traffic Control RBL / ITCS Operating Radio Train Control OmPlecs® Multiband-ANTENNAS ONE ANTENNA FOR ALL TRAIN-SYSTEMS

Th e new up and coming Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) which will eventually replace GSM-R for realtime Train operational communications is also based heavily on 5G technology.

in new GNSS L1/L2 5G/LTE

the Antenna System, is of great importance. It can have a significantly good or detrimentally bad effect, on the overall performance of the

Passenger Infotainment and OnBoard Operational systems.

Selecting the correct and optimum Antenna design to maximise the data transfer from the 5G network connections and then connecting to individual users via Wi-Fi and systems onboard the train is key to achieving better Customer Satisfaction and Operational efficiency.

One of the leading developers of 5G Train Antenna technology today, is a young German technology driven company based in Velten, near Berlin, called AntonicsICP GmbH.

They produce highly innovative antenna systems for public transport systems. Using the latest technologies ANTONICS-ICP develops and manufactures tailor made train antenna solutions for professional radio applications from its rapidly expanding factory in Germany.

With extensive inhouse Engineering, Test and precision manufacturing capabilities, Antonics offers customized design and Multiband Antenna technology to exacting Quality and Technical standards. Although Antonics has only been in existence since 2007, it has already forged ties with many major European Train Manufacturers and Sub-System suppliers.

Antonics has been involved recently with the Colibri project (Coach Link for Broadband Information Exchange) for a division of Deutsch Bahn, called DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung GmbH, where various systems both on Train and in Stations have been digitized leading to near seamless integration primarily using LTE and Wi-Fi wireless technologies.

The Colibri system has been rolled out in more than 1,700 Trains all around Germany. Antonics was responsible for designing and supplying a ‘combi’ Multiband Antenna for installation on the trains, incorporating dual LTE, WLAN MIMO and GPS antenna arrays in a single module.

The Colibri project is now looking at 5G technology to push the performance of its system integration capabilities even further and Antonics is playing a major role to help achieve this.

Antonics success has been built on being extremely fl exible in terms of design, manufacturing and supply and offering excellent Customer Support both technically and commercially.

Core products include 5G 4x4 MIMO Outdoor Train Antennas, Inside Train Wi-FI Antennas with MIMO 6x6 technology and a Dual-GSM-R Protection Filter.

Its highly innovative multiband antennas run under the series name OmPlecsTOP 200 AMR.

Antonics can offer Antennae for both individual applications and ‘all in one antenna for multiple wireless applications including:

• 70cm-Band/trunked radio/ TETRA, GSM-R.

• GSM 1800.

• UMTS, LTE, 2x2 LTE MIMO, 4x4 LTE MIMO.

• 5G MIMO.

• Wi-Fi 2.4, Wi-Fi 5.8.

• GPS/ GLONASS.

Working in partnership with their UK agents IndustrialComms, Antonics is looking to expand its business presence in the burgeoning UK Train market both for new trains and retrofitting projects.

For more information, get in touch with Graham Bull at IndustrialComms via the contact information below.

Tel: 0203 086 9569

Email: sales@industrialcomms.com Visit: www.antonics.com/en/www.industrialcomms. com/pages/antonics

THE FUTURE OF CONNECTIVITY ANTENNEN | ANTENNAS

Robust Cable Management for Railways

National

Specification Manager for Marshall-Tufflex, Barry Roberts, highlights the cable management solutions that have been applied to the Stansted Tunnel upgrade project

With a reputation for leading the way in research and development, UK manufacturer and supplier of cable management systems Marshall-Tufflex has built a wide portfolio of solutions specifically engineered for the rail sector and is registered with the Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS).

Since 1942, Marshall-Tufflex has been at the forefront of cable management and plastic extrusion in the UK and today delivers high-quality, durable cable management solutions for a variety of sectors. The company’s expertise and commitment to providing products that meet the highest standards and levels of compliance has earned the British manufacturer accreditation from the RISQS Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme to supply its products for Network Rail, LUL/Transport for London, DLR, train operators and other product and services providers within the rail industry.

The company uses a range of materials in its manufacturing, with each product designed to suit specific or on-site installation needs, particularly where hazards or harsh environments require a specialised solution. For the rail sector, this includes:

Glass Reinforced Polyester (GRP) Cable Management Systems

GRP is effective at temperatures between -80°C to +130°C, with low conductivity, is self-extinguishing in the event of fire and utilises zero halogen material which is classified as ‘low smoke’. The material also offers high corrosion resistance making Marshall-Tufflex’s GRP products ideal for challenging rail environments such as tunnels, bridges and environments where extreme weather, high temperatures or water ingress is likely.

MT Supertube LS0H Conduit

MT Supertube FR was a key component

in the upgrade of London Underground’s Victoria Line OPO CCTV camera system, with more than five miles (8,100 metres) of this conduit installed. This LS0H, three-layer heavy gauge conduit comprises polyethylene internal and external layers over a continuous aluminium tube that provides additional mechanical strength. The product has excellent EMI screening performance and is a practical and cost-saving alternative to standard galvanised conduits. Moreover, it is available in continuous lengths of up to 100 metres, meaning fewer fittings per installation, reduced waste, and no water ingress.

System 170 and System 130 Steel Trunking

Robust and durable, these pre-galvanised steel dado and skirting trunking systems offer a reliable, practical system for public areas where there is a high footfall, thanks to the resilient white powder-coat finish that helps to prevent smearing and marking.

Aluminium Trunking

Aluminium perimeter trunking systems provide the specifier, contractor and enduser with elegant, stream-lined containment that offers the practical advantages of inherent LS0H and screening properties making it ideal for industrial environments. It is also lightweight with a mechanical strength and impact resistance that is superior to steel.

Marshall-Tufflex installed at Stansted Tunnel

A notable project where Marshall-Tufflex products have been used for a rail project is the Stansted Tunnel upgrade, where the entire lighting, lighting support systems and power supplies of the tunnel are being replaced between January 2022 and January 2023.

Despite ad-hoc repairs and replacements, 30 years of water ingress and general wear and tear meant that was it no longer possible to cost-effectively sustain the

GRP Perforated Tray

Installation of GRP Perforated Tray into Stansted Tunnel by J Murphy & Sons

MT Supertube - LS0H Conduit

lighting by simply replacing the degraded or life expired parts. As such, J Murphy & Sons was awarded the contract to replace the entire lighting, lighting support systems and power supplies for the tunnel.

The upgrade project involves the installation of a new GRP handrail with integral lighting running along the tunnel wall and the steel walkway, emergency lighting and supporting electrical supplies and a GRP cable management system. The cable trays had to meet Class 1 fire rating in order to maintain a certain level of fire resistance while still maintaining the integrity of the cabling. In addition, the systems needed to have a minimum design life of 25 years.

Furthermore, J Murphy & Sons was also constrained by a strict schedule to ensure the project could be completed by the financial year end 2022/2023. J Murphy & Sons found the nominated supplier for this project had long lead times on its products and therefore couldn’t meet the allocated possession dates in January 2022. After going back to the market and contacting a number of other manufacturers to source a perforated GRP tray that met the stringent standards for the rail environment, RISQS registered manufacturer Marshall-Tufflex

was the only company able to supply GRP cable management products with the right specification and meet the tight installation deadlines.

Craig Anger, Contacts Engineering Manager at J Murphy & Sons, said: ‘Barry Roberts provided us with all the datasheets including fire test documentation which was a big bonus as Network Rail could see that the products have undergone all the relevant tests. The team at Marshall-Tufflex provided excellent support and ensured all the products were delivered to site to meet our strict schedule. This has helped us to keep on track to complete the final cabling installation and commissioning during our January 2023 possession.’

The lighting upgrade project of Stansted Tunnel is due for completion in January 2023, by which time, J Murphy & Sons will have installed 1,800 metres of MarshallTufflex’s GRP cable management system to house the cabling for the new handrail with integral lighting – all during limited weekend possessions in January 2022 and January 2023.

field of railway construction with a range of cable management solutions to ensure cabling remains safe, operational and secure. The manufacturer’s priority is to re-invest for the future and to continue to produce new and effective solutions with quality and customer service at its heart.

Marshall-Tufflex’s project specialists and specification team are on hand to work closely with electrical consultants, contractors and clients in order to ensure the most suitable products are specified to meet any project brief.

To find out more about how MarshallTufflex can help with your transport project, visit: www.marshall-tufflex.com/ transport or get in touch via the contact information below.

A

manufacturer that moves with you For 80 years Marshall-Tufflex has refined its portfolio to meet the fast paced and evolving

Tel: 01424 856600

Email: sales@marshall-tufflex.com Visit: www.marshall-tufflex.com

Why Choose Huck® Fasteners?

Fasteners are an important engineering component; product reliability is key

Huck fasteners are used in many tough engineering applications, although their function is simple – to hold components together – there are a wide variety of designs and sizes available. These fasteners have been designed to cope with extreme stress and vibration, providing strength and facilitating lighter, stronger, more durable structures. Huck Fasteners are commonly used in railcars, railway tracks, rolling stock, aerospace, truck suspensions and chassis, bridge construction, heavy defense vehicles and mining/quarrying applications. In fact, anywhere that fastener failure is not an option.

Engineered for easy installation, and long, reliable life

Direct-tension HuckBolt’s and structural blind fasteners can often be a faster, more cost efficient, and safer alternative to traditional processes. Fasteners are an important engineering component; therefore, product reliability is key. Due to the complex working environment, traditional bolted joints often experience self-loosening (gradual loss of preload) over their working life, which can cause a decrease in the structures strength and loss of joint integrity.

The key difference between HuckBolt and conventional fastener installations is found in the structure of the threads of each of the fastening systems. Instead of the deep

threads required to achieve a tolerance fit between conventional nuts and bolts, the HuckBolt pin requires only shallow locking grooves into which the collar is swaged. Th e shallow design of the locking grooves allows for a much larger pin root radius, which contributes significantly to the fatigue strength – up to five times that of a conventional nut and bolt.

Alternatives to welding

For years, welding was seen as the only way to ensure the integrity of joints in demanding load-bearing or high-vibration structures. Today there are alternatives to welding, the direct-tension, swaged Huck BobTail® Lockbolt is a uniquely engineered fastener. It is a two-part fastening system that consists of a pin and a collar. This enables the structure to be easily preassembled by hand allowing for additional alterations and checks. Th e fastener is then installed using a direct tension technique, in which the pin is pulled and the collar is simultaneously swaged into the locking grooves of the pin, deforming the collar into the grooves and swaging the material forward. Th is action develops the high clamp force.

The Huck BobTail has been designed to provide superior joining strength and offers fast, secure and simple installation. Even taking into consideration the need to drill holes, installing a Lockbolt is significantly faster than welding a joint and a quick visual inspection is all that is required to confirm the accuracy and quality of the installation.

HuckBolt’s can be effectively used with virtually any metal, and disparate metals with dissimilar coefficients of thermal expansion present no problems. Varying piece sizes in a joint are readily accommodated, and surface finishes are not harmed. Most importantly, HuckBolt’s are proven to hold up over years of service in demanding high-stress, high-vibration environments.

Independently tested with third party approval

The Huck BobTail 12,14,16, 20mm and one-inch diameters, after lengthy and vigorous independent testing, has gained the prestigious Allgemeine bauaufsichtliche Zulassungen (German national technical approval) from the world renowned DIBt (Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik) for use in both static and dynamic applications in civil engineering. Th e approval concludes that retorque/re-tension of an installed Huck BobTail LockBolt is not possible and also not necessary, and connections do not require maintenance regarding preload. Joints fastened together by BobTail large diameter LockBolts, within the range specified, are maintenance free.

Technical support that will add value to your project

Star Fasteners have been a Huck fastener distributor for over thirty years and are the UK’s largest stockists. Star Fasteners work closely with their customers to understand their applications and suggest new products that they may not have initially considered for a project. They can do this thanks to the knowledge and experience that they have within the market.

Tel: 0115 9324939

Email: sales@starfasteners.co.uk Visit: www.starfasteners.co.uk

Indestructible Rail Vehicle Paint

Two highly versatile and robust epoxy coating systems have now been introduced by specialist manufacturer, Indestructible Paint Ltd. with benefits for the rail industry

The first development is centred on the introduction of the company’s RWIP120 product for the rail sector based on four decades of experience of coating technology in many of the most challenging global environments.

Indestructible Paint’s RWIP120, which is fully compliant with CR/PE0102 Repainting of Rail Vehicles specification, offers a range of performance benefits and, significantly, is available as either a one or two coat system.

Underframe coating objectives can often be achieved by the use of the system as a single 120 micron primer/finish coating, particularly as there are no specific aesthetic considerations while, in other areas, it can comprise a separate 60 micron primer with an additional 60 micron finish coat. Where appropriate it can also then be over-coated with other Indestructible Paint finishes, epoxies, and polyurethanes while customer needs can be further met by a choice of colours available from a matt to full gloss finish.

Indestructible Paint’s RWIP120 has been proven on a range of substrates, many of which are a common feature in the rail sector. These include steel, aluminium, galvanised and composite surfaces which all gain from the composition of the epoxy and its chemical bonding characteristics. The cured coating is a tough chemically resilient finish that has been tested against a variety of corporate and national standards.

The system is part of a family of coatings that have been developed at Indestructible Paint which are based on high grade, twopart epoxy coatings that have a long and successful track record in the Aerospace and Land Defence sectors.

The performance capability of the RWIP120 range covers a long list of challenges faced by rail operators. From impact, chip and scratch resistance to the ability to withstand high temperatures, high humidity environments, all are key benefits

Eurostar battery boxes refurbishment with the RWIP120-6500 primer and RWIP120-RAL7046 matt finish.

Wheelset coated with the RWIP120-6500 Primer and RWIP-9001 Black – semi-gloss finish. Refurbished wheelset for in operation trials with a major rail vehicle manufacturer.

as are proven resistance to abrasion, salt spray and wash plant operations.

The second development is the RWIP3000 product, a thin film intumescent coating which, when intumesced, forms a barrier to protect the substrate from burning for a specific number of minutes dependant on thickness, and when used in conjunction with a heat absorbing primer, RWIP3000 is further suitable for hot areas typically found under a train, example, around an exhaust area/motors. The RWIP3000 performs on a range of substrates, including metals, timber and composites, suitable for both air and forceddrying, the coating maintains excellent adhesion – including, importantly for the rail sector, where high air movement is present.

RWIP3000 is normally applied as a primer/sealer intumescent coating which can then be overcoated with a twocomponent epoxy or polyurethane topcoat –it can be applied either by spray or brush.

As a clear demonstration of the performance capability of RWIP3000, Indestructible Paint points to a specific testing operation centred on exposure to an 1100°C flame, with the flame positioned 10cm from a 4mm anodised aluminium

substrate, the panel condition remained satisfactory, with internal pressure maintained, after a five-minute exposure period, by comparison, over the same period a non-coated panel distorts and deteriorates before splitting, exploding and completely melting. Similarly, the Indestructible Paint coating has been shown to maintain heat resistance when exposed to 180°C heat source for more than 100 hours.

Test Time

Typical performance to exposure to 1100 degrees C flame

Two 0.6-meter panels of 4mm anodised aluminium. One coated with RWIP3000 @ 300 microns dft. and the other left uncoated. Both are pressurised to 5psi. An SAE 15 cm diameter propane burner (116350 BTU) is positioned 10cm from the centre of each panel.

Results analysed in following table.

Effect of 1100 degC. Burner

Uncoated Panel Panel coated with RWIP3000

One minute

Two minutes

Panel distorted outwards Panel and coating intact

Deterioration rapidly decreasing Intumescent barrier formed with adhesion to substrate

Three + minutes Explosion. Panel splits, centre blows out Intumescent barrier formed with adhesion to substrate

Five minutes Panel completely melted. Condition satisfactory. Internal pressure maintained

Coating

After 7 days

RWIP120 ENGINEERED COATINGS AND COATINGS FOR RAIL ENGINEERS Tel: +44(0)121 702 2485 Email: sales@indestructible.co.uk Web: www.indestructible.co.uk 16-25 Pentos Drive, Birmingham, B11 3TA, United Kingdom

Indestructible Paint Ltd are a UK based Coatings manufacturer, with over 45 years’ experience supplying coatings to the Aerospace and Defence Industries worldwide.

Trains with Brains

With the global rail market crying out for better service reliability, reduced operations and maintenance costs and increased safety, Transmission Dynamics are redefining the status quo

Transmission Dynamics is a UKbased, multi-award winning, global innovator and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions provider, specialising in remote condition monitoring of high-value assets. The company has designed and deployed a range of proprietary technologies over the last two decades and these are now being utilised to monitor rail infrastructure using train-borne sensor technology throughout the global rail industry.

Key to the company’s success is working closely in partnership with rail infrastructure owners, Rolling Stock Leasing Companies (ROSCOs) and Train Operating Companies (TOCs) to develop market-leading solutions that meet specific requirements.

In the UK, Network Rail's digital railway strategy sets out a blueprint for modernisation, states the importance of bringing down operations costs of the network, and outlines the benefits of deploying digital monitoring technology to meet those aims. While many third-party sensor technologies exist to extract inservice data, end users repeatedly stated the need to efficiently collate a holistic picture from multiple sources, determine root causes of underlying issues (through classification of potential faults found) and use this intelligence to inform operations and maintenance planning and ultimately improve asset reliability and service delivery.

The Trains with Brains® IIoT concept was therefore developed in collaboration with several rail stakeholders (Network Rail, Angel Trains and West Midland Trains) to deliver and demonstrate a solution to this need, via the Innovate UK managed First of a Kind competition.

The aim of the Trains with Brains® IIoT concept is to integrate data from a range of existing remote condition monitoring sensors into combined intelligence to inform Network Rail’s monitoring and planning systems/processes. The live demonstration of this innovative approach will be focussed throughout the North West and Central Region.

‘North West and Central’s regional Overhead Line strategy is to use the limited

track access we have to repair assets rather than inspect them. Bringing together all the data about our OLE assets is key to this, and is why we were so keen to support this FOAK project.’ said Ndaba Moyo, Senior Engineer [Contact Systems], NW&C region, Network Rail.

These combined technologies will be deployed on routinely operating trains in the North West and Central Region throughout January – March 2023 and the data integrated directly into Network Rail’s platform, delivering a demonstration of one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated IIoT applications developed for the rail industry globally. This will enable operations and maintenance teams to address key cost efficiency and performance priorities via more informed decisionmaking and planning of infrastructure maintenance during possessions.

Jarek Rosinski, Chief Executive Officer, Transmission Dynamics added: ‘The Trains with Brains® concept is a natural extension to our portfolio of rail asset monitoring solutions. Bringing these technologies together will not only monitor individual rail assets and infrastructure, but for the first time we will also have insights into the dynamic interactions between rail and overhead line.’

The technologies being deployed are as follows:

• PANDAS-V®

• Smart Oil Plug®

• SmartBugs®

PANDAS-V®

Overhead line and pantograph monitoring solution technology which synchronises acceleration impacts with a roof-mounted camera to provide footage of impacts on the OHL and pantographs, as well as advanced image processing utilising advanced Machine Learning and providing measurements of pantograph height, OHL wire stagger and carriage sway.

Smart Oil Plug®

Gearbox temperature, vibration and ferromagnetic debris monitoring sensor. This is a self-learning future-proof IoT sensor technology incorporating advanced

onboard analytics. ZF, the UK’s worldleading gearbox manufacturer has just signed a Service Level Agreement to launch this product to the global rail market in 2023.

SmartBugs®

Ultra-miniature sensors, offer an unprecedented means of fast installation and low-risk devices with some of the most powerful data acquisition and logging and onboard data analytics capabilities available today built in.

These unique and successful devices in their own right will be networked together as the Trains with Brains® concept, forming an even more powerful and innovative proposition. It will enable consideration of the interactions between the rail and overhead line infrastructure, allowing more complex and complete static and dynamic modelling to be accomplished.

The Trains with Brains® solutions allow extraction of intelligence related to damper performance, dynamic motion compensation of pantographs fitted on tilting vehicles, as well as routine reporting on rail quality, ride quality, wheel flats, final drive and cardan shaft performance, and finally overhead line induced faults. Topping it all up with the deviation from the baseline which may be caused by terrain subsidence due to flooding which can be equally applied to rail deviation from the baseline as well as the supporting structures deviation from the baseline.

There are also many advanced asset monitoring insights that could result from this innovative networking of sensors.

For example, it has been a long-standing desire of the rail industry to quantify interactions between rail induced faults and dynamic interactions between pantographs and overhead lines. This applies to both static and dynamic measurements. Static measurements are presently accomplished by time-consuming, manual measurement of overhead line – a task that can be accomplished by this integrated Trains with Brains® approach.

The Smart Oil Plug® Gateway (installed on the bogie) is equipped with accelerometers and gyroscopes allowing extraction of the ride quality of the

bogie, just above the primary suspension. Similarly, the gateway servicing the wireless accelerometer (part of the PANDAS-V® hardware) mounted on the pantograph head is also equipped with gyroscopes, allowing the sway of carriages to be monitored and reported on a permanent basis. In addition, ultra-miniature SmartBugs®, offer an unprecedented means of fast installation and low-risk devices with some of the most powerful data acquisition and logging and onboard data analytics capabilities available today built in. Due to their lightweight (60g) and small size (25mm diameter) the device can be glued to the axle boxes and other assets such as electric motor armature for monitoring the integrity of the entire propulsion system.

This innovative combination of networked devices enables significantly more informed maintenance planning within Network Rail, enabling them to reduce delays, unscheduled maintenance and boots on ballast, while improving reliability, safety, and costs.

In addition, the wider supply chain will also benefit from the ‘knock-on effect’.

From West Midlands Trains’ perspective as a Train Operating Company, one of the key perceived benefits of the Trains with Brains® product is the ability to better understand, evidence, and learn from faults found. This will contribute to the continuous improvement of their service.

From a Rolling Stock Leasing Company perspective, Angel Trains feel the Trains with Brains® solution is an excellent approach to ensuring their assets create value, supporting Network Rail to operate more efficiently and safely, which will in turn enable their customers (Train Operating Companies – such as West Midlands Trains) to deliver the best possible service to the passenger. They also believe that the outcome of this product will directly benefit their asset integrity by reducing the number of pantograph related issues, and associated safety benefits.

Tel: 0191 58 000 58

Email: support@jrdltd.co.uk Visit: transmissiondynamics.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/ company/4002575/admin/

Address: Transmission Dynamics 1 Innovation Way

Northumberland Business Park Cramlington NE23 7FP

SmartBugs®

Smart Oil Plug®

Worldwide Construction

Founded in August 1997, Steconfer has a history of projects related to all railway construction and maintenance activities in the global market

Steconfer provides comprehensive rail solutions from engineering to procurement, construction, integration, testing and commissioning, including inservice maintenance support with field staff for Urban Transportation Systems (Tram, Light Rail, Ultra-Light Rail and Subway Transit Systems); Heavy Rail Infrastructures (Commuter, Regional, High-speed and Heavy Haul Systems) and Depots.

The company has a track record to be proud of – 25 years of project delivery compliance in all its projects, six countries with its catenary installed and commissioned, a complete package of infrastructure railway systems, CBTC and ERTMS installation expertise, more than 800 kilometres of signalling installation systems, over 1,000 kilometres of railway track installed in different types and gauges and experience on both green and brown field and system migration projects execution.

The focus on internationalization has always been the starting point and the main business strategy for the company, which allowed Steconfer to reach countries such as Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Qatar, Mozambique, Taiwan, Chile, Norway,

Sweden, Philippines, Israel, Peru, United Kingdom, and Canada.

One of Steconfer’s success factors for its recognition and growth is the way it views its human capital. Steconfer believes that people are the key to creating value, hence a major focus on training and technical specialization of its teams.

The company promotes a corporate

culture of collaboration based on a committed team where everyone feels their work is relevant and recognized, always striving to secure labour values of integration, respect, diversity, and equal opportunities within a multicultural environment.

One of the increasingly important principles of the company is sustainability.

Bybanen LRT, Bergen – Norway

Luas Cross City, Dublin – Ireland

QUICK FACTS

• 25 years of worldwide experience.

• +240 employees / +500 employees under its management.

• Present in 14 countries on four continents.

• QA & HSE certified.

• Own fleet of specialized equipment.

• Skilled and highly adaptable teams.

Steconfer believes that its projects and activities must be guided by social and environmental responsibility, improving the living conditions of the communities where it operates and promoting a sustainable future.

After 25 years of activity, Steconfer preserves the same principles and values from its inception: technical competence, innovation, professionalism, teamwork, sustainability, social responsibility, safety, and well-being of its employees. Although aware of the challenges ahead, Steconfer keeps the same energy to face them for the next 25 years.

Main projects:

• Israel: Jerusalem LRT Network (J-NET)

/ Hadarom Container Terminal, Port of Ashdod

• Canada: Hurontario LRT

• Norway: Bybanen LRT

• Philippines: Manila MRT 7

• United Kingdom: Blackpool Tramway Extension

• Sweden: Tram Depot Ringön, stage 1B / Tramway Lund – OCS Installation

• Qatar: Msheireb Downtown Doha Catenary Free Tram

• Ireland: Luas Cross City – LRT / Several contracts in Dublin for the Luas Metro extension

• Taiwan: Kaohsiung LRT

• Chile: Extension Biotren to Coronel Project

• Peru: Lima and Callao Metro - Line 2

• Mozambique: Nacala Corridor - Signalling installation and maintenance works

• Portugal: IP - Portuguese Railway Infrastructure and maintenance installation of signalling system / Lisbon Metro expansion, Section Alameda II/S. Sebastião II and Oriente/Airport / Oporto Metro lines extension and new stations

Tel: +351 912 952 136

Email: comercial@steconfer.com Visit: steconfer.com

Address:

Headquarters Estrada Nacional 3, Km 46,5 2000-531 Póvoa de Santarém - Portugal Lisbon Office

Rua Sinais de Fogo, 8 - 1ºA 1990-605 Lisbon – Portugal

Hurontario LRT – Canada

Jerusalem LRT Network - Israel

Lund Tramway – Sweden

Run by railway people, for railway people

AARC Professional Services Limited draws from over five decades of experience to provide expert support to the industry.

