Railway Strategies April-May 2013

RAILWAY F o r S E N I OR R A I L M A N A G E M E N T

April/May 2013

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Crossrail‘s London tunnel marathon

The Crossrail route includes a marathonequivalent 26 mile section of tunnels

NEWS

Network Rail launches Long Term Planning Process

Government announces a fresh start for franchising Crossrail awards last major construction contract

Interview

Crossrail’s chief engineer Chris Dulake explains how the tunnelling project is navigated FOCUS ON

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Delays caused by cable theft halved DLR carries one million passengers in a year Work starts at Manchester Victoria

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RAILWAY FOR SENIOR RAIL MANAGEMENT

Live2013

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Hosted in association with

Inspiring Excellence

Creating a Modern Railway for the Next Generation

Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR

Thursday June 27th 2013

For all enquiries contact Dave King or Mark Cawston on 01603 274 130

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsors

Speakers to include:

The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP - Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade Annette Gevaert - UK Director of the Rail and Transport Sector, Achilles r Richard Holland - Vice President, Europe, UK & India, TBM Consulting Group eake p S l David Clarke - Director, Enabling Innovation Team cipa Prin Andrew Wolstenholme - CEO, Crossrail Dr Martyn Chymera - Chairman, Young Railway Professionals David Waboso - Director of Capital Programmes, London Underground Chris Rolison - Founder of Comply Serve Limited Richard Price - Chief Executive, Office of Rail Regulation

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From the Editor

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Managing Director Mike Tulloch Editor Martin Collier editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Managing Editor Libbie Hammond Art Editor Jon Mee Advertisement Designer Jamie Elvin Profile Editor Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs Advertisement Sales Dave King Andrew Bruns Head of Research Philip Monument Editorial Researchers Keith Hope Karl Riseborough Gavin Watson Joe Wright Administration Tracy Chynoweth Circulation & Events Karen Baur

Wanted: great ideas

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he rail industry is getting the taste for forward thinking and long-term planning, beyond the Control Period horizon. Following the recent ‘Radical Train’ competition, the Enabling Innovation Team is offering a prize fund of

one million pounds for fresh thinking in the area of customer experience. Online submissions are now invited, with final judging at a live pitch event later this year. No doubt further similar competitions will follow. TfL is also attempting to ‘stimulate innovative thinking within and outside the transport industry’ by means of the recently launched web-based Innovation Portal.

Ideas submitted by staff, suppliers, industry and academia will be reviewed against a set of criteria including business impact and ease of implementation. But in this instance there’s no suggestion of any reward! In another new move, Network Rail is peering ten to 30 years into the future in a series of market studies aimed at predicting capacity requirements. The first of these looks at long distance travel, London and South East passenger travel, regional urban passenger travel, and freight.

Issue 78 April/May 2013 ISSN 1467-0399 Published by

Schofield Publishing Cringleford Business Centre, Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich NR4 6AU Tel: 01603 274 130 Fax: 01603 274 131

Railway Strategies by email

We are pleased to announce that, from now on, Railway Strategies will also be available by email as a digital magazine. This exciting development is intended to complement the printed magazine, which we will continue to publish and distribute to qualifying individuals, whilst also giving added value to our advertisers through a more widespread circulation. To secure your continued supply of Railway Strategies in either digital or hard copy format, please contact our subscriptions manager Iain Kidd (ikidd@schofieldpublishing.co.uk).

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zzzzzzzzzzzzz Contents Issue 78 April/May2013

22 Interview

Features

Interview – Chris Dulake 22 Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs How to keep your train catering services on track with mobile technology 52 Simon Pont Putting the rail passenger first 54 Lior Arussy Who goes there? Over 180 years of railway trespass 56 Jamie Wilson

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Taking the initiative 60 Adeline Ginn Sustainable & efficient tram depots in the 21st century 68 Virgil Grot The little black box that can keep trains on the tracks for longer 74 Bryn Parry

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Reviving Nigeria’s railways 92 Malcolm Dowden To protect & serve 119 John Hanratty

Profiles

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FP McCann 20 Sprayed Concrete Association 32 SRS Rail System Ltd 44 AEG Power Systems 46 Cambridgeshire Guided Busway 70 Greenbrier 76 Group Ermewa 80 Inter Ferry Boats 84 The Survey Association 86 Nottingham Tramlink 89 The Danish Railway Group 93 Greater Anglia 96 FT Transformers 99 SJ Rail 102 Pod -Trak 104 ATG Access 107 Socomec 112 Arriva Trains Wales 116

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Industry News 11 ES A T E G29I R Contracts T S z z zzzzzz

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Products & Services 31 Network Rail

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Training 55

Security 57

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Health & Safety 58 Stations 61 Integrated Transport 67 Rolling Stock 75 Freight 79 Conferences & Exhibitions 120

61 New members 16

Focus on...

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Geotechnical Engineering Getting technical 36 Tony Wilcock

Focus on...

Plant & Equipment

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RAILWAY FOR SENIOR RAIL MANAGEMENT

Live2013

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Inspiring Excellence

The seventh annual conference from Railway Strategies Hosted in association with Inspiring Excellence

– Creating Dr Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State a Modern Railway for the Next Generation for Business, Innovation and Skills and is aiming to combine all the fresh thinking President of the Board of Trade, in this sector and bring it together in one Dr Martyn Chymera, Chairman, Young place. The event will highlight a number of Railway Professionals, Chris Rolison, new perspectives on rail, from legislation Founder of Comply Serve, Richard Price, and technology to how the sector can Chief Executive, Office of Rail Regulation, benefit UK PLC. Annette Gevaert, UK Director of the Rail This event, which will have a totally new and Transport Sector, Achilles, David and original approach, is taking place Clarke, Director, Enabling Innovation on Thursday 27th June at the highly Team, Andrew Wolstenholme OBE, prestigious Royal Geographical Society Chief Executive Officer, Crossrail, and in London (www.rgs.org).

David Waboso, Director of Capital The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP is The Royal Geographical Society is a Programmes, London Underground. the Secretary of State respected venue located in a wonderful Four senior procurement for Business, Innovation and Skills part of London, offering additional representatives from Network Rail will and President of the Board of benefits to attendees – this should attract also be on hand to provide networking Trade within the the largest audience to date. It has a opportunities throughout the day: coalition Government fully equipped, spacious auditorium, a Jim Carter Head of Contracts and formed in 2010 landscaped terrace and garden (which Procurement, Operations; Steve should be utilised to its full potential with main sponsors).

Armstrong - Head of Category Management; Ken Blackley Delegates should not fail to be drawn to that area for what - Head of Contracts and Procurement, NDS; and Gillian Scott is planned.

Assurance Manager, Infrastructure Projects. They will also join the Working in very close affiliation with the Rail Alliance and main speakers for an interactive panel debate during the day’s its members, Railway Strategies Live 2013 will deliver a programme. conference that is designed to be a useful and memorable Adrian Shooter, former Chairman of Chiltern Railways, and learning experience for all delegates, and valuable resource for current non-Executive Director of Wabtec, Chairman of Oxford sponsors and exhibitors.

LEP and Director of CBI West Midlands will also be joining the Speakers have been lined up from leading UK rail panel debate and participate in networking opportunities. companies. Many of the topics associated with the future of the rail sector, as well as current issues, will be covered.

If you wish to get involved in what is promising to Ten leading figures from the industry will be appearing – be an exciting and dynamic event contact: Colin Flack, Chief Executive, Rail Alliance, Richard Holland, Mark Cawston on 01603 274 130 Email: mcawston@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Vice President, TBM, Principal Speaker - The Rt Hon

er Principal Speak

You can also follow the event on Twitter @RLive2013 Scan the QR code to visit: www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

Colin Flack

Agenda 08:00 – 09:00 Registration, Coffee & Networking, Exhibition viewing 09:00 – 09:15 Introduction and Welcome from Colin Flack, Chief Executive, Rail Alliance

Conference chairman

09:15 – 09:45 Richard Holland, Vice President, TBM (Gold Sponsor) 09:45 – 10:00 Introduction to Principal Speaker - Vince Cable

Guest Speakers

10:00 – 10:30 The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade 10:30 –11:00 Dr Martyn Chymera, Chairman, Young Railway Professionals: A view from the next generation that will deliver the future railway 11:00 –11:30 Coffee & Networking Opportunity 11:30 –11:45 Chris Rolison, Founder of Comply-Serve 11:45 – 12:15 Richard Price, Chief Executive, Office of Rail Regulation 12:15 – 12:30 Annette Gevaert, UK Director of the Rail and Transport Sector, Achilles 12:30 – 13:30 Lunch & Networking Event 13:30 –14:00 David Clarke, Director, Enabling Innovation Team 14:00 – 14:30 Andrew Wolstenholme OBE, Chief Executive Officer, Crossrail 14:30 – 14:45 Coffee & Networking Break 14:45 –15:15 David Waboso, Director of Capital Programmes, London Underground 15:15 – 15:45 Q&A session with key speakers 15:45 Conference close

Colin Flack is the Chief Executive of the Rail Alliance, a position that he has held since its formation in September 2007. He has a wealth of experience in the rail industry, based on running a successful rail logistics and engineering business of his own; as well as that gained from his current role in keeping abreast of the issues faced by over 250 member companies. After a distinguished career in the Army, Colin left the Services in 2004 and began two start-up companies within the rail industry. He has also previously been a long-standing member of the Rail Freight Group management board. Colin sees his role primarily as acting as a conduit for networking, both within the group and in a wider industry, and acting as a voice for all the members.

Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP Dr Vince Cable was appointed Secretary of State for

Principal speaker

Business, Innovation and Skills in May 2010. He is the Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham.

Vince was educated at Nunthorpe Grammar School, York and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he studied natural science and economics and was President of the Union. He then studied for a PhD at Glasgow University.

He served in the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet as Spokesman on Trade and Industry from 1999 to 2003, and Shadow Chancellor from 2003 to 2010. He was Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2006 to 2010. After graduating, Vince worked as Treasury Finance Officer for the Kenyan Government between 1966 and 1968. From 1968 to 1974 he lectured in economics at Glasgow University.

He then worked in a range of senior economic and foreign policy roles, before becoming Shell International’s Chief Economist in 1995.

Richard Holland Richard Holland is Vice President, TBM, and leads operations for TBM consulting services in Europe, the United Kingdom and India. A lean practitioner since 1995 and a Six Sigma Black Belt, Richard Holland comes to TBM with more than ten years in discrete manufacturing in the automotive, aerospace, and consumer goods industries. He brings expertise in supply chain management in both inbound and outbound distribution channels as well as freight management, machining, and assembly. Prior to joining TBM, Richard was supply chain director and then divisional vice president of operations at Whirlpool’s Amana Refrigeration plant, with nearly $1 billion in sales. Before moving to the U.S. and joining Amana, Richard worked for Perkins Diesel Engines in Peterborough, U.K., where he held the site improvement position, working with Shingijutsu to implement lean throughout the facility. He then moved on to become production manager at Perkins’ large engine plant.

When Perkins became part of LucasVarity, Richard moved to Lucas Aerospace where he led the LeanSigma improvement team for 27 Lucas sites worldwide, and participated in moving plants in France and the design of new facilities New York.

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Guest Speakers Dr Martyn Chymera Dr Martyn Chymera is the newly elected chairman of the UK-based networking association Young Railway Professionals (YRP). The organisation was founded in 2009 to bring together young people from across the global railway industry and is dedicated to promoting the railway industry as a great place to develop a career, and inspiring young people in rail to drive forwards through innovation and collaboration.

Chris Rolison Chris is the founder of Comply Serve Limited, a UK-based innovator that has developed a unique web-based project compliance system. With a background in electronics engineering, over the past 27 years he has been involved in taking a number of leading edge technologies to market with various organisations, including GEC, Racal Electronics, Zuken Inc., Gemstone Inc. and Telelogic UK (now part of IBM). Chris first discovered the need for improved project compliance and assurance solutions in the rail industry while at Telelogic AB, where his team was involved in delivering systems engineering related technology and services to a number of key rail projects. With a focus on project delivery and supply chain management, Chris founded Comply Serve in 2005 to bring a viable industry project compliance solution to market. Comply Pro is now used across many UK and international infrastructure projects by over 40 companies, including Crossrail, Banedanmark and Etihad Rail.

Richard Price Richard Price is Chief Executive of the Office of Rail Regulation. He joined the Civil Service after gaining his MSc in Economics in 1989. He then spent four years at HM Treasury, before leaving to work as a consultant for NERA Economic Consulting. In 1997 he returned to the Treasury before moving to the Home Office as Chief Economist and then Strategy Adviser to the Permanent Secretary. Richard was also a project director at the Prime Minister’s Performance and Innovation Unit in 2000-01.

Between 2002 and 2006 Richard led the Treasury’s Enterprise and Business team, working on the development of industry and enterprise policy to drive UK economic growth. Richard was closely involved in the Hampton Review. Most recently he has worked at Defra in the dual posts of Chief Economist and Director of Corporate Performance, where he led a group of 230 staff. He has an enviable background - regulation; advising government at the highest levels; private sector; and spearheading transformational change.

Annette Gevaert Annette Gevaert is Director of the Rail and Transport sector for Achilles in the UK and is responsible for the overall service delivery to more than 115 buying and 3500 supplier organisations that are members of the Achilles rail community, Link-up.

Link-up is the UK rail supplier qualification scheme, which involves information collection, validation and monitoring. Annette manages a team of Account Managers and it is also her responsibility to develop the strategy for the scheme.

Before taking responsibility for the Rail and Transport sector at Achilles, Annette was the Achilles Group Strategy Manager. She has also previously worked as a Programme Director at SAP. She holds an MBA from INSEAD, is a certified Project Management Professional and studied Business Administration at the University of Applied Studies in Stuttgart, Germany, in collaboration with Daimler.

David Clarke David Clarke is director of the Enabling Innovation Team (EIT) that has been set up by the rail industry to accelerate the uptake of innovation. The EIT reports into TSLG, and is supported by the Rail Delivery Group, Planning Oversight Group, and RSSB’s Board as well as the Department for Transport.

Andrew Wolstenholme OBE Andrew Wolstenholme is CEO of Crossrail, the largest addition to the southeast rail network in 50 years. Andrew was programme director on Heathrow’s £4.3bn Terminal 5 and later became BAA’s director of capital projects. He joined Balfour Beatty in 2009 and left, as director of innovation and strategic capability, in 2011 to take up the chief executive role at Crossrail.

David Waboso David Waboso is an internationally renowned engineer and project manager, and is currently the Director of Capital Programmes at London Underground, where he is accountable for delivering the biggest upgrade in LU’s history, comprising of over £1bn of investment per annum in new trains and infrastructure.

He has a passion for training and education of engineers and also the wider communication of engineering and its fundamental importance to human advancement. He has served on committees into the teaching of science and mathematics in schools, and speaks regularly to the media and radio/TV on engineering matters.

Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR

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Supply Chain

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Promoting and supporting innovation ANNETTE GEVAERT has oversight of Achilles Link-up, the UK rail industry supplier registration and qualification service, which comprises 77 per cent SMEs. Here she offers suggestions on how the rail industry can further develop innovative working

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Annette Gevaert is director of rail and transport at Achilles, the leading provider of supplier information management services

Contact details for the Achilles Link-up team are: Tel: 01235 838 193 Email: Link-upbuyer@achilles.com Web: www.rail.achilles.com

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n the recent Budget, George Osborne outlined his plans for the SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) scheme to incentivise innovation in British industry. Indeed, UK rail currently offers huge opportunities for innovation and the sector could enormously benefit UK PLC but progress is slow due to the prohibitive difficulty for smaller businesses to place their innovative products and services in the hands of buyers.

Fortunately, there are several organisations designed specifically to enhance innovation in the rail sector and answer this problem. Enabling Innovation Team, the Rail Innovation Fund, Network Rail’s innovation platform and member organisations like the Rail Alliance are all encouraging SMEs to become more active in the rail sector. Events such as Railway Strategies Live are also a great way of encouraging interactions between buyers and sellers. And Achilles’ Link-up community is playing a significant role in continuing to drive innovation in rail.

Achilles works hard to enable buyers to make informed procurement decisions and to pre-qualify suppliers against the same standards. Instantly, this transparency creates a level playing field for even the smallest and newest of suppliers. When a significant barrier involves mitigating the risk of innovation, proving auditable standards is necessary for a chance of inclusion in any tender.

Derek Day is the operations director at Emico, an SME mechanical and electrical contracting firm focused on the rail sector. Emico is a member of the Achilles Link-up community and Day perfectly articulates our vision. “We would love people to say, ‘Well, even though you’re a smaller company, you have management systems and arrangements and standards of quality and safety that are industryleading’.” Pre-qualification should be paving the way for innovative products and services to take their rightful place at the forefront of rail infrastructure.

If SMEs want to compete alongside the big players, they have to demonstrate the same commitment to health and safety through audits and the supply chain information processes with Achilles Link-up. All suppliers have to be registered on Achilles Link-up to be considered for projects within the industry. And to become a member, they have to undergo a rigorous pre-qualification process. This is welcomed across the industry by suppliers.

Derek Day epitomises this support for Achilles

Link-up from SMEs: “We aspire to be the best, so we absolutely want to demonstrate that we can comply with all of the requirements of the industry that we are choosing to work in, and to discharge all of those responsibilities with a high degree of professionalism.”

However, it can be a struggle for smaller and relatively newly established companies with genuinely innovative products to ensure that they are included in large tenders. Infrastructure managers know which suppliers and contractors they can rely on, which leads to a gravitation of the whole supply chain to that of a closed shop. Breaking through legacy providers is an enormous barrier for SMEs and one that is unfortunately still stifling innovation.

Derek Day explains how this was one of the challenges they had to overcome: “The same people turn up to go through the same processes and there has been, in the past, very little opportunity for smaller suppliers to get involved.” The consequence of this is that viable suppliers can sometimes be precluded from tender processes which would have been enriched by their presence.

Ultimately, the process of promoting innovation within our culture must therefore begin with the procurer. Infrastructure managers need to allow contractors the space and freedom to decide upon suppliers within their own projects, and the contractors must become more willing to trust external audits and see innovation as a mitigated, rather than overwhelming, risk. Every innovation is an opportunity for improvement, therefore the more willing the buying community is to embrace these innovations, the more positive strides will be made by the industry.

Advice to SME suppliers: l Understand the fears of buyers and use certification to assuage them l Network extensively l Understand the supply chains that cultivate the rail industry – where are the opportunities and where is the demand for innovation? Those likely to have responsibility for tangible opportunities on the rail infrastructure may be constrained by their traditional risk aversion, which can limit innovation and the opportunities for smaller suppliers l Take advice from organisations that support the promotion of innovations, such as the Rail Alliance l Communicate with similar suppliers – understand the market. zz

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Project Assurance

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e-Collaborative project assurance for rail projects CHRIS ROLISON discusses the project assurance challenge in rail and considers how an e-Collaboration approach can reduce duplicated effort, improve design and build quality, and reduce whole-life costs

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he development and successful delivery of a viable safety assurance case is fundamental to demonstrating that a rail system is fit for purpose and meets all required standards and regulations. However, most rail projects fail to successfully master the sheer complexity involved in bringing together the many thousands of interdependent requirements and processes involved – let alone on a progressive basis that keeps in step with design and build progress.

Typically the assurance process lags well behind project delivery and is in perpetual

‘catch-up’ and is often incomplete at project completion. The value of progressively demonstrating design and build compliance is lost as assurance requirements are caught up in laggard contractual boundaries and where a strong reliance on ‘paper’ based systems results in many versions of the ‘truth’. Lack of visibility of compliance progress often leads to dispute and litigation. Project progress is measured by the quantitative elements of time, money and resource – often giving an ‘over-optimistic’ sense of progress where visibility of how compliant a project is at any time is rarely available – ultimately contributing to project impairment and escalating costs.

Systems engineering The systems engineering approach, pioneered in the defence and aerospace industries, evolved to bring a structured approach to the design and manufacture of complex systems – providing the backbone for the assurance process. The use of these principles in the rail industry, although improving in recent years, is relatively immature and its application

sporadic – often employed at a level where the real advantages of a system level approach are lost. The challenges of the rail and similar infrastructure sectors are very different to those in aerospace and defence and the application of systems engineering techniques need to adapt.

Unlike aerospace and defence, typified by highly integrated teams, railway projects are often organised across large and geographically distributed teams where collaboration is difficult and responsibility for design and build compliance is devolved across large supply chain organisations. Design verification and the validation of the build process – key elements of the systems engineering approach – are often left to contractual boundaries where the advantages of the ‘system’ view are lost.

This leads to the duplication of activity, inefficiency and cost escalation. The client or programme management organisation struggle to develop and deliver the assurance case and loses the many advantages of the systems engineering approach enjoyed by their military and aerospace colleagues.

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Project Assurance

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Case Study: Project Assurance with Comply Pro An example of a Systems Engineering Assurance Process diagram

e-Collaborative project assurance The e-Collaborative project assurance approach adapts the delivery of systems engineering principles to reflect the challenging dynamics of infrastructure projects. The underlying systems engineering and assurance processes are captured and maintained centrally by the client or programme management team.

The resulting ‘system’ provides the core assurance backbone across the entire programme, accessible from anywhere through a ‘cloud’-based easy-to-use interface.

Powerful work-flow control processes and role-based access allow all engineers across the programme to collaborate and contribute to the overall assurance process directly. This breaks down and simplifies the assurance task, removing duplicate processes, delivering unprecedented visibility of progressive assurance coverage with ‘one version of the truth’. Programme-wide registers ensure the efficient co-ordination of issues, assumptions, hazards, interfaces and risks – and the easy availability of access ensures that the assurance processes becomes an integral part of the design and build process – for verification and validation.

Ultimately e-Collaborative project assurance ensures that the project safety assurance case is complete at project

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close and handover to the operator; and its employments throughout the project lifecycle improves design and build quality, reducing whole-life costs.

The unprecedented visibility of progressive compliance ensures that issues are trapped much earlier, reducing the cost of rework and ensuring delivery timescales. Full traceability of project requirements from the sponsor specification throughout design evolution and build phases allows fast impact analysis – dramatically reducing the cost and time to determine the impact and cost of change.

The e-Collaborative project assurance approach delivers the advantages of systems engineering across large and complex infrastructure projects with all the attendant advantages realised in the defence and avionics domain; greatly reducing duplicated effort, improving design and build quality and reducing whole life costs. zz

For further information, please go to www.complyserve.com Chris Rolison is the founder of Comply Serve. He will be speaking at Railway Strategies Live, being held at the Royal Geographic Society on 27th June 2013.

l Crossrail incorporates various worldwide bodies and thousands of specific requirements. A dedicated Crossrail project client team, along with a project delivery partner and industry partners, manages the delivery of all works. Key parties involved in designing and delivering the Crossrail project are located together where possible, to assist in providing consistent leadership and optimising collaboration.

ComplyPro, industry-leading project assurance software, provides a structured assurance regime.

Crossrail involves complex relationships amongst civil infrastructure and railway systems. An integration process and assurance regime has been established that will allow a progressive build-up of evidence, both geographically and system-wide.

The ComplyPro software is deployed as a webhosted capability that provides project engineers and supply chain suppliers with a common, rolebased and always up-to-date view of the evolving specification, greatly reducing the dependency on paper-based processes. ComplyPro is centrally implemented by Crossrail and made available across the project and supply chain teams, allowing straightforward and accessible communication.

This provides the backbone for managing change as it occurs, through design and delivery stages, managing both the ‘flow up’ of change as informed through the issues management process and the re-base lining and ‘flow down’ of the project specification. Unprecedented visibility of issues as they occur is provided by the system, engineering and project management have ‘real time’ project compliance metrics that allows them to pinpoint problems much earlier than with traditional approaches. This ensures that the assurance case is delivered progressively with a complete audit trail of associated compliance evidence.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz New approach to rail planning l The first steps towards a new map for the future of Britain’s railway were taken in April with the launch of four consultation documents as part of Network Rail’s Long Term Planning Process. These documents – market studies for London and South East passenger, regional urban passenger, long distance passenger, and freight – are the first in a new style of research designed to look ten to 30 years into the future. Open to consultation for 90 days from the end of March, the final versions of these studies will set out how passenger and freight demand is expected to change in each of these markets in Control Period 6 (2019-2024) and beyond; they reflect the need to gain a better understanding about how plans for the railway impact on the economy and make sure that strategic change, such as the implementation of the Crossrail, Thameslink and Northern Hub programmes, and the development of HS2, can be effectively considered in rail industry planning.

Network Rail’s director of network strategy and planning, Richard Eccles, said: “This is part of our new approach to planning, which looks at the role that rail plays in the economic life of Britain.

“What we need to decide is how the network should develop to achieve economic growth, help reduce carbon emissions from transport and improve quality of life for people. This approach allows greater freedom of thought and is not constrained by current service patterns or cost and deliverability, though of course we will look at these issues in subsequent planning stages.”

Research for the twelve route studies will begin this autumn and the first six should be available for consultation 18 months later.

Phyllis reaches Bond Street station l Crossrail’s lead tunnelling machine has arrived at the new Crossrail Bond Street station and has constructed her 2000th tunnel ring as she passes through the first metres of the station. Tunnelling machine Phyllis has reached the south of the new Bond Street western ticket hall at Davies Street having completed 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) of new tunnels. Bringing up the rear is tunnelling machine Ada who will reach the new Bond Street station later in the spring. Both machines will reach Farringdon at the end of the year where they will finish their journey. Collectively Phyllis and Ada have constructed over 5.5 kilometres (3.7 miles) of new rail tunnels

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Big reward for innovating customer experience l The Enabling Innovation team (EIT) is launching a competition with a prize value of £1 million, aimed at bringing innovation to customer experience in the rail industry. It will be open to applicants in May and final judging and awards will take place at a live pitch event in London later on this year. The competition will be developed and managed by InnoCentive and IXC UK Limited.

There are opportunities to improve the customer experience within GB rail in areas of service culture, business process, journey planning, seamless journey experience and design of facilities. The detailed scope of the competition is being developed with industry stakeholders and will be designed to complement the Technology Strategy Board‘s Digital Railway competition.

David Clarke, director of EIT, said: “The rail industry constantly strives to improve the customer experience, but there is always scope to do more. We want to use this competition to showcase successful ideas and approaches from other customer service sectors and create the environment where the best of these ideas can be brought into the rail industry.”

An initial stakeholder workshop held in February identified the broad challenge themes, which focus on delivering improvements for regular and commuter passengers, discretionary and potential new passengers and freight customers.

Further details of the competition and instructions for online submission will be announced on the EIT website in May. Contact the competition team via: customerexperience@futurerailway.org

Competition to find Crossrail operator l Transport for London (TfL) is seeking a train operator to run Crossrail services from May 2015. Crossrail services will be let as a concession by TfL, similar to the concession let by TfL for London Overground, which is now one of the most reliable railways with some of the highest levels of customer satisfaction across the UK. TfL will stipulate the level of services to be provided including hours of operation and staffing levels.

The successful bidder will run the train services and many of the stations along the Crossrail route, providing customer service and operations staff. The services on Crossrail will be phased and will initially operate on existing rail lines between Liverpool Street and Shenfield, taking over the stopping services currently operated by Greater Anglia. The route through Canary Wharf, the City and the West End will open in late 2018, with the full route running in 2019.

Services to Shenfield will initially operate with the current rolling stock but will be gradually replaced in 2017 by the new Crossrail trains. It is expected that an operator will be appointed by late 2014.

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l Rail usage statistics published by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in March show that over 385 million passenger journeys took place on Great Britain’s railways in Q3 2012-13 (1st October to 31st December 2012) – 14 million more than the same period last year. This is also the highest number of franchised passenger journeys in a third quarter since records began.

ORR’s latest passenger usage figures highlight that: l The number of passenger journeys grew in all sectors when compared to both the same quarter last year and Q2 2012-13. There were 262.0 million journeys on London and South East services in Q3 2012-13, a 5.1 per cent increase on the same period last year. There were 32.6 million journeys on long-distance services, a 1.8 per cent increase. For regional services, there were 90.4 million journeys, a 1.1 per cent increase. l The total number of kilometres travelled by rail passengers in Q3 2012-13 was 14.6 billion kilometres, this is an increase of 2.8 per cent compared to the same period last year. l Total franchised passenger revenue in Q3 2012-13 reached £1.96 billion, an 8.3 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. This is the highest recorded level of revenue generated within any quarter. Non-franchised passenger revenue rose to a record high of £12.7 million, this is a 16.1 per cent increase compared to the same quarter last year.

With rail passenger usage at record levels, ORR is determined to see Britain’s railways build on its current achievements and success. The regulator is currently reviewing Network Rail’s strategic business plan for 2014-19 to make certain that the plan is in the best interest of customers and taxpayers, delivering real value for money. ORR is studying and challenging the plan to verify it is affordable and that every penny is made to count towards meeting what users and Governments want from the railway. To view these statistics, visit ORR’s National Rail Trends (NRT) Portal at: http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk

DLR franchise shortlist l Transport for London (TfL) has announced the names of the companies shortlisted to bid for its new Docklands Light Railway (DLR) franchise. The bidders are: l Stagecoach Rail Projects Ltd l A joint venture between Keolis (UK) Ltd and Amey Rail Ltd l A joint venture between Go Ahead PLC and Colas Rail Ltd l Serco Ltd. This shortlist is as a result of the pre qualification process undertaken following the publication of a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union.

TfL will now be issuing an Invitation to Tender to these companies within the next few weeks. Under the new franchise, TfL wants to ensure that: l Service reliability continues to improve l Trains, stations and track are maintained to support service reliability and are used efficiently over the long term l Capacity on the railway continues to grow to support development in the Docklands area and along the railway’s routes l Customer satisfaction continues to grow l The environmental impact of the railway is reduced l Safety performance continues to improve l A good value-for-money service is delivered for passengers and tax-payers.

The new franchise is due to commence on 14th September 2014.

© Transport for London

Record passenger journeys and revenue

Signalling a better future l Transport for London has announced that the new signalling system on the Northern line has gone live between West Finchley and High Barnet. When the installation is complete next year, a capacity increase of about 20 per cent should be achieved as trains run more frequently and closer together..

