railway strategies issue 103 early edition
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The latest edition of Railway StrategiesTRANSCRIPT
RAILWAYS T R A T E G I E Szzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Issue 103 Early Edition
New Desiro Class 350/4 delivered to
First TransPennine Express
F o r S E N I o r r A I L M A N A G E M E N T
Network Rail announces
half-year results
ORR reports 8.9 per cent increase in
freight usage
HS2 Paving Bill published
Network Rail’s 30-year view
First Radical Train entrants
win funding
London Underground
reveals vision for the future
NEWS
Interview : Network Rail’s director of rail freight Paul McMahon discusses how the
sector has developed and talks about plans for the future
See Page 25
FOCUS ON
Freight & Logistics
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www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 1
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As 2013 drifts steadily into history, we can reflect upon the past twelve
months before gazing into the crystal ball at 2014. News of the
proposed route for the second phase of HS2 came early in the year;
the entire project remained under the spotlight throughout 2013,
culminating in the publication of the hybrid paving Bill for phase 1 at the end
of November. Another major project surfaced at the beginning of the year –
Crossrail 2, the north-east – south-west complement to Crossrail 1, which is
currently progressing inexorably through/under London. Innovation has provided
an increasing focus through the year, with the Enabling Innovation Team
promoting new thinking around the industry. Network Rail and the ORR engaged
in the final round of negotiations for the CP5 programme, with emphasis on
efficiency, reliability, asset management and level crossing safety. ERTMS,
electrification, tram-trains and IEP also made the news, as did the franchising
process which was given an overhaul.
And what of 2014? Well we know that Network Rail will embark on its
CP5 programme; that Crossrail will complete its major tunnelling drives by
the year end; that HS2 faces a defining year; that there should be at least
two franchise awards (Essex Thameside and Thameslink, Southern & Great
Northern); that the Northern Hub, Borders Rail, Reading station, Birmingham
New Street station, and Thameslink programmes will all move towards their
conclusions in subsequent years; and that our railways will continue to attract
more passengers and freight.
We would like to wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas and a safe and successful 2014
From the Editorzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzHave your details changed? Are you reading someone else’s copy of Railway Strategies?Please email: [email protected] to amend your details or request a regular copy
Issue 103 ISSN 1467-0399
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‘Tis the season to look back (and forward)
Siem
ens
plc
News
48
26
FeaturesIntervIew – Paul McMahon 14 Libbie Hammond
the right coating can make it better than new 26Dan Macdonald
Handle with care! 28 Malcolm Watson & Tony Synnott
excess Baggage 32 Kevin Price
raising the Standard 34 Kevin Lacey
Profiles
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzContents
First Group 38
taylor woodrow 42
Zos Zvolen 46
Mtr nordic 48
Allied Insulators 50
Industry news 4 research 13 Freight 17rolling Stock 24 Conferences & exhibitions 53 IMeche training Courses 53
50
14
23
15
Focus on... Stations
Ensuring quality & value for station fit-outs 37
Andrew Jackson
Focus on... Freight & Logistics
Wagons roll 18 Lloyd’s Register & Drax
A new concept for rail freight vehicles 20
Ross Jackson & Tom Zunder
Rail strategies for becoming a supply chain
partner in Europe 23 Dewan Islam
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzContents
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18
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
37
4 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
O n 21st November Network Rail published its
half-year results (for the period 1st April to 30th
September 2013) which revealed that
£2.74 billion, some £15 million per day, was
invested in improving and building a bigger, better railway
– 33 per cent up on the same period last year and
53 per cent higher than just four years ago.
Patrick Butcher, group finance director, said: “The
railway continues to experience tremendous growth and
we are responding to that demand through the biggest
sustained investment programme since Victorian times.
“With a million more trains and half a billion more
passengers than ten years ago our railways are all but full.
We are squeezing all we can out of the existing network
and new railway lines, such as HS2, must be built to
deliver the step-change in capacity that Britain’s vital rail
arteries need.”
The achievementsOver the past six months some significant investment
milestones have been reached, including:
l New, bigger, better facilities have been delivered at
King’s Cross as its £550 million renovation and rebuilding
nears completion providing a magnificent gateway to the
north and sees a concourse three times the size of the
old one
l Opening of the new concourse at Reading station as
part of the ongoing £850 million project to unblock one of
Britain’s worst railway bottlenecks
l The start of work to connect towns of the Scottish
Borders to Edinburgh with the building of 30 miles of new
railway – the £300 million Borders Railway project
l A more reliable and affordable railway for the people
of Manchester, Liverpool and the North West as we
continue with the £400 million project to electrify the
railway in the region
l More reliable and faster services delivered with the
successful completion of the £100 million resignalling and
modernisation of Nottingham and its approaches
l A major bottleneck on the East Coast Main Line has
been removed with the completion of the £47 million
Hitchin flyover
l Faster journeys for passengers along the Midland Main
Line connecting Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and other
towns and cities to London as a result of a £70 million
improvement programme
l Completion of the £10 million scheme to modernise
the railway between Shrewsbury and Wrexham.
As well as these major milestones over 5000 projects
have been completed over the last four-and-a-half
years (since the start of the current CP4 funding
period – 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2014). These are
smaller, but just as important projects aimed at making
incremental improvements to the railway for the benefit of
passengers, and have seen:
l Over 2000 miles of track renewed
l Improvements at over 500 stations across the country
l Almost 200 lifts installed at stations
l Over 140 platforms lengthened across London and
the South East
Web: www.networkrail.co.uk
Network Rail’s half-year resultsNew platforms, new lifts, new information systems, new concourses, new footbridges,
new track; all have featured as record investment has been ploughed into Britain’s railways over the past six months
Patrick Butcher
The Borders Rail Project
North West electrification
Reading station
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First phase of NW electrification deliveredl Electric trains have started to operate over the railway between Newton Le
Willows and Castlefield junction outside Manchester Piccadilly, marking the
commissioning of the first phase of the £400 million North West electrification
project on time and under budget.
The next major improvements will arrive in December 2014, when electric
trains will be able to run from Liverpool to Manchester via Newton le Willows
and Wigan and from December 2016, when they will run between Preston and
Blackpool, Manchester and Preston and Manchester and Stalybridge. This will
be followed by the completion of trans-Pennine electrification from Stalybridge
through Huddersfield on to Leeds, York and Selby by December 2018.
First TransPennine Express will start running direct electric services using ten
new Siemens-built Class 350/4 from Manchester Airport to Glasgow from the
30th December. These new trains will deliver an increase in capacity of more
than 80 per cent on this route
National Infrastructure Planl In a statement on 4th December, the Chief Secretary
to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, updated the
Government’s National Infrastructure Plan. This includes
£375 billion of investment in over 600 energy, transport,
communications and water projects, many of which
are already underway – and many which have already
previously been detailed.
Key announcements in the rail sector include:
l A further £50 million for the redevelopment of the
Gatwick Airport railway station
l Confirmation of a UK guarantee for the £1 billion
Northern Line extension to Battersea
l A new study into southern rail access to Heathrow
l A new investigation into access to Stansted on an
existing study of the East Anglian mainline
l The Government’s stake in Eurostar will be sold off as
part of a new £10 billion privatisation programme.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzNEWS I Industry
New MDl Abellio UK has selected Jamie Burles to
succeed Ruud Haket as managing director of the
Abellio Greater Anglia franchise. Jamie is currently
a bid director at Abellio UK, where he is managing
the company’s bid for the new Thameslink
franchise. He will continue in that role until the
decision on franchise award, and will take the
reins at Abellio Greater Anglia on 1st April 2014.
Adam Golton (currently finance director of Abellio
Greater Anglia) will be interim managing director
following Ruud’s departure at the end of January 2014.
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Pendolinos for the ECML?l Plans have been revealed by open access operator GNER to introduce a high
speed train service on the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross,
Newcastle and Edinburgh in three years’ time. New nine-coach Pendolinos
would operate the service, cutting the average London-Edinburgh time to
3 hours 43 minutes, with potential for even shorter times if 140mph running
could be achieved after the route is resignalled in 2018.
New sleeper factory openedl Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, Secretary of State for Transport, has officially
opened a new state-of-the-art factory in Doncaster which will supply of thousands
of essential sleepers to keep Britain’s railways running. Doncaster Concrete Sleeper
Factory, which will employ around 45 people, will supply around 400,000 concrete
sleepers each year for Network Rail to use around the network. Between 700,000
and 1,000,000 sleepers are needed each year. Concrete sleepers are used on all the
busier inter-urban and long-distance rail routes as well as those carrying heavy freight
tonnages. The supply of sleepers has been limited to a reducing number of companies
over recent years.
Trackwork Moll is a new company which managed the design and build of the
factory and is contracted to supply sleepers to Network Rail for the next ten years. It is
jointly owned by Trackwork of Kirk Sandall, Doncaster and Leonhard Moll Betonwerke
of Munich, Germany.
Patrick McLoughlin at the opening of the Doncaster Sleeper factory
6 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
More people travel on the railway
today than ever before and demand
for passenger and freight services
is high and is expected to rise
significantly in the future. By assessing how
demand is likely to change, these market
studies will help form the basis of planning
where rail travel will go in Control Period 6
(2019-24) and beyond. They also determine
what kind of services will be needed to achieve
three important outputs: enabling economic
growth, reducing carbon and the transport
sector’s impact on the environment, and finally
improving the quality
of life for communities and individuals.
Network Rail’s group strategy director, Paul
Plummer, said: “The investment decisions we
make today will last for generations and it is
vital that we base them on solid groundwork.
These market studies have been developed in
consultation with rail industry partners and wider
stakeholders and they are the crucial first stage
towards planning the future for the railway.
“The next stage will be the creation of a series
of route studies, which will develop choices to
deliver the conditional outputs across the four
markets in each of Network Rail’s devolved
routes, and to test them against our funders’
appraisal criteria. I look forward to continuing to
work with the rail industry on the next stage of
the long term planning process.”
Michael Roberts, director general of Rail
Delivery Group, said: “It is a mark of the
industry’s success that demand on Britain’s
railway continues to rise, and all parts of the
sector are focused on providing growing
numbers of customers with the best possible
services. If we are to meet that demand while
ensuring we have a railway fit for the
21st century – one that delivers for passengers,
businesses and taxpayers – it is crucial that the
industry plans ahead.
“These studies provide a solid foundation
on which we can build a more detailed
understanding of how and where passenger
and freight demand will change in coming
decades, helping us ensure that taxpayers’ and
passengers’ money is invested as efficiently as
possible.”
While the market studies provide predicted
demand figures and the kind of services
needed to deal with that demand, they do not
suggest infrastructure improvements. Those
will form part of the next stage.
Divided into four market sectors: London
and south east, regional urban, long distance
and freight; the documents are the first in a
new style of research designed to look ten to
30 years into the future. Each market study
prediction is set against potential growth or
decline scenarios for the national economy. All
market studies were drawn up to reflect HS2.
Some highlights of the studies are:
l London and south east: The rail market
in London and the South East is dominated
by demand for travel into central London, in
which public transport predominates with a
90 per cent market share. Roughly half of the
trips into central London involve use of National
Rail, delivering 575,000 people into the centre
each day. Historically, the market for central
London commuting has grown at an average
rate of 1.5 – 2 per cent annually but there is a
prediction of 1.3 per cent in the peaks going
forward. Growth in the off peak – is steady
at four per cent and predicted to continue
at that level.
l Long distance: At present around
150 million long-distance journeys are made
by rail annually. This suggests a ten per cent
rail mode share overall, although rail dominates
the market for travel between many large
cities (such as Leeds-London). In the case
of those cities, demand is predicted to rise
between 108 and 145 per cent by 2043 if the
UK economy grows, or by 40-50 per cent if it
struggles.
l Regional urban: Unlike commuting
into London, very few people are willing to
commute into regional urban centres if the
generalised journey time is greater than
60 minutes. Improvements to generalised
journey times within this 20-60 minute range
will have a large impact where both the
number of people in the population catchment
of the origin station and the number of jobs in
the catchment of the destination station are
high. The study predicts a growth of up to
114 per cent in the Manchester commuter
market by 2043 if the economy booms, or
between up to 67 per cent if not.
l Freight: Total freight traffic, in terms of
tonne kilometres moved, is forecast to increase
at an average of 2.9 per cent per annum
through to the year 2043, implying that the
size of the market more than doubles over
this period. This particularly reflects expected
growth in the intermodal and biomass sectors.
To download the market studies please go to: www.networkrail.co.uk/Long-Term -Planning-Process/
The 30-year view
Where will Britain’s railways be in 30 years time? The first steps on the way to finding the answers have been published in the form of four market studies. These form part of the industry’s long-term planning process.
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Reading viaduct reached key milestonel The construction of a new 2km viaduct
in Reading has reached a key milestone
after the first pre-cast concrete beams,
which will form the base that trains will run
on, were lifted into place. Part of Network
Rail’s £895 million redevelopment of the
railway in Reading, the viaduct will cut
delays caused by congestion on the tracks
to the west of the station when it opens
in 2015, creating more capacity for an
additional four passenger trains per hour as
well as more freight trains. This is achieved
by allowing fast passengers services to and
from places like Bristol and South Wales to
fly over the lines to Newbury, Basingstoke
and the south west of England.
The work to install the beams was
carried out by Network Rail’s principal
contractor, Balfour Beatty. The beams were
fabricated by Shay Murtagh in Ireland and
shipped to Liverpool docks before being
transported to Reading by road.
The construction of the viaduct will
also allow Network Rail to complete
the widening of Cow Lane, a notorious
bottleneck on Reading’s road network.
Remodelling of the northern Cow Lane
bridge will finish in 2015, as it cannot be
completed until the tracks above it are
moved on to the new viaduct. At this point,
motorists as well as rail passengers will feel
the full benefit of the project.
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A tunnel being strengthened with concrete sprayed onto fabric. This process is soon to be applied to sections within Whiteball tunnel
Whiteball tunnel improvementsl From 18th January, Network Rail will be carrying out works to repair Whiteball
tunnel to prevent the aging structure from deteriorating. In addition, work will be
carried out to expand the drainage system and to improve the embankment around
the area as part of a wider programme to alleviate flood risks posed by extreme
weather.
Around three miles of track will be renewed and seven units of switches and
crossings relaid separately at Taunton and Tiverton to enable trains to travel at a
higher speed of 80mph.
Whiteball tunnel is a 1000m long Victorian brick arch structure built in 1844 which
has deteriorated over the years. To prevent potential brick fall the tunnel lining was
previously relined with wire mesh; during this railway closure a new concrete lining will
be applied to the worst areas of the brick arch to prevent future deterioration.
The Tiverton end of the tunnel has also been identified as a potential flood site, as
it was amongst the locations affected by the extreme weather condition in December
2012. The track was flooded owing to excess water spilling from the cess as well as
blocking the culverts in the area.
Achilles renews partnership with Professor Sue Arrowsmithl Achilles – which manages Link-up, the rail industry supplier
registration and pre-qualification community – has renewed its
sponsorship of the Chair of world-renowned public procurement
expert Sue Arrowsmith – Professor of Public Procurement
Law and Policy at the University of Nottingham. Achilles has
worked with Prof Arrowsmith since 1996 and is renewing its
partnership ahead of the biggest change to
EU Directives in almost a decade.
Professor Arrowsmith and Achilles have worked together since 1996. As well as
sponsoring her Chair at the University of Nottingham, Achilles also supports the series of
conferences Public Procurement: Global Revolution, of which Prof Arrowsmith is Director.
Professor Arrowsmith provides case notes for THEMiS – Achilles’ online ‘troubleshooting’
service for procurement professionals. She also shares insights at conferences organised
in partnership with Achilles, and supports the EU Services team – who run practical training
courses and workshops covering the full range of EU procurement topics.
The renewal of Achilles and Prof Arrowsmith’s relationship comes ahead of the biggest
modernisation of EU rules and regulations since 2004.
One of the first beams is ‘flown’ into Reading viaduct
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8 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
l From 2012-13 the number of passenger
journeys on Britain’s rail network rose again
to more than 1.5 billion. Freight volumes also
increased, with tonnage up by 11 per cent.
Providing the capacity to handle continuing
predicted growth in use of the network is
generating significant business opportunities for
companies active in this key sector.
‘The UK Rail Market 2013’ from Brooks
Market Intelligence Reports (www.
brooksreports.com provides a concise
overview of the structure of the rail sector in
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, detailing its
main participants and its future programmes
to form an invaluable concise guide to the
complexities of this busy market.
The report covers the role of Government in
leading development of the system and how it
is regulated. It summarises details of Network
Rail’s spending plans for the five years from
2014 to 2015, known as Control Period 5.
These include major electrification programmes,
key projects like Thameslink and the Northern
Hub and the development of new routes. Also
covered is the planned HS2 high-speed rail
system.
