7 minute read
Business News
Freightliner trains new drivers
Last year, Freightliner was awarded a contract with @EastMidRailway to provide drivers to run their new service from Cleethorpes to Barton-upon-Humber for a minimum period of twelve months. Following a period of route learning, Freightliner has successfully trained eleven drivers to run EMR’s British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter units over this portion of the railway, ensuring that EMR continues to operate a resilient and quality community rail service for local passengers.
‘Freightliner is delighted to have been given the opportunity to collaborate with EMR in providing a top-class service for the local community’ said Freightliner’s Head of Operations – North, Matthew Workman. ‘From first being approached about the opportunity to work with EMR, we have formed a close collaborative partnership which has been key to the success of this project. I would like to extend a personal thank you to Paul Griffin (Head of Drivers), Duncan Cale (Barton-on-Humber Project Manager) and Jess Panayiotou (Programme Coordinator) at EMR for their open, transparent and supportive approach, and to my own team at Ferrybridge who have delivered the training, resource management and service delivery with military precision.’
Medically approved open frame ac-dc converters expand LOF series
Two series, the LOF450 and LOF550, expand Mornsun’s renowned LOF series of medical and industry standard power supplies. They are available from Relec Electronics in industry standard packages and on short lead times.
Mornsun’s LOF series of very high power density, open frame ac-dc converters now include the two latest series of medically approved models, the LOF450 and LOF550. The latest additions to the well-established LOF series continue its thermal design excellence for low cost, reliable ac-dc converters which meet the latest regulatory standards and which are available on very short lead times.
The new LOF450 series has a universal AC input (90 – 264Vac) and at the same time accept 127 – 373Vdc input, with output ranging from 12-48V. The 450W ac-dc converters operate at -40°C to +70°C and have dimensions of 127 x 76.2 x 38.5mm (5.0 x 3.0 x 1.5”) for use in confined spaces.
Models in the 550W LOF550 series have the same universal input and output ranges and temperature range. Dimensions are 127 x 76.2 x 38.5mm (5.0 x 3.0 x 1.6”). Both the LOF450 and LOF550 series have double or reinforced insulation and offer excellent EMC and safety performance. In addition to meeting IEC/EN/UL62368, GB4943, IEC/ EN60335, IEC/EN61558, IEC/EN/ES60601, they are EN60601 2xMOPP and UL/ EN62368-1-approved.
Target applications are industrial, LED, street lighting control, electricity, security, telecommunications, ‘smart home’ and medical environments. The open frame models in both series are also available as perforated case (-C) or perforated case with integrated fan (-CF) models.
Newgate (Newark) Ltd was excited to see the continued deployment at Sunningdale Level Crossing of their newly developed Level Crossing Barrier Machine and associated Protection Cage technology, which have both been granted Product Approval by Network Rail for trial on several projects in the UK.
With more than 35 years’ experience with Barriers and continuous investment in R&D, Newgate (Newark) Ltd have industry leading strength within the barrier and gate security market.
Atkins – a member of SNC-Lavalin Group were awarded a multi-disciplinary contract for design & installation works to re-new the level crossing at Sunningdale, which falls within Phase 2 of the Feltham & Wokingham re-signalling Project. The overall Feltham & Wokingham re-signalling project covers the renewal of all signalling assets, with delivery broken down into six separate phases.
Within the early works scope of Phase 2, Sunningdale MCB-CCTV Level Crossing was subject to a full level crossing renewal and was successfully completed on 1 November 2021. The scope encompassed life extension works with additional barrier repositioning and carriageway realignment works to deliver a compliant level crossing solution to Network Rail. Newgate have been working in partnership with Atkins for several years to develop and supply a new state of the art Level Crossing Barrier solution with improved reliability to reduce down time and whole lifecycle cost as part of the Network Rail drive of ‘Design for Reliability’.
Newgate (Newark) Ltd NGR18000 Rail Barrier has carried out more than three Million operations to date in our inhouse testing facilities and is designed to fit the current ‘legacy’ barrier machine footprint without the need for expensive ground works.
