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Crucial coastal viaduct on Cumbrian Coast line to receive major investment

A multi-million-pound project to improve Eskmeals viaduct, which carries the railway over the River Esk estuary near Ravenglass in Cumbria, will start next month to make journeys faster and more reliable for Cumbrian Coast line passengers.

The £2 million investment will see wooden timbers and 600 metres of rail renewed on the 18-span viaduct which that was built in 1868 and still has its original wrought iron girders, which were strengthened in the 1920s, and its red sandstone piers which support the structure in the estuary itself.

When the new track is installed on the important link between Ravenglass and Bootle, speed restrictions imposed on trains can be lifted meaning faster journeys for passengers.

Phil James, route director for Network Rail’s North West route, said: “This significant Great North Rail Project investment at Eskmeals viaduct will ensure that the Cumbrian Coast line remains safe and reliable for passenger and freight trains for many more years to come.

“We know that this is the second time in a month that part of this line has been closed, and I want to thank passengers for their patience while work takes place.

“In line with government advice around coronavirus, we’re continuing to ask passengers to avoid public transport if at all possible and to only travel by train where your journey is essential.”

The work means the viaduct will be closed to trains for eight days between Saturday 20 and Monday 29 June.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: “The viaduct at Eskmeals is iconic and an important part of the railway heritage in Cumbria. But it’s more than that, it’s also a vital part of the current rail network.

“The viaduct has stood for more than 150 years and the improvements being carried out by Network Rail will future-proof it for generations to come.”

Engineers will also take the opportunity to upgrade walkways and handrails across the viaduct which are used by railway staff. This will enable future maintenance work on the structure to take place more easily and safely.

LNER partners with O2 to improve mobile coverage north of Newcastle

To boost mobile phone coverage along a 45-mile stretch of the East Coast route between Newcastle and Edinburgh, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has announced plans to partner with mobile phone operator O2 that will not only benefit customers travelling onboard train services through the North East but also the many communities where limited or no signal currently exists in North Tyneside and Northumberland.

Northumberland County Council has granted planning permission for the first of up to 12 new masts, with the final phase of the project seeing 5G available within Newcastle Central Station by summer 2021.

This partnership between LNER and O2 will also boost coverage from the current network of masts along the pilot area thanks to enhancements to existing signal levels, bringing better connections for communities and customers of the LNER route.

David Horne, managing director of LNER, said: “We know how vital our connections are between the great towns and cities of the LNER route. We also know how vital mobile connectivity is for our customers so we’re proud to be radically improving this for those who travel on our trains and also work and live along our route.”

The location of the proposed new masts follows almost a year of extensive testing and planning to identify the optimum locations to provide 4G coverage and be 5G ready.

Brendan O’Reilly, Chief Technology Officer of O2, said: “This is an important project for us as we seek to boost network coverage and capacity around the country. We’ve always looked to prioritise areas our customers need it the most, and upgrading busy transport hubs such as Newcastle Station will provide millions of customers with faster, more reliable network services.”

This latest development will offer a boost for those relying on voice and data usage when and will further improve the onboard Wi-Fi experience and allow faster data streaming.

Mace to lead Programme Support Office for Northern Powerhouse Rail

International consultancy and construction company Mace has been appointed by Transport for the North (TfN) to lead the Programme Support Office for the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) programme.

This mean that Mace will be responsible for project controls, project management, stakeholder management and commercial support, resulting in a strengthened and more coordinated approach to progressing the transformative NPR scheme.  

Mace, as Programme Support Office partner, will work closely with NPR and key stakeholders to further enhance the already well-established programme management capabilities needed to deliver the complex £39 billion programme.

Over the next 12 months and beyond, an expanded and embedded Mace team will continue to work within NPR to deliver the Programme Support Office. It will be working to help prepare for the delivery phase of NPR, strengthening the strategic outline case, establishing viable route options, identifying the best solutions and interactions with HS2, and championing the programme with key decision makers.

Mace’s CEO for consultancy Jason Millett said: “I am in no doubt that the ambitious and exciting plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail are fundamental to levelling-up our economy and creating opportunities for communities and businesses to thrive across the region. As such, I’m delighted to be able to continue our excellent relationship with Transport for the North and the NPR team.

“Delivering NPR will transform the way people travel and work across the North of England, providing fast, frequent and reliable connectivity. As the nation looks to re-emerge from the coronavirus pandemic with even greater resolve, this programme will be critical to recovery, futureproofing the UK’s low carbon transport needs, and addressing regional disparities and inequalities.” 

Russia: only railway bridge to Murmansk collapses

Photo Credit: 51.mchs.gov.ru

The sole railway bridge that connects Murmansk in northern Russia with the rest of the country has collapsed due to the weight of water in the Kola river.