An up-to-date overview of passenger
rail franchises includes franchise-holding
companies, contract periods and the latest
traffic figures, as well as coverage of non-
franchised passenger operators and principal
freight train operating companies.
London’s Crossrail scheme is featured in a
section on Transport for London, as well as
coverage of the London Underground, London
Overground and Docklands Light Railway
systems. The report also includes the latest
status of UK light rail and light metro systems.
Current rolling stock procurement
programmes are detailed, and the report
is completed by a sector-by-sector guide
to principal suppliers to the UK rail market,
including:
l Rolling stock/components/subsystems
l Vehicle maintenance equipment and
services/refurbishment
l Revenue collection, access control,
passenger information systems and station
equipment
l Track products and maintenance/renewals
equipment
l Signalling & communications equipment
l Traction power supply and electrification
systems
l Civil engineering and construction/
infrastructure maintenance
The report also includes numerous links to
organisation websites and to key documents,
enabling users to research specialist topics
more deeply.
New report: The UK Rail Market 2013
The full report, which reflects the status of the market as at October 2013, may be obtained from Mack Brooks Publishing Ltd at www.brooksreports.com
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz NEWS I Industry
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Crossrail reveals first completed train tunnel l Europe’s largest infrastructure project, Crossrail, has unveiled its first completed train
tunnel 18 months after tunnelling machine, Phyllis, started her 6.8 kilometre journey
from Royal Oak to Farringdon.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, Infrastructure Minister Lord
Deighton and Deputy Mayor for Transport Isabel Dedring have become the first
visitors to set foot inside the completed train tunnel, entering via what will be the future
Crossrail Farringdon station.
They gained a glimpse of how the most significant addition to London’s transport
network in a generation will look when it opens in 2018, and enclosed a time capsule in
the remaining section of Crossrail’s first tunnelling machine, Phyllis.
The ministers met several of the workers including apprentices that have been
constructing the new passenger tunnels underneath Farringdon station. Crossrail is
on target to deliver over 400 apprenticeships with more than 260 apprentices already
working on the project.
l Among the items included in a Crossrail time capsule were a 2013 edition of
the London A to Z donated by Phyllis Pearsall’s company who TBM Phyllis was
named after, a Crossrail ‘Start of Tunnelling’ mining tally and a tunnel phone used to
communicate without standard telephone signal.
Crossrail’s seven giant tunnelling machines are approaching 25 kilometres out of
42 kilometres of new train tunnels that will link east and west London. Another
14 kilometres of new passenger, platform and service tunnels are
being constructed below the new Crossrail
stations. Phyllis is the first
tunnelling machine to
complete her tunnel
construction with another
three 1000 tonne,
150 metre long tunnelling
machines due to complete
tunnelling at Farringdon in
the coming year.
Selection of items included in the time capsule that will be left with TBM Phyllis
Crossrail reveals the first completed
train tunnel in November 2013
Colas Rail buys on-track tamping machines business from Ameyl Colas Rail has expanded its Rail
Services operations by acquiring
Amey’s on-track tamping machines
business. The £5 million deal comes as
Amey focuses on its core offerings of
asset management, rail projects, metro
services, track renewals, signalling
and electrification to deliver ambitious
growth plans.
Overwhelming support for Crossrail 2 l Transport for London (TfL) and
Network Rail have published the
findings of the Crossrail 2 non-
statutory public consultation, which
shows overwhelming support for the
proposed new rail link between south
west and north east London.
The Mayor of London, Boris
Johnson, who believes this project
is critical to boosting capacity on
the suburban rail network and to
galvanise economic growth in this
part of the capital, has welcomed the
results, which shows 95 per cent of
almost 14,000 respondents ‘strongly
supporting’ or ‘supporting’ the
principle of the scheme.
Even with the Tube upgrade
works and the delivery of Crossrail 1,
additional capacity on the transport
network is needed to cope with
London’s forecasted population
growth. Crossrail 2 would create a
new high frequency, high capacity
rail line with shorter journey times
between southwest and northeast
London. TfL and Network Rail will
together consider the Crossrail 2
consultation findings and will make
recommendations on the next
steps to the Mayor of London in
spring 2014. If a decision is taken to
progress, more detailed consultations
would then take place.
London Underground (LU) now carries more
people, more safely and reliably than ever before,
with customer satisfaction at record highs and
crime at an all-time low. However, with London’s
population set to grow from 8.4 million today to around
ten million by 2030 – the equivalent of a Tube train full of
people every week – the Mayor and TfL have set out how
they will continue to invest billions of pounds to support
jobs and growth and build a Tube network that meets the
needs of customers in the 21st century.
Night Tube
From 2015, Londoners and visitors to the capital will
be able to take the Tube home at any hour of the night
on Fridays and Saturdays, supporting London’s vibrant
night-time economy and boosting businesses, jobs and
leisure opportunities. Weekend services will run through
the night on core parts of the system – initially comprised
of the Piccadilly, Victoria, Central and Jubilee lines and
key sections of the Northern line.
This network, which will be expanded to include other
lines in subsequent years, will dovetail with existing
24-hour and Night Bus services to give passengers an
extensive and integrated service throughout the night.
Station staffing
The trend of ticket sales away from ticket offices has
surged over recent years and today less than
three per cent of all Tube journeys involve a visit to a
ticket office. In future therefore, rather than being remote
from customers behind closed doors or glass windows,
Tube station staff will not be based in ticket offices, but
in ticket halls, on gate lines and on platforms, ready
and available to give the best personal and face-to-face
service to customers.
As now, all Tube stations will continue to be staffed and
controlled in future, with more staff visible and available
than today in ticket halls and on gate lines and with the
same number of staff on platforms. Staff equipped
with the latest mobile technology, such as tablet
computers, will be able to monitor and manage stations
on the move.
Improvements
The huge Tube improvement programme underway
will continue, with billions of pounds of investment to
deliver more frequent, reliable and accessible services
and enhanced stations, providing greater capacity to
tackle increasing numbers of customers. It also includes
a continued rigorous focus on improving customer
journeys and meeting the Mayor’s commitment of
reducing delays by a further 30 per cent by 2015, when
compared to 2011 reliability levels.
Across the Tube network, delays to customers’
journeys have been reduced by 40 per cent since
2008/09 and 54 per cent since 2003. More frequent
trains will be introduced across a wide range of
lines, including a 20 per cent increase in capacity on
the Northern line next year and further uplifts to the
frequency of Jubilee and Victoria line services, to 33 and
36 trains per hour respectively at the busiest times.
Metropolitan line customers are now travelling on
a new fleet of air-conditioned trains with open, walk-
through carriages, and these are now being introduced
on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, with the
District line to follow shortly.
A vision for the future of the Tube
10 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and
the managing director of London
Underground, Mike Brown have
set out their vision for the future of
the Tube, including a new 24-hour
‘Night Tube’ service at weekends and more staff visible and available at stations to help
customers buy the right ticket, plan
their journeys and keep them safe
and secure
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www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 11
Improvements to make journeys easier and more
convenient for customers include:
l Contactless bank card payment technology will
be rolled-out on the Tube network from next year,
providing customers with another convenient way to pay
for their travel. Customers will no longer need to queue
just to convert their currency (pounds and pence) into the
Tube’s currency (Oyster and tickets)
l Wi-Fi coverage will be rolled out to all remaining
below-ground Tube stations by the end of 2014, with
the exception of four stations that are currently undergoing
major upgrade work, so that customers can more easily
access web and other digital content on the move at
stations across the entire network
l Improved customer service training and
technology will be provided to all station staff, and
mobile devices with up-to-the-minute information on
ticketing, train services and the local area will be provided
to staff across the network so they can help customers on
the spot
l The network will become more accessible. More
raised platform sections and boarding ramps are being
introduced, information and signage is being improved
and, building on the 66 Tube stations which are already
step-free, 27 additional Tube and Overground stations will
be made step-free over the next eight years. The proposed
staffing changes will ensure that the current turn-up-and-
go service for disabled and visually impaired passengers
continues and the disability training given to staff will be
further enhanced
l More and better ticket machines will be introduced
as part of a strategy to make life easier for passengers.
Improvements include providing quicker and easier refunds
– by Tube staff, at ticket machines or online – automatically
completing journeys when customers forget to swipe out
and introducing personalised customer accounts on the
TfL website to give increasingly tailored information and
services.
l Work is also underway to improve the Tube’s
stations, with major redevelopments underway at
Tottenham Court Road, Victoria and Bond Street.
Improvements to retail and services at stations are
planned, with more than 30 stations already identified
where real improvements could be made over the next few
years, including Canary Wharf and Embankment.
Future Tube stations
LU staff are and will remain the operational heart of the
station. In future, they will be equipped with the latest
mobile technology which allows full control of the station,
even while they are mobile. No longer will they have to be
confined to station control rooms or ticket offices in order
to serve customers, manage stations and ensure the
highest standards of safety and security.
A new, simplified staffing model will reflect the fact that
customers have different needs at each of the different
types of station across the network. Many busy Tube
stations will have to deal with queries from less familiar
customers, including tourists, so enhanced visitor centres
will be provided at those stations. All Tube stations will
continue to be staffed by LU employees across the whole
day while services are operating, providing face-to-face
customer service and information across the whole
network.
The changes to the operation of stations and
improvements to customer service will be delivered while
also reducing the overall cost of running stations, to
provide better value for money for customers and
tax payers.
From 2015, LU proposes to operate stations in four
different categories:
Gateway stations
The main visitor entry points to London, with a high
proportion of people unfamiliar with the Tube network.
These stations – Euston, Heathrow Terminals 123, King’s
Cross St. Pancras, Liverpool Street, Paddington and
Victoria – will all have enhanced and redeveloped Visitor
Information Centres to ensure tourists and visitors are
welcomed and offered the best possible service.
Customers will be able to purchase Oyster cards, pick
up maps and other information such as interchange
information on other TfL transport modes, like bus services
or Barclays Cycle Hire. There will be 30 per cent more staff
in ticket halls than today, and an increase in overall ticket
selling capacity of 33 per cent.
Destination stations
Busy stations in Central London that have high volumes
of customers and include busy commuter and tourist
destinations, such as Bank/Monument, Embankment,
Leicester Square and Oxford Circus. These stations will
have 30 per cent more staff in the ticket hall than today.
Metro stations
Serving predominantly inner London communities, with
many regular users, such as Clapham South and Mile End.
These stations will have dedicated customer service staff
with the latest in mobile technology permanently located in
ticket halls.
Local stations
Smaller stations, mostly in Outer London or beyond that
have lower customer numbers and serve mainly regular
customers, such as Rickmansworth and East Putney.
These stations will have staff stationed in ticket halls
providing help to customers who need it. zz
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12 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
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The hybrid Bill, effectively the planning
application for the scheme, will give the
Government the powers to construct
and operate the railway. It will also
give those affected by the proposed line the
opportunity to petition Parliament, both for
and against the proposals, and have their
case heard by a committee of MPs.
The Government believes that the new line –
the first to be built north of London for
120 years – is vital to meet the urgent rail
capacity needs on the main rail routes into
London. Parts of the West Coast Main Line
are full in terms of the number of trains
they can carry, many of which are full to
overflowing. There are similar issues facing the
East Coast and Midland Mainline.
The publication of legislation for phase one
marks a significant milestone in the project.
Once Royal Assent has been achieved, it
is expected that construction of the line
from London to Birmingham will begin in
2016/2017 allowing the line to open in 2026.
The Government has also published the
Environmental Statement for phase one of
the scheme. The document sets out in detail
the likely significant environmental effects of
the scheme. It will allow those on or near the
line of route to see exactly how they will be
affected and give details of the ways in which
the railway has been designed to reduce as
far as practicable impacts on the landscape.
These include:
l Around 23 per cent of the line between
London and the West Midlands will be in
tunnels and around 32 per cent lowered into
the ground with cuttings
l Landscaped earthworks and the planting
of at least two million trees will further help to
screen the railway, reduce the impacts of train
noise and integrate the line into the landscape
l Much of the earth removed during the
construction will be used to create these
earthworks, greatly reducing the amount
of earth that would have to be otherwise
transported, cutting lorry journeys and
associated congestion, disruption and pollution
l Drawing on Japanese technology, HS2
trains will be fitted with special features to help
reduce noise. Considerations include the use
of wheel fairings to cut the noise made by the
wheels on rails – the biggest source of noise
on any electrified railway; and eliminating the
gaps between each train carriage to cut noise
and boost aerodynamic efficiency. zz
HS2 took a major step forward at the end of November with publication of the Bill for phase one of the country’s new railway between London and Birmingham
Hybrid Bill for HS2 published
Call to action – join our research panel today!
l Railway Strategies and market research consultants Accent have joined forces to create an exclusive research panel for members of the rail industry to voice their opinions on the latest hot topics. Together the team will tackle the most pressing and urgent issues affecting rail, and we’d like you to get involved. We feel it’s imperative to listen to the voice of the industry when it comes to notable events and changes and we would like to hear from you. Every two months, we will issue a questionnaire on a hot topic, which will take no longer than five minutes to complete, and then feedback your views and opinions. Speaking about the panel, Rob Sheldon, MD at Accent said: “The research panel is a great way for industry professionals to express their opinions on the items topping the news agenda. What’s also really interesting is to have these viewpoints from across the industry and see the effects upon the sector as a whole.” Martin Collier, editor at Railway Strategies added: “We receive a lot of research-
based news stories, but what’s great about the panel is the research findings come from our readers. We can set the agenda and look in more depth at some of the topics affecting the rail industry, both now and in the future.” Topics will vary depending on what’s making headlines and will cover any ongoing subjects such as HS2 and where best to spend budgets? What passengers are saying and how to improve customer service are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition, if you feel there is an important issue which needs the attention of the panel, simply let us know. Joining the panel couldn’t be simpler, all you need to do is email [email protected] with your details. Once you have signed up you will automatically be sent the bi-monthly questionnaire. All responses will be kept anonymous unless you express your consent to be quoted within Railway Strategies.
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 13
Shaping the future of rail traffic managementl RSSB is working with
100%Open to build an ambitious
open innovation programme
on the future of rail traffic
management.
The programme known as
FuTRO (Future Traffic Regulation
Optimisation) portrays a vision
for a future of advanced traffic
management where train position
and speed management will
deliver a high capacity, on-time
railway. The launch of the first two
challenges was announced on
5th November:
l The Universal Data Challenge:
– How do we manage the future
railway through combining
diverse data sources in a timely
way?
l The Supermap Challenge:
– How do we create an accurate
and versatile map of the rail
network so that we can model
ways to optimise the system?
FuTRO is designed to support
the broader vision in the Rail
Technical Strategy where the
2040s railway is envisaged
to combine flexible, real-time
intelligent traffic management.
Control centres will know the
precise location, speed, braking
and load of every train on the
network to optimise operational
performance and keep
passengers informed.
Workshops held in 2013 have
helped pinpoint the focus of the
challenges and the associated
questions.
Architects sought to consider aesthetics of overhead line electrification l How can the design of gantries and cantilever structures be made more aesthetically pleasing?
The rail industry’s Enabling Innovation Team, which forms part of the FutureRailway programme,
has teamed up with HS2 to promote a competition through the Royal Institute of British Architects
(RIBA). The challenge – announced by RIBA Competitions in December, and funded by Department
for Transport – is looking for ideas from around the world to improve the appearance of overhead line
electrification.
In addition to new-build dedicated high speed lines like HS2, the Rail Technical Strategy includes a
vision for an extensively electrified network which has reduced reliance on fossil fuels and non-renewable
resources. Rail industry proposals for CP5 and beyond include further electrification programmes.
The competition is open internationally to architects, engineers and designers. Team and
multidisciplinary entries are encouraged. Concept designs submitted digitally are required for the initial
application stage with up to ten shortlisted. Shortlisted designers will then have up to £15,000 each
available to fund the next stage of development of their scheme which will include producing a scale
model of their design.
The closing date for design submission is 29th January 2014
Innovators win funding to re-think the train
l The first four of eight finalists have been awarded investment as a result of entering
the Radical Train competition, run by the rail industry’s Enabling Innovation Team. The
investments, which are the first substantial tranche of competition funding to be released
from EIT, will be genuine enablers to the winning SMEs, organisations and consortia,
who now have the opportunity to practically demonstrate the viability of their proposals.
The ‘Radical Train’ challenge was set up to seek out proposals for new ideas which
aim to make a marked difference in the performance of trains on Britain’s railways,
encouraging ideas to re-think the fundamentals about rolling stock. A total of 56 high
level entrants applied and eight were shortlisted in May to develop their proposals further
to secure investment. The first four contracts have now been agreed supporting over
£6 million worth of innovation projects in the UK. The EIT is investing approximately
£2.5 million with the innovators contributing a similar sum. The first four successful
applicants are:
l Revolution VLR Consortium (Very Light Rail) consisting of TDI (Europe) Ltd (Transport
Design International), Unipart Rail Ltd, Warwick Manufacturing Group centre HVM
Catapult, Trelleborg PPL Ltd, Allectra Ltd and GKN Land Systems for their low carbon,
very-lightweight whole passenger railcar demonstrator
l Holdtrade Ltd, Transnet, Huddersfield University and HBA Ltd for their radical freight
bogie concept
l Thales and NewRail for their active adhesion monitoring project
l A confidential investment in emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology.