We are a railway consultancy bringing together likeminded rail professionals with a common goal to deliver outstanding outcomes:

• By helping clients achieve their goals…

• Through delivering strategic and technical expert advice…

• Across a range of disciplines…

Professionalism, collaboration and a friendly though determined ethos form the basis of our core values.

Putting AARC Ahead of the Curve

After more than 40 years in the UK rail industry many choose retirement, instead Steve Derrick assembled a team to create AARC Professional Services Limited, a specialist rail consultancy providing expert support and advisory services

‘For me, working in the rail industry isn’t simply a job – it’s a way of life, which inevitably sees you becoming part of the railway family. That’s something you never lose.’ So says Steve Derrick, whose career spans five decades, taking in everything from project engineering and contract management through to senior project, programme and general management roles.

Highlights include:

• Contract Management roles across all engineering disciplines as Railtrack interface with the maintenance and renewals units post privatisation.

• Engineering Interface Manager during the development stages of HS1.

• Lead Project Engineer across all stages for Birmingham Cross-City electrification and Snow Hill – Smethwick route reinstatement.

• Programme Controls Lead for the Network Rail National Operating Strategy.

• Senior Programme Manager for investment projects on Network Rail’s London North West (LNW) route, including the Cross-Country route modernisation.

• Delivering LNW’s track renewals programme.

• Leading Network Rail’s West Midlands & Chilterns routes as Area General Manager, before moving across to lead the West Coast South area.

Reminiscing, Steve says: ‘During my career, I’ve been lucky enough to work with a great many people against the backdrop of a constantly evolving landscape, with all of those experiences helping to shape my approach to the task at hand.’

So when the time came to ‘hand in the keys’ in 2014, rather than head for the exit, he decided to create his own consultancy, bringing together a group of likeminded rail professionals to provide expert advice and guidance to the industry.

‘I think one of the major challenges that the industry faces, particularly now as we once again go through a period of significant change, is the real danger of losing that knowledge and experience when seasoned operators leave. The purpose of AARCPS is

to address that knowledge drain by retaining those people and skills and redeploying them to where they’re needed most, helping to deliver outstanding outcomes in the process. I also genuinely believe in the rail industry and want to give something back –an ethos shared by all of our associates.’

Most of those involved in AARCPS are former colleagues of Steve’s, themselves having held senior roles within the industry and each bringing with them a particular set of skills. They also share the common aim of providing clients with a ‘professional, collaborative and friendly though determined approach, to help bring about outstanding results.’ Their respective backgrounds also means that they can ‘hit the ground running’ –incredibly beneficial in building trust and developing a truly collaborative approach.

Steve explains: ‘Our motivation is to help clients achieve their goals by delivering strategic and technical expertise across a range of disciplines and at all levels, from frontline operations through to the boardroom. And whilst we’re happy to work independently where required, we strongly advocate the benefits of teamwork, actively encouraging collaborative relationships and aligning ourselves to the client’s respective organisation for the duration of the engagement.’

Currently 23 strong and counting, AARCPS has strength in depth, with specific expertise in operations, projects and engineering management, as well as safety, assurance and training.

Case Studies

In its relatively short lifespan, the business has already built up an impressive portfolio, with satisfied customers ranging from Network Rail through to Amey Infrastructure Wales and SPL Powerlines UK.

SPL Powerlines UK

Supporting SPL in 2018 through its transition to main supplier for the delivery of electrification projects for Network Rail. This included the provision of safety verification and assurance support and has since involved additional assurance support.

‘AARCPS is a strong business, built around a core of time-served rail professionals, each of whom add value, hence us returning to them time and again for support.’ – Chris Hext, UK Group Safety & Services Director, SPL Powerlines UK

Amey Infrastructure Wales (AIW)

Developing a collaborative relationship with AIW in its delivery of the Core Valley Lines Transformation project, following the transfer of infrastructure management from Network Rail to Transport for Wales and AIW’s subsequent appointment as Managing Agent for the extensive programme of electrification, signalling recontrol and upgrade, track doubling and station improvements. In direct support,

AARCPS provided a specific focus on project operational interface work and has since grown its involvement, with a number of its associates working on a range of activities including network/project operations, safety & assurance and operational training design and delivery.

‘Having worked with Steve Derrick and team on several occasions, I have always found them to be very knowledgeable and easy to work with, delivering high quality outcomes on all that they support.’ – Colin Hughes, Head of CVL Operations

Network Rail

Working with Network Rail Scotland and in particular its operations and asset strategy teams on the development of a regional operations strategy. AARCPS has also been engaged by the Head of Operations to look at other requirements, including the provision of bespoke operational training modules.

‘The AARC team provided a professional service to the Region, with regular updates on progress and delivery of all outputs within the agreed timescales.’ – Guy Whaley, Signalling Strategy Lead, Network Rail Scotland

GF Tomlinson (GFT)

Appointed by GFT, one of the Midlands’ leading construction companies, as Contractor’s Engineering Manager (CEM) in support of the demolition/redevelopment bordering the railway of Oscott Manor School in Erdington, West Midlands – a vibrant community special school providing education for autistic children and young people aged between 11 and 19. AARCPS provided the professional lead/operational interface with the railway across all stages of the project lifecycle.

‘AARCPS’s appointed CEM was extremely proactive, bringing a positive direct approach to the project, which helped in the

successful delivery of a potentially complex process.’ – Rob Sullivan, Senior Contracts Manager, G F Tomlinson.

Looking ahead

Fast approaching its first decade of existence, it’s fair to say AARCPS can now consider itself a provider of choice when it comes to strategic and technical advice. But where next for Steve Derrick and team? Steve says: ‘Our objective is to continue to evolve at a controlled pace, continuously building our pool of expertise, whilst simultaneously developing our offer. As a rail consultancy, we are acutely aware that clients have many choices as to where to put their trust, but we firmly believe that our depth of expertise and experience really helps us to ‘stand out from the crowd.’ The number of repeat requests for support that we receive would seem to suggest we are clearly doing something right!’

To find out more about AARC Professional Services Limited and how it can help your organisation, please contact Steve Derrick at steve.derrick@aarcps.co.uk. For further information, visit the AARC Professional Services website at https://www.aarcps.co.uk

Tel: 01543 472782 Email: info@aarcps.co.uk Visit: www.aarcps.co.uk

AARC

Steve Derrick is Managing Director of

Radius Group

Radius Group was founded with the mission to create a premium quality lifting service, prioritising the key principles of safety, innovation and expertise

On commencing, few people could have predicted how quickly it would grow into an industry leading, end to end, fully managed logistics and installation service to both Network Rail and London Underground.

Indeed, the rail sector is just one of many in the UK that have benefited from the dedicated and experienced teams that have added value to many projects nationwide.

Radius specialise in providing expertise on projects that are logistically challenging, require performance in tight and enclosed spaces, involve large and or unusually shaped plant or equipment, and are both, on the critical path of the project whilst being extremely time sensitive.

We are widely regarded by our clients as their specialist problem solvers; helping to manage and mitigate specific project risks. We are typically called upon early within projects when other specialist contractors and suppliers are unable to provide a safe or technically acceptable solution.

We have been committed to concise and understandable safe systems of work since the companies’ foundation, a precedency that remains a key focus. The long-term

For each specialist sector that we serve, we have also developed unique operational methods and manufactured equipment of our own original design. To assist with projects within the rail sector for example, Radius own and operate the only London Underground approved escalator sledge, capable of carrying up to 450kgs down escalators to specific project locations.

Our industry leading project paperwork ensures a quick and pain free process of acceptance by the client and any involved stakeholders, saving unnecessary delays and repeat submissions. Thus giving you reassurance that the operation is in safe hands. Utilising cutting edge software and planning tools, technology is always at the forefront of Radius offerings.

Since 2006 we have played a major part in the installation of fans and associated ancillary components of London Underground’s ‘Cooling the Tube Programme’. This has given Radius unequalled experience in the installation of Tunnel Ventilation equipment in a rail environment.

Radius can offer a full turnkey solution for the installation of the fan, attenuators, transition pieces, dampers and associated

partnerships with employees, customers and suppliers are based exclusively on sustainable behaviour and the resulting values that follow.

components. Th is has included off -site warehousing, sequenced site delivery, off -load servicing and on-site lifting of various types of plant and mechanical equipment.

Radius have recently completed the installation of the ventilation equipment on London Undergrounds Northern Line Extension working with our clients to deliver a safe and successful installation.

Radius have completed the mechanical installation of the water-cooled Platform Air Handling Units installed on the Victoria, Piccadilly, Central & Bakerloo Lines. These units were delivered using engineering trains, and required a complex quad lift using four lifting beams clamped to the tunnel ring bolts.

We have also worked on the delivery of new equipment and the recovery of old equipment on forty London Underground substation upgrades, all in the last three years as well as fifteen substation upgrades for Network Rail. We have an impressive success and safety record on projects involving lifting/handling and installing heavy plant within both surface and sub surface environments.

The Radius plant installation team were also heavily involved in the planning and execution of the following works on Crossrail, which were delivered on-time and on-budget:

• Non-Traction Power Installation to point of use.

• OHLE Switchboard Installation to point of use.

• Station UPS Installation to point of use.

• LV Switchgear at various Crossrail Stations.

• Tunnel vent shaft fans and associated components Installation.

Our project and installation teams have considerable experience in managing logistics for installation/fit out projects. We are industry leading with both the technical knowledge and expertise to provide a bespoke handling solution for delivering large heavy items into challenging industrial

and commercial environments. We utilise a variety of methods including but not limited to Hydraulic Gantries, Hydraulic Skidding Systems, Versa Lift, Industrial & All Terrain Forklift, Stair Robots, A Frames, Hoists, Engineering Trains & Cranes.

Our Plant Installation division is backed by our Contract Lifting teams, meaning that we can competitively provide, not only plant handling support, but supplement your works using our in-house personnel.

We offer a vast range of contract lifting services from lorry loader through to telehandler, mobile, spider to crawler crane, and tower crane through to helicopter lifts.

Our industry leading contract lifting expertise is complimented by the Radius Tower Crane division. Radius has access to the world’s largest crane bank through partnership with NFT. Combining our own technical engineering knowledge, plus the manufacturers (Manitowoc Potain) global technical support, makes Radius a world leading provider in the Tower Crane rental business.

Tel: +44 (0) 1604 622 865 Email: info@radiusgroup.co.uk Visit: www.radiusgroup.co.uk

Delivering a bright energy future for high speed rail

We are experts in delivering network reliability for high speed railways through whole-life asset management. We own the total solution and its performance. A reliable service makes travel more convenient, easier for passengers to plan journeys and gives them confidence they will arrive on time.

Engineering the Overhead

Overhead Line Engineering Limited undertakes projects ranging in size from a few thousand pounds to several hundred thousand pounds and from initial feasibility to entry into service

OLE Limited’s team of engineers and technicians have experience in all types of overhead lines installed in the UK from the ex-DC systems dating from the 1930s right up to the latest UKMS range. This breadth and depth of experience enables the production of design solutions for any project.

A cornerstone of OLE Limited’s design approach is to utilise value engineering techniques to minimise the amount of work required whilst achieving the client remit and full compliance to Standards. This aligns with the Minimum Viable Product approach and results in reduced whole life costs, reducing both initial costs through reduced installation and operational costs with less infrastructure to maintain and ultimately renew.

Engineering excellence

OLE Limited work with a group specialist engineering suppliers covering Civil Engineering, EMC, dynamic simulation, structures, track, signalling and signal sighting. This established supply chain enables the provision of multi-disciplinary design packages which have the interfaces with all relevant engineering disciplines managed through the IDC process.

Projects

OLE Limited is supporting SPL Powerlines Group on the Midland Main Line Electrification project. A range of services is provided including system design for the upgrade of the existing Mark 3B OLE, detailed design, staged operational and isolation documentation, along with engineering staff. The system design has achieved dynamic compliance for 125mph multi pantograph operation on Mark 3B OLE, a first on the Network.

OLE Limited regularly works directly with Network Rail providing allocation design and, more recently, consultancy

services. Examples being emergency work in Stoke Newington tunnel and the assessment of the impact of new clearance rules.

OLE Limited is currently supporting AECOM on the design of power system upgrades at Bushey ATFS as part of the complex West Coast PSU project. This includes the first application of a Carrier Wire Neutral Section on UK1 OLE along with ATF and switching design.

OLE Limited is also working with Volker Rail on campaign change design in the LNW Route.

OLE Limited has designed further examples of its innovative headspan to portal conversion, as shown in the photograph below. This provides a low

cost solution to install a boom on existing headspan masts and foundations in order to provide mechanical independence and so eliminating the Achilles heel of headspan structures.

The conversion to a portal allows the OLE to for each line to be mechanically independent from the OLE on other lines which leads to a huge increase reliability as defects on one line are not cascaded to adjacent lines. It also simplifies future adjustment to the OLE as each line can be worked on independently.

Future Expansion

With our established office in Derby and a diverse range of clients across the rail

industry, OLE Limited is well placed to support a wide range of rail projects and the future CP7 work bank. It is expected that the company will expand over the next two years. OLE Limited is actively recruiting now and is always interested to hear from potential candidates. As Network Rail brings more work in house, OLE Limited will seek to form relationships with all Routes. OLE Limited believe that there is a bright future for rail electrification in the UK, if the challenge of value for money can be achieved. A significant factor is the production of highly accurate design to programme and this is the service that OLE Limited provides.

Accreditation

OLE Limited’s Business Management System is accredited to ISO 9001:2015 and holds RISQS accreditation for all codes relevant to OLE design.

Tel: 01332 342122 Email: contact@OLE-Limited.co.uk Visit: www.OLE-Limited.co.uk

L i m i t e d

Overhead Line Engineering Limited is an independent railway electrification design and consultancy business founded in 2008

Our team of highly experienced engineers has experience of all types of OLE installed in the UK for high speed, regional, metro and tram operation.

We provide a broad range of overhead line engineering services covering the whole lifecycle from project inception through design and construction to commissioning for new electrification, upgrades and renewals.

Current projects include Midland Main Line Electrification, Bushey Power Supply Upgrade and assessment of the impact of the new Vicinity Zone on Eastern Region.

We hold ISO 9001 and RISQS accreditations.

Outdoor Enclosures –the Unsung Heroes

Outdoor enclosures, the ones you see beside the road, on the pavement, trackside on the railways

Outdoor Enclosures the ones you walk past everyday without giving them a second thought.

These metal boxes, more often than not contain highly critical equipment that is fundamental to our everyday life. Broadband connection, the controls of signalling on the railways, the important instructions on overhead motorway gantries, these functions and many more impact our daily activity. It is these controls that make it possible for these enclosures to be housed out of sight, out of mind, it is not a bad thing, they are designed to be inconspicuous to the public.

Outdoor enclosures need to be many things, they have to be functional and flexible to house various forms of equipment, they have to aesthetically pleasing whilst also being secure enough to be placed in both remote and busy

public spaces. Surviving the elements is another critical feature, they could be placed outdoors for in excess of ten years whilst dealing with the hottest summers and harshest winters. So, whilst outdoor enclosures may seem a fairly innocuous feature there’s actually a great deal of design and innovation in them.

When equipment has to be placed outdoors, it’s not just one factor that has to be considered. Unlike indoor applications there are so many more variables that need to be taken into account.

Let’s talk about the weather for instance. Heat and humidity in the summer, cold and ice in the winter; not to mention the wind and rain. Faced with the elements the enclosures design, construction and material used needs to withstand everything the weather can throw at it. Using powder coated aluminium as the chosen material

for the enclosure means the enclosure is protected from the outside elements, at Rittal we also give the enclosure a double skin. Having a double skin does many things, it helps with the UV solar gain during warmer times protecting the equipment internally just that little bit more from overheating, Alternatively, if cooling (passive or active) is required, the dual casing makes this more manageable. A double skin also means additional heat when the temperature drops, rather than the heat dissipating quickly through the walls of the cabinet. Heat from the equipment or an internal heater means critical equipment can be kept at its optimum working temperature whether its summer or winter.

A double skin also means better protection from intentional or accidental damage. Outer skins can easily be replaced bringing the enclosure back to its original

condition whilst the inner skin protects the internal equipment whilst the repair works are being carried out. No need to replace the whole enclosure if only the outer shell is damaged.

Other key design features are the ones that keep outdoor elements outside. For outdoor enclosure one key element is the Ingress Protection (IP) rating achieved. We would suggest an IP55 rating as being sufficient for an outdoor enclosure. This means the cabinet is protected from wind driven rain and dust.

What is of great importance, is that the enclosure is designed so that standing water does not pool on the enclosure or sit on the enclosure seals. If the seals are protected, then the risk of leakage into the enclosure is low. Enclosures where water can sit for a prolonged period of time means eventually a breakdown in the seal material. If this standing water, then goes onto freeze it can cause a gap between the enclosure door and housing. Overhanging roofs that fully protect the enclosure door seal is an imperative

design feature that must not be overlooked when placing such a product outdoors.

Security is critical when placing an enclosure outdoors. Whether this be specific lock types dependant on customer and application, or maybe even remote access could be required. These features need to be options to give the end client peace of mind. Whether the cabinet is in a crowded busy town centre or an airport runway, access to the inside of the enclosure needs to be limited as much as possible to those who don’t have the authority.

Whilst the outer design of the cabinet is arguably the most important the internal layout of the cabinet needs to be versatile, flexible and also future proofed.

Technology moves at such a rate these days that in some instances by the time a system is deployed the electrical components within it have been superseded. By having a more flexible system for mounting within the cabinent, this offers the ability to upgrade at a later date using the existing enclosure. By doing so it reduces

the need for downtime, reduces labour and parts costs and overall saves the end client time and money by allowing a system to be online in a shorter timescale.

The need for outdoor systems is increasing due to the ever-expanding requirement for all things to be connected. This need will only increase in the future. It is paramount that when a system is to be placed outside serious consideration is given to the design of the housing that the critical infrastructure equipment will sit in. Whether it be telecoms, rail, airports or highways the overriding factors are the same. Protection from the outside world is key!

Company profile

Rittal, headquartered in Herborn, Hesse, Germany, is a leading global provider of solutions for industrial enclosures, power distribution, climate control and IT infrastructure, as well as software and services. Rittal solutions can be found in more than 90 percent of all industrial sectors worldwide.

Systems made by Rittal are deployed across a variety of industrial and IT applications, including vertical sectors such as the transport industry, power generation, mechanical and plant engineering, IT and telecommunications. Rittal is active worldwide with 9,300 employees and 58 subsidiaries. Its broad product range includes infrastructure solutions for modular and energy-efficient data centres with innovative concepts for the security of physical data and systems.

Tel: 01709 704000 Email: information@rittal.co.uk Visit: www.rittal.co.uk

Rittal outdoor enclosures

Engineering Excellence for the 21st Century

Founded in 2007, Encompass Engineering has been supporting customers with engineering

expertise for 15 years

full turnkey new rolling stock assurance from concept to fleet acceptance, along with rolling stock consultancy, project engineering, project management, system integration, safety and assurance services, cyber security, acoustics analysis, research projects, system design scrutiny and requirements breakdown, analysis, close out and management. The company provides all aspects of management, engineering, testing, manufacture, quality and assurance, and specialise in applying this to new build rolling stock and modification programs from start to finish. Having the technical skills required in-house allows Encompass Engineering to offer customers bespoke, turnkey solutions and be agile and responsive to its customer’s needs.

Engineering Expertise

Made up of experienced project managers and specialist engineers, the team at Encompass Engineering works closely with its customers to deliver senior management advice, technical specialist help and general project guidance. They specialise in undertaking detailed reviews of rolling stock designs to ensure these assets meet contractual, legal, and quality standards and seamlessly integrate with the rail infrastructure. In the last couple of years, cyber security within rail and working on research projects have also become areas of focus for the team.

Celebrating its 16th anniversary this year, Encompass has an impressive span of projects that affirms its specialist status in its fields of expertise. Having worked on

projects including the new class 720 fleet for Greater Anglia, ‘S’ stock for London Underground, Wood Lane underground station new build, White City underground sidings and boasting as the lead engineering team for Rock Rail on a number of their new build fleet projects, demonstrates the companies abilities and its extensive knowledge of both the underground and overground rail networks.

Delivering an end-to-end service

The specialist team of engineers and project managers at Encompass have the skills and expertise to deliver an entire project – from planning and development of procurement specifications and rolling stock design concepts to fault-free testing and ongoing asset management. The range of services Encompass offers include

One of Encompass Engineering's core strengths is the expertise of its engineers and their technical capabilities. The company has a solid grounding in both electrical and mechanical engineering, covering all areas. Scrutinising designs, drawings, and schematics to analysis, calculations and installations of many systems. The company has dedicated rail vehicle engineers and its technical team is complemented by the project engineering and project management teams.

Requirements Management

Encompass Engineering is experienced in requirements management, being able to define customer needs using a five-step principle it has developed. The team breaks the requirements down, simplify them and work with suppliers and customers to manage them through the design and testing phases and provide a full audit trail to their customers when the project is complete.

Protection from cyber threats

The importance of staying safe from cybercrime has heightened with the increasing use of digital technology in the

rail industry. With modern trains now using operating systems to run and increased digitalisation to provide a more seamless customer experience, cyber security is fast becoming a top priority.

Encompass Engineering provides expertise in securing systems and a platform to safeguard company systems. The team works with clients and manufacturers to break down the process of evaluating risks and implementing robust mitigation to comply with ISA/IEC 62443 – an international series of standards that address cyber security for operational

technology in automation and control systems. Encompass has developed a simplified process for steering customers through compliance with IEC 62443, which includes an evaluation of the design, a review of the modifications, and testing and validation of the mitigations to minimise the risk of a cyber-attack.

Turnkey Solutions

Encompass Engineering prides itself on being able to provide turnkey solutions to its customers. It can provide the full suite of services for a project, from concept through to handover, working closely with customers and other stakeholders. Whether it be at the contract specification phase or the final test, inspection and handover phase, Encompass Engineering has the capabilities to cover the whole end-to-end life cycle of a project. The team can adapt their approaches to the specific needs of the customer using their guiding principles of working closely with the customer and being transparent in all activities.

Why work with Encompass Engineering?

Abellio, Rock Rail, Greater Anglia, West Midlands Trains, the RSSB and TfL are just some of the businesses that trust and

value the work Encompass does for them. That is because Encompass prides itself on its personal approach. The company does not sit in a contractual bubble on the side and always strive to add value for its customers. The Encompass Engineering team of specialists slots straight into their customer's project team, working onsite and at their offices. They become an extension of the team so they can respond quickly to the needs of the customer, providing an unparalleled level of service.

Working closely with customers and industry stakeholders to gain real insight into their businesses enables Encompass Engineering to deliver the in-depth management, advisory, value-added quality and technical engineering services its customers need.

For more information on the services offered by Encompass Engineering, visit the Encompass Engineering website or contact the team using the details below.

Tel: 01332 323060

Email: enquiries@encompass-engineering.com Visit: encompass-engineering.com

Engineering Excellence for the 21st century

We have been providing specialist consultancy and advisory services to the rail industry for 15 years.

• We deliver exceptional service with an unrelenting focus on value creation, innovation, operational excellence and quality.

• We provide our customers with a specialist team of skilled engineers and project managers that can slot straight into their existing project teams.

• Our customer-first approach, where we integrate ourselves with our customers, allows us to understand our customer’s needs and deliver a more customerfocused service.

www.encompass-engineering.com +44 (0) 1332 323060 enquiries@encompass-engineering.com

‘Encompass Engineering delivers exceptional client service with an unrelenting focus on value creation, innovation, operational excellence and quality.’

The Long Journey to Net Zero

Helping organisations become Verified Carbon Neutral in a measurable, meaningful and potentially self-funding way

Auditel is a team of carbon footprint consultants who help organisations like yours reduce their carbon emissions and costs at the same time. The company’s net zero carbon consultants and carbon footprint experts help its clients on their journey towards Net Zero by simplifying the process. It begins with a couple of easy steps, which could lead you to be verified as Carbon Neutral within twelve months, to an internationally recognised standard. Using its procurement expertise Auditel makes sure any action taken to improve your environmental credentials have a strong and potentially self-funding business case because being Carbon Neutral doesn’t need to cost the Earth.

Achieve BSI specification for carbon neutrality

With the UK Government’s commitment to a low carbon world and net zero targets by 2050, the drive to carbon neutrality and achieving net zero is dominating organisations’ future decision-making. However, many organisations believe the changes that they will have to make to achieve net zero carbon emissions will be time-consuming, costly and with all the conflicting information, a little daunting. This is far from the truth, as there are many incentives to help businesses become greener and leaner without costing the earth.

Using Auditel’s simple four step process (shown in Fig 2), experienced carbon neutral consultants can help your organisation

demystify and provide clarity to this complex subject of achieving net zero. Auditel’s carbon management consulting services deliver expert guidance and resources so you can achieve an NQA or BSI recognised specification for carbon neutrality (PAS 2060) as soon as possible, while you progress on the longer-term net zero journey.

A Pedigree spanning 27 years

Founded in 1994, Auditel was established to help organisations make effective and informed procurement decisions within a rapidly evolving energy market. Since then, Auditel has built a strong network of over 100 procurement and carbon consultants and is now one of the leading Cost, Procurement and Carbon Solutions in the UK. Auditel’s Procurement and carbon footprint consultants work alongside your existing Finance, Operational and Procurement teams providing the external guidance your organisation requires. The team can help its clients on their journey to Net Zero without the usual associated costs, for many it is self-funding and for some its actually profitable. Auditel delivers solutions that will enable your organisation to achieve independent accreditation of carbon neutrality. By combining the expertise of its Carbon Strategy Group with its experience in cost management, and partnering with the British Standards Institute, Auditel is assisting clients towards currently the only internationally recognised standard PAS2060.