To compliment this our Newgate (Newark) Ltd NGR18000 Rail Barrier Protection Cage has been designed to be easily retro fitted to existing BR843 machines, enabling you to eliminate the current hazards due to moving sidearms and balance weights within a very short time frame. For more information contact rail@newgate.uk.com.
Banbury-based company hosts virtual open evenings for latest engineering apprenticeships job openings
Banbury-based tools manufacturer
Norbar Torque Tools Ltd is hosting a series of virtual careers evenings in February for young people potentially interested in two engineering apprenticeships on offer. Following the success of last year’s virtual events, the company intends to showcase the opportunities for apprentices through online sessions in order to maintain social distancing as the Covid-19 situation continues.
The open evenings will be taking place on the 17, 18, 19, and 20 January and attendees will be able to books slots between 6pm and 8pm to be able to discuss the job roles virtually with Norbar’s Head of HR, Wanda Stewart-Lee and Rob Alderman from the Engineering Trust.
On top of this, video tours of the Norbar manufacturing facilities will be available to offer insight into a modern manufacturing facility and the opportunities available for apprenticeship applicants.
While concerns over youth unemployment persist, Norbar is demonstrating its commitment to developing young people’s skills in the Banbury area and to urge them to consider a career in manufacturing and engineering. For more information and to sign up to one of the slots, visit: https://www.norbar. com/home/information-evening-2022?utm_ medium=pressrelease&utm_source=pr&utm_ campaign=virtualopenevenings
Get on track with customised rail solutions from HARTING
Due to modularisation, rail vehicles are often built at different production sites, an approach which offers time savings in the assembly and commissioning of rail vehicles. In order to meet these customer requirements, it’s vital to provide tailored solutions for vehicle technology.
With specialisms including cable assemblies, box builds and inter-car jumpers, HARTING design and produce custom solutions for the rail market. All customised products are built and tested at their fully IRIS-certified manufacturing facility in Northampton and are based on marketleading connectors from the extensive HARTING range.
Inter-car jumpers run connections between train carriages, including roof or underfloor systems, ensuring a reliable supply of data, signals, and power along the train. The Han-Modular® range allows you to create a versatile solution by combining individual inserts for different transmission media into standard-sized industrial connector housings.
The series offers over a hundred different inserts, enabling a wide range of customisable options.
For example, to meet increased demand, rail vehicles need powerful network and data interfaces. The Han® Gigabit module enables Cat. 7A transmission in the intervehicle area and delivers higher frequency bandwidth for the flow of data. The interface is also shock and vibration resistant according to EN 61373.
For the connection of WLAN equipment, X-coded M12 PushPull connectors enclosed in a box build are the ideal solution. As space for fitting components becomes increasingly scarce in rail vehicles, the M12 PushPull offers handling and time benefits, thanks to its tool-free connection technique.
No matter what the degree of complexity, HARTING have the capacity to produce project-specific assemblies to suit your needs, including installing components, routing cable harnesses and fabrication. Their design team can also create a 3D CAD visualisation of your build to ensure absolute accuracy before manufacturing begins.
Mechan reduces rail depot’s impact on environment
Sheffield-based Mechan is helping to reduce carbon emissions at a Scottish rail depot after introducing an electric shunter. The rail depot equipment specialists are supplying a Rotrac E2 shunter to Direct Rail Services’ (DRS) Motherwell facility, following a 14-month trial to prove it can replace a diesel-powered locomotive.
The battery powered shunter, manufactured by Mechan’s German partner, Zwiehoff, is being used by DRS to move flatbed wagons in and out of the depot at all times of the day and night. It replaces a diesel shunter that was louder, more polluting and could only be operated by a train driver. The Rotrac, however, can be controlled by maintenance personnel, offering greater flexibility.
Mechan is the sole UK and Irish supplier of the award-winning, Zwiehoff shunters. They use innovative battery technology to provide the necessary drive to move up to 500 tonnes and have a compact, simple design making them easy to manoeuvre and extremely robust.