Applications were assessed on their ability to realise significant improvements and
create benefits for passengers, freight users, train operators, the environment and supply
industry. The judges also considered the international market potential of the proposals.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzNEWS I Research
There are a number of challenges under the banner of the Future Railway initiative and you can find out more via the website: www.futurerailway.org/eit
R ail freight is vital to Britain’s economic success. It
contributes £900 million to the economy and plays a big
part in reducing congestion and carbon emissions. In
fact, according to Richard Price, chief executive, ORR,
‘[Freight] is the most transformed sector in the rail industry since
privatisation.’
Network Rail provides open access for freight operators on
its network, and Network Rail’s freight team provides support
to the industry to improve performance and freight growth. It is
committed to working with customers and stakeholders to fulfill
their business needs, as well as working with operators and
developers to commission dozens of new rail-served freight sites,
and help to grow freight on the network.
Challenging targetsPaul McMahon, who became director of rail freight at Network
Rail in June 2013, says that performance and capacity are the
two main aims for his team. Over the past five-year Control
14 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
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Period (CP4) freight charges for using the network have
reduced by a third as well as there being improvements in
the performance of freight trains. However, despite their best
efforts, Network Rail were finding it a challenge to meet the
targets that had been set by the Regulator: “Our target was
for 2.94 delay minutes per 100km, and yes, this has been
identified as a rather abstract measurement! We are currently
projected to finish the Control Period somewhere between
three and 3.5 delay minutes per 100km, but in 2011 when it
became apparent we weren’t going to meet the 2.94 delay
minute target, the Regulator got involved and as a result the
Freight Recovery Board (FRB) was set up.” The FRB’s purpose
is to promote improvements to freight service performance
(reducing delays to freight services) and protect the interests
of freight customers.
“At the FRB, now called the Freight Joint Board, we sit
down together with the freight operators (FOCs) to keep a
focus on current performance issues, and although we aren’t
Freight trains provide a vital service across Britain.
Libbie Hammond talked to PAUL McMAHON, director of rail freight at Network Rail, about how the sector has
developed and plans for the future
INTERVIEW I Paul McMAHON
Moving freight
forward
going to hit the exit trajectory that we were initially targeted
with, the engagement and the delivery is now vastly improved
compared to where it was,” Paul noted.
He was also pleased to add that the next Control Period (CP5,
due to commence in April 2014) would herald the arrival of a new,
simpler performance measure called the Freight Delivery Measure
or FDM. “This calculates the number of freight trains that arrive
on time, at their destination, and ‘on time’ includes 15 minutes of
leeway. The regulator set us a floor of 92.5 per cent, but we are
targeting 95 per cent FDM in the CP5, which is about the same
level of where we should be exiting CP4.
“Today we are seeing the best ever performance on record in
terms of freight punctuality even though we are behind the 2.94
target, and in CP5 with the new measure – assuming we
hit that target – then we will see a consistently high level of
freight performance and that will be with a measure that is better
and easier to understand for a person on the street, an operator
or shipper.”
Strategic Freight NetworkWhen it comes to capacity enhancements, Network Rail
delivers a range of schemes to support freight growth,
including the Strategic Freight Network (SFN) programme.
The SFN consists of a series of schemes that improve the
performance, economic efficiency and capacity of freight on
rail. “There has been a wide number of schemes that are
being delivered through CP4, for example one to enhance
the capacity from Felixstowe to Nuneaton, and another to
improve the capacity out of Southampton, both of which
are designed to enable us to carry more freight,” identified
Paul. “This programme has gone broadly to plan and we
are looking ahead to CP5 where we are going to invest a lot
more money into freight enhancements.”
The sort of schemes that Network Rail has earmarked an
investment of £230 million towards in CP5 include Phase
Two of the Felixstowe to Nuneaton works. “That is a major
programme of work for freight capacity improvements, and
will provide for greater capacity out of Felixstowe, allowing
more trains to go across country rather than to London
and along the North London Line,” explained Paul. “There
are also more gauge enhancements on the Western route,
and we are currently looking at possible investments to
improve capacity out of Northern ports. This will look at
all commodities, but there is a focus on biomass because
Drax power station has taken the plunge and is converting
some of its power generation to run on biomass. Other
power stations may follow. The study has just started and
will come to fruition over the next few months. It is an
important piece of work for ports, power stations and other
stakeholders.”
Optimising capacityOverall, taking a more strategic look at capacity and how it
is used across the network as a whole is currently very high
on the agenda for Paul and his team. “We are working with
the freight operators, and ports and terminal operators, to
try and provide for a more modern way of running freight,
particularly in regard to on-time departure and on-time
arrival for freight trains. This happens to a degree for
container traffic, but historically we haven’t used capacity
on the network as well or as optimally as we could do. We
have an increasingly congested railway so we are looking
at the amount of capacity that rail freight operators have in
their hands through the access rights they hold to use the
network. We are looking to modernise that and have a more
efficient and optimal use of capacity by freight.”
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 15
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We are working with the freight operators, and ports and terminal operators, to try and provide for a more modern way of running freight‘‘
16 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
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The HS2 factor“There is also a very active debate with the freight sector on
just how much capacity would be available for freight on the
‘classic’ railway if and when HS2 becomes a reality,” said Paul.
“We are involved with that debate but there’s a long way to go
in terms of how HS2 would ultimately be used. As high speed
trains will need to use the classic network how do you fit in
freight services alongside these?”
The Rail Freight AlliancePaul mentioned Network Rail’s desire for introducing new
approaches to working with the rail freight industry and this
is highlighted in its participation in the new Freight Alliance,
formed as part of the Rail Delivery Group. The Alliance involves
all the main FOCs and Network Rail. The members come
together with a commitment to work more collaboratively, on
a range of freight policy and strategy issues. “We have had a
number of meetings, and we have already started to discuss
the issues I’ve highlighted – capacity, access rights, increased
efficiency and performance – as well as other areas such as
future access charges.
“When it comes to freight access charges, the Alliance is
also giving us a platform to take a very early look at what will
be coming in the Regulator’s 2018 Periodic Review. We want
to tackle some of the big strategic questions now so we can
have a thorough debate and identify the implications and work
towards early decisions for the Periodic Review, rather than
just looking at it a year before we need to.”
Traditionally there may have been tensions between Network
Rail and the FOCs over some issues, but as Paul noted, the
Alliance means that everyone at the table is committed to
working more collaboratively together. “This means everybody
is thinking about how they might need to adapt their behaviour
for the greater good of rail freight on key strategic issues,
so that we can grow the sector, provide better services and
perform at higher levels.”
He continued: “I think particularly there is a challenge for
INTERVIEW I Paul McMAHON
FOCs as on the ground they are competing hard with one
another to win and retain traffic and that reflects one of the
successes of the rail freight sector since privatisation. But under
the Alliance we are asking people to leave these motivations
at the door and come to the table and sit down and think
more collaboratively about the more strategic questions and
challenges that are facing the sector, so that we can deliver
greater capacity for freight and more sustainable growth for
freight as a whole into the future.”
Dealing with delaysIt is clear that Paul and his team at Network Rail Freight have a
full agenda already and big plans for CP5. He highlighted one
more current issue that has been high profile of late – delays
caused by freight trains on passenger trains. “Freight trains have
always broken down or been in the wrong place at the wrong
time and have delayed passenger trains, and equally this will
happen the other way round,” he said, “but the issue of what we
call FOC on TOC delay has increased over the past couple of
years and we are working with the freight operators, again under
the umbrella of the Freight Alliance, to develop a set of actions
in order to better understand and manage FOC on TOC delay.
“Going forwards on a railway which is increasingly busy and
congested, every minute of delay counts and we have got tough
targets to hit. Whether that’s for FOC or TOC performance, any
cause of delay is going to get scrutiny, especially any category
of delay that is showing an adverse trend. The FOCs and
Network Rail want to get a grip on performance and we have put
In place a range of initiatives to achieve this.
“Running freight trains is important for Network Rail. The
goods and commodities carried are vital for the economy with
about 25-30 per cent of containers imported into the UK through
the major ports of Southampton and Felixstowe continue their
onward journey by rail. The more freight trains we can put on
the network, and the more efficiently they run, the more traffic is
removed from the country’s congested roads, which is without
doubt a good thing,” Paul concluded. zz
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 17
Sustained growth in rail freight usage l The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
has published a new statistical release
which highlights growth in Britain’s rail
freight sector. The ‘Freight Rail Usage’
statistical release contains information
on rail freight in Great Britain covering
the period from 1999-2000 to
30th September 2013. Freight usage
data provides a useful barometer of
economic activity and is closely linked to
other industries such as manufacturing
and imports/exports. The data for
2013-14 Q2 (1st July 2013 to 30th Sep
2013), when compared to the same
period last year, shows:
l Britain’s rail network carried a greater
amount of freight, with an 8.9 per cent
rise in freight moved to a total of
5.7 billion net tonne kilometres.
l The amount of coal moved increased
by 15.6 per cent to 2 billion net tonne
kilometres – accounting for
35.4 per cent of total freight moved
on the network.
l Oil and petroleum, international and
metal moved increased by
11.8 per cent, 7.9 per cent and
2.8 per cent respectively.
To read the full report visit: www.rail-
reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.3016
Network Rail to trial parcel shops at main line stationsl Network Rail is to test the concept of a parcel collection and delivery service
at its mainline stations to capitalise on the booming online retail market. This is
designed to generate additional revenue which can be reinvested in the railway
and to provide a convenient and accessible service for those making 1.5 billion
journeys by rail every year.
Following over 12 months of researching and monitoring the sector, Network
Rail has decided to initially test the concept at Milton Keynes Central station with
its 3000 employees who are based nearby and which is close to a number of key
delivery operations. This will be followed closely by trials at London Paddington
and Woking stations with other stations to follow throughout 2014 once the
concept is proven, creating up to 4000 new jobs.
The new business initiative is called Doddle and is a joint venture with leading
entrepreneur and philanthropist Lloyd Dorfman CBE. He is best known for creating
the Travelex Group which is now the world’s largest non-bank foreign exchange
business.
The Doddle dedicated parcel shops would be open seven days a week, early
until late, to fit with people’s busy lifestyles and enable them to choose exactly
how, when and where they send and receive parcels. There will be an easy-to-use
website and advanced touch point notifications through a mobile app, SMS and
email.
The service would be the only one of its kind that is available to every retailer,
e-tailer, parcel carrier and shipper, creating a network of single points for the
collection, return and sending of parcels. This open access approach will not only
enable retailers and carriers to enhance and complement their existing delivery
offering, but also allow the consumer to combine collections and returns from
multiple retailers into one trip at a time that suits them or coincides with an already
planned journey.
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l
First service from London Gateway
Network Rail’s Doddle parcel
service shop in Milton Keynes
The first official rail freight service from London Gateway was loaded and transported by Freightliner Ltd at 7.50 a.m. on Thursday 7th November as part of the port’s official launch. Serving its customer Hillebrand Group, Freightliner Ltd is running the service to Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT)
Netw
ork
Rail
Transformational design“Drax is a predominantly coal-fired power
station that generates around seven to eight
per cent of the UK’s electricity,” says Peter
Emery, Drax’s Production Director. “But
our ambition is to become a predominantly
biomass-fuelled generator, with plans to
convert three of our six generating units to
burning sustainable biomass.”
Moving biomassBiomass is biological, plant-based material
sourced from forestry products and residues,
and agricultural by-products imported from as
far away as North America. But unlike coal,
biomass must be kept dry as it is transported
from the ports to the power station in North
Yorkshire. Since 2010 a fleet of modified coal
wagons have been used, each retro-fitted
with top-doors to protect the load from the
elements.
Even this was easier said than done. Freight
wagons rank amongst the ‘dumbest’ kit on a
railway, with no electricity supply, for example,
to power the open and closing of doors. The
solution, designed by Lloyd’s Register, was
based around lineside magnets. As the train
approaches the hopper house it passes a
magnet that triggers the top doors to open. A
similar magnet then closes them upon leaving.
To ensure the doors are not activated by
magnetic activity along the route – risking
damage to overhead wires, tunnels etc – the
train driver turns a key to send a pressure signal
along the rake, priming the wagons to open as
they approach the hopper house. The same key
is then used to disarm the wagons once the rake
has passed through with the doors now closed
ready for the onward journey. Also, interlocking
the pneumatic system that powered the top
doors with the brakes meant the train could not
proceed unless all the wagons were securely
closed.
Back to the drawing boardThough an award-winning design in its own right,
these converted wagons were not optimised for
biomass. It is less dense than coal, for example,
This autumn has seen a revolutionary
new freight wagon enter into the
service on the UK rail network
specifically designed for the movement
of biomass. At 18.9 metres long and offering
a capacity of 116 cubic metres, in terms of
volume it is almost 30 per cent larger than
any other freight wagon on the network
and pushes the boundaries of rail vehicle
engineering. Most importantly it will play a key
role in transforming Drax into one of Europe’s
largest renewable generators.
18 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
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Having worked together successfully in the past, Lloyd’s
Register was asked by Drax, owners of the UK’s largest power
station, to help them develop a state-of-the art wagon for
transporting biomass
Biomass wagon
meaning each wagon has to carry more
material. This was something Drax decided to
address.
In early 2012 Lloyd’s Register’s rolling
stock design teams began working with
Drax to revisit their initial design. The design
and engineering team, based in Derby, have
worked on a range of freight and passenger
vehicle projects, from full bodyshell design to
interior refurbishments, as well as bespoke
components and sub-systems such as bogies
and under-frame equipment.
“This is the sort of project that designers
like ourselves relish”, says Richard Gibney
professional head of traction and rolling stock.
“It was an opportunity to re-imagine an entire
concept, taking advantage of lessons learnt
from an existing model and removing some of
the inefficiencies.
“For example, though biomass can take
various physical forms – it is a less viscous
product, so it doesn’t need the steep ‘tapering’
at each end of the wagon that helps the coal
to pour out through the bottom doors during
delivery. So we felt we could capture significant
extra volume by ‘squaring off’ each end.”
Further capacity gains were gained by
pushing the width of the vehicle to the very
limits of the tight UK loading gauge. This meant
relocating the wagon’s pipework, structural
supports and control equipment by taking
advantage of previously unused space.
Extra bottom doors at each end of the
vehicles, combined with a new patented
product flow control system, ensured that
spillage was reduced via unloading.
Work on two prototypes, conformant with
all the necessary standards for operation on
the network, began in January 2013.
WH Davis, an independent British freight
wagon manufacturer, will fulfil the full order
for 200 units. zz
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 19
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
For further information visit: www.lr.org/rail, www.drax.com or www.whdavis.co.uk.
Ross JacksonTom Zunder
Drax wagon in loading bay
Drax wagon in loading bay
Ed Davey helps unload train a wagon
Time-sensitive goodsIn a competitive global market, shippers
and consignees require a service that offers
reliable, consistent and precise movement and
storage of goods. These service requirements
become even more crucial for time-sensitive
LDHV goods. Today, this traffic is generally
transported by non-rail modes – either by road
which is cost sensitive over shorter distances
or by air which becomes effective when time-
critical premium products justify the higher
transport costs.
In the European context, road is typically
favoured for the transport of LDHV goods
between origin and destination in densely
populated areas. However, the major road
networks are increasingly congested and, in
many regions this has made road transport
unreliable. A shift to rail would help to relieve
the congestion and offer significant benefits
in terms of reduced energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions.
The main European flows of LDHV goods
were estimated using data from the ETSIplus
project, (Ref. 1) and validated using Eurostat
2012 statistics. Medium and long-term
forecasts were prepared for 2020 and 2030
using the Integrated Scenario developed by the
iTREN-2030 project (Ref. 2). For a qualitative
assessment, the team also interviewed ten
potential rail freight customers about their
expectations.
Around 49 per cent of all LDHV goods
transported by road are moved over distances
of 200km or more, and five national and
international corridors were identified which
have a substantial proportion of long-distance
traffic, including routes in Greece, Spain and
Sweden.
However, from a business perspective, rail
freight could only be expected to attract a
proportion of this volume. An estimate for the
volume of ‘rail-accessible’ LDHV traffic moving
over 200km is around 1.9 billion tonnes, which
is around 12 per cent of the total tonnage
currently being transported by road in the 27
EU member states and Switzerland.
To meet customer expectations, the rail
freight service would need to offer short, fast,
reliable and flexible trains, working in hub-and-
spoke networks, on high-frequency corridors
or serving multiple stops on longer routes.