Reducing your carbon footprint and emissions

In the current challenging economic climate, organisations are battling with the desire to drive growth and profitability, whilst investing in low carbon emitting technologies to reduce their carbon footprint and speed up their journey to achieving Net Zero. With the UK firmly embedded in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in which disruptive

technologies and trends are changing the way we live and work, the need for an organisation’s procurement function to embrace new ideas and technologies within their supply chain has never been greater.

It is not uncommon when Auditel first engages with an organisation that they believe that their procurement is under control, and any improvements which could be achieved would be insignificant and not worth pursuing. Many organisations believe that ‘as long as the spend is within budget and the supplier is delivering in accordance with the contract and service level agreement, then all is well.’

This is a natural response and it is a fully understandable initial reaction. However, without independent benchmarking and validation of pricing, service level arrangements and now the impact that supplier has on your Carbon Footprint, it’s impossible to know if you are receiving value for money or have the right supplier to help you achieve your carbon reduction plans.

From Auditel’s 27 years of experience, working with thousands of clients, organisations are typically over-paying for goods and services by up to 50 per cent whilst missing out on innovation. If addressed, this can have a dramatic reduction on your Carbon Footprint and the profitability of your organisation.

Working to verified standards

Auditel believes that any claims made regarding GHG emissions (Carbon Footprint) needs to stand up to the closest of scrutiny. With an increasing demand from consumers, investors, media, staff, and the public for accurate and meaningful measurement of an organisations carbon footprint, it has never been more important to ensure clients can trust in its work.

All member firms of Auditel are required to have every Carbon Footprint Report they produce verified as an accurate and true reflections of the subject’s emissions. This internal verification process will assess the inventory work and subsequent report

content, based on either PAS2060:2014, PPN 06/21 or ISO 14064-1 requirements.

All internal verification will be carried out to ISO 14064-3 standards by a financially independent arm of the Auditel network. This will be another member firm with no financial interest in the project being verified.

With every Auditel Carbon Inventory & Report having a separate Verifiers Statement following this stringent internal review process, you can trust in the work produced and stand tall in a world increasingly plagued by false or misleading environmental claims.

Auditel believes that a small investment of time and money at the early stages of your carbon journey to ensure accurate reporting, will deliver long term benefit and reduced risk as the world’s media increasingly holds us all to account for our environmental claims.

Carbon reduction and cost reduction

Auditel’s carbon footprint consultants have been hand-picked to join the company due to their lifetime of experience gained during senior careers within their chosen area of expertise. Auditel understands its client’s business challenges, having worked in their sector implementing thousands of similar projects over the last 27 years.

Auditel’s consultants really know what ‘best value’ looks like and can uncover opportunities to decarbonise, reduce costs, improve supplier service and quality, and deliver innovation into your supply chain. Its knowledge and understanding of the supplier markets provide you with an

enhanced negotiating position and by using its bespoke analytical tools and tendering processes, Auditel can deliver impressive results quickly, with limited disruption or input needed by you and your staff.

Negotiating from a position of knowledge, its specialists will help you avoid any contractual pitfalls that would disadvantage your organisation. Having supply-side expertise on your team ensures that any contracts that are put in place between you and your suppliers will be reviewed in detail, to safeguard your organisation from unfair clauses and protect you from unjustified price rises. During the implementation process, our specialists, who will be working alongside your employees, will ensure they are fully trained and supported in dealing with the supplier – eradicating maverick spend and holding suppliers to account, whilst adhering to the agreed prices and service levels.

Tel: 01635 760802

Email: barry.harwell@auditel.co.uk Visit: auditel.co.uk/barryharwell

FIVE PILLARS OF SUPPORT

• Resource: Dedicated resource that adds considerable weight to your current procurement and sustainability team.

• Knowledge: Detailed procurement and decarbonisation knowledge of what best value looks like and how to achieve it.

• Expertise: Hand-picked procurement specialists negotiating on your behalf, who have long careers working in over 100 different expenditure areas.

• Tools: Unique carbon foot printing and procurement analytical tools that make sense of complex dataallowing you to make informed decisions.

• Buying Power: Access to serious buying power due to supplier relationships and unique pricing frameworks exclusive to Auditel.

RAPID EASY TO INSTALL LOWER PROJECT COST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

Concrete Canvas (CC) is a flexible concrete filled geotextile that hardens on hydration to form a thin, durable, water proof, lower carbon concrete layer. The material is used as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional concreting solutions, such as sprayed, poured and pre-cast concrete for channel lining and slope protection. Essentially, it’s Concrete on a Roll™ and is rapidly becoming material of choice for engineers and contractors around the world.

With installation times of over 400m² per hour, CC offers significant cost savings over using conventional methods. As an effective weed suppressant, CC reduces future maintenance costs associated with unlined channels.

CC enables consultants and contractors to fulfill Network Rail CP6 contract requirements with respect to: reducing CO₂ footprint; making use of locally sourced products; Network Rail working with SME’s; providing value for money; reducing H&S requirement; minimising line possession; remediation of existing assets.

Used by leading contractors on projects for Network Rail, Transport for London, Highways England, the Environment Agency and local authorities, simply unroll the CC and...

Concrete Canvas offer lunchtime CPD accredited presentations to consultants and certified training sessions for Contractors. Please contact info@concretecanvas.com or visit www.concretecanvas.com for further information.

What is Sustainable Construction?

HS2 and the use of Geosynthetic Cementitious Composite Mats, working towards sustainable construction

The theme of sustainability and carbon reduction is currently a huge driver for change across multiple sectors. Here in Britain, the Government has legally committed the UK to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050.

It is estimated that the construction industry accounts for around 45 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions. As a result, the construction industry must find ways of improving its practices for more sustainable operations. HS2 Ltd is taking significant steps to reduce the impact of their construction work on the environment.

GCCMs (Geosynthetic Cementitious Composite Mats) for the rail sector

The cement industry is one of the two largest producers of CO₂. It is estimated that around 4.1 billion tonnes of cement were produced in 2020, along with a resulting 1.5 billion tonnes of CO₂.

Concrete Canvas Ltd’s Technical Manager, Lee Church says: ‘Concrete has been around for thousands of years. We’re aware that it produces carbon but you can’t just stop using concrete; it’s an essential building material, so we just need to be a bit more selective and creative in how we use it. That’s where GCCMs come in.’

GCCMs are used for erosion control and weed suppression applications across multiple sectors worldwide. One of the largest markets for GCCMs in the UK is the Rail sector. For HS2, GCCMs were specified over ST4 poured concrete to line crest perimeter drainage channels – the material’s biggest use for the rail network in the UK over the last ten years.

Crest drainage is typically required to prevent saturation of embankments and potential slip onto a track below as a result. On Compound 1 the application was required to prevent flooding of the site.

GCCMs have been specified for numerous projects within the HS2 scheme as a temporary solution, replacing ST4 poured concrete with the channels designed to

be removed when the compounds are no longer required.

Broadly, use of the environmentally friendly, lower carbon alternative to traditional concrete for HS2 is contributing to reduction of the scheme’s carbon footprint. In simple figures, a lifecycle report from Ricardo Energy and Environment (Ricardo) compared the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of lining a channel in an 8mm Type II GCCM (as specified by ASTM D8364) versus using 150mm of ST4 poured concrete and found that the GCCM has a GWP 45 per cent less than that of the ST4 poured concrete.

More specifically, GCCMs assist in protecting the scheme’s construction environments, as well as reducing waste and carbon emissions through transportation.

Environment

HS2 Ltd are working to deliver Britain’s biggest environmental project through ‘miles of ecological and landscape investments’ in England.

To date, 60 new habitats have been created along the route, including grasslands, ponds and plantings to wildlife. In addition, 350,000 trees have been planted as part of the objective to plant a total of seven million trees and shrubs along the route over the course of the project.

GCCMs are a fantastic, environmentally friendly, lower carbon solution for durable concrete applications, without the mess associated with the installation of poured and sprayed concretes due to rebound or potential environmental damage as a result of the cement content.

One of the largest markets for GCCMs in the UK is the Rail sector.

Materials and waste

HS2 plans to use the chalk that will be excavated during boring of the Chiltern tunnels to create and plant a new habitat at such a scale – drastically reducing waste associated with the tunnel boring.

Further waste reduction on the site was provided by the unique properties of a GCCM. Lee Church explains: ‘One bulk roll of our CC8™ material is the equivalent of two 6m³ ready-mix concrete trucks. Our material is supplied dry, so, you’re not premixing it then transporting it to site and it’s a lot lighter, quicker and easier to install,

and then you just use the available water sources that you have nearby to hydrate the material.’

Why use Type II GCCMs for HS2?

Invented and manufactured with the environment in mind, GCCMs have a low washout rate, low alkaline reserve and phthalate free PVC to minimise environmental impact. Furthermore, the top surface promotes growth of carbon neutralising organisms. The installation process itself is capable of entirely eliminating material waste.

In assisting the journey to carbon neutrality on Britain’s biggest infrastructure project, Concrete Canvas is simultaneously helping to work towards the UK’s aim to achieve net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050 by providing a solution capable of contributing to a more sustainable construction industry.

For further information, get in touch via the contact information below.

Tel: 0345 680 1908 Visit: www.concretecanvas.com

A bulk roll of a Type II GCCM is the equivalent of two 6m³ ready-mix concrete trucks.

The fibrous top surface layer of Concrete Canvas is the perfect surface for the growth of moss and algae, particularly in channel lining applications in the UK climate.

A bulk roll of a Type II GCCM being installed.

Ace Every Test

A professional and customer focused accredited laboratory with experience in diverse industrial sectors testing products for vibration, climatic, corrosive atmospheres, ingress protection and shock

Axis Test Laboratories is a provider of comprehensive environmental testing that enables designers and engineers to qualify and evaluate the behaviour and performance of their products whilst ensuring all legal requirements are satisfied. With experience in offshore, deep sea, rail, road and military product approvals, the procedures employed by Axis Test Laboratories can be applied to highlight where the exposure to environmental conditions can present a potential hazard or cause performance issues to equipment.

The company was established in 2010 to meet the testing requirements of the marine and subsea sectors, and has expanded so it now provides environmental testing to industries ranging from; rail, military, aerospace, industrial, as well as packaging and transportation testing.

The team are on hand to offer extensive advice, drawing from the experiences of an expert team of Engineers to guide customers through every step of the testing process. This expertise allows Axis Test Laboratories to provide insight and potential solutions, to shorten development times and help reduce

the costs by finalising an optimal design as quickly as possible.

Vibration testing / Shock testing

Vibration testing involves the repeated oscillation about a central point at a specific level and frequency, meant to mimic the

effects of ‘shaking’ experienced by products in everyday use. This shaking can be a result of nearby reciprocal machinery or the uneven road surface experienced during transportation from factory to customer. Imbalances in the construction can stress the materials and cause metal fatigue, which can result in cracks, fractures and breakages resulting in the product not being able to carry out its intended function and potentially resulting in injury. Vibration testing identifies weaknesses in the construction and can locate problems before they occur.

The assessment is not just limited to the physical observations. For many products, full functionality is a requirement, particularly for safety critical equipment. As part of the vibration test schedule at Axis Test Laboratories, inputs and outputs of systems can be monitored to ensure no loss in signal or degradation of performance and that the equipment under test continues to function as normal both after and during any testing experience.

Corrosive atmospheres

Axis Test Laboratories can offer tailored testing strategies to give a broad analysis of how a product is affected by exposure to

corrosive atmospheres. Multiple exposure periods are offered, ranging from several days to multiple weeks depending on the specified requirements.

Corrosion testing involves creating a damp, warm, high concentration salt atmosphere in which a product can be observed to see how resistant the materials are to the corrosive effects of the chemicals which occur naturally in outside conditions.

The effects of a corrosive atmospheres can adversely affect the performance of products, and can even render products useless. Corrosion testing, as performed at Axis Test Laboratories is an efficient way to ensure the effectiveness of protective coatings and to identify any areas that may cause issues over the lifetime of a product.

Climatic testing

Climatic testing is useful in various industries to examine the effects that extremities of environmental conditions have on the functionality and reliability of products. Climate can affect the structural integrity of materials, can contribute to unexpected problems with electronics and interfere with safety critical sensors.

Performed to the highest of good engineering practices and by the methods

outlined in BS EN 60068. Testing is carried out with accreditation from UKAS ensuring confidence in the robustness of the practices, precision of the equipment and accuracy of reporting.

The following conditions are trialled as part of the climatic testing at Axis Test Laboratories:

• Cold – simulates the effects of freezing conditions and general areas of low temperature such as what may be experienced in the Arctic and Siberia.

• Dry heat – ideal for simulation of hot, dry conditions such as engine rooms and deserts.

• Humidity – this test can detect problems caused by damp atmospheres. Changing humidity and temperature can cause condensation to form in areas of the product which may inhibit correct operation.

Rail and rolling stock

It is essential that rail equipment is proven to be safe and reliable, and is able to withstand any harsh environment. Axis Test Laboratories provides a range of suite testing to ensure that all equipment meets the rail industry requirements.

The types of testing done includes:

• Vibration.

• Shock and bump.

• Salt mist and corrosive atmospheres.

• Cold, Dry heat, Cyclic Humidity, High/ Low Temperature Storage.

• EMC, Stress and Voltage Testing.

The unique business model Axis Test Laboratories employs enables customers to send their equipment from anywhere in the world to their laboratory in Durham for environmental testing, and receive a full test report back within ten days or less of the completion of testing. For more information or to speak to the team, get in touch via the contact information below.

Tel: 0191 3784653

Email: info@axistestlaboratories.co.uk

Visit: www.axistestlaboratories.co.uk

Address: Axis Test Laboratories

Unit 11A, Oakway Court, Meadowfield Industrial Estate, Meadowfield, Durham DH7 8XD

Test Instrument Specialists

Acutest is a test instrument specialist with over 32 years of experience and has strong and lasting partnerships across many different industries

The company can streamline the way you buy, hire and service your test instruments and you can benefit from its deep industry knowledge and gold- standard support and aftercare. Acutest also offers bespoke, on-site training services if you require.

Acutest prides itself on understanding a customer’s daily challenges and application requirements before formulating a considered solution. This is an invaluable service supported by a team of external account managers who have the experience and expertise required for effective on-site product demonstrations.

Approved instrument portals

Acutest can very quickly set up an ‘Approved Instrument Portal’ for your business. This handy online resource will list your approved instruments but it’s much more than that, your staff can log into your own company-branded portal and easily view your approved equipment via a user-friendly dashboard. Intuitive categories, contract prices and product information are only a click away, meaning the correct products can be available to your staff to ensure compliance with your purchasing policy. You’ll also benefit from product videos and technical data sheets to aid in correct usage. Consolidated invoicing can be activated for a more streamlined, accurate and efficient procurement process.

Keep track of your assets and keep them in good working order:

• In addition to the portal discussed above, Acutest also offer an asset management portal for calibration and servicing which many customers could not imagine operating without.

• This portal will save you time, effort and frustration by tracking your assets’ service history and helping you to keep your test instruments in good health. You can easily view and manage your

instruments’ calibration status via the user-friendly dashboard, with electronic certification at your fingertips – available 24/7! It can also be customised to include your company logo.

• The latest development of the portal has seen mobile functionality improve with a QR scanner which allows users to scan all calibrated devices whilst out in the field, perfect for compliance spot checks!

All of the above features will help you formulate your calibration policies, so get in touch with Acutest today to arrange a demonstration, either via video conferencing, or at your premises.

Acutest’s Calibration Capabilities

Acutest can calibrate the following test equipment: electrical, high voltage, pressure, torque, acoustic, chemical, dimensional, force, gas, humidity, moisture, temperature plus lifting accessories.

Traceable calibration- ISO 9001:2015/

ISO 10012:2003. This is the standard calibration offered by Acutest. Traceable calibration is generally selected by companies within the contracting industry and is widely regarded as the accepted standard by the UK registration bodies.

UKAS Calibration – ISO 17025:2017 is the highest level of calibration Acutest offer. Accreditation by UKAS means Acutest have been assessed against internationally recognised standards and have demonstrated competence, impartiality and performance capability.

UK coverage

A fleet of vans provide secure collection and delivery services and four strategically located service centres ensure full UK coverage.

Acutest is proud to employ a growing team of over 20 highly skilled engineers who deliver calibration and repair services at their state-of-the-art laboratory or onsite at their customer’s premises. If you

One of Acutest’s Services Includes Bespoke, On-site Training at Your Premises!

book an instrument calibration or repair with Acutest, you can be confident your instruments are left in good hands.

Onsite calibration Service

Acutest recognises the importance of keeping a customer’s engineering force working.

Year after year it continues to see a rise in the popularity of its on-site calibration services. Acutest’s experienced engineers are well-versed in working within a customer’s premises, both safely and efficiently. In doing so, they are able to reduce downtime whilst being on hand to offer helpful advice on the effective use of many assets. In addition to a faster service, if a customer enjoys the benefits of a Calibration Portal, all the onsite calibrations carried out will be visible; access to certificates and status updates will be available 24/7!

New instrumentation

With testing and measurement being a key part of many engineering roles, a customer’s

requirement for new instrumentation is usually planned but can sometimes be of an urgent nature. With stock holdings in excess of £1.6 million across many brands and disciplines, Acutest is able to support planned procurement and last minute or emergency purchases.

Who do Acutest supply?

Acutest is a trusted partner to over 4,000 customers operating across many sectors including the utilities, street works and rail sectors, facilities maintenance teams, manufacturing, processing and industrial plants as well as individual contractors and electricians.

RSN RAIL EXPO 2022

Acutest exhibited at Rolling Stock Networking (RSN) on 7 July 2022 and would like to thank Kevin and Sue for making it a great show and for having the chance to demonstrate its Calibration Portal (https://www. acutestdirect.co.uk/blog/compliance/ calibration-management-software) and discuss test equipment perfect for rail applications (www.acutestdirect.co.uk/ blog/rail). All on one day, under one roof!

New Glasgow Service Centre

With many customers working across the length and breadth of the UK, Acutest has identified the need to have a greater local representation in Scotland. In 2022 Acutest opened its fourth service centre: Unit 2 Jubilee Court, Montrose Avenue, Hillington Park, Glasgow - G52 4LB.

Opening Offer: Free Calibration For All New Customers – For More Info & Terms: https:// www.acutestdirect.co.uk/blog/events/freecalibration-in-glasgow

Test Instrument Hire

Acutest understands the benefits of hiring test equipment and have recently increased the awareness of its hire services with a dedicated section on their website. This showcases proven solutions so you can be confident in the usability and reliability of every piece of kit.

For more information and to view all the products Acutest offers to hire, visit: www.acutestdirect.co.uk/hire-test-equipment

Ambitions for the future?

Continued expansion of the calibration laboratory with new capabilities in personal gas monitoring devices, on-site high-voltage and airflow test equipment calibration.

Tel: 01782 563030

Email: sales@acutest-ukti.co.uk Visit: www.acutestdirect.co.uk

LinkedIn: Acutest Supply Calibration

Acutest are HV Calibration Specialists

Newcastle-under-Lyme

New Digitally Printed Carpet Designs

Designed specifically for rail interiors, ‘Coral Move Vision FR’ is an exceptionally versatile, premium cut pile carpet solution offering extensive design possibilities and colourways to complement a wide range of interior design schemes

Aluxurious made-to-order carpet, manufactured from 100 per cent regenerated Econyl yarn, that delivers aesthetic styling, durability, and long-lasting appearance retention, as required for heavily trafficked carriage interiors.

Being digitally printed, it allows for a virtually limitless number of aesthetic styles and makes non-linear type designs possible. It is perfect for more complicated designs or when there are many different colourways within a design. All Pantone and RAL

colours can be matched to.

The new core collection consists of eight designs. Each design is available in several colourways, giving a total offering of 82 references. If you don’t see what you are looking for in this collection, Forbo Flooring Systems can re-scale/re-colour any of the designs or you can work with its dedicated design team on an individual project basis to ensure that the resulting Coral Move Vision FR carpet meets your bespoke design and colour requirements.

• Extensive customisation possibilities.

• Underfoot comfort, slip resistance and outstanding acoustic properties.

• Durability and appearance retention due to 100 per cent nylon construction.

• Made with Econyl 100 per cent regenerated yarns.

• Natural latex backing from rapidly renewable source.

• Ease of maintenance thanks to open cut pile construction.

• Reaction to fire EN45545-2: HL2.

• Available with different backing options for quicker installation.

Shown

Quicker installation solutions

As an alternative to fully adhering the floor covering to the subfloor, Coral Move Vision FR can also be supplied with different backing options designed to improve efficiencies in time, cost, and operation throughout the life of the rail vehicle. The ‘PRO-FIT’ hook and loop solution for example has numerous advantages over traditional fully bonded adhesive systems, resulting in cost savings for train operators thanks to:

• Quicker and easier installation and replacement.

• No need to wait for the adhesive to dry.

• No waiting time before the carpet can be walked on.

• Immediate use of the train after installation.

The optional backing solutions cannot be added to latex-backed material after production, so the required backing type must be clearly specified at the time of ordering.

From how they're made to how they perform, Forbo Flooring Systems makes outstanding floor covering products that are truly sustainable.

100 per cent green electricity from renewable sources

Of all the electricity Forbo Flooring Systems buys, 100 per cent comes from renewable sources. This means the Coral Move Vision FR production site is part of an effective environmental management system and has achieved ISO 14001 certification.

Zero landfill

Virtually zero landfill is achieved by the Coral Move Vision FR manufacturing plant.

Reuse waste

All the waste yarn from the Coral Move Vision FR production is re-used by the yarn supplier. The search for new ways to reduce its environmental impact has led Forbo Flooring Systems to work very closely with forward thinking suppliers who are able to incorporate ever higher levels of recycled content in their materials.

Econyl® yarn

Coral Move Vision FR floorcoverings use Econyl® yarn which is made from used and abandoned fishing nets. Using Econyl® is a way to reduce existing waste, avoid additional manufacturing-related pollution, and keep the consumption of natural resources and energy to a minimum.

Problem Solving

As suppliers to many Network Rail Tier 1 and 2 contractors WM Plant

Hire prides itself on its commitment and solution focused approach

Safety and service are central to Network Rail’s approach and their expectation of suppliers to support their work is no different with stipulations to help them ‘…sustainably to deliver world-class safety’ enabled by a ‘…collaborative, innovative, value adding relationship.’

The selection of construction equipment for current schemes across CP6 (2019-2024) and looking forward to CP7 demands careful consideration not only for sustainability and in terms of environmental credentials, but also capability of specialist plant to ensure safety and efficiency during operations.

Long reach excavator specialists, WM Plant Hire, with a wide-ranging fleet from four to 115 tonnes continue to invest to ensure that they have the capability to tackle almost every eventuality. Whilst the reach

is always a major factor, access constraints usually dictate the size of the machine and so the company continues to extend its offering in this specialist market.

WM Plant Hire’s fleet includes wide track – low ground pressure long reach machines, zero-tail swing excavators that fully rotate within the width of the tracks and ‘Spider’ or ‘Walking’ excavators that can access where tracked machines are unable to go. At 14 tonnes, the largest Spider machine can work on steep slopes, in deep water and climb over obstacles such as fencing and safety barriers and has successfully completed some critical projects.

With involvement in the rail sector approaching 30 years WM Plant Hire has developed its expertise working on numerous high-profile contracts including HS1, HS2, Evergreen, Crossrail,

and Hope Valley Upgrade, together with numerous emergency schemes and blockades predominantly across the south. Open communication and great working relationships with Network Rail contractors on these schemes has allowed selection of excavators with optimum reach, with resulting efficiencies in the operations undertaken. WM Plant Hire also offers experienced and dedicated long reach operators which it believes gives the customer the very best in safe and productive working.

Commitment to Safety and Environment

Working closely with the equipment manufacturer on the exact machine specification ensures that safety features are enhanced wherever possible to meet the stringent requirements of rail operations.

CAT 390 carrying out piling works in Leeds with Spencer Group

The company offers the full range of machine control systems (height, lift, slew, envelope control) as well as additional safety features including LED lighting, 360 all vision cameras with boom and dipper cameras to maximise safety.

Working on the Hope Valley Railway Upgrade – a Joint Venture between VolkerRail, and Story Contracting, site access constraints required the use of different long reach machines. Working at the Bamford end, the larger CASE CX370 22-metre-long reach machine was fitted with the latest Network Rail approved Xwatch full envelope control system with safe load indicator. This system not only provides track lock but also records the machine operations via a data logger. Visibility is enhanced using all round vision 360 cameras fitted to the machine providing an extra level of safety. At the Dore end of the line to the east, a zero tail swing CAT 321 long reach with 16-metre reach but with the same safety features is working along a narrow corridor in a wooded area restricted by Natural England. This machine is no wider than the track width and so can travel in this confined area.

But of course, one of key safety features of the long reach excavator is the fact that operations can be carried out at a safe distance and with minimal disruption to the rail network by allowing lines to remain open.

WM Plant Hire has shown its commitment to environmental improvements across the fleet with the latest Stage V engines and low emission technology, using alternative greener fuels such as HVO and most recently exploring ways to better record their carbon footprint.

‘As part of the supply chain we remain committed to working with clients to help

them achieve their net zero targets in their operations by demonstrating cleaner and more efficient operations and providing machinery with better fuel consumption and environmental credentials’ says Director Damian McGettrick. Productivity through efficiency and sustainable engineering practices are both things as a Chartered Civil Engineer and past Chairman of the ICE West Midlands region, he is keen to help deliver for his clients.

Collaboration with Clients

Collaboration with clients to ensure the selection of the right machinery to facilitate the most efficient operations is important. Recently working with The Spencer Group, the flagship CAT 390 long reach machine proved instrumental in piling works during the White Rose rail possession in Leeds. The 30-metre outreach was crucial in providing the capability in the working zone from the toe of the slope up to the railway at the top, operating from behind fencing and barriers. Despite significant access challenges to get such a large machine to site due to its location, the company was able to develop a solution to deliver the machine in parts for reassembly on site. This ‘can do’ approach ensured these important works went ahead meeting stringent timescales.

