Network Rail has announced plans to boost the number of women joining the industry. Bold targets aimed at increasing female employees to 20 per cent by 2020 will help address the shortfall in engineers required for the rapidly expanding railway.
Network Rail flagged off the new initiative during the recent National Apprenticeship Week and International Women’s Day, announcing a new engagement programme with schools. Rail chiefs want to inspire young women to study STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths).
Says Helen Samuels, Network Rail’s engineering director, ‘Engineering is basically problem-solving. Sometimes it’s maths, but sometimes it’s helping people to understand what you are doing and why, or figuring out how to build something for less money. Diverse teams are important for this, and having a mixture of skills sets in these problem-solving situations is key. One of the most common myths is that engineering is a ‘dirty’ profession. Many engineering roles are based either part time or full time in an office environment, although I really enjoy the cut and thrust of site work.’
Boys only?
Of the 12,000 graduate engineers the UK produces every year, one in five are women. British industry needs 54,000 a year or our economy will suffer, says WISE – Women in Science and Engineering. According to WISE research shows that the majority of teachers – 82 per cent – admit they don’t have the appropriate knowledge to advise pupils on their career choices.
‘There is still a wide perception that engineering jobs are for boys only,’ says Loraine Martins, Network Rail’s director of diversity and inclusion. ‘Many of the outdated stereotypes about what makes certain
career choices male or female continue to be engrained within some children from a really young age, often passed down through parents, families and teachers.
‘Our own research has shown that girls as young as seven believe that engineering is not an option for them, which is why we need to do everything we can to educate children, parents and teachers about the vast array of jobs within the sector. Attracting and retaining a diverse mix of talent is essential not only for our business, but also for the UK economy as a whole.’
Flying High
Emma Taylor, who joined Network Rail as an apprentice, is now a National Aerial Survey Specialist, responsible for operating camera equipment mounted on Network Rail’s surveillance helicopter.
‘I work all over the country so no day is ever the same. The aircraft surveys the whole of the rail network from above and looks for any potential faults with the equipment along the infrastructure. My job is to spot flaws before a failure occurs as this helps to keep the network running safely and smoothly.
‘The best part of my job is the travel. I’ve travelled across the entire country now and have seen it all from above, sometimes I have to pinch myself because it is so breath-taking. I also get to meet lots of different people which is so interesting, including many of our engineers who come up in the helicopter with us.’
Network Rail staff will be going into schools across the country to deliver educational sessions on careers in the STEM sector throughout 2017.
Something like a thousand new passenger trains have been ordered for Britain’s railways over the last couple of years. Cities like Glasgow and Liverpool will both soon be operating new metro fleets and there are very few regional and long-distance routes that won’t benefit from new or refurbished trains at some point in the near future.
Passengers aren’t the only ones who will benefit. The investment has been significant for the supply chain, creating stability and opportunity. These companies play a pivotal role in their local economies and represent another compelling argument for continued investment in rail. But the bodies that represent rail industry suppliers are all too aware that things can change and they are keen for the UK’s rail supply chain to expand its horizons.
For some of these companies, exports actually represent the largest part of their business. One of the biggest suppliers of train windscreen wipers and wash systems in the world is based on the outskirts of Redditch in Worcestershire. From its unassuming factory in the West Midlands, Hepworth supplies wipers to 55 countries around the world. The design office is adorned with photos of Australian trams and Chinese high-speed trains – all of which use British-built wiper systems.
PLAN FOR GROWTH
Hepworth was founded in 1868. For most of this time, the company’s focus has been on manufacturing wiper systems for luxury yachts and naval ships. But in the early 1990s, the company began supplying train manufacturers in the Midlands and has since cultivated a much wider client base. Hepworth’s finance director, Craig Bagnall, said the rail division is at the centre of the company’s growth strategy.
He explains that the rail business currently has a turnover of around £5 million a year. ‘In the context of the wider world market, that should be significantly higher,’ said Craig, who expects the figure to be closer to £10 million within the next few years.
As well as a constant flow of orders for new systems, the business is seeing an increase in retrofit projects and is becoming increasingly busy refurbishing systems for existing customers. Although best known for wipers, the company, through its fabrication business, also manufactures things like lineside cabinets and seating enclosures.
Says Craig, ‘We have a great opportunity to grow the rail segment within the business because we have some really good people who have been here a long time and are really experienced in the rail business.’
Over the last two years, the company has invested £1.5 million in new machinery, both in order to keep pace with demand and to add to its capabilities. In part this is driven by a need to innovate. The demand for automated wiper and washer systems is increasing as more metro operators opt for driverless vehicles. There is also a shift within the industry towards predictive maintenance. Operators want smart systems that, for example, can tell the driver when the water tank needs refilling.
This investment can be seen throughout the factory’s multiple sites. In the workshop opposite Hepworth’s main office building is a brand new laser cutting machine. New machines are being delivered all the time, says account manager Alastair Timmis, one of the members of the rail team.
Hepworth’s North Moons Moat site, which employs around 200 people, produces a range of pendulum and pantograph wiper systems. Almost every part of the finished systems that are bubble-wrapped and shipped from the site every day are manufactured on site.
Dotted around the factory there are technicians building the motors and linkage systems, machinists fabricating metal components and programmers inputting data into the automated machining tools. There are also numerous welding stations and a powder coating plant – black is the most popular colour, not surprisingly.
In another corner of the site, new systems are put through a rigorous testing procedure. The wipers run continuously for several months until they’ve successfully completed three million cycles, which is equivalent to six to seven years in commercial service.
RAIL TEAM
Led by Bert Thijssen, the rail team includes Alastair; Ian Lockett, technical sales manager; Christine Hewitt, technical project manager; and Adam Lockett, after sales technician. Between them, they’re responsible for selling and designing new wiper systems and providing technical support to clients.
Alastair and Ian know the business better than most, having joined the company fresh from collecting their A-level results. ‘Ian and I pretty much have gone through the same process,’ said Alastair. ‘We started on the shop floor, so we started learning how to build products.’
But it was when they moved into the returns department that they started to understand how the business worked. The pair now spend a lot of their time travelling around the world meeting clients and promoting the business. Says Alastair, ‘With a combined 30 years of employment, we have a great knowledge of the product and have built a client base and a great working relationship with our customers.’
Christine joined the team six months ago. She had previously spent three years in the company’s design office and was moved across to meet a recognised need for technical contract and design support.
FROM REDDITCH TO RIYADH
Hepworth is currently supplying wiper systems to flagship rolling stock programmes in the US, Asia, the Middle East and across Europe.
Although Hepworth is a global business, it is also an important local employer. ‘I would probably say at least 80 per cent of our workforce are based within probably five miles of the factory, so we’re a true Redditch and Worcestershire-based employer,’ said Craig.
Hepworth moved to its current site in 2008 after outgrowing its previous factory. The new site was much larger; Alastair says at first he was unsure they’d ever fill it. Just nine years later, space is already at a premium. Notwithstanding this, the business has ambitions to expand further, grow its workforce and increase its share of the market.
Redditch is probably most famous for manufacturing motorcycles and needles – it even has a needle museum. It may be time to add Hepworth wipers to that list.
Andy Milne looks back at 20 years of Virgin’s involvement with the rail industry
Well, my dear, how does it feel to be a Virgin again?’ 20 years ago, when Virgin first took to the metals, you could get away with such humour. Cue hearty gales of laughter down the line from Birmingham. Broken-hearted Miriam had returned to work for InterCity in her hometown the year before. Despite a failed love affair, that morning saw her riding a wave of enthusiasm as Virgin swept into town. Back in 1997, Branson and his fabled buccaneers won two franchises: West Coast and Cross Country. It marked the start of a rail fightback that persists to this day.
Miriam – not her real name – and I had worked for BR’s international rail freight company. Back then it was considered cool to join a passenger train company. This was in the days before Freightliner staged its management buyout and companies like GBRf made it cooler still to work for rail freight.
NO HOLIDAY IN THE SUN
Virgin took to the metals 20 years ago in a rush of fresh thinking and enthusiasm that found a ready reflection in people like Miriam. Other staff were envious. ‘I mean, Virgin? And what do we get? A bus company!’ said the marketing manager at Gatwick Express, a career woman, kicking a filing cabinet with derailing-ferocity. That was the point – Virgin always had charisma – a rock and rebel approach. That said, there were redundancies, pain and dramatic change.
Branson himself came across as affable, unfazed and curiously reticent at interviews. What would he do about Railtrack. Sir Richard shrugged. What about new stock? On its way! And RailStaff’s first question – I couldn’t help myself – how did it feel to sign the Sex Pistols? Not as difficult as negotiating a railway franchise. Branson murmured encouragement to staff and public alike. Good luck with the paper, he said, rolling up a copy of RailStaff.
Branson himself needed more than luck with the west coast. Europe’s most heavily trafficked railway was in real trouble by the mid-nineties. Starved of investment, it really was the crumbling edge of the railway. This was no holiday in the sun. Performance plummeted.
VALUED, APPRECIATED, LOVED
Unfazed, Branson hired Chris Green, rail legend and erstwhile head of InterCity, ScotRail and Network SouthEast. Chris spent the first few weeks talking to staff. The Spice Girls dominated the charts at the time and it’s whimsical to imagine him humming: Tell me what you want, what you really, really want, as he stumped his new patch. Green told me, ‘Staff face a challenge not of their own making.’ His singular achievement – and that of his direct reports – was to get people to accept their new employer. Performance climbed. Branson chimed in by throwing massive parties for staff at his home in Oxfordshire. Miriam reported back with a string of gushing superlatives. ‘If your staff feel valued, appreciated and loved, they are more likely to enjoy their work and perform even better,’ Branson argued.
Back in the office Chris Green was no pushover to work with. He insisted on appointing Brenda Klug to head up marketing. Klug was a careerist at British Airways, now working for a medical company. ‘She’s part of the cure,’ Green argued and got his way. Branson has a catchphrase – ‘Screw it, just do it…..’ Startled railway managers found they had the freedom to do just that. Staff ideas were encouraged. Klug put bemused managers through a motivational course run by Mindstore’s Jack Black in Glasgow.
FIGHTING RAIL’S CORNER
Quick off the mark in 1997, Virgin had painted an entire HST in the famous red and white livery. The press were invited for a mega-grice from Scotland to Cornwall. Virgin has always paid great attention to the press – railway and local. Almost alone among emerging railway organisations, Virgin fought rail’s corner in the media. In a laudable attempt to make sure it knew what it was talking about, VT at Euston hired old railway stalwarts like Steve Knight, one time editor of Rail magazine, and Dennis Lovett, walking encyclopaedia of railways. In Glasgow, the genial Allan McLean orchestrated a similar charm offensive with the Scottish press liberally fuelled by Scotland’s emerging micro-brewery scene.
The media continued to pour scorn on Virgin Trains every chance it got but the railway fought back – heartily encouraged by RailStaff. Even politicians were routed. This still continues. Quite recently Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed he couldn’t get a seat on an East Coast service. Flunkeys created a photo-op of him sitting on the floor. Virgin wasn’t having any of it and roundly disputed the ruse – using CCTV images to demonstrate there were spare seats on the trains.
DEEP TROUBLE
Right from the start it was never plain sailing. The WCML upgrade ran into deep trouble with Railtrack, which couldn’t deliver what it had promised – 140mph running. There was a lesson here for the lamplighters at the DfT. But they ignored it. One consultant told me of Railtrack’s lawyers staggering ashen faced out of meetings with Virgin. Lesson – Branson believes in first rate legal advice. ‘Don’t let the pullovers fool you,’ one city analyst warned.
The Blair administration never quite knew what to make of all this. Government involvement has always been treated with deep suspicion by the industry. As with the media, Virgin was happy to take it on.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
The best episode for railway staff came with the awarding of the West Coast franchise to FirstGroup. Initially this was greeted equably. FirstGroup enjoys a certain affection amongst rail circles as it was set up by a management buy out staged by congenial fitter Moir Lockhead. I must record a conflict of interest here: Lockhead comes from a nearby village to me in County Durham. The lamplighters at Marsham Street, so legend has it, coined the phrase ABB – Anyone But Branson.
Photo: Mikael Buck / Virgin Trains.
On the evening before the announcement, the lamplighters went home quite gleeful. The wonder kid and his rag-tag army of enthusiasts, rock stars and rail wonks had been stopped in its tracks. They laughed too soon. Branson wouldn’t accept it and challenged the decision in the courts.
