Railway Strategies Issue 118 June 2015

Issue 118 JUNE

Avoiding line closure chaos Norwich to London line upgrades forge ahead

FOCUS ON

Infrastructure ETCS roll-out in Switzerland

Old mine workings pose a challenge FOCUS ON

Stations Passenger focused station design Pedestrian flow during building work FOCUS ON

NEWS Hitachi’s vision for high speed rail rolling stock

Waterloo station to get a memorial to Wellington’s soldiers

International efforts to tackle violence on urban transport

High Speed Rail The eastern leg of HS2 - flawed?

Operational lessons from Europe

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Chairman Andrew Schofield Managing Director Mike Tulloch Editor Gay Sutton editor@railwaystrategies.co.uk Managing Editor Libbie Hammond Art Editor Gerard Roadley-Battin Advertisement Designer David Howard Profile Editor Libbie Hammond Staff Writers Jo Cooper Ben Clark Andrew Dann Advertisement Sales Dave King Head of Research Philip Monument Editorial Researchers Keith Hope Gavin Watson Tarj Kaur-D’Silva Mark Cowles Administration Tracy Chynoweth

From the Editor

The power of transport

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n his speech on 1 June, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin confirmed the new Government’s commitment to the full Y network of HS2, linking London to Birmingham, and then through to Manchester and Leeds.

This is good news for the rail sector, and excellent news for the north

of England, and indeed the UK as a whole. These are, however, early days _ particularly with further public spending cuts ahead.

HS2 is going to have its battles, and the primary one will be communicating the vision and opportunities that will come with the project. It is encouraging that McLoughlin pointed out ‘the power of transport to change things’. This is something the Victorians understood when they built the original railway systems which, along with the canals, were key in transforming the UK into a global manufacturing and trading power.

There were naysayers then, but the Victorians had people of vision and power to push through their ideas. We still have time to refine the details of HS2 and communicate its vision.

High Speed Rail is one of our focuses in this month’s magazine. On page 15 Dr John Disney, advisor to the Department for Transport, discusses the issues he sees with the eastern leg of HS2, and some possible solutions. We look at the operational lessons we can learn from high speed rail programmes in Europe (p16), and opportunities for making savings in money, time and resources (p19).

We are always keen to hear from our readers. If you have any comments, please contact me directly at: editor@railwaystrategies,co.uk.

Railway Strategies by email Issue 118 ISSN 1467-0395 Published by

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Features A dangerous game 9 Work-related stress and why it’s so important to recognise and tackle it SIMON ROBINSON Zombie alert 10 Watch out for companies operating like the living dead MICHAEL GREEN CMA’s rail focus 12 Reporting on the Competition and Markets Authority’s first year in rail MARTA GARCIA and JOSEPH DEL-GRECO Great Western signals 14 What the FirstGroup’s franchise extension means for the rail industry MARK COWLARD Hear here 20 Hearing really matters - steps for reducing the threat of industrial noise 3M Access all areas - CASE STUDY 22 Designing new access equipment for the Hitachi Ashford depot SEMMCO Someone to listen 23 How peer-to-peer counselling helps staff cope after rail incidents ALAN HUDSON

32 Learning from the past Showing how industry can overcome Light Rail Vehicle issues RAGNAR THÖRNBLOM 34 A spotless record Five top tips for achieving top notch train presentation JAMES LOMAS 36 When the lights go out Safeguarding the railways’ power supply as we head towards brownouts ANDY PARFITT 38 The right direction Step-by-step along the route to a truly digitised railway ARNAB DUTT 40 Moving freely - CASE STUDY Using crowd analysis software and 3D simulation at New York’s Fulton Center OASYS MASSMOTION 48 A REMIT to comply?

How a healthy dose of automation can facilitate compliance with REMIT RAINER LANDGRAF 50 Moving to predictive maintenance Learning from the pioneering work that’s been done in the aerospace industry BHOOPATHI RAPOLU

Profiles Southeastern Amber Scaffolding Skill Scaffolding MPB Structures O.J. Dahl CrossCountry Jointing Technologies Metrail Construction Ltd Touax Rail Stadler Rail Bourne Steel

54 57 60 63 66 68 70 72 74 78 82

86 NedTrain 89 Nexus 93 Asset Performance JNP 96 Crossway Scaffolding Group 100 Giffen Group/SSA 106 Trackwork Moll 110 Houghton International 113 McCulloch Rail 116 AB Connectors 118 ADComms

News

Industry 4

Infrastructure 6

Stations 27 & 39

Rolling Stock 35

Appointments 53 Conferences & Exhibitions 105

6Cover story

Focus on High Speed Rail Generating growth 15 Is the eastern leg of HS2 a flawed concept and what are the alternatives? DR JOHN DISNEY Sharing the success 16 Some operational lessons from high speed rail in Europe KIMMO OOSTERMEIJER Full-speed ahead? 19 Electrification - some suggestions for saving money, time and resources RICHARD SELBY

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Focus on Stations Planning for passengers 24 Using advanced pedestrian simulation and crowd analysis software to streamline rail projects PETER DEBNEY

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Finding your way 28 Guiding passengers safely and quickly to their destinations during station redevelopment DAVID WATTS What lies beneath 30 Using a pipe jack for a difficult under-track crossing in West Sussex PERCO

Focus on Infrastructure Swiss role model 42 The experience of migrating to Limited Supervision ETCS in Switzerland KARL KING, LEEROY CHADEMUNHU and TOM ENDERSBY The secrets of London Bridge 44 Going behind the scenes to see security and building management systems in action NG BAILEY Please mind the gap 46 Wolverhampton’s old mine workings pose a challenge for tram track replacement CENTRO

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IN BRIEF Spain’s high speed rail contract Nokia Networks, Siemens and Thales have won a €339m contract to supply and maintain the communications system for the high-speed railway network in Spain. The contract, from Spain’s national railway operator Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (Adif), covers a 10 year period from 2015 to 2024.

Estée Lauder comes to Piccadilly Circus Estée Lauder has joined Transport for London’s (TfL) retail revolution, signing a yearlong contract for a pop-up retail unit at Piccadilly Circus underground station. This transformation of underground retail facilities is part of a wider commercial plan to maximise assets and generate £3.4bn in non-fare revenue over the next decade, which will be reinvested back into the network to deliver improved transport services for customers.

Fresh rail strikes planned for June Network Rail workers are to hold two separate strikes in June, having cancelled the planned May bank holiday Monday strike. RMT members have rejected the latest pay offer and voted to strike for 24 hours from 17:00 on 4 June, and for 48 hours from 17:00 on 9 June. They are also not working overtime between midnight Friday 5 June and midnight Friday 12 June 2015.

And the kitchen sink!

A live goat, abandoned mattresses and a kitchen sink are among the items cleared from the Midland Metro this year. Approximately 20 bags of general rubbish are collected by Cordant Cleaning staff each day as they walk the 21km tram route between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. They also dispose of the remnants of drug dens and homeless camps under the network’s bridges, once the areas have been cleared by the British Transport Police.

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Costain Skanska Joint Venture - working on the Eleanor Street Shaft, March 2015

Crossrail contractors win recognition for their efforts to be considerate constructors l With worksites for Crossrail, Europe’s largest infrastructure project, spread across the heart of London, among some of its busiest communities and most challenging environments, minimising the impact on local communities has not been easy. Yet Crossrail contractors have excelled as considerate neighbours. Twentyfour Crossrail projects have been recognised for their achievements in considerate construction in the 2015 Considerate Constructors Scheme National Awards. Entries were judged on the measures a site has put in place to be considerate towards local neighbourhoods and the public, the workforce, and the environment.

Chris Sexton, technical director, Crossrail said: “Infrastructure projects on the scale and complexity of Crossrail can only be delivered with the support of local communities around individual construction sites and along the route. This is a tremendous achievement for Crossrail and our partner contactors who have worked hard to raise construction industry standards.”

Crossrail’s 2015 awards winners are:

Gold award Fisher Street Shaft (Bam Ferrovial Kier Joint Venture), Eleanor Street Shaft (Costain Skanska Joint Venture), Mile End Shaft (Costain Skanska Joint Venture), Whitechapel station (Balfour Beatty BeMo Tunnelling Morgan Sindall Vinci Construction Joint Venture), Hanover Square _ Bond Street Eastern Ticket Hall (Costain Skanska Joint Venture), Paddington New Yard (Costain), Paddington station (Costain Skanska Joint Venture)

Silver award Liverpool Street station / Moorgate Shaft (Bam Nuttal Kier Joint Venture), Liverpool Street station (Laing O’Rourke), Plumstead Portal _ Thames Tunnel (Hochtief-Murphy Joint Venture), Farringdon station (Bam Ferrovial Kier Joint Venture), North Woolwich Portal (Thames Tunnel) (Hochtief-Murphy Joint Venture), Victoria Dock Portal (Vinci Construction), Custom House station (Laing O’Rourke), Crossrail Eastern Running Tunnels (Dragados Sisk Joint Venture)

Bronze award Docklands Transfer Station (Bam Nuttall Van Oord), Liverpool Street station / Moorgate Shaft (Bam Nuttall Kier Joint Venture), Pudding Mill Lane (Morgan Sindall), Ilford Stabling Depot (Volker Fitzpatrick), Wallasea Island (Bam Nuttall Van Oord), Canary Wharf Crossrail station (Canary Wharf Contractors), Tottenham Court Road station (Laing O’Rourke)

National runners up Connaught Tunnel (Vinci Construction), Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road (Bam Ferrovial Kier Joint Venture)

NEWS I Industry

Image courtesy of TfL

In FACT

97.2% punctuality record Engineers carrying out escalator work at a London Underground station

London Underground achieves a first for asset management in Europe l London Underground has become the first rail authority in Europe to achieve certification under the new international asset management standard, ISO 55001.

Auditors from Lloyds Register visited locations across the Tube network and interviewed staff from all areas of the asset lifecycle to assess the organisation’s performance.

London Underground manages an extensive and varied asset base that includes a fleet nearly three times larger than any other UK train operator, 274 stations, signalling and depots. The network is currently undergoing a huge programme of modernisation, with major stations, trains, track and control systems being updated or replaced to provide more capacity for a growing city.

Andy Jinks, head of asset strategy and investment at London Underground, said: “Last year we operated around 80 million kilometres of track across London and supported over 1.3 billion passenger journeys, more than ever before in our 152 year history. Asset management is key to delivering this ongoing success.”

The £6.5m Track to the Future rail project gets underway l Huddersfield University’s Institute of Railway Research (IRR) along with the Universities of Southampton, Birmingham and Nottingham, are taking part in a £6.5m, five-year project named Track to the Future. The initiative is being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The consortium of four universities will be investigating three broad areas of improvement aimed at developing long-life tracks that require much less frequent maintenance, and will be noiseless _ improving the quality of life for people dwelling in the vicinity of rail lines.

The Huddersfield Institute is set to take the lead in improving switches and crossings _ complex components that are exceptionally prone to wear and tear. Accounting for less than one per cent of the entire route length of railways in the UK, they absorb 20% of expenditure on track maintenance. The Institute is constructing new test facilities to test the new designs.

Global organisations join forces to tackle violence on urban transport networks l Working together during a meeting in Brussels, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) have laid out ways to minimise and prevent violence on urban transport networks.

The two organisations have specified that the best way to combat violence is through dialogue between social partners (employers and trade unions) recognising their common interest in minimising violence and insecurity, building trust and mutual respect, ensuring transparency and promoting a no blame policy so that there are no barriers to reporting incidents. It was agreed that investigating the root cause of an incident is essential.

“We applaud the ITF and UITP for this joint effort to tackle the growing and disturbing problem of attacks on transit workers,” said Larry Hanley, international president of the North America-based Amalgamated Transit Union. “These brutal assaults are far too common across the world and threaten the safety and security of not only workers, but riders, pedestrians and those in other vehicles.”

During April, National Express train operator c2c achieved the industry’s best punctuality performance since September 2012, according to statistics from Network Rail. c2c operated over 10,000 individual services on time from 1st April to 2nd May, with an overall punctuality of 97.2% compared with the national average of 89.6%.

£1 million investment Hope Construction Materials is to invest over £1m in the manufacture and longterm lease of 48 tailor-made rail wagons for the distribution of cement from its Hope Works, in Hope Valley. The wagons will go into service this autumn delivering to depots including Theale, Dewsbury and Walsall, for onward road deliveries.

600 miles charity cycle Railway staff from Network Rail, Govia Thameslink, First Great Western, London Midland, East Midlands Trains and the British Transport Police have ridden over 600 miles in 10 hours to raise awareness of Samaritans’ life-saving work. The ride took place at London’s St Pancras International on Thursday 14 May on three static bikes.

h10% construction goods According to the Office of Rail and Road, the quantity of construction goods moved by rail increased by 10% in the year to April 2015, reflecting an upturn in building activity as the economy returned to growth. A record level of 3.93bn tonne-km of traffic was moved, including quarried stone, cement and other products.

200k passengers lost As a result of the German train drivers’ strike at the beginning of May, search engine GoEuro received over 200% more bookings for long distance bus trips in Germany. An estimated 200,000 new passengers were introduced to companies like MeinFernbus Flixbus, BerlinLinienBus, and ADAC Postbus.

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The high output ballast cleaner in action

Rail link to Barking Riverside moves another step closer

London to Norwich upgrade enters next phase l Work has begun on the next phase of a major upgrade for the London to Norwich line, aimed at improving reliability.

Since January, Network Rail’s high output ballast cleaner has been working between Norwich and Ipswich five nights a week, renewing the track ballast far more quickly and efficiently than traditional methods allow.

Trains are also still able to run, avoiding long weekend closures.

From 18 May to the middle of October the cleaner will be working between Colchester and Shenfield. An amended timetable will operate between London Liverpool Street and

Norwich after 8.30pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and on some Sunday mornings.

From November the machine will move to other sections of the line. In late 2016 and into 2017, Network Rail will start installing new track between London and Norwich as the upgrade programme continues.

Richard Schofield, Network Rail route managing director, said: “This line is one of the busiest rail routes in the country and this upgrade is absolutely vital in our plans to deliver a more reliable service for tens of thousands of passengers.”

Siemens awarded ETCS contract for Great Western Main Line l Network Rail has awarded the contract for GRIP 3 works to deliver the European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 on the Great Western Main Line to Siemens Rail Automation.

The six-month GRIP 3 contract covers the development of the system architecture, and the staging strategy for deploying ETCS Level 2 over the existing infrastructure.

Siemens has already been working with Network Rail on phases one and two of the ETCS Framework contract. This included

completing demonstrations of ETCS functionality and capability, and proving that an ETCS Level 2 train can run seamlessly between areas signalled by different suppliers.

Siemens also provided a full simulation of an ETCS overlay, running a representative timetable on the Reading final layout under the control of Siemens Trackguard Futur RBC and Westlock interlockings.

The company has also been developing ETCS for London Bridge section of the Thameslink programme.

Stagecoach to install DAS across South West Trains l Following successful trials on a class 159 unit, a new Driver Advisory System (DAS) is to be installed across Stagecoache’s South West Trains (SWT) franchise, on a total of 498 cabs (249 units).

Rolling stock consultancy ESG Rail has been awarded the turnkey delivery contract and will be installing Cubris’s GreenSpeed DAS, which is already in fleet-wide operation on Danish Railways.

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The system was piloted in service on an SWT class 159 unit and will be installed gradually across the full fleet starting in May this year, with the system fully operational in 2016.

The system will help improve service reliability while better managing traffic in and out of London Waterloo, the busiest railway station in the UK. The DAS will be connected to the merging Network Rail Traffic Management System (TMS).

l After receiving overwhelming support for proposals to extend London Overground services to Barking Riverside, Transport for London (TfL) has launched a public consultation to identify the preferred route for the extension.

Two alignments are under consideration.

Both will extend the Gospel Oak to Barking line to a new station at the heart of the Barking Riverside development, supporting east London’s largest housing development site.

The Government has agreed to provide a loan of £55 million to ensure the full cost of the project will be covered.

TfL’s managing director of planning, Richard de Cani, said: “We have seen overwhelming public support, with 90 per cent of responses supporting our proposals for London Overground to be extended to serve Barking Riverside. This next consultation phase will bring us closer to creating this important new piece of London’s transport network, which will unlock the potential for almost 11,000 new homes to be delivered on this site.”

Full details are available at www.tfl.gov.uk/barking-riverside-consult

New bridge swings into place at Crewe l A new railway bridge weighing a phenomenal 2,000 tonnes, has been successfully installed on the Crewe to Derby railway line as part of Cheshire East Council’s Crewe Green Link Road project.

The 30 metre bridge was carefully manoeuvred into place by contractor Morgan Sindall during a 54 hour operation over the Easter weekend, and was the final stage of three months of construction.

Two computer controlled, multi-axle ALE Self-Propelled Modular Transporters with 128 wheels on either side, were needed to take the weight of the bridge and carry it towards the railway line before lowering it into place.

The bridge installation is a key milestone in the construction of the 0.7 mile road linking the A500 Hough-Shavington bypass and the A5020.

Gary Crisp, highways director at Morgan Sindall, said: “Time was of the essence, and we were able to complete the works by 4am, ready for the first train of Easter Monday at 6.45am.”

Two new cranes at the Felixstowe North Rail Terminal

NEWS I Infrastructure

IN BRIEF London Overground scoops engineering Oscar London Overground’s capacity improvement programme has earned it the Greatest Contribution to London award in the Institution of Civil Engineers London 2015 Awards. The improvements included introducing longer trains, constructing new stabling facilities at Wembley and extending the New Cross Gate and Willesden maintenance depots, as well as lengthening many station platforms.

First Crossrail tracks laid in southeast London

Rail terminal capacity is increased at the Port of Felixstowe l Two new rail mounted gantry cranes have been installed and commissioned at the Port of Felixstowe’s North Rail Terminal, further expanding the rail freight capacity.

In total, Felixstowe now has nine rail cranes and 16 tracks at its three terminals making it the largest intermodal rail facility in the UK. Regular rail services run from Felixstowe to Birmingham, Manchester, Trafford Park, Scunthorpe, Hams Hall, Daventry, Wakefield,

Bristol, Doncaster, Ditton, Liverpool, Selby, Leeds, Tilbury, Teesport, Burton-on-Trent and Coatbridge.

Clemence Cheng, chief executive officer of the Port of Felixstowe, said: “Volumes by rail are continuing to grow and are now over 20% higher than before we opened the North Rail Terminal in 2013. The new cranes will help us to move even greater volumes by rail in the future.”

New track drainage system is tested on challenging section of London Underground l London Underground in partnership with Lanes Group, is trialling a new technology to solve one of the most notorious drainage maintenance problems on the Tube network.

A vacuumation system called Big Brute is being tested on a four mile section of the Metropolitan Line between Baker Street and Finchley Road. Known as M100, it is one of the oldest sections of the London Underground system.

The conventional cleaning method is to pull or push silt and debris into drainage catchpits with rods, then use shovels to collect it, bag it and send it for disposal as contaminated waste.

Track drainage on this section of the underground is in the tunnel invert beneath the negative rail, which is hard to access. The

catchpits have only shallow sumps and a third have no sumps at all. The clay liquefies when disturbed for cleaning, moves along the pipe and settles again, so the waste collected is often 80% water.

Big Brute overcomes this problem by using powerful vacuum pumps to suck up the liquefied clay. It is collected in a drum, where most of the water is extracted and reused to flush the drain lines. The waste, now up to 80% clay, is pumped into another drum and bagged for disposal.

The technology was originally designed and manufactured by Michael Williams Engineering in Cambridge for grain handling and storage.

The Lanes Group working in partnership with London Underground have adapted the machine for track drainage.

Work to install a new two-mile section of track between the Crossrail tunnel portal at Plumstead and Abbey Wood station is now in progress. More than a mile of new track has been laid by Network Rail so far, representing the first section of dedicated Crossrail track to be installed anywhere along the route.

Disused underground station becomes cinema Over the weekend of 29-31 May the disused Charing Cross underground became a cinema, screening classic films such as Strangers on a Train, American Werewolf in London and Blade Runner. The event celebrated the role the Underground has played in the capital’s rich cinematic history, and promoted the all-night weekend services due to commence on 12 September.

Eurostar takeover approved by EU The EU has approved the takeover of cross-channel train company Eurostar by French rail operator SNCF. However, Brussels says it must change the terms of the deal to allow rival firms to operate on the London-Paris and London-Brussels routes, providing access to rail stations in France and Belgium and to maintenance depots in France, Belgium and Britain.

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Legal Signals

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A dangerous game SIMON ROBINSON highlights why rail industry companies need to stop work-related stress having a negative effect on their health

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Simon Robinson is partner in the employment team of Yorkshire law firm Gordons. He has extensive experience and expertise in the rail industry

Bhavisha Mistry

n the subject of stress in rail industry workplaces, hardly any expert now disagrees with two key propositions: it is a widespread feature and nobody benefits from it.

The first of these is indicated by research from the TUC, which indicates stress is the highest-ranked health hazard across the transport sector. This is part of a wider picture summarised by Health & Safety Executive (HSE) that estimates that 10.8 million working days are lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety across the UK economy each year. The same body says stress accounts for over a third of all diagnosed cases of work-related ill health, with affected workers taking an average of 27 days off a year.

Where the main causes of work-related stress are concerned, the HSE has identified six factors, namely employees: being unable to cope with the demands of their jobs; having insufficient say about how they do their work; receiving inadequate information and support from colleagues, including superiors; suffering unacceptable behaviour, such as bullying; not understanding their role and responsibilities; and being subjected to organisational changes frequently without consultation.

As for nobody benefiting from work-induced stress, this is exemplified by the effects it has on employees, which can include mental ill health, physical problems, drug or alcohol abuse and poor diet. From rail companies’ perspectives, the types of legal pitfall they may face are many and varied, and the consequences of coming unstuck potentially serious, in respects such as financial and reputational damage.

Any employers taking the problem too lightly - and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) says many industry companies still do not measure work-related stress at all – are therefore playing a dangerous game.

The legal position includes all employers having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workplaces are safe and healthy. They also have to carry out assessments to identify potential risks, and take measures to control any they discover. It will not necessarily be enough to provide a counselling service to correct a breached duty of care.

Rail companies can also be taken to employment tribunals to face constructive dismissal claims, if employees resign because they have been subject to unreasonable stress, which could include bullying.

In addition, the Equality Act treats stress as

potentially part of an underlying condition that might amount to a disability. The statute says employers have to make reasonable adjustments to workplaces, which can include reducing workloads or pressures on employees under stress.

Despite all these potential legal bear-traps, it is still possible to fairly dismiss an employee who is absent from work due to work-related stress, even if the employer has contributed to the problem. However, the courts have indicated that in those circumstances, employers must ‘go the extra mile’, which can mean waiting for longer before dismissing and making more effort to find alternative employment within their organisations than might generally be needed in unfair dismissal cases.

It is important to remember too that this limited comfort blanket for employers only covers unfair dismissal. A rail business causing an employee undue stress continues to risk other types of claim, including for personal injury. Experience also suggests that in the context of personal injury claims, an employer can often be more at risk of a successful claim by failing to deal effectively and/or efficiently with an employee under stress. It is therefore just as important to act swiftly and appropriately once any concerns are raised.

In response to this widespread and growing problem, the ORR last year published a position paper on work-related stress. This set out how the organisation will work with the industry to harness the health and business benefits of better stress management.

The ORR says it is looking for a comprehensive three-tier approach – preventative, proactive and reactive – which gives sufficient priority to preventing stress through organisational changes and job design, supported by good practice interventions to help individuals stay well and at work.

Rightly, the ORR is keen to see rail industry employers take this three-pronged approach, not only because work-induced stress can lead to costly compensation claims but because managing the problem well can save rail companies money in other ways and improve efficiency too.

The ORR certainly deserves to be wished well with its initiative. However – while acknowledging that this may sound like a double-glazing salesman pronouncing your windows too thin – there really is no substitute for rail companies concerned about their legal vulnerability on work-related stress consulting an employment lawyer. zz

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Legal Signals

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Zombie alert

Are companies in your supply chain operating like the walking dead?

Michael Green commercial disputes partner at Weightmans LLP warns about the phenomenon of zombie companies

Michael Green is commercial disputes partner at Weightmans LLP

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www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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atest figures from insolvency specialist R3 show that the number of firms opting to be removed from Companies House, many of which are known as zombie companies, is increasing – rising by 28 per cent from 2010 – 2011 to 2013 – 2014.

Zombie companies are struggling businesses generating just about enough cash to service its debt, so the bank is not obliged to pull the plug on the loan.

The company can survive, but it hasn’t got enough money to invest or necessarily get out of trouble. Both regulators and many in the industry believe that banks have allowed the existence of such a large number of zombie companies to avoid making tough decisions on loans and having to write them down at a time when they are trying to show recovery from the recent recession.

Whatever the reason, the existence of such companies is masking a large underlying problem and is a real handicap to genuine recovery. For those in the railway industry, these zombie companies have the potential to

affect supply chains, and leave contracts unfulfilled – if one of the suppliers turns out to be a zombie company, they will be unable to fulfil orders.

The curious case of this recession Andrew Tate, deputy vice president of R3, said: “Ordinarily, insolvencies rise following a recession, due to problems like over-trading during recoveries or as a delayed impact of the recession itself. Since the 2008 recession, however, insolvencies have fallen.”

He added: “The phenomenon of zombie businesses – businesses that survived due to the unique circumstances of the last recession but had little chance of long-term recovery – could partly explain lower than expected insolvency numbers, but falling numbers of zombie businesses have not been matched by rising insolvencies.

It may well be that many of the UK’s zombie businesses have been just removing themselves from the Companies House register rather than opting for a

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz formal insolvency procedure.” This essentially means they are being dissolved via the back door.

Your rights Creditors do need to keep an eye out for strike-off notifications and object if necessary, as creditors interests are likely to be better served by seeing a company entered into a formal insolvency procedure instead, particularly where there may be hidden assets which could be investigated by a liquidator.

In formal insolvencies, creditors’ interests are paramount.

Insolvency practitioners will treat them on an equal basis and carry out important tasks like investigating directors’ actions. Although growing faster than the number of applications, it’s slightly surprising that objections to strike-off applications are relatively low. It may be that many creditors aren’t aware of their rights. Quite often the response to receiving such a notice would be to write off the debt and simply file the notice away.

Of course, not all zombie companies are necessarily opting for voluntary strike off. Many continue to trade on, possibly insolvent, but without the banks or larger creditors often wishing to push them over the brink, the directors choose to trade on hoping that their fortunes may recover.

Nerves of steel This has potentially far reaching consequences for the transport and logistics sector, especially the railways industry with its many suppliers. Transport and logistics differs from many other sectors because of the significant amounts of money required to keep up with demand and changes in technology, as well as the complex and often delicate web of supply chains to keep the UK’s train network running.

The £35 million quick turnaround repair of the Dawlish line just shows the pressure the country’s rail network is under – the repairs have to be completed quickly – the lack of line cost the economy £1.2 billion. In instances like these, a strong chain of suppliers is vital to call on to get a job done quickly and cost effectively. The threat of a zombie company being present in this chain adds further risk to an already intricate process.

More than many other sectors, transport and logistics businesses and their financiers have to have nerves of steel to ride out the less good times in the economic cycle to reap the long-term rewards.

As such, the large and worrying body of zombie companies is acting as a large iceberg to economic recovery. The fact that many in the transport and logistics sector may be such zombie companies and on the brink of failure adds a further element of risk to an already risky market.

The hidden dangers Equally, there are hidden dangers for the directors of such zombie companies. In the event they continue to trade, barely servicing the interest or payments due on their debts; perhaps re-scheduling the debt and entering into payment plans, they risk trading whilst insolvent. In that scenario, if placed into liquidation at some future point, the directors could face personal liability for all contracts and losses incurred from the date that their company become insolvent. Fixing that date can be difficult, but can often be far sooner than the directors realised and lead to very real problems for them personally, including disqualification from acting as a director.

There is a further hidden feature to these zombie companies. The economic downturn and tough trading conditions in recent years have brought with them a rise in civil fraud and especially those committed on companies. This fraud is not always perpetrated by outsiders. Many of the company frauds being committed in recent years are by the directors and employees of companies. The worry for many creditors ought to be that many of the zombie companies and particularly those being dissolved without any formal insolvency process could well have been the victims of such fraud and the directors are escaping any investigation or liability by running their companies into the ground and having them dissolved through the striking off process.

Be vigilant In the transport and logistics sector, the issue of the large body of zombie companies is a very real danger and one that all businesses should be aware of. Such issues can lead not only to the writing off of debts, but also major disruption to supply chains. This is something that can be guarded against by prudent companies taking preventative steps and being alive to the issues but is likely to catch out the unwary and often at great cost. zz

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Competition

CMA’s rail focus It’s over a year since the Competition and Markets Authority first began reviewing competition in the rail sector.

MARTA GARCIA and JOSEPH DEL-GRECO of law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP discuss the regulator’s activities so far

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pril 2015 marked the end of a very active first year in the rail sector for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK competition authority with the power to review rail franchise and concession awards. The CMA published a Q&A on rail franchise awards and reviewed four franchise awards: Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN), Caledonian Sleeper, Essex Thameside and InterCity East Coast (ICEC) - and two concession awards: Crossrail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR). The CMA also launched a Rail Policy Project into passenger rail services that appears to be primarily looking at whether greater competition can be introduced into the rail franchise model by increasing open access opportunities.

So what have we learned from the CMA’s first year in office?

Franchises Almost all UK rail franchise awards are assessed by the CMA. This is because the award immediately falls within the CMA’s jurisdiction or because the award is referred back to the CMA from the European Commission (Commission) either at the request of the UK (i.e. CMA) or the franchisee on the grounds that the principal impact on competition would be in the UK. Interestingly, the CMA has not been as proactive as expected in seeking a referral back from the Commission. For example, both the ScotRail and TSGN franchise awards qualified for review by the Commission due to the turnover of the franchise and franchisee meeting the EU merger control turnover thresholds. The TSGN award was referred back to the CMA at the request of the franchisee. No referral

request was made in the ScotRail award which was ultimately cleared unconditionally by the Commission given there were no overlaps.

Timing Timing is a critical issue in obtaining merger control clearance given merger notifications take significant work and time. There is typically a very small window between the award of the franchise/concession and the commencement of the operations (just two or three months) in which to obtain merger control clearance. The EU merger control regime is mandatory and suspensory such that if the EU merger control thresholds are met, the franchisee must notify the merger to the Commission and cannot commence operations until the clearance decision (the Phase I timetable is 25 working days plus pre-notification which can take even longer). On the other hand, the UK merger control regime is voluntary and non-suspensory (the Phase 1 timetable is 40 working days plus pre-notification). A referral back, if requested, adds potentially in excess of a month to the already tight timetable. It is therefore essential to approach the regulators as early as possible prior to the award.