Reaching where others can’t

Rail embankment sites often face real challenges with access constraints. Innovative approaches using machines within the WM fleet have improved efficiencies in embankment schemes by overcoming some of these problems. Where tracked long reach options are just not an option the ‘Spider’ machine comes into its own. With the capability to work directly on steep slopes up to 35-degrees, the

machine was able to help support a drainage culvert repair in Wales at a remote site in Llanbrynmair with CML.

Fitted with a tilt-rotate unit the machine was able to place rock at any angle required, a feature also extremely useful for grading operations. In Highbridge working with Scour Protection Ltd, the same machine was instrumental in enabling the completion of a scheme to protect a critical Network Rail bridge from scour by the River Brue. Capable of working in depths of water up to two metres using its independent legs and floatation tyres to climb and manoeuvre over the rocky, clay ground it was able to help position the scour mats easily.

‘Any normal machine would get stuck, but the Spider made light work of this!’ said Scour Protection Director Chris Drake.

Emergency Embankment Works

Due to seasonal heavy rain the embankments along the Sussex route and Kent routes continue to be impacted by landslips.

Network Rail has been working hard to tackle this with WM Plant specialist long reach machines mobilised to assist numerous emergency schemes. As part of the Sussex route Edenbridge emergency works the remit was a king post wall renewal at both crest and toe of the embankment made challenging by having a gas main and HV at the toe, as well as embankment remediation. The impressive 18.5-metre reach provided by the CASE CX250 was able to support these remediation works and allow operations to be completed at a safer distance.

At Wadhurst in Kent Network Rails Principal Contractor responded to an emergency works call in in the early hours of the morning while no trains were running; WM Plant Hire mobilising quickly to support their installation of a toe retention ballast bag wall using a 17-metre CASE CX210.

Looking to the Future

Ensuring customers benefit from new innovations and investment is particularly important to this family business. With its passion and dedication, the company actively seeks feedback from clients to ensure investment reflects customer needs. Most recently they have been looking to improve efficiency and widen the applications of their specialist equipment. Recognising limitations of available equipment and the need for ever more specialist machinery to minimise manual handling, WM Plant Hire plans to keep pushing the boundaries and further develop its offering to customers with more extreme versions of the current kit and dedicated attachments.

For more information, get in touch via the contact information below.

Tel: 01746 769555 Email: info@wmplanthire.com Visit: wmplanthire.com

Spider excavator placing rocks for drainage on railway slope

Future Proofing Tools by Majorlift

Majorlift Hydraulic Equipment is a Bristol based manufacturer of specialist lifting equipment

Established in 1971, Majorlift has been designing and manufacturing lifting equipment for use in automotive, aerospace and defence applications and is now being asked to supply specialist lifting equipment for rail applications. It has developed a standard range of tools for handling components up to one tonne in weight, although it has the technology to lift all the way up to 40 tonnes.

Increasingly, Majorlift is being asked to work alongside the depot’s H&S team to develop safe methods of removing large, often heavy and frequently awkward shaped components from carriages, locos and wagons.

The most recent example of this is where Majorlift has been asked to provide tooling for the safe removal and refitting of the Holset on the Class 15X unit, fitted with a Cummins diesel engine, in service with GWR at Exeter. The Holset performs as an intermediate clutch on the prop shaft and is prone to wear.

Before Majorlift’s involvement, this was a three-day job, requiring the engine to be dropped so the train was out of service and there was also potential for serious injury. Having worked successfully on previous projects, Majorlift was invited to review the procedure by GWR’s H&S team. Following an initial visit, a tool was produced, offered up, adjusted for fit and taken off site for completion and painting. The final product was delivered to site and GWR were astonished to find the Holset could now be replaced by two people in under three hours. This freed up the train to get back into revenue earning service. Due to the way the adaptor is held and manipulated, it is a very safe operation, with much reduced risk of injury.

Another stunning feature is that the Holset tool is fitted as an attachment to Majorlift’s proven Rail Jack, and so is a highly economical adaptor, rather than a completely new tool. This makes the Rail Jack a productive and very cost-effective addition to the workshop.

The adaptors have already been designed for use with accumulators, fans, gearboxes and alternators fitted beneath carriages and engines.

Although the Rail Jack runs on the pit floor, designers are encouraged to include a ‘jack rail’ in all new pits being installed. This allows users to future proof their facility by building in the ability to run lifting equipment – such as the industry leading commercial pit jack – along the length of the bay to support, remove and refit heavy components from anywhere under the carriage, wagon or locomotive being maintained.

Design and manufacture of all of the products happens at the factory just outside of Bristol. Using 3D Computer modelling ensures that components are not over stressed and will be stable in use. Majorlift can also use the same software to model the underside of the rail vehicles and the pit to ensure it has the necessary space to carry out the work and to design mountings to fit the unit being serviced.

Majorlift’s manufacturing facility uses modern CNC technology to machine 95 per cent of the product from raw materials –including all the rams and cylinders, power packs and air motors. Retaining this inhouse allows Majorlift to rigorously control the quality of the products and the lead times to its customers. Majorlift has invested in a highly flexible manufacturing process that allows cost effective manufacture of small volumes of products.

Majorlift can produce large and small solutions, tailored to the customer’s needs –the largest application was to manufacture a bespoke lift for the removal and replacement of engines, gearboxes, cooler and fuel units from the Siemens Class 185 Diesel Train. Probably the smallest product is a turnbuckle, used for securing the trailing arm on bogies being moved for servicing. For further information, get in touch via the contact information below.

Email: info@majorlift.com Visit: majorlift.com/majorlift-rail/

A view of the new Holset adaptor in use

A general view of Majorlift’s rail jack, this time with an adaptor to remove cooling fans.

Maximise Your Real Estate

Matrix Booking is a specialist workplace technology company, empowering businesses to make the most out of their bookable resources

The company’s mission is to empower organisations to create a safe and flexible working environment. Its workplace management solutions allow businesses to track and understand exactly how their real estate is being used. The software provides empirical evidence that can back organisations’ decision-making when it comes to downsizing, considering investment in larger premises, or simply wanting to ensure that they have the right property strategy to succeed, to attract and retain talent, and remain competitive.

Matrix Booking became an independent SME in 2020. It has consistently punched above its weight since, becoming a global success in the private sector and the goto firm for UK central government smart workplace solutions. Its innovative products have met the challenges of the pandemic and new working patterns.

After the first lockdown ended, Matrix Booking has been quick to develop a new flow management solution. This was informed by property professionals who pointed out to Matrix Booking that scheduling a coordinated, safe, and selfdirected flow into office buildings was a concern as people started returning to their offices.

Within a month the new system was up and running, addressing these concerns. The new solution made it easy for office workers to schedule their arrival time, desk, and meeting rooms via a mobile app before they even leave the comfort of their home. This in turn allowed workplace professionals to manage the flow of people to and through buildings, avoiding overcrowding and enabling physical distancing in communal areas in their buildings or campuses.

There are two recent areas of major innovation that Matrix Booking has brought to workplace management. Firstly, its visitor management software, Matrix Welcome. The multi-purpose Welcome app is available for iOS and Android tablet devices and provides great flexibility when it comes to

reception and visitor management. It gives better branding options and facilitates staff attendance reporting.

Currently, the Welcome app allows employees and external visitors (with a host) to check in and out of a building by entering their details manually, use a QR code, or a passcode, while providing support for accepting terms of visiting (e.g. security or health declarations). It then also sends notifications to the meeting host when their visitor checks in.

Secondly, the continued development of the Matrix Booking Public Sector Hub Network. Working with central government organisations and disparate hub programmes, this has supported a shift in the public sector estate away from inefficient individual departmental estates to hubs. Through this network, Matrix Booking can enable resource and technology sharing while supplying increased choice and quality of work settings for the wider civil service population.

Listening to and learning from those who run and work in the physical office space is key to the team at Matrix Booking as the company aims to raise the bar for the future workplace. Its vision is to create a world where organisations can effectively manage and unlock the potential of their bookable resources.

For Matrix Booking, the future workplace is not just about making sure you have the right number of desks or meeting rooms. The fast-growing company wants to help organisations create spaces that encourage work to be done in the best way possible and nurture the workplace culture. This includes providing business intelligence that goes beyond occupancy levels, so that company boards understand how their real-estate is used and what changes might be needed.

Matrix Booking is looking at growing its Admin as a Service (AaaS) for crossorganisational sharing of workspaces, which it already sees as a trend in the public sector and as an emerging focus in other sectors in the near future.

In the meantime, Matrix Booking is helping organisations to review their real estate, and to reassess what their workspaces are used for. This means looking at the office in five different ways:

1. A space to work.

2. A space for onboarding.

3. A space for promotion.

4. A space for collaboration.

5. A space for data to flourish.

A space to work

Before organisations get too far ahead of themselves, Matrix Booking points out that the traditional ‘office’ isn’t completely dead. This would be a mistake.

Recent research suggests that 88 per cent of workers genuinely crave a hybrid dynamic. ‘Hybrid’ isn’t just a gateway drug to ‘laptop on the sofa’. It is a legitimate wish to create a balance where people can work in both spaces effectively.

An office may no longer be a sea of static desks with name plates attached. But a flexible-use space paradise comprising hot desks, booths, informal sofa settings or even pub-style benches should certainly be on the agenda.

A space for onboarding

With the best will in the world, remote onboarding is not the same as stepping into the new office on the first day. Not only

do organisations need to retain a strong sense of atmosphere, culture, friendship and education in the workplace for these moments, but they actually now have an

opportunity to build the space around this phase as part of their real estate reviews.

To make the office a perfect area for interviews, onboarding, training and progression reviews is one of the best ways to keep the former essence of that space alive. In its former life, that office was where people became most directly affiliated with the brand – a concept that still holds sway now.

A space for promotion

In the same vein as channelling a brand culture through the workspace for new hires, the same applies to visitors from outside. Whether it’s prospective customers, business partners, shareholders or miscellaneous visitors, the office is still the best way to exude a company message and vibe.

Now, without the need to dilute that atmosphere with desk capacity needs, there is an opportunity to reimagine spaces for this purpose. Presentations, meetings and even gatherings can be considered through the use of interactive and digitised rooms, higher-tech media systems, or more openplan layouts.

A space for collaboration

It may be easier to focus in isolation, but it’s easier to collaborate in person. As such, converting the workplace into a space for meetings, idea sharing and more organic conversations would be an appropriate transformation of real estate.

The office in its traditional former state was rarely geared up for such instinctive and seamless collaboration, such was the need to fulfil capacity requirements. Here lies an opportunity to change that ergonomic outlook, and to give those hybrid demanders what they’re really looking for.

A space for data to flourish

Utilisation and occupancy data should be the informing guide to any decisions about an organisation’s real estate; crucially, because every company’s scenario will be different. The volume of in-office workers could change according to the season, days of the week, specific ongoing projects, new hires, and many other variables. Keeping on top of that flexibility, manually, is likely to lead to missed opportunities and an unclear overview of your real estate’s purpose.

With Matrix Booking, organisations can utilise workflow management tools and security solutions to ensure hot deskers are given safe and seamless access; meeting room and boardroom booking tools can account for any training, onboarding or collaborative work that needs to be done in-house; and visitor management systems can guide outside arrivals into the newlook space.

Tel: +44 203 951 8291 Email: info@matrixbooking.com Visit: matrixbooking.com/

Workplace resource management

Visitor management

Workplace solutions

Precast Concrete Solutions for All Seasons

SATEBA is a leader in precast concrete solutions for sustainable rail infrastructure, developed in a safe and responsible way

SATEBA’s rail portfolio includes noise and vibration attenuation sleepers, slab track and ballasted track sleepers, level crossings, embankment erosion management, foundations, signal bases, drainage channels, retaining walls, embankment access stairs, tunnel segments and cable troughs.

Key benefits of working with SATEBA include:

• A range of innovative products proven in the UK and overseas.

• Over 40 years High Speed Rail experience within 85 years+ of UK infrastructure expertise.

• Offsite manufacturing at 27.5 hectare (68 acres) central UK location with easy distribution links.

• SATEBA rail engineers are experts in anything precast combining high performance with sustainability.

• Broad portfolio of precast concrete under track, over track and embankment solutions.

Vibration Mitigation Solutions

SATEBA 312 Sleepers and Bearers can be adapted to any type of sleeper: twinblock, monoblock or bearers, and can accommodate any type of fastening. They are suitable for high speed, mainline and urban lines.

When the Eurostar arrives in London, it does so with serenity. This is partly thanks to the SATEBA S312 twinblock booted slab track sleeper, designed to respond to the noise and vibration mitigation requirements of London tunnels with various levels of performance (5db – 15db). This reinforced sleeper is approved by Network Rail with Certificate of Acceptance PA05/06822.

The M312 monoblock high attenuation booted sleeper, is the result of a joint development between SATEBA and Alstom. The sleeper mass combined with the resilient boot provides extremely high levels of acoustic performance (insertion gain is >20db) comparable to the performance of traditional floating slab track and can be installed up to ten times faster.

M312 sleepers were used on the Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) project which benefited from safe, easy, rapid installation of up to 250 metres per day using the same installation methodology as standard booted sleepers. The M312 is also easier to maintain thanks to the rigid boot.

All of these benefits result in significant savings in cost, programme and maintenance over traditional Floating Slab Track installation. In favourable circumstances it is estimated that the M312 track can be up to 30 per cent less costly to construct.

Integrated Systems

The SATEBA TW120 sleeper system generates significant cost and time savings on both the track construction and programme. It is used for embedded rail slab track construction and can be used with all fastening systems. For example the TW120 has been used in combination with Trelleborg pre-encapsulated rail, which was directly fixed by a Pandrol Nabla fastening system on the Midland Metro line.

This flexible solution allows for rapid installation and accurate alignment of the track by using levelling inserts precast into the sleeper blocks resulting in significant cost and time savings on both construction and programme. It also removes the need for structural support of the rail from the surrounding concrete slab. As a result the TW120 system only requires concreting up to the underside of the rail foot and can then be finished with a variety of materials e.g. grass, asphalt, and block paving. Around 15,000 SATEBA TW120 Sleepers have been supplied to the Midland Metro line.

Carbon Reduction and Sustainability

Decarbonization is a major focus of SATEBA’s environmental strategy. The

S312 installed at Plumstead on the Elizabeth Line (Crossrail)

MaxumStone Retaining Wall at National Highways Depot Norfolk

TW120 installed at Dudley on the Midland Metro Line

specialist team has developed pioneering sustainable sleepers using the latest technology, resulting in new profiles with less material incorporating fibre and material with high performance properties. Other developments include products made using recycled steel and decarbonated cement known as green cement with the lowest possible clinker content.

Intensive research and development trials will continue on all aspects of the materials, production, processes and delivery of precast concrete rail infrastructure products. This emphasis will be a normal part of everyday production to ensure the product offering is the best, lowest carbon. SATEBA

also buys raw materials as close as possible to production sites to limit transport related CO2 emissions. Precast concrete is highly recyclable so often used in other products or backfill for highway projects.

Each sleeper has a validated carbon value (EPD), guaranteeing a reduced CO2 impact. This is only the beginning as SATEBA is committed to ever decreasing decarbonization to further contribute to preserving the environment. This includes SATEBA targets of ten per cent carbon reduction by 2026 and a 30 per cent carbon reduction by 2030.

MaxumStone Retaining Wall System

MaxumStone is a big block hollow core retaining wall system, manufactured using 40 per cent less concrete than traditional blocks. Free draining material is backfilled into the hollow blocks allowing for a smaller footprint and helping to minimise the effects of hydrostatic pressures behind the wall.

The versatile system utilises big block to reduce construction time, yet the hollow core ensures all units weigh under 650kg enabling lighter weight machinery to be used e.g. 5 ton excavators. The lighter weight does not compromise on strength.

It is also a three in one system that allows gravity, reinforced and cantilever wall solutions without the need to change blocks.

Gravity walls, Geogrid Walls, Terraced Plantable Walls and Cantilever Walls are all easily achievable with this user friendly system that has proven successful on hundreds of projects throughout the world.

Accreditations include RISQS, Supply Chain Sustainability School, Constructionline Gold, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.

Projects supplied include:

• Grand Paris Express (current supplier).

• Elizabeth Line (Crossrail).

• High Speed 1 (CTRL).

• TGV in France.

• ICE in Germany.

• Light Rail schemes including Nottingham (NET), Manchester and the Midland Metro.

For further information, get in touch via the contact information below or visit the rail section of the Stanton Precast website.

Tel: 0115 944 1448 Email: info@stantonprecast.co.uk Visit: stantonprecast.co.uk

Precast concrete is recycled and repurposed

Robust and Reliable Connectivity Solutions

The rail industry is continuing to evolve and develop with new trends placing higher demands on rail transit

technologies

Improving reliability and efficiencies, simplifying system structures and reducing the overall number of components are key trends in the market. In addition, energy-saving and sustainability must also be considered when developing new rail technologies.

HARTING is constantly developing and refining its connectivity solutions to improve the transmission of data, signals and power in railway applications, the aim being to deliver future proof solutions via cutting edge products and hi-tech developments.

For example, the Han® HPR series is already a proven solution for rail as it is ideal for transmitting high power, high voltage, signal or Ethernet data in exposed areas. It can be used for bogie mounting, roof mounting and as jumper cables between carriages. To expand the range to cover harsh environments with limited installation space, HARTING has added Han® HPR Compact hoods and housings to the series.

The Han® HPR Compact requires 20 per cent less installation space and is 25 per cent

lighter than conventional solutions. The product is available in sizes 6, 10, 16 and 24B and has a special feature that enables the housings ‘to grow with demand’, even after installation.

Up to two frame extenders can be attached to the bulkhead mounted housing, each frame expanding the height of the enclosure by three centimetres, increasing the space available for connections and reducing cable stress. Thanks to savings in installation space and weight, Han® HPR Compact housings also contribute towards sustainability by reducing energy consumption.

The HPR Compact follows on from three other recent additions to the HPR range. They are all part of a complete system of cabling that extends from the vehicle roof to the underfloor distribution, delivering benefits including include shorter installation times, weight reduction and standardised assembly processes.

The Han® HPR (High Pressure Railway) VarioShell is a housing system which has been specially designed for jumper applications. As the cover is removable, the

Han® HPR HPTC

Han® HPR TrainPowerLine

Han® HPR VarioShell

Domino

hood can be installed from both inside and outside the rail vehicle. This also simplifies servicing and maintenance because the housing cover can be opened and faulty components replaced without disconnecting all the connections.

The Han® HPR HPTC (High Performance Transformer Connector) has been developed to ensure the connections between pantograph, transformer and train busbar remain stable over the long term. It has been specially designed for simple assembly, maximum safety and to minimise the number of components used. The hoods and housings are metallically contacting on all sides, which means the cover and underside are connected across the entire contact surface. This is a new development, being the first transformer connector that is specially designed for shielded connections.

The Han® HPR TrainPowerLine (TPL) replaces existing solutions such as UIC, power or Y-distributors for train busbars. It is tailored to modern trains running in a network and offers weight advantages of up to ten kilograms per rail vehicle compared to previous standards. As a result, very little space is required to reliably supply all the electrical equipment and systems of the train.

As a uniform solution, it replaces the many variants that were previously required for busbar construction, meaning the number of parts has been significantly reduced. Previous interfaces for the underfloor were often hard-wired but the TPL is designed so that all connection points are now pluggable. The housing is made of corrosion-resistant aluminium and is ideally suited for use in harsh environmental conditions and outdoor applications.

Alongside these new solutions for weight reduction and efficient power distribution, HARTING has also considered the topic of future-proofed data transmission. A powerful, secure data network is now an essential cornerstone of rail technology. Not only do passengers demand high speed internet for business and entertainment while travelling, functions relevant to the train itself, including seat displays, passenger information systems and CCTV, mean larger bandwidths and interferencefree transmission is essential.

The Han-Modular® series offers versatile solutions for data transmission in trains. The Han® Gigabit module enables Ethernet transmission of Cat. 6A or Cat. 7A, to ensure future-proof data delivery. At the same time, all the relevant requirements such as resistance to shock and vibration and EMC shielding are fully met. Thanks to its robustness, this module is particularly suitable for jumper cable connections.

HARTING has also developed a Han® M12 module for data transmission. It integrates two interfaces, either D- or X-coded, in one insulation body. As the packing density is doubled, it allows more space available in the hinged frame for other modules. The M12 module can also be preassembled and mounted separately.

For the connection of WLAN equipment, X-coded M12 PushPull connectors enclosed in a box build are the ideal solution. The two connector sections are clicked into place by hand, a tool-free installation method which simplifies tricky installations and means the assembly density can be significantly increased, helping to save valuable space.

To further improve their modular offerings, HARTING has recently launched the Han-Modular® Domino range, which offers 50 per cent space savings against existing designs. Just as dominoes have two separate squares, a domino module is made up of two building blocks or ‘cubes’. The Han-Modular® mating face is divided in two, resulting in an almost square surface in which even larger contacts can be accommodated.

With the addition of the new Domino range there are now over 250 modules to choose from and many thousands of potential combinations available, increasing design flexibility. The new Domino modules are also compatible with standard components of the Han-Modular® series, so they can be easily integrated into existing systems.

As well as new rolling stock, HARTING has also considered the topic of retrofitting. To ensure data networks are fast enough to meet future demands and all systems can function safely, it is necessary to upgrade the entire train to the same technology

level. This can be achieved via jumper cables, which ensure the smooth transmission of power, data and signals throughout the entire train.

HARTING can provide a broad portfolio of both connectors and ready-made cabling solutions. Its design experts can also tailor the layout and design, ensuring all retrofit solutions are suitable for your requirements.

Their specialisms include cable assemblies, box builds and inter-car jumpers, which are built and tested at their fully IRIS-certified manufacturing facility in Northampton.

No matter what the degree of complexity, HARTING has the capacity to produce project-specific assemblies to suit your needs, including installing components, routing cable harnesses and fabrication. The design team can also create a 3D CAD visualisation of your build to ensure absolute accuracy before manufacturing begins.

Tel: 01604 827500

Email: salesuk@harting.com Visit: www.harting.com

LinkedIn: @HARTING Twitter: @hartinguk

Address: HARTING Ltd 51 Caswell Road, Brackmills Industrial Estate Northampton NN4 7PW

HARTING manufacture jumper cables at their facility in Northampton

Skilled Workforce

Innovative Solutions for Transport

The primary business focus of TRB Lightweight Structures has traditionally been the rail sector, but the company has proven its versatility and adaptability by branching out into hybrid and electric vehicles, medical devices, and more

It is constantly developing lighter and more sustainable materials for use across various markets, and these new solutions are now being widely applied to rolling stock. TRB Lightweight Structures Ltd. (TRB), based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, is a leading tier 1 manufacturing and engineering company, offering comprehensive conceptto-delivery and rolling stock refurbishment services using its in-house production, engineering and laboratory testing facilities. The company has been working with the rail industry for more than 40 years, designing and manufacturing a wide range of interior and exterior components for both new build and refurbished rolling stock, including flooring, doors, partitions, galleys and storage units.

TRB is proud of its strong reputation as an International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS)-approved supplier of engineered parts and complete systems to leading train builders worldwide, including Hitachi, Alstom and CAF. The company is also DIN 6701 certified, and registered and approved by the Railway Industry Supplier Qualification Scheme (RISQS).

One of TRB’s core strengths is its capacity to develop, test and validate innovative lightweight metal and composite materials, which can be supplied to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as either individual components or fully assembled, ready-toinstall units. In recent years, the company has continued to research and manufacture a range of lightweight structural components based on more environmentally friendly materials for use in different sectors.

Promoting sustainability

The 2016 Paris Agreement to reduce CO2 emissions has resulted in numerous mergers, collaborations and major capital investments by the global transport industry to develop hybrid and electric vehicles. Transport companies have therefore been placed under pressure to rapidly adapt their

manufacturing processes in order to stay in line with ever-changing legislation, as well as the public’s demand for cleaner modes of transport. TRB believes that advanced composites are a crucial part of this move towards greener travel, as they make rolling stock lighter, faster, more energy efficient and cheaper to maintain. TRB’s ultimate strategic goal – which is central to its business ethos – is to help reduce overall transport emissions by offering OEMs lightweight alternatives based on sustainable materials.

Advanced composites for the rail industry

TRB’s design and materials processing capabilities now include a broad selection of alternative lightweight composite materials for the rail sector – such as modified epoxy glass prepreg, fire retardant foam cores and select thermoplastic materials – that comply with the latest and most stringent fire, smoke and toxicity guidelines detailed in EN 45545. The company’s main production facility in Huntingdon is also DIN 6701 (Parts 1-4) A1 type certified for the bonding of safety-critical rail vehicle parts. Switching to bonding where possible eliminates the need for many fixings – further reducing weight, while improving assembly

TRB Lightweight Structures’ composite body side panel for very light rail, developed in conjunction with TDI. These composite bodyshell, one-piece structural panels form both the inner and outer walls of the Revolution VLR lightweight rail vehicle. The modular panels are composed of moulded carbon fibre laminates with a recycled foam core.

The completed B&B units produced by TRB for Hitachi meet GM/RT2100 Issue 5 specifications, which cover all mandatory requirements for the design and integrity of rail vehicles, both primary and secondary structures, including interior crashworthiness.

productivity and reducing overall production costs – and this comprehensive certification allows the construction of bonded rail vehicle products under any of the four DIN 6701 A1-3 and Z type classifications. This includes safety-critical products requiring A1 approval for applications where part failure during use risks endangering passengers, and TRB currently manufactures and supplies emergency detrainment door systems, driver cab doors and passenger exit doors.

Weight and cost-saving rail projects

TRB works in close partnership with its rail customers to continually devise new designs that minimise weight, reduce maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) costs, and improve safety. This service covers a wide range of potential applications, with past projects including the development of a new lightweight composite antenna cover for Hitachi and Alstom Transport, and the reverse engineering of a stiffer and lighter coupler hatch for the West Coast Pendolino.

