“A little water never hurt anyone…”

10th July 2019

Plantworx & Railworx a success despite the summer weather

Every two years, the Construction Equipment Association organises a big plant show – Plantworx. And it is big – the likes of Caterpillar, JCB, Doosan, Volvo and Komatsu spend weeks building their stands, to show their equipment in the best possible light and, above all, to show it working.

Plantoworx moved to the East of England Arena for 2019.

For 2019, two things were new. One was the location – the show moved to the East of England Arena at Peterborough for the first time.

Secondly, due to the amount of rail construction that has been going on recently, and with more to come in the shape of HS2 and Crossrail 2, to name just a couple of projects, the decision was taken to add a Railworx section to the show. Here, rail suppliers would be able to show off both plant and equipment.

So, Rail Media was tasked with arranging for the key players in rail to come along and join in the show. Some 50 exhibitors, from all areas of the industry, accepted the challenge and came to Peterborough.

First among equals

Genwork launched its new Klik-lok environmental noise barrier at Railworx.

Chief among them was Network Rail itself. The Signalling Innovation Group took a stand to show off some of its latest ideas, and Hitachi Information Control Systems Europe took the stand next door.

In contrast, Genwork chose Railworx to launch its brand new Klik-Lok range of purpose-designed environmental noise barrier solutions, specifically aimed at infrastructure projects involving road and rail where noise reduction is of critical importance.

A series of panels lock together in a vertical frame, with the frame giving good vertical stability and the locking action reducing the assembly time and removing the need for heavy plant.

On its stand, Genwork was displaying a pair of three-metre-high barriers, which business development director Roger Kemp explained was the minimum height for effective sound reduction. Made in the UK, the panels, which were a fetching shade of green at Railworx, can be manufactured in any colour to suit a contractor’s needs.

With an estimated life of 40 years, the Klik-Lok noise barrier system can be used for both permanent and temporary installations. The show organisers were so impressed that they presented Genwork with a New Product Launch award on the middle day of the show.

Soggy Tuesday

The rain forced many visitors indors at times.

The award was presented on the middle day because, however much one plans for an outdoor show, there is one thing that can’t be predicted – the British weather. On the first day, Tuesday 11 June, the heavens opened. Literally. It rained ALL day.

To avoid the weather, the depleted crowd of visitors stayed in the indoor section of the show, which they had to walk through anyway as it was straight after the visitor entrance.

This was where staging the show at a permanent facility really paid off, tarmac walkways and hard standing parking saved the day. From there it was a short walk to the show entrance, a quick scan of the pre-printed badge, and then into the show.

Through the door into the main hall, and there was plenty to see.

Peli Products had a stand that required no lighting – they had brought enough of their own! LED lights, protective cases (the well-known ‘Peli Cases’) and even covers for iPads – all were attracting interest. One of the appeals of Plantworx is its cross-industry spread of visitors, and Peli confirmed they had been visited by a number of utility contractors, and at a very high level. They were certainly pleased with the level of interest.

Oilaway occupied a double-size stand and also seemed to be doing business with visitors from a range of sectors. Protective clothing specialists Portwest Clothing and Safeaid were glad they were indoors so their racks of clothing weren’t soaking up the rain like a sponge, and Role Recruitment was talking to anyone who walked past about – recruitment.

Platform Edge Protection had started off outdoors. When part of their stand blew away, one of three that did, organisers found them a space indoors.

At a corner of the hall, Rail Media colleagues Railway People were also talking to visitors and sheltering exhibitors alike. The charity Mind and JW’s CV-writing service were in the same area.

When contractors are on site, safety is naturally a priority. Minor injuries outnumber major accidents, so on-site treatment of wounds, abrasions and sprains is important. Aero Healthcare supplies everything from first-aid kits to AEDs (automated external defibrillators), even the lightweight stretchers used for medical evacuations, and used Railworx to showcase its first-aid solutions for the rail industry.

Into the rain

Outdoors, it really was soggy. Those exhibitors who had trailers or cabins were sheltering visitors, like Dual Inventive, whose trailer displayed their workforce safety and railway sensing technology.

RailStaff’s editor dressed for the conditions.

James Fisher Prolec had a Quattro road-rail excavator siting on a length of track outside the (crowded) hospitality cabin. The reason it was there was to show off PMX. Combining two well-established technologies – excavator hazard mitigation and geolocation – PMX helps prevent plant equipment from striking pre-defined hazards and increases machine efficiency by up to 30 per cent when compared with existing systems, so the manufacturer claims.

James Fisher Prolec was displaying it’s new PMX motion-limiting system on a Quattro road-rail excavator.

Suited for a wide range of high-risk sectors, including civil construction, highways and rail, PMX is the first system of its kind to receive accreditation from Network Rail for Any Line Open (ALO) projects.

Also on show, and combining rated capacity limiter (RCL) and movement limiting devices (MLD) technology into a robust, safety-critical solution, was James Fisher Prolec’s TrackPilot™ – a next-generation hazard mitigation solution for ALO on-track operations that has been specifically designed for excavator rail-road vehicles (RRVs) and, apparently, can achieve ten times faster processing and functionality speeds than any other solution on the market.

