Rail engineer TruePDF march 2019

TRAIN DETECTION In this Signalling & Telecoms issue, Rail Engineer looks at the pros and cons of using axle counters... Part of: ® www.rail-media.com The 14th international exhibition o

by rail engineers for rail engineers MARCH 2019 – ISSUE 172

by rail engineers for rail engineers

RELEARNING ELECTRIFICATION

The Railway Industry Association has issued its

report on why electrification is so expensive

and how to keep costs down

GSM-R MOBILE UPGRADE

With GSM-R likely to be around for a few years, consideration needs to be given to upgrading on-board hardware to the latest version

TRAIN DETECTION

In this Signalling & Telecoms issue, Rail Engineer

looks at the pros and cons of using axle counters

14 th International Exhibition of Railway Equipment, Systems & Services

The show for everyone involved in shaping the future of UK rail

RAIL ENGINEER MAGAZINE

06 News

Railtex, North West investment, Siemens/Alstom merger,

Edinburgh Trams.

10 Buying HS2’s high-speed trains

David Shirres looks at the bidding process in the first of

two articles on HS2 train procurement

Digital Railway, Signalling & Telecoms

18 Head of Digital Railway to retire

Clive Kessell sat down with David Waboso to look back over his career.

CONTENTS

Feature

24 Nokia: The common bearer

Paul Darlington investigates the telecoms ‘glue’ that binds the digital railway together.

28 Train detection

Track circuits or axle counters? Both have their pros and cons, and their supporters.

34 Repoint: New thinking in point machines

Malcolm Dobell visits the Great Central Railway where a new design of point machine goes on test.

38 The management of railway incidents

Austrian Railways turned to Frequentis for assistance with incident management across its network.

While all the talk is of new trains and new signalling, it is

the telecoms system that makes it all work.

50 A necessary GSM-R mobile upgrade

When the time comes to move from GSM-R to 5G, how

should the migration take place?

50

38

16 Network Rail devolves still further

New chief executive Andrew Haines has outlined his plans

for CP6, including regional reorganisation.

54 Relearning electrification

The Railway Industry Association reports on the costs and

challenges oif electrification.

16

3

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Andrew Haines knew that Network Rail

was letting its passengers and freight users

down before he became its new chief

executive After a hundred days in the job,

spent speaking to all concerned, he now

knows what must be done This includes the

devolution of control to five new regions to

make the company more responsive to its

customers

This signals much more than an

organisational change Haines believes that

decision-making must be closer to the end

user and so is devolving many HQ roles to

the new regions These include Infrastructure

Projects and elements of the engineering

function

Exactly how engineering will be devolved

remains to be seen One example is the

management of standards which, as Network

Rail’s own standards challenge process

acknowledges, can currently be

over-prescriptive

Now, although standards management

might be felt to be a headquarters function,

perhaps it would be better to have standards

commonly owned rather than centrally

controlled This will require highly competent

regional engineers, who will be accountable

for the system risk on their routes, having

ownership of the standards process as a

group and, as they are closer to the issues, it

may well result in more appropriate standards

There are also significant implications

for the Group Digital Railway programme,

which Haines does not refer to in the

transformational terms used by his

predecessor Instead, the new organisation

will give regions the authority to decide what

is best for their customers

However the digital railway develops, it

owes a debt to David Waboso who, after

joining the programme in 2016, prioritised

it to deliver business benefits for passenger

and freight customers Before then, it offered

digital solutions for everything everywhere

a civil engineer, as Clive Kessell describes in a feature that marks his wide-ranging career

Minimising delays on a congested network requires the ultra-high reliability that comes from redundancy to avoid single point failures, such as those that can occur in the control, actuation, detection and locking of points

To address this problem, a new point system offering redundancy is now in trial operation

As Malcolm Dobell describes, the novel Repoint mechanism does this by having a drive mechanism that is not secured to the rails, which enables them to move with only one actuator operational

This month, we have two general signalling features which should be of interest to non-signalling engineers David Bickell explains how Network Rail’s 40,000 signals are part of a signalling system that has been developed to control train movements in the most efficient manner whilst optimising capacity In another feature, which should be good reading for permanent way engineers, Paul Darlington explains train detection technology

On Thameslink, signalling is now in the train cab This required a significant GSM-R network upgrade to ensure resilience, provide sufficient data capacity for ETCS operation and eliminate interference in the congested London core GSM-R interference is also

an increasing problem elsewhere, as public operators are allocating frequencies close

to the GSM-R bandwidth The solution is a

£55 million programme to replace 9,000 cab radios with ones that have improved filters

Yet, in the not too-distant future, these radios will be obsolete GSM-R will then

be replaced by the Future Railways Mobile Communication System In an in-depth feature, we consider the telecommunications technologies that might replace GSM-R

These will need to provide reliable, efficient and high-capacity connectivity for both passengers and operational services, as well

applications that are unknown today

HS2 will also have trains with yet-to-be developed technologies The company’s

£2.75 billion procurement of its trains will see bidders submitting their tenders in April This process allows for collaborative design after next year’s contract award to ensure trains are state-of-the-art when they enter service in

2026 HS2 will then provide a huge increase

in capacity from London to the North and, from 2033, free up space on the West Coast, Midland and East Coast main lines, a fact which recent television documentaries have ignored

HS2’s trains must of course be electric No other form of traction can power high-speed trains or, indeed, those that require high acceleration to provide an acceptable service

In its report to government, the industry’s decarbonisation taskforce recognises that

it is also “the most carbon efficient power source”

Unfortunately, the UK Government has fallen out of favour with electrification due to high cost overruns of the Great Western and other electrification schemes In its recently-released Electrification Cost Challenge report, the Railway Industry Association explains why these schemes were so costly and demonstrates how electrification can be delivered at an affordable cost, with reference

to schemes in Scotland and in Europe It remains to be seen whether the conclusions of RIA’s excellent report will be accepted so that,

in future, passengers on busy non-electrified lines can experience the benefits provided by the electric trains that operate 72 per cent of the UK’s train services