As a result, no passenger or freight trains can reach the Artic city, home to 300,000 people, for the foreseeable future.

Trains are being terminated short of the bridge and passengers are having to complete their journeys by bus as the road bridge is still intact. What arrangements are being made for freight are unknown.

Murmansk, which lies north of the Arctic Circle, has a relatively mild climate due to the Gulf Stream. However, the surrounding area still has a high snowfall and it is this that is melting, raising the water level in the river.

Photo Credit: 51.mchs.gov.ru

1,200 sleepers to be replaced on Tay Bridge

More than 1,200 sleepers are being replaced on the Tay Bridge, the longest railway structure in Scotland.

One in three sleepers, including base plates and Pandrol clips, are being replaced and the ballast below them renewed and re-packed. This will deliver improvements to the stability and extend the lifespan of the track.

This project, which will be ongoing until September, is designed to extend the life of the track and is being delivered in a way which minimises the disruption for passengers.  Replacing only one in three sleepers will improve track quality while minimising the time taken to replace them during overnight possessions.

It represents an investment of more than £500,000 to improve the resilience and reliability of the two-mile-long structure and follows on from the £75 million restoration of the bridge’s metalwork completed in 2017.

Tay bridge.

Some of the sleepers’ base plates date back to the early 1960s and the timber sleepers are now at the end of their natural life having been open to the elements and the impacts of the salty air in this exposed coastal location.

In total, some 60 tonnes of sleepers are being installed and an equivalent amount of redundant material and spoil removed from the bridge over the period of the project.

Grant Ritchie, Network Rail’s works delivery manager, said: “Any project on an historic and iconic structure like the Tay Bridge is always a pleasure but it presents its own problems due to its unique design and location.  Being open to the elements over the Firth of Tay is unpredictable in itself even when the work is during the summer months.

“Working in a confined location, such as on a bridge, also presents a logistical challenge in normal times but we now have the additional element of ensuring physical distancing, where possible. To do this we are following best advice, using additional protective equipment and learning new ways of working that will help keep everyone safe and let us get the job done.”

Vossloh sells German locomotives business to China’s CRRC

German group Vossloh AG has sold its Locomotives business unit, based in Kiel, Germany, to the world’s largest train manufacturer, China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC).

The purchase was made by CRRC ZELC (CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co) on 31 May 2020, following approval from the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) a few weeks earlier.

The Locomotives business unit develops and produces diesel-electric locomotives and offers all the maintenance and repair services that they require. Its sale marks the end of Vossloh’s original Transportation division – the other two units, Rail Vehicles and Electrical Systems, were sold in 2015 and 2017.

Vossloh chief executive Oliver Schuster said: “The sale of our Kiel-based locomotive business is an extremely important milestone in Vossloh’s strategic development. It marks the end of a fundamental realignment of our company over several years. From now on, Vossloh’s focus will be entirely on rail infrastructure products and services.

“I am delighted that in CRRC ZELC we have found a strong, reliable and above all long-term buyer for our former Locomotives unit. We are convinced that the future prospects of Locomotives will improve significantly with CRRC ZELC as new owner.”

AVENTICS launches new pneumatic air dryer with eight-year maintenance interval

AVENTICS™, one of the world’s leading product brands for pneumatic components and systems, has now launched its new range of RDD Air Dryers that only require service intervals after eight years or 25,000 operating hours.

RDD air dryers contain a newly developed, patented adsorption medium to remove humidity in compressed air systems. Its superior moisture uptake and resistance against shock and vibration outperforms granular materials typically used on the market.

The dryers can be installed in any direction without loss in performance and are significantly smaller than dryers currently used on the market. The improved moisture uptake allows for much smaller purge whilst the robust design improves availability of pneumatic systems in rail vehicles.

As part of Emerson Automation Solutions, AVENTICS is one of the world’s leading product brands for pneumatic components and systems. With around 150 years of expertise in pneumatics, it provides products and services for many industries, including the railway technology sector.

By integrating electronics, the use of state-of-the-art materials, and focusing on machine safety and the Internet of Things (Industry 4.0), AVENTICS is a pioneer in applied and environmentally friendly solutions and is preparing for the future by expanding its approach to digitalization.

Over 2,000 employees work for Emerson’s pneumatics brand worldwide. From production sites in Germany, France, Hungary, the USA, and China, AVENTICS products are marketed in over 100 countries and the company has received multiple certifications, including ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949 for quality, ISO 50001 for energy management, and ISO 14001 for environmental management.

Upgraded signalling leads to shorter waiting times at level crossings in East Suffolk

Essential new equipment, that will make level crossings safer and reduce waiting times at user worked level crossings, has been installed along the 49-mile East Suffolk line.