Fenix Signalling was making a noble effort, demonstrating its latest Pintsch Tiefenbach points machine, on a working set of points, under an umbrella. Well done, Sir! After all, points have to work in all weathers, don’t they?

Ilecsys, manufacturer of GRP location cases and walkways – and anything else you care to order – had a trailer, and Peter Dickson and the team kept snug in that.

Steve Featherstone (centre) visited Geismar.

Geismar weren’t so lucky, except their open-fronted tent was right opposite the Rail Media trailer, where hot coffee and pork pie was available. Network Rail track director Steve Featherstone visited as well, so Richard Cradock was a happy man despite it all. He also commented that Railworx was the place to be going forward, so hopefully he’ll be back for the next one.

Gramm Barrier Systems was demonstrating how to apply its SilentRail coating, which it claims reduces rail noise and helps prenvent buckling.

Taylor Construction Plant (TCP) powers its lighting towers by hydrogen using fuel cells. So its all green, with zero emissions.

It was also the best-lit stand on an otherwise gloomy day!

Better Wednesday

Sheltering in cabins was not so necessary on day two, as the pouring rain gave way to a light drizzle. Some, however, chose to sit indoors for part of the day and attend the Get Set conference, which looked at skills and skill shortages. Joe Guy, group HR director for integrated talent solutions at Network Rail; Trudy Layden-Freeman, lead HR business partner for rail at Costain; Clair Mowbray, chief executive of the National College for High Speed Rail; Mohanad Ismail, senior systems consultant, Young Rail Professionals and Neil Franklin, head of skills intelligence at the National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR), spoke on this important topic.

Outside, things were looking up.

Network Rail was open for business while Bollé, manufacturer of safety glasses, had opened its doors and looked inviting. The company had run a competition before Railworx, giving 20 pairs of Tryon Tryoflash safety glasses to registered visitors to the show.

Well done, Bollé!

Colin Burnikell’s team at Hilti emerged into the (weak) sunlight and demonstrated their powerful tools and specialist drilling equipment, the distinctive red equipment being put through its paces.

Gioconda were managing to keep their electronics dry and were in good spirits.

Santon Switchgear, which both supplies new circuit breakers and also upgrades old ones to give them a new lease of life, and Duvine/DMS Technologies, which “has a long experience working with Network Rail engineers designing and manufacturing rugged battery systems for trackside installations, operating in all weathers”, displayed their wares.

Nijhuis Engineering displayed their BE-AR rail system.

The team from Marshalls CPM displayed their Redi-Rock modular walling system, which is ideal for protecting the rail line against erosion, landslips and rock falls.

Mixamate’s giant concrete mix-and-pump trucks and Van Elle’s piling rigs were immune to the troublesome weather, though their operators were not, and Van Elle was another company to report real commercial results from the Railworx show.

Exhibitors around the event reported solid interest, Kinshofer received lots of interest in their tiltrotator, ballast tamper and sleeper changer attachments, whilst Nijhuis Engineering, from the Netherlands, reported overwhelming interest in their BE-AR rail system.

Thomson Engineering Design also had some big kit, a TXM road-rail excavator fitted with a manipulator which waved a large pole – it looked like an OLE structure or a signal post – around the sky throughout the show.

And there’s more

Tools and equipment hire specialist A-Plant was in amongst the construction exhibitors. So too was Wacker Neuson, whose compactors are used extensively in track renewals to flatten and compact the trackbed before track is laid.

Force One, which specialises in the vacuum excavation of aggregates and earth – and ballast around track and S&C – has developed a three unit ‘train’ to work on track. The front unit is a road-rail excavator fitted with the suction head and hose. It’s coupled to a storage trailer, that can hold up to 15 tonnes of spoil, and that in turn is connected to the vacuum fan unit which provides the suck. It’s still under development, with a conveyor unloader system planned for the spoil truck, but should be working out on the rail network next year.

GreenMech, which Rail Engineer visited years ago, was also at Plantworx. The latest Sure-Trak self-propelled chipper now can cope with uneven ground as well as steep slopes. An interesting demonstration had the machine climbing over unequal ramps – a good simulation of conditions out on a railway cutting face or embankment. Apparently, Network Rail has recently placed an order.

Mecalac, a sponsor of the show, won the award for best live demonstration. The way its compact equipment moved around the muddy compound was fascinating to watch, and must have taken lots of planning.

Further features

Throughout the three days of the show, one large indoor area was converted into the Drone Zone. Here, around a dozen suppliers had small stands, showing off unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and what can be done with them for surveying and photography, while the bulk of the area, behind a safety net, was used for flying demonstrations.

In a flat, enclosed space, even one as large as 2,300 square metres, it was difficult to show what drones can do in terms of surveying the underside of viaduct arches and pinpointing track layouts, but the skill of the pilots was certainly on show as they landed their buzzing devices on predetermined targets.

Not exactly a feature, but he seemed to be enjoying himself!

COMIT (Construction Opportunities for Mobile IT), the organisation that aims to improve understanding between the construction and technology industries and speed up the adoption of mobile IT within the construction sector, had helped stage the Drone Zone.

