Railway depots are busy places. Trains arrive through the night, and there is very limited time before they have to be back out on the network again ready for the morning peak period. So the last thing engineers working to tight schedules need is to lose valuable time while searching for a specific tool or tool set. Lost time not only costs money but can add stress to any piece of work.
That is why there is a sound business case for equipping railway maintenance and repair depots with heavy duty, multi-drawer tool storage trolleys designed to take the knocks of daily use.
In many business sectors, including the global aerospace industry, engineering managers and their teams depend on Bahco tool storage trolleys and chests, knowing every tool can be found when it’s needed.
No irritating sorting through toolboxes or bags. No wondering: “Where on earth did I put that torque wrench or insulated screwdriver?”
Fitted drawers in seven colours
Foam inlays within each drawer bring order and organisation to the workplace. Bahco manufactures more than 50 different modules, each one a perfect fit in the trolley. The product range reflects the company’s relentless pursuit of perfection.
Buyers can choose heavy-duty trolleys from two sizes, seven colours and with six, seven, eight or twelve drawers.
When trolleys need moving, Bahco’s ‘lock and go’ system automatically secures the drawers when they are closed, while braked swivel wheels provide stability.
Fully opening drawers, with a load capacity of 45kg per drawer, move quickly and easily on ball bearing slides. Double walled frames enable drawers and slides to work perfectly, even if the frame gets damaged.
So to find the next tool that’s needed, just open the drawer and there it will be.
Hogging the limelight is something Crossrail is very good at. And so it should be: successfully threading a new railway through the capital’s subterranean clutter – to a few millimetres’ tolerance and without mishap – is outstanding by any measure. It’s a feat the industry should be shouting about, loudly and proudly. But Crossrail is not the only show in town when it comes to tunnelling. We’re doing a bit up North too, with a machine hand-built in Oldham.
The £400 million North West Electrification Programme might be a financial drop in the ocean alongside the £14.8 billion being spent under London, but it has transformational potential as part of Network Rail’s wider £1+ billion investment across the region’s strained rail network. When government gave the go-ahead for the Liverpool-Manchester phase in 2009, installing stanchions and stringing wires between them probably sounded like a quick-win, but there’s so much more to it.
As this magazine has described previously, negotiating sufficient clearance for overhead line equipment can involve bridge building, track lowering, platform modifications, signal resiting, drainage renewals…you get the idea. The expansion of the north-west’s programme to include Huyton-Wigan, Manchester-Preston (by December 2016) and Preston-Blackpool (by winter 2016/17) has added much to that workload.
The latest intervention – arguably the most eye- catching – impacts on the heavily-trafficked commuter route between Bolton and Manchester. Commanding attention this time are the 295-yard twin bores of Farnworth Tunnel, or Clammerclough as they were originally known. They don’t make names like that anymore. But what’s proposed here is not another nibbling away of the invert to steal a few inches. This one is brutal.
Hold on tight
Engineered by John Hawkshaw of Severn Tunnel fame, Farnworth’s first bore was constructed between 1835 and 1838, the intention being for it to host two tracks.
It did just that for 42 years. English Heritage regards the structure as historically significant, dating from the “pioneering first phase” of railway building and thus warranting a Grade II listing.
Formal opening took place on 17th May 1838 when directors of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Railway invited friends and financiers to join them on an “experimental trip” up the line. One correspondent observed that “By a judicious contrivance of the engineer, the tunnel has been lighted by a shaft sunk from the surface, about equidistant from either end, and covered by a glass dome; and the unpleasant sensation felt by many persons in the dark tunnels on other lines is thus obviated. The time occupied in passing through by a first class train is barely 30 seconds.”
To aid their recovery from this 20mph white-knuckle ride, about 200 gentlemen reconvened at the Ladyman’s Hotel in Salford for dinner and “choice wines”. Numerous toasts followed. By the time Hawkshaw rose to say a few words, the gathering was described as “convivial”. I bet. He reported that “all the cuttings, embankments and bridges on this line have been made of more than ordinary width with a view to the ultimate laying down upon the road of a third line of rails.” Hawkshaw had a vision of future capacity constraints, but unfortunately it wasn’t clear enough to engineer the tunnel with a more generous structure gauge. When Pullman coaches were introduced on the route from Manchester to Carlisle, the only way to accommodate them was by driving a second bore for the Down line. Work on it took seven months, opening on 5th December 1880.
Photo: Four by Three.
Here we go again
The latest stage in Farnworth’s evolution will be played out between now and October. But like the old broom that’s had a new head and handle, if you drive a bigger bore on a different alignment, is it still the same tunnel? Obviously not. Hawkshaw’s structure will cease to exist – filled with lightweight foamed concrete, along with its shaft and 13 cross passages. The whole thing will then be rebored so that the two tracks can be reunited, along with their associated OLE.
In developing a way forward, the project team considered a dozen options, from the tunnels’ complete removal to a conventional track lower. Two key factors determined their selection – a desire to improve the track alignment and thus increase linespeed, and the deteriorating condition of the tunnels. Surveys of the Down bore identified an assortment of defects: hollow brickwork, open joints and bulging, transverse and longitudinal cracks. Most of these were a product of water ingress. Even without electrification, there would have been a need to act in the foreseeable future; the structure is effectively life-expired.
Preparatory works for the reboring have been ongoing since February, closing the railway at weekends. The main phase gets underway on 2nd May, taking the Up tunnel out of commission. Thereafter, single line working will be introduced through the Down tunnel to maintain a weekday service. Crossovers have been installed for this purpose, together with a dedicated panel in the signalling centre at Manchester Piccadilly.
The impact on paths is considerable, but Network Rail and the two train operators – Northern and First TransPennine Express – have been collaborating closely to ensure eight trains per hour can run during the peaks, with longer formations to maintain carrying capacity. In some places, this has necessitated the provision of temporary platform extensions. To keep things moving, the stations at Farnworth, Kearsley, Moses Gate and Clifton will be closed until 5th October and served by buses.
In November 2014, Network Rail appointed Buckingham Group as principal contractor for the project which incorporates the reconstruction of a retaining wall and road bridge at the west end of the tunnel, as well as moving Farnworth Station’s platforms northwards to meet the new track alignment. As you’d expect, the opportunity is also being taken to progress other jobs elsewhere along the route. J Murphy & Sons are carrying out the actual tunnelling operation to a design by OTB Engineering.