As many of our features show this month,

UK rail has an encouraging future, but only

if it can deliver for its customers at an affordable cost

DAVID SHIRRES

Signalling the future

5

RAIL ENGINEER EDITOR

5

All sectors covered at Railtex 2019

Asif Ahmed asif@rail-media.com

Chris Davies chris@rail-media.com

Jolene Price jolene@rail-media.com

Rail Engineer

Rail Media House,

Samson Road, Coalville

Leicestershire, LE67 3FP, UK

The small print

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© All rights reserved No part of this

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Part of:

® www.rail-media.com

The 14th international exhibition

of railway equipment, systems and services is UK rail’s premier event, where organisations meet, network and demonstrate products, innovations and expertise to the wider rail industry

Over 360 exhibitors from 22 countries have now booked a stand at Railtex The big names include Alstom, British Steel, HS2, Hitachi, PULSAR, Siemens, Stadler and many more

Rolling stock suppliers including train carpet manufacturer Axminster Carpets, commercial toilet supplier Dan Dryer, lighting solutions firm KST Lighting &

Components, component manufacturing and refurbishment firm Sabre Rail Services, and adhesives, sealant and coating provider Sika have all confirmed their appearance at Railtex 2019, taking place 14 to 16 May at Birmingham’s NEC

Covering the design, infrastructure, asset management and operations sectors, exhibitors including infrastructure specialists Adey Steel, switchgear supplier Craig & Derricott, depot equipment provider Garrandale Rail, cable and pipe seal manufacturer Roxtec and asset lifecycle management firm Trimble Railway Solutions are all set to showcase their latest offerings to thousands of attending key buyers, managers and decision makers

With visitor registration now officially open, keynote speakers and details of the exhibition’s supporting programme are set to be announced in the coming weeks

Visitors are being encouraged to register

in advance at www.railtex.co.uk to avoid paying a £20 on-the-door fee

6

With the exhibition now less than three months away, Railtex 2019 is taking reservations from a huge variety of new exhibitors, covering every aspect of rolling stock and infrastructure services across three days of industry showcasing.

MPs call for increased

rail investment in the

North West

United by an interest

in the vital role played

by the rail industry in the

North West, the various

MPs pledged to support rail

investment, more skilled jobs

in the railway industry, work

for local supply chains, and

investment in skills, people

and technology

Coordinated by Alstom,

which has a world-class centre

for train modernisation in

Widnes, Cheshire, the pledge

has been supported by a

number of local businesses,

union and interest groups

including the Greater

Manchester Chamber of

Commerce, Hayley Group,

Liverpool City Region LEP,

Liverpool Chamber of

Commerce, Northern Rail

Industry Leaders, Riverside

College, the TUC, Wabtec,

and the Institute of Railway

Research at Huddersfield

University

Alstom UK customer director Mike Hulme, who is also vice-chair of Northern Rail Industry Leaders, said: “The idea behind the pledge was to build a coalition of support in Parliament for rail investment

in the region There is such

a great potential for the rail industry to be a force in the Liverpool and Manchester city regions, and encouraging local MPs to pledge to support that potential will open the door for investment and jobs.”

The Pledge was signed by local MPs: Kate Green, Maria Eagle, Mike Amesbury, Luciana Berger, Lucy Powell and James Frith, Sir David Crausby, George Howarth, Andrew Gwynne, Afzal Khan, Conor McGinn, Dan Carden, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Mike Kane, Stephen Twigg, Bill Esterson, Frank Field, Faisal Rashid (pictured), Dame Louise Ellman, Tony Lloyd and Chris Green

A pledge to support rail investment

in the North West has been signed by

more than twenty cross-party MPs who

represent constituencies across the

Liverpool and Manchester city regions.

Academic Research, Advanced Thinking, Compliance, Innovation, Internet of Trains, Latest Technology, New Working Practices, Novel Techniques, Pilot Studies, Product Approvals, Research & Development, Testing RAILTEX: Displays, Exhibitor list, Floorplan, Innovations, Networking, Keynotes, Seminars.

The first ever RailWorx outdoor exhibition will take place in June and this issue previews what visitors will

be able to see at the show.

Attachments, Excavation, Hand tools, Handling, Hire, Innovation, Lifting, Maintenance, Piling, Power Tools, Product Launches, Road-Rail, Safety, Surveying, Welding, Welfare

RAILWORX: Demonstrations, Displays, Exhibitor list, Innovations, Networking, Site Plan

JUNE 2019

ROLLING STOCK & DEPOTS

With trains and their systems becoming ever more complicated, Rail Engineer’s specialist writers cover everything that improves performance, increases efficiency, and keeps passengers happy New trains, refurbished older ones, improved technology and alternative fuels are all considered and evaluated.

Comfort, Components, Condition Monitoring, Depots, Driverless Technology, Equipment, Fuel, Inspection, Interiors, Lifting, Light-Rail Vehicles, Lighting, Maintenance, New designs, Onboard Entertainment, Operation, Passenger Information, Platform-Train Interface, Refurbishment, Safety Initiatives, Train Washing, Tram-Train, Underground Trains, Wheel-Rail Interface

coming soon

7

NEWS

Commissioner Margrethe

Vestager (pictured), in charge

of competition policy, said:

“Millions of passengers across

Europe rely every day on

modern and safe trains

“Siemens and Alstom are

both champions in the rail

industry Without sufficient

remedies, this merger would

have resulted in higher prices

for the signalling systems that

keep passengers safe and for

the next generations of very

high-speed trains

“The Commission prohibited

the merger because the

companies were not willing

to address our serious competition concerns.”

Alstom described the decision as “a clear set-back for industry in Europe” Both parties had stressed that the combined company would have created a European player with the ability to cope with growing competition from non-EU companies

Globalisation of the rolling stock market has created opportunities for both but

it has also led to increased competition from countries

The fate of the planned European rail giant Siemens Alstom was sealed on 6

February when unresolved concerns surrounding its impact on competition

and the price of signalling and very high-speed trains caused the European

Commission to veto the move, despite concessions being made.