Transport Systems Catapult l The new technology and innovation centre for integrated transport systems has appointed Steve Yianni as its chief executive. He joins the Catapult from Network Rail where, as technical director, he has been pivotal in delivering the 30-year rail technical strategy, which received industry-wide recognition. Steve starts his new role on August 1st; the Transport Systems Catapult will be active later this year.

New Crossrail director l Rob McIntosh, who is currently Network Rail project director for European Train Control System and Traffic Management, has been appointed as Network Rail director for Crossrail. In this role he will be responsible for overseeing the £2.3 billion upgrade of the existing rail network for Crossrail services.

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Transport Secretary opens Institute of Railway Research

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he Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP, has paid a visit to the University of Huddersfield in order to launch a research unit that will play a major role in the safety and environmental sustainability of the railways of the future The University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research (IRR), which has 16 researchers based in a suite of

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(L-R) Kirklees Council Leader Mehboob Khan, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin MP, Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney, the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Bob Cryan and Head of the Institute of Railway Research Professor Simon Iwnicki speciallyequipped labs, is involved in a wide range of projects – in Britain and overseas – with partners that include Network Rail, London Underground, TATA Steel, the Rail Research UK Association

and the Rail Safety and Strategy Board.

Professor Simon Iwnicki, who heads the Institute, welcomed Mr McLoughlin and described key areas of research taking place at the IRR. The Secretary of State met a succession of the Institute’s experts.

He saw some of its specially installed rigs in action as they simulate the crucial and complex areas of contact between rail and wheel. He also saw how the Institute used computer modelling to seek solutions to modern challenges, including the development of new types of track.

After his tour of the Institute, Mr McLoughlin told guests that he was under constant pressure from MPs for new rail services, so that the major challenge was to increase capacity.”

Professor Iwnicki, who is academic cochair of the Rail Research UK Association (RRUKA), said that the work being carried out at the IRR was helping the railways to meet the challenges of increasing capacity for passengers and freight while still operating safely and reliably. zz

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Young Railway Professionals’ Dinner and Award l The Young Railway Professionals celebrated their fourth annual Black Tie Dinner on March 14th, together with the presentation of the first ever Young Railway Professional of the Year Award.

Guests enjoyed hearing Terry Morgan, chairman of Crossrail speak about his experiences as a young man working his way into the rail industry, and newly elected YRP chairman Martyn Chymera spoke of the YRP’s exciting plans for the coming year.

The event, sponsored by CPC Project Services, brings together young professionals who are making their mark on the industry, and was well attended by 400 guests from all corners of the rail market. With so much evidence of young talent in the room, the evening provided a natural backdrop from which to present the first Young Railway Professional of the Year Award. The award, sponsored by Colas Rail, was designed to celebrate young professionals at the start of their journey through the rail industry, and competition was fierce.

Merseytravel appoints new chief executive

(L-R) Charles-Albert Giral, CEO of Colas Rail; Lucy McAuliffe, YRP Award Winner; Martyn Chymera, YRP chairman; Shauni O’Neill, Award Finalist; Tim Whitcher, Award Finalist Nominations were collected during the lead up to the event, and were whittled down to three finalists – Lucy McAuliffe of Network Rail, Tim Whitcher of CAPBROWN Consulting and Shaunie O’Neill of London Underground. The finalists were all very worthy candidates, but after lengthy deliberation the panel of judges decided that the first award would be presented to Lucy McAuliffe. Charles-Albert Giral, CEO of Colas Rail presented the award.

The judges felt that Lucy was a deserving winner thanks to her unerring dedication to the industry. Whether in her position as a station manager for Network Rail managing a 150-strong team at St Pancras, Ebbsfleet International and Stratford stations, in her additional work as an assessor for Network Rail’s Track and Train graduate programme, or through her passion for the improvement of customer service and team work on the front line, Lucy is a driving force pushing forward projects that benefit not only people working within the industry, but also its customers.

For more information about the Young Railway Professionals, or the Young Railway Professional of the Year Award, visit www.youngrailwayprofessionals.org

l Merseytravel has appointed a ‘pioneering’ new chief executive/ director general. David Brown, who currently heads South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, will shortly be taking the helm at Merseytravel – the organisation responsible for transport throughout the city region. He has been involved in the adoption by the Department for Transport of major rail projects such as a High Speed Rail station in South Yorkshire, and commitment to electrification of the Midland Main Line and to £230 million investment in improving journey times on the East Coast Main Line. He has also led the largest Bus Partnership in the UK, and is chair of the Passenger Transport Executive Group, which promotes the interests of the six Passenger Transport Executives.

Most improved railways l Britain’s railways are the most improved in Europe, according to the most comprehensive comparison study yet published of the rail networks in all 27 EU countries. The report looks at how the railways in Europe have progressed and improved since the 1990s according to a range of 14 different factors. Britain came top in four of the factors, second and third in another two and fourth in three, coming top overall. Europe’s other big rail networks – Germany, France and Italy – came 7th, 10th and 23rd respectively.

The study can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/kallas/headlines/news/2013/01/doc/swd(2013)-10-part3.pdf

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Rail Alliance

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Recent new members of the Rail Alliance Apex Engineers Ltd Apex Engineers has been established for over 25 years for the supply of services and equipment to the Energy Measurement and Preventative Maintenance sectors. Energy measurement includes the supply and specification of metering of utilities (electricity, gas, water, oil etc), the data collection from remote sites/ locations to a central point, and software to manage, analyse and report. Preventative maintenance includes the supply of a wide range of primary and secondary injection testers, circuit breakers and substation testers and measurement equipment. A new range of ultraviolet (UV) corona cameras is helping to identify faults and problems on high voltage systems. These partial discharges can be seen in daylight and the extent of a problem component or line can be measured with software to collate and manage a maintenance schedule.

Tel: 01630 661 313 Email: sales@apexengineers.co.uk Web: www.apexengineers.co.uk

dBD Communications & Management Consultancy Ltd dBD Communications & Management Consultancy Ltd was formed in 2002 to support the RF & microwave markets throughout Europe. Experienced in military, avionics and commercial communications, the company’s aim is to supply both product requirements and business management solutions in many market fields.

Tel: 01268 449781 Email: sales@dbdcommunications.co.uk Web: www.dbdcom.co.uk

National Composites Centre The NCC provides industrial scale R&D facilities to meet the needs of companies wishing to capitalize on the high-strength, low weight, corrosion-resistant qualities of composite materials.

Tel: 0117 370 7600 Email: info@nccuk.com Web: www.nccuk.com

Precast Advanced Track Ltd (PCAT) PCAT (PreCast Advanced Track) is a new concept in railway construction and challenges the traditional engineering method of supporting railway track on loose ballast by replacing unbound ballast with a low maintenance slab track.

Tel: 01565 633 111 Email: info@ precastadvancedtrack.com Web: www.precastadvancedtrack.com

Stirling Lloyd Group plc Stirling Lloyd Group plc is a UK manufacturer of high performance coatings for the protection of infrastructure and buildings. Established over 40 years ago with a single-minded commitment to developing new and more effective ways to extend the life of structures, Stirling Lloyd has become a global leader supplying to more than fifty countries worldwide. Stirling Lloyd is a Joint Venture partner for PCAT referred to above.

Tel: 01565 633 111 Email: marketing@stirlinglloyd.com Web: www.stirlinglloyd.com

For further information, please contact:The Rail Alliance Tel: 01789 720 026 Email: info@railalliance.co.uk Web: www.railalliance.co.uk

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TfL opens the door to innovative ideas l Transport for London (TfL) has launched an online Innovation Portal. It will enable staff, suppliers, industry and academia to share and capture pioneering and efficient solutions to TfL’s biggest future challenges, as it continues with its multi-billion pound programme to modernise the Tube and transport network.

As part of a wider drive to create a climate for innovation, such as exploring the use of aerospace materials for trains, the web-based portal went live on 11th February, and is geared towards stimulating innovative thinking within and outside the transport industry.

Currently focused on London Underground (LU) and rail challenges, the Innovation Portal will aid TfL to develop new technology and approaches to the challenges that it faces across the Capital’s transport network, including: l Customers: Delivering faster, more frequent and reliable services to customers while improving information provided via frontline staff l Value and sustainability: Using technology to improve efficiency while

reducing noise and environmental impact l Delivery: Finding new technologies and ways to achieve reliable and safe first-class delivery, with minimal closures and costs l Reliability and dependability: Targeting the use of smart data and technology to help achieve our target of a further 30 per cent improvement in reliability over the next three years l Safety: Finding innovative solutions to improve customer safety and security l People: Making sure our workforce is skilled to the highest standard by developing the tools and processes that will encourage even greater performance Ideas submitted via the TfL Innovation Portal are reviewed by technical experts as well as against a number of criteria including business impact, innovation focus, TfL brand and ease of implementation.

Log on and submit ideas at tfl.gov.uk/innovation

Official re-opening Segment factory creates jobs l A new tunnel segment manufacturing facility at Chatham in Kent is in full production to produce and ship 110,000 concrete segments that will line the eastern tunnels of the new Crossrail route through London and the south-east.

More than 120 new jobs have been created and filled by local workers at the Chatham Dockyard factory, including five apprenticeships. The facility began operation last year and is now in full production, operating 24/7 and manufacturing more than 300 concrete tunnel segments a day. Each eight segments produced form a complete tunnel ring in the new Crossrail tunnels and the Chatham factory has now produced over 2200 tunnel rings.

The Chatham site was selected due to its dockyard location allowing concrete segments to be delivered by barge from Chatham to the entrance of Crossrail’s eastern tunnels at Limmo Peninsula near Canning Town. Each 50 metre long 1200 tonne barge can deliver around 320 tunnel segments, the equivalent of 40 lorry loads.

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Crossrail

l Translink officially re-opened the railway line between Derry~Londonderry and Coleraine on Friday 22nd March 2013 following almost eight months of closure to complete essential safety and engineering work. The re-opening marks the completion of the first phase of the Renewals Project at a cost of over £30 million, which involved major engineering track safety and improvement works. Renewals Project Phase 2 will commence in 2014 subject to funding. It will comprise a passing loop and new signalling which will allow the running of an hourly train service between Derry~Londonderry and Belfast from 2015.

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Hatfield & Stainforth

update

Track damag

e at Hatfield

Phil Verster

The complex job of stabilising the spoil heap at Hatfield colliery which slipped and caused extensive damage to the railway continues.

However it is now anticipated this may take until the end of the summer to complete.

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Aerial view of the spoil heap slip

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& Stainforth

etwork Rail has been working with experts from the colliery since movement was detected in early February. Initial estimates had indicated the line could be restored as soon as July. However a combination of the difficult conditions and continuing bad weather mean that date is at risk.

Phil Verster, route managing director, explained: “This site is incredibly complex and, if not properly managed, potentially dangerous.

We have been actively involved on site for several weeks but the processes required to make the ground safe to work on are slower than we had hoped. I fully appreciate the importance of restoring a direct rail service to communities and businesses in Cleethorpes, Scunthorpe, Goole and other places affected by the slip and my team and I are committed to do so as quickly as possible. We continue to aim for restoration of services in July, however we now anticipate that the railway may not be repaired until September this year. “We will do anything we can do to safely accelerate the repair programme and to reinstate services. In the meantime we are working with the operators of passenger and freight traffic to make best use of the network during this difficult time. That process continues and if there are changes we can make to improve the service we are able to offer then we will. We remain grateful to the patience of passengers and freight customers as we deal with this issue.�

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz All images courtesy of Network Rail

Track damage at Hatfield & Stainforth

Several sets of engineering works which had been planned by Network Rail are being revised in order to keep as many services running as possible. In particular the GNGE line project is being adapted in order to allow the 140 freight trains which would normally run through Hatfield & Stainforth each day to be accommodated on the Brigg and Lincoln lines. These trains are essential to the UK economy as, among other goods, they carry oil for aviation fuel, steel which is critical for production process and rail works and coal to the power stations for electricity generation.

Mr Verster added: “The events leading to the disruption to rail services were entirely

Spoil rec

overy in

outside the control of the railway. We are working actively and tirelessly to minimise that disruption and to restore services as quickly as possible. Working with the colliery, we are making good progress on the repair which requires around a million cubic metres of material to be moved. We will continue to work with train operators to publish detailed timetables and information to allow passengers to plan their journeys. “An important date for the railway is 20th July when work starts to fully upgrade the signalling and track layout at Nottingham station, further restricting the paths available for essential freight trains. The following week

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inning o

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work is scheduled at Selby, blocking that route for trains. We continue to make every effort to complete the fix at Hatfield & Stainforth before these dates. However our train planners are also working with operators to develop a robust plan which can be used in the event that the repair at Hatfield is not complete.

This includes making sure there is a viable route connecting Hull and east Yorkshire with Doncaster and the East Coast Main Line. Hull will not be cut off from the main network.� zz

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FP McCANN

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King’s Cross

Wellcast When it comes to precast concrete products FP McCann’s range appears to be the perfect fit for the market’s many needs

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rowing from a small family-run business in Northern Ireland, FP McCann is now one of the region’s leading civil engineering and construction materials companies. Through key strategic acquisitions, notably Hepworth Concrete Products in 2005 and Ennstone Concrete Products in 2009, FP McCann has firmly rooted itself in the UK mainland as a major producer of precast concrete products.

With experience in both construction and project management, throughout the course of its history FP McCann has taken on schemes across the public and private sectors including roads and bridges, rail infrastructure, renewable energy, and public realm. Drawing on a network of Northern Ireland quarries, asphalt, ready-mixed concrete, and precast plants, FP McCann also supplies a wide range of heavy building materials into the construction sector.

Today the company is widely recognised

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as the UK market leader in the manufacture, supply, and delivery of precast concrete drainage products.

This precast concrete offering also extends to include products such as shaft and tunnel segments, power cable ducting, railway components, concrete fencing posts and panels, and bespoke products to meet non-standard design specifications. All precast rail products meet the necessary Network Rail and London Underground requirements, with FP McCann also a Link-up and Supply Line approved producer for such components.

Having invested strongly in its five UK manufacturing facilities, including a new £1 million Coote wet cast line at Cadeby, FP McCann offers the latest in modern product manufacture to a discerning market.

“We have established a reputation for quality products and quick reaction times due to the levels of stock held at the Cadeby depot,” reveals Stuart Carson, rail products manager.

“New moulds have been purchased for copings on the standard and PC LUL ranges, which has contributed to the consistency of the finished product.

“We’ve also increased our customer base due to targeted marketing and sales efforts.

As part of this we appointed a new sales manager Samantha Sprules, which has given FP McCann national coverage in meeting with new clients and building on the Infrarail exhibition success in 2012, ahead of our presence at Railtex this year,” he continues.

The company is also researching the opportunities for innovative new products in its markets. In this respect, FP McCann has been working with rail partners to develop an effective cable protection trough locking system, which it is now seeking approval for under its Network Rail Link-up supplier status prior to launch.

The manufacture of ‘C’ series cable protection troughs and lids for the rail industry

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is something FP McCann is already well versed in with over 30 different types in stock, alongside other core components such as platform copings, edge warning tactile pavings, trestle slabs, and oversail blocks.

Alongside its product range, the scope of projects within which FP McCann has been involved has also grown. Just last year the company completed work on the £6.7 million upgrade and redevelopment of Cambridge station delivering a total of 600 concrete copings, 1400 buff offset tactile paving slabs, and 220 platform oversail blocks. It is also currently supplying material to the £43 million redevelopment of Peterborough station. The works are expected to be completed by the end of year and include new platforms, extension of existing concourses, and construction of a new freight line loop. As a nominated supplier FP McCann is supplying the ‘C’ series precast concrete cable protection troughs for this section of works.

As well as station projects, FP McCann has seen strong uptake of its products for use elsewhere on the railway such as in the Stourbridge to Hartlebury re-signalling scheme. This project represented one of FP McCann’s largest single scheme contracts with over 15,000 ‘C’ series precast concrete cable protection troughs supplied to carry the new power and communication cables.

The company has even seen inclusion of its precast products in the prestigious Crossrail project.

Working with main contractor Costain Skanska joint venture (CSJV) and Joseph Gallagher Ltd, FP McCann has supplied 525 precast concrete segmental linings for the construction of five 15-metre compensation grout shafts at Crossrail’s Bond Street station.

Due to restrictions at the sites, FP McCann operated a just-in-time (JIT) delivery programme, which was executed smoothly throughout. The company is also due to complete a 105 segment order for another 15-metre grout shaft as part of the Tottenham Court Road station development.

Back across the water, March saw the official re-opening of the railway line between Derry~Londonderry and Coleraine ahead of schedule, after almost eight months of closure to allow for essential track renewal works to be carried out. Executed through a joint venture consisting of FP McCann and BAM Rail the work included safety and improvement measures such as substantial bridge work, re-railing and rehabilitation of ballast, and track renewal at the two end

sections of the line. In total over 5600 tonnes of new rail was used and approximately 100,000 tonnes of ballast from FP McCann’s Cookstown quarry.

As with all of these projects, time and planning have been key issues but with stock levels of products on the ground FP McCann has been able to work to meet any programme. In Ireland the company has also been looking to further develop partnerships with other rail maintenance providers.

Reiterating how such projects contribute to FP McCann’s wider ambitions, Stuart concludes: “We want to further establish FP McCann in the rail sector for service and quality and to gain market leader status in precast concrete platform copings and cable protection troughs. We are in the market for the long haul through continued investment in products and people,” he concludes. zz

Web: www.fpmccann.co.uk

Starcon

Concrete Handling System

Ready Threaded Anchor System

Starcon Anchor System

Rapid Anchor System

For more information: call 0800 678 5178 or visit www.simply-precast.co.uk

From it’s home in Denmark, Starcon is an internationally recognised brand of lifting and fixing solutions.

As part of the Axload group, with a turnover of £630m and 19,000 employees worldwide you can have confidence in a world class provider.

Simply Precast Accessories are now the exclusive suppliers of Starcon products in the UK. With more than 40 years experience in development, manufacturing and activities directly related to lifting and handling systems, Starcon comprise the full range of certified lifting systems along with a fully guaranteed technical back up service. Starcon engineers and technicians have the knowledge, experience and qualifications to design the best solutions.

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INTERVIEW I Chris Dulake

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Beneath thesurface As Crossrail’s tunnel boring machines inch along underneath London, chief engineer Chris Dulake explains to Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs how such a project is navigated

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s one of the most populated cities in Europe, the visible face of London is always a hive of activity. Yet, below ground things aren’t as quiet as you’d expect. Amongst the utility connections and London Underground (LU) tunnels, new ground is being broken to facilitate the passage of Crossrail.

In terms of scale, Crossrail is not only Europe’s largest civil engineering project at a cost of £14.8 billion, but also one of the largest single infrastructure investments undertaken in the UK. Within its 118-kilometre length, which extends from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west to

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Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, the project includes the first complete new underground line within the city for more than 50 years.

From improving journey times across London, to easing congestion and offering better connections, Crossrail will change the way people travel around the capital.

As chief engineer of the project, Chris Dulake acts as a technical authority to make sure that any decision that needs to be made on engineering is done so in a timely manner and managed sensibly.

Underpinning this is a desire to ensure that every part of the project is

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Above: Crossrail Tunnel Boring Machine – cutterhead being installed at Westbourne Park Main image: TBM ‘Elizabeth’ lowered into main shaft

(TBMs) are being used in this construction, each at a length of 148 metres and weight of 1000 tonnes. The other major construction works include eight new underground stations, alongside a new surface station at Custom House.

The tunnelling strategies for the western and eastern sections of the project are very different, with the TBMs in the west creating the running tunnels first, and the station tunnels will then be enlarged around these later.

Platform enlargement will take place after the TBMs have passed through the stations at Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, and Farringdon. Meanwhile in the east, the station tunnels and platforms are being built before the TBMs pass through. This includes Liverpool Street and Whitechapel. At Paddington the lower part of the station box is built around the already constructed tunnels. The TBMs will pass through the completed boxes at Canary Wharf and Woolwich.

“We currently have five TBMs in the ground,” highlights Chris. “Two are coming in from the west out of Royal Oak Portal and are making good progress. Phyllis has already passed to the south of the western ticket hall at Bond Street, and crossed over the top of the Jubilee line, which is the second of our crossings over LU deepTubes, whilst Ada is under Hyde Park. Then to the east we have a further two machines – Elizabeth and Victoria – that went down at Limmo Peninsula and are moving towards the Canary Wharf box, which has been prepared ready to receive them.”

Ground control

Chris Dulake, Crossrail’s ch ief engineer done right first time.

“As an organisation we have let all of the main civil engineering works, which are out for construction, as well as the key station contracts, so we’re now engaging with the next phase of contractors, which are bringing the systems and completion of the railway. We are concentrating on making sure that the contracts for the civil engineering works deliver what is required,” he notes.

This includes the delivery of the 21 kilometres of new twin-bore rail tunnel required by Crossrail. Eight purpose-built tunnel boring machines

The TBMs themselves are not only tunnelling, but also removing the excavated material and building the concrete tunnel segments as they go. Of the eight machines, six are earth pressure balance machines, with the other two being slurry TBMs. Chris explains the reasons behind this difference: “The geology of London is quite interesting as the centre of the city has a very good tunnelling medium in London Clay, which is a relatively stable material with a stand-up time of between six and 12 hours before you need to put support in.

“Further east you find sand and gravel creeping into the clay and this requires de-watering to create a stable medium before you open up an excavation. Even further down the strata you come to chalks, which contain flints, and it is this medium that we are driving the Thames Tunnel through.

If you don’t protect the machine properly the shards of flint can wear them away very easily, so we have to actively manage this,” he adds.

It is the Thames Tunnel which is being constructed using the slurry TBMs in reflection of these ground conditions. The first of these – Sophia – is moving towards the Woolwich station box from Plumstead, and will be joined by the second shortly. A fourth pair of TBMs will come into play to drive down from Pudding Mill Lane to Stepney Green, and finally one machine will be put back into the ground at Limmo Peninsula to drive to the Victoria Portal and complete the network.

“The other thing that is happening on the ground is the re-use of the Connaught Tunnel, which sits between Victoria Portal and London City

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INTERVIEW I Chris Dulake

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Top left: Crossrail Tunnel Boring Machine – cutterhead being installed at Westbourne Park Top Right: TBM ‘Elizabeth’ lowered into main shaft

Hanover Square at Bond Street East Ticket Hall SCL works

Western tunnels

Airport. It’s a Victorian structure, which we are enlarging by rebuilding the central section under the dock and there is a very limited timeframe to do that in which the team are now working to deliver on,” describes Chris.

Navigating hazards As an organisation, one of the things that Crossrail has had a firm grip on since the beginning is risk management, particularly in relation to working within an underground environment. This encompasses everything from the detailed design risks tabled during the initial process to geotechnical investigations and geohazards, and then process-based and third-party risks. “The challenge is to stay in control of all the risks that we believe might materialise,” states Chris.

One way that Crossrail has worked to mitigate these is through the introduction of innovative working practices and systems. “We have been working with Cambridge University to install fibre-optic monitoring of strain in diaphragm wall construction. This is to try and correlate the performance of the design in real time against ground loading and deflection to make sure we have a thorough understanding of how all these issues interact to produce a design that functions as intended,” Chris continues.

“The value of this is that we can use the data for the next projects to

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look at how some of the codes and standards are potentially refined. We work quite collaboratively with HS2 for example to make sure that the lessons we are learning whilst we build Crossrail are translated across.

From this we saw that the use of fibre-optic monitoring in spray concrete construction was the next natural extension as the installation of strain and stress monitoring of these types of structures hasn’t been done before in the UK, so we’re now doing it on a very large scale in Crossrail.”

Other ways in which the project is capturing innovation includes the Crossrail Innovation Forum, a contractor programme to look at on-site productivity gains, and an annual papers competition. The winning paper for 2012 was “The Use of Shape Accel Arrays (SAA) for Measuring Retaining Wall Deflection”. This technique and equipment permits remote monitoring of deformation in the ground and walls and has the potential to become the industry norm.

Hotting up Aside from maintenance and certain holiday periods, Crossrail’s TBMs are running almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and with each manned by a ‘tunnel gang’ of up to 20 individuals, health and safety is a top priority. In light of these, each TBM comes equipped with a fire

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Western tunnels

chamber which has an independent fresh-air supply, as well as selfcontained breathing apparatus and oxygen supplies to sustain life for over 24 hours whilst assistance is sent or any incident is dealt with.

The project is also looking to set another new standard in the UK tunnelling industry with its approach to fire testing the segments of the running tunnels. As on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link the concrete structures are being fire hardened through the addition of between one and two kilograms of monofilament polypropylene fibres. The fibres vaporise when heated allowing moisture within the concrete to released and hence preventing spalling. Unlike other projects, Crossrail has gone one step further by fire testing the segments while under a design service structural load to ensure that their ability to bear support would not be compromised in a fire.

Delivering a railway As progress below the surface marches on, the shape of Crossrail is clearly emerging. However it is not only stations and tunnels that make a railway, and it is these other elements that are now increasingly coming into play. “The next big challenges are thinking about and planning the systems installation, and mechanical, electrical and public health (MEP) services within the station boxes. In terms of design we have a mixture of full designs for the civil engineering works, and effectively a back-end

design and build arrangement with the contractors for the MEP installation and certain architectural components,” agrees Chris.

“It is Crossrail’s intention to ensure that the entire project is built as designed rather than designed as built. A lot of our challenges are around making sure we manage any changes to the design to maintain the configuration between the different aspects of the railway.

Crossrail has used Building Information Modelling (BIM) to configure the designed spaces. This approach provides confidence that the civil engineering structures, MEP, and station and railway systems can be accommodated.”

Referring to the level of underground construction currently underway Chris points out that: “Even though tunnelling is currently highly visible, Crossrail is not just about holes in the ground.” He continues: “We’re working in a self-certification environment so it’s very much about getting all aspects of the railway right first time and setting a high benchmark for delivering railways in the UK.” zz

Crossrail Tel: +44 (0) 345 602 3813 Email: helpdesk@crossrail.co.uk Web: www.crossrail.co.uk

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rail station Whitechapel Cross

tunnelling works

The London tunnel marathon The new Crossrail route from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east includes a marathonequivalent 26 mile (42km) section of tunnels

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ollowing the release of aerial images of Crossrail construction sites in January, new tunnelling images show how Europe’s biggest construction project is also making its mark beneath the capital. The latest images show tunnelling work underway at a number of Crossrail sites, including: l Five tunnelling machines now in operation – Phyllis and Ada in west London, Elizabeth and Victoria in east London, and Sophia in Plumstead, southeast London

l Together the five machines have created more than 5km (three miles) of tunnels so far with nearly 500 metres built in the single biggest week of tunnelling to-date l In the western tunnels alone tunnelling machine Phyllis has put over 1500 tunnel rings in place between Royal Oak and Park Lane at the edge of Hyde Park l The western tunnelling machines will pass through the new Crossrail station at Bond Street this spring followed by Tottenham Court Road and Farringdon later this year, while the eastern tunnelling machines will break through into Canary Wharf station box this spring l Tunnelling underway beneath four central London station sites using Sprayed Concrete Lining ‘mining’ techniques – Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel l Sprayed Concrete Lining will be used to build a total of 12km of platform tunnels and

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cross passages at stations along the Crossrail route l Sprayed Concrete Lining underway at the huge 34.5 metres deep Stepney Green shaft in east London – one of Europe’s largest underground caverns which is large enough to fit 100 double-decker buses. The works are to allow the two eastern tunnelling machines to pass through the shaft later this year on their way to Farringdon via Whitechapel and Liverpool Street l Crossrail’s sixth and seventh tunnel boring machines will begin further tunnelling work in Plumstead and Pudding Mill Lane later this year l Refurbishment works well underway at the 135-year-old Connaught Tunnel in southeast London which will be brought back into use for Crossrail. A section of the Royal Docks will shortly be drained to allow major works later this year to open the tunnel from above for the first time since its construction in 1878. zz

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Sprayed C te Lining at HanoveronScqre u a Bond Street Cro re site – ssrail station

Work Connain progress ught T at unnel site

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All images courtesy of Crossrail

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NEWS I Crossrail Contracts

Crossrail

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Major tender for surface works

Crossrail’s Thames Tunnels at Plumstead tunnelling site

Tunnel fit-out l Crossrail has awarded the contract to undertake the major fit-out of the new rail tunnels to a joint venture comprising Costain Ltd, TSO and Alstom Transport. The award of the tunnel fit-out contract C610 is the last major construction contract to be awarded by Crossrail.

The C610 Systemwide main works contract incorporates the C630 Tunnel Mechanical & Electrical Systems contract. When C610 works begin, the contractors providing high-voltage power, communication and signalling systems will work alongside the C610 teams to complete the fit-out of the tunnels.

As construction concludes, work will get underway to fit-out the tunnels with the necessary track, overhead power equipment and services to enable Crossrail trains to operate from 2018. This will include the installation of over 40km of track, overhead electric conductor rails to power the trains as well as ventilation and drainage systems.

Traction power supply l Crossrail has awarded the high voltage traction power supply contract C644, worth in the region of £15 million to AC Joint Venture (Alstom Transport and Costain Limited). The scope of works includes the provision of traction power, distributed within Crossrail’s central section extending from Royal Oak Portal in the west to Pudding Mill Lane in the east, splitting at Stepney Green Junction and running to Plumstead Portal in the southeast.

The works will involve the construction of a feeder station at Pudding Mill Lane where power from the 400kV National Grid network will be converted down to 25kV before being fed into the overhead line equipment that will power the new Crossrail trains. A separate feeder station will be constructed by Network Rail at Kensal Green.

Plumstead to Abbey Wood contract l Network Rail has awarded a major contract, with a value of approximately £130 million, to Balfour Beatty Rail for the construction of a two-mile section of the Crossrail route from Plumstead to Abbey Wood in southeast London.

The contract will include: l The installation of two new dedicated Crossrail lines from Abbey Wood to the Plumstead portal, providing access to the new Crossrail tunnels. The Crossrail lines will run alongside the existing North Kent lines l Works to modify several bridges along the route to accommodate the overhead electric wires and two new lines that will be used by the new Crossrail trains.

