The Railway Industry Association’s (RIA) Unlocking Innovation (UI) events always offer something new. Its December UI event in Glasgow was distinguished by its size, as this was a particularly large event with around 400 present. This was because it was combined with Network Rail’s engineering conference to become an ‘Engineering and Climate Action Conference’.
Setting the scene
The first keynote speaker was Liam Sumpter, managing director of Network Rail Scotland, He said that “engineers can achieve many things” and advised that the railway faced the following five key challenges for which innovation was required:
- Reducing net cost.
- Running a reliable railway.
- Tackling climate change.
- Making sure everyone goes home safe every day.
- Getting train and track to work together.
He noted that, at £400 million per year, rail investment is 10% of the Scottish Government’s capital expenditure and stressed that this expenditure must be justified. He emphasised the importance of doing things better and mentioned that there was a £50 million performance fund which was looking for new ideas. He considered it important that people felt empowered to innovate and noted that it must be accepted by all concerned that this may result in occasional mistakes.
Next to speak was Alan Ross, Network Rail Scotland’s director of engineering and asset management. His theme was the need to focus on engineering to unlock opportunities. When doing so, he felt it was important to find time to look back to carry forward lessons learned and avoid past mistakes.
He felt that there was much to be learned from the introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) on the Scottish Far North line in 1984. Instead of designing something new, RETB harnessed off the shelf technology which significantly reduced operating costs.
He felt this was a good example of harnessing technology that makes a big difference and meets a business need. Currently, helicopters and drones offer similar potential. He also stressed the importance of systems thinking and the need to bring track, train, and the supply chain together. He encouraged delegates to feel free to challenge standards and not be constrained by traditional thinking.
The final speaker of the introductory session was Richard Carr, RIA’s technical and innovation director. Richard explained how RIA supports the supply chain in many ways, one of which is the rail fellowship programme. This matches politicians to members whose work is relevant to their role of constituency.
To promote innovation, RIA arranges unlocking innovation events in all regions as well as its flagship annual Rail Innovation Conference. It advocates for continuous investment in research, development and innovation. It is working with industry to advocate for better access to data and adoption of digital technologies and to identify route to market for innovative technologies.
The marketplace
During the breaks, and at lunchtime, delegates had the opportunity to visit stands in the networking area at which 23 companies and organisations were displaying their wares. Exhibitors included Siemens Mobility with information about its electrification and battery train technologies.
Universal Signalling was demonstrating its low-cost signalling technology that it is developing using off the shelf RFID tags, a development that is in tune with the approach that Alan Ross was suggesting. Resonate had its traffic management solutions on display while Telent had innovations on show that had improved performance on the West Highland Line.
The Scottish Company Findlay Irvine had information about its earthworks production system, which has been used for some years in Scotland. In addition, leaflets about its portable friction micro Grip tester and solar powered weather station were also available on its stand.
Other products on display included Gripple’s Swift Line Dropper which improves productivity of OLE maintenance and electrification and Sicut’s composite sleepers made from recycled plastics.
Choosing 5 from 18
In the morning and afternoon, the conference offered delegates the opportunity to attend five 25-minute breakout sessions. When doing so they had to choose which of the following 18 topics on offer they wished to attend:
- UKRRIN – the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network which was launched in 2018 and has digital systems, rolling stock, and infrastructure centres of excellence respectively at the Universities of Birmingham, Huddersfield, and Southampton supported by other universities and research institutions.
- Network Rail and Telent explaining how performance has been improved on the West Highland Line.
- RSSB Rail Technical Strategy with a ‘Freight Friendly’ case study.
- Purple Transform – the use of Artificial Intelligence to achieve better train performance.
- Technology in Operations – the use of Resonate’s systems to improve train performance as well as improving the efficiency and safety of possession management.
- Digital twins for building energy management.
- Research, Development, and Innovation in Network Rail provided an overview on approaches to funding, procurement and partnership opportunities.
- Network Rail Air Operations: what is done differently in Scotland and the new technologies being developed.
- Climate Action Speed Dating to share climate action goals and vote for best climate action suggestion.
- Health and Wellbeing unit which was also offering health checks throughout the day from its mobile van.
- Product Acceptance Surgery with 1-to-1 or small group discussions for specific issues.
- Ecologists and Arborists – the technology used to manage biodiversity and railway tree risk.
- Weather operations, including measures to mitigate against new extreme rainfall.
- Market-Led Strategy – how the CP7 plan is strengthening collaboration and reducing costs to improve customer outcomes.
- Targeted Performance Fund for opportunities to improve performance to achieve the 92.5% target.
- Structure gauging and decarbonisation and how this is key to the Aberdeen to Central Belt route.
- Airborne asset management – opportunities and cost savings from use of drones.
- Integrating rail and power – a project to provide a depot battery powered energy hub.
My choices
With so much to choose from, picking my five sessions was a tough choice. I choose Technology in operations; Product acceptance; Market led Strategy; Integrating Rail and Power; and Gauging.
Craig Milne, Network Rail Scotland’s railway’s planning and logistics director explained how use of the Luminate traffic management system provides better train conflict information. As a result, the Public Performance Measure (PPM) for trains managed through Luminate is 7% higher than those that weren’t. Luminate also shows the best docking options for trains approaching non-booked platforms and so removes the need to manually route the train.
Network Rail Scotland is now also starting to use Resonate’s initiate system at its Edinburgh Signalling Centre. This will speed up the process for taking possessions and provide signal protection which avoids the need to lay detonators.