Tony Shooter, COMIT’s chair for drone technology, commented: “What better way to showcase today’s drone technology in the construction sector, than at Plantworx, where there is a strong focus on innovation and leading technologies. This event is probably one of the most important developments in advancing drones in the construction sector.”

Joanna Oliver, CEA’s director of global programmes, agreed: “Drones are already changing the way the construction industry operates and is growing at a rapid rate. Plantworx is delighted to showcase this advanced drone technology to our visitors.”

Plantforce sponsored the Simulation Zone, located at one end of the indoor exhibition. Here, six state-of the-art simulators replicated a ‘real working construction site’ – but in a virtual world. Each of the simulators was linked and represented an individual construction machine – an excavator, wheel loader, tower crane, dozer or an articulated dump truck – as examples. Visitors to the zone were invited to work together on the simulators in the virtual world to complete tasks on a construction site. Spectators were also offered oculus rift headsets, allowing them to join the virtual world as bystanders and offer encouragement and support to the participants!

In another Plantworx initiative, students from schools in the Peterborough area came to the show on the third day. They looked around the exhibits and also took part in specially organised activities, aimed at encouraging them to see construction and engineering as good career options for the future.

Particularly popular amongst the students was Diggerland. The theme park, part of HE Services, “world leaders in digger hire”, which was exhibiting at the show, brought some of its equipment for young people to try. There were mini-versions of excavators that the students could use to dig holes, others with converted arms that could play ten-pin bowling or ‘hook a duck’, and even small dumpers to drive around an oval track. Great fun, and at least one Rail Engineer staff member was spotted hooking ducks!

So, was Plantworx/Railworx wet?

It certainly was.

But was it a washout? No way! With almost 500 exhibitors’ displays spread out over 140,000 square metres of the East of England Arena, there was something for everyone, and too much to see in a day.

One Railworx exhibitor, for example, commented that, although the rain had held some visitors back, he had six really worthwhile meetings over the three days, which he said made it all worthwhile.

And there will be even more to look at and discuss in 2021! Hopefully the weather will be better but, in any case, it will be an event not to be missed.

See you there!

Rail Electrification: Rebuilding Confidence

9th July 2019

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers recently held the latest in a series of roughly biennial seminars highlighting railway electrification, with the emphasis being mainly on the United Kingdom although it did also look at other countries.

The current state of electrification design and construction in the country is in rather a contrast to the optimism of the first seminars. At that time, electrification was very much in active progression, although, following mobilisation, there had been some hesitations along the way. These hesitations were followed by a pause and then the current English and Welsh limited stop. However; as will be seen, Transport Scotland has taken a different path, with electrification delivery proceeding apace, to the extent that there are now five electrified routes between the two principal Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

With the institution sharing concerns with the industry, and in partnership with the Railway Industry Association, the latest seminar was organised in the light of the need to demonstrate the ability of the industry to achieve commercially acceptable progress and show that electrification will form the core preference for the decarbonisation of rail transport, as guided by national government targets.

There has recently been considerable study of possible alternatives to conventional electrification and the Institution’s conference and seminars organising committee felt strongly that there should be an analysis and discussion of some of these alternatives, as well as of the issues that have driven electrification costs upwards and caused timescales to be extended.

Electrification works at Cambus, Clackmannanshire, on the Stirling to Alloa route.

Scottish success

A broad cross-section of industry and associated professionals were invited to present and help to achieve a method of demonstrating to the country that electrification was the solution to traction power for most of the core railway system.

Ian Flynn, as chairman of the organising panel, opened the seminar on behalf of the IMechE and the RIA, stating that the industry was ready to prove it could deliver electrification projects at an optimum rate and economic cost.

Setting the scene on a positive note, the keynote address was by Bill Reeve, commercial director of Transport Scotland, with his subject “Success in Scotland – A rolling Programme of Electrification”. Delegates were treated to a brief history of recent construction in Scotland with the emphasis all the way through on keeping a rolling programme with a continuity of workload.

The central belt of the country has a significant concentration of the country’s population and has a well-used rail network. Some parts of the network had been closed during the ‘Beeching’ period, and a strategically positive view had already been taken to reopen those sections of the system. There had been challenges all the way but lessons had been learned and as the programme ‘rolled out’, these lessons learned were taken on board to add success to the next phase of installation.

The Scottish programme showed how positive application of electrification could succeed and provided a beacon for the rest of Britain – that very positive story then set the pattern for the day.

Learning for the future

Next, the assembled audience heard from Phil Doughty, professional head of contact systems at Network Rail. Phil had presented at previous seminars and, on the basis of the current situation, decided this time to concentrate on a headline of “Doing it better next time – reflecting on recent experience”. A very pragmatic view of where the industry was given – costs had been too high – we could do better but didn’t and there was an awareness that there were “No more second chances!”

The volume of electrification undertaken each year – UK vs Germany.

This presentation looked, in particular, at international comparisons, particularly within Europe and the costs and progress made. There was a contrasting attitude to traction on the mainland of Europe, with a more consistent workload and a correspondingly lower cost per single track kilometre, in striking comparison with the UK.