TRB is also proud to have been working closely with Transport Design International (TDI) over the last few years to develop the composite bodyshell design of the Revolution VLR (Very Light Rail), which

was launched in early 2022. The brief for this project was to create a lighter vehicle with reduced energy consumption, while still maintaining the same structural strength and adhering closely to both industry safety standards and governmental decarbonisation goals. To achieve these aims, TRB and TDI together developed modular wall panels composed of moulded carbon fibre laminates with a recycled foam core. The partnership also employed a unique polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) bioresin – a sustainable alternative to the commonly used phenolic resins. The Revolution VLR is 40 per cent lighter than the equivalent traditional heavy rail vehicles, with reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

Giving train refurbishment an overhaul

TRB has extensive experience in the refurbishment of rolling stock, providing high quality, lightweight solutions for a number of common problems. This knowledge and expertise covers everything necessary for refurbishing doors, internal partitions, floors and roofs, including a detailed survey and quote, reverseengineering and finishing specific parts to meet customer needs. The company’s expertise covers everything from assessment

and reverse engineering of components to improving maintenance efficiency, all while reducing the overall cost of components. TRB’s comprehensive service offering comprises all manner of processes to ensure that refurbished products stand up to the demanding rail environments. This includes stripping down panels, replacing worn materials – such as handles and rubber trims – fixing water ingress problems, filling dents repainting, and a host of additional services, all tailored to precisely meet each customer’s particular needs.

Future-proofing the rail industry

TRB has made major strategic investments to grow its capabilities, while also running continuous improvement programmes across the business to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and raise quality even higher. Looking forward, the TRB management team plans to make further strategic investments and establish additional partnerships with specialist technology providers that complement its capabilities. Richard Holland, Managing Director of TRB, explained: ‘We will continue to invest in product innovations and technologies to provide end-to-end manufacturing and refurbishment services across all transport sectors. We are dedicated to meeting the dynamic needs of this vital industry, and to supporting sustainability goals by further developing our repertoire of environmentally friendly materials.’

The clear aim is for TRB to continue to grow by focusing on providing its customers with complete solutions that meet their evolving needs, and by responding directly to the growing global socio-economic pressure for greener, more sustainable products.

Tel: 01480 588050 Email: sales@trbls.com Visit: trbls.com/rail

TRB has a range of finishing processes at its facility in Huntingdon, UK. Finishes include wet painting in its state-of-the-art facilities – approved by Trimite and Dupont – vinyl wrap, and high-pressure laminate application.

The Class 800 bi-mode trains and Class 801 electric trains are built by Hitachi Rail Europe in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. The new trains came into service in the UK on the Great Western Main Line in 2017, and the East Coast Main Line in 2018.

STAY ON TRACK BY AVOIDING CRITICAL BOLTING FAILURES

Norbar is a UK manufacturer of battery, electric, pneumatic and manually operated torque multipliers, wrenches, torque measurement equipment and bespoke torque control solutions specially developed for the rail industry

Feel the Torque

From humble beginnings 80 years ago, in a small workshop, to the

latest purpose-built factory, Norbar has pioneered many of today’s solutions for torque control

Incorporated in 1943, the ‘North Bar Tool Company’ became the first company in Britain to commercially manufacture torque wrenches. The initial demand was driven by the need for the gasket-less cylinder head of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine to be accurately tightened. Bill Brodey and his partner Ernest Thornitt obtained a licence from Britain's wartime Government to begin the manufacture of torque wrenches and Norbar was born.

Norbar specialises in the manufacture and worldwide distribution of torque tools for torque tightening, measurement and calibration, as they are engaged solely in the design, development and production or torque tightening and measuring equipment. Their main customers include manufacturers, and engineering services

who operate within a wide range of industries including transportation and rail industry.

Transport

Norbar’s involvement in the transport industry begins with the manufacturers, and extends through the life of vehicles and rolling stock. It also plays a key role in the infrastructure element of transport, building and maintaining road and rail networks.

The company provides the industry with ergonomic tools including; torque wrenches that are easy to read and adjust, power tools that emit low levels of noise and vibration, and torque measurement instruments.

Torque wrenches

Norbar has worked to manufacture a torque wrench that addresses the market needs,

and is both fast and light to adjust with the clearest possible scale. Another version of the industrial wrench that has found great success in the rail track maintenance industry is the 1 11/16” bi-square wrench. It was produced at the request of the rail industry for torque tightening rail fishplate bolts. It eliminates the possibility of sockets or square drives being left on the railway track by integrating the 1 11/16” socket permanently onto the end of the wrench.

Powered torque tools

EvoTorque® are electronic torque tools designed for applying torque to threaded fasteners. The unique ‘Intelligent Joint Sensing’ technology will accurately tighten to the correct torque without the risk of excess overshoot or undershoot that is common in other electric tools. EvoTorque®

tools give continuous (non-impacting) rotation and are quiet in use. EvoTorque® tools utilise patented technology to give unprecedented joint control from hard through to soft joints. They are available in both mains-electric and battery-powered ranges. The battery tool version EvoTorque® Battery Tool (EBT) shown on the previous page is a transducer controlled battery powered torque tool that is designed for accurately applying torque to threaded fasteners with data memory and data transfer capabilities.

Pneumatic torque tools are handheld, air driven, non-impacting torque delivery tools intended to tighten and loosen nuts, bolts and threaded fasteners. However they do come with various health and safety risks as they involve the operator being subjected to high levels of noise and vibration, but Norbar’s PneuTorque® is a rotating pneumatic torque wrench that features almost no vibration and low levels of noise. PneuTorques have been used on many transport infrastructure projects including bridge and tunnel construction.

Measurement and calibration

The importance of keeping torque tools in peak calibration condition is well established. The main reasons that more companies do not perform calibration checks on their own wrenches are the cost of testers and fears over the complexity of the testing equipment. Norbar’s TruCheckTM

torque wrench testers are cost effective being significantly cheaper than most similar products on the market and simpler to use. TruCheckTM was designed specifically with the needs of automotive and transport workshops in mind.

The importance of torque control Torque is defined as any force or system of forces that tends to cause rotation about an axis. In order to control this many methods exist to join the two or more parts together, and typically the threaded fastener is what is used to streamline this process.

The threaded fastener clamps parts together with a tension that exceeds the

external forces leading them to separate. It is vital that the initial tension is correct, as if its too low varying loads act on the bolt and it will quickly fail, and if initial tension is too high the tightening process may cause bolt failure. Finding the correct balance is done by specifying and controlling the tightening toque.

Engineer to order service

Whilst Norbar produces an extensive range of standard equipment, there are times when something outside the standard range is required, and Norbar’s engineer to order service can be beneficial.

As an ISO 9001 company, Norbar both designs and manufactures special equipment to meet customer specifications. These projects range from modified torque wrench end fittings to complete torque and angle control of multi-spindle nut runners.

Relevant European Safety Directives are applied where appropriate, giving further assurance that the engineer to order equipment is of the highest standard.

Case study: London Underground

Norbar Torque Tools’ Specialist Engineering Department has developed a unique torque tool for London Underground. The new tool has been developed to solve a specific engineering challenge, namely the removal and refit of the inter-car coupler mounting bolts on the fleet of 47 Bombardier 09 Stock trains used on the Victoria Line in London and maintained at the Northumberland Park depot.

The inter-car coupler mounting bolts are accessed from the underside of the train, either from the pit road or with the train jacked up. The coupler mounting has four bolts with a significant boss in the middle that houses the Absolute Position Reader (APR). Of the four bolts, the upper two were particularly difficult to access due to them being deeper up into the train and surrounded by other hardware. The bolts are required to be tightened to a torque of 1,050 N·m.

London Underground’s tool supplier, Hayley Group, contacted Norbar with the

Michael Millard

National Repair Improvement Manager for The Automobile Association

remit of providing one tool to reach all of the bolts on the coupler.

The Norbar solution was to use a PneuTorque® PTS tool with a specially developed drive that is slim, long and offset from the PTS square drive, with a series of gears arranged in line and driving each other. This enables all of the bolts on the Bombardier 09 Stock trains to be reached during maintenance.

In addition, the gearbox of the tool is supplied with quick change reaction arms in order to reach all of the bolts and safely take torque reaction from the tool. The aluminium bodied gearbox can also be positioned on the bolt before the driving tool is coupled. This significantly reduces the total weight that has to be lifted and makes the location of the offset gearbox and its reaction plate much easier.

Norbar’s website features a toque tension calculator, to use the calculator visit: https:// www.norbar.com/Support/Calculators/TorqueTension-Calculator

For more information and to view an example list of projects previously delivered by Norbar visit: https://www.norbar.com/ Support/Services/Engineer-to-Order

Tel: 01295 270333 Email: enquiry@norbar.com Visit: www.norbar.com

Address: NORBAR TORQUE TOOLS LTD. Wildmere Road Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 3JU United Kingdom

‘My colleagues and I were very impressed by your entire manufacturing operation, and it was evident from the tour the standards you achieve are impeccable. It's comforting to know we're in good hands, and we proudly promote the use of your equipment internally.’

Kaymac has been a specialist in the rail industry since 1989. We are experts in delivering challenging marine civil engineering solutions while minimising disruption to rail services.

When a rail track runs over a culvert, river, or watercourse, Kaymac are experts in temporary works design and installation, inspection, survey, repair, and protection of structures.

Scour repair and protection

Culvert repairs and re-lining

Fluvial erosion repairs

Commercial diving services

Confined space engineering

PolesworthScourProtectionInstallation

Making on Track Working Safer and More Efficient

McCulloch Group is a Scottish based company that provides the world’s railways with their innovative solutions to improve safety and efficiency on track

Now operating in the UK, Europe, North America and Australasia, McCulloch Group’s fleet of machines take on railway maintenance tasks that would otherwise be time consuming, costly, and sometimes dangerous, to carry out manually.

Founded 30 years ago, McCulloch Group was founded on a desire to do better. Solving problems is at the core of the business, as is innovation – and have been since the very first product, the TRT™, was invented by the McCulloch brothers in a yard, in a small Scottish village.

30 years, and many products later – the fleet of machinery was recently enhanced yet again, with the creation of McCulloch Group’s first all-electric piece of kit – the TRTe. For decades, the challenge on the railways has always been safety. McCulloch Group was born of innovation; creating technical solutions that make on-track work safer for all. Whilst rail infrastructure projects still have their dangers, the new challenge is one that, if tackled properly, will save the planet.

With government targets encouraging more and more of the countries companies and infrastructure agencies to set their own ambitious sustainability goals, providers of infrastructure solutions – need to get greener. The TRTe™ is a step towards this, one which will make a sizeable contribution to the move towards zero emission working practices. Here’s a breakdown of the McCulloch fleet and the problems it’s solving across the world’s railways.

TRT

The invention that kick-started it all, was the Trac Rail Transposer (the TRT), a mobile, remote-controlled machine which lifts and moves sizeable lengths of rail and associated ironwork across project landscapes. In the last 15 years it’s operated in the UK with 99.7 per cent proven reliability and is now trusted by infrastructural organisations

such as Network Rail, Paris Metro, London Underground and Kiwi Rail. It also has a variety of attachments which minimize the need to bring other equipment on to the track, including a rail saw, a plough, and a jib arm.

The Rail Saw attachment releases zero emissions and carries out the functions of a hydraulic long arm saw. With full use possible from a standing position, this attachment not only minimises additional machinery on site but also protects the workforce from fatigue and back injury due to its position.

Moving on to the Plough attachment, again this piece of supplementary kit clears the majority of ballast from the side of the track and from sleeper ends, without bringing a further machine on site. The TRT Plough eliminates manual handling and fatigue and can work on most track types. On one project, you can have multiple TRT

and plough systems working in conjunction with each other.

The final attachment, the mounted Jib Arm, allows for the safe and easy lifting of track furniture. This attachment for the TRT operates off of the TRT’s own power supply, again minimising emissions that would be generated by hiring a separate piece of kit entirely. The Jib is capable of lifting various track furniture up to a maximum of 990kgs.

Panel Lifter

This patented system removes and replaces rail panels swiftly and safely. Another remotecontrolled piece of technology, the Panel Lifter creates an instant exclusion one which eliminates any handling issues and keeps on track teams safe while panels are removed and replaced. It works incredibly quickly, meaning it’s a more efficient process – an incredibly important factor to consider on projects with limited possession timescales.

The McCulloch TRTe – a new Net Zero solution for Rail Infrastructure projects.

MMPV

The MMPV is a self-mounting, self-propelled vehicle which, with a crane attachment, can also be self-loading. It can be adapted to a variety of tasks on the railways and is best put to use in environments where significant volumes of materials and track furniture need to be moved, where waste and equipment need to be removed from the infrastructure, and where track occupation times are limited due to scheduled train movements.

InfiniTy

The McCulloch InfiniTy (previously known as the TCT) is a solution that lifts, transports, and dispenses cable from pre-wound cable reels. Again – it’s an entirely remote-controlled piece of kit and so completed this task more safely and efficiently than traditional methods. The rubber tracked machine is easily moveable across the infrastructure and can lift and dispense reels of cable up to 1,600mm in diameter and two metric tons in weight.

To find out more about the McCulloch Group products, visit mccullochgroup.com or follow them on LinkedIn to see the machines hard at work on the world’s railways.

A new Net Zero solution –the TRTe

Whilst safety and efficiency will always be a top priority for those operating in rail, the last decade has also brought a new challenge – one which is going to require the transformation of how we work, to solve.

Net Zero targets are now firmly in place across governments and businesses across the UK, Europe, and wider globe. As we, as an industry, try to clean up our act in a significant enough way to actually achieve the ambitious targets, as problemsolvers our next challenge is to create a Net Zero Solution.

In September 2022, the TRTe – the newest member of the McCulloch Group fleet, was launched. The TRTe offers all the same services as the TRT but with the added benefit of being entirely electric. It has been designed in response to the climate crisis and the need for rail organisations to meet ambitious Net Zero targets. Entirely battery powered, the TRTe also reduces noise pollution on track, an issue which is faced by many projects operating near residential areas.

By providing the industry with an effective, all-electric solution McCulloch Group plays its part in transforming the industry, acting as a catalyst for change.

Reasons to use McCulloch products

McCulloch Group’s motto is ‘we’re built for rail people, by rail people’ – meaning it understands the day-to-day challenges faced by companies and on-track teams alike. Here are just a few of the useful features you’ll find across the fleet:

• Many products are entirely remote controlled, meaning a safety exclusion zone is created when operating.

• Products can be operated during the day, or at night.

• Most of the fleet can operate in completely live environments.

• The kit is designed to move on rubber tracks, meaning it can easily move around uneven track landscapes and around track furniture.

• Much of McCulloch kit is incredibly agile, meaning it can easily move within difficult environments such as tunnels, bridges and other tight spaces.

• For large projects, some of the products can be used in conjunction with others to create a system. This means that even the largest quantities and volumes of track and line can be manoeuvred.

• McCulloch products are now trusted worldwide, with fleets in operation as far afield as Autralasia, North America, and Malaysia.

• McCulloch Group is a trusted partner to companies like Affective Rail, the Paris Metro, London Underground, Kiwi Rail, and Network Rail.

With 30 years of successful business now past – McCulloch Group is excited for all that the future holds, here with its domestic operations in the UK, and internationally as it takes on more work on the world’s railways.

Tel: +44 (0)330 0130 010

Email: sales@mccullochgroup.com

Visit: www.Mccullochgroup.com

Address: Riverside Works, New Mill Road, Kilmarnock, KA1 3JG UK

LinkedIn, Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube at McCulloch Group

The McCulloch Panel Lifted can be used alone, or as a system for larger lengths of rail.

A fleet of McCulloch Panel Lifters at work.

Operated during the day or at night

Brush strip solutions from Kleeneze-KOTI are perfect for sealing doors, compartments and sensitive equipment against uncontrolled air infiltration, energy loss, rodents, dirt, noise and cold smoke without impairing moving parts.

Escalator SAFETYSTRIP™ helps prevent sidewall entrapment on escalators and walkways. Simple to install and maintain, SAFETYSTRIP complies fully with EN115 and A17 codes.

Trackside ducting and electrical enclosures are irresistible places for determined rodents to squeeze in and make a nest. Approved by Network Rail, RODENTBRUSH™ protects vital signal and electrical cables from gnawing rodents.

Whatever you need to seal or protect, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help

Door to Door Brush Solutions

Founded back in 1923 and now part of the KOTI group of companies, Kleeneze-KOTI are the leading manufacturer of brush strip products in the UK

From humble beginnings selling household brushes door to door around Bristol, Kleeneze-KOTI now design and manufacture flexible brush strip seals and solutions for all aspects of the rail, automotive and aerospace sectors.

Brush strip is one of the most adaptable sealing products available and much like Bristol’s own industrial heritage and evolution, Kleeneze-KOTI are continually developing practical solutions to today’s problems.

Many of their dedicated team have over 30 years’ experience in providing bespoke solutions, and because they focus entirely on brush strip, Kleeneze-KOTI have built up an unrivalled knowledge and expertise that enables them to provide innovative solutions across all industries.

Minding the gap

Wherever there are sliding or pivoting parts, brush strips seals the gap perfectly. From cab control levers to signalling and points covers, brush strip seals prevent the intrusion of rodents, dirt and contaminants. Sliding platform screen doors fitted with fire retardant brush strip seals, suppress underground train noise, improve station climatic control and help keep platform environments cleaner. Gaps between sliding train carriage doors and internal panels are

discretely sealed with custom formed brush strip, preventing accidental entrapment and foreign objects fouling the door operating system.

Passenger safety

Escalator Safetystrip is a durable brush deflector designed to provide a tactile reminder to passengers to keep away from the hazard zones between the moving step and the stationery sidewall and reduce the risk of an entrapment incident. First installed on London Underground escalators in 1982, Escalator Safetystrip has been protecting passengers from sidewall entrapment for over 35 years. Successfully fitted to over 400 escalators across the existing network, Escalator Safetystrip and platform screen door seals will also protect the expected 200 million passengers on the new Elizabeth Line due to open in 2022.

Trackside cable protection

Electrical enclosures, junction boxes and trackside ducting are warm dry places, irresistible to rodents. There are many points of access through which a determined rodent can squeeze and make a nest and problems occur because rats love to chew. As they gnaw through the protective plastic casing they dangerously expose the vital electrical and data cable.

Specially designed RODENTBRUSH is easy to use, and incredibly effective in

deterring rodents. Unlike other forms of pest control, RODENTBRUSH can be easily removed for routine maintenance and then replaced for ongoing cable protection. Rodent brush can be exposed to all elements, allows air to circulate and water to drain away.

Always here to help

As a close knit and dedicated team, KleenezeKOTI are proud of the products and service they provide. They offer a complete design, advisory and manufacturing service, providing friendly assistance in all aspects of problem solving with brush strip technology. So whether you are a designer, specifier or end user, their brushes may provide the perfect solution. Simply contact their friendly customer service team or ask one of the technical team to visit via the contact information below.

Tel: 01179 582 450 Email: sales@ksl.uk.com Visit: www.kleenezekoti.co.uk

GRP – The Future of Rail Infrastructure

GRP is fast becoming the go-to option for rail companies across the UK and for many good reasons. Chester-based company, Engineered Composites explains why

Firstly, we should explain what GRP is – GRP stands for glass reinforced plastic – a unique blend of recycled plastic and glass combined with a complex resin that’s built to last.

Due to GRP’s weather and corrosive resistant make up, GRP is lighter and a more maneuverable product when compared to steel and aluminum. GRP has been welcomed in the Rail sector and is helping the industry become a safer place for both staff and commuters alike.

GRP products are ideal for a number of uses including railway platform surfaces, pedestrian bridges, railway ramps, and gated access steps. More of which later. But just how does GRP stack up against the more traditional steel we see across rail platforms…see for yourself overfleaf.

The rail industry is taking steps to modernise and GRP is playing a huge part in that renovation and rebuild of the UK’s railways. If you’re a planner or buyer in Rail, these are the products that are being installed up and down the country right now that are helping make huge cost savings and providing unsurpassed structural longevity.

GRP Handrails

Handrails are an essential part of railway infrastructure for the safety and protection of passengers. The ergonomic design of both GRP Modular and GRP Standard Handrails makes them a particular choice compared to traditional materials. GRP Handrails are commonly installed and used for rail walkways, platform handrails, and stairways. GRP Handrails offer a multitude of benefits and provide unrivaled sturdiness

and robustness with little maintenance required. All Handrails supplied to meet the requirements of BS4592:0 2006+A1 2012 and can be specifically built to meet rail organisations bespoke requirements.

GRP Fencing

Another high-quality product that supplies and delivers for rail infrastructure is GRP Fencing. Predominantly, fencing for rail infrastructure is used for platform gates, railway fences, and also to protect dangerous areas. Our high-quality GRP fencing solutions meet all security requirements and can be manufactured to any size of panel required for an extremely flexible solution. All fencing is independently tested & comply with the requirements for BS 1722-12:2016.

Why GRP

Gavin Williams, Managing Director, Engineered Composites Ltd says: ‘Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP), otherwise known as Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP), offers rail infrastructure many advantages

GRP vs Traditional Materials

Compare GRP Steel Aluminium Timber

Corrosion Resistance

Excellent Corrosion Resistance Can be designed to suit most chemical environments

Low Corrosion Resistance Subject to oxidation and corrosion. Requires painting or galvanizing.

Low Corrosion Resistance Subject to galvanic corrosion. Requires anodizing or other coatings

Weight Lightweight (up to 80% lighter than steel & approx. 30% the weight of aluminium)

Slip Resistance For Flooring

Extremely High Slip Resistance Engineered Composites integral grit finish offers slip resistance for a walking surface even in wet or oily conditions

Extremely Heavy Requires heavy lifting gear to manoeuvre.

Little or No Slip Resistance A major health & safety risk for companies

Lightweight (about 1/3 that of copper or steel)

Little or No Slip Resistance A major health & safety risk for companies

Low Corrosion Resistance Can warp, rot and decay from exposure to moisture, water and chemicals. Requires coating or preservatives.

Dependent on size

Little or No Slip Resistance A major health & Safety risk for companies

Low Strength Dependant on Size To achieve reasonable strength properties product sizes have to be extremely large

Impact Resistance High Impact Resistance Will not permanently deform under impact

Fabrication Easily Field Fabricated

Can be easily field fabricated using simple carpenter tools with carbon or diamond tip blades. Lightweight for easier erection and installation.

Maintenance Maintenance Free

GRP has a design life of 50 years

Cost Long Term Cost Savings

Lower installation and maintenance costs in industrial application = very low lifecycle costs.

Ergonomic Good Ergonomic Properties

The innate elasticity of GRP provides comfort to workers as it has a slight 'give' underfoot.

EMI/RFI

Aesthetics

Pigments added to Resin

The pigments provide colour throughout the part. No maintenance required. Bespoke colours available.

Medium to Low Impact Resistance Can permanently deform under impact

Fabrication more Complex

Often requires welding and cutting torches. Heavier material requires special handling equipment to erect and install.

Constant Maintenance Required

Due to rust, damage, or re-painting. High cost implications.

Low Cost, High Maintenance

Lower initial material cost, however costly to maintain. High lifecycle costs.

No Ergonomic Properties

Steel does not provide comfort underfoot. Can lead to back ache for workers who are on-foot for long periods of time.

Painted or Dyed for Colour

To maintain colour and corrosion resistance, repainting may be required.

Low Impact Resistance Easily deforms under impact

Fabrication more Complex Welding, brazing, soldering or mechanical joining required.

Medium to Low Impact Resistance Can permanently deform under impact

Easily Fabricated Fabricated using tools such as jigsaws and circular saws.

Constant Maintenance Required Due to corrosion. High costs implications.

Constant Maintenance Due to rot, decay, re-painting, or insect attacks. High cost implications.

Low Cost, High Maintenance

Lower initial material cost, however costly to maintain. High lifecycle costs.

Low Cost, High Maintenance

Lower initial material cost, however costly to maintain. High lifecycle costs.

No Ergonomic Properties N/A Good Ergonomic Properties

Provides comfort underfoot

Painted or Dyed for Colour

To maintain colour and corrosion resistance, repainting may be required.

Engineered Composites Ltd Unit B4, Borders 2 Industrial Park, River Lane, Saltney, Chester CH4 8RJ Tel: 02144 676000; Email info@engineered-composites.co.uk; Website: www.engineered-composites.co.uk

Primed and Painted for Colour

To maintain colour and corrosion resistance, repainting may be required

over metallic alternatives, especially when compared with steel equivalents. Benefits, such as high tensile strength, low weight (approximately 1/4 of the weight of steel), corrosion resistant, nonconductive properties, radar transparent and electromagnetically neutral, combine to deliver a highly cost effective, durable and sustainable product that we’re delighted to supply to rail companies across the United Kingdom.’

GRP Pultruded Profiles

GRP Pultruded Profiles have been carefully designed and specifically manufactured to be suitable for all rail industrial and commercial environments. Typical installation scenarios for railways include access platform walkways, pedestrian bridges, steps, and walkways.

GRP Anti-Slip Products

For rail infrastructure, GRP anti-slip products are essential for the safety and protection of passengers when waiting for their train to arrive at the platform. GRP anti-slip products are generally installed close to the platform to prevent slipping and falling when passengers are making their way onto the train. All anti-slip products supplied and delivered by Engineered Composites are rigorously tested and meet all relevant health and safety standards. Our anti-slip products include Stair Tread Covers, Decking Strips, Gritted Sheets, and more.

GRP Moulded Gratings

Moulded gratings are used in cohesion with a lot of anti-slip products for the protection of passengers. There are many uses that moulded gratings can be used for in rail, including structural components, flooring applications, walkways, industrial areas, and more.

In summary the rail industry faces many challenges – though there is a strong opinion that the solution to many of Rail’s inevitable infrastructure changes – is GRP.

If you would like to speak with a member of our team, the UK’s leading stockist of GRP products, to see how GRP can benefit your next project, please feel free to get in touch with our rail specialist team.