Proposed rail merger hits the buffers

Queensway, Stem Lane

New Milton, Hampshire

BH25 5NU

T:

E: sales@cannontech.co.uk

such as South Korea, Japan and China - particularly the world’s dominant rail equipment supplier CRRC - which

themselves are not open to competition

As a result of the decision from Brussels, the merger - which was backed by both the French and German governments and would have seen the creation of a new entity with a turnover of €15.3 billion and 62,300 employees in over 60 countries - will no longer proceed

During its lengthy investigation, the European Commission

received negative comments from customers, competitors, industry associations and trade unions, including Britain’s Office

of Rail and Road

Responding to the news,

it released the following statement: “We are pleased

to have played an important role, alongside colleagues at the Competition and Markets Authority, in persuading the Commission to reach the same view and block this tie-up, protecting vital competition for the supply of signalling and high speed rolling stock.”

NEWS

8

8

Councillors will consider the Final Business Case (FBC) which sets out the strategic, economic, financial, commercial and management case for taking trams to Newhaven and outlines the project cost at

£196 million This figure includes a significant additional risk allocation

as well as funding to support local business through the construction process

The project would be funded through future tram fare revenues, along with a special dividend from Lothian Buses The FBC predicts that

“The project is forecast to generate an incremental demand of seven million passenger journeys in its opening year”, on top of the 7.4 million journeys that were made on the current network in 2018

Even when the recommended percentage of ‘optimism bias’ is added, which would take the project total to £207.3 million, the FBC states that the project remains affordable and self-financing, and would not divert funds from other Council services

If the project is approved, passenger journeys to and from Newhaven could commence in early 2023, following a six-month period of testing and commissioning on the new 4.69km route between York Place and

Newhaven Further, “it unlocks a large swathe of the city for housing development and employment opportunities that would not be possible without high capacity public transport”

Construction is planned to use a ‘one-dig’ approach, with each work site closing only once and then reopening only when all works (archaeology, pre-infrastructure works and construction of the tram route itself) are complete

This approach reflects lessons learned from the previous tram project, which incurred significant overruns As a result, in 2009, two years after construction started, the decision was taken to curtail the original Phase 1a route from Edinburgh Airport to Newhaven at the temporary York Place stop, just after St Andrew Square

The new proposals will see the York Place stop removed and complete Phase 1a as it was originally envisaged This extension will benefit from the utility clearance work done by the original project before phase 1a was curtailed and will not require purchase of any further trams as the 2007 contract for 27 trams was sufficient for the full phase 1a route

Edinburgh's tram network could be extended to Newhaven, depending on the result of a Council meeting on 14 March.

Edinburgh trams could finally reach Newhaven

Queensway, Stem Lane

New Milton, Hampshire

The projects and rolling stock that are featured in Rail Engineer must

often deal with the constraints of Britain’s historic railway infrastructure

For HS2, this is not a problem, as the company has a blank canvas for the design of Britain’s first domestic mainline railway for 120 years

This leaves HS2 free to use best

practice to ensure that its new

high-speed railway will offer the required

capacity, speed, reliability and value

for money, as well as designing for

energy efficiency and whole system

maintainability

In addition to such operational issues,

there is also the requirement to satisfy

increasing customer expectations and

meet the needs of passengers who

are getting older, taller and broader

When HS2 services start in 2026,

the requirement will be a stress-free,

seamless end-to-end journey This may

require smart technology that has yet to

be invented

At the heart of this vision is HS2’s fleet

of new trains that, for phase 1 of the

project, are currently subject to a £2.75

billion procurement exercise to purchase

at least 54 trains, each 200 metres

long, complete with their supporting

maintenance services The designers of

these trains, however, do not have quite

the same blank canvas as is available to

HS2’s infrastructure designers, as the

trains are constrained by having to run on

both HS2 and the conventional network

HS2 phase one will offer faster and much-improved journeys on intercity routes out of London Euston In effect,

it is a by-pass for the West Coast main line (WCML) between London and Lichfield, with a spur to Birmingham, and so will also release a large amount

of capacity on the bottom end of the WCML In 2026, this is expected to carry ten trains an hour each way, of which seven will use the WCML by-pass

to serve Manchester, Liverpool and

Glasgow Hence the need for compatible trains for HS2 phase one When the HS2 network is complete after phase two opens in 2033, its Y network will terminate at Manchester and Leeds and will also by-pass the WCML between London and Wigan and the East Coast Main Line between London and York It is anticipated that there will then be 24 trains per hour (18 from London and six northwards from Birmingham), of which 14 will run

classic-on dedicated routes This will require a further order of about 100 trains, some

of which will be dedicated to the HS2 route to take advantage of its European

GC loading gauge

(Above) Early designs released by Hitachi Rail Europe of its AT400 high-speed train, which has been labelled "the British bullet train" And the ATR1000 Red Arrow that the Bombardier/Hitachi JV produced for Italy (below).

Selecting suppliers

HS2’s director of rolling stock and

depots, Iain Smith, told Rail Engineer

that, in selecting its train builders, the

company is seeking a train that offers

the best possible customer experience

in accordance with many aspects of the

Invitation to Tender In doing so, there is

an absolute requirement to be fair, open

and transparent

This requires an innovative approach

by the manufacturers, which the rolling

stock contract will reward HS2 also

wishes to get maximum benefit from

designing the railway as an integrated

whole, for example by having trains and

infrastructure monitoring each other

Before selecting bidders, the

pre-qualification stage considered each

company’s record in respect of health

and safety, the environment, quality and

risk management, as well as its financial

standing and experience in the design,

manufacture and maintenance of

high-speed rolling stock Pre-qualification was

also guided by HS2’s strategic goals of

being a catalyst for growth and a good

neighbour, as well as offering capacity and

connectivity, value for money, passenger

experience, skills and employment, world

class standards and sustainability

This was done against a range of

mandatory and discretionary pass/fail

and scored criteria that also considered collaboration, innovation and contractual flexibility Consortia applications were allowed, as there was no requirement for applicants to be a single legal entity

