Railway Strategies Issue 103 Final Edition

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

Final Issue 103

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New Desiro Class 350/4 delivered to First TransPennine Express See Page 25

Interview :

Network Rail’s director of rail freight Paul McMahon discusses how the sector has developed and talks about plans for the future

FOCUS ON

NEWS Network Rail announces half-year results ORR reports 8.9 per cent increase in freight usage HS2 Paving Bill published Network Rail’s 30-year view First Radical Train entrants win funding

Freight & Logistics l Stations

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London Underground reveals vision for the future

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Chairman Andrew Schofield Managing Director Mike Tulloch Editor Martin Collier editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Managing Editor Libbie Hammond

From the Editor

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‘Tis the season to look back (and forward)

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s 2013 drifts steadily into history, we can reflect upon the past twelve months before gazing into the crystal ball at 2014. News of the proposed route for the second phase of HS2 came early in the year; the entire project remained under the spotlight throughout 2013,

Art Editor Jon Mee

culminating in the publication of the hybrid paving Bill for phase 1 at the end

Advertisement Designer Jamie Elvin

Crossrail 2, the north-east – south-west complement to Crossrail 1, which is

Profile Editor Libbie Hammond

an increasing focus through the year, with the Enabling Innovation Team

Advertisement Sales Dave King Head of Research Philip Monument Editorial Researchers Keith Hope Karl Riseborough Gavin Watson Alex Merritt Administration Tracy Chynoweth

of November. Another major project surfaced at the beginning of the year – currently progressing inexorably through/under London. Innovation has provided promoting new thinking around the industry. Network Rail and the ORR engaged in the final round of negotiations for the CP5 programme, with emphasis on efficiency, reliability, asset management and level crossing safety. ERTMS, electrification, tram-trains and IEP also made the news, as did the franchising process which was given an overhaul.

And what of 2014? Well we know that Network Rail will embark on its CP5 programme; that Crossrail will complete its major tunnelling drives by the year end; that HS2 faces a defining year; that there should be at least two franchise awards (Essex Thameside and Thameslink, Southern & Great

Siemens plc

Northern); that the Northern Hub, Borders Rail, Reading station, Birmingham New Street station, and Thameslink programmes will all move towards their conclusions in subsequent years; and that our railways will continue to attract more passengers and freight.

We would like to wish all our readers a safe and successful 2014

Issue 103 ISSN 1467-0399 Published by

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zzzzzzzzzzzzz Contents Features

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Interview – Paul McMahon 14 Libbie Hammond The right coating can make it better than new 28 Dan Macdonald Handle with care! 30 Malcolm Watson & Tony Synnott Excess Baggage 34 Kevin Price Raising the Standard 36 Kevin Lacey

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Chinese investment in HS2 63 Vincent King

Profiles

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Zos Zvolen 26 First Group 38 Taylor Woodrow 52 Anchor Systems 58 Allied Insulators 60 PSI Transcom GmbH 64 GVB 71 DPP 74 BEA Sensorio 78 MTR Nordic 84 BaneDanmark 88 České Dráhy 91 McCulloch Rail 93 Keymile 96

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News

Industry News 4 Research 13 Freight 17 Rolling Stock 24 Stations 42 Rail Alliance 49 Contracts 50 Products & Services 56 Health & Safety 68 Integrated Transport 70 Conferences & Exhibitions 100 IMechE Training Courses 100

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Freight & Logistics Wagons roll 18 Lloyd’s Register & Drax A new concept for rail freight vehicles 20 Ross Jackson & Tom Zunder

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Rail strategies for becoming a supply chain partner in Europe 23 Dewan Islam

Focus on...

Stations

On track for a sustainable station 44 Lee Fairburn Ensuring quality & value for station fit-outs 47 Andrew Jackson London Bridge station: A platform for the future 48 Paul Byrne

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Network Rail’s half-year results New platforms, new lifts, new information systems, new concourses, new footbridges, new track; all have featured as record investment has been ploughed into Britain’s railways over the past six months

Web: www.networkrail.co.uk il

Patrick Butcher

As well as these major milestones over 5000 projects have been completed over the last four-and-a-half years (since the start of the current CP4 funding period – 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2014). These are smaller, but just as important projects aimed at making incremental improvements to the railway for the benefit of passengers, and have seen: l Over 2000 miles of track renewed l Improvements at over 500 stations across the country l Almost 200 lifts installed at stations l Over 140 platforms lengthened across London and the South East

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n 21st November Network Rail published its half-year results (for the period 1st April to 30th September 2013) which revealed that £2.74 billion, some £15 million per day, was invested in improving and building a bigger, better railway – 33 per cent up on the same period last year and 53 per cent higher than just four years ago.

Patrick Butcher, group finance director, said: “The railway continues to experience tremendous growth and we are responding to that demand through the biggest sustained investment programme since Victorian times.

“With a million more trains and half a billion more passengers than ten years ago our railways are all but full.

We are squeezing all we can out of the existing network and new railway lines, such as HS2, must be built to deliver the step-change in capacity that Britain’s vital rail arteries need.”

The achievements

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North West Rail Proje ct

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Over the past six months some significant investment milestones have been reached, including: l New, bigger, better facilities have been delivered at King’s Cross as its £550 million renovation and rebuilding nears completion providing a magnificent gateway to the north and sees a concourse three times the size of the old one l Opening of the new concourse at Reading station as part of the ongoing £850 million project to unblock one of Britain’s worst railway bottlenecks l The start of work to connect towns of the Scottish Borders to Edinburgh with the building of 30 miles of new railway – the £300 million Borders Railway project l A more reliable and affordable railway for the people of Manchester, Liverpool and the North West as we continue with the £400 million project to electrify the railway in the region l More reliable and faster services delivered with the successful completion of the £100 million resignalling and modernisation of Nottingham and its approaches l A major bottleneck on the East Coast Main Line has been removed with the completion of the £47 million Hitchin flyover l Faster journeys for passengers along the Midland Main Line connecting Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and other towns and cities to London as a result of a £70 million improvement programme l Completion of the £10 million scheme to modernise the railway between Shrewsbury and Wrexham.

Reading

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New MD National Infrastructure Plan l In a statement on 4th December, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, updated the Government’s National Infrastructure Plan. This includes £375 billion of investment in over 600 energy, transport, communications and water projects, many of which are already underway – and many which have already previously been detailed.

Key announcements in the rail sector include: l A further £50 million for the redevelopment of the Gatwick Airport railway station l Confirmation of a UK guarantee for the £1 billion Northern Line extension to Battersea l A new study into southern rail access to Heathrow l A new investigation into access to Stansted on an existing study of the East Anglian mainline l The Government’s stake in Eurostar will be sold off as part of a new £10 billion privatisation programme.

l Abellio UK has selected Jamie Burles to succeed Ruud Haket as managing director of the Abellio Greater Anglia franchise. Jamie is currently a bid director at Abellio UK, where he is managing the company’s bid for the new Thameslink franchise. He will continue in that role until the decision on franchise award, and will take the reins at Abellio Greater Anglia on 1st April 2014.

Adam Golton (currently finance director of Abellio Greater Anglia) will be interim managing director following Ruud’s departure at the end of January 2014.

Pendolinos for the ECML? l Plans have been revealed by open access operator GNER to introduce a high speed train service on the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross, Newcastle and Edinburgh in three years’ time. New nine-coach Pendolinos would operate the service, cutting the average London-Edinburgh time to 3 hours 43 minutes, with potential for even shorter times if 140mph running could be achieved after the route is resignalled in 2018.

Network Rail

New sleeper factory opened

Patrick McLoughlin at the opening of the Doncaster Sleeper factory

l Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, Secretary of State for Transport, has officially opened a new state-of-the-art factory in Doncaster which will supply of thousands of essential sleepers to keep Britain’s railways running. Doncaster Concrete Sleeper Factory, which will employ around 45 people, will supply around 400,000 concrete sleepers each year for Network Rail to use around the network. Between 700,000 and 1,000,000 sleepers are needed each year. Concrete sleepers are used on all the busier inter-urban and long-distance rail routes as well as those carrying heavy freight tonnages. The supply of sleepers has been limited to a reducing number of companies over recent years.

Trackwork Moll is a new company which managed the design and build of the factory and is contracted to supply sleepers to Network Rail for the next ten years. It is jointly owned by Trackwork of Kirk Sandall, Doncaster and Leonhard Moll Betonwerke of Munich, Germany.

Network Rail

First phase of NW electrification delivered l Electric trains have started to operate over the railway between Newton Le Willows and Castlefield junction outside Manchester Piccadilly, marking the commissioning of the first phase of the £400 million North West electrification project on time and under budget.

The next major improvements will arrive in December 2014, when electric trains will be able to run from Liverpool to Manchester via Newton le Willows and Wigan and from December 2016, when they will run between Preston and Blackpool, Manchester and Preston and Manchester and Stalybridge. This will be followed by the completion of trans-Pennine electrification from Stalybridge through Huddersfield on to Leeds, York and Selby by December 2018.

First TransPennine Express will start running direct electric services using ten new Siemens-built Class 350/4 from Manchester Airport to Glasgow from the 30th December. These new trains will deliver an increase in capacity of more than 80 per cent on this route

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The

30-year view

Where will Britain’s railways be in 30 years time?

The first steps on the way to finding the answers have been published in the form of four market studies. These form part of the industry’s long-term planning process.

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ore people travel on the railway today than ever before and demand for passenger and freight services is high and is expected to rise significantly in the future. By assessing how demand is likely to change, these market studies will help form the basis of planning where rail travel will go in Control Period 6 (2019-24) and beyond. They also determine what kind of services will be needed to achieve three important outputs: enabling economic growth, reducing carbon and the transport sector’s impact on the environment, and finally improving the quality of life for communities and individuals.

Network Rail’s group strategy director, Paul Plummer, said: “The investment decisions we make today will last for generations and it is vital that we base them on solid groundwork.

These market studies have been developed in consultation with rail industry partners and wider stakeholders and they are the crucial first stage towards planning the future for the railway.

“The next stage will be the creation of a series of route studies, which will develop choices to deliver the conditional outputs across the four markets in each of Network Rail’s devolved routes, and to test them against our funders’ appraisal criteria. I look forward to continuing to work with the rail industry on the next stage of the long term planning process.”

Michael Roberts, director general of Rail Delivery Group, said: “It is a mark of the industry’s success that demand on Britain’s railway continues to rise, and all parts of the sector are focused on providing growing numbers of customers with the best possible

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services. If we are to meet that demand while ensuring we have a railway fit for the 21st century – one that delivers for passengers, businesses and taxpayers – it is crucial that the industry plans ahead.

“These studies provide a solid foundation on which we can build a more detailed understanding of how and where passenger and freight demand will change in coming decades, helping us ensure that taxpayers’ and passengers’ money is invested as efficiently as possible.”

While the market studies provide predicted demand figures and the kind of services needed to deal with that demand, they do not suggest infrastructure improvements. Those will form part of the next stage.

Divided into four market sectors: London and south east, regional urban, long distance and freight; the documents are the first in a new style of research designed to look ten to 30 years into the future. Each market study prediction is set against potential growth or decline scenarios for the national economy. All market studies were drawn up to reflect HS2.

Some highlights of the studies are: l London and south east: The rail market in London and the South East is dominated by demand for travel into central London, in which public transport predominates with a 90 per cent market share. Roughly half of the trips into central London involve use of National Rail, delivering 575,000 people into the centre each day. Historically, the market for central London commuting has grown at an average rate of 1.5 – 2 per cent annually but there is a prediction of 1.3 per cent in the peaks going

forward. Growth in the off peak – is steady at four per cent and predicted to continue at that level. l Long distance: At present around 150 million long-distance journeys are made by rail annually. This suggests a ten per cent rail mode share overall, although rail dominates the market for travel between many large cities (such as Leeds-London). In the case of those cities, demand is predicted to rise between 108 and 145 per cent by 2043 if the UK economy grows, or by 40-50 per cent if it struggles. l Regional urban: Unlike commuting into London, very few people are willing to commute into regional urban centres if the generalised journey time is greater than 60 minutes. Improvements to generalised journey times within this 20-60 minute range will have a large impact where both the number of people in the population catchment of the origin station and the number of jobs in the catchment of the destination station are high. The study predicts a growth of up to 114 per cent in the Manchester commuter market by 2043 if the economy booms, or between up to 67 per cent if not. l Freight: Total freight traffic, in terms of tonne kilometres moved, is forecast to increase at an average of 2.9 per cent per annum through to the year 2043, implying that the size of the market more than doubles over this period. This particularly reflects expected growth in the intermodal and biomass sectors.

To download the market studies please go to: www.networkrail.co.uk/Long-Term -Planning-Process/

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Network Rail

A tunnel being strengthened with concrete sprayed onto fabric. This process is soon to be applied to sections within Whiteball tunnel

l From 18th January, Network Rail will be carrying out works to repair Whiteball tunnel to prevent the aging structure from deteriorating. In addition, work will be carried out to expand the drainage system and to improve the embankment around the area as part of a wider programme to alleviate flood risks posed by extreme weather.

Around three miles of track will be renewed and seven units of switches and crossings relaid separately at Taunton and Tiverton to enable trains to travel at a higher speed of 80mph.

Whiteball tunnel is a 1000m long Victorian brick arch structure built in 1844 which has deteriorated over the years. To prevent potential brick fall the tunnel lining was previously relined with wire mesh; during this railway closure a new concrete lining will be applied to the worst areas of the brick arch to prevent future deterioration.

The Tiverton end of the tunnel has also been identified as a potential flood site, as it was amongst the locations affected by the extreme weather condition in December 2012. The track was flooded owing to excess water spilling from the cess as well as blocking the culverts in the area.

Achilles renews partnership with Professor Sue Arrowsmith l Achilles – which manages Link-up, the rail industry supplier registration and pre-qualification community – has renewed its sponsorship of the Chair of world-renowned public procurement expert Sue Arrowsmith – Professor of Public Procurement Law and Policy at the University of Nottingham. Achilles has worked with Prof Arrowsmith since 1996 and is renewing its partnership ahead of the biggest change to EU Directives in almost a decade.

Professor Arrowsmith and Achilles have worked together since 1996. As well as sponsoring her Chair at the University of Nottingham, Achilles also supports the series of conferences Public Procurement: Global Revolution, of which Prof Arrowsmith is Director.

Professor Arrowsmith provides case notes for THEMiS – Achilles’ online ‘troubleshooting’ service for procurement professionals. She also shares insights at conferences organised in partnership with Achilles, and supports the EU Services team – who run practical training courses and workshops covering the full range of EU procurement topics.

The renewal of Achilles and Prof Arrowsmith’s relationship comes ahead of the biggest modernisation of EU rules and regulations since 2004.

One of the first beams is ‘flown’ into Reading viaduct

Reading viaduct reached key milestone l The construction of a new 2km viaduct in Reading has reached a key milestone after the first pre-cast concrete beams, which will form the base that trains will run on, were lifted into place. Part of Network Rail’s £895 million redevelopment of the railway in Reading, the viaduct will cut delays caused by congestion on the tracks to the west of the station when it opens in 2015, creating more capacity for an additional four passenger trains per hour as well as more freight trains. This is achieved by allowing fast passengers services to and from places like Bristol and South Wales to fly over the lines to Newbury, Basingstoke and the south west of England.

The work to install the beams was carried out by Network Rail’s principal contractor, Balfour Beatty. The beams were fabricated by Shay Murtagh in Ireland and shipped to Liverpool docks before being transported to Reading by road.

The construction of the viaduct will also allow Network Rail to complete the widening of Cow Lane, a notorious bottleneck on Reading’s road network.

Remodelling of the northern Cow Lane bridge will finish in 2015, as it cannot be completed until the tracks above it are moved on to the new viaduct. At this point, motorists as well as rail passengers will feel the full benefit of the project.

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Network Rail

Whiteball tunnel improvements

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New report: The UK Rail Market 2013 l From 2012-13 the number of passenger journeys on Britain’s rail network rose again to more than 1.5 billion. Freight volumes also increased, with tonnage up by 11 per cent.

Providing the capacity to handle continuing predicted growth in use of the network is generating significant business opportunities for companies active in this key sector.

‘The UK Rail Market 2013’ from Brooks Market Intelligence Reports (www. brooksreports.com provides a concise overview of the structure of the rail sector in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, detailing its main participants and its future programmes to form an invaluable concise guide to the complexities of this busy market.

The report covers the role of Government in leading development of the system and how it is regulated. It summarises details of Network Rail’s spending plans for the five years from 2014 to 2015, known as Control Period 5.

These include major electrification programmes, key projects like Thameslink and the Northern Hub and the development of new routes. Also covered is the planned HS2 high-speed rail system.

An up-to-date overview of passenger rail franchises includes franchise-holding companies, contract periods and the latest traffic figures, as well as coverage of nonfranchised passenger operators and principal freight train operating companies.

London’s Crossrail scheme is featured in a section on Transport for London, as well as coverage of the London Underground, London Overground and Docklands Light Railway systems. The report also includes the latest status of UK light rail and light metro systems.

Current rolling stock procurement programmes are detailed, and the report is completed by a sector-by-sector guide to principal suppliers to the UK rail market,

including: l Rolling stock/components/subsystems l Vehicle maintenance equipment and services/refurbishment l Revenue collection, access control, passenger information systems and station equipment l Track products and maintenance/renewals equipment l Signalling & communications equipment l Traction power supply and electrification systems l Civil engineering and construction/ infrastructure maintenance The report also includes numerous links to organisation websites and to key documents, enabling users to research specialist topics more deeply.

The full report, which reflects the status of the market as at October 2013, may be obtained from Mack Brooks Publishing Ltd at www.brooksreports.com

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Crossrail reveals the first completed train tunnel in November 2013

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Colas Rail buys on-track tamping machines business from Amey

Crossrail

l Colas Rail has expanded its Rail Services operations by acquiring Amey’s on-track tamping machines business. The £5 million deal comes as Amey focuses on its core offerings of asset management, rail projects, metro services, track renewals, signalling and electrification to deliver ambitious growth plans.

Crossrail reveals first completed train tunnel

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l Europe’s largest infrastructure project, Crossrail, has unveiled its first completed train tunnel 18 months after tunnelling machine, Phyllis, started her 6.8 kilometre journey from Royal Oak to Farringdon.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, Infrastructure Minister Lord Deighton and Deputy Mayor for Transport Isabel Dedring have become the first visitors to set foot inside the completed train tunnel, entering via what will be the future Crossrail Farringdon station.

They gained a glimpse of how the most significant addition to London’s transport network in a generation will look when it opens in 2018, and enclosed a time capsule in the remaining section of Crossrail’s first tunnelling machine, Phyllis.

The ministers met several of the workers including apprentices that have been constructing the new passenger tunnels underneath Farringdon station. Crossrail is on target to deliver over 400 apprenticeships with more than 260 apprentices already working on the project. l Among the items included in a Crossrail time capsule were a 2013 edition of the London A to Z donated by Phyllis Pearsall’s company who TBM Phyllis was named after, a Crossrail ‘Start of Tunnelling’ mining tally and a tunnel phone used to communicate without standard telephone signal.

Crossrail’s seven giant tunnelling machines are approaching 25 kilometres out of 42 kilometres of new train tunnels that will link east and west London. Another 14 kilometres of new passenger, platform and service tunnels are being constructed below the new Crossrail stations. Phyllis is the first tunnelling machine to complete her tunnel construction with another three 1000 tonne, 150 metre long tunnelling machines due to complete tunnelling at Farringdon in the coming year.

Selection of items included in the time capsule that will be left with TBM Phyllis

Overwhelming support for Crossrail 2 l Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail have published the findings of the Crossrail 2 nonstatutory public consultation, which shows overwhelming support for the proposed new rail link between south west and north east London.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who believes this project is critical to boosting capacity on the suburban rail network and to galvanise economic growth in this part of the capital, has welcomed the results, which shows 95 per cent of almost 14,000 respondents ‘strongly supporting’ or ‘supporting’ the principle of the scheme.

Even with the Tube upgrade works and the delivery of Crossrail 1, additional capacity on the transport network is needed to cope with London’s forecasted population growth. Crossrail 2 would create a new high frequency, high capacity rail line with shorter journey times between southwest and northeast London. TfL and Network Rail will together consider the Crossrail 2 consultation findings and will make recommendations on the next steps to the Mayor of London in spring 2014. If a decision is taken to progress, more detailed consultations would then take place.

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© Transport for London

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A vision for the future of the Tube

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ondon Underground (LU) now carries more people, more safely and reliably than ever before, with customer satisfaction at record highs and crime at an all-time low. However, with London’s population set to grow from 8.4 million today to around ten million by 2030 – the equivalent of a Tube train full of people every week – the Mayor and TfL have set out how they will continue to invest billions of pounds to support jobs and growth and build a Tube network that meets the needs of customers in the 21st century.

Night Tube © Transport for London

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and the managing director of London Underground, Mike Brown have set out their vision for the future of the Tube, including a new 24-hour ‘Night Tube’ service at weekends and more staff visible and available at stations to help customers buy the right ticket, plan their journeys and keep them safe and secure

From 2015, Londoners and visitors to the capital will be able to take the Tube home at any hour of the night on Fridays and Saturdays, supporting London’s vibrant night-time economy and boosting businesses, jobs and leisure opportunities. Weekend services will run through the night on core parts of the system – initially comprised of the Piccadilly, Victoria, Central and Jubilee lines and key sections of the Northern line.

This network, which will be expanded to include other lines in subsequent years, will dovetail with existing 24-hour and Night Bus services to give passengers an extensive and integrated service throughout the night.

Station staffing The trend of ticket sales away from ticket offices has surged over recent years and today less than

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three per cent of all Tube journeys involve a visit to a ticket office. In future therefore, rather than being remote from customers behind closed doors or glass windows, Tube station staff will not be based in ticket offices, but in ticket halls, on gate lines and on platforms, ready and available to give the best personal and face-to-face service to customers.

As now, all Tube stations will continue to be staffed and controlled in future, with more staff visible and available than today in ticket halls and on gate lines and with the same number of staff on platforms. Staff equipped with the latest mobile technology, such as tablet computers, will be able to monitor and manage stations on the move.

Improvements The huge Tube improvement programme underway will continue, with billions of pounds of investment to deliver more frequent, reliable and accessible services and enhanced stations, providing greater capacity to tackle increasing numbers of customers. It also includes a continued rigorous focus on improving customer journeys and meeting the Mayor’s commitment of reducing delays by a further 30 per cent by 2015, when compared to 2011 reliability levels.

Across the Tube network, delays to customers’ journeys have been reduced by 40 per cent since 2008/09 and 54 per cent since 2003. More frequent trains will be introduced across a wide range of lines, including a 20 per cent increase in capacity on the Northern line next year and further uplifts to the frequency of Jubilee and Victoria line services, to 33 and 36 trains per hour respectively at the busiest times.

Metropolitan line customers are now travelling on a new fleet of air-conditioned trains with open, walkthrough carriages, and these are now being introduced on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, with the District line to follow shortly.

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© Transport for London

l The network will become more accessible. More raised platform sections and boarding ramps are being introduced, information and signage is being improved and, building on the 66 Tube stations which are already step-free, 27 additional Tube and Overground stations will be made step-free over the next eight years. The proposed staffing changes will ensure that the current turn-up-andgo service for disabled and visually impaired passengers continues and the disability training given to staff will be further enhanced l More and better ticket machines will be introduced as part of a strategy to make life easier for passengers.

Improvements include providing quicker and easier refunds – by Tube staff, at ticket machines or online – automatically completing journeys when customers forget to swipe out and introducing personalised customer accounts on the TfL website to give increasingly tailored information and services. l Work is also underway to improve the Tube’s stations, with major redevelopments underway at Tottenham Court Road, Victoria and Bond Street.

Improvements to retail and services at stations are planned, with more than 30 stations already identified where real improvements could be made over the next few years, including Canary Wharf and Embankment.

Future Tube stations LU staff are and will remain the operational heart of the station. In future, they will be equipped with the latest mobile technology which allows full control of the station, even while they are mobile. No longer will they have to be confined to station control rooms or ticket offices in order to serve customers, manage stations and ensure the highest standards of safety and security.

A new, simplified staffing model will reflect the fact that customers have different needs at each of the different types of station across the network. Many busy Tube stations will have to deal with queries from less familiar customers, including tourists, so enhanced visitor centres will be provided at those stations. All Tube stations will continue to be staffed by LU employees across the whole day while services are operating, providing face-to-face customer service and information across the whole network.

The changes to the operation of stations and improvements to customer service will be delivered while also reducing the overall cost of running stations, to provide better value for money for customers and tax payers.

From 2015, LU proposes to operate stations in four different categories: Gateway stations The main visitor entry points to London, with a high proportion of people unfamiliar with the Tube network.

These stations – Euston, Heathrow Terminals 123, King’s Cross St. Pancras, Liverpool Street, Paddington and Victoria – will all have enhanced and redeveloped Visitor Information Centres to ensure tourists and visitors are welcomed and offered the best possible service.

Customers will be able to purchase Oyster cards, pick up maps and other information such as interchange information on other TfL transport modes, like bus services or Barclays Cycle Hire. There will be 30 per cent more staff in ticket halls than today, and an increase in overall ticket selling capacity of 33 per cent.

Destination stations Busy stations in Central London that have high volumes of customers and include busy commuter and tourist destinations, such as Bank/Monument, Embankment, Leicester Square and Oxford Circus. These stations will have 30 per cent more staff in the ticket hall than today.

Metro stations Serving predominantly inner London communities, with many regular users, such as Clapham South and Mile End. These stations will have dedicated customer service staff with the latest in mobile technology permanently located in ticket halls.

Local stations Smaller stations, mostly in Outer London or beyond that have lower customer numbers and serve mainly regular customers, such as Rickmansworth and East Putney.

These stations will have staff stationed in ticket halls providing help to customers who need it. zz

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© Transport for London

Improvements to make journeys easier and more convenient for customers include: l Contactless bank card payment technology will be rolled-out on the Tube network from next year, providing customers with another convenient way to pay for their travel. Customers will no longer need to queue just to convert their currency (pounds and pence) into the Tube’s currency (Oyster and tickets) l Wi-Fi coverage will be rolled out to all remaining below-ground Tube stations by the end of 2014, with the exception of four stations that are currently undergoing major upgrade work, so that customers can more easily access web and other digital content on the move at stations across the entire network l Improved customer service training and technology will be provided to all station staff, and mobile devices with up-to-the-minute information on ticketing, train services and the local area will be provided to staff across the network so they can help customers on the spot

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zz High Speed Rail zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Hybrid Bill for HS2 published HS2 took a major step forward at the end of November with publication of the Bill for phase one of the country’s new railway between London and Birmingham

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he hybrid Bill, effectively the planning application for the scheme, will give the Government the powers to construct and operate the railway. It will also give those affected by the proposed line the opportunity to petition Parliament, both for and against the proposals, and have their case heard by a committee of MPs. The Government believes that the new line – the first to be built north of London for 120 years – is vital to meet the urgent rail capacity needs on the main rail routes into London. Parts of the West Coast Main Line

are full in terms of the number of trains they can carry, many of which are full to overflowing. There are similar issues facing the East Coast and Midland Mainline.