Tel: +44 (0)1244 676 000

Email: info@engineered-composites.co.uk Visit: engineered-composites.co.uk/rail-grp-products/ Address: Engineered Composites Ltd Unit B4, Borders 2 Industrial Park River Lane, Saltney, Chester Cheshire CH4 8RJ

Intelligent Infrastructure

In the UK, many programmes have been instigated by operators to act more intelligently and this is seen as the start of an entirely new era for railway operations. For example, Network Rail’s ‘Intelligent Infrastructure Programme’, is a five-year transformation programme (2019-2024), where an important objective is to turn data into intelligent information, so front-line and supporting teams can work safely, smarter, and seamlessly.

A New Era For CCTV

Like many others, r2p believes that onboard CCTV has a key role to play in assisting operators to extract maximum value from their assets. CCTV technology is rapidly evolving and one area – video analytics –is widely seen as having the potential to be especially impactful in the new era of intelligent railway operations.

There is a wealth of information being captured by CCTV cameras which to date has not been exploited by operators. Video analytics can transform simple recorded footage stored for post-event evidence into actionable intelligence to assist operations, in near-real-time. Operators can therefore use CCTV to remotely monitor infrastructure and improve operations at a fraction of the current cost.

Video Analytics Platform

r2p has therefore spent the past few years exploring the market, technologies and optimal environment needed to deliver improved analytical software functionality in a secure way. The company has made it its goal to bring enhanced automated remote monitoring to passenger trains for the benefit of operational railways.

Working with experienced analytics application specialists and its own software developers, r2p has created its on-board Video Analytics Platform to host analytical software applications from a variety of suppliers, operating alongside r2p’s product portfolio to make the most of the currently deployed systems.

The r2p Video Analytics Platform is a modular solution, enabling a wide range of use-cases and provides infrastructure owners and train operators with the opportunity to select specific analytics applications to provide them with the information that serves their particular needs.

Maintenance during operation

For a linear asset such as a railway, a vast amount of information needs to be captured and analysed to assess the overall condition, maintenance, and inspection of the rail infrastructure and its surroundings. Today, this information is routinely collected by survey trains monitoring the infrastructure.

However, the low frequency of these survey trains covering the rail network could delay or miss detection and identification of potential risks on the rail infrastructure.

Deploying analytical software that automatically and continuously monitors infrastructure on-board passenger trains and freight services would allow for a far more flexible and sustainable monitoring service of the rail network.

As the rail industry emerges from the impact of Covid and enters a new period of economic uncertainty, the pressure to operate existing assets and resources more efficiently, in order to reduce unnecessary spending and to act in smarter ways, is greater than ever

Example Use Case – Real-Time Track Measurement

Example Use Case - Graffiti Detection

Example Use Case – Identifying Waste Material

Collectively, increased survey frequency and automated near realtime analysis can substantially assist in preventing operational or safety-related incidents on and around the rail infrastructure.

Pantograph Analytics

One good example is pantograph analytics. The pantograph is a vital part of many trains but is also one of the parts most susceptible to damage, especially the carbon contact strip, which when damaged, can lead to expensive replacements. Thus, pantographs need regular checkups which are resource intensive and can take place too late to spot critical faults.

r2p’s Video Analytics Platform can enable a constant automated monitoring system for pantographs that can spot issues better than the human eye, which vastly reduces human resources while maximizing maintenance efficiency. With pantograph height, stagger, arcing and obstruction monitoring functionality as well, this is a must-have analytical tool for trains and trams running on an OverheadLine Equipment (OLE) infrastructure.

Forward-facing CCTV (FFCCTV) Analytics

FFCCTV today is standard equipment onboard most trains and primarily used to view incident footage post-event for causal and evidential purposes.

However, with automated real-time monitoring and continuous analytics of FFCCTV, live alert notifications can be provided to frontline operational staff and asset maintainers to take action before a risk becomes a reality. There are literally hundreds of use-cases for this.

Examples can include identifying dangers alongside the track to operational staff and trains such as encroaching tree foliage, obstructed safe working areas along access routes, unsafe waste materials, identifying unauthorised track access hotspots by detecting recent graffiti or vandalism or measuring deviations in track geometry.

By monitoring trackside assets in realtime staff will have more time to plan the necessary actions, thus significantly reducing the potential cost and human impact of an incident.

CCTV Image Enhancement

Of course, a move towards widespread

analysis of CCTV footage will benefit enormously from higher quality video footage. r2p has itself recently launched its new i-series cameras to complement its existing portfolio. These high image quality and high frame-rate cameras have now opened up a new range of opportunities and use-cases for analytics.

Maintaining Security & Data Protection

With the development of on-board CCTV analytics, it is also important to remember that on-board CCTV (whether saloon, FFCCTV or DCO/DOO) captures images of the travelling public, which are deemed “personal data” and must be protected by law. The security of this footage must not be compromised and nor must the integrity of video files stored on the DVR. Therefore, one must consider how analytics for multiple use-cases operating in parallel can be undertaken in a single secure environment on-board.

The r2p Video Analytics Platform is designed with this in mind. CCTV footage is stored securely in an encrypted format in the DVR for evidential purposes. In addition, subject to the solution design for analytics, live video can be streamed into a separate secure area on-board the train and analysed in real-time. The video footage is passed through the analytics applications but is not stored, thus avoiding additional security and data privacy risks. Instead, data is generated by the analytics applications that is used to produce metrics, alerts and video bookmarks, which can be passed off-

ABOUT R2P

The global r2p Group enables Smart City Transportation by designing and developing intelligent technology systems with the highest quality and safety standards for the mobile transport sector: CCTV, Automatic Passenger Counting, Passenger Information Systems and network audio solutions with real-time data transfer for rails and road vehicles, as well as solutions for fixed infrastructure like platforms and stations. r2p’s customers benefit directly from its ideas, with perfectly optimised solutions that require minimal hardware – meaning the economic and ecological benefits are maximised.

board with minimal delay. If specific video footage is required to be viewed in full post-alert, this can be downloaded remotely from the DVR using r2p’s latest Horizon 2.0 video management web tool by authorised individuals. Horizon 2.0 also provides the ability to securely view live camera feeds if needed and authorised to do so.

This approach maintains the integrity of the video on the DVR and avoids unsecured video stored elsewhere on-board. It is much lower risk and more practical than analysing historic video footage off-board and also avoids a delay of any analysis, the significant cost and impact of network transmission and duplicate video storage off-board.

Summary

Adding r2p’s Video Analytics Platform to an already deployed or newly installed onboard train CCTV solution is a cost-effective way of moving towards improving the operational objective of mass infrastructure monitoring on both passenger and freight train networks.

Are you ready to make the most of your data? To learn more about the possibilities of analytical software or r2p’s solution portfolio, you can get in touch with r2p via the contact information below.

Email: ukrail@r2p.com Visit: www.r2p.com

Example Use Case – Pantograph Height Detection

Example Use Case - Foliage Encroachment

HAV Free and Eco Equipment

Diamond Hire and Sales have invested in innovative electric machinery which can make your site carbon neutral, free of HAV, and compliant with all aspects of manual handling with just one call

removing debris, look no further than the Hi-Tip electric Twinca barrow with 800kg load capacity, this one-man operation makes light work of shifting rubble. Last but not least is our very own Sindrilla, the first patented hands-free drilling solution for those everyday holes, you can drill all day long, free from drill rotation and HAV, the Sindrilla is compact, mobile and dustless.

Minnich Rock Drill

This drill is essential for future railway projects, perfect for dowel bar drilling, induction line drilling, anchor hole drilling and hydraulic bursting prior to removing unwanted concrete. It mitigates HAV to the operator due to its remote operation and keeps workers safe. The drill penetrations are fast, cost effective and reliable ensuring accurate placement of dowels and fixings after drilling.

Brokks

Our equipment is your gateway to a cleaner and safer working environment, carbon free, remote operation and minimal labour costs; the future looks safer with Diamond Hire and Sales.

Why you need innovative equipment

The workplace environment is different today, there are many mandatory conditions that have to be attended to, that’s why innovation is so important as it helps us to meet those requirements without compromising the job in hand. We know the concrete is still very hard and heavy, that has not changed it’s just how we go about

removing it! Traditional methods are not acceptable as they don’t meet legislation, so the future has to come from innovation as they combat the issues and provide the answer, ‘Safe working for all’ on time and within budget.

Equipment that we hire and sell

Part of a full range of models to suit your environment, the automated Minnich Rock Drill is ideal for rock drilling, vertical or horizontal dowel bars and anchor holes in concrete. The robotic electric Brokks is perfect for controlled demolition, whether breaking or crunching these machines demolish concrete like no other. For

Our Brokks are the robots that you need. It enables your business to keep up with Health and Safety vibration legalisation along with commercial pressure. They are small in size meaning they can fit into tight spaces; however, they boast a hydraulic system that runs on a low flow/high pressure principle which gives them enormous strength. These Brokks do not emit any fumes and keeps noise pollution at a minimum. Hiring or purchasing this excellent piece of Swedish engineering from us will guarantee safety and a faster, cleaner, and more accurate job. Perfect for those challenging railway projects where health and safety is paramount.

Twincas

This is your perfect machine for the clean-up process and is a necessity for those labour intensive clear up jobs. The Twinca HI-Tip Electric Dumpers are battery powered and omit no noise or fumes whilst in operation. Allowing operatives to use the machine inside or outside all day on a full charge. It

can hold up to 800kg debris and with the press of a button can dump its load into your skip. Operatives have no fatigue or manual handling concerns when operating the walk behind Twinca Hi-Tip Dumper.

Sindrilla

Our very own percussive mobile drill that will leave you with the perfect dustless hole that is clean and accurate ready for your

chosen bar or anchor. It is rig mounted and offers a perfect hands-free drilling solution for those everyday percussive holes. Omitting no vibration exposure to the operator, they are safe from HAV and can be used all day.

Our equipment which is available to hire is safe, robust, and very cost effective, it can be delivered to your project by contacting us directly. It provides solutions

to those everyday site constraints that all construction managers and workers face each and every day. This is the new method of working, a glimpse into the future and we are happy to share it with you.

Tel: 01252 524141 Email: info@diamondhiresales.co.uk Visit: www.diamondhiresales.co.uk

DIN-Rail Power Supplies for Railway Applications

PULS DIN-Rail power supplies are authorised by NRAP for use on railway infrastructure for which Network Rail is the manager under ROGS regulations

PULS Power the specialist manufacturer of high reliability DIN-Rail power supplies provides a range of reliable, efficient and robust DIN-Rail power supplies specifically for railway applications. Using technology based on designs already proven in tens of thousands of industrial applications worldwide PULS power supplies also feature DIN-Rail mounting to enable simple integration into cabinets and enclosures both on board rolling stock and trackside.

Performance requirements for electronic systems in railway applications are challenging on several fronts; failures cannot be tolerated, even under extreme mechanical stress over an extended temperature range. Further, the input voltages in railways differ from those experienced in industrial applications ruling out the use of standard commercial grade devices. PULS railway approved power supplies are ideally suited to the latest infrastructure projects such as HS2 and extensions to underground rail networks.

PULS railway specific power supplies may be used in a wide range of applications within the train and on the track including, central power, air conditioning, communication and infotainment systems, signaling technology and train protection systems. PULS products are deployed in major infrastructure investments such as the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) where power supplies have been installed along the railway track in some 800 electrical cabinets all over Switzerland for the control of power lines for the trains. Critical to this contract was the ability of PULS to deliver and support the chosen product types for many years after design-in, while also delivering cost savings over the existing installation.

PULS continue to innovate and have recently introduced the new FIEPOS range of rugged IP67 rated power supplies which need no protective enclosure. These power supplies provide an intelligent distributed

power solution and may be mounted in close proximity to, or actually on, the load. This reduces installation costs and simplifies commissioning while introducing increased flexibility and the ability to easily reconfigure systems.

PULS railway range of power supplies provide one hundred per cent greater mains failure bridging time than required by the railway standard EN 50155 (S2), are weather resistant with all PCBs having conformal coating as standard and are completely convection cooled simplifying installation, further increasing reliability and minimising system noise.

Fully EN 50155 certified PULS DIN-Rail power supplies are classified according to T3, TX, C2 and S2 for use on rolling stock. They also meet EN 61373 for shock and vibration, EN 50121-3-2 for EMC requirements and EN 45545-2 for fire protection on a railway vehicle according to hazard level HL3.

Five models from the PULS QS Series

have been awarded full acceptance certification by Network Rail for use with signaling equipment in environments not exceeding 95 per cent relative humidity. The Network Rail product acceptance process is required for products intended for use on or about rail infrastructure and ensures they are safe, reliable, fit for purpose, compatible and do not export unacceptable risks to the infrastructure. Only accepted products, (except those allowed by NR/ L2/RSE/100/05) may be used on rail infrastructure.

Three of the Network Rail approved PULS DIN-Rail power supplies feature the advanced PULS ‘Hiccupplus’ overload protection mode. These employ technology innovations to overcome the problems associated with early hiccup protection circuits which were considered too sensitive when used in conjunction with motors or loads that are equipped with large input capacity, running power supplies in parallel

or battery charging. Th ese are the QS40.241 with a DC output of 24V/40A, and the QS20.481.C1 and QS20.241.C1 with outputs of 48V/10A and 24V/20A respectively and feature conformal coating.

The two other approved DIN-Rail power supplies are the QS10.481.C1 providing an output of 48V/5A and the QS5.241.A1 rated at 24V/5A, which are also conformal coated.

PULS DIN-Rail power supplies offer system designers and installers’ uncomplicated assembly and permits flexible positioning of the devices. Optional wall and side mounting brackets offer alternative mounting options. Spring-clamp terminals provide shock and vibration resistance, making installation intuitive and facilitates simple wiring without tools.

Key features of the PULS QS Series of DIN-Rail power supplies include a wide input range from 100 to 240Vac, and a very wide operating temperature from -40⁰C to +70⁰C (depending on model) without derating (+60⁰C to +70⁰C with derating), typical efficiency greater than 94 per cent and operation in environments with up to 95 per cent maximum relative humidity. All models have a nominal 110Vdc input with a wide voltage fluctuation tolerance of -30 to +40 per cent and are available with an

output voltage range from 24 to 28VDC with power ratings of 100, 200 and 400W.

For more information on PULS DIN-Rail railway power supplies, get in touch with them via the contact information below.

Tel: 01525 841 001 Email: sales@puls.co.uk Visit: www.pulspower.com

Power Supplies

Bespoke Power Solutions

Duvine are designers and manufacturers of a range of power supplies, battery chargers and bespoke DC power solutions to the Rail industry and beyond

Duvine has over 40 years’ experience developing and manufacturing DC power solutions. The company excels in the provision of robust and reliable products for demanding applications, as well as the development of innovative bespoke solutions.

Duvine offers a comprehensive range of switch-mode power supply modules for Rail, Industrial, and Telecom applications. Covering a large range of voltages, multiple modules can be used to give systems redundancy or higher currents.

Duvine has been designing and manufacturing power supplies and chargers to the rail industry for over 40 years. The company works directly with Network Rail and Train Operating Companies to develop and supply systems for both infrastructure and on-board applications. Duvines’ in-house design team offers creative solutions to meet the industries demands, no matter how challenging these may be. Working alongside the industry and using its experience, Duvine provides technical assistance and design expertise to supply and create unique solutions, which are compact, efficient, and fit for purpose in these harsh and demanding environments.

These power solutions enable rail companies and operators to create better journey times by increasing network capacity, improving reliability, and making the rail networks more efficient and sustainable. All Duvine chargers, axle counters, level crossing, point-end switching and signalling power supplies are PADS approved by Network Rail for use on the network.

Duvine has trained and experienced R&D Teams familiar with the rigors of the Design for Reliability (DFR) process, which is a standard Network Rail requirement for all new equipment. DFR is a structured process identifying minimum requirements

for suppliers to demonstrate that they have designed reliability into new or changed railway products. It applies to controlled products that require an engineering assessment, leading to a successful Product Acceptance (PA) certificate to allow them to be used on the live railway. DFR adds a reliability element to the previous, almost exclusive, focus on the legal and safety elements of PA. However, although DFR focuses on reliability, it also further assists safety, as reliability products need less manual intervention that exposes workers to trains and eliminates both safety and non-safety related asset failures.

Duvine’s latest approved product is the power and back-up solution for the new MK2 Obstacle detection system being developed and deployed by Network Rail and partners. Based on a module design the power system delivers an N+1 power solution with a variety of different autonomy levels, depending on the unique requirement of each location.

Alongside the standard product range, Duvine develops custom solutions for any application or sector. It designs, manufactures and supplies custom built power and distribution systems from the facility in Suffolk. Designed to a customer specification, Duvine has in-depth experience of supplying units to a variety of demanding industry sectors from telecom data centres through to outdoor road/track side cabinets with high IP-rated enclosures for offshore oil and gas environments.

Duvine’s expertise and experience allows it to be involved at the very early stages in the design process. Providing guidance and advice to meet and exceed client requirements. With years of experience of creating unique solutions, the in-house design teams’ flexible approach, allows Duvine to provide the complete end to end solution, from design and manufacture to shipping out and commissioning the final product.

As part of the overall solution, Duvine works with its parent company DMS technologies to provide complete backup systems. Based on its 40 years of battery knowledge, Duvine is able to provide a complete solution, which includes the DC power, chargers and batteries.

Duvine works with clients to create both prototypes and finished products. Listening and understanding unique power requirements enables them to create high quality, robust and reliable solutions. The in-house test facility and skilled engineers ensure that each solution meets and exceeds client requirements prior to any acceptance testing being carried out. Duvine also offers clients the ability to witness FAT (Factory Acceptance Tests) as well as being onsite for UAT (User Acceptance Tests) prior to any system going into a production environment. Duvine is totally dedicated to finding you the best solution. The company’s technical engineers will perform site visits and develop project plans along with technical drawings as needed.

Duvine specialises in the design and manufacture of bespoke reliable power systems. As no project, sector or industry are the same, Duvine has a great range of standard solutions, but if these are not sufficient, it will create a custom solution to suit your needs.

Tel: 01440 706777 Email: sales@duvine.co.uk Visit: duvine.co.uk

Address: Unit 8A, Sturmer Road, Haverhill, Suffolk,CB9 7UU

WHEN YOU WORK IN THE MOST CHALLENGING

EXCLUSIVE COATING AGAINST FOG AND SCRATCH ON BOTH SIDES OF THE LENS

‘Go Green’ ESG Plan

The historic PPE brand Bollé Safety publishes its first carbon footprint

In the wake of the launch of its Go Green CSR approach, Bollé Safety, global leader in eye protection, publishes its first carbon footprint (scope 1, 2 & 3), evaluated at 25,000 tons per year. A first observation which gives the course to the transformation of a market in which the company wishes to position itself as a leader.

Bollé Safety emits 25,000 tons of Co2 per year

Bollé Safety wants to take part in protecting the planet. In 2021, the global eye protection brand has moved up a gear by launching its Go Green plan. One of the first steps of this plan was to have its CO2 emissions (scope 1, 2 & 3) assessed by UTOPIES, an independent consulting firm.

What the carbon footprint shows

To develop and produce eyewear for 20 million wearers worldwide, the brand emits 25,000 tons of Co2 per year. For comparison, this figure is equivalent to the production of 450,000 iPhone XS or the average annual emissions of 6,250 people or 14,260 round trips from Paris to New York by plane. More precisely, the emissions are divided between the use of raw materials (39 per cent), production (35 per cent), transport (15 per cent), distribution (six per cent) and the end of the products' life (five per cent). This first significant insight into its greenhouse gas emissions will serve as a reference for the company for future assessments.

Beyond its environmental impact, the company's ESG program, which is aiming for B Corp certification in 2024, is built around a true corporate vision.

Go Green: a major axis of Bollé Safety's corporate strategy

Participating in the transformation of its market towards a more responsible industry is one of Bollé Safety's ambitions. The company has set itself the goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 35 per cent per product by 2027. As a member of the UN Global Compact (a United Nations initiative encouraging companies to have a responsible attitude), the company has developed a plan in three axes: Measure, Act and Transform. It is based on several pillars and concrete actions:

Environment

The company’s transformation on the

environmental plan passes in particular by:

• Internal training on eco-design.

• Optimization of product design (industrialization and supply processes) and of the supply chain.

• And product recycling (carried out in England).

On the customer side, Bollé Safety developed different projects in order to increase the products sustainability, at different stages of the products’ lifecycle:

• SOLIS – eco-frames with 33 per cent of the nylon coming from recycled fishing net.

• KLASSEE – eco-frame of which 48 per cent is in organic castor oil.

• KOMET – frames created with an injection system that reduces production losses by 49 per cent (moulding that provides a superior aesthetic and finish for better resistance to wear).

• CURA – Protective faceshields ecodesigned for the healthcare market: manufactured in England with 97 per cent recycled polyamide, protected by a polybag packaging made of 30 per cent recycled materials and transported in a recycled cardboard, the product can be reused at least ten times and recycled easily.

• Eco-Packaging – a plastic-free, 100 per cent recycled and recyclable packaging, optimized to reduce waste by 30 per cent. Its user's guide is printed directly on the cardboard with vegetable ink.

• B-Clean – a water-based eyewear care line that extends the life of the products.

• Considering the number of products sold every day worldwide by Bollé-Safety, the eco-responsible products’ design is a priority.

Governance

The company is a member of the SEDEX network which aims to strengthen responsible supply chains. Bollé Safety has also established an ethical code of conduct for its partners which guarantees responsible purchasing (ethical suppliers). Finally, Bollé Safety wants to make eyewear protection accessible to everyone and thus offers products that provide maximum protection and safety at reasonable prices.

Social Bollé Safety's commitments also include a human aspect. Thus, the company attaches great importance to gender equality. It counts 50 per cent of women within its executive committee and all its employees. In addition, the group has developed a community of ambassadors who aim to raise employee awareness of ESG with local initiatives (waste collection, sustainable mobility package (FMD), etc.).

With Go Green, Bollé Safety is asserting itself as a standard bearer. As a leading player, its short, medium and long-term CSR strategy is based on a profound transformation of the company and its market.

Tel: 0208 391 4700 Email: sales@bolle-safety.co.uk Visit: bolle-safety.com/gb/

INNOVATE ATTENUATE EDUCATE

ProtectHear are the leading supplier of custom ear plugs to the Rail Industry. We pride ourselves on our outstanding service, alongside our innovative moulded ear plugs, boasting key benefits such as: Warnings, alarms and conversations can still be heard whilst fully protected.

ProtectHear ear plugs are personally moulded to provide a perfect fit.

Lifespan of 5 years. Providing British made dependable hearing protection since the year 2000.

Is Your Hearing Protection for Real or for Rail?

ProtectHear provides the very best in custom ear protection for the Rail Industry and offers a ‘Free Trial’ to prove it

ProtectHear is a small British company which supplies custom moulded ear plugs and radio communication solutions to the rail sector. The company, which was established in 2000, is proud to be the only approved supplier of personally moulded hearing protection to Network Rail. With rail suppliers British Steel also using ProtectHear to provide their workers with dependable hearing protection.

Safety First

Safety is the number one priority on the railway, with communication being vital especially when working on track improvements/maintenance. Making sure

your staff are protected is very important, but equally as important is ensuring they are not over protected either.

ProtectHear custom ear plugs allow all audible sirens, oncoming train noise and warning signals to be heard by users.

To enhance communication further, ProtectHear ear plugs can be connected to radios and phones through the SpeakHear System, compatible with popular radios such as Motorola and Hytera.

The five-year journey

A RailStaff article in 2020 mentioned that the average turnover rate for staff in the UK rail sector is only three per cent; this is a very low staff turnover when you compare

this to the UK median rate of 13.6 per cent. ProtectHear moulded ear plugs have a warranty and lifespan of five years, all the mouldings taken being kept on file for this period of time, this makes the replacement process quick and easy. When the five-year lifespan has reached its end, a renewal is advised but this isn’t due to the durability of the product, but due to the ear shape changing over time.

Protecting your ears and the planet

Thousands of disposable ear plugs and the packaging they come in are thrown away every single day; this alongside other disposable PPE is consequently filling up landfill. During the Coronavirus Pandemic

meaning it is more important than ever to reduce waste. The ProtectHear ear plugs were designed with sustainability in mind, with one pair of ear plugs having a lifespan of five years; this reduces landfill greatly compared to the throwaway protection which is replaced daily.

What do the users say?

Shaun Penn, Inventory Controller and buyer at EDF Energy said: ‘We are using ProtectHear at our new Gas fired Power Station. I prefer ProtectHear to disposable ear plugs as they are very easy to fit and comfortable in use and an added bonus is that the cost savings are genuine compared to disposables. When you start to do the maths in comparison to using four to five pairs of disposable earplugs a day the money saving over the life span of the ProtectHear which are purchased with a one off payment, becomes quite significant.

‘The team at ProtectHear go out of their way to help us, especially when it comes to scheduling visits and fittings. They are large enough to cope with big organisations like ours yet still offer a friendly and personal service and will schedule visits strategically, so we are able to mould and fit the product with a minimum of fuss and disruption.’

Good Protection + Education = Reasonable Diligence

Investing in ProtectHear combined with education and support from the employer is a win/win for businesses with noisy railway worker environments. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), states that by law companies that have provided employees with hearing protection need to provide information and training. The HSE also states that it is the employers’ responsibility to ensure employees are using the hearing protection correctly and that the ear plugs are being maintained. This makes the training so important, to ensure users are fitting their hearing protection correctly and are being fully protected. ProtectHear offers this type of support to customers by offering toolbox talks, to help users of the product understand why wearing their

hearing protection is so essential. It is also important for employees to know how to fit and care for their hearing protection, which is what ProtectHear provides, using different types of resource including face to face meetings if required.

Noise Assessment Advice

Once Noise Surveys are completed it can be difficult for employers to decide what the next steps are, in terms of what level of protection is needed, especially when employees might not be working just in one noisy area the whole time, with the site having different levels of noise throughout which have to be considered. As stated by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) any hearing protector that reduces the level of noise coming to the ear to below 70Db should not be used, as there is a risk of overprotection.