The contract will also include construction of a new station building at Abbey Wood with a new Crossrail platform that will allow for easy interchange with North Kent services. Designs for the new station are currently being finalised. The main construction works will start in 2014, with some preparatory work expected to start later this year, and completion is expected in October 2017.

l Network Rail has issued a major invitation to tender for the majority of Crossrail works planned on the northeast surface section of the Crossrail route, between Stratford in east London and Shenfield in Essex.

The invitation to tender includes the design and build of major station improvements at Romford and Ilford as well as improvements at stations including Forest Gate, Goodmayes, Harold Wood, Gidea Park, Chadwell Heath and Brentwood.

Platform extensions will allow longer, higher capacity trains to run, and new lifts to enable stepfree access will be installed at many stations along the route.

The detailed design phase will commence in early 2014 and main works will take place between late 2014 and 2017.

Other works will include various infrastructure improvements, such as extra train stabling capacity and turnback facilities that will improve the reliability of passenger services.

The following organisations have been invited to tender: Balfour Beatty, Costain, Hochtief and VolkerFitzpatrick.

The contract will be awarded in late 2013.

Communications and control systems l Crossrail has awarded the contract for the central section communications and control systems, contract C660, to Siemens PLC. The scope of works includes the design, testing, installation and commissioning of key communications and control systems within Crossrail’s central section including CCTV and public address systems at stations, customer information displays, staff and emergency services radio systems and the data networks that will carry information to and from the route control centre. Installation will get underway in spring 2015.

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NEWS I Contracts

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Watford Junction and Reading signalling l Invensys Rail has been awarded two new contracts under Network Rail’s Signalling Framework Agreements, the contracts covering the re-signalling of Watford Junction station and the re-locking and immunisation of life-expired signalling equipment, interlockings and control systems in the Reading area.

The scope of the Watford Junction project includes the renewal of all signalling, control systems, power and cabling, as well as providing support for the ongoing track remodelling programme. Covering 143 signalling equivalent units (SEUs) as well as a significant amount of non-SEU work, the contract is valued at £33.5 million and will deliver Invensys Rail’s WESTLOCK computer-based interlocking and WESTCAD control centre display technology. The main project commissioning will take place in December 2014.

The £19.4 million Reading programme which will have its main commissioning in July 2014 covers 117 SEUs together with a great deal of non-SEU work. Invensys will be the principal contractor for both programmes, undertaking design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning activities, with telecoms, civils structures, permanent way and electrification and power work being provided by its domestic framework subcontractors as required by each project.

TfL revenue collection beyond 2015

© Transport for London

Ten years on from the launch of Oyster, Transport for London (TfL) has issued an OJEU notice for the contract to take the Capital’s transport ticketing systems into the next decade. The Electra contract, which was posted to the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) on 27th March, will assume responsibility for the provision and maintenance of front and back office revenue collection systems for all of TfL’s services, including approximately 4000 retail outlets, and at National Rail stations where Oyster is accepted. The new contract, which is valued at up to £1 billion over ten years, will begin in August 2015, when TfL’s current five-year contract with Cubic Transportation Systems is complete.

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East Coast catering payment services ECR Retail Systems has been awarded a five-year contract by train operator East Coast to provide the first fully PCI-compliant payment service for passengers buying food and drink on its services. ECR’s successful bid for the £1.8 million tender means it will supply East Coast’s on-train catering staff with handheld devices to process payments from passengers making purchases from trolleys and buffet cars on all routes. The terminals can also be used for the sale of other items such as newspapers and magazines.

By the summer, ECR will supply 140 handheld units and 60 tablets on 46 trains, replacing the existing system East Coast has been using for the past eight years. ECR is also currently working with East Coast’s catering supplier, Rail Gourmet, in Ireland.

Mark 3 coach overhaul Porterbrook Leasing has awarded a £5 million contract to Railcare to undertake the C6 overhaul of 111 of its Mark 3 coaches which are currently operated by Abellio Greater Anglia on the London to Norwich route. In addition to the scheduled C6 overhaul Porterbrook Leasing, the vehicle owner, has extended the contract to include additional corrosion repairs. The scope of work will involve shot blasting of the vehicle exterior, a full examination of the vehicle structure and exterior and corrosion repairs as required. The units will then be fully repainted in the new red and white Greater Anglia livery. The contract is due to start in October 2013 and be completed in July 2016.

Underground upgrade contract London Underground has engaged UK Power Networks Services to undertake a major upgrade on substations and cables on the Sub Surface Railway, known as package SSR3B. The design and build project is part of the London Underground’s sub-surface railway upgrade programme, being carried out on the Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith & City and District lines to introduce new rolling stock and signalling to increase passenger capacity and improve journey time capability. The upgrade will support the increased demand for power.

New high voltage, direct current and low voltage switchgear, transformers rectifiers, cables, batteries, chargers and marshalling cabinets are all part of the SSR3B package of new equipment required to be upgraded or installed.

SCADA RTUs for West Coast substations Invensys Rail has been awarded a contract by ABB in support of Network Rail’s £115 million Power Supply Upgrade Project on the West Coast Main Line. Covering Phase 3B of the overall programme, the scope of the contract awarded to Invensys includes the design, supply and factory testing of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) for 11 of the enhancement project’s new containerised traction substations.

Work on the SCADA element of the overall Power Supply Upgrade Project is already underway and is scheduled for completion in December 2014.

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NEWS I Products & Services Emergency response service

Zonegreen helps future-proof modernised rail depot l Rail safety specialist, Sheffieldbased Zonegreen, is transforming a Victorian maintenance facility into one of of the most secure and efficient depots in the UK. London Midland’s Tyseley depot, near Birmingham, is the latest British facility to implement Zonegreen’s SMART Depot Personnel Protection System (DPPS™). The intelligent control network has been fitted to all 13 lines at Tyseley, to provide safer working conditions for maintenance staff and increase the speed and efficiency with which trains are moved.

Zonegreen’s installation is one of a series of upgrades at Tyseley, commissioned by Network Rail through their principal contractor J. Murphy & Sons Limited, as part of London Midland’s expansion in Birmingham and Network Rail’s commitment to improving workplace safety. It has included the addition of new fleet and the introduction of a £1.6 million washing facility, capable of cleaning 120 trains each day.

DPPS™ uses powered derailers, road end control panels, train detection equipment, warning signals and personal datakeys to protect staff and infrastructure in busy rail depots.

Zonegreen’s flagship technology is the most advanced, reliable and tested product of its type. It can be combined with the firm’s depot manager software to offer a complete depot overview and a fully traceable system.

Zonegreen’s SMART DPPS™ is installed in some of the largest and most sophisticated maintenance facilities in the world, including Temple Mills, which serves the Eurostar, and Dubai Metro depots, Jebel Ali and Rashidiya.

For more information about SMART DPPS™ or Zonegreen’s range of depot safety equipment, telephone (0114) 230 0822 or visit www.zonegreen.co.uk

Achilles awarded top security accreditation l Supply chain management company Achilles has shown it adheres to the highest standards of information security, after achieving the British Standards Institution ISO 27001 certification. Achilles, which manages supply chain data on behalf of 77,000 buyers and suppliers in 23 countries, achieved the global standard after a rigorous assessment of its information technology systems and processes. The certification demonstrates that Achilles excels at several aspects of IT security including: l Protecting sensitive information l Maintaining accurate data held on its global IT platforms l Encouraging staff at all levels to maintain optimum levels of security and control over information l Legal and regulatory compliance

Achilles Web: www.achilles.co.uk

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l Keyline’s National Rail Division has launched an Emergency Response Service to provide immediate access to civil engineering and specialist products for unplanned work and repairs. The 24/7 solution will ensure rail contractors and organisations can source materials round the clock to better respond to out-of-hours incidents and minimise disruption to the transport network.

The rapid response service will be managed from Keyline’s national rail office in Canning Town, East London, and will be available to all MAFA, track work, civil engineering and building contractors, as well as rail organisations such as Network Rail and London Underground. An out-of-hours helpline will co-ordinate all emergency requirements with nationwide coverage provided via a network of 88 branches along all mainline rail routes and in close proximity to rail, Underground and metro stations.

Keyline Tel: 0844 892 2677 Email: rail@keyline.co.uk Web: www.keyline.co.uk

Online supply chain management system l Balfour Beatty Rail is implementing a new supply chain management system to ensure a consistent and standardised approach to supplier qualification and evaluation, and enable companies of all sizes to have a free ‘shop window’ with its procurement team. The firm has implemented a total supplier management solution (TSMS) in partnership with Achilles – which helps organisations manage potential risks in their supply chains to protect people, planet and profit.

Suppliers for Balfour Beatty Rail are being asked to complete standardised registration, pre-qualification and assessment processes online. Information will be stored in a centralised database, hosted by Achilles. This will enable Balfour Beatty Rail to effectively manage data, assess companies consistently, and prevent potential issues in the supply chain.

The new system, called Balfour Beatty Accreditation and Supplier Information System (BBASIS), will work in conjunction with Achilles Link-up – the UK Rail Industry’s supplier registration and pre- qualification scheme. Link-up enables businesses that carry out potentially medium to high-risk services to qualify to work for 115 rail organisations, through completion of a single questionnaire.

Now Balfour Beatty Rail is extending that principle to all of its suppliers, asking them to complete standardised processes online, at no cost, to gain a complete picture of activity across its entire supply chain. It will also help Balfour Beatty Rail achieve sustainable procurement objectives.

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Sprayed Concrete Association

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Finished arch

Marple slope sprayed concrete

Harrietsham tunnel

Strong

foundations With a membership network spanning all areas of construction, the Sprayed Concrete Association encourages high performance and training throughout the industry

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ounded in 1976 by a small group of gunite contractors, the Sprayed Concrete Association (SCA) is dedicated to the promotion and development of sprayed concrete methods, training and implementation. The organisation is dedicated to quality solutions and its membership has always included contractors, material suppliers, machinery manufacturers and consultants that fall into four main categories of membership.

From full members such as contracting companies, to associate members, overseas members and honorary members, the organisation’s series of meetings throughout the year provide a forum for shared expertise and innovation.

The SCA focuses on both dry processed and wet processed sprayed concrete applications for the construction industry, especially for water retaining structures, underground construction, protective coatings, and strengthening and repair works. For the rail industry, its specialist knowledge is utilised specifically in the restoration and rehabilitation of tunnels and structures, as well as the stabilisation of embankments.

Sprayed concrete is an ideal method of concrete application, due to the requirement for little or no formwork, high early strength gain and the ability to convey materials quickly in excess of 500 metres to the point of application. Sprayed concrete, having been used on the Channel Tunnel and CTRL rail link, is currently being used in London on the Crossrail Project, working on arch strengthening contracts in Manchester, and numerous tunnel repair works throughout the rail network. With continued Government investment in new infrastructure projects and Network Rail investment in improvement works, the SCA is predicting sustained high levels of activity in the sector.

Recognising that the quality of sprayed concrete application is dependent on the operatives in the field, the SCA has worked closely with the Construction Industry Training Board (Construction Skills) to introduce an NVQ qualification. Furthermore, together with EFNARC, the Association has produced a European Specification for sprayed concrete which it makes available to operators. It also supports other programmes such as

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Shortlands junction the Construction Skills Certificate Scheme (CSCS) which looks to extend certification to a common standard across the industry.

As such, it is vitally important that specifiers and designers insist upon, and verify, the training methods adopted by their prospective contractors. For many years the SCA has recommended a formal record keeping, training and certification scheme, as it is the on-site

actions of the nozzleman that determine the quality and consistency of the final product. In order to achieve this, training and certification within the industry must be both supported and maintained.

For its own part the SCA insists upon, and verifies, its members for assured quality deliverance, whilst encouraging and promoting the ongoing training of operatives to increase

understanding of the technicalities of the sprayed concrete process. All of its members subscribe to the same core philosophy of superior workmanship, with each new addition being assessed to ensure that the SCA maintains its high quality credentials.

The Association looks to enhance its internal performance and understanding of sprayed concrete through close partnerships with

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SHOTCRETE

The sprayed concrete experts

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Tamworth station completed

Market Rasen arch strengthening university research establishments such as Loughborough University, Imperial College and TUCA Tunnelling Academy.

Today, one of the greatest challenges of the Sprayed Concrete Association is the use of sprayed concrete by contractors who are not members, and as such may not subscribe to the same quality and training criteria as the SCA. By choosing an SCA member, clients can rest assured that they will receive a high quality end product delivered by a competent and qualified workforce.

Recently the Sprayed Concrete Association (SCA), Concrete Repair Association (CRA) and the Corrosion Prevention Association (CPA) have formed the Structural Concrete Alliance. This new Alliance brings together over 70 companies drawn from contractors, manufacturers, distributors, consultants, test houses and equipment suppliers. It will offer a single point of contact for major clients and a definitive source of information and advice for all involved in the repair, refurbishment and management of concrete infrastructure and the protection from corrosion of a wide range of structures.

The Alliance pools resources and provides a single portal for anyone wanting to know about

how to repair or manage degrading structures.

The strengths of each Association complement each other and together provide a unified voice. Although all three Associations will continue to operate, providing detailed advice and comment within their individual speciality areas, the Alliance will reduce duplication in many areas, including the development of publications and technical guidance

documents.

The Structural Concrete Alliance aims to advance education, technical training and health and safety in the sector and will campaign for greater recognition of competence and quality for both services and products. zz

Web: www.sca.org.uk

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Geotechnical Engineering

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Getting technical With a change in structure, and new governing policies, Network Rail is applying fresh thinking to the challenge of geotechnical asset management

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Services to support the ten Routes as well as the central corporate departments such as Planning and Regulations, and Safety and Sustainable Development. Our new organisation will be more efficient and also provide improved customer service”.

A change in policy

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itting amidst Network Rail’s asset management programme, geotechnical engineering is focused on the proper administration of an asset base consisting of embankments, soil cuttings, and rock cuttings. This work plays a vital role in ensuring the efficient upkeep and continuous improvement of the rail system, and to prevent earthwork failures which can then impact on train services.

The network itself is segmented into five chain, or 100 metre, lengths, and any cutting or embankment of more than three metres in height is marked for formal management.

This means that it is examined at a certain frequency of one, five, or ten years depending on whether it is in poor, marginal, or serviceable condition.

Leading the way Overseeing this activity is Tony Wilcock, who for the last three years has been head of civils asset management for geotechnics and drainage at Network Rail. Having worked for Network Rail, and its predecessor Railtrack, for 16 years, Tony’s past roles have included zone structures engineer, and territories civil engineer for the London North Western (LNW) route.

In his asset management position, Tony has led all the geotechnical resources on the routes, and also Network Rail’s mining team, which oversees the interface between its rail operations and the country’s mining legacy.

Following the devolution of Network Rail at the end of 2011, this role has shifted towards leading the development of Network Rail’s geotechnical asset management policy for Control Period 5 (CP), which runs between 2014 and 2019, and the drainage asset

management policy.

The biggest change though has come recently with the reorganisation of the central team, which amongst other things has created six new professional head positions.

These roles are intended to deliver technical leadership and authority across Network Rail in track, signalling, structures, buildings, plant, and geotechnical, which Tony has assumed the professional head position for.

“Network Rail has responded to the McNulty report and moved to a devolved organisational route-based model, to realise efficiencies and adopt closer working relationships with the train operating companies (TOCs),” he describes. “At the same time the central asset teams have been engaged in delivering the new policies for the next five years, and with those policies now essentially in place, we have reorganised and created Asset Management

In order to build the new geotechnical policies, Network Rail has taken a rounded approach, drawing on internal expertise, as well as input from outside the immediate organisation.

Personally Tony has also carried out a lot of benchmarking from around the world looking at the geotechnical asset management policies of France, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, and Hong Kong.

“What we’ve delivered in terms of a geotechnical asset management policy for railway infrastructure is at least as good, if not better, than what’s available in Europe and south-east Asia,” highlights Tony. “The key difference to what we had previously in CP3 and CP4 is that we’ve developed a prescriptive risk-based policy. This directs Network Rail’s investment to those assets, which pose the greatest threat to safety and performance, with deliberate prioritisation of the former over the latter.

“In CP4 there was perhaps a lot of focus on renewals, and less on the smaller, more numerous interventions so that we manage our earthworks, drainage, and vegetation to achieve better whole-life costings for a stated level of asset performance. As such we’ve developed a policy that advocates a range of interventions such as maintenance, refurbishment, and renewals which we’ve

Buxworth

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workshopped with the wider Network Rail geotechnical community from the routes,” he continues.

Model approach By looking at the whole asset base and applying these different interventions, in CP5 Network Rail will be carrying out work on approximately ten per cent of this base over the five years, as opposed to the 1.5 per cent of CP4. This does not equate to a tenfold increase in costs though as much of the work will be maintenance and refurbishment activities.

Another new aspect of the current submissions is building in of whole-life cost models, which demonstrate both the volume and mix of works needed to be done on the asset over the CP to deliver a certain outcome.

“We’ve concentrated wholly on the volume in this piece of work as that then drives the cost, so it’s about getting a much better understanding of the condition that our asset is in, the rate of degradation, and then how we can achieve what we need to, going forward,” notes Tony.

“We have around 175,000 of these 100metre long slopes in the portfolio, which we have modelled not only over CP5 but over the next 100 years such that in calculating the volume and type of work that we’re looking at long-term sustainability. It’s leading edge portfolio asset management as modelling the deterioration of a soil embankment or cutting is tricky, and whilst we have repeat data on about 20 per cent of the network we don’t have a long trend dating back over the age of the asset as to how it has deteriorated. This is the start of a proper asset management journey as we will continue to monitor our calculations on degradation rates and fine tune them going

Removal of track forward, but what we’ve built in CP5 are the models and policies that are a robust platform of the future,” he adds.

Proactive stance Furthermore, Network Rail has put together its first integrated drainage policy, which covers all earthwork and track drainage. This comes off the back of a first generation national survey of drainage assets, which serves as a base for future planning. “We have branded drainage as a servant asset in that its purpose is to support the performance of the earthworks. Once again we are being quite prescriptive with a range of interventions from inspection and maintenance to refurbishment, renewal and new-build,” explains Tony.

He continues: “This is because we recognise that we may have some stretches on the network where changes in land use or other

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threats mean we may need drainage where we currently don’t have any. These plans are subsumed within our earthworks and track policies, but due to the focus on flooding over the last 12 months we have created a formal drainage management policy for the first time.”

Since 2003 Network Rail has kept rigorous reports on the number of earthworks each year, which are then reported to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). The last five financial years have seen an improving trend from 107 failures in 2007 to 28 in 2011, but this year is heading towards 145. “The improvement was yielded in part by investment and improvement in the asset, but also in a large part by the weather.

Clearly there is still a lot of work to be done to improve the resilience of our asset further through directed investment. For instance we already have additional allowances of 20 per cent capacity over and above the design calculated requirements when constructing new drainage to give us some headroom for future climate change,” outlines Tony.

Reflecting on the current approach as a whole, he concludes: “We are in a completely different space to where we’ve been previously in terms of asset management policies, and evidencing these using whole cost models.

We continue to advocate a proactive approach to earthworks management, and prioritisation of sites with the highest safety risk, so that remediation takes place before it starts to impact on the train service.” zz

Network Rail Geotechnical Tel: +44 (0) 8457 114 141 Web: www.networkrail.co.uk

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Troublefree trackway stability

ne of the most recent releases from TERRAM, a division of Fiberweb Geosynthetics Ltd., is Hydrotex, a permanent way solution for trackbed stability that substantially reduces laying costs by eliminating the need for a sand layer and performing as an effective filter/separator for the prevention of clay pumping.

Hydrotex is a strong blanket consisting of two opposing needle-punched non-woven layers sandwiching a thermally bonded central filter layer. This effective three layer geocomposite allows upwards and downwards water transmission through the permeable layer, but prevents the upwards passage of particles even as fine as 0.002mm.

It is sufficiently flexible to perform on rough surfaces but the outer non-woven layers are amply robust to perform effectively under ballast. Stability is aided since pockets of

slurry beneath the geotextile layer become dessicated with the passage of water and do not remain as semi-liquid pockets. Since it is laid direct from the roll installation is extremely simple, non labour intensive and without need of specialised equipment. The greatest advantage of TERRAM Hydrotex is in preventing the need for a sand layer and

the consequent saving in labour not only for pouring the sand but also for the prior excavation required. As an environmental spin-off it saves the need for land-fill soil disposal and provides a considerable reduction in lorry traffic to and from site.

It is sold in standard rolls 25m & 50m long by 3.9m wide but other sizes are available on request.

The product’s efficacy is endorsed by approval from Network Rail under PADS No. PA05/0545 and Hydrotex has already established a reputation in the industry for its winning combination of cost efficiency plus speed and simplicity of laying zz For further information, please contact: Fiberweb Geosynthetics Ltd Tel: 01621 874 200 Email: info@terram.com Web: www.terram.com

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zz Geotechnical Engineering zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz itmsoil makes fixed asset monitoring more efficient

i

‘Intelligent’ software from itmsoil is aimed at efficient management of structures & earthworks

tmsoil is a leading designer, manufacturer and installer of instrumentation systems for the monitoring of buildings and civils assets on railway infrastructure. While generally remaining stable, circumstances can force a change in condition, especially under the influence of external forces such as extreme weather events, collisions and other accidents, adjacent construction work, or simply deterioration through age. An increasing incidence of extreme weather events, such as storms and flooding, means that it is a good time for transport infrastructure operators to look at revising their risk management strategy to make it more efficient and reliable. Well managed instrumentation monitoring is often the key to this.

A wide range of instrumentation is now available to provide data and images on the condition of these assets, however these can produce so much information that it can be

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difficult to manage. To counter this itmsoil focus on well-designed automated systems that make the best use of instrumentation, and data delivery software that provides convenient, well organised information. itmsoil’s intelligent monitoring software includes an innovative ‘batching’ procedure that collates individual outputs from related sensors and cameras, whether data or images, into one place, this means the information can be reviewed in context to properly assess risk. This combination means changing situations can be assessed easily and decisions made quickly.

False alarms triggered by instrumentation can be counter-productive, the new software from itmsoil prioritises alarm indicators to reduce the likelihood of false alarms that can disrupt the rail network. The responsible manager can then make a fully informed decision that may allow train movements to continue at, for example, a reduced speed.

Nick Slater, business development manager at itmsoil, says: “Our monitoring systems combining sensors and cameras have already proved themselves in delivering data about the performance of slopes, embankments, tunnels, bridges and cuttings. Now we can provide more efficient and insightful data, made possible by the intelligent monitoring software.”

Concerning the prioritisation of remedial work Slater comments: “It is not viable to fix all deteriorated infrastructure at once, though a programme of works is under way. Our monitoring enables engineers to understand how their assets are performing. It helps risk management and has the potential to extend the useful life of an asset while long-term solutions are put in place.” zz For more information on itmsoil’s advanced monitoring systems contact Nick Slater at: itmsoil Tel: 01825 765 044 Email: nick.slater@itmsoil.com Web: www.itmsoil.com

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Geotechnical Engineering

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Ground

A consultant’s viewpoint “The geotechnical business is full of surprises,” says JEFF MAITLAND. Here he considers some of the issues and their solutions

O

ften taken for granted, competency of the ground – or terra firma – as the Italians would have it, is an essential part of any engineering process.

This is especially true in railway practice, where instability below running lines of just a few millimetres can push track geometry beyond acceptable trigger limits, threatening derailment at worst or, at the very least, the imposition of an emergency speed restriction and consequential train delay.

The slopes of embankments and cuttings can also pose problems from either natural causes such as hyper-saturation due to changes in weather conditions, or man-made.

The recent ground slip at Hadfield, which closed the adjacent main lines, is a clear demonstration of what can happen when ground ‘goes on the move’.

Long experience derived from major railway schemes undertaken throughout the country dictates not only extreme caution when attempting engineering works such as large diameter tunnelling but also, on occasion, the need for ‘reverse engineering’ whereby design options and construction techniques may have to be modified according to prevailing ground conditions so as to ensure that no nasty surprises are encountered ‘on the night’.

Whilst all of this may possibly sound somewhat hypothetical, over the years perched water tables have been discovered hidden halfway up steep embankments, layers of stiff horizontal clay strata have twisted and become vertical, and even the sturdiest rock faces have been found to crumble and fail after just a few years’ exposure to damp and frost.

In addition, it is as well to remember that tidal influences often reach far inland, on one occasion creating floatation of buried sewer chambers (located several miles from the coast) to such an extent as to require pipe joints to be specially manufactured with expandable metal bellows.

All in all, this geotechnical business is full of surprises, especially when there is a need

conditions, including specialist geo-technical investigations, needle-probing, ultrasonic detection, and use of remote sensors, whilst incorporation of track monitoring to the appropriate Network Rail compliance ensures the continued safe passage of trains during construction and maintenance activities.

Additional precautions include ensuring that all excavated ground is adequately supported (including the foundations of drop shafts which may suddenly ‘heave’ due to pressure buildup from beneath) and, on occasion, ground stabilisation may also be employed, including injection of cement or resin-based grouts.

Dewatering techniques may also be an option whereby, under controlled conditions, ground water is carefully extracted via well-points driven deep into soft sand strata to leave a firm cohesive material through which excavations can then safely take place.

Terra firma maybe, but often only in name, and certainly not always in practice! zz

This photo, taken during recent culvert replacement work at Machynlleth, (Sutton Br. to Aberystwyth Branch) clearly demonstrates that you don’t always have to dig far below the track formation to experience poor ground conditions. The job necessitated extreme caution during the placing and strutting of side supports across the single line railway to a depth of just under four metres in order to ensure continued stability, the sub-foundation of the embankment being a complex mixture of loose sands, and fine grey silt. to include for the effect of even such simple operations as driven piling, the transmitted vibration from which may create settlement to nearby running lines, or the foundations of lineside buildings. Similarly, a relatively small quantity of water pumped from a flooded manhole and discharged down a cutting slope may create a major slip within just a few hours.

Yes, it really has been known to happen.

Fortunately, there are many solutions available when faced with unstable ground

Jeff Maitland is director of Vital Consulting UK Ltd. He and his team make good use of their wide-ranging knowledge and experience to assist outside parties undertake schemes on or adjacent to the operational infrastructure, whether initial consultation, or full ‘design and build’.

For further information, please contact:

Vital Consulting UK Tel: 0845 894 9020 Email: info@vital-consulting.co.uk Web: www.vital-consulting.co.uk

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Plant & Equipment

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz SWIETELSKY’s RU800-S combined high output ballast cleaning and track relaying system

Distinctbyinnovation Founded in 1936, SWIETELSKY has grown into one of Austria’s largest construction companies and is an international provider of track construction, maintenance and renewal services

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hen Senator Dipl. Ing. Hellmuth SWIETELSKY founded a new construction company in Austria in 1936 he trusted in his own knowledge and that of a few trusted and enthusiastic employees. Since then SWIETELSKY has grown into one of Austria’s largest construction companies with over 6600 highly motivated and well-trained staff. Headquartered in Linz, SWIETELSKY now has subsidiaries in Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, Poland, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Montenegro, Norway, Australia and the United Kingdom. In the 2011/12 financial year SWIETELSKY reached a turnover of 1.4 billion Euros with construction activities spanning

railways, highways, bridges, tunnelling, and heavy civil and structural engineering.

The company also provides a variety of specialist construction services including building in difficult mountainous regions, sports and recreation facilities, environmental technology, scientific and laboratory services, and PPP infrastructure projects.

As a leading provider of track construction, maintenance and renewal services, the SWIETELSKY Rail Division uses a fleet of over 500 high-performance rail-mounted machines deployed on behalf of railway authority clients internationally.

The fleet contains several world firsts including the RU800-S combined high output ballast cleaning and track relaying

09-32/4S high output S&C and plain line tamper (now working on High Speed 1 in the UK)

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Distinct by innovation

BDS 2000 ballast management system

system and the PM1000-URM formation rehabilitation system featuring threechain excavation and advanced recycling technology.

In addition to its fleet of larger renewals systems SWIETELSKY also owns and operates a substantial number of other high-capacity machines, including: l 09-4X the highest output plain line

In recent years SWIETELSKY has developed a series of market-leading crane-based technologies. Innovative attachments designed and built in-house such as the robot arm and automatic sleeper relaying beam have transformed our Kirow cranes into multi-functional track renewal systems which are the most versatile and capable in the market.

SWIETELSKY’s UK Joint Venture business with Babcock (SB Rail) has developed and brought into operational service the KRC 500 S & SG. This fixed formation double jib crane system incorporates two KRC 250 UK rail cranes with an integrated wagon for installing all modular track designs and panels up to and including ‘SG’ switches. The system has a number of key advantages over conventional or larger systems, including

tamping technology available. l 09-32/4S the most advanced S&C tamping system available. l BDS 2000 the complete ballast management system. l APT 1500 R the advanced flash butt welding and rail tensioning system.

These machines support their larger counterparts or work independently forming a comprehensive offering perfectly suited to working in the technically demanding environment of high speed lines where access comes at a premium requiring both the highest possible outputs and quality available.

SWIETELSKY uses and develops the latest on-track technologies and methodologies resulting in the capacity to deliver significant volumes of high quality track infrastructure works. Typical annual volumes are shown in the table below. l Track

relaying lTrack formation rehabilitation l Track ballast cleaning l Turnout replacement and renewal (including ballast) l Rail

grinding grinding l Renewals tamping, lining and stabilising to design l Turnout

tamping, lining and stabilising to design

1015 km 276 km 344 km 475

units

724 1200

km units

5200

km

7500

km

l Track

butt welding design

4000 2800

No. km

Breaking new ground SB Rail has also developed and brought into service a high output crane-based piling system which works in an entirely self-contained production line methodology.

By bringing with it all materials and taking away any residual supplies the system doesn’t rely on site deliveries and enhances safety by significantly reducing the number of machines and movements on site.

Using the superior power of the KRC 250 cranes, the system is able to achieve significantly higher pile-driving rates than conventional road-rail machines with the added capability of removing any stopped piles in the event of unexpected ground conditions. Additional system enhancements are already underway, including the possibility to transport and install further OLE equipment such as masts and portals.