Deep cuts
What’s involved is very different to the approach seen on Crossrail. London Clay is soft and quite predictable, ideal for the rotary Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) we’ve become accustomed to seeing. But Farnworth poses a different challenge, with ground comprising concrete, brickwork, stone and timbers from the old infilled tunnel, surrounded by untouched glacial tills. So what’s being deployed here is a classic open-faced shield, fabricated up the road in Oldham by Tunnel Engineering Services. Measuring 8.83m in diameter, it’s the biggest they’ve ever built.
The machine has been designed around a system of trapezoidal precast lining segments from Buchan Concrete Solutions. Ten of these segments are assembled to form one ring, 600mm in thickness and with a diameter of 8m. Each ring provides a 1.4m advance.
Housed within the machine’s main 3.24m shell are two telescopic cutting booms, controlled by joystick from the operator stations behind them. Mounted one above the other to excavate the upper and lower halves of the working face, the booms are supported on slewing bearings which slide along a transverse beam. This arrangement enables the excavator bucket (or drum cutter if the ground requires it) to reach both the full width of the face and the conveyor onto which spoil is deposited for removal.
Whilst mining, the shield moves itself forward – and steers – using 20 shove rams that push against the last ring of lining segments, exerting a maximum combined force of 2,200 tonnes. The ground above is supported by a series of fore-poling plates at the crown, incorporated within a hood that extends 2.275m beyond the main shell. A modular spoil control platform, positioned by a series of rams, offers protection from falling material at the face. To control dust and generally improve the working environment, there will be water sprays and forced ventilation from the western end through an access way formed within the concrete fill.
Behind the operator stations is the lining’s rotary segment erector, supported by a ring beam mounted on a slew bearing with integral drive gearing. The system has two heads operating in opposite directions, each with a 3-tonne capacity and using a hydraulic pick-up fitted to a parallel motion linkage mounted on the beam. The build takes place within the machine’s tailskin, at the end of which is a double row of brush seals; these retain the grout which is injected through sockets in the segments to fill the void between the extrados and the bored face.
As it progresses, the shield tows a series of gantries. These house the modular hydraulic power packs, cable storage reels, grout pumps, agitating tanks and a handling system to hoist the lining segments from dumpers and feed them into the build area. Running front-to-back through the machine is a central conveyor, taking spoil from the base of the shield hood onto a secondary belt across the top of the gantries. From here it is discharged into the dumpers for disposal.
After a trial assembly at the factory, the machine will be transported to site in six pieces and rebuilt in a launch pit at the Kearsley (east) portal where a large steel frame is being erected for it to push against whilst excavating the first few yards through the portal’s new concrete headwall. The expectation is for progress to be made at a rate of around six metres per day, its movement along the curved alignment being assisted by a laser guidance system. A reception pit will await the machine at the Farnworth end where it will be dismantled. Thereafter an in-situ concrete invert slab will be poured through the tunnel prior to the p-way works getting underway.
Photo: RJD Engineering.Good vibrations?
Although the control provided by the open-face approach results in far less ground disturbance than with a rotary TBM, you might reasonably ask what effect the mining activity will have on the ailing Down tunnel next door, through which trains will still be passing. At their closest point, the intrados of the two existing bores are less than five feet apart, although they don’t follow an entirely parallel course.
One key part of the preparatory works has involved the spraying of a 200mm fibre-reinforced concrete lining through the Down tunnel during a series of 54- hour weekend possessions. This lining incorporates two layers of welded mesh fabric reinforcement and is supported on dowel bar anchorages at the toe of the sidewalls. The result of this is to make the pre- existing brick lining redundant. Through one section, there was insufficient clearance to adopt this solution so brickwork had to be removed at the crown and steel ribs fitted. A high-strength grout has also been injected to provide further support by stiffening the ground on the Up side. Not surprisingly, the structure gauge is now tight, demanding the imposition of a 10/15mph speed restriction. Nevertheless, a clearance of 50mm is still provided at W6A gauge, with a further 30mm tolerance for inconsistencies in the sprayed lining.
Allied with the strengthening is an optical deformation monitoring system to determine absolute displacements in three dimensions. Supplied by Murphy Surveys, this will be carried out using a total station and reflective prisms established at 10m centres through most of the tunnel, reducing to 5m centres in the section with ribs. Real-time alerts will be provided via a web portal. Inclinometers are also being installed in the surrounding ground, together with a geodetic survey of the portals.
Look local
It’s clear that the challenges posed at Farnworth are amongst the stiffest yet faced by the north-west electrification team, both in engineering terms and operational impact. Those in the know insist the tunnelling itself is quite straightforward but, given the risks involved, its reliance on a highly-skilled workforce is beyond doubt.
With Crossrail’s tunnel drives almost at an end, here’s an opportunity to refocus the spotlight from the outstanding German machinery that has worked wonders under London, onto home-grown engineering and innovation. After all, it was John Hawkshaw and his contemporaries who pioneered railway tunnelling as we know it. We’ll return to see how it all performed when the curtain comes down in October.
The Railtex Awards dinner is one of two opportunities to network and, frankly, have a good time that are available to exhibitors and guests at this year’s show.
The first is the Networking Reception at the end of the opening day, during which exhibitors can meet old acquaintances and new colleagues as well as those visitors who have stayed on. Everyone will have a relaxing time, there is usually a jazz trio or similar, and it’s a great way to network.
The following night is a more formal occasion – the Railtex Awards dinner, sponsored this year by Rail Media. Over the road from the show itself in the Hilton Metropole Hotel, exhibitors, visitors and their guests will gather for an evening of entertainment, dinner and – you guessed it – more networking. That will start at the drinks reception, hosted this year by Quattro, and carry on throughout the night.
There will be music as well. Singer-songwriter Harriet McDonnell will play during the drinks reception. During the meal, there will be live background piano music from Mark Bettis featuring swing from the 1920s right through to current day.
Oh – and look out for the Jelly Baby Express!
Over coffee, Rod Woodward, one of the fastest-rising comics in Britain, will be drawing the laughs and getting the audience into a cheerful mood ready for the climax of the evening.
There will also be a sense of anticipation as the time for the awards presentations draws close. A host of companies have entered nine categories – one has over 80 entries alone – so competition will be fierce. The nine winners will be congratulated by Roy Walker, former host of the TV show Catchphrase.