Franchises and the merger control test Rail franchises awarded by the Department for Transport (DFT) or Transport Scotland automatically satisfy the first limb of the UK merger control test - the award results in ‘two enterprises ceasing to be distinct’ (acquisition of control) - according to Section 66(3) of the Railways Act 1993 which provides that franchise awards are automatically a transfer of control. Although the DFT described the TSGN franchise as a ‘management

Re-awarded franchises The CMA has jurisdiction to review a re-award of a franchise to an incumbent operator in the same way as an award to a new operator (eg Essex Thameside), because due to Section 66(3) there is an acquisition of control in both cases. The fact that the incumbent’s existing award may have been previously cleared and the re-award is on similar terms does not detract from the fact that an entirely new review of the re-award is necessary.

Offering undertakings

contract’ (similar to a concession), the CMA was not required to look at whether the bidder was granted sufficient control over the franchise due Section 66(3).

This was despite the fact very little control was actually transferred to the TSGN franchisee. The second limb requires that either: (i) the franchise generates annual turnover exceeding £70 million in the UK (the turnover test); and/or (ii) the combination of the bidder and the franchise results in a combined share of more than 25 per cent in the UK (the share of supply test). The Caledonian Sleeper franchise award satisfied the first limb but not the second limb, therefore the award did not qualify for review.

Concessions and the merger control test Rail concessions awarded by Transport for London (TfL) or its subsidiaries, on the other hand, do not automatically satisfy the first limb of the UK merger control test, as Section 66(3) does not apply to ‘concessions’ awarded

by TfL or its subsidiaries. The CMA must first carry out a detailed analysis as to whether the award results in two ‘enterprises ceasing to be distinct’ (acquisition of control). Neither the Crossrail nor the DLR concession awards qualified for review by the CMA as there was no acquisition of control. The CMA concluded that TfL retained control over the commercial aspects of the concessions (eg price levels, operational service levels, customer-facing activities and marketing activities) and also put in place performance regimes which involved regular monitoring of a range of performance metrics with potentially serious financial consequences of missing targets. The CMA needs to carry out an examination of the facts in each case.

Potential bidders should assess very early on in the bidding process whether their bid will raise any competition concerns, and consider what undertakings can be offered to address any such concerns. Due to the very short deadline for offering remedies - five workings days from receiving the CMA’s reasons for its decision early planning and preparation is vital and can help avoid a lengthy and costly Phase 2 investigation. In ICEC, the CMA concluded that the award may result in a substantial lessening of competition due to overlaps between the ICEC franchise and Stagecoach’s existing East Midland rail franchise and Citylink coach services (rail-on-rail and rail-on-coach overlaps). The CMA is proposing to clear the ICEC award subject to behavioural and structural undertakings from Stagecoach. This will be the CMA’s first conditional clearance decision in the rail sector.

Marta Garcia, partner, Stephenson Harwood LLP

Hold separate orders Although the UK merger control regime is nonsuspensory, if it suspects that a franchise award may raise substantial competition concerns the CMA has the power to impose interim measures to prevent integration of businesses (ie a hold separate order) for the duration of its investigation – especially if its investigation is likely to overrun the franchise commencement date (ICEC).

The franchisee would be able to commence operation of the franchise, but it would have to operate the franchise independently of the rest of its business during the interim order.

Joseph Del-Greco, associate, Stephenson Harwood LLP

Looking forward What are we to expect from the CMA’s second year in charge? Under the DFT’s revised rail franchising timetable, the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises are scheduled to be awarded. The CMA will publish its interim report on its Rail Policy Project this summer. Some cynically question what the CMA will add to the debate on open access given the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) conducted an in-depth investigation only two years ago. We await to see if this project could lead to a market study. What is clear, however, is that the CMA is taking its new competition role very seriously, and in particular, in regulated sectors such as rail.

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Comment

Great Western signals Two months ago, FirstGroup announced the extension of its deal with the government to continue running services on the Great Western rail network for a further four years.

Is this positive news, asks Mark Cowlard, Partner, EC Harris

T Mark Cowlard is a partner at EC Harris

Bhavisha Mistry

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here’s no doubt that the pressure is now on FirstGroup to deliver, not only in light of its unsuccessful bids for the East Coast and ScotRail contracts, but also to play its part in a network-wide overhaul to upgrade Britain’s outdated Victorian rail infrastructure.

So as the transaction is set in motion which will see FirstGroup pay the government approximately £68 million to operate the franchise until 2019, will a further four years yield positive news for workers and customers alike? Or should the industry be anxious about the continuation of a service which has been the subject of criticism over recent years?

For most passengers – and commuters especially – the challenge to FirstGroup is clear: will this new deal provide more seats on more trains, especially at peak times? The answer, fortunately, is yes. In response to recent criticisms, FirstGroup is set to implement a series of investments in an effort to improve its reputation and offer the truly standout service that is so long overdue.

New rolling stock is a high priority, and a prudent investment given the majority of FirstGroup’s fleet is 2530 years of age, with some trains pushing 40 years old.

New Hitachi trains destined for the Great Western Main Line will dramatically improve the passenger experience.

Built and run in the UK, the rollout of 369 new carriages will provide more space on the most crowded services alongside better amenities.

Of course, more carriages on the line means more seats for passengers. We’re set to see an extra 4,000 seats on peak services into London, 9,000 more seats during the day, and a total of three million extra seats over the course of the year. It’s also encouraging to see operators such as FirstGroup noting the value of the time we spend sitting on trains. In an age where provision of high-quality flexible working policies is on the agenda of most employers, it’s only right that transport providers ensure we can stay connected wherever we are.

FirstGroup is upping its game in providing reliable and fast Wi-Fi connectivity.

Wider improvements are to be made to the network, including £3 billion to integrate new Crossrail services, electrification of the line to South Wales, a new and improved station in Reading which is nearly complete, and a raft of other infrastructure improvements. Plans

for more trains and an extended service in Devon and Cornwall are also long overdue, where poor rail connections are one of the major drawbacks for one of the UK’s most popular holiday destinations.

There’s no doubt, therefore, that huge investments are being made. But whilst this is great news for passengers, it’s likely to take up to three and a half years for the benefits to be realised. Patience will be key, but communicating the progress of the upgrade programme to passengers will be even more crucial until upgrades are fully completed.

Unions have, unsurprisingly, challenged FirstGroup’s arrangement, voicing concerns about passenger experience, the need to protect workers’ jobs, and value for money. As ever, many are calling for the government to run the whole of the UK’s rail network but, in truth, that ship has sailed.

The commercial expertise of the private sector should not be underestimated. And whilst the Department for Transport might be seen to be gaining a relatively small payment from FirstGroup (£68 million compared to the £2.3 billion it will receive from Stagecoach Virgin to run the East Coast line), the substantial investment FirstGroup is making into the route will help improve the balance sheet at the DfT. So the FirstGroup deal is ultimately positive news.

Not just because of the continuity of service and development projects on the route, and the minimal disruption it guarantees, but because it exemplifies the combination of private and public sector expertise which has the best potential to unlock real value in transport operations. The Abellio ScotRail franchise is a good example of this, not only harnessing the shared experiences of each entity, but allowing Abellio to bring additional insights to the table from adjacent transport sectors, and with the development of a regional alliance, much like the Stage Coach One on South West Trains. This award must present a similar opportunity.

As always, the challenge lies in the delivery. FirstGroup will need to demonstrate value for money most critically to passengers. Never before has there been a better time for FirstGroup to bridge the gap between the huge potential of the Great Western rail network and the services it currently provides. zz

High Speed Rail

Generating growth Dr John Disney discusses some of the flaws of the eastern leg of HS2, and which alternatives are viable

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Dr John Disney is senior lecturer at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University.

He advises Department for Transport, major operators and local authorities on transport issues including rail franchising; and has been extensively involved in the HS2 debate

igh Speed Rail (HSR) is unquestionably a major asset to the infrastructure of any developed country and it is disappointing that the UK has been so slow to recognise this. However it must be carefully planned to optimise the benefits and minimise the disruption to those who will perceive it to be of little consequence to them.

Furthermore it needs to distribute economic benefits across the UK rather than reinforcing the dominance of London as the economic powerhouse of the UK. Current plans propose a Y shaped network with lines to Manchester and Leeds diverging at Birmingham. An extension (dubbed HS3) has already been proposed from on the western leg from Manchester to Leeds to strengthen cross-Pennine links and create a Northern Powerhouse in the Manchester – Leeds – Liverpool triangle. The proposed HSR stations in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds are all within the city centre landscape and have good connectivity with existing and proposed local transport networks. The only valid criticism is that the construction timescales are too slow and should be speeded up to reap the economic benefits sooner.

Eastern high speed leg By contrast the proposed eastern HSR route to Leeds with East Midlands and Sheffield Meadowhall Parkway stations is poorly conceived and has received an ambivalent welcome in these regions. The East Midlands fares poorly regarding transport infrastructure investment with most recent investment concentrated on relieving congested motorways and trunk roads. The route and stations have been compromised in a vain attempt to please as many parties as possible, resulting in none being truly delighted. As the editor of Swiss Railways Malcolm Bulpitt states: “If HSR is being built to regenerate the provincial cities it is supposedly serving, it would go into their centres and connect with the local rail and other transport services that are the potential means of distributing the chimera of incoming wealth and influential individuals heading up from London.”

Parkway stations are good for moving people out of a region (albeit in a non-sustainable manner as the car is the principal mode of reaching the station) but fail dismally to encourage people and investment into the region.

To encourage investment into Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield and Doncaster direct train services are required into central stations just a short walk, tram or bus ride

away. If the Nottingham tram system is extended to the original East Midlands station site at Toton, it could take as long as the HSR journey from Euston once interchange time is considered. No convincing case has been made for heavy rail services to Nottingham or Derby prompting talk of a relocation to where the HSR line would cross the existing Derby – Nottingham tracks.

Similar problems occur in South Yorkshire with the proposed Meadowhall Parkway station not actually being close to the existing Meadowhall rail/tram/bus interchange or the eponymous shopping mall.

The solutions So is there an alternative? With HS3, Leeds will have direct HSR connections to Manchester, Birmingham and London and this route will be commercially viable; indeed it should be built by the private sector and operated on a concession as with HS1.

HS2 should be connected with the existing Birmingham – Derby – Sheffield line to enable classic trains to run through from London serving the existing city centre stations. A new line between Sheffield and the ECML would enable these trains to continue to Doncaster, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh; innovative engineering would be required at Sheffield station possibly involving realigning the tram lines, and local trains would be encouraged to run through Sheffield rather than terminating there to relieve platform congestion.

Nottingham would be served by direct fast electrified Midland Mainline (MML) trains to St Pancras; by eliminating intermediate stops except Leicester journey times would be reduced. Thameslink commuter services would be extended to Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby whilst 4 Tracking the entire MML and electrifying the Erewash Valley would create increased capacity for freight services and faster electric train services from Nottingham to Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool.

All sides of the Derby – Nottingham – Leicester triangle would have four trains per hour with extensions to Lincoln, Coventry, Birmingham, Matlock and Crewe to improve intra-regional connectivity.

All this for less than the eastern leg of HS2 and the opportunity to connect the East Midlands and South Yorkshire with London and Europe, whose wealthy investors would be attracted by high technology manufacturing and the life sciences.

John.disney@ntu.ac.uk

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High Speed Rail

Sharing the success T KIMMO OOSTERMEIJER summarises some of the operational lessons that can be learned from high speed rail programmes in Europe

Kimmo Oostermeijer is a director at specialist transport and infrastructure consultants LeighFisher

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he appetite for high-speed rail is growing rapidly.

In 2014 alone, Eurostar started selling tickets for a new, year-round service to the Mediterranean, Poland introduced its first high-speed service, between Warsaw and Krakow; Serbia signed an agreement with China to build a fast line from Belgrade to Budapest; and Turkey inaugurated a line from Istanbul to Konya, having opened a service between Istanbul and Ankara in July.

Yet high-speed rail projects are often marred by controversy, as those familiar with the Fyra project in The Netherlands can testify. In addition, high-speed trains usually depend on public subsidy, yet high infrastructure costs often make them commercially unviable.

However, there are huge benefits to sharing best practice and lessons learnt from high-speed projects across the globe.

Setting the scene In recent decades we have seen the development of high-speed rail into a new cornerstone of national mobility plans. In countries with extensive existing networks, high-speed line development benefits from these as they use them to enter cities, therefore limiting the

preserve their commercial interests. A second issue is the comparability of one high-speed line with the other.

Different length and route characteristics, specific usage in terms of type and number of trains and distinguishing contracting strategies for maintenance and management are amongst the aspects that make a simple comparison of cost, efficiency and effectiveness difficult.

The essence of capturing best practices and lessons learned is to provide insight in the effectiveness of OMR expenditure within the constraints of the system. The constraints are captured in the inherent cost factors, aspects that are beyond the power of an infrastructure manager to (solely) optimise, and include network layout and the usage of the line.

Cost factors that do result from choices that an infrastructure manager makes can be captured in the structural, systemic and realised cost elements. The factors range from the adopted maintenance strategy and supply chain structure to the efficiency of the crew outside.

To understand the potential for optimisation for an infrastructure manager, the constraints of the system should be understood and that expenditure should be related to the actual OMR approach.

This means that the expenditure should be normalised for the inherent cost factors, resulting in the comparison of cost per equivalent track kilometre. All differences between the comparators can be explained by one of the structural, systemic or realised cost factors: all factors that are controlled by the infrastructure manager.

Example results

Sharing best practice and lessons learned Sharing best practice and lessons learned is more than comparing cost of operation, maintenance and renewal (OMR) activities or maintenance and renewal approaches; it is about understanding the life-cycle cost for the full system in relation to the delivered output.

One of the impediments for sharing best practice and lessons learned is obviously protectionism. Instead of recognising the potential benefit, many parties feel that sitting on their intelligence is the best way to

LeighFisher was recently retained by a European highspeed rail infrastructure manager to capture best practice.

We performed an extensive OMR cost benchmark, including ten world-wide high-speed line comparators, mapping their cost to OMR activities.

The figure below shows an illustrative result, showing the comparison of cost for direct maintenance activities per equivalent track kilometre.

Direct cost of maintenance activities

1.7 Other

Cost [kÂŁ/EqTrack km]

green field development to less populated areas. The investment cost is still high though, due to alignment constraints requiring extensive engineering structures. In addition, there are often extensive quality and availability requirements during the operational phase.

This all translates into high maintenance and renewal cost, putting the commercial viability of the line under pressure. Another element that increases cost is the fact that many countries have no specific high-speed rail experience over a sufficiently long enough period to enable optimisation of the maintenance effort. This effect is reinforced if countries try to develop their own highspeed rail technology. Why reinvent the wheel?

1.6 Ancillary Equipment 1.5 SC&C 1.4 Traction Power Supply 1.3 Catenary 1.2 Track 1.1 Substructure

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

As the table shows, there are considerable differences

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High Speed Rail

these teams come at considerable expense.

As stated before, most maintenance activities, including inspection, need to be done overnight for safety reasons.

As labour regulations generally do not allow workers to work only night shifts, railways are generally faced with the challenge of how best to use the day shifts efficiently.

Best performing organisations have demonstrated strong focus on staff utilisation with integration of the normal maintenance and fault repair. Examples include introducing inspection techniques that allow day shift analysis of the inspection results and rapid response deployment not restricted to depots.

The Learning Organisation

with maintenance expenditure between the lowest and highest comparator. Bearing in mind that we are comparing normalised cost here, (meaning that differences for network layout and demand profile are eliminated) the differences can be almost fully explained by choices that the infrastructure manager can influence.

We found that important reasons for these differences are: 1.Maintenance strategies 2.Maintenance staff utilisation 3.The Learning Organisation

Maintenance strategies With safety being the number one concern for railways, working on elements of the railway that are close to the tracks is only allowed during operational shut downs or track possessions. With trains operating normally around 19 hours per day, the duration of the track possession is limited to approximately five hours. If we now take into account all safety procedures that need to be carried out to ensure safe working and the time it takes to get rail mounted maintenance machines to the site, the effective track possession is reduced to some three hours. We have seen that the comparators with lower costs have adopted a strong maintenance strategy that increases the effective track possessions by approximately 30 minutes, which is an increase of effective working time of some 15 per cent. The maintenance strategy that can be developed is defined by design parameters such as number and location of maintenance yards, layout of switches and crossings and the possibility to equip maintenance machinery with signalling equipment. It is essential that the maintenance strategy is developed during the design phase of the railway to realise the lowest maintenance cost in the operational phase.

Maintenance staff utilisation Rapid response teams are a vital element to maximise high-speed infrastructure availability. At the same time,

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A high-speed railway is a complex system with multiple assets. Although often proven technologies are used, the exact behaviour of assets very much depends on the geographical location and the local conditions as well as train composition and speed.

At the start of a high-speed line’s availability period, the actual behaviour of the assets is unknown, and maintenance is carried out as prescribed by the manufacturer. This is often an important pre-requisite for warranties. Once the warranty period is over, optimisation of maintenance processes can start. Essential to this is knowledge of the behaviour of the asset and how this behaviour changes (or not) as a result of different maintenance carried out. We call this ‘The Learning Organisation’ and it is a process that every high-speed line faces. A good asset management system is vital to The Learning Organisation: only when trends are analysed over a number of years, can the right conclusions be drawn and maintenance optimisations achieved.

Conclusion We have seen that all high-speed line organisations have a grow-in period where they transition from performing maintenance activities dictated by the supplier’s warranty towards a more condition based maintenance policy.

In that period they are shaping their organisation and supporting processes. Infrastructure managers that cannot benefit from prior high-speed rail experience tend to have a higher expenditure level. Incorporating best practices and lessons learned can yield 20 per cent of infrastructure maintenance cost reductions. With infrastructure maintenance cost accounting for around 50 per cent of the total operational expenditure of a typical high-speed rail system, total operating cost can be reduced by 10 per cent.

Sharing the success of high-speed rail can have a significant, positive impact on the high-speed rail business case. Commercial viability can be achieved at lower passenger demand or at lower ticket prices. This will make high-speed rail on routes like Los Angeles to San Francisco and Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, both intensive air corridors, even more attractive to high-speed rail.

High Speed Rail

Full-speed ahead?

Director of Pro Steel Engineering Richard Selby talks about the opportunities to save money, time and resources when some of the most significant electrification projects in the UK for years, finally get off the ground

I Richard Selby Director of Pro Steel Engineering

t has been widely reported that high-speed rail projects HS2 serving the north and HS3 linking London and Birmingham will commence in 2017 and be completed by 2025. As with other projects of this scale and significance can we be sure that it will be delivered efficiently and effectively? No one wants a repeat of a profile project like Wembley Stadium build which overran by over five years and cost over double the initial estimate.

Our industry has suffered in many ways in the past decade and we need to avoid negative press or public sentiment when it comes to high-profile projects such as this, in addition to any commercial or time inefficiencies.

All too often with major projects like these, it is common for extra costs, long delays and poor implementation to negatively impact service and ultimately the end result. Unlike most projects, HS2 and HS3 have been on the cards for many years so there is no reason why it can’t be completed on time and within budget…that is once it starts.

Common reasons for projects becoming delayed and/ or incurring additional costs can be down to department heads failing to invest in enough people and money to support significant infrastructure projects.

However, today’s planning teams have the luxury of significant advancement in technology combined with a design-first approach, which means the prospective build can be finalised ahead of stepping foot on site. This is a marked contrast to when the Wembley Stadium for example was being built in 2003, which experienced significant delays due to a succession of financial and legal challenges.

When looking at the range of events that ultimately delayed the smooth running of that construction process, the limited amount of planning was evident and ultimately led to unforeseen challenges that were then handled badly.

From health and safety breaches, fatal on-site accidents and sewers beneath ground buckling, issues impacting completion dates must have been neverending. Not only did the project incur additional costs, fines and timing issues, significantly, in March 2006, the developers announced that Wembley Stadium would not be ready until 2007 and all competitions and concerts planned had to be moved to suitable locations.

Embarrassing for the project teams involved, it also had a direct impact on consumers and ticket holders, which made all of these mistakes global news. In addition to being over budget by millions of pounds, it also led to a series of lawsuits including that of Multiplex launching a £253 million writ against contractor Mott Macdonald, thought to be one of the largest in construction history, for alleged failings in the construction of Wembley Stadium.

So what’s different about the approach to major

projects now in 2015?

These days, project teams will look at pre-fabricating elements as much as possible off-site in order to minimise the time spent on site. Effectively, this means that more can be done ahead of time so once ready; parts of the build can be transported to site and put in place without jeopardising other parts of the process. The enhancement in the use of BIM (building information modelling) technology also means that a whole project, building or infrastructure can now be successfully built in 3D so that it can be reviewed, altered and approved virtually ahead of construction and before a single spade has hit the ground.

This approach is significant because it results in fewer defects taking place during the important phase of work because all applicable issues and problems will already have been accounted for and anticipated. In short, this will reduce costs and improve the build time of the programme and should this technology have been around over ten years ago, it is unlikely that Wembley Stadium would have experienced the drastic delays it did.

How will this positively affect HS2 and HS3?

There will be a real push on providing a lean construction process. Something already adopted by the highways agency, in a nutshell it means that the design, process and end result will be accurate from the outset, fewer people will be working on the projects and they will be of a higher calibre, thus reducing the prospect of health and safety issues and significant breaches occurring. This will mean less waste on site, and better planning and scheduling, which will mean fewer things will need doing twice or being fixed during the infrastructure process.

By adopting this approach within the rail industry, it improves the quality of the output whilst enhancing the knowledge of people involved as they will see how the whole process is set out and then apply this to other projects. Innovation is a buzzword across all sectors but it really does come into its own within infrastructure projects being rolled out today. Clients want innovative and skilled minds working on their projects as these people assess the benefits and opportunities that are available while mitigating mistakes, subsequently avoiding delays and extra costs.

Planning stages for HS2 and HS3 have been completed and will likely involve the advancement and adoption of materials including hybrid ones. It is envisaged that once the first spade hits the ground, the process will be as smooth running as it possibly can be given the extensive testing and research conducted in advance.

By spending more time in the planning stages of projects using 3D modelling, the UK can look forward to speedier construction processes, which will hopefully mean the successful building of numerous high-speed rail links.

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Health & Safety

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hear here?

Industrial noise matters for the UK’s rail industry. 3M explains how employers can assess the risks and take steps to protect the workforce Bhavisha Mistry

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ew working in the rail industry will be surprised to learn that theirs is a noisy business. Many of the processes involved in rail, from the industrial production of components, to the maintenance and repair of track, stock and infrastructure to driving the trains themselves, can expose workers to elevated levels of industrial noise.

In the UK, excessive noise is one of the most common causes of industrial injury, and of occupational compensation claims. This is because the effects of noise, if left unchecked, can be devastating. Over time, excessive noise can leave workers with hearing loss and/ or related conditions such as tinnitus (a continual noise, such as ringing or buzzing, in the ears). Workers harmed in this way may become socially isolated, stressed and depressed. Their family and other relationships often suffer and the effects last for decades: industrially-acquired hearing damage is generally permanent.

All employers, including those in the rail sector, have legal duties of care to protect their workforce from the

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

harmful effects of noise. Yet the laws and regulations surrounding these duties, as well as the nature of actions to be taken, can be daunting. To help illuminate the subject, diversified technology company 3M, partnering with the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), has now produced a highly accessible, interactive e-learning programme that explains the importance of hearing conservation and helps employers to meet their duties effectively.

Noise and the law Legislation states that employers in the UK’s rail sector must protect their workers from the harmful effects of industrial noise. This duty arises under several laws and regulations, primarily the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Other legislation covers the noise-related duty of care owed by rail and related companies to members of the public, such as passengers and bystanders, but that is beyond the scope of this article.

Protecting workers from harmful noise benefits everybody

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz involved. It is clearly in workers’ interests to have their hearing conserved, but the advantages for employers are just as tangible. Many rail jobs are skilled, so finding and training temporary labour to cover for absent, injured colleagues can be expensive and time-consuming – if such labour can be found at all. Companies that receive compensation claims for industrial injury, including hearing loss, may also see their insurance costs increase.

Employers’ duties All employers must understand their health and safety responsibilities regarding noise exposure, and that activities within the rail industry can generate high levels of noise.

Given the diversity of employment in rail, the exact nature of noise exposure varies widely, for example poor cab design leading to drivers being exposed to noise for long periods, track workers using heavy machinery and construction processes, workshop staff using industrial maintenance machinery and processes, and bystanders (including rail staff) being exposed to both continual, and single incidents of, loud noise generated by trains and equipment.

The law requires employers to find out whether their workers are exposed above the noise exposure action or limit values, set out on the regulations, as these trigger particular employer duties. As a (very) rough guide, if workers standing two metres apart have to raise their voices to hold a conversation, the level of noise probably triggers a legal need for action.

Thus employers must assess, control and review the risks posed by noise exposure in each of the various processes their workers undertake. Both continuous and occasional noise sources should be assessed, since occasional but high intensity noises also pose a risk to hearing.

If a legal duty to act is triggered, then the employer must protect workers from the damaging effects of noise in the workplace; they must comply with the exposure limits and reduce noise to the lowest level that is ‘reasonably practicable’. Thereafter, hearing protection devices (HPDs) should be considered, as a means of mitigating the residual risk and reducing the danger even further. The use of HPDs alone, other than as a temporary measure while permanent solutions are implemented, is rarely sufficient.

Given the wide range of roles and working environments in the rail industry, the ‘reasonably practicable’ adjustments that may be made to reduce noise will vary. However, examples include: l Staff who do not need to be in, or near, a noisy area can work elsewhere l Processes, components or machines can be altered to reduce noise l Workplace layout should take noise risks into account – for example, walkways and through routes should be sited away from noisy processes l Equipment can be purchased with noise levels in mind: some items are louder than alternatives l Screens, barriers or enclosures, where appropriate made of sound-absorbing materials, may be installed

l Dampening and machine mountings may be used to reduce levels of vibration l The amount of time for which workers are exposed to noise and/or involved in noisy processes can be limited via work rotas/rosters.

When all reasonable measures to limit noise have been taken, any remaining sound must be assessed and, where appropriate, HPDs provided. Decisions around HPDs are important; a study by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) suggested that around 40 per cent of workers using HPE are inadequately protected. Furthermore, over-protection can be as dangerous as under-protection, if workers cannot hear safety warnings – in a high risk environment like rail that can be a matter of life or death. Employers may choose to validate their selected HPD, in-situ, for example by using 3M’s validation equipment.

When all appropriate measures to conserve hearing are in place, employers must monitor the situation and use health surveillance methods as appropriate.

Help at hand Managing the risks posed by noise in a sector as diverse as rail is not easy. Recognising this, 3M and HSL (an agency of the HSE) have produced an interactive e-learning package, in an immersive and readily-accessible format, that helps employers to understand, assess and meet all of their health and safety obligations. It comes in four ‘bite-sized’ sections: l Hearing hazards and risks l Monitoring exposure and risk assessment l Noise control and hearing protection l Using health surveillance to influence behaviours.

The e-learning package is presented in jargon-free, everyday language and is always readily accessible via computer. Given the prevalence of noise-related risks in the rail industry, it meets a pressing need and brings key benefits to employers and employees alike. zz To access Hearing Conservation e-learning visit

www.hsl.gov.uk/products or more information on the programme:

www.3M.co.uk/hearingconservation

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Health & Safety

Access all areas When Hitachi needed new access equipment for its maintenance team, it turned to Semmco for help

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Bhavisha Mistry

ccess to trains for maintenance or repair work can be unsafe and pose a threat to the workforce; therefore, ensuring that it was using the correct equipment for maintenance staff to perform their duties at the Hitachi Ashford depot was essential.

Falls are the biggest cause of death in the workplace and according to the Health and Safety Executive there were 148 fatal injuries in the UK for the year 2012/2013.

While this is approximately a third lower than 20 years ago it is vital for companies to do all they can to avoid this happening at all. The Work at Heights Regulation 2005 put legal responsibilities on employers to ensure that equipment, used to facilitate working at any heights above ground level, minimises the risk of falling and offers protection for workers.

Hitachi found itself in a position where some of its existing maintenance equipment was failing with need for urgent attention but with no system in place for maintenance support. Equipment no longer in use required replacement rather than sitting redundant.

There was also the issue that its new Javelin train required access equipment of a different shape to that which they held, in order to accommodate the new front profile.

Solving the problem The first step was to ask Semmco to conduct a thorough survey of the existing 87 point boxes and all access equipment already held at the site. Semmco was asked to undertake this as a result of previously providing pit boards, which had resulted in creating safe crossings with handrails for maintenance on couplers.

A schedule was drawn up detailing existing equipment in need of attention and the order of priorities. This survey also highlighted what further installations were necessary to enable the maintenance team to complete their checks safely and efficiently.

The companies worked together to plan the fit out with

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Semmco designing and engineering equipment where there was a gap in requirements. Semmco was tasked with manufacturing the required equipment, which was undertaken in its new, purpose built facility in Woking.

Types of new equipment produced were: l Front and roof access l Fall arrest system l Walkway crossings The design used bolting rather than welding for extra strength, multi-castor wheel for easy position change between roadways, lightweight aluminium with steel chassis for easier manoeuvrability and multifunctional platforms to the highest safety standards.

Some of the equipment - notably that for the Javelin train - was intricate enough to require Semmco to build it on the Hitachi site. Polyprop protective edge padding was used to ensure a tight fit to the train whilst ensuring no damage occurred to the vehicle.

To cover the need for maintenance and servicing, Hitachi introduced Semmco’s Service Package to provide regular inspections and re-certification of not only their equipment but that of Hitachi’s existing equipment.

The benefits The clear benefit of the equipment’s design was that the maintenance team could complete their checks and repairs safely and efficiently. It meant that Hitachi is always ahead of its tasks, able to schedule and budget with complete visibility of costs.

The design and quality of the new equipment along with its longevity and robustness ensured it was superior to other products on the market.