Latest news Robot arm and 28 sleeper fully automatic relaying beam

KRC 500 S & SG double jib fixed formation crane system

l Maintenance

l Flash

improvements in: safety, speed and accuracy of installation, and working under challenging height restrictions.

Electrification piling

SB Rail will soon introduce another first to the UK industry, the Plasser & Theurer UNIMAT 09-4x4/4S tamping machine.

The new design will offer the highest output universal tamping capability in the UK and, requiring less depot-based maintenance than its predecessors, it will provide enhanced availability and reliability.

The machine will be equipped with the most recent developments in tamping and on-track machine technologies, including advanced performance monitoring and EN-compliant geometry recording systems.

Investment in and development of the equipment and methodologies described above demonstrates SWIETELSKY’s commitment to offering innovative solutions to today’s railway engineering problems. By continuously improving quality, reducing the impact of engineering works on operational networks, lowering the unit cost of delivery and reducing the environmental impact of these operations, SWIETELSKY is distinct by innovation. zz For more information please contact Gordon Suthorn, business development manager at: Swietelsky Construction Company Ltd Email: g.suthorn@swietelsky.at Web: www.swietelsky.at

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zz SRS RAIL SYSTEM LTD zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz •

Combined capabilities

SRS Rail System Ltd is adding to its road rail vehicle offering with the launch of a new vehicle together with a leading Chinese railway manufacturer

B

orn out of the railway itself, the SRS road rail vehicle concept was pioneered by the chief civil engineer of the Swedish railway over 30 years ago.

Designed to reduce the amount of time it took to bring materials from a depot to a railway work site, these vehicles are based upon lorries converted to run on both roads and railway track. The idea has since expanded to include a comprehensive range of mounted equipment, which enables the vehicles to be used for many tasks.

SRS Rail System Ltd came along five years later as the sales entity for these vehicles into the British market. In order to widen the market awareness of the road rail concept, the company set up a hire fleet so that prospective customers could see them in action. Today this numbers around 40 vehicles of either 17 or 25 tonnes in weight, and one 44 tonne articulated vehicle fitted with a Palfinger PR750 crane.

Looking at how the business has fared since the beginning of 2013, company director John Rooke reflects: “Network Rail’s exciting plans for improving the network are generating a corresponding increase in demands for our equipment. In fact we have had to turn down work virtually every week this year. The multiplication of overhead electrification projects is particularly demanding in terms of machines, skilled operators and trained linesmen alike.

“Recent work has included the transport and erection of steelwork coupled with running catenary, contact and reverse current wires for

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Babcock on the Paisley Canal electrification project. This was, incidentally, completed within budget and ahead of time,” he continues.

Currently SRS Rail System is gearing up to launch a brand new road rail vehicle to the market in partnership with Chinese State Railways (CSR) Sifang. Outlining how this came about John says: “With some 25 years’ experience in the operation of road rail vehicles and nothing else, we are uniquely placed to appreciate the incredible versatility of these machines. We believe that this versatility has only been recognised by a fraction of the world’s railway industry, and there is still a real gap in the market.”

The first of the new Sifang SRS vehicles will be a 17 tonne unit with an access platform, which will be followed by a series of similar vehicles with different ancillary equipment. The next step will be the development of a 25 tonne road rail vehicle of this type. “The new vehicles will have the same capabilities as the current fleet in terms of access, lifting, carrying, drilling, cabling and placing – the list of applications is endless. Virtually any tool which is required to maintain a railway can be carried on a road rail vehicle. However, many years of maintaining road rail vehicles has taught us a great deal, and so the new design will benefit from this knowledge,” reveals John.

The company has chosen the upcoming IAF/VDEI exhibition in Münster as the launch setting for the Sifang SRS vehicle. Revealing the reasons why he believes this is a good

fit, John notes: “I have visited every IAF/VDEI exhibition in the last 38 years and exhibited in most. It is simply the best railway infrastructure exhibition in the world for a number of reasons.

It occurs only once every three years allowing time for plenty of change, and it concentrates on infrastructure only, not aspects such as rolling stock, electrification, and signalling.

Furthermore, the larger companies invite decision markers from all over the world, which benefits the smaller exhibitors.”

Of course SRS Rail System is hoping that its presence will lead to high levels of interest in its new vehicles, and for this to translate into sales. The company sees exhibition such as IAF/VDEI as important marketing tools as much of its history has been concerned with the operation and maintenance of road rail vehicles for hire. As such, selling is a relatively new part of the business, and it has paved the way for its entry into this market by attending exhibitions in Australia, China, Poland, Scandinavia, and Turkey.

As previously indicated, SRS Rail System believes there is a huge wealth of opportunity still for road rail vehicles, particularly on the international market. “Road rail vehicles are already used in ever-increasing quantities in the UK, Europe, and the US,” agrees John. “Our task now is to educate the rest of the railway world. The amazing versatility of the road rail truck means that it is something that no railway should be without,” he concludes. zz

Web: www.srsrailuk.com

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Standby batteries

Plant & Equipment

HAZE is located at Dayawan in the Guongdong province of southern China. To visit the company takes a 1.5-hour journey by either ferry or bus from Hong Kong

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telecoms industry who themselves have experienced tremendous growth. In addition Haze has been very successful in some newly emerging markets: mobility, leisure and renewables. If you align this with the reputation of Haze to produce quality products with consistent and durable performance in various extreme applications, the company’s recent success is easy to understand.

Quality systems

Haze Batteries Ltd is an international supplier of sealed lead acid Batteries for worldwide standby applications. All batteries marketed by Haze Battery Company are quality assured and designed to comply with BS6290 Part 4, EUROBAT (draft IEC 896-2) standards and are a recognized component of UL 1989 under the category dealing with standby batteries

HAZE incorporates stringent quality systems into its production processes at all levels of the organization and in January 2003 was awarded full ISO9001 accreditation status from SGS Europe. HAZE was also awarded ISO 14000 on the current production facility in 2006. zz

at its workers ver 1500 etres. Turnover o s y lo p m HAZE em 125,000 square in 2013 f factory o r US$120 million e v o e b l wil

For further information, please contact: Haze Batteries UK Ltd Tel +44 (0)1536 205 952 Email: sales@hazebatteryuk.com Web: www.hazebattery.com

H

AZE is a private joint venture company comprising mainly English and some Chinese investors, bringing together over 20 years’ experience in quality battery manufacturing. Nicholas Wood and Johnson Yuen are co managing directors of HAZE based at the Dayawan production facility. David Wood, the third owner, is based in Hong Kong and oversees all things commercial. HAZE has representative offices and agents in USA, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia. In Europe Haze has an extensive network of highly motivated and competent distributors run by a European office based in the UK.

Products Haze manufactures a very broad range of maintenance-free sealed lead acid batteries.

From 1.2AH to 3850AH in 2, 4, 6 and 12volt varieties. Product ranges are distinguished by design life with 5, 12 and 15-year products available. In 2007 Haze also added OPZS and OPZV ranges of products.

Key to the success of HAZE has been the extensive and competitively priced product range enabling the company to attract a number of very high profile clients in the

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zz

AEG Power SolutionS

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Engineered excellence As a long thinking industry, the rail market is recognising the value of AEG Power Solutions’ total cost of ownership mindset when it comes to high-end power solutions

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A

leading provider of premium power electronics, AEG Power Solutions works with customers across the globe to meet their power challenges with innovative, world-class solutions. Backed by more than a century of experience, AEG Power Solutions offers a wide portfolio of AC and DC protection and control solutions for the transport sector and other demanding industries where quality, reliability, and total cost of ownership are key factors.

In the case of rail these span on-track, wayside and rail infrastructure applications.

AEG Power Solutions is particularly recognised for its expertise in uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), which provide redundancy for mission or safety-critical equipment. Other core products include industrial chargers and rectifiers, batteries, power controllers and converters, LED drivers, communication interfaces, and even complete turnkey power solutions tailored to specific needs.

“As you would imagine the UK rail market is driven predominately by Network Rail, which

requires participating UPS suppliers to meet their very tough standards,” describes Kevin Pateman, UK business development manager for rail. “All of the equipment that we supply into the rail industry has this accreditation attached to it.”

Iain Campbell, industrial director for UK and Ireland, continues: “Most of these key industries set a minimum standard as they have to achieve a reliability figure, and therefore need to make sure that the equipment is electrically designed in such a way that it meets the environmental conditions and other factors. We have a minimum agreed specification with the transport industry, and then depending on a specific location or application we will add additional features to the equipment.

“A lot of these systems have to operate in fairly harsh environmental conditions such as high heat or humidity, high levels of brake dust, shock and vibration, and even underground.

As such, the equipment structure has to be very resilient and robust in order to operate

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz service solutions.

“By combining these three key factors we are able to deliver customised systems and services which add value by combining high efficiency and reliability whilst minimising the total cost of ownership during the life cycle of the installation. This is our life cycle management approach: differentiating ourselves on added-value solutions during the entire lifetime rather than on the initial investment.”

Certainly it would seem that AEG Power Solutions is very much on the same track as its customers, with the rail industry actively looking for ways in which to reduce its operational costs. “We are able to offer this cost saving through better designs, greater mean time between failures (MTBF), reduced mean time to repair (MTTR), and more quantified maintenance regimes, amongst other measures,” notes Kevin. “We have a very large design establishment in Germany which provides us additional engineering resource

reliably in the midst of this for a long design life of 20 plus years,” he adds.

Recognised for its engineering excellence, it is AEG Power Solutions’ ambition to add value to its customers in such a way that it delivers efficient and reliable systems and good service with a life cycle management approach. This means that as well as designing the equipment itself, the company also maintains strong delivery and customer service capabilities to continue to respond to the operational requirements of its customers.

Commenting on those strengths which enables AEG Power Solutions to offer this kind of complete spectrum service Gert Buist, managing director North-Western Europe, says: “Extensive knowledge and expertise of complex customised engineered solutions for industrial applications is more or less a key competence of our entire organisation. We also have strong project management capabilities in order to be able to execute these projects in close co-operation with our customers, and we pride ourselves on our ability to offer innovative

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

FIAMMGroup l FIAMM Group is a private Italian manufacturer with 3000 employees and approximately â‚Ź530 million revenue throughout the world.

Since 1942 FIAMM has produced batteries for industrial and automotive use, as well as energy storage solutions, horns, antennas and organic LED (OLED) lighting systems for vehicles.

The Group is present in over sixty countries with about 70 per cent of its sales overseas. In order to be close to customers FIAMM has a solid and competitive industrial base with plants located in different regions and a global distribution and commercial network.

In the last decade FIAMM has focused decisively on the green economy. In 2011 the company acquired FIAMM SoNick, a company in Switzerland that produces Sodium Nickel Chloride (salt) batteries.

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FIAMM Industrial Batteries has built up over 60 years of experience and capability to supply backup energy solutions. The Industrial division provides a complete range of batteries to ensure continuous power supply in case of interruption of the mains and to store excess energy generated from renewable sources. Other than the traditional lead-acid accumulators, FIAMM produces sodium nickel chloride batteries with outstanding performance, ideal for applications in extreme temperature conditions.

FIAMM UK Limited is the sole UK & Ireland agent for FIAMM S.p.A. and they are centrally located in Cannock, Staffordshire.

The UK warehouse has an extensive stock holding of VRLA AGM batteries and has direct contact with the manufacturing facilities to source traditional products. The dedicated support team has sales and technical expertise to quickly and efficiently respond to all your requirements.

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when required and whom work very closely with the UK in delivering the best solutions for the rail industry.”

Far from content to rest on its laurels, this year alone AEG Power Solutions is looking to bring on-stream a number of new designs, including two which are currently going through product approval at this time. “These are applications which Network Rail have asked us to look at,” reveals Kevin. “There’s new technology being developed in addition to new application equipment and once that has been approved it will be launched back into the network. As well as by our key customers, development is also driven by our own research and development engineers who are always looking for continuous product improvement.”

This commitment to the rail industry, along with the company’s global engineering strength, is perhaps just one of the reasons behind AEG Power Solutions’ recent award of a multi-million pound contract with Crossrail.

“We have been chosen as the Crossrail partner for UPS suppliers and are very proud to be involved in the project,” enthuses Kevin. “Although the system isn’t to become operational until 2018 we will start delivery for that next year. In the meantime we have already secured all the work for Crossrail ancillary equipment, such as PSPs and REBs, for the inner and outer regions, which is already being delivered into the field.”

Even at this very early stage of delivery, AEG Power Solutions is already working

AEG Power SolutionS

in close partnership with many of the main contractors to ensure that the design parameters are correct and any risk eliminated.

In this sense AEG Power Solutions is able to apply its expertise and detailed knowhow in guiding how these designs should be delivered, and as the designs evolve to become more reliable and robust, incorporate these changes.

“We are solutions providers so we’re not just quoting to a specification, we are actually contributing to it,” adds Iain.

The other thing that AEG Power Solutions is looking at for this year is increasing its support on the ground. The company already operates

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on-going service contracts with many rail operators, but as the installed base grows AEG is commited to ensure that service commitments are continuously exceeding customer requirements.

“We’ve made a number of appointments within the company to support project management and documentation control, which is being put in place to meet the everincreasing workload that we see. Crossrail is obviously a major driver for us over the next years and fits neatly into our long-term business plans to expand the company to meet these expectations. At this moment we would consider ourselves number one in the transportation power market in the UK, and hope to continue to move forward in that facet through our customer focus on everything from initial conception to end of life,” concludes Kevin. zz

Web: www.aegps.com

Emergency Power Services Ltd EPS is a company that has built its reputation on providing quality engineering solutions. As a non manufacturing company, EPS perfectly complements AEG PS as a Power Partner, which gives both strength and support from its engineering staff. EPS is able to carry out important functions such as installation, maintenance and repair works to the standards required of a Power Partner.

For more information: call 01487 832357 or email sales@emergencypowerservices.co.uk

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East Coast Trains

zz NEWS I Franchises zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP

East Coast Trains will be returned to the private sector in 2015

A fresh start for franchising Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has unveiled long-term plans designed to drive improvements to rail services, deliver on major infrastructure projects, and put passengers at the heart of a revitalised rail franchising system

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I

n addition to publishing, for the first time ever, a detailed transparent timetable for all rail franchises over the next eight years, the Transport Secretary announced the immediate start of the competition for the East Coast franchise, currently directly operated, with the expectation that the new franchisee will carry its first passengers by February 2015.

The new approach to franchising: l Will provide long-term certainty to the market l Support the Department for Transport’s massive programme of rail investment l Deliver on the independent Brown Review of rail reform ahead of the April deadline for implementation of its recommendations.

In rolling out the programme the Department for Transport will work closely with the industry to negotiate further new services and more capacity in franchising contracts while delivering the best deal for both passengers and taxpayers. The new approach will see

the interests of passengers strengthened within the franchising system, with passengers’ views on train company performance playing an enhanced role in deciding whether to continue an operator’s contract.

On the day before the 50th anniversary of the Beeching Report (27th March), the Transport Secretary was also able to confirm the three stations most likely to be built with support from the Government’s New Station Fund.

These are Ilkeston in Erewash (Derbyshire), Pye Corner in Newport West (South Wales) and Lea Bridge in Walthamstow (East London). A final announcement will be made in May. In order to oversee this ambitious programme the Government is also establishing the Franchise Advisory Panel, headed by Richard Brown, which will provide independent advice to support the Department’s work on rail franchising.

Delivering on Brown Review recommendations, the new programme will provide a more

Southeastern could have a 50-month extension to its franchise

Thameslink Programme, including the major redevelopment of London Bridge, which will provide massive benefits to passengers across London and the region. l A major capacity enhancement programme across London and the South East, which together with Crossrail and Thameslink, will allow an extra 120,000 passengers to travel to Central London during the morning peak by 2019. l The introduction of new services between Oxford and Marylebone and Oxford/Aylesbury and Milton Keynes/ Bedford following investment in new and upgraded lines. zz DfT

sustainable schedule for rail franchising by delivering no more than three to four competitions per year, and staggering the two principal Intercity franchises, West Coast and East Coast, so they will not be let at the same point in the economic cycle.

In order to stagger the franchise start dates the Government will use a mixture of extensions to existing franchises and direct award contracts to ensure the realignment of the programme. During this process the Department will look to negotiate further passenger benefits, which will ensure the best deal for taxpayers.

This process started with the Government serving notice on First Capital Connect and Southeastern to call contractual six-month extensions.

The programme has been designed so that as it is rolled out the Department and Network Rail can continue to deliver on the massive programme of rail investment which will bring more trains and services to the network.

These include: l The completion of a £500 million package of enhancements that make up the Northern Hub programme. This will enable more services and greater capacity to be delivered between major cities including Manchester.

Liverpool, Blackpool, Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford by the end of 2018. l Electrification of the network in the North West by December 2016 and across the Pennines by December 2018 which will allow franchise operators to run faster and more reliable electric trains. l The electrification of the Great Western Main Line and the Cardiff Valley Lines which will transform train travel across the South West and South Wales, including faster and more reliable journeys to London. l The delivery of new state-of-the-art British-built trains from 2017 as part of the Government’s £4.9 billion Intercity Express Programme. l The electrification of the Midland main line which will deliver more passengers to destinations across the East Midlands and Yorkshire including Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham. l Increased passenger services between Cambridge and King’s Lynn, and Cambridge and Norwich following work to improve Ely North Junction. l The completion of the £14.5 billion Crossrail project, the biggest construction project in Europe, and the £6 billion

www.railimages.co.uk

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The new franchise programme Franchise Owning Group Current (Operator) franchise

expiry date

Duration of franchise extension and/or direct award

Start date of new franchise

Essex Thameside (c2c)

16 months

September 2014

National Express

May 2013

2013 September 2014 Thameslink (FCC) FirstGroup Govia September

12 months (FCC) (FCC) and Southern and July 2015 and n/a (Southern) (FCC) and July 2015 (Southern) (Southern) (Merge to become Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern East Coast Directly Operated n/a

Railways

Northern Abellio/Serco April 2014

n/a

February 2015

22 months

February 2016

Transpennine (TransPennine Express)

First Group/Keolis April 2015

10 months

February 2016

Great Western (First Great Western)

First Group

October 2013

33 months

July 2016

Greater Anglia

Abellio

July 2014

27 months

October 2016

InterCity West Coast (Virgin Trains)

Virgin/Stagecoach November 2014

29 months

April 2017

London Midland

Govia

September 2015

21 months

June 2017

East Midlands (East Midlands Trains)

Stagecoach

April 2015

30 months

October 2017

South Eastern Govia April 2014 (Southeastern)

50 months

June 2018

Wales and Borders (Arriva Trains Wales)

Arriva

October 2018

n/a

October 2018

South West (South West Trains)

Stagecoach

February 2017

26 months

April 2019

Cross Country

Arriva

April 2016

43 months

November 2019

Chiltern

Arriva

December 2021

n/a

December 2021

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Technology

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How to keep your train catering service on track with mobile technology SIMON PONT discusses some of the issues surrounding the provision of on-board at-seat catering

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onsumers have a right to expect great customer care when they buy products and services from any organisation. With social media allowing instant reprisal if people don’t get what they pay for, providing the best experience possible is paramount.

Nowhere is this truer than the rail sector.

Even though good discounts are available if passengers buy their tickets at the right time, fares can still be a sizeable sum of money; not least on daily, rush-hour commuter routes. So in terms of adding value to their journey, what can train operating companies do to provide a first-class service?

One of the requirements of any train franchise is the provision of an on-board catering function. In most cases, this

means operating an at-seat trolley service on all routes. This is a real boon for the train passenger: stressed-out parents no longer need to take their children on a trek to the buffet car which may be several carriages away; the business traveller doesn’t have to abandon expensive computer equipment while they head off for a sandwich.

But running an at-seat catering service isn’t simple. There are many considerations: the best way to take payments; how to ensure the trolley stays stocked; feeding information back to headquarters. These and other complex operational issues all have a common requirement – mobile information management. And, for that, there is a single solution.

Mobile, hand-held terminals with functionality that will ensure a smooth ride for

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catering crew and customer alike are now in use. These devices include built-in software that uniquely has the dual capability- of handling product sale as well as PCI-compliant Chip and PIN payment through the same unit.

The technology gives complete compatibility with existing GPRS networks, and WiFi where available, meaning payments can more often than not be taken online. Hand-held terminals must also be fully compliant with Rail Operations Standards.

Of course, many passengers – not least the hungry employee on their way back to head office from a meeting – require a receipt for their transaction; that’s not a problem, as the terminals include a fast, silent thermal printer to issue receipts. Other features include a touch-screen barcode scanner that makes product entry, and therefore stock control, fast and accurate. Retail transactions are logged on the system and all sales, stock, tender and operator information can then be sent back to a server at head office.

All of these things help to keep at-seat catering on course, improving the passenger’s experience, increasing the likelihood of repeat purchase and boosting revenues. The UK Customer Satisfaction Index (January 2012) highlighted that there is a strong correlation between customer satisfaction and sales (with a score of 0.63 on the CSI). Better customer service drives sales.

Other benefits of the system include: l Monitoring on-board catering performance, enabling operators to tailor products to customers by journey and time of day

l Cost reduction through management of stock flow l Tailored stock and sales reports l Real-time replenishment prompts, reducing the need for manual completion of paperwork; catering bars can stay open longer during a journey l Enhanced customer service with a professional image.

Because of the terminals’ ability to transfer data electronically, staff are less at risk of drowning in paperwork; information is also more timely and accurate, enabling more detailed management and decision making.

The data can be analysed at the touch of a button, producing reports on seasonal, weekly and even single-journey sales, which means advance orders can be accurately placed.

The development of the handheld terminal for on-train catering was driven by a desire for providers and their staff to gain an accurate view of sales, and control revenue reporting and management. The knock-on

effect of this technology is that a train should never be overstocked or undersupplied, meaning less food and drink is wasted, and fewer passengers are left with rumbling bellies.

That is important, because in this age of high-speed trains and time-poor passengers, the simple things are still vital. Create a good experience with perfect customer service and people will want more. Make life harder for them than it needs to be and your on-board catering operation could well hit the buffers. zz

Simon Pont is CEO of ECR Retail Systems

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Customer Satisfaction

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Putting the rail passenger first A recent passenger satisfaction survey by Which? highlighted worrying levels of dissatisfaction recorded by UK travellers. LIOR ARUSSY explores ways in which operators can keep customers happy

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ore than half of UK train companies received a customer satisfaction score of 50 per cent or lower in the recent Which? survey, which can be directly attributed to the rail industry focusing too heavily on operations and not investing in customer relations. Most companies are designed around a product or service and not the customer experience.

Surveys like this only serve to further highlight how this approach is no longer effective and that customers will continue to demand more. Travellers do not always feel or see the benefits of investments in infrastructure; of the 7519 people surveyed – mostly commuters travelling an average of 37 train journeys each year – more than half reported their dissatisfaction with service, with individuals citing delays, overcrowding and dirty carriages.

While rail companies should continue to invest in infrastructure, they need to recognise that this alone will not improve customer satisfaction levels. To do this, rail operators must become exceptional communicators and add value. Customers understand and accept when things go wrong; the real test is how those moments are communicated by the rail operators and their staff. By improving communications, such as giving credible reasons for a delayed or cancelled train, and easy to access information, rail operators can improve customer relations and encourage positive engagement.

Adding to consumer frustration is the fact that UK rail companies have been awarded franchises and responsibilities for certain routes and are therefore operating as monopolies.

This results in little choice for passengers and the perception that network operators have little motivation to invest in customer loyalty.

This creates a problem. A perceived lack of value for money can lead to the belief that companies are not playing fairly. It can also be frustrating for organisations that believe they are doing their utmost to offer great service. Therefore, Government should make customer relations a serious consideration when awarding franchises and assessing the performance of rail companies.

The mismatch between the service offering

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and the perception of service is one that operations-driven organisations often come up against. Traditionally, those in senior roles within these sectors have years of finance and operational experience and very little customer relations and marketing expertise.

This results in a primary focus on deliverables such as health and safety and efficiency, and not on customer engagement. This often leaves CEOs questioning why customers are dissatisfied when, in theory, the system is working. Operators must add value and offer clear propositions that make life easier for customers. For example, provide greater access to routes, make it easier to purchase tickets, introduce further flexible tariffs and create a welcoming experience throughout the customer journey.

For network operators to prosper, building customer relationships and retaining customer loyalty is key. Customers are putting experience before needs and want their expectations not just to be met but to be exceeded. As travellers increasingly demand more from their service, rail companies need to place the customer at the heart of everything they do.

So what action can operators take to keep customers happy?

Be in the people business – Make a conscious choice to define your business around people.

Experience the customer journey – Experience your service offering from the customer’s point of view in order to understand their delights as well as their frustrations.

Enhance the enjoyable aspects of travel and tackle the issues that cause dissatisfaction.

Do not paint over the cracks – Customer service can end up being a chain of superficial statements that do not translate into a reality for the customer. Show increased commitment rather than talk about it. Make genuine changes to fulfil your promise to the traveller.

Customers see through cover-ups.

Get out of the monopoly mindset – Competition is always around the corner.

Innovate based on what your customers want.

What else could you offer that enhances the customer experience? This will ultimately grow your business as well as delight your customers.

Chose the right leadership – Include people who naturally put the customer first in your strategy development process. Core roles at C-level often centre on operations, or on profit and loss, so hire people who instinctively remain connected with the needs and wants of the customer into senior positions.

Give employees a reason to have pride in your brand – Employee brand pride is key to your future success. Connect your employees to the brand heritage and develop a clear programme to disseminate that emotional bond throughout the organisation and beyond.

Don’t lose the passion – Passion drives business. It becomes contagious and captures the customer’s imagination. It is something that is often found in smaller companies but can easily become lost as an organisation grows.

Maintaining a dynamic spirit is essential, even for well-established companies.

Be in it for the long haul – Structure your customer relationships around the long term.

The point of sale should not be seen as a one off, but rather as a milestone in a much longer commitment. Although commuters may buy one ticket each month or year, find ways to treat them as repeat customers every day.

In the rail industry, investment in infrastructure, safety, maintenance and scheduling are paramount however customer satisfaction and communication must also be held up as a priority. To do this takes action, and above all, the ability to carefully listen to, identify with, and then concretely respond to the rail passenger, putting their needs first. zz

Lior Arussy is CEO and president of Strativity Group, a global customer experience transformation firm.

Email: Lior@Stravitity.com

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NEWS I Training

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Electrification skills l Vital Services Group has signed a joint venture agreement with Spanish overhead line electrification firm, Electren, which is part of Vias, a corporate group that belongs to Dragados which is a company of the ACS group. The partnership will see Vital Rail, a specialist provider of integrated services for rail, light rail and underground infrastructures, working with Electren which has a proven track record of working on major overhead line and electrification contracts across Europe.

According to the two companies, their joint expertise will provide the rail industry with the skills, processes and standards to help facilitate the ambition to upgrade the UK’s rail network to 2019, including the planned £4 billion investment in electrification.

In addition, the joint venture will see Vital Skills Training, the training arm of Vital Services Group, working with Electren to transfer skills and knowledge between both companies. Following an intensive English speaking course, a group of highly qualified Spanish overhead line engineers will be embarking on a training programme to ensure they are equipped with the qualification to work in the UK rail industry, including personal track safety and overhead line electrification construction.

New careers website a ‘game changer’ for passenger transport employers l People 1st has launched a brand-new website to promote career opportunities available in passenger transport and travel. Developed in association with the awardwinning website UKSP, Careers that Move (www.careersthatmove.co.uk) is breaking new ground for passenger transport with its online career tools and guides for employers, training providers and job seekers.

The initial phase of the website features an interactive Career Map, which shows the wide range of roles and career paths in the industry, with each linking through to a detailed job description and relevant training courses. People 1st has also been working closely with employers to make sure that the website meets the needs of the passenger transport and travel industries for recruitment and training.

Prospects for young rail engineers l A new apprenticeship scheme to recruit and train the next generation of highly skilled rail engineers has been launched by Thales UK and Prospects College.

Apprentices will be trained to work on signalling and communications installation, testing and commissioning and on-going maintenance and services.

The new apprenticeship scheme will supplement Thales’s successful graduate recruitment programme, offering an alternative approach to maintaining the company’s skills base. The scheme ensures that, by the end of the apprenticeship, the young engineers will have had 3-4 years to work in and fully understand the Thales business. On completion, the apprentices will have received a full range of technical and specialist rail training.

Prospects College will provide a complete apprenticeship management service to Thales, including the recruitment of the apprentices, planning of the four-year apprenticeship, delivery of the engineering practical and theory training, and assessment of competence in the workplace.

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Security

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Over 180 years of railway trespass!

f you have switched on the television in the UK during the past few months it will have been hard to have missed a programme that focused on the rail network. Whether it is Michael Portillo following his Bradshaw guide, Dan Snow giving a potted history of the locomotive, the fly on the wall BBC documentary ‘The Railway: Keeping Britain on Track’, or the national news.

For those of you who know your rail history (or like to watch a lot of television) it didn’t start well, when at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, on the 15th September 1830, William Huskisson was killed after standing on the track and being hit by George Stephenson’s Rocket.

Whilst some aspects may look familiar, almost every component of rail network in the UK has evolved way beyond what Huskisson, Stephenson, Brunel and countless other significant figures in the history of the railway could imagine. Whilst watching the story about Mr Huskisson I was reminded of the now famous YouTube video, of a woman who fell on the tracks of a Boston metro station several years ago (Ref. 1). The quick reactions of the driver were rightfully commended but it was also the combination of real-time video analytics in operation at the station that were used to warn the driver and which saved the woman from a similar fate as Mr Huskisson.

As the rail network has evolved so has the challenge of making it safe and secure for passengers, staff and the people who live and work near stations, tracks and crossings. In fact it is well reported that each year there are approximately 28 million incidents of railway trespass across the network, resulting in 15 days’ worth of train delays.