The network would have to accommodate
temperature-controlled traffic, and link into
urban feeder networks or serve strategically-
located consolidation centres. Trains would
predominantly run on mixed-traffic routes,
requiring integration between freight and
passenger train services.
Given these conditions, the project team
believes that a high-performance freight train
running at passenger speeds would be able
to capture a percentage of the LDHV goods
currently being transported by road.
Capacity managementThe integration of freight and passenger
operations is key, as the LDHV freight trains
would need to run between passenger
services, using passenger-quality train paths.
Feedback from infrastructure managers
including Trafikverket, TCDD and Network Rail
T he hope within the European
Community is that given the right
technology, the right distances and the
right market conditions, up to
1.9 billion tonnes a year of LDHV freight could
be switched from road to rail in the future.
The FP7-supported SPECTRUM
(Solutions and Processes to Enhance the
Competitiveness of Transport by Rail in
Unexploited Markets) project started in 2011,
has 20 partners from a range of industries and
is led by NewRail, the Newcastle Centre for
Railway Research. The project has analysed
the nature of the LDHV goods market and
the technical and operational concepts which
could facilitate a shift of time-sensitive traffic
from road to rail.
20 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
A new concept for rail freight vehicles
Freight & Logistics zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The EU-funded SPECTRUM project has conducted research which suggests that a network of high-performance intermodal train services, using innovative wagons and horizontal transhipment technology could attract a significant proportion of the low-density high-value (LDHV) cargo which is currently transported by road in the European Union. ROSS JACKSON and TOM ZUNDER reveal all
The InnovaTrain concept has been developed from the RailXpress push-pull
train used by the Swiss retailer Coop to move time-sensitive goods for its own
business as well as third parties such as Heineken,
Lidl and the Post Office
helped the project team to understand the
principles of timetabling, service patterns and
operational procedures, alongside capacity
management policy and practice.
A number of ‘service areas’ specific to the
LDHV sector were identified. Infrastructure
managers would have to schedule train
paths that allow a freight operator to design
a door-to-door supply chain that meets its
customers’ needs. This would impact on the
way in which they develop timetables, whilst
still adhering to EU regulations about fair and
non-discriminatory treatment of all operators.
It is also important for terminals to be located
close to pre- and end haulage points, with
suitable, affordable transhipment equipment
for the swift transfer of goods from trains to
delivery vehicles.
In the research the behaviour of a
passenger-quality freight train was evaluated
on four of the corridors identified as having
significant demand for LDHV goods:
l Switzerland (Daillens - Chur)
l Sweden (Hallsberg - Malmo) - Denmark
(Copenhagen)
l Italy (Turin) - France (Lyon)
l Bosporus - Bulgarian Border (Halkali -
Kapikule)
Using simulation techniques it was
demonstrated to be possible to add a number
of LDHV trains within the current freight and
passenger timetables on each of the routes.
ConceptualisationUsing a combination of qualitative and
quantitative research methods to identify the
market requirements, the SPECTRUM team
came up with seven concepts for further
evaluation to result in an innovative freight
vehicle to meet these requirements, and looked
at opportunities to operate high-quality freight
services on the most promising corridors.
Nineteen participants, including railway
related academics, researchers, operators,
manufacturers, suppliers and infrastructure
managers, took part. Six characteristics were
identified and used to define the logistics and
vehicle design requirements: high performance,
reliability, mixed running, flexibility, security and
seamlessness. The types of goods and loading
unit to be transported, governed the concepts.
These concepts were reduced to three
through a ranking methodology favouring
Concept A, Concept C and Concept F. In
a subsequent evaluation stage, Life Cycle
Costing (LCC) and SWOT analyses were used
with both methods identifying Concept C as
the strongest.
The analysis was extended to look
specifically at the application of the concepts
to the four corridors, where trip distances
varied from 330km to 1900km. On the basis
of the LCC evaluation, Concept C offered the
cheapest cost per pallet-km.
Preferred optionThe favoured concept is a multi-purpose flat
wagon to carry containers and swap bodies,
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 21
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
incorporating a horizontal transhipment
technology. A key attribute is the ability to load
and unload the loading units without the need
for a costly dedicated terminal.
Having identified the market opportunities
and a suitable vehicle technology, the
SPECTRUM team will now undertake further
research to match the vehicle development
with the ‘service areas’ defining the potential
LDHV mix. A full economic assessment of the
concept is planned. zz
ReferencesRef. 1: ETISplus Project (2012). European
Transport policy Information System:
development and implementation of a data
collection methodology for EU transport
modelling. Retrieved 10th August 2012 from
http://www.tmleuven.be/project/etisplus/
home.htm
Ref. 2: iTREN Project (2012). iTREN – 2030
Integrated transport and energy baseline until
2030. Retrieved 10th August from
http://www.tmleuven.be/project/
itren2030/home.htm
Trials with the InnovaTrain ContainerMover 3000 (transhipment technology) were conducted in Switzerland in September 2011
LDHV Rail Freight ConceptsConcept Description Loading Unit Technology
A Multi-purpose intermodal Containerised, refrigerated, palletised MetroCargo
B Liner train – Container Containerised, refrigerated, palletised MetroCargo
C Multi-purpose – no semi-trailer Containerised, refrigerated, palletised Innovatrain
D Semi-trailer Refrigerated, palletised Kockums Megaswing
E Palletised Palletised goods including roll cages Forklift/pallet trucks
F Self-Propelled (1) Containerised, refrigerated, palletised MetroCargo
G Self-Propelled (2) Containerised, refrigerated, palletised MetroCargo
Ross Jackson is a research assistant at NewRail, Newcastle University
Tom Zunder is the rail freight and logistics group manager at NewRail, Newcastle University
For further information visit: www.ncl.ac.uk/newrail/research/project/3909 Tel: 0191 222 3974Email: [email protected]: www.newrail.org
Ross JacksonTom Zunder
SNCB Logistics is an independent freight rail
operator within the Belgian rail group SNCB.
The freight activity was historically losing money,
even before the economic crisis. To become a
profitable and competitive private rail operator, it needed
to restructure itself completely. The company was
privatised on 1st Feb 2011. The firm had never invested
in cutting-edge systems to improve the efficiency and
quality of its services – that was of course until IRON.
The implementation of an integrated planning tool,
code-named ‘IRON’ gave the firm’s managers the ability
to plan based on actual demand and get a precise
and transparent view of required resources. IRON has
improved profitability, efficiency, productivity, quality
and safety. Thanks to major cost-cutting measures and
the benefits of tools like IRON, break-even is near and
productivity and quality have structurally improved.
The rail-freight planning challenge
Rail-freight planning is a complex puzzle. It involves
long- and short-term planning of locomotives, locomotive
drivers and local personnel. Plus constraints such as
maintenance rules, route knowledge, traction knowledge
and different working time directives and regulations.
Before SNCB Logistics introduced IRON, it used
separate systems to handle locomotive and train driver
management and planning. It used altogether different
systems to plan local ground operators and rail paths.
SNCB Logistics wanted a single planning system to
control its complete production chain. It would cope
with all production resources (yard staff, train drivers,
locomotives and rail paths) and all planning horizons,
from long-term to day-of-execution.
After tendering the project, SNCB Logistics selected
Quintiq and its implementation partner, Ab Ovo. Ab Ovo,
a specialist in rail freight and in advanced planning and
scheduling (APS) solutions, implemented the Quintiq
software and modelled the solution to the customer’s
demand – a collaborative project which was called IRON.
One solution – many benefits
The solution allows SNCB Logistics planners to see
the entire plan in one place. It integrates planning and
scheduling of line locomotives, shunting machines,
drivers and yard staff. It helps planners make the best
decisions for scheduling and re-scheduling resources.
The new system integrates existing planning methods
with the new processes required for the operations of the
new SNCB Logistics organization. It is easy to adjust and
it improves communication between different planning
teams. SNCB Logistics’ unique constraints such as
traction knowledge or work environment are modelled in
the system, leading to safer and more secure working.
Because the system consolidates and controls a lot
of data, it also makes it easier to align planning with key
performance indicators (KPIs). This helps SNCB Logistics
managers improve performance. The results of the
project include improved employee satisfaction, flexibility,
punctuality, higher safety levels, better operational
performance and optimized decision making, leading to
reduced costs and increased profitability. Quintiq and
Ab Ovo plan further work to improve the business results
even more. They have scheduled regular updates that
they can put in place very quickly.
More growth planned
Today 150 planners and 60 additional users are using
the system every day. This will grow to 200 planners and
100 additional users. Working with Ab Ovo and Quintiq,
SNCB Logistics has planned and organized training for
all 300 users.
Partners in puzzle-solving The Quintiq platform for planning, scheduling and
optimization beats traditional solutions by integrating all
processes and resources into a cohesive, flexible plan.
Quintiq uses today’s most sophisticated optimization
engines and can be fully configured to fit the processes
and constraints of the business. Covering multiple
planning horizons and coordinating all planning
parameters, Quintiq solves every planning puzzle.
As a long time Quintiq implementation partner, Ab Ovo
has broad experience in modelling customer solutions
using the Quintiq platform. It has in-depth knowledge of
rail-freight business processes and puts that knowledge
to use in various rail-freight companies throughout
Europe. The company delivers advanced planning and
scheduling solutions as well as an extensive back-office
application, the Rail Cargo System, which is tailored to
individual rail-freight operations. zz
Ironing out the freight planning problems
22 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
How an integrated planning tool helped SNCB Logistics improve quality, safety and performance
“IRON is proving to increase our
competitiveness and supports our mission to become the most
reliable rail operator. This initiative is only one step in a line of measures
that SNCB Logistics is undertaking to improve
the safety, quality and productivity of its
services.”
Geert Pauwels, CEO of SNCB Logistics
Freight & Logistics zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
In 2010, the total goods transported within the
EU-27 were estimated at 3831 billion tonne-
kilometres (btkm). Of this, road transport accounted
for 45.8 per cent; intra-EU maritime transport for
36.9 per cent; rail for 10.2 per cent; Between 1995 and
2010, total freight volume increased by 25.2 per cent,
with road freight increasing by 36.2 per cent. In contrast,
rail freight transport has increased by a mere
0.1 per cent, from 386btkm to 390btkm, over the same
period (European Commission, 2012).
The structure of international trade One key reason for the stagnant position in rail
freight volume is the structural change in European
manufacturing industries. Many have moved gradually
to the East, in search of cheaper labour and other
inputs, and/or have changed their consumption pattern
– consuming more imported products and producing a
lower volume of exports. Such change in production and
consumption patterns has resulted in a different set of
transport service demands and a further reason for rail’s
failure to grow has been its lack of response to this new
freight transport requirement.
For typical international trade, a transport chain consists
of transport legs such as deep sea (e.g. Shanghai port in
China to Rotterdam port in the Netherlands); feeder/short
sea leg (e.g. Jiaxing International Feeder Port to Shanghai
port); and inland transport (by road, rail or waterways) at
both ends of the transport chain. Depending on the final
destination, the inland leg may need a combination of
transport e.g. road and rail, or road and waterways. The
selection of the import/export (maritime) port depends
on, among others, the strategies and abilities of the
ports in the region, connectivity with the inland origins/
destinations and the inland transport operators’ ability
and services.
The freight supply chain
Generally, a shipper or consignee is interested in
procuring a freight transport service from a single
operator. It could be an international shipping line, or a
multimodal operator, or a freight forwarder who can take
responsibility for the entire transport haul, consisting
of multiple legs, not just deep sea, feeder, or inland. To
offer the door-to-door, integrated service that modern
supply chain requirements demand, the shipping line may
subcontract the inland transport to a competent transport
operator – a road haulier, or rail freight.
A maritime shipping line may try to enhance the share of
carrier haulage in Europe by, for example, establishing
partnerships and alliances with shuttle train operations.
In line with this approach, and to achieve a higher level of
integrated door-to-door transport service, an extended
gate terminal haulage concept may be developed, where
some of the terminal activities, traditionally performed
in a maritime port, can be moved to an inland terminal,
or port/depot. Depending on who is in control of the
transport chain, and considering factors such as distance,
transit time, frequency, shipment size and cargo type
(e.g. high or low value, time sensitive etc.), the inland
as well as total freight transport service options may be
determined by either shippers, consignees, shipping lines
or a multimodal operator.
In many cases, the international shipping lines face
obstacles in expanding the integrated network by rail
intermodal services. One reason for this is the fact that the
European railway sector is lagging behind in responding
to the needs of a reliable supply chain. Rail operators
must co-operate with other transport and supply chain
actors as a partner, not just as an operator between
terminals. The reality that one supply chain competes
with another and the fact that a successful supply chain
shares the benefits among all its partners means that a
lack of truly market-driven rail operators has largely left
rail unable to respond to market demand. It is a fact that
many rail operators (e.g. DB, SNCF) are not yet privatised,
making the operational model and market responsiveness
of these transport companies very different from that
of typical trucking companies who offer door-to-door
services, either alone, or in partnership with international
transport operators (including rail, maritime and air).
Theoretically it is claimed that rail freight operation
becomes viable for the longer transport haul (nominally
more than 500km). In practice, however, there are many
European routes, or corridors, where trucking companies
are the major operators over such distances. A recent
example of the benefits of rail liberalisation can be noted
here. In the liberalised environment, the share of rail traffic
has increased from ten per cent in 2007, to 40 per cent
in 2010, carried by some new entrant private operators
and incumbent RENFE on the route between Valencia and
Coslada in Spain.
Rail strategies for becoming a supply chain partner in Europe
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 23
Freight & Logisticszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zz
According to figures produced by the European Commission, the volume of freight transported by rail within the EU has barely increased since 1995. DEWAN ISLAM explores the issues
surrounding this situation and the means for bringing about improvements
Low-density high-value (LDHV) goods (e.g. plants and flowers)
A mixed freight train
24 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
Freight & Logistics zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzChange the service offering
The rail operators need to come out of their comfort zone
of offering services to a limited number of large customers
with low value, high volume, less time-sensitive cargoes.
To increase market share they must compete with road
transport in capturing low density, high value cargo. Many
of these cargoes are also time-sensitive and require a more
reliable and faster service. Here, rail operators will have
to equip themselves with some of the customer-tailored
attributes that road offers and/or join hands with freight
forwarders, who can consolidate cargoes and offer pick-
up and delivery services. Such joint services can be useful
on longer routes with higher cargo volume.
In achieving a door-to-door integrated service, the
decrease in satellite operation of feeder rail freight
(i.e. the share of single wagon load or group of wagon
load) is a particularly crucial issue. Rail operators must also
modernise their information systems, to provide track-and-
trace data and the ability to respond to customer queries,
when needed. Some wagons will need to be fitted with
a power supply system, plus the associated equipment
to enable a temperature- and pressure-controlled
environment for such cargo as flowers, or fish. A cargo
monitoring system must also be put in place, allowing the
driver/manager of the train to report, in real time, to a
co-ordinator for the transport chain partners.
Open borders – except for rail One further issue of note is that, despite an absence
of physical border control in EU-27 for almost all other
services, this function is very much alive – in a negative
sense – in the case of rail freight operation. The UIRR
(International Union for Road-Rail Combined Transport)
reports that 88 per cent of road-rail combined transport
consignments passed through at least one border in
2012. The RETRACK study, part-funded by the European
Commission under the Sixth Framework Programme,
reported border waiting times ranging from 2.5 hours
(in Western European countries e.g. between the
Netherlands and Germany) to seven hours (Eastern
European countries e.g. between Hungary and Romania).
This border-crossing issue is one that will need to be
resolved, if rail is to grow as a truly viable and competitive
European supply chain partner.
Acknowledgement
NewRail wishes to acknowledge the support of the
European Union Framework Programme 6 and 7 within
which much of their research in freight and logistics is
carried out. zz
Dr. Dewan Islam is a research associate at NewRail, Newcastle University, UK Tel: 0191 222 3972 Email: [email protected] Web: www.newrail.org
l Eversholt Rail, in partnership with Abellio
Greater Anglia and Wabtec, has launched the
Class 321 Demonstrator at Liverpool Street
station. The train has undergone a high-
specification refurbishment and technology
upgrades. It will now run in normal service on
the Abellio Greater Anglia network for a year.
During this period, Eversholt Rail and Abellio
Greater Anglia will be seeking passenger
views on the many new features showcased,
all delivered at a fraction of the cost of a
new train.
Over the next year the four-car unit,
modified by Wabtec in Doncaster, will operate
on a number of lines, including those to
Southend, Chelmsford, Braintree, Colchester,
Clacton, Harwich and Ipswich. To fully
understand passengers’ preferences and test
out different options, the unit features two
suburban style and two metro style carriages.
Seats in the suburban carriage are configured
3+2, with existing seats refurbished and
raised. The metro style, used on commuter
lines, has a 2+2 seat configuration, with all
new seating. The metro carriages also feature
an extended entrance area to allow easier
access and egress to and from the carriage.