In November 2017, HS2 announced that the five selected bidders for its high-speed train contract were Alstom Transport, Bombardier Transportation

UK, Hitachi Rail Europe, Patentes Talgo and Siemens In July, Bombardier and Hitachi announced that they would form

a partnership to submit a joint bid for the contract CAF has subsequently joined the shortlist of bidders in the interest of maintaining robust competition Part 2 of this feature, in next month’s Rail Engineer, will have more information about these prospective high-speed train builders

The HS2 trains contract is split into a manufacturing and supply agreement (MSA) and a train service agreement (TSA) The MSA requires trains to be built in accordance with HS2’s technical specification, which includes on-board, but not wayside, signalling and is

sufficiently flexible to take account of emerging customer requirements

The TSA covers maintenance, spares and logistics management as well as technical and obsolescence management, but not daily servicing and cleaning It also includes the provision of operational simulators and fitting out the new high-speed train depot at Washwood Heath in Birmingham

In addition to the technical specification, the Invitation to Tender specifies the delivery schedule and information that bidders must supply It also details how HS2 will evaluate bids, including questions and scoring criteria, and the population

of a whole-life model This last aspect

is crucial, as the contract award will be

to the most economically advantageous tender and so requires consideration of

a variety of factors such as maintenance costs, track infrastructure charges, power characteristics and passenger capacity The five bidders will submit their bids

in April The contract award will be announced early in 2020

Siemens produced the Velaro RUS (Sapsan), with wider bodies and on 1,520mm-gauge bogies, for the Russian market.

A Talgo Avril very-high-speed train.

FEATURE 11

Trains for 2050

As the trains that HS2 are about to

procure will be in service well into the

2050s, they will need to be adaptable

for both future needs and emerging

technologies They must also meet

HS2’s environmental commitments by

minimising energy consumption, waste

and neighbour impact, with a particular

focus on noise reduction

The 338-page Train Technical

Specification (TTS) specifies that trains

will be made up of one or two coupled

200-metre-long units Interestingly, the

TTS does not specify vehicle length or

doorway position dimensions To ease

passenger boarding, as well as facilitating

adoption of the platform edge protection

system that HS2 is considering, doorways

will have to be in consistent platform

positions This implies that builders of

HS2’s first trains will determine vehicle

length and doorway positions for future

HS2 trains

This is one example of the relationship

between the phase one and later train

orders and illustrates how the classic

compatible train designs will constrain some aspects of the phase two trains

A further example is that, from 2033, all trains will need to have very similar performance characteristics to maximise capacity for the required 18 trains per hour operation from London

This frequency of train service will also be made possible by ETCS level

2 signalling with highly repeatable Automatic Train Operation, which is likely to be a world-first for high-speed rail

The TTS traction performance specification requires HS2 trains to be able to accelerate from stationary to

360 km/h and cover 40 kilometres in

535 seconds It also specifies journey times from London to Birmingham and Glasgow of respectively 45½ minutes and 3 hours 45½ minutes, both with only two stops For the Glasgow journey, this compares with current Class 390 Pendolino performance of 4 hours 8 minutes, with a single stop at Preston Hence HS2 phase one will see

FEATURE

12

journey times to Scotland reduced by 20 minutes, despite one

extra stop and incurring a speed penalty on the curved route

through the northern hills as, unlike the current class 390s,

they won’t tilt

Operations and maintenance

HS2 is to build its phase one Washwood Heath train

maintenance depot in close co-operation with the appointed

rolling stock manufacturer, which will fit out the depot to deliver

its maintenance services, although daily servicing and cleaning

will be the responsibility of the train operator The maintenance

contract is for a 12-year period

The manufacturer will be expected to design the HS2 fleet

for ease of maintenance, with high reliability and availability

in mind The TTS specifies a mean distance between

service-affecting failures of at least 300,000 kilometres on the HS2

network and 150,000 on the conventional rail network

To minimise downtime, a maximum repair time for items that

could be damaged or vandalised ranges from 45 minutes for

internal loudspeaker repairs in a station to six hours for a depot

window replacement

Operational requirements include specified access for

servicing tasks and the requirement to have the units ready

for service within three minutes from their shut down status

and for units to be coupled together within two minutes The

passenger and crew facilities must be designed to ensure that

the passenger service is consistently delivered

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FEATURE 13

Rail Engineer | Issue 172 | March 2019

The manufacturer must also provide

operational simulators, which must

minimise the use of real trains for

operational training HS2 also wishes

to see trains designed to support safe

and prompt platform train dispatch

arrangements

One such improvement is the virtually

step and gap-free train access on the

HS2 network for which a platform height

of 1,115 mm has been specified This

follows Japanese and Chinese practice of

step-free access on high-speed routes, in

contrast to the lack of step-free access in

Europe where the relevant standard (INF

TSI) specifies platform heights of 550 mm

or 760 mm and allows for a special UK

case of 915 mm

As platforms on the HS2 network must

accommodate phase-two trains, built to

GC loading gauge, the classic-compatible

trains will have a moveable bridging

piece 240 mm wide between the vehicle

body and platforms On the conventional

network, they will have extending steps,

as on the current WCML Class 390 units

This level access at HS2 stations will

greatly benefit those whose mobility

is impaired or who have prams and

heavy luggage It will also help achieve

the required two-minute dwell time at

intermediate stations Dwell time is also

defined in the TTS, which requires the

unit to have a 95 per cent confidence

of delivering a two-minute intermediate

station dwell time as calculated in

accordance with a specified dwell time

model

The passenger experience

Manufacturers are to submit proposals that allow for coach interiors to be fitted out in accordance with a yet-to-be determined final design This provides flexibility for the trains to cope with the differing needs of those with a 45-minute journey from London to Birmingham or one of over 3.5 hours to Scotland, as well

as business travellers in the week and leisure travellers at weekends or holidays