Rail franchising was already under intense scrutiny after a rash of over bidding. Branson insisted he had a realistic bid that his teams would deliver. In the end, Virgin kept the West Coast and added the East Coast – in a partnership with Stagecoach. The story demonstrates that railway companies needn’t put up with being pushed around. Companies and the rail staff who work for them should be treated with respect.
FORGET THE PAST
Like him or loathe him, Branson would be the first to point out Virgin is an idea that gives normal people the chance to out perform their background and their constraints. Whilst the boss was drifting haphazardly across the Atlantic in a hot air balloon, railway staff were taking out new trains and smashing punctuality records with similar curved- horizon aplomb. The new fleet of Italian tilting trains was an immediate success. Rail writer Roger Ford dubbed them ‘Pendolinos Britannico.’
Virgin staff continue to perform near miracles daily – they form a regular proportion of nominees and winners at the RailStaff Awards. The Virgin Azuma will be put to good use by them, depend on it.
What of Miriam? Story goes she did well and then met a lad of Italian extraction in a poetic reflection of Branson’s success with the Pendolinos Britannico. The couple made a solid and enduring marriage, blessed with several children. Her story, like Virgin’s, proves you can forget the past and create a truly compelling future – if, of course, it’s what you really, really want.
Rail Media’s third BIM Summit looked at how the transition into Level 3 BIM would take us further on the digitisation journey towards fully digital businesses where operations and maintenance begin to see the benefits.
Held on 15 February at the offices of Addleshaw Goddard in the City of London, the day was chaired by David Philp of Aecom, who introduced the day by picking out some themes that he expected to emerge from the sessions.
This Summit, he felt, would differ from the earlier ones in that it was going to be about the meaningful use of BIM in practice, and would ‘zoom out’ a little. Finally we would see some real examples of rail BIM developments. Implicit in all this is a move from collaborative working to full integration.
David described some of the BIM journey that brought us to this point and spoke about the Digital Build Britain (DBB) group, of which he is a member. He pointed beyond Level 3 towards Level 4 BIM and thought about what that is likely to entail.
Before introducing the first presentation of the morning, he described the advantages of digitisation. These include the ability to test many more optional scenarios, leading to better decisions and better outcomes. Real-time access to asset information and digital asset performance management will enable this and also permit what he called ‘continuous commissioning’ where asset performance will be tuned real time; predictive, preventive maintenance will become the norm.
DIGITALLY DRIVEN
The first speaker was Matthew Brett of TfL, who presented ‘How TfL is using BIM’. He gave this the sub-title ‘What effect will this (BIM) have on our suppliers’. For our audience, Matthew focussed on London Underground and DLR.
After some background about the businesses, he went into more detail. A good foundation is essential, in this case meaning excellent asset data. TfL has been applying the principles of BIM requirements for the last 10 years, initially a lot of this was supplier led, but soon TfL began to write requirements into contracts. Matthew described a number of projects that came along this path: Victoria Station Upgrade, Bond Street to Baker Street, Bank and the DLR Framework Renewal.
Since 2015, all projects and contracts have had BIM embedded, with BIM managers for each one. These managers will enable engagement with the maintenance side of the business and ensure the transition of TfL to a digitally driven transport business over the next 10-15 years.
The multiple BIM roles within TfL require the upskilling of the business’ own people, as an example, the supplier on the Bank project is using an internal BIM contractor as a supplier. Internal suppliers as well as external ones thus need to participate in the journey to the fully digitised business. A number of detailed slides in Matthew’s electronic presentation gave more detail.
Matthew summarised; applying BIM is complex, a consistent approach is essential, lessons learned by early adopters must be used, internal suppliers must be expected to get fully involved just like the external ones.
LESSONS LEARNED ON CROSSRAIL
Malcolm Taylor of Crossrail was the next excellent speaker introduced by David. ‘Crossrail: Lessons Learned’ was his topic. After detailing some of the basics of BIM, Malcolm started to describe the lessons he draws from the Crossrail experience.
A defined Client Data Environment (CDE) is an essential contract requirement that suppliers initially found difficult, but they got used to it. The wealth of competing specialist software has been a challenge for IT, but 90 per cent of Crossrail’s data is now held in three interlinked databases, Mapping, 3D Models, and Documentation.
Malcolm described what went well and what did not. It took two to three years to create the CDE, and this was too long. Document control wasn’t applied rigorously enough at the start and the resources required were not appreciated to begin with. Contracts need to incentivise contractors to deliver the specified data, models and manuals on time and to specification.
This includes 3D models, and Crossrail’s experience is that 4D models could have been used more too. For example, Malcolm said installation progress reporting using such models gives benefits in efficiency and effectiveness.
Malcolm ended with a look at the myths and blockers about BIM. It’s not expensive, it is big and complicated but it is not too complex to bother with. Blockers may include software suppliers, consultants and the client organisation, but selecting the right people can resolve that. Design teams need not only the technical and business skills. They also need procurement skills and an understanding of change, the need for it and the means to deliver it.
CAPEX AND OPEX
After a Q&A session with the speakers, Richard White and David Gate of EAMS took the lectern. Between them they gave a presentation entitled ‘Where is this new BIM technology taking us?’.
Their theme was that of whole-life asset management, the cycle plan/design, create/ acquire, operate/maintain, modify/enhance/ replace. They considered where we are today, where we should be and where we could be.
Richard described how, until now, the emphasis has typically been on design and construction (CAPEX), but the need is to get into operations and maintenance (OPEX), as there are considerably greater benefits to be had here.
Richard also mentioned how EAMS is working with HS2 to assist the business in developing its systems and procedures. He then went on to look at where we should be and where we could be. He described the former as BIM Level 2a, and where we could be as BIM Level 3.
‘Technology Demonstration from RED’ was the subject covered by Fraser Pickford and Jon Mercer of Balfour Beatty, a sponsor of the Summit.
RED is Rail Electrification Designer, an easy to use, off-the-shelf software solution developed by Balfour Beatty using their long experience of designing and constructing OHLE. It allows a designer to build a design model for an OHLE project, delivering BIM transparently as an integral part of the process. It runs inside Bentley System’s MicroStation and is configurable for any OHLE design range and any project’s CAD standards.
RED has been tried and tested on the Network Rail NW electrification scheme. It is efficient and lean, promotes quality and simplifies BIM, and produces full data models, 2-D layouts and cross-sections and more.
THINKLAB
The morning’s final presentation came from Professor Terrence Fernando of the University of Salford ThinkLab.
After a brief description of ThinkLab and what it does, Terrence described how his team had been approached by Network Rail when they needed a better way to plan track renewal works. Existing methods such as 2D drawings, PowerPoint slides and 4D animations all had drawbacks and could not cope with the complexities of the projects to be managed.
ThinkLab decided to use a time/distance metaphor to specify tasks, and developed a modelling system using BIM data to develop the required plans. Terrence showed a video of Network Rail planners who modelled in a few hours a project that they would have taken perhaps two weeks to plan using traditional methods. Network Rail has successfully applied the system on five sites so far, including their Christmas works at London Euston.
First up after lunch came Johnny Shute, from the Office of Rail & Road (ORR), to talk about ‘Future rail/road developments’.
The ORR vision is zero industry caused fatalities and continual reductions in accidents. The organisation will check compliance and push for excellence in risk management.
What’s the ORR’s interest in BIM? Well, the ORR is interested in engineering out health and safety risks during the design phase. As well as obviating accidents during construction and operation, this will lead to reduced capital costs, lower maintenance costs, greater efficiency and more.
The second presentation of the afternoon came from Eian Stedford of Vinci Construction UK Ltd, speaking about ‘External Viewpoint of BIM Technology now and in the future’.
He began with the question ‘what is BIM?’ A few years ago, he said, there might have been no common idea of the answer, but now there is growing understanding that it is a methodology.
BIM is a whole lifecycle process aimed at ensuring collaboration and co-ordination by using a common engineering data management system (EDMS). Vinci innovated by using a laser scanner from the outset of its Crossrail work. Using this it was able to generate accurate 3D modelling of existing assets and then proposed changes could be introduced into that model.
BIM AND VIRTUAL REALITY
The final presentation was given by Nick Collier from High Viz Media, another of the sponsors of the Summit. His subject was ‘BIM and Virtual Reality’.
3D rendering of objects can be created from various means, including laser scanning and surveys, but also simply from photographs. Such rendered images have all kinds of uses including VR, and VR can be used for practical applications. In the rail industry, obvious examples are things like signal sighting checks or, to quote a topical one, to check the effectiveness of a driver- only camera system for blind spots.
Nick showed some examples of the use of augmented reality and how it can be used to serve up data in ways that are safer or more useful than conventional methods. An example was the proposed use by IKEA of VR to allow customers to view how furniture might fit into their room before they decide whether to buy it.
The next Rail Media Summit is the Digital Rail Summit planned on 26 April 2017.
‘Introducing a new bullet train inspired fleet to run along iconic stretches of British railway will be a truly historic moment,’ says Karen Boswell, managing director at Hitachi Rail Europe.
Hitachi Rail’s Italian factory work at Pistoia, Florence, where the second wave of the fleet will be constructed, has received IEP body shells and is starting work on trains that will one day thread Devon and Cornwall.
Hitachi’s British manufacturing facility has already built its first train for the Great Western Railway, which enters passenger service later this year.
‘These new trains will transform passenger experiences, offering a truly 21st century experience with more seats and on-board technology. Additional luggage space and a smoother ride will increase comfort for longer journeys, connecting distant parts of the country.
‘To make sure passengers get the new trains as soon as possible Hitachi is using its factories in Italy and the North East of England, where our skills and expertise are entirely complementary,’ adds Boswell.
Altogether 93 trains are being built at Hitachi factories in the UK and Italy using Japanese bullet train technology. From autumn 2017, the first wave of Intercity Express trains will run on the Great Western main line, connecting London to cities like Reading, Bath, Bristol and Cardiff.
Production of these trains is already underway at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. From 2018, a second wave of new trains will begin running as far south as Penzance along coastal routes in Devon and Cornwall. Work has started in Italy on these trains.
The entire fleet of 93 trains will be in passenger service by the end of 2019. Trains will be fitted with bi-mode technology, allowing them to use diesel and electric power. Hitachi is utilising manufacturing facilities in the UK and Italy to ensure the entire fleet is in passenger service by the end of 2019.
Pistoia sits at the foothills of the Apennines, 20 miles from Florence and is described as Tuscany without the crowds. Locals claim the town gave its name to the word ‘pistol’ after the development of the front loading gun in the 15th century. Happily Pistoia is equally famous for its huge flower markets.
As the Rail Delivery Group unveiled plans to progress the use of digital technology in the rail industry, digital communications pioneer telent is expanding its rail business to meet the challenge.
Kevin Bonanno has joined telent as business development director. Drawing on over 20 years’ commercial experience in wireless, digital and fixed telecom solutions throughout the UK and Europe, Kevin will lead and develop the team to meet the unrivalled opportunities presented by the rail industry and its adoption of new technologies.
Steve Pearce has been appointed as programme director for rail. Steve has been with telent for nearly 40 years and brings a wealth of experience to the role. Steve will be responsible for the overall delivery of all rail projects for Network Rail, train operating companies and supply chain partners. As well as ensuring the successful and safe delivery of projects, Steve will play an active role in helping develop and implement telent’s forward looking Rail Strategy.
Sean Birrane has been appointed head of EHS Rail Projects. Sean is a long-serving railway safety manager, having joined the industry in 1979. He
has considerable experience in managing large-scale projects including the West Coast Main Line Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) upgrade and GSM-R deployment. In Sean’s new role, his focus will be on meeting health and safety obligations in the most pragmatic way.
The moves follow the appointment of Steve Dalton as managing director of telent’s rail business in autumn 2016. Says Dalton, ‘telent shares the aspirations of passengers, government and industry for a world class railway. We are a committed long-term partner to the rail industry with a long-term Rail Strategy that is aligned to our key customers and industry stakeholders.’
‘The increasing use of digital technology in the UK rail industry means the needs of our customers are rapidly changing. As designers, suppliers and maintainers of these new technologies, we have grown from a telecom and support integrator to a full-service data network and service provider, offering whole of life, 24/7 asset management and support.