Axle counters, which detect whether a train is occupying a section of track, have been installed at 27 sites along the line between Ipswich and Lowestoft, connected by over 15 miles of new cabling. The work was carried out over four months at night and over two weekends

Axle counters.

This section of line features 28 user worked / footpath level crossings, whereby a person travelling by car or foot needs to call the signaller to ask permission to cross. A person wishing to cross the line could wait up to 10 minutes and sometimes even longer, a delay that sometimes leads to people taking risks such as crossing before they get authorisation from the signaller.

The new axle counters give signallers better insight into train positions in those sections of track, allowing them to make more informed decisions, improving safety at level crossings and leading to shorter waiting times for motorists and pedestrians.

Bloss UWC.

Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, Ellie Burrows, , said: “Our priority is to run a safe and reliable rail network and teams have been carrying out crucial work to make necessary improvements. The upgrade of this vital part of the signalling system makes the operation of level crossings safer and more efficient, benefiting passengers, motorists and pedestrians across Suffolk.”

Fugro to conduct RILA survey of Network Rail’s Western route

St Ives COMPR

Network Rail has contracted Fugro to conduct a RILA survey of a major part the rail network on the Western route in England. Fugro will collect of nearly 1,000 route miles of RILA data, providing asset and track position information that will be used by Network Rail to support a gauging programme and validation of track position. Fugro’s RILA survey will capture an estimated 97 per cent of all track and lineside structures to provide a holistic and accurate view of the Western network.

Fugro will deploy its unique RILA train-borne survey technology in collaboration with the Network Rail Western route team and Great Western Railway on passenger services operating throughout south-west England.

To ensure survey work can continue during the Covid-19 outbreak, when passenger trains are reduced, some parts of the survey will be carried out with the RILA survey unit attached to a dedicated locomotive rather than an in-service passenger train. Fugro has worked closely with Network Rail and Freightliner to modify procedures and agree work methods that incorporate social distancing and safeguard all personnel.

Network Rail’s route asset data and analysis manager Chris Stanley said: “We are delighted to be working with Fugro, whose innovative approach has revolutionised the way we receive information and data of railway infrastructure. RILA will help reduce the amount of time we need to work on the track, reducing delays for passengers and freight, while also improving the safety of the railway, as engineers spend less time on track carrying out survey works.”

The processed data will form a geodetic backbone that can be used for a range of route maintenance applications, including topographical survey extraction, determination of heights and staggers on sections of electrified routes, vegetation analysis, ballast profiling and ballast volume validation.

The survey will start at the end of May and includes the Great Western main line from London Paddington to Bristol, onwards to Penzance and into South Wales, linking with the RILA survey of the Welsh network performed by Fugro in 2019.

3Squared and East Midlands Railway sign five-year extension agreement

Trevor-Parkin-EMR-Lucy-Prior-3Squared

3Squared, the Sheffield-based rail technology specialists, has announced that it has signed an extension with East Midlands Railway (EMR) for the train operator to continue to use its innovative RailSmart Employee Development System (EDS), which reduces the administrative burden of employee competency management, to help proactively manage and improve the capabilities of its staff. 

EMR is dedicated as a business to bring in wide-ranging improvements to its services, trains and stations.  EDS will be intrinsic to this as it actively enables users, at an organisational level, to drive efficiencies whilst contributing to overall safety and environmental measures.

East Midlands Railway and its predecessor, East Midlands Trains, has been using EDS for six years and helped to develop the ground-breaking system alongside 3Squared.  This new extension guarantees the further usage of EDS for a further five years.

3Squared will offer the EDS cloud-based platform for EMR which features the continuous monitoring and improvements of employee competencies, candidate profiling, improved visibility of employee competency data including medicals, incidents, support plans and previous assessments and a reporting tool provides business insight and better visibility of competency information.

3Squared supply expert consultancy and digital solutions developed to tackle known and emerging rail system challenges. The tools are dynamic and help customers generate actional insight from a suit of intuitive apps which can help inform decision making on the move.

3Squared business engagement director Lucy Prior said: “We are delighted to sign an extension with EMR. EMR and its predecessor, East Midlands Trains, helped to develop EDS so it is particularly pleasing that the train operator will be able to continue to the reap the rewards of using EDS for years to come.”

Head of Operational Standards at East Midlands Railway Trevor Parkin added: “3Squared’s Employee Development System has been a step change in the way we manage and assess our Drivers’ competence. Assessments can be planned more robustly and are carried out with all information for the Driver immediately to hand.

“Feedback is delivered instantaneously and signed for in real time. It is also possible to profile a driver’s (and also the assessor’s) performance across their competence cycle. For identifying and managing risk areas within our driver team and therefore reducing the potential for operating incidents, EDS brings huge benefits to our business.”

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