In addition to new and refurbished seating,
the entire unit has new air-conditioning and
heating systems; energy-efficient LED lighting;
modern double-glazed fixed windows;
better wheelchair areas; and a wheelchair-
accessible toilet.
Eversholt Rail is also developing a new
system to replace the Class 321 traction
equipment to improve energy efficiency
and increase reliability. This builds upon
Eversholt Rail’s earlier success in replacing
the traction system on the Classes 465/0
and 465/1 electric multiple units in operation
with Southeastern on the Integrated Kent
Franchise.
Class 321 Demonstrator launched
Ever
shol
t Rai
l Gro
up
Refurbished seating in the suburban carriage
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz NEWS I Rolling Stock
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 25
A battery of testsl Network Rail and its industry partners – including the Enabling
Innovation Team, Bombardier and Greater Anglia – are testing the case
for an independently powered electric multiple unit to potentially run on
short, unelectrified branch lines in otherwise electric parts of the railway.
Lithium Iron Magnesium Phosphate battery technology from Valence
is the first to meet the requirements of the project following testing
at the Valence lab in Texas. Other battery technologies, including hot
sodium nickel salt, continue to be reviewed. Data gathered during the
experiment will be used to determine what form any future independently
powered electric multiple unit will take, be it a straight battery unit or
hybrid.
Re-engineered Class 317 unit unveiledl At the end of November 2013, Angel Trains unveiled its re-engineered Class 317 unit at an event held at Bombardier
Transportation’s depot in Ilford, London. The pre-series vehicle has been the subject of a £7 million overhaul as part of a joint project
between Angel Trains, Bombardier Transportation and Abellio Greater Anglia. The finished unit will provide the train operator with new
train look, feel and performance at a fraction of the cost of building a unit from scratch.
The project included a complete interior redesign to increase capacity and ensure PRM (Persons of Reduced Mobility) compliance,
significant engineering work on the doors to increase the ease of maintenance. A major retractioning project was also undertaken to
move the train from a DC to an AC power unit which now enables the train to make use of regenerative braking and benefit from faster
acceleration, both of which will significantly reduce power consumption and operational costs.
The retractioning work and inclusion of regenerative braking means that the re-engineered vehicle will be able to attain ‘new train’
performance with lower operational costs compared to the original Class 317 units, all without having to build a new train.
The retractioned unit will benefit in five key ways:
1. Better performance – improved acceleration providing faster journey times
2. Reduced maintenance – AC traction motors mean that no more brush changes
are required and the time between maintenance overhauls can be
significantly increased
3. Greater reliability – replacement traction system will provide
performance more akin to a new train
4. Reduced environmental impact – under optimal conditions
Class 317 will use up to 40 per cent less power
5. Lower cost – significant reductions in maintenance and operating costs.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzNEWS I Rolling Stock
New arrivalOn 28th November, First TransPennine Express and Siemens welcomed the delivery of the new Desiro Class 350/4. Unit 350 401 was delivered into the Ardwick traincare facility ready for its acceptance inspection.
Angel Trains
Angel Trains
The engineering overhaul was carried out by Bombardier
Transportation with a large proportion of the work carried out at the
company’s Ilford depot.
Travelling passengers on re-engineered Class 317 trains will have
the opportunity to benefit from a number of new features, including:
l Refurbished interior, new seating and additional grab poles
l Increased capacity on each vehicle including larger vestibule areas
l PRM compliant
l CCTV cameras throughout the train to improve safety
l Climate controlled environment
l Plug sockets and Wi-Fi throughout the vehicle
l Passenger information systems to provide journey details
The pre-series unit unveiled at Ilford is currently going through its final
testing after which it will enter passenger service with Abellio Greater
Anglia in Q1 2014.
Siem
ens
plc
It is often said that we live in a throw-away age,
where it is easier to buy a replacement than try to fix
something. This may be alright for things like mobile
phones and iPods, but it is another matter when
you consider large pieces of capital equipment worth
thousands, or even tens or hundreds of thousands of
pounds.
This is where industrial coatings come in. They can
prevent equipment failing due to corrosion and erosion
in the first place, or make it as good as, or even better
than, new if a problem does occur.
The cost of corrosion in the UK is around four per cent
of GDP per annum, but these are costs that can be cut
when it is realised that not everything that is corroded
necessarily needs replacing. It is no-longer the case that
a corroded tank, pipe, pump or other vessel, needs to
be replaced; even ones with numerous holes. One way
of achieving this is rebuilding corroded or damaged
areas with appropriate material and lining the vessel to
protect and extend its life.
Anyone who has ever repaired a boat or a canoe
will be familiar with the basic principle. You use some
26 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
When it comes to managing fluid containment vessels and associated infrastructure, DAN MACDONALD advocates the use of a coating or re-lining approach rather than complete replacement of supposedly life-expired plant
Network Rail’s Autumn Seasonal Fleet of 17,000 litre water bowsers were rehabilitated by the author’s company ahead of this year’s leaves on the line campaign
The right coating can make it better than new
Repairing a corroded vessel, before and after
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Corrosion & Painting
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 27
suitable material and GRP to repair the hole and then
use further GRP layers and other coatings, until the boat
is not only watertight but also looks as good as new.
While slightly different materials are used, and in industrial
strength, the principle is the same.
These lining methods are a very effective alternative
solution to replacement in terms of costs, time and
environmental impact. For example, there is no necessity
to dispose of contaminated equipment, to dig anything
up or knock anything down to deal with the problem. The
same methodology can also be employed to extend the
life of new plant and equipment and older equipment can
be updated to comply with new legislation.
Storage tanks in buildings are, in many instances, put in
place and the building is constructed around them; some
are even part of the structure. This means that to replace
or renew them, when they corrode or start to leak, is
difficult and in some instances impossible.
The answer is to repair and, in some cases, even
re-build the tank using a GRP laminate system, effectively
making a tank within a tank.
The same method can also be used on outside tanks,
underground tanks and even rolling stock. For example,
we recently completed the lining of 125 of Network Rail’s
17,000 litre water bowsers used in its Autumn Seasonal
Fleet to remove the notorious leaves on the line.
The effective use of coatings can be employed when
a change of service conditions in a tank would be
advantageous. For example, redundant diesel tanks can,
through the use of coatings, be changed to water storage
tanks. This effectively recycles the tank, reduces the
carbon footprint and saves the costs of a new tank and
removal of the old tank.
Large fuel storage tanks can also have their life
extended in a similar way. The bottom of the tank and
walls, up to around 300mm above the floor, suffer from
various forms of corrosion, mainly due to the water
content in the fuel; the environmental fall-out along with
the subsequent associated costs should a leak occur are
immense. A cost effective and environmentally friendly
solution is to line these areas with a suitable coating and
if required this could be reinforced with a laminate system
to strengthen the floor.
It is a wise precaution to implement a regular
programme of inspections to monitor the condition of
plant, tanks, pipework and equipment, so that damage
and wear and tear can be identified early and rectified
before it causes a major problem, costly down-time and
either replacement or expensive repairs.
An additional bonus is the fact that a longer warranty
period can often be obtained for something that has been
repaired and lined than the manufacturer will offer on
brand-new equipment. A typical manufacturer’s warranty
will be two to three years at most, whereas coatings
companies usually offer up to ten years, depending on the
environment and proposed use.
While the main thrust of this article is to encourage
repair, rather than replacement, through the use of
coatings, it would not be complete without looking briefly
at some of the other cost-effective uses that are relevant
to the rail industry.
For example, operators can improve the environmental
credentials of rail companies while protecting them from
future costs by ensuring that fuel storage tanks do not
leak and, if they do, that the lining of the secondary
containment bunds that should surround static tanks are
in fact leak-tight and comply with the Control of Pollution
(Oil Storage) Regulations 2001.
A similar situation can occur at refuelling sites where, no
matter how careful personnel are, spills will occassionally
occur, and a properly coated containment apron will
prevent these spills leaching into the ground and
eventually leading to a long-term contamination problem.
The safety aspects of coatings are now also being
discovered by the rail industry. We have coating systems
which will provide a non-slip safety surface to station
platforms. The process we use is very quick to apply and
the coating is very fast curing; a matter of hours, so the
disruption to the station is kept to a minimum. zz
Anti-slip surfacing can be applied to steep walkways as well as flat platforms
Dan Macdonald is managing director, Repair Protection & Maintenance Ltd Web: www.rpmltd.co.uk
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Corrosion & Painting
Work in progress on Network Rail’s fleet of 17,000 litre water bowsers
W hen mounting, checking or handling a
bearing, the process needs due care
and consideration in order to ensure the
product’s longevity and effectiveness. If
they are not handled correctly, bearings can be prone
to failing quickly and unexpectedly, but some basic
checks will help avoid some of the common problems
associated with their handling and usage.
General tips on handling
Since rolling bearings are high-precision machine
parts, they must be handled carefully. Even high-quality
bearings will not deliver the desired service life and
performance quality if they are not handled used and
maintained correctly.
However, observing a few basic precautions will help
negate the possibilities of premature failure. Firstly, the
bearing and its surroundings must be kept clean.
The presence of any dust and dirt – even particles not
visible to the human eye – is one of the key causes of
bearing failure.
Bearings must also be protected from corrosion.
Perspiration on the hands and a variety of other
contaminants may cause corrosion, so hands should
be clean and dry before handling bearings, with gloves
worn if possible.
Care should also be taken when handling the bearing
itself. Heavy shocks may scratch or cause other damage
to the bearing, while physical impact may result in
brinelling, breaking or cracking.
The proper tools should always be used for any work
involving bearings – general purpose tools should be
avoided. The manufacturer’s instructions are generally
the best place to start for a guide on this.
28 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
MALCOLM WATSON and TONY SYNNOTT discuss best practice in mounting, handling and checking the operational functionality of newly mounted rolling bearings
Handle with care!
Engineering zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Malcolm Watson has worked for Brammer for 39 years in roles including branch, regional and field sales management roles. For the last 16 years he has been working in product management covering both seals and bearings
Tony Synnott is currently working for NSK as engineering manager for the UK Sales department heading a team of application engineers providing service to both OEM and aftermarket engineering sales activity.
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 29
Mounting
The mounting process is absolutely key to the bearing’s
running accuracy, life and performance, therefore
the manufacturer’s mounting instructions should be
followed precisely. Failure to do so could result not just
in premature failure but in damage to other components,
unscheduled downtime and invalidation of the product
warranty.
In the first instance, the bearing and any surrounding
components should be thoroughly cleaned and dried,
with the dimensions and finish conditions of related parts
then checked.
The mounting procedure should then be followed.
Since most bearings rotate with the shaft, the bearing
mounting method is generally an interference (tight) fit for
the inner ring and shaft, with a clearance (loose) fit for the
outer ring and housing. The correct type and quantity of
lubricant should be applied.
After mounting the bearing, an operating test should be
undertaken to verify that the mounting has been carried
out correctly.
Checks & common faults
On small machines operated manually, the bearing
should be turned by hand. Checks should be made
for stick-slip – these will be manifested in the form of
debris, cracks and dents; uneven rotating torque, which
generally indicates faulty mounting; and excessive torque,
which again shows either a mounting error or insufficient
radial internal clearance.
Once these checks are complete, the machine should
be turned on and operated at a low speed without a load,
gradually increasing the speed and load till the typical
rating is reached.
Checks should be made at this stage for irregular noise,
bearing temperature rise, lubricant leakage and lubricant
discoloration.
Several types of noise may be heard. A loud metallic
sound can be caused by an abnormal load, incorrect
mounting, insufficient or incorrect lubricant, or contact
with rotating parts. A loud regular sound can be the result
of brinelling or flaws, corrosion, scratches or flaking on
the raceways. Meanwhile, an irregular sound will be heard
in the event of excessive clearance, penetration of foreign
particles, or flaws or flaking on balls.
An abnormal temperature rise is frequently the result
of lubrication issues – either too much or too little, or
the wrong type. However, it can also be caused by an
abnormal load, incorrect mounting, ‘creep’ on the fitted
surface, or excessive seal friction.
Brinelling, flaking, incorrect mounting and foreign particle
penetration can all contribute to excessive vibration or
axial runout. Lubricant leakage or discoloration is usually
the result of overzealous application, or the ingress of
foreign matter or abrasion chips.
In the event of any of these occurring, the appropriate
remedial action should be taken immediately. Failure to
do so will almost inevitably result in failure of the bearing,
with the likelihood of associated damage to other
components.
Once the bearing has passed all these checks and is
fully operational, it is good practice to check the bearings
on a regular basis with the aim of identifying any damaged
or failing components as early as possible. zz
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For further details visit www.brammeruk.com
develop the business strategy which includes
all business divisions. The yearly strategic
objectives in the operational units are then fed
down in line with the Policy Deployment which
drives the rating of key performance indicators
(KPIs) throughout the entire business.
l The KPIs are fixed in all departments.
Performance management is separated into
five main categories: S (Safety), Q (Quality),
D (Delivery), C (Cost), and P (Performance).
SQDCP boards are used so everyone can see
at a glance what the current problems are, what
needs to be done, and who’s responsible for
making sure they are resolved. The boards also
serve as focal points for daily walk-throughs by
management team members.
T BM Consulting Group, a global
operations management consulting firm
that maximises value and accelerates
growth through improving business
performance announces a new offering – the
TBM Management System.
After more than two decades working with
clients across the globe to improve business
performance, TBM has developed its own
proprietary system of tools and processes that
ensures sustainable business improvement.
This TBM Management System, based on
best practices and a lot of customer projects,
creates visibility for strategic goals, ensures
alignment, and empowers employees to get
focused on the initiatives that matter most.
30 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Business Improvement
New TBM Management System guarantees business growth
The system connects the business strategy
to everyday operations with a constant focus
on results and measurement. The system
recognises the differences between the
company’s expected performance goals
and the current performance situation, and
prevents deviations from occurring or corrects
them when they do. It helps employees at
every level to make the correct decisions,
which allows the management team to
fully concentrate on business strategy and
development.
There are four phases within
the TBM Management System:
l TBM and the client work together to
Using the proprietary four-step approach, businesses can expect to see three-fold increases in top-line sales and two-fold increases in EBITDA
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 31
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New TBM Management System guarantees business growth
l A team-based inter-divisional problem
solving culture is introduced. The management
team reviews the KPIs as needed – in general
daily – and on a weekly / monthly basis
the long-term strategic goals. Corrective
measures such as fault prevention and
troubleshooting must be implemented at this
stage. Commitment is required from the total
workforce for continuous and sustainable
improvements.
l TBM consultants coach business leaders on
how to push through and guide cultural change
within their organisations through appropriate
leadership.
The multi-level approach of the TBM
Management System has proven successful in
TBM’s work with Eurostarl TBM has been working with Eurostar at our Temple Mills depot for over three years now. Initially they were brought in to provide education on LEAN, and to start a programme of Kaizen events within the depot.
The 48 Kaizen events that have taken place over the last three years have been interspersed with regular follow-up events, and the reconvening of the event teams has meant that over 100 gatherings have taken place in total.
When we started the programme, we soon discovered that the biggest challenge would be to change the culture, which had been embedded in the depot for such a long time. It took two years to change – much longer than we had initially anticipated. This was partly due to the fact that the Kaizen and LEAN Production System was presented to us as the latest ‘initiative’. In the railway engineering environment we have seen many initiatives discussed over the last 30 years and so, rightly or wrongly, there is often scepticism around the term and how long the latest ‘initiative’ might be in place before the next one is introduced!
However, after a slower start than we expected, I am pleased to say that the culture has well and truly changed. The Business Improvement Team works alongside the engineers and their input is well received by all as they help to turn good ideas into action. The change is permanent and here to stay.
Another key learning we took from the first year of the programme is that it’s much harder to make changes unless the whole team – right from the shop floor to the management – is on board.
Some of the best improvements and biggest savings that we have seen have come from some very surprising areas. It has been proved many times that, until you take the time to investigate and look into a process, you don’t know what you can find. My advice would be not to pre-judge a process – you don’t know until you try.
its implementation with pilot customers. The
connection between everyday operational
execution and long-term strategic goals as
well as the empowerment of employees
at every level to proactively contribute
to solving business problems has been
proven to significantly enhance a company’s
competitiveness and market growth.
“We‘ve developed the TBM Management
System based on our long-term experience
with various management tools and hands-on
customer projects. The TBM Management
System consolidates this experience into
a framework that we use for each and
every customer project. Our approach is to
implement sustainable process improvements
and establish a problem-solving culture within
organisations which enables the individual
employee to make quick decisions, thereby
relieving the burden from management and,
in turn, causing a substantial increase in
efficiency,” explained Richard Holland,
vice president TBM Europe. zz
Web: www.tbmcg.com
Example of business improvement: The introduction of calibrated digital torque wrenchesAs part of the business improvement team at Eurostar, Mick Watts uses the TBM management system to systematically investigate business processes to find out if there’s a better process to maximise efficiency. He says some of the biggest surprises have come from processes that they had thought were absolutely fine; one of which related to their process for tightening safety critical fastenings on the underside of a train. A simple task you might think but to tighten the nuts and bolts on just one component could take up to 20 minutes due to a six minute walk to reset a regular torque wrench. They would reset the wrench three times which could involve walking the full length of the train (394 metres) back to the manual settings station. The new digital torque wrenches are calibrated to deliver the exact force required and take only a few seconds to adjust. These will be rolled out across the relevant areas of the business and will be a lot more time-efficient for the teams on the shop floor.