So, with this in mind there has to be a balance between protecting your work force, but not over protecting them and isolating them from their work environment.

ProtectHear provides a range of filters that are applicable for many working environments, whether it is just above the noise at work threshold, where the lowest attenuating product is required or heavy industrial environments, where the higher level of protection is needed.

Night and day

Whether your teams work early morning or late nights ProtectHear will accommodate a time to suit your needs. It is also not always realistic to expect that every employee needing hearing protection is available in one session, or that there is always a group of employees that need mouldings for each department, which is why there is no service charge for appointments and there is no minimum order quantity either.

Jean Collison, SHE Department for William Hare said: ‘After undertaking a very successful trial in 2007 we selected ProtectHear personally moulded earplugs for our hearing protection. Employees at all levels use the product, both in the facilities and on-site.

WHY SWITCH TO PROTECTHEAR?

• Stops overprotection – warning signals, oncoming train noise and speech can all still be heard whilst being fully protected.

• Have the ability to wear the ear plugs with other personal protective equipment.

• Individually custom moulded for the perfect fit which is popular with the workforce.

• Five-year warranty.

• Cost Savings to be made compared to disposables (visit the ProtectHear website and try the cost savings calculator).

• SpeakHear communication systems which enable connectivity to radios and phones.

• ProtectHear provides an excellent service and education to match.

The product protects from factory noise but enables workers to still hear warning bells, which is critical. Although background noise is reduced, speech can still be heard, which is extremely useful.

Employees really like them as they are comfortable and perform well. Our staff appreciates the product as it is more personal and better quality compared to disposables. Working with ProtectHear is a really good experience. Everything is organised well and any questions are answered straight away. They also go the extra mile by helping us promote a sensible health and safety culture internally; they have been involved in some very helpful toolbox talks which clearly state the benefits of the product to our employees when it comes to hearing protection.’

No risk, great rewards

To prove how confident ProtectHear are of their product a ‘Free Trial’ is offered, where your company can trial the product for an eight-week period with a group of employees to assess how the product suits your working environment. As stated education and service is of the upmost importance, so those participating in the trial are given toolbox talks when the ear plugs are delivered.

To find out more you can contact a member of the ProtectHear team in the office, during the normal working hours of 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday. Alternatively you can fill in an online enquiry form on the website.

Tel: 01507 604322

Email: enquiries@protecthear.co.uk Visit: www.protecthear.co.uk Address: At Source QX Ltd 18 Eve Street, Louth, Lincolnshire LN11 OJJ

SUBCONTRACT

INSPECTION SERVICES

Manchester Metrology

Manchester

Making Maintenance More Efficient

Vossloh is a global technology group that has stood for quality, safety, customer orientation, reliability and innovative strength for over 135 years

Vossloh, a long-established and world-leading supplier of innovative rail infrastructure products and services, presents its new and further developments under the motto ‘enabling green mobility’. Green mobility is the key to mastering some of the most pressing challenges of our time. Population growth, urbanization, and climate change mean that more and more people and goods have to be transported sustainably. This can only be achieved by rail. No other mode of transport has a better climate balance. As the expansion of the rail network in Europe is limited and not possible to the necessary extent in the short term, the availability of existing lines must be increased.

Vossloh contributes to this with its large portfolio of products and services together with its high innovative strength and digital competence. On the one hand, Vossloh develops and manufactures products that are increasingly durable, require less maintenance, and are more environmentally friendly. On the other hand, Vossloh enables the maintenance of the rail network to be made more efficient, in particular through the use of digital technologies. Condition data of the rail track are recorded by sensors stationary in the track or mobile via maintenance machines. A systemic understanding of the track is crucial for evaluating the data and converting it into concrete recommendations for action. This enables Vossloh to offer its customers tailored, condition-based maintenance solutions with the aim of maximizing track availability and the service life of the rail infrastructure.

Core Components

The Core Components division manufactures standardized products on an industrial scale, which are required in large quantities for rail infrastructure.

Vossloh’s Fastening Systems business unit is a worldwide leading provider of rail fastening systems, which are used in more than 85 countries. The screw-fastened and maintenance-free elastic systems are suitable for all applications: ballasted and slab tracks, mainline and conventional lines, high-speed lines, heavy haul and local transport. Over 50 million tension clamps leave Vossloh’s production sites in Europe, Asia and North America every year.

Furthermore, Vossloh’s Tie Technologies business unit is the leading manufacturer of concrete railway ties in North America and in Australia. In addition, several production sites in the USA, Australia and another one in Mexico and Canada also produce switch ties and crossing panels. Vossloh Tie Technologies stands for decades of experience in the Australian and North American market and maintains excellent customer relationships with major Class 1 rail operators as well as passenger transportation companies in North America.

Customized Modules

The Customized Modules division develops and manufactures systems for rail infrastructure, which must be individually adapted to the customer and the project. Installation and maintenance are related Vossloh services.

Vossloh’s Switch Systems business unit is a worldwide leading manufacturer of switch systems and crossings. At 24 production sites in 20 countries Vossloh manufactures, amongst other things, turnouts and crossings, manganese frogs, switch blade, switch actuators and locking devices, signalling products and rail monitoring systems. The Vossloh offer covers all fields of application: standard, high-speed, special and heavy haul switches in accordance with all international standards, as well as solutions for urban networks.

Lifecycle Solutions

Vossloh’s Rail Services business unit provides track related services. This includes, amongst others, welding and transportation of long rails, the corrective milling and the preventative care of tracks and switches and reconditioning and recycling of old rails. These services also cover the lifecycle management of entire track sections.

In Germany, Vossloh is already a leading provider of rail services. With high-speed grinding, a preventative track grinding process at high-speed, Vossloh has technology with a unique selling proposition worldwide. This makes Vossloh the first private company to supply maintenance services on high-speed lines in China.

‘Through the possibilities of digitalization, we are building a bridge between our traditional product business and our wide range of services. This is where Vossloh's uniqueness lies.’

UK’s leading hose suppliers to the rail industry

“We have the hose world in our hands”

Variable Rate Sanding

In April 2018, AB Hoses was approached by RSSB and DB-ESG to develop

a sander

for the purposes of the DVRS pilot trial on the 323 fleet

AB Hoses was selected as preferred supplier in August 2018 due to its proven capability in variable rate sanding, as is seen with Class 220 and 221 Diesel Electric Multiple Units for Arriva Cross Country, and also its ability to develop bespoke sander equipment within a relatively short timeframe; 16 weeks from concept to installation for Arriva Cross Country.

Other sanding equipment competitors either stated that it would not be possible for them to develop variable rate sanding or quoted a minimum of one to two years for the development of a bespoke DVRS sander to RSSB, which would have resulted in the risk of the trial not going ahead at all or the funding being unavailable in later years. However, AB Hoses quoted 23 weeks for production of DVRS with twelve weeks for fitment as a commitment to supporting the development of data on DVRS and braking performance in the industry. The trial 323 units were completely installed with DVRS by April 2019.

In addition, AB Hoses also made the decision to undertake production of the sanding equipment as a non-profit project i.e. AB Hoses did not make any margin at all. This was decided due to the desire to be involved in a meaningful trial, having shared ownership of investment into the project with RSSB which makes for effective teamwork, whilst remaining the leaders in innovation of sanders in the industry as opposed to turning a profit. This commitment to RSSB saw AB Hoses

invest into research and development, explore new technology ideas and test emerging products available on the market, ultimately exploiting the existing AB Hoses products and using them as a platform to demonstrate capability.

Based on AB Hoses general and sander specific operational experience, it was recommended to undertake a series of comprehensive HAZID/HAZOP workshops, for full life cycle from design, validation and verification, installation, operation, maintenance, evaluation, removal etc be conducted involving competent operational staff from all parties. This process enabled all safety concerns to be identified and recorded, in particular where challenges and outcomes had potential to influence or change the design of the sanding equipment and its interactions with the train and Instrumentel’s monitoring equipment.

This documented process clearly defined the outputs required and took several iterations/workshops with all team members to agree the scope of work and to what extent I.e. the level of detail e.g. IP ratings of particular equipment, types of material to be used, performance level indicators etc. Ultimately with such safety critical equipment and the nature of the installation and operation, the entire project came under the scrutiny and approval of Ricardo Rail to the mandatory applicable standards i.e. Railway group standards, European Normalised standards, and Statutory law. However, as this process was undertaken in collaboration, the expectation for AB hoses to deliver sanding equipment

to these requirements was communicated and set from the outset by means of a technical requirements document and also an applicable list of the relevant standards to the application. This process assisted in ensuring good working relations between all team members as no lines were blurred as a result.

Like any team working on a project, success depends entirely on the contribution of every member. It was imperative that all team members had a sense of personal ownership within the project; for RSSB this was quantifying their research as leaders of the rail industry to achieve continuous improvement in health and safety performance of the railways, for WMT this trial could result in a route to the removal of the autumn timetable and provide longer term capacity gains and for AB Hoses and Instrumentel this was the incentive to develop the equipment at the forefront of technology and innovation that could achieve RSSB’s objective and maintain their own position of market leaders in their expertise. This shared vision enabled the team to work harder for the project as everyone had an invested interest in its success or failure.

Tel: 01246 208831 Email: sales@abhoses.com Visit: abhoses.com

Address: AB Hoses & Fittings Limited Units 5-7, Warwick Street Industrial Estate Chesterfield S40 2TT

Talent Attraction is Tougher – Is that a Good Thing?

Rail and Transport recruitment has reached boiling point.

The Great Resignation saw senior teams and entire departments redrawn, with rail and transport being no exception

The unprecedented appetite for change is showing little sign of slowing.

Even now, mostly free from the pandemic's grip, millions continue to reassess their job satisfaction and coursecorrect their career trajectories.

In many ways, The Great Resignation is textbook supply and demand: more vacancies, more demand, more choice for talent. In theory, organisations offering a quality package should be able to hire the cream of the crop – fizzing with enthusiasm and poised for a challenge.

Yet, that’s not happening. Quite the opposite is true. The rail and transport sector (along with every other) is struggling to recruit skilled people who are a culture fit, a culture add, and willing to stick around.

And that’s more than a major headache for HR. That’s a mission-critical problem that should concern every leader.

More than a money matter

So, that brings us to the burning question. Why are seemingly quality packages no longer cutting it? From our experience working with Transport organisations and leadership candidates throughout this tumult, it comes down to three words.

Employer Value Proposition, otherwise

known as your EVP, the give-get value exchange between employer and employee and a precursor to interviews and offer acceptance. In the old world, EVPs centred heavily on financial incentives – if they even existed. But today, candidates emphasise workplace culture, wellbeing and values alignment over salary. EVPs must reflect that reality.

In short, what good looks like looks very different. And the numbers tell a fascinating story that permanently changes perspectives on talent attraction. In 2021, two-thirds of people who left their jobs did so because they did not feel included, valued, respected and trusted. In a recent survey asking candidates what matters most, 63 per cent said work-life balance, 40 per cent said colleagues and culture, and 60 per cent said compensation and other workplace benefits.

Relationships fundamentally redefined

The reasons are debated, but the evidence is clear: it’s a candidate's market, and many aren’t buying what employers are selling.

New attitudes to value have redefined the relationship between candidates and employers. As a result, people are more deliberate and uncompromising. This shift has, inevitably, made engaging with talent more difficult. But it's not all doom and

gloom – as EVP-centric organisations will tell you.

Those who prioritise their EVP, rebuilding its pillars and placing it front and centre in job adverts and interviewing processes, are enjoying success, even in a climate of red-hot competition. But putting your EVP first isn’t just about surviving. It’s about thriving.

No pain, no gain

It can’t be denied. Talent attraction has become tougher for Rail and Transport. But the headhunting experts say that’s a good thing. ‘Those who embrace the challenges of today’s candidate market will be rewarded in spades’ says Nina Lockwood, Founder of Intuitive Talent Solutions and specialist senior leadership recruiter for Transport.

‘The long and short of it is, when you’re a values-led organisation with your EVP at the heart of the recruitment process, you attract and hire the best talent for your business’ Nina explains. ‘You’ll secure your most effective talent faster, and they'll stay with you longer.’

Empowering progress

With Transport still recovering from the pandemic and facing generationdefining challenges like end-to-end digital transformation and Net Zero, the sector

cannot waste time hiring leaders. Taking a strategic, people-centric EVP approach could be the remedy.

Nina sees the advantages for her clients. ‘For Intuitive, talent attraction is about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We get to know leadership candidates as people and place them in values-led Transport organisations where we know there’s a strong culture fit and culture add.’

For Nina, this approach is a commercial no-brainer. For example: ‘80 per cent of our placements remain in post twelve months on; we place 50 per cent more female leaders than the national average. We’re also seeing increases in senior leadership roles going to those from diverse cultural and career backgrounds’ Nina adds.

‘In today’s candidate market, it's hard to imagine those numbers without value, culture and belonging being a fundamental part of the package.’

Rising to the challenge

Serious groundwork goes into developing a powerful EVP that evolves with candidate expectations. As Nina puts it: ‘Your EVP is more than what you say. It’s who you are, how you work, where you’re heading. Candidates want to feel your authenticity from the first interaction, picture your vision and imagine their leadership impact.’

So, while talent attraction may be tougher, there’s a massive opportunity for Rail and Transport to recruit better. By focusing on a culture-centric EVP, organisations can draw in ideal CVs, recruit faster without reducing hiring standards, and begin winning in the War for Talent.

When an EVP is culture-focused and highly visible, it attracts decisive, intentional candidates that instantly gel and bring value to the table. ‘To remain relevant in a candidate’s market, Rail and Transport organisations may consider redefining their

EVP’ Nina explains. ‘At Intuitive, we advise our clients to follow a five-step approach in the first instance.’

Here are five ways to stay relevant in a changing world:

• Practical pillars – Compare what candidates value with strategic organisational roadmaps. Establish a balance between the EVP pillars (package, opportunities, contribution and culture).

• ED&I at the heart – Progressive leaders have ideas and plans for championing ED&I and its benefits. To attract them, organisations must wear their commitment on their sleeves.

• Wellbeing emphasis – Blend personal and professional priorities, establish multigenerational appeal and respect that every candidate has a different idea of job satisfaction.

• Hybrid value – Hybrid working remains in high demand. Have remote options and sell the office as a value-generation destination, focusing on inclusion and contribution.

• Embed everywhere – To attract talent in today's intense vacancy market, incorporate an EVP at every phase of the recruitment process: job adverts, communications, interview techniques and negotiations.

Although talent attraction is undoubtedly more challenging for Rail and Transport, those who embrace the shift to a values-based recruitment approach can and will succeed –even when competition is this fierce.

As transport leadership recruitment specialists for over ten years, Intuitive Talent Solutions knows how to connect high-performing, diverse talent to permanent and interim senior roles. They work tirelessly and authentically to find a match and proudly place ED&I at the heart of their strategic, people-driven process.

Intuitive has delivered exceptional talent to names including Abellio, First Group, Arriva and Rail Delivery Group and was recently awarded Executive Recruitment Agency of the Year award at the prestigious British Recruitment Awards 2022. Learn about their inclusive approach to talent consultancy at intuitiverecruitment.com

Electromechanical Relays in the Age of Digitalisation

The experience of recent years has shown that relays have by no means lost their importance in the age of digitalisation. On the contrary, they are taking on ever more specialised functions

ComatReleco AG, incorporated in 1970, is a Swiss headquartered global supplier of high-quality relays and contactors of any kind. The core competencies are industrial relays, timing relays, monitoring relays and contactors. The electromechanical relay was invented in 1835 by Joseph Henry, who is mainly known as the inventor of the electromagnetic phenomenon of selfinduction and mutual induction. Henry was only really interested in the science of electricity, and the relay was a laboratory trick to entertain students.

Henry’s invention remained relatively unknown for several decades, but it became widespread in the 1860s with the development of the telegraph and telephone. In 1941, Konrad Zuse used electromechanical relays to build the world's first functioning computer Z3. Today, electromechanical relays have disappeared from computers.

Although fewer logic circuits are realised with the help of industrial relays nowadays, the relay is gaining in importance as an interface between logic and load due to the increasing use of process control systems and controllers. In their daily work, designers are mainly guided by the specified values such as 10 A at 250 VAC or 10 A at 30 VDC with a width of 15.6 mm (interface relay) or 22.5 mm or 38 mm (industrial relay). It is quite often not considered that these specifications refer to the ohmic load.

Contact load resulting from switching operation

Experience has shown that statements such as ‘we have always used the relay, but never had any problems before – why now?’ are first asked to the supplier. In most cases, however, it turns out that the type of signals to be switched has changed. This is because the levels of the signals to be switched are becoming smaller and smaller and the loads are becoming more and more inductive. Nevertheless, the proven relays with their standard contacts continue to be used.

It is not the stable current that stresses the contact, but the actual switching operation in connection with load size and load type. Therefore, the ratio of the switching current to the stable continuous current must be considered. In case of a resistive load, switching current and continuous current are approximately identical. With a lamp load, however, the switching current can be up to twenty times the continuous current due to the cold resistance of the filament. Motors, valves and contactors, on the other hand, are inductive consumers that are characterised by an inrush current that can be five to ten times higher. The switching peaks of valves can also be up to twenty times the continuous current. These inductive loads also cause strong switch-off sparks. Capacitor loads and very long cables are a special case. Here, the switching currents can reach forty times the continuous current.

If the switching contacts are opened under high DC loads, an electric arc is formed that can lead to fast wear or even welding of the contacts. Thanks to the magnetic field of a blow magnet, the Lorentz force acts on the electric arc, which is ‘blown away’ or ‘pushed away’ and thus extended as a result.

Utilisation categories

Some manufacturers specify the utilization categories for switching elements according to IEC/EN 60947. However, usually only the utilization categories AC-1 and DC-1 are specified, whereby the utilization categories AC-1 and DC-1 are described according to IEC/EN 60947-5-1 as resistive loads, precisely as ‘non-inductive or only slightly inductive loads (resistive loads)’. But in practice, the user hardly ever finds a resistive load. Here, the utilization categories for inductive loads are needed to find the right relay for the respective application.

For the utilization categories for DC voltage, the standard refers to the calculation of the load limit curve, here

the time constant t = L/R is evaluated. Resistance heaters are resistive loads (t = 0.95) and are classified in class DC-1. DC-13 includes electromagnets with 6 x P (continuous load in W) and DC-14 are electromagnets with economy resistors (IE = 10 x IB; t = 15 ms).

Basically, the categories DC-1 and DC-13 are of interest for an industrial relay. The utilization category DC-13 describes the control of electromagnets, auxiliary current switches, contactors and solenoid valves where the inrush current is less than or equal to the rated current, but the cut-off voltage peak can reach fifteen times the rated voltage.

The influence of the inductances on the switching capacity of a contact can be illustrated by the typical relay power curve. A normal contact reaches its limits under inductive load even at low currents. With the knowledge of this problem, ComatReleco has created a complete product range for these applications. These special relays in the sizes of the standard industrial relays (38 and 22.5 mm) make it possible to switch even higher direct currents reliably due to their contact architecture.

The right choice

The basic condition for a satisfactory relay service life is the correct selection of the relay type. If inductive loads have to be switched, it is generally recommended to connect the load in order to eliminate the disturbance at the point of generation. For alternating current with an RC element or a VDR, for direct current with an RC element or a free-wheeling diode. This measure is rewarded by lower interference and a considerably longer contact life.

With capacitive loads, only a series resistor or a choke can help. If the designer does not have data of the connected devices, ComatReleco relays can be fitted directly with a protective circuit.

Relays have some very good properties that make them ideal components for coupling between systems. The galvanic

separation between the coil and the contacts makes isolation between systems easy. The choice of coil voltages is wide and does not limit the voltage and current values of the contacts. It is relatively easy to select a relay to interface between a 24 V DC control circuit and a 230 V AC circuit. Relay coils are almost immune to overvoltage and EMC. There are also no software malfunctions. Due to the mechanical nature and simplicity of a relay, it has predictable behaviour in the event of a fault. However, there is no such thing as a one- fits-all relay. Knowing

the application exactly is crucial for optimal dimensioning.

Usually, the actuation of the relay is manageable. It is more challenging when it comes to the load. It is not only important to know the voltage and current of the load, but also whether the load is resistive, inductive or capacitive. The switching interval, the switching frequency and special ambient conditions have an influence on the selection of the relay. The utilization categories according to IEC/EN 60947 help to characterise the application cases

considering the operating conditions. Depending on the application and when specified correctly, relays offer reliable solutions in railway applications in many cases and are therefore state-of- the-art even today. Relay -based designs are usually simpler than electronic controls with software and this also simplifies certification.

With one of the widest product portfolios of Relays and Contactors including customized solutions ComatReleco serves customer within the segments of industrial automation and building installation technology as well as transport and railway. Built with latest solid-state technologies, using the traditional electro-mechanical design or a combination of both. For more than 20 years, ComatReleco products have found their way into rail vehicles and their subcomponents such as toilet systems, HVAC, doors, etc.

Our future

Based on customer feedback, continuous improvements, and adaptations to comply with the standards, the product range has been continuously expanded over the past years.

ComatReleco’s CMS-10R IoT messaging system, often referred to as remote relay or SMS butler, secures contact with your assets.

One of the newer additions to the product range is the remote relay, the CMS-10R monitoring and control system. Despite the connected world, there are always situations where there is no internet access, the PLC control is unavailable, or monitoring is required outside the existing IT infrastructure. For these cases, ComatReleco has developed a remote relay with an integrated eSIM for 4G, 3G, 2G communication that works worldwide. The system includes an IoT cloud and an app for smart phones.

The world today is full of uncertainties. Nevertheless, we need to look forward and continue to grow our business as you and we did during the pandemic. A workplace where you can develop, share and evolve and the satisfaction of having done a good job will help us innovate and prepare for the future.

Tel: +41 31 838 55 77

Email: info@comatreleco.com

Visit: comatreleco.com

LinkedIn: ComatReleco AG

Address: ComatReleco AG Bernstrasse 4 3076 Worb Switzerland

Dual Fuel Locomotive Concepts

G-volution and SBL-Rail present dual fuel evolution concepts of the Class 37, Class 59 and Class 66 locomotives, representative of Type 3 and Type 5 locomotives respectively

Dual fuel engines use compression ignition and combust two fuels simultaneously. This work shows how diesel fuel can be displaced by renewable net zero carbon emission fuels and how adopting dual fuel engines can be a pathway to decarbonise locomotive operations.

G-volution has been developing dual fuel engines since 2008 and together with SBLRail now shows how this technology can benefit UK freight locomotives. The concepts presented use diesel with biomethane, diesel with biopropane and diesel with hydrogen. The Class 37’s English Electric 12CSVT and the Class 66’s EMD 12-710 engines are replaced by new dual fuel engines and meeting the Stage V emission standard.

A twin engine concept Class 59 and Class 66 using two smaller new dual fuel engines has also been developed as well as a dual fuel evolution concept of the Class 66’s original EMD 12-710 engine. Whilst the locomotives’ original engines could be evolved to dual fuel, modern engines offer higher efficiency, the opportunity to use advanced combustion control strategies and compliance with the latest emission standards.

The original diesel tank/s of the locomotives are replaced with a smaller diesel tank and cylinders for biomethane or biopropane or hydrogen are installed in place of part of the original diesel tank. A range of fuel tank solutions were developed for each fuel, including using a number of smaller cylinders or instead using fewer larger cylinders. An example solution is shown in the figures below for each locomotive type.

Biomethane can be manufactured by anaerobic digestion of biomass including organic waste streams e.g. food, farm and sewage waste and there are currently 670 such biomethane production plants in the UK. Biomethane is a renewable fuel replacement for natural gas.

Class 37 New dual fuel engine

Carbon savings percentage (%)

Operating cost savings percentage (%)

Diesel-biomethane 67 58

Diesel-biopropane 64 55

Diesel-hydrogen 66 44

Class 66 New dual fuel engine

Diesel-biomethane 51 29

Diesel-biopropane 42 21 Diesel-hydrogen 49 7 Class 66 EMD dual fuel evolution

Diesel-biomethane 81 39

Diesel-biopropane 71 26 Diesel-hydrogen 79 -28

Biopropane can be manufactured through a number of different routes from biomass or through biological routes. Biopropane is a renewable fuel replacement for LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas).

Hydrogen production options are numerous and include manufacture from biomass, hydrocarbons or by electrolysis of water. Currently hydrogen is typically made from fossil fuels (usually natural gas) or electrolysis of water. The terms grey hydrogen, blue hydrogen and green hydrogen refer to its manufacture from fossil fuels without carbon capture (grey), manufacture from fossil fuels with carbon capture (blue) or from renewable sources (green).

The diesel component used in dual fuelling could too be replaced in due course by renewable biodiesel or a renewable diesellike fuel. Whilst biodiesel could be used alone and in place of fossil fuel diesel fuel

this does little to lower tailpipe emissions other than carbon dioxide – biodiesel also being a net zero carbon emission fuel.

Dual fuelling lowers particulate emissions as well. If a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) is fitted, the engine thus spends less time working against an increased back pressure as the DPF fills, fewer DPF regenerations are then needed thus improving engine efficiency and further lowering fuel consumption.

Route simulations were completed using OTMR provided by operators of these locomotives and in combination with dual fuel engine models based on G-volution’s dual fuel combustion research to date. Results are shown in the table above. Hydrogen’s carbon savings assumes green hydrogen is used and at a cost 1.3 times that of diesel on an energy equivalent basis.

For the Class 66, the new 4 stroke dual fuel engine offers a ten per cent improvement

in fuel consumption versus the original 2 stroke EMD engine. For the Class 37, the new dual fuel engine offers a 13 per cent improvement in fuel consumption versus the original English Electric 12CSVT. Whilst the dual fuel evolution of the EMD engine offers higher replacement rates of diesel, this 2 stroke engine is less efficient than the new 4 stroke dual fuel engines and also doesn’t meet the latest Stage V emission standards.