After the formal session is over, the winners will want to celebrate, the losers will need to cheer themselves up, so it will be time for more music as the Smooth Criminals play until midnight.
So come along for a great evening, it’s only £90 a place so easily affordable, and celebrate what’s best about Railtex and our industry. Then on Thursday, look out for the awards being proudly displayed on nine stands around the show. Full marks if you spot them all!
To attend the Railtex Awards dinner you don’t have to be an exhibitor – all are welcome! Tickets are £90 +vat and available online from www.railtex.co.uk
Much has been written to explain the operation and benefits of Communications Based Train Control (CBTC). By default, such technology has become associated with modern metro operations around the world. Lines that employ CBTC enjoy a significant increase in train running capacity as well as achieving automatic train operation (ATO), automatic train protection (ATP) and improved information to the travelling public.
However, converting an existing line from conventional signalling to CBTC can be a tortuous process and London Underground has experienced some challenges with such upgrades. The Jubilee line has had a history of problems when, firstly, the original plan for ATO had to be abandoned prior to the Millenium and, secondly, the subsequent deployment of the Thales Seltrac system encountered many problems before commissioning was finally achieved in 2011 in readiness for the London Olympics.
Even the Victoria line upgrade to CBTC using an Invensys (now Siemens) system needed considerable weekend line closures before a phased introduction could take place. However, perseverance is a virtue and the Northern line has recently been fully equipped and commissioned using the Thales Seltrac CBTC technology with only minimum disruption to the train service and hardly any of the users even noticing that an upgrade had taken place. Not being on the front page of the newspapers with reports of travel chaos is testimony to a successful project. Rail Engineer recently visited both London Underground and Thales to see how lessons had been learned.
The Thales Seltrac system
This technology, originally developed for the Vancouver Sky Train network, has been around since the 1990s.
First used in the UK by Docklands Light Railway, the technology was designed for moving block operation using a continuous track-mounted loop that gives full ATO (Automatic Train Operation) and also allows trains to ‘close up’ during high density running.
Each loop is mounted within the ‘four foot’ running rails with a transition every 25 metres where a phase change takes place. Train location is thus confirmed at every transition point and this works in conjunction with train odometry and accelerometers for accurate positioning data. The transmission from loop to train is an inductive couple of around 56KHz.
Movement Authorities (MAs) are generated from the control centre equipment and are calculated in real time. The MA will extend forward as the train in front advances. To maximise capacity, as trains close up and slow down, the MA will allow a following train to get within 50 metres of the preceding train but the precise distance will depend on the gradient at that point and the actual speed of both trains.
Each train receives an individually addressed telegram at least every three seconds or when a new command is given. In the event of no telegram being received in the timeframe, an automatic stop will happen. During normal running, the MA will take the train to the next station stopping point where the accuracy of position is at worst 50cm but is normally ± 10cm to align with platform screen doors.
The core of the train equipment is two VOBCs (Vital On- Board Computers) with associated aerials to read the loop information, one at each end of the train. Each of these has a duplicated computer that requires both to be in agreement before commands to the train traction and braking systems can be transmitted (two out of two configuration). Both VOBCs act independently, with the one adjacent to the driving end normally being used once the driver logs in.
Should this fail, the system will switch to the other VOBC at the rear which then automatically adjusts to the train length when assigning new Movement Authorities. The ‘distance to go’ is always calculated from the front of the train. Connection between the two VOBCs is by both hard wired train lines and a serial data link.
Equipping the Northern line
Both the Jubilee and Northern line upgrades were let as one contract in 2004 with design work taking place up to 2006. From then, a lull in proceedings occurred while Thales and London Underground took stock of how the installation, testing and commissioning would be progressed and to ascertain the demarcation of responsibilities. With the Jubilee line having priority and being commissioned over the period December 2010 to June 2011, extra time was available to plan for the Northern line which was seen as more complex with its two north south routes across central London, complicated junctions at Camden Town and Kennington, and two northern branches.
The architecture of the Seltrac system as applied to the Northern line is structured around a dedicated fibre optic network from the control centre at a new north London site (Highgate) connecting into selected station equipment rooms. From these the information to the loops is fed by co- axial cable. To obtain full resilience, six transmission rings are provided that segment the railway into logical sections.
The trains, known as 1995 stock, had been in service since the latter part of that decade and thus required retro-fitting with the CBTC equipment. This presented quite a challenge as the vehicles had lots of discrete computers for the various train functions coupled with a multitude of hard wiring. Around 2000 wiring changes per cab end, mainly to accommodate the double ended VOBC configuration, had to be carried out in the process of conversion.
This work was done by Alstom, which own the trains and leases them to London Underground, but with the full participation of local staff at both Edgware and Morden depots. Retro-fitting is never easy, each train needing to be out of service for 14 days and costing £400k.
Trains can operate in one of three modes:
» Full ATO mode where the drivers have only to control door opening / closing and press two start buttons to set the train moving. The driver has a screen showing the MA for reference purposes. This is the normal operating condition.
» Protected Manual Mode where the train is manually driven to the limits of the MA with the in-built train protection system causing automatic braking if the MA looks like being exceeded. Drivers may choose to use this mode as a means of greater vigilance when planned trackside work is taking place or when adhesion conditions are poor and more sensitive driving techniques are needed. All drivers are expected to use this mode on occasions so as to remain familiar with the operation.
» Restricted Manual Mode for when the communication link to the train is lost. In such circumstances there is no Movement Authority but trains can be driven ‘on sight’ at a maximum speed of 17kph following a voice instruction from control. Safety protection is maintained by lineside ‘remote secure indicators’ that assure the correct setting of points and also by the continuing function of axle counters to give train position information. This mode is used in the depots to get a train to the system entry point but the occasions when it is used on the main line are now extremely rare.
If a train suffers a major electrical or mechanical failure, a ‘train doctor’ at control talks the driver through various re- set procedures such as power down / power up. If this is not successful, an on-call technician will be despatched to the failed train and, if necessary, arrangements can be made for the following train to push the failure to a stabling siding.
Changeover to CBTC operation
Migration strategy centred around six stages, starting with the short section from High Barnet to West Finchley in February 2013, followed by the section to Highgate including Finchley Central and the Mill Hill East spur.
Having gained some operational experience, the difficult section onwards to Angel and Euston was then tackled including the important Camden Town multi line junction.