‘Over the last two years, we have significantly expanded our capabilities in digital technology, cloud solutions and secure networking with several strategic acquisitions, including Telindus, Arqiva Secure Solutions and most recently Richardson Eyres. We have continued to forge technology partnerships with world-leading companies, such as Cisco and Juniper to further underpin telent’s technology strategy and long-term delivery capabilities.
‘Whilst the evolution of a digital railway will fundamentally change many rail systems, we are committed to ensuring that we continue to support our customers’ legacy systems. Our business is continuing to evolve to best meet the ever-changing needs of the rail industry and these appointments mark another step forward for telent Rail.’
Siemens Rail Automation is re-organising its UK structure to better develop the rail industry’s digital revolution while at the same time maintaining focus on main line and light rail work.
Says Rob Morris, Siemens’ director of operations, ‘In making these changes, we are ensuring that our regional delivery teams remain strong, focused and sufficiently resourced to deliver the traditional mainline and metro renewal and enhancement signalling schemes, while at the same time establishing a new team to focus on the development and effective integration of digital train control and passenger information technologies.’
Led by Rob Morris, the new structure sees Mark Ferrer (pictured) appointed operations director Digital Railway. Ferrer will have responsibility for new technology, control systems and communication information systems, as well as for a newly created ‘Mobility Digitalisation’ unit. This team will bring together products and systems from across the Siemens organisation, developing solutions that will both enhance the operation of the railway and enable a fully integrated, information-led transport network to be created.
Also reporting to Rob Morris will be Richard Cooper and Matt Kent, who take on the roles of operations director east and operations director west respectively. Both will retain their existing roles as delivery directors for Scotland and the Midlands but will now have additional responsibilities for other delivery offices within the existing structure. Adrian Stubbs continues in his role as delivery director mass transit and international.
Siemens Rail Automation is a global leader in the design, supply, installation and commissioning of track-side and train-borne signalling and train control solutions. Its portfolio includes train control, interlocking systems, operations control systems, components, track vacancy detection, level-crossing protection, rail communications, cab radios, station systems and cargo automation for both passenger and freight rail operators.
Siemens employs over 14,000 people in the UK, with 1,650 people working in the Rail Automation division.
Ahead of the full re-opening of the Settle – Carlisle line, more than 5,000 people took advantage of several regular timetabled steam services laid on by Northern Rail.
Hauled by the A1 locomotive, Tornado, the special service between Appleby and Settle proved a hit with rail staff and public alike.
Tourists and locals have had to contend with disrupted services for more than a year following a landslip at Eden Brows in February 2016.
Says Paul Barnfield, regional director at Northern, ‘Tornado’s visit to the Settle and Carlisle line has been fantastic. During the three days more than 5,500 people travelled on the steam services and it was great to see so many Northern customers entering into the spirit of the celebration.’
After a long struggle for survival the line is now recognised as an integral part of the national rail network providing a much needed secondary route to the heavily trafficked West Coast Main Line. ‘It was the perfect curtain raiser for the re-opening of the Leeds- Settle-Carlisle route on 31 March,’ said Douglas Hodgins, chairman of the Friends of the Settle – Carlisle Line.
The term DOO (Driver Only Operation) has created mayhem in railway circles recently, with much publicised industrial action taking place that has caused misery to thousands of rail travellers. Widespread comment has appeared in the national and local press, rail magazines, radio and TV programmes and indeed questions have been bandied about in parliament.
As is commonplace these days, playing the ‘safety card’ has an emotional appeal that could well sway the public to a particular point of view, regardless of the true situation. So-called ‘expert’ opinions have been put forward that might even result in changes to the law on when and how strikes can take place.
It would be good if, before pronouncing solutions, some of this ‘informed’ opinion understood what the real issues are. Unfortunately, DOO as an acronym is commonly used as a ‘catch all’ for a number of ways by which trains can be operated in a more efficient manner. None of these preclude a second person being on board for customer care purposes.
Some definitions
It’s all about automation and, in all variants, power doors are a prerequisite. But what are the actual operational methods that are often described as DOO?
ATO = Automatic Train Operation. The train, upon getting a ‘Go’ command, will drive itself to the next scheduled stopping place within the safety control of the signalling system. Normally, an ATO train will have a driver remaining in the front cab, the sole member of staff on board, who will close the doors and initiate the ‘start’ button.
DOO = Driver Only Operation (the only true use of the acronym). The driver is in sole charge of the train and is responsible for train movement control as well as door operation.
DTO = Driverless Train Operation. The train has no dedicated driver but retains an on-board attendant to look after passenger interests as well as door closure activation that initiates a train start command for ATO to take over. In the event of equipment failure, the attendant has the facility to move the train at slow speed to a safe stopping point.
UTO = Unattended Train Operation. The train has no on-board staff and train movement, as well as door opening and closing, is entirely automatic, controlled by a timed sequence. Examples of this can be found at airports for shuttle transits that take travellers between terminals, but it also exists on a number of Metro lines around the world. Paris Metro lines 1 and 14 operate on this basis.
DCO = Driver Controlled Operation. This is a new term, invented during the current UK disputes, that has the driver controlling train movements and door operation, and the conductor looking after passenger interests. In the event of a conductor not being available for whatever reason, the train can still run in DOO mode rather than being cancelled.
Other than DCO, none of these are new.
ATO is common place on metros and dates from the original London Underground Victoria Line in 1969. More recently, ATO has been introduced on the Central, Jubilee and Northern Lines as well as a more modern version on the Victoria Line.
DOO was negotiated in the 1980s and first introduced on the Bedford – St Pancras route in 1982. It has been extended to other inner suburban routes around London and Glasgow and is now used on London Overground and Thameslink. On London Underground, DOO (known as OPO – One Person Operation) was introduced on the Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines in 1984 and was subsequently extended to all other lines by 2000 as a precursor to ATO on the lines referred to above.
DTO has existed on the Docklands Light Railway since its opening.
UTO has been in operation on the Lille VAL system since 1983, on the Vancouver Skytrain since 1985 and on Paris Metro Line 14 (a new build line) in 1999 with Metro Line 1 being converted later. An agreement is in place between Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and the UNITE union to introduce UTO on the Glasgow Subway from 2021.
It should also be remembered that the growing number of tram and light rail networks in places such as Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Birmingham, Croydon and Edinburgh plus the Tyne and Wear Metro are all operated in DOO mode.
Defining operational and safety requirements
All of these methods of operation needed to be carefully thought through before introduction to ensure a safe method of working. The basic requirements have been defined and are well known.
ATO. As well as the automatic driving commands to the traction and braking systems, an ATP (Automatic Train Protection) system is required that ensures the train operates to the limits set by the signalling system. Nowadays, this is known as a movement authority. ATO permits the number of trains per hour to be maximised but it is usual for a manual driving option to be retained so as to maintain driver familiarisation and to move the train to a safe stopping place if the ATO system malfunctions.
DOO. For the driver to be in sole charge of the train, the system must have:
A secure radio link between driver and control centre;
A public address system for the driver to speak to passengers;
Radio that can be connected to the PA system in the event of the driver being incapacitated;
A means by which the driver can observe all the train doors to ensure safe closure before starting away;
The normal driver’s DSD device (dead man’s handle in old speak) and continuous train movement detection at the control centre by either track circuits or axle counters.
DTO. All of the above ATO features with the addition of the attendant having an emergency control panel to drive the train at slow speed to the next station where passengers can disembark.
UTO. All of the ATO and DOO requirements plus a continuous CCTV link from every carriage to the control centre to show and record all passenger movement including activation of a passenger emergency button that will stop the train if pushed. Two-way communication to the control room between passenger and controller will be part of the emergency button housing. Platform screen doors will be a mandatory requirement in the UK.
DCO. Same rules as for DOO but with the conductor having access to the train PA system.
Some of these are more challenging than others. The radio communication system was developed as CSR (Cab Secure Radio) and is now replaced by GSM-R. Train PA systems are normal practice. Well-developed ATO and ATP packages are readily available from a number of suppliers, principally for metro and mass transit systems, and both features are now part of the ERTMS/ETCS specification.Continuous CCTV coverage can be difficult because of the bandwidth required for good quality pictures and the means of transmitting these back from the train to the control room. However it is the way by which the driver observes all the doors that is the emotive issue.
The platform-train interface
This interface is recognised as having significant safety implications. Sometimes, this is described as safety critical, which can be an unfortunate term as people use it in several contexts to wrongly define system design and staff competence. Despite the billions of people that board or alight from trains every year, the general public can, on occasions, do things that result in incidents occurring. The risks and the means of minimising these are considered later on.
When DOO was introduced in the 1980s, various means were devised to enable the driver to observe the train doors. For short trains on a straight platform, dropping the cab window and looking back along the train was deemed acceptable. In similar circumstances nowadays, a platform-mounted mirror can be used, which would be slightly convex, heated and angled to minimise the impact of rain and snow from distorting the view.
Neither of these options were satisfactory for longer trains or for curved platforms, so platform-mounted cameras, with associated banks of TV monitors sited on poles at the train stopping points, have become commonplace. Great care has to be taken to ensure that both cameras and monitors are correctly positioned to minimise the impact of any vandalism and to ensure that the pictures are of sufficient quality in all lighting conditions. The equipment must always be maintained to a high standard to ensure viewing angles and picture quality are not compromised.
Photo: icsnaps / Shutterstock.com.
A variation to this arrangement is to link the cameras to a low-powered wireless transmission system and provide in-cab monitors for the driver to view. This has the advantage that the platform pictures remain viewable even when the train is moving off. London Underground employs this system on most lines, as do a number of metro and suburban lines in other countries.
Recognising that platform-mounted kit can be cumbersome and expensive, newly built rolling stock for lines where DOO is envisaged comes equipped with side- mounted train cameras linked to monitors in the cab. The viewing is therefore self-contained and is not dependent on station works for DOO to be inaugurated.
Door design and platform operation
Getting someone trapped in a door with the train moving off is the biggest risk. In the days of slam-door trains, this was always a guard’s responsibility in conjunction with platform staff where stations were staffed. Power doors have eliminated much of the risk but incidents still happen.
The public often regards train doors as being similar to those on a lift where, by sticking a hand or bag into a closing door, it will automatically re-open. Only on the most modern metro trains that have sensitive door edges will this happen – normally it will be dependent on the driver re-opening the doors. If the intrusion is very thin, there is a small risk that the door closure system will not detect this. There have been occasions when a thin wrist or the straps of a bag have been on the ‘wrong side’ with a person being dragged along once the train begins to move.
Door detection systems are improving all the time, thus reducing the risk. One example is, the development of ‘intelligent sensitive edge’ door seals by London Underground. The painting of ‘sharks teeth’ on door edges is being trialled to further warn the public of potential danger.
Another factor is the distances of the door sill from the platform edge and the step-up distance from the platform to the train floor. On a mixed traffic railway, both these potential hazards will exist as the platform position has to cater for all types of trains that stop. Some of these gaps can be significant if the platform is curved, in which case middle or end doors can be a considerable distance away dependent on whether the curve is convex or concave. Track cant angles can tilt the train away from the platform.
Not only is this gap a trip hazard, it is possible for passengers to fall between the train and platform, with potentially fatal risks. Often, ‘Mind the Gap’ announcements give warning if the step distance is unusually high or wide.
On metros and urban railways where the stock is all the same type, the current design is for the doors to be exactly at platform level as this enables easy access for people in wheelchairs, although it can cause the horizontal gap to be greater on curved platforms. London Underground users will have observed the level access on the new S Stock for the Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. More recently, a design has emerged with a sliding step that closes the gap between train and platform when the doors are open. The new Merseyrail trains will have this facility, as well as red, amber and green door illumination to indicate the door status and when they are about to close.
So who is best equipped to monitor all of this? The Union view that it is the guard needs challenging. The guard often has to alight from the train to view the platform, which on a long train will be a considerable distance. If the platform is curved or it is a foggy day, seeing the whole train length will not always be possible.
Some train operators insist that the guard alights onto the platform first to check the correct positioning of the train before releasing the doors, all of which increases the station dwell time. Additionally, before the train can start, the guard has to re-enter the train and close their door before traction power can be applied, therefore becoming blind to any untoward happening during this period.
The driver on the other hand has a continuous view of the entire train on either platform-mounted TV monitors or TV screens in the cab. These pictures remain until the train begins to move and can be programmed to stay on in cab screens until the train is clear of the station.