On an energy equivalent basis, biomethane is 0.5 times the price of diesel, biopropane is 0.6 times the price of diesel and hydrogen is currently 1.3 times (using natural gas) to six times (using electrolysis) the price of diesel. Hence the negative cost savings for the EMD hydrogen dual fuel evolution. The new dual fuel hydrogen engines offer positive cost savings primarily due to these engines’ improved efficiency over the original engine thus overall lowered operating costs. Biomethane and biopropane dual fuel engines offer significant carbon and cost savings versus diesel. Hydrogen also has the potential to do this once produced from renewable sources and once it is much cheaper than it is today.

Please note that this report is based on 2020 fuel prices. Whilst diesel prices are expected to rise in the future, biomethane,

biopropane and green hydrogen are disconnected from the crude oil price and their prices are expected to fall as production volumes continue to ramp up. Green hydrogen made through electrolysis relies on renewable electricity and requires electricity prices to fall (or diesel prices to rise even further) for it to offer operating costs savings over diesel.

Work is now underway to apply dual fuel evolutions to other types of rolling stock and also includes further dual fuelling concepts including diesel with biogas (the initial

product of an AD biomethane plant), diesel with hythane (a blend of hydrogen and methane), and diesel with ammonia.

Email: info@sbl-rail.co.uk Visit: sbl-rail.co.uk/

Investing in Plant and People

Multi-million pound ongoing investment in plant and people is driving export success at William Cook Rail and keeping the British company at the forefront of the design, manufacture and over-haul of safety-critical components for the global rail industry

The company serves international rolling stock builders and operators including Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, Stadler and Transport for London from its world-leading foundry, machining and workshop facilities in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Its products are on trains around the world, including the UK, France, Germany, Canada, India, Australia and the United States.

William Cook Rail has secured substantial new export orders this year. Notably, the company won a multi-million dollar contract for traction motor components for the Long Island Rail Road in New York, one of the busiest commuter lines in the world. The company helped design the precision components in a specialist grade of stainless steel to help the M-7 rail cars overcome the challenges of operating in a corrosive maritime environment on the Atlantic coast. The components will extend the life of the fleet and reduce the noise of the trains to improve comfort for passengers. William Cook Rail won the multi-year contract with Alstom North America thanks to its worldleading expertise in advanced metallurgy and precision machining.

In addition, the company has secured an important new customer in Škoda Transportation Group, the Czech train builder, and will make complex bogie frame castings for a new fleet of trams for Bratislava. It beat fierce European competition to land the work.

William Cook Rail showcased British manufacturing excellence at InnoTrans, the international trade fair for transport technology which took place in Berlin in September. The company exhibited alongside global industry giants such as Alstom, CAF, Hitachi, Siemens and Stadler.

Closer to home, William Cook Rail continues to maintain and overhaul a variety of coupler systems and other parts for London Underground trains across the network.

The export success comes as a result

of sustained investment in plant and machinery at Wil-liam Cook Rail. The most recent investment includes £1.25 million in new CNC machining centres, which will enable the company to deliver ever-tighter dimensional tolerances. The new machines will complement an already extensive and modern machine shop, which includes a Correa FOX gantry milling machine capable of accommodating complete bogie frames. The company is also commission-ing a new paint facility, bringing in-house the capability to coat everything from individual parts to complete bogie frames, all to rail industry standards.

Against a backdrop of soaring energy costs and the UK’s transition to net zero, William Cook Rail has successfully reduced its energy consumption by investing in high-efficiency equipment and reorganising its manufacturing operations. Its new highefficiency heat treatment furnaces help

achieve the superior mechanical qualities required for the ultra high-strength but lightweight steel components demanded by the rail industry. Meanwhile new extraction units reduce the factory’s emissions and improve working conditions for employees.

Combined, these efforts have led to a 60 per cent reduction in gas consumption and a 15 per cent reduction in electricity consumption over the last year, without any fall in production output. These efforts have been led by director William Cook, who is vice chair of the Net Zero Advisory Panel at the Cast Metals Federation industry group.

Mr Cook said: ‘William Cook Rail is investing for the long term to develop our world-leading foundry, machining and workshop facilities and our workforce of highly skilled engineers, techni-cians and apprentices, helping to create a sustainable future for British manufacturing capabilities.

William Cook Rail’s world-leading foundry in Leeds, West Yorkshire

‘We are proud that the world’s major train builders come to William Cook Rail for safety-critical components that they can rely on. We’re also proud to manufacture all our products in Great Britain; with our base in West Yorkshire, we are extremely well placed to support the major invest-ment in Britain’s rail network to transform services across the North and Midlands.’

William Cook Rail holds certification from the Railway Industry Supplier Approval Scheme (RISAS), which ensures key suppliers can become recognised as best-inclass at delivering the most challenging and high-risk products and services. It is also one of only 19 British manufacturers to meet the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS), the leading quality benchmark for the global rail sector. This covers the company’s management systems for the manufacturing, machining, as-sembly and overhaul of safety critical components for rolling stock builders and operators across the world.

William Cook Rail is part of William Cook Holdings, a specialist manufacturing group serving the defence, rail and energy sectors. The Sheffield-headquartered group has 442 employees and four factories across the north of England, with sales of £60 million per year.

Ambitious and enthusiastic: young engineers are living the dream

As ambitious and enthusiastic young engineering apprentices, Brendon Dunbar and Thomas Roberts are living the dream at William Cook Rail. The trainee mechanical engineers are learning all about the design, manufacture and overhaul of safety critical components under the expert guidance of highly experienced hands at this leading supplier to the global rail industry.

Brendon and Thomas have joined a company with a strong track record of developing the next generation of engineering talent. In a workforce of 123 people, William Cook Rail has five active ap-prentices and eleven employees who have completed apprenticeships in the last

five years. They are being guided by some of the most experienced engineers in the industry: the company has just handed out long service awards to four members of staff with a combined tenure of 137 years at the company.

Barry Swift, Executive Director at William Cook Rail, said: ‘We are great believers in giving young people an opportunity to develop careers as engineers. To succeed in the global rail industry, you need to invest in the future and bring young people into an environment where they can learn new skills. They find it very rewarding to be able to contribute to finished products that are running on railways throughout the world. Equally, our experienced engineers find it very exciting to be able to share their knowledge with the new recruits. It gives everyone a spring in their step.’

Alongside apprentice machinist James Addaway, Brendon and Thomas are products of UTC Leeds, a university technical college with a focus on engineering and advanced technology. William Cook Rail is developing closer links with the specialist education provider to encourage more ambi-tious and enthusiastic young engineers to pursue a career in the global rail industry.

The first fruit of this growing relationship is a new work experience programme. It launched earlier this year when William Cook Rail welcomed three year twelve students for a week-long place-ment. The team introduced the students to all stages of the production process from method design and pattern making to mechanical analysis

and testing and then quizzed them about how much they had taken in.

Mr Swift added: ‘We were really impressed with their detailed responses. All three actively engaged with us and were model students. They were a credit to UTC Leeds and their parents. We are looking forward to working more closely with UTC Leeds and in the coming months we hope to launch a new technical apprenticeship programme.’

William Cook Rail’s apprenticeship scheme is proving to be a successful route into the rail industry. Products of the programme include Shivan Morkar, an award-winning apprentice who re-cently completed his engineering degree in mechanical manufacture at the University of Sheffield while working at the company.

Tel: +44 (0)113 249 6363 Email: rail@cook-rail.co.uk Visit: www.william-cook.co.uk

Apprentices Thomas Roberts (centre) and Brendon Dunbar (right) with a wedgelock coupler

Apprentice James Addaway operates a Doosan Mynx 9500 in William Cook Rail’s extensive and modern machine shop

William Cook Rail showcased British manufacturing excellence at InnoTrans in September 2022

Railway Safety Solutions by AI, Firewall, and Diagnosis

Although today the operation of the train is almost semi-automatic, the importance of the drivers does not degrade

The drivers still need to keep an eye on everything to ensure the safety of passengers and operations. As the drivers work alone, in case of being unfocused or any acute medical condition, with an edge AI system for onboard surveillance applications, the activity of the driver can be monitored and analysed; for example, if the driver falls to the ground or stares at one direction for more than five seconds, the alarm will go off to alert the driver and the control centre to evaluate whether to start the emergency procedures. In the same way, the abnormal or attack behaviour of passengers can also be detected by the AI vision to ensure a safe ride.

Recently, our system has been even deployed in an original application, the seat occupancy detection. Integrated with advanced software and cameras, the edge AI system can detect passengers sitting down or leaving their seats, providing real-time status data. For the convenience of the passengers, the occupancy of each car would be displayed in graphics on the electronic boards on the platform. More than that, the occupancy status can even be checked on mobile devices, which enhances and changes the scope of transportation.

Fueled by intelligence from AI-driven systems and applications, railway operations are becoming safer and smarter while improving passenger comfort. Axiomtek’s new UST510-52B-FL would be an applicable fit for light edge AI applications while it is powered by the Intel® Xeon® processor (Coffee Lake) with up to 65W TDP. Designed in a compact size, it has high-performance image processing computing power with two DDR4 system memory up to 64G, which can be furtherly boosted with an accelerator module via M.2 or mini PCIe slot.

What makes it a perfect fit for a behaviour analysis system is that the system features eight PoE ports to support the IP cameras. Thus, the cameras can be deployed to multiple cars and run real-time surveillance. More than that, it is equipped with one M.2 Key B 3050 slot for the 5G module. Two hot-swappable 2.5-inch SATA drives with Intel® RAID 0/1 function

and two mSATA are available for storage. The system has a rugged design that the vibration endurance is up to 3 Grms as SSDs are installed. Also, it has a wide operating temperature ranging from -40°C to +70°C to work under any harsh conditions. To keep the proof for unexpected incidents, Axiomtek suggests adding a Network Video Recorder (NVR) and thereby recommends the tBOX300-510-FL. The EN 50155

certified system has four swappable 2.5" SATA drive and supports RAID 0/1/10 to provide big storage space and data backup.

Onboard Diagnosis and Predictive Maintenance

To ensure a safe ride, we not only rely on the mechanics or the technicians to do the routine maintenance. With a variety of sensors such as sound sensors and

the development of IoT, we advance to predictive maintenance which is able to detect possible upcoming malfunctions or maintenance in need. Through the signals and data analysis, train operators can know the status of the bogie or axle via software and tackle the problems as soon as possible. To obtain data from different sensors via various protocols, gateways with rich I/O are required. As gateways integrate data and transmit it to the central management system, the location and the type of problem can be quickly identified.

Axiomtek’s compact tBOX110-APL-VT is powered by the Intel Atom® x5-E3940 processor (Apollo Lake) and possesses rich I/O interfaces. Despite its small size, it features two CANBus and two COM ports supporting RS-232/422/485 with highspeed mode for parameter transmission without any latency; in addition to two LAN ports, it has two mini PCIe slots and external SIM card slots to enable a wireless connection. Two USB 3.0 ports and 6-in/2out DIO make it ready for more peripherals, making it a cost-effective gateway to collect several digitalized signals.

The system supports DIN-rail or wallmount to make the installation more flexible in space constraint train cabin. Besides collecting data, when an emergency

happens, the driver can send out warnings or evacuation announcements to the passenger information system (PIS). To withstand the challenging environments as railways reach the most distant places around the world, the tBOX110-APL-VT is able to perform under a wide range of temperatures from -40°C to 70°C.

Railway Cybersecurity

The rolling stock sensors, devices, and systems are also in the scope of the operation technology (OT); as the OT converges with the information technology (IT) and provides data for insights in detail from the edge, the OT is hence exposed to the internet environment and under the threat of cyber-attack. The railway and related systems have been under attack around the world and caused chaos and disinformation. To prevent the trains from malfunctioning, installing a system to set up a firewall in the trains to protect systems such as the central control unit can be a helpful solution. The firewall can segment the OT network from the IT network and filter unknown packets.

The tBOX500-510-FL has been chosen by several system integrator customers and used as a hardware firewall due to its scalability. It is powered by the 7th gen

Intel® Core™ processor and what makes it special is that it is equipped with two slots for a series of value-added modules to gain different I/O flexibility. To build up a railway cybersecurity solution, Axiomtek recommends installing two VAM708 modules to the system. Each module has four M12 A-coded GbE LAN ports, which means each system with two modules would have four bypass pairs. The modules not only provide multiple LAN ports to integrate signals from various onboard devices but also support LAN bypass to maintain the functions to keep the firewall and the whole management system working even when the system is down. Additionally, Axiomtek provides other modules supporting CANBus, PoE or serial, making the deployment flexible.

Keeping trains safe takes a lot of work in different aspects. In cyber security, AI and diagnosis systems, the applications all require different systems with diverse features. As all the systems coordinate and function accordingly, there will be a safe ride.

Tel: +44-161-2093680 Email: info@axiomtek.co.uk Visit: axiomtek.co.uk

Level Crossing & RRAP Specialists

RRAP & TAP Services

Rubber Components and Materials

J-Flex offers an extensive range of unique elastomer materials for Surface, Sub-Surface, Tunnel and Rolling Stock applications

J-Flex EPDM, Silicone and Neoprene and Vamac® materials are tested and approved to EN45545-2 and many other certifications, including LUL S1085 compliance and are designed specifically for low smoke low toxicity requirements, particularly with regards to enclosed space applications.

This makes them ideal for all safety critical applications in rail, mass transit, marine vessels, oil & gas, public transport and heavy goods vehicles. With resistance to corrosion, moisture, salt and light fuels, they offer outstanding flexibility, strength and durability. This includes environmental resistance – withstanding Ozone, U.V., rain and frost – meaning outdoor applications such as lighting systems and enclosures are kept water and dust tight.

Vamac® for example has excellent

abrasion resistance, so is ideal where wear is a concern – one notable use being protection of cables laying on ballast trackside. Gaskets and seals for enclosures such as lighting fixtures, battery boxes/ covers and the like will prevent the ingress of environmental factors.

Extruded seals are perfect for glazing partitions, door portals and floor covings. Anti-vibration gaskets and mouldings come into play for seating mounts and floor vibration dampening. As you can imagine, our various elastomers can perform many functional and critical roles within Surface, Sub-Surface, Tunnel and Rolling Stock applications. With various degrees of hardnesses being available, and gaskets, seals and mouldings being achievable in virtually any required dimensions, the possibilities are endless.

The following page should gives some food for thought but with so many possibilities, maybe there’s something you have in mind that isn’t shown? Get in touch, we love a challenge and providing solutions!

Materials that can be supplied:

• 50°/60°/70° Shore EPDM.

• Vamac®.

• Medium Density Silicone Sponge.

• Pure Neoprene Sponge.

• 40º to 60° Shore Silicone.

Which can be supplied as:

• Calendered Sheet Rubber.

• Cut Gaskets; Joints and Strips.

• Precision Moulded Components.

• Extruded Profiles and Sections.

• Vulcanised Joined Profile Frames.

• Laminated Composites (rubber and sponge).

• Sponge/Foam Sheets or cut parts.

• Machined Plastics and sheets.

• Seals.

These products are in accordance with:

• EN 45545-2 : 2020 - R9 - HL2 • EN 45545-2 : 2020 - R22/R23/R24/R25/ R26 - HL3.

• LUL S1085 Specifications.

• Former National Standards BS 6853; DIN 5510-2 & NF F 16-101.

• NFPA 130 (Tests ASTM E 662; ASTM C 1166 & ASTM E 1354).

About J-Flex

Established in 1984, J-Flex is a privately owned company involved in the manufacturing & distribution of high performance rubber products. Over this time they have gained an enviable reputation for high quality manufactured rubber components, elastomer sheetings and vacuum forming consumables, backed up with excellent customer service.

Trackside applications include:

• Cable Jacketing.

• Signal Cable Hose.

• Cable Ductings.

Material data sheets, test reports and samples are available upon request. Datasheets and A Guide to Flame Retardant, Low Smoke, Low Toxic Rubber Materials can be downloaded at www.j-flex.com/ productmarket/rail-and-mass-transit/

Tel: 01777 712400

Email: sales@j-flex.com

Visit: www.j-flex.com

Address: J-Flex Rubber Products

Units 1 & 2 London Road Business Park, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 6HG

LinkedIn: j-flex-rubber-products

Facebook: JFlexRubber

Twitter: JFlexRubber

Independently Powered Electrical Multiple Unit (IPEMU) for Merseytravel

A Global Journey

Stadler offers a comprehensive range of rolling stock service, including high-speed trains, intercity trains, regional and commuter heavy rail trains, underground trains, tram-trains and trams as well as signalling products

With sustainability at the heart of the business, Stadler is a market leader in emission-free traction and is playing a critical role in helping governments around the world achieve net zero targets. There are seven ‘live’ projects in the UK, in other words rolling stock that is still in the production process and not yet been delivered to the client. Or, that some trains have been delivered and the client has not yet introduced them into commercial service. These are:

• Electric Multiple Units for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

• METRO trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro.

• METRO trains for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.

• CITYLINK tram-trains for Transport for Wales.

• Tri-mode locomotives for Rail Operations (UK).

• Bi-mode locomotives for GB Railfreight and Beacon Rail.

• Transport for Wales started introducing FLIRT trains into passenger service in January 2023.

Stadler Rail Service UK (SRS UK) provides services to a growing number of customers in the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Liverpool, SRS UK offers maintenance and efficient all-round service on all rail vehicles. Four hundred people work at SRS UK locations around the country on various projects.

Independently Powered Electric Multiple Units

Seven of the 53 Class 777 METRO trains ordered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will be IPEMUs (independently powered electric multiple unit), which are powered by battery. The 46 others are EMUs (electric multiple units). The first of its type to operate in the UK, the IPEMU has the potential to replace diesel powered units, helping clients to cut carbon emissions. IPEMUs can run on non-electrified lines, enabling clients to extend operations, meaning that costly infrastructure upgrades can be prevented.

Passengers are able to avoid changing modes to make travel easier and more convenient, which in turn encourages more people to take the train.

While an IPEMU is running on the electrified network, the batteries can be charged from the third rail, as well as through regenerative braking. IPEMUs can be recharged in less than 15 minutes, and batteries are able to undergo more than 10,000 charge/discharge cycles.

Able to reach a speed of 80 kph when fully charged, it can cover an operational distance of 55 kilometres on one battery load, having reached 135 kilometres during tests in 2022. The IPEMU boasts the same interior and high levels of passenger comfort and can carry the same number of passengers. The ride quality is smooth and passengers will not notice the transition from EMU to IPEMU mode. An IPEMU was displayed at InnoTrans in September 2022.

METRO Trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro

Stadler will deliver 46 METRO trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro. Bright and open,

METRO train

with special multi-functional areas for wheelchairs, prams, luggage and bicycles, they will feel more secure, featuring video surveillance, protection systems for door operation and clear warning displays. Good thermal and acoustic insulation will regulate on-board temperatures for the comfort of passengers, and newly developed air-sprung bogies will reduce noise.

Eight large double doors allow passengers to get on and off quickly. The lightweight carbodies, the recovery of braking energy and the use of highly efficient traction converter technology will all help reduce energy consumption. Trains will be built to accommodate an energy storage system, enabling them to operate on an extended network in future and driving on depot premises.

METRO Trains for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport

Stadler is working in a consortium to supply 17 METRO trains for the Glasgow Subway. With its unusually narrow track and tunnels gauges, Glasgow Subway operates solely within its original Victorian tunnels, and

for the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport

IPEMU for the Liverpool City Region

Image credit Philip Wormald

has a track gauge of 1.22 metres and tunnel gauge of just 3.4 metres in diameter. This makes the contract highly complex.

Light and bright, trains will feature open gangways to maximise space and will be equipped for fully automatic, unattended train operation. It will be the first time that Stadler is manufacturing trains for a driverless system in the UK. A METRO train for Strathclyde Partnership for Transport was displayed at InnoTrans in September 2018. The first new train entered the Glasgow Subway system for testing in December 2021, with testing on the network starting in April 2022.

CITYLINK Tram-Trains for Transport for Wales

Transport for Wales has awarded Stadler a contract to supply 36 three-car CITYLINK tram-trains, which can be used on both tram and mainline lines. This avoids passengers having to change modes, which promotes seamless travel and significantly increases the attractiveness of public transports.

These modular, barrier-free light rail units are designed to connect city centres with outlying areas. They feature traction battery systems, meaning that they can run on non-electrified lines. This reduces carbon emissions and helping to prevent costly infrastructure investments for the client.

Thanks to the traction batteries, which are being used on the CITYLINK for the first time, they can run solely electrically on both AC 25kV electrified lines and nonelectrified lines. A CITYLINK for Transport for Wales was displayed at InnoTrans in September 2022.

Tri-mode FLIRT Trains for Transport for Wales

Strong environmental credentials and the use of battery power characterise FLIRT trains, 35 of which has been ordered by Transport for Wales. They demonstrate Stadler’s leading role in the introduction of alternative drive technologies in public transport, and are capable of running on lines with overhead electric wires, as well as with battery power and diesel.

Twenty-four are tri-modes, representing an innovative and cost-effective way of providing a fully electric, environmentally friendly service. Used in battery-mode, they will enable a fully electric service north of Cardiff, known as ‘smart electrification’.

This prevents costly infrastructure upgrades for the client. Seven three-car and

17 four-car trains will make up the tri-mode fleet, and the remaining eleven FLIRTs will be diesel-electric. Noise and vibrations will be kept to a minimum, with the new trains quieter than the current ones. Low flooring at every door will reduce dwell time and make it easier for passengers to get on and off. There will be space for up to six bikes on each train.

The first trains in diesel-electric drive arrived for testing on the Wales & Borders network at the end of 2021. A tri-mode FLIRT for Transport for Wales was displayed at InnoTrans in September 2022. Eleven of the 35 FLIRTs are DMUs, with the client entering the first into commercial service in January 2023.

Class 93 Tri-Mode Locomotives for Rail Operations (UK)

Stadler and Rail Operations (UK) Limited signed a framework agreement for 30 Class 93 tri-mode locomotives in January 2021. An initial batch of ten locomotives are due for delivery in early 2023. The advanced locomotives will significantly reduce carbon emissions for both rail freight as well as for potential passenger transport services, underscoring Stadler’s green credentials and demonstrating its commitment to decarbonisation.

Class 93 is a Bo’Bo’ mixed-traffic locomotive based on Stadler’s Class 68 and Class 88 locomotives, which have been operating successfully in the UK for some years. It is capable of reaching higher speed than the previous ones, i.e.175kph instead of 160 kph.

Stadler’s first tri-mode locomotive has three different power sources. In electric mode, it is able to run on 25kV AC overhead lines with a power of 4,000 kW. In addition, the locomotive features a CATERPILLAR C32 engine and Lithium Titanate Oxide

(LTO) traction battery packs, allowing it to operate over non-electrified lines. The diesel engine has a nominal power of 900kW and meets EU 97/68 Stage V emission requirements. The two LTO battery packs provide 400kW extra power to supplement the engine when the locomotive is running in diesel/battery hybrid mode, as well as last mile carbon-free shunting operation. Operation in battery-mode avoids ‘idling’ in diesel-mode at stations. The production process is now well under way, with the first carbody completed in July 2022.

Bi-mode Locomotives for GB Railfreight and Beacon Rail

In April 2022, Stadler was awarded its latest UK contract, signing agreement for 30 Class 99 bi-mode Co’Co’ locomotives with GB Railfreight (GBRf) and Beacon Rail. Representing a new generation of locomotives, the Class 99 offers rail operators economic and environmental benefits, promoting modal shift to rail.

These high-performing locomotives can reach speeds of up to 120 kph and run on 25 kV AC electrified lines with a power of 6,000 kW at wheel. A high-power lowemissions Stage-V engine enables them to operate on non-electrified lines and they boast an outstanding tractive effort of up to 500 kN, as well as high-hauling capability and performance. The driver’s cab has been designed with the driver in mind. An ergonomic desk and well-positioned seating maximises visibility, streamlining operation and enhancing comfort.

Tel: 00 44 7523 501 493 Email: media@stadlerrail.com Visit: stadlerrail.com

CITYLINK tram-train for Transport for Wales

Tri-mode FLIRT train for Transport for Wales

Bi-mode locomotive for GB Railfreight and Beacon Rail

Tri-mode locomotive for Rail Operations (UK)

Revolutionary Digital Print Technology

Fabric manufacturer Camira has launched its revolutionary digital print technology

In an exciting move, fabric manufacturer Camira has signalled its commitment to remaining at the forefront of the rail industry with the introduction of the innovative Camira Print.

Perfectly complementing the manufacturer’s renowned weaving capabilities, the launch expands its offering to encompass digital printing – providing customers with an unparalleled level of flexibility and freedom when choosing the optimal textile for their rail interior.

Revolutionary design potential

Removing many of the design constraints associated with traditional woven textiles, Camira Print fabrics can be created without restrictions on pattern repeats, scale, or colour, as well as significantly reducing lead times and minimum order quantities. With a variety of design options, customers have the flexibility to create something entirely new – working with Camira’s in-house design studio to develop a totally bespoke creation.

Moquette fabric, made from wool

In an appealing blend of tradition and innovation, each Camira Print creation is applied to a lightweight moquette fabric – the construction on which Camira’s rich heritage is built. With a velour finish, the textile has been created exclusively for digital print and is woven from naturally sustainable wool to deliver saturated colour and comfort.

Meeting the industry’s key technical performance standards, Camira Print textiles achieve the flammability regulation EN 45545. Indicating high durability, the newly launched textile capability also has an abrasion performance of over 100,000 rubs.

Tel: 03330 324 568

Email: transportfabrics@camirafabrics.com Visit: www.camirafabrics.com

Director of Transport at Camira, comments on the launch

‘We’re incredibly excited to introduce Camira Print to the rail market; not only is it a first for Camira, but also for the industry. Providing an unmatched level of design, colour and manufacturing freedom, customers can create truly unforgettable fabrics which it has just not been possible to create – until now. Truly a light shed moment for the transport indust