Today our aim is to systematically work through all our processes and not allow them to go too long without a review. We have three Kaizen Promotion Officers trained within the depot and plan to have two more in the next few months. Mick Watts, business improvement manager, Eurostar
Richard Holland
According to a new report (Reference 1) from
the International Energy Agency, policies which
improve the energy efficiency of urban transport
systems could help to save as much as
$70 trillion (over £44 trillion) in spending on vehicles, fuel
and infrastructure between now and 2050.
With energy consumption for transport in cities
expected to double by 2050, transport organisations
face a seemingly impossible challenge – to continuously
improve safety and service, while reducing costs from
their complex infrastructure and asset networks.
Tracking assets Asset management in the rail industry is a hugely
complex discipline as it encompasses high volumes
of discrete and linked assets – all of which must be
managed cohesively to ensure the core objectives of
safety, service and efficiency are achieved. Effectively
managing a programme which spans overhead lines,
tracks, tunnels, ticket machines, barriers, escalators and
signalling simply cannot be achieved through traditional
Computerised Maintenance and Management Systems
(CMMS) or generalist Enterprise Asset Management
(EAM) systems.
Many EAM systems were built primarily to serve
industrial and manufacturing industries and while their
core objectives – maximising the lifecycle of equipment;
increasing operating capital; reducing downtime;
improving safety and compliance; and enhancing
customer service – might be similar, the specific needs,
activities and types of assets of rail organisations are
very different.
A train company for example has a lot of linear assets
such as rail tracks and overhead power lines, the
condition of which can vary from section to section.
Overhead power lines on railways typically sag over
time, and as a result, the train simply won’t attach. If this
situation is allowed to occur, it will not only cause major
problems in terms of train punctuality, but the line is
difficult to inspect and would cause immense disruption.
Through viewing the overhead lines as a linear asset,
which is monitored not as a finite entity but as a series of
segments, sagging can be tracked and addressed before it
become a costly problem.
Train companies have numerous types of vehicle within
their organisations which have different engines and parts,
and are subject to varying maintenance regimes and
individual warranties. Highly detailed information is required
on the entire fleet in order to make accurate predictions on
engine wear and tear, fuel consumption and punctuality,
all of which impact the cost and reliability of a service.
However without a means of tracking this diverse data,
cost savings and reliability cannot be optimised.
A micro-vertical approach The nuances of the rail industry, combined with the need
for large scale efficiencies and service improvements,
require highly sophisticated, industry-specific EAM
capabilities.
Such applications must be able to monitor a diverse
range of assets, including point, linear, vertical, networked
and componentised, in a live environment. These asset
types have varying properties as the follow illustrates.
Linear
The ability to monitor linear assets in transportation is
crucial as railway tracks, overhead power lines, bridges,
tunnels and roads are technically classed as one asset,
however their condition varies from section to section
adding complexity to the process.
Point
The most straightforward type of asset, this refers to a
single, discrete asset such as a shelter or bench.
Networked
Networked assets rely on each other in order to provide a
service. Signalling equipment and information screens are
good examples.
Vertical
This might be signage or signalling at a particular station
Excess baggage
32 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
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KEVIN PRICE looks at how rail
organisations across the world
can tap into more than £40 trillion
worth of savings using a new
breed of industry-
specialised EAM system
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 33
Asset Managementzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzwhich runs off the rail organisation’s core infrastructure.
Componentised
Component-based assets might be anything from an
escalator to an underground train – an asset which is
composed of multiple parts.
One of the problems for rail organisations is that, in the
past, they have been forced to use multiple solutions to
manage their assets as EAM providers typically have niche
capabilities which support a specific area or type of asset.
This inevitably presents complexities in terms of integration
and maintenance, and quite often leaves gaps which must
then be addressed through manual processes.
However a new breed of applications not only provide
both the breadth and depth to support every type of
asset used in rail, but they feed live data into a central
system which, using social, analytical, mobile and cloud
capabilities, can present the information in a format which
is tailored specifically to the preferences of the user.
Crucially, these are ‘off-the-shelf’ applications designed
specifically for the transit industry that require no costly
customisation.
These new capabilities are being enhanced further
through a number of other areas which are gaining
momentum in the transport industry. Technological
standards are evolving and helping to facilitate a shift from
analogue to digital monitoring equipment, improving the
speed and reliability of data capture.
And the adoption of asset management industry
standards and best practice such as ISO 50001
and PAS 55 is strong in this sector, driven in part by
the transparency demanded by regulators following
privatisation in the UK utilities and transport sectors.
Uptake of PAS 55 is common amongst transport
companies and in many cases they have led the charge
over their industrial counterparts. In conjunction with the
right software, standards such as ISO 50001,
ISO 55000 (when available), and PAS 55 provide
improved structure, stronger momentum and greater
coherency.
Adopting this kind of best practice combined with highly
specialised capabilities for rail organisations will set the
leaders from the laggards in this sector, and undoubtedly
generate a proportion of the USD 70 trillion savings
earmarked for the transport sector in the coming years. zz
Reference
Reference 1: www.iea.org/publications/
freepublications/publication/name,39940,en.html
Kevin Price is product director, Infor EAM. Web: www.infor.com
The event incorporates: MetroRail – network management, operations
and global projects
Light Rail – planning, design and
implementation
RailTel – signalling, telecommunications and
automation
Rail Power – energy efficiency, storage and
recovery
Air Rail – integrating airports with urban
transport networks
Key speakers include: Terry Morgan, Chairman, Crossrail
Mike Brown, Managing Director, Transport
for London
Pierre Mongin, Chairman & CEO, RATP
Andy Byford, CEO, TTC (Toronto)
Peter Dijk, CEO, Amsterdam Metro
MetroRail co-located with Light Rail, RailTel, Rail Power and Air Rail
It’s all about urban transit
l As cities and passenger
numbers grow, urban
transport is becoming
increasingly connected.
Building on ten years of
MetroRail, the urban rail show
is designed to help you cover
every aspect of urban rail
in just two days. No matter
where your interest lies – light
rail, heavy rail or infrastructure
– we have content, networking
and new partners for you.
1-2nd April 2014 Business Design Centre, London
Ibrahim K. Kutubkhanah, CEO, Jeddah Metro
Andrew Bata, CSO, New York City Transit
Dan Grabauskas, CEO, HART (Honolulu)
Ramon Canas, CEO, Metro De Santiago
Didier Bense, Board Member, Société du Grand
Paris
Anne-Grethe Foss, Deputy Chief Executive,
Metroselskabet (Copenhagen)
Aurelio Rojo Garrido, Secretary General, Alamys
Duncan Cross, Deputy Director Operations,
London Overground & Crossrail
Peter Cushing, Metrolink Director, Transport for
Greater Manchester
Geoff Inskip, CEO, Centro (Birmingham)
David Potter, Chief Engineer, Eko Rail (Lagos)
For more details, please download the event
brochure here:
http://www.terrapinn.com/RS-brochure
T he process of purchasing and
managing tools, maintenance,
repair & overhaul (MRO) and health &
safety products for manufacturing and
process facilities can be a complicated one,
requiring hundreds or even thousands of stock-
keeping units (SKUs) to be available whenever
and wherever they are needed on-site.
This means that significant amounts of cash can be
tied up in slow-moving products, while there may be little
thought given to whether these products are delivering
optimal performance and value, with the same product
simply reordered whenever stocks run low.
In a bid to simplify the process and reduce working
capital, many companies have in recent years been
taking a long, hard look at the process to see how it can
be improved.
One of the areas where the greatest impact is
consistently achieved is in ‘standardisation’ – minimising
as far as possible the number of different brands and
models of product used for the same task, while ensuring
there is no compromise on performance, quality or safety.
Typically undertaken as part of an overall improvement
initiative, standardisation can rapidly deliver a measurable
commercial return.
How it works – a simple example
In one facility handling sensitive metals, glass is
banned completely in one area of the factory because
of its propensity to contaminate the products being
manufactured. Because of the nature of the tasks being
performed in this section, the risk of cuts to the hands
had been assessed as the highest possible, meaning all
operatives working there were required to wear safety
gloves with the maximum Level 5 protection. After
some searching, a glass-free glove offering the required
protection was sourced, but this did not negate the
contamination issue. Operatives working in other, less
sensitive areas of the factory were still wearing around
a dozen other types of gloves, many of them containing
glass, but on occasion still had to enter the glass-free
area, with the potential that they may forget to remove or
change their gloves when they did so. And as many of
the different glove types looked very similar, there was a
real risk that an operative could inadvertently choose the
wrong type.
The answer lay in standardising the gloves in use in the
factory. An internal study revealed that the Level 5 glass-
free gloves could be used throughout the factory without
any impact on productivity while negating any risk of
glass contamination. The estimated annual cost saving
– based on zero waste due to glass contamination,
reduced downtime, and fewer SKUs needing to be
ordered and processed, exceeded £100,000.
The role of standardisation in optimising productivity and efficiency
It is not only in the area of safety where standardisation
can play a role. Production consumables can be
standardised for both operational and commercial gain,
too. In the area of abrasive discs and belts, for example,
it is not uncommon for companies to source and stock
multiple grades of product to cope with all stages of the
process from weld and burr removal to finer cosmetic
finishing. Yet innovation in recent years has created
abrasive products that not only reduce the number of
process stages required (and therefore the number of
different belts or discs needed) but last longer too.
While the initial purchase price of these new items
may exceed that of the existing products, the true
value they can offer will only be appreciated through a
study of whole-life costs and, of course, trials under real
operating conditions. Considered in these calculations
must be factors such as a comparison of processing
time, changeover time, and reject rates. Standardisation
in this area will only work if the operatives using the new
Raising the standard
34 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
KEVIN LACEY considers the role of maintenance, repair and overhaul product
standardisation in operational and commercial success
Kevin Lacey is marketing & growth director at
Buck & Hickman
Web: www.buckandhickmanuk.com
Depots & Maintenance zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 35
consumables buy into the process and are fully trained in
getting the best out of them. Incorrect product choice by
the operative, poor technique, and disposal of consumable
products which may still have useful life in them – simply
because they have always been changed at those intervals
– will all conspire to ensure that any potential cost savings
identified at the outset are not fully realised. Hand in hand
with the standardisation of products, therefore, must go
a process to standardise procedures to ensure maximum
value is extracted from the change.
A model for success
How can the benefits of standardisation be delivered, in
pressured production environments where the interests
and motivators of different stakeholders in the process –
financial directors, quality managers, purchasing teams,
production managers, health & safety specifiers, and
production operatives – may vary radically?
The initial opportunity for standardisation can be
identified internally or externally by a consultant or supplier.
An initial feasibility study should set targets for the project
which are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable,
Relevant and Time-bound objectives. Once these are
agreed, with a documented projection of financial benefits,
buy-in should be sought from key stakeholders such as
the head of production and financial decision-makers,
before the procurement team are involved. The next stage
is the establishment of an ‘integrated product team’ (IPT)
who will agree timescales and location for the trial. The
trial then takes place, with the IPT evaluating the results
and then preparing a final evaluation against the original
objectives and proposal for sign-off by all stakeholders.
The full project is then implemented, with training and
induction for those individuals involved in the changeover,
measured and continuously monitored against the
objectives set.
While SKU numbers will almost inevitably fall, with a
positive impact on cash flow, standardisation should not
be considered solely as a means of reducing the costs of
MRO purchases. In some instances initial purchase costs
may increase as the value and compensation they offer
will appear elsewhere on the balance sheet. Best value
will be extracted through taking a holistic view with a
scientific approach to assessing the return on investment
at every stage of each project.
Planned and managed effectively, in conjunction with a
partner who can provide independent advice alongside
a broad product range and ongoing technical support, a
product standardisation programme has the potential to
deliver significant operational and commercial benefits. zz
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At the outset of this complex project, Rail
Waiting Structures (RWS) was commissioned
to undertake only the design and specification
project. However, following customer approvals,
RWS was awarded the demolition, manufacture and
build contract, as the result of a tender process.
Diverse material usage
The scheme incorporates a 7m-wide walkway featuring
stainless steel and structurally glazed walls, covered
with an aluminium curtain-wall construction glazed
roof, which also incorporated LED lighting. Three retail
spaces were created using a structural steel frame and
Kingspan cladding and roof system.
Managing complexity
State-of-the-art 3D Computer Aided Design tools
enabled the creation of early visualizations of the
scheme to aid the approval process, as well as resolving
the complex component manufacture and construction.
The site was complex, incorporating challenging
slopes, curves and services. Access was also very
limited requiring careful logistics planning. The station
was in use to the public throughout the construction
programme. Rigorous site management ensured
maximum passenger safety, while causing minimum
disruption. The concourse was officially opened in
October 2013
Customer satisfaction
This is the best measure of success for any project and
this handsome construction was no exception. zz
Three Bridges station concourse & retail facilities
36 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
Rail Waiting Structures was awarded the contract to totally replace an existing dilapidated concourse with a high-quality, well-designed,
functional and efficient building
About the BSW Groupl Since November 1979, the BSW Group has been involved in the design and construction of a wide variety of projects from rail, tram, bus stations, covered walkways and canopies to just about every other covering you can imagine. The quality of workmanship has always been a priority and every aspect of a project from design to finished drawings and product are considered of paramount importance. BSW can provide a one-stop solution for the customer’s requirements, from minor civil works right through to erection of the structure. BSW Group head office is located in the Vale of Glamorgan. This facility has 3100sq ft of office space with three 48,000sq ft manufacturing units on the 17 acre site. An additional 20,000sq ft of manufacturing and office space is available within the West Midlands. BSW has recently expanded its operations into the Middle East having opened an office and factory in Dubai, where work is currently taking place on the Dubai Metro System.
For further information, please contact:
Rail Waiting Structures (A member of the BSW
Group of Companies)
Tel: 01446 795 444Email: [email protected]
Web: www.shelters.co.uk
Project overviewContract scope:l Specify l Design l Manufacture & supply l Demolish l BuildClient: Southern RailDuration: 30 weeks
Stations zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Projects are being driven by a need to think
about long-term capabilities and flexibility
for future change. This means the design
and integration of the fit-out needs to be
durable, maintainable and flexible. These elements
are addressed from design stage; being involved at
the earliest stage enables a manufacturer to ensure
performance whilst taking responsibility for delivery.
While balancing aesthetics with the performance
qualities of materials is key, budgets and limited working
hours in stations need to be factored in. Therefore
prefabrication of solutions is an important consideration.
The fit-out of any transport hub is a challenge.
Considerations include design, material choice and
durability, while the risk of issues on site during
installation and programme slippage has huge
repercussions for ensuring projects are delivered on
time and to budget.
To significantly reduce the risk for project teams
some manufacturers are choosing the design, supply
and install route to market. Transport hubs need to be
designed and fitted out to tight programmes and value
is generated by having one entity take ownership for
the entire process.
Working in live stations poses many complications
including limited working hours in a fully operational
environment. Prefabricating products and systems
under factory-controlled conditions allows better
quality-control. Compliance to tolerances and other
performance criteria can also be achieved as well as
a reduction in lead-times. Importantly site health and
safety is improved; usually fewer operatives are
required on site. Prefabrication of products and services
also helps reduce site waste and limit the
environmental impact.
Ensuring quality & value for station fit-outs
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 37
Stationszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zz
In a station environment the demand for innovative and
interesting interiors must be balanced with the use of
high performance products. The durability of a material
and ease of maintenance is essential to ensure they stay
this way.
Ease of access for maintenance and cleaning are
crucial for longevity, security and safety and place special
demands on material choice of interior fit-out solutions.
Metal solutions provide a durable surface that is easy
to clean and will allow ease of access for essential
ongoing maintenance, without damage. They also
provide for impact resistance in external or semi-external
spaces such as public concourses.
The ability to design in options from the outset for
effective ongoing maintenance and ease of access,
along with consideration for increasing number of
passengers, provides for time and resource savings in
the long term.
With off-site assembly and prefabrication
manufacturers, should have the ability to offer fixed
production and delivery lead-times ultimately providing
programme benefits.
The complexity of carrying out construction and
renovation work for such projects underlines the
importance of partnering with manufacturing installers to
enable this. Design expertise, flexibility and an innovative
approach are critical in this relationship.
