Transurb simulator at Greater Anglia's Norwich driver academy.
New state-of-the-art train simulators are being used to
train 768 Greater Anglia drivers that will be driving the new trains due to
replace all of the company’s existing fleet from later this year, when it
starts to receive 38 bi-mode and 20 all-electric trains from Stadler followed
by 111 more electric commuter trains from Bombardier.
Four new simulators, each worth £1.6 million, have been
installed at its driver academies in Norwich and Stratford.
Already, 185 drivers from Norwich and Cambridge have
completed the six-day course to learn to drive the new Stadler bi-mode trains
that are replacing all diesel trains on rural routes.
The course includes three days of class room and simulator
learning, followed by three days of driver training on the trains themselves.
The simulators, two supplied by Transurb and two by Sydac,
are constructed to feel like an actual train cab, with the controls looking and
functioning exactly the same as in the new trains themselves. Realistic CGI
animation is shown through the windows of the view ahead and from the cab’s
side windows as the train ‘drives’ along routes. Several of the Greater Anglia
routes have been recreated on each simulator, the first time that drivers have
been able to experience real routes on a simulator.
When the train ‘stops’ at a platform, two screens switch on
and show video from internal and external CCTV, so the driver can check
everyone has got safely on and off the train before opening or closing the
train’s doors.
If a train is longer than the platform, the software onboard
automatically selects to open only the doors next to the platform.
If it looks like anyone needs assistance, the driver can
inform the conductor, who in real life will be on board the bi-mode trains
assisting customers, giving them a helping hand to get on and off the train if
they need it, answering enquiries and selling tickets.
Drivers on the simulator are given a number of different
scenarios which they might face, including encountering animals on the line,
varying weather conditions and customers on board needing emergency help.
For the first time, drivers will be able to control the
temperature on the train, either switching on the air conditioning or turning
up the heating.
Greater Anglia business readiness director Andrew Goodrum said: “We’re getting 169 brand new trains, with three different models. While the trains are still being made and tested, we’re preparing our drivers to be able to play their important role in the transformation of the railway.”
The proposed extension of the Edinburgh Tram network, as previously reported in Rail Engineer, has now been approved by Edinburgh City Council. Councillors have voted to press ahead with taking trams to Newhaven.
A meeting of the full Council in Edinburgh City Chambers on 14 March 2019 considered the plans and, after a lengthy debate, granted approval.
From the end of March, the two contractors involved (Sacyr, Farrans, Neopul Joint Venture for the infrastructure and systems contract and Morrison Utility Services for the swept path contract) will start on a six-month early contractor involvement (ECI) period, working closely with the Council and other key stakeholders to finalise construction plans.
Map of the proposed extension of Edinburgh Tram to Newhaven.
Work will then get under way on the £200 million project and services to Newhaven should commence early in early 2023, with nearly 16 million people forecasted to use the completed line from Edinburgh Airport to Newhaven in its first year of operation.
Councillor Lesley Macinnes.
Councillor Lesley Macinnes, transport and environment convener, said: “Our city is growing faster than anywhere else in Scotland – a sign of our continued attractiveness as a place to work, live, visit and spend time – and boosting our public transport infrastructure in a sustainable way is fundamental to catering to our expanding population.
“This is a crucial decision for
Edinburgh – for today’s residents and for generations to come. Taking trams to
Newhaven will allow brownfield development sites to be transformed, opening up
the whole of north Edinburgh to a wealth of opportunities in terms of jobs,
housing and local facilities. And vitally, this will be achieved without
putting pressure on existing Council budgets.”
Rail freight - wagons being loaded at a freight yard. (Network Rail)
The freight industry in
Scotland has collectively launched a new strategy intended to increase the
amount of freight moved by rail. This is in response to a target set by the
Scottish Government last year for 7.5 per cent growth.
The freight operating companies
and Network Rail came together with freight users, industry bodies and hauliers
to create an ambitious plan that sets out what is needed to support rail
freight growth. It also considers how to increase both the average speed of a
freight train and reliability, so that punctuality can be improved.
The strategy includes for areas
for improvement:
Encouraging customer confidence;
Developing growth;
Doing things differently;
Achieving simpler solutions.
With over 600 freight trains running on Great Britain’s network every day, 50 of which are in Scotland, over 4 million tonnes were transported by rail in the last year. This benefitted the Scottish economy alone by around £200 million.
Rail freight – wagons being loaded at a freight yard. (Network Rail)
The environmental benefits of transferring freight from the roads to rail are well documented. As part of this plan, the rail freight industry is committed to transfer at least 1,700 lorry movements a year from Scotland’s road network to rail over the next five years. Each tonne of freight transported by rail reduces carbon emissions by seven percent compared to road and each freight train removes between 25 and 62 HGVs from Scottish roads.
Paul McMahon, managing director for freight and national passenger operators. (Network Rail)
Network Rail’s managing
director of freight and national passenger operators Paul McMahon said: “Our
freight customers are a vital part of Scotland’s railways and the Scottish
economy. Scottish growth also needs to be considered as part of our GB-wide
network as this will make sure that the required capacity and capability exists
both north and south of the border.
“Network Rail champions and
supports freight. We, and the rail freight industry, welcome the growth target
and we will continue to work together in delivering the uplift.”
The project to reopen the Airdrie to Bathgate (A2B) line in 2010 included electrification to extend the Glasgow suburban electrification network to Edinburgh via this new line. This electrification work was part of a £60 million contract to electrify 106 single track kilometres (stk) and lay 44 kilometres of track on the new line. This project, which was delivered to time and budget, was Britain’s first significant electrification since the 1994 Heathrow and Leeds North West electrification schemes.
After this
long gap, A2B was to be the first of many new electrification schemes as the UK
government had accepted the benefits of electrification. Between 2009 and 2012,
it announced electrification of Great Western main line, North Western lines,
South Wales main line, Midland main line, Electric Spine, Crossrail, Gospel Oak
to Barking line and West Midlands suburban lines. In addition, the Scottish
government was funding various electrification schemes. These electrification
programmes totalled over 2,000stk.
The Great Western electrification programme (GWEP) started in 2010 and was to cost £1 billion. By 2016, its cost had risen to £2.8 billion and its scope was reduced. By 2017, the government had lost faith and cancelled the Midland main line, Swansea and Windermere electrification schemes. This was justified by the claim that electrification was not necessary as new bi-mode trains offer the same passenger benefits despite their diesel mode having about two thirds the power of their electric mode (issue 157, November 2017).
RIA’s cost challenge
Although
electrification offers significant passenger, cost, reliability and
environmental benefits, these benefits will not be realised unless the UK
Government is convinced that any future electrification will cost far less than
GWEP has.
The
Railway Industry Association (RIA) considers that electrification remains the
optimum technical solution for intensively used railways – if it can be
delivered at an acceptable cost. Its technical director, David Clarke, who
considers that the industry can and must deliver electrification at a lower
cost, is leading RIA’s Electrification Cost Challenge, which recently produced
its report. This highlights lessons from schemes in the UK, notably Scotland,
and elsewhere to show that electrification can be delivered at a lower cost
than GWEP.
David
acknowledges that much went wrong with GWEP, but he feels that it is not
helpful to assign blame as “the whole industry got it wrong” and the important
thing is to recognise the problems and learn lessons. In this respect his
report identified the following reasons for GWEP’s cost escalation:
Unrealistic programme as completion date was set by delivery date for new trains determined by the Department for Transport;
Immature estimates with little survey information or cost data from recent schemes;
Unclear specification as Network Rail didn’t know whether the Department for Transport wanted trains to run at 125 or 140mph;
The development of high-output electrification construction trains that had not been used before;
Unnecessarily conservative pile design requiring piles up to 15 metres long which resulted in poor productivity with many repeat visits to individual sites;
Competition for delivery resources, for example with North Western, Scottish and Midland main line electrification schemes all taking place at the same time;
Introduction of new UK requirements for multiple pantograph operation at up to 140 mph (later reduced to 125mph) resulted in a new OLE design specification that was more onerous than the European Energy Technical Standard for Interoperability (ENE TSI) which was itself under revision when the project was being designed;
In addition, the UK introduced more onerous clearance requirements than ENE TSI and it was initially perceived that the ORR expected absolute compliance rather than allowing deviation following robust risk assessment and appropriate safety measures;
The unproven Series 1 overhead line system was developed during project delivery and was designed for 125mph multiple-pantograph operation, TSI compliance and ease of installation;
The volume of planning permissions and consents was under estimated;
The lack of a collaborative contracting strategy with clear objectives, shared incentives and fewer interfaces.
RIA’s
electrification cost challenge report explains how lessons from the above have
been learnt and implemented. Furthermore, it shows that the underlying cause of
most of the above issues is the British ‘feast and famine’ approach to
electrification, which meant that there was initially insufficient expertise to
design, plan and deliver electrification projects on the scale of the GWEP.
This was not a problem for the much smaller Airdrie to Bathgate electrification as, in 2010, it did not have to compete for resources. In addition, it did not have the problems of unclear specification or standards changes. This perhaps explains why this electrification work was delivered to time and budget.
Team Scotland
Unlike
Westminster, the Scottish Government is committed to a substantial rolling
programme of electrification that, it believes, will bring significant
economic, social and environmental benefits. Including A2B, it has funded a
rolling programme of seven separate schemes over a ten-year period that will
have electrified over 500stk once the Shotts scheme is completed in May.
The
Scottish electrification experience provides useful information for RIA’s
electrification study, which notes that two schemes completed in 2014,
Cumbernauld and Rutherglen, delivered electrification for less than £0.75
million per stk. However, the RIA report notes that £/stk is actually quite a
crude measure of performance in view of the varying amount of electrification
clearance and power supply work between different schemes.
Although
the Edinburgh to Glasgow main line electrification was over budget at £2
million per stk, the later Alloa and Shotts schemes, which both required
significant clearance works, each cost £1.5 million per stk. The RIA report
concluded: “Having a rolling programme of electrification in Scotland is
benefiting from learning and experience being passed from one project to the
next.” It included the following examples of good practice from the Stirling, Dunblane
and Alloa electrification project:
The separation of independent activities, even though this extends the programme, into 1) bridgeworks and other route clearance; 2) site investigation; 3) grid supplies, master feed diagram, isolation and switching design; 4) foundations and 5) OLE installation;
Extensive ground investigation undertaken at 200-metre centres throughout the route;
Site-specific GRIP 4 OLE design to consider site information, including clearances, to ensure accurate development of GRIP 5 detailed OLE design;
Foundation options derived from ground investigation CAD model developed from all possible sources with 1.2-metre-cube trial holes dug at each planned location to confirm foundation setting out and design;
Staged approach to OLE design using finalised isolation and switching design and as-built foundation positions;
Foundations installed using MOVAX vibrating units mounted on road-rail vehicles;
A common data model that included steelwork foundation, masts and small parts schedules, material allocation and the wiring CAD model;
Masts installed using a road-rail vehicle-mounted manipulator, rather than a crane, with small parts steelwork pre-fixed to avoid working at height;
To maximise wiring train productivity, particular attention was paid to special foundations to ensure that all masts would be in place for each wire-run with cantilevers and registration arms pre-registered to +/- 50mm prior to wiring;
Extended midweek ‘rules of the route’ access negotiated so that night-time engineering access could start after the evening peak service;
A station electrical clearance risk assessment process was developed to assess acceptable clearances for use in OLE design.
Foundations and arrestors
Amongst
the various cost-saving measures included in RIA’s report, two particularly
noteworthy initiatives are Network Rail’s new standard for foundation design
and the use of surge arrestors to reduce clearance costs.
A major
factor in GWEP’s cost escalation were obviously over-engineered foundations, up
to 15 metres deep, which were the result of an analytical risk-averse design
approach. The RIA report considered this to be a major factor in the
programme’s poor productivity and resultant cost escalation.
Previously
foundations had been designed using empirical methods derived from field tests
carried out by the UIC’s Office for Research and Experiments (ORE) in the
1950s. To validate a return to this previous approach, Network Rail engaged the
University of Southampton to carry out full-scale field tests to extend the ORE
design methodology to 610mm-diameter circular hollow section piles over
in-service loading conditions that are at the upper end of current operational
experience.
The
results of this research are now incorporated in Network Rail standard
NR/L2/CIV/074 ‘Design and installation of overhead line foundations’. RIA’s
report notes that it is encouraging that the Bedford to Corby electrification
project is now installing 95 per cent of its piles using ORE design methods to
achieve productivity of six piles in the available working time of 4 hours 30
minutes.
As
described in issue 158 (December 2017), surge arrestors have been successfully
introduced on Danish Railways to reduce bridge electrification clearances.
These work by limiting any over-voltages, for example from lightning strikes.
When combined with contact wire covers and an electrical insulating coating
(onto an earthing plate) electrical clearances required in both wet and dry
conditions are significantly reduced.
The
University of Southampton was also involved in this initiative as it carried
out 193kV tests under controlled conditions under Network Rail’s supervision to
determine that, with this mitigation, minimum electrical clearance requirements
could be reduced from 270mm to 150mm.
Just
outside Cardiff Central Station, there is a low and highly skewed bridge over
the railway which itself crosses a substantial culvert. To obtain the required
electrical clearance, the reconstruction of this bridge had been costed at
£40-£50 million and the estimate of an alternative option of track lowering and
a culvert diversion was £10-15 million. Both these options would have been
highly disruptive.
Instead, for a cost below £1 million, Andromeda Engineering worked with Network Rail, Siemens (surge arrestors) and GLS Coatings (insulated coating on the underside of the bridge) to provide a solution that avoided the need for these expensive and disruptive options.
Affordable electrification
GWEP has
been the subject of reports by both the National Audit Office and the Public
Accounts Committee that draw conclusions about programme management issues.
Neither of these reports acknowledges the difficulty of ramping-up supply-chain
capability for full route electrification after there having been no such
scheme for twenty years.
In
contrast, RIA’s electrification cost challenge report focuses on practical and
technical lessons from GWEP and other projects. It shows how solutions have
been implemented and gives examples of actual electrification costs throughout
the UK and in mainland Europe. As a result, the report concludes that, in
comparison with GWEP’s £2.8 million per stk, “all-in” electrification
(excluding route enhancement and major grid connections) should normally cost
between £1 and £1.5 million per stk.
The report
recommends that there should be a rolling electrification programme that would
maintain a core design and delivery capability and support a culture of
continuous improvement. It notes that the German rolling programme of
electrification, which retains learning and skills, delivers electrification at
significantly lower cost than the best that is currently achieved in the UK.
Although
the RIA report demonstrates that electrification can be delivered at an
affordable cost, the case for electrification requires that its benefits must
also be accepted. Amongst the many documents that show electrification’s
benefits are Network Rail’s 2009 electrification route utilisation strategy and
the Department for Transport’s 2009 Rail Electrification paper.
The DfT
paper notes that electric trains are 35 per cent cheaper to operate than
diesels. It also offers the small, but significant, benefit of more powerful
electric trains giving a four-minute journey time saving between Cardiff and
Swansea, where they must accelerate from station stop to line speed on four
occasions. Yet, when this electrification scheme was cancelled, the government
view was that electrification offered no time savings because this was not a
high-speed route.
It is to be
hoped that the UK Government accepts the strategic case for a rolling
electrification programme in the same way that it has allocated £450 million to
accelerate digital signalling technology deployment as a strategic policy not
subject to a business case. If not, the danger is that hard won lessons will be
forgotten as the historic cycle of electrification feast and famine repeats
itself.
Andrew Haines knew that Network Rail was letting its passengers and freight users down before he became its new chief executive. After a hundred days in the job, spent speaking to all concerned, he now knows what must be done. This includes the devolution of control to five new regions to make the company more responsive to its customers
This signals much more than an organisational change. Haines believes that decision-making must be closer to the end user and so is devolving many HQ roles to the new regions. These include Infrastructure Projects and elements of the engineering function.
Exactly how engineering will be devolved remains to be seen. One example is the management of standards which, as Network Rail’s own standards challenge process acknowledges, can currently be over-prescriptive.
Now, although standards management might be felt to be a headquarters function, perhaps it would be better to have standards commonly owned rather than centrally controlled. This will require highly competent regional engineers, who will be accountable for the system risk on their routes, having ownership of the standards process as a group and, as they are closer to the issues, it may well result in more appropriate standards.
There are also significant implications for the Group Digital Railway programme, which Haines does not refer to in the transformational terms used by his predecessor. Instead, the new organisation will give regions the authority to decide what is best for their customers.
However the digital railway develops, it owes a debt to David Waboso who, after joining the programme in 2016, prioritised it to deliver business benefits for passenger and freight customers. Before then, it offered digital solutions for everything everywhere. Some may be surprised to learn that David is a civil engineer, as Clive Kessell describes in a feature that marks his wide-ranging career
Minimising delays on a congested network requires the ultra-high reliability that comes from redundancy to avoid single point failures, such as those that can occur in the control, actuation, detection and locking of points. To address this problem, a new point system offering redundancy is now in trial operation. As Malcolm Dobell describes, the novel Repoint mechanism does this by having a drive mechanism that is not secured to the rails, which enables them to move with only one actuator operational.
This month, we have two general signalling features which should be of interest to non-signalling engineers. David Bickell explains how Network Rail’s 40,000 signals are part of a signalling system that has been developed to control train movements in the most efficient manner whilst optimising capacity. In another feature, which should be good reading for permanent way engineers, Paul Darlington explains train detection technology.
On Thameslink, signalling is now in the train cab. This required a significant GSM-R network upgrade to ensure resilience, provide sufficient data capacity for ETCS operation and eliminate interference in the congested London core. GSM-R interference is also an increasing problem elsewhere, as public operators are allocating frequencies close to the GSM-R bandwidth. The solution is a £55 million programme to replace 9,000 cab radios with ones that have improved filters.
Yet, in the not too-distant future, these radios will be obsolete. GSM-R will then be replaced by the Future Railways Mobile Communication System. In an in-depth feature, we consider the telecommunications technologies that might replace GSM-R. These will need to provide reliable, efficient and high-capacity connectivity for both passengers and operational services, as well as allowing for bandwidth expansion for new applications that are unknown today.
HS2 will also have trains with yet-to-be developed technologies. The company’s £2.75 billion procurement of its trains will see bidders submitting their tenders in April. This process allows for collaborative design after next year’s contract award to ensure trains are state-of-the-art when they enter service in 2026. HS2 will then provide a huge increase in capacity from London to the North and, from 2033, free up space on the West Coast, Midland and East Coast main lines, a fact which recent television documentaries have ignored.
HS2’s trains must of course be electric. No other form of traction can power high-speed trains or, indeed, those that require high acceleration to provide an acceptable service. In its report to government, the industry’s decarbonisation taskforce recognises that it is also “the most carbon efficient power source”.
Unfortunately, the UK Government has fallen out of favour with electrification due to high cost overruns of the Great Western and other electrification schemes. In its recently-released Electrification Cost Challenge report, the Railway Industry Association explains why these schemes were so costly and demonstrates how electrification can be delivered at an affordable cost, with reference to schemes in Scotland and in Europe. It remains to be seen whether the conclusions of RIA’s excellent report will be accepted so that, in future, passengers on busy non-electrified lines can experience the benefits provided by the electric trains that operate 72 per cent of the UK’s train services.
As many of our features show this month, UK rail has an encouraging future, but only if it can deliver for its customers at an affordable cost.
Fugro begins major track survey in Wales using its RILA system under new Network Rail contract
Network Rail has announced plans to conduct a survey of more than 850 route miles of track across Wales and the border counties of England. This includes the proposed and current Transport for Wales (TfW) Rail Services operational and diversionary routes and will also include data acquisition on parts of London North Western (LNW) and Western routes.
The asset information and track position data that results will be used by Network Rail to support a new train introduction programme and to validate track position on route sections throughout the country.
The contract to carry out this survey has been awarded to Fugro, building on the successful outcome of a survey of the Core Valley lines that the company conducted for TfW Rail Services in late 2018. The geo-data specialist will deploy its RILA system to capture the data from a train, removing the need for “boots on ballast”.
Indeed, Fugro’s train-mounted rail infrastructure alignment acquisition system (RILA) will be deployed on TfW Rail Services’ in-service passenger trains throughout Wales, rather than dedicated locomotives, so no additional track access capacity will be required either.
Work on the survey began in February and is providing a
holistic view of the network to high levels of accuracy. Once processed, the
resulting information will give Network Rail baseline asset data that can be used
for a range of route maintenance applications, including topographical survey extraction,
determination of heights and staggers on electrified routes, vegetation
analysis, ballast profiling and ballast volume validation.
Fugro’s global director of rail Jeroen Huiskamp commented: “With RILA, we have revolutionised the way railway data and asset information are collected. We can deliver data faster, with less disruption to normal rail services and can increase the safety profile considerably for track survey works.”
It is easy
to forget that GSM-R, as the standardised track to train radio system across
Europe, has been around for over 25 years. The agreement to use GSM technology
rather than Tetra was arrived at back in 1992, with development work to produce
the railways special requirements taking about seven years. So, from around
2000, GSM-R networks have slowly been rolled out across Europe, with most
countries now having nationwide coverage.
Key to all
of this has been the negotiation and subsequent agreement with ETSI (European
Telecommunications Standards Institute) to allocate dedicated bandwidth
consisting of a 4MHz (876-880MHz and 921-925MHz) uplink and downlink.
At the time
of allocation, the licensing authorities were mindful to keep a reasonable
separation between the GSM-R frequencies and other users. However, such is the
pressure on spectrum that, over the years, allocations have been given to the
public mobile operators that encroach very close to GSM-R bandwidth – a situation
which is now causing problems for radio reliability.
Even though
GSM-R will eventually have to be replaced, this is still several years away and
remedial action has to be taken now. Rail Engineer went to meet with Network
Rail to learn of the problem and the possible solution.
Interference Impact
All across Europe, GSM-R radio interference shows itself in different ways, but, in Great Britain, three fault conditions have been noticed:
The cab radio goes into search mode, causing a
lock up and requiring a re-initiation process that takes several minutes during
which time the train cannot make or receive emergency calls;
The radio re-boots itself, which is an
eight-step start up process that often only gets to step three;
The cab radio screen goes blank, which again
necessitates a re-initiation.
If these
occurrences were very infrequent, it might be a reasonable risk assessment to
live with the problem. However, incidents now number 240 a year, often
necessitating stopping the train whilst the re-boot or re-initialisation takes
place, causing two to three minutes delay. In total, this results in around
8,000 delay minutes being attributed to GSM-R interference problems.
Perhaps more importantly, there are safety implications and, although no safety incidents have occurred to date, Network Rail is mindful that it is only a matter of time before one happens. Something has to be done.
Checking a radio in a
Class 66 locomotive.
The solution
Although
various companies have produced the in-cab mobile equipment, logistic
considerations dictate that having a single supplier and type in any country is
a great advantage if radios are to be held at depots to fit into new rolling
stock and as spares for whenever a change out is needed.
The cab
radio supplier for Great Britain is Siemens, which manufactures the units in
Poole, Dorset. Over the years, the product (currently model V3.6) has been
refined to a very high level of reliability, now reaching 378,000 hours mean
time between failure (MTBF) for each unit. There are some 9,000 cabs (including
yellow plant) that contain a radio and an additional 2,800 are held at the
rolling stock depots.
To overcome the interference problem, these radios need to be fitted with a transceiver having much improved filters that give a sharp cut when frequencies are detected in adjacent parts of the spectrum. Filter technology has improved in line with increased bandwidth utilisation, so designing the filters has been relatively straightforward. The challenge is to provide this new filter within the same radio space envelope such that retro fitting work on the rolling stock is kept to the very minimum.
lass 43 (HST power car) roof antennas.
The V4 Radio
Network
Rail, working with Siemens, has re-developed the cab radio to incorporate the
new transceivers plus an improved power supply and audio card to further
improve reliability. The opportunity has been taken both to build in a number
of new filters mentioned above and also to incorporate a 4G LTE capability. The
specification required a radio product that has exactly the same space
envelope, has the same connections to aerials and power supply, has the same
display screen and indeed is capable of being produced by conversion of the
existing radios. In short, the new must be identical to the old in terms of
operation by the train drivers and in fitment at the depots.
That radio at V4 now exists and such is the importance of the upgrade that there is now a £55 million programme of testing and deployment across the entire fleet. Reliability remains key and, to this end, the initial production run of 100 V4 radios has been fitted to examples of rolling stock that operate over different types of railway. These include:
London North East Railway – Class 91 electric locos, Class 43 HST and Mk 4 DVT, 25 cabs in total;
Merseyrail – Class 507 and 508 EMUs, which, although shortly to be replaced, will test out operation in a tunnel environment;
South Western Railway – Class 158 and 159 DMUs;
London South Eastern Railway – Class 466 EMUs and Class 395 Javelin trains, the latter to check performance on a high-speed line;
Govia Thameslink Railway – Class 377 EMUs and the new Siemens Class 717, which will replace the Class 313 on GN inner suburban services;
Freightliner – Class 66 diesel locos, 24 in total, where the configuration is one radio wired out to a screen display unit in each cab. The radio will be fitted in the ‘clean air’ compartment known to be one of the dirtiest environments!
Transport for Wales Cambrian Route – Class 158 DMUs where the train data radio is essential for that route’s ETCS operation.
These have
been part of the initial trial that successfully demonstrated reliability well
in excess of the contracted minimum MTBF of 50,000 hours, proving that the
interference problem has been resolved. Indeed, once the number of units in
service reaches a critical mass, with the improvements (audio circuitry, input
voltage circuitry) introduced in V4.0, the reliability of the new unit should
be at least on a par with its predecessor.
One
important feature is the onward connectivity to the OTMR (the on-train data
recorder) and to the train’s PA system to allow direct communication to
passengers from the control room should any emergency occur.
The Deployment Programme
GSM-R interface in a Class 43 cab.
Siemens will
supply a float of radios direct to Network Rail, which, in turn, will supply
the radios to the train and freight operating companies (TOCs and FOCs) that
will undertake the actual replacement at their maintenance depots. Mainstream
deployment is expected to begin in October 2019 at the rate of 100 per week,
taking until the end of 2021 to complete. After briefing the fitters, the
change out time is around 60 minutes per cab. Programming the radio with the
fleet number of the locomotive/multiple unit will be the responsibility of the
depot, as of now.
The yellow
fleet of on-track machines must not be forgotten as they also carry GSM-R
radios and change out is likely to happen at the plant machine depots.
Replaced
radios will be returned to Siemens which will then modify them to the V4
specification ready for re-supply to Network Rail. The areas where the worst
interference is known to occur will be prioritised, primarily London and the
South East, then Manchester.
The TOCs are
supportive as the project will overcome the nuisance of the interference and
will come at no expense to them. One or two TOCs have other more pressing
matters on their mind and cross industry collaboration will be required.
Whilst this article concentrates on the cab mobile equipment, minimising the risk of interference may also require changes to the radio infrastructure. Smaller cells and altered power levels are likely to be pursued in the most vulnerable areas, but these could well be carried out as part of the GSM-R network enhancement for ETCS provision (see the article on Thameslink telecommunications elsewhere in this issue).
GSM-R Transportable.
Other Opportunities
The Siemens
cab radio has considerable processing capacity, far more than is needed for
voice communication or transmission of ETCS data. So why not use this
intelligence for other purposes?
Equipping
the radio to receive GPS signals or, more succinctly, GNSS (Global Navigation
Satellite System) that includes gyros and accelerometers to measure train
movement and distance travelled, is one such addition. One additional new
processor card is incorporated into the radio plus additional aerial sockets
for GPS and LTE antennae on the cab roof. This latter will be a combined unit
with the GSM-R aerial, thus achieving a like-for-like footprint to facilitate
ready fitment.
Although all
the V4 radios will be so equipped, funding for the GPS connection is only
currently authorised for 200 units, which, at £6,000 per cab, will need a
sizeable investment package if all fleets are to be equipped.
The ongoing projects that could benefit from such fitment are:
Degraded Mode Working System (DMWS) aka COMPASS.
The system to get trains moving much more quickly if a signalling failure
occurs was described in issue 162 (April 2018) but, for it to be successful, a
train’s position must be verified independent of the signalling system. GNSS
information on the train radio can achieve this.
Track Remote Condition Monitoring. Whilst the
Network Rail fleet of measurement trains (the New Measurement Train ‘Flying
Banana’ and others) do an excellent job of monitoring the state of the
infrastructure, track and overhead wires, logistics dictate that every track in
a route can only be measured every few weeks. If a number of service trains can
be equipped with basic monitoring equipment, then any emerging problem can be
noticed more quickly. It is intended to equip the first 200 trains mentioned
above with this facility, using the gyros and accelerometers of the GNSS to
record the train position, as well as any unusual ride characteristics, that
can then be reported in real time. Looking for track defects and rolling stock
suspension problems is the basic objective.
Phone Books. Train drivers invariably need help
if a problem arises during a journey. Problems with the signalling system may
need reporting to a Network Rail control centre and problems with the train
could need the help of a fleet engineer. Knowing which number to call can be a
challenge but having a phone directory immediately available and kept up to
date by software downloads would be a real asset. It is the intention that the
V4 radio holds such information.
DAS (Driver
Advisory System). These systems are slowly being adopted by both passenger and
freight train companies, although the need to accommodate a separate unit in
the driver’s cab and the cost of retrofitting is a disincentive. Siemens has
demonstrated that the advice to drivers can be accommodated on the cab radio
screen and a limited trial took place between London and Norwich back in 2016
with good results and, apparently, judged favourably by the drivers (issue 137,
March 2016). DAS, both in standalone and connected (C-DAS) form, can yield
impressive fuel savings as well as optimising time keeping, so having it
available almost for free must surely be of interest to the TOCs.
This cab
radio upgrade project has come about through necessity and will proceed in the
quickest possible timescale. The opportunities for using the GSM-R network for
much more than a voice communication facility and a bearer for ETCS are there
to be seized. Will the industry, both Network Rail and operators, recognise these
opportunities and come up with the finance to make them happen?
Watch this
space.
Thanks to Steve Leigh, the Network Rail programme manager for cab radio, for explaining the technicalities and logistics of the project.
Humaware, the Southampton-based company that develops and
markets a range of data-driven predictive analytics tools to enhance the
predict and prevent capability of the railway network, has been acquired by EKE-Electronics
of Espoo, Finland.
A division of the EKE Group, a privately held Finnish company with diversified international operations, EKE-Electronics is a leading global supplier of intelligent train automation and management systems. The company has been active in the rail industry for more than 30 years, developing applications and onboard electronics for train automation and condition monitoring.
[L-R, top] Karl Lönngren (director, digital services, EKE-Electronics), Marko Mäkinen (CEO, EKE-Electronics), Antti Tikkanen (CFO, EKE Group). [Below] Kenneth Pipe (Managing Director, Humaware) and Riitta Ekengren (CEO, EKE Group).
This acquisition means that EKE-Electronics will be able to
provide a complete solution for rolling stock remote condition monitoring and
predictive maintenance. The company’s range of services will now extend to the
analysis of signals and sensor data collected from trains by means of the
extremely accurate and reliable predictive analytics algorithms developed by
Humaware.
Unforeseen failures in rail traffic result in additional
maintenance costs, delays and reduced passenger satisfaction. Humaware’s
advanced data-driven algorithms and anomaly detection techniques provide an
improved approach to obtain remote condition monitoring benefits. Fixed
thresholds are replaced with an adaptive threshold to detect changes in remote
condition monitoring data earlier than fixed threshold methods.
This earlier detection provides the opportunity to switch
from costly schedule-based maintenance to a dynamic maintenance programme based
on the actual condition of the trains. The pooling of expertise from
EKE-Electronics and Humaware will provide a predictive maintenance capability
that will improve reliability, cost-efficiency and passenger comfort.
Intelligent maintenance solutions are currently in great
demand in the railway industry because of the substantial benefits they offer.
Karl Lönngren, who is responsible for EKE-Electronics’
condition monitoring business, said: “With Humaware’s unique software, we’re
able to offer a comprehensive solution for data collection and analytics, as
well as for planning a dynamic maintenance programme that is of interest to
rail operators all over the world.”
National Apprenticeship Week 2019 took place 4 to 8 March
2019. Coordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, an offshoot of the
Department for Education, It is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the
positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
This year’s theme was ‘Blaze a Trail’, highlighting the
benefits of apprenticeships to employers, individuals, local communities and
the economy. A range of activities and events took place across the country,
seeking to change the perceptions that people have on what an apprenticeship is
and to encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to take up an
apprenticeship.
The rail industry was thoroughly involved. Network Rail, as the largest employer, promoted its apprenticeship scheme and the benefits that participants can enjoy.
Richard Turner, head of apprenticeship delivery for Network Rail, at the Westwood training facility.
Richard Turner, as head of apprenticeship delivery, is
responsible for overseeing Network Rail’s entire range of apprenticeship and
graduate programmes, including its award-winning rail engineering technician
apprenticeship scheme.
“Network Rail has a long history of running great
apprenticeship and graduate programmes, and our early careers offering is only
going to increase over the next few years,” he said. “We need to be recruiting
and training apprentices today so that they’re ready to maintain and operate
tomorrow’s railway.
“Apprenticeships also offer an opportunity for existing
railway employees to re-skill or up-skill as new technologies enter the
workplace. Simply put, our apprenticeships programme safeguards the future of
railway infrastructure, operations, and workforce.”
Good examples
Snowy Worrad, a Network Rail apprentice based at Port Talbot, South Wales.
Snowy Worrad is an apprentice for Network Rail Wales and Borders, based in Port Talbot. She explained why she had decided to take up an apprenticeship: “I applied for the scheme because I wanted to study engineering but I didn’t want to stop working to be able to do so.
“Joining the company as an apprentice has given me a boost that wouldn’t be possible otherwise, and there have been lots of opportunities for me to see more of the company, get involved in new ideas and to meet people from different roles. I’ve completed placements with a wide variety of teams and I know that once I completed the apprenticeship, I will have gained all the skills and knowledge I need to further my career in engineering.”
Elinor Harris – a third-year apprentice from Gorleston in Norfolk. (Network Rail)
Elinor Harris, 32 and from Gorleston in Norfolk, is almost
at the end of her three-year apprenticeship. She joined Network Rail with an
interest in engineering but no knowledge of how the railway worked. Three years
on, she’s learned about switches and crossings, trackside maintenance and
signals, and has also had the chance to analyse data that helps with the
day-to-day running of the railway.
“At Network Rail, you get so many opportunities to develop,
and the chance to study for qualifications,” she said. It gives you a great
head start to further your career.
“The experience so far been really rewarding and I have
learnt so much. I am almost coming to an end of my apprenticeship and it has
been an incredible experience and I have no regrets. I would certainly
recommend the apprenticeship scheme to anyone.”
Looking back while looking forward
One interesting approach to National Apprenticeship Week was that of Anna Delvecchio, commercial account director at Amey. A former apprentice herself, she now works closely with industry and government and was part of the team that formulated the new Rail Sector Deal.
Anna Delvecchio – apprentice and commercial account director.
Winner of a number of awards for her activities in promoting
the rail industry, including Woman of the Year at the FTA Everywoman in
Transport and Logistics Awards, she decided to go back to being an apprentice
for the week, while giving a group of apprentices the opportunity to shadow
her.
A group of Amey apprentices, working across both transport
and rail, shadowed Anna in her job, and at the same time, talked of their
experiences and what it means to be an apprentice in a major company today.
“It was brilliant, and I enjoyed every minute of reverse shadowing and the apprentices understanding my role,” Anna enthused. “It was incredible to see so much talent in so many apprentices in a short space of time.
“Let’s start with Jay Millard. He is an apprentice tree
surgeon. He taught me so much about trees in just four hours. He is brilliant. He doesn’t want a career in
the office and loves working outdoors. It was freezing cold, pouring down with
rain and there he was enjoying his job – looking after trees in the rain with a
smile!”
Another former apprentice on Anna’s ‘team’ was Holly Welch,
who completed her apprenticeship in engineering and now works on highways
design. Anna described her as “an inspirational role model for STEM and
engineering roles”, adding: “She is a great example of someone we should use to
inspire young girls to think about a career in engineering.”
Lamar Gardiner also works on highways design, and he
explained to Anna the details of his role – completing drawings, surveys and
going on site.
Danny Mahmood is relatively new to the programme, only starting
his apprenticeship six months ago, training in overhead line equipment (OLE).
He is currently placed with the design team, and Anna spent the afternoon
shadowing him, seeing what he does on a typical day.
Deivydas Andriuškevičius is a street lighting apprentice. “I’ve
known him the longest,” Anna commented. “Deivydas is an absolute advocate for
apprenticeship programmes, just like me.”
Reactions
(L-R) Lamar Gardiner, Holly Welch, Jay Millard, Danny Mahmood, Andy McDonald MP, Deivydas Andriuškevičius, Anna Delvecchio
The apprentices that Anna worked with were appreciative of
the opportunity.
“I was very interested to meet shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald,” said Lamar. “He was clearly very busy but seemed very calm and it was interesting to hear about his work. We also met Robin from BEIS who had started off as a history teacher. He was keen to hear about our backgrounds as well. A really interesting day.”
Danny was fascinated by being able to see, in a small way,
the connection between the operational work he is engaged with every day and
the bigger policy decisions that can influence this. “We saw different
government departments and got to see how their policies can affect our
everyday work. We heard how they are hoping to recruit an additional 20,000
apprentices”.
Holly agreed that she had gained a sense of perspective on
the work of the industrial strategy. “That was interesting – to hear first-hand
about the sector deals and how these are linked to skills and productivity.”
“It was an exciting opportunity to meet the government
departments and Andy McDonald,” Deivydas agreed. “I’m so inspired.”
So what comes next in this interesting initiative?
“I will be helping Amey champion our apprenticeship
programme with our apprentices as well as continuing to support the good work
of both Women in Transport and Women in Rail,” said Anna. “I will also be
helping CILT (the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport) with their
Big Logistics and Transport Diversity Challenge and I have a little project
that I have been working on with a few which is progressing very nicely. Watch
this space!”