Network Rail receives around 600 product acceptance applications per year, the majority of which are approved without any issues. Although a produce acceptance website provides much useful information, it is recognised that more stakeholder engagement is required. A catalogue of approved products is available on the Parts and Drawing database (PADS) website which is maintained by Serco.
Network Rail Asset Manager Joe Galloway presented a session explaining how Scotland’s 2024-29 Railway Delivery Plan is part of a market-led strategy to respond to the Scottish Government’s requirements as specified in its High-Level Output Statement (HLOS). He noted that delivery of over half of the 87 HLOS requirements needs industry collaboration.
The development of this plan considered market-led route corridors aligned to passenger and freight demand rather than the previous siloed asset planning approach. As an example, Joe explained how the optimum solution for the Glasgow North Electrics OLE project had been determined. This uses a new value engineering process to determine that the optimum solution was targeted catenary renewal and FT to AT conversions, and that this approach saved £7 million.
The integrating rail and power session was presented by Brian Sweeney, Network Rail Scotland’s lead electrical engineer, who explained that rail is the UK’s largest inflexible customer and consumes 1.2% of the demand. In Scotland, the railway consumed 322.5GWh of electricity in the financial year 2022-2023. There is a need to become a more flexible customer as the move to renewable energy makes it more difficult to provide single-phase rail traction power.
Flexible customers who generate and store their own electricity can get a significant reduction of their energy bills. Hence, the provision of an energy hub that can generate and store its own electricity has the potential to pay for itself in 5-10 years. The use of energy hubs to supplement the national grid offers significant potential benefits though this needs affordable and reliable power electronics and presents regulatory/licence issues.
Brian advised that the Ayr EMU depot has been chosen as a pilot scheme for an energy hub. This will use spare railway land with permitted development rights, avoids uncertainty with network licence conditions and solves an operational problem. This problem is that the depot is at the end of the electrified line, 22 miles from its OLE feeder. Hence, when isolations are taken for engineering work the depot loses its 25kV supply. Its energy hub is planned to be operational in 2026 and will charge batteries during the day and power the depot off batteries during the night. This initiative is being part funded by the OFGEM strategic innovation fund which is for innovative projects that directly benefit electricity customers.
Andrew Blakeley, Network Rail Scotland’s senior gauging engineer, emphasised that gauging is not gouging. His session explained how the gauging strategy for Scotland’s Railway has been produced in response to the Scottish Government’s High Level Output Statement (HLOS) which specifies gauging requirements. In contrast the HLOS for England and Wales, published by the Department for Transport, has no mention of gauging.
This strategy requires the development of a standard composite Scottish gauge to removes barriers to all operators and supports the introduction of new and cascaded trains. Furthermore, the compliance with this gauge is a requirement for all Scottish enhancement, renewal and maintenance activities. The philosophy is that projects must not lock in unfixable issues.
Andrew advised that currently Scotland has 37,450 structures of which there is reduced gauge clearance for all vehicles at 1,430 structures and, for passenger vehicles, at 654 structures. He described the many aspects of Scotland’s gauging strategy to show that there is no silver bullet to eliminate reduced gauging clearances.
After lunch
In a keynote presentation, Richard Cairns, chair of Scottish Rail Holdings, advised that the world is a much different place than it was even five years ago. He noted that Scotland’s railway costs everyone living there £200 per year and that this cost has to be justified. Yet currently costs are rising, and performance is not improving. He advised delegates that the railway only has the right to exist if it delivers something of value.
He then introduced the panel for the after-lunch discussion who were: Keira McLuskey, Network Rail’s Scotland head of sustainability; Robert Ampomah, Network Rail’s chief technology officer; Ross Moran, Network Rail’s Scotland route director; David Lister, ScotRail safety and sustainability director; and Richard Carr, RIA’s technical and innovation director.
In considering which types of technology are likely to make a significant difference, the panel felt that the use of data and batteries were key technologies though it was important to ensure current technologies are effectively used. It was stressed that innovation could deliver a better service at reduced cost though, to do so, standards may have to be challenged. Members of the panel also stressed the importance of cybersecurity.
Looking to the future
In the final session of the day, Dan Holder, Network Rail Scotland’s head of engineering and asset management, moderated a panel discussion with three young engineers: Chipo Madzikwah and Olanrewaju Lawal from Network Rail and Hannah Crawford, a project engineer with Siemens Mobility.
The discussion considered how the railway needed to improve its appeal to school leavers and students. One of the young engineers acknowledged that she had not seen rail as something that was interesting. It was felt important to make railways sound exciting to attract railway engineers and promote the technologies that are not normally visible.
The young engineers made various pertinent observations during the discussion such as considering how my job might benefit someone else, the need to take a systems approach rather than focusing on asset type, and the need not just to accept something because it is the way it is.
After the panel there was a discussion from Heriot-Watt University student, Finn Thompson, on their entry to this year’s IMechE Railway Challenge which will be the first Scottish entry to this competition.
After the thought-provoking observations of the younger engineers, Alan Ross summed up the day to close the event. He was right to say that the conference had been a full and worthwhile day and advised that this joint RIA/ Scottish Network Rail conference will be repeated later this year.
It is fitting that one of the younger engineers should have the last word on this event. Chipo Madzikwah advised your writer that, as a drainage and lineside engineer, she found the ideas shared especially useful for improving safety and efficiency, such as the potential for drones and other technologies to reduce the need for “boots on ballast” and enabling faster site assessments.
She considered that the event and the impressive technologies it showcased was a great opportunity to learn, and looks forward to applying these innovations to her role.
No doubt next year’s event will be another must-attend conference.
Image credits: David Shirres