The Service Package meant that equipment that had been a capital outlay was not sitting idle and unusable so ensuring downtime is kept to a minimum, thus making for a more efficient business. Hitachi’s staff was able to be redeployed from the tasks being done by one supplier with one point of contact. The depot was now fully equipped with servicing being carried out as needed. zz

www.semmco.com

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Someone to listen

Metro train driver Alan Hudson talks about how a serious incident on the railway spurred him on to become a corporate counsellor for his colleagues at DB Regio Tyne and Wear

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Alan Hudson is corporate counsellor at Tyne and Wear Metro

Bhavisha Mistry

Newly refurbished train

uring his 14-year career with Tyne and Wear Metro, Alan Hudson has experienced a number of incidents. However, he was always able to emotionally move on from them. It wasn’t until he was involved in a fatality on the line that his life changed.

While today Alan is stronger, more resilient and able to talk about his experience, he knows he wouldn’t be where he is now without the support of his colleagues at DB Regio Tyne and Wear, which operates trains on behalf of Nexus.

After the accident, DB Regio initially provided Alan with counselling, but the real support began when the 52-yearold returned to work three months later.

He said: “When I returned to work, I was really nervous.

It was only during a conversation with another Metro driver who had experienced a similar incident that I began to open up. My colleague explained that my experience was a natural response to a traumatic event, as were the nightmares that plagued me. This gave me an idea that DB Regio could provide real benefits for staff through peerto-peer counselling.

“For me, it was more comfortable talking to an experienced colleague rather than a psychologist, and whilst I can’t understand someone’s inner feelings, I can empathise because I’ve been through it.”

Alan says one of the things that affected him badly about the accident was the feeling of powerlessness being forced to watch a fate unfold that he could not change.

He talked to his bosses at DB Regio about the possibility of him taking a counselling course in order to assist other staff going through similar traumatic experiences. The train operator paid for Alan to attend a three-month intensive counselling course at Gateshead College.

“I was a little intimidated because I had to stand up and explain why I was on the course. You could have heard a pin drop after I told the class what had happened. I found the course hard academically as I’d left school at 16 and this was the first time back in a classroom. Towards the end however, I ended up helping students because of my life experience.”

Alan completed his course work on rest days and DB Regio helped support him by changing his shifts when needed. “Doing the course really helped me, both professionally and personally,” added Alan.

Alan then joined Newcastle City Centre chaplaincy and became the chaplain for Eldon Square for a year, he also visited The Cyrenians charity during this time. “Eldon Square was good experience, I went around shops meeting staff. I was someone to talk to and confide in if anyone had problems. The Cyrenians took me to visit

the homeless people they work with. It was really sad, especially since many were ex-servicemen like myself.”

Back at DB, Alan is now qualified as a ‘corporate counsellor’ and provides a listening ear to any staff member who needs it, any time of the day or night. He said: “DB has been very supportive in promoting the counselling service, distributing my number to all those who have experienced incidents.”

Alan, who was previously in the Armed Forces for six years, added: “When there’s a lot of men working together, you find there’s often a macho culture in which they will carry their burden without tears. Men will often bottle their feelings up. I always say that you are better off crying than holding it in. If someone is involved in an incident, they are given my number and often call me. I then arrange to see them in their home, a café, or even at my own house.

“The incident was five years ago now, but it never goes away, you just learn to live with it. People sometimes forget, it’s not just those who die who are the victims, it’s people like me, the ambulance people and police who turn up too.”

Despite the tragic nature of the incident, the experience has changed Alan’s life for the better. He has attended and been involved in three trauma courses for The Samaritans, advised Chiltern Railways on developing a similar counselling service for staff and he’s even received a regional award for going the extra mile to help his colleagues.

The biggest reward for Alan, however, is seeing someone he’s helped back at work, smiling and laughing. He said: “When I won the ‘Individual who makes a Difference’ category at the Equality North East awards, I was beaming, a little embarrassed, but secretly delighted. I didn’t think I’d ever win an award.

“I’ll often be walking across the depot and someone will say to me, Alan I don’t need any counselling, but…and a 10-minute walk turns into 20 where they pour their heart out to me. Then I’ll follow it up and they’ll come back and say thanks so much for listening.

“It doesn’t matter where I am, if something happens, I will go and help. Five years ago, I would have offered help, but I would have been wary. Now I’m not afraid. I feel like I have to help now. The training I’ve had has made me more caring. I’m less judgmental.

“You have to be in the right frame of mind to be a counsellor. The hardest part is finding the best person.

When I retire I’d like to work for a homeless charity. My wife and I help Hospitality and Hope in South Shields by donating food and collecting for them, but I’d love to do more.” zz

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Planning for passengers Peter Debney describes how advanced pedestrian simulation and crowd analysis software is being used to streamline rail projects around the world

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Peter Debney is an Application Engineer at Oasys MassMotion

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apable of simulating vast numbers of pedestrians, into the millions if required, Oasys MassMotion communicates complex problems in a highly visual manner and saves time, money and manpower during the planning and design phases of major new build or renovation projects. Its speed and new licensing options are now making crowd simulation an everyday tool for any design or operations planning team, whether you are working on a new multi-modal hub or updating an older station.

Managing passengers is as important as managing assets as global rail traffic continues to grow, but it does present planners with the added challenge of catering for individual passengers who make individual choices. This is no small consideration when dealing with the paradigm shift towards intermodal mobility, with hubs of interconnected structures in the heart of busy cities catering for flows of tens of thousands of people in peak hours.

The good news is that passenger behaviour and choices can be predicted, and design ideas to ease their journey through the station can be tested and optimised

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in computer models before expensive construction or refurbishment work starts on site. Software tools for crowd analysis are generally based on Dr John J Fruin’s academic research in the 1970s, which looked at how individuals’ speeds vary and reduce with congestion, which is curiously enough, not a linear relationship.

Predicting when a crowd is likely to get into difficulty calls for engineers to use software tools with the power to look at different crowd densities, and to do so quickly and costeffectively.

MassMotion, which was originally developed to meet specific demands from engineers at Arup, uses the research by Fruin and those that came after to accurately simulate complex environments, analyse the findings, and then generate graphics and visualisations to communicate the results. This, coupled with the assurance of 3D BIM compatibility and the ability to realistically simulate crowds of potentially unlimited sizes, is establishing Oasys MassMotion as the global standard for simulation.

Before choosing MassMotion to support their work with Dutch railways, Royal HaskoningDHV diligently compared

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time. It enables engineers to check the safety of, say, partial walkway or escalator closures during construction, to test and prove different scenarios, and to secure authorisation of works without delay.

“MassMotion was really important in planning how we kept the station running smoothly during renovations. We needed to make sure that we understood the way passengers were moving around the station so we didn’t run into any crowd control issues,” said Steve Lewis, Network Rail’s station manager for New Street.

A similar challenge is being met in Toronto, where a major overhaul of the regional transport system is centred on Union Station. Here, Mike Wolczyk, Director, Union Station Infrastructure has said: “It’s like trying to do surgery on a patient while they’re running a marathon.”

At Union Station, forward-thinking engineers engaged with crowd analysis, and MassMotion, at the master planning stage of the project, and this sort of early engagement is surely going to be the norm for major projects in future.

Stakeholders need to weigh investment decisions and understand the implications and opportunities of different design options, and MassMotion makes this easy to do. its outputs with visual observation and concluded that: ‘MassMotion’s predictions are probably as near to real life as it is possible to get statistically, and give us a sound platform on which to propose and evaluate new ideas.’

Fit for the future Over the years, the capabilities of the MassMotion software have surged ever upwards, and the inspired development team, led by Toronto-based Erin Morrow, has continued to

Safety first Although it is increasingly winning a place at the master planning top table, crowd modelling has a rich history in emergency evacuation planning. Fire engineers have traditionally been active users of these software tools and licensing arrangements continue to ensure that, where ingress/egress planning remains the focus, then MassMotion is still the right and most economical choice.

A current example of ingress/egress planning is the staging of construction works for Network Rail at Birmingham New Street station to manage a major transformation without ever being able to shut platforms.

For projects like these, the ability to develop pedestrian environments quickly using either imported CAD/ BIM geometry or from scratch with MassMotion’s new modelling tools can be crucial to keeping the project on

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d Investigation

add to the intelligence and autonomy of the agents within their simulations, ensuring that they behave as real crowds would, which isn’t always what as a designer pre-supposes.

Cultural references can be added too, such as preference for giving way to the right or left, or physical restrictions such as relative reluctance to use stairs.

At the front end, Oasys developers continue to add to the quality of visual output with biped agents being the latest innovation and superb, stylised renderings giving an instant ‘window’ on what will happen, as well as making the software faster and easier to use.

Few would doubt that the future of mobility is multi-modal commuting, combining door-to-door solutions including intercity and regional trains, local buses, taxis, trams, cycles and walkways for first and last mile connectivity. Frost & Sullivan has predicted a whole new group of participants in

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the market and has coined the term Mobility Integrators.

Certainly automated people movers (APM) and personal rapid transit (PRT) systems are expected to show strong growth as feeders for high density lines in highly urbanised and densely populated areas and, of course, automated and i-ticketing and touch-only barriers is changing the changing the dynamics of passenger flow. Planners can use MassMotion to test how ideas such as touch only barriers or i-ticketing will work before decisions are made.

Naturally, working in real 3D is essential, not just to tick the box of BIM compatibility but also because it is the only way to represent crowd movement realistically. Most stations and interchanges operate on multiple levels, and modern open plan structures than can be 40m or more high. Software that only models in 2D and then adds a third dimension for ‘reporting purposes’ is not going to be fit for purpose for the coming generation of transport hubs.

Not surprisingly then, Oasys MassMotion has been chosen as the only crowd simulation software capable of dealing with analysis for a multi-modal, multi-level transport hubs around the world. The latest exciting project is challenging its designers is one in the Middle East catering for up to 200,000 people an hour and allowing for up to 45,000 to be in the building at any one time. As Sereca Fire’s senior engineer on the project, Andrew Coles said: “It’s one thing to try and explain the implications of having tens of thousands of people in a 3D space, quite another to be able to show it visually. With MassMotion we provide the architects with a coherent argument to take to their client, showing how design changes will create a better, safer and more cost-effective building at the end of the day.” zz

NEWS I Stations

An artist’s impression of the St Peter’s Square Metrolink stop

St Peter’s Square Metrolink work to start this summer l The first phase of work that will transform St Peter’s Square in Manchester is set to begin with the closure of the Square’s Metrolink stop from Sunday 28 June.

The summer closure is the start of a 14-month programme that includes the construction of a new, expanded stop located closer to the new Cenotaph. The stop will have two new island style platforms and two sets of track in each direction,

allowing more services to run through it on the existing lines and on the new Second City Crossing.

This first phase of works, which will be completed by the end of August 2015, will see changes to track and infrastructure enabling trams to continue running through the square on a single line in both directions over the following ten-month construction period.

Needham Market pioneers a world first l Needham Market train station in Suffolk has become the first station in the world to implement a new patented composite fibreglass platform system solution known as Dura Platform. The radical award-winning design is a precision engineered product manufactured by pultrusion process which complies with National Rail specifications and offers significant improvements over traditional alternatives – including a dramatic reduction in possession time and sizeable overall project cost savings.

The new platform replaced a previous concrete platform and was installed in just 36 hours by Hammond (ECS) Ltd, who acted as the principal contractor to Network Rail.

Dura Platform, is adjustable to suit rolling stock, has a design life in excess of 50 years and can be heated to melt frost and snow and keep platforms open during extreme weather. The composite fibreglass solution has a modular lightweight structure and is easy to install, meaning shorter possession time and a vast reduction in plant required on track.

A final eight-week closure is scheduled to take place in summer 2016 ready for St Peter’s Square services to reopen in the autumn. The Second City Crossing route is expected to open at a later date in 2017.

During the initial closure, Metrolink will be running a shuttle bus from Cornbrook to Piccadilly, and free Metroshuttle bus services at Deansgate-Castlefield.

Wellington’s soldiers to be commemorated at Waterloo station l The soldiers of the allied forces who fought and died 200 years ago at the battle of Waterloo are to be commemorated at Waterloo station. The 9th Duke of Wellington will be unveiling the new war memorial at midday on 10th June.

It is estimated that there were 24,000 casualties and losses amongst the allied armies at the battle: 4,700 killed, 14,600 wounded and 4,700 missing. Until now, there has been no memorial to honour their great sacrifice which helped achieve an extraordinary turning point in the course of European history.

The memorial was created, funded and installed by the London Mint Office Limited on behalf of Waterloo 200, the organisation overseeing the commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo.

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Finding your way David Watts is Managing Director of CCD Design and Ergonomics

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Jam tomorrow is no good if you’re travelling today says David Watts

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n our quest for continual service innovation and improvement, the passenger experience of rail travel now includes an increasing number of stations, platforms, concourses and other critical infrastructure, which are being repaired, renovated or totally redeveloped.

That is the good news – passengers can look forward to a new golden era of rail travel on modern rolling stock, with fewer delays and better stations leading to higher levels of customer satisfaction. But getting there is not without its pains – as recent press reports have demonstrated.

Particularly over the Christmas and New Year holidays, the work to improve the network has intruded on the travel plans of thousands. People do understand that services are never 100 per cent perfect and as such are always ripe for improvement and refinement, however when major redevelopments can take years to complete, the user experience is often lost long before the intended design is finished.

The challenge for rail companies is to provide the same level of service with the minimum of disruption even when major works are taking place. They have to cope with the same number of passengers flowing through confined spaces and changed pedestrian routes with the minimum of impact on the overall experience. However, although rail services are much more passenger-focused than ever before, when it comes to the process of re-development, often the needs of the passenger are forgotten. A planned approach to temporary wayfinding strategies would deliver significant benefits both for operational matters, and for passenger satisfaction too.

Wayfinding systems are now being developed as part of the master planning, and the same approach should be taken during the planning of redevelopment works. There are specific challenges that need to be overcome, but an investment early will make a significant difference as works progress. The first principle is that the service provider and its front line staff this must deliver increased levels of passenger information and generally staying one step ahead until works are complete.

Budget is always an issue, but it does need to be found to avoid local staff taking the initiative, but without the resources (or way finding expertise) necessary.

These signs are rarely readable and therefore have no purpose or value. They are put up ad hoc, often printed or hand-drawn on A4 paper, sometimes unnecessary and based on unqualified opinion, and can often in conflict with existing signage. Occasionally a local signmaker is used, and often the result is in a different format, different style. Stations are complex environments and wayfinding often requires complex solutions…more so in temporary situations where the wayfinding has to work much harder.

Passengers need to find their way through what is often a giant building site, without increased tension or worry that they may get lost or delayed. This means negotiating temporary and possibly counter-intuitive passenger flows, the close proximity of construction site workers and equipment, temporary facilities, signage and

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz hoardings all whilst carrying on our daily business. Regular passengers get used to their ‘normal’ route, so operators need to change the mental model of the temporary station layout for the passengers - something that is tricky when it changes frequently. This can be overcome with information in advance giving a clear indication of what will be changing and when – regular travellers, whose data is held by rail operators can be provided this by e-mail with regular updates, and for everyone there is usually plenty of space on hoardings for key information (although too often, this is given over to glossy images of the finished development).

Adopting the same passenger-centric principles for temporary signage, requires an understanding of how works will develop, and understanding how that will impact on passengers – hence the need to be part of the planning process. Operators should manage peoples’ expectations by providing information about timescales, and when there are likely to be changes they need to be aware of.

Consideration should be given to additional maps, Temp sign Cambridge or illustrations that can convey the information clearly.

Temporary signage does face some particular challenges – normal sightlines become disrupted help them – this was a lesson learnt from by building works, and the London Olympics, and it serves well. finding good sightlines when Consideration should also be given to there is scaffolding and what can be dispensed with – gatelines hoardings can be difficult. can take up a lot of room, and in the Too high and people miss the short-term it may be that they can be signs, too low and people stand removed during the works. t e ol Stre n Liverpo in front of them. It is standard A different approach has been taken Temp sig practice to have suspended at Abbey Wood, part of the Cross Rail signs for permanent wayfinding development, where an interim station is systems, but in temporary being used as the main station. It looks permanent, and situations, this is rarely practical, although the principal of builds confidence of the travelling public because of that. This understanding sightlines remains. means that the wayfinding has been developed to meet the Where works are long-term, temporary signage should specific needs of that station. mimic permanent signage, but where works are short-term Rail companies need to apply a different but related set of there is a real value in having signs that are clearly different design principles to these short-term experiences beginning – this can emphasise that this is a short-term solution, with taking a passenger-centred view when planning and communicates to travellers that they should be aware the project and its phases. Temporary but highly flexible of further changes. Using low cost but hard wearing wayfinding which can evolve with the scheme, alongside products such as Dibond, gives the wayfinding the look additional information provision across all passenger and feel of fixed signs, helps maintain the rail company’s touchpoints will reduce confusion and improve overall reputation and brand whilst inspiring confidence. An efficiencies. In other words, a toolkit of strategic and tactical alternative often used is Correx, but this is easily damaged solutions needs to be developed to help ensure that smooth and ages quickly in a heavy-duty environment. running of our systems is maintained and that the passenger Wayfinding embraces more than just signs, and at experience of the service provided during these works in certain times the planned deployment of extra front line progress is as good as it can be. staff can be highly effective. One example was during the And one final thought, perhaps they need to find better early days of the re-opening of the refurbished Kings Cross ways to really make people believe that making alternative when staff were deployed to interact with passengers and plans really is the best thing to do! zz

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What lies beneath A pipe jack option provided the right solution for a difficult under-track crossing in West Sussex

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erco ESL recently undertook a difficult and substantial under-track crossing (UTX) at the Three Bridges railway station site near Crawley for client Network Rail. The existing railway corridor operation at Three Bridges runs north south and carries the Victoria to Brighton main lines which form part of the major commuter network serving the Capital from the Sussex area, so services could not be interrupted for the crossing installation works.

Having been approached to undertake the UTX works and having fully investigated both the requirements of the client and establishing the site and potential operational constraints of such an installation, Perco ESL offered two construction options and techniques to complete the installation.

The first option was that of Guided Auger Boring.

However, after working with the client and taking into account the various risk factors associated with the site and the crossing route, this option was rejected. This was mainly due to historical evidence that previous Auger Boring attempts in similar circumstances had encountered unexpected buried obstructions that brought the advance to a standstill.

The second option was the utilisation of a 1200 mm diameter hand-excavated pipe jack installation. Close investigation of this option showed that the technique was more viable in that it had the greater capacity to cope with access to and removal of any unexpected obstructions.

It also offered the potential to install extra ducts within the 1200 mm diameter pipe at a later stage should they be required without the need for a new crossing installation.

Operational difficulties The plan for the UTX was to install a 1200 mm diameter pipe over a length of 55 m beneath the operating rail lines at the Three Bridges site. The operation would normally require a three-metre diameter reception shaft on the arrival side of

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the pipe jack run to recover the pipe jack shield used to excavate the ground ahead of the advancing pipe.

However, in this instance, due to site restrictions and the location of existing services and utilities in the ground Perco could not excavate this size of reception shaft for the recovery operation. The site would allow only a

The sacrificial steel pipe jacking shield The pipe jack launch shaft

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To overcome this problem Perco opted to make the steel pipe jacking shield sacrificial and not recover it at the end of the drive. To achieve this, the pipe jack was continued past the location of the initially proposed recovery shaft and the 1200 mm diameter steel shield was simply buried in the adjacent ground and enclosed using a sealing grout.

Perco ESL was awarded the works in May 2014 with a start date of 16 June 2014. However, the discovery of contaminated ground on the proposed route forced an early delay whilst analysis of the contaminant was established and the correct personal protective equipment was procured. However, once fully underway Perco completed the tunnelled UTX in just 12 days.

The launch shaft for the pipe jacking operation, sited to the northeast of the rail tracks, was a 6.5 m deep, 6.5 m x 3.5 m rectangular, steel sheet piled and internally supported construction. However, even here the construction of the shaft was tight. There was limited space to excavate steel sheeted shaft, as the only working area that could be utilised was a small P-Way compound with tight constraints.

The route of the 1200 mm diameter UTX ran under both Fast and Slow main rail lines at Three Bridges as well as two sidings lines. Monitoring of the tracks during the excavation was carried out by TPS, with automatic

The central access shaft installed for duct installation

readings being taken every three hours on a system of 228 points that monitored any vertical, horizontal and twist movements on each track. Targeted warnings were set to advise the construction crew of any movements at various set parameters.

During the excavation process the advancing pipe jack shield was kept on alignment using laser guidance with the jacking shield and the jacking pipes being advanced using a jacking frame already owned by Perco.

The jacking pipes used for the pipeline installation were supplied by FP McCann. The pipes had a jacking force capacity of 144 kN/m. In the event, however, jacking forces on the jacking pipes did not exceed 60 kN/m at any point during the advance.

On completion of the main tunnelling work a central access chamber was installed to a depth of four metres on to the 1200 mm diameter pipe jacked tunnel. The 1800 mm diameter shaft was constructed as an access shaft to aid installation of the 12 ducts that were ultimately to be installed inside the UTX pipeline. This shaft was completed as a vertical shaft of 1800 mm diameter using bolted ring segments.

A second chamber on the Western side, in the area of the original reception shaft site, was designed as a timber frame construction due to limited access and existing utilities as discussed earlier. This was also to allow access for the 12 service ducts to be installed.

With tunnelling completed Perco then went on to install the 12 x 150 mm diameter ducts in the tunnelled pipeline.

These ducts were then placed in holding frames, which were bespoke manufactured by Perco ESL for this scheme. Once this installation was completed the remaining annulus was grouted to secure the ducts in place.

Ultimately the project was completed in the targeted period and handed over to Network Rail on 1 September 2014.

For Network Rail Graham Davenport, Engineering Manager said: “Throughout the operation the crew Perco proved to be experienced and capable of overcoming any problems with tenacity, and with the client’s targeted date in mind when adapting the programme.� zz Ultimately 12 x 150 mm diameter ducts were installed in the tunnelled pipeline here shown prior to grouting

The chamber on the Western side was designed as a timber frame shaft construction due to limited surface access and existing utilities. This was to allow access for the 12 service ducts to be installed www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Light Rail Vehicles

Learning from the past By looking carefully at mistakes made in the past, Ragnar Thörnblom, Managing Director of RT Resurs explains how the industry can overcome previous issues ahead of a Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) boom in the Nordic region

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Ragnar Thörnblom is managing director of RT Resurs, a consulting firm in Stockholm. Mr Thörnblom was Director of Fleet at SL, the Greater Stockholm Area Transit Authority, from 1992 to 2004. Prior to that, he held the position as Product Planning Manager at the manufacturer Scania Buses.

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n recent years, a large number of Nordic cities have announced plans to tender Light Rail projects to revitalise their inner cities and suburban areas to deliver high capacity transport coping with rapid urbanisation and population growth. Among them are Malmö, Lund, Helsingborg and Uppsala in Sweden, Odense and Aarhus in Denmark, Trondheim and Stavanger in Norway and finally Tampere and Turku in Finland. This is a hugely positive development in a European region where road transport for a long time has been the default option. Besides this Stockholm, Gothenburg and Norrköping in Sweden, Oslo and Bergen in Norway and Helsinki in Finland have tendered for expansion of their existing fleets of LRV’s.

However, this shift should be viewed against a backdrop of embarrassing and costly failures when it comes to implementing LRV investments during the past 10 to 20 years. It is important to learn the right lessons from these events. This is, fortunately, a quite

straightforward exercise as there are many common denominators. I will analyse five LRV projects in four cities: Gothenburg, Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki.

The first project was to tender a tram fleet in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the late 1990’s. The purchasing organisation set highly specific and strictly mandatory design requirements for the M32 vehicle. The winning bidder, Ansaldo Breda, accepted all specifications but delivered vehicles of very poor quality. Widespread corrosion appeared soon after delivery and dangerous cracks in supporting body parts led to the vehicles being barred from service. Deliveries also extended for many years after stipulated timelines. Compensation demands led to years of protracted negotiations and the project is still not finalised.

The second project is also in Gothenburg. The M33 tender was launched in 2012. The city went to great lengths to avoid a repeat of the M32 saga. A number of very detailed design specifications were stipulated, causing a number of suppliers to demand changes to the request for tendering. The prequalification was thus cancelled twice, causing plans for a modernised and expanded tram fleet to be postponed for years.

Gothenburg had therefore to resort to upgrading a large number of 50-year-old vehicles to cope with increased traffic.

The third project was the Oslo SL95 tram from Ansaldo Breda in the mid 1990’s. The first vehicle arrived after substantial delays and weighed 64 tonnes. Provisional data from the supplier had indicated a weight of 46 tonnes. The added weight caused major damages to the old track infrastructure and upgrading work had to be undertaken urgently. Twenty years after the launch of

the project, SL95’s are still barred from service on certain segments of the network. Years of protracted negotiations on compensation have not yet been finalised.

The fourth project was carried out in Stockholm in 2010 comprising of 15 trams, called A35 for the extension of the Light Rail line “Tvärbanan” from Alvik to Solna station. Seven suppliers were approved in the prequalification round, four bids were submitted. For a number or reasons, only one bid, from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles S.A. (CAF), was deemed fully compliant. This was an extremely unhappy situation, but it was still decided to continue with this supplier.

When the full-scale mock-up was then presented, the supplier had made changes, which meant that mandatory requirements for the number of steps in the aisle and spaciousness in the seating section of the vehicle were not met. The purchaser however for some unknown reason did not take any action against this.

The fifth example is from the late 1990’s in Helsinki.

The Variotram vehicles from Adtranz (today Bombardier) were delivered according to highly specific design requirements, requiring non-standard solutions.

Substantial crack damages in the body shells meant that the vehicles were barred from service and had to be rebuilt at high cost.

The experiences above are by no means unique.

A number of LRV projects in countries like the UK, Germany, Poland, the U.S. and elsewhere have been delayed for technical reasons and hit by cost overruns.

Recent legal matters against the Polish manufacturer PESA concerning malfunctions, quality problems and severe deviations from agreed specifications exemplify warning signals to be considered. What is special about the Nordic markets is that they differ in at least two aspects. They are more extensively deregulated than in other countries where protection of domestic supply often is the case. This brings greater openness to new suppliers, often those offering lower cost products, with limited and/or troublesome experiences from real operation, to be able to enter a new market. Also, Nordic winter conditions are more severe, meaning the environment is less forgiving in cases where there are quality and reliability problems.

Often, board members and others are so anxious to avoid tendering decisions being appealed, that they will let outside legal teams be in charge of the entire process. that they will let outside legal teams be in charge of the entire process. This means the process is micro-managed and overly reliant on consultants who care little about or do not know operational aspects of trams.

The third lesson is to not try to “reinvent the wheel”.

Risk-averse purchasers often impose specifications that will drive costs higher without adding any value to the product. A common sense approach and good technical expertise within the purchasing organisation will make sure one gets the right result. The fourth lesson is to look carefully at what the suppliers promise. Will they really be able to deliver? Are they relevant to your needs? How are their quality assurance systems in production? What are their pointed out references? Are there, besides that, other references to approach?

The fifth lesson is to try to establish similar project organisations within the purchaser and supplier sectors.

The supplier’s project team should be able to handle project issues as they come up, and not have to refer to superiors within hierarchical structures. Such set up invariables means delays. The sixth lesson is that the technical LRV specification as much as possible has to be based on functionality and performance. It is then the task of the supplier to turn that into his own proposal for the technical design to be evaluated by the purchaser and keep strictly to this share of responsibility. The seventh lesson concerns responsibility. The supplier shall be fully and solely responsible for the deliveries, including all subsupplier’s.

With these aspects in mind, it will most likely be possible to avoid mistakes of the past decades and to ensure a bright future for Light Rail in the Nordic countries.

What, then, can we learn from these mishaps?

The first lesson is a focus on life cycle cost (LCC). It is often assumed that current public tendering legislation means the lowest bidder will win, but this is not the case at all. Evaluation models may give a very low weighting to purchase price and, correspondingly, rate a product with better LCC characteristics more favourably. The second lesson is not to be overly reliant on consultants. The purchasing organisation must possess sufficient technical systems and purchasing expertise to be able to run the tendering process. Often, board members and others are so anxious to avoid tendering decisions being appealed,

Left Stockholm LRV

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Rolling stock

A spotless record Five top tips from JAMES LOMAS, rail sales manager of Arrow Solutions, for achieving top-notch train presentation and correct cleaning procedures and make sure cleaning staff stick to them.

3) Don’t forget your winter strategy

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ystery shopping is a common practice in the rail sector. When it comes to cleanliness, standards are high. And with 1.59 billion passenger journeys made in Great Britain in 2013-2014, it’s not uncommon for train operating companies (TOCs) to get lower mystery shopper scores than expected. To help train presentation managers, James Lomas of Arrow Solutions has put together a checklist to ensure trains are spotless all year round.

1) Know your products, routes and passengers

Bhavisha Mistry

The first thing every rail presentation manager learns is that each train route and operating environment is different. For example, trains that travel through busy metropolitan areas will face different soiling than those on rural routes. Also, trains stopping at stations close to say, coal mines or quarries will probably need more attention than other routes when it comes to interior cleaning.

After finding out the specific cleaning challenges of a route, train presentation managers should investigate what cleaning products are available. Using the right product for the right job can save a great deal of time, effort and money. For example, a general cleaning solution might be suitable for daily exterior washing, but it probably won’t remove brake dust or ferrous staining from rolling stock. By liaising with suppliers, TOCs can make sure they are using the right products and following the recommended dilution rates and directions for use.

2) Stick to your cleaning schedule Two things that often get neglected are the cleaning schedule and staff training. In 45 years of supplying cleaning chemicals to the rail industry, we’ve seen many cases of companies that were doing everything right, but because of insufficient product training for the cleaning staff, the results were not always as expected.

The moral of the story is to create a cleaning schedule

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The UK’s unpredictable weather system often causes problems for TOCs. The cold season in particular is a time of additional cleaning challenges. To make sure they never get caught off guard, train presentation managers need to stock up in time for winter, which usually brings with it heavier levels of soiling.

Keeping trains, platforms and tracks clear of ice is a seasonal challenge that can only be overcome by using dedicated winter products. Although not all winters are like the Big Freeze of 1963, it’s better to be safe than sorry and stock up on winter products that work down to -20 degrees Celsius.

4) Exterior cleaning is crucial The first thing any passenger comes into contact with is the train exterior. Ensuring the paintwork looks spotless and the windows are free of dirt, marks and stains creates an excellent first impression.

To protect paintwork, livery and vinyl, a neutral cleaner with controlled pH levels of between 8.0 and 10.0 depending on the dilution, should be considered. pH neutral detergents can be employed in everyday cleaning without being treated before disposal, since they aren’t hazardous to the environment.

Although pH neutral chemicals are not particularly aggressive, they can remove oil, grease, dirt and grime from rolling stock, while leaving a streak-free and gleaming finish, with a resistance to re-soling and water marks.