As always in such situations, familiarity can be an enemy and guard or driver can fail to notice someone not clear of the doors. At busy stations, where crowds may remain on the platform for the following train, the situation is eased by having platform staff who watch the alighting and entering process.
They are typically equipped with white ‘right away bats’ that are held up for the driver to see when it is safe to leave. The latest ones are capable of being illuminated red or white, the white light giving the driver the necessary assurance. At very busy stations, there may be a second member of staff at the train stopping point to relay the ‘right away’ signal. Some stations have a RA (Right Away) indicator positioned by the platform starting signal that are operated by platform staff once it is safe for the train to move.
Tickets, fare collection, evasion and customer care
Checking tickets and collecting fares is nowadays as much a part of train crew responsibility as it is of station staff. Whilst large terminal and interchange stations still have ticket offices, at less-important stations the office may only be open in peak hours and at rural locations the station is often totally unstaffed. Automatic ticket machines are available at many places but these may only cater for local travel on that line.
Many stations now have ticket barriers but need staff in attendance for travellers who have no ticket or the wrong ticket. Often this leads to the barriers being left open if there are no staff on duty. There is an ever-growing reliance on train crew to check and sell tickets on the train, but this is a task that needs minimum interruption. The situation is further complicated with the growing advent of ‘print at home’ paper tickets and electronic tickets on a smartphone.
Image: Concept image of new Merseyrail train.
A recent journey on the line from Macclesfield to Manchester by a local Northern train was witnessed. Only Macclesfield, Stockport and Manchester have ticket offices and machines, the local stations in between being unmanned. It was late afternoon with passengers going to Manchester for an evening out.
At each local station, a handful of travellers boarded the train. The guard shut the doors and then began checking and selling tickets. With both credit card and cash sales, this can be a slow process. A transaction would typically not be completed before arrival at the next local station, with the guard having to divert for the door release and closure routine. It was obvious by the time the train arrived at Manchester that a number of passengers had not been served and would have either had to go to the excess fare window or, if the barriers were open, enjoy a free ride.
This situation is typical across suburban lines around the country. The introduction of DCO would be a great asset in such circumstances.
TOCs must surely be aware of the problem, but it is a balancing act as to how many staff to deploy against the likely revenue received. With a guard freed of door duties to concentrate on revenue collection, not only will the door opening/closure process be speeded up, the behaviour of the general public will surely improve and the temptation to evade payment reduce. DOO in its many forms has to be part of this progression.
There is considerable evidence that the travelling public like the reassurance of a person on the train to look after their interests. Antisocial behaviour, especially late at night, can be very disconcerting and a passenger taken ill needs someone on board to take charge of the situation and summon help. TOCs have a duty of customer care but some seem to approach this more diligently than others.
Looking forward
There is no doubt that DOO in whatever form is here to stay. It has been in existence for nearly 50 years in conjunction with ATO, and 30 years in true DOO form.
The safety record is good. Both the ORR and RSSB have studied the operation in depth and produced public statements that DOO in its various forms is safe and can yield safety benefits.
DOO is technology dependent, so it would be quite reasonable for the unions to press for continuing high maintenance standards on the equipment involved. Equally, management and unions need to agree a sensible way forward on the use of on-board staff to maximise assistance to the travelling public with ticket queries, train running information and general customer care.
This would be a win-win scenario for all parties.
A collaborative report by writers of RailStaff and Rail Engineer
Twelve teams of student engineers will compete to build the best locomotive at this year’s Railway Challenge held by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers at the Stapleford Miniature Railway near Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, this July.
Teams include:
• University of Birmingham
• Bombardier/Derby University • Brunel University
• FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences
• Manchester Metropolitan University
• University of Huddersfield (winners in 2013)
• SNC-Lavalin (winners in 2012 and 2016)
• University of Sheffield
• University of Southampton
• TfL (winners in 2014 and 2015)
• WMG, University of Warwick
Says Philippa Oldham, head of transport and manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, ‘The Railway Challenge gives competitors a fantastic chance to test their engineering skills and get the hands-on experience of what’s needed to make a locomotive from start to finish. The competition is run along the lines of a real-life tendering process, and teams have to prepare a business case, finance, design, and build a locomotive from scratch.’
The competition is comprised of a series of track-based and presentation challenges, including a design report and an ‘Innovation Challenge’ which involves the production of an academic paper on the innovations in the loco. The track- based challenges include energy storage, traction, ride comfort, noise, maintainability and energy efficiency.
The locomotives that will be competing are designed to work on 101⁄4” gauge railway line and must be powerful enough to transport a 600kg load – including one of the Railway Challenge judges.
Adds Philippa, ‘Each year the entries impress the judges with new innovations, of particular note are the solutions proposed for the energy storage and energy efficiency challenges. These are two big issues currently being faced by manufacturers and so solving these challenges could mean that these young engineers could help to revolutionise our modern railways.’
Remember those posters that began to appear across the network last September? ‘Britain runs on dinner time’ and ‘Britain runs on great days out’ were just two of the messages used on billboards and in newspapers and magazines across the country as part of Britain Runs On Rail. You may even be wearing one of the colourful enamel badges.
Produced by the Rail Delivery Group, the industry body that represents all of the train operators and Network Rail, the next chapter of Britain Runs On Rail is set to reach a screen near you very soon. A brand-new TV advertisement, ‘Arrivals’, will launch in mid-March, accompanied by a series of posters and web content that raises awareness among the public of the improvements that are being made to the nation’s railway.
‘Our wish is to engage with the British public about how rail is ever more crucial to their everyday lives,’ says Edward Welsh, RDG’s communications director, ‘and explain the journey the industry is on to transform the experience of our customers, secure the future of those working in the business and maximise the benefits to the nation”.
Welsh adds, ‘This is the first time in many years the industry has come together to invest in raising public awareness on this scale. We want to explain that there is a capacity crunch and that’s why we are delivering a Railway Upgrade Plan of more than £50bn. We also need to show taxpayers and fare payers where their money is going and sustain the support of the public and private sector for continued investment in the railway.’
Train operators and Network Rail will let you know how you can best support Britain Runs On Rail – and RDG wants to encourage the whole industry to share the ad on social media and among friends and family from the Britain Runs on Rail Facebook page. The advertisements will also encourage people to search ‘runs on rail’, pointing to the improvements being made on the railway where you are.
ARRIVALS – THE DIRECTOR’S TAKE
The TV advertisement’s director, Neil Gorringe, explains why certain locations have been used for the filming of Arrivals – the first TV advertisement for the national railway in nearly 30 years:
‘Little corners and vistas of Britain, which at first appear empty, are magically brought to life by the sound of a passing train.
‘The people and things that appear remind us what role rail plays in our lives; a trip to the seaside, goods for purchase or the commute into work. These scenes unfold in a contemporary way.
‘The voiceover informs us that investments and improvements will be made to support the increasing demand.
‘Ultimately, this film will make you feel good about the railway.’
WHERE DID THAT LOGO COME FROM?
Everyone who works on the railway will be familiar with the famous ‘Double Arrow’ logo, and Britain Runs On Rail uses an eye-catching new version. There remains a huge amount of affection for the logo, with research showing that the British public still has a great affection for it, and an understanding of what it symbolises.
Famously designed for British Rail in 1965, and first sketched out on the back of an envelope by the lettering artist Gerry Barney, it has stood the test of time to become Britain Runs
On Rail’s identity, symbolising the unity of the rail companies working together.
WHAT IS THE RAIL DELIVERY GROUP?
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) exists to enable rail companies to succeed in transforming and delivering a successful railway.
Up until last October, there were two organisations: the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and RDG. Since then, the single name of RDG has been adopted, meaning ATOC no longer exists. RDG has taken on all of the ATOC functions, including ticketing systems, National Rail Enquiries and Rail Staff Travel, as well as the schemes covering passenger train operations, engineering and major projects.
The RDG also provides the policy and communications functions representing the views of train operator owning groups, freight operators and Network Rail.
Iarnród Éireann came into being 30 years ago on 2 February 1987. Since then, there has been a revolution of timetables and services with the rail network being updated from the steam age to one of the most modern and safest in Europe.
Prior to the formation of Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) rail and bus services in the Republic of Ireland had been operated by Córas Iompair Éireann (CIE), the Irish Transport Company, formed on 1 January 1945 from the Great Southern Railway and the Dublin United Transport Company.
Iarnród Éireann operates all internal InterCity, commuter, DART and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. The company also operates road freight services (Navigator) and manages Rosslare Harbour.
THE SERVICE REVOLUTION
During the 30 years of IÉ one of the biggest changes has been with the frequency and journey times of train services on principal routes. In the Dublin area, the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) had been opened from Dun Laoghaire to Howth a few years earlier with 1500v DC overhead power supply and stylish Line-Hoffman-Busch 1983 built two-car EMUs. These services had revolutionised a run-down and truly awful push-pull diesel suburban service.
In 1986, there were just seven direct services between Dublin and Cork (nine on Fridays) with the fastest journey time being two hours 35 minutes – now there are 14 with the fastest journey time of two hours 15 minutes and an aim to reduce that further to two hours.
Waterford had four services taking two hours 20 minutes and now has seven (eight on Fridays) which take around two hours five minutes. Galway had five services taking two hours 25 minutes and now has nine taking around two hours 20 minutes. Until 1986, all InterCity services were locomotive hauled with Cravens type (Mk1) or BREL type Mk2 carriages.
However, these were cascaded to other routes by 1988 when the Mk3 automatic plug door Mk3 carriages had been fully introduced. The Mk4 CAF built push-pull DVT sets of carriages were introduced from 2005 and are exclusively used on the Dublin to Cork route in conjunction with the 100mph 201 class locomotives.
NEW ROLLING STOCK
The first sign of the rolling stock revolution to come though was the arrival of the Tokyu Car built 2600 class 2 car suburban diesel railcars in from 1993, these being used initially mainly on the North Dublin routes. Further railcar orders arrived in 1998 with the Alstom built 2700 class and the Tokyu Car built 2800 class in 2000.
Forty outer suburban 29000 class railcars were built by CAF between 2002-5 for the Sligo line and the south eastern line, but are now used on the Rosslare and Dundalk services as well. More was to come though with an order for 120 class 22000 InterCity railcars being placed in 2004 with Rotem, a South Korean rolling stock builder.
This was later increased to 150 vehicles and then another 33 were added in 2007. On delivery these units rapidly replaced the Mk3 locomotive hauled trains on InterCity routes. On the Dublin – Cork they augmented the Mk4 push-pull workings (which were introduced new in 2004-5) to permit a basic hourly interval service.
The cross-border ‘Enterprise’ service also benefited from new rolling stock where a jointly owned fleet of new carriages built by De Dietrich in 1996 were introduced.
For accountancy purposes NIR own the even numbered carriages and IÉ the odd numbers. These replaced Mk2 carriages on the route, the new De Dietrich fleet being push-pull with motive power supplied by a class 201 locomotive. There were six trains on weekdays in 1986 and there are now eight.
LOCOMOTIVES
At the formation of IÉ the principal InterCity services were hauled by the reliable General Motors 071 class locomotives that had been introduced in 1976.
Freight and local or regional services were normally hauled by the smaller class 141 or 181 General Motors locomotives. There were also the re-engined ‘Metrovic’ 001 class locomotives normally used on freight services until withdrawal in the mid-1990’s and the 121 class single ended General Motor locos used either single on Mk2 push-pull services or in pairs on freight (or occasional passenger services).
On 9 June 1994, the first of the 34 General Motors 201 Class (No. 201), arrived in Dublin by air from London, Canada. The subsequent introduction of the railcars and the downturn in freight resulted in most of the smaller locomotives being withdrawn with the 071 class now used primarily on freight and the 201 class on passenger and freight services (but 12 201 class are currently in store at Inchicore Works now). IÉ currently have plans to re-engine the 201 class with greener and more economic power units.
NEW LINES – AND CLOSURES
In the first year of IÉ, passenger services were withdrawn on the Mullingar to Athlone route to the West of Ireland. Services were re-routed from Dublin Heuston station via Portarlington. The next passenger service withdrawal was on the Waterford to Rosslare on 18 September 2010 – this line being owned by the Fishguard & Rosslare Railways and Harbour Company.
Over the 30 years though several lines have re-opened and new services have been introduced.