Work flow, however, was not the only issue, and Network Rail had been studying closely the questions of standards, staff qualifications, technical files and lessons learned within the UK again. Phil pointed out that the currently de-scoped Midland main line electrification delivered, in fact, a good news story with positive progress in areas which had caused excessive costs for the Great Western programme, such as piling designs and positions and structure spacing for example. This was already showing significant savings and could be a potential route to the desired level of electrification cost per single track kilometre appropriate to system delivery.

Silver bullet

With the seminar having looked at the technical issues, Stephen Kent, research fellow at the University of Birmingham, followed on with his element titled “Electrification, the Silver Bullet”. This looked at how much power and energy trains needed and the different sources of power available related to their respective carbon emissions. He also looked at the practicality of different power options for different train types.

The subject of decarbonisation centred well within Stephen’s talk and he clarified some of the practical challenges around the provision of traction energy – in the case of hydrogen, this was notably storage capacity and refuelling methodology.

Studies have shown that overhead wires are the most efficient way of powering a train – the technology is proven and has lower operating costs than diesel. His robust, and it seemed inescapable, conclusion was that there was no other solution for high-speed, high-performance or freight lines than electrification. However, he did comment that bi-mode trains could use new wires as soon as they were up!

David Clark of RIA addresses the conference.

David Clark, technical director of conference sponsor the Railway Industry Association, gave a forthright delivery on the subject of “Making Electrification Economically Viable.” He reflected on the 2007 electrification strategy and how the industry had reacted to its output. From the arising national electrification programme, what did we learn? And how much should electrification cost?

The history was one of significant optimism through emerging high costs to a ‘pause’ by government, followed by the stopping of much of the proposed works. David reviewed how the industry had reacted and moved towards the Electrification Cost Challenge report; all in the light of the government’s own challenge to remove all diesel-only trains by 2040, but not including electrification as the solution.

The purpose of the report was to assist industry and government decision-making on rail electrification; restore government confidence in the rail industry and deliver electrification schemes at an affordable cost – on time and to budget. The approach would be to highlight evidence that electrification can be, and is being, delivered for 33-50 per cent of the Great Western scheme costs, using examples from around the United Kingdom and internationally.

We need to identify good practice and effect a significant change across the industry in the way projects are delivered, from initial business case to energisation. The delivery proposals would call for a minimum ten-year rolling programme of electrification to enable the industry to deliver schemes at significantly lower cost, retain learning skills and incentivise investment.

The industry must heed a health warning that this is not a blame game, accept that the whole industry is culpable in the cost escalation seen in some recent projects, and remember that many projects have been successfully delivered. David ran through the story of how electrification ran and came to where we are. Now, those lessons learned need to be acted upon so the industry can go forward with a revived railway traction philosophy.

Overhead line replacement at Shenfield as part of the Crossrail programme.

Delivering the projects

Next came a report from the ‘front line’. Brian Sweeney is a senior project engineer within the Scottish delivery team and he gave a most valuable account of the construction of the various schemes north of the border. He showed how expertise was gained as installation progressed and methods were refined, culminating in the very effective delivery of the latest stage from Stirling to Dunblane.

He was confident that the abilities so developed could be applied further afield and looked for new work packages to attack.

The seminar then moved to the views of a delivery contractor. Within the session entitled “Confidence in Electrification Delivery”, we were given a very positive presentation from Steve Cox, Alstom’s engineering and technical director, accompanied by his colleague Livia Serafini, operations director for systems and infrastructure. The session illustrated how the industry was willing and able to innovate and draw experience from successful projects within and outside the UK.

Alstom has a very important development and innovation plant in Italy, contributing to the company’s continuous product development, and has multiple capabilities. It produces a modular OLE system (overhead line equipment, called OCS on the continent – overhead contact system), which can be used for maintenance replacement in situations where heritage UK-designed equipment is to be replaced, and it also has a maintenance and high-productivity construction process.

Steve and Livia summed up their presentation by emphasising the need to maintain competence right across Europe and develop the maintenance capability. There was a real drive to refine the method of delivery so that, when electrification returns to favour, innovative solutions can be delivered. The threat is that expertise is lost with any hesitation, and Alstom are keen to retain resources in the UK, possibly as part of a multi-skilling process.

GWR is using bimode trains to cover electrification gaps.

Bi-modes, bridges and hybrids

Much has been made of the possibilities of bi-mode trains and a presentation from Mark Hopwood, director of Great Western Railway, continued that discussion.

He has been with the company since 2008 and has watched and lived the electrification and its various scope and form changes. He was able to illustrate the current situation with the audience and give a personally experienced view of the current solution of mixed electrified and non-electrified routes, together with the challenges mounted by timescales not emerging as originally predicted and integration with Crossrail works onto the Western infrastructure.

Mark left a powerful message that, in his view, a series of overly risk-averse standards had been imposed on the Great Western programme based on experiences from the past – twenty years had passed since the last major high-speed-route electrification.

Although electrification brings benefits, it also brings a level of disruption in the delivery and he did voice a view that large-scale improvement work might be better served by the application of a transport and works act process.