Stage four embraced both the central London routes (City and Charing Cross Branches) including the combining line junction at Kennington with its semi-circular reversal loop. Following that, the south line to Morden with its stabling depot was cut over and finally, in June 2014, the section from Belsize Park to Edgware including the depot at Golders Green was implemented.
All this has enabled an increase in capacity with currently 26 trains per hour (tph) on the Bank branch, 22tph via Charing Cross and 30tph down to Morden. The normal service pattern is for Charing Cross line trains to run only as far as Kennington then traverse the reversal loop to run back northwards. Bank line trains run through to Morden. Northbound trains run to Edgware and High Barnet from both the Bank and Charing Cross routes with Mill Hill East being served by a shuttle from Finchley Central.
In peak hours, trains can serve all terminal points from any station and this means a very complex timetable that has the effect of reducing the maximum possible throughput. As the London Underground engineer stated: “If you were building the Northern line again, you would not construct it the way it is.”
At the start of a journey, the driver enters their number on the cab set-up panel and picks up the train timetable number. If these conform to what is expected, the train can set off once the appropriate MA is displayed. Simultaneously, the train goes to green on the controller’s screen whence progress is monitored on the line display.
At terminal stations, or at intermediate locations where the train is due to terminate, the control centre display goes to orange until the driver re-inserts journey information in the far-end cab.
The CBTC system has been linked to the existing platform indication displays giving a more accurate count down to the time and destination of the next arrival. Similarly, the existing track-to-train radio system (Connect) remains in service but with its control consoles transferred to the new control centre.
Learning from past lessons
Both London Underground and Thales were determined not to repeat the organisational and technical problems that occurred on the Jubilee line. A policy of ‘One Team Working’ was instigated with both parties occupying the same premises at Canary Wharf. By doing this, questions that previously took a week to get answered could now be resolved in minutes. Reliability Objective Groups were initiated and a six month period of shadow running was introduced that allowed the system to be soak tested whilst the trains remained driven to the old signalling.
Another important decision was to retain a loop-based system rather than moving to radio transmission in line with general CBTC advancement. This was partly driven by both Jubilee and Northern line contracts having been let at the same time and some equipment having been purchased for both. The need to avoid new untested technology was, however, the overriding reason as this was just too risky. The number of commissioning stages was another factor, limiting these to manageable limits and starting with the simpler was a contrast to the Jubilee line introduction.
The Northern line CBTC project cost has been around £330 million, which included the preparation and independent assessment of a safety case. Also included was the provision of the dedicated fibre network. A study is being carried out to see whether the London Underground Connect transmission network could be used in part as the bearer for future line upgrades, thus offering the prospect of some cost reduction.
Future Plans
An extension of the Northern line from Kennington to Battersea, with an intermediate station at Nine Elms, is now authorised and work will commence shortly with a completion date in 2018. This will connect into the Kennington turn back loop with the planned service being to divert all Charing Cross line trains to Battersea, thus allowing 32tph on both central London branches. Further increases in capacity up to 36tph will only be possible by additional segregation of services at Camden Town, but it is recognised that this will be at the expense of some passenger inconvenience and no final decision has yet been taken.
Thales is also the nominated supplier for the much- troubled upgrade plan to equip the Sub Surface Lines with CBTC systems. Although these too will use the Seltrac design, this time it will be radio-based so a technology change becomes necessary. A preliminary contract is enabling some testing work to be done at the Old Dalby test track where the new S Stock is undergoing commissioning trials. Assuming success, radio technology should set the scene for eventual conversion of the remaining London Underground lines to CBTC operation.
The Italian state railways (Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane) ran the new Frecciarossa 1000 train between Milan and Rome at the end of April.
Built in Italy by a partnership of Bombardier and AnsaldoBreda, the new train – officially a V300ZEFIRO – has a top commercial speed of 360km/h and is capable of reaching 400km/h – making it the fastest regular passenger train. At the moment, it is limited to 300km/h due to infrastructure restrictions but will shortly commence testing at 350km/h.
Bearing in mind that this 2015 launch is 10 years ahead of HS2, what speeds will trains reach when the British network comes into service? Currently, the network is being planned for a 400km/h maximum speed but the designs are future-proofed so that this can be changed later if necessary. That will partly depend on the trains’ top speed, and also on the trade-off between that and energy consumption.
A total of 50 eight-car Frecciarossa 1000 trains have been ordered. The first will enter passenger service in June.
If you do away with the wheels, you can go faster. That’s what Japan’s JR Central railway has done, building a maglev railway for test purposes between Ōtsuki and Tsuru in Yamanashi Prefecture which was then further extended to 42.8km in 2013.
Maglev (MAGnetic LEVitation) uses magnets to both make the train hover just above a flat metal ‘track’ and also to propel it along. With no rolling resistance, and a streamlined shape, high speeds are possible. A manned train hit 603km/h (375mph) – a world record – towards the end of April, just a few days before the Frecciarossa 1000’s first run.
Eventually, similar trains will run on the Chuo Shinkansen line connecting Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Although construction commenced in 2014, it is not expected to open until 2027 as far as Nagoya and 2045 all the way to Osaka. Some 90% of the total 286km route will be underground or in tunnels.
The Thameslink programme is going well. A complex project to upgrade the existing route through the centre of London while also adding new London Bridge, which is currently destinations, disruption was always bound to occur but, by 2018, it will be complete and a staggering 24 trains per hour each way will be running on a twin-track railway through the centre of London.
The £6.5 billion project will see the original destinations of Bedford and Brighton augmented by Peterborough and Cambridge, from whence trains will run through the Canal Tunnels, joining the ‘traditional’ Thameslink route just north of the St Pancras platforms. At the southern end of the route, trains will terminate at Tattenham Corner, Horsham, Caterham, East Grinstead Sevenoaks and Maidstone in addition to Brighton.
All trains will call at St Pancras, Farringdon, City Thameslink and Blackfriars. The latter station has already been completely rebuilt to span the Thames.
Many services will also stop at London Bridge, which is currently getting a makeover. The work required is extensive and long-suffering commuters are having to cope with an ever-changing situation. However, once complete, Thameslink’s services will have a dedicated path through the busy station for the first time ever.
All of this has been reported in Rail Engineer on many occasions, with Collin Carr, David Bickell and others keeping readers updated on developments.
But what of the trains? There was a big fuss when it was announced that Germany’s Siemens was to get the order rather than ‘British’ Bombardier, but what has happened since?