5) Get rid of nasty stains and odours Cleaning and sanitising effluent tanks, toilet areas and emergency spills are some of the most unpleasant tasks facing railway staff. Stocking relevant products on every train and training staff to adopt a customer-focused approach are the only ways of meeting passenger expectations while also controlling costs.

Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, once said that customers are like guests to a party the company is hosting – the firm needs to provide a pleasant, memorable experience.

Similarly, in rail, customer service and comfort are becoming more important to passengers year on year.

If in doubt, TOCs can always consult specialist cleaning manufacturers about how to keep the party under control without spoiling the mood. zz

www.arrowchem.com

NEWS I Rolling Stock

Cumbrian Coast service expanded l Northern Rail, Britain’s largest

Hitachi unveils its vision of high speed rail design l The possible shape and style the UK’s future high speed rail travel has been revealed by Hitachi Rail Europe, in a series of stunning new images of conceptual carriage interiors.

The design work has been based on extensive user research and passenger studies, along with the company’s existing expertise in delivering rolling stock for HS1 and the iconic Shinkansen trains in Japan.

The new designs are influenced by existing rolling stock in the UK, and the future needs of travelling public. The result is a train that has the potential flexibility to grow and evolve with society.

The designers have also looked at the automotive and aeronautical sectors, to achieve a balance between comfort, speed, efficiency and aesthetics.

Visitors to Railtex 2015 were able to physically explore the concept through a 3D imaging showcase and a fully immersive virtual reality walk-through.

Meanwhile, Hitachi is currently working on the new Intercity Express trains for the Great Western Main Line and production is due to begin in 2016.

Alstom completes the modernisation of Northern line trains l As part of a two year upgrade programme for London Underground (LU), Alstom has completed the modernisation of 106 trains serving the Northern line.

Teams from the Morden and Golders Green Metro Traincare Centres have replaced 11km of lino in the fleet, which is roughly the distance between Buckingham Palace and the O2 Arena, polished 15,688 windows to remove graffiti, which is more panels of glass than in the Shard; and changed 27,500 seat backs _ the equivalent to a third of Wembley Stadium.

The mid-life refurbishing programme included 3.7 million items replaced on the fleet, which works out at about 35,000 components per train.

The Northern line carries up to a quarter of Tube passengers, around one million people per day Monday to Friday. A total of 96 trains are made available for service each morning and evening peak, with the first train going into service at 5am and the last train returning to the depot the following morning at 2am. The Northern line fleet, which was built by Alstom, travels around 15 million kilometres a year.

train operator, has introduced two new locomotive hauled trains to the Cumbrian Coast rail route, providing additional capacity on this popular route.

The new timetable came into operation on 18 May. Nine loco hauled services now operate per day along the route, supported by 44 Northern diesel services delivering 80,000 additional seats per year.

Alex Hynes, managing director for Northern Rail, said: “The addition of the locomotive trains brings thousands more seats every day, improving journey experiences for our commuting customers and offering more space for visitors to this fantastic region throughout the summer.”

Class 800/801 designed to have Pedal Power appeal l The new Hitachi class 800/801 series train has been designed with needs of cycling commuters and travellers in mind. PRM-TSI compliant, lightweight storage units for bicycles are being incorporated close to passenger seating areas throughout the train.

The original vision for the new train was to design spacious passenger carriage interiors, including convenient bike storage facilities.

TRB Lightweight Structures was brought in to evaluate the design of the bike storage units and develop a cost effective method of manufacturing them.

To minimize weight and maximize space, aluminium honeycomb sandwich panels are specified for the walls, the sliding and folding door sections, and for the ceiling.

The sandwich panels are fabricated using an aluminium honeycomb core with inner and outer aluminium skins, bonded together with a high strength modified epoxy adhesive film, then finished by spray painting using a water based paint system.

In the UK, these new trains are destined to replace existing high speed trains as part of the Intercity Express Programme. The first twelve trains will be built in Japan before manufacture and assembly switches to Hitachi’s new purpose-built Newton Aycliffe plant in northeast England.

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Signalling

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When the lights go out The UK may struggle to generate sufficient power over the next few years, and the railways will need to safeguard supply to its critical signalling and control systems. Andy Parfitt reviews the options

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Andy Parfitt is Sales Director at Harland Simon UPS

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ignalling is one of the most important parts of the many which constitute a railway system. Train movement safety depends on it, as does the control and management of trains. Over recent years, signalling and train control systems have evolved so that today a highly technical and complex infrastructure has developed, with reliance dependent on widely varied power sources, from mains supply to dated battery technology.

Yet despite the very real risk of power outages, a huge proportion of this critical UK infrastructure is vulnerable – leaving businesses and consumers alike at risk should major outages occur.

The fact is that in today’s joined up and internet enabled society, every aspect of the infrastructure is reliant upon clean, reliable power supply. And for those tasked with delivering these services, contingency planning is not just about safeguarding the infrastructure; it is increasingly about safeguarding revenue. In today’s target driven and highly regulated society, any significant failure in rail networks will result in fines, negative publicity and a drop in shareholder value.

The lights may not go out – yet. But can any business afford to take the risk?

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

Lights out When the UK government takes out what is effectively a £1 billion insurance policy against the lights going out, it is clearly time for the rest of the country to take note. With Britain facing a severe power generation crunch for the next two winters and Ofgem warning that the margin — the spare capacity above peak demand — could fall to as low as two per cent next winter, contingency plans are becoming important.

In addition to the recent controversial announcement regarding the proposed payment of £990 million in subsidies to power plants to guarantee demand can be met from 2018, the government has also invested heavily in the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and the Securities and Emergencies Measures Directive (SEMD), designed to protect critical sites against terrorist attack.

So not only does the UK have to contend with a power generation network still in transition, a loss of power may not just come from grid overload: there is a significant risk of terrorist activity compromising the power network. And that means there is a pressing need to safeguard not only the most obvious aspects of the nation’s infrastructure – the banks, the petrochemical plants, the power stations,

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz and the government – but to also ensure that the air, road and rail networks are able to manage in the event of power outage; that water supplies are not affected and that emergency services can still communicate effectively.

Fragile society The importance of such contingency planning is demonstrated on a nearly daily basis. When less than an hour’s downtime of the air traffic control system over London resulted in two days of chaos; or when a signalling failure can cause hours’ worth of delays to commuters, the fragility of the UK infrastructure becomes very clear.

In simple terms, should signalling problems arise, in the first instance there will be delays to trains causing problems to the public who uses them. More importantly though, the safety issue presents the biggest cause for concern - with signal failure comes the risk of crashes and the risk to life at level crossings.

Of course, these are not standard environments. In addition to being typically unmanned, these are harsh environments subject to extremes of temperature, vibration, water ingress, dust and dirt. They are certainly not suitable for the standard Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) that are deployed in clean, temperature controlled offices and data centres to provide clean, reliable power supplies. Place them in any environment subject to significant vibrations and failure will be rapid, while exposure to temperature extremes will result in battery life plummeting.

Fit for purpose Usually, signals and other equipment – such as track circuits and level crossing equipment – are powered from a low voltage supply, allowing easy operation from storage batteries. Indeed, in some parts of the UK, batteries remain the main power source as mains power is unavailable. In other locations, batteries provide critical backup should mains power fail.

Unfortunately, with the changes in infrastructure that have taken place in the last ten years, Network Rail specifications can be dated, as is the array of products that meet these. With newer technologies still to be proven, the fact is that the majority of equipment used to provide critical backup power is now often less reliable in coping with the increase in demand upon it.

These are critical locations that require protecting; but they are also often unmanned and organisations need equipment that is reliable and offers long-term protection.

While some manufacturers insist data centre and office UPS need to be regularly tested (including monthly discharge tests) this is simply not a practical option for an out of the way, unmanned location. Demanding monthly maintenance activity creates an unjustifiable whole life cost in these harsh environments. The key here is to put in place a device that is ultra reliable and

can both guarantee a long life and require minimal on-going maintenance.

The solution is to provide a rugged protected UPS that is designed specifically to work reliably and for a long life within a harsh environment, one that has been engineered, modified, ruggedised and tailored to fit within specific site and application space constraints: a ‘protected UPS’. The UPS needs to be the correct ‘Form-Fit-Function!’ With the right UPS in place, organisations can be assured that these critical aspects of the national infrastructure will keep running irrespective of power outages or glitches. Quite simply, put a UPS on a key intersection and the traffic continues flowing, and public health & safety can be guaranteed.

Of course, when it comes to national contingency there is also a financial consideration. Rail providers are subject to strict targets – failure to meet these targets will result in fines, damage to brand image, and an impact on shareholder value.

Safeguarding critical infrastructure is as much about protecting the smooth operation of the nation as it is about safeguarding the smooth flow of revenue – and power contingency is now a fundamental aspect of business planning. zz

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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Signalling

The right direction Arnab Dutt discusses making tracks in the digital world

I Arnab Dutt is a Public Member of Network Rail, and managing director of Texane

Bhavisha Mistry

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t goes without saying that the world has moved into the digital age, a trend that only shows signs of accelerating, and the rail sector is following suit.

Almost under the media radar, drowned out by complaints about the price of fares and delays, work to digitise our railways has picked up pace.

Last year, Network Rail announced plans for a £38 billion investment to deliver a better railway for Britain, including introducing the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).

Currently, there are 20 different traffic management systems in operation across Europe, each with its own problems and complexities. To switch between these systems takes time and money – time and money that I’m sure could be better spent elsewhere.

The objective of ERTMS is to address this mishmash by introducing a standard for rail traffic management across the content, improving operations and signalling across borders. Developed by members of the Association of the European Rail Industry, the system promises more capacity and reliability, improved safety and stimulation for an open market and, as a result, more competition among suppliers and better value for networks, operators and passengers.

ERTMS forms part of Network Rail’s National Operating Strategy (NOS). Among the issues it addresses is the need to upgrade signalling. Britain has a long history of conventional signalling systems dating back to the middle of the 19th century, and many of ‘old school’ signalling boxes are still in operation today – hardly the sort of thing we want on a hard-pressed 21st century network.

With growing rail traffic and the network increasing in size in future, the benefits of digitising the signalling operations are in plain sight. Under NOS, Network Rail aims to create 14 regional Route Operating Centres (ROCs) to manage and control all signalling across our networks. Consolidating the operation from some 800 outposts to these regional centres will be a massive undertaking, but if it works, the improvements will not just be cathartic but contribute to the massive savings promised by ERTMS and NOS, calculated at £1.6 billion by 2029.

To state another obvious point, our networks rely on passengers, just as they rely on our networks but of course, and unsurprisingly, the majority are unaware

of the step change improvements to rail infrastructure, let alone the nuances of digitising signalling or other parts of the operation. Yet they will surely have benefited from digital improvements elsewhere.

Smart ticketing has proved its worth. London’s Oyster Card for example is a must have for many commuters, Londoners and frequent visitors to the capital, allowing travel on multiple networks.

But a wider rollout of smart ticketing has been slow. Slowly but surely, however, rail operators have grasped the potential benefits of the concept and are now announcing plans to make smart ticketing a priority. As a result, rail passengers may be able to benefit from reduced journey times and more flexible fares in years ahead.

Passengers, of course, always want more. The latest review of Rail Passengers’ Priorities for Improvements’ from Passenger Focus identified a need for increased access to Wi-Fi both on trains and in stations. One of the advantages of commuting and travelling by rail is that it gives passengers time to catch up on work and with friends via email and social networks or to browse the web. Ideally, passengers should be able to do this without worrying about dips in signal strength or lost connections.

In response, the Government is planning to spend £90 million across England and Wales to improve signal strength, speed and accessibility on the rail networks. Both on-train and trackside technologies are to be updated. Network Rail has one of the largest digital fibre networks in the UK. The rail sector, as with every area of business and industry, is developing new ways to do business in the digital age. Network Rail’s ORBIS programme, aimed at improving capture, sharing and use of information, involves creating a 3D digital model of the UK rail network. It will help engineers make better, more informed decisions about maintenance and operation, with the realistic hope that this will lead to increased service reliability.

What is clear to me, and many others I’m sure, is that our network needs to grow to reflect passenger needs and numbers, as well as meeting the expectations of passengers in a digital age.

With passenger numbers spiralling, plans for digitisation are overdue, but the rail sector is now moving in the right direction. It won’t happen overnight but the benefits are clearly immense. zz

NEWS I Stations

Passengers at Liverpool and Manchester stations enjoy an element of luxury

Chaise longue at Liverpool Lime Street l To mark the launch of eight additional four-carriage electric trains between Liverpool and Manchester, Northern has introduced some quirky and luxurious seating at Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria stations.

Different from the standard seating found in stations, a dazzling array of shapes, sizes and colours of chairs to choose from, including thrones, chaise longues, lime green armchairs, a giant purple dining chair and sofas that were over 3m long made an appearance.

The new trains being celebrated in this way will provide twice as many seats as their diesel counterparts and will run on the newly electrified routes from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Airport, Manchester Victoria and Wigan North Western. More trains are scheduled to arrive through 2015 taking the total in service to 20.

Alex Hynes, managing director for Northern Rail said: “This unusual seating seemed a fun way to mark the fact that with more trains and services being added throughout 2015, more and more customers are set to benefit from more seats.”

An appropriately named lime sofa at Liverpool Lime Street

Redesign of Norwich station gets under way l Abellio Greater Anglia has begun work on a programme that will redesign the concourse at Norwich station.

During the first phase, which is expected to take four weeks, the automatic ticket gates are to be relocated making it easier for customers to access the toilet facilities, and the central cash points will be removed.

At the same time, work will also commence on extending the existing cycle area to accommodate an additional 242 covered, free cycle parking spaces, and the company’s Bike and Go cycle hire scheme will be installed. Ten high quality cycles will be available for hire for just £3.80 per day.

During the summer months, the customer services team will relocate to a new, more centrally-located customer service office on the station concourse which will also feature new retail units and cash machines.

Towards the end of the year the existing waiting room on platform 6 will be refurbished and a new first class lounge will be created alongside platform 1 (in the old customer services office). The customer toilet facilities will be completely refurbished and will be accessible to everyone without the need to pass through the ticket barriers.

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IT - CASE STUDY

Moving freely

New York’s Fulton Center has benefitted greatly from the use of Oasys MassMotion crowd analysis 3D simulation software

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ngineered by Arup as the prime design consultant, New York’s newest transport hub, the Fulton Center is ready to serve up to 300,000 passengers a day in post-9/11 Lower Manhattan.

Above ground it is a new iconic glass and steel structure, sitting easily alongside the federally listed historic Corbin Building: a restored 19th century ‘proto skyscraper’ that is now an integral part of the station.

Beneath the surface are platforms for nine subway lines that were originally built by separate and competing

commercial entities, some more than a century ago. They are now reached via a simply stunning bank of escalators within the centre and some two dozen access points from surrounding streets.

Not surprisingly, a guiding principle for the design, from the master planning stage onwards, was to simplify access to these platforms and ease the transfers between lines for passengers.

The design team needed to understand how people would move through the station and resolve any potential conflicts before finalising plans for the $1.4bn project.

“With any transit project, there is a lot of competition for a limited amount of space,” says Eric Rivers, a pedestrian planner with Arup. Subway platforms, for instance, are used as corridors as well as for boarding, alighting, and waiting for trains. “The only way to understand it was with a micro-simulation model,” he says.

Of course the best way to simulate a multi-level structure with complex interactions between areas was in 3D, and at the outset of this project in 2003, the Arup engineers had the benefit of early access to the intricate 3D CAD Model. Arup very quickly recognised that the problem that had to be solved was to not impede train services; maintain a minimum level of service at key locations including platforms and key staircases, as well as safeguard the required fire and life safety egress levels, and that it could not be solved in 3D using currently (then) available tools. Arup set about writing the computer code to help analyse and solve the complicated seven-year staged construction sequence. Oasys MassMotion was born on the Fulton Center project; it is a 3D crowd analysis and pedestrian simulation tool that helps to inform design decisions. MassMotion is now widely and commercially available and is still the only truly 3D modelling tool available, and supports modelling of both everyday movements as well as supports modelling of both emergency and rare event scenarios.

MassMotion is infinitely scalable, so it allowed the design team to populate the project’s digital model with realistic numbers of ‘agents,’ or virtual people, to evaluate how many passengers the facility could handle and predict what route they might take through the remodelled station or around obstructions. Arup subsidiary Oasys has also further developed MassMotion so that it can be used to understand how occupants will behave when faced with, for instance, a choice between a crowded escalator and a relatively empty set of steps.

It will even taking into account cultural differences such as giving way to the left or right, the difference in pace length of a man and a woman; or doing value assessment of retail spaces or advertising potential of certain surfaces within the 3D Model.

Due to its sheer power and the speed with which queries can be run on a model, a 3D MassMotion model also creates an important BIM legacy, helping project teams to study the effect of operational changes during construction staging and throughout the operational life of a building or transit facility. Architects, engineers

‘…this new station makes travelling easier for subway riders, and is a beautiful public space for visitors and commuters to enjoy”, furthered New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. “We now have a new cornerstone in Lower Manhattan, and I am proud to see this unique complex opened to the public.” and designers have all become aware of the quantum leap they can make by switching from 2D to 3D crowd analysis in communicating complex ideas to stakeholders, and to explain and win the case for changes in designs or operations. The ease with which they can develop pedestrian environments in MassMotion using either imported CAD/BIM geometry or MassMotion’s new polygon modelling tools, coupled with new licensing options, is making MassMotion the pedestrian modelling tool of choice.

Craig Covil, Arup’s project director for the Fulton Center says that: “One of the most significant successes of the Fulton Center project, was the much increased subway network efficiencies as a result of reducing the dwell time of the trains at the platforms for loading and unloading passengers. Oasys MassMotion helped us analyse the problem and provide a more streamlined and better solution with less ‘friction’ that markedly improved the train movements through the centre and in turn on the whole subway network.”

Craig goes on to say: “We assessed the various stations that were built between 1904 and 1935 as separate privately financed and competing subway lines, reducing the ‘friction’ that was inherent in these independent legacy lines, to produce a much needed streamlined more seamless integrated transfers from one line to another, mitigating platform-end crowd loading, radically reducing train dwell times at the stations, and thus providing whole of subway network efficiencies to the MTA and NYCT and their passengers. The 4/5/6 Lines carry about 1.3 million people daily….more people per day than the combined Chicago, San Francisco and Boston subway systems, so 30 seconds saved with this many commuters per day - per year is a very significant value add to the community.”

www.oasys-software.com/products/ engineering/massmotion.html 41

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Infrastructure

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Swiss role model ETCS migration lessons from Switzerland, by Karl King, head of train control systems, Leeroy Chademunhu, senior train control systems engineer and Tom Endersby, train control systems engineer of Mott MacDonald

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t’s an exciting time for signalling and train control. In fact, it’s undoubtedly a fascinating era for the railway sector in general. The challenge of catering for an ever increasing passenger demand in challenging economic conditions and ecological constraints means that the industry has to develop faster and more creatively than ever before. In an age where communication technologies are advancing more rapidly than ever before, one of the most exciting and notable rail developments in the last couple of decades has been the emergence of communication based train control.

Given the rising demand, budget constraints and environment concerns, the industry is required to come up with more innovative ways of increasing capacity and performance than simply constructing new lines. The solution that is making the largest waves is Communication Based Train Control (CBTC), systems that move trains around a network without the use of conventional colour light signals mounted alongside the track. Such systems have the potential to be cheaper to implement and maintain and allow trains to run closer together, resulting in increased capacity and line speed. Metros have been using CBTC for decades, with systems that not only provide full train protection but also completely automatic running of the trains themselves. Such innovation has not always been welcomed on the mainline, however the arrival of the European Train Control System (ETCS) has made aspects of CBTC technology available for this market.

At its most basic level, ETCS is a communication based signalling system developed to facilitate the interoperability

ETCS Level 2 operational concept

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www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

of trans-European rail traffic as part of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) initiative. Its primary aim is to provide interoperability between national rail networks and create an open market place for railways and railway related products. ETCS also offers potential benefits in safety, capacity and performance, which is why it has gained momentum both in the UK and outside of Europe, where interoperability with Europe is less of a priority.

ETCS Level 2 is the only configuration of ERTMS currently in scope for UK application. While it offers some capacity improvements, it uses the same fixed block principle that restricts capacity on conventional signalling.

However it offers significant safety improvements through continuous radio communication between the train and the wayside, providing a real-time update to the driver on their permitted movement authority. In Level 2, signalling restrictions such as speed limits and stopping locations are enforced by the vehicle on-board system – there is no point at which the driver escapes the watchful eye of the system. Additionally, the ETCS in-cab display screen provides drivers with a continuous update of their maximum permitted speed. This in turn means that trackside signals can be removed completely, reducing the cost of installation and maintenance. Furthermore, by removing these signals shorter blocks can be made available for trains to proceed into, allowing for capacity enhancement as the train is no longer limited to signal spacing.

In terms of capacity, the most significant improvements are made in ETCS Level 3, a configuration that is currently still only at conceptual stage. However, the other benefits that Level 2 offers have proven sufficient for the Department for Transport to plan to fit 72 per cent of the UK’s rail infrastructure with it. It may not be the Holy Grail of railway train control, yet nevertheless ETCS Level 2 is a substantial improvement to the current status quo. It will also allow for a simpler migration to Level 3, which enables moving block operation, when that becomes available.

Unfortunately, such opportunity does not come without challenges. The complexity of engineering and the associated costs have severely hindered ETCS’s broad acceptance and implementation. The disadvantages are not necessarily so profound where it presents a viable business case, such as cab signalling which is essential on high-speed lines that operate at speeds over 160km/h; however ETCS’s cost means that where the benefits are less critical, cost-benefit ratios are much leaner.

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Full Supervision versus Limited Supervision display screen

It’s for this reason that the Limited Supervision mode of ETCS was developed. By stripping ETCS down to its basic building blocks an economised configuration can be realised, capitalising on the safety benefits of ETCS with a substantial reduction in cost. The basic principle of Limited Supervision is to fit trains with the ETCS on-board system and utilise minimum installation of trackside equipment to provide train protection. However drivers must still rely on lineside signal indications and drive to the prevailing national signalling and operating rules, rather than the standardised ERTMS operating rules developed by Europe.

In trimming down the system, cab signalling functionality is sacrificed. However, this is a cost that is countered by the benefit that, by Limited Supervision, whole networks can now be fitted with ETCS. Swiss rail provider SBB has been one of the earliest adopters of Limited Supervision, utilising it to simulate their existing train protection system on lines that were not to be upgraded to ETCS but are linked to lines that are. This has enabled them to simplify the on-board equipment installed on their vehicles and have a common technology on their trackside to simplify operation and maintenance.

In Switzerland, the application of ETCS Level 1 Limited Supervision has been pivotal in delivering the ERTMS migration strategy. The Swiss operational concept is derived from the Zub and Signum train protection systems, meaning that there are minimal changes in the system behaviour from the driver’s perspective. Additionally, Switzerland’s strategy is interesting in that the ETCS Level 1 Limited Supervision trackside equipment is interoperable with the Zub and Signum on-board architecture, allowing non-ETCS fitted trains to share the same infrastructure.

High-speed lines and continental routes in Switzerland will gradually be upgraded to ETCS Level 2, while some regional lines will remain fitted with ETCS Level 1 Limited Supervision. This means that new trains introduced in the country will only be fitted with ETCS, while heritage trains that won’t operate on the high-speed routes or cross European borders will only be fitted with the legacy train protection systems.

Further installations of Limited Supervision are planned in other European countries, including Germany which is applying a similar strategy to the Swiss. The German ETCS Level 1 Limited Supervision concept involves interfacing with their existing PZB trackside interface and emulating the PZB functionality. ETCS Limited Supervision has the versatility to emulate existing train protection systems and use existing signalling interfaces to reduce the cost of application, while simplifying the development and migration processes.

Mott MacDonald has recently completed a study on behalf of the UK’s RSSB to determine if ETCS Limited Supervision can be utilised within the United Kingdom as part of its ERTMS implementation strategy. The findings of this study are due to be published by the end of April. zz

Limited Supervision operational concept

www.railwaystrategies.co.uk

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London Bridge platforms 12-15

The secrets of London Bridge NG Bailey takes us behind the scenes at London Bridge to see how a state-of-the-art, technologically-advanced station is being created using the latest generation of security and building management systems

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ondon Bridge is in the process of being rebuilt as part of the Government sponsored £6.5 billion Thameslink Programme, which will increase capacity and frequency on one of Europe’s busiest routes. Once the station expansion is completed in 2018 the concourse will be two thirds larger than it is currently and passengers will be able to access all 15 platforms from the same area.

The rebuilding of the station is taking place behind hoardings so although passengers will be progressively directed to alternative platforms as work is progressing, they will see little of the construction effort in action. We are going to take a look behind these hoardings to see how the latest generation of security and building management systems, designed to improve both operational efficiency and passenger safety, are being used to create a state-ofthe-art, technologically-advanced station.

NG Bailey’s work at London Bridge began three years ago with early contractor advice to Costain. This led

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to a contract award as sole services provider for the development of fire suppression, fire detection, telecoms and security systems, as well as full M&E services throughout the 51,000 sq ft site.

This early involvement in the project has enabled the company to influence both the emerging design and project procurement strategies, as well as supporting value engineering opportunities. The company is also providing support to the Hyder/WSP design team and will maintain all new services installed until project completion, which is scheduled for May 2018.

Offsite manufacturing One of the key aspects of the contract is the ability to produce much of the new electrical systems at an offsite manufacturing facility, delivering completed products ready to insert on site, saving around six months of man-hours.

Not only has this improved quality by assembling the sections under factory conditions but, most importantly,

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David Jones, project director at NG Bailey, explained: “Over the past two years we’ve had to overcome numerous technical challenges in running the old and new systems simultaneously, with 24/7 working in order to minimise disruption to normal station operations. It’s a massively complex project and has required detailed planning and co-ordination to keep the station fully functional as the new technology is introduced.”

The company is installing the containment and fittings for the new iconic ‘eyebrow’ canopies at the station, which will eventually cover all 15 platforms. If laid end-to-end, the cassettes – which are being prefabricated off-site – would stretch to a length of 4km. The cassette installation includes lighting, power, customer information, CCTV and PAVA systems.

“Around 80 per cent of this part of the project is taking place off-site in Bolton,” David Jones added. “As so much work is happening at London Bridge over a short period of time, it’s essential that we do as much work offsite as possible. The fact that we’ve been able to do this has helped us speed up the on-site installation and minimise disruption to passengers, staff and train operators. It has resulted in cost-savings, reduced the labour required and our time on site.”

The containment and fittings have already been installed over six platforms, and the next section of work will progress in the summer.

Safety and security NG Bailey is also doing work on the new central control room, which, when it comes into operation, will enable the station operations staff to monitor all security and building functions using the station management system.

This provides uniform control and monitoring to the many different sub-systems, essential for running a modern transport hub.

“The overall design philosophy,” Jones said, “has been based on maintaining maximum functionality at all times by distributing intelligence throughout the sub-systems and avoiding total reliance on a single central system.”

The safe movement of passengers is monitored by over 500 high-resolution cameras, giving full surveillance of the platforms and concourse areas, which can be monitored live by the control room and Network Rail staff at other points throughout the station.

Effective passenger information systems are critical to maintaining the smooth movement of passengers and improving the customer experience.

Strategically-placed Infotec customer information displays provide constantly updated train service information, together with emergency instruction when necessary. A multi-zone PAVA system automatically compensates for ambient noise levels. Detailed acoustic modelling has been used to optimise the Bosch sound projector speaker placement and give clear, intelligible speech while minimising overspill into adjoining areas.

London Bridge

Other sub-systems – such as the fire alarm and the building management systems – report alarms to the station management computer, alerting station staff to events that could directly affect operations.

The management system The station management system will give staff full control, from cameras switching to fire alarm points that have been activated, to the Building Management System (BMS) that monitors the escalators and lifts, allowing a rapid response to be initiated if required.

By integrating all of the technical systems within the station, the control room staff will have all of the necessary information and tools in front of them to handle both routine operational tasks and complex emergency situations.

“Much of our work to date has been taking place below ground and in the design and planning of the technology and digital systems, which will continue through the next stage of work,” Jones explained. “The next 15 months will see Platforms 7, 8 and 9 rebuilt and brought up to the same standards as the currently completed platforms. We will also start work on the concourse and building the new office accommodation areas for Network Rail staff and the station control room.

“One of the unique challenges to this will be the provision of plant rooms, which sit at platform level and run the majority of the station length. Due to their location, and the sheer operational disruption it would cause to work onsite, we will be utilising our offsite manufacturing capability to provide large parts of this work via offsite modules, which will be craned in over the platforms into the middle of the site,” he concluded. zz

www.ngbailey.com

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Infrastructure

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ast November, as work was under way on a £4.5 million improvement scheme to replace worn out tram tracks in Wolverhampton city centre, engineers had an unpleasant surprise. When they removed the foundations of the old crossover they discovered unstable old mine workings lying underneath. Work on the A41 Bilston Road between the junctions with Steelhouse Lane and Hospital Street, ground to a halt as intensive efforts were made to find a safe way of building over the mine.

The old mine workings were 12m (40ft) deep, 55m (180ft) long and 20m (65ft) wide, and are thought to date back to the Industrial Revolution when coal and iron ore were mined extensively across the Black Country.

The scale of the problem

Please mind the gap Engineers laying new Metro tram tracks in Wolverhampton city centre have overcome the challenge of unstable and potentially dangerous mine workings beneath their path

The mineworkings near Steelhouse Lane

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Midland Metro programme director Paul Griffiths said: “Having installed a modern new crossover south of The Royal we came to remove the foundation from the previous crossover and that’s when we found the mine workings. We had undertaken ground investigation in advance of the works including using ground penetrating radar, but this did not identify all the issues. It was only when we opened up the ground and made a full analysis that the scale of the problem became clear.”

At some point in the city’s history the workings had been filled in with old building rubble then covered over without being marked on any known map or documents.

“The problem was that rubble was not compacted down, it was thrown in loose and covered over. And over time loose rubble shifts and creates voids,” he explained.

Centro, the region’s public transport coordinator, consulted with specialist engineering consultants to assess how best to deal with the problem. The company also looked further afield and sought advice from other light rail systems in the UK and around the world, to see if they had ever dealt with a similar problem and to examine the solutions they had chosen.

Identifying the solution There were a range of options available. One was sheet-piling around the void, removing the old rubble then in-filling with more suitable material which would be properly compacted.