Richard Stainton delivered a general electrical engineering view from the Network Rail angle. Having had wide and varied experience of electrification power systems, including the conversion of the West Coast route to auto transformer mode, he was able to demonstrate how standards could be safely developed in line with modern risk-based practices to allow what may be very large savings in electrification costs, particularly the ability to take an optimum view of clearance needs. He highlighted, as an example, the significant saving in costs through the intersection bridge at Cardiff, which a well-thought process of risk management and developed design had enabled.

The final paper was delivered by Helen Simpson and Stephen Gossling from Porterbrook and Ricardo. As there will always be a need to deal with stretches of railway that may not necessarily deliver a robust case to justify full electrification, the construction of hybrid trains was discussed and shown to be a very viable option in those circumstances. In particular was the ability to re-engineer and re-equip older electric-only rolling stock, showing what could be achieved with class 319 EMUs displaced from the South.

Great Western electrification at Newbury.

Back to basics

The main presentations over, the conference gave way to a ‘Brains Trust’ session, where speakers were invited to give short modules on electrification-related subjects. Several useful outputs were delivered with plenty of food for thought!

Finally, the seminar was closed by the keynote speaker Mary Hewitt, strategy and policy director of Arriva. Mary took the audience back to basics, to remind them what railways are for and the role played by electrification and other power systems. Mary delivered a most enlivening item in what had been a very educational day for all concerned.

Overall the audience was convinced that electrification was the only real traction solution for high-speed, high-density and freight rail and that, while other traction options were relevant, they could not provide the core performance the modern railway needs. The government’s targets for the reduction of pollution and CO2 are on the horizon, and yet rail performance needs to be maintained and to be able to deliver its best.

The industry wants to deliver electrification and is determined to show politicians and the nation that electrification can provide the desired traction solution at an appropriate cost and at an optimum pace. The seminar noted that the most effective results came where there had been a rolling programme of delivery, without the significant peaks and troughs of the past.

Thanks to colleagues in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Railway Industry Association for their work in organising this conference and getting the message across that railway electrification can succeed – the will and capability is certainly there.

Barnard’s Lock Underbridge

9th July 2019

A Spongy and Successful Lift

Barnard’s Lock is a rail underbridge structure spanning the river Kennet, located 3.7km west of the centre of Newbury, West Berkshire. The underbridge carries the Berks and Hants iine (BHL) between Hungerford and Newbury, a section of the Reading to Taunton line, which is a major branch of the Great Western main line.

Barnard’s Lock underbridge is located in a saturated, wooded area with the nearest road access about 2km away. The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, often referred to as a “triple SI”. The location would attract the attention of the Environment Agency if any form of engineering work were to be proposed due to special concerns for the local population of otters, water voles and other forms of wild life in the area.

The bridge comprises three wrought-iron half-through girders with intermediate wrought-iron cross girders supporting a timber decking. It has two spans, is 40 metres in length and is skewed at an angle of 57 degrees to the channel of the river Kennet, so the brick bridge abutments are aligned with the direction of the river flow. The clearance between the bridge deck and the river is very small, so the bridge has the capacity to become a barrier to the river flow after heavy rainfall.

Significant deterioration

Well over fifteen years ago, structural inspections and assessment of the underbridge, carried out by JBA Consulting, identified significant deterioration of the timber deck and section loss of the main and cross girders throughout the structure. As a consequence, the structure was considered to be life expired and required renewal.

However, subsequent load monitoring of the structure has enabled Network Rail to maintain the bridge to ensure trains are able to run at line speed, which is 110 mph, in line with its ‘Putting Passengers First’ policy, but they knew that this could not last. The timber deck continued to deteriorate, ballast was being lost and, with the advent of electrification, and new rolling stock with different breaking and accelerating characteristics, the forces on the superstructure were becoming unacceptable. It was decided that the bridge needed to be replaced.

Tony Gee and Partners was invited by Network Rail to develop options for replacing the bridge. An emerging initial plan was to construct a new culvert structure within the railway embankment to the west of the underbridge. A new river channel would then have to be excavated, offering a permanent diversion of the river away from the current underbridge, under the new culvert.

The new river channel would be approximately 135 metres in length and would take water from the existing channel, at a point approximately 50 metres upstream of the current underbridge, and convey it northwards through the new culvert and then eastwards before connecting back into the existing river channel immediately downstream of the underbridge. This would then enable the underbridge to be demolished, and the railway embankment filled in.

Environmental concerns

It was a good plan, but close scrutiny by the Environment Agency raised serious concerns about changing the flow of the river as it could lead to a change in the flood plain which could affect local communities and also local wildlife habitats. There were too many unknowns, and the estimated cost of the work also exceeded budget allocation, so, eventually, the proposal was dropped.

Therefore, it was agreed that the old bridge would have to be replaced insitu. However, the location with its restricted access points, woodland copses and sodden spongy ground, the length of bridge spans involved, as well as the radius for lifts required, adjacent to the bridge, meant that engineers had to get their thinking caps on. Network Rail’s project engineer Matthew Roberts and programme manager Scott Pillinger told Rail Engineer what happened next.