On many of today’s major projects clients and main
contractors want to guarantee design, to deliver project
value, limit risk and have the comfort and benefits of
all-encompassing warranties. Working directly with the
manufacturer installer provides a single point of contact
from start to finish and pre-fabricating products and
systems ensures better quality control, reduction of lead
times and safer working. zz
ANDREW JACKSON discusses some
of the factors to be considered
when upgrading railway stations
Andrew Jackson is a director, SAS International
Web: www.sasintgroup.com
Waterloo station new balconyLiverpool Central station
SAS
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38 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
zz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzFIRST GROUP
Nearly a year and two independent reviews
later, short-term contract extensions have
been implemented and promises to improve
the Government’s overall franchising policy
made. In March 2013 Transport Secretary Patrick
McLoughlin unveiled long-term plans designed to
drive improvements to rail services, deliver on major
infrastructure projects, and put passengers at the heart
of a revitalised rail franchising system.
Dealing with this period of uncertainty is undoubtedly
an ongoing challenge, but as Vernon Barker, the
managing director of FirstGroup’s UK Rail Division was
keen to highlight, the most important thing has been to
continue with ‘business as usual’ for passengers. “At
Keep moving
As the UK’s largest and most experienced rail operator, FirstGroup is looking forward to the upcoming franchise
competitions and submitting further high quality bids that deliver value for
passengers, taxpayers and shareholders
FirstGroup we made sure that we remained focused on
the day job – we still have to deliver for our customers
and run the train services we have in existing franchises.
We couldn’t afford for any interruption of the franchising
programme to interfere with what we do on a daily basis
for customers,” he began. “So we made sure that we
maintained our standards and also continued with any
planned improvements as usual across all our franchises,
and that included First Great Western and First Capital
Connect, which were two of the refranchising businesses
at the time. We ensured that we focused on delivering
and improving on our current levels of service.”
He continued with some details about how the Great
Western franchise specifically has been affected: “First
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 39
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzprogrammes that are already underway, such as the
Reading station remodelling. This two-year single-
tender direct award will help to maintain stability for
customers while going through a front-end period of
transformation.”
Vernon added: “I think there is a lot of really positive
change coming for the Great Western franchise and
customers, and we are working to remain there and see
the delivery through. My colleagues on Great Western
have been through some tough challenges, primarily
the infrastructure projects, up to this point so it would
be very nice to be there delivering on some of the very
positive stuff.”
The other FirstGroup franchise that is hoping to
receive a short direct order is First Capital Connect
and negotiations with the DfT are progressing well.
Furthermore, as recently as 1st November, FirstGroup
announced it had been shortlisted for the ScotRail
franchise competition by the Scottish Government. The
Group currently operates the franchise which provides
passenger train services throughout Scotland. The new
ten-year contract, with a potential break point after five
years, will be awarded next year and is expected to start
in April 2015.
Vernon was delighted to have been shortlisted for
the ScotRail franchise competition, and he is also
pleased to see that the Government has set a detailed
transparent timetable for the receipt of bids on the
two recently issued invitations to tender (ITT) for the
Essex Thameside and Thameslink, Southern and Great
Northern (TSGN) rail franchises. “It is encouraging that
these two franchises, which were paused this time
last year, will be let and that bids have to be in before
Christmas,” he said. “I think that is really important and
I would encourage the DfT to stick to that strategy as
there is quite a bit of work to be done over the next few
years and these deadlines are essential, especially given
all the work yet to complete on the Thameslink upgrade
and the receipt of new trains.”
Following the intense scrutiny that the franchising
process has seen over the past 11 months, Vernon was
glad to see that the conclusions drawn endorsed the
Government’s overall franchising policy, and highlighted
that the privatisation of the railways has been of crucial
importance in creating what is today – an industry with
record levels of investment, a doubling of traffic (from
750 million journeys a year to 1.5 billion) and the best
recent safety record in Europe.
“I echo many of the comments that have been made
across the summer since the production of the industry’s
Growth and Prosperity report, which does show that
while it is has had challenges, the franchising model has
actually delivered the greatest growth the industry has
seen in living memory,” he added.
He went on with more specifics about FirstGroup’s
franchises: “I think that FirstGroup has been instrumental
in delivering a good number of new train fleets into our
Great Western and First Capital Connect were still very
much at the front end of the refranchising programme,”
he said. “With First Great Western we entered into
negotiation with the Department for Transport and were
awarded a 23 month deal in October, which means First
Greater Western Ltd will operate trains between London
Paddington, the Cotswolds, south Wales and the south
west until September 2015.
“This direct award was really encouraging for us,
and was very much the right thing to do for passenger
services. The Great Western franchise area is going
to see some significant change over the coming years
while it receives the benefit of massive investment in
electrification, new rolling stock and the infrastructure
Vernon Barker, managing director of FirstGroup’s UK Rail Division
40 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
franchises. In fact, since we have been operating our
successive businesses as franchises we have introduced
a new fleet of trains on every one of them in order to
cope with increasing passenger demands. Overall, I think
privatisation has been a success story.”
An essential part of FirstGroup’s successful franchising
operations has been its strong relationship with Network
Rail. Vernon noted that this has been essential to the
delivery of a variety of projects, including one north of
the border in Scotland. “The alliance we formed with
Network Rail and ScotRail was pivotal in delivering the
Paisley Canal Electrification, which otherwise would not
have gone ahead based on the initial cost estimates,”
he explained. “By adopting a more proactive alliance
approach, the operator and Network Rail managed
to get the costs significantly reduced. In addition the
alliance’s strategy for possessions worked for both
parties, as it gave Network Rail better access and got
the job done in a shorter period of time.”
Indeed, such was the success of the Paisley Canal
Electrification project that ScotRail and its partner,
Network Rail, scooped top prize in the ‘Transport
Team / Partnership of the Year’ category at the National
Transport Awards in October 2013.
“The solutions they created were very, very clever,
and it is a great example of how working together
on a project means it can be completed at less cost,
implemented on time and as a result delivered benefits
for transport across Scotland,” noted Vernon.
Back in England, Network Rail’s work with the
operator on the redevelopment of Reading station has
been crucial in the project’s evolution, as has First Capital
Connect’s work with Network Rail on the Blackfriars
scheme in 2012 and the London Bridge works due
in 2015.
Added Vernon: “I must also highlight First
zz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzFIRST GROUP
UnipartOver a number of years, FirstGroup and Unipart Rail have been clear and consistent in their intentions to work collaboratively in order to create joint value and support each other in delivering their growth objectives.Each organisation decided to seek accreditation for the recently established BS 11000 certification for ‘Collaborative Business Relationship Management’ in order to further develop and evidence their current and future collaborative practices with their respective suppliers and customers. Subsequently, both organisations were delighted to achieve certification. Commenting on behalf of Unipart Rail, Isabelle Lloyd, Sales and Customer Service Director stated that: “The key concept behind BS 11000 is that organisations that work together can achieve much more than they can achieve alone and this has long been recognised within both FirstGroup and Unipart Group. We are delighted to have supported FirstGroup in their journey to the certification to the new British Standard and grateful for their contribution to our own certification.”
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 41
TransPennine Express’s work with Network Rail on the
electrification of the Chat Moss route and the wider
Northern Hub developments. Our electric trains are
being delivered over the next few months and these will
allow First TransPennine Express to transform its offering
from Manchester airport and add extra capacity and a
strengthened timetable on other diesel routes when we
cascade the diesel trains from the northwest to cross-
Pennine services.
“The Northern Hub is a programme of a number
of different projects that include some spectacular
engineering feats, such as putting extra platforms
in at Manchester Piccadilly. In fact, through a strong
relationship with Network Rail we have been quietly
delivering a raft of significant improvements around the
UK, including some in the core of London.”
Since first getting involved in the UK rail industry,
FirstGroup has introduced 740 additional vehicles and
invested over £650 million into its franchises. As a result
of its hard work and dedication, the four franchises have
received more than 250 awards since 2005, including
First TransPennine Express being crowned the 2012
Rail Business Awards Train Operator of the Year and
First ScotRail currently holds the title of Scottish Public
Transport Operator of the Year. Vernon concluded with
his views in why FirstGroup is good at what it does:
“I am always impressed with the people I meet in our
organisation, across all the franchises,” he said. “We
have got a strong and committed management team
and I think throughout the business we have staff that
really have the interests of the customer at heart.
“I do genuinely believe that our people come to
work to deliver good service to our customers and
they consistently try their hardest to deliver. Overall, we
remain focused on getting things right first time and
running an on-time railway, and after all – that is what
our customers are looking for.” zz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
www.firstgroup.com/uktrain
WabtecThe Wabtec Group is one of the UK’s leading railway engineering companies, undertaking the maintenance, overhaul, refurbishment, life extension and repair of railway rolling stock and associated components.Through the combined resources of Wabtec Rail Limited, Wabtec Rail Scotland, Brush Traction and LH, we are able to provide rolling stock owners, passenger train and freight operators a range of services that cover all aspects of railway rolling stock maintenance, overhaul and refurbishment.For further information visit: www.wabtegroup.com
our design team, our supply chain partners
and our clients to deliver successful
projects.”
The company will achieve a turnover
of £300 million on rail sector projects
during 2013, which is an increase from
£170 million in 2011. Taylor Woodrow
currently has one of the most exciting
and challenging portfolios within the rail
sector and is undertaking major projects
including the upgrades of Tottenham
Court Road and Victoria station for LUL,
works at Connaught Tunnel, Victoria Dock
Portal, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel
for Crossrail and projects for Network Rail
at Nottingham Hub and the Crossrail West
42 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
zz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzTAYLOR WOODROW
Founded in 1922, Taylor Woodrow is involved in most sectors of UK civil engineering and construction and has enjoyed a continuous relationship with the rail transportation sector since the early 1990s
Realising potential
NET Phase 2; bridge over A52 at Queen’s Medical Centre
T aylor Woodrow has delivered a
number of high profile projects
during its history including the
Jubilee line station at London
Bridge, the development of new ticket halls
at King’s Cross Underground Station, the
DLR Three Car Capacity Enhancement
project and the new Western Concourse at
King’s Cross Mainline station. “We target
complex, challenging schemes that look
for strong planning and engineering skills,
innovative ideas and confident, resilient
people,” says Fred Garner, Sector Director
for Transport Projects. “Taylor Woodrow
has always been known for teamwork and
we like nothing better than working with
Tottenham Court Road
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 43
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
been a great place to be; infrastructure
and rail transport in particular are high
on the political and public agenda. There
is a realisation that to maintain both our
quality of life and our economic success
there is a need for investment in the UK
national and local rail networks. One of
the most interesting developments is
that as a nation we are reversing many
of the decisions that we made during the
1960s and 1970s, when rail was seen as
outdated compared to the attraction of
the motorcar. The pendulum has swung
and we need to grab the opportunity now
to create the integrated rail transport
networks for the next 100 years.”
With the nation’s requirement for
dynamic rail solutions and the company’s
reputation for undertaking complex
projects, Taylor Woodrow has had no
shortage of demand for its targeted
engineering solutions. The challenge, as
Fred observes has been to ensure that
Taylor Woodrow is placed to meet its
customer’s needs and retain the best
engineering staff: “Our biggest challenge
in the last two years has been managing
our growth and principally ensuring that
the project teams are fully resourced
with the right people with the right skills
and behaviors. We have done this in two
ways: Firstly, our DLR 3 Car and King’s
Cross projects created an opportunity
to develop some very talented engineers
Stations. In addition to these projects,
Taylor Woodrow is also undertaking the
expansion of Nottingham’s tram network,
known as the NET Phase Two and the
upgrade of Ealing Common and Upminster
depots for the new S7 stock.
Commenting on the company’s busy
workload Fred elaborates: “My view of
the industry in the last year is that it has
Nottingham Express Tramway
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 45
and project managers, many of whom are
now prominent in the business, or in fact
leading our current projects. Secondly, we
have recruited some excellent people who
are excited at the prospect of working on
challenging, high profile projects and see
the potential in our business.”
The company has also taken steps
to address what it sees as a noticeable
skills gap within the railways sector as
Fred further explains: “This year we are
recruiting increased numbers of civil
engineering graduates than in previous
years, as well as continuing to sponsor
undergraduates, where we are using
QUEST scholarships to identify the best
and brightest candidates. In recent years
we have also offered work placements to
second year foundation degree students
and subsequently recruited them as
technician engineers into the business,
sponsoring them to move on to their
BSc part time whilst working for us.
Unfortunately, significant increases in
tuition fees have caused us to review this
policy this year but I hope we will be able
to resume again next year.
“We also recently held our first
Inspiration Lecture at the ICE, where our
guest speakers offered their thoughts
on how the civil engineering profession
can inspire young minds. The evening
was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience,
which was a mix of sixth form students,
undergraduates, TW graduates and
industry colleagues of all ages.”
At present, the company is busy in
Nottingham, where the NET Phase Two
extension is at the peak of construction.
During the past 12 months the project
has seen the installation of three major
new bridges, including Nottingham’s
Station Bridge, which was featured on
the BBC’s One Show. The tramway
project is expected to be completed and
operational by the end of 2014. As it
moves into the future, Taylor Woodrow
already has major projects lined up and is
currently mobilising a team for its Crossrail
West Stations project. The £100 million
project was awarded to the company
by Network Rail in October 2013 and
will allow it to combine the experience
it has gained through its King’s Cross,
DLR and Crossrail projects. It is with no
small excitement that Taylor Woodrow
approaches this latest project and the
company is keen to show what it can
do as Fred concludes: “This project will
enable us to show how efficiently we
can deliver upgrades to 13 stations in
a very challenging environment on the
western approaches from Maidenhead to
Paddington.”zz
Web: www.taylorwoodrow.com
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz TAYLOR WOODROW
Nottingham Express Tramway
Whitechapel Cambridge Heath Shaft
Whitechapel - Durward Street Shaft Whitechapel - HCDL Worksite
on the railway sector throughout the early 1990s. After
the end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia at the end
of 1989 and the dissolution of the country into the two
individual states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak
Republic (Slovakia) in 1992, major reforms to how the
rail industry was operated throughout Slovakia brought
a significant shift in the market. Therefore, ZOS Zvolen
adapted its services to best serve the new state’s rail
needs as sales director, Vladimír Kaeuk explains: “Up
until the beginning of the 1990s the main focus of the
company was maintenance, mainly on locomotives and
we were entirely focused on the market in Slovakia. At
that time the state railway company ran the network
and we provided services for all of the locomotives in
the country. Then the beginning of the transformation
process started and a lot of changes came to the market
and therefore a lot of challenges for the market players.
At that time we decided that the maintenance business
would not be large enough to support the company
and would not provide enough of a base to develop the
company in the future.
“We then began refurbishment and development
services,” Vladimir continues. “Many of the operated
locomotives were produced 30 to 40 years ago and the
rail companies did not have enough finance to purchase
brand new machines, so there was a compromise of
modernization of the locomotives. In our region, ZOS
Zvolen was able to totally rebuild locomotives. This
means that the newly refurbished locomotive retains the
original frame, but all of the other fittings and devices are
totally new.”
Today, ZOS Zvolen is focused on three main areas
that form the basis of its wider market strategy. The
company retains its traditional market in maintenance,
which remains steady within the domestic market and
continues to manage a series of modernization projects
The company’s history begins in 1872 at the
beginning of Slovakia’s rail industry, where it
undertook the construction of the country’s first
locomotive powered railway lines and depots.
During this time it operated as part of The Rail Company
of the Slovak Republic, however during 1994 ZOS Zvolen
reached one of its most important milestones when it
split from Slovakia’s state rail company to become a joint-
stock venture. The repair manufactory Zvolen owned the
company until 2008 when Zvolen became part of the
ZOS Trnava Group, which is when the ZOS Zvolen brand
was born.
The development of ZOS Zvolen is closely linked to
the shifting political situation in the region and its impact
46 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
zz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
AMS100 mobile welding machine
A local partnerŽeleznicné opravovne a strojárne Zvolen a.s.,
(ZOS Zvolen) has long history dating back 140 years and is today one of the Slovakia’s most significant
rail company focused on the maintenance and modernisation of locomotives and railcars.
ZOS ZvOlen
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 47
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzfor rail networks internationally. The company has two
distinct divisions that offer targeted solutions based
on the customer’s needs. LOKO focuses on repair
and maintenance operations, while the MP (machinery
production) division takes on production, welding and
renovations. These divisions supply detailed services
including the replacement of engines, regular V25-
regulated vehicle examinations, welded structures
for railway vehicles and the supply of components to
domestic and foreign customers in the field of production
and repair of railway vehicles. The company’s third
branch is focused on the supply of components to
the main operators throughout the railways industry,
including ALSTOM, STADLER, Bombardier and ŠKODA
Transportation.
Domestically, ZOS Zvolen is connected to the most
dominant partners within Slovakia’s rail industry: ZSSK
Cargo and ZSSK Slovakia. This local business remains
a vital component within the company’s overall portfolio
and provides the base from which it is able to expand
into further markets within the EU and Asia. It maintains
close relations to operators within nations close to
Slovakia including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary,
Ukraine and Austria as well as former Balkan states
including Serbia. Currently it is engaged in a major
contract in the Ukraine where it will soon service up to
300 locomotives over the next five to six years and is in
negotiation for a further large contract in Russia.