The publication of legislation for phase one marks a significant milestone in the project.

Once Royal Assent has been achieved, it is expected that construction of the line from London to Birmingham will begin in 2016/2017 allowing the line to open in 2026.

The Government has also published the Environmental Statement for phase one of the scheme. The document sets out in detail the likely significant environmental effects of the scheme. It will allow those on or near the line of route to see exactly how they will be affected and give details of the ways in which the railway has been designed to reduce as far as practicable impacts on the landscape.

These include: l Around 23 per cent of the line between

London and the West Midlands will be in tunnels and around 32 per cent lowered into the ground with cuttings l Landscaped earthworks and the planting of at least two million trees will further help to screen the railway, reduce the impacts of train noise and integrate the line into the landscape l Much of the earth removed during the construction will be used to create these earthworks, greatly reducing the amount of earth that would have to be otherwise transported, cutting lorry journeys and associated congestion, disruption and pollution l Drawing on Japanese technology, HS2 trains will be fitted with special features to help reduce noise. Considerations include the use of wheel fairings to cut the noise made by the wheels on rails – the biggest source of noise on any electrified railway; and eliminating the gaps between each train carriage to cut noise and boost aerodynamic efficiency. zz

Call toaction – join our research panel today!

l Railway Strategies and market research consultants Accent have joined forces to create an exclusive research panel for members of the rail industry to voice their opinions on the latest hot topics. Together the team will tackle the most pressing and urgent issues affecting rail, and we’d like you to get involved.

We feel it’s imperative to listen to the voice of the industry when it comes to notable events and changes and we would like to hear from you. Every two months, we will issue a questionnaire on a hot topic, which will take no longer than five minutes to complete, and then feedback your views and opinions.

Speaking about the panel, Rob Sheldon, MD at Accent said: “The research panel is a great way for industry professionals to express their opinions on the items topping the news agenda. What’s also really interesting is to have these viewpoints from across the industry and see the effects upon the sector as a whole.”

Martin Collier, editor at Railway Strategies added: “We receive a lot of research-

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based news stories, but what’s great about the panel is the research findings come from our readers. We can set the agenda and look in more depth at some of the topics affecting the rail industry, both now and in the future.”

Topics will vary depending on what’s making headlines and will cover any ongoing subjects such as HS2 and where best to spend budgets? What passengers are saying and how to improve customer service are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition, if you feel there is an important issue which needs the attention of the panel, simply let us know.

Joining the panel couldn’t be simpler, all you need to do is email yasamin.mehraj@accent-mr.com with your details. Once you have signed up you will automatically be sent the bi-monthly questionnaire.

All responses will be kept anonymous unless you express your consent to be quoted within Railway Strategies.

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NEWS I Research

Architects sought to consider aesthetics of overhead line electrification l How can the design of gantries and cantilever structures be made more aesthetically pleasing?

The rail industry’s Enabling Innovation Team, which forms part of the FutureRailway programme, has teamed up with HS2 to promote a competition through the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The challenge – announced by RIBA Competitions in December, and funded by Department for Transport – is looking for ideas from around the world to improve the appearance of overhead line electrification.

In addition to new-build dedicated high speed lines like HS2, the Rail Technical Strategy includes a vision for an extensively electrified network which has reduced reliance on fossil fuels and non-renewable resources. Rail industry proposals for CP5 and beyond include further electrification programmes.

The competition is open internationally to architects, engineers and designers. Team and multidisciplinary entries are encouraged. Concept designs submitted digitally are required for the initial application stage with up to ten shortlisted. Shortlisted designers will then have up to £15,000 each available to fund the next stage of development of their scheme which will include producing a scale model of their design.

The closing date for design submission is 29th January 2014

Innovators win funding to re-think the train l The first four of eight finalists have been awarded investment as a result of entering the Radical Train competition, run by the rail industry’s Enabling Innovation Team. The investments, which are the first substantial tranche of competition funding to be released from EIT, will be genuine enablers to the winning SMEs, organisations and consortia, who now have the opportunity to practically demonstrate the viability of their proposals.

The ‘Radical Train’ challenge was set up to seek out proposals for new ideas which aim to make a marked difference in the performance of trains on Britain’s railways, encouraging ideas to re-think the fundamentals about rolling stock. A total of 56 high level entrants applied and eight were shortlisted in May to develop their proposals further to secure investment. The first four contracts have now been agreed supporting over £6 million worth of innovation projects in the UK. The EIT is investing approximately £2.5 million with the innovators contributing a similar sum. The first four successful applicants are: l Revolution VLR Consortium (Very Light Rail) consisting of TDI (Europe) Ltd (Transport Design International), Unipart Rail Ltd, Warwick Manufacturing Group centre HVM Catapult, Trelleborg PPL Ltd, Allectra Ltd and GKN Land Systems for their low carbon, very-lightweight whole passenger railcar demonstrator l Holdtrade Ltd, Transnet, Huddersfield University and HBA Ltd for their radical freight bogie concept l Thales and NewRail for their active adhesion monitoring project l A confidential investment in emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology.

Applications were assessed on their ability to realise significant improvements and create benefits for passengers, freight users, train operators, the environment and supply industry. The judges also considered the international market potential of the proposals.

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Shaping the future of rail traffic management l RSSB is working with 100%Open to build an ambitious open innovation programme on the future of rail traffic management.

The programme known as FuTRO (Future Traffic Regulation Optimisation) portrays a vision for a future of advanced traffic management where train position and speed management will deliver a high capacity, on-time railway. The launch of the first two challenges was announced on 5th November: l The Universal Data Challenge: – How do we manage the future railway through combining diverse data sources in a timely way? l The Supermap Challenge: – How do we create an accurate and versatile map of the rail network so that we can model ways to optimise the system?

FuTRO is designed to support the broader vision in the Rail Technical Strategy where the 2040s railway is envisaged to combine flexible, real-time intelligent traffic management.

Control centres will know the precise location, speed, braking and load of every train on the network to optimise operational performance and keep passengers informed.

Workshops held in 2013 have helped pinpoint the focus of the challenges and the associated questions.

There are a number of challenges under the banner of the Future Railway initiative and you can find out more via the website: www.futurerailway.org/eit

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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INTERVIEW I Paul McMAHON

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Moving freight forward Freight trains provide a vital service across Britain.

Libbie Hammond talked to PAUL McMAHON, director of rail freight at Network Rail, about how the sector has developed and plans for the future

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ail freight is vital to Britain’s economic success. It contributes £900 million to the economy and plays a big part in reducing congestion and carbon emissions. In fact, according to Richard Price, chief executive, ORR, ‘[Freight] is the most transformed sector in the rail industry since privatisation.’

Network Rail provides open access for freight operators on its network, and Network Rail’s freight team provides support to the industry to improve performance and freight growth. It is committed to working with customers and stakeholders to fulfill their business needs, as well as working with operators and developers to commission dozens of new rail-served freight sites, and help to grow freight on the network.

Challenging targets Paul McMahon, who became director of rail freight at Network Rail in June 2013, says that performance and capacity are the two main aims for his team. Over the past five-year Control

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Period (CP4) freight charges for using the network have reduced by a third as well as there being improvements in the performance of freight trains. However, despite their best efforts, Network Rail were finding it a challenge to meet the targets that had been set by the Regulator: “Our target was for 2.94 delay minutes per 100km, and yes, this has been identified as a rather abstract measurement! We are currently projected to finish the Control Period somewhere between three and 3.5 delay minutes per 100km, but in 2011 when it became apparent we weren’t going to meet the 2.94 delay minute target, the Regulator got involved and as a result the Freight Recovery Board (FRB) was set up.” The FRB’s purpose is to promote improvements to freight service performance (reducing delays to freight services) and protect the interests of freight customers.

“At the FRB, now called the Freight Joint Board, we sit down together with the freight operators (FOCs) to keep a focus on current performance issues, and although we aren’t

‘‘

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz We are working with the freight operators, and ports and terminal operators, to try and provide for a more modern way of running freight

going to hit the exit trajectory that we were initially targeted with, the engagement and the delivery is now vastly improved compared to where it was,” Paul noted.

He was also pleased to add that the next Control Period (CP5, due to commence in April 2014) would herald the arrival of a new, simpler performance measure called the Freight Delivery Measure or FDM. “This calculates the number of freight trains that arrive on time, at their destination, and ‘on time’ includes 15 minutes of leeway. The regulator set us a floor of 92.5 per cent, but we are targeting 95 per cent FDM in the CP5, which is about the same level of where we should be exiting CP4.

“Today we are seeing the best ever performance on record in terms of freight punctuality even though we are behind the 2.94 target, and in CP5 with the new measure – assuming we hit that target – then we will see a consistently high level of freight performance and that will be with a measure that is better and easier to understand for a person on the street, an operator or shipper.”

Strategic Freight Network When it comes to capacity enhancements, Network Rail delivers a range of schemes to support freight growth, including the Strategic Freight Network (SFN) programme.

The SFN consists of a series of schemes that improve the performance, economic efficiency and capacity of freight on rail. “There has been a wide number of schemes that are being delivered through CP4, for example one to enhance the capacity from Felixstowe to Nuneaton, and another to improve the capacity out of Southampton, both of which are designed to enable us to carry more freight,” identified Paul. “This programme has gone broadly to plan and we are looking ahead to CP5 where we are going to invest a lot more money into freight enhancements.”

The sort of schemes that Network Rail has earmarked an investment of £230 million towards in CP5 include Phase Two of the Felixstowe to Nuneaton works. “That is a major programme of work for freight capacity improvements, and will provide for greater capacity out of Felixstowe, allowing more trains to go across country rather than to London and along the North London Line,” explained Paul. “There are also more gauge enhancements on the Western route, and we are currently looking at possible investments to improve capacity out of Northern ports. This will look at all commodities, but there is a focus on biomass because Drax power station has taken the plunge and is converting some of its power generation to run on biomass. Other power stations may follow. The study has just started and will come to fruition over the next few months. It is an important piece of work for ports, power stations and other stakeholders.”

Optimising capacity Overall, taking a more strategic look at capacity and how it is used across the network as a whole is currently very high on the agenda for Paul and his team. “We are working with the freight operators, and ports and terminal operators, to try and provide for a more modern way of running freight, particularly in regard to on-time departure and on-time arrival for freight trains. This happens to a degree for container traffic, but historically we haven’t used capacity on the network as well or as optimally as we could do. We have an increasingly congested railway so we are looking at the amount of capacity that rail freight operators have in their hands through the access rights they hold to use the network. We are looking to modernise that and have a more efficient and optimal use of capacity by freight.”

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INTERVIEW I Paul McMAHON

The HS2 factor “There is also a very active debate with the freight sector on just how much capacity would be available for freight on the ‘classic’ railway if and when HS2 becomes a reality,” said Paul.

“We are involved with that debate but there’s a long way to go in terms of how HS2 would ultimately be used. As high speed trains will need to use the classic network how do you fit in freight services alongside these?”

The Rail Freight Alliance Paul mentioned Network Rail’s desire for introducing new approaches to working with the rail freight industry and this is highlighted in its participation in the new Freight Alliance, formed as part of the Rail Delivery Group. The Alliance involves all the main FOCs and Network Rail. The members come together with a commitment to work more collaboratively, on a range of freight policy and strategy issues. “We have had a number of meetings, and we have already started to discuss the issues I’ve highlighted – capacity, access rights, increased efficiency and performance – as well as other areas such as future access charges.

“When it comes to freight access charges, the Alliance is also giving us a platform to take a very early look at what will be coming in the Regulator’s 2018 Periodic Review. We want to tackle some of the big strategic questions now so we can have a thorough debate and identify the implications and work towards early decisions for the Periodic Review, rather than just looking at it a year before we need to.”

Traditionally there may have been tensions between Network Rail and the FOCs over some issues, but as Paul noted, the Alliance means that everyone at the table is committed to working more collaboratively together. “This means everybody is thinking about how they might need to adapt their behaviour for the greater good of rail freight on key strategic issues, so that we can grow the sector, provide better services and perform at higher levels.”

He continued: “I think particularly there is a challenge for

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FOCs as on the ground they are competing hard with one another to win and retain traffic and that reflects one of the successes of the rail freight sector since privatisation. But under the Alliance we are asking people to leave these motivations at the door and come to the table and sit down and think more collaboratively about the more strategic questions and challenges that are facing the sector, so that we can deliver greater capacity for freight and more sustainable growth for freight as a whole into the future.”

Dealing with delays It is clear that Paul and his team at Network Rail Freight have a full agenda already and big plans for CP5. He highlighted one more current issue that has been high profile of late – delays caused by freight trains on passenger trains. “Freight trains have always broken down or been in the wrong place at the wrong time and have delayed passenger trains, and equally this will happen the other way round,” he said, “but the issue of what we call FOC on TOC delay has increased over the past couple of years and we are working with the freight operators, again under the umbrella of the Freight Alliance, to develop a set of actions in order to better understand and manage FOC on TOC delay.

“Going forwards on a railway which is increasingly busy and congested, every minute of delay counts and we have got tough targets to hit. Whether that’s for FOC or TOC performance, any cause of delay is going to get scrutiny, especially any category of delay that is showing an adverse trend. The FOCs and Network Rail want to get a grip on performance and we have put In place a range of initiatives to achieve this.

“Running freight trains is important for Network Rail. The goods and commodities carried are vital for the economy with about 25-30 per cent of containers imported into the UK through the major ports of Southampton and Felixstowe continue their onward journey by rail. The more freight trains we can put on the network, and the more efficiently they run, the more traffic is removed from the country’s congested roads, which is without doubt a good thing,” Paul concluded. zz

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NEWS I Freight

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l The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has published a new statistical release which highlights growth in Britain’s rail freight sector. The ‘Freight Rail Usage’ statistical release contains information on rail freight in Great Britain covering the period from 1999-2000 to 30th September 2013. Freight usage data provides a useful barometer of economic activity and is closely linked to other industries such as manufacturing and imports/exports. The data for 2013-14 Q2 (1st July 2013 to 30th Sep 2013), when compared to the same period last year, shows: l Britain’s rail network carried a greater amount of freight, with an 8.9 per cent rise in freight moved to a total of 5.7 billion net tonne kilometres. l The amount of coal moved increased by 15.6 per cent to 2 billion net tonne kilometres – accounting for 35.4 per cent of total freight moved on the network. l Oil and petroleum, international and metal moved increased by 11.8 per cent, 7.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively.

To read the full report visit: www.railreg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.3016

First service from London Gateway

The first official rail freight service from London Gateway was loaded and transported by Freightliner Ltd at 7.50 a.m. on Thursday 7th November as part of the port’s official launch. Serving its customer Hillebrand Group, Freightliner Ltd is running the service to Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT)

Network Rail

Sustained growth in rail freight usage

Network Rail’s Doddle parcel service shop in Milton Keynes

Network Rail to trial parcel shops at main line stations l Network Rail is to test the concept of a parcel collection and delivery service at its mainline stations to capitalise on the booming online retail market. This is designed to generate additional revenue which can be reinvested in the railway and to provide a convenient and accessible service for those making 1.5 billion journeys by rail every year.

Following over 12 months of researching and monitoring the sector, Network Rail has decided to initially test the concept at Milton Keynes Central station with its 3000 employees who are based nearby and which is close to a number of key delivery operations. This will be followed closely by trials at London Paddington and Woking stations with other stations to follow throughout 2014 once the concept is proven, creating up to 4000 new jobs.

The new business initiative is called Doddle and is a joint venture with leading entrepreneur and philanthropist Lloyd Dorfman CBE. He is best known for creating the Travelex Group which is now the world’s largest non-bank foreign exchange business.

The Doddle dedicated parcel shops would be open seven days a week, early until late, to fit with people’s busy lifestyles and enable them to choose exactly how, when and where they send and receive parcels. There will be an easy-to-use website and advanced touch point notifications through a mobile app, SMS and email.

The service would be the only one of its kind that is available to every retailer, e-tailer, parcel carrier and shipper, creating a network of single points for the collection, return and sending of parcels. This open access approach will not only enable retailers and carriers to enhance and complement their existing delivery offering, but also allow the consumer to combine collections and returns from multiple retailers into one trip at a time that suits them or coincides with an already planned journey.

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Freight & Logistics

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Biomass wagon

Wagons roll Having worked together successfully in the past, Lloyd’s Register was asked by Drax, owners of the UK’s largest power station, to help them develop a state-of-the art wagon for transporting biomass

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his autumn has seen a revolutionary new freight wagon enter into the service on the UK rail network specifically designed for the movement of biomass. At 18.9 metres long and offering a capacity of 116 cubic metres, in terms of volume it is almost 30 per cent larger than any other freight wagon on the network and pushes the boundaries of rail vehicle engineering. Most importantly it will play a key role in transforming Drax into one of Europe’s largest renewable generators.

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Transformational design “Drax is a predominantly coal-fired power station that generates around seven to eight per cent of the UK’s electricity,” says Peter Emery, Drax’s Production Director. “But our ambition is to become a predominantly biomass-fuelled generator, with plans to convert three of our six generating units to burning sustainable biomass.”

Moving biomass Biomass is biological, plant-based material sourced from forestry products and residues, and agricultural by-products imported from as far away as North America. But unlike coal, biomass must be kept dry as it is transported from the ports to the power station in North Yorkshire. Since 2010 a fleet of modified coal wagons have been used, each retro-fitted with top-doors to protect the load from the elements.

Even this was easier said than done. Freight wagons rank amongst the ‘dumbest’ kit on a railway, with no electricity supply, for example,

to power the open and closing of doors. The solution, designed by Lloyd’s Register, was based around lineside magnets. As the train approaches the hopper house it passes a magnet that triggers the top doors to open. A similar magnet then closes them upon leaving.

To ensure the doors are not activated by magnetic activity along the route – risking damage to overhead wires, tunnels etc – the train driver turns a key to send a pressure signal along the rake, priming the wagons to open as they approach the hopper house. The same key is then used to disarm the wagons once the rake has passed through with the doors now closed ready for the onward journey. Also, interlocking the pneumatic system that powered the top doors with the brakes meant the train could not proceed unless all the wagons were securely closed.

Back to the drawing board Though an award-winning design in its own right, these converted wagons were not optimised for biomass. It is less dense than coal, for example,

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz meaning each wagon has to carry more material. This was something Drax decided to address.

In early 2012 Lloyd’s Register’s rolling stock design teams began working with Drax to revisit their initial design. The design and engineering team, based in Derby, have worked on a range of freight and passenger vehicle projects, from full bodyshell design to interior refurbishments, as well as bespoke components and sub-systems such as bogies and under-frame equipment.

“This is the sort of project that designers like ourselves relish”, says Richard Gibney professional head of traction and rolling stock.

“It was an opportunity to re-imagine an entire concept, taking advantage of lessons learnt from an existing model and removing some of the inefficiencies.

“For example, though biomass can take various physical forms – it is a less viscous product, so it doesn’t need the steep ‘tapering’ at each end of the wagon that helps the coal to pour out through the bottom doors during delivery. So we felt we could capture significant extra volume by ‘squaring off’ each end.”

Further capacity gains were gained by pushing the width of the vehicle to the very limits of the tight UK loading gauge. This meant relocating the wagon’s pipework, structural

Drax wagon in loading bay

supports and control equipment by taking advantage of previously unused space.

Extra bottom doors at each end of the vehicles, combined with a new patented product flow control system, ensured that spillage was reduced via unloading.

Work on two prototypes, conformant with all the necessary standards for operation on the network, began in January 2013.

WH Davis, an independent British freight wagon manufacturer, will fulfil the full order for 200 units. zz

Ed D

avey h For further information visit: elps unload tra

www.lr.org/rail, www.drax.com or www.whdavis.co.uk.

Tom Zunder

in a wa gon

Ross Jackson

Drax wagon in loading bay

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Freight & Logistics

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A new concept for rail freight vehicles

The EU-funded SPECTRUM project has conducted research which suggests that a network of high-performance intermodal train services, using innovative wagons and horizontal transhipment technology could attract a significant proportion of the low-density high-value (LDHV) cargo which is currently transported by road in the European Union.

ROSS JACKSON and TOM ZUNDER reveal all

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he hope within the European Community is that given the right technology, the right distances and the right market conditions, up to 1.9 billion tonnes a year of LDHV freight could be switched from road to rail in the future.

The FP7-supported SPECTRUM (Solutions and Processes to Enhance the Competitiveness of Transport by Rail in Unexploited Markets) project started in 2011, has 20 partners from a range of industries and is led by NewRail, the Newcastle Centre for Railway Research. The project has analysed the nature of the LDHV goods market and the technical and operational concepts which could facilitate a shift of time-sensitive traffic from road to rail.

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Time-sensitive goods In a competitive global market, shippers and consignees require a service that offers reliable, consistent and precise movement and storage of goods. These service requirements become even more crucial for time-sensitive LDHV goods. Today, this traffic is generally transported by non-rail modes – either by road which is cost sensitive over shorter distances or by air which becomes effective when timecritical premium products justify the higher transport costs.

In the European context, road is typically favoured for the transport of LDHV goods between origin and destination in densely populated areas. However, the major road networks are increasingly congested and, in many regions this has made road transport unreliable. A shift to rail would help to relieve the congestion and offer significant benefits in terms of reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

The main European flows of LDHV goods were estimated using data from the ETSIplus project, (Ref. 1) and validated using Eurostat 2012 statistics. Medium and long-term forecasts were prepared for 2020 and 2030 using the Integrated Scenario developed by the iTREN-2030 project (Ref. 2). For a qualitative assessment, the team also interviewed ten potential rail freight customers about their expectations.

Around 49 per cent of all LDHV goods transported by road are moved over distances of 200km or more, and five national and international corridors were identified which

The InnovaTrain concept has been developed from the RailXpress push-pull train used by the Swiss retailer Coop to move timesensitive goods for its own business as well as third parties such as Heineken, Lidl and the Post Office

have a substantial proportion of long-distance traffic, including routes in Greece, Spain and Sweden.

However, from a business perspective, rail freight could only be expected to attract a proportion of this volume. An estimate for the volume of ‘rail-accessible’ LDHV traffic moving over 200km is around 1.9 billion tonnes, which is around 12 per cent of the total tonnage currently being transported by road in the 27 EU member states and Switzerland.

To meet customer expectations, the rail freight service would need to offer short, fast, reliable and flexible trains, working in hub-andspoke networks, on high-frequency corridors or serving multiple stops on longer routes.

The network would have to accommodate temperature-controlled traffic, and link into urban feeder networks or serve strategicallylocated consolidation centres. Trains would predominantly run on mixed-traffic routes, requiring integration between freight and passenger train services.

Given these conditions, the project team believes that a high-performance freight train running at passenger speeds would be able to capture a percentage of the LDHV goods currently being transported by road.

Capacity management The integration of freight and passenger operations is key, as the LDHV freight trains would need to run between passenger services, using passenger-quality train paths.

Feedback from infrastructure managers including Trafikverket, TCDD and Network Rail

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz helped the project team to understand the principles of timetabling, service patterns and operational procedures, alongside capacity management policy and practice.

A number of ‘service areas’ specific to the LDHV sector were identified. Infrastructure managers would have to schedule train paths that allow a freight operator to design a door-to-door supply chain that meets its customers’ needs. This would impact on the way in which they develop timetables, whilst still adhering to EU regulations about fair and non-discriminatory treatment of all operators.

It is also important for terminals to be located close to pre- and end haulage points, with suitable, affordable transhipment equipment for the swift transfer of goods from trains to delivery vehicles.

In the research the behaviour of a passenger-quality freight train was evaluated on four of the corridors identified as having significant demand for LDHV goods: l Switzerland (Daillens - Chur) l Sweden (Hallsberg - Malmo) - Denmark (Copenhagen) l Italy (Turin) - France (Lyon) l Bosporus - Bulgarian Border (Halkali Kapikule) Using simulation techniques it was demonstrated to be possible to add a number of LDHV trains within the current freight and passenger timetables on each of the routes.

Conceptualisation Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to identify the market requirements, the SPECTRUM team came up with seven concepts for further evaluation to result in an innovative freight vehicle to meet these requirements, and looked at opportunities to operate high-quality freight services on the most promising corridors.

Nineteen participants, including railway

Trials with the InnovaTrain ContainerMover 3000 (transhipment technology) were conducted in Switzerland in September 2011 related academics, researchers, operators, manufacturers, suppliers and infrastructure managers, took part. Six characteristics were identified and used to define the logistics and vehicle design requirements: high performance, reliability, mixed running, flexibility, security and seamlessness. The types of goods and loading unit to be transported, governed the concepts.

These concepts were reduced to three through a ranking methodology favouring Concept A, Concept C and Concept F. In a subsequent evaluation stage, Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and SWOT analyses were used with both methods identifying Concept C as the strongest.

The analysis was extended to look specifically at the application of the concepts to the four corridors, where trip distances varied from 330km to 1900km. On the basis of the LCC evaluation, Concept C offered the cheapest cost per pallet-km.

Preferred option The favoured concept is a multi-purpose flat wagon to carry containers and swap bodies,

incorporating a horizontal transhipment technology. A key attribute is the ability to load and unload the loading units without the need for a costly dedicated terminal.

Having identified the market opportunities and a suitable vehicle technology, the SPECTRUM team will now undertake further research to match the vehicle development with the ‘service areas’ defining the potential LDHV mix. A full economic assessment of the concept is planned. zz

References Ref. 1: ETISplus Project (2012). European Transport policy Information System: development and implementation of a data collection methodology for EU transport modelling. Retrieved 10th August 2012 from http://www.tmleuven.be/project/etisplus/ home.htm Ref. 2: iTREN Project (2012). iTREN – 2030 Integrated transport and energy baseline until 2030. Retrieved 10th August from http://www.tmleuven.be/project/ itren2030/home.htm

LDHV Rail Freight Concepts Concept

Description

Loading Unit

Technology

A

Multi-purpose intermodal

Containerised, refrigerated, palletised

MetroCargo

B

Liner train – Container

Containerised, refrigerated, palletised

MetroCargo

C

Multi-purpose – no semi-trailer

Containerised, refrigerated, palletised

Innovatrain

D

Semi-trailer

Refrigerated, palletised

Kockums Megaswing

E

Palletised

Palletised goods including roll cages

Forklift/pallet trucks

F

Self-Propelled (1)

Containerised, refrigerated, palletised

MetroCargo

G

Self-Propelled (2)

Containerised, refrigerated, palletised

MetroCargo

Tom Zunder

Ross Jackson

Tom Zunder is the rail freight and logistics group manager at NewRail, Newcastle University Ross Jackson is a research assistant at NewRail, Newcastle University For further information visit: www.ncl.ac.uk/newrail/research/project/3909 Tel: 0191 222 3974 Email: ross.jackson@ncl.ac.uk Web: www.newrail.org

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Freight & Logistics

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Ironing out the freight planning problems How an integrated planning tool helped SNCB Logistics improve quality, safety and performance

One solution – many benefits

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NCB Logistics is an independent freight rail operator within the Belgian rail group SNCB. The freight activity was historically losing money, even before the economic crisis. To become a profitable and competitive private rail operator, it needed to restructure itself completely. The company was privatised on 1st Feb 2011. The firm had never invested in cutting-edge systems to improve the efficiency and quality of its services – that was of course until IRON. The implementation of an integrated planning tool, code-named ‘IRON’ gave the firm’s managers the ability to plan based on actual demand and get a precise and transparent view of required resources. IRON has improved profitability, efficiency, productivity, quality and safety. Thanks to major cost-cutting measures and the benefits of tools like IRON, break-even is near and productivity and quality have structurally improved.

