Siemens Mobility orders new deep-tube train door systems from Knorr-Bremse IFE

3rd August 2020

Knorr-Bremse, the international manufacturer of braking and other systems for rail and commercial vehicles, has won a major order to supply entrance systems to Siemens Mobility for the next generation of London Underground trains.

Siemens Mobility is manufacturing 94 trains on the Piccadilly line, and Knorr-Bremse subsidiary IFE will supply 3,760 door systems for these trains – a total of 3,760 door drives and 7,144 door leaves. The new trains will be operating on Piccadilly line, which has 53 stations and a total length of over 70km, from 2024.

IFE will work closely with Siemens Mobility to maximize UK content and service provision, supporting Siemens Mobility and Transport for London’s ambitions to create significant numbers of UK jobs aligned to the Deep Tube Upgrade Programme, which includes the development of a new Siemens Mobility rail manufacturing site in the UK.

Dr Jürgen Wilder, Knorr-Bremse executive board member responsible for the Rail Vehicle Systems division, said: “By supplying our entrance technology to the London Underground’s world-famous Piccadilly line, we are helping to meet Londoners’ growing mobility requirements and helping to deliver faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys.

“The order also cements the presence of our highly innovative door systems in London’s rail transportation system, where they are already in use in LRVs, regional multiple units and high-speed trains.”

Sambit Banerjee, UK managing director of rolling stock and customer service for Siemens Mobility, said: “These next generation Tube trains will provide a step change in passenger experience for those traveling on the Piccadilly line. Key to providing an increased frequency of trains, and therefore greatly improved capacity, is the ability to get on and off the train quickly meaning less congestion on the station platform.

“We are delighted that Knorr-Bremse and IFE will be our partners in helping make this a reality.”

The most challenging aspects of the Piccadilly line upgrade project include the unusually pronounced curvature of the door leaves that allows them to fit inside the narrow, tube-shaped tunnels – a unique feature of the world’s oldest metro system – combined with tight deadlines.

Although the external sliding doors and spindle drives feature an individual design tailored to the customer’s specifications, they also use tried-and-tested components. Generally, they will serve the goal of increasing the capacity of the Tube lines on which the new trains will be deployed. Engineered to last at least 40 years, the door leaves will also make a significant contribution to holistic rail vehicle lifecycle management.

Alstom purchase of Bombardier Transportation approved by European Commission

31st July 2020

The European Commission has cleared Alstom’s proposed takeover of Bombardier Transportation, subject to four conditions that Alstom had itself suggested:

A transfer of Bombardier Transportation’s contribution to the V300 ZEFIRO very high-speed train and an offer of IP licence to Hitachi for the train co-developed by Hitachi and Bombardier Transportation for use in future very high-speed tenders in the UK;
The divestment of the Alstom Coradia Polyvalent and the Reichshoffen production site in France;
The divestment of the Bombardier TALENT 3 platform and dedicated production facilities located within the Hennigsdorf site in Germany;
Providing access to certain interfaces and products for some of Bombardier Transportation’s Signalling On-Board Units and Train Control Management Systems (TCMS).

The two organisations now need to finalise their plans, engage with employees and trade unions, and reach agreement with Hitachi and prospective purchasers of the Coradia Polyvalent and Talent 3 product lines.

Completion is now expected during the first half of 2021.

HS2 Chiltern tunnel headwall ready for tunnel boring machines

31st July 2020

HS2 is preparing for the arrival of its first giant tunnelling machines by completing the 17-metre-high headwall and ground reinforcement at what will become the south portal of the 10-mile long Chiltern tunnel.

Led by HS2’s main works contractor Align JV – a joint venture formed of three companies: Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick – a specialist team spent seven months excavating more than 160,000m³ of material in order to create a level surface from which the two enormous machines will launch early next year.

Weighing in at 2,000 tonne and stretching for 170 metres – the two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are being built by world-leading German tunnelling specialists Herrenknecht and due to arrive at the site, near to the M25, later in the year.

Alongside the excavation, a specialist team of subcontractors including Roadbridge and KV JV – formed from Keller Group plc and VSL International – also constructed a 17m high headwall through which the TBMs will break to begin their three-year long tunnel drive.

In order to reinforce the ground behind the headwall, more than 636 ‘soil nails’ – some up to 20m long – were driven into the wall and connected to the concrete lining. The nails, consisting of steel or glass fibre reinforced polymer tendons, were inserted using a specialised drilling rig in a delicate operation which can take up two hours.

This reinforcement is required to hold the ground and the surface of the wall in place as the TBMs begin to break through.

Welcoming the milestone, Mark Clapp, HS2 Ltd’s C1 Senior Project Manager said: “Once complete, HS2 will transform rail travel across the UK, offering fast, reliable and low carbon journey options for millions of people across the country. The completion of the headwall and ground reinforcement is a major step towards the start of tunnelling and delivering on that goal.

“Safety is of course our top priority. The new covid-19 processes and procedures put in place by Align ensured that we were able to keep to schedule while keeping everyone safe – and I’d like to thank the whole team for pulling together during what has been a difficult few months for the whole construction industry.”

Daniel Altier, the Align Project Director added: “The completion of the soil nailing is a very visual example of how we are preparing our South Portal site for the arrival of the TBMs later this year. It is now clear for all to see where the TBMs will start their journey.