The order
A total of 1,140 carriages were ordered from Siemens. The contract was first announced on 16 June 2011 when Cross London Trains Ltd, a consortium formed by Siemens Project Ventures GmbH, Innisfree Ltd., and 3i Infrastructure Ltd, was revealed as the preferred bidder. It was the last day of Railtex that year, and the Siemens staff were understandably in celebratory mood.
However, after delays in confirming the finance (a total of 19 banks were involved), the order was not signed until July 2013. By then, to hit production targets as the railway was still due to be complete in 2018, Siemens had already manufactured pre-series vehicles including bogies and traction equipment which were undergoing tests in Germany.
So once the go ahead was finally given, production could commence in earnest. Sixty 8-car and fifty-five 12-car units were specified, designated Classes 700/0 and 700/1 respectively.
The units all have a welded aluminium construction with inside-frame bogies. Four cars on the 8-car units, and six on the 12-car, will have both bogies powered while the others will be purely trailer vehicles. All trains will be dual- voltage, working off both 25kV AC and 750V DC supplies. Two pantographs will be fitted and both will be used in normal operation.
Mechanically, the trains will be symmetrical around the centreline. Both driving cars will be powered as will the third and sixth on the 8-car and the third, fourth, ninth and tenth cars of the 12-car.
One interesting way to quickly tell a power bogie from an unpowered one is to look at the brakes. Primary braking on the train is by regeneration, but the unpowered bogies have large vented disc bakes while the powered bogies, with no room for discs due to the traction motors inside the frames, have tread brakes.
Manufacturing process
The Class 700 trains are being assembled at Krefeld in Germany, close to Düsseldorf. Here the bodyshells are constructed from plank-like hollow aluminium extrusions. Several of these ‘planks’ are clamped together and welded up longitudinally on a large welding machine to form a solid side. More are clamped onto a curved jig and again welded to form the roof.
These large panels go into a huge, boxed-off milling machine where the window and door apertures are cut, together with any other holes for equipment and power access.
The floors are made in the same way except these are welded up by hand from sturdier elements, including two friction-stir-welded plates which will take the bogie attachments.
The four main elements are then welded together to make a recognisable bodyshell, and the fitting-out and painting can begin. Final assembly is done on a production line in five stages, number four purely being testing of the systems installed in the first three.
After assembly and test, the cars are made up into four- car units and hauled off to the test track for final assembly into finished trains and final testing.
3D planning
One interesting area of the Krefeld factory is a cinema- style room with a huge screen and no seats. Here, graphics of the trains can be displayed using information straight out of the design software. It doesn’t just give a view of the finished trains, it does it in layers and in three-dimensions.
Wearing 3D glasses, viewers can therefore see each element of the train and how it interacts with others. By panning and rotating the view, it can be inspected from all sides.
There are many uses for this technique, but one of the most important is trial-assembly. The build sequence can be tested, and any conflicts, whereby a component cannot be installed as it will be blocked by something else, can be sorted out before assembly starts in the factory itself. This prevented all of the initial build errors that crop up in any complex assembly.
Under test
The first 12-car set arrived at the Siemens test and validation centre at Wildenrath (PCW – Prüf- und Validationscenter Wegberg-Wildenrath) in March 2014. This was only eight months after the contract was signed.
At the time of writing, six further trains, five more 12-car sets and the first 8-car, have also commenced testing. The programme includes performance testing, checks on ride comfort and safety systems, and racking up fault- free running. Driver training is also underway as Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) trainers gain experience on the new trains so they can impart that knowledge to the rest of the drivers on their return to the UK.
The first train is due to arrive in the UK in August 2015 and, after testing under British conditions on the main line, be handed over to GTR in December. It should then enter passenger service sometime in February 2016, displacing a Class 319 set which will be cascaded elsewhere in the network.
From early 2016, trains will arrive at a rate of one a week until the entire contract is complete with the last unit handed over in June 2018.
Riding on the first prototype around the Wildenrath test track revealed a modern, quiet multiple- unit without any vices. The seats were quite hard, as is often found on commuter trains, with a 2+2 seating arrangement reflecting the fact that these are medium-distance trains and not just short-haul, standing- room-only commuter specials. Both conventional and accessible CET (controlled emission toilets) are included with the latter being in the centre of the train.
Doors are wide and there is a large open space adjacent to get people on and off. Luggage racks seem strong (a Siemens engineer was sitting in one) and well-placed.
The driving position is central – there is no gangway-connection between units on these trains – with a good view. As it was under test, the usual Driver’s Safety Device (née ‘dead man’s handle’) was disconnected and a load of test cables emerged from the desk, but it was simple for a novice to drive.
When in service, the trains will be fitted with large passenger- information displays which can also play video – ideal for both safety messages and advertising.
All in all, the trains look and feel good and testing is going well. The next step will be to see the first one in the UK in August – but where will it go?
Depots
115 trains, or 1,140 carriages, take up a bit of room – in fact just over 23 kilometres in total. Even with an old Class 319 being retired when a 700 goes into service, there will still be a considerable amount of space required, particularly as there will be a lag on the cascade.
The two main depots for the fleet will be Hornsey on the East Coast main line, in 25kV country, and at Three Bridges on the 750V DC Brighton line.
Three Bridges is interesting in that it occupies both sides of the main line. The main five-road workshop is on the Up side with storage sidings between it and the main line. Facilities include a wheel lathe, carriage wash and two bogie drops. The southbound side has just sidings, a carriage wash and a full-length under-frame cleaning building. All sidings have CET emptying stations. The two parts of the depot are connected by a footbridge.
There is actually a third part to the site, behind the main maintenance facility on the line to Littlehaven, where some additional stabling, with CET emptying stations, has been constructed.
Hornsey is on a long, thin site that is already occupied by the depot for several classes of trains including Classs 319s. The original plan for a larger depot was rejected in 2009 and the resulting rethink reduced it in size and enlarged Three Bridges.
The reconstructed depot at Hornsey, which will be open for the new Class 700 trains in 2016, includes an updated wheel lathe, carriage wash, underframe cleaning building and a three-road maintenance shed.
Three Bridges will come on-stream before Hornsey and, when the first Class 700 arrives through the Channel Tunnel early in August this year, it will be taken to the West Sussex depot.