The rail-freight planning challenge

“IRON is proving to increase our competitiveness and supports our mission to become the most reliable rail operator.

This initiative is only one step in a line of measures that SNCB Logistics is undertaking to improve the safety, quality and productivity of its services.”

Geert Pauwels, CEO of SNCB Logistics

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Rail-freight planning is a complex puzzle. It involves long- and short-term planning of locomotives, locomotive drivers and local personnel. Plus constraints such as maintenance rules, route knowledge, traction knowledge and different working time directives and regulations.

Before SNCB Logistics introduced IRON, it used separate systems to handle locomotive and train driver management and planning. It used altogether different systems to plan local ground operators and rail paths.

SNCB Logistics wanted a single planning system to control its complete production chain. It would cope with all production resources (yard staff, train drivers, locomotives and rail paths) and all planning horizons, from long-term to day-of-execution.

After tendering the project, SNCB Logistics selected Quintiq and its implementation partner, Ab Ovo. Ab Ovo, a specialist in rail freight and in advanced planning and scheduling (APS) solutions, implemented the Quintiq software and modelled the solution to the customer’s demand – a collaborative project which was called IRON.

The solution allows SNCB Logistics planners to see the entire plan in one place. It integrates planning and scheduling of line locomotives, shunting machines, drivers and yard staff. It helps planners make the best decisions for scheduling and re-scheduling resources.

The new system integrates existing planning methods with the new processes required for the operations of the new SNCB Logistics organization. It is easy to adjust and it improves communication between different planning teams. SNCB Logistics’ unique constraints such as traction knowledge or work environment are modelled in the system, leading to safer and more secure working.

Because the system consolidates and controls a lot of data, it also makes it easier to align planning with key performance indicators (KPIs). This helps SNCB Logistics managers improve performance. The results of the project include improved employee satisfaction, flexibility, punctuality, higher safety levels, better operational performance and optimized decision making, leading to reduced costs and increased profitability. Quintiq and Ab Ovo plan further work to improve the business results even more. They have scheduled regular updates that they can put in place very quickly.

More growth planned Today 150 planners and 60 additional users are using the system every day. This will grow to 200 planners and 100 additional users. Working with Ab Ovo and Quintiq, SNCB Logistics has planned and organized training for all 300 users.

Partners in puzzle-solving The Quintiq platform for planning, scheduling and optimization beats traditional solutions by integrating all processes and resources into a cohesive, flexible plan.

Quintiq uses today’s most sophisticated optimization engines and can be fully configured to fit the processes and constraints of the business. Covering multiple planning horizons and coordinating all planning parameters, Quintiq solves every planning puzzle.

As a long time Quintiq implementation partner, Ab Ovo has broad experience in modelling customer solutions using the Quintiq platform. It has in-depth knowledge of rail-freight business processes and puts that knowledge to use in various rail-freight companies throughout Europe. The company delivers advanced planning and scheduling solutions as well as an extensive back-office application, the Rail Cargo System, which is tailored to individual rail-freight operations. zz

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Freight & Logistics

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Rail strategies for becoming a supply chain partner in Europe According to figures produced by the European Commission, the volume of freight transported by rail within the EU has barely increased since 1995. DEWAN ISLAM explores the issues surrounding this situation and the means for bringing about improvements A mixed

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freight tr

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n 2010, the total goods transported within the EU-27 were estimated at 3831 billion tonnekilometres (btkm). Of this, road transport accounted for 45.8 per cent; intra-EU maritime transport for 36.9 per cent; rail for 10.2 per cent; Between 1995 and 2010, total freight volume increased by 25.2 per cent, with road freight increasing by 36.2 per cent. In contrast, rail freight transport has increased by a mere 0.1 per cent, from 386btkm to 390btkm, over the same period (European Commission, 2012).

The structure of international trade

Low-density high-value (LDHV) goods (e.g. plants and flowers)

One key reason for the stagnant position in rail freight volume is the structural change in European manufacturing industries. Many have moved gradually to the East, in search of cheaper labour and other inputs, and/or have changed their consumption pattern – consuming more imported products and producing a lower volume of exports. Such change in production and consumption patterns has resulted in a different set of transport service demands and a further reason for rail’s failure to grow has been its lack of response to this new freight transport requirement.

For typical international trade, a transport chain consists of transport legs such as deep sea (e.g. Shanghai port in China to Rotterdam port in the Netherlands); feeder/short sea leg (e.g. Jiaxing International Feeder Port to Shanghai port); and inland transport (by road, rail or waterways) at both ends of the transport chain. Depending on the final destination, the inland leg may need a combination of transport e.g. road and rail, or road and waterways. The selection of the import/export (maritime) port depends on, among others, the strategies and abilities of the ports in the region, connectivity with the inland origins/ destinations and the inland transport operators’ ability and services.

The freight supply chain Generally, a shipper or consignee is interested in procuring a freight transport service from a single operator. It could be an international shipping line, or a multimodal operator, or a freight forwarder who can take responsibility for the entire transport haul, consisting of multiple legs, not just deep sea, feeder, or inland. To offer the door-to-door, integrated service that modern supply chain requirements demand, the shipping line may

subcontract the inland transport to a competent transport operator – a road haulier, or rail freight.

A maritime shipping line may try to enhance the share of carrier haulage in Europe by, for example, establishing partnerships and alliances with shuttle train operations.

In line with this approach, and to achieve a higher level of integrated door-to-door transport service, an extended gate terminal haulage concept may be developed, where some of the terminal activities, traditionally performed in a maritime port, can be moved to an inland terminal, or port/depot. Depending on who is in control of the transport chain, and considering factors such as distance, transit time, frequency, shipment size and cargo type (e.g. high or low value, time sensitive etc.), the inland as well as total freight transport service options may be determined by either shippers, consignees, shipping lines or a multimodal operator.

In many cases, the international shipping lines face obstacles in expanding the integrated network by rail intermodal services. One reason for this is the fact that the European railway sector is lagging behind in responding to the needs of a reliable supply chain. Rail operators must co-operate with other transport and supply chain actors as a partner, not just as an operator between terminals. The reality that one supply chain competes with another and the fact that a successful supply chain shares the benefits among all its partners means that a lack of truly market-driven rail operators has largely left rail unable to respond to market demand. It is a fact that many rail operators (e.g. DB, SNCF) are not yet privatised, making the operational model and market responsiveness of these transport companies very different from that of typical trucking companies who offer door-to-door services, either alone, or in partnership with international transport operators (including rail, maritime and air).

Theoretically it is claimed that rail freight operation becomes viable for the longer transport haul (nominally more than 500km). In practice, however, there are many European routes, or corridors, where trucking companies are the major operators over such distances. A recent example of the benefits of rail liberalisation can be noted here. In the liberalised environment, the share of rail traffic has increased from ten per cent in 2007, to 40 per cent in 2010, carried by some new entrant private operators and incumbent RENFE on the route between Valencia and Coslada in Spain.

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Change the service offering

co-ordinator for the transport chain partners.

The rail operators need to come out of their comfort zone of offering services to a limited number of large customers with low value, high volume, less time-sensitive cargoes.

To increase market share they must compete with road transport in capturing low density, high value cargo. Many of these cargoes are also time-sensitive and require a more reliable and faster service. Here, rail operators will have to equip themselves with some of the customer-tailored attributes that road offers and/or join hands with freight forwarders, who can consolidate cargoes and offer pickup and delivery services. Such joint services can be useful on longer routes with higher cargo volume.

In achieving a door-to-door integrated service, the decrease in satellite operation of feeder rail freight (i.e. the share of single wagon load or group of wagon load) is a particularly crucial issue. Rail operators must also modernise their information systems, to provide track-andtrace data and the ability to respond to customer queries, when needed. Some wagons will need to be fitted with a power supply system, plus the associated equipment to enable a temperature- and pressure-controlled environment for such cargo as flowers, or fish. A cargo monitoring system must also be put in place, allowing the driver/manager of the train to report, in real time, to a

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Freight & Logistics

Open borders – except for rail One further issue of note is that, despite an absence of physical border control in EU-27 for almost all other services, this function is very much alive – in a negative sense – in the case of rail freight operation. The UIRR (International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport) reports that 88 per cent of road-rail combined transport consignments passed through at least one border in 2012. The RETRACK study, part-funded by the European Commission under the Sixth Framework Programme, reported border waiting times ranging from 2.5 hours (in Western European countries e.g. between the Netherlands and Germany) to seven hours (Eastern European countries e.g. between Hungary and Romania).

This border-crossing issue is one that will need to be resolved, if rail is to grow as a truly viable and competitive European supply chain partner.

Acknowledgement NewRail wishes to acknowledge the support of the European Union Framework Programme 6 and 7 within which much of their research in freight and logistics is carried out. zz

NEWS I Rolling Stock

Dr. Dewan Islam is a research associate at NewRail, Newcastle University, UK Tel: 0191 222 3972 Email: dewan.islam@ newcastle.ac.uk Web: www.newrail.org

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l Eversholt Rail, in partnership with Abellio Greater Anglia and Wabtec, has launched the Class 321 Demonstrator at Liverpool Street station. The train has undergone a highspecification refurbishment and technology upgrades. It will now run in normal service on the Abellio Greater Anglia network for a year.

During this period, Eversholt Rail and Abellio Greater Anglia will be seeking passenger views on the many new features showcased, all delivered at a fraction of the cost of a new train.

Over the next year the four-car unit, modified by Wabtec in Doncaster, will operate on a number of lines, including those to Southend, Chelmsford, Braintree, Colchester, Clacton, Harwich and Ipswich. To fully understand passengers’ preferences and test out different options, the unit features two suburban style and two metro style carriages.

Seats in the suburban carriage are configured 3+2, with existing seats refurbished and raised. The metro style, used on commuter lines, has a 2+2 seat configuration, with all

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Eversholt Rail Group

Class 321 Demonstrator launched

Refurbished seating in the suburban carriage new seating. The metro carriages also feature an extended entrance area to allow easier access and egress to and from the carriage.

In addition to new and refurbished seating, the entire unit has new air-conditioning and heating systems; energy-efficient LED lighting; modern double-glazed fixed windows; better wheelchair areas; and a wheelchairaccessible toilet.

Eversholt Rail is also developing a new system to replace the Class 321 traction equipment to improve energy efficiency and increase reliability. This builds upon Eversholt Rail’s earlier success in replacing the traction system on the Classes 465/0 and 465/1 electric multiple units in operation with Southeastern on the Integrated Kent Franchise.

Siemens plc

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New arrival

On 28th November, First TransPennine Express and Siemens welcomed the delivery of the new Desiro Class 350/4. Unit 350 401 was delivered into the Ardwick traincare facility ready for its acceptance inspection.

l Network Rail and its industry partners – including the Enabling Innovation Team, Bombardier and Greater Anglia – are testing the case for an independently powered electric multiple unit to potentially run on short, unelectrified branch lines in otherwise electric parts of the railway.

Lithium Iron Magnesium Phosphate battery technology from Valence is the first to meet the requirements of the project following testing at the Valence lab in Texas. Other battery technologies, including hot sodium nickel salt, continue to be reviewed. Data gathered during the experiment will be used to determine what form any future independently powered electric multiple unit will take, be it a straight battery unit or hybrid.

Re-engineered Class 317 unit unveiled

The engineering overhaul was carried out by Bombardier Transportation with a large proportion of the work carried out at the company’s Ilford depot.

Travelling passengers on re-engineered Class 317 trains will have the opportunity to benefit from a number of new features, including: l Refurbished interior, new seating and additional grab poles l Increased capacity on each vehicle including larger vestibule areas l PRM compliant l CCTV cameras throughout the train to improve safety l Climate controlled environment l Plug sockets and Wi-Fi throughout the vehicle l Passenger information systems to provide journey details The pre-series unit unveiled at Ilford is currently going through its final testing after which it will enter passenger service with Abellio Greater Anglia in Q1 2014.

Angel Trains

l At the end of November 2013, Angel Trains unveiled its re-engineered Class 317 unit at an event held at Bombardier Transportation’s depot in Ilford, London. The pre-series vehicle has been the subject of a £7 million overhaul as part of a joint project between Angel Trains, Bombardier Transportation and Abellio Greater Anglia. The finished unit will provide the train operator with new train look, feel and performance at a fraction of the cost of building a unit from scratch.

The project included a complete interior redesign to increase capacity and ensure PRM (Persons of Reduced Mobility) compliance, significant engineering work on the doors to increase the ease of maintenance. A major retractioning project was also undertaken to move the train from a DC to an AC power unit which now enables the train to make use of regenerative braking and benefit from faster acceleration, both of which will significantly reduce power consumption and operational costs.

The retractioning work and inclusion of regenerative braking means that the re-engineered vehicle will be able to attain ‘new train’ performance with lower operational costs compared to the original Class 317 units, all without having to build a new train.

The retractioned unit will benefit in five key ways: 1. Better performance – improved acceleration providing faster journey times 2. Reduced maintenance – AC traction motors mean that no more brush changes are required and the time between maintenance overhauls can be significantly increased 3. Greater reliability – replacement traction system will provide performance more akin to a new train 4. Reduced environmental impact – under optimal conditions Class 317 will use up to 40 per cent less power 5. Lower cost – significant reductions in maintenance and operating costs.

Angel Trai ns

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ZOS Zvolen

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A local partner Železnicné opravovne a strojárne Zvolen a.s., (ZOS Zvolen) has long history dating back 140 years and is today one of the Slovakia’s most significant rail company focused on the maintenance and modernisation of locomotives and railcars.

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he company’s history begins in 1872 at the beginning of Slovakia’s rail industry, where it undertook the construction of the country’s first locomotive powered railway lines and depots.

During this time it operated as part of The Rail Company of the Slovak Republic, however during 1994 ZOS Zvolen reached one of its most important milestones when it split from Slovakia’s state rail company to become a jointstock venture. The repair manufactory Zvolen owned the company until 2008 when Zvolen became part of the ZOS Trnava Group, which is when the ZOS Zvolen brand was born.

The development of ZOS Zvolen is closely linked to the shifting political situation in the region and its impact

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on the railway sector throughout the early 1990s. After the end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia at the end of 1989 and the dissolution of the country into the two individual states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (Slovakia) in 1992, major reforms to how the rail industry was operated throughout Slovakia brought a significant shift in the market. Therefore, ZOS Zvolen adapted its services to best serve the new state’s rail needs as sales director, Vladimír Kaeuk explains: “Up until the beginning of the 1990s the main focus of the company was maintenance, mainly on locomotives and we were entirely focused on the market in Slovakia. At that time the state railway company ran the network and we provided services for all of the locomotives in the country. Then the beginning of the transformation process started and a lot of changes came to the market and therefore a lot of challenges for the market players.

At that time we decided that the maintenance business would not be large enough to support the company and would not provide enough of a base to develop the company in the future.

“We then began refurbishment and development services,” Vladimir continues. “Many of the operated locomotives were produced 30 to 40 years ago and the rail companies did not have enough finance to purchase brand new machines, so there was a compromise of modernization of the locomotives. In our region, ZOS Zvolen was able to totally rebuild locomotives. This means that the newly refurbished locomotive retains the original frame, but all of the other fittings and devices are totally new.”

Today, ZOS Zvolen is focused on three main areas that form the basis of its wider market strategy. The company retains its traditional market in maintenance, which remains steady within the domestic market and continues to manage a series of modernization projects

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz for rail networks internationally. The company has two distinct divisions that offer targeted solutions based on the customer’s needs. LOKO focuses on repair and maintenance operations, while the MP (machinery production) division takes on production, welding and renovations. These divisions supply detailed services including the replacement of engines, regular V25regulated vehicle examinations, welded structures for railway vehicles and the supply of components to domestic and foreign customers in the field of production and repair of railway vehicles. The company’s third branch is focused on the supply of components to the main operators throughout the railways industry, including ALSTOM, STADLER, Bombardier and ŠKODA Transportation.

Domestically, ZOS Zvolen is connected to the most dominant partners within Slovakia’s rail industry: ZSSK Cargo and ZSSK Slovakia. This local business remains a vital component within the company’s overall portfolio and provides the base from which it is able to expand into further markets within the EU and Asia. It maintains close relations to operators within nations close to Slovakia including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and Austria as well as former Balkan states including Serbia. Currently it is engaged in a major contract in the Ukraine where it will soon service up to 300 locomotives over the next five to six years and is in negotiation for a further large contract in Russia.

The company is also active within Asian markets, which yield the potential for greater market presence in the future, as Vladimir elaborates: “We are beginning to enter wider markets throughout the world including Asia, which is a different market for us and can be challenging taking into account different engineering practices and language barriers. However, we have had some interesting work for clients in Asia in countries like Pakistan and India. These have been successful but we are still making a decision over whether we will fully enter the region.”

Commenting on the company’s possible future strategy in Asia Vladimir continues: “I think the most acceptable business model will be to co-operate with local companies, with which we can provide technical engineering, design and technical support, training of staff and the main elements for the refurbishment & modernization of their locomotives. This could be very successful and is a model that has been proven in Eastern Europe. This gives us an advantage because very often, local customers do not like all-in-one solutions because they like some level of localization. This is something we can do that larger players cannot. We are able to understand the customer’s requirements and build them into the customer’s project.”

The financial crisis has put a strain on rail operators and in turn weakened the maintenance market, but ZOS Zvolen is a dynamic company ready to meet the challenge as Vladimir concludes: “The financial crisis

has caused the value of transport services and the maintenance market to decrease year-on-year. On the other hand, the modernization market continues to grow and our third field of manufacturing new components in co-operation with other operators is also growing, so we are very optimistic.” zz

Knorr-Bremse The Knorr-Bremse Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles with more than 100 years of experience. For more than 100 years now the company has pioneered the development, production, marketing and servicing of state-of-the-art braking systems. With RailServices, Knorr-Bremse provides the ideal tailor made service package as maintenance, overhaul and repair of brake systems and on-board systems for every train operators´ requirement, whether for freight wagons, tramways, metros or for locomotives and high-speed trains. To achieve this, performance, quality and presence form the cornerstones of a service package which is unique in Europe.

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Corrosion & Painting

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Network Rail’s Autumn Seasonal Fleet of 17,000 litre water bowsers were rehabilitated by the author’s company ahead of this year’s leaves on the line campaign

The right coating can make it better than new When it comes to managing fluid containment vessels and associated infrastructure, DAN MACDONALD advocates the use of a coating or re-lining approach rather than complete replacement of supposedly life-expired plant

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t is often said that we live in a throw-away age, where it is easier to buy a replacement than try to fix something. This may be alright for things like mobile phones and iPods, but it is another matter when you consider large pieces of capital equipment worth thousands, or even tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds.

This is where industrial coatings come in. They can prevent equipment failing due to corrosion and erosion in the first place, or make it as good as, or even better than, new if a problem does occur.

Repairing a corroded vessel, before and after

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The cost of corrosion in the UK is around four per cent of GDP per annum, but these are costs that can be cut when it is realised that not everything that is corroded necessarily needs replacing. It is no-longer the case that a corroded tank, pipe, pump or other vessel, needs to be replaced; even ones with numerous holes. One way of achieving this is rebuilding corroded or damaged areas with appropriate material and lining the vessel to protect and extend its life.

Anyone who has ever repaired a boat or a canoe will be familiar with the basic principle. You use some

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz suitable material and GRP to repair the hole and then use further GRP layers and other coatings, until the boat is not only watertight but also looks as good as new.

While slightly different materials are used, and in industrial strength, the principle is the same.

These lining methods are a very effective alternative solution to replacement in terms of costs, time and environmental impact. For example, there is no necessity to dispose of contaminated equipment, to dig anything up or knock anything down to deal with the problem. The same methodology can also be employed to extend the life of new plant and equipment and older equipment can be updated to comply with new legislation.

Storage tanks in buildings are, in many instances, put in place and the building is constructed around them; some are even part of the structure. This means that to replace or renew them, when they corrode or start to leak, is difficult and in some instances impossible.

The answer is to repair and, in some cases, even re-build the tank using a GRP laminate system, effectively making a tank within a tank.

The same method can also be used on outside tanks, underground tanks and even rolling stock. For example, we recently completed the lining of 125 of Network Rail’s 17,000 litre water bowsers used in its Autumn Seasonal Fleet to remove the notorious leaves on the line.

Work in progress on Network Rail’s fleet of 17,000 litre water bowsers

The effective use of coatings can be employed when a change of service conditions in a tank would be advantageous. For example, redundant diesel tanks can, through the use of coatings, be changed to water storage tanks. This effectively recycles the tank, reduces the carbon footprint and saves the costs of a new tank and removal of the old tank.

Large fuel storage tanks can also have their life extended in a similar way. The bottom of the tank and walls, up to around 300mm above the floor, suffer from various forms of corrosion, mainly due to the water content in the fuel; the environmental fall-out along with the subsequent associated costs should a leak occur are immense. A cost effective and environmentally friendly solution is to line these areas with a suitable coating and if required this could be reinforced with a laminate system to strengthen the floor.

It is a wise precaution to implement a regular programme of inspections to monitor the condition of plant, tanks, pipework and equipment, so that damage and wear and tear can be identified early and rectified before it causes a major problem, costly down-time and either replacement or expensive repairs.

An additional bonus is the fact that a longer warranty period can often be obtained for something that has been repaired and lined than the manufacturer will offer on brand-new equipment. A typical manufacturer’s warranty will be two to three years at most, whereas coatings companies usually offer up to ten years, depending on the environment and proposed use.

While the main thrust of this article is to encourage repair, rather than replacement, through the use of coatings, it would not be complete without looking briefly at some of the other cost-effective uses that are relevant to the rail industry.

For example, operators can improve the environmental credentials of rail companies while protecting them from future costs by ensuring that fuel storage tanks do not leak and, if they do, that the lining of the secondary containment bunds that should surround static tanks are in fact leak-tight and comply with the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) Regulations 2001.

A similar situation can occur at refuelling sites where, no matter how careful personnel are, spills will occassionally occur, and a properly coated containment apron will prevent these spills leaching into the ground and eventually leading to a long-term contamination problem.

The safety aspects of coatings are now also being discovered by the rail industry. We have coating systems which will provide a non-slip safety surface to station platforms. The process we use is very quick to apply and the coating is very fast curing; a matter of hours, so the disruption to the station is kept to a minimum. zz

Dan Macdonald is managing director, Repair Protection & Maintenance Ltd Web:

www.rpmltd.co.uk

Anti-slip surfacing can be applied to steep walkways as well as flat platforms

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Engineering

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Handle with care!

MALCOLM WATSON and TONY SYNNOTT discuss best practice in mounting, handling and checking the operational functionality of newly mounted rolling bearings

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hen mounting, checking or handling a bearing, the process needs due care and consideration in order to ensure the product’s longevity and effectiveness. If they are not handled correctly, bearings can be prone to failing quickly and unexpectedly, but some basic checks will help avoid some of the common problems associated with their handling and usage.

General tips on handling Since rolling bearings are high-precision machine parts, they must be handled carefully. Even high-quality bearings will not deliver the desired service life and performance quality if they are not handled used and maintained correctly.

However, observing a few basic precautions will help negate the possibilities of premature failure. Firstly, the

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bearing and its surroundings must be kept clean.

The presence of any dust and dirt – even particles not visible to the human eye – is one of the key causes of bearing failure.

Bearings must also be protected from corrosion.

Perspiration on the hands and a variety of other contaminants may cause corrosion, so hands should be clean and dry before handling bearings, with gloves worn if possible.

Care should also be taken when handling the bearing itself. Heavy shocks may scratch or cause other damage to the bearing, while physical impact may result in brinelling, breaking or cracking.

The proper tools should always be used for any work involving bearings – general purpose tools should be avoided. The manufacturer’s instructions are generally the best place to start for a guide on this.

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Mounting The mounting process is absolutely key to the bearing’s running accuracy, life and performance, therefore the manufacturer’s mounting instructions should be followed precisely. Failure to do so could result not just in premature failure but in damage to other components, unscheduled downtime and invalidation of the product warranty.

In the first instance, the bearing and any surrounding components should be thoroughly cleaned and dried, with the dimensions and finish conditions of related parts then checked.

The mounting procedure should then be followed.

Since most bearings rotate with the shaft, the bearing mounting method is generally an interference (tight) fit for the inner ring and shaft, with a clearance (loose) fit for the outer ring and housing. The correct type and quantity of lubricant should be applied.

After mounting the bearing, an operating test should be undertaken to verify that the mounting has been carried out correctly.

be turned on and operated at a low speed without a load, gradually increasing the speed and load till the typical rating is reached.

Checks should be made at this stage for irregular noise, bearing temperature rise, lubricant leakage and lubricant discoloration.

Several types of noise may be heard. A loud metallic sound can be caused by an abnormal load, incorrect mounting, insufficient or incorrect lubricant, or contact with rotating parts. A loud regular sound can be the result of brinelling or flaws, corrosion, scratches or flaking on the raceways. Meanwhile, an irregular sound will be heard in the event of excessive clearance, penetration of foreign particles, or flaws or flaking on balls.

An abnormal temperature rise is frequently the result of lubrication issues – either too much or too little, or the wrong type. However, it can also be caused by an abnormal load, incorrect mounting, ‘creep’ on the fitted surface, or excessive seal friction.

Brinelling, flaking, incorrect mounting and foreign particle penetration can all contribute to excessive vibration or axial runout. Lubricant leakage or discoloration is usually the result of overzealous application, or the ingress of foreign matter or abrasion chips.

In the event of any of these occurring, the appropriate remedial action should be taken immediately. Failure to do so will almost inevitably result in failure of the bearing, with the likelihood of associated damage to other components.

Once the bearing has passed all these checks and is fully operational, it is good practice to check the bearings on a regular basis with the aim of identifying any damaged or failing components as early as possible. zz

For further details visit www.brammeruk.com

Malcolm Watson has worked for Brammer for 39 years in roles including branch, regional and field sales management roles. For the last 16 years he has been working in product management covering both seals and bearings

Tony Synnott is currently working for NSK as engineering manager for the UK Sales department heading a team of application engineers providing service to both OEM and aftermarket engineering sales activity.

Checks & common faults On small machines operated manually, the bearing should be turned by hand. Checks should be made for stick-slip – these will be manifested in the form of debris, cracks and dents; uneven rotating torque, which generally indicates faulty mounting; and excessive torque, which again shows either a mounting error or insufficient radial internal clearance.

Once these checks are complete, the machine should

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Business Improvement

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New TBM Management System guarantees business growth Using the proprietary four-step approach, businesses can expect to see three-fold increases in top-line sales and two-fold increases in EBITDA

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BM Consulting Group, a global operations management consulting firm that maximises value and accelerates growth through improving business performance announces a new offering – the TBM Management System.

After more than two decades working with clients across the globe to improve business performance, TBM has developed its own proprietary system of tools and processes that ensures sustainable business improvement.