A new Kildare Line commuter service began operating in May 1994 – Clondalkin, Hazelhatch and Sallins reopened and a new station was built at Cherry Orchard. Funding covered the cost of 10 new diesel railcars from Tokyu Car Corporation.
During 1995, a number of investment projects were announced by the Government, these including the extension of the DART to Greystones and the opening of new stations at Fairview, Kilcock and Drumcondra.
The Kildare Route Project Railway Order was signed by the Minister for Transport on the 5 of December 2006. This would deliver the addition of two tracks between where the planned ‘DART Underground’ would commence at Inchicore and just past Hazelhatch. Work on this was partly completed in early 2010 with the opening of Ireland’s first four track section of mainline railway between Cherry Orchard and Hazelhatch, with the section to Inchicore deferred (along with ‘DART Underground’) due to the economic recession.
To alleviate congestion at Dublin Connolly station a new Docklands station was opened on 12 March 2007 on part of the freight yard complex and was served mainly by services from Clonsilla on the Sligo Line. The next re-opening was on 31 July 2009 when 10 km (6.25 miles) of the former Youghal branch was opened to Midleton (with a passing loop at Carrigtwohill).
By far the longest line re-opening to date was the Western Rail Corridor, the Galway to Limerick line re-opened on 30 March 2010 between Athenry and Ennis to provide a through service. In total 58km of track re- opened. In September 2010 the re-instated Clonsilla to Pace (M3 Parkway) line was opened with a vague intention that it should be extended to Navan sometime in the future.
In November 2016, a new service was opened in Dublin to link the Kildare Line to Connolly Station via the ‘Phoenix Park Tunnel’, a route which hadn’t seen regular passenger services since the Dun Laoghaire boat trains ceased using it. This is initially a ‘Peak’ time service, but once resources become available it is proposed to introduce services throughout the day and at weekends.
SIGNALLING AND SAFETY
Although the Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) centre at Dublin Connolly was first opened during 1974, its area of control was initially quite restricted with the charm of the semaphore signal still to be seen over most of Ireland. The CTC was extended to control the DART in the 1980s. The last 30 years have seen considerable expansions across Ireland to the area it controls and even upgrades to some of the earlier CTC signalling.
Now virtually all main lines are controlled from the Dublin CTC including Dublin to Cork, Galway, Westport, Waterford, Sligo, Rosslare, Newry (on the cross-border line), Mallow to Tralee, Limerick Junction to Limerick and M3 Parkway to Docklands. At present approximately 75 per cent of the IÉ network (approximately 1,500km) is controlled from the CTC. The current CTC is expected to be replaced between 2018 and 2022 with the commissioning of a new control centre.
The expansion of the CTC area has also resulted in many level crossings being converted from manual gates to automatic barrier types.
FREIGHT – THE DECLINE AND RETURN
When Iarnród Éireann came into being around 2.8 million tonnes of freight per year was carried. Major declines occurring in the cement, fertiliser and general freight commodity types resulting in 1.8 million tonnes being carried in 2005 – the year when IÉ operated container trains ceased. The following year sugar beet and the Diageo keg traffic was lost, beet due to removal of the EU subsidy and kegs, on cost grounds were transferred by Diageo to road distribution. This left just the zinc ore traffic between Navan and Dublin Port and the dying cement based traffic. On 31 January 1994, postal trains also ceased to operate.
However, from the ashes of this has risen the re-birth of container and pulpwood traffic. The first breakthrough was the introduction of the Norfolk Line (now called DFDS) services from Waterford Port to Ballina in 2006, followed by the launch of the International Warehousing and Transport (IWT) Dublin to Ballina container ‘liner’ trains in August 2009.
IWT commenced with two services in each direction every week with trains being loaded in Dublin Port on the Alexandra Road tramway. Following major investment in new rail sidings by Dublin Port, opened in 2011, the IWT services transferred to them.
LONGER TRAINS
The trainload pulpwood business for Coillte between the west of Ireland and the south east was also re- introduced with some 135 timber trains operating from Ballina and Westport to Waterford to supply the SmartPly factory with around 50,000 tonnes of wood. By 2011, Coillte’s rail tonnage had increased by around 20 per cent up to 60,000 tonnes.
March 2013 saw the relaunch of the DFDS Waterford Port to Ballina liner service which now runs four trains per week – two in each direction. These trains connect into and from the DFDS shipping service from Waterford Port to Rotterdam, allowing exporters access to Europe via the Rotterdam hub.
IWT now operate around seven loaded trains a week in each direction between Ballina and Dublin Port, this making Ballina the busiest freight yard in Ireland handling traffic for DFDS, IWT and Coillte – around 18 loaded trains per week.
In 2016, IÉ undertook trials to allow a 50 per cent increase in the length of freight trains.
Both the ports of Foynes and Galway have the future reintroduction of rail freight noted in their business plans. Of these, Shannon Foynes Port Company is very keen to have the Limerick to Foynes branch line reopened for freight traffic and presently structural surveys are being undertaken to see if the route can be re-commissioned. The port envisages a 50 per cent increase in traffic by 2020 and the current road network would be unable to take the increased volume.
THE FUTURE
Together with severe funding issues following subsidy cuts, David Franks, the current chief executive, managed to secure funds not only to keep the network operating for now at its present level, but also to continue upgrades on the Dublin – Cork main line to allow 100mph running on the 50-mile stretch between Hazlehatch and Kildare.
Funding for continuation of this work in 2017 has also been granted. Further upgrades such as the removal of level crossings and bridge replacements are expected to bring journey times from Cork to Dublin to under two hours. In the longer term, the findings of the National Transport Authority’s ‘Rail Review’ public survey undertaken in late 2016 is likely to shape how railways in the Republic of Ireland are funded.
The recent increases in passenger numbers being carried have prompted funding also for the return to service of the 1997 built ‘2700 class’ railcars which are currently stored, this being a cheaper option than buying new trains. Other options to be discussed to tackle overcrowding are additional carriages for the 22000 class intercity railcars, an hourly Dublin to Belfast service and electrification to Maynooth or Balbriggan. Reference has already been made to the re-engining of the 201 class locomotives to improve their efficiency and reliability.
PRESTIGE SERVICES
Travel ticketing has also been revolutionised in the Dublin area with the introduction of the multi-modal ‘LEAP Card’ which can also be used on the LUAS trams and Dublin buses.
Prestige services operating on the IÉ network have also been a welcome new addition to the scene over the last few years, firstly with the Rail Tours Ireland ‘Emerald Isle Express’ being launched with heritage stock two years ago, followed by ‘Steam Dreams’ tour of Ireland and last year the ‘Belmond Grand Hibernian’ hotel train was introduced using rebuilt Mk3 carriages. All these services pampering to the luxury tour market and are likely to develop over the coming years.
IÉ has many achievements to be proud of already with the almost total modernisation from a ‘steam age’ network to one of the most modern in Europe. From a safety perspective they have recently achieved a period of 142 ‘SPAD free days’ (SPAD – Signal passed at danger) – the longest continuous period on record for IÉ – and that included the period of ‘leaf fall’ where track adhesion is often poor.
IÉ is the only one of the ten largest users of energy in the Irish public sector to have exceeded the Government’s energy efficiency improvement target of 33 per cent by 2020 – IÉ has already achieved a 36 per cent reduction in energy usage.
The additional bonus here for IÉ is the savings made on fuel bills at a time when funding is tight. In January 2017, IÉ was present at the ‘Golden Whistle Awards’ where previous CEO Dick Fearn was Master of Ceremonies and presented four ‘whistles’ to IÉ staff members.
Congratulations to Iarnród Éireann and all their staff on achieving so much since being formed in 1987.
This year’s extension of the Jacobite season is the latest development for the Fort William to Mallaig steam trains, which have been running for over 30 years. The trains are now to run from Easter to the end of the year with a break in November.
Steam trains started running on this route for three days a week in 1984 following a request by Mallaig Community Council to British Rail’s (BR) newly formed ScotRail division. Since privatisation, these trains have been operated by West Coast Railways (WCR) as a daily service. The Jacobite trip takes six hours, two hours each way with two hours to visit Mallaig, a thriving fishing village and port for the Isle of Skye.
The train is named after those who supported Bonnie Prince Charlie’s bid for the throne in the 1745 uprising. It runs through rugged highland scenery from Fort William, the largest town in the Scottish Highlands, to Mallaig. This takes two hours, a time that suits most passengers. As the setting for the Hogwarts Express, it offers the Harry Potter factor, even though its passengers are (presumably) muggles. With such a magical combination of ingredients, it is not surprising that last year these trains carried 70,000 passengers, much to the benefit of the local economy.
PEPPERCORN AND BLACK FIVES
This year the steam locomotives booked for this service include Peppercorn ‘K1’ 62005 and ‘Black Fives’ 45407 and 44871. The hard- pressed firemen on these locomotives shovel about 3.5 tonnes of coal on each Jacobite trip. 44871 was built at Crewe in March 1945 and, in August 1968, was withdrawn from BR service, immediately after hauling its last steam passenger train.
Florence MacLean has been working on the railway for 34 years, during which she has been a ‘trolley dolly’, sleeping car attendant, shunter and freight guard. Florence is a guard on the Jacobite steam train. She loves her job. Her train carries honeymoon couples, those renewing vows and Harry Potter fans dressed as wizards. She has a first-class coach named after her and only works in summer.
On leaving Fort William, the train runs for nine miles along the shores of Loch Eil, with views of Ben Nevis towering over the town. After reaching the end of the loch, the sharp bark of the exhaust denotes the climb up a gradient of 1 in 48 towards the curved 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct, offering views of the Jacobite monument.
Immediately after the viaduct the train stops for 20 minutes at Glenfinnan station, restored to create the atmosphere of a late Victorian station. Here there are signalling demonstrations in the disused signal box and restored 1950s dining and sleeper coaches. The station houses a museum about the history of the line which has two rooms linked by the McAlpine tunnel, named after the engineer who built the railway, Sir Robert McAlpine, also known as Concrete Bob. The line was one of the world’s first construction projects to use mass concrete.
From Glenfinnan, the train continues its steep climb to the line’s 361-foot summit and then descends along the edge of Loch Eilt which has several tree-strewn islands. Shortly afterwards the train emerges from a short tunnel high above Loch Ailort. The first sight of the sea is a few miles later from the eight-arch Loch Nan Uamh viaduct. This has a plaque about a popular myth which reads, ‘The legend of builder Robert McAlpine’s horse and cart falling down inside a pier of Glenfinnan viaduct in 1899 was corrected in 2001 when radar imaging proved that the event occurred here in the centre pier.’
BEACH AND MOUNTAIN VIEW
Just after Beasdale station, a tunnel leads onto the three arch Borrodale Burn viaduct whose 128 feet central arch was once the world’s longest mass-concrete span. Arisaig is Britain’s most westerly railway station. With a longitude of 5.55 degrees West, it beats Penzance by just 0.3 degrees. Here, the line turns north close to the coast to offer views of white sandy beaches over the sea to Skye and its Cuillin mountains.
Just before Morar station, a viaduct crosses the River Morar, reputed to be the shortest in Britain at less than a mile long. Its source, Loch Morar is, at 1,017 feet deep, Britain’s deepest body of freshwater. From here it is a few minutes until the Jacobite’s arrival in Mallaig.
In 2015, Mallaig was given a gold award by the ‘Keep Scotland Beautiful’ tidy stations programme that also awarded silver awards to Morar and Arisaig. This was due to the efforts of Sonia Cameron who adopted these three stations 15 years ago, as part of the ‘adopt-a-station’ scheme promoted by Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP) to make stations part of local communities. Across Britain there are now more than 1,000 station adoption groups.
During this time, Sonia has steadily improved these stations. Mallaig can now boast numerous hanging baskets and planters which have been funded by local businesses and ScotRail. Sonia also organises events for ScotRail, is a hostess on the luxury Royal Scotsman train and writes a rail column for the monthly community magazine. She also produces the ‘Off the Rails’ leaflet which lists local businesses. This is placed on every table of the Jacobite train.
Her contribution was recognised by the Association of Community Rail Partnerships in 2015 when they named Sonia as their volunteer of the year, noting that ‘Sonia is an unstoppable force with a heart of gold, who can’t stop doing a kind deed to make railway travel on the West Highland line a memorable experience.