King’s Cross was one of the stations featured in the BBC Show ‘The Railway’ and as well as being one of the busiest, it is also one of the most forward-looking stations in the UK. As part of an upgrade in 2012, the station invested in a situational management solution – a more advanced PSIM (Physical Security Information Management) application – which provides the control room with a single interface from which to monitor activity across its CCTV, access control, fire, helppoints, customer information and public

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JAMIE WILSON explains how technology can be used to save lives and prevent theft in ways unthinkable when railways were first becoming established

King's Cross station address systems.

Security alerts from each system are immediately flagged on-screen to the surveillance team in the control room, enabling the operator to take the appropriate course of action using an adaptive workflow in adherence to the station’s predetermined processes.

However, it is not only in and around the station that this technology can have an impact. Network Rail maintains 7000 level crossings and its 2011/2012 statistics (Ref. 2) revealed that that there were ten collisions with road vehicles at crossings, three incidents of a train striking a pedestrian and a further 389 near misses. Of course no technology or educational programme can ever eliminate the risk altogether, as a spokesperson on the BBC documentary rightly observed – the only safe level crossing is a closed one.

However, in the absence of manned crossings, the use of analytics-enabled cameras that are

connected to a manned control room could be used to help notify drivers and relevant authorities of an upcoming obstruction, in much the same way as the incident on the Boston metro.

Other benefits of an integrated approach to real-time monitoring (whether via cameras, sensors, alarms or a combination) include protecting infrastructure from theft (copper theft continues to be a problem, as well as air-conditioning units and IT equipment in communications boxes) and criminal damage such as vandalism and graffiti, all of which can cost many tens of thousands of pounds to repair.

Fifty years since the publication of Dr Richard Beeching’s report that resulted in over 5000 miles of railway and more than 2000 stations being closed, the future of the railway is looking in good health with passenger numbers high, and long-term investment in infrastructure such as High Speed 2 and old tracks being re-opened.

Similarly, there are many projects and initiatives – such as King’s Cross – that are making rail travel safer and more efficient than ever, however there is still a lot that can be done to reduce the number of trespass incidents and their repercussions. But for those who remember the old British Rail slogan from the 80s: ‘We’re getting there!’ zz

References Ref.1: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=kcHkK0C5mFY Ref. 2: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/ aspx/4817.aspx

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stem is with NICE Sy Jamie Wilson ice.com Web: www.n

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NEWS I Security

Delays caused by cable theft halved l Rail passengers are reaping the benefits of years of work to tackle the issue of metal theft on the railway, latest industry figures show. Network Rail has been working with partners in the railway and from other essential infrastructure industries to tackle this crime which, at its peak, caused more than 6000 hours worth of delays to trains in a single year. As a result of these efforts, delay was down to a combined 2700 hours in 2012/13.

Neil Henry, head of operations and performance at Network Rail, said: “These figures show the true success of partnership working and are great news for passengers and our freight customers.

“The improvements we have seen are down to a number of factors, including British Transport Police targeting thieves and the scrap dealers buying stolen metal. Our engineers are working with suppliers and other industries to make metal – particularly our cables – harder to steal and easier to identify and our teams around the network introducing new ways of working to reduce delay and fix thefts more quickly. We believe the introduction of new laws following our work with other industries to explain the need for change to government will continue to help to stifle the market for stolen metal.”

Financial Year

No. of incidents

Delay minutes

Compensation cost

Total cost

2012/13

285

160,260

£5,823,094

£12,765,935

2011/12

845

344,680

£12,000,679

£18,337,504

2010/11

995

365,430

£12,132,860

£16,404,255

2009/10

656

321,570

£10,931,350

£13,511,889

2008/09

742

283,167

£7,858,516

£12,315,811

(Note: total cost figures are an estimate and a regional breakdown of this figure is not available)

Legislation It is already illegal to sell scrap metal for cash – this legislation was introduced in December 2012. Network Rail supported the Private Member’s Bill introduced by Richard Ottaway MP to regulate scrap metal dealers. The Bill was passed in February 2013 and the act will become enforceable as the Scrap Metal Dealer’s Act in autumn 2013. The Home Office is issuing guidance to councils, police, the legal services and all those involved with the implementation of the Act, the key features of which are: l Scrap metal dealers must be licensed and local authorities have the power to refuse unsuitable applicants and revoke licences l Police have the power by court order to close unlicensed scrap yards l All sellers of metal must show verifiable ID which dealers must record and retain l Cash trades for scrap metal are now illegal without exception and subject to unlimited fines l A public national register of scrap metal dealers will be created to help make sure that sales of scrap metal are accounted for and that all people trading scrap are doing so legitimately.

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Faster incident response

l A dedicated police response vehicle is being used across south and west London to help reduce disruption to passengers caused by emergency incidents on the railway. The vehicle, which has been commissioned and funded by the Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance in partnership with British Transport Police, is the first of its kind to be used fulltime and follows successful trials during the Olympics.

It allows railway engineers, driven by and accompanied

by BTP officers, to get to incidents using blue lights and sirens which helps to reduce response times and decreases the length of delays to passengers.

The vehicle is being used to respond to incidents that are causing, or have the potential to cause, disruption on the Wessex route out of London Waterloo and has already had a positive impact on disruption levels.

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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zz Health & Safety zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Health & safety award to celebrate fatigue management Innovative schemes to manage fatigue in the railway industry will be celebrated in an award from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)

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ompanies are being encouraged to enter their projects to the IOSH Railway Group Award 2013 for Fatigue Management, which is open for nominations from April to September. This year, the Award singles out individuals, teams and companies who have developed successful projects to tackle the issue, reducing the risk of dangerous errors and protecting the safety of those travelling and working on the UK rail network.

Now in its second year, the prize aims to raise the profile of occupational health issues in the sector.

IOSH Railway Group chair Martin Leeks said: “Fatigue can cause injuries and deaths to workers and passengers on our railways.

It hampers mental alertness and affects performance, causing errors because of reduced concentration, perception, judgement and even memory. Ultimately, it can lead to drowsiness and involuntary sleeping, which may cause accidents.”

Fatigue management involves developing and implementing policies, designing shift rosters, carrying out risk assessments, monitoring levels of mental and physical tiredness and educating on shift work.

In 1988, 35 people died and 500 were injured in a crash involving three trains, during rush hour at Clapham Junction. In the wake of this, in 1989, Anthony Hidden QC completed an investigation into the accident and fatigue was named as one of the underlying causes.

As a result, limits on working hours were introduced in the railway industry. Fatigue is now governed by the Railways and Other

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Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations 2006 (ROGS) and the Working Time Directive, 2003/88/EC, among other laws.

More recently, smaller-scale accidents have been caused by fatigue. But increasingly, Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) statistics are showing that people are phoning in sick with fatigue-related health problems.

Martin Leeks added: “The issue of fatigue has been bubbling under the surface for a while, so it’s vital our rail industry deals with it now. We need another culture change, where long working hours are seen as a hazard to our employees, companies and passengers on the network. We absolutely shouldn’t be waiting until the situation is so bad that we risk another Clapham Junction disaster.

“By shouting about good examples of

fatigue management, promoting good practice and helping companies to meet modern guidelines, we hope underperforming companies will put in place their own schemes.”

IOSH wants to see the rail industry follow airline companies’ example, where pilots’ hours have been reduced in favour of ensuring they are fit for work.

“Regulations are there for a reason – we don’t just want rail companies to pay lip service to them. Any which are subjecting staff to too many working hours are not only breaking the law, but risking the health and safety of those employees, their passengers, as well as their bottom lines,” Mr Leeks concluded.

The award winner(s) will be announced at the National Rail Industry Conference 2013, at the Congress Centre, in London, on 28th November. zz

To find out more on the awards and how to enter, please visit: www.iosh.co.uk/railwaygroupaward.aspx.

Entries can be sent to events@iosh.co.uk, or to Events Team, IOSH, The Grange, Wigston, Leicestershire, LE18 1NN, by 15th September

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Health & Safety

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egg

Martin B

Kicking it into shape MARTIN BEGG is a firm believer in an active lifestyle

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am a 24-year-old full-time sales executive with a great passion for football. Growing up I always had the desire to play football professionally, but for whatever reason this did not happen for me – I’m pretty sure it’s because I slipped through the net rather than not being good enough of course!

I’ve always loved playing football and, being a realist, I soon realised that my hopes of becoming a pro were fading. However, my love for the game was ever present and I carried on to play semi-professionally.

Sadly, as a consequence of sustaining injuries there have been times when I have not always been able to play football. The most recent injury, in which I tore my patella tendon, kept me out until the end of last year and it was so hard not being able to play.

I soon began to realise that not playing football was having an effect on me. Physically I began to feel more sluggish and unfit and overall just less active in everything I was doing.

Little things like waking up for work were becoming an effort and I began to realise how much of an ‘escape’ playing football was.

Working as hard as we all do in London you just need time to switch off and this is easier said than done. Also, being physically inactive can have a toll on your mental state too.

I finally got back playing football again and it’s really had a positive effect on me, both physically and mentally. When I’m playing football it completely clears my mind and it’s the best feeling in the world to switch off from the day-to-day stress and believe you’re Steven Gerrard for an hour and a half.

Being active helps me in all aspects of my lifestyle: I start to eat healthier just because I know I have to if I want to play football – that goes hand in hand with drinking more water.

Due to the fact of my diet improving because of football I unintentionally feel more active in everything I do whether it is at home or at work. The worst thing for me is having a bad night’s sleep. This was a regular occurrence for me when I was not playing football and being active. Since playing again I’m sleeping like a baby!

Being active is physically and mentally great for me and has a positive effect on my lifestyle. zz For further information, please contact: Express Medicals Ltd Tel: 020 7500 6900 Web: www.expressmedicals.co.uk

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Women in Rail

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The event's high calibre speakers taking questions from the audience

Takingtheinitiative

New industry group Women in Rail aims to further the success of women in the rail industry and highlight their role in its future

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bout 18 months ago I was on my way to a business meeting with my CEO when we started discussing the lack of women in the rail industry,” begins Adeline Ginn, founder and chair of ‘Women in Rail’. “At a time when diversity is very much on the agenda, I found it frustrating that there was no suitable network for women in railway – to support those in the industry and to try and bring in new talent.”

Its seeds sown, Women in Rail has very quickly branched out. From that initial discussion Adeline started talking to MPs to get their views and support for the group, and contacting other women in the industry to see if they shared her feelings. This saw the formation of a steering committee which includes representatives from Angel Trains, Bombardier Transportation UK, Clifford Chance, East Midlands Trains, ESG, Network Rail, Northern Rail, and the Office of Rail Regulation. The positive feedback received encouraged Adeline to establish the Women in Rail LinkedIn Group.

Driving change In April 2013 the new industry group had its official launch in Westminster, which was attended by prominent members of the rail industry. “The sector has been incredibly supportive,” remarks Adeline. “A lot of people have come back to me and asked how they can get involved and support the initiative. The positive of Women in Rail is obviously that it is for women to get the industry to recognise

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that it needs to tap into that talent pool, and its business case is about the economic benefits of having diversity in the workforce.”

As a sector rail is historically male dominated, and as such perhaps one of the biggest challenges in attracting more women to the industry is to overcome this perception. Adeline explains the three main objectives of Women in Rail, which aim to contribute to this image change: “The first is to provide a structure within which women can network, meet like-minded women, make new friends, and discuss current issues. The next is focused on setting up a mentoring and coaching scheme to give women as much support as they want to further their career and realise their full career potential.

“The third is to raise awareness of the benefits of working in rail by talking to schools and universities, and getting graduates and young children to have rail in the frame as a possible career. There are great women out there who have the potential to have a rewarding career in rail and make a substantial contribution to the industry but who won’t either because they don’t know they can, rail not being on the standard menu of possible careers, or because they are daunted at the prospect of working in a male-dominated environment,” she continues.

Team effort In terms of the next steps, there’s a real focus on education and support. By the end of the year Adeline is hoping to have a

Adeline Ginn , fo chair of Wom under and en in Rail, asked the in dust together to sh ry to work ape the future of rail

mentoring scheme up and running, and to have established clear and solid links with certain organisations such as Young Railway Professionals and National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering. “It’s about how we can approach schools and universities to raise awareness of a career in rail. These organisations are already doing things together and if we can we will help provide volunteers and time to support those initiatives. We’re also looking to arrange more networking events to address some of the issues facing women in the industry such as confidence,” highlights Adeline.

As it stands, Women in Rail already appears to have entered into the rail industry’s consciousness as a recognised body, and Adeline is keen to capitalise on this momentum. “As became apparent from the event we’re all absolutely passionate, men and women, about making a difference, but it’s something we can only do if everyone in the industry works with us. With Women in Rail the aim is to be an industry body that is an enabler to change,” she concludes. zz Women In Rail Tel: 0207 592 0796 Email: womeninrail@angeltrains.co.uk Web: www.linkedin.com/groups/ Women-in-Rail-4403652/about

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NEWS I Stations

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www.railimages.co.uk

Network Rail

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Waterloo station

London stations still dominate top of the stops list l Waterloo has retained its position as the busiest station in Great Britain as top stations continue to attract growing numbers of passengers, reveal statistics published at the beginning of April by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

Station usage statistics for April 2011 - March 2012 estimate that there were 94,045,510 entries and exits made by passengers at Waterloo station – an increase of 2.5 per cent compared with 2010-2011 figures. London Victoria comes second with 76,231,290 entries and exits (an increase of 3.6 per cent) and London Liverpool Street third with 57,106,502 (up 2.4 per cent). Eight out of the top ten busiest stations were located in London, with Birmingham New Street eighth with 31,213,842 (up 26.4 per cent) and Glasgow Central tenth with 26,639,418 (up 6.8 per cent) the busiest stations outside London.

The station usage figures and accompanying notes may be viewed at: www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529

Three new lifts transform accessibility at Crystal Palace station l Three new lifts with connecting glass walkways have been opened at London Overground’s Crystal Palace station to complete a £7.5 million refurbishment and transform accessibility at the historic station.

The 11,000 passengers using the station each day will benefit not only from the lifts but also improved CCTV, customer information screens, a PA system, and new signage which were delivered last September in the first stage of the refurbishment.

The station was originally built in 1854 to serve visitors to the nearby spectacular Crystal Palace building relocated from the Hyde Park Great Exhibition of 1851.

Four other London Overground stations are also currently being made step free following TfL securing £5 million from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Access for All scheme – Hampstead Heath, Kensal Rise, South Tottenham and Blackhorse Road.

An impression of how the station will look with the new roof in place

Manchester Victoria transformation begins l Work has begun on a spectacular new roof at Manchester Victoria station as part of a £44 million transformation. The new roof is part of a scheme to bring the station up to 21st century standards and turn it into a major regional interchange and will include a better, brighter and more open concourse, a new ticket office, information booth, waiting room and toilets. The project will also include careful restoration and enhancement of some of the station’s key period features, including the glazed canopy at the front of the building.

Key elements of the overall scheme include: l A new, brighter replacement roof that allows for future expansion of the station l Improved station concourse area, including a new bridge link to the Manchester Arena, making the entire station fully accessible l Improvements to the footbridge spanning platforms 3-6 allowing for future growth in passenger numbers l Sympathetic refurbishment to Grade II listed parts of the Victoria Buildings, (including the war memorial, glass dome, Soldiers Gate and the wall map) restoring them to their former glory l Refurbishment of the external canopy, new lighting and glazed entrances to revitalise the Victoria Buildings l Revamp of existing retail spaces and provision of new retail facilities for a better shopping experience l Improvements to the ticket hall and external improvements to the paving on station approach l Upgraded Metrolink facilities.

The works will future-proof the station, allowing for the imminent electrification of the line to Liverpool and will allow for improvements to services included in the Northern Hub rail capacity expansion scheme which could see the numbers of people using the station double by 2019, with faster, more frequent trains running to Leeds and Liverpool.

Funding for the station transformation is being provided jointly

by Network Rail, Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester and is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

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The first passenger train for more than five years in the Waterloo International Terminal

Alliance anniversary l A passenger train has used an international platform at Waterloo station for the first time since the last European service left more than five years ago. The special service from Woking pulled into platform 20 on Monday 29th April to demonstrate that the terminal can and will be used for passenger services by April 2014. The journey into the Waterloo International Terminal was made to mark the first anniversary of the Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance and to provide an opportunity to illustrate the Alliance’s commitment to provide extra capacity into the country’s busiest station. Extensive work is required to ensure platform 20 can be used for full passenger services. This includes opening a new exit through onto platform 19, bringing signalling back into use, re-railing parts of the track, roof repairs, platform work and installing new CCTV and lighting.

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NEWS I Stations

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Details revealed for new railway station in Rochester

Network Rail

l Plans for a new £26 million station have been revealed. Network Rail is proposing to build the new station as part of its commitment to increase capacity on the railway and deliver better facilities for passengers in Medway and Kent. The new station, which is planned for land at Corporation Street, is part of a wider £135 million investment programme in the county by Network Rail as the number of passengers using the railway continues to grow.

A formal planning application is due to be submitted to Medway Council by Network Rail this spring with the new station due to be completed in winter 2015 when it will be operated, as is the current station, by Southeastern.

An impression of the new station at Rochester

New era for Newcastle Central

l Passengers at Reading now have a bigger, better station after Network Rail successfully completed the first part of an 11-day programme of upgrades over the Easter weekend. More than 2000 engineers from Network Rail and its team of contractors worked around the clock from late Thursday evening through to the early hours of Tuesday morning to carry out work which would ordinarily have taken around 20 full weekends.

As a result, the station now has two new entrances, four new platforms and a new 110-metre-long, 30-metre-wide passenger bridge, with escalators and lifts providing step-free access to the new platforms. Reading station is used by 14 million passengers annually, with numbers predicted to more than double to 30 million by 2030.

Station users will now have more space, easier access to platforms, and new passenger information screens.

East Coast

An artist’s impression of Newcastle Central station’s main concourse following the £8.6 million redevelopment

East Coast

l Plans to transform Newcastle Central station into an impressive new gateway to the city and the wider North East region have been unveiled by station and train operator East Coast. The £8.6 million project will provide a stunning new facility for thousands of passengers, and will enhance the historic original Victorian station design.

The new-look station will provide a welcoming first impression for visitors to the city, and will be a key part of wider regeneration in the surrounding area of Newcastle city centre. Its centrepiece will be the pedestrianisation and glazing of the station’s front portico, to create a dramatic new public and retail space.

The architectural heritage of the station is at the heart of the new design. The station’s simplified layout will open up sightlines towards the Castle Keep, whilst showcasing the distinctive curvature of the arched roof.

The station improvement work is due to begin in May, and is expected to be completed in April next year. The station will operate as normal throughout the works.

The end of the beginning

Newcastle Central station’s iconic portico following the £8.6 million redevelopment

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Canary Wharf Tube station

A KONE s

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Dedicated to people flow KONE has just completed a handover of 19 escalators to Reading train station as part of the station’s £897 million expansion. It has also recently announced details of an order to supply elevators to eight new Crossrail stations under construction in central London including the maintenance of the elevators up until 2032 and modernisation packages when the need for upgrades are required, and was a key player in helping the successful transit of thousands of passengers on the London Underground during the 2012 Olympic Games.

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one, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, is a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry and has more than 30 years’ experience of working in the UK rail sector, often on demanding public transport projects.

Its infrastructure team works in all rail and underground tube line environments and major international airports including all terminals at London Heathrow and Gatwick.

Key rail clients include Network Rail, Crossrail and the London Underground, which carries more than one billion passengers each year and is the world’s oldest underground railway network system. KONE maintains a total of 150 escalators and 45 elevators for the London Underground.

KONE’s expertise in the successful operation of major infrastructure projects was highlighted during the London Olympics 2012 when it not only supplied new equipment but also supported the London Underground team to ensure a smooth and seamless transit for the millions of passengers who travelled on the tube during the Games.

Among the Olympic deliverables were five elevators at Farringdon station, where car-tocar transfer solutions – entry through one set

of doors and exit through another set at the side – ensured good passenger flow. Working with the Underground team to help keep passengers moving as efficiently as possible was also firmly on KONE’s agenda.

An example of this efficiency has been cited by Russell Rowland, the London Underground’s elevators and escalators maintenance manager.

“Following the triathlon event, there were half a million people in Hyde Park. The Marble Arch station escalators were exits only; and Lancaster Gate was the main entry. KONE service technicians, who were on standby throughout the Olympics, were positioned at Lancaster Gate station and ensured efficient running of the elevators down to the Tube,” he confirmed. “We successfully moved 500,000 people through this hotspot.”

Enabling this type of smooth and efficient People Flow® experience is at the heart of KONE’s ethos. “Our brand promise is ‘Dedicated to People Flow’ and we deliver this by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely and comfortably,” says Peter Gill, infrastructure & escalator director for KONE. “We work closely with our customers at

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz every phase of a project’s lifecycle – often before a commissioned elevator or escalator exists. We need to understand their unique requirements and also in turn, the impact any work will make on their own customers.

“We look at site access and other specific issues such as interface with the existing systems. We assess the rest of the physical structure and work to identify the best possible equipment to meet our customers’ needs.

“Installations within infrastructure related projects are often complex for a number of reasons. The first is that wherever possible all sites need to ideally remain efficiently operational whilst work is being carried out.

The London Underground, for example, has a throughput of 3.5 million passengers each day and the more than 19 million passengers a year now use Reading station – an increase of ten per cent on the previous year. Reading is one of the country’s busiest railway stations.

“As well as installing new equipment, we also undertake numerous upgrade and modernisation projects. Sometimes access is difficult and this is why collaboration with

our client and initial site evaluations are so important. We have to take both of these key elements and more into consideration when planning our works programme. Maximum efficiency with minimum disruption is essential.”

KONE is committed to understanding the needs of its customers, providing industryleading elevators, escalators and automatic building doors as well as innovative solutions for modernisation and maintenance including structural planning, high quality equipment and maintenance. Its solutions are cost-effective and eco-efficient. In fact, KONE has cut the energy consumption of its volume products by over 70 per cent from 2008 to 2012.With buildings accounting for 40 per cent of the world’s energy consumption and elevators and escalators accounting for up to ten per cent of a building’s energy consumption, there is huge potential for energy savings to be made using the right type of KONE elevator, escalator or automatic door. zz To find out more about KONE’s infrastructure expertise visit www.kone.com

KONE has won an order to supply elevators to eight new Crossrail stations under construction in central London. The new Crossrail stations will also provide interchanged connections with other transport services including London Underground, National Rail and/or Docklands Light Rail.

An additional four elevators will be installed in two London Underground stations at Bank and Hammersmith. KONE’s solutions will help increase accessibility and smooth People Flow® in London’s public transportation.

The order includes 47 KONE MonoSpace® Special elevators. Two durable KONE TranSys™ freight elevators will be installed at Bond Street station. All of the elevators are machine-room-less, which saves space at the stations, and are powered by the energy efficient KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machine. KONE will also install five inclined elevators. The elevators will be equipped with KONE E-Link remote monitoring system to ensure high availability of the equipment.

The elevators at the stations will be installed over a five-year period beginning in 2013, and the new rail line is expected to be operational in 2018.

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zz Insurance zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Rail professional opportunity Are you a rail professional open to offers for new business? ITIC, a rail and transport sector specialist insurer, needs a network of rail specialists in the UK and overseas, to advise and consult on claims

I

nternational Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) is an insurance association established in 1925, which insures 2000 different businesses throughout the world and is recognised as the leading mutual provider of professional indemnity insurance in its field. ITIC works closely with transport professionals and their insurance brokers to provide specialist guidance and advice on their risks in their working environment, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.

ITIC has concluded that many insurers do not understand the work that professionals in the rail industry undertake. Often, these insurers do not analyse the work of the professional working on a project and, as a result, your premiums are increased unnecessarily.

‘‘

The service that we provide and the width of our professional indemnity insurance has resulted in a significant growth in the number of companies involved in the rail industry insuring with ITIC over recent years,” says Roger Lewis, ITIC’s underwriting director. “To help us support this growing rail portfolio we need a bigger network of consultants we can call upon to help with specific claims on a call by call basis.

ITIC’s insurance includes worldwide cover for bodily injury and property damage as standard; this is of paramount importance to those working in the rail industry and differentiates ITIC’s insurance from many traditional underwriters who either exclude, or expect you to pay an additional premium for this important element of cover.

ITIC makes four recommendations to professionals working in the rail industry: 1. Ask your current insurers or brokers if they understand exactly what it is that you do. For example, if you are a signalling systems design engineer, your direct involvement in the day to day operational environment is limited. You design a signalling system on a railway network, but you are not necessarily the party who operates and maintains it. Your liability is substantially less than the operator and, therefore, you require an insurance that is adapted specifically to cover your liabilities if you make an error in

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the design of the system. However, the liabilities resulting from an error in the use of the system you have designed fall under the operator’s liability insurance programme.

2. Enquire about a longer term, non-contract specific, business-wide, professional indemnity policy. It is more expensive to buy insurance for each individual contract or tender than buying an annual policy that covers all your work.

3. Ask your insurance broker or underwriter whether bodily injury or property damage cover is included in your policy at no additional cost.

4. Ascertain whether your policy of insurance provides you with worldwide cover. zz

To express an obligation-free interest please contact Roger Lewis, ITIC’s underwriting director: ITIC Tel: 020 7338 0150 Email: ITIC@thomasmiller.com Web: www.itic-insure.com

NEWS I Integrated Transport

l Metrolink services to Rochdale – the latest chapter of the network’s expansion – opened to passengers for the first time at the end of February.

Continuing on from the existing Oldham line at Shaw & Crompton, the 7.4km (4.6-mile) extension runs to Rochdale railway station, serving the former railway stations at Newhey and Milnrow and two brand-new destinations: Kingsway and Newbold. The first in-service tram from Rochdale railway station on Thursday left at 5.59 a.m., while the first tram to Rochdale left Manchester Victoria at 5.08 a.m.

By the time new lines to East Didsbury (summer 2013), Ashton (winter 2013/14), Oldham and Rochdale town centres (2014), and Manchester Airport via Wythenshawe (2016) are complete, the network will cover 95km (59 miles): more than three times the original 30km (18.5-mile) network that opened in 1992. A further line – a second, 1.6km (1 mile) route through Manchester city centre – is also being progressed.

POP card validators put through their paces

Nexus

l Nexus, which owns and manages Tyne and Wear Metro, has begun testing its new station validators which passengers will soon be using to access the system using smartcards. Validators, automatic gates and smart Metro ticket machines are being installed as part of the roll-out of the new smart travel system on Metro – the Pop card. The yellow validators are situated at all Metro stations which do not have automatic ticket gates installed. Passengers will use the validators to ‘touch in’ and ‘touch out’ of Metro stations, in a similar way that the Oyster Card is used on the London Underground.

Nexus smart ticketing programme manager David Bartlett tests a Pop card on one of the new validators at Regent Centre Metro stations

New look for trams unveiled l A refreshing new look for Nottingham’s trams has been unveiled at the start of a refurbishment programme worth over £300,000 for the existing fleet. The first tram to benefit from a smart new livery rolled out of the NET depot at Wilkinson Street on 8th March and went straight into service, helping to celebrate the network’s ninth birthday. The rest of the 15 tram fleet will undergo a similar transformation that also includes new LED lights, the installation of new seats and a thorough ‘deep clean’. They’ll also benefit from revised signage and information graphics.

DLR carries recordbreaking one hundred million passengers in one year © Transport for London

Transport for Greater Manchester

All aboard for Rochdale!

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l The year’s one hundred millionth passenger was recorded travelling on the 25-year-old Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in the early afternoon of Sunday 31st March. The DLR was opened by the Queen in August 1987, with 11 trains serving 15 stations and in its first year of operation it carried 6.7 million people.

Today the railway – which is entirely step-free – has 45 stations, 46 km of track and 149 carriages.

The network was one of Britain’s first light rail systems, and it has one of the safest and most advanced automatic train control systems in the world. Since opening, it has been extended to Bank, Beckton, Lewisham and Woolwich Arsenal.

During the 16 days of the London 2012 Olympic Games, 7.2 million passengers were carried on the DLR – up 100 per cent on normal levels; on 3rd August 2012, Day 7 of the Games, the DLR carried over 500,000 daily passengers – its busiest day ever.

Councillor Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Transportation at Nottingham City Council, and NET general manager Paul Robinson officially unveil the newlook tram NET

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Sustainable & efficient tram depots in the 21st century Virgil Grot, Tr am co-ordinator Store21 project for RET

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A unique publication about sustainable and efficient tram depots was presented in Brussels at the TramStore21 event on the 21st of March.

VIRGIL GROT describes the project

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uilding sustainable and efficient tram depots for cities in the 21st century’ is the result of a five-year co-operation between public transport operators RET (Rotterdam, Netherlands), STIB (Brussels, Belgium), local authorities Grand Dijon (Dijon, France) and Blackpool Council (United Kingdom) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML) (Dortmund, Germany).

Virgil Grot, project co-ordinator for RET says: “RET, the partners and I personally can look back at a valuable and unique experience of which hopefully many others will benefit from as well. I’m very happy to be able to share the story of our modern, sustainable and multimodal Beverwaard depot in this publication.”

About six years ago the five partners started with the TramStore21 project.

The project had three main goals: l Collecting existing good practices in North-

West Europe for the construction of sustainable tram depots and efficient infrastructure l Constructing four benchmark tram depots l Creating a favourable local and overall context for the realisation of high-quality publictransport infrastructure.

TramStore21 was funded by the European Union through the INTERREG IVB programme.

Additional funding helped the partners improve the environmental performance of their depots.

Other reasons for co-operation were that cities have little experience in the construction of tram depots. These buildings are built once every 50 or more years. Combining know-how helps prevent errors. The construction of new depots in Brussels (Be), Dijon (Fr), Blackpool (UK) and Rotterdam (Nl) gave the partners a good opportunity to learn from each other.

They shared their experiences and knowledge about sustainable tram vehicle housing, maintenance and services. An important aspect of the project was to explore how

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Beveraard depot

tram depots could optimally support tramway networks while reducing the impact on their urban context. The TramStore21 publication summarizes the work of the transnational working groups of experts in which each partner reviewed each other’s depot projects and tram operations.