This TBM Management System, based on best practices and a lot of customer projects, creates visibility for strategic goals, ensures alignment, and empowers employees to get focused on the initiatives that matter most.

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The system connects the business strategy to everyday operations with a constant focus on results and measurement. The system recognises the differences between the company’s expected performance goals and the current performance situation, and prevents deviations from occurring or corrects them when they do. It helps employees at every level to make the correct decisions, which allows the management team to fully concentrate on business strategy and development.

There are four phases within the TBM Management System: l TBM and the client work together to

develop the business strategy which includes all business divisions. The yearly strategic objectives in the operational units are then fed down in line with the Policy Deployment which drives the rating of key performance indicators (KPIs) throughout the entire business. l The KPIs are fixed in all departments.

Performance management is separated into five main categories: S (Safety), Q (Quality), D (Delivery), C (Cost), and P (Performance).

SQDCP boards are used so everyone can see at a glance what the current problems are, what needs to be done, and who’s responsible for making sure they are resolved. The boards also serve as focal points for daily walk-throughs by management team members.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz TBM’s work with Eurostar

l TBM has been working with Eurostar at our Temple Mills depot for over three years now. Initially they were brought in to provide education on LEAN, and to start a programme of Kaizen events within the depot.

The 48 Kaizen events that have taken place over the last three years have been interspersed with regular follow-up events, and the reconvening of the event teams has meant that over 100 gatherings have taken place in total.

When we started the programme, we soon discovered that the biggest challenge would be to change the culture, which had been embedded in the depot for such a long time. It took two years to change – much longer than we had initially anticipated. This was partly due to the fact that the Kaizen and LEAN Production System was presented to us as the latest ‘initiative’. In the railway engineering environment we have seen many initiatives discussed over the last 30 years and so, rightly or wrongly, there is often scepticism around the term and how long the latest ‘initiative’ might be in place before the next one is introduced!

However, after a slower start than we expected, I am pleased to say that the culture has well and truly changed.

The Business Improvement Team works alongside the engineers and their input is well received by all as they help to turn good ideas into action. The change is permanent and here to stay.

Another key learning we took from the first year of the programme is that it’s much harder to make changes unless the whole team – right from the shop floor to the management – is on board.

Some of the best improvements and biggest savings that we have seen have come from some very surprising areas.

It has been proved many times that, until you take the time to investigate and look into a process, you don’t know what you can find. My advice would be not to pre-judge a process – you don’t know until you try.

Example of business improvement: The introduction of calibrated digital torque wrenches As part of the business improvement team at Eurostar, Mick Watts uses the TBM management system to systematically investigate business processes to find out if there’s a better process to maximise efficiency.

He says some of the biggest surprises have come from processes that they had thought were absolutely fine; one of which related to their process for tightening safety critical fastenings on the underside of a train.

A simple task you might think but to tighten the nuts and bolts on just one component could take up to 20 minutes due to a six minute walk to reset a regular torque wrench. They would reset the wrench three times which could involve walking the full length of the train (394 metres) back to the manual settings station. The new digital torque wrenches are calibrated to deliver the exact force required and take only a few seconds to adjust. These will be rolled out across the relevant areas of the business and will be a lot more time-efficient for the teams on the shop floor.

Today our aim is to systematically work through all our processes and not allow them to go too long without a review. We have three Kaizen Promotion Officers trained within the depot and plan to have two more in the next few months. Mick Watts, business improvement manager, Eurostar

l A team-based inter-divisional problem solving culture is introduced. The management team reviews the KPIs as needed – in general daily – and on a weekly / monthly basis the long-term strategic goals. Corrective measures such as fault prevention and troubleshooting must be implemented at this stage. Commitment is required from the total workforce for continuous and sustainable improvements. l TBM consultants coach business leaders on how to push through and guide cultural change within their organisations through appropriate leadership.

The multi-level approach of the TBM Management System has proven successful in

its implementation with pilot customers. The connection between everyday operational execution and long-term strategic goals as well as the empowerment of employees at every level to proactively contribute to solving business problems has been proven to significantly enhance a company’s competitiveness and market growth.

“We‘ve developed the TBM Management System based on our long-term experience with various management tools and hands-on customer projects. The TBM Management System consolidates this experience into a framework that we use for each and every customer project. Our approach is to implement sustainable process improvements

and establish a problem-solving culture within organisations which enables the individual employee to make quick decisions, thereby relieving the burden from management and, in turn, causing a substantial increase in efficiency,” explained Richard Holland, vice president TBM Europe. zz

Web: www.tbmcg.com

Richard

Holland

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Excess

baggage

KEVIN PRICE looks at how rail organisations across the world can tap into more than £40 trillion worth of savings using a new breed of industryspecialised EAM system

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ccording to a new report (Reference 1) from the International Energy Agency, policies which improve the energy efficiency of urban transport systems could help to save as much as $70 trillion (over £44 trillion) in spending on vehicles, fuel and infrastructure between now and 2050.

With energy consumption for transport in cities expected to double by 2050, transport organisations face a seemingly impossible challenge – to continuously improve safety and service, while reducing costs from their complex infrastructure and asset networks.

Tracking assets Asset management in the rail industry is a hugely complex discipline as it encompasses high volumes of discrete and linked assets – all of which must be managed cohesively to ensure the core objectives of safety, service and efficiency are achieved. Effectively managing a programme which spans overhead lines, tracks, tunnels, ticket machines, barriers, escalators and signalling simply cannot be achieved through traditional Computerised Maintenance and Management Systems (CMMS) or generalist Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems.

Many EAM systems were built primarily to serve industrial and manufacturing industries and while their core objectives – maximising the lifecycle of equipment; increasing operating capital; reducing downtime; improving safety and compliance; and enhancing customer service – might be similar, the specific needs, activities and types of assets of rail organisations are very different.

A train company for example has a lot of linear assets such as rail tracks and overhead power lines, the condition of which can vary from section to section.

Overhead power lines on railways typically sag over time, and as a result, the train simply won’t attach. If this situation is allowed to occur, it will not only cause major problems in terms of train punctuality, but the line is

difficult to inspect and would cause immense disruption.

Through viewing the overhead lines as a linear asset, which is monitored not as a finite entity but as a series of segments, sagging can be tracked and addressed before it become a costly problem.

Train companies have numerous types of vehicle within their organisations which have different engines and parts, and are subject to varying maintenance regimes and individual warranties. Highly detailed information is required on the entire fleet in order to make accurate predictions on engine wear and tear, fuel consumption and punctuality, all of which impact the cost and reliability of a service.

However without a means of tracking this diverse data, cost savings and reliability cannot be optimised.

A micro-vertical approach The nuances of the rail industry, combined with the need for large scale efficiencies and service improvements, require highly sophisticated, industry-specific EAM capabilities.

Such applications must be able to monitor a diverse range of assets, including point, linear, vertical, networked and componentised, in a live environment. These asset types have varying properties as the follow illustrates.

Linear The ability to monitor linear assets in transportation is crucial as railway tracks, overhead power lines, bridges, tunnels and roads are technically classed as one asset, however their condition varies from section to section adding complexity to the process.

Point The most straightforward type of asset, this refers to a single, discrete asset such as a shelter or bench.

Networked Networked assets rely on each other in order to provide a service. Signalling equipment and information screens are good examples.

Vertical This might be signage or signalling at a particular station

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz which runs off the rail organisation’s core infrastructure.

Componentised Component-based assets might be anything from an escalator to an underground train – an asset which is composed of multiple parts.

One of the problems for rail organisations is that, in the past, they have been forced to use multiple solutions to manage their assets as EAM providers typically have niche capabilities which support a specific area or type of asset.

This inevitably presents complexities in terms of integration and maintenance, and quite often leaves gaps which must then be addressed through manual processes.

However a new breed of applications not only provide both the breadth and depth to support every type of asset used in rail, but they feed live data into a central system which, using social, analytical, mobile and cloud capabilities, can present the information in a format which is tailored specifically to the preferences of the user.

Crucially, these are ‘off-the-shelf’ applications designed specifically for the transit industry that require no costly customisation.

These new capabilities are being enhanced further through a number of other areas which are gaining momentum in the transport industry. Technological

Asset Management

standards are evolving and helping to facilitate a shift from analogue to digital monitoring equipment, improving the speed and reliability of data capture.

And the adoption of asset management industry standards and best practice such as ISO 50001 and PAS 55 is strong in this sector, driven in part by the transparency demanded by regulators following privatisation in the UK utilities and transport sectors.

Uptake of PAS 55 is common amongst transport companies and in many cases they have led the charge over their industrial counterparts. In conjunction with the right software, standards such as ISO 50001, ISO 55000 (when available), and PAS 55 provide improved structure, stronger momentum and greater coherency.

Adopting this kind of best practice combined with highly specialised capabilities for rail organisations will set the leaders from the laggards in this sector, and undoubtedly generate a proportion of the USD 70 trillion savings earmarked for the transport sector in the coming years. zz

Reference Reference 1: www.iea.org/publications/ freepublications/publication/name,39940,en.html

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Kevin Price is product director, Infor EAM. Web: www.infor.com

MetroRail co-located with Light Rail, RailTel, Rail Power and Air Rail 1-2nd April 2014 Business Design Centre, London It’s all about urban transit l As cities and passenger numbers grow, urban transport is becoming increasingly connected.

Building on ten years of MetroRail, the urban rail show is designed to help you cover every aspect of urban rail in just two days. No matter where your interest lies – light rail, heavy rail or infrastructure – we have content, networking and new partners for you.

The event incorporates: MetroRail – network management, operations and global projects Light Rail – planning, design and implementation RailTel – signalling, telecommunications and automation Rail Power – energy efficiency, storage and recovery Air Rail – integrating airports with urban transport networks

Key speakers include: Terry Morgan, Chairman, Crossrail Mike Brown, Managing Director, Transport for London Pierre Mongin, Chairman & CEO, RATP Andy Byford, CEO, TTC (Toronto) Peter Dijk, CEO, Amsterdam Metro

Ibrahim K. Kutubkhanah, CEO, Jeddah Metro Andrew Bata, CSO, New York City Transit Dan Grabauskas, CEO, HART (Honolulu) Ramon Canas, CEO, Metro De Santiago Didier Bense, Board Member, Société du Grand Paris Anne-Grethe Foss, Deputy Chief Executive, Metroselskabet (Copenhagen) Aurelio Rojo Garrido, Secretary General, Alamys Duncan Cross, Deputy Director Operations, London Overground & Crossrail Peter Cushing, Metrolink Director, Transport for Greater Manchester Geoff Inskip, CEO, Centro (Birmingham) David Potter, Chief Engineer, Eko Rail (Lagos) For more details, please download the event brochure here: http://www.terrapinn.com/RS-brochure

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Depots & Maintenance

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Raising the standard KEVIN LACEY considers the role of maintenance, repair and overhaul product standardisation in operational and commercial success

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he process of purchasing and managing tools, maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO) and health & safety products for manufacturing and process facilities can be a complicated one, requiring hundreds or even thousands of stockkeeping units (SKUs) to be available whenever and wherever they are needed on-site.

This means that significant amounts of cash can be tied up in slow-moving products, while there may be little thought given to whether these products are delivering optimal performance and value, with the same product simply reordered whenever stocks run low.

In a bid to simplify the process and reduce working capital, many companies have in recent years been taking a long, hard look at the process to see how it can be improved.

One of the areas where the greatest impact is consistently achieved is in ‘standardisation’ – minimising as far as possible the number of different brands and models of product used for the same task, while ensuring there is no compromise on performance, quality or safety.

Typically undertaken as part of an overall improvement initiative, standardisation can rapidly deliver a measurable commercial return.

How it works – a simple example

Kevin Lacey is marketing & growth director at Buck & Hickman Web: www. buckandhickmanuk.com

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In one facility handling sensitive metals, glass is banned completely in one area of the factory because of its propensity to contaminate the products being manufactured. Because of the nature of the tasks being performed in this section, the risk of cuts to the hands had been assessed as the highest possible, meaning all operatives working there were required to wear safety gloves with the maximum Level 5 protection. After some searching, a glass-free glove offering the required protection was sourced, but this did not negate the contamination issue. Operatives working in other, less sensitive areas of the factory were still wearing around a dozen other types of gloves, many of them containing glass, but on occasion still had to enter the glass-free area, with the potential that they may forget to remove or

change their gloves when they did so. And as many of the different glove types looked very similar, there was a real risk that an operative could inadvertently choose the wrong type.

The answer lay in standardising the gloves in use in the factory. An internal study revealed that the Level 5 glassfree gloves could be used throughout the factory without any impact on productivity while negating any risk of glass contamination. The estimated annual cost saving – based on zero waste due to glass contamination, reduced downtime, and fewer SKUs needing to be ordered and processed, exceeded £100,000.

The role of standardisation in optimising productivity and efficiency It is not only in the area of safety where standardisation can play a role. Production consumables can be standardised for both operational and commercial gain, too. In the area of abrasive discs and belts, for example, it is not uncommon for companies to source and stock multiple grades of product to cope with all stages of the process from weld and burr removal to finer cosmetic finishing. Yet innovation in recent years has created abrasive products that not only reduce the number of process stages required (and therefore the number of different belts or discs needed) but last longer too.

While the initial purchase price of these new items may exceed that of the existing products, the true value they can offer will only be appreciated through a study of whole-life costs and, of course, trials under real operating conditions. Considered in these calculations must be factors such as a comparison of processing time, changeover time, and reject rates. Standardisation in this area will only work if the operatives using the new

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz consumables buy into the process and are fully trained in getting the best out of them. Incorrect product choice by the operative, poor technique, and disposal of consumable products which may still have useful life in them – simply because they have always been changed at those intervals – will all conspire to ensure that any potential cost savings identified at the outset are not fully realised. Hand in hand with the standardisation of products, therefore, must go a process to standardise procedures to ensure maximum value is extracted from the change.

A model for success How can the benefits of standardisation be delivered, in pressured production environments where the interests and motivators of different stakeholders in the process – financial directors, quality managers, purchasing teams, production managers, health & safety specifiers, and production operatives – may vary radically?

The initial opportunity for standardisation can be identified internally or externally by a consultant or supplier.

An initial feasibility study should set targets for the project which are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound objectives. Once these are agreed, with a documented projection of financial benefits, buy-in should be sought from key stakeholders such as

the head of production and financial decision-makers, before the procurement team are involved. The next stage is the establishment of an ‘integrated product team’ (IPT) who will agree timescales and location for the trial. The trial then takes place, with the IPT evaluating the results and then preparing a final evaluation against the original objectives and proposal for sign-off by all stakeholders.

The full project is then implemented, with training and induction for those individuals involved in the changeover, measured and continuously monitored against the objectives set.

While SKU numbers will almost inevitably fall, with a positive impact on cash flow, standardisation should not be considered solely as a means of reducing the costs of MRO purchases. In some instances initial purchase costs may increase as the value and compensation they offer will appear elsewhere on the balance sheet. Best value will be extracted through taking a holistic view with a scientific approach to assessing the return on investment at every stage of each project.

Planned and managed effectively, in conjunction with a partner who can provide independent advice alongside a broad product range and ongoing technical support, a product standardisation programme has the potential to deliver significant operational and commercial benefits. zz

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FIRST GROUP

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Keep moving As the UK’s largest and most experienced rail operator, FirstGroup is looking forward to the upcoming franchise competitions and submitting further high quality bids that deliver value for passengers, taxpayers and shareholders

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early a year and two independent reviews later, short-term contract extensions have been implemented and promises to improve the Government’s overall franchising policy made. In March 2013 Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin 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.

Dealing with this period of uncertainty is undoubtedly an ongoing challenge, but as Vernon Barker, the managing director of FirstGroup’s UK Rail Division was keen to highlight, the most important thing has been to continue with ‘business as usual’ for passengers. “At

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FirstGroup we made sure that we remained focused on the day job – we still have to deliver for our customers and run the train services we have in existing franchises.

We couldn’t afford for any interruption of the franchising programme to interfere with what we do on a daily basis for customers,” he began. “So we made sure that we maintained our standards and also continued with any planned improvements as usual across all our franchises, and that included First Great Western and First Capital Connect, which were two of the refranchising businesses at the time. We ensured that we focused on delivering and improving on our current levels of service.”

He continued with some details about how the Great Western franchise specifically has been affected: “First

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Great Western and First Capital Connect were still very much at the front end of the refranchising programme,” he said. “With First Great Western we entered into negotiation with the Department for Transport and were awarded a 23 month deal in October, which means First Greater Western Ltd will operate trains between London Paddington, the Cotswolds, south Wales and the south west until September 2015.

“This direct award was really encouraging for us, and was very much the right thing to do for passenger services. The Great Western franchise area is going to see some significant change over the coming years while it receives the benefit of massive investment in electrification, new rolling stock and the infrastructure

programmes that are already underway, such as the Reading station remodelling. This two-year singletender direct award will help to maintain stability for customers while going through a front-end period of transformation.”

Vernon added: “I think there is a lot of really positive change coming for the Great Western franchise and customers, and we are working to remain there and see the delivery through. My colleagues on Great Western have been through some tough challenges, primarily the infrastructure projects, up to this point so it would be very nice to be there delivering on some of the very positive stuff.”

The other FirstGroup franchise that is hoping to receive a short direct order is First Capital Connect and negotiations with the DfT are progressing well.

Furthermore, as recently as 1st November, FirstGroup announced it had been shortlisted for the ScotRail franchise competition by the Scottish Government. The Group currently operates the franchise which provides passenger train services throughout Scotland. The new ten-year contract, with a potential break point after five years, will be awarded next year and is expected to start in April 2015.

Vernon was delighted to have been shortlisted for the ScotRail franchise competition, and he is also pleased to see that the Government has set a detailed transparent timetable for the receipt of bids on the two recently issued invitations to tender (ITT) for the Essex Thameside and Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchises. “It is encouraging that these two franchises, which were paused this time last year, will be let and that bids have to be in before Christmas,” he said. “I think that is really important and I would encourage the DfT to stick to that strategy as there is quite a bit of work to be done over the next few years and these deadlines are essential, especially given all the work yet to complete on the Thameslink upgrade and the receipt of new trains.”

Following the intense scrutiny that the franchising process has seen over the past 11 months, Vernon was glad to see that the conclusions drawn endorsed the Government’s overall franchising policy, and highlighted that the privatisation of the railways has been of crucial importance in creating what is today – an industry with record levels of investment, a doubling of traffic (from 750 million journeys a year to 1.5 billion) and the best recent safety record in Europe.

“I echo many of the comments that have been made across the summer since the production of the industry’s Growth and Prosperity report, which does show that while it is has had challenges, the franchising model has actually delivered the greatest growth the industry has seen in living memory,” he added.

He went on with more specifics about FirstGroup’s franchises: “I think that FirstGroup has been instrumental in delivering a good number of new train fleets into our

Vernon Barker, managing director of FirstGroup’s UK Rail Division

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franchises. In fact, since we have been operating our successive businesses as franchises we have introduced a new fleet of trains on every one of them in order to cope with increasing passenger demands. Overall, I think privatisation has been a success story.”

An essential part of FirstGroup’s successful franchising operations has been its strong relationship with Network Rail. Vernon noted that this has been essential to the delivery of a variety of projects, including one north of the border in Scotland. “The alliance we formed with Network Rail and ScotRail was pivotal in delivering the

Unipart Over a number of years, FirstGroup and Unipart Rail have been clear and consistent in their intentions to work collaboratively in order to create joint value and support each other in delivering their growth objectives.

Each organisation decided to seek accreditation for the recently established BS 11000 certification for ‘Collaborative Business Relationship Management’ in order to further develop and evidence their current and future collaborative practices with their respective suppliers and customers. Subsequently, both organisations were delighted to achieve certification. Commenting on behalf of Unipart Rail, Isabelle Lloyd, Sales and Customer Service Director stated that: “The key concept behind BS 11000 is that organisations that work together can achieve much more than they can achieve alone and this has long been recognised within both FirstGroup and Unipart Group. We are delighted to have supported FirstGroup in their journey to the certification to the new British Standard and grateful for their contribution to our own certification.”

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Paisley Canal Electrification, which otherwise would not have gone ahead based on the initial cost estimates,” he explained. “By adopting a more proactive alliance approach, the operator and Network Rail managed to get the costs significantly reduced. In addition the alliance’s strategy for possessions worked for both parties, as it gave Network Rail better access and got the job done in a shorter period of time.”

Indeed, such was the success of the Paisley Canal Electrification project that ScotRail and its partner, Network Rail, scooped top prize in the ‘Transport Team / Partnership of the Year’ category at the National Transport Awards in October 2013.

“The solutions they created were very, very clever, and it is a great example of how working together on a project means it can be completed at less cost, implemented on time and as a result delivered benefits for transport across Scotland,” noted Vernon.

Back in England, Network Rail’s work with the operator on the redevelopment of Reading station has been crucial in the project’s evolution, as has First Capital Connect’s work with Network Rail on the Blackfriars scheme in 2012 and the London Bridge works due in 2015.

Added Vernon: “I must also highlight First

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz TransPennine Express’s work with Network Rail on the electrification of the Chat Moss route and the wider Northern Hub developments. Our electric trains are being delivered over the next few months and these will allow First TransPennine Express to transform its offering from Manchester airport and add extra capacity and a strengthened timetable on other diesel routes when we cascade the diesel trains from the northwest to crossPennine services.

“The Northern Hub is a programme of a number of different projects that include some spectacular engineering feats, such as putting extra platforms in at Manchester Piccadilly. In fact, through a strong relationship with Network Rail we have been quietly delivering a raft of significant improvements around the UK, including some in the core of London.”

Since first getting involved in the UK rail industry, FirstGroup has introduced 740 additional vehicles and invested over £650 million into its franchises. As a result of its hard work and dedication, the four franchises have received more than 250 awards since 2005, including First TransPennine Express being crowned the 2012 Rail Business Awards Train Operator of the Year and First ScotRail currently holds the title of Scottish Public Transport Operator of the Year. Vernon concluded with

Wabtec

his views in why FirstGroup is good at what it does: “I am always impressed with the people I meet in our organisation, across all the franchises,” he said. “We have got a strong and committed management team and I think throughout the business we have staff that really have the interests of the customer at heart.

“I do genuinely believe that our people come to work to deliver good service to our customers and they consistently try their hardest to deliver. Overall, we remain focused on getting things right first time and running an on-time railway, and after all – that is what our customers are looking for.” zz

www.firstgroup.com/uktrain

The Wabtec Group is one of the UK’s leading railway engineering companies, undertaking the maintenance, overhaul, refurbishment, life extension and repair of railway rolling stock and associated components.

Through the combined resources of Wabtec Rail Limited, Wabtec Rail Scotland, Brush Traction and LH, we are able to provide rolling stock owners, passenger train and freight operators a range of services that cover all aspects of railway rolling stock maintenance, overhaul and refurbishment.

For further information visit: www.wabtegroup.com

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NEWS I Stations

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Network Rail

Tottenham Hale to be a landmark station

Demolition under way on the east side of Birmingham New Street station

New Street’s east-side transformation begins

The design image for Ealing Broadway station

Crossrail

l Work has begun to transform the east side of Birmingham’s New Street station, which was the main station entrance until the opening of the new concourse in April this year. The original, 1960s-style concrete façade has been a familiar sight on the Birmingham skyline for the last 50 years, but is now being removed in large sections as the transformation from pebbledash to the stunning stainless steel cladding which will transform the exterior of the station begins. The project will also deliver better pedestrian connections across the city and new public space in the heart of the city centre. The project completes in 2015.

l Plans to transform Tottenham Hale into a landmark station, with greater capacity and step-free access for interchanging passengers, have been announced by Transport for London (TfL) as part of its Tube Improvement Programme. The plans are part of a committed package of transport improvements, which includes a £54 million investment from TfL. The proposed station improvements are funded through £20 million from TfL’s Unlocking New Growth Areas fund and also include a contribution from the Mayor’s Recovery Fund. Subject to approval of the planning application, work is expected to start on site in 2015 and be completed approximately 18 months from then.

Plans for Ealing Broadway Station prefabrication l On Monday 9th December, the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and Crossrail chief executive Andrew Wolstenholme visited Laing O’Rourke’s state-of-the-art factory in Steetley, in the East Midlands, where the construction of Crossrail’s new Custom House station is underway. Large sections of the station are being built in Steetley and then transported more than 130 miles to East London and assembled on site. This process saves time and money and ensures that disruption to residents, existing rail services and the nearby ExCeL London conference centre are minimised as far as possible.

l When Crossrail fully opens in 2019, up to ten services an hour in each direction will serve Ealing Broadway, allowing passengers to get to a range of destinations more quickly and easily. The station will be an interchange with the District and Central line on the Underground as well as National Rail services. The proposed plans, which have been submitted to the London Borough of Ealing, would replace the existing cramped entrance and ticket hall with a new glass structure that would let in much more natural light and be significantly more spacious. In addition, new lifts and staircases will make it easier for passengers to get around the station.

Crossrail

Overview of the Steetley plant

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Network Rail

l Network Rail has completed a project to refurbish historic Hellifield station in the Yorkshire Dales. Built of iron and glass, the station canopy is over 130 years old and was last refurbished in the mid 1990s.

Network Rail, alongside its contractor J Murphy & Sons, has now completed a £550,000 project to repair and redecorate the station canopies structural steelwork and replace all the glazing panels.

Artist’s impression of the newly-refurbished ticket hall

First Capital Connect

Hellifield transformed

Stevenage station refurbishment set to begin l First Capital Connect has announced that Stevenage station, which is the start or end point for more than four million journeys every year, is to benefit from lifts that passengers can operate themselves, and a smart new concourse and ticket hall. The existing lifts are designed for goods and require a member of staff to be present. They will be replaced by modern equivalents which can be easily operated by passengers. The improvement work will also see the station concourse and ticket hall receive new slip-resistant flooring and sleek slate-grey wall tiles. Areas behind the existing shops will be brought back into use, allowing for the existing units to be expanded, opening up new retail units within the station.

l The £19 million upgrade of Gravesend station completed over the Christmas and New Year period has unlocked capacity improvements in Kent which will provide more space and seats for passengers. The improvements to the station, which include a new platform and lengthened existing platforms, will allow 12-car trains to call at Gravesend which will provide greater capacity for passengers, particularly those travelling in and out of London. It’s the final stage of improvement work which will allow 12-car trains to call at stations in the south east London metro area for the first time. Improved facilities have been provided and a new footbridge and lifts has also meant there is step-free access to all platforms.

Gravesend station reopens after upgrade work over Christmas and New Year

Network Rail

Gravesend station improvements

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Stations

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On track for a sustainable station

LEE FAIRBURN discusses how active energy management solutions can help rail operators achieve significant energy savings and prepare for a sustainable future

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he rail industry is busier than ever. As consumer gravitation towards public transport grows amid soaring petrol prices, there are currently 40 per cent more passenger journeys than ten years ago and the increasing popularity of rail travel means that 50 per cent more trains run today than under the former British Rail which ceased in 1997.

As such, efficiency is becoming an increasingly important focus as the national rail community unites to fix the CO2 mistakes (of the last 50 years) over the next ten years, together with reducing its operating costs to the same level as its European counterparts.