However this idea was ruled out as too expensive and time-consuming.

Another was to bridge over the void with a

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slab on bored piles inserted down to sounder ground.

This was ruled out for the same reasons.

Also rejected was grouting up the existing fill, and laying in ballasted track over the rubble – regular track maintenance would then be essential for many years afterwards.

The chosen solution consisted of a geo-textile membrane and geogrid to stabilise the ground, in between layers of compacted hardcore and capped with a reinforced 5m wide concrete slab running through the 55m length of the workings.

The work involved removing some of the existing fill to get the correct levels for the final slab, but the excavation was relatively shallow and presented no risk to the adjoining highway. The expected settlement of the completed track should not exceed 5mm in 20 years.

Paul Griffiths said: “We are satisfied that the line has been made safe by the most effective means in the minimum reasonable timescale and the predicted settlement figure is very creditable.”

Adding to the delays Before discovering the mineworkings which lie just past The Royal stop, the overall improvement scheme had already suffered a month’s delay when unmarked public utility pipes were unearthed. The original track slab was also found to be not as strong as designed and additional work was required to ensure it would not deteriorate in the future. As a result The Royal, the last stop on the line before the St George’s terminus half a mile away, opened in December instead of November.

“We also used the delay at The Royal to accelerate works at the St George’s terminus in Wolverhampton city centre to accommodate the new Urbos 3 trams, and to lay new track out to The Royal,” Griffiths continued.

The section was finally re-opened on Tuesday 31 March and Cllr Roger Horton, Centro lead member for rail, said: “An operational tram system has to have secure foundations, and now that this has been achieved the Midland Metro will provide Wolverhampton with a system it can be proud of for years to come.” zz

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Procurement

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A REMIT to comply?

RAINER LANDGRAF explains how a healthy dose of automation can facilitate compliance with REMIT

I Rainer Landgraf is product manager, EMEA for Allegro Development Corporation

n November last year, we delved into the regulatory complexities that European energy companies face over the next couple of years as they struggle to fathom the energy trading requirements of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II).

Another regulatory landmark for the energy trading industry, the Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) Implementing Acts, came into force on January 7th outlining the final guidelines for reporting wholesale energy product transactions in the European Union as required by the European Union. We are now going to have a look at how these rules will affect energy market participants in the rail industry.

REMIT requires ACER, the European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, to monitor trading activity in wholesale energy products for the purpose of uncovering and preventing both market manipulation and insider trading. Energy market participants are therefore now required to provide data concerning wholesale energy market transactions (including order history for standard trades) to ACER which then makes the information available to National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) in the EU.

When regulatory regimes overlap The Implementing Acts appear to overlap with other compliance regimes and, on top of that, energy market participants have only three months to register with their national regulatory authorities. A minor panic has ensued, but are traders worrying unnecessarily?

The document defines REMIT’s reporting requirements for energy contracts and derivatives, defining market abuse and prohibitions and applying identical rules to all reporting.

To complicate things however, some contracts subject to REMIT also need to be reported under EMIR and MIFID II. ACER has therefore stipulated that information which has already been reported under MIFID II or EMIR shall be considered to meet any co-existing requirement to report under REMIT. The allowance does not work in reverse however. If information is reported under REMIT, it may still need to be reported to the appropriate authority under MIFID II and EMIR.

REMIT’s new requirements The Implementing Acts require that transactions are reported as follows: l Within nine months of it coming into force if they

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are entering into reportable wholesale energy contracts admitted to trading at Organised Market Places or l Within fifteen months of the Implementing Acts coming into force if they are only entering into other reportable wholesale energy contracts (OTC standard and nonstandard supply contracts and transportation contracts).

Other fundamental data from transmission system operators (TSOs), LNG system operators (LSOs) and storage system operators (SSOs) should also be reported.

When data is reported via a third party, market participants are not going to be regarded as responsible for failures in the completeness, accuracy and timely submission of the data – responsibility lies with the third party. This is in direct contrast with the EMIR regime where the market participant is ultimately responsible for any information reported on their behalf.

Standard contracts must be reported the working day after the conclusion of the contract or placement of the order at the latest. Non-standard contracts must be reported no later than one month after the conclusion, modification or termination of the contract.

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“ The changing regulatory

landscape continues to puzzle rule-makers and market participants alike�

Available solutions The changing regulatory landscape continues to puzzle rule-makers and market participants alike. Uncertainty in the timing and details of these cross-border regulations are causing wholesale energy traders much anxiety over their next steps toward compliance. There is no doubt that REMIT will require a lot of time and effort, at least initially, both in terms of reporting and of increased scrutiny.

There are however alternatives in terms of what companies can do to meet the new requirements and managing the process manually is not one of them. There are electronic reporting and data storage requirements involved in REMIT (and other regulatory regimes) that will quickly overwhelm any approach based on spreadsheets, both economically and technically.

Outsourcing may be an option but comes with its own risks and costs. There is the added overhead of an ongoing contract to manage and how active you are in the energy trading arena will determine your breakpoints financially.

With so much complexity and overlap to manage, automating as much of the reporting function as

possible makes business sense.

Automating regulatory processes requires a basic energy trading and risk management (ETRM) system. There are several systems out there that can offer basic ETRM functionality but there are a few factors to be considered. Do these systems integrate with your overall enterprise system?

Can they be installed quickly and easily, without disruption to your day-to-day operations? Do they incorporate the core features you need to increase revenue, reduce cost, manage risk and comply with mandates?

A good ETRM should be able not only to efficiently execute trades but also to guarantee trade compliance, enhance market intelligence and improve decision-making. This way, it can generate returns unmatched by nearly any other technology investment.

If you have to run various separate systems to achieve these combined capabilities, you are probably not looking at the right solution. The truth is, a robust ETRM capability can be achieved without massive customisation, if you have a vendor capable of offering a rich, field-tested solution out-of-the-box; one that provides a flexible, component-based architecture that allows you to scale your solution to fit your needs, now and as your situation evolves.

A shape-shifting software is also a solution for a fluid regulatory environment. There are software vendors with long tenures in the business of risk managing large energy purchases. In light of the new rules, you will want to choose a solution that allows you to upgrade and manage your regulatory compliance process quickly.

Same as with MiFID II, it is also essential to consider factors such as the ability to install software on a captive system and maintain it internally, or to buy a software-as-a-service (SaaS) contract and maintain it virtually in the cloud.

Direct connectivity to trade repositories should also be a key feature, including all necessary regulatory identifiers and formats. The system should be able to streamline your threshold monitoring and facilitate your risk mitigation obligations, including periodic portfolio reconciliations under the newly implemented rules.

Conclusion Like any other regulatory regime, REMIT poses a huge challenge for rail industry energy market participants. The best course of action would be to first and foremost study the rules and understand their implications for your company. You should also invest in an automated solution that makes you compliant without leaving you exposed to business risk. This will enable you to run an efficient reporting programme, avoid fines and, more importantly, create the conditions for integrity and transparency zz

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Maintenance

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Moving to predictive maintenance Predictive maintenance has revolutionised operational efficiency in the aerospace industry.

BHOOPATHI RAPOLU discusses the lessons that the rail industry can learn from this

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Bhoopathi Rapolu, head of analytics EMEA, Cyient

t a time when rail delays, disruptions and the rising cost of travel are rarely out of the press, pressure is understandably mounting on UK rail operators to improve the quality of service for commuters. As the recent bout of bad weather across the UK highlighted, rail travel is still frequently disrupted by signalling problems, broken-down trains and congestion.

The industry, the Government and, of course, consumers all recognise that something needs to change.

One proposition being provided by OEMs to address this challenge is predictive maintenance (PM) – a solution that identifies looming faults, forecasts the optimal time for maintenance and, ultimately, enables operators to respond before the train breaks down and service is affected. The success that this technology has already had, has led it to fast become one of the most sought after MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) strategies in the industry.

As shown below in Figure 1, PM is all about predicting the optimal timing for maintenance. Too often, the process becomes very costly, but if it is reactionary, the implications could be far worse. If looming faults are identified proactively, not reactively, then necessary maintenance work can be started just before a fault occurs, maximising the efficiency of the process.

This is the next stage in classic preventive maintenance strategies, ranging from planned to condition-based maintenance. The availability of rail systems can be increased significantly while reducing maintenance costs if this process can be run on a predicted model.

Enabling technology This has all been made possible by recent advancements

Figure 1: The optimal maintenance timing: higher availability and lower maintenance costs

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in sensors and communication technologies. They have led to continuous data collection from various systems and subsystems in trains. This enables mechanical and electrical conditions, operational efficiency and multiple other performance indicators to be monitored 24/7. This detailed overview provides much greater visibility, both on the vehicle as a whole, and at a more granular component level. It’s this insight that allows maintenance activities to be planned with the maximum interval between repairs, while minimising the number and cost of unscheduled outages created by system failures.

Normal mechanical failure modes degrade at a speed directly proportional to their severity. If the problem is detected early, major repairs can usually be prevented.

Today’s technology makes it possible to affordably collect huge amounts of data from hundreds of systems in a single train, analyse that data in real-time and detect problems before they actually happen.

The benefits of PM Key drivers of PM include availability of train service and cost efficiency. It helps to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs. This is especially important when UK passenger fares have continuously gone up in recent years to pay for improvements made to the rail network.

PM enhances the overall effectiveness of transportation systems, ultimately leading to improved safety and higher customer satisfaction, critical therefore when there’s such a spotlight on the network operators.

Affordable solutions can generate ROI quickly while completely transforming the maintenance landscape.

Computing systems are evolving rapidly to on-board intelligent systems without taking data to any remote

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cloud. However, these technologies are new and, as such, immature within this sector. But, PM is already a mature and proven concept in other industries, such as aerospace. For instance, airlines have been using PM on aircraft engines for many years, and now, experts in this field are starting to take their skills set to the rail industry to take it through the same PM revolution that aerospace has already gone through.

What does aerospace have to teach us?

Taking learnings from aerospace therefore, train operators and OEMs should follow these four steps to deploy successful PM solutions. Each stage is crucial to successively ensuring that prediction is possible and that it can be implemented into the maintenance scenarios previously discussed: Stage 1: Choose the right system or subsystem for prediction The selection of the system or subsystem is the most critical step in building a PM solution. It is crucial to define a narrow scope and not try to predict everything. Doors would be a typical example of such systems.

Firstly, it is important to identify what is possible to predict.

You can do this by mapping the available systems into a ‘prediction possibility zone’ and a ‘prediction effectiveness zone’ (as shown in Figures 2 and 3). Inaccurate selection of a system can not only lead to a failed outcome, but it can also limit confidence in the PM solutions. The latter of these is particularly dangerous, as organisations could potentially make the mistake of dismissing a vital solution that they have a clear need for, simply because they did not appropriately select the original parameters it was required to cover.

Figure 2: Prediction possibility zone

Prediction effectiveness zone Another way to look at system selection is to find where prediction is more effective from a maintenance point of view.

The failure rate of mechanical and electrical systems typically follows a bathtub curve (as shown in Figure 3 below).

In order to realise quick ROI, either early life or end-of-life systems are more suitable for deploying PM solutions, as you will derive the greatest benefit from predicting their failure.

The prediction possibility zone The objective here is to predict the failure of the most critical systems. However, such systems run the risk of leaving very little data to build any consistent model. Conversely, there is limited value in predicting the failure of less vital systems, even if they produce a wealth of data.

It is important to select the critical events that leave enough of a digital footprint that is required to build a consistent and reliable predictive model. In essence, a system has to fail enough to reveal the pattern, but it must equally be important enough to be worth predicting in the first place. So the prediction possibility and viability zone is somewhere in between those limits of frequency of occurrence and event criticality. As shown in Figure 2 (top right), an ideal system or subsystem has to be chosen for building the PM solution based on the prediction possibility zone. This approach helps to ensure the outcomes are realistic before deploying resources to the development activity.

Figure 3: Bathtub curve: Hypothetical failure rate versus time

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Maintenance

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Predictive maintenance: detecting the problem early enables operators to respond before the fault occurs

Stage 2: Get the necessary data It is generally assumed that the sheer volume of data generated from systems is sufficient to build PM solutions from it. However, it is important to remember the objectives behind collecting each data set. They may have been deployed by the OEM without any PM solution in mind.

As such, preparing the data required for building PM solutions is one of the key activities in the process of solution development. It is not always what operators already have, but it’s about what the solution needs. A fair understanding of the objectives is necessary to come up with the required data sets.

Taking a top-down approach often leads to a successful outcome here. This is where the business objectives are clearly defined first, before the required data sets are identified, and then the data is prepared in order to develop an algorithm.

Stage 3: Marry rail expertise with data analytics It is generally assumed that a data scientist is all that is needed to build a cutting-edge algorithm for a PM solution.

A data scientist can develop any algorithm, but it takes a lot more to deliver the right algorithm for a specific business need. Experience shows that it is the domain expert, as opposed to the data scientist, that is the real hero in achieving a successful solution, as they can guide the data scientist to build the right algorithm. Interpretation of patterns – vibration and noise for example – is a key area where the rail expert can guide the data analyst as to not over-interpret coincidence findings.

Stage 4: Identify the value-add of PM for maintenance strategies The scope of a PM solution can go beyond merely

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predicting a failure, since in most situations; prediction is not the only objective. It’s also about identifying various business scenarios and building appropriate prescriptive actions.

Therefore, an effective PM solution should also support the maintenance teams in planning the inventory for replacement of parts and suggesting which systems need an upgrade in their design due to their continued poor performance. This is possible by understanding the reasons behind various failure patterns and categorising them into various action buckets. As such, PM solutions address both short-term and long-term objectives.

Conclusion PM is a relatively new concept to the rail industry. But as it begins to establish its position, OEMs should look to successes already gained in other sectors, such as aerospace, to deploy effective solutions. It is already a mature and proven concept in this industry and there is no reason why the rail market cannot reap the same derived benefits. The success of PM lies in the selection of the right systems, creating and preparing the necessary data, and getting the right combination of rail experts and data scientists on board. Combine those and you have a winning formula.

In addition, OEMs should look to PM to deliver beyond mere prediction of failures; to identify those systems that need design upgrades, for instance. Ultimately, besides increased availability and cost efficiency, commuters will appreciate fewer delays and increased safety, resulting in higher customer satisfaction. zz

NEWS I Appointments Gleeds strengthens rail team in the south east

Frequentis expert joins ETSI to drive GSM-R l The leader of the public transport solution design team at Frequentis, Markus Myslivec, has taken on the role of vice-chairman of the Railway Telecommunications (RT) technical committee at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), where he will help drive the future of safe and efficient rail communication.

The RT committee deals with GSM-R, (Global System for Mobile communications – Railway) covering GSM standardisation for railway and private mobile radio (PMR).

GSM-R is seen as the future of operational rail communication. Numerous countries in Europe and elsewhere are already implementing this standard across their rail networks. Myslivec’s expertise will help the RT committee continue to develop relevant standards and specifications, especially in response to the growing body of operational experience with GSM-R.

Changes at the top for TheTrainline.com l Following the recent acquisition of TheTrainline.com by the US private equity firm KKR, the Business Travel (B2B) division has been realigned. Ian Cairns becomes B2B sales director and Clare Morrissey, head of B2B account management.

Ian will be responsible for driving growth across all Trainline’s B2B channels, continuing to support its successful partnerships with travel management companies, online booking tools and GDS as well as with large corporate and SME customers. He will build upon the Trainline ethos of business travellers ‘buying rail their way’ bringing considerable consumer insights to the ongoing creation of innovative, and relevant business booking and ticketing solutions.

Clare brings a wealth of experience in providing a consultative approach to buying and selling UK rail in the B2B market. Clare will be responsible for working with all Trainline’s partners to mutually benefit from the huge headroom for growth that exists in business rail.

The changes are designed to support the huge growth potential in UK business rail.

l International property and construction consultancy, Gleeds, has appointed Ian Bayes and Paul Carey as directors of infrastructure and rail for the south east.

Ian joins after more than ten years at Mott McDonald where he was projects director and commercial/operations manager in the London office. He will form part of the team providing commercial services relating to the recent Thameslink framework appointment, and will also develop and deliver further opportunities with key clients.

Paul comes to Gleeds following a successful career as programme commercial manager on Crossrail at Network Rail. He is already based on site with Crossrail where he is supporting Network Rail project teams with claims and guiding them through the internal governance process.

New HSE position created at Stanton Bonna l Stanton Bonna, a leading UK manufacturer of precast concrete pipes and manholes that form part of a comprehensive range of railway products, drainage systems, pressure systems, and specialist precast solutions, has appointed Inderpal Babra as health, safety & environmental manager.

In this newly created position he will support the management team and employees in managing health, safety and environmental standards, maintaining the significant progress that has been achieved over the last number of years and driving it to new levels.

Inderpal brings with him18 years’ experience as a safety professional across a range of industries including construction, secure transport, warehousing, and healthcare.

Previous senior roles include senior health and safety advisor for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, and health and safety manager for Vaultex UK. Stanton Bonna is part of the Consolis Group, Europe’s largest precast concrete producer.

Translink names new group chief executive l John Trethowan, chairman of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, has announced the appointment of Chris Conway as the new group chief executive of Translink with effect from 7 September 2015.

Chris, a native of Northern Ireland, is currently managing director of Tata Steel’s sales and distribution business in Ireland. Before that he was vice president of operations in Europe for Nortel and managing director of Nortel (NI) Ltd. Chris is chairman of Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas, a member of the Board of Trustees of Young Enterprise, a member of the Institute of Directors and a chartered company director.

The current chief executive, David Strahan, will leave Translink on 18th September, following a short handover period.

Trethowan said: “We are delighted with this appointment which follows a recruitment competition that attracted significant interest and a very high calibre field.”

Elisabeth Borne appointed RATP CEO l The president of the French Republic has appointed Elisabeth Borne president and chief executive officer of RATP, following hearings before the Sustainable Development and Town & Country Planning commissions in the National Assembly and Senate, in accordance with article 13 of the French Constitution.

Elizabeth Borne is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and a Ponts et Chaussées inspector general. Among many national appointments, Ms Borne served as strategy director and member of the executive committee in SNCF until 2007, director general for urban development for the city of Paris authorities from 2008 to 2013 and prefect of the Poitou-Charentes and Vienne region (2013-2014). She has been chief of staff at the ministry for ecology, sustainable development and energy since 2014.

“I wish to devote my experience to a dynamic and profitable strategy of development whilst fully upholding labour dialogue,” she said.

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Southeastern

Back on I track Despite a number of big challenges facing Southeastern, the company knows what it needs to do to manage a successful network

David Statham, Managing Director of Southeastern

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Southeastern operates one of the busiest networks in the country and also runs the UK’s first domestic high speed service

n September 2014 Southeastern was awarded the contract to continue running one of the most challenging commuter rail networks in the UK for the franchise period to June 2018. The franchise begins at a time when major works to London Bridge station and Thameslink pose incredible challenges for the company. However, despite challenges, managing director David Statham remains positive in reporting the company’s best performance ever over the past two years and lays out the company’s plan to effectively manage a challenging rail network while improving the public’s perception of its service.

“When the London Bridge works started in January this year, two of the busiest platforms in Europe and three of the seven approach lines to the station were closed,” he begins. “The impact changed the journey pattern of nearly 95,000 people who use London Bridge everyday on Southeastern. So there were some massive challenges to face as a business at that time. Through a combination of good, strong timetabling, investment in the rolling stock and working with Network Rail to make the infrastructure as reliable as possible, we have managed to both support the redevelopment of London

Bridge and improve our performance.” The timetable changes have involved a number of initiatives including eliminating carriage splitting and joining at Ashford and Faversham and making sure there are enough drivers in place to cope with unexpected events.

“The timetable itself has really helped us cope with the works, and offer a more reliable service,” says David.

In addition to this, there is a more efficient maintenance programme, which means that there are currently more trains in use than ever before. An £800,000 investment into fault-finding and identification equipment to improve reliability and reduce the effect on passengers has also been put in place. As well as this the company has been working collaboratively with Network Rail to reduce the number of speed-restricted sections of the network.

“This gives us a much better chance of delivering the timetable promise,” David highlights.

Looking at the next franchise period, Southeastern places the customer at the centre of its focus. David continues: “It is a challenging network and our customers rightly have high expectations of us, but this gives us a big opportunity to make a difference for passengers.”

With the £6.5 billion Thameslink programme in place Southeastern is responsible for supporting transport from the southeast around the continuing works.

“It’s hugely important to us that we keep the network moving and that we communicate with passengers throughout these immense works,” he adds.

To do this since the start of the works Southeastern had issued around a million leaflets, employed an extra 170 temporary staff and sent more than 100,000 emails and letters to make sure passengers were aware of the changes to timetables and how to get around them.

“The other big challenge for us is around capacity and our ability to cope within an increasingly successful industry that is seeing passenger numbers grow year on year,” expresses David.

The Southeastern network has seen 30 per cent growth since 2009, which has led to the company running more than 200 additional services a day.

“We are putting more trains in use than ever before and we are trying to make sure that our timetable is as responsive as possible to passengers,” he says.

“We have been carefully monitoring passenger loadings, feedback and Twitter, and we have been moving around our existing stock to make sure it’s where customers need it most.”

With rail user numbers only expected to grow further, the company is currently in talks to expand its rolling stock fleet to provide the best service for the future network.

Above and below One third of Southeastern’s entire train fleet is undergoing a major midlife refresh to make its carriages lighter, brighter and more comfortable for passengers.

Trains will receive a new exterior livery of deep blue and light blue doors, replacing the usual white cab and yellow doors

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Southeastern

Southeastern has created 142 more spaces at Orpington car park and an extra 172 spaces at Tonbridge Discussing what Southeastern is specifically doing to realise its commitment to passengers, David emphasises: “We know we have more work to do to ensure all our passengers are more satisfied with the service we provide. That’s why it’s really important that we focus the business and our efforts on what customers tell us is important to them. The new franchise brings an investment package of £70 million, directly focused on what’s important to passengers. Over and above that, we have invested several million pounds extra to cover the top four to five things customers have pointed out.”

With passengers placing importance on value for money, the company has put a freeze on its super-off-peak fares, and is currently investing over £5 million into a deep-clean and subsequent cosmetic upgrades of its rolling stock and stations. To help give passengers correct, real-time information and the best advice it has also started to distribute 1600 iPads to its staff, install 20 operational information screens

Southeastern has given all its 339 trains a heavy-duty spring clean in a project involving more than 2,000 man hours to set new standards for cleanliness

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in key locations and make upgrades to customer information screens at stations.

“We have also made a huge change to our Twitter service, which is followed by about 80,000 passengers,” explains David. “That now operates 24/7, we’ve brought it in-house, and it’s in our integrated control centre so it can work in conjunction with station management.”

In an effort to improve the network in the longer term, Southeastern is currently working with Network Rail on an innovative and revolutionary concept called Perpetuum.

“It’s a really innovative and clever piece of kit that monitors the health of the bearings on a train’s wheel set through the vibrations created,” David indicates. “By monitoring the health of the bearings it allows us to identify and repair or replace faults a lot quicker without causing disruption and delay to the rail service.” In addition to monitoring bearings, the technology can also monitor track condition for Network Rail meaning less inspection on track and better track maintenance, providing safety and reliability benefits for the network.

It is clear that Southeastern is heavily committed to listening to its customers and making sure that their demands are met, while managing the network throughout very challenging times. Its investment programme includes a number of initiatives to ensure the network delivers on customer satisfaction and is well prepared to run an enhanced network once Thameslink is completed. David sums up the future strategy for the company very simply: “It’s about the customers. Looking after our passengers, improving passenger satisfaction and increasing the use of our trains during off-peak times.”

Despite some very challenging times for the company, Southeastern knows what it needs to do to improve its service and effectively cope with the growing demand for its network. As such, the future looks to be positive as the company moves forward.

www.southeasternrailway.co.uk

Amber Scaffolding

Rising high With more than 18 years experience in providing a contractors rail service to all blue chip firms in the railway sector, Amber Scaffolding has grown to become one of the go-to scaffolding companies in the south of England

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ince its establishment in 1990, Amber Scaffolding has developed a strong reputation for its ability to offer each customer a comprehensive range of services from its two depots in Sussex and London. A member of the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) for 20 years, the Contractors Health & Safety (CHAS) and Achilles Link Up accredited firm is proud of its record for exceptional health and safety throughout operations as well as its high quality services to its repeat client base. In fact, the company’s internal processes, high standards and competent employees have been audited to the highest level, ensuring it is

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wholly capable of meeting the stringent standards of major companies such as Network Rail.

Although the company operates in a number of industries, it boasts 18 years experience in the rail sector, working on challenging projects at well-known locations such as Gatwick Airport station, Clapham Junction, Imperial Wharf and Stratford station. In fact, 30 per cent of Amber Scaffolding’s contracts in 2014 came from the railway industry.

Firm in its belief that a positive client-services relationship stems from a foundation of trust, the ISO

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14001 certified firm is recognised by CITB, a UK based national training body for construction, which proves its commitment to carrying out high quality work and best practices in a consistent manner. Moreover, Amber Scaffolding is accredited by the Construction Skills Certification Scheme for scaffolders (CISRS), which provides proof to companies that individuals erecting, dismantling or adapting scaffolding on construction sites have the necessary training and qualifications. Those looking for the best possible service can rest assured that each and every Amber Scaffolding employee is qualified and trained to the highest calibre.

Indeed, key to the company’s success is its training of employees, which ensures all projects are carried out to the same impeccable standard and all challenges undertaken in a professional and smooth manner. In addition to training that enhances competence, the company also provides regular training to ensure all staff are kept up to date with the latest health and safety regulations. Aware that the erecting and maintaining of scaffolding is not without dangers, the company has always put safety first. Having worked on many large contracts such as railway stations, airports and cathedrals, as well as smaller domestic contracts for house extensions, Amber Scaffolding never compromises on its stringent focus on safety; a commitment that has

Amber Scaffolding

resulted in an unrivalled safety record.

To further strengthen its priority to safety, Amber Scaffolding employs a fully trained health and safety manager who boasts 30 years experience in the scaffolding industry and has worked on a number of projects from different industries for the company over the years. The health and safety manager provides a number of services; for example, on top of overseeing operations, he also holds toolbox talks with employees, where a specific safety issue is covered on site in advance of a contract or shift. The health and safety manager also issues the workforce with copies of all relevant information with regards to control measures and the risks involved in each project before operations start; he also makes unannounced visits to ensure work is carried out in accordance with the sites statement and risk assessment. To further strengthen safety adherence, the company provides weekly visual inspections of scaffolding for its clients and records the details in on-site health and safety files.

Although the management at Amber Scaffolding recognises that the company’s activities pose a low risk to the environment, those within the firm maintain the highest standard of environmental care. This is to be achieved through the implementation of an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001, an increase and maintaining of a high level of environmental awareness to all employees, which thus ensures a collaborative effort towards environmental protection; compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and an adherence to its clients own environmental policies and procedures. In addition, the company encourages close relationships with enforcing authorities, such as the environmental agency and local authority and assesses the impact on the environment from all areas of operations to ensure preventative and protective measures are followed through.

These strengths, alongside its mission to provide high quality solutions in a safe, competent and knowledgeable environment have resulted in Amber Scaffolding developing a leading reputation for bespoke projects within the railway industry. Trusted to deliver highly technical scaffolding work, the company is currently

working as a main subcontractor to principle tier one contractors, while also providing a superior service to a number of Network Rail’s CP5 contracts. With the CP5 period lasting from April 2014 – March 2019 and the UK’s railway industry going through something of a renaissance, Amber Scaffolding has set the foundations for a highly successful future.

www.amberscaffolding.co.uk

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Skill Scaffolding

Supporting the future

Southampton based Skill Scaffolding has built a reputation on quality and service, and by taking a steady yet responsive approach to the market the company looks set to secure its successful future

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ounded in 1992, Skill Scaffolding has grown to become one of the largest privately owned companies in Southampton. The company prides itself on its performance, commitment and reliability to its customers and as such attributes its success to the strong reputation it has built within the industry. Serving predominantly the new build and rail sectors, the company employs a team of experienced and competent workers to provide a complete and

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bespoke service. With over ÂŁ3 million of scaffolding equipment in stock and a fleet of 15 vehicles ranging from 7.5 tonne to 18 tonne payloads, Skill Scaffolding is well prepared to cater for any sized project.

Speaking about the company’s performance Alison Rogers and Darren Clement, of the company, highlight: “The main strengths of Skill Scaffolding are our operational competency and value for money. Our mission statement adheres to this with the promise that

we can achieve programmes, deadlines and objectives all for what we believe to be a very competitive financial package.” Another main strength is the company’s ability to work within the rail sector, an environment that not only works under the strict health and safety parameters of the scaffolding industry, but also the even tighter ones imposed by the rail industry.

Qualifying Skill’s ability to work within this sector is a range of highly regarded certifications. “We hold the

valued Achilles RISQS by audit accreditation primarily aimed at our rail works,” explain Alison and Darren. “We also hold CHAS, Safemark and SMAS accreditations.”

The company’s crews are also trained to Network Rail Personal Track Safety and London Underground Entry Permit systems. Aside from the accreditations, however, is a strong attitude internal to the company’s ethos. They continue: “The standards are upheld on a day to day basis with focus from our managing director, contracts managers, supervisors and site teams on such items as quality, competency, training and the like. We are also twice annually audited by our external Health and Safety advisors to ensure all new legislation, helping us to comply with our accreditations and make sure they are incorporated in the day to day running of Skill Scaffolding.”

Testifying to the company’s ability are number of projects completed within the UK’s rail network. Many projects involved providing access to existing bridges and viaducts whilst often operating in live rail conditions.

One recent example is Skill’s work on the Ladbroke Grove Bridge in London. Alison and Darren explain: “Our client Dyer and Butler was instructed by Network Rail to enhance the road over rail bridge at Ladbroke Grove.

The majority of works were to incorporate new steel webbing to the existing bridge and totally repaint it in a colour that was chosen by the local residents. We were instructed to design, erect and dismantle an independent tied scaffolding structure to the full length of the bridge, erected and dismantled in two phases. The scaffolding was designed to allow access to all areas of the steel work and was erected from the main over-bridge in close proximity to the open carriageway. Due to this, an element of the works were undertaken during night time closures where a single lane was closed and the traffic was at a minimum.”

Despite its own competence and reputation within the industries that it serves, Skill Scaffolding is keen to express the strength of relationships it shares with its clients and suppliers. “Our relationships with our clients are the most important aspect of our business,” emphasise the two. “Without building a sustainable, trusting and honest relationship with them, there would be no success for the company.”