It must have been a great sense of relief for everyone when Network Rail announced on Friday 13 March, three weeks earlier than the expected date, that the line between Leamington Spa and Banbury was now open and safe for trains to run. This was less than six weeks after the 350,000 tonne landslip extending along more than 150 metres of embankment had occurred at Harbury Tunnel cutting on 31 January.
The route carries more than 50 freight trains and 80 passenger trains every day and, although the two tracks were not directly affected by the new slip, it was clear that the potential for further movement was significant and therefore the route had to be closed and a solution quickly found.
Largest man made cutting
The railway, built by Brunel, came to the village of Harbury in 1847 as part of the construction of the main Oxford to Birmingham GWR line. The cutting is located to the north of the village and, at the time, it was considered to be a significant engineering feat. At over 34 metres deep the cutting was the largest man-made cutting in the world that was dug entirely by hand through Blue Lias clay. It was completed in 1852 and, as was often the case, the workers employed to build the line lived in housing constructed in the village.
There is a history of geotechnical failures associated with the cutting so it has been closely monitored for any movement for many years. When the landslip occurred, work was nearing completion on an earlier shallow, one metre deep, 20 metres wide landslip at the same site and J Murphy and Sons, Network Rail’s emergency earthworks contractor in LNW, was on site completing this work valued at £2 million, re-grading the slope, installing counterfort drains and removing debris from the toe of the cutting.
Just before Murphy had been due to start permanent works on the two-metre slip in the summer of 2014, our friend the Great Crested Newt, surfaced. The site is already a SSSI because of its butterflies and there are bats and badgers as well, so appropriate protective measures were put in place. As this took some time, this work could not start until September 2014, with the onset of much wetter conditions.
Slips were a regular occurrence
The wetter conditions did not help the stability of the cutting at all and small slips like the one being repaired have occurred on average every four or five years. During 2013/14, the rainfall in this area was very heavy. The geological mapping of the area showed that there was completely or partially-weathered Blue Lias clay, embedded with mudstone, resting on a near horizontal limestone band which was jointed to form blocks of various sizes and allowed water seepage after rainfall. However, unbeknown to the engineers involved, a vertical fault line of limestone backed by mudstone ran along the cutting parallel to, and located approximately 35 metres away from, the railway tracks.
This impermeable fault line was effectively facilitating a head of water that was ten metres higher behind the fault line than in front. After heavy rainfall, it is hypothesised that this vertical differential caused the latest slip to shift in such a dramatic way.
Karl Budge, Network Rail’s route delivery director, explained that this fault zone made its presence known as the earlier planned work was nearing completion. Small tension cracks appeared along the fault zone and initial movement of approximately 10mm per day was being monitored. The deepening of the counterfort drains helped to release the water pressure to a certain extent and stabilise the slope. However, counteracting this benefit was the previous removal of material downside of the fault line. This reduction in loading toward the toe of the embankment further exacerbated the problem and, in late January, the earth started to move.
Movement detected
Conventional methods for monitoring the slope’s stability had proved adequate for many years and there was a grid system of pegs and inclinometers in place. Engineers were carrying out theodolite monitoring on a regular basis, plus there was a full time watchman on hand at the time. He was the person who first noticed the initial movement over a 160 metre length of the cutting. Even though the tracks themselves had not been affected by the movement, both lines were closed as a precautionary measure.
The slip stabilised after about five days. As a precautionary measure, matting was placed over the tracks in case of any further ground movement. RJM Ground Solutions had been working with Murphy on the smaller slip site offering design advice and it was the first, along with the Network Rail Asset Management team and the project engineers, to consider the nature of the failure mechanism for this far-more-significant and disruptive incident.
The closure of the route was causing significant disruption. A number of local politicians and the managing directors of freight operators, CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways all wanted to visit the site. Mark Carne, chief executive of Network Rail, also went to see things first- hand.
Before joining Network Rail, Mark had worked in the oil industry and he recommended that the team should widen its geological outlook and approach Schlumberger International for advice. Karl thought that this move, plus peer reviews from other geological experts, was very helpful, reassuring the team that the right approach was being taken. As he pointed out, ground engineering is not an exact science.
Immediate response
As a team from Murphy was already on site, it was able to react immediately. Around the clock working was introduced immediately, working twelve-hour shifts. It was recognised that fatigue would be a significant risk so it was decided that the workforce should live close to site. Appropriate facilities were installed in the site compound including a cook and canteen guaranteeing good hot food around the clock. On average there were 50 people on day shift and 30 at night throughout the work and the workforce stayed in local accommodation.
An exclusion zone was immediately imposed on and below the slip. Also, the tunnel portal was deemed unsafe until further investigation. A specific safe system of work was introduced involving a rope access system and Murphy was given overall control of all site access, monitoring and controlling who and why anyone needed to enter.
There were 30/40 machines working at any one time. To ensure safe segregation of plant and pedestrians in the tight working area, two experienced and very capable Murphy foremen were put in total control of all site movement at all times, negating the requirement for multiple banksmen to be used. To assist them, Murphy ensured that there was a fulltime safety professional on site. In addition, Murphy brought in its highly skilled, directly employed personnel to bolster the site team already allocated to the project and cover the emergency.
Given the high profile media interest, and knowing that VIPs would want to visit the site, a viewing platform was constructed near to the car park thus avoiding the need for more people to walk onto the worksite whilst enabling the visitors to observe the progress being made.
Karl was very pleased to say that, throughout the whole period while the route was closed, no accidents were reported. That is definitely something to be proud of especially given the urgency of the work, the number of plant movements in such a limited area and the conditions at that time of year.
Detecting microscopic movement
A more sophisticated monitoring system was installed on the embankment slopes and around the tunnel portal. This included 80 wireless slope sensors and wall sensors for the tunnel portal. These sensors are designed to detect any microscopic movement and the information is collated by DATUM Monitoring Services. The information is passed through their Control Centre which operates around the clock transmitting information to Network Rail via an internet site.
More than 320,000 tonnes of earth has been removed from the slip area using a fleet of Moxy dump trucks and excavators provided by various plant suppliers. The aim has been to move the toe of the embankment 30 metres away from the tracks, thus removing the fault line, and to re-profile the embankment. This has been completed and now a further 150,000 tonnes of earth is also being removed from further along the cutting – work now largely complete.