In a bid to drive improvements, operators within the UK railway industry must look to deliver increased value from stations by reducing industry costs, improving the passenger experience and extending

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commercial opportunities.

And so, the onus is on the station infrastructure to invest in sustainable technology in order to maximise revenue generating potential, with operating costs high on the agenda. To place this into context, it is reported that operating costs for the UK railway are 40 per cent higher than its counterparts in France, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland (www.fgould.com/uk/articles/ rail-industry-unlocking-potential/). The scope for improved efficiency is huge and inevitable.

It would seem then that the UK rail industry is on the verge of an energy efficiency revolution. The view of the energy challenge ahead is clear: the industry needs new solutions, new thinking and new companies to lead it into an era in which more is achieved whilst consuming much less.

The approach required is multiple and complex, and needs a much more cohesive, efficient collaboration between the key stakeholders, including estates, facility, security and IT managers. Requisite levels of business efficiency involve system dynamics, across platforms and providers, like never before.

To place this into context, in a typical railway station, each energy system is independent and requires its own design, installation and management. An inherent disadvantage to this scenario is the wasted time and money dedicated to multiple vendors, redundant supervision and excess cabling and devices. The result is costly downtime, higher operational expenditures and increased obstacles to achieving energy efficiency. As such, there is a need to fit everything together to deliver maximum results.

Fortunately then, the market has responded with a highly intelligent innovation to negate this common issue; an active management architecture from power plant to plug.

Set to revolutionise the future of modern railway stations, this new architecture provides a complete solution to this issue by taking a truly holistic approach.

Unique to the market, it unites the separate entities of the rail station, including power management, the IT facility and building and security management, working as the backbone of the entire rail station setup.

At every level, each building domain has its own energy efficiency mechanics.

In terms of power management, quality control products are employed to ensure intelligent power and motor control and renewable energy conversion. This ensures availability, whilst reducing energy bills and limiting CO2 emissions For the station’s IT department, the IT management solution ensures availability of servers, critical data and applications via intelligent IT equipment positioning, ultrasecured power and dedicated SLAs, whilst improving energy efficiency with cooling, IT capacity optimisation and energy reports.

Conversely, easing the process for the facility manager,

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz the building side incorporates HVAC, lighting and outdoor lighting control. Collectively, this improves user comfort and productivity, whilst also reducing the energy consumed.

Finally, there is security to consider. A combination of video surveillance, emergency lighting and intrusion detection maximises the safety and security of the station’s occupants and assets. It also protects the physical environment with integrated technologies; a particular pertinent focus for the rail sector which is subject to frequent vandalism and theft.

On a holistic level, the architecture takes all of these multiple systems and adapts them to an integrated solution, reducing redundancy in equipment, software and personnel. Better still, with the need for adaptability in mind, the system is scalable and can be applied to both retrofits and new construction.

Collectively, the end-result is a high-visibility energy management solution which allows the rail operator to see, measure and manage energy in order to optimise energy efficiencies across all domains; both during installation and throughout the facility’s life cycle. Quite simply, this integrated way of working provides the rail operator with a single, actionable view of the facility.

The site manager can ensure business continuity, user comfort, equipment security and energy performance in every respect and from anywhere in the world.

Moreover, the architecture enables significantly reduced energy consumption. From working in this way, operators can look to achieve up to 30 per cent savings on capital and operational expenses across the entire enterprise, starting immediately. The result is real, tangible business value and massively improved green credentials.

Of course, with so much to consider it can be hard to know where to begin for the rail operator. The good news is that for those looking to truly optimise energy efficiency, manufacturers, such as Schneider Electric, have not only developed sector-specific innovations for rail, but also have dedicated expert teams on hand to help.

As we look to the future of the UK rail infrastructure, momentous change is imminent as rail operators endeavour to embrace sustainable strategy like never before. In doing so however, it is essential not to think of product singularly but rather think holistically and longterm in order to achieve the maximum energy savings possible. Only in this way is it possible to ensure that, as a nation, we remain on track for a more sustainable future in rail. zz

Lee Fairburn is segment marketing manager at Schneider Electric Web: www.schneider -electric.com/uk

Call toaction – join our research panel today!

l Railway Strategies and market research consultants Accent have joined forces to create an exclusive research panel for members of the rail industry to voice their opinions on the latest hot topics. Together the team will tackle the most pressing and urgent issues affecting rail, and we’d like you to get involved.

We feel it’s imperative to listen to the voice of the industry when it comes to notable events and changes and we would like to hear from you. Every two months, we will issue a questionnaire on a hot topic, which will take no longer than five minutes to complete, and then feedback your views and opinions.

Speaking about the panel, Rob Sheldon, MD at Accent said: “The research panel is a great way for industry professionals to express their opinions on the items topping the news agenda. What’s also really interesting is to have these viewpoints from across the industry and see the effects upon the sector as a whole.”

Martin Collier, editor at Railway Strategies added: “We receive a lot of research-

based news stories, but what’s great about the panel is the research findings come from our readers. We can set the agenda and look in more depth at some of the topics affecting the rail industry, both now and in the future.”

Topics will vary depending on what’s making headlines and will cover any ongoing subjects such as HS2 and where best to spend budgets? What passengers are saying and how to improve customer service are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition, if you feel there is an important issue which needs the attention of the panel, simply let us know.

Joining the panel couldn’t be simpler, all you need to do is email yasamin.mehraj@accent-mr.com with your details. Once you have signed up you will automatically be sent the bi-monthly questionnaire.

All responses will be kept anonymous unless you express your consent to be quoted within Railway Strategies.

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zz Stations zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Three Bridges station concourse & retail facilities Rail Waiting Structures was awarded the contract to totally replace an existing dilapidated concourse with a high-quality, well-designed, functional and efficient building

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t the outset of this complex project, Rail Waiting Structures (RWS) was commissioned to undertake only the design and specification project. However, following customer approvals, RWS was awarded the demolition, manufacture and build contract, as the result of a tender process.

Project overview Contract scope: l Specify l Design l Manufacture & supply l Demolish l Build Client: Southern Rail Duration: 30 weeks

Diverse material usage The scheme incorporates a 7m-wide walkway featuring stainless steel and structurally glazed walls, covered with an aluminium curtain-wall construction glazed roof, which also incorporated LED lighting. Three retail spaces were created using a structural steel frame and Kingspan cladding and roof system.

Managing complexity

For further information, please contact: Rail Waiting Structures (A member of the BSW Group of Companies) Tel: 01446 795 444 Email: sales@shelters.co.uk Web: www.shelters.co.uk

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State-of-the-art 3D Computer Aided Design tools enabled the creation of early visualizations of the scheme to aid the approval process, as well as resolving the complex component manufacture and construction.

The site was complex, incorporating challenging slopes, curves and services. Access was also very limited requiring careful logistics planning. The station was in use to the public throughout the construction programme. Rigorous site management ensured maximum passenger safety, while causing minimum disruption. The concourse was officially opened in October 2013

Customer satisfaction This is the best measure of success for any project and this handsome construction was no exception. zz

About the BSW Group l Since November 1979, the BSW Group has been involved in the design and construction of a wide variety of projects from rail, tram, bus stations, covered walkways and canopies to just about every other covering you can imagine.

The quality of workmanship has always been a priority and every aspect of a project from design to finished drawings and product are considered of paramount importance.

BSW can provide a one-stop solution for the customer’s requirements, from minor civil works right through to erection of the structure.

BSW Group head office is located in the Vale of Glamorgan.

This facility has 3100sq ft of office space with three 48,000sq ft manufacturing units on the 17 acre site. An additional 20,000sq ft of manufacturing and office space is available within the West Midlands.

BSW has recently expanded its operations into the Middle East having opened an office and factory in Dubai, where work is currently taking place on the Dubai Metro System.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Stations zz Waterloo station

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SAS International

SAS Intern ational

Liverpool Central station

new balc on

Ensuring quality & value for station fit-outs ANDREW JACKSON discusses some of the factors to be considered when upgrading railway stations

Andrew Jackson is a director, SAS International

Web: www.sasintgroup.com

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rojects are being driven by a need to think about long-term capabilities and flexibility for future change. This means the design and integration of the fit-out needs to be durable, maintainable and flexible. These elements are addressed from design stage; being involved at the earliest stage enables a manufacturer to ensure performance whilst taking responsibility for delivery.

While balancing aesthetics with the performance qualities of materials is key, budgets and limited working hours in stations need to be factored in. Therefore prefabrication of solutions is an important consideration.

The fit-out of any transport hub is a challenge.

Considerations include design, material choice and durability, while the risk of issues on site during installation and programme slippage has huge repercussions for ensuring projects are delivered on time and to budget.

To significantly reduce the risk for project teams some manufacturers are choosing the design, supply and install route to market. Transport hubs need to be designed and fitted out to tight programmes and value is generated by having one entity take ownership for the entire process.

Working in live stations poses many complications including limited working hours in a fully operational environment. Prefabricating products and systems under factory-controlled conditions allows better quality-control. Compliance to tolerances and other performance criteria can also be achieved as well as a reduction in lead-times. Importantly site health and safety is improved; usually fewer operatives are required on site. Prefabrication of products and services also helps reduce site waste and limit the environmental impact.

In a station environment the demand for innovative and interesting interiors must be balanced with the use of high performance products. The durability of a material and ease of maintenance is essential to ensure they stay this way.

Ease of access for maintenance and cleaning are crucial for longevity, security and safety and place special demands on material choice of interior fit-out solutions.

Metal solutions provide a durable surface that is easy to clean and will allow ease of access for essential ongoing maintenance, without damage. They also provide for impact resistance in external or semi-external spaces such as public concourses.

The ability to design in options from the outset for effective ongoing maintenance and ease of access, along with consideration for increasing number of passengers, provides for time and resource savings in the long term.

With off-site assembly and prefabrication manufacturers, should have the ability to offer fixed production and delivery lead-times ultimately providing programme benefits.

The complexity of carrying out construction and renovation work for such projects underlines the importance of partnering with manufacturing installers to enable this. Design expertise, flexibility and an innovative approach are critical in this relationship.

On many of today’s major projects clients and main contractors want to guarantee design, to deliver project value, limit risk and have the comfort and benefits of all-encompassing warranties. Working directly with the manufacturer installer provides a single point of contact from start to finish and pre-fabricating products and systems ensures better quality control, reduction of lead times and safer working. zz

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Stations

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz London Bridge station: A platform for the future

A BIM image of the platforms at London Bridge station

PAUL BYRNE explains how Building Information Modelling is contributing to the rejuvenation of London Bridge station

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Paul Byrne BSc, PEng, CEng, FIStructE is technical director of Waldeck Consulting. He is a Chartered Structural Engineer with over 30 years’ experience as a consulting engineer. Having worked in most sectors of the construction industry including railways, retail, commercial, residential, educational and arts and culture, he has been involved in leading engineering teams on projects up to the value of £100 million, with a focus on delivery and quality.

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ondon Bridge is one of the UK’s busiest train stations, bringing around 55 million passengers into London each year. Built in 1836, it is also London’s oldest station and in need of serious redevelopment in order to cope with an unprecedented rise in passenger numbers.

The station is currently undergoing a major transformation, with the construction of new platforms for more trains, a new concourse and the creation of a bigger and better station. The changes will mean hundreds of Thameslink trains can access the station every day – one every three minutes – offering better connections than ever before whilst adding to the redevelopment of the surrounding area.

The Thameslink Programme, a £6 billion Government investment in rail, is due for completion in 2018. The works are being carried out by Costain and Hyder on behalf of Network Rail, with precast platforms supplied by Charcon Specialist Products.

Due to the station’s age and size, design was always going to be a fundamental aspect of the project’s success and the redeveloped station’s longevity. This is where Waldeck Consulting came in. Our Building Information Modelling (BIM) expertise and extensive rail construction experience made us an ideal design partner for the project.

BIM is becoming ever more prevalent on new construction projects, not least because it has positive implications in terms of cost saving and ensuring environmental sustainability.

To date, Waldeck has provided information for the station prototype area and the detailed Stage 1 construction and manufacturing drawings of the project. These are being used to enable assessment of the constructability, maintenance and co-ordination of drainage and electrical services to the platforms.

We are collaborating with Tekla Structures software to BIM Level 2, which enables model sharing in multiple formats with the main contractor and client, whilst tracking progress and providing high level unit details to ensure manufacturing is kept on schedule.

Using this software, Waldeck will be producing engineering drawings and schedules for over 4000 precast concrete elements of platform structure. These models are created in 3D and automatically transferred into

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2D deliverables for our client.

Waldeck has also used Bentley AecoSIM in collaboration with the DGN and IFC files. This has allowed us to produce specific components and unit profiles for the various unit types in Tekla, which has greatly improved our modelling output. Also included within this programme are various seam joints and cutting components, allowing us to develop the unit shapes required.

One of the great aspects of designing in this way is that we have also been able to split our model into phases to demonstrate model changes, unit amendments, individual platforms and construction phases for the client and main contractors.

The ability to co-ordinate the model between various software and file formats has provided all design parties the ability to effectively collaborate on models and drawings throughout the development and detailed design process.

The speed in which drawings can be created has also been a huge advantage to Waldeck. It means that we have been able to provide Charcon with manufacturing drawings and Bar Bending and Mesh Schedules at a much earlier stage than usual. It has also enabled Charcon to use Tekla BIMSight to view models during manufacturing to reduce the amount of factory queries.

We found that through our use of BIM, coupled with off-site knowledge gained through years of experience in the rail construction industry, we were able to simplify the production and manufacturing process; as the drawings and casting schedules could be updated and produced as the project progressed. It also meant that each unit could be developed as a standard template and then modified accordingly. This brings the added benefit of being able to identify and address any problems early on in the process well in advance of construction, thereby saving time, money and creating added certainty to the project. zz

Web: www.waldeckconsulting.com

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Rail Alliance

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Recent new members of the Rail Alliance GGR Rail GGR Rail is a leading provider of safe lifting solutions and mini cranes for all areas of railway infrastructure across Europe.

Tel: 0161 683 2580 Web: www.ggrrail.com

Hayley Rail Hayley Rail are specialists in the supply of safety critical engineering components and MRO products to the UK rail industry.

Experts in Vendor Managed Inventory, Hayley Rail work in partnership with customers to reduce inventory and overheads associated with stock control. Hayley Rail is a division of Hayley Group Plc, the largest independent distributor of MRO products in the UK, giving them access to a network of over 30 branches nationwide and over £20 million-worth of stock held centrally at the company’s HQ in the Midlands.

Tel: 0161 872 7466 Email: rail@hayley-group.co.uk Web: www.hayley-group.co.uk

iSeeU Global Ltd

Railcare Sweden Ltd

iSeeU Global Ltd provides mobile data capture using digital forms in real time and intelligent workflows which share that information with people, groups or companies, also in real time. iSeeU Global Ltd Forms - Workflow - Service Desk & Reporting suite.

Tel: 070 0394 1006 Email: info@iseeuglobal.com Web: www.iseeuglobal.com

Railcare offers new solutions to old railway maintenance problems by combining longtime railway experience with technology from other industries. The company’s major UK activities are based on RailVac air/vacuum excavation technology for effective removal of gravel, deteriorated ballast, clay etc with the track in place. The method is also very lenient towards cables and other buried installations.

Tel: 0115 919 1111 Email: steve.mugglestone@railcare.se Web: www.railcareexport.se

Jansen Betonwaren BV

Jansen Betonwaren BV provides Legioblock flexible concrete walls and storage bays – the optimal solution for rapid and flexible concrete constructions. Thanks to the interlocking principle, Legioblocks are easily stacked and placed without the need for cement.

Tel: +44 (0)121 439 2525 Email: sales@legioblock.com Web: www.legioblock.com

Translate Rail Translate Rail is a rail documentation translation specialist.

Tel: 01663 736 450 Email: ian@translaterail.eu Web: www.translaterail.com

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

Outline Events Programme – 2014 Date

Location

Event

Organiser/Contact

28 or 29 January London (tbc)

Members’ Meeting & Networking Event with UKTI – Preparation for Innotrans

Rail Alliance

13 February London

UKTI Meet the Buyer event with Deutsche Bahn

http://bit.ly/1hXfvUI

20 February Long Marston

EIT Test & Trials Facilities Demo 10.30 to 12.30

Rail Alliance

6 March Coventry

Railway Interiors: The Inside Story In collaboration with Coventry Universtity

Rail Alliance

13 March Long Marston

Introduction to BS11000 Collaborative Working Workshop

Rail Alliance

20 March Long Marston

EIT Test & Trials Facilities Demo 10.30 to 12.30

Rail Alliance

April (tba) tba

Members’ Meeting & Networking Event hosted by a major OEM (tba)

Rail Alliance

10 April Long Marston

Introduction to BS11000 Collaborative Working Workshop

Rail Alliance

17 April Long Marston

EIT Test & Trials Facilities Demo 10.30 to 12.30

Rail Alliance

If you are interested in attending one of the Rail Alliance’s events or would like to find out more about becoming a member of the Rail Alliance, contact Rhona Clarke on rhona.clarke@railalliance.co.uk or call 01789 720 026 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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NEWS I Contracts

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Infrastructure framework deals l Network Rail has nominated its four preferred suppliers for framework agreements worth a total of £1.2 billion covering enhancements, buildings and civils work on its Anglia, Kent, Sussex and Wessex routes over the next five years.

The agreements, which will be executed on 1st April 2014, will be signed by the company’s Infrastructure Projects (IP) Southern region, and will cover a substantial part of the region’s £2.5 billion workbank in control period five (CP5) which runs from 2014 to 2019. The four frameworks, which will have an agreed minimum contract value, are with VolkerFitzpatrick Limited (Anglia); Costain Limited (Kent); Bam Nuttall Limited (Sussex); and Geoffrey Osborne Limited (Wessex).

The frameworks are intended to encourage and facilitate suppliers working closely with Network Rail from initial development to delivery and will incorporate jointly agreed objectives which align with Network Rail’s outputs for CP5.

Collaboration formed 25 per cent of the evaluation criteria emphasising the commitment by Network Rail to work more closely and transparently with its supply chain. This is also supported by the introduction of a new form of agreement to Network Rail, the NEC 3 (New Engineering Contract).

For the first time, safety issues made up 15 per cent of the evaluation criteria when choosing the partners Network Rail will work with. Nick Elliott, regional director for Network Rail IP Southern, said: “This represents a significant change in the way we assess safety and underlines our commitment to delivering a fundamental improvement in workforce safety within the rail industry.

Nick went on to say “When you combine this with BS11000 and early contractor involvement in design, it shows how we are changing the way we work to bring even closer collaboration between Network Rail and the supply chain.”

Shortlist for Bakerloo line link tender l London Underground (LU) has announced Costain Skanska JV, Dragados S.A. and Morgan Sindall BeMo Tunnelling JV as the three shortlisted contractors bidding for the contract to design and build the tunnel link between Crossrail platforms and Bakerloo line platforms at Paddington station. LU will be seeking innovative proposals against a RIBA E reference design for which a Transport Works Act Order (TWAO) is well progressed and due to complete during spring 2014. The building of a link between the Crossrail and Bakerloo line platforms is a requirement of the Crossrail Act and is expected to be completed in autumn 2018.

Carriage gangways for IEP l Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd. has chosen Dellner to provide the gangways that will connect the carriages on the new trains it is building for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP). The contract will see Dellner produce 1500 new gangways that will connect up the 866 carriages on the 122 new express trains that will be used on the East Coast and Great Western Main Lines from 2017.

Design and development of the gangways is well underway, with the first unit to be delivered in March 2014.

Class 800 series train exhausts l Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd. has selected British-based company Eminox as its preferred partner to provide the exhaust systems for the new East Coast and Great Western Main Line Class 800 series trains.

The multi-million pound contract, which follows a six-month selection process, will see Eminox manufacture and supply exhaust systems to be fitted to the new fleet of trains that will be built at Hitachi Rail Europe’s new plant in Newton Aycliffe as part of the Intercity Express Programme.

©Transport for London

Longer Overground platforms

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l Transport for London (TfL) has appointed Dyer and Butler as the contractor to lengthen and modify some of the station platforms on the Clapham Junction/Richmond to Stratford London Overground route. The longer platforms will accommodate longer London Overground trains, which are being increased from four to five carriages. The first of these longer trains will run on the Highbury & Islington to New Cross/Crystal Palace/West Croydon/Clapham Junction routes from the end of 2014, followed by the Clapham Junction/Richmond to Stratford routes by the end of 2015. The work is part of the £320 million London Overground Capacity Improvement Programme (LOCIP), aiming to deliver a 25 per cent capacity increase.

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NEWS I Contracts

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www.railimages.co.uk

Trans Pennine West Electrification programme

Class 365 enhancement and heavy maintenance l Eversholt Rail has awarded Bombardier Transportation a two-year contract worth in excess of £30 million to undertake the enhancement and heavy maintenance of its fleet of Class 365 trains which are leased to First Capital Connect (FCC). The work to upgrade the fleet, which carries passengers on FCC’s Great Northern Route, will be undertaken at Bombardier’s Ilford site in Essex, ensuring that the work will remain in the UK. The first train is expected to enter service by early 2014 delivering significant improvements to the passenger environment. Additional accessibility work will be undertaken from spring 2014 bringing the trains in line with the latest disability regulations. The following improvements will be made (and retrofitted to those trains already refurbished): l Two wheelchair bays installed l A new wheelchair-accessible toilet in each 4-carriage unit l A new fully automated passenger information system with audio and visual announcements l Call for aid installed at wheelchair and toilet areas.

Shortlist for Woolwich Crossrail station fit-out l Crossrail has confirmed the shortlist for the contract for the fit-out of the new station at Woolwich. The four short-listed contractors who will be invited to tender are: l Balfour Beatty Group Limited l Laing O’Rourke Construction Limited l Morgan Sindall plc l VINCI Construction UK Ltd. The contract, with a value in the region of £75 million, also covers the fit-out of the two portals at North Woolwich and Plumstead at either end of the Thames Tunnel where Crossrail trains will surface. A successful bidder will be confirmed in autumn 2014, with work on site beginning in spring 2015. The new Woolwich Crossrail station will open in 2018.

l Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded the design engineering contract for the first phase of electrification on Network Rail’s Trans Pennine rail route which runs from Manchester to Leeds and York.

The first phase of upgrading the route, known as Trans Pennine West, will see the railway electrified from both Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly stations through to Stalybridge, and includes the introduction of electric rolling stock to serve a number of existing and proposed new routes. As part of the Lancashire Triangle, this project will deliver capacity and journey time improvements for both passenger and freight services across the north west region.

Parsons Brinckerhoff’s project team will incorporate innovative BIM design techniques and 3D modelling into the overall design process. This collaborative approach will integrate into one programme the track, overhead line equipment, signalling, telecommunications, electrification, civil engineering, stations, and environmental elements.

The scope to be delivered by Parsons Brinckerhoff covers a variety of activities. These include electrification and journey time improvements between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, re-signalling of Ashton Moss North to Denton Junctions, operability improvements at Ardwick Depot, a resilience study of the existing electrification system between Ashburys and Newton-for-Hyde stations, and pre-feasibility options for Miles Platting Junction to Newton Heath Depot.

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TAYLOR WOODROW

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz NET Phase 2; bridge over A52 at Queen’s Medical Centre

Realising potential Founded in 1922, Taylor Woodrow is involved in most sectors of UK civil engineering and construction and has enjoyed a continuous relationship with the rail transportation sector since the early 1990s

Tottenham Court Road

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aylor Woodrow has delivered a number of high profile projects during its history including the Jubilee line station at London Bridge, the development of new ticket halls at King’s Cross Underground Station, the DLR Three Car Capacity Enhancement project and the new Western Concourse at King’s Cross Mainline station. “We target complex, challenging schemes that look for strong planning and engineering skills, innovative ideas and confident, resilient people,” says Fred Garner, Sector Director for Transport Projects. “Taylor Woodrow has always been known for teamwork and we like nothing better than working with

our design team, our supply chain partners and our clients to deliver successful projects.”

The company will achieve a turnover of £300 million on rail sector projects during 2013, which is an increase from £170 million in 2011. Taylor Woodrow currently has one of the most exciting and challenging portfolios within the rail sector and is undertaking major projects including the upgrades of Tottenham Court Road and Victoria station for LUL, works at Connaught Tunnel, Victoria Dock Portal, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel for Crossrail and projects for Network Rail at Nottingham Hub and the Crossrail West

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Nottingham Express Tramway Stations. In addition to these projects, Taylor Woodrow is also undertaking the expansion of Nottingham’s tram network, known as the NET Phase Two and the upgrade of Ealing Common and Upminster depots for the new S7 stock.

Commenting on the company’s busy workload Fred elaborates: “My view of the industry in the last year is that it has

been a great place to be; infrastructure and rail transport in particular are high on the political and public agenda. There is a realisation that to maintain both our quality of life and our economic success there is a need for investment in the UK national and local rail networks. One of the most interesting developments is that as a nation we are reversing many

of the decisions that we made during the 1960s and 1970s, when rail was seen as outdated compared to the attraction of the motorcar. The pendulum has swung and we need to grab the opportunity now to create the integrated rail transport networks for the next 100 years.”

With the nation’s requirement for dynamic rail solutions and the company’s reputation for undertaking complex projects, Taylor Woodrow has had no shortage of demand for its targeted engineering solutions. The challenge, as Fred observes has been to ensure that Taylor Woodrow is placed to meet its customer’s needs and retain the best engineering staff: “Our biggest challenge in the last two years has been managing our growth and principally ensuring that the project teams are fully resourced with the right people with the right skills and behaviors. We have done this in two ways: Firstly, our DLR 3 Car and King’s Cross projects created an opportunity to develop some very talented engineers

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TAYLOR WOODROW

Nottingham Express Tramway and project managers, many of whom are now prominent in the business, or in fact leading our current projects. Secondly, we have recruited some excellent people who are excited at the prospect of working on challenging, high profile projects and see the potential in our business.”

The company has also taken steps to address what it sees as a noticeable skills gap within the railways sector as Fred further explains: “This year we are recruiting increased numbers of civil engineering graduates than in previous years, as well as continuing to sponsor undergraduates, where we are using QUEST scholarships to identify the best and brightest candidates. In recent years we have also offered work placements to second year foundation degree students and subsequently recruited them as technician engineers into the business, sponsoring them to move on to their BSc part time whilst working for us.

Unfortunately, significant increases in tuition fees have caused us to review this policy this year but I hope we will be able to resume again next year.

“We also recently held our first

Whitechapel - Durward Street Shaft

Inspiration Lecture at the ICE, where our guest speakers offered their thoughts on how the civil engineering profession can inspire young minds. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience, which was a mix of sixth form students, undergraduates, TW graduates and industry colleagues of all ages.”

At present, the company is busy in Nottingham, where the NET Phase Two extension is at the peak of construction.