A new plan and design emerged and the principal contractor appointed for the £4 million contract. They had sixteen weeks to get the site ready, as the essential work to replace the bridge was planned to start at 00:10 on Saturday 4 May and finish at 05:10 on Tuesday 7 May 2019. It was decided that the bridge had to be assembled on site in four sections. Tony Gee and Partners designed eight Z-type steel main girders plus cross girders, and the decking would be a reinforced concrete design.

The steelwork was fabricated in Wigan by Time DMG. This included manufacturing 1.5-metre-deep Z type girders and associated cross girders that would be transported to site and spliced together to form the four deck structures that were up to 34 metres in length. But how would they get the steelwork to site and how would they create enough space and solid ground to construct the four decks? As Matthew pointed out the “problems kept snowballing”.

160 elephants

Once the four elements of the superstructure were constructed on site, they would need to be lifted into position. It was calculated that the biggest lift would exceed 105 tonnes and the radius would be more than 60 metres. This was not work for a normal crane and they eventually sourced a Sarens Gottwald 1,200 tonne crane, apparently capable of lifting 160 elephants!

How would they get this crane to site and how would they ensure that it did not sink into the spongy, sodden ground adjacent to the river? Well, firstly they had to create a 2km haul road using more than 10,000 tonnes of fill material. They were able to source much of this material from three other Network Rail sites and Scott explained that the intention is for the material used to be passed on to a school project in the vicinity. Recycling at its best!

Once the crane was on site and the four superstructures constructed and ready to be lifted in place, how would they ensure that the crane would be stable when the lift commenced? To do that, they had to construct four sheet-piled cofferdams, ten metres deep and six metres square in section, and fill them with engineering fill. These cofferdams would be placed so that the load from the outriggers would be transferred to stable ground.

Whilst the cofferdams were being constructed, a substantial amount of woodland needed to be cleared to create the workspace for the bridge superstructure construction and for the site offices and accommodation, and the sixteen weeks were ticking away.

Traction forces

At the design stage, Tony Gee and Partners became concerned about the ability of the breaking and traction forces of the trains to transfer through to the deck to the supporting abutments. Their solution was to include fifty-six 100mm diameter, four-metre-long dowels into the design. These dowels would need to be placed into holes in the precast sill beams and then drilled into the brick abutment during the possession, after the old decks had been removed.

Matthew had calculated that it would take two hours using a diamond drill for each dowel. In a 76-hour possession, this was a significant undertaking and the golden rule was that there must not be an overrun – ‘Putting Passengers First’.

The team prepared contingency plans which would involve additional temporary speed restrictions, dependent on the number of dowels in position. They carried out trials and adjusted the resources with the intention of completing all the drilling within the possession.

The contractors would also need to have access to both sides of the river when the old superstructure was removed, so a floating pontoon, made up of interlocking plastic units, was positioned across the river. This created a walkway, working platform and support for temporary troughing for the signalling cables and other equipment.

Wind and water

A ‘Go/No-Go’ plan was drafted before the possession started. Weather forecasts were analysed for potential heavy rain. There were sluice gates that could regulate the water flow, but that could also cause problems, as outlined earlier. Wind was a fairly critical factor. The crane would only attempt the lifts required if the wind was less than 35mph. If this was exceeded, work would have to stop.

Fortunately, the weather was kind with no rain and little wind throughout the possession. The line was handed back to traffic on time with a 50mph speed restriction.

The track was reinstated by local track engineers, underpinning another Network Rail policy known as the ‘Orange Pound’. In the past, contractors have been responsible for reinstating the track after such work. Now, the view within Network Rail is that this work should be done in-house, using engineers who know the area and can maintain it on a daily basis, ensuring that not only the track is maintained properly but also the speed restriction boards, track magnets and temporary track crossings are also looked after.

Many readers would identify this approach with a similar one adopted some time ago.

So, the new bridge is in place, the myriad of engineering challenges addressed and the local environment left in peace with the water voles now admiring the new structure that has emerged from this sodden, watery part of the Berks & Hants main line.

New main-line interlocking enters service

9th July 2019

The Shepperton branch line in the south west of London and north Surrey, which is part of the Feltham signal box area, connects to the Kingston loop by a triangular junction between Strawberry Hill and Teddington stations. The line opened on 1 November 1864 and was briefly named the Thames Valley Railway, with access only from the Twickenham direction. The line was electrified using 630VDC third rail on 30 January 1916.

Demand and population in the area rapidly increased after the railway’s relatively late introduction to the network, and today Hampton station is the line’s busiest, with more than 1.2 million journeys, up from 0.7 million only ten years ago.

Feltham signal box is a large route relay-interlocking system dating from 1974 and it was high-time that it was replaced – resignalling had already been deferred and the asset condition was such that further deferment was not an option. The Shepperton branch was selected as the first stage of the renewal of Feltham signal box, with full renewal taking place in six stages over several years, such is the complexity of the Feltham signalling area.

The task of resignalling was to be delivered using ‘future signalling systems by Atkins’- a strategic programme to change the way signalling projects are delivered in the UK. The system involves 11 separate product acceptance approvals and uses a wide range of products and components to deliver a full train control, signalling and power system – from interlockings to level crossings, barrier arms, power supplies and cables.

Over the weekend of the 22/23 June, Atkins recommissioned the Shepperton branch – the first use of its first ElectroLogIXS electronic interlocking and level crossing controller system on the main line railway.