The 41-mile single line railway between Fort William and Mallaig opened in 1901. It transformed Mallaig into a significant fishing port from where trains carried huge quantities of herring to the south. Now the special fish trains are long gone. Instead the line’s main traffic is thousands of tourists who use one of ScotRail’s four daily trains, the Jacobite or the luxury Royal Scotsman train. In this way, Concrete Bob’s railway continues to support the local economy.
The RSSB has drawn attention to the tenth anniversary of the Grayrigg railway accident. The tragic crash marked the last train accident that killed passengers on Britain’s mainline railways. The RSSB says this is unprecedented in the history of the rail industry.
The accident at Grayrigg 10 years ago on 23 February 2007 happened when 390033 ‘City of Glasgow’, a Virgin Pendolino, heading for Glasgow, came off the tracks at a set of points just north of Docker Viaduct in Cumbria. Eighty-four-year- old Margaret Masson from Glasgow was on the train and subsequently died in hospital.
Unprecedented respite
According to the RSSB, this was the last time a passenger died in a train accident scenario such as a derailment or collision.
Says RSSB’s director of system safety George Bearfield, ‘This unprecedented 10-year respite does not, of course, mean that train accidents are consigned to history. It’s still possible for accidents involving trains, or vehicles like trains, to happen, as shown elsewhere.
‘We have seen major accidents overseas in recent months, and also the major tram accident in Croydon in November last year. The railways’ safety performance is maintained through continual learning and industry is ready to learn any relevant transferable lessons for the mainline railway in Britain.’
Lives saved
Lives were also saved 10 years ago at Grayrigg thanks to the train’s crashworthiness and the use of laminated glass in the windows. Research shows these prevent people from being ejected from the train. At a news conference soon after the crash, Virgin chief Sir Richard Branson praised the driver, Iain Black, from Dumbarton, and thanked local people and emergency services for their unflagging help that night and in the aftermath.
Branson pointed out the driver remained at his post and made every effort to stop the train and mitigate what was happening. Iain Black spent over a month in hospital and was given a 5 per cent chance of survival. He later said, ‘I’ve got to be in the cab to help the train and it never crossed my mind to leave.’
Staff heroism
Bearfield also pointed to the heroism of rail staff. ‘By remaining vigilant and avoiding complacency, the railways have maintained a methodical and targeted approach to managing risk and improving safety. Stronger trains, better signalling and protection, and day-to-day dedication of rail staff have all played their part too.’
Iain Black, despite suffering a broken neck and blood loss managed to get his mobile phone out of his pocket and call his girlfriend, Jan Duff – also working for Virgin Trains. Jan alerted control.
Adds George Bearfield, ‘Train accidents have a tragic impact on passengers, rail staff, and their families – the derailment at Grayrigg resulted in tragedy for the family of Margaret Masson who died. It also required heroism from rail staff, emergency services and the local community in the aftermath. Our thoughts are with them as much as they are with the progress we’ve made as an industry in the intervening period.’
The points in question were later removed and the stretch is now CWR – continuous welded rail. Iain and Jan later married. Mr Black retired from the railway in 2015 after 36 years service.
Royal assent represented the final piece of a complex legislative puzzle for Phase One of HS2. The announcement came as no surprise in the end. Following the hybrid bill’s third reading in the House of Lords in January, it was a simple formality.
It means that after several years of consultation and debate HS2 now has the powers to build the London to Birmingham link. The question many will now be asking is, what happens now?
HS2 has described 2017 as a year of preparation. Over the coming months, much of the focus will be around carrying out detailed ground investigation and ecological works.
Archaeological investigations will also be conducted as part of the enabling works contracts that were awarded in November 2016. One of the first sites to be studied will be St James’s Gardens at Euston, which up until 1853 had been used as a burial ground. It is one of three historic burial grounds along the route that are having to be exhumed – the other two are St Mary’s churchyard, Stoke Mandeville, which dates back to the medieval period, and Park Street Gardens in Birmingham.
The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) has called the project ‘the largest single archaeological research programme’ in the country and a massive opportunity to train new archaeologists and bolster the profession.
One of the next big milestones is expected in early summer when the main works contractors are appointed. A year of detailed design will follow before construction starts in 2018. While designs for the main civils works are being drawn up, HS2 will begin the procurement for the rolling stock, rail systems and station design contracts.
The announcement last month included a quote from HS2’s chairman, Sir David Higgins. ‘Achieving royal assent for Phase One of HS2 between Birmingham and London with such significant parliamentary support, is a monumental step in transforming rail travel in Britain.
‘We have a long journey ahead of us to build the railway and secure permission for Phase Two to make sure that the full benefits of HS2 are realised. This journey will see businesses right along the route benefit from greater access to the skills, markets and professional services they need to succeed in today’s global market. It will directly create some 25,000 jobs as well as forcing the pace of innovation in the construction industry.’
MIDLANDS TRANSFORMATION
The announcement on 23 February received a particularly warm response from Midlands Connect, a partnership between local authorities in the West Midlands and national bodies like the Department for Transport (DfT), Network Rail and HS2.
Birmingham’s rail strategy and wider redevelopment plans are all geared towards the new high- speed link. Even though work has been going on in the background independent to HS2, royal assent allows these plans to move forward with confidence.
In a statement welcoming the news, chairman Sir John Peace said, ‘We have already seen investment, growth and other signs of economic optimism arising from just the prospect of HS2 and record numbers of businesses and investors are interested in the region, in part due to the transformational nature of HS2.’
In last year’s Autumn Statement, the chancellor committed £5 million to advance the Midlands Rail Hub (MRH) – a programme of upgrades that will complement the improved capacity and connectivity provided by HS2.
Bordesley Chords, which will link Moor Street station with the Camp Hill Line, is part of MRH. Other projects include four-tracking of the Bordesley viaduct, new platforms at Moor Street, Snow Hill and Kings Norton, and four-tracking of the Water Orton corridor. Midlands Connect say the improvements will create 10 additional train paths an hour into Birmingham, which will be used for East/West Midlands regional and long-distance services.
The MRH will also facilitate the launch of new local services on the Camp Hill Line – to new stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazellwell – and on the Birmingham-Nuneaton-Tamworth/ Burton routes, which will serve new stations at Galley Common (Nuneaton), Kingsbury, Castle Bromwich and/ or Fort Parkway.
These schemes, and others, will help to maximise the connectivity of HS2. Redoubling the line between Kenilworth and Leamington will allow CrossCountry services between Reading and Newcastle to be diverted via Coventry and Birmingham International, which will be a short distance away from HS2’s Birmingham Interchange station. The expectation is that this will release capacity on the existing Leamington- Solihull-Birmingham Moor Street line for other regional services.
Of course, Birmingham will also support the training of new engineers for HS2. In September, the National College for High Speed Rail campus in the city will open and begin training the first of the 9,000 apprentices that are needed for Phase One – a responsibility it will share with its sister site in Doncaster. More than 40 apprentices from a number of the companies that make up the High Speed Rail Industry Leaders (HSRIL) group visited Euston station with Transport Minister Andrew Jones on the day royal assent was granted.
ON TO PHASE 2
While all of this takes place, HS2 and the DfT will be preparing the two separate hybrid bills for phases 2a and 2b, which will extend the line from Birmingham to Crewe and then onto Manchester, the East Midlands, South Yorkshire and Leeds. Many of the decisions for the route of Phase Two have now been made apart from the location of the interchange station in Sheffield.
The hybrid bill for 2a should be submitted to parliament by the end of this year and 2b by the end of 2019. If the remaining sections receive the same level of parliamentary backing, the full network will stay on course to open as planned in 2033.
This article has been updated from the print version to clarify that, while not served by passenger trains, the Camp Hill Line is still open to freight traffic. The line is not disused.
The story of the Midland Main Line upgrade has moved on quite a bit in the past 12 months. At the start of 2016, the programme was just beginning to regain momentum following a brief hiatus – one of the after effects of Sir Peter Hendy’s extensive review of Network Rail.
The £2 billion programme is being delivered by the Network Rail Infrastructure Projects East Midlands (IPEM) partnership. The IPEM team comprises Network Rail, AMCO, Arup, Atkins, Carillion, Carillion Powerlines, Galliford Try and Murphy.
The remobilisation of a £2 billion programme ‘doesn’t just happen’, said Paul Thomas, route delivery director, Network Rail. ‘We’ve been very active in that throughout the past year… We’re taking a much more programme-based approach.’
At its heart is the electrification of the Midland Main Line between Bedford and Sheffield. Work is currently focussed between Bedford and Corby. At the start of the year, a six-week blockade to begin the installation of a second track was successfully delivered. Now preparatory works for the electrification of the line can begin.
Piling is due to start between Kettering and Corby in May and between Bedford and Kettering in October. If all goes to plan, the line from Bedford to Kettering and Corby will be energised in 2019, reaching Sheffield four years later. Network Rail is predicting a 30 per cent growth in passenger numbers along the corridor over the next 10 years and the upgrade is key to preparing one of Britain’s oldest routes for the future.
NEW HOME
Paul was speaking at SafeStart 2017, which welcomed some 70 exhibitors and 750 delegates to its new home of Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, on 26 January. It is the fourth year in succession that the exhibition has brought the IPEM team and its supply chain together at the start of a new year.
The main message of the show was ‘Safe Stop’, encouraging people to stop and intervene if they see unsafe work practices and also to stop and consider the consequences of the decisions they make. Says Paul, ‘That’s really where the main theme for this comes from. It’s about stopping and taking action if it’s not right.’
Paul was keen to stress that he didn’t see SafeStart as a typical trade show. The conference programme and interactive sessions dealt with a variety of issues that can impact on health and wellbeing – a theme that underpins the whole event. During the conference, Kelly Sotherton, who won bronze in the heptathlon at the 2004 Olympic Games, and British triple jump champion Nathan Douglas provided some insight into sports psychology, offering up advice and guidance that delegates could apply in their own day-to-day lives. There were also seminar sessions on things like occupational hygiene, suicide awareness and handling risk.
SAFESTART AWARDS
James Steele, head of innovation at Carillion and the organiser of SafeStart, believes the event does two things: it allows people to see parts of the industry outside their own immediate view and it gives individuals a moment to stop and think about safety after a busy Christmas. ‘It’s all about focusing and resetting their minds on the year ahead,’ says James. ‘What we’re doing now is we’re getting people better prepared for the work as well.’
The event also rewarded those who had made a positive impact on health and safety throughout the programme during the past 12 months. The SafeStart Awards honoured those who had intervened to stop someone from taking their own life, someone who had performed CPR on a member of the public and another who had helped a driver at the scene of a road traffic accident.
What the IPEM’s leadership team want to see is the message from SafeStart maintained and built on throughout the rest of the year, says Paul. There are examples of new schemes and initiatives that are doing just that. By deploying occupational nurses to site, the programme has already made a meaningful difference. As a result, several people have been referred to their doctor and some have even been referred directly to hospital.
REFLECT ON SAFETY
Headline sponsors for the event were TXM Plant and Vp plc. Kayleigh Lord, marketing and communication manager at TXM Plant, said the event was a good ‘platform’ to raise awareness of safety issues. ‘TXM Plant are proud supporters of the SafeStart event. We believe that safety is paramount in any industry, especially rail. TXM Plant and TXM Rail’s dedicated SHEQ teams are keen to raise awareness of its importance and SafeStart is a great platform to do so. The event allows companies to share ideas and come together to ensure a safe working environment for all.’
Says Graham Humphries, business development manager at Torrent Trackside, ‘SafeStart 2017 was a spectacular repeat of what’s becoming an industry leading event. For us, it is about taking the time to reflect on safety, meet our colleagues and showcase Vp’s latest innovative solutions and products for hire. A lot of effort went into the event from the Carillion team and we are proud to support their initiative.’
Like all of Network Rail’s Infrastructure Projects alliances, IPEM is under pressure to deliver. The technical challenges and time constraints of a major electrification scheme could pose a real threat to safe delivery. Opening the event, Paul said that those working on the upgrade programme were twice as safe as those in other parts of the country. The real challenge now is to maintain this throughout the life of the project. It’s not how you start but how you finish.
A Midland Metro tram, in Spain, is currently being fitted with hi- tech batteries allowing it to run over stretches of track with no overhead power cables.
Tram 18 was split in two and loaded onto flatbed lorries to make the journey from Wednesbury to the factory in Zaragoza, Spain, where it was made.