Generally speaking the company is experiencing

Crouch Waterfall Providing design support to Skill Scaffolding since 2001, primarily in the rail environment, Crouch Waterfall has exceptional experience and a visible track record in complex temporary works and demolition design exceeding the capacity of many other structural or civil engineering consultancies of any size. In conjunction with scaffolding, the temporary works team undertakes design of practical temporary enabling works and demolition methodology including contiguous piled walls, king post walls, excavation support, piling mats, bridge jacking, SPMT and crane schemes designs.

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Skill Scaffolding

a confident and positive market at present. “General market conditions are improving steadily,” they reflect, “we operate largely in the new build sector and with the growing economy, housing shortage and relaxation of lending laws there has been a marked increase in this sector.” In a similar vein, the current work being carried out by Network Rail across the country will also represent a significant opportunity for the company. “As any economy grows there are always opportunities that

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present themselves. The key for us is to realise which ones are beneficial, will help us grow and provide a sustainable pattern for the company’s future,” Alison and Darren continue.

However, there are also a number of challenges facing the industry, mainly stemming from legislation. They go on: “The main challenges we face are the new ongoing improvements in health and safety and the ever changing technical areas. Keeping abreast of these changes and relaying this information back to staff always presents a challenge but if you don’t evolve, you stand still.”

Ultimately, the success of Skill Scaffolding is down to a confident, but steady approach to market conditions and opportunities presented to it. Bolstered by a strong commitment to service and robust reputation the company has established itself as a strong player in a competitive market. This approach very much defines the future strategy for the company. “In the short term, we want to keep a steady growth pattern whilst attaining our high standards,” say Alison and Darren. “Longer term, it is to steadily grow the company by way of investing in our staff training programme to try and bring more skilled labour into the industry.”

www.skillscaffolding.co.uk

MPB

Concrete reliance Supplying concrete structure solutions to the wide construction industry, MPB’s rail business has established a solid reputation for safety and project delivery

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ounded in 1987 by Michael Boyle, MPB Structures Ltd has grown to become a leading concrete frame specialist in the UK construction industry, with a strong reputation and long standing customer relationships. Operating across a number of sectors including education, retail, infrastructure and rail amongst others, the highly experienced team at MPB

are able to deliver innovative and high quality solutions tailored to suit the individual needs of its clients. The company aims to become the preferred construction company of choice when it comes to concrete demands, as it looks to continue building its robust track record for industry excellence. Complementing the outward facing strengths of the business, MPB also demonstrates a strong commitment to its employees in order to create a happy, motivated and well-trained professional team.

When it comes to the rail industry, MPB has been building strong relationships with clients for over 20 years.

In 2005 it attained Contractors Assurance Case (CAC) accreditation, which allowed the company to work directly for Network Rail, and in 2008 this was converted to a Principle Contractors Licences (PCL) qualified under the Link UP scheme. “Our ethos is Customer Satisfaction through Project Delivery” explains Head of Rail, David Finnerty. Generally within the rail side of the business, he explains: “We undertake all aspects of railway structures work, new build and refurbishment.”

This ethos of customer satisfaction sits at the core of MPB as one of its main pillars alongside its commitment to safety. “These are our main strengths,” highlights head of rail, Matt Wilson. “We work with clients to make sure they get what they need, when they need it. The rail division has had zero accidents since 2007 and our clients across the whole business like that we have a rail

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MPB

division and have proven our safety record within this.

We’ve always been given work on the basis of our track record. Whilst we have competitively tendered work, when push comes to shove we tend to get work on the basis of our reputation and our relationships.”

One particular example of this reputation at work is in the company’s involvement with the Birmingham Gateway project at New Street station. “We’ve been there for nearly five years now,” he continues. “We started with a £400k platform refurbishment, and we’ve now turned over £20 million. Our “Can do approach” has paid dividends directly with Mace. They negotiated further works with us because they knew we could deliver it for them.”

Further demonstrating MPB’s standing with Network Rail as a contractor is its work at Orphanage Road Watford junction. The project was carried out during the Easter Blockade April 2015 rebuilding the railway bridge. “We undertook and delivered the project within the possession time scales. It was a five-span under bridge reconstruction, so there was a road closure and a 104-hour blockade of the railway which was handed back early,” outlines Matt. “At its peak there were around 100 men on site at any one time so it was quite busy. It was an important job for Network Rail because it was on the WCML link into London on the electrified line and now enables future rail speeds up to 125mph.”

Such a strong reputation and support from the concrete frame building side of the business has enabled MPB’s rail division to endure recent market challenges.

“We seem to have the knack of riding through any challenges,” expresses Matt, “whether it’s a shortage of labour, trade or the general conditions. We’ve kept our pricing model and our principles the same through the recession when other companies were cutting their throats to win work. We carried on as we were and didn’t experience any losses through being suicidal with pricing.” As a result the company as a whole was able to exit the recession with renewed vigour and is now on its way to achieving £100 million turnover – double prerecession figures.

Whilst the market remains steady, with the railway division looking to maintain its turnover of between £10 million and £12 million, Matt does note some pressures.

“Because of the changes to Network Rail’s procurement and the way they issue their frameworks we’re going to have to subcontract or find another mechanism to work directly with them,” he says. “Looking ahead we need to secure more work, we cover London to the Northwest pretty well but we could be busier. Whilst we have got work till September, there is a lot of time investment to secure more work directly with the client, and building on our previous turnover.” Ultimately though, with a strong commitment to maintaining its ethos and therefore growing its reputation, MPB is in a good position as it looks to secure more contracts and establish growth in what can be a competitive market.

www.mpb.co.uk 65

O.J. Dahl

Bridging the gap Serving markets in northwest Europe, O.J. Dahl looks for all opportunities to add value to its customers and suppliers to help grow and develop the railway sector

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s it approaches its first century, O.J. Dahl can look back at a history defined by continual growth towards becoming the preferred distribution partner for many of the world’s leading suppliers to the railway industry in northwest Europe. With offices in Norway and the Netherlands, and sister company Buffers Rail Industry AB in Sweden, the group serves the industry with three main businesses.

The first is representing Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Rail. As one of the most successful companies in Switzerland, Stadler Rail has grown in 20 years to become one of Europe’s premier manufacturers of rolling stock. The second pillar is in representing various component OEM’s with a portfolio of around 30 brands that varies from country to country. Most notable of the company’s suppliers are Bochumer Verein, Dellner Couplers, Gmeinder, Knorr Bremse, Mitron, Oleo, Ringfeder and Robel. Thirdly, the company offers a range of workshop services for the repair and upgrading of electric and mechanical components.

“A lot of manufacturers come from Germany and Switzerland,” begins Dirk Jan Brakel, managing director of O.J. Dahl in the Netherlands. “To be successful they need a lot of local knowledge and have an intimate relationship

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with their customers. That’s where we come in, we bridge the gap between railway operators and maintainers on one side and the manufacturers of components or trains on the other.”

The market conditions are changing in the Scandinavian railway industry, a change that represents both opportunities and challenges for O.J. Dahl. Mark Hulsbergen, managing director in Norway explains: “Market conditions in Norway in particular are interesting because we are in a political change here. The politicians are moving more towards privatisation, because at the moment it is the government that owns pretty much everything. It is an interesting development that gives us a lot of new opportunities. In Sweden it is a different scenario, the privatisation has already happened there.”

As the market opens up within the company’s areas the number of potential clients increases, thus representing a significant opportunity for O. J. Dahl to increase its foothold. In general, Mark notes that increased infrastructure investment across Scandinavia has also meant that market conditions are positive.

The strengths of the company lay in its reputation and its approach to its client and supplier relationships.

“The company has been established for nearly 100 years,” expresses Mark. “We have developed a network in our respective markets. The brand is our competitive edge – it’s about our values, and our internal routines to safeguard and deliver the best possible services and solutions.” In addition, Dirk Jan highlights: “The combination of a good technical skill and background with the more commercial and communication skills means that we are able to trigger the right conversations and focus on the right things, then we can back it up with extensive technical experience.”

O. J. Dahl moved into the Netherlands early 2015,

and as part of this move the company as a whole has reassessed and defined its core values. “These are to be reliable, efficient and flexible. We have developed them internally – we want to be reliable, and in order to be that we have to work and deliver efficiently, and at the same time we expect our employees to be flexible to achieve that,” outlines Mark. “As equally important, we want to enjoy it and have fun doing so.” Dirk Jan continues: “We are not a company that is working purely for our own growth. It’s about adding services and value to the customers. It’s not about us – but about the railway operators and the maintainers in the industry. When they are successful we are confident that we will be successful too.”

try to understand their issues to suggest solutions from suppliers to them.”

The future for the company is very much defined by this goal of adding value and providing solutions to the northwest European markets. As the markets in the region are currently undergoing investment and growth, O.J. Dahl looks set to play a significant role. “We are trying to establish synergies between these smaller countries, both for our own company but also for our partners. We can learn a lot from each other – we all have our own individualities but also have a lot in common and can share a lot between us,” concludes Dirk Jan.

www.ojd.no

This attitude very much permeates itself throughout the business, not only in the way it builds relationships with its clients, but also with its suppliers. This is evident in its vision to be the most recognised value-added partner in the Nordics and the Netherlands for railway applications. “When we start working with suppliers we don’t just look at short term opportunities ” explains Dirk Jan. “We look at where value can be added – together we should be able to bring value to the railway sector.

Either we should be able to offer an alternative, or be able to offer something new. We both proactively propose a supplier, product or solution to our clients, and also

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CrossCountry

Keeping the country moving

With the UK’s largest railway network under its operation, CrossCountry puts innovation at the heart of making sure it provides the best possible service to its customers

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aving been awarded the franchise in 2007 and with over 1650 people providing 300 trains every weekday, CrossCountry is geographically the largest passenger franchise in the UK with services across all three countries in Great Britain. With over half of all customers travelling for leisure purposes and current passenger demand increasing, the market for CrossCountry is a strong and positive one, but like anything, brings a number of challenges for the company.

“From day one our priority has been to deliver everything we’d promised customers and taxpayers in our Franchise Agreement and to ensure we could establish the business on a firm, sustainable footing in a challenging and competitive market,” explains managing director, Andy Cooper. “We have faced many challenges and I’m proud that our people have risen on every occasion to meeting these.” Aside from operational challenges such as capacity management, improving performance and controlling such a large franchise, he notes that nature has posed a particular challenge for the company singling out the events of February 2014 in Dawlish as a demonstration of the company’s strengths. “The speed with which we were able to develop alternatives to meet the ever-changing infrastructure as the impact of the storms and flooding gradually isolated the south west

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showed how we were able to do everything possible to help our customers complete their journeys.”

Working across such a vast countrywide network also poses management problems, however Andy points out that the skill and dedication of the company’s regional teams is a major strength in combating this. Also key to managing this network is the relationships CrossCountry establishes with its partner train operators. “Having to endure interactions with other trains inevitably imports risks into achieving our daily timetable,” he says. “To manage about 90 per cent of delays we must work ever closer with our partners to ensure that we are not disadvantaged.”

However, the franchise does bring its advantages, as CrossCountry does not manage any stations. “This allows us to concentrate solely on the customers’ experience on board our trains,” highlights Andy. “It does come with its disadvantages, though, as the first time we get to meet our customers is when they step onboard a train, again strong relationships with other operators can help ensure a great end to end journey.“ Adding to the challenges is the rising pressure imposed by increasing passenger demand. “The biggest challenge is how to manage the exponentially increasing numbers of people seeking to travel by train,” says Andy. “With finite capacity and no suitable spare rolling stock available to lease, we are seeing increasing instances of crowding on many trains.”

For CrossCountry, innovation is the key to overcoming these challenges. “Innovation is at the heart of everything

cancelled because of onboard faults,” explains Andy.

The current franchise for CrossCountry expires in October 2016 but Andy informs that the DfT has indicated that it would like to see a proposal for a Direct Award extension until November 2019, so the next year or so is very much focused on achieving this “Overall our strategic vision is to consistently deliver the highest quality of operational and customer service possible, providing good value for money both to our client, the DfT, and our customers,” he adds.

On a concluding point Andy expresses the importance of continued political and stakeholder support for investing and expanding the railways. “The last government committed themselves to protecting the industry’s ability to deliver record levels of investment, despite necessary austerity measures,” he says. “We desperately need this commitment to continue if we are to see Britain’s railways continue to grow. There can be no doubting how rail transport supports the economic revival by offering employment for many thousands of people, transporting goods for business across the country and providing vital business, commuting and leisure journeys to keep the country moving.”

www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk

we do,” continues Andy. “As history shows, our railways have constantly pushed the boundaries to develop new approaches to running trains and improving customer service and I am proud that CrossCountry is continuing this tradition.” Adhering to an early commitment to make it possible for customers to reserve a seat much closer to the time of their trains the company then pioneered a system to allow Advance tickets to be bought right up to boarding. The development involved breaking tradition within the industry reservation systems that usually close at midnight.

This ability to offer Advance fares right up to departure has also been instrumental in helping CrossCountry manage rising passenger numbers. Andy explains: “As the highest proportion of our customers are travelling for leisure purposes, it is important for us to use price as a tool to encourage them to travel at times when we have spare capacity to spread customer loading throughout the day. We do this by using a dedicated revenue management system to allocate advance fares and prices where we know we can carry more people.”

CrossCountry has also taken a closer look at its rolling stock to identify potentially disrupting issues. One significant issue was the tilting system installed on the company’s Voyager trains. “As our services used only a fraction of the rail infrastructure where tilting is possible these were effectively redundant on our trains, so working with Bombardier we isolated the system. The immediate effect of this one action alone transformed their reliability fivefold and significantly reduced instances of trains being

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Jointing Technologies

The right

connection

Jointing Technologies has provided vital technical and logistical support into the rail electrification sector for more than a decade and is a key supplier of a broad range of PADS approved products

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Below Martin Parker, sales & marketing director at Jointing Technologies

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ith a network of branches offering national coverage, Jointing Technologies (JT) is recognised as the nation’s leading specialist power cable and accessories distributor, supplying products and services that maintain, develop and connect the UK’s electrical infrastructure at voltages up to and including 132kV. The organisation’s product range was initially developed around the power cable accessories market to cleat, join and terminate LV and MV cables. This product range remains integral to the business today, however the portfolio has grown to reflect the broader range of materials used by JT’s core customer base across all industry sectors. The JT product range now includes LV/ MV power cables, cable troughing, earthing, specialist tapes and accessories, cable pulling and protection products, and package substations. It is also uniquely positioned to supply products that are approved for use by the relevant distribution network operators across the electrical infrastructure of the UK. Given the extensive breadth of not only this product range, but also JT’s knowledge and expertise, it is no surprise that the company works with many blue-chip clients across a wide range of sectors, including power generation, renewable energy, power transmission, power distribution, rail electrification, oil, gas and petrochemical, as well as industrial and commercial projects.

Out of these industrial markets, the rail sector is a

key focus for JT, as the company expects the ongoing electrification programme of the UK rail network will offer a wealth of opportunities. When considering the facts and figures, this assumption appears logical – the UK rail industry is critical to the economy, with more goods and freight than ever being moved by train. This is a trend that’s expected to continue with almost 20 per cent growth estimated in freight activity alone by 2019.

Currently, the UK railway network is only part electrified with the rest of the system running on traditional electric traction systems (locomotive and multiple units). The electrification of the UK railway utilising overhead lines (AC current) and third rail (DC current) technologies enables the trains to accelerate more quickly, be more reliable and cause less track wear than diesel trains. Therefore the electrification of the UK rail especially in urban (metro) and suburban (commuter) areas is expected to continue over the next ten years, along with national projects such as HS2 and Crossrail two.

The electrification of the UK rail network has seen Jointing Technologies expand its business supplying a full range of Network Rail PADS approved products into the rail industry for substations, feeders, signalling power, civils and construction projects. JT has been involved in the largest rail projects in the U.K including 750V DC third rail in the South East and 25kV AC projects including West Coast Main Line (WCML), Northwest Electrification, East Coast Main Line (ECML), Midland Mainline (MM) and

Great West Mainline, in addition to London Underground power upgrade projects based on the fourth rail system.

Martin Parker, sales & marketing director at Jointing Technologies commented: “We pride ourselves on our unique insight into the rail industry. As well as an extensive range of PADS approved products, Jointing Technologies have a highly trained and knowledgeable team of professionals who have worked on the largest rail electrification projects in the UK and pride themselves on their industry knowledge and use that to ensure the best products and services are selected for each project.”

This extensive range of products sits alongside JT’s already comprehensive stock holding, which is distributed nationwide from the business’ head office in Woking in the south east, Bristol in the south west and a 20,000 sq ft bulk distribution and kitting centre that is situated in Norton Canes in the Midlands. This latter facility is a relatively new addition to JT’s operations and holds a multi-million pound inventory that delivers next day. This new facility was essential to hold additional stock in order to fulfil the demands of JT’s ever-growing customer base.

But as Adam Lloyd, JT’s managing director stated, it is not just about increasing stock levels: “This new centre enables us to maintain the exceptional level of service that is synonymous with the Jointing Technologies name.”

Left Tro-Tred troughing/walkway In fact, Jointing Technologies’ reputation for exemplary customer service goes hand in hand with its focus on being a total quality supplier. This dedication ensures that Jointing Technologies reputation continues to be held in great regard within its market sectors, and the company is recognised for its ability to supply the highest quality products which are reliable enough to handle often harsh environments and will be in stock and delivered when needed. Whichever voltage or electrical market a customer may operate in, Jointing Technologies can provide them with the expertise, products and service they expect and demand.

www.jointingtech.co.uk

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Metrail Construction

Lining the way With a strong market in the UK, Metrail is well placed to utilise its unrivalled experience and excellent health and safety record to continue expanding its portfolio

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ounded in 2007 and currently partner frameworking within the highways, Network Rail and London Underground sectors, Metrail Construction Ltd is an infrastructure repair company serving both road and rail. The company specialises specifically in bridge works but as MD, Martyn Sherwood explains: “We have grown rapidly since 2007 and succeeded in expanding our abilities, thus being able to offer more service to our clients.”

Today the company is a newly approved contractor for the Heli-bar structural system and Hytec and Eliminator waterproofing systems, and is able to offer concrete repair, tunnel lining repair, water ingression control and

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brickwork services. It is also IRATA trained for vegetation removal from structures and embankments.

“Metrail holds strong knowledge of all our specialist areas and ensures continual training with the products and suppliers to make sure all members of the team are competent,” continues Martyn. “We also have an excellent health and safety record. Both of these factors greatly assist us in maintaining our growing reputation, which in turn assists us through tender stages.” With excellent framework agreements in place across its associated markets, Metrail is well placed with a strong reputation to make the most of current stable market conditions. “We have an expanding client database, and both road and rail sectors are currently very busy,” he adds.

It is the relationships the company is able to establish with its clients that have ultimately enabled Metrail to reach the position it is in today. “We have excellent ongoing relationships with all our clients and understand their different needs ensuring these are met in an honest and reliable manner,” confirms Martyn. Further cementing this is an extensive level of experience resulting in a strong reputation. Within the railway industry Metrail has completed over 200 packages of work on Network Rail infrastructures including reactive maintenance and refurbishments of structures and emergency call out 24/7.

The company is currently assisting Keltbray rail with a

number of tunnel lining repair schemes in the south of England. Within the underground network it is approved for all main contractors and has completed 300 projects varying from structural repairs brick or concrete to water ingress mitigation.

Demonstrating Metrail’s expanding specialist service portfolio is being a newly approved contractor of Heli-bar structural systems. Using pairs of long Heli-bars bonded into mortar to form deep masonry beams that reinforce and stabilise existing masonry, Metrail is now one of the UK’s main approved installers of the system and can offer an underwritten ten-year guarantee. “It allows our team to calculate and design the most appropriate repair using the most up to date guaranteed system,” highlights Martyn. “We understand the importance of being able to supply our clients with the full list of structural repair systems and prevention methods for the future.”

The company is also an approved Stirling Lloyd contractor for Hytec and Eliminator waterproofing systems to structures and viaducts including expansion joints. Hytec is a loose laid, flexible polypropylene sheet membrane ideal for fast track rail possession working, masonry arch bridges with no continuous deck and when conditions are uncertain. Eliminator is a 100 per cent effective seamless bridge deck waterproofing membrane, flexible and tough enough to outlast the design life of many structures. Being able to offer these services adds a strong pillar to Metrail’s portfolio.

Working within the rail industry always demands that high levels of health and safety are continuously met, and Metrail would not have the reputation it does today

without having proven itself within these strict parameters.

“Our staff have continual training in all aspects of their given trades and have close working relationships with product manufacturers,” notes Martyn. “This is backed up by a strong health and safety approach to all schemes.”

This assures that all workers sent to a site have the best possible knowledge of their product and the best possible attitude instilled into them as they approach any work, thus taking sufficient steps towards reducing risk.

In terms of the future, Metrail is very much focused on continuing the strong growth and success it has experienced over the last few years. “We are looking to secure further frameworks that will offer long-term employment for our staff by delivering high quality work,” Martyn explains. “We would like to expand whilst keeping the focus on London and the south of England. However, should the need arise we are prepared and able to cover and tender any projects throughout the UK. Ultimately, we are excited about the future as we have greatly expanded over the past three years, and look forward to continuing it.” With such a strong reputation and service offering, Metrail is well placed to capitalise on the extensive levels of investment currently going into the UK’s infrastructure.

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Touax Rail LTD

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A logistics showcase As one of Europe’s largest lessors of intermodal railcars, Touax Rail’s growing reputation is second to none

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Louis Pastré business development and marketing director, Touax Rail

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ounded in 1855, Touax has a rich history that can be traced back to when the company began life as Compagnie de Touage de la Basse Seine et de l’Oise, operating as a river transport service on the Seine and Oise rivers. Today the company has grown into a truly global enterprise with a diversified portfolio trading in four areas comprised of shipping containers (600,000 TEUs), modular buildings (three assembly plants), river barges and rail cars. The business ordered its first hopper cars in France during 1954 and over the years Touax Rail has grown its fleet to over 9000 owned and managed rail freight vehicles, serving 70 main clients across five continents. Within Europe Touax Rail works in co-operation with workshops and mobile teams and represents clients in the US through its partnership with Chicago Freight Car Leasing. Furthermore the company is keen to expand its fleet to as many as 10,000 rail cars and to maintain its momentum through a programme of continued diversification of its wagon types.

The company manages its wagons under Vereinigung der Privatgüterwagen-Interessenten (VPI), the German association of parties interested in private freight wagons, which allows it to deliver maintenance such as reprofiling

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and revisions closer to its clients’ operational areas. This greatly reduces transportation costs and downtime.

Furthermore Touax Rail gained ISO 9001 accreditation in 2010 and became one of the first companies to achieve Entity in Charge of Maintenance (ECM) certification during December 2011. As such the company’s technical know-how in the field of technical management and maintenance of railcars has seen it contracted to manage the ECM services of a large intermodal fleet of over 1100 wagons over the course of three years. Additionally it has undertaken further projects to supply a large number of coal wagons for traffic between the Benelux and Germany, and gained new clients in existing and new countries, including Poland and Turkey. It has also recently opened a central warehouse to deliver the main spare parts to its clients, in addition to secondary stocks spread over Europe, based on main clients’ routes.

Since it was last featured in Railway Strategies during July 2013, Touax Rail has continued to grow its fleet and won contracts that have enabled it to pursue its ambition of an expanded service portfolio. In October 2013 the company announced that it had won a prestigious contract from Volkswagen Logistics to deliver a fleet

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ELH As a very experienced manufacturer, ELH has the capabilities and technology needed for the development and production of special and track friendly bogies for freight and passenger wagons.

The company creates a wide range of products in a variety of options, such as the RC25NT family, which includes the RC25NT-D (with brake discs), the RC25NT-C (with compact brake) and the RC25NT-K (composite brake blocks).

of 300 high-capacity sliding-wall wagons. The twin-axle wagons were required to have minimum internal height of 3000 mm to enable the transport of mesh box pallets (CKD) and were constructed by Greenbrier Europe at its Świdnica plant in Poland. The manufacturer was able to prove its experience in sliding wall wagons and ensured a close and successful co-operation thanks to a strong commitment

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from the top management, sales and R&D departments.

The first prototype was received in March 2014 with a second following shortly thereafter. During InnoTrans 2014 Greenbrier symbolically presented a prototype Wagon to Touax Rail, where the company triumphantly showcased the prototypes.

Following successful trials of the prototypes, EBA certification and others, Touax has begun the process of delivering the new fleet to Volkswagen, with the first new cars set to arrive in November 2014. “The partnership with Volkswagen coincides with our marketing strategy to lease more wagons to industrial clients, who are interested in profitable and long term agreements,” said Louis Pastré, business development & marketing director.

“Touax is proud to be a partner for inbound logistics, as for many years we have been actively involved in the outbound logistics, transporting new cars on laaers wagons.” Touax Rail was already renting four axle Ha wagons on the market, but was looking for additional optimised sliding wall wagons. The company plans to continue to invest in his segment, offering new wagons for light or heavy cargo.

During July 2013 Louis commented that rail would continue to grow as a vital link in Europe’s supply chain: “Rail market share versus road will increase regularly in Europe. In addition, the European fleet is getting older and needs a strong replacement programme over the coming years. Whilst the market needs 10,000 to 20,000 new wagons per year, the last five has seen only 5000 to 7000 produced. Compared to a European fleet that numbers around 700,000 wagons this represents around only one per cent. This is a structural under-investment trend that should end soon. So far the market remains under full production capacity but is improving, helped by regular replacement of tank wagons as well.”

Indeed the continued success of the company in winning tenders for such significant contracts such as its recent success with Volkswagen would seem to suggest that the future could present a significant opportunity for Touax Rail. Certainly the conditions are right for freight lessors to supply significant added value to clients,

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as Louis elaborates: “These combined parameters will position leasing companies as key partners to accompany this development. Leasing ensures flexibility and low capital expenditure for our clients who need to optimise their organisation, traffic management, and costs. This enables them to focus on their core business of customer service and transportation. In addition, industrial companies are also leasing wagons in order to stay independent from the RUs (railway undertaking) – in the case of lower quality service they keep control of the wagons and simply have to find another solution for the traction.”

Presently Touax Rail is enjoying regular growth throughout Europe despite a challenging market, the US, and is starting in India. “We believe in a continuous recovery of rail business,” said Louis. The group’s wagons are leased on long-term contracts to railways, logistics and industrial clients in intermodal transport and the transport of palletised general cargo. Additionally Touax is the owner of a fleet of wagons transporting mining coal, steel coils and finished vehicles.

Over the next 12 months, Touax intends to offer pocket wagons for the transport of mega trailers and other additional open or covered wagons. Louis added: “Touax Rail offers other solutions like sale & leaseback where clients can prioritise cash allocation while they continue to use the wagons, protecting their market shares/positions.”

Looking further ahead, Louis concluded with Touax’s longer term strategic vision: “Touax Rail expects to

increase its development further in Europe and develop on other continents with internal or external growth, and continue to improve its service level. As such it maintains a wide service base that will support the company for many years to come.” zz

www.touax.com www.touaxrail.com

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Stadler Rail

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Freedom of movement Stadler Rail Group is a system supplier of customer-specific solutions for rail vehicle construction

High speed train for Swiss Federal Railway SBB

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he company has locations in Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Belarus, Algeria, the Netherlands and in the US, and across these sites it employs around 6000 people, of which 3000 are based in Switzerland.

Since being established by Ernst Stadler in 1942, Stadler Rail has created an enviable reputation in the rail sector. In order to maintain its leading position, the Group has formulated a strategy that focuses on the regional, suburban and intercity service market segments, the light

Tram in Geneva

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regional express railway service, and streetcars, and it intends to remain the global number one in the rack railway vehicle market. In order to further cement a solid foundation Stadler Rail has positioned itself as a supplier that complements global rail vehicle builders such as Alstom, Bombardier, and Siemens, and its status as an independent company is an important basic strategic value that clients appreciate.

This business approach will also assist Stadler to operate in a railway vehicle industry that is in a dynamic, highly complex restructuring phase. Companies active in this industry are being acquired, merged or strategically repositioned, or even disappearing from the marketplace.

In such an economic environment, it is crucial for a medium-sized group of companies to ensure that its strategy matches its human and financial resources.

Over the past few years, Stadler has met this goal, even achieving exceptional development despite the negative trend prevailing in the industry.

By focusing on market needs, Stadler was able to foresee what investments in facilities would enable it to offer an expanded range of services. Over the past few years, the company has closed the last existing production gaps by selectively expanding into the areas of electrical engineering and bogie (truck) construction.

This means the business is now able to offer complete vehicle concepts, and it can offer customised solutions to railway companies on the basis of modular concepts, which are tailored to their specific needs.

The best-known vehicle series from Stadler Rail Group

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz are the articulated multiple-unit train GTW, the RegioShuttle RS1, the FLIRT and the double-decker multipleunit train KISS in the railway segment, and the Variobahn and the Tango in the tram segment. The Metro is another addition for the commuter rail market. Furthermore, Stadler Rail manufactures metre-gauge trains, passenger carriages and locomotives and is the world’s leading manufacturer of rack-and-pinion rail vehicles.

One of the company’s most recent contracts was for the KISS train variant – in November 2014, it successfully shipped to Moscow the first unit of the 25 doubledecker KISS trains ordered by Russian railway operator Aeroexpress. The contract includes the supply of 25 double-decker KISS trains consisting of 118 coaches, out of which 16 units will be four-car and nine will be six-car vehicles. The Stadler factory in Altenrhein, Switzerland, is producing the first four units, while the remaining 21 are being manufactured in a new Stadler factory, which has been recently constructed on the outskirts of Minsk in Belarus.

The trains are designed to cope with the specific Russian climate, which can range from -50 degrees Celsius to +40 degrees Celsius. The trains have a speed of 160 km/h and have comfortable, bright interiors in two

One of the FLIRT trains in Helsinki classes (business and economy). The carriages are made from lightweight aluminium, which makes the vehicles much lighter than the traditional steel carriages. The reduced weight means that the train operator can make significant energy savings on everyday services.

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Just a month before the KISS train was delivered to Moscow, Stadler had handed over another first – this time the first unit of a FLIRT intercity train, for Hong-Kong based private operator MTR Express for operation in Sweden. This contract was a particular highlight for the business as it managed to produce the train in record time, within only one year, which is exceptionally fast in the railway industry. The first FLIRT of the five-carriage fleet is expected to start commercial operation in March 2015 on the Gothenburg-Stockholm route. The top speed of these trains is 200 km/h, and they have been specifically designed to fulfil the strict requirements of extreme climatic conditions.