ElectroLogIXS is a proven programmable logic controller licensed to Atkins, exclusively for UK rail use. It is the first all-new type of interlocking to be introduced onto the railway for some time, so the commissioning was a significant milestone in the introduction of modern state of the art signalling interlocking systems to the UK, together with new innovative ways of providing signalling infrastructure which have been developed by Atkins. All this will deliver many benefits to railways and the travelling public.

Initially, the Shepperton branch will be controlled from a single workstation located at Feltham signal box before being transferred to Basingstoke rail operating centre (ROC) in a later stage within the overall Feltham resignalling. A maintenance training facility has been provided at the ROC, which will allow technicians to familiarise themselves with the state-of-the-art signalling equipment. The training facility will provide the ability to generate physical and virtual faults, to practise equipment repair and reconfiguration – essential for modern IP networked assets in an off-network environment.

The recent Atkins commissioning followed the successful introduction of the ElectroLogIXS system at Old Oak Common depot in 2018. This was the first installation to use the ElectroLogIXS digital interlocking, which is now performing well as part of the validated signalling system for this vital Crossrail depot.

The new signalling system is not just about new equipment though, as Atkins has successfully introduced innovative production methods to deliver a flexible, future-proof, digital-signalling-compatible solution. Its approach is technology agnostic – Atkins has considerable expertise in a wide range of signalling products and is not tied to any one product, being able to choose and work with the best equipment available. This knowledge and experience of all types of signalling also means that Atkins is ideally placed to manage the interface requirements with other types of signalling, often the most difficult and risky part of any signalling scheme.

Ladder logic

The ElectroLogIXS interlocking is a flexible, ‘ladder logic’ driven device that deploys software written using the Atkins Signalling Method (ASM). The introduction of this interlocking in the UK is intended to remove reliance on existing interlocking products and solutions, with the system enabling the rationalisation and reduction in the quantity of trackside cabling, along with many other benefits.

Ladder logic was originally a manufacturing industry and process control method to document the design and construction of relay racks. Each device in the relay rack would be represented by a symbol on the ladder diagram, with connections between devices shown. Other items external to the relay rack, such as pumps and heaters, would also be shown on the ladder diagram. It then evolved into a programming language based on the circuit diagram relay logic hardware.

Ladder logic is now widely used in other industries to develop software for programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that are being used in industrial control applications. Ladder diagrams were once the only available notation for recording programmable controller programs, but today other forms are standardised in IEC 61131-3, the international standard for PLCs that is over 20 years old and is accepted in many industries.

Less equipment

The standardisation of equipment and a reduced number of trackside equipment location cases is a major benefit, which will deliver significant capital and operating savings. There will also be no reliance on bespoke software languages used in previous electronic interlocking technologies, with the system designed to be future proof, scalable and ETCS compatible.

Atkins has calculated that resignalling all of the Feltham signalling project area using conventional SSI would have required in the order of 3,000 relays and 450 lineside equipment locations. Using the new future signalling system, this will reduce to approximately 130 relays and 220 lineside equipment locations, a reduction that will bring with it a step change in reliability.

The solution developed by Atkins is based on a design using more readily available non-discipline-specific software engineers, rather than scarce signalling designers, allowing the signalling engineers to focus on the core functional signalling requirements.

With traditional SSI interlockings, there was also a large number of data errors leading to failures resulting in significant resources required to resolve. So, Atkins has identified new methods of data production and testing, using modelling techniques and empirical processes as part of their new way of working.

The design and testing of electronic interlocking data was also taking too long, so one requirement for the new way of working was for repeatable data modules, designed and tested once and then used many times.

Some current interlocking technology (SSI trackside functional modules, for example) are reaching the end of their life, so new equipment solutions are also required. An interlocking capable of communicating with a Radio Block Centre (RBC) was essential to enable a future, easy upgrade to ETCS, once compatible rolling stock is available on a route.

Network Rail’s technology strategy requires new interlocking technology to comply with the EN 50128 functional safety standard (Railway applications – Communication, signalling and processing systems – Software for railway control and protection systems), so the ElectroLogIXS interlocking creates a new solution that is designed from the start using EN 50126 (Railway Applications – The Specification and Demonstration of Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety), EN 50128 and EN 50129 (Railway applications – Communication, signalling and processing systems – Safety-related electronic systems for signalling standards).

The ElectroLogIXS hardware is manufactured by Alstom (formally GE) and is a vital logic controller (VLC), using internet protocol (IP) communications and advanced diagnostics via a scalable remote condition monitoring system and a common hardware platform for both trackside and control parts of the system. Its chassis-to-chassis communication uses RP2009 (SIL4) protocol with no safety reliance on the network. The equipment’s product acceptance has been developed to cover both ‘interlocking’ and ‘level crossing controller’ applications, both of which have been used on the Shepperton branch commissioning.

Compliance with EN 50128 is considered a step change improvement in safety when compared to SSI data software, with the automation of the design process along with the production of the ladder logic. This enables far more testing to be carried out automatically, delivering consistency and reliability in results. High levels of automated testing will save time to commission projects, while reducing the dependency on scarce testing resources required and the associated risks.