Designs must also be sufficiently flexible

to accommodate emerging technologies that could improve customer experience

On-board seating will have to meet the requirements of the yet-to-be-appointed West Coast Partnership franchise that is

to develop and introduce HS2 services

This franchise will also finalise the HS2 timetable that will determine the actual number of trains required, which could be more than the minimum of 54 specified in the contract

To provide this flexibility, the TTS requirement specifies a contractually protected area This is the area available within each vehicle that can be used for the fitment of interior equipment without any structural changes Within this area,

the operator will determine the mix of the 1+2, 2+2 and high-density seating, catering and luggage storage options There is also a requirement for seats and tables to be moveable without affecting floor coverings Each seat will have a three-pin socket, USB port, coat hook reading light, cup holder and storage for small items

There is a detailed specification for quality passenger information systems and their content management, which includes the ability to display messages sent from a wayside station to trains, or groups of trains Bluetooth, or similar, wayfinding beacons are also specified so that passengers can use their devices to guide themselves through the train The TTS stresses the need to make passengers feel safe, comfortable and welcome, as well as the importance

high-of human factors and good industrial design It explains how the appointed manufacturer will need to work collaboratively with HS2 and other stakeholders, in particular the train operator and passenger user groups, to develop the “user-facing elements of the unit”

CAF's Oaris is the Spanish

manufacturer's latest generation

of very-high-speed train

FEATURE

14

After contract award

An extensive collaborative design

period will follow next year’s contract

award, after which it is expected that

the first trains will be built in 2022/23

and then be subject to extensive

off-network testing during 2023 and

2024 After the testing programme

has delivered a design that is capable

and reliable, the main production

programme will start, probably in

2024

As the systems integrator, HS2

must both test its new high-speed

infrastructure and confirm that its new

trains can run on it satisfactorily To

support this work, HS2 is developing

a systems integration laboratory The

train manufacturer’s role in testing

the new high-speed infrastructure is

crucial, as this will require trains in a

known configuration This process

will be highly collaborative, from the

manufacturer’s early supply of its train

systems for integration laboratory

testing to the final testing at high

speed Testing and validation on the

conventional network will also be

required

Systems testing does not solely concern technical integration HS2’s trains and infrastructure will have many crew and passenger systems, all of which will need to be tested from a human factors perspective Hence, from 2025, the trains will be subject to operational testing on the conventional network This will require significant collaboration between the manufacturer

and the HS2 train operator

In December 2026, the first paying customers should be boarding a high-speed train on Britain’s new domestic high-speed network As well

as a faster journey, these passengers will experience trains that the HS2 procurement process will ensure have been designed and built around their needs

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Alstom’s Avelia Liberty train, scheduled to enter service with US operator Amtrak in

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FEATURE 15

Network Rail

devolves still further

Network Rail has announced sweeping changes

to its organisation following the completion of new chief executive Andrew Haines’ ‘100 Day Review’ Introducing his plans, Andrew Haines said that the organisation needed to put

passengers and freight users first: “The need for

radical change is clear Performance is not good

enough and my comprehensive discussions with

partners, passengers and politicians up and

down the country has made clear to me the

things we do well and the areas where we need

to improve.”

His solution is to decentralise, pushing

devolution forward and shrinking the central

overhead Increasing the number of routes, from

eight to 13, is intended to make them more

aligned to train operators’ franchises, to improve

the synergy between track and train and to

reverse poor performance

These 13 routes will fall into five new Regions

that will have the headquarters teams to support

them and, the idea is, make Network Rail “fleeter

of foot”

Many current ‘head-office’ roles and

responsibilities are to devolve and will be absorbed

by the five new regions, which will be of sufficient

size and scale to support the customer-facing end of

the business (the routes)

Reduced centre

So the five new regional managing directors will,

between them, be responsible for the 13 new routes The

intention is that this will allow Network Rail to reduce its

national centre still further and to be much more aligned to

the passenger and train operators, enabling a more cohesive

and joined-up railway focussed on delivering a better and

more punctual service for customers

In addition to this new structure, other changes will take

place:

FEATURE

16

16

Infrastructure Projects and elements of

System Operator, Safety Technical &

Engineering, and Group Digital Railway

will be devolved in a series of

phases between now and the end

of 2020, but only when Network

Rail is confident that the routes/

regions are ready to receive them;

A new services directorate -

Network Services Directorate - will be

established alongside the existing Route

Services Both will provide services

delivered with a strong customer-service

culture;

The new Network Services Directorate

will incorporate freight and national

passenger operators as well as elements of

Group Digital Railway and certain national

services, providing assurance for national operational

performance and coordinating national programmes

and capability;

The Route Services Directorate will continue to provide business

services that benefit from economies of scale (such as payroll) and

services that support railway operations involving resources that

are scarce and/or managed more efficiently at a national

level, such as the track renewal high-output programme;

Finance, HR, Communications, Legal and Property will

be largely unaffected by the programme at this stage,

although each will be developing their own plans for

how to integrate with and support the new operating

model for the business

The names of the individuals taking up the

new roles have not been released Posts will be

advertised over the coming weeks - those in the

routes will be focused on today’s railway and service

to customers (operators and passengers) while the

regions will concentrate both on the future and, at the

same time, support the routes to run the railway

Personal experience

As the managing director both of South

West Trains and First Group’s rail division,

Andrew Haines was once one of Network Rail’s

biggest customers He has therefore had first-hand experience

of what many described as an inward looking organisation which

was not focused on the end user

This year’s timetable debacle followed seven years of deteriorating performance that has resulted in increasing public and political criticism No one can doubt that something has to be done and Andrew Haines’s plans are clearly a fundamental change No longer will the centre of Network Rail dictate what the delivery organisation has to do Instead, decision-making will be closer to the end user

This requires real devolution to regions so that they will be responsible for project delivery, own their timetables and have a strong engineering capability accountable for system risk

From his wide-ranging rail industry career, Andrew Haines understands the importance of day-to-day railway operations This essential, but sometimes overlooked, expertise is an increasingly demanding task on today’s crowded railway, on which reactionary delays are 70 per cent of the total He will no doubt also ensure that Network Rail’s regions also have a strong operational capability

“Devolution has to go much deeper to enable us to get much closer to our partners and customers and be in a much better place to put passengers first and deliver for business too,”

Andrew Haines concluded “The changes I’m announcing today are designed to do just that.”