Tram manufacturer CAF will then fit the Urbos 3 with two lithium ion cells and undertake exhaustive tests before returning it to Britain in the autumn.
The batteries will allow the trams to operate over short distances without the need for overhead cables and equipment – a good move in architecturally sensitive areas like Victoria Square. It also obviates the need for disruptive and expensive installation work.
Urbos 3 trams already run catenary-free along some sections of the tram networks in the Spanish cities of Zaragoza, Seville and Cadiz but use supercapacitors to provide on- board energy storage.
However these would be unsuitable for trams using the extension being built from New Street to Centenary Square because of the steep hill on Pinfold Street leading into Victoria Square.
The newly available lithium ion batteries are now robust enough to handle the gradients and can be fitted to the fleet in time for the opening of the Centenary Square extension.
While augmented reality is finding its place in the construction of new railways, virtual reality is becoming an important tool in the training of new staff.
In fact, teachers and trainers have been looking for ways to introduce virtual reality – in its various different guises – into the classroom for some time. Better equipment and more affordable hardware is now making that possible.
When the NTAR academy in Northampton opened in 2015, one of its proudest accomplishments was the creation of a VR training room. Visitors to the college can put on a headset and examine a virtual bogie without getting oil on their jackets and, most importantly, it gives students the opportunity to explore and interrogate equipment in new ways.
But the hardware is developing apace. Shortly after NTAR opened, Samsung and Oculus released the Gear VR headset. Others have followed and although smart phones can’t yet match the performance of the full tethered systems, they are giving far more people access to an immersive VR experience for a fraction of the price.
The National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR) is keen to adopt VR and augmented reality (AR), explains Daniel Locke-Wheaton, the interim academic director for NCHSR. Split between campuses in Birmingham and Doncaster, Daniel sees VR as a critical way of bringing the two sites closer together.
When the colleges open in September, they will welcome 150 high-speed rail apprentices. In all, around 500 apprentices have been pledged by more than 40 companies. As VR and AR become common in construction, the college will have to also train people how to use it.
‘We will see the increased use of AR and VR software in roles that we don’t yet know,’ said Daniel. ‘For example, the demand now for the role of Building Information Modelling (BIM) managers who are experts at the cross application of BIM cross sector is a role and specialism which did not exist 10 years ago.’
As well as his role with NCHSR, Daniel is the principal of the Aston University Engineering Academy UTC in Birmingham. Daniel has championed VR throughout his career. He recalled creating a digital training suite in 2007 and reflected on how much the technology had developed since then. ‘We were using some displays to train and teach a student and immerse them into the environment; and it was always just scratching the surface.’
But Daniel doesn’t necessarily believe that physical learning will ever be completely supplanted by the virtual world.
THE CAVE
Arriva Trains Wales has invested in a new immersive training suite called the CAVE (computer-augmented virtual environment). The CAVE, which is designed to help improve passenger safety, uses projectors which beam a realistic platform environment on to a series of screens. It allows the user, or users, to immerse themselves in a virtual station environment.
‘We opted for the use of the projection CAVE (computer augmented virtual environment) over VR headsets as it offered a far more productive training environment,’ said Matthew Long, one of the project managers for the CAVE.
VR has the ability to bring training directly to the learners and although these kind of fixed systems don’t have quite the same portability, Matthew said the company wanted a simulator that would allow the user to still be able to interact with the trainer and other learners.
Says Matthew, ‘We are trialling the use of VR headsets for a VR personal track safety training course that we have also developed. For the PTI training, however, we felt that the immersive environment offered a much more flexible training tool.
‘The trainer has the option to pause the scenario at any time and get the whole group working on related activities, such as flip-chart/board exercises, that enhance the learning/development. This can then be fed back into the simulated scenario through the trainee operating the sim, with the whole group benefitting from the learning.’
BLENDED REALITY
There are some scenarios where the future could lie somewhere between these two technologies. Daniel is particularly excited about the concept of blended reality – a further step up from augmented reality where virtual data can be manipulated and changed in the real world.
‘Blended reality learning will see the application of virtual reality and augmented reality interlaced with the real world environment,’ says Daniel. ‘We see this as a key aspect of future rail training, allowing the learner to be able to overlay augmented information across a physical environment, allowing them to virtually interrogate this data to extrapolate detailed information.’
Is staff wellbeing treated as seriously as it deserves to be? An engineer working on site will be issued with ear defenders to protect their hearing and steel-toe-capped boots to deflect the blow of a heavy falling object, but many of the factors that can impact on the health and wellbeing occur before they come to work and after their shift is over.
There is a greater expectation today for employers to not only promote healthy eating and exercise but to enable their workforce to make healthy lifestyle choices. Common ways are to improve the availability of healthy snacks and by investing in the infrastructure for a cycle to work scheme.
The RSSB’s health and safety strategy suggests that the railway is playing catch up in this area. It talks about obesity as a more prevalent issue and the challenges faced by a workforce that is both getting older and working longer. It puts some of the onus on managers, highlighting the role of health and wellbeing training in improving workplace cultures.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has drawn up similar guidance to that offered by RSSB. It recommends companies promote physical activity through broader programmes that include flexible working and incentive schemes. Employers should distribute information showing employees how they can be more active, taking into account things like shift patterns and the particular restrictions created by certain roles.
SPORTING SUCCESS
While the outlook overall shows a need for improvement, encouraging stories of those within the industry who have embraced a healthier lifestyle through sport are easy to find. Last summer, David Mushet and Iain Mackay of Siemens Rail Automation both medalled at the British Transplant Games – notable achievements not only in terms of sporting prowess.
Photo: shutterstock.com
David, who is a regional finance manager at Siemens’ Glasgow office, won a gold medal in the 5 km Race Walk. David won the same event in 2014, just a year after receiving a liver transplant. David’s performance has even earned him a place on the Great Britain team for the World Transplant Games, which takes place in Spain later this year. Iain, a software project engineering manager at the company’s site in Chippenham, underwent a kidney transplant in 2009. He won a silver medal in the ball throw and two bronze medals in the javelin and badminton.
There are also examples of sport within industry benefitting communities. Thales UK’s transportation business fielded a team at last year’s Weybridge Community Regatta. As well as taking part, Thales sponsored the event and the money raised was used, in part, to fund a development programme for junior rowers.
In July, Loughborough will host this year’s RailSport Games. The event has been around since the early 1990s and is a rare opportunity for the rail industry to come together in a setting other than a conference or exhibition. Although it provides an opportunity for networking and socialising, the tournament is still fiercely contested and demonstrates what a powerful motivator competitive sport can be.
This is the first year that Rail Media has organised the event, moving it from the North West to the East Midlands. Fifteen sports will be held over the course of the two-day competition, which will take place at a number of venues across the Loughborough University campus. Anyone who works in the rail sector, or who has a family member who is employed within the industry, can enter.
AMBASSADORS
Individuals from companies across the rail sector are being invited to become ambassadors for the event and promote RailSport, and exercise more widely, within their companies.
Someone keen to promote sport among his colleagues is Network Rail’s Adrian Suter, a rugby fan and Railway RFC player. Adrian helped to set up the Inter Rail and Brunel Shield tournaments – events which have helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity while encouraging activity and exercise. ‘Being part of a club environment ticks quite a few boxes in terms of health and wellbeing,’ said Adrian, who is excited to see rugby added to the RailSport Games programme.
Abdul Rehman Savant, who as well as working as an engineer at Alstom is a health and wellbeing champion within the company, explained why he wanted to get involved with RailSport.
‘As part of our vision at Alstom, we are promoting the health and wellbeing for our staff and encouraging staff to engage in various activities. As I am a member of the health and wellbeing steering group, and a local champion, I have taken the initiative to promote health and fitness to staff.
‘RailSport is the perfect setting to help integrate staff within our company and with other industry professionals. It will also be a great opportunity to get our minds off the stressful daily activities and have a bit of fun with our peers.’
In the run-up to the RailSport Games 2017, we want to hear your sporting stories. Whether you’re currently in training or have tales of past glories, tell us all about it. E-mail us at [email protected] and we’ll feature a selection in an upcoming issue.
RailSport will take place at Loughborough University between 8-9 July. Information about this year’s competition and how to get involved can be found on the website: www.railsport.uk
The Great War cost Britain’s railways dear. In four years they went from being robust businesses that stood firmly on their own feet to ones that were near bankrupt, with their assets worn out by over-use for military traffic, and faced with massive new forms of competition.
The rapidly developed motor vehicles that the armed forces no longer needed were dumped at give-away prices on the open market, unleashing unregulated road competition from which the industry has never fully recovered.
Even more damaging was the cost to the industry in manpower. On May 14, 1919, barely six months after the Armistice, there was a service at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, to commemorate the contribution of the railways during the war, and particularly in memory of the railwaymen who died in the service of their country.
Allegedly the service was organised at the request of His Majesty, King George V, who was certainly there on the day. The order of service (which is still on sale at the Imperial War Museum) stated that 186,475 railwaymen of Great Britain and Ireland joined HM’s Forces, and that, of those, 18,957 were killed in action or died of their wounds. We are pretty certain that the eventual death toll of railway staff rose to over 20,000, as more men succumbed to their wounds. Certainly the number of railwaymen who fell is comparable to the present number of employees in the whole of Network Rail.
VICTORIA CROSS
Out of this massive number of railwaymen who served, seven particularly stand out. Each was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for their individual acts of bravery and valour. Three of the seven worked for the London & North Western Railway, and the other four worked for, respectively, the Midland, the Great Central, and the Great Eastern Railways, and the Glasgow, Barrhead & Kilmarnock Joint Railway. Three of the seven lost their lives in the action that won them their VCs, whilst the other four returned to civilian life (in three cases returning to railway employment).
The different railways honoured their VC winners in differing ways. The London & North Western named crack express locomotives after their VC winners (but did not move the nameplates to a later loco in the case of the employee who did not return to the railway). The Great Central and the GB&K commemorated their VC winners with memorials on their home stations, although that at Nitshill on the GB&K had to be removed due to vandalism, and now stands in Dingwall, the HQ of the recipient’s regiment: a fine location, but hundreds of miles from Nitshill. There did not appear to be any local memorial to the Great Eastern or Midland Railways VC winners – indeed in the latter case finding any railway records of them has proved a real challenge.
FALLEN RAILWAYMEN
In the run up to the centenary of the Great War it became obvious to the Railway Heritage Trust – a small company that gives grants to listed buildings on the national railway – that the railway war memorials were not fully recorded. We set out to ensure that every one was noted on the Imperial War Museum’s archive of memorials, and that, in every case where the memorial remained in railway ownership, the company which owned the memorial, and the company which was responsible for its maintenance, were clearly identified. In doing this we discovered several memorials that had gone missing down the years, and were able to recover one, and to make replicas for others, which were then placed on local stations.
In carrying out this exercise, we became aware of the seven VC winners, and realised that only one had a memorial honouring him on his home station. The ‘Fallen Railwaymen’ group was the first to point this out to us – their organiser, Barry Kitchener, was station manager at Euston and realised that there was no record of Jock Christie VC at that station, where he had worked. Jock won his VC for an action in Palestine in December 1917. With Barry, we designed a plaque to honour him, and were delighted that Jock’s son, still hale and hearty, was able to join us and unveil it on the station concourse. Jock was the railwayman who did not return to railway service and the loco that had borne his name had been scrapped in the 1930s.
HIGHLANDER’S RETURN
Having done the plaque for Jock, we decided that we should also honour the other six VC winners. We did a lot of research on Charles Robertson, who fought in both the Boer War and the Great War, where he won the VC for a valiant defence of his position on the Menin Road in the retreat of March 1918. He then served in the Home Guard in the Second World War.
Charles had joined up from Blackwall GER station. Although he lived into the 1950s, and married, he had no descendants, and we were unable to establish contact with his family. Blackwall GER station is long closed, and the nearest station to its site is East India on the Docklands Light Railway, so, with help from TfL contacts, and with the support of the GER Society, we unveiled a plaque to him there. It is clear from the records that Charles was adamant about not having a military presence at his funeral, so there was a totally civilian ceremony for him.
The third plaque that we erected was at Nitshill Station, in southwest Glasgow, in honour of Sgt John Meikle. John had joined up in 1915, at the age of 16, almost certainly lying about his age. He had not quite reached the age of 20 when he lost his life assaulting enemy trenches in the battle of the Scarpe in July 1918, for which he was awarded the VC posthumously.