The TramStore21 publication and the four new depots are the result of the co-operation between the partners. The publication explores different aspects related to tram depots like decision-making, functional design, environmental design, building site management, maintenance and daily management. The depot projects all have their own specific focus on sustainable characteristics. However there are similarities like the use of natural light in the design, water recycling in tram wash installations, insulation measures and improved staff working conditions.

Virgil Grot: “If you place the partners’ specific

depot characteristics against the dimensions of sustainability it is interesting to see the different choices that can be made to improve the sustainable performance of such a specific structures like a tram depot. In our TramStore21 publication this is presented very clearly.”

RET’s Beverwaard depot differentiates itself from the others though the combined function of the building. It has a Park and Ride facility on the roof of the tram stabling area with room for over 500 cars, giving passengers the opportunity to park their cars here for free and travel to the city centre or soccer stadium by tram. The latest additions to the depot are the charging stations for RET’s electric company cars. Maybe the most innovative feature of the Beverwaard building is the heating and cooling system which uses energy piles. The principle of the energy piles is quite simple. Under the entire depot there are 2800 concrete piles, 512 of them are energy piles. These have plastic elements through which water runs and changes temperature by use of heat pumps.

The soil acts as a buffer, so in the winter the fluid that is running through the piles is

heated by the warmer soil, in the summer the process works in the opposite direction and can be used for cooling. RET saves about 60 per cent its energy costs with this system compared to a more conventional heating and cooling system. This is the first time in the Netherlands that this principle has been used on such a big scale.

The four depots that are featured in the project and in the publication are in fact very different. However the publication tries to put the choices in perspective and helps future depot builders by giving an overview of the different aspects of depot building, what is possible and shows the implications of certain choices. All this information is supported by clear photos, tables and graphs which gives the book a very rich and colourful appearance. The writing team of Espaces Mobilités has done its best to make it a very readable and colourful publication suited for a broader audience interested in depot building. zz

The publication is available online in English, French, German and Dutch on

www.tramstore21.eu www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Cambridgeshire Guided Busway

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Well guided Having exceeded initial expectations, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has become a deep-rooted part of Cambridge’s public transport

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N

ow nearing its two-year milestone, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has been even more of a success than anticipated in bringing a new transport alternative to the congested A14 corridor in Cambridgeshire. As the longest guided busway system in the world at present, ‘the Busway’, as it is often known, consists of a network of routes covering the market towns of Huntingdon and St Ives in the north to Cambridge city centre, and then on to Cambridge rail station and Addenbrooke’s Hospital in the south. Recently services have been extended to Peterborough.

The actual guided part of the system is 16 miles in length and stretches from St Ives to the northern edge of the city, with a southern section from Cambridge railway station to Addenbrooke’s and Trumpington. Operating within a busy corridor parallel to the A14, the Busway has been readily taken up as a fast, frequent, and reliable public transport service for the local area.

“Since the Busway opened the numbers in terms of ridership is far outstripping the business case projections, so it’s a very successful and well received scheme,” notes Joseph Whelan, head of passenger transport services at Cambridgeshire County Council.

“We have received a number of delegations from across England, and wider Europe, to visit the scheme in order to see how it’s working, and most importantly what it does in terms of linking places of new and existing employment, education, and housing.

“Its role in underpinning economic development is crucial by offering a transport option that does not add to traffic congestion and links housing to employment and education/training. The Busway services will connect to the Enterprise Zone at Alconbury Airfield where 5000 new jobs are to be created, and already serves the southern fringe of Cambridge where a further 9000 new jobs will be created at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus next to the existing Addenbrooke’s

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Southern fringe

Hospital site.”

In fact key figures such as passenger numbers in the first year of operation have been around 46 per cent higher than forecast for the service, which is incredibly encouraging going forward. “At the same time it reinforces the thinking behind the scheme in the first place, which dates back over ten years now,” describes Joseph. “The Busway as a solution in terms of the corridor between Huntingdon and Cambridge, was given birth to in a multi-modal study undertaken by the Government. This then found its way into various planning documents

as a very important piece of infrastructure to underpin the continued economic success of Cambridge and the market towns along the route.”

Following up on its recommendations, 80 per cent of the cost of the scheme was met through Government grants, with the rest of the funding being made up from developers building in and around the route. This was particularly important as the Busway is viewed as being key to helping absorb travel demand from these new developments, including a proposed new town at Northstowe.

ITSO CARD production specialists

Certainly it seems that a guided busway was the correct choice of mode for this particular application. Whilst the buses have the flexibility to operate within the heart of Cambridge and other settlements on the route on normal roads, they are also fitted with two small guide wheels which then allow them to be steered along a purpose-built concrete track at up to 60 miles per hour.

The service itself is run by two local operators, Stagecoach and Go Whippet, across three different routes. Both have invested in high quality and environmentally

s )43/ FOCUSSED s "ESPOKE #ARD 3OLUTIONS s 'OVERNMENT )$ s #ARD "UREAU

Euclid Ltd are a dedicated team of specialist development engineers covering electronic, mechanical and software design. Renowned for sound, quality engineering and fully supported by their own in house production group, Euclid work closely with clients from initial product concepts through to production and installation of complex systems.

All of these forces have been brought together to provide a world class solution for ITSO card and ticket production – providing high volumes on short notice.

Pleased to support the Guided Busway | call 023 9226 6333 | or visit www.euclid.ltd.uk

EU CLID L I M I T E D

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Cambridgeshire Guided Busway

friendly new bus fleets specifically for use on the Busway. Describing how this operational partnership has developed since the beginning Shaun Harrison-Fuller, Guided Busway team leader, says: “Last year both operators increased their respective fleets, which has enabled them to increase their service frequency, particularly at peak periods. For

zzzzzzzzzzzz Stagecoach bus at St Ives

Vix Vix is a global provider of integrated transit and mobility systems, making it easy for people to use and pay for transport.

Vix understands that you want to help passengers travel in the simplest, most effective way – so it brings together expertise across Fare & Fleet Management, Passenger Information, as well as Service, Operations & Maintenance. Vix provides solutions utilising best-of-class technologies which are not limited by proprietary or closed systems. The result is greater flexibility and cost benefits; allowing its customers to take advantage of emerging technology and evolve their systems ahead of the rest.

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example, Stagecoach’s mainline Busway services have gone from a ten-minute interval up to every seven or eight minutes when demand is high.

“Although both operators serve the Busway,

they have different overall services which link in with rural communities and existing local bus services. Go Whippet serves villages out beyond St Ives at the northern end of the Busway, while Stagecoach has actually

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extended one of their services out as far as Peterborough. There are aspirations to link more existing bus routes to the guideway as it offers a nice quick shortcut past the A14 congestion,” he continues.

The council are not merely reflecting on the success of The Busway so far though.

As Joseph explains, further planning and improvements are also underway in order to guarantee the continuation of this performance: “There is a new development in and around the southern fringe of Cambridge being built, which will provide some further funding that can be used, wherever possible, to continue to build the timetable in terms of frequency.

Reliability of the Busway is underpinned by journey times being guaranteed along the guided sections and for the on-road sections

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Northstowe area

Guide wheel Clo guidew se up of heel a guide nd arm

priority is given to buses wherever possible.

“Looking slightly ahead of that the County Council is promoting a new rail station (Cambridge Science Park Station) to the north of the city, and a key issue for us is to ensure the Busway links into the new station. This will continue the integrated nature of the system and offer convenient access to the station, which will be 45 to 50 minutes from central London in journey times.”

This interchange opportunity between rail and buses at the proposed new station and existing stations at Huntingdon and Cambridge is at the very heart of what the Busway is intended to do in terms of underpinning ongoing economic developments in the area.

Furthermore the Busway continues to deliver the County Council’s existing transport strategy, including the promotion of more sustainable modes.

Joseph concludes: “It has been a busy and successful two years since the opening of the Busway. The scheme required a wide range of partners including the local district and parish councils to work together to deliver it. Looking to the future, there are further opportunities to build on the success of the Busway and the transport choice it offers, which is where we need to be as an organisation.” zz

Web: www.thebusway.info www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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zz Electrical Engineering zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz The little black box that can keep trains on the tracks for longer Power electronics isn’t perhaps an area that is conventionally associated with locomotive reliability. However, when power systems fail the result is costly and causes extensive downtime, with locomotives taken off the track for scheduled or unscheduled maintenance, and in times where train operators are under increasing pressure to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve reliability. BRYN PARRY discusses a possible solution

Introduced in 1992, the Siemens 2400 Series EMU now requires a carefully managed life extension programme

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he challenge facing many train operators and maintenance companies today is how to keep ageing electric locomotives available cost effectively as they reach the end of their operational life.

Economic circumstances dictate that budgets are not available for capital expenditure on new locomotives, and moreover, that locomotives must be maintained at lower operational cost.

One approach that is gaining popularity is to move to what is called a Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) strategy. A key aspect of this is to monitor constantly the mission critical systems to look for signs of change in performance or failure in the system, known as Condition Based Maintenance (CBM).

Imagine then a scenario where one of the key components ­– one that is essential to the running of the train – is treated as an unknown quantity, where engineers have little or no idea whether it’s in a good condition or likely to fail, with the locomotive being taken out of service for weeks at a time as a potential result.

Yet traditionally the power modules at the heart of electric trains have been left to their own devices with only on, off or

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Innovative monitoring techniques can gauge the performance of key primary and auxiliary electrical systems on board the train, including carriage electricity supply, airconditioning, and even down to the functionality of each set of doors

fault as the signals available outside. This leaves maintenance engineers reliant on driver feedback, scheduled maintenance or guesswork as to how close the system might be to failure. For parts subject to so much electrical and thermal stress every day, this approach is costing operators time and money.

Innovative monitoring techniques can gauge the performance of key primary and auxiliary electrical systems on board the train, including carriage electricity supply, air-conditioning, and even down to the functionality of each set of doors. Monitoring and analysing this data allows the operators to observe changes in performance that may flag potential risks of failure. This can then allow them to identify the real need for maintenance, which can dramatically reduce the off-track time of locomotive systems. Clearly, this is preferential to waiting for a failure before spending days tracing and fixing the fault.

This insight can be combined with extra data points such as GPS information, to see what sections of the network are putting the most stress on the trains and issue guidance to drivers to prolong the life of the train. This real-time data monitoring provides the diagnostics and communications necessary to detect performance excursions, plan preventative maintenance practice and increase the track availability of a locomotive.

The author’s company is currently working with a major European rail operator in Portugal

to roll out such a system and although testing is in its early stages, the increase in track time availability already indicates possible improvements of over ten per cent, with a consequent reduction in maintenance costs.

In addition to this, the rolling stock used in this train network depends on dated power electronics.

Empresa de Manutenção de Equipamento Ferroviário, S.A (EMEF) has leading responsibility for rail maintenance in Portugal, and has developed a solution called ‘Lusogate’, a modular product to upgrade and renew the locomotive traction system. This new module replaces aged technology while monitoring train performance and maintenance requirements in real time using newer, energy-efficient modules based on Amantys’ Power Insight.

While power electronics isn’t a subject likely to set pulses racing, it is one to which train operators are paying closer attention.

A solution that can reduce running costs, reduce CO2 emissions and at the same time improve reliability by gaining a better understanding of s' One of Amanty 10, what’s happening with 20 founders in key power components Bryn Parry is VP corporate could make all the t developmen difference. zz

100th Class 377 refresh completed l Southern has just completed the refresh of the 100th Class 377 Electrostar train. The refresh programme, which started in August 2011, will see the total fleet of 182 Class 377 trains (700 carriages in all) upgraded by January 2015. The refresh of the exterior and interior of the train, includes a deep clean, new carpets and seat covers, interior paint repairs, and graffiti-resistant panels. The programme also includes the overhaul of the bogie which means that crucially, the time the train is out of service is considerably reduced. All 700 carriages will have been completely refreshed by January 2015, having done around a million miles each.

Spring cleaning gets underway on Greater Anglia trains l Greater Anglia has commenced a further ‘deep clean’ programme across its entire fleet of trains. Every train in the Greater Anglia fleet will benefit from the deep-clean programme in addition to the usual cleaning routine. Additional staff have been recruited to work alongside Greater Anglia’s existing teams to give extra attention to train interiors and exteriors, including carpet cleaning, seat cleaning, a thorough clean of toilet facilities and enhanced hand washing of train exteriors (in addition to routine exterior washing). The main focus is currently on Greater Anglia’s Class 321 rolling stock, with one train being deep-cleaned per day.

Class 455 upgrade l South West Trains has launched a £40 million upgrade of its Class 455 train fleet. The upgrade will deliver even greater reliability for services which operate on the Metro area from London Waterloo to Reading, the Hounslow loop and the Shepperton branch. The 91 Class 455 trains, which are already the most reliable trains in the country, will be fitted with new traction equipment which promises to enhance performance and improve reliability even further.

The programme – which will be rolled out over the next three years – involves removing the existing DC traction equipment, including the motors, and replacing it with an even more reliable modern AC traction system.

Regenerative braking is the dominant factor in the business case for new traction as projections show it will return over 20 per cent of traction electricity on inner suburban services and around ten per cent on main line services. The new traction units will also be lighter, reducing the amount of wear and tear on the rail infrastructure. An additional benefit of the new traction units is the increased mileage that can be carried out between major servicing and maintenance works, which will increase from 10,000 to 15,000 miles.

The prototype train will be fitted at Wimbledon depot with the remainder of the fleet fitted at Eastleigh depot. The project should be finished by spring 2014. www.railimages.co.uk

Greater Anglia

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GREENBRIER EUROPE

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Aggregate wagon for the transport of sand, stone and aggregate materials

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Green shoots Greenbrier Europe is moving towards a more balanced distribution of its business across design and manufacture, and repair and maintenance

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s a Group, Greenbrier is one of the leading designers, manufacturers and marketers of railroad freight car equipment in North America and Europe. In the US, the railcar business revolves around a proven system of tightly integrated services including manufacturing, leading, asset management and repair, and parts.

Tank wagon

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This is delivered through three manufacturing facilities in the US and Mexico, and a network of 38 sites across the country.

It’s a model the Group hopes to replicate in the European market where it has had a presence since 1998 when it acquired the Polish freight car manufacturing facility WagonySwidnica SA. The intervening years have seen Greenbrier Europe design, build, and back a portfolio of proven railcars that are as diverse as its customers, and become recognised as one of the leading wagon

Production facility panorama

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explains, Greenbrier Europe also believes it can bring a different level of competence to such activities: “Through our discussions we believe that generally maintenance and repair services are not always at the level they should be. Many of the employees within these workshops do not have enough knowledge about the basic specifications which were used during the development of a specific railcar, and therefore are merely doing what they think is best. By transferring our experience as a producer into the maintenance sector we hope to increase the quality and operational safety of these older units.”

This expertise incorporates the majority of general purpose wagon types including hopper wagons, high and low pressure and specialist tank wagons, open and closed car carriers, bogies, intermodal products, and flat wagons.

However, what Greenbrier Europe really prides itself upon is its role as a developer of new, and often more complex, wagon types. Each of these individual railcar concepts can require a

builders on the continent.

In the last couple of years the company has worked to establish itself as a major force in repair, maintenance, and even conversion, an aspiration which has been accelerated by the recent opening of a second repair shop in Poland.

“Our mother company in the US has a lot of repair shops, and step-by-step we are looking to adopt the same system here in Europe,” reveals Thomas Müller, vice president of sales Europe. “It is however more difficult to secure such premises over here but the benefit to our customers is that we can now offer these services as part of our overall offering. It also means that we have a more balanced business portfolio which puts us in a stronger position in the case of changes in the market.”

However, this is not just a shrewd business move. As Dionizy Studzinski, vice president and director of technology and development,

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completely different level of work from 600 man-hours up to 2500 for one unit.

“We may not be the biggest producer of freight cars in Europe in terms of volumes, but we are the market leader from a development point of view. In the last 15 years we have developed more than 140 different types of railcar, and each year we continue to add to this figure with a few completely new designs put into production. Often this is in line with requirements from the market to increase transportation efficiency, but sometimes it can also be to reduce the cost of the unit,” describes Dionizy.

Being a development company does mean that Greenbrier Europe faces certain challenges, such as ensuring its wagons complete all of the necessary approval processes. As a well established producer working in many different countries throughout Europe the company has a long experience in these types of requirements, including the new Technical Specification for Interoperability (TSI) regulation.

“We received the first TSI certificate in Europe for freight cars just a few days after the regulation was introduced,” notes Dionizy.

“However we have found that since the first introduction of TSI some six years ago the rules are still not yet clearly uniform. Different countries still have different procedures for

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Open car-carrier for the transport of automobiles and vans the approving railcars, which we have to fulfil. Previously when we worked with the International Union Of Railways (UIC) the development time for a completely new railcar including design, prototype construction, testing and approval was generally between eight and 13 months. At present it is between 12 and 18 months, which as a producer means that our end customers are having to wait longer for their units.”

Whilst this is a situation that Greenbrier Europe clearly hopes will change as the TSI

regulations continue to be modified, at present it doesn’t seem to be impacting much on business. Certainly the market for the company was good throughout 2012/2013, although there is some expectation for this to contract during 2013/2014. “We do see that there is perhaps a drop in demand for this next period,” confirms Thomas. “Given the nature of our business we need to place orders in advance as it takes a minimum of six months to deliver on our ready-approved designs, and at least 12 months if it is a brand-new concept.

“At the moment car carriers and tank wagons are two of the main business lines for us, as well as shimmns with new modern arms for securing payload from ground level for increased safety. Whilst the market for 2013/2014 doesn’t look as strong, we do expect it to pick up going into 2015/2016. This is because some changes to the rules regarding tank wagons for chemicals and the like are likely to be introduced, which will mean a lot of the older units could be out of service and fleets renewed. Some of our clients are already looking into this and preparing for such an eventuality so we could see an influx of work as a result of that,” he concludes. zz

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz l In a recent newsletter, Network Rail comments that ‘it is investing in freight-specific infrastructure in a way that has never been seen before, opening up new business opportunities and working towards a prosperous future for the rail freight industry’. Several key developments have already, or will soon take place. These include:

Network Rail

l The opening of the Nuneaton North Chord (October 2012) The Nuneaton North Chord was described by Network Rail’s freight director, Tim Robinson as “the single most important piece of freight infrastructure in years.” This new freight only line provides extra capacity for traffic originating from the Port of Felixstowe destined for terminals in the North West and Scotland. l Completion of the Peak Forest Train Lengthening Scheme The Peak Forest Train Lengthening Scheme aims to provide additional capacity to/from the Peak Forest quarries to accommodate longer and heavier Doubling the track at Chinley to provide aggregates services extra capacity for freight trains serving the on the Midland Derbyshire quarries Mainline. Due to be completed in December 2013, this project will allow for the better utilisation of train paths, offering cost and efficiency savings to freight operators. l Completion of the Ipswich Chord The Ipswich Chord, due for completion in March 2014, will link the East Suffolk and Great Eastern Main Lines removing up to 750,000 lorry journeys off the road each year. This 1.4km section of track will reduce journey times for intermodal services by approximately 30 - 60 minutes.

Network Rail

l Completion of the Southampton to West Coast Main Line Train Lengthening Scheme In March 2014, Network Rail will complete the Southampton to West Coast Mainline Train Lengthening Scheme. This scheme will allow freight services to run at an improved length of 775 metres from Southampton to the West Midlands and beyond, carrying more containers and improving the efficiency and profitability of each service.

Gauge clearance works at Alfreton Tunnel.

Part of the Water Orton to Doncaster Scheme

l Completion of the Water Orton to Doncaster Clearance Scheme.

The Water Orton to Doncaster Gauge Clearance Scheme will allow intermodal traffic with 9ft 6in containers to travel between the East Coast and West

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Coast Mainlines. Due to be completed in March 2014, this project will provide a gauge-cleared route for traffic from Southampton bound for the North East.

Strategic Freight Corridors As well as providing new infrastructure, Network Rail is improving the way it manages and analyses freight activity on the Network. Through the creation of the Strategic Freight Corridor (SFC) Programme, Network Rail is leading the way in freight performance analysis.

The SFC programme is providing the industry with accurate and enlightening data, highlighting poor performance and removing boundaries through collaboration and investment.

Port of Felixstowe to double rail capacity l Port of Felixstowe is set to double its rail capacity with the arrival of three state-of-the-art rail-mounted gantry cranes (‘RMG’). The cranes form part of a new rail terminal at the port which will further increase the range of rail services provided. These first three RMGs, manufactured by Liebherr in Ireland, will span the new nine-track rail terminal at the port, making them the biggest intermodal rail terminal cranes in the UK. The terminal, co-financed by the European Union Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) programme, will dramatically increase the port’s rail capacity at a time when logistics operators are increasingly seeking low-carbon transport options, future-proofing Felixstowe’s rail offering for the foreseeable future. The port already has the UK’s busiest intermodal rail hub by far and the new terminal will double its rail handling capacity.

Civil engineering work is near completion, with 10km of track laid and the UK’s only intermodal rail traverser successfully installed in February 2013. Designed to handle trains up to 35 wagons long, the new North Rail Terminal reinforces the port’s commitment to sustainable distribution.

Port of Felixstowe

Strategic Freight Network

NEWS I Freight

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Ermewa Group SA

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Re-grouping Europe’s leader in specialist rail wagon rental, Ermewa Group SA has opened a new satellite office for the UK

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ounded in 1956 in Switzerland, Ermewa Group SA is a leading provider of railcar and tank container leasing services. As such, Ermewa specialises in designing, optimising and managing strategic assets for the global supply chain helping customers become more efficient in their core activities.

Today headquartered in France, with operations throughout Europe for railcars and worldwide for tank containers, Ermewa offers local expertise to customers from the steel, petroleum, chemical, construction, mining, food, and transportation industries. Since 2010 the company has operated as part of the SNCF Geodis Group.

Although not alone in the railcar lease

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market, Ermewa has become something of a global leader for such rental services as a result of the diversity and reach of its fleet, as well as its service and safety mentality. With a fleet of over 50,000 railcars in operation, 27,000 tank containers, and 17,000 IC/IBCs, the company clearly offers a unique scope of solutions tailored to meet each customer’s needs as closely as possible.

“Traditionally these were mainly tank cars for liquids and gases, but the range has progressively evolved to cover every segment of the market,” elaborates Olivier Ghesquiere, CEO of Ermewa. “As such our fleet now comprises wagons of types such as hopper, container, open-top, box, and flat suitable for transporting hazardous and non-hazardous

liquid, gaseous, bulk, and diversified general cargoes.

“As we differentiate ourselves through our technical expertise, most new wagons are dedicated and optimised to the specific needs that our customers might have. This is opposed to standard wagons where the value we can add is comparatively small.

What is growing is the requirement for new and more efficient railcars to face the current competitive environment and we at Ermewa remain optimistic that there is still plenty of potential for improvement that our clients can benefit from,” he continues.

Another fundamental factor is that Ermewa is able to execute these services locally throughout Europe. Centered

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our product offers steadily over the next few years as we currently have a small number of railcars operating in the UK including container, steel coil, and tank wagons.

“Having only just started as a direct operation, we have spent the last six months working on making more wagon stocks available and on building awareness of our

company as a potential wagon supplier. In general we have been welcomed into the market because importantly the wagon supply situation is not always ideal, and the entrance of a major new player will help ensure more types are available, which may well make the difference between freight going by rail instead of road,” he elaborates.

www.astrarail.com

around three main offices in Paris, Berlin, and Geneva, the rail leasing operations are also supported by branch offices in the Netherlands, UK, and Czech Republic. “In line with our strategy of proximity to our clients we opened an office in Thame, UK, last year,” notes Vincent Bellangé, managing director of the Ermewa Industrial Wagon Division. “This fills a gap as we have operated in the UK for more than 20 years but thought it was now time to have a physical presence.”

Manager at the new office, Phillip Archer continues: “The site opened in September 2012 in Thame, Oxfordshire as a good central location for serving all potential customers and suppliers. We expect to grow

Freight Wagon Production and Engineering Services The combination for your highest demands ■ The largest freight wagon capacity in Europe ■ The innovative strength of the two leading developing centres Please visit our website or contact us for your production and Engineering requirements.

S.C. ASTRA RAIL Industries S.R.L. 41-43 Aurel Vlaicu Street 310141 Arad, ROMANIA

Telephone: +40 257 202 231 E-mail: contact@astrarail.com Internet: www.astrarail.com

ISO certified quality

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In addition Ermewa maintains four fully dedicated and certified workshop sites across France to carry out maintenance, repairs, and modernisation services, as well as the manufacture of new ranges of specialised rolling stock. Rounding out the company’s assets are the offices of its tank container and IC/IBC businesses – Eurotainer and CCR. These consist of core sites in Paris, Rotterdam, Houston, and Singapore, and branch offices in Sao Paulo, Dusseldorf, Saint Petersburg, Manchester, Istanbul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Brisbane.

“This part of the business manages a fleet of specialised ISO tank containers used to transport liquids, powders, and gases including cryogenic gases,” clarifies Olivier. “The combined structure delivers benefits of scale and as such increased levels of profitability in a substantially lower cost structure, as well as access to a global customer base. The container leasing operations are supported by a range of ancillary services including e-commerce

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capabilities and internet-based access to key operational, technical, and commercial data.”

Despite the difficult economic environment, Ermewa has actually seen consistent yearon-year growth, as highlighted by Olivier: “This is the result of our long-term strategy of always looking for innovative solutions

to make the supply chain of our customers ever more efficient. This is really part of our philosophy. If there are efficiencies to be gained, we have to ensure that our customers adopt them and preferably with our railcars or containers.”

A key part of Ermewa’s business model

Performance

is the key word in the design of our equipment: optimal discharge and load time, payload maximized and lower maintenance costs.

”

We are attentive to the needs of renters, railway companies and end users to provide them with the best possible equipment - Pascal VARIN, C E O.

TITAGARH WAGONS AFR With more than a century of experience, the company employs a team of 210 at its Douai site with an annual production ranging from 500 to 1,000 wagons according to market needs.

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Her shareholder, TWL, TITAGARH WAGONS LIMITED, Indian leader in the sector, supports the development of its international subsidiary as well as her innovation generating value for its customers: TWA has developed a new generation of optimized powder wagons (tare weight, discharge time / connection, residual) and modular aggregates wagons who will emerge from its plants in 2013.

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has been a consistent programme of investment, which last year yielded a record delivery of over 2000 containers.

Furthermore, the company also anticipates over 1000 further railcars to be delivered this year. As a rule Ermewa does not invest on a speculative basis due to the specialised nature of its railcars, but has programmes in place to supply dedicated railcars for specific purposes.

“We have worked with Total Germany to supply optimised rail tank cars (RTCs) for the transport of diesel, which are smaller and lighter and therefore more efficient in terms of payload for their specific use. This has not happened without challenges related to this ground-breaking approach but these railcars have now been in operation for almost a year delivering greater economy and efficiency to the customer. In a similar approach, our design office developed a new hopper wagon for aggregate with increased capacity and reduced payload. Also illustrating our proactive approach, Ermewa has recently developed a standardised specification for AHF railcars together with well-known manufacturer Greenbrier. This has allowed us to place a global order, reducing the unit cost to our customers for these railcars on the German market,” enthuses Olivier.

Having assumed the role of CEO at the start of the year, Olivier has brought Ermewa into 2013 with a clear vision to both leverage its current reputation, and grow its international foothold: “A company’s performance is made by the performance of its people. Ermewa is a business with a strong culture of technical expertise and quality of service and this will continue to be the basis of our success in the future. As

for the railcars, there are always efficiencies and improvements that can be achieved.

To ensure this, a new organisation rich in competent and qualified people is in place.

“Growth is indeed one of our priorities, and we have the right team and resources to achieve this goal. With the support of our

strong existing customer base, Ermewa will continue to grow both in our current markets, but also with a deeper international emphasis underpinned by a close proximity to our customers in order to truly add value,” he concludes. zz

Web: www.ermewa.com

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Inter Ferry Boats (IFB)

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King’s Cross

Making the mode of it With a wide European network for rail and barge transport, Inter Ferry Boats (IFB) help customers make the most of intermodal solutions

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nter Ferry Boats (IFB) is a leading intermodal and terminal operator delivering high-quality transport and logistics solutions by rail and barge across Europe.

The business is an autonomous subsidiary of SNCB Logistics Group and acts as a neutral player on the European market. Having just celebrated its 90th anniversary, the company has over the years remained committed to several principles.

Primarily these are to deliver reliable container transport for transport companies, shipping lines, and forwarders across Europe, and multimodal high-quality logistics solutions through the use of rail and barges. IFB also offers operational and commercial assistance close to the customer through its international network, and terminal operation and value added logistics in Belgium, France, and Germany.

Working on behalf of its clients, IFB organises maritime container rail transport from the main harbours of Belgium and the Netherlands to the hinterland, and

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continental container rail transport across Europe. In addition to its regular connections, the company can arrange specific transport services to any destination within Europe.

A strong foothold To this end IFB has a complete pan-European intermodal network at its disposal, with a strong foothold in the Benelux. This is then broken down into areas for each geographical region.

Area North follows up and enhances current connections, and develops new transports between the main North Sea harbours, and important industrial centres in Europe. Area South manages the northern Europe to Italy axis, and is active also between northern Europe and France and Spain. Finally, the gateway solution Area East deals with all transport towards the east and across Europe.

As well as railway connections, as a multimodal provider IFB deals in barge transportation between the North Sea harbours and the economic centres in the Rhine area through its subsidiary H&S Container Line.

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On top of its transport offering, the company operates its own intermodal terminals in Belgium, including three in Antwerp, each of which is equipped with modern EDI systems and container handling devices.

All of this comes together to position IFB as more than just a mover of goods. The company strives to make container transport as simple as possible for its clients with a full package of services. This is backed by readily available specialists across the network that guarantee quality control from end-to-end, and create solutions towards specific logistic needs.

Fast and efficient transport is a fundamental desire of all operators, and whilst road has long been a preferred choice there are alternatives that make economic and environmental sense.

In this way, IFB organises connections that are supported by the Marco Polo programme.