FEATURE 17

The impending retirement of David Waboso, who currently

heads up the Digital Railway team in Network Rail, calls for comment on the man who has made such an impact on the industry Rail Engineer met him in early February to learn of his achievements and how he has been motivated

David, like many of us, has been

in the right place at the right time

Chance meetings with high profile people led to job opportunity offers from which he obtained his incredible knowledge base and experience

His first job was a year in Chester designing motorways, also playing for Chester rugby club, before

he moved back to London With

an aptitude in mathematics, and having seen an advertisement for engineering graduates to teach maths, he attended an interview

at County Hall on a Friday and began teaching at a school in East London the following Monday

It was a baptism of fire, handling kids where a sizeable number

didn’t want to be there and were potentially disruptive to the others

Being a keen rugby player helped his credibility and integration into the local community

David enjoyed this period of teaching, which left him with some incredible memories and helped build confidence in addressing large and challenging audiences

However, teaching for the next 40 years was not his career choice, so

a change was needed

Back into engineering, David joined Arup, which were constructing the Essex section

of the M25 This was akin to being on a concrete train - the sections of roadway were laid

as a production line with all the necessary equipment and materials having to arrive at the right time and in the right order

to ensure construction met the demanding timescale

Once completed, David joined Pell Frischmann for an assignment

in northern Nigeria, where upgrading water supplies and transport was taking place He soon learned that, on overseas contracts, he had far wider responsibilities and opportunities for development, looking after teams and business development

as well as undertaking engineering Rugby again helped and he ended up captaining the local side

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

18

Docklands Light Railway

Opened in 1987, the innovative DLR proved

to be so successful that an urgent upgrade had

to be progressed Answering an advert in New

Civil Engineer in 1989, David joined the Nichols

Group, which was masterminding the upgrade

work, as a project manager Mike Nichols

had a major influence on David’s life and they

remained close through to Mike’s untimely death

in 2013

David’s first role was the upgrading of

all facilities in Poplar depot and the OMC

(Operations and Maintenance Centre) building

Whilst not the most fashionable of projects, it

taught David an important lesson - any task must

be done to the best of your ability and then

you’ll be given greater things to do

After the successful Poplar upgrades,

David led the project to re-model the Delta

Junction at the intersection of the lines to

Tower Gateway, Stratford and Island Gardens

Whilst the civil construction of new viaducts

and an upgraded West India Quay station was

challenging enough, it was during this project

that David first encountered the complexities

of ATO (Automatic Train Operation) signalling

and its crucial interface to infrastructure, trains,

timetabling and human factors

Following successful completion, David

was asked to lead the project to replace the

original GEC signalling system with the more

sophisticated Thales Seltrac TBTC system,

based on ‘moving block’ technology, a first such

application on UK railways

The criticality of delivering a new train control

system on a driverless automatic railway with

rising passenger numbers was not lost on him -

days of endless software drops, integration tests

and weekend closures ultimately leading to the

joy of delivering a hugely improved railway to

the DLR customers DLR was a great “railway

university”, with innovative technology including

swing-nose crossings and different track

fastenings to the slab foundations that reduced

train noise All in all, it was a tremendous

learning curve that was to prove valuable in

future years

Aside from the technological innovation, DLR was, at that time, building the Beckton extension, on which a significant project over-run had big implications for the company structure A new leadership team with defence industry experience introduced the innovative procurement strategy of adopting a ‘prime’

contractor, with sub-contractors and suppliers all reporting to that body

The project became more output-focussed but never lost sight of the operational requirements

to maintain a daily train service For this work, David was awarded the 1995 Project Manager

of the Year Award, presented to him by BR Chairman, Sir Bob Reid It influenced David’s future thinking about, not just technology, but how best to introduce it

Jubilee line extension

The DLR office at Poplar was close to Canary Wharf, where the Jubilee line Extension team was intent on delivering a moving block signalling system David’s DLR experience and success was seen as beneficial to deliver the JLE project

Moving with Nichols to London Underground

in 1996, David was given control of the JLE systems as part of the multi-billion pound construction project, key to which was a Westinghouse Moving Block train control system, including full integration with train fitment, signal control, driver and maintainer training, power requirements, telecoms and screen door operation

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS 19

It was evident from day one of his employment that considerable unease existed

as to the integrity of the system Given a matter of weeks to assess the situation,

he informed the Board that, based on his experience, the risks were considerable and the system was unlikely to

be delivered in time for the Millennium

This led to much discussion and examination of options, with the decision taken in

1997 to implement a fall-back solution using manual driving and lineside signals To de-risk delivery of this, a test section was set up between West Ham and Stratford All the different interfaces needed re-engineering, particularly providing drivers with the facilities to stop trains with sufficient accuracy to allow train and platform doors to align and open safely

As such, the line opened

in time for the new century celebrations and remained largely in that condition until

2011 David talks fondly of the great teams at DLR and the JLE

he had the fortune of working with over these years

Thameslink Core and the SRA

During a subsequent spell working for Bechtel, David became project manager for developing the Thameslink central core from London Bridge to beyond St Pancras

To get the throughput of trains, ATO with attendant automatic train protection (ATP) was deemed necessary but

no technical standard existed and only proprietary systems were on offer These were being deployed on metro-type railways, where trains were invariably the same type and length, but such a solution did not fit a main line railway What

to do posed a difficult question

Following the Ladbroke Grove disaster in 1999, and in the wake of the Uff/Cullen Report, the industry had to come up with a workable strategy to implement a nationwide ATP system Whilst ERTMS with ETCS was seen as the eventual end game, this was insufficiently developed to implement in a quick timescale As a result the cheaper, but not so technically advanced TPWS, was seen as the short term fix