His colleagues erected a memorial stone to him at Nitshill, but later vandalism meant that it had to be removed, and it is now on display at Dingwall Station, headquarters of the Seaforth Highlanders, his regiment. It’s a fine setting, but over a hundred miles from his home, so we created a plaque, and designed a new stone base that echoes the original design, to carry it. John did not marry, and left no descendants, but his nephews John and Alan, the former named after him, keep his memory alive, and we were delighted that they were able to join us in October 2016 to unveil the new plaque.
UNKNOWN HERO
Jacob Rivers is, in railway terms, the unknown man of the railway VC winners. Although the War Department records show him as a ballast labourer for the Midland Railway, he is not recorded on the Midland’s war memorial, nor on its Roll of Honour, and, indeed, we cannot find any mention of him in the staff records that we have access to. We know that Jacob served in the Boer War and was then in the Reserve until 1911, after that his family records show him with the MR from June 1911 to August 1914.
Sadly his military service was not long, and he lost his life at the battle of Neuve Chappelle in March 1915, single-handedly driving back an enemy flanking party by throwing bombs amidst them, not once but twice. On the second time, sadly, he fell and his body was lost. We hope to erect a plaque to him on Derby station, but were long-frustrated by our failure to establish contact with his family. Happily we made contact early in 2017, so this plaque is now a key priority for us.
There is no such problem with Thomas Norman Jackson, the only employee of the Great Central Railway to win the VC. Known by his second name, Norman worked at Mexborough as an engine cleaner before joining up in December 1916.
During the advances of September 1918, in the final stages of the war, Norman helped his officers clear a defending machine-gun nest, and then was first into an enemy trench, killing two of his foes before being shot himself. By the time his VC was gazetted, the Armistice had been signed. Norman is commemorated on the war memorial on his station at Mexborough but without mention of his VC.
Strangely, he was not commemorated on the main Great Central Railway War memorial in Sheffield, we think because of a transcription error, but we were happy to fund an extra name plaque on that memorial, and will also place one of our VC plaques at Mexborough in due course. We have contact with Norman’s family, and look forward to working with them to honour him at his home station.
BATTLE OF ARRAS
The last two VC winners both worked for the London & North Western Railway, and both had locomotives named after them. When those locomotives were scrapped in the 1930s the names were transposed to new ‘Patriot’ class locomotives, which carried them to the end of steam in the 1960s, and all the nameplates are on display in museums. However, we do intend to place plaques to both of them.
Ernest Sykes was a platelayer at Micklehurst, and joined up in August 1914. In April 1917, during the battle of Arras, he crawled out ahead of the line five times to bring in wounded comrades, and to bandage those too severely wounded to be recovered, despite heavy fire. Ernest survived the war, and served in the Home Guard in the Second World War before dying in 1949, at the age of 64. We intend to place a plaque to him at Mossley Station, the nearest surviving station to Micklehurst.
Our final hero is Wilf Wood, who was a shed cleaner at Stockport when he joined up in early 1916. Wilf served all the rest of the war, and in October 1918, a fortnight before the Armistice, he was involved in an advance near Casa Vana, Italy, which was held up by hostile fire. Wilf advanced alone and used his Lewis gun to take out a machine-gun nest, leading to 140 enemy soldiers surrendering. As the advance continued, a second machine-gun nest held up progress and Wilf again advanced, firing his Lewis gun from the hip, taking out this second nest, and thus causing a further 160 troops to surrender. It is our intention to honour Wilf with a plaque on Stockport Station. The JD Wetherspoon pub in Hazel Grove is named after him.
In concluding this survey of the VC winners of Britain’s railways can I particularly thank Barry Kitchener, Allan Stanistreet, author of Brave Railwaymen, and Ken Grainger of the GCR Society for their help in our research, and all the railway companies and family members who have helped us make a success of this project.
Written by Andy Savage, Executive Director, The Railway Heritage Trust
‘It’s a bit like RoboCop or Minority Report’ said Rav Kugananthan, a project engineer working at Crossrail’s Liverpool Street station, as he squeezed his head into one of the project’s most radical innovations.
Although still at the development stage, the smart helmet Rav was modelling provided a glimpse into what will very likely be a common sight on construction sites within the next five years as technology popularised by the gaming industry starts to find a home in engineering and construction.
The helmet itself is made by Daqri, a US augmented reality company. Crossrail has been working with another tech company, Glaswegian digital design firm Soluis, to create an augmented reality (AR) solution to aid the project’s delivery. Soluis is also trialling its software with Microsoft’s HoloLens ‘mixed reality’ headsets.
INNOVATE18
The software, InSite, allows the operator to access any information held about an asset just by looking at it. Data and photos can then be transferred back to a central database directly from the site. The headset also keeps the user’s hands free; tasks can be carried out more safely, without having to look down at a screen or paper files.
The smart helmet is one of more than 60 ideas funded by Crossrail through its innovation programme, Innovate18. The scheme’s members include the 18 main contractors on the project and more than 1,000 individual members. Each of the companies has helped fund the project; this was then match funded by Crossrail. Ideas are submitted through the Innovate18 portal and then a Project Champion decides whether to pursue it or not.
Photo: Crossrail.
Some of the innovations have taken preexisting technology and applied it in new ways. One novel solution has been to use small portable projectors to deliver safety briefings in the tunnels, saving the time and associated risks of having to go back and forth from meeting rooms: a substantial benefit when it can take 20 minutes to travel from the site office into the tunnels.
Some of Innovate18’s solutions have involved emerging technologies. Drones have been utilised for surveying inside the tunnels and 360-degree cameras have been used to create interactive photos and videos of worksites. Crossrail’s engineering teams have also used 3D printers to create small models of construction components to help visualise and plan works.
Rav demonstrated several of the innovations, including the smart helmet, 40 metres below ground in one of the 220-metre tunnels which link the new ticket halls at Liverpool Street station and Moorgate station.
As well as being the guinea pig for innovative new products and construction techniques, it was at the Liverpool Street station site that one of the most significant archaeological finds was made. The remains or 42 people were found in a mass grave, believed to have been a pit for victims of the Great Plague, within the former Bedlam burial ground.
BEYOND CROSSRAIL
Around 450 ideas have been submitted through Innovate18. The programme’s success means it will have a life beyond Crossrail as I3P and will likely be adopted by Crossrail 2. The hope is that many of the innovations that have helped improve safety and efficiency on Crossrail can be applied at the design stage of future projects, delivering greater benefits.
The application of virtual reality (VR) and AR, in particular, is an area of focus within the transport and engineering sectors. Earlier this year, Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) opened its Visualisation Laboratory – a high-tech suite it is offering up to the industry to trial VR and augmented reality technologies.
‘It will definitely have a positive impact,’ said Martin Pett, principal technologist (human factors) at TSC, talking about the application of VR and AR in the transport and construction industries.
Although the lab was only opened in the summer, it is already being upgraded to keep pace with this fast- developing field.
TSC is acquiring devices known as haptic suits and gloves to make its VR worlds more immersive. The suits recreate the sense of touch for the wearer. Martin said that, combined with programmes that simulate passenger flows, they would be able to recreate the hustle and bustle of a busy railway station.
Photo: Microsoft HoloLens
One of the projects TSC is working on is an augmented reality app which would allow people to see what it is like for passengers with a visual impairment to negotiate the station environment.
SERIOUS APPLICATIONS
The gaming industry has led the way in the development in VR until now, but Martin believes that other industries will become more prominent in the future. TSC is part of the ImmerseUK network – a group of organisations looking to work across industries to develop VR technologies within their businesses. It includes the likes of Rolls-Royce, BT and Disney. Martin said 2017 would provide some clarity on how VR and AR will evolve in the workplace.
‘It has definitely been the entertainment industry’s golden child… but there’s more and more people finding serious applications for it.’
Alex Hynes, genial head of Northern Rail, is to be the new chief of the Scottish Alliance and takes up the position later this year.
Speaking at a Rail Media sustainability conference in Leeds last year, Alex Hynes described how he was devolving power to regional directors at Northern. The move was in keeping with empowering senior management at operational level to take quick and effective decisions.
‘I’m not sure where that will leave me,’ Hynes joked. Now we know.
One of the industry’s most effective leaders in recent times is heading for Glasgow to head up Scotland’s expanding national railway. He will be employed by Network Rail and will lead the alliance of Abellio ScotRail and Network Rail in Scotland.
While Hynes packs his bag at Northern, erstwhile alliance head Phil Verster is heading south to take up a new role running the East-West Rail Link project – the new railway planned to connect Oxford and Cambridge via Bletchley.
Verster had come under increasing pressure following a run of poor performance at ScotRail. A popular figure in the industry, Verster will be orchestrating moves to connect the two university cities. The former managing director of NR’s London North East division and deputy chief executive officer at Irish Rail is understood to be delighted at his new role.
Rail chiefs agree the new job is a tough one. ScotRail is administered by the Scottish Government, not Marsham Street. However, Hynes, like many rail executives before him, will view ScotRail as a career pinnacle. ‘The ScotRail Alliance is delivering one of the largest programmes of investment, change and modernisation since the railway was built. To be part of that, and the plans to vastly improve services and capacity for customers, is hugely exciting for me,’ he says.
Northerner Alex was educated at Altrincham Grammar School and Leeds University where he read economics. After graduating in 1998, he worked for Halcrow before joining the Office of Rail Regulation in 2002. A progressive railway career saw him flourish at Go Ahead where he went on to be commercial director of London Midland. He later became managing director of rail development at Go Ahead and went on to head up Northern Rail in 2013.
Alex is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and chairs the Institution of Railway Operators.
With picks and shovels about to hit the ground this spring to start HS2, the Government has announced plans to recruit a company to design and build a new high-speed train fleet for what will become the premier railway in the UK.
Says Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, ‘Launching the hunt for a manufacturer of these trains is a major step towards Britain getting a new railway which will carry over 300,000 people a day, improve connections between our great cities, generate jobs, and help us build an economy that works for all.’
With Royal Assent for the Phase One hybrid bill expected shortly and building work due to start on the Birmingham to London section of HS2 in the spring, 2017 will see HS2 – Europe’s largest infrastructure project – move from planning to construction. The contract will be awarded in 2019 with the winning bidders going on to deliver a brand new fleet of up to 60 trains which will provide services capable of seating more than 1,000 passengers.
The successful bidder will maintain its fleet at a new dedicated traction and rolling stock depot planned for Washwood Heath in Birmingham. The site will also be home to the HS2 Network Control Centre.
Third time around
The HS2 hybrid bill is to return to the Commons for what could be its final reading, having come through the House of Lords with only minor changes.
During what was its third reading on 31 January, the Lords voted overwhelmingly in favour of passing the bill.
The Lords voted against two proposed amendments. The first was to review the benefits of the station at Old Oak Common. Another considered drawing up plans to limit lorry traffic around construction sites.
The third reading in the Lords is described as an opportunity to ‘tidy up’. The next stage will see the Commons consider the amendments tabled by the second House and, if accepted, Royal Assent will follow. No date has been set for this hearing but it is hoped to be during February.
In theory, if the Commons weren’t to accept the changes, the bill would have to return to the Lords. This process would continue until both houses agree on the wording of the bill – a process referred to as Ping Pong, but neither the DfT nor HS2 expect any further delays to the bill’s progress.
The first of a £210 million fleet of new trains for South West Trains (SWT) has now arrived at Clapham ahead of final testing.
The Siemens-built Class 707 Desiro City trains will provide space for approximately 11,000 passengers every weekday morning to and from London Waterloo.
A pair of five-carriage trains starts testing in the new year and the first trains are expected to enter passenger service in April. When the full rollout is complete by November 2017, 30 trains, comprising 150 carriages, will provide space for thousands of additional passengers every day.
Network Rail is rebuilding platforms 20-24 at Waterloo, the former International Terminal, boosting capacity and creating a spacious new concourse. This summer platforms 1-4 will be extended allowing longer trains to serve suburban routes. The 707 is lighter and more energy efficient, reducing impact on the environment and track.
Says Rail Minister, Paul Maynard, ‘I am pleased to see the first of this new fleet of trains arriving in the UK on schedule. They are part of the record investment the Government has been making to modernise our railways.’