The company is also active within Asian markets,
which yield the potential for greater market presence
in the future, as Vladimir elaborates: “We are beginning
to enter wider markets throughout the world including
Asia, which is a different market for us and can be
challenging taking into account different engineering
practices and language barriers. However, we have had
some interesting work for clients in Asia in countries like
Pakistan and India. These have been successful but we
are still making a decision over whether we will fully enter
the region.”
Commenting on the company’s possible future
strategy in Asia Vladimir continues: “I think the most
acceptable business model will be to co-operate with
local companies, with which we can provide technical
engineering, design and technical support, training of
staff and the main elements for the refurbishment &
modernization of their locomotives. This could be very
successful and is a model that has been proven in
Eastern Europe. This gives us an advantage because
very often, local customers do not like all-in-one solutions
because they like some level of localization. This is
something we can do that larger players cannot. We are
able to understand the customer’s requirements and
build them into the customer’s project.”
The financial crisis has put a strain on rail operators
and in turn weakened the maintenance market, but
ZOS Zvolen is a dynamic company ready to meet the
challenge as Vladimir concludes: “The financial crisis
Knorr-BremseThe Knorr-Bremse Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles with more than 100 years of experience. For more than 100 years now the company has pioneered the development, production, marketing and servicing of state-of-the-art braking systems. With RailServices, Knorr-Bremse provides the ideal tailor made service package as maintenance, overhaul and repair of brake systems and on-board systems for every train operators´ requirement, whether for freight wagons, tramways, metros or for locomotives and high-speed trains. To achieve this, performance, quality and presence form the cornerstones of a service package which is unique in Europe.
has caused the value of transport services and the
maintenance market to decrease year-on-year. On the
other hand, the modernization market continues to grow
and our third field of manufacturing new components in
co-operation with other operators is also growing, so we
are very optimistic.” zz
bidding for the Crossrail, Essex Thameside, ScotRail and
Thameslink operating contracts. In Sweden, strategically
aiming to deliver a new, fast, premium-quality service to
its Swedish intercity passengers, MTR Nordic announced
it will be launching the MTR Express, a new express train
that will connect Sweden’s two largest cities.
“Running 110 weekly departures between Stockholm,
located on the east coast, and Gothenburg in the west,
we aim to attract existing rail passengers as well as
other business and leisure travelers to choose rail over
other modes of transport with our three hour ten minute
service,” said Peter Viinapuu, chief executive officer of
MTR Nordic.
Calling at Flemingsberg, Sodertalje, Hallsberg,
Herrljunga and Falkoping, MTR Express service was
officially awarded nine Stockholm to Gothenburg train
paths each way on weekdays and five train paths on
weekends in September 2013; the majority of services are
anticipated to start late 2014.
Reaching top speeds of 200 kilometres per hour, MTR
will invest 78 million euros to acquire six state-of-the-art
train sets to operate on the route. Capable of dealing
with the most harsh Nordic weather conditions, the five-
car, aluminium bodied EMU trains will be designed and
constructed in Switzerland by Stadler to provide high
quality travel for customers. Due for delivery in autumn
2014, the new train sets will be tested and commissioned
before the launch of the MTR Express service.
Focused on customer satisfaction, the company’s
guiding principles are security, punctuality, cleanliness
W ith the overall responsibility for the running,
planning and maintenance of the Stockholm
underground system since 2009, for a time
period of 13 years thereafter, MTR Nordic
operates under a 300 million euro annual contract. This
involves ambitious goals to continuously improve and
develop the underground network for the 1.2 million
passengers that use the metro every day.
Since taking over the contract four years ago, MTR
has seen exceptional improvements, with punctuality now
at its highest ever levels in the metro’s 60 year history.
Managing traffic, ticketing, cleaning systems and traffic
information, while consistently striving for customers to
have the best possible journey, MTR Nordic views the
underground as an imperative part of the daily running of
Stockholm and is determined to keep journeys flowing
efficiently.
By a joint venture with Norway’s leading train
maintenance firm, Mantena, MTR Nordic handles the
maintenance sector of the organisation. Operating
24 hours a day, seven days a week, the maintenance
organisation manages, develops and maintains the
complete fleet of vehicles and workshop equipment used
and owned by the public transportation organisation,
Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL), to ensure all travelers a
safe, punctual and enjoyable journey.
MTR Nordic, being a subsidiary of the London
based MTR Europe, is part of MTR Europe’s wider
growth strategy. In the UK, MTR already joint-owns and
successfully operates the London Overground, and is
48 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
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Bold developmentsWith 3000 employees and ambitious goals for ongoing improvements,
MTR Nordic is working to create a world-class underground system
MTR NoRdic
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 49
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzand customer service. To succeed in delivering these
core values, the internal environment at MTR is
open and transparent, with close dialogue between
all staff levels encouraged. With more than one
million journeys made daily, MTR Nordic is aware
that constant improvements are vital to the ongoing
success of the company and is keen for management
to hold regular, informal meetings with staff to
encourage conversations and ideas that will enhance
the company’s day-to-day operations. Furthermore, it
has developed a process-based system, which takes
staff suggestions into consideration and enables
the firm to provide an increasingly enhanced travel
experience.
The internal work with coaching leadership has
made a significant footprint in employee satisfaction.
The latest employee survey conducted in November
2013 marked an all-time-high score on Employee
Satisfaction Index, namely 81 per cent.
One way customer satisfaction will be improved
is with the 19 kilometre expansion of the Stockholm
metro. Following an agreement between the
Government, Stockholm County Council, City of
Stockholm, Solna Town Council and the municipalities
of Jarfalla and Nacka, the expansion of the city’s
metro network will involve 19 kilometres of new metro
lines and nine new stations to be completed by 2025.
With 78,000 new homes, the four planned projects
within the expansion plan will help to meet the sharp
rise in demand for housing in Stockholm.
Included in the plan is a project to build a new
metro line from Odenplan to Hagastaden, which is
due to open in 2020, a southern extension of the
Blue Line from Kungstradgarden to Sofia and an
interchange at Gullmarsplan; an extension of the
Blue Line Akalla branch to Barkaby station, due for
completion in 2021 and a five-station extension of the
Blue Line east from Kungstradgarden to Hammarby
Canal, Sickla, Saltsjo-Jarla and Nacka Forum, which
is scheduled for completion in 2025.
“Hosting world-leading expertise and strong
financial backing, MTR Nordic aims to develop our
presence in the Nordic countries with rail activities
and superior services that will complement the needs
of many different categories of passengers. We also
look forward to be an integrated business partner in
the development of the metro system in Stockholm,”
said Peter Viinapuu.
With construction due to begin on the four
projects in 2016, the expansion will be ready for the
anticipated increase in Stockholm’s population from
2.1 million to 2.6 million by 2030. Meanwhile, over
the coming few years, the company will continue
to enjoy positive growth in passenger volume on
the Stockholm underground as the city’s bustling
population is annually increasing by double its
predicted rate. zz
Hanley caused an amalgamation of the two businesses
to form Allied Insulators Ltd in 1972. Between 1985
and 2010 Allied Insulators continued to operate through
various owners and acquisitions that saw it become
part of the Fairey Group in 1997 and the Wade Allied
Group in 1999. During 2011 a management buyout of
Allied Insulators from the Wade Allied Group restored the
company back to its true original form.
The company’s long history can be still found in
transmission, distribution and rail electrification today.
Notably all of the original UK rail infrastructure both
overhead and underground was built with insulators
manufactured by Allied Insulators and its former
associates, including the famous Doulton insulators
so the company remains very proud to have that
entire heritage to look back on. Whilst renowned for
this porcelain legacy and capability the company is
now well diversified into more modern insulators and
T he company’s journey began during the
19th century in 1842 when Captain J Buller and
J Devett purchased the Folly Pottery situated in
Bovey Tracy, Devon and founded the Bovey Tracy
Pottery Company. The company then became one of the
first manufacturers to explore the possibilities presented
by the emerging market generated by communications
and electrical power. Owing to the cost of transporting
coal (used to fire the porcelain) between Staffordshire and
Somerset the company transferred its operations to the
heart of the potteries industry and by 1862 operating as
W W Buller & Co, the business was trading out of Hanley,
Staffordshire.
The Allied Insulators brand first appeared in 1959
following an agreement between Bullers Ltd and Taylor
Tunnicliff to share technical and marketing experience.
The companies continued to trade under their own
names until the closure of Taylor Tunnicliff Eastwood,
50 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
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AMS100 mobile welding machine
With over 150 years of insulator design and manufacture heritage to look back on, Allied Insulators has a deep pool of experience in serving the rail industry and other markets
within the UK and around the world
Allied insulAtors
History in the making...
Jon Knapper with a selection of NEW 25kV Silicon Rubber OLE insulators and the latest Third Rail Insulators
A switchgear product manufactured for the UK electricity
distribution companies – an 11kV
Air Break Switch Disconnector
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 51
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materials, deploying the most advanced technologies
and manufacturing methods. Today Allied Insulators
is a highly respected manufacturer in its own right; it
manufactures and supplies an extensive range of high
specification insulators in Porcelain, Silicon Rubber, or
advanced Thermoplastics, overhead line fittings and
disconnector products to meet the rigorous demands
of the electricity transmission, distribution and rail
industry. “We are the major supplier of all insulators to
the UK electricity industry and our aim is to re-develop
our rail sector business to a similar degree,” said
managing director Jonathan Knapper (Jon).
Allied has an extensive design department and a
portfolio of products to suit virtually any application.
The UK based manufacturing and distribution facility
combines an extensive manufacturing and assembly
facility, large storage and warehousing space plus
its own in-house laboratory where the company can
undertake the full range of mechanical testing along
with standard routine or batch testing. Additionally Allied
has a small HV laboratory and electromechanical facility
for undertaking electrical testing as necessary. High
technical standards and rigorous quality assurance and
control are key to this business and evidenced by its
many approvals, accreditations and esteemed customer
base. The diverse nature of the products and business
coupled with the short delivery demands also means
that there is a need to carry quite high stocks for a wide
range of products here in the UK - hence response
times are equally swift.
In addition to the UK rail sector Allied has a growing
overseas business and is seeing demand for export
- for example it recently completed a major third rail
electrification project for the Ankara metro in Turkey
though one of the main rail contractors.
Whilst maintaining the supply of somewhat bespoke
porcelain insulators for maintenance and refurbishments
some of the more recent successes with Network
Rail have been to develop insulators to solve known
problems or issues. “We recently had our latest Third
Rail Insulator approved, which introduced a very
Grenville Engineering (Stoke-on-Trent) LtdUnit 3 Newfield Industrial Estate, High Street Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent ST6 5PD
t 01782 577 929 | f 01782 575 672 e [email protected]
DesignLaser CuttingPunchingPressingWeldingAssemblyMachiningFinishingLogistics
High Voltage laboratory
A range of Porcelain Third Rail Insulators and Other Porcelain Insulators for Rolling Stock or OLE
52 www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
AMS60 mobile welding machine
advanced thermoplastic material that has distinct
advantages over the existing insulators. Furthermore our
25kV polymer insulator was developed to overcome a
known phenomena linked to potential premature insulator
failures. We are now hoping to springboard our standard
range of 25kV OLE Polymer insulators into Network Rail
from these projects and are very keen to understand
the opportunities to enable this. Our innovation and cost
leadership strategy is where we see great advantages for
Network Rail and its partners, especially during a period
of major investment where product quality and value will
be key for project success.”
zz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzAllied insulAtors
Early in 2012, Allied Insulators also re-joined the Rail
Alliance and hopes to be able to further develop its
relationship with other industry operators through its
membership. Commenting on the strengths that the
company is able to deliver to its clients Jon observes:
“Some of the secrets to our small successes lie in what
we ‘can do’ rather than what we were renowned for and
it is this that pushes the performance and technology
frontier for Allied Insulators today. We remain as one of
the only British insulator companies in this industry and
this is something we are very proud of.”
Moving into 2014 and beyond Allied Insulators
is keen to further develop and continue to achieve
sustainable growth. When Jon and his business partner
Oliver Scopes undertook their management buyout
in 2011 they did so with a five-year business plan.
Having achieved many of the plan’s aims in a short
time the company will now focus on new growth and
further integration with the UK rail industry. “Whilst we
carry this heritage we have had to re-invent ourselves,
we are not the major porcelain manufacturer we
were but we are a highly responsive, lean and diverse
business with ambition and agility to react in a vast and
challenging landscape.” Network Rail’s planned National
Electrification Programme for the next years represents
an import opportunity for the company and one it is well
placed to take advantage of. zz
www.alliedinsulators.com
A range of 132kV
Silicon Rubber Insulators used
in the UK
A range of traditional Porcelain OLE and
Substation Insulators
An image from a HV laboratory of a 275kV Insulator string during a Lightning Impulse test
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk 53
13 February 2014 – Gen Y RailNewcastle Upon TyneOrganisers: The National Skills AcademyTel: 0161 833 6320Web: www.nsare.org
12-14 March – Exporail South East Asia – Thailand 2014BangkokOrganisers: Mack Brooks ExhibitionsTel: +44 (0)1727 814 400Email: [email protected]: www.exporail-southeastasia.com/
1-2 April – MetroRail co-located with Light Rail, RailTel, Rail Power and Air RailLondonOrganisers: TerrapinnTel: +44 (0)20 7092 1000Email: [email protected]: www.terrapinn.com/RS-brochure
1-3 April – Intermodal Asia 2014ShanghaiOrganisers: Informa ExhibitionsTel: +44 (0)207 017 5112Email: [email protected]: www.intermodal-asia.com
Forthcoming Conferences and Exhibitions This listing represents a selection of the events about which we have been notified. It is strongly recommended that direct contact should be made with the individual
organiser responsible for each event before booking places or making travel and accommodation reservations. Cancellations and other last-minute alterations are liable to occur. The editor and publishers of RAILWAY STRATEGIES are not responsible for any loss or inconvenience suffered by readers in connection with this guide to events.
zzzzzzzzzzz zzNEWS I Conferences & Exhibitions
20-22 May – Infrarail 2014LondonOrganisers: Mack BrooksTel: 01727 814 400Web: www.infrarail.com
20-22 May – Civil Infrastructure & Technology Exhibition (CITE) 2014LondonOrganisers: Mack BrooksTel: 01727 814 400Web: www.cite-uk.com
28-29 May – GEO Business 2014LondonOrganisers: Diversified Business Communications UKTel: +44 (0)1453 836 363Web: www.geobusinessshow.com
23-26 September – InnoTrans 2014BerlinOrganisers: Messe Berlin GmbHTel: +49 (0)30 30 38 - 2376Email: [email protected]: www.innotrans.com
17-19 March 2015 – Rail-Tech 2015UtrechtOrganisers: Europoint Conferences & ExhibitionsTel: +31 (0)30 698 1800Email: [email protected]: www.rail-tech.com
4th March 2014
Introduction to rolling stock
Key design principles affecting the
performance of railway systems
5th March
Traction & braking
Principles of traction and braking for railway
engineers
6th March
Vehicle dynamics and vehicle track
interaction
Understand the dynamics of railway vehicles
to improve safety, comfort and asset life
18th March
Train control and safety systems
Learn of the systems used on UK fleets that
provide safety and train operational contro
19th March
Train communication and auxiliary
systems
New and existing systems in use on
today’s rolling stock fleet
20th March
Fleet maintenance
Improve your processes and fleet
maintenance processes
1st April
Vehicle Acceptance and Approvals
Introduction to acceptance procedures which
apply across the rail network
2nd April
Optimising fleet maintenance efficiency
Understand the issues affecting rail vehicle
performance and cost of maintenance
3rd April
Train structural integrity
Structural integrity, fire and crashworthiness
systems found on today’s rail fleets
12 -16th May
Introduction to railway signalling
technology
An overview of railway control systems,
subsystems and technologies used on UK
main line and metro railways
A downloadable brochure is available at: www.imeche.org/docs/default-source/learning-and-professional-development-documents/ l_d_railway_training_web.pdf?sfvrsn=2 For more information, please contact Lucy O’Sullivan, learning and development co-ordinator:Tel: +44 (0)20 7304 6907Email: [email protected]: www.imeche.org/learning/courses/railway
A listing of courses currently available from the IMechE (Unless stated otherwise, all courses are in London)
Institute of Mechanical Engineers Training Courses Technical training for the railway industry
EditorMartin Collier
Sales ManagerRob Wagner
www.railwaystrategies.co.uk
Schofield Publishing10 Cringleford Business Centre
Intwood Road Cringleford Norwich NR4 6AU
T: +44 (0) 1603 274130F: +44 (0) 1603 274131
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FOR SENIOR RAIL MANAGEMENT