In fact, one particular FLIRT model does offer a range of benefits to operators that provide services in severe winter conditions. The pedigree of these trains can be traced back to a contract in 2006, with Finnish company Junakalusto Oy, when the model was developed to fulfil the requirements of severe winters. These were also the first broad-gauge vehicles manufactured by Stadler. All Stadler trains now intended for Moscow and Norway are essentially based on the innovations that were included on that first Helsinki FLIRT train.

Such was the success of the 2006 contract with Junakalusto Oy – the first 32 trains have been operating successfully for many years now – that in October 2014 the company ordered another 34 FLIRT trains in a contract worth EUR 200 million, exercising the second option of the contract. Delivery of the first option of nine further FLIRT trains was achieved in November 2014.

The new trains will include insulation that is increased by 50 per cent and windows that are triple-glazed. A

Knorr Bremse The long-standing close partnership between Stadler Rail and Knorr-Bremse is the result of the two companies’ similar backgrounds: Both are ownermanaged and have a corporate policy of long-term, steady development rather than rapid success and short term profit. It is from this shared approach, as well as many successful joint projects such as the FLIRT and KISS platforms, that the trusting business relationship between Stadler Rail and Knorr-Bremse has grown.

Their similar operational background also feeds and strengthens the partnership: Stadler Rail owes its growth not least to its strong customer orientation and its flexibility, as well as the outstanding quality of its products – and these also feature prominently in KnorrBremse’s corporate culture. This explains why in the Swiss company’s development from specialist niche provider to systems supplier, Knorr-Bremse has always been a reliable and supportive partner – and will remain so in future, from specialist applications to the highspeed segment.

Stadler Rail

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The first KISS for Aeroexpress

Intercity train for Austrian Westbahn Vienna- Salzburg

heat recovery system has been added to the tried and tested air-conditioning system used in many FLIRTs. The warm air extracted from the passenger compartment is used to preheat the cold, fresh air that is sucked in.

This results in a substantial energy saving. At the same time, heaters have been fitted in the door areas in order to keep the temperature inside as constant as possible when passengers embark and disembark. The train can achieve speeds of 160 kilometres per hour and will initially be operated using the Finnish EBICAB train control system, although an upgrade to the European Train Control System (ETCS) at a later date is possible.

Peter Spuhler, CEO and owner of Stadler Rail Group, was very proud of this specific vehicle order: “It gives me immense pleasure that the 1000th FLIRT train will travel in Helsinki, because from now on this customer will be operating 75 Stadler trains. The fact that this option has been exercised is evidence that the customer is very happy with the trains that have been in everyday use for five years now. We are proud of our broad-gauge FLIRT with its excellent resistance to severe winters.

This vehicle is a perfect example of how innovative Stadler can be.” zz

www.stadlerrail.com

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Bourne Steel

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Comprehensive capability

Formed in 1946, Bourne Steel sits amongst the top five fabrication companies in the UK

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mploying over 250 people, its engineering excellence drives forward the business, supported by both an exceptional management skill and an extremely accomplished, comprehensive workshop. The business holds a firm belief in the correlation between the quality of the relationship between its own project team, customers, and suppliers, and the quality of the service and products that it is able to deliver.

Highlighting its commitment to developing strong relationships, the business recently completed the renovation of Reading Station, on which it worked closely with a variety of partners. As part of the project, the work consisted of off-site production at the company’s

yard, promoting many benefits, as Nick Hatton, managing director explains: “Bourne took on the total design responsibility for the modular canopy solution, thus reducing design co-ordination risk to our client.”

The development of a fully integrated design saw collaborative working between Bourne Off-Site Solutions and Lakesmere, with integration of M&E containment, dramatically reducing the requirement of site input from its client. “By working together collaboratively we successfully carried out the off-site manufacture, and installation of some of the largest roof modules in the UK at the Farringdon Station Thameslink development, which was also instrumental in us winning the 2012, Construction News Specialist Award for steel.

“Through a combination of investment and detailed attention to design for manufacture, we established a production line process, which gives us certainty of output, and engineering excellence and quality,” says Nick Hatton. Having developed an off-site production line it was able to carry out the manufacturing of canopy cassettes at its assembly facility in Poole. The production line was designed to accommodate the various size modules, which ranged from 5m to 17m wide. Once the cladding was fitted to the units all joints between the modules were checked to ensure a right first time installation on site, before knitting together the ‘zip up’ components to reduce the installation time on site. Furthermore, this process provided opportunity to integrate M&E containment and possible plug and play electrical installation within the modules.

“Ultimately this minimised the degree of on-site coordination to be delivered by Costain/Hochtief between steel and cladding contractors,” says Nick, adding: “More importantly, it removed the dependence upon the civils activities, requiring only the column foundations to be installed to allow installation of the canopy support columns and subsequent canopy installation.” A substantial overall saving in the project programme and

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Bourne Steel

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greater certainty of on-time project delivery, together with a snag free high quality product was achieved using this method. Constructing off-site also opens opportunity to provide a prototype unit for inspection and development by all parties. Brian Fisher, project director for the Reading area station redevelopment provides a valuable client perspective on the project: “When Bourne and Lakesmere came to us with a collaborative and innovative approach, we absolutely knew that this was the right thing for this project. There is no doubt that

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the pre-fabrication and the offsite manufacture of the roof modules at Bourne’s yard in Poole, improved the quality of the product and absolutely improved the installation.”

“Another benefit that comes from manufacturing the majority of the construction in-house is that it opens up an opportunity for the client to visit and inspect the canopy modules throughout the assembly process, heavily reducing programme risk with opportunity for advanced sign off,” highlights Nick. Evidence has proved that a reduced number of site operatives and installation man-hours leads to a reduced health and safety risk. “We are certified to BS 18001 for our Health and Safety Management Systems as well as holding green credentials in high regard, and as such we hold BS14001 certification for our environmental management,” he adds. As a result of this method of production and installation, the business successfully converted several hundred thousand possession hours into day time factory hours, providing higher rates of output, a better quality of work and a happier workforce. “Most importantly, this method reduces the risk to the travelling public,” adds Brian.

In February 2015 the business won the ‘Outstanding Project Award’ for medium sized projects between £3m and £20m for its work on the Reading Station canopies project. Recognition of the company’s innovative approach for its work on Farringdon Station also saw it shortlisted for the award in 2014 in the UK Rail Industry Awards. The scope of the improvement project saw the business install a train shed roof, comprising of fully clad modules 28m x 4m x 4m high, and an integrated ticket hall for the Thameslink Programme. The structural steel frame with elements encased in concrete off-site, and nine fully fitted out roof lights, assembled at its yard, were delivered and installed over three nights. A second feat of engineering on the project was seen with a 34m long fully fitted out over track crossing that was

delivered during a single-track possession.

Commenting on significant projects for the future, Nick recalls how the previous projects, such as its works at London Bridge Station have been responsible for its future path: “Temporary canopies were installed to existing above-ground platforms. The success of the work we undertook on the site has followed on to us securing a contract for the new staff accommodation block, some of which are in the London Bridge Arches, and east and west retail units located in the main concourse. We have also been awarded a contract with BFK (Bam Ferrovial Keir JV), for the next phase at Farringdon Station for Crossrail, developing the new east and west ticket halls.”

Having gained its principle contractor licence with Network Rail, Bourne is now able to tender directly with Network Rail on projects, further lining itself for a fast moving future. As rail integrates itself fully into the ‘digital’ age, Bourne Steel has been embracing the drive for fully integrated BIM models across all its projects. “This has seen us receive the 2009 Telka BIM Awards for Strata Tower, and later the 2013 Tekla BIM Award for Reading Station, by public vote,” says Nick. Utilising its broad and far-reaching expertise, the company looks ahead with ambition to meet the challenges of any project. zz

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NEDTRAIN

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A spirit of renewal With a history dating back over 175 years, NedTrain is a specialist in the maintenance of railcars as part of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) group.

NedTrain works 24 hours, seven days a week to commute passengers safely, comfortably and on time to their destination

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lthough the company operates as the locomotive and rolling stock maintenance, repair and upgrade arm of the Dutch Railways company Nederlandse Spoorwegen, NedTrain represents a unique entity within the rail industry in that remains an independent commercial venture in its own right instead of existing as a necessary non-profit part of the NS group. As such it is able to guarantee that the NS group’s 1.2 million daily passengers can rely on a modern fleet of clean and comfortable locomotives as well as providing the same service to clients throughout Europe.

Its unique position as NS group’s commercial maintenance arm allows NedTrain to respond rapidly in response to urgent situations and act with the sole interest of passengers in mind. The result is a very smooth and fluid response approach to the needs of the rail industry, where important work is undertaken as soon as it is

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needed and the financial and legal details are managed later on. Over the winter months for example, NedTrain is able to service trains for extreme weather conditions at short notice without the need to first settle contractual details. The synergy between NedTrain and NS is further emphasised by the fact that its CEO, Michiel van Roozendaal is part of the executive committee that is responsible for the running of the NS group. This coupled with 30 strategic locations across the Dutch railway network is the basis for the unique service offering that NedTrain is able to provide. The company’s flexibility and expertise has enabled NedTrain to develop a trusted and highly respected reputation that has seen it work with train operators throughout the Netherlands and beyond including Arriva, Syntus, Veolia and the Norwegian state rail company - Norges Statsbaner AS. In recent months NedTrain has been increasing its

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz capability through construction of four new technical centres, the first of which was opened during September 2014. The centre is located close to Utrecht Centraal station, where it is designed to undertake rolling stock repairs including pantograph, couplers and window replacement. The main building was designed and constructed by BAM Utiliteitsbouw and incorporates several water, energy and waste saving measures including roof-mounted solar panels and LED lighting.

The construction of the second centre, located in The Hague is underway and on schedule with the pouring of its concrete floor to be followed by anchor drilling, positioning of steel columns, the assembly of the steel structure and construction of the rails. BAM Utiliteitsbouw has again been commissioned for the construction of The Hague technical centre and NedTrain is currently consulting various agencies regarding the construction of the final two technical centres in Zwolle and Nijmegen.

NedTrain plans tailor-made maintenance packages for each individual train and employs dedicated fleet teams that work with a specified series of train and is managed by a rolling stock type manager. The team managers control and monitor assets, costs and the overall quality of the work and each team also includes personnel from

Ultimate Europe Transportation Equipment GmbH Ultimate Europe Transportation Equipment GmbH, located in Amstetten (Austria) develops solutions and products for the international rail and bus sector.

It has specific expertise in system solutions, such as complete interior solutions, gangways, articulations and door systems for coaches, starting with design and development through to complete delivery of the components including logistics services, assembly and operation. Efficient new total product solutions, optimised in terms of cost, weight and material, meet customers’ expectations from innovative suppliers.

This was achieved, for instance, on the DD-AR 240 carriage project with Nedtrain for total interiors. The high point is undoubtedly in the design of componentoptimised LED lights used throughout the train. Seven different types of light are used, with a total of around 375,000 LEDs being installed. LEDs have a very long service life and thus reduce operating and maintenance costs.

The successful working relationship will also continue on the new VIRMm1 order for 416 coaches.

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the engineering and production side of the business.

In all there are around ten teams covering specific train types as well crews covering specialist trains such as the Dutch Royal Train, Thalys and ICE trains which run in a joint pool with French SNCF and Belgian NMBS respectively as well as Deutsche Bahn from Germany.

Modernisation is an increasingly important market as enhanced train life is being encouraged and advocated throughout the European rail network. Presently NedTrain is undertaking a number of major fleet modernisation programmes for clients including Arriva, Veolia, Stadler and Syntus. Renovation is naturally cheaper than replacement of rolling stock and allows previously outdated trains to continue in operation for several years.

NedTrain offers clients full modernisation services from small adjustments to full overhauls covering electrical, mechanical, hydraulic engineering and airframe work.

Trains can also be upgraded to include further monitoring and communication systems, such as onboard internet that allow both safer trains through system monitoring and an enhanced service for passengers by providing real-time travel information.

NedTrain currently operates a dedicated modernisation

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facility in Haarlem where it again manages dedicated teams per project. However unlike other areas of the business where teams are organised into teams dedicated to certain train types, the teams in operation in Haarlem include engineering and production staff that contribute to multiple projects, allowing the facility to undertake several modernisation programmes at once.

During February 2015 NedTrain announced an initiative aimed at increasing the focus on environmentally friendly travel within the railway network. On February 23 2015 NedTrain Director Michiel van Roozendaal, Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment Wilma Mansfield and ProRail CEO Patrick Buck signed the Green Deal waste reduction and recycling at railway stations and on trains agreement. The aim of this is to reduce the amount of waste in stations and on trains and encourage waste separation and recycling. This will present an opportunity for the company to add to its modernisation activities by providing waste sorting solutions for trains and to help improve the market for operators and passengers alike. zz

www.nedtrain.nl

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Nexus’ £389 million regeneration programme is designed to radically improve public transportation in the North East

Tobyn Hughes

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NEXUS

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Cinderella story

exus is the trading name of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (PTE), a public body that plans and provides local public transport in and around the cities of Newcastle and Sunderland, along with the districts of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside. Unusually among the six PTEs in England, Nexus directly owns and manages the local light rail network, the Tyne and Wear Metro. Opened in stages from 1980, Metro is the busiest light rail system in the UK outside London, with 38 million passenger journeys a year. The network of 78km has 60 stations and is served by more than 450 train services a day.

Metro passengers make up just under a quarter of all public transport journeys in Tyne and Wear. Nexus sets the service specification and fares on behalf of the seven local councils which make up the new North East Combined Authority (formed in 2014). Trains services and station management is provided on behalf of Nexus by operating concessionaire DB Regio Tyne and Wear Ltd, who secured a seven to nine year contract to operate Metro in April 2010.

The last Director General (DG) of Nexus, Bernard Garner, retired in December 2014 and Tobyn Hughes took the position of Managing Director Transport Operations for the North East Combined Authority, which also incorporates the role of DG. He explained that as well as leading Nexus, the MD has a wider remit to forge greater integration in the delivery of transport services across the Combined Authority area. “This is an exciting time to take on such a role because, away from Metro, we are embarked on the creation of a Quality Contracts Scheme to transform the way bus services are provided,” he noted.

“The North East would be the first area to do this, bringing the benefits of integrated transport similar to that seen in London and many cities in other countries. We are also delivering the North East Smart Ticketing Initiative to rollout smart travel across a huge geographic area.”

The Smart Ticketing Initiative Tobyn referred to is part of phase one of the £389m ‘Metro: all change’ modernisation programme. Phase two, which complements and overlaps with phase one, is now underway and as Tobyn explained, the majority of the

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investment in this phase is in infrastructure including track and track beds, overhead line, structures, cabling, communications and train management systems.

“While Metro itself opened only 35 years ago, it uses infrastructure dating back to the birth of the railways – in fact our oldest alignment was surveyed by Robert Stephenson himself!” he highlighted. “Much of the track we are replacing is around 50 years old and the beds and drainage beneath it up to three times that age. The investment we’re making now will serve North East England for many decades to come.

“We have delivered 25km of new track and trackbeds and the same distance of renewed cable and ducting routes, and overhauled and strengthened more than 20 bridges and tunnels and several thousand metres of embankment. There is also scope to bring older stations up to modern standards of accessibility, including the installation of tactile surfaces, double-height handrails, bench seating and improved wayfinding and passenger information. In addition we will by Spring have replaced 19 escalators most of which were life-expired and almost impossible to source parts for, and six passenger lifts.”

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This programme also includes a refurbishment of the train fleet, delivered on behalf of Nexus by DB Regio Tyne and Wear Ltd through Wabtec in Doncaster, which will be complete in the summer of 2015. The £30m refurbishment brings the fleet up to modern RVAR standards – in fact the early Metrocars were the first rail vehicles in the country to attain this – and deals with serious corrosion. It extends the life of the original fleet into the 2020s, by which time they will be more than 40 years old, while Nexus plans for the procurement of a new fleet.

“Our big priority for the next few years is creating a business case for the new train fleet,” Tobyn added. “It’s clear from the work we’ve done that the heritage and future of Metro is as a sub-regional light rail system, most closely related to the continental ‘S-Bahn’ model, rather than as a tramway as seen in other British cities. This has important implications as we model the size and capacity of a future fleet but also its power source – could we, for example, introduce a fleet at the present 1,500v DC voltage but with the potential to run on 25,000v AC and so extend into new parts of the region’s Network Rail infrastructure? On a network as busy as Metro which is already offering a very high frequency we need to be very confident about the dimensions of the fleet we set out to procure for the four decades ahead, and there is detailed analysis and modelling going into that work now.”

All of these improvements are designed to not only create a better service for passengers but also have a wider effect on the community, as Tobyn highlighted: “Metro is fundamental to the local economy and social life of the region,” he said. “Metro keeps about 15 million car journeys a year off the region’s roads and contributes some 10,000 daily visits to Newcastle city centre which would otherwise not happen, whether that be for work, education or leisure. Our modernisation programme is

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worth £2.5bn to the region’s economy compared to the consequences of letting Metro decline and fail, when calculated as a benefit-cost ratio. This is fundamental to our business case for on-going investment in the network.

“We can quantify the benefits of modernisation in more direct ways, as the many projects that make up the whole programme have secured and created hundreds of jobs in rail engineering and construction. These are jobs with contractors and extend right through the supply chain but also within Nexus itself. We have set up an internal ‘capital delivery’ team of 60 staff which competes to deliver projects within the programme, and we have had the confidence to take on 30 apprentices over three years knowing they have good prospects of a career with us.

“It’s also important to demonstrate the benefits in terms of reliability – the last five years have seen us replace 25km of track and vastly increase the proportion of the network where rails are fully stressed and laid on modern concrete sleepers and good ballast; we have seen payback through a decrease in rail misalignments and cracks as a result.

“The ticketing and gating programme, substantially completed in 2013, has led to a decline in fraud and consequent increase in revenue, alongside overall passenger growth of around seven per cent in the last year. Metro has always been something of a Cinderella network surviving on a very low cost base among UK railways, but it is now in a healthy position to look to the future.”

The entire Metro: all change programme has of course featured innovation and new technology, not all of which will be obvious to passengers but will be quietly working behind the scenes to improve information flow and recovery from disruptions. For example, Kapsch is delivering a new digital radio communication system, which is moving to delivery through 2015. “This is a really important project for which Kapsch was chosen

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following an international procurement process,” noted Tobyn. “Because Metro is such a busy system we need the highest quality communications between trains and the Metro Control Centre or the IECC York centre, which covers movements on Network Rail infrastructure through Sunderland.”

Nexus has a local transport remit stretching much wider than rail, but with the Metro, Tobyn highlighted the key priorities for the coming year as the continued successful and efficient delivery of modernisation projects, and the development of a business case for the essential new Metro fleet. Nexus will also be leading on national rail issues for the new North East Combined Authority, which is among the partners in Rail North exploring the potential for devolution of the Northern Rail franchise with the Department for Transport. “We see significant benefits from devolution, an idea which has inspired and brought together local authorities from Northumberland through Tyne and Wear and the Tees Valley to North Yorkshire in forming a single rail strategy for this huge region,” said Tobyn. “The current structure of local passenger services invites the concept of a North East Business Unit at arms’ length from the wider franchise, which better serves the unique needs of this region, where people are making often much longer journeys by local trains on older and sometimes substandard trains, when compared to conurbations along the M62 corridor.”

He concluded: “The programmes Nexus is now embarked upon will shape local transport in North East England for many years to come – securing and improving bus routes by making better use of the profits they make to provide a genuine public service, completing the introduction of smart ticketing and moving forward into contactless payments, and modernising Metro. But of course Metro works best at the heart of an integrated transport environment and what we are seeking to do is integrate the way people buy travel as well as the modes they use.” zz

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Andy Derbyshire, head of operations

Digitising the network is key to asset management company Asset Performance JNP, in staying committed to delivering an efficient tube network for London

ecoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London in 2010 and working in close partnership with London Underground, Asset Performance JNP (APJNP), formerly known as Tube Lines, is responsible for maintaining and operating the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. With over 200 miles of track, 255 trains and 100 stations within its network, the company is responsible for 41 per cent of the entire underground network. The extensive operations cover everything from routine maintenance, emergency repairs of tracks to complete line, station, lift and escalator refurbishment. With over 500 million passenger journeys passing through its network each year, safety, reliability and high performance sit at the heart of Tube Line’s focus, as does its commitment to its own people. Working as part of the London Underground family Asset Performance JNP looks to achieve its vision of working together to deliver an outstanding tube for London.

The company was established in 2003 under a PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) scheme by a consortium of Amey Plc, Bechtel and Jarvis Plc to provide maintenance services to the London Underground, before being bought

by Transport for London in 2010. As part of the London Underground Chief Operations Directorate, APJNP works collectively across the network providing seamless

operations with BCV (Bakerloo Victoria and Central) and SSL (Sub Service).

Managing assets across such an extensive network provides a major challenge for APJNP. With a commitment to innovation and driving the industry forward, the company has been working hard to integrate data analytics and information to manage its assets more effectively. Head of operations, Andy Derbyshire, explains: “Within Asset Performance JNP we are advanced in the use of asset information and analytics. We are just completing an upgrade of our asset management system Maximo, which will add functionality and improve our management system with improvements such as GIS (geographic information system) functionality and handheld technology.”

The topic of the digital railway is something that is very much at the top of the agenda of the rail industry at the moment, and APJNP is playing a significant role in the development of this. “Where Network Rail has a vision of digital railways, we believe we are already in the next phase: the analytical railway,” adds Andy. Collecting and analysing the data is a team of specialist analysts, statisticians and mathematicians set up in partnership with Amey Plc. “Data is good, but information is better,” highlights Andy. “How we manage the data to give

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good information to make informed decisions is key. By combining the analysed information with engineering asset knowledge we are in the process of developing asset state models to better predict when there is a need to intervene, as well as understand our assets at a system level in much more detail. This allows us to work and improve our maintenance and reliability regimes.” Ultimately, not only does it make asset management an easier and more efficient process for APJNP, but the system can also have positive implications on underground users. It can be used to manage potential problems before they cause major issues and delays to the line.

This ability to build models and predict potential issues is central to the company’s move towards digitisation of the rail network, and is based on proven success. “The financial sector has been doing this for years within the stock market, monitoring trends and using analytics to support their next investment, similarly in elite sports,” explains Andy. “It’s the same for us.” With the use of handheld

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technology the data is readily available, more accessible and means that the assets are constantly transmitting their states. “This means we can change the way we maintain assets and respond to potential problems,” he expresses.

However, with the technology shift it is important that strategy is managed effectively to provide a successful balance: “We need to make sure we don’t go over the top trying to monitor too much,” Andy adds.

The need to provide an outstanding tube service in London is one that is constantly advancing as passenger numbers increase. This poses the constant demand for updates and improvements across the whole network, and Asset Performance JNP and its partners are at the heart of delivering a consistently reliable service.

“With demand increasing all the time, the need for more availability and reliability is always a constant challenge,” says Andy. “However, the results show that the Underground has delivered a fantastic improvement in reliability whilst modernising at the same time.” With this in mind, the need for a more focused and effective asset management system is clear, and APJNP is at the forefront of meeting it.

The digitisation of the railway improves the company’s asset management, and supports the future development and improvement of the infrastructure. Andy concludes with a note on APJNPs future: “As we are well known, we will continue to drive performance and maximise on improvements. London Underground has more capacity improvement plans as well as the New Tube for London project on the horizon.” As a key partner within the London Underground network, this dedication and commitment to improvement looks set to provide the business and London Underground with a successful future, and by extension an outstanding public transport system. zz

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telent – maintaining telecoms assets for Asset

Performance Jubilee Northern & Piccadilly (APJNP) London Underground for the past 15 years

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aintenance is changing and telent is at the forefront: With the focus for maintenance now fixed firmly on reliability centred maintenance (RCM), efforts are moving increasingly towards proactive, preventative work to maintain uninterrupted service. Detecting the early signs of failure enables proactive action to be taken and failure prevented.

For over 15 years, telent have maintained communications assets for APJNP, providing the innovation and technology underpinning a number of RCM successes, resulting in reduced costs and increased asset reliability. telent are currently responsible for maintaining all station communications, including PA systems, CCTV cameras, help points, station management systems, control systems, SCADA, customer information displays, DVRs, clocks and track to train systems.

Provision of telent’s Remote Services Desk has helped communications maintenance to move a long way in recent years and this new approach to maintenance is delivering tangible results: with a growing number of interventions carried out remotely, fix times

have been significantly reduced, total site visits and reported faults have reduced, while first visit fixes have increased.

In addition to station communications, telent also support APJNP with RCM in a number of other areas: Asset Condition Monitoring systems developed by APJNP and telent support lift and escalator maintenance, by monitoring performance via sensors in order to predict and prevent failure, significantly increasing reliability and asset availability.

Through remote monitoring of equipment temperature, telent have significantly reduced failures of electronic equipment. telent have developed an Alarm Gateway to filter and present important and critical alarms from a range of SCADA and monitoring systems to the Fault Reporting centre.

Bespoke software has been developed for the monitoring of dirt build-up in detector heads of Fire Panels. When combined with the provision of remote isolation facilities, this will increase the available working windows for hot working, further reducing disruption by preventing false alarms.

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Safety first Understanding the safety implications of working within the rail industry is key to Crossway Scaffolding’s success

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tarting off as a small scaffolding company based in West Yorkshire around 20 years ago, Crossway Scaffolding has earned a strong reputation to work for some of the biggest contractors in the UK. Having built its scaffolding experience in the construction industry, the company decided to make the move into the rail industry, achieving National Rail link-up status six years ago. Today, 60 per cent of the firm’s revenues come from rail. Working within an industry with higher risks than traditional scaffolding, the company’s total commitment to health and safety sets it apart from its competitors, and has earned it a growing reputation.

Discussing its initial experience in the rail industry, operations director, John Gallagher tells Railway Strategies that: “We decided that the market for decent scaffolding companies that were looking after clients in that sector was lacking, so we developed our systems and our values to focus on and achieve what the client requires in a much harsher and more risk-orientated environment.” From this realisation, Crossway Scaffolding has taken a number of steps to ensure it is one of the most competent company’s

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Generation Generations is a leading supplier of non-mechanical access systems and building equipment and have worked closely with Crossway Scaffolding Group for over 14 years.

Generation recently supplied aluminium beams to form a working deck on the Victoria Station refurbishment project in Manchester.

The conventional method of using 750mm deep beams would have been too expensive in man hours, weight of materials and capital investment to achieve both the span and load requirements.

Generation supplied the new Asterix HD 1.33mm Deep beam, coupled with Futuro System Scaffolding, and Uni Roof, constructed a decking structure that had 2.57m beam centers, not using any scaffold fittings in the assembly.

Savings on just the scaffold fittings alone was estimated to be in excess of 10,000 fittings, giving large labour savings, reduced erection times, and fewer line closures, thus saving money.

The Beams are now in use on other line crossing structures saving time, labour and reducing the potential of accidents and ensuring projects come in on schedule.

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Early on, the business made the decision to employ the Dutch Van Thiel scaffolding system, which allows for quicker, easier and service-free erection, therefore leading to a much safer and less disruptive construction period within busy, public spaces. This system is highly suited to the rail industry, particularly in stations where minimum disruption to ongoing services is key to becoming a respected constructor, and Crossway Scaffolding is one of the heaviest users in the UK. Aside from the systems it uses is its approach to its staff and workforce, which is where another of the company’s main strengths lay. “All of our operatives are directly employed,” says John. “They all have to serve a minimum of 12 months before they can be put thought a PTS (Personal Track Safety) accreditation, to become trained to work on the rail. It is also about finding out if they are the right calibre of person, and that they have the right attributes, work ethic and are safety critical. At the end of the day they are undertaking one of the most high risk operations of any on a construction site.” This commitment means that the workforce deployed into rail environments by Crossway Scaffolding are experienced

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“All of our staff and operatives have the capabilities to be decision makers on site, without them we would not be where we are today. When we start a job either a contracts manager, or director will be in attendance to make sure everyone knows what they’re doing, and this will continue on regular occasions throughout the project. We have experienced supervisors who take ownership and run the projects on a daily level.

We know what we are doing and how to do it, and this attitude filters down through the whole team,” continues John. In finer detail, all rail workers within the company are directly employed 100 per cent CSCS qualified and PTS certified, all managers and directors have safety management accreditation and external auditors carry out regular health and safety inspections on all sites to ensure extensive procedures are being implemented and adhered to. Ultimately, Crossway Scaffolding can supply its rail clients with a service that knows the industry and fully understands the safety parameters within the sites. “One of our biggest concerns is our competitors undertaking major high risk schemes with large numbers of subcontract labour with unknown skill sets and no ownership of the project. In a high risk industry with potential to disrupt the rail infrastructure this seems very dangerous.”

Testament to Crossway Scaffolding’s reputation is the ongoing project at Manchester Victoria Station, where the company has erected a 10,000 square metre protection crash deck. With thousands of rail users, and MEN arena goers passing through the station everyday safety and minimal disruption is paramount to the project. “We have been there two years, and there has not been a single disruption to the rail infrastructure or to the public due to our operations.” Proof of success lays in the fact that the company currently has a number of other high profile projects of a similar nature, where safety and no public hindrance are key, in the pipeline.

Despite complete commitment to health and safety within the industry, John is keen to point out that the company’s success is not wholly attributable to this.

“Our success is also down to the partners that we choose to work with, who are of really high standard.

RDG Engineering (temporary works partners), Generation Hire and Sales and Lifters Powered Access have been paramount to our success because we have such strong relationships with them. We don’t continuously change supplier because one may be cheaper than the other, we know that if we have a problem these partners will be there to help wherever, whenever. By working together with these teams, we have all been able to secure strong reputations within our industries.”

Crossway Scaffolding has grown at an average of ten per cent a year, even through the recession,

and maintaining this level of growth is central to the company’s future vision. “We are looking to increase our work load with Network Rail, increase our profile with other contractors, and we are trying to do that in the best way possible. By making people realise that although we are of similar cost, they get what they pay for in terms of how our people approach safety and undertake the project,” concludes John.

The company is passionate about offering experience and safety awareness as its standout feature, and in a high-risk industry where these are critical, such as rail, it looks set to enjoy continued success by remaining committed to these values. zz

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Reading the signals Giffen Group Ltd is a railway electrical and signalling specialist and part of the SSA joint venture working with Network Rail

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lready a principal contractor for Network Rail and Transport for London, the company is also aligned to provide expert project management and delivery structure for the newly formed joint venture, Switchgear and Substation Alliance (SSA), designed to supply High Voltage Traction Power SubStations for Network Rails CP5 spending period. With the venture recognised for providing local employment and bringing in UK local expertise into a very important and large framework, there was ultimately a lot of political excitement generated at SSA’s launch, which saw the attendance of key political faces.