During the past 12 months the project

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has seen the installation of three major new bridges, including Nottingham’s Station Bridge, which was featured on the BBC’s One Show. The tramway project is expected to be completed and operational by the end of 2014. As it moves into the future, Taylor Woodrow already has major projects lined up and is currently mobilising a team for its Crossrail West Stations project. The £100 million project was awarded to the company

by Network Rail in October 2013 and will allow it to combine the experience it has gained through its King’s Cross, DLR and Crossrail projects. It is with no small excitement that Taylor Woodrow approaches this latest project and the company is keen to show what it can do as Fred concludes: “This project will enable us to show how efficiently we can deliver upgrades to 13 stations in a very challenging environment on the western approaches from Maidenhead to Paddington.”zz

Web: www.taylorwoodrow.com

Whitechapel Cambridge Heath Shaft

Whitechapel - HCDL Worksite

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NEWS I Products & Services

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Full service solutions l The former Railcare facilities at Wolverton near Milton Keynes and at Springburn near Glasgow, operated by the new company Knorr-Bremse RailServices, are now fully operational and able to offer the capacity and capability to deliver full service solutions to rail customers.

The acquisition of the rail vehicle component and overhaul business of Railcare has seen Knorr-Bremse UK launch the specialist RailServices company and significant investment has already taken place at both the new company’s facilities.

The impressive RailServices facilities can undertake major ‘whole train’ and systems refurbishment projects which improves existing rail stock with the largest total facilities of their kind in the UK with a combined area of some 420,000 square metres. Both Springburn and Wolverton facilities boast large and dedicated bogie shops, wheel overhaul shops and paint shops.

The types of service offered by RailServices include; vehicle overhaul, refurbishment, upgrade, re-livery and incident repair (on all EMUs/DMUs, coaching stock and locomotive types). In addition there are a wide range of flexible service types available to customers which include: component repair and overhaul, wheel set refurbishment, bogie overhaul, gear box and transmission repair and overhaul, peripheral equipment repair and overhaul, rail plant and equipment repair and overhaul and supply chain support and management using the latest in logistics techniques.

Components can also be supplied to customers whether the components are overhauled, especially manufactured or re-manufactured or, from the original systems manufacturer. The extensive Knorr-Bremse Rail Group portfolio of systems and products is, of course, also available from RailServices.

l DILAX has launched a new realtime solution for train operators.

This innovative system could enable transport operators to enhance the service information provided to passengers waiting at stations or implement apps for smartphones and tablets that will enable them to better manage their journeys. For operators, it gives real-time load information and instant visibility of ‘pinch points’ enabling them to quickly take action to improve the passenger experience.

According to Nigel Fountain, managing director of DILAX UK: “This new technology has the potential to provide passengers with access to real-time information, including available seating, helping them to plan their travel to make more effective use of their time and avoid overcrowding. Knowing that their journeys would be a more pleasant experience may also encourage more people to use public transport.”

The new real-time system could significantly enhance the information provided to passengers waiting at stations. As well as having the estimated arrival time of the next trains, passengers could also be provided with information showing how crowded they are. They could then choose whether to take the first train or wait a few minutes in order to have a seat for the duration of their journey. Using easily developed apps, both Android and IOS, will provide people with the same level of information, whether at home, work or any other location, using smartphones, tablets or laptops.

Vacuum technology for wetbed removal l Swedish railway maintenance experts Railcare Export AB, together with their UK partner Bridgeway Railcare LLP, has won a major £1.3 million order from Network Rail and South West Trains Alliance.

The order is the second phase of a major project to eradicate wet beds, the first phase having been delivered by Railcare in spring 2013 as a pilot project to evaluate Railcare’s vacuum excavation technology and methodology, and the RailVac RA7 and its team exceeded expectations on all counts. The latest project is due for completion in March 2014.

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NEWS I Products & Services

Class 185 vehicle overhauled by Voith

Best Service Provider 2013 – Siemens honours Voith Service l On the occasion of its 8th Supplier Day in November, held in Manchester (Old Trafford), Siemens Rail Systems UK acknowledged the outstanding performance of Voith and recognized the company as ‘Best Service Provider (Vehicles) 2013’. This builds on the recognition Voith received just one year ago for being selected the ‘Most Improved Supplier 2012’.

“We are very proud of this title,” states Dr. Frank Gropengiesser, Member of the Management Board of Voith Turbo GmbH & Co. KG and in charge of the Division Rail. “It is a reward for our enormous efforts of not only maintaining the efficiency and effectiveness in all service areas but also of continuously striving to raise them.”

Nowadays the railway industry demands flexible, attentive and proactive suppliers of comprehensive best-in-class solutions. Voith always works closely with the customers and is keenly aware of their requirements. Accordingly, Voith UK has made significant investments in staff recruitment, new facilities, training and equipment at both its Croydon and Greenford facilities.

Siemens has rewarded Voith`s ongoing support and proactive service over the last year for the Class 185 DMU fleet. The project has included the overhaul of the driveline components and the supply of new Voith one million mile continuous operation cardan shafts. Andrew Lister (head of procurement & materials) of Siemens Rail Systems UK says: “I am delighted that Voith has been recognized as our Best Service Provider in the vehicle sector this year. Voith has worked hard to address our business needs and we have seen tangible improvements in both their competitiveness and responsiveness to service issues. Congratulations and keep up the hard work!”

Beyond the received distinction, Voith is also delighted to have supported Siemens Rail Systems UK Ardwick depot in Manchester, which received the 2013 Golden Spanner Award for the Class 185 fleet being the most reliable New Generation DMU in the UK. The Class 185 vehicles are diesel-hydraulic railcars for regional traffic in the United Kingdom. Among other destinations, the trains operated by First TransPennine Express (TPE) stop at Liverpool, Manchester Airport and Edinburgh.

Voith Turbo, a Group Division of Voith GmbH, is a specialist for intelligent drive solutions. Customers from highly diverse industries such as oil and gas, energy, mining and metal processing, ship technology, rail and commercial vehicles rely on advanced technologies from Voith Turbo.

Voith sets standards in the markets energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs more than 43,000 people, generates €5.7 billion in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.

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Eco-technology investment l European transport group Arriva is set to invest £4.5 million in ecotechnology at its UK rail operations.

More than 580 train cabs from 15 different train fleets at the group’s Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry and Grand Central rail operations will be fitted with the Energymiser® Driver Advisory System (DAS).

The technology, produced by TTG Transportation Technology, will help drivers from across Arriva’s UK rail operations deliver smoother, more efficient journeys for passengers while reducing fuel consumption by an estimated 5 - 15 per cent (depending on the train type and driving technique) and lowering overall diesel fuel related emissions.

Energymiser® DAS is an onboard computer screen which provides drivers with real-time route information on train running times allowing them to monitor train performance and reliability. It offers guidance on train speeds to help drivers keep services to timetable while ensuring greater fuel efficiency and progressive driving techniques.

The technology also has the potential to integrate with rail infrastructure in the future allowing live feeds about network conditions, speed restrictions or disruption ahead enabling drivers to respond more effectively.

Installation of Energymiser® DAS will start at CrossCountry trains in early 2014 followed by Chiltern Railways in the spring. Installation at Arriva Trains Wales and Grand Central is proposed for later in 2014. As part of the contract there is an option to explore the potential benefits of extending the technology to Arriva’s joint venture business London Overground Rail Operations (LOROL). A similar system for electric trains, Fassi DAS, is already in use at Arriva’s Tyne and Wear Metro operations.

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Anchor Systems (Europe)

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With its innovative new system being used across the London Underground, Anchor Systems (Europe) is putting in the groundwork for growth

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Laying foundations

nchor Systems (Europe) Ltd supplies ground anchoring systems, for all forms of temporary and permanent works, and rapidly installed mini piles for a wide range of applications. As of its formation in 1995 the business was known under a different name as part of the WT Group. This was later changed to Anchor Systems (Europe) Ltd. The company remained part of the WT Group until 2004 when a management buy-out saw it become a standalone company under the guidance of managing director Ewan Smith. “From that point we started to develop other ideas and new systems, which has seen us grown into the company we are today,” he explains.

“We’ve increased trading at quite a good rate with a turnover in excess of £1.5 million today, and potentially more for this year. As a stand-alone company we have expanded more into Europe, and other parts of the world such as the Middle East and US. A lot of this export work is very much in its infancy but is increasingly gathering momentum at the moment.”

Much of this is down to the new products that Anchor Systems (Europe) has introduced. The company’s primary

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product has long been the Duckbill ground anchor, which has proved itself reliable in many structural and groundwork applications including stabilising stone and masonry walls and structures, as well as slopes and embankments. On the back of this has come the Patented Anchor Post system.

“This particular product has forged ahead beyond all expectations,” enthuses Ewan. “It’s a small but robust steel foundation system that is driven into the ground like the Duckbill anchor, without the use of wet trades. It was originally designed for use on London Underground to support trackside cables, where it offers significant benefits compared to traditional post installation methods due to it being up to ten times quicker to install. Therefore labour required is also reduced, and together these aspects add up to significant cost savings for the client.”

As well as cable route management, the Anchor Post is suitable for a whole range of other applications including gabions, cable troughing, barriers, street furniture, signalling, mooring bollards, switchgear boxes, security fencing, and signage. “Although we don’t deal directly with London Underground, they are one of our biggest end-clients as a lot of our

work is with their contractors. We’re also in discussions with companies which could see our products go into Network Rail projects as well,” notes Ewan.

At present Anchor Systems (Europe) is undergoing product approval with Network Rail, which it hopes to have in place shortly. The company is already on the organisation’s matrix system for foundations as one of only a handful of companies, which is the strength of the business. “We have quite a neat package to offer to Network Rail projects in terms of assistance with structures,” highlights Ewan.

“As well as the Anchor Post and Duckbill ground anchor, we have a range of other products that can solve any problem related to stitching, securing or anchoring of works. This includes the sock anchor, which is a mechanical and chemical anchor system for stabilising heritage sites, bridges and other structures. It comprises a steel bar surrounded by a woven elastic polyester grout sock, which is inserted into a predrilled hole and pressure grouted to form a strong reinforcement. We also offer helical anchors which are screwed into the ground to offer quick and reliable fixing points, and soil nails,” he continues.

With considerable expertise in

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geotechnical and structural stabilisation, Anchor Systems (Europe) is able to offer a comprehensive technical support service to clients, including advice, design specification, site testing and product installation. This ensures that the customer always gets the anchor system that is most appropriate to their requirements.

“I think the scope for these systems in the market is vast and that we haven’t

even really touched the edges of that yet,” describes Ewan. “Rail is one of our biggest target markets particularly within the UK and Europe. Some of our export work in areas like Poland and France is very rail orientated at the moment, and we have quite active distributors looking at the rail industry over there.

“In the Middle East we are focusing on oil and gas, where we believe we will see significant work this year, whilst in

the US we are targeting the solar industry.

Once we’ve got a footprint in that market though, we may be able to expand into other sectors such as rail. At present it is very much a case of raising awareness of our products throughout the industry, at both Network Rail and contractor level, and the value engineering that we can bring to those customers,” he concludes. zz

Web: www.anchorsystems.co.uk

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Allied Insulators

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Jon Knapper with a selection of NEW 25kV Silicon Rubber OLE insulators and the latest Third Rail Insulators

History in the making...

With over 150 years of insulator design and manufacture heritage to look back on, Allied Insulators has a deep pool of experience in serving the rail industry and other markets within the UK and around the world

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A switchgear product manufactured for the UK electricity distribution companies – an 11kV Air Break Switch Disconnector

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he company’s journey began during the 19th century in 1842 when Captain J Buller and J Devett purchased the Folly Pottery situated in Bovey Tracy, Devon and founded the Bovey Tracy Pottery Company. The company then became one of the first manufacturers to explore the possibilities presented by the emerging market generated by communications and electrical power. Owing to the cost of transporting coal (used to fire the porcelain) between Staffordshire and Somerset the company transferred its operations to the heart of the potteries industry and by 1862 operating as W W Buller & Co, the business was trading out of Hanley, Staffordshire.

The Allied Insulators brand first appeared in 1959 following an agreement between Bullers Ltd and Taylor Tunnicliff to share technical and marketing experience.

The companies continued to trade under their own names until the closure of Taylor Tunnicliff Eastwood,

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Hanley caused an amalgamation of the two businesses to form Allied Insulators Ltd in 1972. Between 1985 and 2010 Allied Insulators continued to operate through various owners and acquisitions that saw it become part of the Fairey Group in 1997 and the Wade Allied Group in 1999. During 2011 a management buyout of Allied Insulators from the Wade Allied Group restored the company back to its true original form.

The company’s long history can be still found in transmission, distribution and rail electrification today.

Notably all of the original UK rail infrastructure both overhead and underground was built with insulators manufactured by Allied Insulators and its former associates, including the famous Doulton insulators so the company remains very proud to have that entire heritage to look back on. Whilst renowned for this porcelain legacy and capability the company is now well diversified into more modern insulators and

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz undertake the full range of mechanical testing along with standard routine or batch testing. Additionally Allied has a small HV laboratory and electromechanical facility for undertaking electrical testing as necessary. High technical standards and rigorous quality assurance and control are key to this business and evidenced by its many approvals, accreditations and esteemed customer base. The diverse nature of the products and business coupled with the short delivery demands also means that there is a need to carry quite high stocks for a wide range of products here in the UK - hence response times are equally swift.

In addition to the UK rail sector Allied has a growing overseas business and is seeing demand for export - for example it recently completed a major third rail electrification project for the Ankara metro in Turkey though one of the main rail contractors.

Whilst maintaining the supply of somewhat bespoke porcelain insulators for maintenance and refurbishments some of the more recent successes with Network Rail have been to develop insulators to solve known problems or issues. “We recently had our latest Third Rail Insulator approved, which introduced a very High Voltage laboratory A range of Porcelain Third Rail Insulators and Other Porcelain Insulators for Rolling Stock or OLE

materials, deploying the most advanced technologies and manufacturing methods. Today Allied Insulators is a highly respected manufacturer in its own right; it manufactures and supplies an extensive range of high specification insulators in Porcelain, Silicon Rubber, or advanced Thermoplastics, overhead line fittings and disconnector products to meet the rigorous demands of the electricity transmission, distribution and rail industry. “We are the major supplier of all insulators to the UK electricity industry and our aim is to re-develop our rail sector business to a similar degree,” said managing director Jonathan Knapper (Jon).

Allied has an extensive design department and a portfolio of products to suit virtually any application.

The UK based manufacturing and distribution facility combines an extensive manufacturing and assembly facility, large storage and warehousing space plus its own in-house laboratory where the company can

¤ Design ¤ Laser Cutting ¤ Punching ¤ Pressing ¤ Welding ¤ Assembly ¤ Machining ¤ Finishing ¤ Logistics Grenville Engineering (Stoke-on-Trent) Ltd Unit 3 Newfield Industrial Estate, High Street Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent ST6 5PD t 01782 577 929 | f 01782 575 672 e sales@grenville-engineering.co.uk

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Allied Insulators

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An image from a HV laboratory of a 275kV Insulator string during a Lightning Impulse test

A range of 132kV Silicon Rubber Insulators used in the UK

A range of traditional Porcelain OLE and Substation Insulators AMS60 mobile welding machine

advanced thermoplastic material that has distinct advantages over the existing insulators. Furthermore our 25kV polymer insulator was developed to overcome a known phenomena linked to potential premature insulator failures. We are now hoping to springboard our standard range of 25kV OLE Polymer insulators into Network Rail from these projects and are very keen to understand the opportunities to enable this. Our innovation and cost leadership strategy is where we see great advantages for Network Rail and its partners, especially during a period of major investment where product quality and value will be key for project success.”

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Early in 2012, Allied Insulators also re-joined the Rail Alliance and hopes to be able to further develop its relationship with other industry operators through its membership. Commenting on the strengths that the company is able to deliver to its clients Jon observes: “Some of the secrets to our small successes lie in what we ‘can do’ rather than what we were renowned for and it is this that pushes the performance and technology frontier for Allied Insulators today. We remain as one of the only British insulator companies in this industry and this is something we are very proud of.”

Moving into 2014 and beyond Allied Insulators is keen to further develop and continue to achieve sustainable growth. When Jon and his business partner Oliver Scopes undertook their management buyout in 2011 they did so with a five-year business plan.

Having achieved many of the plan’s aims in a short time the company will now focus on new growth and further integration with the UK rail industry. “Whilst we carry this heritage we have had to re-invent ourselves, we are not the major porcelain manufacturer we were but we are a highly responsive, lean and diverse business with ambition and agility to react in a vast and challenging landscape.” Network Rail’s planned National Electrification Programme for the next years represents an import opportunity for the company and one it is well placed to take advantage of. zz

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Legal Signals

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Chinese investment in HS2 VINCENT KING considers the possible involvement of the Chinese in the delivery of HS2

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Vincent King is a partner who both specialises in projects and public law issues at national law firm Weightmans LLP

Bhavisha Mistry

avid Cameron has promised China’s leadership that there will be “very open competition” for investments in Britain’s HS2 high-speed rail link. The Prime Minister made the pledge during talks in Beijing with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, who expressed an interest in putting Chinese money behind the project, which will link London with cities in the Midlands and North of England.

The case for HS2 as stated by the Government is that good transport links make our economy stronger and our lives easier. HS2 will free up capacity on existing rail lines for more commuter, rural and freight train services, and mean fewer cars and lorries on our roads, cutting congestion and carbon. The Government argues that HS2 will provide considerable economic benefits to the country as a whole, both during and after its construction, and will help to rebalance the economy between north and south of the country.

This is not universally accepted and there are high profile campaigns against HS2 which challenge these arguments in favour of it. There is also disagreement about how much it will cost. Figures vary (some say as much as £50 billion) but suffice to say that HS2 will require a huge amount of money, which will have to be provided as a mix of both public and private funding.

The Prime Minister did not offer any further thoughts as to how Chinese investment might be made, which is not surprising as he was talking in general terms. In this case the devil really would be in the detail. Broadly, funding can be provided into a project as either debt or equity, or a combination of the two and, significantly, the contractors who act as sponsors of a project are also involved in the construction and maintenance of the facilities which are built, and the critically important supply chain.

Indeed, while the Chinese may have the money to invest in international infrastructure projects, experience elsewhere (particularly in Africa and Eastern Europe) has shown that their investment is motivated by a desire to ensure that the project utilises Chinese companies, products and technology. The Chinese have already built an extensive domestic high speed rail network and any such investment in the UK or elsewhere would primarily be an effort to develop their export market.

From the Chinese government’s perspective, in this particular case they may also feel that they could take some pride in showing developed countries how it should be done and establishing themselves as one of the world’s leaders in these complex infrastructure

projects and technologies.

However there have been some problems with China’s internal network and the Chinese government’s own report into a bullet train crash which killed 40 people near Wenzhou in July 2011 revealed that the disaster was in part caused by design flaws and sloppy management. The accident occurred after one train stalled following a lightning strike, and then a second high-speed train ran into it. Four carriages were thrown off a viaduct. The report found that serious design flaws in control equipment and improper handling of the lightning strike led to the crash.

For HS2, British officials have stressed there would not be any direct Chinese involvement in the railway line’s construction, which is due to be funded by the taxpayer. It would however still be possible for the Chinese to bid for concessions to operate HS2 or parts of it and/or invest in related schemes such as developments around stations. These may not be the biggest prize on offer but could be of interest to Chinese property investors and developers who are already actively involved in the UK. The law will no doubt have changed by the time these contracts are eventually put in place. As things stand today, the contracts to run HS2 would most likely be structured as services concessions, where the public pays for the use of the service. A new EU directive governing concessions is expected soon, but as a general proposition concessions are subject to a more relaxed public procurement regime than traditional procurements where the contracting authority pays for the services. These contracts would undoubtedly be of cross-border interest within the EU, which means that the General Treaty Principles of transparency, equal treatment and non discrimination would apply.

In any event, a legally compliant process would have to be run and thus Chinese success in bidding cannot be guaranteed. The process will be very high profile and subject to great scrutiny. The appointment of the Chinese to deliver a significant part of the project would be highly controversial. Ultimately, the Prime Minister’s statement, and the Chinese government’s welcoming of it, is very much about diplomacy and politics, as well as pure economics. Despite the Government’s relaxation of visa requirements, some see immigration policies, visa restrictions and import controls as obstacles to UK-Chinese trade and investment, a view which David Cameron is no doubt keen to change, leaving the message that the UK, in a competitive global market place, is very much open for business for the Chinese.

Whether this extends to their involvement in HS2 (and if so, how) very much remains to be seen. zz

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PSI TRANSCOM

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Glacier Express Grengiols, © Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn

Realtime rail times

With calls for a modern information system reverberating down the track, PSI Transcom has developed a trend-setting solution

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SI Transcom GmbH provides railway and local city transport companies with integrated control solutions like automatic vehicle management (AVM), real-time passenger information and depot management systems (DMS).

Its systems are based on the PSItraffic platform, which was developed on the basis of event-controlled and object-oriented technologies. It gives an up-to-date and complete overview of the operational procedures, enabling dispatchers to recognise disruptions early on and eliminate them through planning measures.

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The system supports automation of routine tasks and guarantees optimised communications, which makes it an important technology in the contribution to enhancing the safety and the efficiency of local public transport.

With its headquarters in Berlin, PSI Transcom has been a subsidiary of the PSI AG Group since 2000, which for more than 45 years has provided intelligent software for industrial control systems. Whilst the company is developing a presence in South East Asia, it is most active in Europe and Russia, where it has a history of successful

contracts and an impressive customer base.

One of the PSI Transcom’s closest and longest customers, S-Bahn Hamburg, located in Germany, has been using PSI’s AVM system for many years.

Midway through 2013 PSI Transcom received the contract to provide German city Hagen’s transport company with a combined AVM and DMS as well as an electronic fare management system (EFM) for ticketing.

The PSI’s depot management system is also being operated by Rheinbahn, Stuttgarter Straßenbahn and Hamburger Hochbahn. In Poland PSI is providing Poznan’s transport

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company with a DMS for its tram depot.

Two railways in Switzerland are benefitting from the successful implementation of its highly modern passenger information system: The Rhaetian Railway (RhB) and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB). In 2011 MGB decided to introduce a new, modern passenger information system so that changes to operations like delays or train cancellations are to be centrally controlled and displayed in real time.

Railway Strategies spoke to PSI Transcom project manager Tobias Trost about the contracts: “In these projects we installed real

© Aare Seel

and mobil AG

time passenger information systems, working with two other partners. One is Ruf, managing the visual and audible passenger information system, video monitoring, infotainment and emergency communication systems in trains so it was in their scope to provide the onboard computers and control panels in the driver‘s cab, monitors, acoustic components and emergency intercom stations.” Ruf, a Swiss company, delivered a larger part of the project focusing on the vehicles, and adopted the role as main contractor. Tobias continues: “The other partner is ib Datentechnik, a hardware supplier for equipment at the stations. They are providing a unique system that can be adapted to specific needs of the customers.

The scope of the project was to equip all stops of MGB and new vehicles with real time passenger information. PSI Transcom is a specialist for the operations control centre, so we delivered the software and implemented the hardware in the project. We each have a specialty that we bring with us.”

With tracks leading over mountains, chasms and valleys, the trains operate at 2200m through the Swiss Alps. Designed with this in mind, Tobias emphasised: “The 32” monitors have a TFT screen designed to work in really harsh conditions. The layout is based on FIS-Commun, a Swiss standard for passenger information that can be adapted to the specific needs of the customer. In 2008 we implemented the system on the RhB, running the Bernina Express. They run together with the MGB the Glacier Express from St. Moritz to Zermatt. On the RhB a designer was engaged to build special layouts for them. The display looks a little bit different, but the base remains the same. This is the normal process and we followed the same procedure with the MGB project that began

in October 2011.”

It is not uncommon in joint ventures for companies to be faced with minor communication and integration challenges due to the nature of business. Tobias highlights the process used to overcome the potential of a bumpy ride: “We are an ISO 9001 certified company and always follow a process based on the project management standard V Model XT. We enter a specification phase, where, with the customer, we look at the entire project, from stations and the surroundings to the customers. This provides the base for the adaptation of our software according to the specific needs and requirements. The next stage is a factory acceptance test at our site, followed by an implementation phase with the customer, concluding with a site acceptance test, and a three month trial period in operation. A big challenge is always the timetable and it is here that we can adapt the system and smoothen out any glitches.”

The normal period from conception through to final delivery is 15 months and this target was maintained on MGB with customer acceptance in January 2013. The journey of the contract does not end there as PSI Transcom provides a much greater service than just the installation, as Tobias explains: “We normally have a long term relationship with our customers undertaking maintenance and providing a two year warranty period. We have a hotline service available in case something goes wrong with the system but during this time the customer may opt to change their process, and we are on hand to deal with any requests. It is a modular system and we have developed a portfolio of different modules that a customer may choose to implement as an after phase process.

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PSI TRANSCOM

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tthard Bahn

Matterhorn Go

Information stele, © PSI Transcom GmbH

“Supporting the documentation that we publish for the operation of the equipment we provide training for the operators working with the system. We also provide an advanced specific administrator training course that covers the complex knowledge needed to answer any questions that the daily users may have.”

Much of the network through the geographical target zone is single track.

Of the entire 144 kilometres MGB network only four kilometres of that is double track.

That is only found in stations and at specific cross-junctions, designed so that scheduled trains can pass. As Tobias explains, it is the infrastructure that makes the system a viable solution: “Our customers appreciate the graphical timetable interface that presents any conflict situations in a time-distance diagram.

It depicts the operational situation on the track, so you can actually see what train is

delayed and what the consequences will be to future traffic.”

The PSItraffic system receives the information from the Siemens signalling system, calculates the data and presents the results visually. This provides the train dispatcher with the information impending conflicts.

“The dispatcher recognises the situation and is able to adapt or delay specific trains and see what outcome that has for the traffic.

He can then go back to the signalling system and action the changes or advise the drivers accordingly. We have several sophisticated modems to support and automate the information in the case of any disruptions on track. The technology requires very little input to adapt the real time passenger information,” Tobias adds.

The successes of the RhB and MGB projects have led to the attraction of several

At Randa, © Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn

other operators seeking the system. At the beginning of 2013 PSI Transcom began working with Aare seeland mobil AG. Having carried out the specification and implementation phase, the factory acceptance test was successful in November 2013. Set to achieve its application targets, the start of 2014 will see the implementation at the customer site. As project manager on this contract Tobias details: “In February we will carry out the site acceptance test, and then the system will be up and running.

The difference on this project from MGB is that there is no interface to the signaling system. Instead, PSI Transcom developed a mobile application that continually transfers the latest positioning information from the trains to the central system. Therefore, the system can automatically adapt the real time passenger information at the stations according to the exact positions of the trains. PSI has taken on the project as main contractor, as with RhB, employing ib Datentechnik to undertake the hardware supply at the stations.”

The technology is the company’s core product for the Swiss market at the moment, providing real time passenger information.

The adaptable system and approach from the company is being recognised by its customers who have witnessed the successful implementation of the modern interface. “We are very flexible and our partners are very flexible. We can provide traditional systems with normal real time passenger and overhead displays but operators are calling for this system.” With the developed technologies onboard that have advanced several operators towards improvement, the timely arrival of 2014 is looking promising to future contract delivery. zz

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NEWS I Health & Safety

Rail industry fatigue fears l The vice chair of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group has voiced his concerns about fatigue in the railway industry. 25 years after the Clapham train crash, Kelvin Hopkins, MP for Luton North, addressed safety professionals gathered at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH) Rail Industry Conference 2013 at the Congress Centre in London’s West End on 28th November. He explained that managing tiredness was one of the significant factors identified by Lord Hidden QC’s report into the Clapham disaster.