This has been a great team effort by all concerned, considering the challenges caused by Covid-19, including HS2, Align and our colleagues at Roadbridge and the KVJV.”

Work on site was paused for four days at the start of the coronavirus lockdown in order to deep clean the work site and put in place new hygiene and social distancing procedures in line with government advice and industry best practice.

Once work is complete, the whole construction site will be landscaped with material excavated from the tunnels and trees planted in order to blend it in with the surrounding countryside.

Special train investigates possibility of reopening disused branch line

30th July 2020

South Western Railway has run a special ‘fact-finding’ train on the Fawley branch line in Hampshire, to investigate the potential of re-opening it after more than 50 years since regular passenger services ceased.

Hampshire County Council has made a successful submission to the Department for Transport’s ‘Restoring your Railway Fund’ by to carry out a feasibility study into reopening the line for passenger services once more.

As a result, and through cooperation between South Western Railway and Network Rail, who had to cut back undergrowth, test condition of the track and prepare the train crew, this special service was run to investigate the challenges of re-opening this historic branch line.

On board were Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris, Network Rail chair Sir Peter Hendy and representatives from Hampshire County Council and Southampton City Council. They were joined by Nick Farthing, chair of Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership, who hse long campaigned for the opening of the line.

Whilst there is still work to be done before passenger services can resume, the national focus in expanding the rail network by utilising disused lines, provides hope that a return of services for this part of Hampshire maybe a step-closer to reality, helping to reconnect communities and promote public transport.

(Image Left to Right: Mark Hopwood Managing Director, South Western Railway; Sir Peter Hendy, Chair Network Rail; Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Rail Minister).

Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “It is almost precisely 95 years since the line between Southampton and Fawley opened. Yet, due to the Beeching cuts, the last time passengers were able to travel this line England were lifting the Jules Rimet.

“While we can’t guarantee sporting supremacy again, we’ve been absolutely clear that we are determined to reconnect communities and level up infrastructure across the country. Taking steps towards restoring passenger journeys on lines like this demonstrates that commitment.

“The progress towards developing a business case for this restoration is testament to the energy and enthusiasm of local campaigners, and I share the passion they and other communities have to reopen and restore local lines.”

Mark Hopwood, Managing Director of South Western Railway said: “Branch lines are vital to connect local communities, with many now out of use. Exploring the possibility of reopening disused lines for rail passengers is vital for us to reconnect our communities again.”

Network Rail Chair Sir Peter Hendy said: “Railways have a huge role to play in building environmentally-sustainable economic and social development and places like Marchwood, where the railway is still in place, are perfect examples of where we can help local communities grow. It’s great to see a passenger train down this line again and this has been a really useful event for our partners to understand what we might have to do to bring trains back permanently.”

Councillor Rob Humby, Deputy Leader of Hampshire County Council and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, said: “Hampshire County Council was very pleased that our bid to the Department for Transport’s restoring Your railways Fund was successful and we now look forward to working with the Department for Transport, Network Rail and stakeholders to review the evidence and undertake a business case for re-introducing passenger rail services on the Waterside

Scotland unveils plans to transform Scottish rail network

30th July 2020

The Scottish government has launched plans to decarbonise Scotland’s rail passenger services by 2035.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson unveiled Transport Scotland’s ‘Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan’ during a visit to ScotRail’s Shields Road electric fleet depot, commenting that it is testimony to the Scottish government’s determination to deliver on its Programme for Government (PfG) commitment to decarbonise passenger rail services and continue to reduce carbon emissions.

Through its contribution to decarbonising wider transport, and through modal shift to rail, this action plan supports the aims of the National Transport Strategy and wider Scottish Government policy. It also seeks to remove diesel passenger trains from Scottish services and secure significant benefits for rail freight over the next 15-25 years.

Preparatory work for the first electrification projects, on the East Kilbride and Barrhead lines, is already underway, with Anniesland/Maryhill and Borders routes also being progressed. Early work has also begun to assess how inter-city routes can be tackled to inform delivery programmes and funding decisions.

Announcing the plans, the Transport Secretary said: “The current Covid-19 pandemic has been a challenging and difficult time across the globe. As we continue transition through the Scottish government’s Routemap to Recovery, it is clear we need to do all we can to boost the economy through green initiatives.

“While our Programme for Government commitment to publish our plans for decarbonising Scotland’s railways was rightly paused, I am now pleased we can share them. This is particularly important for the rail industry and its supply chain who are keen to see projects progress.

“Building on our recent strong track record of delivering electrification projects we have set out ambitious but achievable plans to decarbonise our rail passenger services by 2035, five years ahead of the UK target.”

Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway, said: “Delivering on the Scottish government’s bold and ambitious Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan is a top priority for Scotland’s Railway. We’re continually working to deliver a cleaner, greener railway for Scotland.

“Although rail is already a low-carbon mode of transport, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact ever further.

“The massive projects that have been delivered so far – the electrification of the Central Belt, new electric trains – mean more seats and faster journeys for our customers, as well as a rail service that is better for our environment. This plan will deliver even more for our passengers in the decades to come.

“It connects people with jobs, business with customers, tourists with destinations, and it’s delivering a railway of which we can be truly proud.”