Seen as a very safe and reliable pair of hands, Giffen delivers challenging projects for clients across the breadth of the country in challenging circumstances, and often with tough time scales. Being able to regularly meet those programmes in both time and budget, it has been able to take hold of exciting opportunities as they appear. “We see that there is a shortage of SME’s able to offer experienced, and knowledgeable power and signalling expertise. For us, the situation is quite different, with a number of timeserved operatives, starting out life in British Rail, ultimately

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working as signalling engineers within Network Rail looking after infrastructure. It is that level of expertise that is an attractive part of our offer within CP5 and CP6 frameworks,” says Chairman John March.

At the turn of 2014 the long associated family interests in the business were replaced by private equity, providing a platform to take advantage of the potential growth in the rail sector. The investment coincided with the appointment of John, as he highlights: “It has been a year of change that has seen an influx of fresh ideas and additional investment into the business.” Working above and below the ground, the company has for many years, been a touchstone for quality, reliability and delivery.

“Having weathered the storms of the mid 2000’s that challenged the rail sector, we are now perfectly positioned to take advantage and work actively in the new round of investment into infrastructure,” he adds.

As a result of the Network Rail CP5 electrification programme there have been contracts awarded up and down the country. The framework focuses on providing high voltage traction power substations, delivering power and controls systems to the overhead line system. “It is

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz an absolutely integral piece of equipment for that whole piece of infrastructure to work,” says John. Despite stiff competition from industry giants such as Siemens, Giffen decided to form the joint venture SSA, between itself and two other partners, Electren UK, and EPS UK Ltd, each one providing something different in terms of expertise.

“We are essentially SME’s breaking into a really big market. We were fortunate enough to win LOT2 of the National 25KV Substation supply contract, under the CP5 framework by Network Rail, covering all areas that were within the scope, except the Midland Mainline project, and Great Western,” says John. With an anticipated total of 50 units, and a combined framework figure of circa £50 million, the next five years is a very exciting time for the team.

“Giffen bring a skill to the industry, which is desperately short at this point in time, when numbers of railway experienced electrical and signalling technicians and engineers are at an all time low in the UK rail market,” points out John. Specialising in low-voltage electrical power and signalling, the business directly employs over 140 engineers that have amassed an average years service well over 30 years with the company, a statistic that reflects their experience and service

Morgan MP ort and Nicky of the SSA sp an Tr r fo e etary of Stat at the launch ghlin MP Secr for Education Patrick McLou gh and Secretary of State ou for Loughbor

background. “Electren UK, belonging to the world’s largest construction company Groupo ACS, are a fiercely independent, specialist high voltage electrification company, which has worked on just about every highspeed line in Europe. They bring to the venture 25 years of high-class experience and capability behind them, carrying hundreds of very experienced electrification

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“With expertise in protection and controls (P&C) systems, they are providing a lot of the technology and the detail within the P&C system, as well as its manufacture and installation. Our other partner, EPS, is a market leader in switchgear innovation and it manufactures and designs specialist circuit breakers, producing niche technology in the containerised airinsulated switchgear (CIAS) that we are offering to Network Rail,” he adds. The technology offered by the group was not on offer from the other companies, even large European giants, and it is a positive success story to have UK manufacturing and engineering expertise at the forefront of this project. “I think that was a key decision in Network Rail’s selection process.

“The three companies really complement one another and we have got very clear areas of interest an expertise and we all respect each others expertise, which are key ingredients to successful joint ventures. Whereas a single organisation may be able to take on all aspects, they may have weaknesses in one or two areas, but we have strength in all three. We genuinely see this a very exciting and a reputation-enhancing project. The next ten years for the railway in the UK is going to be a tremendous

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz place to be, with lots of infrastructure growth,” John continues.

Within Giffen, the transfer of knowledge is a key strategy as the business moves ahead, with an ongoing apprenticeship programme that today consists of over a dozen operatives. “Much of our workforce joined as apprentices, stayed with the company and subsequently became engineers, project managers and eventually contract managers. Organic growth, expertise and specialism in the business is high, and in high demand, resulting in work with Network Rail right across the country as well as working as a ‘STAKE framework’ contractor with London Underground,” adds John.

Deemed to be one of TfL’s primary electrical installation contractors Giffen has undertaken significant landmark projects, including recently working at Paddington, and Embankment stations. “In fact, there probably isn’t a piece of infrastructure that we haven’t worked on in the underground in the last 40 years,” jokes John. The STAKE contract will witness significant spend over the next five years and it is widely predicted that it will be extended beyond that period.

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Eland Cables Eland Cables is an active supply partner of the Giffen Group, and a leading Achilles/RISQSapproved supplier of cables, overhead line, and conductors for electrification, signalling, control and communications on surface, underground and metro networks. Through their Unipart Rail joint venture, they are a leading supplier to Network Rail with their cables alongside every metre of track on key routes. They stock a comprehensive range of London Underground-approved cables including Fire Resistant Power and Alarm and Emergency Lighting.

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The importance of a strong supply chain in the market is well known, and has been the fuel to Giffen strengthening its commercial and procurement function, and consolidating relationships with suppliers and partners. “The trick to success is making sure that you have capable people in the organisation, which can meet clients’ requirements. People are excited about joining an SME in a time like this because they can see that there are tremendous opportunities for growth and an opportunity to expand their career experience.

“You can’t have too many quality, experienced individuals, particularly when the market is like this. The way to retain them and to inspire them is to make them part of the future, not only showing them the way, but allowing them to lead the way as well. We want to grow, in a controlled way, not a rash way, and if our clients and our trusted partners in the industry ask us to respond to their challenges, then we have to step up and be able to deliver that,” concludes John. zz

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NEWS I Conferences & Exhibitions

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.

30 June Public Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement for Major Infrastructure Projects Master Class 2015 Burges Salmon, London Organiser: Waterfront Conference Company Tel: 0207 067 1597 Email: conference@thewaterfront.co.uk Web: www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com/ conference-calendar 30 June - 1 July Railway Engineering 2015, International Conference & Exhibition Radisson Blu Hotel, Edinburgh Organiser: Railway Engineering Tel: 01314 470 447 Email: exhibition@railwayengineering.com Web: www.railwayengineering.com 30 June - 1 July AfricaRail 2015 Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: Brian Shabangu +27 11 516 4015 Email: brian.shabangu@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/africa-rail 1-3 July Next Generation Rail: Knowledge without borders Building skills to innovate Westwood Centre, Coventry Organiser: RRUKA, RSSB, Young Rail Professionals, FutureRailway Email: nextgenrail@rssb.co.uk Web: rruka.org.uk/events/ngr2015/

8 July UK Rail Station Regeneration and Development Dentons, London Organiser: Waterfront Conference Company Tel: 0207 067 1597 Email: conference@thewaterfront.co.uk Web: www.waterfrontconferencecompany.com/ conference-calendar 15-17 July RailNewcastle Conference Newcastle upon Tyne Organiser: NewRail Tel: 01912 083 976 Email: www.newrail.org/education Web: conferences.ncl.ac.uk/ railnewcastleconference 28-30 September European Transport Conference 2015 Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany Organiser: Association for European Transport Email: sally.scarlett@aetransport.org Web: etcproceedings.org 12-13 November Rail Review, Rail Ticketing, Rail Customer and Rail IT Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel - Brussels Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: 0207 092 1210 Email: tayyab.abbasi@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com

1-3 March 2016 IT-TRANS: IT Solutions for Public Transport Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre Organiser: UITP and KMK Email: jochen.georg@messe-karlsruhe.de Web: www.it-trans.org/ 8-9 March 2016 Middle East Rail Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: +971 4440 2501 Email: jamie.hosie@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/merail 22-23 March 2016 Asia Pacific Rail Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: +65 6322 2702 Email: kym.chua@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/asia-pacificrail 19-20 April 2016 MetroRail Business Design Centre, London Organiser: Terrapinn Tel: 0207 092 1257 Email: issa.mauthoor@terrapinn.com Web: www.terrapinn.com/conference/metrorail

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) 6 October Introduction to rolling stock Provides a basic understanding of the role of traction and rolling stock within the context of railway systems as a whole

14 October Fleet maintenance - Advanced Understand the issues affecting rail vehicle performance and cost of maintenance

22 October Vehicle dynamics and vehicle track interaction Understand the dynamics of railway vehicles to improve safety, comfort and asset life

7 October Traction and braking Principles of traction and braking for railway engineers

15 October Train structural integrity Structural integrity, fire and crashworthiness systems found on today’s rail fleets

23-27 November Introduction to railway signalling technologies An overview of railway control systems, subsystems and technologies used on UK main line and metro railways

8 October Train communication and auxiliary systems New and existing systems in use on today’s rolling stock flee

20 October Train control and safety systems Learn of the systems used on UK fleets that provide safety and train operational control

Brochure is available at: www.imeche.org/docs/ default-source/learning-and-professionaldevelopment-documents/l-d-railway-trainingbrochure-2015_web

13 October Fleet Maintenance - Introduction Improve your processes and fleet maintenance processes

21 October Vehicle acceptance and approvals Introduction to acceptance procedures which apply across the rail network

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

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Lining the way forward A lot of hard work and investment has been the driving force behind Trackwork Moll’s establishment, now at 100 per cent capacity the company is positive about the future

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oncrete sleeper manufacturer Trackwork Moll was last featured in Railway Strategies in May 2014 when the company was in its early stages.

Founded in 2011 as a joint venture between Trackwork of Doncaster and Leonhard Moll Betonwerke of Munich, in partnership with Network Rail, the company has put in a lot of hard work and investment to establish the business. A year on from the last feature, Trackwork Moll has a new general manager, Dr. Christof Karlstetter, and has recently reached its goal of full capacity.

Having been set up in response to quality and cost needs demanded by Network Rail, Trackwork Moll is in a unique position where it only has one main customer. With a ten-year supply contract between the two parties for 400,000 sleepers a year, demand from

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Network Rail is high enough to warrant this. Talking about this situation, Christof explains what it meant for the company throughout the start up period. “We went through some difficult stages setting up, but they always believed in our success, and were a very good partner throughout this time. Because we had established this good relationship with one customer it was quite easy to go through difficult times, as opposed to having a number of superficial customer relationships that can get difficult if you are behind schedule. Whilst we are their supplier, we also have a very good and supportive relationship with a number of individuals within Network Rail.”

In order to be able to meet the high demands set by Network Rail, Trackwork Moll has spent a lot of time and

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money in getting its production facilities up to full capacity.

“A lot of investment has paid off over the last few months as we are now where we want to be in terms of production. We are now able to make a very cost effective sleeper at almost 100 per cent capacity because of our production methods,” explains Christof. The production method involves the combination of two systems, a long line for casting and a carousel system. “The combination of these two systems gives us the ability to produce very quickly and for a good market price,” he adds. “Although we underestimated how long it would take to get it to where we are now, we are now able to deliver on the quality, price and speed that we promised at the start.”

Strength also lays in how modern the facility is. As a purpose built, brand new factory, much of the technology used within production is the latest. “A lot of processes are automated, so we don’t need a great amount of labour, which eliminates a degree of human error so high quality is maintained,” expresses Christof.

Having recently reached its original aim to hit 100 per cent production, morale in the company is high. “Now that we have reached full production, we are very happy, and so are our customers and shareholders,” highlights Christof. “What we have discovered as we got closer to reaching full production, however, is that this 100 per cent production that we were always looking for, and always working hard for, is suddenly not the limit. We are a lot more flexible in terms of production capacity than we first thought. This puts us in a good position to respond to any future increases in demand.”

Looking at the current market, and future opportunities

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within the industry Trackwork Moll, with its production flexibility, looks to be in a very strong position. Christof is keenly aware of the UK’s continuing commitment to its rail industry. “There are a lot of clear signs that a number of parties are making efforts to increase the railway mileage in the country. Projects such as HS2 are clear indicators that the government is keen to invest in developing the railway infrastructure,” he discusses.

“Also in Doncaster, we have the National High Speed Rail College soon opening, which will educate engineers for the railway industry. So it’s not only the aim to extend the network physically, but also the will to invest in other aspects such as education and training. The whole picture suggests that the rail industry is moving forward in the UK.” The condition of the market very much defines the way Trackwork Moll views the future. In the short term it looks to stabilise itself at full production with a focus on continual development to increase efficiencies in quality and safety. In the long term Christof concludes: “There are a lot of things going on in the market. We want to show that we are capable of meeting any future additional demands, and whilst there are no clear figures on the table at the moment, we are busy preparing ourselves to be able to respond to these.” Ultimately, Trackwork Moll has had a hard year as it strived to reach full production capacity, but is now in a position to enjoy its position and its success. With morale high and the future looking positive, Christof notes that: “We are very happy with where we are now.” zz

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Houghton International

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Motor Alternator repair

Driving success Pioneering specialist in electro mechanical innovation, Houghton International is leading the way in traction motor repair, maintenance and life extension

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(L-R) – Michael Mitten, CEO, Chris Robson, Rail Technical Account Manager and Jason McKeon, Quality, Safety and Environmental Manager from Houghton International celebrating achieving RISAS certification

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ver the last 30 years, Houghton International has grown to be one of the UK’s leading suppliers of traction motor service and repairs, having done so to over 5000 individual motors. Whilst leading this sector in the UK, the company has also established itself as a world-leading pioneer within the industry, taking it upon itself to approach problems and use its wealth of engineering expertise and experience to solve them in the best way. Innovation and investment in facilities and people is at the heart of Houghton’s operations.

A focused attention on these aspects combined with excellent customer service are all part of Houghton working towards its vision to be widely considered the best in the world at what it does. With a dedicated division serving its largest market in the rail industry, the company also serves oil and gas, offshore, subsea, industrial and energy sectors.

Houghton International prides itself on being a problem solver of issues facing the industries in which it works. As CEO, Michael Mitten explains: “The way that we always approach business is by solving problems – taking a problem that exists, engineering a solution and delivering it consistently. We work across multiple sectors and are therefore exposed to a range of challenges, because of this we can cross-pollinate from one industry sector to another. By understanding the differing challenges

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CEO Michael Mitten and HR Manager Jacqueline Mason with company apprentices in each we can take an existing solution in one, to be an innovation in the other.” Two examples of this are in the company’s innovative HiTrax insulation system, which provides life extension for traction motors, and the patented HiTrans testing solution for motor alternators.

HiTrans is a pioneering system that involves testing repaired and serviced machinery under full service load before it leaves the shop. “The problem was that these things were failing all the time in service and were massively affecting the passenger experience and costing our customers a lot of money,” Michael adds. “The system is pioneering, innovative and solves a massive problem in terms of reliability. It’s about providing real value all the way back to the passenger.”

Continuous innovation is key to Houghton’s growth strategy and a glimpse into the company’s near future serves to illustrate this. Over the next year the company is due to launch a range of innovative products, including one that will be patented, which, as Michael highlights: “Will be solving a problem that has never been solved before and causes a massive reliability problem on a whole range of vehicles.” Elsewhere, the company is proving that it has the capabilities to become a leader in the industry. In a recent job for the First Great Western HST fleet, Houghton was asked to repair an alternator that previously only one company in the UK has been able to do. “We have now successfully proven that there are two,” emphasises Michael. “That’s an important step forward for us but also the market, it brings greater capacity, flexibility and competition to the market and this will drive improvement too.”

Another dimension for Houghton’s continued success

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HiTrans patented transient dynamic MA set load testing process

is its focus on people. Michael is a strong HiTrax traction believer that if motor life the company extension insulating puts its time into system its employees, they, in turn, will put their time into customers.

“It’s because we have a commitment to living by a very strong set of values and that governs what we do. We have a really powerful and unique culture that we invest in,” explains Michael. Innovation is a factor in this as well, as the company employs an elite sports coach to encourage and improve this culture. As a result the attitude of Houghton is positive and the staff embody this. “That sets us apart from our competitors because it translates into better customer service, better solutions and better innovation.”

Apprenticeship schemes, and training and development are incredibly important to Houghton’s growth strategy. Currently around 20 per cent of the workforce is made up of apprentices, and a number of senior managers in the business, including Michael,

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started in the company this way. “It gives us a really deep technical core right the way through the organisation,” he adds. Part of improving relationships with customers and ingraining the company deep within the industry is the exchange programmes it operates with its customers. The programme involves hosting each other’s trainees for a period of time to share best practice and understand each other’s products. “This is something that is incredibly well received in across the industry,” expresses Michael. “It drives a huge amount of product improvement and trust between both parties.

The more we understand, the better level of service we can give.”

Houghton International has experienced a significant amount of growth over the past few years. An important milestone was reached last December when it received RISAS accreditation after only starting the process in August of the same year. “We were really delighted to get that significant tick in the box,” says Michael.

Crucially it proves that Houghton is on its way to become the best at what it does. Turning over £5 million last year, the company set out its five year ‘2020’ plan, which aims to hit £20 million by the year 2020. By investing heavily in new facilities, equipment, training and development, the company is going in the right direction. Yet, continuing its commitment to innovation whilst keeping people at the heart of what it does are held in equal regard. zz

www.houghton-international.com

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McCulloch Rail

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Improving the line McCulloch Rail sees continuous improvement as the key to success and looks set to capitalise on opportunities through a strategy of controlled growth

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ounded in 1992 by brothers, William and Danny McCulloch, McCulloch Rail has established itself as a leading player in the rail industry developing and operating rail and component handling equipment.

Railway Strategies last featured the company in January 2014 when it had released two new rail specific machines, the fine lining and sleeper spacing (FLASS) machine and the panel lifter. Over the last 14 months McCulloch Rail has been able to integrate these machines successfully into its portfolio to now offer a full service of new and scrap rail movement, distribution and recovery as well as sleeper and panel installation and total single line renewals. With all of

its machines developed in-house specifically for rail, the logistical advantage of being transported by road, and full accreditation to work under live wire, McCulloch Rail offers a full service that can more often than not prove more financially viable than conventional methods.

Talking about progress since the last feature, business director, Colin Neil says: “We have had an increasing workload because of the snowball effect, the more we do in areas, the more work we’re being offered because clients begin to understand the advantages and plan work around the methodology that we try and work to.” This methodology includes the ability to offer an integrated service with its range of specialist equipment, but is bolstered by the efficiency and work ethic that the work force operate within, resulting in a strong and recognisable reputation.

Also contributing towards McCulloch Rail’s growing success is its approach to innovation. “Innovation is an ongoing feature of our business,” explains Colin. “Even for the bread and butter machines like the TRT (Trac Rail Transposer), we have developed a cassette head to allow a quick slot-in, slot-out feature to handle various types of rail. Continuous improvement is a big thing for us. We’re

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Testament to this innovation is the ongoing development of the multipurpose utility vehicle, which was first announced in the last feature. Over the last 12 months the machine has gone through the design process and a first prototype is due to begin testing within the next month. Details about the product are yet to be revealed but as Colin assures: “It will be selfloading, self-mounting and self-propelling, and is likely to have a huge impact on the industry in general. I think it will generate a lot of interest, which should help us, and the industry, move forward.” The machine represents a major investment for a relatively small company that is experiencing significant growth. As a result the business panel lifter project has been put on the back burner. “As soon as we have the new machine up and running, we will revert back to the bigger panel lifter which should be able to handle the significant amount of switching and crossing (S and C) work that’s going on throughout the UK,” emphasises Colin. “Clients are asking us if we can move S and C units, and whilst we can do a

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zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz limited amount, a bigger machine will give us more scope. There certainly seems to be a lot of opportunities for it within the industry, which encourages it to move forward.”

Further developments, which could be central to McCulloch Rail’s future expansion is its work in the London Underground. “It can be quite a long process to get people approved to work on the underground, and whilst we managed to get some people approved, we couldn’t get enough trained to cope with the amount of business we were getting from them, so both parties were getting quite frustrated. Between us, we decided to set up a leasing agreement where we trained their operatives on our machines, so that they can operate them without our men,” explains Colin. “It can be managed because the track partnership is working within a ring-fenced area so it doesn’t compete with our own day-to-day business. Whilst we are very firm in maintaining our own business, and our own employees as an owner-operator business within the UK, we would consider a similar arrangement in other areas that can be ring-fenced, for instance other metro schemes.”

This kind of arrangement could pave the way for the company’s future strategy to expand internationally.

Regarding this strategy, Colin explains: “We have very

strong contacts who are expressing a great interest, and we would like to take advantage of this within the next five years.”

To accommodate the company’s expansion, it has recently opened a main depot in Toddington, Bedfordshire. The site will be a fully functional yard with machine storage, staff, labour and workshops and will reduce logistical problems it has moving machines around the country, it will also help accommodate the growing fleet of machines, which is ever increasing.

There are plans to open a similar sized site in Doncaster, which along with the existing site in Ayrshire will give McCulloch Rail an improved logistical spread across most of the UK. It is clear that as its reputation increases, the future for McCulloch Rail is looking positive. With innovation at the heart of the business it is in a position to open the doors to international possibilities. “These are exciting times and the opportunities are there, we are very positive and enthusiastic in the industry going forward,” concludes Colin. zz McCulloch Rail’s Toddington site is now operational and can be contacted via 01525 873622.

www.mccullochrail.com

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AB CONNECTORS

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Connecting industry

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AB Connectors, based in Abercynon,Wales UK is the connectors division of TT electronics plc

irst established in London in 1935 the company moved to South Wales just after the Second World War. Belonging to part of a global electronics company, which has been supplying innovative, highly reliable components and assemblies to the world’s OEMs for more than 30 years, AB Connectors Ltd incorporates a knowledgeable and dedicated team of industry experts.

Its experience and agile approach to business has placed the company in a pre-eminent position in the supply of connectors and other components for rail network infrastructures and rolling stock. “We specialise in the design and manufacture of circular connectors and interconnect solutions for the rail, defence and industrial market sectors,” says Bruce Valentine, sales and marketing director. With the vision of providing interconnect products for every train in the next decade, the business remains focused on offering the highest quality in design and manufacturing from its own facilities.

“We focus mainly on rail rolling stock and signalling, all of which are showing significant opportunities for growth and innovation. The areas of interest for AB include the introduction of PRM regulations in rail and our ability to offer a cost effective upgrade path for existing rail platforms, together with the need for rail franchises to cost effectively extend their asset lifetimes,” points out Bruce. Today, AB Connectors continues to operate from its manufacturing facility in the UK and is recognised as one of the market

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leaders in design, test and manufacture of harsh environment interconnection systems, bespoke harness assemblies and connectors.

Through a commitment to a structured new product introduction process, AB Connectors is continuing to invest in research and development (R&D) of new materials and processes, surface treatments and the very latest manufacturing technology and techniques to ensure the products meet the most exacting standards encountered in the transportation industry. As a highly vertically integrated business, it is able to offer its customers a tailored, yet dependable service based around a sound pedigree of rail expertise. The majority of UK rolling stock in service today uses AB interconnect products in one form or another, and through this position it is able to provide a value-driven, robust and proven service to OEMs, TOCs and ROSCOs. “We consider evolution rather than revolution to be the key to success in the rail market. Our R&D effort looks to the past but values the future in terms of product delivery. We invest respectable levels of our turnover into development of next generation product platforms,” explains Bruce. AB Connectors was the first circular connector company to achieve the international IRIS accreditation in the UK. The AB product portfolio includes products approved by all the prime countries, transit operators and OEM’s around the world.

Reference to the company’s work with the military

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reflects the reliability of both its service and technology.

The recent design and development of a new product range of lightweight military connector systems, highlights its capacity to continually offer innovative solutions to its market place. Commenting, Bruce point out: “Our newest product range offers OEMs a market leading performance in terms or weight, user ergonomics, contact density, sealing performance and unit cost versus incumbent connector suppliers.”

The company is also currently in the developmental phase of a new cost effective, high-performance ethernet insert, having already delivered solutions for high speed data across many of its connector platforms. “This has already been used in our AB05 (MIL 26482), MIL-C5015 and rail inter-car jumper solutions. We have also successfully packaged industry standard interfaces and bespoke high performance quadrax inserts into proven circular connector platforms, blending quick connectdisconnect with highly durable, sealed connector solutions for several years.”

From plant layout to production line set-up and quick changeover processes, AB Connectors offer the ideal service, with a flexible manufacturing environment and accredited facilities. Manufacturing from its IRIS registered, ISO9001 and 14001 certified facility in South Wales the company has adopted the well-known SC21 principles into its operational business, from machining to plating and manual assembly. “Our on-time delivery performance is in excess of 98 per cent and our quality performance allows us to punch well above our weight within the connector business.

“Our suppliers are key to our success and our purchasing team always looks to develop key suppliers into true partners, utilising their technical abilities and transparency in operation to provide a unique platform from which we can innovate together,” explains Bruce.

Exhibiting at Railtex 2015, the business looks to continue to actively promote itself as it moves into the future. “Our

goals are to consolidate our sales growth over the next 12 months and to further grow our design positions across the rail and defence market places for existing and new products. Our business is world class and over the next five years I see us challenging our competition across Europe,” concludes Bruce. zz

www.ttabconnectors.com

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ADComms

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developments Incorporating vast experience in mobile communication technology, ADComms is a privately owned company, specialising in end-to-end telecoms-based services

Below Mike Hewitt, head of next generation networks at ADComms

Below Jason Pearce, ADComms managing director

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DComms began its life as part of the AlanDick Group, with the Communications division being formed following Core Communication Services’ purchase of the AlanDick Rail Business in December 2011. The company continued to operate from its purpose-built integration and logistics centre in Scunthorpe, and brought together a new management team with over 50 years of RF and fixed telecommunications experience. All staff and systems were transferred as part of the purchase.

Over the course of its history, ADComms has developed a strong presence within the rail communications market, refining its expertise across a series of high profile projects spearheaded by managing director Jason Pearce. This has included the design of a new leaky feeder infrastructure to support the installation of GSM-R on Network Rail’s Merseyrail Sub-Surface railway upgrade, which played a key role in supporting Network Rail’s nationwide GSM-R roll-out programme.

Today, the company is heavily focused on the digitisation of the rail network within the UK and throughout Europe. Network Rail’s CEO Mark Carne is spearheading a significant drive on digitisation, which will see ADComms working in collaboration to bring Network Rail’s FTNx into operation throughout 2015.

“Network Rail’s new FTNx network is the world-class optical and internet protocol (IP) backbone that it has spent around £50 million on building as part of its overall strategy of rail digitisation,” explained Mike Hewitt, head of next generation networks at ADComms. “This is part of a ten to 15 year programme for the digitisation of the UK rail network, which will include the upgrade of the signalling infrastructure to European Train Control System (ETCS) to increase capacity of the network to meet increasing demand for journeys, while also improving reliability.

“In addition, the FTNx core network will support the digital passenger (e-ticketing, improved information

availability and broadband connectivity on trains) and the digital workforce with improved information availability via ORBIS for the engineering workforce.”

ADComms is taking a leading role in transitioning the UK’s legacy network infrastructure. Indeed, Mike was appointed as its head of next generation networks to bring in over 30 years of experience within the telecoms sector. “My remit is to build a strong optical and IP (internet protocol) deployment capability while continuing to forecast industry transitions and identifying what those challenges are going to be to ensure we stay ahead of the curve.”

Mike is already hard at work within ADComms across the company’s Telefonica project on the implementation of FTNx. This allows a huge assortment of equipment to be inter-connected using IP, and as Mike explained, within the rail environment, it has been realised that a worldclass optical backbone has been built and can now be more fully utilised.

“ADComms is supporting Telefonica with deploying Cisco and Infinera equipment across the rail network,” said Mike. “In our capacity, we have enabled the OEM installation teams to operate safely in the rail environment and access the node locations. We’re now working through that final handover process to ensure the quality of the field deployments meets Network Rail’s expectations, guaranteeing that the network is fully functional and meets specification through fault clearance and service validation.

“We are going to be connecting a significant amount of devices across the network as Network Rail goes down the digitisation path of making information more available,” he added. “This ranges from areas such as WiFi on trains to the wider asset management system.”

Digitisation will bring with it a number of benefits, which will both enhance the travel experience for commuters as well as improving rail operators’ ability to manage an efficient service. “As passengers, we take

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our mobile devices everywhere. We want them to work on trains and the solution to this will likely centre around Wi-Fi,” Mike noted.

“Demand for information to devices will be more than we can currently get on traditional mobile networks.

Passengers also now use a number of devices that don’t have 4G connectivity, such as laptops, tablets and media players, and which are dependent on WiFi connections. We will also aim to get real-time information on the trains so that more journey information can be relayed to the customer.

“From a rail management perspective, when we look at the network and the ability to get more real-time information to staff in the field, they will be using internetenabled devices - this will mean they can get more of the right information where they need it. So there are direct benefits for workers being able to work smarter and safer.

“As we move forward into an operational comms network, there will be a modern network carrying all the safety critical services, and supporting that we start getting into the ‘Internet of Things’ which means there will be devices across the network gathering what everyone is talking about - ‘Big Data’. That data is going to be used to analyse conditions and predict events and ideally be able to get more information remotely, which saves having engineers out trackside in a dangerous environment.”

Given the company’s focus on next generation technology and the way it has positioned itself to ensure can offer the IP and optical skills that are going to be needed in the rail environment, it is no surprise that ADComms is spending a proportion of time making sure its engineers are ready: “We foresee there is going to be

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significant growth in the network with the digital transition and the need to add new devices to the network, so we are bringing our engineers up to speed,” Mike confirmed.

“A lot of IP and optical engineers come from an enterprise and carrier environment and need to learn what it is like to work within the rail environment, with which they are unfamiliar. So for us the big priority and emphasis is on training and skills to supply the rail industry with the expertise it needs.”

ADComms is also preparing to meet additional challenges. “With the discussions circulating around High Speed 2, there is a big skills shortage forecast. We are looking towards meeting this additionally. We have to pay attention to the ‘whole business as usual’ network while ensuring our migration to new technologies is simultaneously supported.

“This is underpinned by a series of ongoing projects and the migration of legacy services onto new networks.

It’s clear there is a significant challenge for the industry to have the right skills available and that is where a lot of our focus is going to be.”

With a demonstrated capability within the rail communications market and a growing knowledge base, ADComms’ role is clearly an expanding one within the industry.

Mike concluded: “Our aim is to continue to develop a very strong skills based organisation to support the UK communications industry both across rail, carrier and enterprise space. ADComms is on track to remain a vital link in the implementation of digitisation across the UK.”

www.alandickcomms.com