Mr. Hopkins said: “We are one of the safest railways in Europe, and the industry should be proud of that.

Nevertheless, we must recognise that fatigue causes injuries and deaths to workers and passengers on our railways.

“Tiredness hampers mental alertness and affects performance, causing errors because of reduced concentration, perception, judgment and even memory.

Ultimately, it can lead to drowsiness and involuntary sleeping, which may cause accidents.”

Over 140 safety professionals from across the industry gathered at the symposium to hear from Mr Hopkins and other industry figures, including Richard Price, chief executive of the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), and Dr Pete Waterman OBE, chair of the London and North Western Heritage Railway Company.

Martin Leeks, chair of the IOSH Railway Group, said: “As Kelvin Hopkins accurately pointed out, the rail industry’s safety record is good. However, this doesn’t mean we can afford to rest on our laurels.

“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.”

Mr Leeks added: “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.”

Now in its ninth year, the IOSH Rail Conference has become a major date in the calendars of safety professionals within the industry.

The event also played host to the industry award for occupational health ‘good’ practice. IOSH’s Railway Group wants the accolade to encourage progression in health and safety and generate ideas within the sector.

This year, ground-breaking schemes to manage fatigue in the railway industry were celebrated.

For further information, go to www.iosh.co.uk/

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Loughborough research to help reduce accidents at UK railway stations l Researchers at Loughborough University are hoping to help reduce the number of accidents involving elderly passengers at railway stations across the country.

Rail users aged over 70 are five times more likely to have an accident when travelling by train than the rest of the population. The majority of these accidents occur at stations and over 66 per cent involve slips, trips and falls.

With an ageing population and growing numbers of rail passengers, it is vital that action is taken to try and reduce the number of accidents affecting the elderly.

To help the rail industry gain a better understanding of this issue and how it will be affected by changing demographics, researchers from the Loughborough Design School are looking at current risk models used by the sector and how these can be future proofed.

Dr Patrick Waterson, who is leading the project, explains: “To be able to tackle this issue we first need to understand what is happening now and what is likely to happen in the future. We need to ensure that the current risk models are providing an accurate picture.”

The team will also be investigating how risks to elderly passengers can be ‘designed’ out of existing and future railway stations, for example through the introduction of non-slip flooring, better access to lifts and improved stair/escalator design. A key part of this area of the project will involve looking outside the sector to discover how other industries tackle the issue.

“A good example of this is the cruise ship business,” adds Dr Waterson. “A large proportion of people who holiday on cruise ships are elderly, so we are interested to see how companies operating in this area design their ships to take into account the age of their travellers and what lessons we can learn for rail passengers.”

Another key element of the research will be speaking direct to older rail users to gain an insight into their experiences of station use. The research team will be setting up interviews and focus groups which they hope will shed further light on how stations can be improved to make them safer for the elderly.

The project, which is due to be completed by September next year, is being funded by Rail Research UK Association and RSSB. Anyone interested in taking part in the interviews and focus groups should email Dr Waterson at P.Waterson@lboro.ac.uk or call 01509 228478.

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Climate change adaptation l RSSB have commissioned a major research project aimed at better understanding and communicating extreme weather events and climate change impacts relevant to the British railway industry. The project is called T1009 Further research into adapting to climate change – Tomorrow’s Railway and Climate Change Adaptation (TRaCCA).

As part of the TRaCCA project the Arup-led consortium, working closely with the RSSB SPARK team, are building a web portal or ‘knowledge dissemination platform’ to share useful and important project-related information, documents and data. They are now seeking input from potential users of this web portal and from relevant stakeholders more widely, to inform and assist its design and testing.

Please complete the survey at https://www. surveymonkey.com/s/ F2358GN to ensure that the web portal is designed with potential end users in mind. zz Bhavisha Mistry

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NEWS I Integrated Transport

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Tram-train plans given backing l Councillors have backed plans to develop a tram-train strategy in Greater Manchester. A report outlining proposals for a network of specially-designed vehicles, running on both street tracks and sharing tracks with other trains on railway lines, was approved by members of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee’s Capital Projects and Policy Sub-Committee at the beginning of November.

An initial study into the feasibility, cost and benefits of several potential routes identified Manchester to Marple via Bredbury as the most economically viable route to develop as the region’s first tram-train line.

A tram-train system would make greater use of Greater Manchester’s local rail network, facilitating more frequent services. It would also provide better and more frequent access to the city centre and better connections with other public transport services there. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) will now look at how the proposals can be taken forward for further development, as part of a longterm transport strategy.

Rochdale Interchange opens its doors l Rochdale’s £11.5 million transport interchange opened its doors to the public on Sunday 17th November. The new interchange, which is located on Smith Street next to the old bus station, provides enhanced levels of facilities and improved safety and security for bus passengers and links directly with the new Metrolink extension, due to be completed by spring 2014. The new facility will be Europe’s first transport interchange to have an integrated hydropower source, thanks to an innovative hydroelectric plant part-funded by the Ticket to Kyoto carbon reduction investment project.

Stagecoach

First tracks for the Midland Metro extension are laid in Birmingham city centre

Midland Metro

l The £127 million extension of the Midland Metro in Birmingham has reached another major milestone. The first of the tracks that will take trams through the streets of the city centre from Snow Hill station to New Street station were laid at Colmore Gate in Bull Street. The cost of the project includes the new £40 million Urbos 3 tram fleet that will run on the Metro between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, the first of which recently arrived from Spain. The extension, being built by Balfour Beatty, is scheduled to open in 2015.

Government invests in the future of the Sheffield Supertram

Cllr Roger Horton, left, and Steve Davies, Balfour Beatty managing director for the West Midlands apply the finishing touches to the first stretch of rail for the Midland Metro extension.

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l In an announcement made by Transport Minister Baroness Kramer during a visit to Sheffield, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is set to receive £5 million to replace life expired sections of rail within street running elements of the Sheffield Supertram light rail system. The funding is a one-off payment to South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.

The works will be delivered by SYPTE in partnership with Stagecoach (the operators) and Sheffield City Council (SCC).

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New M5 metro (metropolis)

ConnectingAmsterdam Tasked with operating the entire public transport network and infrastructure in Amsterdam, GVB faces a reduction in annual government subsidy from â‚Ź102 million in 2012 to just â‚Ź36 million by 2024

T

cketing

Service & ti

he City Region of Amsterdam has commissioned GVB to carry out the current concession for Amsterdam public transportation. Operating in and around Amsterdam using trams, metros, buses and ferries, GVB employs over 3700 personnel. With 15 tram routes and four metro routes running alongside the buses and ferries, it provides 740,000 trips per day. In the eyes of GVB, passengers are of paramount importance, and this is reflected in the stance the company takes outside of the daily operations as it also focuses on social safety, and manages and maintains the resources and track infrastructure through its own companies, Railmaterieel and Rail Services.

In July 2013, the City Region of Amsterdam finalised the 2014 transportation plan, founded as the path to better public transportation, allowing

GVB to take the first steps in improving transportation. As GVB strives towards 2024, Railway Strategies researches how it aims to improve public safety by at least ten per cent, with service 20 per cent faster, attracting 35 per cent more passengers, and with a subsidy reduction by at least 40 per cent.

The reduction in annual subsidy is made more significant when considering the amount available for the previous concession before 2012 was â‚Ź150 million.

By leveraging the needs of the current user of public transportation and the changing mobility flows it aims to function efficiently within the financially changing situation.

GVB management is determined to make decisions that will improve quality whilst reducing working within a tighter budget.

Through increasing the frequency of routes it is possible to achieve a shorter travel time, and routes and stops that

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ance on

Mainten

trams

Rail maintenance have no added value will be withdrawn, with the trams and buses providing better connections with different metro routes running at a higher frequency.

As Tom Middelkoop interim CEO states, this is a challenging time but GVB is ready: “I do realise that we have set the bar high and have ambitious goals,” he said.

“But the new board of directors is quite confident that we will succeed. The long concession duration and the potential of the new North-South metro line, offer great opportunities to both our company and all the passengers.”

As an example of changes that will be made, the decision has been made to take tram 25 out of service in 2014. In the past, the service moved 6000 passengers a day, compared to trams 1 and 5 that each transport 35,000 a day. For the busiest sections of the elapsed route, other trams remain in service. In establishing better connections, Tram 4, bus 65, and tram 12 will run more often between the most important stations Sloterdijk and Amstel.

This will be to the advantage of 17,000 passengers, who will arrive more quickly at their destination. With the metro set to run at a higher frequency, in 2014 it will make a

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Caring for the environment – zero emission bus first step in running more often on Saturday and Sunday mornings. From a total of 1900 stops, 25 relatively unused stops will be taken out of service in 2014 reducing passenger journey time.

In the latest agreement, GVB is able to take advantage of innovative opportunities by commercially utilising stations.

Through this, GVB is looking to generate extra income providing an opportunity to improve the stations, making each more pleasant to use for passengers.

In 2017, the completion of the Noord/ Zuid route will lead to improved and faster public transportation and increase in passengers, making the operation of public transportation more profitable.

The successful introduction is extremely important to the contract and under the commission the company will provide, through its resources, the trained staff to operate the route.

Performance under the new approach will be measured based on customer

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satisfaction, the number of passenger kilometres in rush hours, punctuality, the number of fare evasion and trip cancellations. The City Region will also provide more inducements to achieve results instead of prescriptions, meaning part of the subsidy is variable and dependent on the increase in number of passenger kilometers in rush hours. This is because a pre-eminent carrier such as GVB has the expertise and experience for achieving the intended outcome.

Feel free to challenge us Call:+31.(0)20.4968730 www.railtechbv.nl

Scheduled reassessments are forecast in 2016, 2019, and 2022 and may lead to adjustments or settlements in the maximum subsidy.

For example, should income significantly differ than expected then the GVB subsidy will be adjusted. Although the subsidy is drastically reduced, the City Region of Amsterdam is investing about €395 million

Railtech BV Railtech BV is filling-in the needs of costreduction. Delivery of all kinds of overhead conductor materials coming via one supplier is of great benefit for all public transport operators. Furthermore their flexibility, knowledge, reliability at the most economical cost is proof of good performance. In their warehouse the critical components are available and with their 24/7 service possibility we always can rely on their support.

Railtech BV is a professional, flexible and dynamic organization that focuses specifically on the supply of overhead conductor materials for the rail infrastructure market (tram, train, metro). GVB has been one of our returning clients for more then 13 years.

Not only for the outside infrastructure but also for the new workshops at Diemen.

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until 2025 in improvements for a faster and more reliable public transportation network to attract more passengers. Additionally there is an investment of more than €500 million to purchase new metro coaches and a total of €684 million invested in management and maintenance of the rail infrastructure and renovating the metro system. Off the rail, GVB is additionally investing heavily in the purchase of modern clean Euro-6 buses and dynamic travel information, supporting the company’s vision of operating sustainably and protecting the environment.

The management and maintenance of the rail infrastructure will be carried out 15 per cent more efficiently and GVB Rail Services was selected for this purpose as an important partner. Under the new contract, the business enters 2014 working more efficiently and professionally, with more attention to market forces providing reliability at the most economical cost. zz

We provide a wide range of products, standard and specials, as well as professional advice to customers. Our philosophy is maximum service with short lines. Railtech has high problemsolving skills and is able to advise in very problematic situations an inventive solution with a competitive offer.

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DPP - Dopravni podnik hlavniho mesta Prahy

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Pulling Prague’s population With the upcoming Jubilee celebration of Prague’s metro system, Railway Strategies looks at DPP – the company that keeps the city moving

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D

uring its history of more than 110 years, the Prague Public Transport Company Inc (PPT), or locally known as Dopravni podnik hlavniho mesta Prahy (DPP), has implemented several strategic transport adaptations. In 1974 the business reached one of its most important milestones with the opening of the first metro line. Over the decades that followed the underground railway system became a critical part of Prague’s entire public transit system.

The company today is the largest municipal public transport operator in the Czech Republic and employs more than 10,000 personnel.

The escalator tunnel at Namesti Miru station on line A is the longest escalator in Europe

transporting passengers to the station at depths of 51 metres beneath the surface but aside from such statistics, the metro is of operational significance with the per capita usage of the network the highest in the world.

The travelling public benefits from everyday quality and continual development, as Jaroslav Duris, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors describes: “Our company has been gradually introducing priority measures to help surface transit traffic flow more smoothly and regularly, improving quality and making public transport more competitive with private automobiles. Our service quality programme plays a key role in our activities and aims to see our service through the eyes of our

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Statistically, the structural length of the line A extension is 6134 metres, with a maximum grade of 39.5 per cent, and minimum horizontal and vertical track curve radiuses of 630 and 1800 metres

clients, the travelling public.”

The company was able to make several changes to the business, through changes of its chief executive officer and management set up during 2013. Following criticism in the past of its spending on particular services, the year saw PPT achieve significant savings in the areas of consultancy, legal, and marketing, and furthermore arrange discounts on the purchase of articulated buses. As a result of fleet renovation and development of services including information for customers, the company increased the number of passengers carried in the year by 9.4 per cent.

Construction began on a project in 2010 undertaking major extension work of the Metro

line A. The west end of Prague’s underground line is being extended over a six kilometre double-track project located in the northwest of the city and will run from Dejvicka station via four new stations: Cerveny Vrch, Veleslavin, Petriny and Motol. “Operation of the new section is expected to start at the turn of the year 2014/2015, the extension is one of the key infrastructure projects that will help improve the efficiency of public transport and increase safety, comfort and capacity. The extended line will provide access at several points to other public transport modes such as buses, trams, trains and park and ride facilities.

“For the first time, single-track tunnels have been bored in Prague’s metro system using tunnel boring machine technology and benefiting from the latest tunnelling machines.

Station tunnels and double-track running tunnels are being built using the New Australian Tunnelling Method using access tunnels to transport all materials. Three of the new stations are being built as bored with Cerveny Vrch at 28 metres below the surface, Veleslavin at 20 metres and Petriny at 38 metres, but Motol station is being constructed using the cut-and-cover method, including the adjacent track segment in the direction of the route’s end. That is why the metro system has been conceived as an open one, meaning that options for its further expansion past Motol station have also been specified,” explains Jaroslav Duris.

The metro rolling stock has been renewed in recent years with the inventory of PPT including 730 wagons, of which 265 are the new M1 type manufactured by Siemens, and 465 cars are the 81-71M type modernised by Skoda Transportation. The remaining wagons are ten older Soviet 81-71 type cars and three historic Ecs, all manufactured by Mytishchi.

Above the ground, the tram rolling stock, operating on the largest network in the world, includes 953 tramcars, 608 of which are timetested T3 type with modifications, 147 T6A5 trams, 46 double-articulated bi-directional KT8N2 modernised trams with a central lowfloor section, 59 low-floor 14T trams produced

by Skoda Transportation and 93 of the latest 15T low-floor trams. Future expansion plans foresee the running of 250 type 15T trams.

“The extensive renewal of the metro vehicle fleet was carried out in the period from 1999 to 2011. Maintenance of new metro trains with modern technology can be very expensive,

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and the 35 year life cycle of the train body is incompatible with the five year life cycle of metro train electronic equipment, so we made the decision to out-source all maintenance issues of the new and modernised trains,” Jaroslav Duris adds. In 2009, PPT signed two 11 year long-term contracts with Siemens for the type M1 trains running on line C and another with Skoda Transportation for the type 81-71M trains on lines A and B. Four years into the contracts, the operational cost savings and quality of the maintenance service are reported to be a success.

Late in October 2013, PPT opened a new transport information centre at the main railway station in Prague, Praha hlavni nadrazi, and it is targeted to serve foreign and domestic

customers travelling to the capital. Looking towards future improvements, the first operating segment of the new metro line D is planned to eventually run from Namesti Miru to Depo Pisnice. The line will be 10.6 kilometres long with ten stations and is the most important transit structure being prepared in Prague, with the goal to provide high quality transit services to the south, reducing the high demand on metro line C. “Ongoing modernisation of rolling stock, reconstruction of tram tracks, alternative traction systems for buses and extension work of the metro line A remain at the forefront of future interest and over the next five year period we will be increasing the suitability for the disabled. The upgrade will

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also take into account the ecology aspect, with the new cars being more environmentally friendly with lower fuel consumption,” says Jaroslav Duris.

In a survey carried out by The International Automobile Federation in 2010, Prague’s public transport was ranked fourth of 23 in respect to quality, and with celebrations commencing in May 2014 marking the 40 year anniversary of the metro line operating, PPT continues to strives towards being be a modern, dynamic, efficient and a competitive enterprise, as Jaroslav Duris concludes: “Our attention will be focused on transparent and efficient management, public transport development, passenger satisfaction and maintaining a high standard of services.” zz

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BEA Sensorio

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Sensingsuccess BEA Sensorio specialises in the design of sensors integrated on automated systems for train doors, gates and similar public transport equipment

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B

EA, founded in Belgium in 1965, has over 400 employees around the globe. A pioneer in the sensor industry, BEA was one of the first companies to launch a Doppler microwave radar specially adapted for automatic doors opening.

The Sensorio division of BEA was set up to broaden the fields of application of its technologies through market diversification, and to make its expertise available to other parties involved in various new markets. At BEA Sensorio, the employees and management team combine experience and know-how in a way that ensures clients get the right solution to meet all their sensor needs.

BEA Sensorio offers a complete range of infrared optical, radar and time of flight LZR速 based sensors, and these are divided across several market sectors, one of which is Railways and Public Transport in general. In this area, BEA Sensorio products are available for interior doors, exterior doors, platform screen doors and other similar applications in Public Transport.

When it comes to interior doors, over the past few years automation has become increasingly important in the public transport market, mainly focusing on the comfort and safety of passengers. The same is valid for automated doors, especially on train platforms.

Ngai Fung Metalware Established in 1983 to meet the needs of the growing industrial market in Hong Kong, Ngai Fung produces metal ware including electronic switches, mini parts for motors and metal parts for switches. In addition, the company provides services for designing mould, fabrication, processing and fixture.

Ngai Fung provide customers throughout Asia and Europe with excellent service by focusing on the development of employees, and using new technology and techniques to provide products of only the highest quality.

Contact: Mr Frankie Lai Tel: 852-2796 3687 Email: fcylai@ngaifung.corp.com.hk www.ngaifung.hk

Certification ISO 9001:2008 ISO 14001:2004

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BEA Sensorio

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On automated interior train doors, the aim of using sensors is threefold: 1) To open the door when passengers approach the door (detection of motion), and avoid inappropriate openings in all other situations 2) To keep the door open as long as a passenger is next to the door or within its threshold (detection of presence)

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3) To avoid the door staying open indefinitely, if objects, such as baggage are placed in the sensor’s detection field The BEA Sensorio sensors of the RS range are dedicated to this kind of application. So for example, the RS-1 is a one-spot active infrared sensor designed to open the doors when needed or to keep them open in case of presence at proximity of or in the door’s threshold,

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These solutions offer multiple customer benefits, including decreased maintenance and logistics cost. They are convenient alternative to push buttons, light barriers or similar infrared sensors.

For exterior doors, generally the most important aspects for operators to consider are safety and access conditions for persons with disabilities. As a result, on automated exterior doors, the aim of using sensors is to safeguard the passengers while keeping an acceptable level of operability. Therefore, the door should be kept open when somebody tries to enter or to leave the railway vehicle, alone or accompanied (e.g. with a children or an animal). The ‘critical’ passengers should be detected without being hit by the door. Consequently, additional sensor solutions to contact edges used nowadays are requested.

BEA Sensorio’s products in this area are based on the LZR® platform, which the company describes as ‘timeof-flight technology’. The LZR®-RS300 solution has been

designed to safeguard exterior railway doors in either two or (optionally) three dimensions - one single sensor (emitter and receiver are integrated in one housing) can be enough to safeguard a complete door, either single or double leaf, flat or curved.

The LZR® RS-300 offers a variety of customer benefits. It is a convenient alternative to light grids, and as the emitter and receiver are integrated in one housing, minimum effort is required for integration offering time and cost reduction to integrator and end user. It offers complete coverage of the door surface, and in combination with contact edges, the LZR-RS300 provides high degree of safeguarding on exterior train doors.

Platform screen doors Platform Screen Doors (PSD) is a part of a safety system used mainly in the subway to separate subway platforms from the railway track. Sliding doors installed on the subway platform interact with train doors, while opening and closing simultaneously. One of the main tasks of such systems is to prevent passengers from falling on the track and guarantee constant and safe passenger

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flow between platform and train. Consequently, the safeguarding of the threshold area between the PSD and the train is a very important factor.

The LZR® platform is also used in the PSD area, with the LZR®-RS310. The LZR®-RS310 has been designed to safeguard the threshold area between the PSD and train doors in three dimensions. For correct train positioning and other raw data measurement linked to PSD systems, BEA Sensorio also offers LZR®-U9xx series another part of the LZR®-range.

Clients find that BEA Sensorio’s LZR Laser Scanner series provide a refined alternative to light barriers, cameras or similar technologies sensors. LZR® Laser

STMicroelectronics NV BEA Europe is using STM32 Microcontrollers of STMicroelectronics for its door opening systems. The choice of the STM32F105 “connectivity line” brings a cost effective solution with a high level of integration.

This line is characterized with specific communication peripherals such as USB slave, USB OTG, Ethernet, CAN, I2S etc… It is a part of the generic 32bit ARM based STM32 microcontroller family of ST which includes more than 450 references.

STM32 series offer compatible products starting from 0.32 USD 32 bit Microcontrollers up to the STM32F429 line which is the most powerful ARM Cortex M4 based product in the Market.

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Scanner integration on the Platform Door Screen enables the integrator to set-up a safe (up to SIL3 safety level) and reliable system with reduced maintenance costs and increased availability of the overall Automated Metro system.

Alongside safeguarding exterior and PSD doors or comfort on interior doors, other applications can also be addressed using radar and time of flight LZR® sensors.

Generally, if motion has to be detected, radar sensors are the most appropriate solution, whereas if distance has to be measured, time of flight LZR® is generally more suitable. Some examples of other possible applications in the railway market are passengers counting and gap filler deployment – both could be addressed using BEA Sensorio’s Laser scanner platform LZR®-U9xx.

It is clear from the solutions discussed above that passenger’s safety and comfort are major area of focus for BEA Sensorio, and it is working closely with train manufacturers such as Siemens and Alstom as well as the integrators such as Bombardier to create adapted sensor solutions bearing in mind cost adapted solution for end-user and more safety & comfort for passengers.

As an example, one of its most recent announcements

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was in September 2013, when the company released an updated version of RS-15, the only opening sensor for train inner doors that is compliant with fire safety standards in Europe.

It is thanks to innovative solutions such as this that BEA Sensorio remains one of the world leading companies in its sector. As it enters the New Year, the organisation is looking forward to further developing its equipment for new applications in the industry, which by the way will be exhibited during the forthcoming INNOTRANS Exhibition. zz

www.sensorio.be

Tradpost Technology Tradpost Technology has been the major contract manufacturer for BEA Europe for more than nine years. Established since 1982, it is an OEM turnkey manufacturing company serving countries in Europe, North America and Oceania for PCB sub-assembly as well as complete device builds, committed to deliver top quality and prompt shipment products with thanks to its expertise engineering, production capability, well managed supply chains and logistics support. Its accredited ISO 9001:2008 and approved UL, CSA, TUV Safety Inspections warrant a diverse range of electronic devices from computer peripherals, telecommunications, lighting, to sensors, keep expanding into new industries.

To assure the required level of quality standard the company established a quality management system according to ISO 9001 and IRIS.

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MTR Nordic

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Bold developments With 3000 employees and ambitious goals for ongoing improvements, MTR Nordic is working to create a world-class underground system

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ith the overall responsibility for the running, planning and maintenance of the Stockholm underground system since 2009, for a time period of 13 years thereafter, MTR Nordic operates under a 300 million euro annual contract. This involves ambitious goals to continuously improve and develop the underground network for the 1.2 million passengers that use the metro every day.

Since taking over the contract four years ago, MTR has seen exceptional improvements, with punctuality now at its highest ever levels in the metro’s 60 year history.

Managing traffic, ticketing, cleaning systems and traffic information, while consistently striving for customers to

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have the best possible journey, MTR Nordic views the underground as an imperative part of the daily running of Stockholm and is determined to keep journeys flowing efficiently.

By a joint venture with Norway’s leading train maintenance firm, Mantena, MTR Nordic handles the maintenance sector of the organisation. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the maintenance organisation manages, develops and maintains the complete fleet of vehicles and workshop equipment used and owned by the public transportation organisation, Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL), to ensure all travelers a safe, punctual and enjoyable journey.

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MTR Nordic, being a subsidiary of the London based MTR Europe, is part of MTR Europe’s wider growth strategy. In the UK, MTR already joint-owns and successfully operates the London Overground, and is bidding for the Crossrail, Essex Thameside, ScotRail and Thameslink operating contracts. In Sweden, strategically aiming to deliver a new, fast, premium-quality service to its Swedish intercity passengers, MTR Nordic announced it will be launching the MTR Express, a new express train that will connect Sweden’s two largest cities.

“Running 110 weekly departures between Stockholm, located on the east coast, and Gothenburg in the west, we aim to attract existing rail passengers as well as

other business and leisure travelers to choose rail over other modes of transport with our three hour ten minute service,” said Peter Viinapuu, chief executive officer of MTR Nordic.

Calling at Flemingsberg, Sodertalje, Hallsberg, Herrljunga and Falkoping, MTR Express service was officially awarded nine Stockholm to Gothenburg train paths each way on weekdays and five train paths on weekends in September 2013; the majority of services are anticipated to start late 2014.

Reaching top speeds of 200 kilometres per hour, MTR will invest 78 million euros to acquire six state-of-the-art train sets to operate on the route. Capable of dealing

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AMS60 mobile welding machine

with the most harsh Nordic weather conditions, the five-car, aluminium bodied EMU trains will be designed and constructed in Switzerland by Stadler to provide high quality travel for customers. Due for delivery in autumn 2014, the new train sets will be tested and commissioned before the launch of the MTR Express service.

Focused on customer satisfaction, the company’s guiding principles are security, punctuality, cleanliness and customer service. To succeed in delivering these core values, the internal environment at MTR is open and transparent, with close dialogue between all staff levels encouraged. With more than one million journeys made daily, MTR Nordic is aware that constant improvements are vital to the ongoing success of the company and is keen for management to hold regular, informal meetings with staff to encourage conversations and ideas that will enhance the company’s day-to-day operations.

Furthermore, it has developed a process-based system, which takes staff suggestions into consideration and enables the firm to provide an increasingly enhanced

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travel experience.

The internal work with coaching leadership has made a significant footprint in employee satisfaction.

The latest employee survey conducted in November 2013 marked an all-time-high score on Employee Satisfaction Index, namely 81 per cent.