This is the European Union’s (EU) funding programme for projects which shift freight transport from the road to sea, rail, and inland waterways. This means fewer trucks on the road and therefore less congestion, less pollution, and more reliable and efficient transport of goods.

for example are the least energy consuming modes, with trucking between two and four times more energy-intensive than rail, and at the same time avoid on-road congestion.

By optimally balancing loads between these different modes, with rail and barge being used for the bulk distance, operators can benefit from a more environmentally friendly and efficient transport offering.

However, at the same time reliability, seamless quality, and cost-effectiveness are core expectations. As an intermodal operator with a reliable European network for barge and rail transportation, IFB offers a sustainable

alternative with prices and quality that is comparable to, or better than, other transport modes.

Whether it’s a large or small quantity of containers, IFB will work every time to find the best logistics solutions for transporting them. Its broad network of high-frequency connections, and customer-orientated organisation means that even new customers can make the modal switch to combined transport with ease, and together with IFB realise the benefits this can bring. zz

Web: www.interferryboats.be

The vision The company is also one of 14 partners engaged in the EcoHubs project led by BMT and aimed at elevating Green Hubs to a strategic component of sustainable transport.

This is in accordance with the vision to provide interconnectivity and interoperability in European co-modal networks and facilitate the reduction of congestion, and the combined improvement of environmental performance and efficiency in these networks.

Similar benefits can be seen from the use of intermodal transport in general. This has become the fastest growing segment in the transport sector with more and more companies looking for alternative and sustainable combined solutions for transporting their goods. Each of the different modes have very mixed energy intensity and carbon emission profiles. Rail and barge transport

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The Survey Association

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Station survey

Rory Stanbridge MRICS FCInstCES secretary general of The Survey Association

Getting to grips For over 30 years The Survey Association has been helping both members and clients get to grips with the lie of the land

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Railway surv

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T

he Survey Association, or TSA as it is more generally known, is the trade body for commercial survey companies in the UK formed in 1979 to provide a focus for private sector businesses in land and hydrographic surveying.

Having started out with 30 members, the association has grown substantially over the years, leading to the establishment of its own secretariat in 2006 to oversee day-to-day operation and liaise with the membership.

Beyond this TSA is governed by an elected council comprising 12 member companies, which is subdivided into four core committees: PR, MIA, Technical and Finance.

“The aim of TSA is to promote the survey industry in general, and our members in particular as a trade association and to raise standards within this sector,” describes secretary general Rory Stanbridge. “We also work very closely with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (ICES) meeting on a regular basis to discuss

subjects that are relevant to the industry. We even employ political lobbyists in London, which report every month on things of interest to our members, or of relevance to the surveying or construction industry.”

Today TSA has more than 140 members, which are classified across five membership categories of Full, Associate, Supplier, Affiliate, and Academic depending upon their role in the industry. Of these there remain a handful which have been with the association from the very beginning.

Each of these members in turn has access to a huge range of benefits which includes discounts on insurance, equipment, and health and safety schemes, a free support helpline, and free technical seminars four or five times a year concentrating on a certain aspect of work.

Education in particular is one of the greatest challenges that TSA sees in the industry today with much of the training provision for surveying having dropped away. In response it has been running its own survey training

Building Information Modelling (BIM)

The New Capability

accurate point cloud l Safety – reduced time on site and remote data collection techniques l Reduced design risk – early identification of construction clashes l Production efficiencies – advanced, automated extraction of the required data (2D plans, cross sections, 3D visualisations etc.)

l Bridgeway Geomatics Team continues to play an important role within the Railway Industry providing track and topographical survey services, as well as 3D laser scanning on a nationwide scale.

In line with the governments mandate to deliver level 2 BIM by 2016, Bridgeway has developed the new capability to help facilitate our clients in meeting the above legislation.

Due to the strong and proven railway expertise, Bridgeway also aims at tailoring this service to the railway specific requirements ensuring high level of compatibility with existing standards.

Bridgeway offers the ability to create traditional BIM models from 2D CAD data or internal measured building surveys. In addition 3D point cloud data is commonly used for BIM modelling of existing buildings, structures, stations or sites ensuring the high quality designs with significant risk reduction. BIM models created from the clouds of points are data rich and accurate with the level of detail tailored to the individual needs. The quality of the provided service is supported by state of the art instrumentation, industry leading software and highly skilled, experienced and passionate staff.

A few of many advantages of the BIM models include: l Reliability – established data cross checked with the

For more information on BIM modelling, please contact Simon Hatch at hatchs@bridgeway-consulting.co.uk Web: www.bridgeway-consulting.co.uk

Geomatics & Building Information Modelling (BIM) Services Bridgeway Consulting Ltd are a valued and trusted railway solution provider, delivering quality through extensive experience.

Our Geomatics and BIM Teams are able to deliver results that add real value to your project.

Key Benefits:

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Contact us today to discuss your project needs.

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The Survey Association

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Ouseburn Viaduct point cloud from a 3D laser scanner

courses at the Survey School in Worcester for the last ten years, which to date has seen over 300 graduates. The association also maintains a stringent application process and annual audits to ensure that standards are kept high across all of its members.

As such, many of TSA’s members have found work on the UK railways, which has its own rigorous requirements. This includes monitoring of assets and structures like tunnels, new track and clearance work, and support on new projects such as Crossrail.

“One of the things we do is to produce guidance notes on various aspects of industry, which are available on our website,” notes Rory. “One such area was Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and we have now seen this guidance adopted as part of their specification

by Network Rail.”

One of the ways in which TSA is working to continue to promote its services is to try and introduce a new benefit for members each year. In this vein the association is currently producing new guidance on Building Information Modelling (BIM), and working with the British Standards Institute to produce a Publically Available Specification (PAS) on

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Utility Mapping.

Part of the initial ethos behind TSA was to get clients to use only its members for their surveying work, and it appears this is increasingly becoming the case. “Recently we’ve had a number of companies asking for application packs as they have been advised by clients such as the Environment Agency and Thames Water to join TSA. It is noteworthy that every piece of construction

Railway embankment slip at Old Dalby

required in country needs a survey at the beginning, and yet these services are still very undervalued. At TSA we aim to be a growing vibrant representation of all that is excellent about the survey profession, and to be the first port of call for clients needing to carry out these works,” concludes Rory. zz

Web: www.tsa-uk.org.uk

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Nottingham Express Transit

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Nottingham Tram interior

With intentions of creating a tram network for the city, Phase Two of the Nottingham Express Transit programme is well underway

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rams have become a familiar sight in the streets of Nottingham ever since the launch of Nottingham Express Transit (NET) in 2004. This light-rail tramway began with just a single line between Nottingham railway station and Hucknall, a distance of 14 kilometres, with a short spur to Phoenix Park. From the outset NET has been delivering on the principles that drove its creation, namely in terms of helping encourage regeneration of the conurbation after the closure of primary industries such as mining in

the 1980s, and sustaining economic growth.

This is predominantly through the use of NET as a means of tackling congestion on major radial routes into the city, and serving key builtup areas and destinations such as universities and hospitals. Its impact has been significant with the service driving up the use of public transport in the corridor it serves by 20 per cent in the peak periods, and achieving high levels of customer satisfaction.

“On the back of that success, and because the aspiration was always for a tram network for Nottingham, Phase Two of NET was pursued,” begins Chris Deas, NET project director at Nottingham City Council. “This will see the tramway extended by a further 17.5 kilometres in the form of two new lines to the south and south-west of the city with a similar blueprint of serving main built-up areas, and relieving traffic congestion on the major road network. These new lines will link directly into the existing Line One at Nottingham railway station.”

In December 2011, the Council awarded

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the NET Phase Two contract to Tramlink Nottingham, a new consortium created specifically towards this project. As well as constructing the new lines, Tramlink Nottingham has also secured a 22 and a half year concession to operate and maintain the current Line One, and the network as a whole once Phase Two is completed.

Bringing together world class expertise in operations, investment and construction, Tramlink Nottingham is made up of six core shareholders – Vinci, Alstom, Keolis, Wellglade, Meridiam Infrastructure, and InfraVia. Operation and maintenance of the system is in turn subcontracted down to Nottingham Trams Ltd (NTL), which is a partnership between Keolis and Wellglade, whilst construction is delivered through the joint venture Taylor Woodrow Alstom (TWA).

“We have put together a very strong team in Tramlink Nottingham to effectively guide and assist both the construction team and the operator,” describes Phil Hewitt, CEO at Tramlink Nottingham. “As a concession

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company we have formed a very strong relationship with the City Council, and have been working with the different construction and operations teams to set out that vision for how NET should contribute to the greater good of Nottingham.

“These discussions have also helped get us all into a common position where we understand that we are all working towards a single end which is the success of NET within the policy and political frameworks that the

Keolis “Keolis is one of the world’s leading transport operators and currently actively working to deliver better public transport in 13 countries around the world. Here in the UK we operate and maintain trams for Nottingham Express Transit as part of the Nottingham Tramlink Consortium. We also run four rail franchises, Southern, Southeastern, London Midland and Transpennine Express, as part of joint ventures.”

City Council set, and actually that it’s a shared success. The contractors understand that whilst they might only be here for three or four years, they are defining the future of NET for the next 22 and a half years,” he continues.

NET general manager, Paul Robinson said: “Whilst work is continuing to provide what will be an exciting expansion to the network, the operation of the existing system remains crucial. As part of the overall investment in NET we are upgrading parts of the current line and have also introduced a major refresh programme for our existing fleet. We are providing a very reliable service to our customers who continue to give us extremely high satisfaction ratings.”

The first year of the contract was dominated by enabling works, site clearance, and design, but as the second year continues apace so has the scope of works ramped up. This year will see the delivery of many of the big civil engineering and systems works, such as the installation of a new bridge over Nottingham railway station. Traditionally this type of

zzzzzzzzzzzzz undertaking would have been linked to one big possession, but in this case has been executed incrementally during normal night time works whilst the station is still operational.

“There’s also currently a big push on utilities and the commencement of track-laying, which means the co-ordination and sensitivity of traffic management is a huge factor in how we go forward this year. Unlike a railway, we are building only a few feet from the front doors of residents and businesses so we have to understand the impact of our activities on the public and do everything we reasonably can to minimise disruption,” notes Phil.

“The construction work being so visible is on one hand a challenge, but on the other an opportunity for the people of Nottingham to see the investment being made, and have confidence in the future of the city,” adds Chris.

Whilst one of the great ambitions of the expanded network is to improve the local economy, in the interim Phase Two is itself providing employment opportunities to those in the area. At present around half of the 800 people working on the project have been recruited locally, including some that have been trained up to work on Alstom’s innovative Appitrack machine.

Although NET is a key foundation to Nottingham City Council’s transport strategy, it is an integrated concept and as such other modes such as buses, rail, cycling, and walking all have their part to play. To this end it is hoped that the introduction of a new multi-modal smart ticketing product, Kangaroo, will help encourage this integration by making it easy for passengers to hop on-and-off the different modes.

Nottingham Express Transit

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Trusses from the bridge over Nottingham station As to the future beyond Phase Two, the potential scope of NET as a network does not yet seem exhausted: “The wider vision recognises that Nottingham will grow beyond its current geographical and economic position, so although there aren’t any firm plans

yet for NET Phase Three, we will be looking at where growth may be best served by trams, such as the proposals for a HS2 stop at Toton,” concludes Chris. zz

Web: www.thetram.net

Artist’s impression of the Nottingham Citadis tram

Appitrack and first section of track

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International Railways

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Reviving Nigeria’s railways The Nigerian Government has signalled a strong commitment to the revival of rail, seeking to reverse decades of decline and mismanagement before 2009, when rail services were closed down. While the service which resumed in December 2012 is infrequent and plagued with slow speeds and mechanical faults, the Government insists its efforts to improve it are real, with a new two-way railway being built and an existing one under repairs

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ehabilitation is crucial to Nigeria’s economy. The Federal Government’s August 2010 draft National Transport Policy outlined the principal benefits of rail as “the most cost-effective, affordable, energy-saving and environmentally form of transportation”. It envisaged significant benefits stemming from the movement of large numbers of inter-city passengers and high volumes of containerised cargo or bulk freight such as oil, coal, steel or agricultural produce.

To realise those benefits rail development must overcome a range of structural, practical and legal challenges. The scale and complexity of the task includes the need to redesign a rail system that still reflects its colonial origin and purpose, transporting goods from the hinterland to ports for shipping to Europe. Nigeria’s rail advocates argue for a system capable of becoming

a flexible and competitive component of the country’s internal transport system.

However, there is ample scope for debate, not least to determine the priority of investment between long-distance express and urban mass transit systems, freight and passenger revenues.

From a legal perspective, the most immediately pressing issue must be a major overhaul of rail legislation to permit transition from the Nigeria Rail Corporation Act 1955 to a properly regulated system permitting private sector participation, likely to be based on up to three regional concessions. A likely structure is one in which railway infrastructure remains with the Federal Government, while concessionaires provide rolling stock and operate services.

Track access charges during a concession period of 25 – 30 years would, on that model, provide private sector funds for the rehabilitation, maintenance and expansion of infrastructure. However, well-advised concessionaires would undoubtedly seek to ensure that track access terms would include provisions suspending access charges, or for compensation of direct and consequential losses, in the event of infrastructure failure or disruption. The model would not provide risk-free funding.

Looking beyond legislation concerned specifically with rail, land access and land

use pose a particularly significant challenge to sustained and integrated development.

Despite attempts at reform in 2009 significant issues stem from the long-term effects of the Land Use Act 1978 and, in particular, its constitutionally-embedded status. Land use and access, including the availability of eminent domain and compulsory acquisition to facilitate development, remains problematic.

As well as the degree of co-operation required between the Federal Government and State Governors, rail development designed to connect cities and settlements currently not served by rail depends in large part on the ability to secure possession of land. That involves overcoming resistance from informal settlements and disputes arising from questions concerning land tenure.

In practice, the Government’s most difficult task may be to maintain a strong and consistent message of commitment to rail development to secure potential private sector investors’ confidence. Even with cogent legislative reform and continuing Federal Government commitment, concerns relating to political and social stability may restrict private sector investment. Examples include the motion listed for debate in the Federal House of Representatives on 19th March, highlighting security and safety standards on the recently improved LagosIbadan route and its call for the Committee on Land Transport to launch an urgent investigation. Add to that concerns arising from the activities of Boko Haram and the full economic benefits of a secure and efficient rail service will be hard-won. zz

a consult Dowden is P lm o lc a M LL s Russell at Charle

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The danish railway group

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Exporting Knowledge Promoting and supporting its members within the wider market, the Danish RailWay Group delivers export and networking opportunities

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he Danish RailWay Group (DRWG) represents a wide range of Danish suppliers operating within the international rail industry. This membership includes specialists in everything from interior design and upholstery and furnishings, through to profiling and construction of reinforced plastics and dynamic load detectors. DRWG provides customers with direct access to this supply base, which is focused upon delivering tailored solutions to individual needs.

DRWG is also one of 13 networks within the Danish Export Association, which are divided by customer segment, and as well as rail include marine, offshore, mining and quarry, export marketing, and wind energy. This private non-profit organisation works to encourage trade between Danish and international companies. The Association provides a

framework within which each network, and member companies, can work to increase its international sales. Hands-on commercial experience has made the Danish Export Association the largest organiser of export promotion, networking and joint marketing.

This includes export activities in 50 different countries over the last ten years, with 610 companies working with the Association in 2012 to widen their field of operations. Being part of such a network has demonstrable benefits with the Danish Export Association’s members on average achieving 49 per cent more exports in several markets, than comparable Danish export companies.

Recently, the Danish rail industry demonstrated its ability to implement the same signalling system across the entire country at the same time. This willingness to co-operate at such a high level, combined with specific

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Greenwood Engineering l With 20 years of international experience, the Danish company Greenwood Engineering A/S is the world-leading manufacturer of high precision, full contact profiling equipment for the global railway sector.

The MiniProf measuring systems, developed by Greenwood Engineering A/S, are simple handheld tools designed in pure titanium for monitoring the cross sectional profile of wheels, rails and brakes. The MiniProf systems are also available in TwinHead configurations to obtain the maximum accuracy when joint profiles are measured simultaneously.

Based on high-resolution technology and direct contact measurements, the MiniProf systems give you the absolute best accuracy available on the world market and generate exact and reliable measurements without being affected by oil, dirt or reflecting light.

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Initially developed in 1992 and with more than 1500 endusers globally, the MiniProf brand is well established in the worldwide rail industry and offers numerous ways of making individual calculations and easy profile manipulations.

The key to the MiniProf systems are the extremely accurate profile measurements, a strong software package and numerous calculations, which enable you to monitor and analyse the conditions of your wheels, rails and brakes. A precise overview and the possibility to optimise work and budgets result in financial savings and increased lifetime of the asset. MiniProf is certified by Deutsche Bahn (DB).

The MiniProf systems will be displayed on Railtex 2013 in London represented by Greenwood Engineering and MiniProf agent Bakerail Services at stand no. nr. J26.

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The danish railway group

competencies and skills, is an enduring characteristic of the country’s supply chain.

DRWG’s members are experts in providing common solutions with that well-known Danish high quality.

Membership within the DRWG enables companies to become part of a much larger network where they can draw upon each other’s market knowledge, experience, and contacts. Furthermore, the visibility of individual companies within the international market is increased as a result of the Group entity, which helps promote these business interests throughout Europe.

office in Shanghai, China. There are varying different degrees of assistance offered including use of meeting facilities, HR recruitment, establishment of a representative office, business office or manufacturing site in China, translation of product catalogues, information on legislation and certification, and trademark registration.

Other areas of interest

Attending key events So far this year, DRWG intends to maintain a presence at the Nordic Rail 2013 exhibition in Jönköping, Sweden. In the past the organisation has also attended such key events as InnoTrans, and implemented its own export promotion tour in the UK in 2011.

InnoTrans in particular is of great importance to the Danish railway industry as it offers close links to many of the major players within the international rail market. This helps create the basis for Danish subcontracting in this marketplace. The DRWG has organised a pavilion at the fair since its foundation in 2000, and in 2012 14 of the current 25 member companies took advantage of this presence.

The Danish Transport Minister also visited the stand to peruse the most environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and technologically

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superior solutions on offer.

DRWG is also able to offer support to its members further afield with the help of the Danish Export Association’s representative

Other international areas of interest are the UK, and the BRIC countries with some of DRWG’s member companies already making significant contributions to projects in India. The investment into Denmark’s own rail network can also not be ignored, as despite its small size at just five to ten per cent of that UK rail market, high levels of expenditure have been earmarked over the coming years. For these types of project there will likely be a need for close cooperation between the major international rail players and the smaller national suppliers. It is in such a role that DRWG believes its member companies can offer significant value.

Likewise it is becoming more and more common for rail projects in general to be delivered out of several markets, with the train built in one country and assembled in another, with components supplied from all over the world. Therefore it is ever more vital that companies, like those within the DRWG, are more globally minded, and it is in embracing such thinking that the Group extends a supportive hand to its members. zz

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Greater Anglia

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Ruud Haket receives the Rail Business Award for Train Operator of the Year

King’s Cross

Great aspirations With results that were even greater than expected, Greater Anglia’s raft of improvements have seen it named Train Operator of the Year 2012 MPs and stakeholders at the launch of the East Anglian rail prospectus

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aking on the running of any rail franchise for a short-term period is a challenge, but for Greater Anglia this has been exacerbated by the nature of the inherited legacy of train services in East Anglia.

Part of the wider Abellio transport group, which also operates the Northern Rail franchise and Merseyrail concession, since February 2012 Greater Anglia has risen to this cause with a

particular focus on customer service.

It would appear to be working with the company achieving a moving annual average (MAA) punctuality result of 92.4 per cent, which is the highest figure ever recorded for the Greater Anglia franchise area. There has also been a huge increase in customer satisfaction to 83 per cent in the most recent National Passenger Survey (NPS). Perhaps the greatest endorsement of the improvements made by Greater Anglia though has been it’s naming as Train Operator of the Year at the annual National Rail Business Awards for 2012, just 11 months into the franchise.

This positive progress is in no small way driven by the alliance that Greater Anglia has formed with Network Rail in order to increase reliability and deliver a better service for customers. “They are a crucial partner in that to get the infrastructure up and reliable, and working with them to improve contingency plans has delivered a far better operational performance, which is then reflected in customer satisfaction,” describes Ruud Haket, managing director at Greater Anglia.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz “One of the biggest concerns was the number of weekend blockades on this piece of railway, but by working with Network Rail we have been able to reduce that from 26 full weekend blockades to eight Sundays and two Saturdays only. The overall agreement is that between five and eight weekend blockades is the maximum permitted for any given year.

We are now together looking ahead at track renewals that are planned from 2015 onwards, and how that can be delivered, what services can still be run, and what can be changed to assist that. So it’s a very close co-operation to find the best solution in terms of customer service, and still make that affordable,” he continues.

Another development that has had a real impact is the Department for Transport’s (DfT) allowance of Greater Anglia to take over full asset management and maintenance of infrastructure and stations. It is the first franchise in the UK to assume such responsibility, and the difference it brings in being able to act on issues and execute

Interior of refurbished Class 156 train which has been fitted with new disabled person accessible toilet

action has been huge. “In terms of day-today operation we can just go in and do what needs to be done without delays over whose responsibility it is,” agrees Ruud.

“By integrating all of the knowledge and

activities in-house we are also far more capable of taking better advantage of re-developments.

For example we have added additional money and services to a National Station Improvement Programme taking place at Chelmsford,

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including the introduction of a CyclePoint, so we now have a development of £3 million to completely renew the station. We are able to do this because we can look at the station in a holistic way,” he adds.

These schemes once again typify Greater Anglia’s focus on improving the customer experience in all areas, with many projects already having been successfully delivered including improvements to the website and frontline training for over 1,600 staff. Within this though Greater Anglia recognises that it is the trains themselves that sit at the heart of that experience.

As such, recently 17 Class 321 electric trains have experienced a light refurbishment including new floor and seat covers, whilst the fleet as a whole is now undergoing a second deep-clean programme in addition to the usual routine cleaning. However the company agrees that much of the fleet does require major investment, which is not physically possible within its short 29-month franchise term.

It is an issue though that Greater Anglia is hoping to raise in light of the announcement of an extension to all franchises in the wake of the wider industry upheaval. Although this contract has not yet been negotiated and agreed, Greater Anglia expects this may extend its operational period up to October 2016. Part of the discussion will be focused around what can be done in this timeframe to improve the customer experience and invest further in rail transport in East Anglia.

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Liverpool Street station first class lounge after recent upgrade Greater Anglia has already played a major role in developing the East Anglian Rail Prospectus and engaging with stakeholders in the areas regarding the aspirations it outlines. It is now looking to gather views on what should be considered in the extension period that it can put forward to DfT. Given the long time scale of rail investments this could prove to be a valuable opportunity to set in motion some of the proposals that will enable passengers to enjoy the benefits of faster journey times, more seats, and further increases in service reliability.

As to the immediate future though, Ruud remains clear about the way that Greater

Anglia is presenting itself: “The message has not changed in that we still put the passenger first, and we recognise that there is still a lot more we can do to improve further. Our main focus is to get the operational service and customer service delivery of a consistently high level every day. As a business we are determined to never just be satisfied with what was delivered yesterday, and believe that tomorrow has to be even better than today with an unrelenting focus on quality,” he concludes. zz

Web: www.greateranglia.co.uk

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Interior of refurbished Class 321 train

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one app

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FT TRANSFORMERS

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King’s Cross

Shop floor m anager Steve Adkins

Transforming themarket With its brand-new Class II hybrid transformer and coating development, FT Transformers is turning its customers’ wishes into reality

FT Transformers’ managing director Bob Wright

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T Transformers, formally known as Forrest Transformers, was established in 1937 and supplies many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the drive, rail and general industrial sectors. The business is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of power transformers, line reactors, chokes and power supplies, with a comprehensive stock range of transformers from 50 volt-ampere (VA) up to 1.5 mega volt-ampere (MVA), and voltages up to 11 kilovolts (kV).

Since 1937 there have been three changes of ownership, which have all contributed to the growth of the company, culminating with the current managing director Bob Wright.

Today that business is divided across five core divisions: rail, industrial, aviation and offshore transformers, along with drives and controls. In 2010, FT Transformers bought the intellectual rights to SKOT Transformers, broadening its product range with the addition of UL product approval (E 208721).

“We have been dealing with the railway for over a decade now. Originally we started working with Invensys on Class I signalling transformers, and then proceeded to manufacture larger transformers for subcontractors such as Baldwin & Francis,

Richard manager General

Bradley

Samuel James, May Gurney, NG Bailey and Kent PHK. Last year was very memorable as we manufactured transformers for the 2012 Olympics line, and in the past have worked with Hong Kong Railways on their underground network.”

In a drive to reduce costs and improve safety, reliability and performance, it is Networks Rail’s desire that all new signalling renewal projects incorporate Class II power supply systems.

In response to this, FT Transformers has created an innovative range of Class II hybrid transformers, ranging between 250VA and 2kVA in size, which sit at the very upper end of the marketplace at very competitive prices.

“It was through our relationship with

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FT TRANSFORMERS

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A selection of FT Transformers’ recent projects on essential signalling supplies are: Water Orton resignalling – 4 No Principal Supply Points (8x transformers 30kVA – 60kVA) Cotswolds SP&C and stations – 3 No 12hr Auxiliary Supply Points (6x Transformers) EMSR Part 1: North Erewash – 2 No Principal Supply Points (4 x Transformers) EMSR Part 2: South Erewash – 2 No Principal Supply Points (4 x Transformers) Walsall & Cannock Lines resignalling – 2 No Principal Supply Points (4x 60kVA & 40kVA) Newport Area resignalling - 9 No Principal Supply Points (18x transformers (30kVA – 100kVA)

Invensys that we began to get involved with the Class II Systems,” explains Bob. Shop floor manager St “We looked at a product they asked us eve Adkins some finish makes ing touches to manufacture on their behalf, and found that the coating did not reach the required standard at the time. Through extensive R&D and working in conjunction with GLS Coatings, manager, having a wealth of experience we developed a coating that can insulate the overseeing the Class II project from the start enclosures against voltages of up to 20,000V. and receiving assistance from Steve Bosworth This far exceeds any other Class II enclosures and Andy Grizzle who are engineers at NG on the market.”

Bailey, in developing the product. At present Confident in the capabilities, we have a patent application pending for the FT Transformers submitted an application coating, and we have chosen to send our for product approval. Tahir Ayub at Network range of Class II Transformers for independent Rail, currently leading the Class II initiative, testing to ERA Technology in Leatherhead for will be giving guidance on this application. certification. We are confident that we will be At the same time the company proposed to successful. We will then hand the product over manufacture Class II hybrid transformers with to Network Rail for their certification. Ultimately a zero inrush current. This not only saves costs we anticipate proposals for its use will be by preventing a surge of electricity through included in their future specifications.” the transformer, but also means the major With the new venture attracting interest components can be reduced in size. In fact in already, FT Transformers a cost comparison on five smaller signalling projects carried out by NG Bailey, the use of FT Transformers’ Class II design could have generated savings in excess of £200,000. As such the potential savings to Network Rail over a 12 month period could be insurmountable.

In recognition Bob continues: “In recognition I would like to thank Richard Bradley, our general

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is preparing itself to begin manufacture on a large scale with investment being placed in the business in order to cope with the perceived levels of demands for the UK market and overseas trade. “Beyond this we are looking to do further developments on the coating with Network Rail as we believe that its insulation properties could make it ideal for overhead applications. At present we have already past 40,000V so we believe we will reach up to 50,000V in insulation protection. We are also seeing interest from enclosure manufacturers and other companies looking to use our transformers in their location cases.”

FT Transformers boasts a long track record in quality and reliability. It is this kind of assurance that underpins its forays into new innovations ensuring that these live up to the high specification of their applications.

“There’s nothing in the marketplace at this time that can compete with the range of Class II transformers that we manufacture in terms of performance and safety. We are also developing new transformers for companies in the UK drive control market, and looking at breaking into the mining industry. We already supply products throughout the world and with assistance from the Trade & Industry Board we will broaden our overseas market, to begin with Turkey, Sweden and Denmark.” zz

For further information please contact Richard Bradley via: Email: sales@ft-transformers.co.uk Tel: 0121 451 3204 Fax: 0121 433 4577 Web: www.ft-transformers.co.uk

UK Insulations (UKI) UK Insulations is a well-established, classleading, UK-based supplier of low-voltage electrical insulation materials, lead-wires and ancillaries with the stockholding and production capabilities to meet the needs of discerning and demanding customers, in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

FT Transformers has been a UKI customer for many years. The company takes great pride in the partnerships it has with all its customers and its ability to meet their needs and demands in a timely, effective manner.

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SJ

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Operating strongly The first name in Swedish rail, SJ is targeting investment into life cycle management, as well as new flagship trains

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ith services from Narvik in the north to Copenhagen in the south, Statens Järnvägars (SJ) is Sweden’s largest train operator.

More than 150 years after its first train pulled out of Gothenburg central station, the company is carrying over 100,000 people every day on a suite of different train types. In the process, SJ has accumulated a market share of approximately 55 per cent of the total Swedish passenger rail sector, and 90 per cent of long-distance passenger train travel for 100 kilometres and over.

The landscape within which SJ is operating has also changed during this period. Since 2001, it has been a limited liability company owned by the Swedish state, with SJ formed as a state authority. This incorporation saw SJ lose its monopoly on rail transport, and since

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October 2010 the whole railway market in Sweden has been open to anyone.

This hasn’t stopped SJ growing its business though, with passenger numbers increasing by another three per cent in 2012. Significant investment into reliability has meant that between 2008 and 2012 SJ was able to reduce train-related delays by 75 per cent, with punctuality currently at above 90 per cent.

At present SJ operates four main types of service – regional, intercity, night train, and high speed. It is under the last banner that the company has introduced its newest flagship offering – SJ 3000. “The fleet consists of 20 four-car trains with a bistro,” begins Claes Broström, senior vice president of the fleet division at SJ AB. “The first SJ 3000 was introduced in February 2012, and the last came into service earlier this year. The fleet has proved highly successful from day one, with no teething problems, which is very positive.”