David was involved in many

of these discussions and led the team that produced the industry response He took part in the press conference to announce the recommendations for train protection, and from this he was asked to join the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) as its technical director Representing the UK at the European Rail Agency (ERA) proved useful in understanding the thought processes of other countries

When political decisions were taken to abolish the SRA, David moved back to London Underground

London Underground Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines

David joined LU as the director of engineering This was at the time when increasing ridership meant the ‘temporary’ signalling on the Jubilee line could not continue and a new contract was let with Thales

to provide its Seltrac TBTC system This had a difficult birth, with regular weekend line closures and lateness in delivery causing travelling public anger and questions being raised in parliament

It was a new and challenging contractual framework as LU had been broken up into two Public Private Partnership (PPP) companies - Metronet and Tubelines - with the various lines assigned to one or other

of these companies for day maintenance and project upgrades LU remained in place as the overall client with

day-to-an arms length relationship to the PPP companies Tubelines had inherited the Jubilee line, including delivery of the TBTC system

Eventually, the PPP formula fell out of favour and LU took over the running of the Thales contract David brought the system teams from previously separate companies into a single new directorate, whilst continuing to ensure the Jubilee upgrade was progressed This simplified matters considerably, but proving the technical and operational requirements took time However, the system was duly commissioned in time for the Olympics

David recognised that the PPP arrangement had many attributes and, in the subsequent re-integration into

LU, he was keen for these to flourish An example was the Northern line upgrade using an identical system to the Jubilee line This was so successful that the implementation and changeover happened almost without any disruption Both lines are equipped with a moving block system that yields

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

20

the benefit of additional train throughput and

demonstrates the huge efficiencies that come

from long-term investment and retention of

teams’ expertise

In parallel, the Victoria line was already an ATO

railway (the world’s first in 1968) and was in need

of a live upgrade This included a new signalling

system, new train, a new control centre plus

power, track, telecommunication and platform

upgrades Victoria station (stations were also

part of David’s team) was upgraded to deal with

greater passenger flows The signalling was a

‘Siemens Chippenham’ fixed block ‘distance to

go’ radio-based system, which now delivers a

record-breaking 36 trains per hour

David recalls many challenges, especially

early reliability that demanded huge effort

and innovation from the integrated team of

engineers, operators and the whole supply

chain He regularly rode with the train operators

in the cab, listening to their concerns and

promising (and delivering) solutions Getting

close to the operators has been a feature of

David’s career from the initial DLR days, which

he sees as fundamental to the success of any

operational upgrade

More trains and capacity increases energy

expenditure in the tunnels, resulting in rising

temperatures Considerable thought and effort

went into a solution that included regenerative

braking on the trains, more ventilation shafts and

a coasting algorithm in the control system to

optimise energy

Sub-surface lines

With 70 year old signalling, an upgraded

system was desperately needed for the

Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith

& City lines These are complicated routes,

with lots of inter-running plus sharing of tracks

with some main-line train services An earlier

contract with Invensys (now Siemens) had been

abandoned so a new specification was produced

and put out to tender David’s intention was “to

change LU, not change the product”

Bombardier won the contract in 2011 based

on its CityFlo CBTC system that was successfully

deployed in Madrid Problems began almost

from the first day The diverse locations of Bombardier offices for the development work did not help

Eventually both parties agreed that cancellation was the only option and the contract was terminated in 2013 For David, it was a salutary lesson: bringing in new systems

to UK railways can be very challenging, often involving significant re-work

Eventually a new contract was let with Thales for the Seltrac product but using radio instead

of track loop based transmission, thus being different to the systems in operation on the Jubilee and Northern lines The sub-surface lines resignalling (now known as the 4LM - 4 Lines Modernisation - project) is well on the way to delivery, but is recognised as probably the most challenging signalling project in the world

Station and Track Upgrades

As well as Victoria, other underground stations needed upgrading whilst being kept operational These included Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street LU stations, plus the Bank station upgrade, all using innovative procurement that incentivised value not just cost

David also led the track programme, replacing huge swathes of bullhead and old ballast with modern track forms Innovative delivery was encouraged, for example moving away from disruptive weekends to track replacement in smaller sections overnight There was no right

or wrong, but David’s teams gave options to the operators, for example trade-offs between cost and closures

For his work in leading the delivery of these challenging upgrades in LU, David was awarded the CBE in 2014

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS 21

The Digital Railway

Network Rail had embarked upon a

digital railway programme in early 2015,

with a small team producing a vision

to offer digital solutions for everything

everywhere Realising that to proceed on

such a wide front was unlikely to succeed,

David was recruited in 2016 to bring more

realism to this vision After analysing the

progress to date, he changed the focus

to prioritise the elements that would

yield business benefits for passenger and

freight movements whilst supporting the

TOCs’ roles of interfacing with the end

customer

As such, the roll out of ETCS, TMS and

C-DAS has come to the forefront, all of

which are logistic challenges rather than

devising technical solutions for products

that are largely developed and proven

Despite initial teething problems, ETCS

has been operational on the Cambrian

line since 2010 It is, nonetheless, a

virtually self-contained railway with

captive rolling stock, so the experience

gained, whilst beneficial in understanding

the technical and operational factors,

only touched on some of the logistics of

equipping a mixed traffic route

Past plans to re-equip the Great

Western, East Coast and South Western

main lines, with predictions of huge

capacity benefits, proved way too

optimistic but, under David’s guidance,

real progress is slowly being made

The Thameslink central core has been

commissioned, including the ATO

overlay The East Coast main line, with its

innovative procurement under the route

management structure, is in preparation,

and other main line schemes are being

developed

Asked whether a total outsourcing of

a route to a contractor is feasible, David says that the client must still be the informed customer, whilst the supply chain that delivers the systems must be tooled up to deliver whole life solutions and incentivised on benefits to passengers and freight