One way customer satisfaction will be improved is with the 19 kilometre expansion of the Stockholm metro. Following an agreement between the Government, Stockholm County Council, City of Stockholm, Solna Town Council and the municipalities of Jarfalla and Nacka, the expansion of the city’s metro network will involve 19 kilometres of new metro lines and nine new stations to be completed by 2025. With 78,000 new homes, the four planned projects within the expansion plan will help to meet the sharp rise in demand for housing in Stockholm.

Included in the plan is a project to build a new metro line from Odenplan to Hagastaden, which is due to open in 2020, a southern extension of the Blue Line from Kungstradgarden to Sofia and an interchange

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at Gullmarsplan; an extension of the Blue Line Akalla branch to Barkaby station, due for completion in 2021 and a five-station extension of the Blue Line east from Kungstradgarden to Hammarby Canal, Sickla, Saltsjo-Jarla and Nacka Forum, which is scheduled for completion in 2025.

“Hosting world-leading expertise and strong financial backing, MTR Nordic aims to develop our presence in the Nordic countries with rail activities and superior services that will complement the needs of many different categories of passengers. We also look forward to be an integrated business partner in the development of the metro system in Stockholm,” said Peter Viinapuu.

With construction due to begin on the four projects in 2016, the expansion will be ready for the anticipated increase in Stockholm’s population from 2.1 million to 2.6 million by 2030. Meanwhile, over the coming few years, the company will continue to enjoy positive growth in passenger volume on the Stockholm underground as the city’s bustling population is annually increasing by double its predicted rate. zz

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Banedanmark

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A new history Banedanmark settles into its seat aboard the €2.5 billion signalling renewal programme supported by the Danish government

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s the infrastructure owner of all railways in Denmark, Banedanmark is undertaking a total replacement of signalling across the country.

Leading the way, the state owned company is in the early stages of the modernisation programme.

With control and communication at the centre of the renewal, Railway Strategies spoke to signalling programme director Morten Søndergaard: “We started by doing initial studies and following political agreement we scheduled out the work through an extensive procurement phase over a two-year period dividing the scope into four main packages.

“The suburban network in Copenhagen was awarded to Siemens renewing a full Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling system.” The 170km S-Bane network comprises 130 train sets, and the contractor

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is responsible for all signalling replacement based on a software controlled, radio based signalling system that includes additional features such as automatic train operation, applicable to the more intensive suburban rail network.

“The S-Bane line project has commenced with the first 12 trains being fitted today. By fitting out the first part of the line we have established an early deployment section,” begins Morten. The Early Deployment scheme includes the first line to be fitted and tested and the scheme will build up experience for both the suppliers and Banedanmark. He continues: “On this part of the section we can run tests on the equipment to ensure the system is working correctly before the contractor continues the installation on the rest of the network.

In the full transition period the trains run double fitted

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of a countrywide replacement. The systems comprise all signalling equipment including train detection, point machines, line side signals, interlocking, train control, and traffic management. The third contract entails all on-board equipment. There was a lot of competition during tendering stage, and histories are being written under new relationships, with Alstom providing ERTMS/ ETCS solutions on the eastern contract. Alstom was additionally awarded the contract for the onboard computer equipment on the mainline trains. The western mainline contract was secured by Thales and Balfour Beatty Rail (now Structon) consortium.

Open tender

operating on the new system when it passes the early deployment section of the line. In 2014 we will be fitting more trains, testing the system including safety approval of the final software. The whole project will progress in this way and we expect to reach completion of the whole network by 2018.�

The other main contracts (a full replacement of the main and regional lines in Denmark) are scheduled to run 18 months behind the S-bane deployment. All three have passed the initial procurement phase with early deployment lines planned for supervised operation in 2016. The contracts are larger and more complex with the integration of equipment into different trains encompassing different companies.

The Fjernbane mainline network was divided into two projects, east and west, as a reflection of the size

The contracts are on schedule and budget with overall completion due in 2021. As Morten explains, the new platform for tendering is proving to be a success: “We wanted to create competition, to get the right prices and the right performance so we made a complete open tender. Traditionally in this industry the railways are tied to a few companies but by ensuring the requirements specification was equal to all e.g. by developing completely new operational rules and taking away the benefit of knowing or interfacing to existing systems, we could submit openly to the market and we were able to cut our original budget by nearly 20 per cent. “It is a business tender model that we will take forward, we are a public company, but try to act in a commercial way. In Denmark there is a lot of investment underway, with future plans to electrify the whole railway network. As this goes ahead we will look to attract contractors with the capacity to roll out a steady production over a number of years. We also have a new high-speed line underway originating in Copenhagen and a future upgrade of the line to Germany among other projects. All of these will have the same overall

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procurement strategy of creating maximum competition and economy of scale.”

The railway in Denmark is going through a period of government backed, fully financed investments. To overcome concerns surrounding funding for projects over a prolonged period, long term rail funds has been established by the politicians which fit the long duration of these programmes. This way the financial situation is settled for the full length of the programmes, despite changing governments. This has created stability of projects, and contractors that may have been deterred previously by the insecurity of funding over a ten-year period are now being attracted to tenders.

Establishing a new framework with contractors is not without challenge as Morten says: “It is a difficult programme in terms of integration. In total we actually have 13 interdependent projects running in parallel, including the provision of a totally new GSM-R network.

All the projects can delay the other which is a potential challenge. We are also doing training of all train drivers and all staff in the control centres, so there are a number of projects running in the same time frame.”

With the contracts on track Morten explains how Banedanmark is structured to make a difference: “There

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We take in trainees from universities directly together with the consultants that work with us. By pre-empting future demands we have set up programmes to grow students expertise across the industry by working with us.”

Aware that through investments Banedanmark has created a lot interest around the project, Morten concludes: “We are so far satisfied with our progress and intend to continue in that way.” zz

Ramboll The re-signalling consortium: Ramboll, Atkins, Emch+Berger and Parsons There is no precedence for upgrading an entire country’s railway signalling infrastructure.

Nevertheless, this is the task facing a consortium led by Ramboll and comprising Atkins, Emch+Berger and Parsons that is currently designing and planning Denmark’s new signalling system - one of the most significant and ambitious infrastructure projects in Europe today.

Ramboll, Atkins, Emch+Berger and Parsons have created a team of more than 100 international experts to combine local knowledge of the existing system with international railway expertise. The team is placed in an integrated organisation with the customer, Banedanmark, in Copenhagen. Together, the consortium partners have 35,000 experts and have worked on some of the world’s most advanced transportation and signal-control projects.

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České dráhy

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Czech mate As the rail industry across Europe adapts to EU policy, České dráhy is proving itself as a leading operator in the open market

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he Czech Republic is home to a 9500 kilometre rail network, and with 2500 stations and stops, it is one of the densest in Europe. Each day over 7000 passenger trains travel a total of more than 125 million kilometres yearly with residents of Czech Republic traveling an average of 17 train journeys per capita per year, one of the highest ratios in Europe.

In 2003 the joint-stock company České dráhy (CD) was established as one of the successor companies of the original state organisation Czech Railways, and in the ten-year period has undergone further organisational changes in order to create a working group structure.

The business has two main focuses, passenger transport, and freight transport. České dráhy’s activities in rail freight transport are operated by its subsidiary ČD Cargo, providing shipments of industrial and agricultural commodities, raw materials, automobiles, fuels and propellants, goods, containers and oversized freight.

Railway Strategies spoke to head of strategy division Jiri Nalevka about the strategic direction that the business is moving in: “Through operations of our own and our subsidiaries, we aim to gain economic scale. We are a pure network operator focusing on the Czech domestic market, with our subsidiary, ČD Cargo, in charge of freight operations. There has been a huge transformation over the last five to seven years, which is focused on a complete change of inner functions to withstand the opening of the market.”

Opening up the national freight and passenger markets

to cross-border competition has been a major step towards the creation of an integrated European railway area and of a genuine EU internal market for rail. Freight transport has been liberalised in the EU since 2007, for both national and international services meaning any licensed EU railway company and new operators entered the market improving the competitiveness of rail against other transport modes. The market for purely domestic rail passenger services however has not yet opened up to EU-wide competition, but as Jiri continues: “In the Czech Republic both domestic and international passenger market has been open to competition since 2004 and we have open access competitors as well as competitors for Public Service Operations (PSO) contracts.

“The contracts cover approximately 95 per cent of project activity on the rail network. We signed a long term PSO contract in 2009 for ten years providing state and regional services. The contract stipulates that the state may decide to lodge a tender in case that the state of the market should differ.” České dráhy has established close links with DPP, the urban transport operator in Prague providing the bus service from Prague main station to Vaclav Havel Airport, but has also been working with its European neighbours to begin to improve services in the area of rail freight transport and logistics, as Jiri explains: “In 2012 we concluded a contract deemed as one of the most important international projects. The SoNorA (SouthNorth Axis) project is the largest project in the Central Europe programme in terms of its overall budget.”

The SoNorA project was supported with the results of

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the Adriatic-Baltic Landbridge project, which ran between 2006 and 2008 that České dráhy also participated in.

The main goal of SoNorA was in support of multimodal transport between the Baltic and Adriatic Seas, increasing the share of railway and waterway transport.

The drive to support new opportunities for regional development through improvements and transport availability, saw a specific contribution of the project from the point of view of developing rail freight transport was the development and an optimisation of transport at the container terminal in Lovosice, as well as a preinvestment study of ČD Cargo’s market opportunities in Brno and Ostrava.

The company has strategic goals that define its position on the open market. It must maintain a marketorientated, profitable and well-financed organisation, and whilst being operationally efficient, aims to remain customer orientated as it integrates as part of the European railway system as stipulated by the EU. Integration is a key part of České dráhy’s future, with subsidiaries working under the same rules and policies to provide an overall more fully competitive service.

“The state ownership brings the advantage of setting

TEDOM

the business in a very good financial position, but as we are set to make substantial investment into rolling stock, we are seeking the arrangement of long-term contracts.

An additional advantage that we have combined experience and knowledge of the market and customers, with the experience of the coverage of the network within the Czech Republic. We can offer transport for passengers from the point origin to destination without the need to change transport options, and we perceive this a great advantage because customers are under one transport contact preventing the need to buy two or three tickets. We are in a positive position to remain at the forefront of the industry,” Jiri concludes. zz

Production and mounting of rail vehicle components t Turning t Milling t Drilling t Welding CONTACT MSV STUDÉNKA s. r. o. Čs. Armády 219/20, Bílovec 743 01 Czech Republic

Call: +420 556 403 614 Email: Info@msvstudenka.cz Online: www.msvstudenka.cz

ČSN OHSAS 18001:2008, ČSN EN ISO 9001:2009, ČSN EN ISO 14001:2005, ČSN EN 15085 – 2:2008 Reliable suplier for more than 10 years

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TEDOM is one of the few engine producers offering horizontal engines suitable for underfloor installations in DMUs and other special railway vehicles.

TEDOM Stage IIIB compliant engines are electronically controlled with CAN bus communication however for repowering projects engine control strategy could be adapted to existing analogue or mechanical control system.

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McCulloch Rail

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Seen here working for BAM Rail working on Edinburgh Tram where 800 metres of twin track was laid utilising FLASS

Laying lines Leading the way on new lines McCulloch Rail is continually developing innovative equipment to modify rail infrastructure

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FLASS laying concrete sleepers for Balfour Beatty on Transport London Line next to Millwall Football Club

n 1992, two brothers, William and Danny McCulloch, established McCulloch Rail realising interests of developing equipment to solve problems on the railway. Operations began with the Trac Rail Transposer (TRT), a safe and accurate rail installation machine capable of removing and installing rail in a very short amount of time. In conjunction, the company started a scrap recovery system, using a high capacity Unimog and trolley system for lifting and moving scrap.

The combination of the methods results in a safe and efficient system. The business has since designed two types of bigger operational machinery. Introducing the new lines, Railway Strategies spoke to business director Colin Neil: “We have developed a Fine Lining and Sleeper Spacing (FLASS) machine, which can carry up to 14 concrete sleepers at a time, lining and spacing them very accurately, eliminating manual handling.

“It is particularly relevant in single line rail where it has a huge advantage over other methodologies but it is just as efficient on some twin track and multiple track systems.”

When the equipment was first released demand was not immediate, but as more clients benefited from the operation, interest has quickly grown, and repeat business has been high.

The Panel Lifter is a similar concept to FLASS although its capabilities are greater and can lift and move a full concrete panel and load onto a Unimog trolley system. Capable of carrying a load of up to nine panels, it saves time and effort and can be completed in remote locations. All machinery, except for the Unimog, is bespoke, designed and refined by Billy McCulloch. As an example Colin explains: “The TRT design was revised several times before he was happy with the product. We undertake R&D ourselves, employing specialist CAD and design engineers. We then construct

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Rail distribution being carried out prototypes in house before our suppliers manufacture the equipment to industry standards.”

With the company head office in Ayrshire UK, it has depots in Doncaster and in Northampton to support its operational capabilities. Holding patents on the designs, McCulloch Rail is able to provide the industry with a fresh approach, and the innovative products are enriching new contracts. “The biggest client we have is Network Rail and over 50 per cent of our business is with them, in both new work and maintenance.

“We regularly use TRT and FLASS machinery on projects with Babcock, carrying out single line projects in remote areas of Scotland amongst other regions. We carry out similar type works with Balfour Beatty and Amey Colas, the other IMT Contractors and are witnessing our geographic spread widening to include Wales, Devon and Cornwall incorporating the FLASS machine and the Panel Lifter into the work,” says Colin.

In a demonstration of the full capabilities of the business, Colin explains that McCulloch Rail will shortly begin two contracts with Network Rail utilising all types of machines: “It’s a single line contract where we are renewing a considerable distance. As we work the line we will collect the old scrap panels with Unimogs, Panel Lifters and trolley systems. New sleepers

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Scrap concrete panels being lifted for Babcock Rail on the Stirling Station Remodelling Project with ALO working will be installed with FLASS and the rail with the TRTs. Each model of machinery is going to be utilised on the contract.

“We are in discussion with Network Rail, Amey Colas and Babcock around construction of a scrap recovery programme that will help clear up the infrastructure around the UK.” The backbone of operations is made up of 26 TRTs and the business is taking delivery of another six. Other assets are made of four Unimog systems with trolleys, two FLASS systems, and one panel lifter system with another to be constructed in 2014.

Surrounding future machinery, Colin was able to announce outline plans of another big

development: “We have registered designs for a multipurpose utility vehicle and we are looking to start manufacturing the prototype fairly soon. It is going to be an asset that benefits the whole rail infrastructure.

“Most plant on the rail has been adapted for the railway, whereas our plant has been designed to function for the railway and that is a key aspect of our strategy. It is highlighted in the simplicity of the machines we have, with universal connections. As an example, all our hydraulic hosing is the same diameter, so any repairs can be completed quickly from universal spares and tools so engines will not be marooned.”

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some contracts we are actually being included within advised methodology. “We have patents globally and plans towards entering the European and American markets through terms of supply, which provides an exciting future. But the biggest aspect of McCulloch Rail is we continually look at improvement processes and innovation and that is why we have been successful.� zz

TRT being utilised in a tunnel environment, removing scrap LWR (long welded rail) to be replaced with new

South Cave Unimog

The business has maintained an exceptional safety record as a result of regulated procedures and the elimination of manual handling. The statistics are further enhanced when considering that all of McCulloch Rail operations can be carried out under live operating conditions. Having designed the machinery, the training of the workforce is also undertaken in-house with external trainers

providing certification. With contracts and interest growing rapidly, the business is focused on recruitment as it seeks individuals with a mechanical and hydraulic aptitude.

McCulloch Rail is looking to gain a greater footing in the industry through controlled growth in 2014, developing concepts and bringing in new machinery as Colin concludes: “Our capabilities are being understood and in

South Cave Unimog is one of the longest established Mercedes Benz Unimog Dealerships in the country and a determination to provide the most dependable customer service experience has made it the first choice for many major organisations and independent Unimog operators in the UK today.

The UK rail sector in particular is a real growth area for the company and its relationship with the internationally renowned Zagro group has allowed it to match the best quality rail gear to the ever-versatile Unimog vehicle.

Supporting McCulloch Rail

Providing full Unimog sales and service to the UK Rail sector South Cave Unimog, Common Lane, Newport, East Yorks HU15 2RD, 01430 424233

www.southcavetractors.com

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Keymile

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Going thedistance With a longstanding tradition to deliver flexible, customer-driven, high quality solutions, Keymile has become the partner to trust

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oday one of Europe’s leading suppliers of cutting edge, bespoke technology for telecommunication solutions required in the rail industry, Keymile’s success is the result of a number of strategic mergers and a longstanding dedication to delivering high quality, reliable data transmission services to its clients. Viewing its relationships with customers as open partnerships, it offers advice on network infrastructure and network extension; on top of this, the dynamic firm provides 24-hour support for any project and technical issues that may arise.

“We have a long history, which began with Austrian firm Datentechnick AG acquiring Ascom Transmission AG from Switzerland in 2002 and merging this company with ke Kommunikations-Elektronik GmbH the following year; both companies have a distinguished history in the telecommunication market. We later acquired another German organisation, Aastra Networks GmbH, in 2009; this company belonged during their long history as well to Ericsson, Marconi and Bosch. Most recently we further strengthened our portfolio for smaller transmission systems with the acquisition of a new company named HYTEC Gerätebau GmbH, which has a highly sophisticated development team and boasts sophisticated products,” explains Klaus Pollak, head of consulting and projects at Keymile. “HYTEC’s market focus is today towards the utility segment, supplying baseband modems, Ethernet switching devices with SHDSL and optical transmission interfaces as well

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as powerline modems. Our plan is to place HYTEC’s product portfolio as well into the railway industry strengthening our offering of the well known Keymile products.”

He continues: “Our main services are in two sectors, one is the public telecom operator segment and the other in railways, authority and utilities; we have a large footprint in serving companies in the railway industry and have around 30 customers using our products. This includes the highly advantageous solution, Milegate, which has become our flagship data transmission platform due to its innovative abilities to connect legacy systems to new products in both the railway and telecom operator sectors.”

An essential component in the modernisation of railway networks, Milegate is a flexible access and transmission platform, able to provide both Ethernet and native TDM technology from a single subrack. Providing connections to users and access points via optical fibre and copper wires, Milegate has a hybrid Ethernet and TDM backplane that boasts a connection of up to ten GBE per slot, thus ensuring excellent performance for Ethernet services. Furthermore, traditional services such as analogue telephony and synchronous/asynchronous low bandwidth TDM connections are also available due to Milegate’s TDM capabilities.

A forward-thinking company that strives to be on the leading edge of technology, Keymile announced its new Ethernet card for the Milegate multi-service packet

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HYTEC HY104 Family transform platform, which provides 12 Gigabit Ethernet ports with power over Ethernet (PoE) capability, in June 2013. Designed for use at locations where local power supply is too costly, or where a remote backup system for equipment such as access control systems, video cameras or IP phones should be implemented, the new Ethernet card supplies an output power of up to 30 Watts per port. Meeting the high reliability demands of company networks, the card also has an extended temperature range that means it can be installed in outdoor cabinets.

Milegate’s versatility has resulted in it becoming Keymile’s answer to the current evolution surrounding telecommunication networks and the technological challenges faced by network operators, as Klaus discusses: “As the dedicated network grows and migrates to Ethernet or packet networks in general (which includes as well MPLS and IP), Milegate is precisely positioned to migrate all kind of legacy networks towards packet transport; this is the main plan for the Milegate platform both now and in the future. Although Milegate is our flagship data transmission platform, we also have a number of smaller transmission products under the name LineRunner SCADA NG. These are used more for services such as connecting crossing gates or to connect railway control centres; however, for data transmission on copper/fibre lines on a lower speed we have specialised SCADA systems that are used to connect these services.

These systems are temperature proof and waterproof and we have a lot of these installed on railway networks.

With the acquisition of HYTEC we are now in the position to enhance our offering with new functionality and additional product variants.”

Designed for outdoor use in a diverse range of operating temperatures, the company’s products are superior in robustness and have been extensively tested in Keymile’s in-house test labs to ensure absolute reliability. A prime example of this is the LineRunner SCADA NG, an extremely robust broadband transmission system for Ethernet telecontrol/SCADA applications.

Supplied in a tough plastic housing, the product can be used as a desktop unit or fit on top hat rails, has all display elements and interfaces at the front and operates on solar plants.

Suitable for cost-optimised, reliable data transmission in the telecontrol systems of railway and transport firms as well as motorways, waterways, airports, pipeline facilities and utilities, the LineRunner SCADA NG’s modular design enables the data transmission on optical fibres, copper pairs or in SDH/PDH networks with a single system. A multidrop system of the latest generation, the data of up to 63 LineRunner SCADA NGs can be exchanged via one transmission path; furthermore, the SCADA network can be arranged in various topologies, such as linear or ring topology, and supports various network architectures using virtually any infrastructure.

LineRunner SCADA NG is able to operate in the temperature range of -25 degrees Celsius to 70 degrees

Main Building

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz LineRunner SCADA System Integration Test Celsius. It is also shock resistant, making it suitable for working in environments with high electromagnetic interferences.

Tasked with finding innovative solutions to evolving challenges and supporting customers through seamless migration of their telecommunication networks, Keymile integrates the requirements of its clients into its research and development operations to deliver tailor-made solutions, efficiently and effectively. Certified to DIN EN ISO 9001, Keymile’s EMC laboratory supports the R&D team and ensures optimum transparency and ongoing product enhancement. “Our own production and test centre in Hannover guarantees high and stable quality research and development of the production process, which leads to short completion times,” says Klaus.

“It was a few years ago that we made the conscious decision to keep the staff and the factory here in Germany instead of China or Eastern Europe as we can ensure high quality products and a fast reaction time to our customers.

“In combination with our own development in Switzerland and Germany the entire development and production chain is 100 per cent controlled by Keymile, which gives us very high credibility for data security arising now to the number one topic for mission critical networks as the recent discussion regarding NSA and other intelligences services shows.”

Elaborating further, Klaus says: “We are a mid-sized company; we have been dedicated to the railway industry for several years and we know how the railway industry thinks, which enables us to serve different kinds of systems that allow perfect data transmission services to our clients. Reliability is a key word in this industry, and our aim is to transport the reliability that we know from STM and TDM networks into the packet and Ethernet world to create systems that are equally as reliable. This is our aim, which is why we are the right partner for the transmission and migration of networks for Ethernet or packet transport.”

Benefiting from a leading position in the market of railway modernisation, Klaus sees a lot of opportunity for Keymile to continue growing its presence in the rail industry as the trend of replacing old equipment and networks with new ones continues. For example, modernisation is crucial to a growing number of stations where video surveillance/CCTV is becoming a bigger requirement; this data needs to be transported, which means more bandwidth is needed on technology that isn’t sufficient for this level of transportation. Speaking in Railway Strategies in November 2012, Klaus said: “Any project in the rail area takes some time but there is a clear trend of replacing old equipment and networks with new ones. Keymile has been and is able to help extensively with this.”

Keymile

Strategically strengthening its product portfolio with its recent acquisition, Klaus discusses the benefits of this development: “In 2013 we won a tender for transmission systems in Germany with our SCADA product, MileGate will hopefully follow next year; in addition the acquisition of HYTEC strengthens our services in the smaller transmission systems segment. The company has a highly sophisticated team that will get to run these transmission systems and generate these products as part of Keymile.”

Looking ahead, the future looks positive for Keymile as it focuses on enhancing its products and boosting its focus in the railway sector, as Klaus concludes: “We want to boost our position in the migration of railway networks towards packet technology, where we see as keywords the reliability and data security; we also want to integrate a more sophisticated security mechanism inside the systems to secure the network from outside. From a business perspective, around 30-40 per cent of our market is in transport and utilities, while around 60 per cent is in the telecom sector; over the next few years we would like to come to a 50/50 share through enhancing our portfolio and efforts in the railway and utilities sectors.” zz

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MileGate 2510 with line cards for railway applications

www.keymile.com

MileGate SUP12

Rack with 2 MileGate 2510 Subracks

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zz NEWS I Conferences & Exhibitions zzzzzzzzzzz Forthcoming Conferences and Exhibitions 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.

13 February 2014 – Gen Y Rail Newcastle Upon Tyne Organisers: The National Skills Academy Tel: 0161 833 6320 Web: www.nsare.org

20-22 May – Infrarail 2014 London Organisers: Mack Brooks Tel: 01727 814 400 Web: www.infrarail.com

12-14 March – Exporail South East Asia – Thailand 2014 Bangkok Organisers: Mack Brooks Exhibitions Tel: +44 (0)1727 814 400 Email: thailand@exporail-southeastasia.com Web: www.exporail-southeastasia.com/

20-22 May – Civil Infrastructure & Technology Exhibition (CITE) 2014 London Organisers: Mack Brooks Tel: 01727 814 400 Web: www.cite-uk.com

1-2 April – MetroRail co-located with Light Rail, RailTel, Rail Power and Air Rail London Organisers: Terrapinn Tel: +44 (0)20 7092 1000 Email: enquiry.uk@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/RS-brochure 1-3 April – Intermodal Asia 2014 Shanghai Organisers: Informa Exhibitions Tel: +44 (0)207 017 5112 Email: sophie.ahmed@informa.com Web: www.intermodal-asia.com

17-19 March 2015 – Rail-Tech 2015 Utrecht Organisers: Europoint Conferences & Exhibitions Tel: +31 (0)30 698 1800 Email: info@rail-tech.com Web: www.rail-tech.com

28-29 May – GEO Business 2014 London Organisers: Diversified Business Communications UK Tel: +44 (0)1453 836 363 Web: www.geobusinessshow.com 23-26 September – InnoTrans 2014 Berlin Organisers: Messe Berlin GmbH Tel: +49 (0)30 30 38 - 2376 Email: innotrans@messe-berlin.de Web: www.innotrans.com

Institute of Mechanical Engineers Training Courses Technical training for the railway industry A listing of courses currently available from the IMechE (Unless stated otherwise, all courses are in London) 4th March 2014 Introduction to rolling stock Key design principles affecting the performance of railway systems 5th March Traction & braking Principles of traction and braking for railway engineers

19th March Train communication and auxiliary systems New and existing systems in use on today’s rolling stock fleet 20th March Fleet maintenance Improve your processes and fleet maintenance processes

6th March Vehicle dynamics and vehicle track interaction Understand the dynamics of railway vehicles to improve safety, comfort and asset life

1st April Vehicle Acceptance and Approvals Introduction to acceptance procedures which apply across the rail network

18th March Train control and safety systems Learn of the systems used on UK fleets that provide safety and train operational contro

2nd April Optimising fleet maintenance efficiency Understand the issues affecting rail vehicle performance and cost of maintenance

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3rd April Train structural integrity Structural integrity, fire and crashworthiness systems found on today’s rail fleets 12 -16th May Introduction to railway signalling technology An overview of railway control systems, subsystems and technologies used on UK main line and metro railways A downloadable brochure is available at: www.imeche.org/docs/default-source/learningand-professional-development-documents/ l_d_railway_training_web.pdf?sfvrsn=2 For more information, please contact Lucy O’Sullivan, learning and development co-ordinator: Tel: +44 (0)20 7304 6907 Email: training@imeche.org Web: www.imeche.org/learning/courses/railway

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

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