Comparing it to SJ’s other high speed fleet SJ 2000, the SJ 3000 has a number of new design features that Claes is keen to highlight: “The whole interior design is protected by SJ, and is very modern and user-friendly, particularly for handicapped passengers, with a focus on comfort. There is an onboard

infotainment system which offers internet, radio, games, and movies for purchase, and a lot of passenger information alongside the dedicated PIS. We’ve also put a lot of work into the environmental impact of the trains with reduced noise measures, and the use of 98 per cent recyclable parts in the construction.”

Like the SJ 2000, and certain other trains operated by SJ, at least ten per cent of the energy used by the SJ 3000 when braking is returned to the grid. This is paired with training in efficient driving to produce the best possible results. With an environmental policy that dates back to 1988, SJ has a number of other green measures in place such as the sorting of waste both onboard the trains and in its depots, and the use of renewable energy to power the trains.

The company is also looking for efficiencies elsewhere in its business model. As part of the ongoing good performance of its trains, SJ has invested in developing its depots with the introduction of lean production for example.

“We are now achieving around 15 per cent more maintenance today at 12 per cent lower cost than before,” highlights Claes. “We have also increased capacity at our main depot in Stockholm by 40 per cent, which is a

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz huge improvement.”

When it comes to the maintenance plans themselves for the fleet, SJ has adopted a life cycle management mentality looking at the trains in terms of ten or 20 years from now. This enables it to plan different types of system upgrades to keep the trains in a good condition. “We are much more proactive working with maintenance before we have an issue instead of taking care of it afterwards.

For parts of the fleet we have remote vehicle monitoring capability which means we can see what happens inside a certain train, or subsystem, from our central office and understand in advance if there is going to be a failure,” elaborates Claes.

He continues: “In order to support this we are introducing a new IT system where we can follow all trains’ activities and maintenance plans for the whole life cycle of the vehicle. We are also discussing and preparing a system upgrade for the SJ 2000 fleet in order to prolong its life for another 20 to 25 years. The SJ 2000 is a specialist

important as it seems the effects of the incorporation are to spread to long distance traffic as well. As such, from 2014 SJ expects to have competition in this market as well. In order to maintain its position at such a time the company not only looks to having a modern and reliable fleet, but also an efficient business model where maximum value can be realised. zz

Bombardier

train that has been built specifically for the Swedish infrastructure, and therefore it is impossible to buy a similar train off-the-shelf, so we need to maintain it for the long-term.”

It’s measures such as these that the company hopes will put it in a stronger position than ever for the future. This is particularly

On Sweden’s highly deregulated rail market, efficiency, customer focus and co-operation are key success factors. The SJ and Bombardier partnership leverages innovative strength and design and operational skills, ensuring excellent reliability and performance. The SJ 3000, an EMU for medium-density intercity lines, began operating in 2012. It provides service availability levels averaging 99 per cent and outstanding cold weather performance, setting new standards in the Swedish rail sector and boosting the overall competitiveness of rail travel.

Getting you there.

Day in, day out, throughout the long winter, Bombardier takes thousands of people wherever they need to go. Be it to the best place for cross-country skiing or just to work: The SJ 3000 will get everyone conveniently to their destination. No matter what the weather is like, Sweden is in for a smooth ride. On trains made by Bombardier.

www.transportation.bombardier.com

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POD-TRAK LTD

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King’s Cross

Wiredinto the market With skills in both electrical installation and civils, Pod-Trak Ltd is gearing up for Network Rail’s network electrification plans

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stablished in 2007, Pod-Trak Ltd is a privately owned company specialising in the installation and maintenance of electrical systems to rail and tram infrastructure. Starting out as a specialist labour supplier to carry out conductor rail renewals on the Docklands Light Railway, in particular Pod-Trak became known for the installation of

overhead lines and third-rail works.

Since these beginnings, Pod-Trak has grown steadily and branched out to become more of a multidiscipline provider with capabilities in civil engineering and permanent way works.

This was in accordance with the needs of its clients, which reflects Pod-Trak’s belief in building strong long-term relationships.

With offices in both London, Manchester and a new Depot in Tyne & Wear Pod-Trak is able to execute projects throughout the length of the UK. Retaining its expertise in electrical installation, to date Pod-Trak has successfully delivered conductor rail installation projects including aluminium and steel type rail. The company can supply a complete installation package for the rail and associated cabling, as well as provide support for smaller maintenance works.

It also undertakes all aspects of overhead line installation and maintenance services, and general cabling services such as continuity bonding, substation cabling, and negative track bonding. Drawing on its accumulated civils skills, Pod-Trak can undertake small

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“The challenge is being able to supply for the vast amount of work that could come out of this,” he continues. “We currently have adequate resources to deliver, however since there is limited capability in the country especially for overhead line work we are

investing into training our existing staff and hoping to implement our own training programme to meet the demands and the possibility of taking in skilled personnel from overseas.”

With the company also maintaining a fleet of

to medium sized work packages including platform extensions, concrete and foundation works, installation of cable troughs and routes, temporary works, walkways and access roads, and drainage projects.

In addition, Pod-Trak is a source of specialist labour for the rail industry including overhead linesmen, permanent way staff, safety critical personnel, PTS electricians, cable installers, and track labourers. All employees maintain the relevant certification necessary for their discipline to work within the rail industry.

Describing the market outlook for PodTrak, managing director and owner Paul O’Donnell appears positive: “We have grown successfully over the last five years which is thanks to the forward thinking and commitment from our staff, and for the next five years Network Rail are emphasising electrification upgrades for a number of routes, which will further improve our growth substantially as we’re in a strong position to assist with the delivery and supply into this market.

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plant and vehicles such as vans, HGVs, trailers, rail-adapted MEWPs, and specialist small plant and hand tools, the last 18 months has seen Pod-Trak invest heavily into new overhead line equipment and heavy plant in order to meet the supply needs of this investment cycle.

In terms of current activity, Pod-Trak is involved in a number of key projects. “For the last few years we have been working on an installation contract on the Manchester Metrolink to facilitate the upgrade of the existing signalling and electrical systems, and the extension of the tram network for MPT. At present we’re now moving onto delivering the line to Manchester Airport.

“We’re also working with C Spencer to electrify a Siemens train depot in Manchester.

Our remit covers the supply and installation of all of the overhead line system for that development. Another major project is drainage works in the Heathrow Express tunnels out to Heathrow Airport, so these are some very big contracts for us,” he adds.

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In addition, Pod-Trak has been helping execute works for some of London’s major rail projects. This includes permanent way and ETE works including removal of existing track,

BBK Construction Services Limited

BBK Construction have worked with Podtrak, on a number of Docklands Light Railway & Network Rail projects, including 4km of concrete cutting in the rail tunnels at Heathrow Airport.

BBK Construction specialise in bridge & viaduct spandrel tie-bars & associated track monitoring & surveys, aswell as scour protection works & brickwork repairs.

BBK have a bespoke high pressure water jetting unit to remove brickwork graffiti & clean structures.

BBK Construction Services LTD 28 Galloway Drive, Kennington Ashford, Kent, TN25 4QQ tel. +44 (0)7738 477579 email. brian@bbk-uk.com

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and installation of new track alignment and conductor rail at Royal Victoria Docklands Light Railway to accommodate the Crossrail Victoria Dock portal and Custom House station for Serco. Likewise the company has just delivered civils work for the Thameslink Programme Key Output 2 for Balfour Beatty.

With the electrification market firmly at the front of Pod-Trak’s focus for the rest of 2013 and moving into Control Period 5 (CP5), the company is looking at what other measures can be taken to maximise its role in this delivery. “We have just teamed up with A&M Electricals Ltd to strengthen our ability to deliver the full packages required by our clients from substation fit out to the conductor. This is an associated business of Pod-Trak and will help push our investment into the market for CP5 as substation upgrades works is another key element of the electrification projects. This activity sits hand-in-hand with our business as Pod-Trak enabling us to act as more of a one-stop-shop, and bid for larger and more complete packages of work,” concludes Paul. zz

Web: www.pod-trak.com

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ATG ACCESS •

zz St Pancras station

Securing ATG Access, Europe’s largest manufacturer of security bollards and vehicle barrier systems, is experiencing good growth in the rail sector

success

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elivering all aspects from design and manufacture to installation, ATG Access is Europe’s largest manufacturer and designer of security bollards, vehicle barrier systems, and access control measures. Born out of a larger Group, ATG Access became a privately owned company in 2001 following a management buyout. Although its core business is within the UK, the company also has a growing presence in the export market with systems installed in over 42 countries worldwide.

Developed through years of experience ATG Access is able to offer a unique and high quality portfolio of security products to meet the project requirements of many different industry sectors.

Within this is infrastructure, and specifically the rail market. These products are divided into three main areas: manual bollards, traffic management and access control, and high security barriers.

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz The manual and fixed post family consists of manually operated retractable security posts, lift-out perimeter hoops, pedestrian posts, and retractacast bollards. Amongst other applications these can be used to secure driveways, and protect against ramraid and vehicle theft. Sitting under the traffic management and access control umbrella are automatic bollards and security barriers to control traffic flow or restrict entrance.

Finally the high security range is designed King’s Cross

Jason Hydraulics The Directors and staff at Jason Hydraulics wish ATG Access every success with its current expansion plans and look forward to continuing to support the company as it approaches new markets and opportunities.

Over our 14 year strong relationship, we are proud to have been integral in the design, manufacture and supply of many different hydraulic cylinders and components used in ATG’s quality products distributed worldwide.

specifically for use in providing perimeter protection to government infrastructure or high profile areas, and is vigorously tested using the latest British and American security

standards. This includes PAS 68 and PAS 69 certification, which ensures that each product has been tested to meet certain criteria. ATG Access is also the only manufacturer of the City

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Fax (Sales) 01993 776856 Fax (Service) 01993 706933 E-mail sales@jasonhydraulics.co.uk www.jasonhydraulics.co.uk

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

Jason Hydraulics

01942 883 046 01942 896 025 sales@stephensoneng.co.uk www.stephensoneng.co.uk

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of London impact-tested bollard system and the City of Westminster impact tested bollard system.

One of ATG Access’ greatest strengths is that as an integrated design house and manufacturing company it can use cuttingedge engineering to develop innovative new products that suit the market needs. In fact, ATG Access was the first company to design and successfully test a high security bollard against a 7500kg truck at 50mph. Likewise, its groundbreaking shallow-mount technology enables high security barrier installation with as little as 112mm (4”) foundation depth.

“Our products have evolved greatly due to the circumstances of each project and job site, and rail is a good example of that,” notes Iain Moran, high security manager. “For example, we have a vast range of shallow-mounted products which are far less disruptive to install outside a station. We also have systems that we can guarantee won’t affect the substructure in the event of impact by controlling the amount of energy transferred into the ground. This is important when services such as the London Underground may be running in the vicinity.

“The need for certain access measures within the railway also presented some challenges so we have created products that we can remove and retract without the need for a power supply, which removes all that infrastructure that might be difficult to install in the station environment,” he continues.

As such, it is perhaps unsurprising that ATG Access’ products have had a strong take-up in the rail market. The company has been very successful in securing station security work

under various security schemes, with products installed at over 30 stations. “We’ve also had products specified on a lot of the Crossrail works, and are currently going through a

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lot of design work for that at the moment.

We’ve already completed four or five Crossrail packages, and expect to start seeing orders over the next 18 months to two years for the stations and everything being developed due to that,” adds Iain.

Perhaps ATG Access’ most prominent project to date though was the London 2012 Olympics. “Last year we were strongly involved with the Olympics, and carried out some specialist product development for that. A lot of our standard products were also suitable for such an application, as being so shallow mounted they can be installed temporarily and then removed and re-used elsewhere. In total we delivered over 400 units to the Olympics site in Stratford and the remote venues as well,” enthuses Iain.

“Putting that experience together, we believe stands us in good stead for securing contracts for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow,” he continues. “We’re in the design phase of several contracts with companies

Fabrication

cutting / bending / welding

TEL 017683 72200 sales@lakelandlaser.co.uk

www.lakelandlaser.co.uk

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working towards these. Such large projects are important to the business as they aid growth, but we also value the smaller projects that form more of the bread-and-butter of the business.

We have a very good proven track record as well, which means a lot of people continue to

St Pancras station

come back to us for their security needs.”

Towards these aspirations ATG Access has welcomed a new official Brazilian partner, Bollards Brasil Representação Comercial Ltda, which will support the business in gaining perimeter security contracts throughout Brazil

and the South American region. Further to this, ATG Access hopes to shortly announce new manufacturing facilities for the region, also based in Brazil.

Clearly, international growth is a key aspiration of ATG Access as over the next

ABEX

Tel: +44 (0) 19 4222 2928 Fax: +44 (0) 19 4222 1200 Email: sales@abexpower.co.uk

Power Components

Formed in 1984 as a dedicated distributor of Power Transmission equipment, we are the biggest independent supplier in the North West of Bearings, Belts, Sprockets, Pulleys, Motors, Gearboxes, Lubricants, Wheels & Castors, Fixings & Fastenings, PPE and recently we moved into the field of Pneumatics & Hydraulics.

Working closely with both our customers & suppliers, we can offer quality products from reputable manufacturers backed up by qualified engineers & support staff with over 100 years experience.

www.abexpower.co.uk

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year the company estimates that it will export as much business as it turns over in the UK. However, perhaps recognising that the company is only as strong as the systems it sells, ATG Access will continue to actively innovate and develop its portfolio. “We’ll

keep on developing products that will aid the marketplace. Our idea of where the market is heading means that we see our products as needing to be stronger but also smaller, slimmer, and shallower. As such, we are working closely with our key clients to establish

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what they need to make things better from a security perspective and how we can meet that in a way that is also financially viable,” concludes Iain. zz

Web: www.atgaccess.com

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SOCOMEC

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King’s Cross

Switched on Protecting some of the most critical parts of the network, Socomec’s innovative power solutions are rapidly finding their feet in the UK rail sector

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cross the rail industry there is a raft of critical equipment and systems from signalling and traffic management, to ticketing and passenger information that requires continually available electrical energy. As such uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) are commonplace in order to ensure the redundancy of these systems.

As an international group, Socomec has been a leader in its core business – the availability, control and safety of low voltage electrical networks – since 1922. In the UK the company has two main lines of business; the first specialising in critical power and UPS, and the second power control and safety solutions including switches and meters for measuring power consumption.

As regional managing director Andrew Wilkinson is responsible for Socomec’s activity in the UK, as well as Ireland, Mexico, Canada, and the US. He explains the company’s relatively recent entry into the rail and transport infrastructure sector: “Socomec as a business is one of the most innovative critical power manufacturers in the world in terms of the equipment we have.

“Two years ago we recognised that rail was an expanding sector, and also a segment

where technology has stood still for quite a long time. We had been developing products principally for industry and the data centre sector, which had moved on from a product capability point of view, and we felt we could apply some of the new technologies we had developed to the rail market,” he continues.

On entering the market Socomec found that much of the equipment being used was either out of date, or not as robust and efficient as its own systems. In some cases what was being used was not even considered fit for purpose given the environment it was in. This promoted Socomec to tailor a product offering specifically for the rail sector, which combines its cuttingedge UPS and power process capability with an understanding of the harsh operational environment.

“If you put equipment into a rail application it has to stay there for decades sometimes, and our products are built to do that. In many situations though, the old legacy equipment has become or is becoming obsolete and that’s an area of vulnerability in the network.

As a business that looks after the complete lifecycle of a product, we are able to audit a customer’s site and their existing equipment, and flag up anything that might be putting the

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In terms of the product offering itself, Nick Golder, sales manager for rail and transport infrastructure, elaborates: “Looking at UPS we have one particular product developed for rail called Masterys IP+Rail, which is the only UPS on the London Underground Approved Product Register (APR). Although my main focus is UPS and Static Switches (STS), we also provide Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS) to the rail market.”

He continues: “What we look to do is provide equipment that is applicable for the environment in which it is going, but in more of an off-the-shelf product where we can provide short lead times and good value for money. We have a portfolio that is applicable across the range in rail, from overground to underground, that makes it very easy for all interested parties to work with us.”

What Socomec is focusing on for 2013 is adding Network Rail approval to its offering.

The company is also working to bring further products on to the London Underground APR,

Socomec Masterys IP+ Rail

Standby

Power Ltd

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CONTACT 01895 442 500

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3 Station Road West Drayton Middlesex UB7 7BT

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SOCOMEC

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Socomec Statys

YUASA Battery Sales (UK) Ltd YUASA Battery Sales (UK) Ltd is honoured to be a strategic supply partner of Socomec Sicon Ltd within Europe! YUASA is a global supplier of battery solutions for mission critical applications working within the majority of markets where reliable storage solutions are required. YUASA’S diverse high quality product portfolio and world class reliability make it the number one choice for market leaders such as Socomec Sicon Ltd. YUASA is also proud to have worked closely with Socomec Sicon Ltd on a number of major projects through recent years and looks forward to continuing to do so for the foreseeable future.

which in turn will be applicable across the rest of the industry. “Our equipment technically exceeds anything that rail currently buys,” notes Nick.

Andrew agrees: “We’ve found that when you look at the performance of our product compared to our competitors we are essentially unmatched. At the same time we offer extremely good value for money, and therefore have had a very positive reception from purchasers in the industry.”

Certainly Socomec’s presence can increasingly be felt with the company delivering equipment into the King’s Cross station redevelopment, and for works at Manchester Piccadilly. Most recently the company won the Manchester Metrolink contract for the refurbishment of 28 stations with new UPS equipment and associated switchgear. “Rail is very strategically important for our business,” emphasises Andrew. “What we try to do is offer a complete solution to customers, and part of that is the product, but also the project management, pre-sales work, installation, and maintenance. As such, customers benefit from ongoing lifecycle support.”

The company’s ambition may not be small in terms of becoming the largest and most significant supplier of critical power solutions into the UK rail sector, but it believes it has the technical capability to do just that. “If you look at UK rail infrastructure today we can break it down into two parts,” says Andrew. “There’s a lot of new investment going in and we’re fairly active in that area, but we’re also now learning that there’s a lot of existing infrastructure, which is getting very old and not functioning correctly.

“This should be giving the industry some cause for concern because these systems are put in place because customers have something to protect, be that in emergency lighting or signalling, and this may be put at risk because of the age and vulnerability of their critical power infrastructure. Therefore we are keen to work with the industry to assess where these points of risk exist, and to support them with technically advanced products for the next generation,” concludes Andrew. zz

Web: www.socomec.com Email: rail.ups.uk@socomec.com

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King’s Cross

Above

&beyond

Arriva Trains Wales is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2013 over the past decade it has delivered amazing performance and capacity improvements

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hen Arriva Trains Wales (ATW) was awarded the rail franchise for Wales and the Borders in 2003, it undertook a number of key commitments. After ten years of working to deliver superior levels of performance and customer satisfaction, the company has achieved great results, including a dramatic improvement in train punctuality, high and growing customer satisfaction, longer and additional trains, a ÂŁ30 million investment from parent company Arriva, a good safety record and increased staff levels.

These results have only been achievable because the company took over the franchise with a determination to invest for sustained growth and enhanced performance, and over the years it has completed numerous improvement projects, ranging from timetable changes and rolling stock refreshments to

station refurbishments and the introduction of new, industry-leading ERTMS technology.

But passenger satisfaction always remains at the heart of what ATW does, and in order to fulfil what its customers are looking for, over the past 18 months there has been a focus on offering extra services in response to continued growth in passenger numbers. So for example, in May 2012 ATW announced a third of a million seats being added, followed quickly by another 125,000 extra seats for commuters announced in September 2012. These new improvements have been provided in addition to the contractual requirements in Arriva Trains Wales’ Franchise Agreement and represent a substantial investment to improve comfort for ATW passengers.

Less than a year after these improvements were publicised, ATW announced that its train seats would be doubled between Cardiff

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and Ebbw Vale on its busiest services (March 2013). Ian Bullock, the newly appointed managing director for ATW commented: “One of our main priorities is to work closely with the Welsh and local Government to ensure that our finite fleet is always used to its maximum efficiency, delivering carriages and capacity where they are needed most.

“The Ebbw Vale line has seen growth in passenger journeys of 31 per cent since the line reopened in 2008 and we expect this growth to continue as rail services support the sustainable development of these important communities.”

Furthermore, as recently as April 2013 ATW announced that extra services and more carriages would be offered for West Wales, commencing from 19th May 2013.

Key changes to its timetable have been made possible through the completion of works to replace the Loughor viaduct and re-double the line between Swansea and Llanelli. In addition, it has reviewed the deployment of its fleet of trains and has been able to offer additional

capacity on the busiest services in West Wales.

Mike Bagshaw, commercial director at ATW added: “We regularly review our services in partnership with the Welsh government, other key stakeholders and by listening to

our customers. Many passengers, including commuters and visitors to the area will see real benefits from this package of changes.”

The company has also been highly successful in attracting finance through the National Stations Improvement Programme

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(NSIP) and matched funding to deliver farreaching improvements to stations throughout its network. It is particularly proud that the redevelopment of Swansea station won Best Large Station and Best Overall Station at the 2012 International Station Awards.

At the opening of the station, Mike commented: “The new station will have a positive impact on local people in the community using the station for work or leisure journeys. We were pleased to deliver this important project alongside our partners and will continue to work to deliver other projects and unlock further funding to improve stations elsewhere on our network.”

It is clear that great strides have been made by ATW as the Welsh rail operator.

But the organisation remains ambitious and determined to leave a legacy in 2018 that is very far removed from the franchise it inherited.

As a result it has already identified several key issues to be addressed in the future, which include the Valley Lines Electrification, the Northern Hub and its impact on cross border services, north-south journey times and the Cardiff Area Signalling Renewal or ‘CASR’ project.

The CASR is Network Rail’s £220 million three-year programme, aimed at easing congestion on rail services around Cardiff and the south Wales Valleys network. It represents a welcome challenge, as it will give rise to a lot more capacity for trains coming in and out of Cardiff, which means there is the potential to run more trains on the Valleys network and improve performance.

Fundamentally, the CASR will help Arriva Trains Wales in its aim to constantly to improve the quality of the services it offers to customers.

This continual focus has already paid off as in a 2012 National Passenger Survey ATW scored almost 90 per cent on customer satisfaction, and its scores are consistently higher than benchmark and franchise targets. Furthermore overall passenger satisfaction has risen consistently over the past ten years.

Going forward Arriva Trains Wales’ vision is to be recognised as the leading transport services organisation in Europe. As a top five industry performer and second-best right-time operator (trains arriving and departing within one minute of scheduled time) the company has already exceeded its targets, and it plans to continue to go above and beyond customer expectations for the next five years. zz

Web: www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk

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Legal Signals

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To protect & serve A recent determination by the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has concluded that an employee who transfers between employers in the Railways Pension Scheme will forfeit their ‘Protected Person’ status if those employers are not connected.

JOHN HANRATTY looks at the Protected Person status, how it differs from ‘Indefeasible Rights’ and what these two terms mean in practice

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hen the railway industry was privatised, employees who had previously enjoyed a specific level of pension benefits were given Protected Person status, which decreed that their pension benefits in the future would be ‘no less favourable’ than they would have been had they stayed with their non-privatised employer.

Over the past 12 months, there have been attempts to clarify the extent of Protected Person rights. One of these cases, which involved a former British Rail employee, led the Deputy Pensions Ombudsman to determine that, in the railway industry, Protected Person status does not survive if an employee voluntarily changes employer to one that is not associated with the original employer, even if the new employer is also a participant in the Railways Pension Scheme.

In short, this means that if an employee has voluntarily left a participating employer of the Railways Pension Scheme to join another participating employer, he or she may have inadvertently surrendered their Protected Person status.

Protected Person status The Protected Person status was introduced as a result of the Railways Act 1993, which opened up the market for the privatisation of railway services. To guarantee that an employee’s pension rights were upheld and that the new pension was, in fact, no less favourable than before, the Railways Pension Scheme was established. Any member of staff who had transferred from British Rail was given the right to be a Protected Person, as long as their service was continuous.

Indefeasible Right In addition to the Protected Person status, it was determined that employees would also have an Indefeasible Right to be members of the Railways Pension Scheme. This meant that, as long as the employee continued to work in the rail industry for a company that was a participating employer in the Railways Pension Scheme, that employee would have the right to remain a scheme member.

Rights in practice

John Hanratty is director and pension specialist at business law firm DWF

The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman’s recent determination in relation to the British Rail case has demonstrated the differences between the Protected Persons and the Indefeasible Rights provisions.

The employee, Mr Stodart, had been employed by British Rail and had transferred to a vesting company when services were privatised in 1995. From there, he moved to Connex South Central Limited, before

moving to a role with Thameslink in 1997. Following this move, he transferred his pension from the Connex section of the Railways Pension Scheme to the Thameslink section. In 2004, Mr Stodart changed employment again and moved to Wessex Trains, part of Wales and West Passenger Trains.

Following a restructure of Mr Stodart’s conditions of service with Wessex Trains, he complained to the trustee of the Railways Pension Plan that his updated pension package was not in line with his previous package, and thus did not meet the ‘no less favourable’ agreement. Mr Stodart argued that he had the Indefeasible Right to Protected Person status because of the Railways Act 1993, and related regulations, orders and statements made in Parliament during the privatisation debates.

The trustee of the Railways Pension Scheme responded to the complaint, pointing out that the Protected Persons provisions were separate from the Indefeasible Rights provisions and that, as the Protected Persons provisions only subsisted while the employee had continuous service with associated employers, Mr Stodart’s decision to terminate his service with Connex South Central Limited had meant the end of his continuous service.

Consequently, Mr Stodart had voluntarily ended his Protected Persons protection in 1997, but as he had joined another employer in the Railways Pension Scheme, his Indefeasible Right to continue to participate in the Railways Pension Scheme remained unchanged.

The trustee declared it had a duty to operate the Railway Pension Scheme in line with governing legislation and could not allow parliamentary discussions, which had not found their way into legislation to override statute.

Mr Stodart’s appeal under stage two of the internal dispute resolution procedure upheld the stage one findings, resulting in him taking his complaint to the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman.

The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman’s findings were in line with those of the trustee, echoing that by voluntarily moving to an employer that was not connected with Connex, Mr Stodart had broken his continuous service.

It will be interesting to see whether the Deputy Ombudsman’s determination will be appealed to the High Court, in order to provide some clarity on who is to be treated as a Protected Person.

However, the determination is a welcome clarification of the distinction between the Protected Persons requirements and the Indefeasible Rights provisions, and could have implications for all participating employers in the railway industry sector. zz

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zz NEWS I Conferences & Exhibitions zzzzzzzzzzz This listing represents a selection of the events about which we have been notified. It is strongly recommended that direct contact should be made with the individual organiser responsible for each event before booking places or making travel and accommodation reservations. Cancellations and other last-minute alterations are liable to occur. The editor and publishers of RAILWAY STRATEGIES are not responsible for any loss or inconvenience suffered by readers in connection with this guide to events.

26-30 May – World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition Geneva Organisers: UITP Web: www.uitp.org 28-30 May – 26th International Exhibition for Track Technology Münster Organisers: VDEI-Service GmbH Email: service.gmbh@vdei.de Web: www.iaf-messe.com 4 June – Annual Rail Freight Conference London Organisers: Waterfront Conference Company Email: conference@thewaterfront.co.uk Web: www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com/ conferences/rfg2013 12-15 June – RailLog Korea – Korea Railways & Logistics Fair Busan Organisers: BEXCO and Messe Frankfurt Korea Ltd Tel: +82 51 740 7391/3512 Email: railkorea@bexco.co.kr Web: www.raillogkorea.com 27 June – Railway Strategies Live 2013 London Organisers: Railway Strategies Tel: 01277 368 318 Email: karen@railwaystrategies.co.uk Web: www.railwaystrategies.com 10-11 July – Railway Engineering 2013 London Organisers: ECS Publications Tel: 0131 447 0447 Email: queries@ecspublications.com Web: www.railwayengineering.com 30 September – 2 October – European Transport Conference 2013 Frankfurt Organisers: Association of European Transport Tel: 020 7348 1970 Email: info@aetransport.org Web: www.aetransport.org

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18-20 September – Many Parts One Railway: integrated delivery across the rail industry Hertfordshire Organisers: IMechE Railway Division Tel: 020 7973 1291 Email: r_stuart-jones@imeche.org Web: www.imeche.org/events/S1755 8-10 October – Intermodal Europe 2013 Hamburg Organisers: Informa Exhibitions Tel: +44 (0)207 017 5112 Email: sophie.ahmed@informa.com Web: www.intermodal-events.com 12 November – Life Cycle Management Frankfurt Organisers: Europoint Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 698 1800 Email: conferences@europoint.eu Web: www.lifecycleconference.eu

13 November – Track Access Charges 2013 Frankfurt Organisers: Europoint Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 698 1800 Email: conferences@europoint.eu Web: www.trackaccesscharges.eu 14 November – Wayside Train Monitoring Systems Frankfurt Organisers: Europoint Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 698 1800 Email: conferences@europoint.eu Web: www.waysidemonitoring.eu 20-22 May 2014 – Infrarail 2014 London Organisers: Mack Brooks Tel: 01727 814 400 Web: www.infrarail.com

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For all enquiries contact Dave King or Mark Cawston on 01603 274 130

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Silver Sponsors

Speakers to include:

The Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable MP - Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade Annette Gevaert - UK Director of the Rail and Transport Sector, Achilles r Richard Holland - Vice President, Europe, UK & India, TBM Consulting Group eake p S l David Clarke - Director, Enabling Innovation Team cipa Prin Andrew Wolstenholme - CEO, Crossrail Dr Martyn Chymera - Chairman, Young Railway Professionals David Waboso - Director of Capital Programmes, London Underground Chris Rolison - Founder of Comply Serve Limited Richard Price - Chief Executive, Office of Rail Regulation

RAILWAY FOR SENIOR RAIL MANAGEMENT

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Schofield Publishing 10 Cringleford Business Centre Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU

T: +44 (0) 1603 274130 F: +44 (0) 1603 274131 Editor Martin Collier editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Sales Manager Rob Wagner rwagner@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk