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What follows GSM-R?

Credit: Matej Kastelic/Shutterstock.
Credit: Matej Kastelic/Shutterstock.

Rail engineers Clive Kessell and Paul Darlington will deliver the 3rd IRSE Presidential Programme Technical Paper of 2017/2018 on the subject of the successor to GSM-R – specifically “What follows GSM-R?”.

The paper will cover: a brief history of train radio; the development and success of GSM-R; generations of mobile radio; overview of 4G/5G/Wi-Fi; what a successor to GSM-R could look like; and what challenges the rail industry faces going forward.

The event is organised by the IRSE, and is free to both members and non-members of the IRSE.

It will be held on December 6 at 6pm at Austin Court, 80 Cambridge Street, Birmingham, B1 2NP.

East West Rail and TroPath

Running alongside the railway, cable troughs are not just a tidy and convenient receptacle for signalling and power cables. Their lids also often provide a walkway but, with the strong possibility of encountering missing or broken lids in some areas, they can be anything but a ‘safe walkway’, especially at night.

Rail Engineer has reported on the development and installation of cable routes made from recycled materials a number of times. Several suppliers offer such products, but it is believed that Trojan Services is the only UK supplier of locally produced products using UK-sourced raw materials and production of recycled polymer.

Now, Trojan Services has developed an enhancement of its successful combined cable route and safe walkway for the second phase of the East West Rail project, which aims to establish a strategic railway connecting East Anglia with Central, Southern and Western England.

Range development

In 2002, Trojan began researching the use of recycled polymers for railway cable ducting as an alternative to traditional concrete. At that time, less than a quarter of plastic waste produced in the UK was recycled, the bulk of which was packaging materials. However, since then, the raw material stream from industry and society has been increased to include end-of-life products, as well as domestic and industrial waste.

Trojan identified that the most suitable polymer for rail applications was polypropylene, due to its high strength and impact resistance. The result was the TroTrof range, approximately five times lighter than concrete troughs.

The range was later enhanced with a combined cable route and safe walkway that has been used on a number of rail enhancement schemes, and which has contributed to safety and sustainability of the materials used by rail. This is known as the TroTred product.

East West Rail ran a ‘troughing challenge’ to select an innovative cable troughing system that would meet its ‘next generation railway’ requirements by combining the welfare of workers along with environmental and sustainable elements. Trojan was successful in the challenge and the result is TroPath, a derivation of the existing TroTred product. TroPath will offer the rail industry an even lighter-weight, durable and long-lasting cable trough and safe walking route. It has health and safety as well as life cost benefits compared with traditional concrete products and, when the product reaches end of life, it, in turn, can be recycled. Currently, the Trojan project is gearing up to commence production in 2018.

East West Rail Route

The proposed East West Rail route can be broken down into three sections – Western, Central and Eastern. The Western Section route is on existing lines between Bedford and Oxford, Milton Keynes and Aylesbury Vale. Phase 1 – Oxford to Bicester Village – has already been upgraded by Chiltern Railways and Network Rail. Phase 2 of the Western Section will upgrade and reconstruct existing and mothballed (no longer in use) sections of line that link Bedford with Bicester, and Milton Keynes with Princes Risborough.

Once completed passengers and freight services can make the journey between Bedford and Oxford without needing to travel via London. It will also link Milton Keynes on the West Coast Mainline with London Marylebone on the Chiltern Mainline via Aylesbury.

The Central Section will extend the Western Section to Cambridge. The line was closed and dismantled in the 1960s. Many bridges have either been removed or are in a poor state of repair and the Bedford bypass severs the line, so there is extensive work to be done on this section.

The railway east of Cambridge, the Eastern Section, is extensively used by freight as well as providing passenger services. An hourly service of passenger trains between Cambridge and Norwich was introduced in September 2002, and one between Ipswich and Cambridge in December 2004.

Specification

A specification for the development of line side troughing for the East West Rail Alliance was established with the objective of innovation and continuous improvement in troughing for both East West Rail, UK Railway and beyond. The specification, which was formulated by a multidisciplinary team, concentrated on five key areas:

  • Best value for money
  • Safest method or option
  • Consistent quality level
  • Most sustainable method or option
  • Reputational advantage.

The specification set qualitative target criteria in 17 areas that covered the behaviours and goals of the project. These included: unit cost, installation cost, time saved, work content reduction, intrinsic safety (Safe by Design), improvement in reliability, and positive reputational impacts on the project and rail in general. The specification required a walking route compliant with standard NR/SP/OHS/069 issue 2 “Lineside facilities for personal safety”, along with the provision of disconnection box stakes and handrails, together with being able to safely contain all forms of cables.

The product design had to enable an operative to install more than 25 troughs per shift under Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, and include features to minimise both the risk of injuries during installation and the exposure of staff to hazardous substances during onsite construction and maintenance. The safety requirements included features to reduce minor injuries during operations from slips, trips and falls, such as lid failures.

The solution had to demonstrate consistent quality levels, high durability, a minimum 25-year design life, and compliance with existing troughing product specifications. It needed to be a flexible product range for dealing with obstructions and grade changes by offering different lengths, radiuses and tees.

The comprehensive specification included a requirement for the lowest possible embodied carbon, emissions, and water usage during manufacture, which should be undertaken by a local workforce using locally sourced materials. Cable protection had to maximise rodent protection while minimising the risk of cable theft – with more than one measure of security per system.

The solution

Trojan submitted initial design concepts in accordance with the criteria laid down in the specification. These overcame the potential for installation problems associated with the earlier TroTred product, which had led to issues with lid alignment and stability.

This was achieved by eliminating the multi-part base configuration of two sidewalls with a centre section slotted together to form the base. Instead, the new TroPath base was made in the form of two half troughs, giving the unit more stability and strength. Likely expansion requirements have been calculated and finite element analysis conducted. Moulds are now being produced to confirm the physical characteristics of TroPath, after which the new product will be tested in accordance with Network Rail standards prior to full-scale trackside testing to ensure compliance.

TroPath offers a weight reduction compared to TroTred due to the sidewall reducing from 350mm to 200mm, as less cable capacity is required for the EWR project. This will also save a considerable amount of raw material and illustrates how important it is for projects to specify requirements as accurately as possible in order to save costs by not over-engineering the product.

The installation time will be reduced as there is no need for assembly of the base unit on site, resulting in improved productivity/installation rates, and reduced potential for accidents associated with manual handling.

Trojan has also evaluated and introduced a new raw material supplier which offers improved performance of a lower weight per unit whilst maintaining the same physical characteristics. Workforce training will be reduced due to the elimination of on-site assembly and this, together with easier installation of TroPath, will result in lower installation times compared to existing products.
Delivery costs could be reduced as well. Trojan is evaluating the elimination of wooden or plastic pallets as well as removing the need for shrink wrapping which is currently used with existing pallet deliveries.

Ricardo Rail assessment

Ricardo Rail was remitted to undertake an independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the TroTrof and TroPath products, and to compare TroTrof with a conventional concrete trough and TroPath with a concrete trough and a track-side walkway. This included an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for each product.

The conclusion was that the Trojan products out-performed the concrete-based alternatives for every environmental criterion studied, for all life cycle stages. The results took no account of product lifetimes; however, it is anticipated that the Trojan products may last for the entire project lifetime (120 years), whereas a concrete alternative would need two replacements.

Award success

In June 2017, TroPath was awarded ‘Best Recycled Product’ at the National Recycling Awards event. The judges commented: “A simply amazing product – it delivers everything you’d want in a best recycled product. Mile after mile of this product will be installed along railways across the world, we have no doubt. There are no similar products on the market, with the standard practice being the installation of concrete troughing and a separate walkway made from wooden batons, membrane and packed type-one aggregate”

Trojan has always appreciated the positive reaction and adoption by Network Rail of its innovative solutions to cable trough/walkway management issues, and the acknowledgement of the benefits delivered by awarding Trojan the Innovation and Environment Partnership Award in 2008 and 2010. The company also welcomes the new generation of designers and project managers who are embracing Trojan’s approach to product innovation and design.

This article was written by Paul Darlington.

Read more: Leaf fall on the London Underground

Leaf fall on the London Underground

London Underground (LU). The clue is in the name – “underground”. So how does the organisation have a leaf-fall problem? Despite the “underground” in the name, LU has large lengths of route that lie out in the open rather than down in tunnels. On the Piccadilly line, there are such lengths in the east and west of the route, particularly the latter.

As a result, over the last couple of autumns, the Piccadilly line has had serious issues with poor wheel/rail adhesion. This problem peaked last year when the service frequency was affected by the number of trains that were out of commission as a result of wheel flats.

Spinning and sliding

When rails are slippery, the trains’ wheels slip when the train driver tries to accelerate, and slide under braking. The former can lead to ‘wheel burns’, damage to the rail head caused by the heat generated by the spinning wheels. When trains slide under braking, the wheels are damaged, potentially leaving a flat spot, and the rail may also be damaged.

Those who drive cars will probably have experienced skids, and possibly wheel spin, and may know that modern cars usually have systems to prevent both phenomena. These systems are pretty effective, so why do trains not have similar precautions built into them?

Modern rolling stock does, of course, but older trains, such as the Piccadilly’s 1973 stock, may not, and those that do may have systems that are not as effective as those of road vehicles. It is a lot trickier to deal with the issue when wheel and rail are both made of steel than it is when the tyre is rubber and has a tread pattern designed to remove water and other contaminants from the road surface.

Wheel flats are a problem for several reasons. They are noisy and cause vibration, and at best this is uncomfortable for passengers and irritating for neighbours. The vibrations cause damage to the trains, which may be significant in the case of bad flats. They also damage the track, and in extreme cases, may cause rail breaks. For these reasons, LU has to withdraw vehicles from service when wheel flats become sufficiently serious.

Damaged wheelsets may be repaired by turning them on a wheel lathe in one of LU’s depots, restoring them to the correct round shape. In more severe cases, though, or if they have been turned before and have lost too much metal to be turned again, wheelsets may need to be replaced with new ones.

There are two depots with wheel lathes on the Piccadilly line. However, during the leaf-fall season in 2016, the number of vehicles requiring attention exceeded the capacity of these to such a degree that it became necessary, on some days, to curtail train services on the line.

Plan for improvement

Something needed to be done, and before the next leaf-fall season in 2017. LU commissioned Xanta, a specialist rail consultancy, to examine the causes and recommend potential strategies to prevent recurrence. Xanta’s David Crawley, who has had many years of rail experience, carried out the necessary review and produced the report.

The recommended strategy entailed several strands of work. Managing lineside vegetation to minimise the leaf-fall impact on the line was one.

Working with train drivers to learn which they knew to be the worst problem locations was a second. This element also needed to include work to improve drivers’ appreciation of the problem and how to drive to minimise it.

Modifying the wheel/rail interface conditions to improve adhesion was a third strand. It was decided to modify the timetable during the leaf-fall season to ensure a reduction in the risk of slips and slides.

Lastly, to reinforce the work with drivers, signs were to be erected on the lineside at poor adhesion sites.

It was also recognised that all of these measures could only reduce the problem, and would not eliminate it entirely. It was therefore recommended that resources at the two maintenance train depots should be enhanced to enable them to cope more effectively with wheelset damage during the leaf-fall season. Additional staff were to be recruited and trained so that the depots could operate 24/7 train lifting facilities during the problem period. In addition, more spare wheelsets were to be procured, so that there would be a greater supply on hand should large numbers need changing in a short period of time.

Dave White, LU’s programme lead for the project, told Rail Engineer that all of these recommendations, which were in line with current best practice in the industry (at Network Rail and on the Metropolitan line for example), were accepted and have been implemented through a project with a £6.5 million budget. He described how this has been done in an interview with the magazine.

RATs on the line

The most obvious sign will be the two RATs – not scary rodents, but rail adhesion trains – that, from late September, will be running on the Piccadilly line’s above-ground sections. One, based at Cockfosters, will work on the eastern end of the line and the other, run from Northfields, on the western. Each carries 250 litres of adhesion modifier that is spread on the rail head in the areas that are at risk, working in a similar fashion to the Sandite trains employed on the main line network. The quantity of material carried is sufficient for the day’s work expected of each train.

The RATs are based on converted three-car 1973-stock passenger units that have a cab at each end (known as double-ended units), modified to carry the necessary equipment for the task. Dave said that the trains are completed and driver training is being undertaken, ready for the planned implementation date at the start of October. A further small modification is planned to make their brakes smoother in operation. Currently, step one of the braking of these older trains is a little abrupt, but there are two unused steps available in the braking system. The modification will bring these extra steps into use to “smooth” the braking curve, further reducing the risk of sliding.

Other adhesion management is employed too. There are TGAs, fixed “traction gel applicators”, in certain locations where adhesion has historically been a problem. Two additional TGAs have been procured and installed on the western end of the route, and the positions of the existing ones have been reviewed and optimised. This last has been done in collaboration with the drivers, who have been able to identify which TGAs that were not best positioned and advise how to improve matters.

Having mentioned the drivers, Dave went on to explain how the leaf-fall/adhesion issue will be incorporated into the regular annual driver competency refresher training sessions. Awareness of the problem will therefore be raised, and LU has also used feedback from drivers to assist the project.

The project has installed warning signs at locations where poor adhesion is likely, to remind drivers of the risk. The projects work with Piccadilly line drivers means that these signs will have real meaning for them, rather than potentially being ineffectual tokens.

The revised ‘leaf-fall’ timetable will see train speeds reduced from early October until mid December. Lower speeds reduce the risk of sliding under braking as deceleration rates can be lower, and also mean that acceleration rates need not be so great, which reduces the risk of wheel spin.

Vegetation control

LU has a standard for the management of lineside vegetation that was introduced, amongst other reasons, to control the risks from leaf-fall. However, Dave suggested that tree growth appears to have accelerated in recent years. This and, possibly some lack of priority from management, have left a problem needing action. The project has been addressing this seriously and is well through the task of removing lineside trees from places where they should not be.

Trees are now treated as assets, listed in an asset register and subjected to an asset management regime and a work programme. Laser scans have been used to identify trees within the designated clear zone adjacent to the line. The trees of neighbours are not forgotten, if they are of a species and in a location that means they are a potential source of problems. Every effort is made to obtain the cooperation of the owners in order to ensure that they are managed to minimise the leaf fall on the LU lines.

There have been comments from neighbours who have seen lineside trees disappear from their locality, and clearly not everyone welcomes such work, but the project has been active in warning neighbours and explaining why the action is essential. Dave was happy that the project team has been successful in managing this potentially tricky issue. This is quite an achievement for what has been described as the most intensive de-vegetation campaign LU has ever undertaken.

The final element in the project strategy is the use of weather predictions to permit the anticipation of poor adhesion by time and location. The project has been working to obtain the most accurate weather prediction information available and a contract is now in place with the Met Office. It enables data to be fed directly into the automatic train operation systems used on some lines by LU. This will permit these trains to take account of weather conditions appropriately. It will also enable a quicker response to changing leaf fall conditions on other lines and aid the decision on when to deploy the RATs.
Dave was pleased to be able to report that the project is confident of meeting its target schedule, and that he expects it to come in below budget.

This article was written by Chris Parker.

Read more: Digital Railway Realism: It’s not just about technology

 

Detecting wheel flats and more

Leaves on the line are a common problem, especially in autumn when they can pose a serious challenge for rail operators, causing trains to be delayed and even needing to be taken out of service temporarily. This situation is even worse in countries around the globe with densely forested areas such as North America, Canada, parts of the UK and Europe.

To put the problem into context, a mature tree can lose between 10,000 and 50,000 leaves and, each autumn, literally thousands of tonnes of leaves fall onto railway lines across the UK alone. Network Rail, the owner and operator of most of the UK’s rail infrastructure, tries to keep delays to a minimum by keeping trees and vegetation along the track side cut back, as well as deploying ‘leaf busters’ which spray powerful jets of water directly onto the train lines to clear leaves away.

Some rail operators even go the extreme of publishing ‘leaf timetables’ in the autumn, which give their trains longer to complete their journeys and also to slow down at stations, helping them to stay on time.

But, timetabling aside, why are leaves on the line such a problem for rail operators and what new innovations are out there to provide solutions?

Wheel flats

Leaves on the line make rails slippery and cause trains to experience reduced adhesion. This can lead to wheel slip when the train is taking power, and wheel slide when the train is braking. Although large strides have been made in the development of better Wheel Slide Protection (WSP) systems for trains, these can only optimise the prevailing wheel rail adhesion. WSP systems attempt to protect the wheels on the train during a stop, but rapid transition from slippery rail to dry rail and back can sometimes result in flats being created on wheels during braking.

The flat spot occurs when a rail vehicle’s wheelset is dragged along the rail after the wheel/axle has stopped rotating. Flat spots are usually caused by use of the emergency brake, or slip and slide conditions that cause wheels to lock up while the train is still moving. Flat spots are more common in the autumn and winter when the rails are slippery, but can also be caused by faulty brakes or wheelset bearings.

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Once these flats are created, they provide the characteristic ‘thump-thump-thump’ that can be heard by rail passengers during autumn as the damaged wheels impact the hard rails beneath them. The sound is generated as the edges of the wheel flat impact on the rail, but, as the sharp corners of the flat are worn away over time, the noise reduces, making human detection difficult.

If the flat spot is very small, the rail vehicle will be able to continue being used. The fault is removed later in the wheelset turning process. However, because of the heat suffered while being dragged along the rail and the impacts suffered afterward, these wheels are more likely to break due to changes in the alloy structure. If the flat spot is very large, strands of molten metal may have got stuck on one side of the flat spot, making it impossible for the wheel to turn due to insufficient clearance between the rolling surface and the brake block. In this case, the wheelset must be replaced immediately. In extreme cases, a wheel with an untreated flat spot can damage the track and cause a derailment.

Otherwise smooth but ‘out of round’ wheels generate ever more force as the train gets faster until the forces become very damaging to the rails. At their extreme, these forces can be large enough to break rails which already have small cracks or defects in them.

Metro-North Railroad in New York

A good example of an extreme situation caused by a wheel flat is with Metro-North Railroad in New York, where a flat generated so much ‘out of balance’ force in its axle that the axle broke, sending the wheel into the Hudson River. The consequence could clearly have been considerably worse as the trains travel on a viaduct through Manhattan on their way to Grand Central Terminal. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) therefore mandated that Metro-North should do regular visual inspections of its wheels. This is no easy task as it represents a total of 13 miles of tread surface to be inspected for defects daily!

Instead of implementing the visual check approach, Metro-North chose a significantly more efficient, Automatic Inspection System (AIS) in the form of WheelChex®, which consists of 32 Vortok MultiSensors™ in each of four tracks in the Park Avenue Tunnel under Manhattan; a total of 128 sensors per installation. Unlike traditional AIS that use bonded strain gauges, which are difficult to install and require high maintenance, the Vortok sensors are embedded in the rails and form an array which measures the force profile of each wheel as it passes over the system. This force profile is used to determine the roundness and smoothness of each wheel by monitoring the mean weight and peak force (from impacts) of the wheels.

A good measure of the wheel condition is to compute the ratio of mean to peak load and express this as a simple number. Anything above a ratio of two is noteworthy and is passed to train maintainers, and anything above five is an emergency, which sees the train stopped as soon as it is safe to do so. This information, combined with analysis of the wheel data, has allowed Metro-North to instigate a wheel management system that allows wheel flats to be measured early and then to track the condition of any wheel damage over time.

Hot wheel and bearing detection

The WheelChex system, powered by Vortok sensors, has been so reliable for Metro-North that the company, in partnership with Long-Island Railroad, put out a Request for Proposal for the construction and delivery of three ‘Train Fault Detector’ (TFD) houses to build on the original implementation, adding hot wheel and bearing detection, along with enhanced data analysis. Vortok International won this contract and combined the existing WheelChex technology with Progress Rail’s hot bearing and wheel detection systems to create a ‘first’ in the US rail transit industry in combining these measurements into one location.

This innovative TFD system provides a comprehensive overview of wheel and axle condition and will allow the railroads to benefit from operational information in the form of messages and alerts to tell them if a particular vehicle is presenting a risk to the infrastructure. With new trending algorithms it will be possible to plan ahead and avoid some of the panic that happens when the leaves fall in autumn, when most wheel damage occurs.

Innovation in this sector has led to solutions that not only overcome the original, obvious problems, like wheel flats in autumn, but also tackle complex issues such as hot wheel and bearing detection. With statistical data from the TFD, the railroads will also be in a stronger position to plan material purchases and benefit from better pricing and lead times. It will be exciting to see where this technology goes from here.

This article was written by Richard Robertson, managing director of Vortok International.

Read more: Digital Railway Realism – It’s not just about technology

 

Digital Railway Realism: It’s not just about technology

The term Digital Railway has certainly caught the rail industry’s imagination, yet prospective users and suppliers still have diverse and widespread views as to what it really means.

Network Rail coined the term back in 2015 and produced an ambitious plan to introduce digital technology in virtually every one of its many activities (issue 132, October 2015). Whilst conceptually correct, it lacked realism as to how it could be delivered or financed and a more pragmatic view has since emerged with the appointment of David Waboso as the Digital Railway leader. He has set out three broadly defined objectives focussed on capacity, performance and safety (issue 147, January 2017).

Having established the Network Rail vision, one supplier’s view on achieving this was given by Alstom, which foresees a much greater involvement by the supply industry in the design, provision and maintenance of the resulting systems, including provision of finance through some kind of joint partnership (issue 150, April 2017). Although in some ways attractive, there are minefields of commercial, operational, safety and personnel matters to be overcome, all of which will take time, tact and patience to achieve a workable solution, let alone getting the buy in of the wider supply chain.

It seemed appropriate to get another opinion from industry, so Rail Engineer went to global engineering and technology giant Thales. As well as transport, the company serves the aerospace, defence and security sectors, providing the technology that enables two out of three flights around the world to take off and land safely, and a founding member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance for building Britain’s two new ‘big ships’.

In transport, Thales employs over 8,000 people globally, including 1,200 in the UK, who work to deliver solutions that transform Britain’s journeys – the vision of the business today. The Thales view of the Digital Railway is one of pragmatism, with targeted intervention into the technology, but also recognising the need to address the cultural and behavioural challenges necessary for successful implementation and benefits realisation. David Palmer, who heads up the main line business within Transport, told Rail Engineer more about it.

Programme for change

The rail industry is enjoying unprecedented growth in the passenger sector, and digital technology can offer much needed capacity gains and performance improvements. David Palmer commented: “To realise that potential, we must embrace and sustain a collaborative, industry-wide approach, where suppliers and operators of infrastructure and train equipment can together maximise the benefits of digital systems to deliver a much bigger and quicker impact to the passenger journey experience, thus ensuring rail can compete effectively with other transport modes.

“Yes, technology is important in the Digital Railway vision, but changing people’s attitude to establish a culture of cross-industry teamwork and collaboration, is essential to achieve the potential.

“In Thales, we talk about an ‘Olympic mindset’. For London 2012, the transport industry worked, without any contractual or commercial arrangement, to ensure the transport network, both in London and at Olympic venues all over the country, delivered success on the world stage. True collaboration made that happen, and we need that spirit and commitment to the rail industry”.

Thales would wish to promote this vision and build on examples from where it is already happening.

Increasing capacity

In the Metro environment, the introduction of the Thales Seltrac CBTC system to the Jubilee and Northern lines and DLR, (also the forthcoming 4LM – the ‘four lines moderniation’ of the sub surface lines), has enabled signalling systems to give much greater train throughput and thus increased passenger capacity – 20 per cent on the Northern line, over 30 per cent on the Jubilee and expected up to 65 per cent on parts of the 4LM.

“The key to these successful deliveries is the collaborative, ‘one team’ approach that we developed in partnership with London Underground,” said David. Tube passengers and operators are benefitting from modern digital technology that also yields improved safety and reliability.

Equipping ERTMS/ETCS to main line railways that form the core links between the UK’s cities will hopefully yield the same benefits and is seen by many as the principal element of the Digital Railway. It is also, probably, the hardest to implement, as there are huge challenges with the integration into existing signalling systems, with the fitting of rolling stock being particularly challenging from a logistics perspective. Thales has been active in ETCS development since its earliest days and has provided Level 2 systems in Austria, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland, as well as being a main contractor in the Danish Railways nationwide rollout.

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The position in the UK is complicated, with continuing uncertainty on the routes and timescales for deployment. Becoming more certain is rolling stock fitment, where Thales has an on-board unit readily available with the approval process well advanced. The company has been selected as the preferred supplier for ETCS’s OBU Retrofit package 1 (class 43) under the ERTMS rollout programme. Funded by Network Rail and managed by the National Joint ROSCO Project (NJRP), it forms part of the UK’s Digital Railway vision that will help to deliver additional route capacity in the UK. Thales is mobilising to deliver the ‘first in class’ and subsequent fleet fitting.

Like many others, Thales sees merit in the development of ERTMS Level 3, including the proposed ETCS Hybrid L3 where some existing track circuits or axle counters are retained to detect non L3 fitted trains (issue 151, May 2017). ProRail and Network Rail are collaborating to demonstrate the benefits of ETCS Hybrid L3 and Thales is optimistic of being engaged along with other suppliers in order to help build this confidence. It is anticipated that a demonstration at the UK ENIF test site near Hertford will take place in 2017.

Traffic management systems

Achieving capacity gains and minimising disruption by optimised management of pinch points and route conflictions through the use of traffic management techniques, was envisaged as a quick win when three proprietary systems were evaluated in 2014. Following this initial analysis, Thales was awarded contracts to equip the Romford and Cardiff ROCs with TMS using ARAMIS (Advanced Railway Automation, Management and Information System), integrated to the Siemens Westcad-E Signalling control system.

Whilst other traffic management projects have now begun in the UK, the deployments in Romford and Cardiff have meant both the customer and supplier working together, sharing the goal of how best to introduce new technology, including significant but valuable lessons on integrating into the UK network.

Areas of concern have been the lack of source records for the signalling areas, the nuances of the UK network compared to how operations are run overseas, the significant increase in functionality (particularly around interfaces to conventional systems), and the complication of implementing TMS at the same time as major re-signalling work. Working collaboratively to address these challenges has been important, but extra time has been needed to plan in detail the migration from the current operational processes to the new way of working.

Traffic Management has to be technology-based, but key to success will be operator interaction with the system, human factors, appropriate training and stakeholder engagement, all of which need significant attention.

The ARAMIS TM system is a fully modular solution that is designed for full integration with the signalling, enabling routes to be set (or cancelled) automatically, dependent on the real-time acquisition of information from timetable, train describer, interlockings, radio block centres and other sources.

At both Romford and Cardiff, the system is however being implemented incrementally. Thales is using lessons learned in other countries with the system being initially deployed in Operational Decision Support mode. This gives screen-based advice to the signallers, but entrusts them with the final route setting. Both control centres will have this operational by the end of 2017, the Romford one being applied to the Upminster control centre for the C2C service to Southend. Full integration at Romford ROC will follow in due course.

The benefits of TMS, however, go beyond decision support to operators in signalling centres. Integrating TM to the passenger information systems such as Darwin and online journey planning systems will improve the accuracy of the information provided, particularly important to the traveller at times of disruption.

As David Palmer comments “TMS has been slower to take off in the UK than perhaps originally envisaged, but the collaboration between the Digital Railway team and the supply chain through the early contractor involvement activity makes future investment look more assured.”

Improving reliability and performance

Predict and prevent asset monitoring and analytics is now featuring in most operator’s digital railway strategy and drives significant benefit with reduced in-service failures, maintenance interventions and costs. The ultimate goal is to eradicate delays and cancellations caused by faulty or ageing infrastructure and to reduce the need for people to repair assets on the tracks during operational hours. By foreseeing when an asset is trending towards failure, the workforce can repair or replace it when the railway is paused for the night, thus benefitting safety conditions for trackside workers.

Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) has been around for some time, with many operators making good use of it. Thales has provided Network Rail with RCM and Intelligent Infrastructure systems and services since 2008 that now monitor over 43,000 assets.

Thales’s next generation product, Eclipse, is specifically developed to provide decision support and predictive maintenance services for rail operators and maintainers, building on its existing solutions but also embracing the maturing RCM market. Leveraging EU joint funded asset research and utilising the latest cloud based platform, Eclipse delivers an asset condition and performance advisory service which will enable rail infrastructure managers to have an ISO 13374 compliant system for prognostic and advisory asset information.

The Thales vision for Eclipse is “to realise a railway where asset failures are not service affecting and all maintenance interventions are planned”. Being standards-based, it is vendor asset agnostic and incorporates a security module that ensures asset owners retain full control of their data to enable big-data analysis of complex data challenges that rail operators currently face.

“Eclipse has given Thales a platform for knowledge transfer amongst its employees,” said David Palmer. “The project scope has required many skill sets to come together. Graduates and apprentices fresh from college or university know how to manipulate data to give usable and concise information, but have limited knowledge on how it should be meaningfully interpreted. Combining this with the experience of seasoned engineers brings recognition to the criticality of the equipment being assessed, thus adding to the value of the team.”

Improving passenger experience

Getting accurate and consistent train-running and journey-planning information out to both front line rail staff and the passenger remains an ever present challenge and is regularly criticised in the media when things go wrong. The Darwin system has existed since 2009, with earlier systems in use before that. The objective is to collect train-running information from a variety of sources and continually compare this information to the intended timetable. Algorithms then assess the impact of out-of-course running and make the results available to station information systems and online travel information apps across the nation.

Thales has been the developer of the Darwin project and continues to manage the system architecture and performance from its Cheadle premises, which specialises in delivery of advanced decision support systems and integration. The system is continually evolving and the company works closely with the Rail Delivery Group to improve the provision of accurate, consistent and timely customer information.

Although online information is increasingly important to mobile and tablet users, observing the platform indicator or hearing the announcement at the station is the final confirmation that people actually need to feel in control and informed about their journey. The technology associated with station equipment has vastly improved over the years, but has it reached an optimum?

Thales thinks not and its digital, scalable APIS (Advanced Passenger Information System), with the ability to deliver audible and visual content, has been developed to provide airport style information at rail stations. It is already deployed overseas and Thales intend bringing it to the UK in due course.

Digital transport

Digital technology clearly exists and is not the barrier to the transformation opportunity the rail industry is facing. The imperative is working in a truly collaborative way to achieve the vision of the Digital Railway, with passenger and freight customer satisfaction being key. Thales believes that the main challenge the industry faces is to embrace the transformational change that technology enables, and creating the right collaborative “Olympic mindset” at the core of project development and delivery.

One cannot leave a discussion with Thales on the Digital Railway without mention of the cyber threat that a digital environment brings. Thales has a strong pedigree in measures to combat security breaches, and investment continues to stay ahead of emerging threats – perhaps a subject for another article.

This article has concentrated on the Digital Railway but Thales sees digital systems being applicable to many other forms of transport. It has a punchline – “Great Journeys Start Here”’ – so transfer of technology between different sectors makes business sense.

The Network Rail vision for the Digital Railway is viewed as realistic and Thales is part of making this vision a reality.

Thanks to David Palmer and others in Thales for openly sharing their views.

This article was written by Clive Kessell.

Read more: Lighter and brighter: Carlisle Citadel station is transformed

Schooling local signalling skills

Staff are probably more aware now than ever before about the risk posed by excessive travel to and from railway worksites, yet it continues to be an issue. Where engineering skills are in short supply, staff will often need drafting in from far afield. Any major future infrastructure projects with work sites that span large geographical areas have the potential to compound the problem.

MPI – an agency which specialises in rail recruitment – is working to address this challenge and is seeing positive results from its partnership with industry.

Glasgow welcome

MPI has been supplying trained personnel to the railway industry since 1989.The agency is a leader in signalling skills – although it also has expertise across rolling stock, civils and maintenance disciplines.

MPI has been working with Siemens Rail Automation for the past five years to fill a void in the industry for signalling installation technicians. Last month, the first intake of rail signalling installation trainees to support signalling schemes in Scotland were welcomed at Siemens’ new Cambuslang depot just outside of Glasgow, where they will be based.

Eighteen MPI trainees have been selected to take part. “A lot of them are asking what’s the catch?” said Simon Henser, a director at MPI. “The catch is they’ve got to be committed and got to show a great attitude towards safety.”
Trainees will complete Basic Signalling 1 (BS1) and BS2 courses, which will give them the underpinning knowledge and experience in railway signalling they need to become IRSE-licensed installers.

Trainees initially undertake a 12-week work experience placement before completing a 10-day signalling engineering BS1/BS2/SPWEE course. They then work as a trainee installer for six to nine months before working through a six-day electrical installation course.

Simon commented: “There has been a  recent shortage of IRSE licensed  installation personnel and it is fantastic that Siemens Rail Automation in Glasgow have worked with MPI to start this scheme for Scotland. This is a clear demonstration that the Siemens team in Glasgow are keen to invest in local people for current and future projects in Scotland.”

One of the new starters is 29-year-old Bryan McCarron from Motherwell. The father of two said he was relishing the opportunity to further his career with MPI and Siemens, having spent the last 12 years doing protection and civils work. “I think it’s a cracking opportunity and I am loving the trainee job and I am really keen to progress and make Siemens and MPI proud of me,” said Bryan.

Following the launch of the trainee presentation, Bryan received an award from Siemens for the best close call of the month on the PARR project.

Largest but not the first

Siemens, which employs around 1,650 in its Rail Automation business in the UK, has already delivered several signalling schemes in Scotland, including the Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central renewal schemes and the Airdrie to Bathgate and Borders Railway enhancement programmes. Future works include the Highlands and Edinburgh to Glasgow enhancement projects and the Motherwell North and Polmadie and Rutherglen renewals programmes.

The programme being run in Glasgow is the largest but it is not the first, said Simon. Smaller trainee installation schemes are already being run with Siemens in York and Birmingham, as well as on the Crossrail project in London. Around 50 trainees have come through the programme to date.

Richard Cooper, Siemens operations director, East, commented: “We
 are delighted to support this initiative. Trainees are vital to securing future generations of skilled workers on the railway, across all disciplines and trades, and this scheme supported by Siemens Rail Automation in Glasgow is a great step towards achieving this.”

Unlucky 13

Squeezed into a narrow and typically Pennine valley to the north of Todmorden is Lydgate Viaduct, an attractive structure comprising 13 spans. It forms part of the Copy Pit route (FHR6), a product of engineer John Hawkshaw, which traverses a geologically challenging landscape to reach Burnley, nine miles away. In doing so, the railway passes through Kitson Wood Tunnel – immediately east of the viaduct – and Holme Tunnel, further north, which Amco Rail partly reconstructed on Network Rail’s behalf in 2013-14. That intervention was prompted by a rotational landslip. We’ll recycle that sentence in a moment.

Attractive or not, it’s fair to say William Helliwell was not enamoured by Lydgate Viaduct. Immediately behind and rather overshadowed by it was Naylor Mill, which he owned. As the structure was being erected in the 1840s, Helliwell wrote to the Manchester Courier complaining that “various baulks, scaffolds etc etc so obstruct the light to my mill as to render it impossible for me to continue to run it with advantage either to myself or those in my employ.” Understandably exasperated, he closed the place down.

Months earlier, Helliwell had enjoyed temporary respite following the spectacular collapse of ‘Railway Mania’, an unsustainable investment frenzy which saw 272 Parliamentary Acts for new lines passed in 1846 alone. Many of those schemes were fraudulent, flawed or pointless duplications of rival routes.

In October 1847, activity on the ‘Burnley branch’ was halted – along with others being progressed by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway – bringing immediate redundancy for the many dozens of masons, carpenters and labourers toiling on the viaduct. Imagine the impact of that in an era before the welfare state. The winter had almost passed before the financial world had calmed sufficiently for work to resume, but with the economy measure that only one line of rails would initially be laid. It carried the inaugural train in November 1849.

A moving experience

We tend to forget that the environment around us is alive, even if it tends to move imperceptibly. The steeply-sided Calder valley has been contributing to the engineers’ workload for many years, resulting in the ongoing development of schemes to address a cracked retaining wall at Knott Road – just west of Lydgate Viaduct – and a slipping embankment in Kitson Wood, beyond the adjacent tunnel. Bridge reconstructions are also on the cards. But the viaduct itself exhibits the most eye-catching defects, not least because the main road runs right past it.

Movement of the structure was recorded between 1925 and 1934, as a consequence of which diagonal fractures developed in the western abutment’s curved wing wall. The parapet end on the north (Down) side was pushed inwards so the track alignment now includes a short transition length to ensure structure gauge clearance; a 20mph speed restriction has been imposed on the Down line. And then there’s the westernmost arch – Span 13 – which distorted significantly to its south elevation, becoming more Norman than Roman.

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Over the years, remediation has taken place in the form of stitching and pinning, as well as the rebuilding of spandrel walls and parapets. There are mortar ‘tell-tales’ in the wing wall, dating back to the 1930s; several of these are cracked.

Investigations from 1949 concluded that the failures were caused by a rotational landslip, with the slip circle rising to the surface beneath a row of cottages. These had been pushed closer to the road and suffered heaving of their floors. It was recommended that material be removed from the north side of the abutment and the toe of the slope loaded to resist further movement. Neither recommendation saw action but the cottages appear to have been demolished between 1956 and 1961.
In the Seventies, tie bars and a steel frame were installed within Span 13, wedged around the arch barrel with bullhead rail laggings and supported by stepped concrete foundations at the foot of the pier and abutment. Twenty years ago, four more tie bars were inserted above Pier 12 to restrain a large bulge in the south-side spandrel wall.

Hide and seek

In 2005, a detailed examination of Lydgate Viaduct found it to be in generally fair condition, although no confined space survey was undertaken of its voided spandrels. This was progressed six years later in advance of the five-month blockade to facilitate the works at Holme Tunnel, together with investigations to confirm ballast depth and deck construction.

Using a CCTV camera, it was observed that – above Pier 12 – four voids contained loose debris (soil and stones) whilst a fifth, on the south side, was partly infilled with concrete. The Yorkstone roof slabs had fractured, settling into the small space below where they were resting on the fill material. On the abutment side of Span 13, the voided chambers had similar characteristics but most of the roof slabs remained intact.

The arch itself was found to be in poor condition. Although Aerocem pressure pointing had taken place in the past – giving the arch face a satisfactory appearance – very little mortar was present within the joints behind. Moreover, the bullhead rail wedges were severely corroded and the uppermost tie bar had broken. Very shallow ballast depth was recorded above the crown due to the distorted arch profile, resulting in the Up line sitting 100mm higher than the Down. It was clear therefore that the time had come for a more substantive intervention, progressed during the current Control Period.

Although some ground investigation data had been archived from previous studies of the hillside above the viaduct, Hyder Consulting (now Arcadis) commissioned BAM Ritchies and Datum Monitoring Services to conduct new investigations in 2014. These would inform the design and give advance warning of any ground movement.

The work involved the installation of an inclinometer within a 150mm diameter borehole sunk in rough ground on the north side of Span 13. The borehole log recorded medium/high cobble content, with soft-to-firm clay overlying sand to a depth of 5.5 metres. Below this, firm-to-stiff clay was encountered, becoming stiff at 16 metres and recovered as sandstone gravel/cobbles from 19.5 metres to 21 metres.

Ten sensors were provided to continuously monitor rotational movement within the wing wall, arch barrel and inner faces of the pier and abutment, whilst two further sensors check for crack propagation in the wing wall. All indications suggest that the viaduct is now stable, with only cyclical and seasonal movement.

Pint pot

J Murphy & Sons inherited the project as part of its Network Rail structures framework agreement, awarded at the start of CP5. The firm appointed Tony Gee & Partners as its design consultant.

The optioneering process was complicated somewhat by the viaduct’s Grade II listing. Amongst the approaches considered was the infilling of Span 13 with lightweight concrete – creating a voided, cellular structure – but this was ruled out because of loading implications. Instead, it was agreed that a sprayed concrete arch would be applied, springing off in-situ concrete walls and supported by capped piles.

Towards its eastern end, the viaduct straddles three roadways and a watercourse, with several buildings in close proximity. The western half crosses tree-covered rough ground that rises to the north-west. Running on the south side – just eight metres from the base of Pier 9 – is the main Todmorden-Burnley road. So space was at a premium and made all the more challenging by the six-metre change in levels between the highway and the 70m2 work area below Span 13, where all the key activity was focussed. Programming, therefore, had to mostly follow a linear progression.

Enabling activity began on site in November 2016, with the setting-up of a compound on a narrow strip of land across the road. On site, conditions were initially very wet, with water emerging from below the displaced section of wing wall. The situation was improved greatly by putting stone down and creating a new drain.

The immediate priority was to add weight to the toe of the embankment, preventing further movement; this involved clearing the vegetation, allowing excavations within which a gabion retaining wall was built. Thereafter, the existing slopes were benched, a berm installed and the ground regraded to form a route up to where a piling mat would be established. Access was also provided along the north side of the viaduct.

With wagons bringing in several hundred tonnes of material, regular contact was needed with the local authority to agree appropriate traffic management measures.

Hit and miss

The intention was to begin the main strengthening phase in January 2017, after the earthworks had consolidated, but a three-week delay was incurred due to local authority recovery works following flash floods.

Van Elle was sub-contracted to fulfil both the piling design and installation, which called for a 4×5 array of piles, each 18 metres deep and 450mm in diameter. On top of these, a nominal 650mm thick cap was to be cast, stepping up in three sections from south to north.

An auger machine was used at the outset, but consistently refused at a depth of 5-7 metres due to boulders being encountered, probably tipped there when a nearby cutting was first excavated. The methodology was then changed to an Odex rotary percussive system; however this was limited to 232mm diameter with a sacrificial case. To account for this, the pile depth was increased to 22 metres and the concrete fill around the inserted rebar cage changed to a grout.

An additional pile had to be sunk at the critical north-west corner due to the failure of No.1 pile which twisted and then refused at around 18 metres. Completion of the piling took about two months.

With the concrete poured for the pile cap, attention turned to the splay walls against the pier and abutment faces. It was originally anticipated that the necessary shuttering would be outsourced to a specialist contractor using an off-the-shelf system, but this proved impractical because of its cost and complexity. Instead, the design and assembly was delivered by Murphy’s in-house temporary works team.

Due to the shape of the splay and the quantity of rebar, neither a conventional concrete pour sequence nor the use of vibrating pokers was possible, instead driving the choice of a self-compacting concrete.

Spray that again

The spraycrete works to the arch – undertaken by Gunform – were generally progressed during the day, but with the initial critical elements programmed for overnight midweek possessions. These were also utilised by Ropetech Access Solutions for de-vegetation work, crack stitching and repointing in hard-to-reach parts of the structure.

Despite its poor condition, Network Rail was understandably reluctant to remove any of the existing steelwork in case this caused instability. However, its surfaces were cleaned and prepared, and general repairs undertaken to the surrounding masonry. It was then encased in a nominal 100mm regulating layer of sprayed concrete, holes drilled to allow the fixing of starter bars and a waterproofing membrane applied.

The main structural barrel was sprayed in layers of 75mm, allowing each one to gain a strength of 30N/mm² before progress was made with the next. The overall minimum depth is 475mm, with rebar added in two stages. On top of this – to improve the finish – is a 25mm flash coat.

On the south elevation, listed building consent required the application of stone cladding to soften the concrete’s visual impact. However, on the north side and inner faces, it has been left exposed to allow the structure’s evolution to be seen.
Earthworks improvement formed the concluding part of the project, dismantling the upper section of gabion wall after creating another berm in front of it. The whole embankment was then regraded – rising at 27 degrees from the road – and new toe drainage provided.

After nine months’ implementation, and many more in development, the all-in cost to Network Rail has been £1.2 million. That might seem a chunky sum for one concrete arch, but there’s so much more going on here that the casual observer simply can’t see. You can bet, though, that William Helliwell is looking down and quietly chuckling to himself.

Thanks to Mark Billington and Chris Atkins from Network Rail, and Murphy’s Dave Copson, for their help with this article.

This article was written by Graeme Bickerdike.

Read more: Lighter and brighter: Carlisle Citadel station is transformed

Lighter and brighter: Carlisle Citadel station is transformed

Carlisle Citadel station is an architectural gem. Originally opened in 1847 to serve both the Lancashire and Carlisle Railway and the Caledonian Railway, it replaced several smaller stations located around the city. Being located close to the border of England and Scotland, this elegant station, even today, forms an important hub on the West Coast main line.

The station buildings have an interesting and complicated history – one that over the years has included some structural problems. Now, major refurbishment works are in progress that will rejuvenate the station’s ailing roof and, at the same time, greatly improve the platform ambience.

Constructed in a mixture of neo-Tudor and neo-Gothic styles, the station was rebuilt and enlarged in 1878-80 after the Midland Railway’s network reached the Border City via the Settle and Carlisle line. The architect was Sir William Tite, who designed many early railway stations in Britain and France, as well as the Royal Exchange in London.

The 1880 extensions to Citadel station created an elaborate building with a 400-foot frontage. It eventually served seven different railway companies, each of which had their own booking and parcels offices and passenger facilities. To complement Tite’s work, engineers Blyth and Cunningham of Edinburgh designed a seven-acre (2.83 hectare) iron and glass roof with giant screens at each end that featured ornate wooden glazing bars in a Gothic style.

The roof structure comprised 26 deep-lattice (double Warren) trusses spanning the platforms and tracks at 12.2 metre centres. Each girder had ten panels, stiffened end posts and a flat bottom tie. They supported slender cantilever half-truss hooped beams running parallel to the tracks at approximately 3.7-metre centres. The entire roof was glazed using shingled panes.

Cut backs

After neglect during World War II and afterwards, the whole roof began to fall into dilapidation so, in 1957, a decision was taken to reduce its area and repair what remained. The screens at each end were demolished, as was a large area of roof on the southwestern side of the station. At the same time, the original shingled glass panes were replaced by much larger ‘Patent Glazing’ panels. Today, the station and its roof are nonetheless impressive. Grade II* listed since 1972, the roof still sports a 50-metre clear span.

By 2014, it had become clear that intervention was again required, with the roof failing and becoming something of a liability. Investigation of the structure indicated that the steel roof trusses had sagged. This was blamed on a combination of age and the radical shortening of the existing roof span in 1957. The effects on the existing rigid glazing system and the roof drainage were severe, causing ponding of rainwater, leakage and the cracking and breakage of multiple glazing panels. Indeed, areas of the roof had been netted following falls of glass onto the station platforms.

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Access to the roof for repairs and cleaning had been restricted due to safety concerns. As a result, the glazing was in a filthy condition, which limited the light levels on the platforms below. Compounding this, the station’s lighting system was also sub-standard, resulting in light levels at the platforms being in the region of just 100 lux – equivalent to a very dark overcast day. Clearly, it was time for some serious remedial action.

Sensitive

The challenge for Network Rail’s appointed design consultant Arcadis, with support from architect Jefferson Sheard, was to provide a sensitive yet contemporary roof replacement that would preserve the original architectural aesthetic. Vital, too, was the proviso that the repair works should cause no disruption to the ongoing rail and passenger activity below.

Network Rail and its consultants have worked closely with Historic England and Carlisle City Council in order to plan the refurbishment whilst, at the same time, protecting the station’s listed building status. Separate listed building consents have been required for alterations to the roof itself, for new lighting and for the inclusion of holding-down anchors – of which more later.

Foiled

The chosen solution is centred upon the use of ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) foil sheets and aluminium framing. Manufactured by Vector Foiltec and marketed under the Texlon® brand name, this fluorine-based co-polymer material exhibits high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range. As well as being much lighter than glass, it offers greater light transmission and is shatterproof.

Key to ETFE’s use as a roofing and glazing material, it can be stretched (by up to three times) and it will remain taught even if some variation in size occurs, such as by thermal expansion. Being related to PTFE, it also has a non-stick surface, which means that it is self-cleaning.

Although the Texlon® ETFE system has been available for over thirty-five years, its adoption for use on Network Rail structures has been relatively recent. Notable examples include Birmingham New Street station and the Manchester Victoria station concourse, as well as smaller schemes such as the footbridge at Newport and the Underground station at London Heathrow Terminal 5.

Other high profile applications within the UK include the Eden Project in Cornwall and the National Space Centre in Leicester.

A £19.5 million two-phase programme of work commenced on 30 November 2015 to reconstruct the damaged roof and to rebuild the station’s eight platforms. The first phase included repairs to the roof trusses and replacement of the glazing at a cost of £12.5 million. The task undertaken by Network Rail’s appointed main contractor Galliford Try has not been a simple one.

Decked

Network Rail and Galliford Try have worked closely with Virgin Trains, which manages the station, to plan the work and minimise its impact on station users. The improvements have been made possible thanks to a huge scaffolding access deck which has been installed nine metres above the tracks through the station. As well as protecting the station’s platforms and running lines, it has provided safe access for the workforce. With the glass removed from the roof, this waterproof deck has also kept the station platforms dry.

Installation of the scaffolding and deck structures was, in itself, a significant feat of engineering. Covering an area equivalent to one and a half football pitches, it was estimated to weigh some 1,400 tonnes. Spanning four tracks of the West Coast main line and two bay platforms, each electrified at 25kV, it presented an installation challenge that took nine months to complete.

De-energising the OLE to allow the scaffolding installation work to be undertaken was initially restricted to just a four-hour time window each Saturday night. Although later extended to weekly six-hour slots, this restriction necessitated careful planning in order to maximise progress. For instance, cassette beams were pre-constructed and then slid across the tracks, suspended during this process from tensioned steel cables.

With the scaffolding and crash deck finally in place by November 2016, work could begin on removal of the 1950s Patent Glazing. North West Recycling Ltd, based at Kingmoor Park, Carlisle, has recycled most of the 114 tonnes of glass that was recovered from the roof. It has been used in the manufacture of window glass and beer bottles.

Once the glass was out of the way, repairs could then be undertaken on the iron and steel structure of the roof. This has included extra bracing and the addition of 4,000 metres of new steel purlins.

Repainting of the repaired roof structure was sub-contracted to Industrial Coating Services using International Paints Interseal 670HS two-pack epoxy paint as a three layer system. The cosmetic top coat, Interthane 990 Gloss, is of a rich slate grey colour, replacing the previous creamy yellow finish, which had not stood the test of time very well.

Tension

The single-ply ETFE foil has been installed in the form of 10×5 metre extruded sheets, each with a thickness of just 250 microns. In all, some 10,512 square metres of ETFE has been fitted by Vector Foiltec’s own engineers.

The installation technique includes a clever tensioning process. Each sheet is welded around its perimeter to a strip of foil folded over a ‘Keder’ rod. This perimeter assembly provides the means of structural connection between the ETFE panel and the aluminium perimeter framing.

Vertical mullions, spaced along the panels, have a concave surface onto which convex mullion caps are clamped, sandwiching the ETFE foil and thus tensioning it. At Carlisle Citadel, the 10-metre-long panels have fifteen such mullions, each of which has the effect of tensioning the foil by 3mm, giving 45mm of tensioning across its span.

With the Vector Foiltec ETFE system being just one-third the weight of conventional glazing, engineering calculations revealed that a freak gust of wind could possibly lift off the Citadel station roof! Highly unlikely as this might be, it has been necessary to mitigate the risk by attaching fourteen holding-down anchors to the roof structure.

Each anchor comprises a block of magnetite concrete, which is around 60 per cent denser than normal concrete, of up to 4.3 cubic metres (around 17 tonnes). Twelve of these anchors are buried below platform level and attached to the roof by vertical steel rods. At two locations, OLE foundations prevented burial, so the anchor blocks are discretely visible.

Citadel’s new roof system is projected to have a lifespan of at least fifty years. It’s also reckoned to be resistant to Carlisle’s troublesome seagulls. Apparently, it’s not unknown for these mischievous birds to drop stones from great heights.

Revealed

Forming phase two of the project, plans to upgrade and resurface the station platforms have been rescheduled in order to accommodate the repainting of the metalwork. Surprisingly, this repaint, which so vividly enhances the appearance of the new roof, did not originally form part of the project. Network Rail has been quite right in including it.

Dates for phase two are yet to be confirmed by Network Rail, but it seems likely that this £4.5 million second phase, which will be undertaken by Story Contracting, will commence in February 2018.

As the roof works near completion, the scaffolding has been gradually removed from the centre point of the station outwards. Just as if a giant curtain were being drawn back, the clear and bright new roof has been slowly revealed. New LED lighting completes the effect.

Chris Atkins, scheme project manager at Network Rail, said: “Passengers are really beginning to see the transformation of Carlisle station as a result of this work. The rejuvenated roof will mean a brighter, more airy and cleaner environment which will enhance the station’s beautiful features.”

This project represents a significant investment into Carlisle. It has not been without its challenges, but the result will be a greatly improved station that will provide a fitting gateway to the historic border city of Carlisle. But just watch out for those pesky seagulls!

This article was written by Stuart Marsh.

Read more: Bridging the gap at Kenilworth

 

Bridging the gap at Kenilworth

In 2016, construction work got underway at Kenilworth to create a new station building, platforms and a footbridge as part of an ambitious integrated transport system. For many years, residents in the Warwickshire town had lobbied hard for a new railway station following the closure and demolition of the old facility in 1965. Since then, the population of Kenilworth has increased by 50 per cent and today it is home to more than 24,000 people.

In 2013, following intricate negotiations, Warwickshire County Council confirmed that a new station would at last be built. Working closely with Network Rail, it was agreed that the facility, situated on the rail route between Leamington Spa and Coventry and very close to Kenilworth’s town centre, would receive a new hourly train service – enabling connections at Coventry to and from the north of the county, Birmingham and London and connections from Leamington Spa to London and the Thames Valley.

The local authority anticipates that the new station will boost the local economy, providing access to jobs, education and leisure opportunities within the town.

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Through the eye of a needle

Graham Construction, a family-owned company with a proud heritage dating back to the eighteenth century, was appointed principal contractor and is currently on site. The project involves the construction of new platforms, a new station building, cycle sheds, two lift shafts and a footbridge. Additionally, a car park and bus stop/turning facility will be provided.

The new facility is located on the site where the previous station once stood. Although the original station was demolished, the original footbridge and public right of way have remained in place ever since. This existing footbridge will be carefully restored and re-furbished as part of the works while an additional bridge, this one including lifts for better accessibility, has recently been installed.

A 500-tonne crane was used to install the footbridge, which spans 16 metres between supports and weighs 13 tonnes, within an eight-hour weekend possession on Saturday 8 July between 00:30 and 08:40. A further three five-hour possessions were utilised during midweek possessions to install the precast units which form the two lift shafts.

Although that all sounds fairly routine, it was actually a complex operation described by the project team as, “threading the eye of a needle having one eye shut and standing on one leg”. This is because the new bridge span, had to be manoeuvred up and over the existing bridge, avoiding local residential housing only metres away from one of the supports.

In total, some five bridge segments were installed over the course of these possessions, as were 16 concrete lift shaft segments, the heaviest of which weighed in at 10.5 tonnes and was lifted at a radius of 49 metres.

Outside of footbridge possession works, the Graham team is progressing well with the wider project. All piled foundations are installed, platform beams and slabs are in position, the station building is in the process of being erected and the car park works are underway.

Complex projects

Graham has a team of over 2,000 talented and highly qualified individuals who deliver innovative and value-adding services and projects across a wide variety of sectors.

Rail contracts director Jonathan Kerr, who was appointed earlier this year, is a highly experienced and widely respected civil engineering professional who has worked on a variety of complex infrastructure projects, primarily consisting of rail, bridges, highways and marine.

Recent projects undertaken by Jonathan and his team include the £11.2 million design, enabling works and build of a new M32 bus only junction and bus lane for South Gloucestershire Council, and civils works for Network Rail on the Wales Route Plan framework which were undertaken on live railway infrastructure.

The team also completed the £21 million A138 Chelmer viaduct replacement – a project that was completed at the end of 2016, following the successful delivery of the £9.5 million Tennison Road bridge (pictured above and below) replacement scheme in Croydon on behalf of Network Rail.

Graham’s rail division is currently leading the design and build of a project at Marsh Barton where the company has been commissioned to design and build a new railway station on behalf of Devon County Council. In addition, the company is strengthening a railway embankment and retaining wall at Pontypridd, in Wales and has a design and build contract for the widening of Lea Bridge overbridge in the London Borough of Walthamstow.

The team has also recently been appointed to replace the Bellenden and Westdown Road bridges and complete structural works to the existing River Medway bridge on behalf of Network Rail. The installation of new vehicle protection barriers at Reading station have also recently been completed.

In fact, over the last 12 months, the company has also been appointed to two major frameworks with Network Rail Wales Route (civil engineering planned works framework) and a five-year London Underground station works improvement programme.

Doing things differently

Jonathan knows that there can be no greater testament to the work delivered than positive feedback received from customers. A good example is a recent comment from Devon County Council’s chief engineer, Keith Dentith, who stated: “Graham is a fantastic business – a very knowledgeable team and incredibly accommodating. Their pre-work engagement and planning work so far on the Marsh Barton railway station project has been exemplary and it is clear to see that their wider industry experience and knowledge from other sectors adds huge value. I couldn’t be more pleased with the company’s contribution.”

“We try to think, act and behave differently,” Jonathan commented. “We believe that we need to offer support that adds value, coming up with new and innovative ways of doing things and making a profitable difference to our customers”.

“I believe that this can be achieved consistently if you work closely with your customers and stakeholders in the planning phases of any project and then maintain that throughout every stage of delivery – working together towards a common objective. In my experience, this will often shape and define the way in which projects are delivered from beginning to end.”

Strong leadership

Jonathan is now responsible for providing leadership and direction to the company’s growing rail division. “I believe that by selecting the right people anything is possible and here at Graham I have surrounded myself with strong teams who are hardworking and committed to making a positive difference to the people we serve.

“I know that by treating people in the right way we will continue to deliver great customer experience and a sustainable service as a consequence. My aim is to build and sustain momentum. My approach, which is tried and tested over the last 15 years, is based on keeping back office costs low whilst focusing on delivering front line services fantastically well for our growing customer base.

“I believe that Graham is a business that offers something very distinct from what already exists. Together, my team and I will approach business growth proactively and opportunistically, unlocking opportunities by offering a memorable, outstanding, unique, service experience and impressing and delighting our customers. Success in one area will lead to success in others and this will enable us to sustain growth. I look forward to our journey together – one which will sustain energy and focus; delivering safely and delivering well to achieve a positive outcome.”

Graham is no stranger when it comes to addressing missing links in major projects. The company’s work on the iconic Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin was ‘Highly Commended’ at the 2011 BCI Awards while regional stakeholders and industry commentators described its work on the M1/M2/Westlink upgrades in Belfast as “exceptional”.

Although the new footbridge and station development at Kenilworth is not the biggest and most challenging of Graham’s projects, the assignment will certainly give the company an opportunity to showcase its experience and expertise within the rail industry.

In focus: Kenilworth station…

Kenilworth station was built by the London and Birmingham Railway as part of the construction of the Coventry to Leamington line and opened for passengers on 9 December 1844.

The L&BR, which had earlier opened the 112-mile line from Euston station to Birmingham Curzon Street, merged with the Grand Junction Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway in 1846 to create the London and North Western Railway.

The Coventry to Leamington line was doubled over most of its length late in the nineteenth century, with only one short section at Gibbet Hill, just outside Kenilworth, remaining as single track.

Kenilworth station was closed in 1965 following the Beeching report, and the line singled apart from a passing loop at Kenilworth and the lines leading into the two remaining stations at Coventry and Royal Leamington Spa. Having remained open for goods, the line close completely in 1969 but was reopened in 1977. However, Kenilworth station remained closed and was demolished shortly afterwards.

Read more: Innovation and light bulbs

 

Innovation and light bulbs

Credit: Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E.
Credit: Sam Bloxham/LAT/Formula E.

Edison succeeded in making his light bulb work, eventually. It is often quoted that, on his path to success, he discovered 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb. Perseverance, then, won the day.

But, in the modern commercial world, constraints upon research budgets and resources do not allow for a trial and error approach to developing new concepts. Solutions need to be new and innovative, whilst also thoroughly proven before being implemented. They need to be delivered on time and on budget.

Under similar constraints, would Edison ever have reached his working light bulb moment?

Innovate or mitigate?

The constant drive to increase safety, improve efficiencies and provide better services creates opposing challenges for engineers. On the one hand, there is pressure to innovate, to embrace new technology and methods to meet today’s demands. On the other hand, when a new technology comes along and it is unproven in the rail environment, the burden of time and cost to test and qualify the product as fit for purpose, or otherwise, may result in true progress being aborted. Innovation can be stifled by the need to mitigate project risks.

Then there are the project risks associated with using older, yet proven, technology. Taking the assumed ‘safe route’ will often result in a sub-optimal solution, but is that what is really wanted for systems that are critical to operations, security or safety?

Avoiding the innovative solution in favour of an older, established one could also present risks for obsolescence management. While considering something new, assurances will be needed that it will be fit for purpose, without having to invest excessive amounts of valuable resource into detailed evaluations.

Consider the case of two technology examples:

Communications – Wireless methods have become essential for a range of modern applications and also open up new possibilities. But an average system, that works perfectly well in an open environment, may struggle to perform when introduced to the physical and operational challenges of the railway environment.

CCTV – There are many products available that are perfectly acceptable for general surveillance applications, including town centre and retail environments. However, operational and safety critical applications add an entirely different set of demands which cannot be met by many off-the-peg CCTV products.

Learning from elsewhere

A look at other industries with comparable requirements can de-risk innovation by identifying proven technology that transcends its origins and then applying that to the rail environment.

It’s widely accepted that the railway environment poses unique challenges for communications and CCTV technology. How many other industries can you name where systems operate indoors, outdoors, underground and overground, across both urban and rural areas?

Add to this the demand for systems to operate amongst high-voltage power lines and numerous metal structures. Equipment may also be subjected to vibration, shock, or suffer poor ventilation due to installation in confined spaces. In vehicle-based communication systems, one end of a wireless link may be travelling at high speed relative to the other. It’s fair to say that the list of comparable industries is not long.

It is possible that many of the challenges faced by rail engineers are also realised by engineers from other industries. If knowledge can be shared, and lessons learned from others outside of the rail environment, then new solutions may be found. But who else shares similar technical challenges? What problems have they encountered, what are their solutions and how can they be accessed?

Hiding in plain sight

In considering the core applications for these two technology examples, several solutions are hiding in plain sight.

Television broadcast offers many examples of high-quality video combined with wireless communications. Followers of the FIA Formula E Championship for all-electric racing cars will already have some insight into several technologies that will change transport in the future.

So what exactly does the world of sports broadcasting have to offer rail industry communications and CCTV?

Formula E has rapidly gained support from automotive manufacturers including Jaguar, Audi, Renault and Citroen, with Mercedes-Benz set to join the series in 2019. It symbolises a global motorsport shift toward efficient and sustainable energy solutions, developing cutting edge technology with real-world relevance.

In addition to wireless broadcast cameras in operation around the circuit, the cars are equipped with on-board camera systems transmitting low-latency, crystal-clear images from any of four micro-sized high-definition cameras along with audio and data related to the car’s speed, position and other telemetry. Up to 20 cars can be ‘live’ at any one time.

Race speeds of 140mph, near constant acceleration and deceleration, fierce vibration, shock and high temperatures are just a few of the physical conditions these systems must endure. Electric power delivery of 200kW in close proximity to the camera and transmitter systems also has to be taken into account.

Are these challenging conditions starting to sound familiar?

External factors show more challenges. Formula E races are mostly held on street circuits, adding the complexity of urban environments and myriad physical structures to the wireless transmission challenge. All of this must be accomplished using standard-based technology that is interoperable with a huge range of other equipment and also complies with stringent international regulations.

Beyond the obvious differences in application, it may be surprising to see the number of parallels to the rail industry. Of course, a sceptic may say: “If motor racing fans can’t see a driver’s camera view, then the race still carries on, but railway operation is totally dependent upon real-time video systems.”

That’s true enough. However, from the broadcaster’s perspective, there are no second chances to deliver on-board camera footage in a live scenario. Technical failures, picture degradation or dropouts are considered totally unacceptable. When over 190 million people in over 100 countries around the world are watching and judging the quality of the service being delivered, the commercial pressure is immense. The best picture quality has to be delivered, faultlessly, every time.

So whilst the world of motor sports broadcasting is ever keen to push boundaries and adopt the latest technology, is there sufficient proof that this wireless video technology is evolved enough to be used on railways?

Absolutely. Formula E has been operating these systems since the beginning of the series three years ago and variations are also in use by MotoGP, World Rally Championship and World Rallycross, plus many other sports and events globally. MotoGP even uses gyroscopically stabilised cameras to remove the ‘tilt’ as riders take corners.

In addition, law enforcement and public safety organisations around the world operate long-range airborne data links (ADL) using the same core technology for real-time surveillance. The technology is mature and proven enough to be depended upon under harsh conditions in mission critical applications, and brings the potential to revolutionise video communications in rail applications, including CCTV between trackside assets and moving trains.

Collaborative solutions

Identifying valuable technology developments from other industries is one step toward improving innovation in rail.

uilding upon what has already been proven mitigates the risks usually associated with being an early-adopter.

Collaboration, though, is ultimately the key to successful delivery, ensuring that engineers from each discipline are able to share core knowledge and work as a single team. With this in mind, Vislink, the leading provider of wireless video systems to broadcast, law enforcement and public safety markets, and Panasonic System Solutions Europe, a world leader in intelligent and connected technology solutions, have joined forces in a formal collaboration. This will bring their technical and commercial teams closer together, drawing upon experience from a wider pool of industry applications and enabling them to work on shared projects toward common goals.

Carl Pocknell, general manager at Panasonic System Solutions Europe, explained the approach: “Panasonic System Solutions Europe is focused on solving our customer problems in three key areas – critical infrastructure, connected communications and automation. This often involves identifying technology being used in other industries and analysing how it can be applied to our sectors of expertise. In this case, we have combined Panasonic’s innovative CCTV cameras and solution design alongside Vislink’s wireless technology, allowing users to monitor cameras without the delays (latency) that so often affect images in this type of environment.”

As an industry striving to continually innovate, collaborative solutions have the power to accelerate innovation or open a doorway to new capabilities. By taking a wider view, and drawing upon developments and experience from other markets, that next ‘light bulb’ moment is brought just a bit closer.

Read more: Reinstating Great Central’s bridge over the Midland main line

 

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