The interlocking is provided in three sizes, with either a one, four or nine slot capacity. New input/output cards have been designed for the UK that are ‘hot swappable’, with personality modules provided to ensure their correct location in the chassis.

The hardware is designed to work reliably between -40°C and +70°C. Its power supply requirements are only 70W, with an internal 5V supply derived from a 12V external feed. The processor is a two-out-of-two arrangement that can handle 10,000 vital equations extremely reliably. Up to 32 interlockings can be multi-dropped together if required, making it truly scalable.

With the new Atkins system, all trackside equipment is contained in a smaller number of location cubicles with no equipment buildings required, thus saving both cost, access and space. The actual ElectroLogIXS interlocking is contained on a very small circuit board within one equipment location housing – a relay interlocking to deliver the same functionality would have required a room the size of a garage.

It can be very costly and time consuming to erect bases for lineside buildings, which may also require several line blockages to install. Once in place, power is required for lighting and heating, and the buildings create a maintenance liability for the life of the signalling project. Atkins has now eliminated all this risk, with all the signalling equipment located in low-cost, smaller lineside equipment cubicles.

The lineside digital communications network consists of Layer 2 network switches (housed within each signalling location case), while the control centre network uses Layer 3 switches (housed within each cubicle). The Network Rail Fixed Telecom Network (FTN) is used to ‘bridge the gap’ between the lineside and control centre elements of the network.

A 24-fibre optic cable to NR/PS/TEL00014 between FTN access nodes forms a sub access layer to the telecoms network. This is supplemented with a two-fibre pre-terminated cable to connect the lineside equipment.

Atkins Signalling Method

A significant change in approach to the design of a scheme has been the introduction of the Atkins Signalling Method (ASM). This is intended to maximise overall efficiency across the design (including interdisciplinary design interfaces), procurement, installation, testing and commissioning.

Deviations from the ASM are prohibited without the formal agreement of the ElectroLogIXS Technical Authority Group, to avoid changes that appear to give a benefit (such as a reduction in materials) but actually cause inefficiency on a scheme. The ASM also allows the use of another programmable logic controller (PLC) hardware platform in the future far more easily than was the case with previous bespoke designs.

Level Crossing in a Box

The ‘Level Crossing in a Box’ (LCiaB) concept arose from the idea of delivering a complete crossing in a container ready for installation. This has now evolved to an element of ‘just in time’ delivery, but the concept of a complete and ready to install crossing. In the Shepperton scheme, the solution has been provided at Hampton MCB-CCTV (manually controlled barriers with closed circuit television) crossing.

Currently, LCiaB is specified for MCB-CCTV, but it has been designed so that is can easily be configured for other types of MCB and as a miniature stop light (MSL) crossing. The crossing solution consists of two or four barriers. It can be deployed either as a standalone installation or part of an Atkins ASM signalling system. Up to six sets of traffic signals (wig-wags) and four ‘Standing Red Man’ signals can be supported.

The barrier machine, supplied by Newgate, is also new to the UK signalling market and is 110V AC powered, with the boom driven by a three-phase inverter and motor through a gearbox. Angular detection of the barrier is by factory-set rotary blades detected by proximity sensors. There are a pair of industrial safety switches which mechanically detect the drive spindle when it is in the lowered position.

A small safety controller (PLC) provides machine control via a set of 24V DC control and indication lines connected to the level crossing controller (LXC) case. Manual operation is achieved with a small hydraulic pump and cylinder system. A machine has already completed in excess of 3,000,000 fault-free operating cycles in the factory.

Going forward

The benefits of this new signalling system include both safety, reliability, programme, scalability and cost. Atkins believes that, once the solution is fully accepted, it can deliver an overall saving of 20 per cent in capital cost compared to other solutions and a 65 per cent saving in whole life costs over 35 years. In terms of programme, Atkins estimates an 18-week improvement over conventional signalling should be achievable, with more to come.

The June commissioning of the Shepperton branch Feltham will be followed by the re-signalling of the Norwich – Yarmouth – Lowestoft routes, also using the ‘future signalling systems by Atkins’, with interfaces to existing signalling at Norwich and to the East Suffolk line at Oulton Broad. The area will be controlled from Colchester ROC.

Other schemes using the new system should include phase two of East West Rail – the Bicester to Bletchley section – using the system to provide both interlocking and level crossing controls controlled from Thames Valley ROC.

The system is compatible with several RBCs (radio block controllers) for ETCS deployment, while further innovative Atkins enhancements to the system may include integration with intelligent infrastructure, IP-enabled barrier machines, IP-enabled signals, integration with ETCS and level crossings, VoIP telephony, replacing ElectroLogIXS VLC with a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) PLC product and radio-based communications between lineside ‘objects’.

Rail Engineer naturally looks forward to returning to report the complete renewal of the Feltham signalling area with the ‘future signalling systems by Atkins’. If the scheme goes to plan, completion will be achieved by 2024, when the whole complex area will be under the control of Basingstoke ROC.

Thanks to Nicky Brunker, James Sykes and Matt Phillips of Atkins and Tim Weston of Network Rail for their assistance with this article.