Additional land alongside the cutting has been rented to temporarily stockpile about 350,000 tonnes of material, known locally as Murphy’s Mount. More than 60,000 tonnes has been sent to a waste tip located one mile away. This tip is able to handle 2,500 tonnes per day. However, with more than 560,000 tonnes in total, it will take six months to transfer the stockpiled load to this tip.
Various options were considered, including a conveyer belt system to load the spoil onto road wagons or ballast trains. However, stockpiling then sending the spoil to the local tip was considered to be the most environmentally friendly approach and is the one adopted. Network Rail is continuing to investigate other local opportunities to accelerate removal of the remaining spoil.
Portal problems
Vertical Access Ltd utilised a construction platform as well as roped access to enable soil nailing and netting work to take place to stabilise the ground adjacent to the tunnel portal. This was because the eastern extent of the slip had removed the end of the portal wing wall return such that support to this zone was lost.
Complementing the design approach by RJM Ground Solutions, Network Rail employed Tony Gee and Partners to carry out a review of the earthworks remediation as it was being carried out. With frequent round the table meetings on-site, Network Rail was continually appraised in detail of the evolving rationale of the earthworks remediation. This meant that reasoned assessments could be made regarding the improving condition of the earthworks as the site work progressed in order to secure the earliest safe return of rail traffic.
Responding to pressure
It was recognised early in the process that, when under such pressure, the temptation is to declare the route fit for traffic before it is a realistic option. To avoid this temptation, robust criteria for re-opening the route to trains were agreed at an early stage. Design details were signed off, revised slope angles achieved, dewatering levels met, signalling tested, track alignment surveyed and structural checks of the tunnel portal carried out. It is estimated that the final cost of the physical works on site will be in excess of £5 million.
Tony Gee and Partners carried out a stability check and designed an anchorage system for the end of the undamaged wall to replace the lost end-support. It also carried out a physical inspection of the condition of the portal wall via roped access supplemented by core drilling. This was to both assess the immediate condition of the wall and, together with other investigations, to enable a future assessment of the long-term performance of the wall to be carried out. Adjacent to the wing wall the ground has been steepened with soil nailing to stabilise this section taking the loads back into soil undisturbed by the slip movements.
Thee site team worked closely with the Chiltern Railway and CrossCountry franchises and Karl was keen to point out that the collaboration worked extremely well.
Communication was excellent and people at all levels were kept informed at all times. Local politicians were challenging yet supportive and they recognised that the time to reopen the route was when it was safe to do so and not before. The site has been likened to an open cast coal mining exercise – looking at the pictures, one can see why!
A more permanent solution still needs to be designed for the tunnel portal to complement the soil nailing that has been carried out. The cutting will be covered in topsoil and turned into grassland. Meanwhile, a road cleaner continues full time to help minimise the impact of this work on the village of Harbury and, in recognition of the invasive impact this work has had on the village, the library carpark has been completely resurfaced, one of the community initiatives undertaken.
And, just as in Brunel’s day, the temporary village and its inhabitants have moved on.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) is investigating a “dangerous occurrence” after a train passed a signal at danger (SPAD) on the approach to Wooton Basset junction in Wiltshire recently.
A steam-hauled special, consisting of Battle of Britain class locomotive Tangmere, its tender and 13 coaches, was on a service from Bristol Temple Meads to Southend using the Great Western main line through Bath. Just west of Swindon is Wooton Basset Junction where the main line is joined by the line from Bristol Parkway, the Severn Tunnel and South Wales.
A train had recently emerged from the South Wales line (the Badminton Up line) and signal SN45 on the main line was still at red, although the signalling system had already set the points ready for Tangmere.
Having passed the signal at danger, the train finally came to a standstill across the junction. This generated quite a bit of speculation in the Rail Engineer office. The locomotive was fitted with both AWS (Automatic Warning System) and TPWS (Train Protection and Warning System) so how hadn’t the driver realised what was happening? And why hadn’t the train been brought to a standstill automatically?
The RAIB website states: “Evidence shows that the driver and fireman … took an action which cancelled the effect of the AWS braking demand after a short period and a reduction in train speed of only around 8 mph. The action taken also had the effect of making subsequent AWS or TPWS brake demands ineffective.”
While there was again much comment on this, the RAIB investigation has to take its course. Meanwhile, Network Rail has issued a suspension notice to the train’s owner, West Coast Railway
Company Limited, stating that no services may run on any routes and requiring various actions be taken by 15 May at which time, if Network Rail is satisfied, the notice will be withdrawn.
Of all the landscapes from our industrial past, abandoned and disused railways are the perfect places to explore a wealth of wildlife. There are hundreds of secret, forgotten railways which have fallen out of use by people and have since been reclaimed by nature. They are now wildlife highways, bursting with wildflowers, butterflies and birds, just waiting to be discovered.
Since becoming disused, some of these sites have been rich enough to be designated as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), Local Nature Reserves (LNR) and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to their impressive biodiversity.
All over the country, local wildlife trusts and friends groups protect old railway sites, for nature and for people to enjoy. The London Wildlife Trust manages the Gunnersbury Triangle LNR, Sydenham Hill Wood, bisected by the short-lived Crystal Palace High-level line which served the Great Exhibition of 1851, and Denham Lock Wood and Frays Farm Meadows SSSI which have taken over a barely-used track that was to connect Uxbridge and West Drayton.
Varied habitats
In north-west London, Mill Hill Old Railway was opened in April 1872 as a single track to Edgware, and plans were made in the late 1930s to double the track and electrify the line. Although some of this work was started, the Second World War led to the line being abandoned which, with the subsequent extension of the M1 motorway, contributed to its closure in June 1964. The site was acquired by London Wildlife Trust under lease from Barnet Council.
Today, the resulting nature reserve has developed vegetation typical of old railways – a mixture of recent woodland and scrub with grassy glades. A mosaic of gardens back onto the reserve, providing good habitat for suburban birds, including sparrowhawk, green and great spotted woodpecker, long-tailed tit, chiffchaff and blackcap. Butterflies, moths and other invertebrates such as orange-tip, small copper and hoverflies are also common. The reserve also has a population of slow-worms.
Halwill Junction in Devon was once a bustling and important stop on the Great Western Railway (GWR) as the meeting point of four separate lines. The line was closed in 1966 and the land was sold by British Rail to the Devon Wildlife Trust in 1990.
Over recent years, the old railway track has been converted into a surfaced cycle path connecting Halwill Junction to Cookworthy Forest, while the reserve itself has become a wildlife sanctuary. Various physical and geological conditions have combined to produce a range of plant communities. Goat willow predominates on the railway line edges but birch, alder, rowan and gorse are also present. The site is also home to the uncommon broad-leaved helleborine.
In the wetter areas a good display of southern marsh orchids can be seen in July. On the dry areas, heather, mosses and lichens have made a home.
Other wildlife highlights include barn owls, which forage for the abundant voles and mice along the wildlife canyon.
Grasslands and marshes
Sewell Cutting, in Bedfordshire, is home to a tranquil, flower-rich reserve that has been created within the cutting of the long-since disused railway, now owned by Central Bedfordshire Council. Where once steam trains rumbled along, the site has developed into a magical place for chalk grassland flowers. The steep banks of the cutting provide a contrasting sunny south-facing slope, and a more sheltered north-facing bank, allowing for contrasting communities of flowers and grasses. In summer the scorched south-facing slope is home to deep-rooted plants such as hawkweeds, scabious and knapweed while the north-facing slope is lush with grasses. Blocks of scrub have developed, including guelder rose, a stately berry-forming hedgerow shrub. A large number of butterflies are found here – dingy skipper and small, common and chalkhill blue in spring, followed by marbled white in summer.
Teifi Marshes straddle what was once a GWR line in West Wales, running 14.5 miles between Whitland on the West Wales Line and Cardigan. The line closed to passenger traffic in September 1962, although the tracks remained in use by freight traffic for a while until its final closure in May 1963.
The track was lifted completely by the end of 1964. The route of this old line can be now enjoyed as a circular walk that surrounds the marshes and includes six hides as well as two woodland walks. The old railway line runs past the Welsh Wildlife Centre before descending down through the marsh. Today, Teifi Marshes is owned by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and bisects the old line, bringing a wealth of wildlife to the scene. A range of habitats is to be found here, from open pasture and well-wooded hedgerows, through alder and willow carr, freshwater marsh with open pools and reed-beds, to tidal mud-banks. Flooding is extensive in winter, attracting large numbers of overwintering wildfowl, most often teal, wigeon and mallard.
The scarce water rail is present in winter in good numbers and other regular winter visitors include snipe, curlew and lapwing. Peregrine falcon can be seen hunting over the marshes. Breeding birds include reed, sedge and Cetti’s warblers, whitethroats, shelduck and moorhen.
Otters and mink are present in the marshes, water shrews are numerous, and sika and red deer graze here. Fish species include lamprey, stickleback, eel, sewin and salmon. Frogs and toads are numerous and grass snakes and adders are present on the reserve. The rich assemblage of dragonflies includes emperor, broad-bodied chaser, and southern hawker.
Rich abundance
Bishop Monkton Railway Cutting is a small haven for wildlife, tucked away within an intensively agricultural landscape. Sitting on the now-disused London and North Eastern Railway line, a part of the Harrogate to Ripon line branch, this section became disused in 1967 and is now managed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust volunteers.
Once the railway went out of use nature began to take the site over, with flourishing wildflowers and the gradual establishment of trees and scrub around the boundaries of the site. The magnesian limestone bedrock provides the perfect conditions for a rich abundance of wildflowers within an area of increasingly rare, unimproved neutral and calcareous grassland, supporting a good range of plants, including cowslip, common spotted orchid, wild marjoram, ox-eye daisy, bird’s-foot trefoil, lady’s mantle, salad burnet and St John’s Wort. These create an attractive swathe of colour in May, June and early July.
Before 1967, when the line was still in use, there was a small hut for the railway workers complete with a garden, plants from which still survive today. Whilst not native, these plants do provide an additional food source for insects and give an insight into the site’s past.
Along with other relics of our industrial past, such as quarries, pits and mines, abandoned railways offer fascinating wildlife opportunities for all to enjoy.
Despite Britain having, officially, a temperate climate, it can still get pretty parky at times. And although it snows somewhere in the country every winter, it still catches us by surprise. Countries such as Sweden and Russia cope with snow metres deep on a regular basis. In the UK, just one centimetre brings everything to a grinding halt.
When the roads close down due to drifting snow, black ice, spinning cars and stranded lorries, it is the railways that keep going – most of the time. Infrastructure engineers have developed various pieces of kit to help keep the railway open.
One of these is the points heater. E lectric heating elements, clipped to the rails which make up a set of points, prevent ice forming and keep the switch blades moving. However, they are not very efficient and a lot of the heat is lost to the atmosphere.
That’s where Scotland’s A Proctor Group comes in. For nearly 80 years, the company has been developing and supplying product solutions to the agriculture, building and construction industries, including a 50-year pedigree of providing leading edge thermal and acoustic product solutions.
Working with Network Rail and its contractors, the A Proctor Group developed the Spacetherm® Point Heat Retainer Strip. This offers improved performance by directing the heat towards and into the rail, reducing the energy consumed in heating the points system and improving response times.
The Spacetherm Point Heat Retainer Strip is clipped into place over the rail and heating electrode. It helps reduce heat loss and the energy from the electrode (typically 200W/m) is dissipated quickly and effectively into the rail.
Energy consumption is generally 25-30% improved and response to temperature can be up to 60% faster. As a result, rail infrastructure managers can now choose a lower power-rated heating electrode to reduce the energy consumption where supply is limited or to save energy.
There are other advantages too. The response time to heat a standard set of points reduces from around two hours to approximately 50 minutes. This has a big impact on the performance of the whole points heating system and saves energy costs. In the same installation, a 200W/m heating strip would consume more than 0.5kWhr/m to heat and subsequently maintain the system at a temperature of about 3 ̊C. With the heat retainer fitted, the energy required to heat and similarly maintain the system reduces by more than 25%.
Further innovation
Once the advantages of Spacetherm were fully realised, it found other applications as well. One of these was on Network Rail’s latest de-icing train.
The A Proctor Group was asked to develop a thermal solution that would ensure pre-heated air was blasted at the rail from the de-icing train at the original temperature generated by the on-board systems. Bespoke Spacetherm sections were cut at the company’s fabrication facility and supplied ready for wrapping into the ducting work designed to carry the heated air to the rail. This simple and cost-effective solution significantly improved the retention of heat in the system and therefore its performance.
No doubt there are other applications both for the Spacetherm material and for A Proctor Group’s expertise. Being based in Scotland, the company is perfectly placed to understand Britain’s winter weather.
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