When asked about ERTMS Level 3, which will facilitate moving block and allow the elimination of conventional train detection equipment (track circuits and axle counters), David commented that proving train integrity remains a fundamental problem, for which solutions have eventually to be found When Level 3 does come, it is likely to be led

by industry but backward compatibility must be assured There are promising signs from trials successfully completed last year on Network Rail’s test track in Hertfordshire

Traffic Management Systems, originally thought to be a quick win, have proved more difficult to implement, but are making slow progress and accelerating

The Thales systems at Cardiff and Upminster are finally being commissioned

The GWML has the Luminate system, a

product from Delta Rail (now Resonate), which has seen a smoother introduction

as it is an overlay to the IECC (Integrated Electronic Control Centre) Scalable product designed to interface with other applications within a signalling centre The Hitachi system for Thameslink is well advanced and development work for TMS

on Trans Pennine, East Coast, West Coast and South East is well underway Along with these, real progress is also being made in introducing C-DAS (Connected Driver Advisory Systems) and also crew and stock systems, which will deliver real operational benefit New entrants are also being encouraged to enter the digital railway market and David looks ahead

to CP6 as a real sea change in digital technologies for the mainline network

In all of these, David emphasises the need to avoid a big bang approach and introduce the systems in small stages There is an existing, albeit small, ‘critical mass’ of digital railway expertise,

so growing this capability further is important When questioned about safety,

he reiterates it should be an integral part

of the culture of all railway engineers Safety starts at the design level and should not become an overlay

Does the Digital Railway group still need to exist as a separate entity? David’s teams support the devolved routes and train operators that will ultimately deliver the digital railway, but a central advisory team has to continue in the immediate future to give the operators a critical mass of expertise In the longer term, integration into mainstream businesses will happen

So where does David go from here? At

63, he wants some time out as years of playing rugby have played havoc with his back He has accepted a small number of non-executive roles outside the rail industry but looks forward to sharing his experience with the next generation of rail engineers, project managers and operators in an industry he obviously loves

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

22

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SIGNALLING & TELECOMS 23

A common bearer (transport layer) telecoms network

takes advantage of the new digital technologies and ‘big data’ applications in order to provide a safe, efficient, reliable railway In very simple terms, this unseen telecoms network is the ‘glue’ that binds the digital railway together and is therefore hugely important It will be the heart and veins of the digital railway.

Railways need to modernise and to provide improved capacity and on-time services, especially as the competition from autonomous vehicles

is gaining ground all of the time Reliable, efficient and high-capacity connectivity is essential in order for railways

to make efficiencies, innovate and compete There’s also a growing desire and need to improve mobile connectivity for both passengers and operational services

Use cases

There are potentially a lot of use cases to support along the rail corridor

These include operational voice and data services for train control, SCADA for electrification control, remote condition monitoring, CCTV, CIS, GSM-R, IoT, business voice and data, third-party

commercial fibre connectivity and broadband track-to-train connectivity

The digitalisation of the rail network means finally bringing all of these services together

on a cost effective, reliable and resilient fibre network that delivers not only on security, with the potential to create virtual private networks (VPN), but also on an ability to expand over a 30-year period

In some railways, the data services today run across disparate, ageing networks which can be costly to manage and, invariably, fail from time

to time The networks can be near impossible to correlate together and require significant resources to ensure safe, reliable operation Aging infrastructure (copper, fibre, transmission equipment) can lead to common problems around manageability,

to a high cost to maintain and upgrade, and in some cases to operational failures that can lead

to train delays

Globally, many railway infrastructure managers and railway undertakings currently use the interoperable radio communications network, GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications - Rail), for operational voice communications and to provide the data bearer for ETCS (European Train Control System) In the European Union this is legally mandated

in the Technical Specifications for Interoperability that are applicable in the European Member States Voice and data communications are also used for various other applications GSM-R has been a huge success all over the world, not just Europe, but it is a MOTS

the common bearer

PAULDARLINGTON

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

24

(modified off-the-shelf technology) system

based around manufacturers’ commercial

GSM offerings, enhanced to deliver specific

‘R’ (railway) functionality Due to the product

modifications required to provide this

functionality, and the need to utilise a

non-commercial radio spectrum, much of the

equipment utilised for GSM-R comprises

manufacturers’ special-build equipment and/or

software variants The use of MOTS technology

for GSM-R has proven expensive for the

railways, both interms of capital and operational

expenditure

The predicted obsolescence of GSM-R

by 2030, combined with the long-term life

expectancy of ETCS (2050) and the railway’s

business needs, have led to identifying a

successor for GSM-R This will have to be future

proof, learn from past experiences/lessons and

comply with railway requirements

The successor is the Future Railways Mobile

Communication System (FRMCS) This is

envisaged to provide the same services, plus

a higher data speed capability for operational

and business purposes (including real time

video), with the option of providing passenger

mobile connections Some metro networks are

also interested in FRMCS, not just the main-line

railways All this will require each railway to have

a reliable, high-bandwidth common bearer

Every GSM-R or FRMCS failure for ETCS will

shut the railway just as surely as a track circuit

failure would; so high availability is essential

CBTC systems for metros are also reliant on

some form of radio connection While the future

of train control in both ETCS and CBTC will be

radio-connection based, radio will only provide

the last few kilometres of connectivity, and the

majority of the connection path will still be via

fixed telecommunications using fibre, routers

and switches with a common bearer

Passenger bandwidth requirements

Mobile coverage and Wi-Fi are increasingly

considered as the essential ‘4th utility’, similar

to water, gas and electricity, and rail passengers

now expect a reliable and seamless service

The government’s current proposals are to

provide for ‘uninterrupted’ Wi-Fi and Mobile

(5G) broadband speeds of up to 1Gbps board all UK mainline train routes by 2025 This

on-is supported by the communications regulator Ofcom, which has set out its vision for the data connectivity that will be required by 2025 on British trains From its research, Ofcom says that,

in seven years’ time, a crowded commuter train

is likely to need 3.6Gbps of mobile data capacity

to meet the connectivity needs of its passengers

A report by Kinetic and Exterion into the spending habits of commuters estimates that, across the whole UK, country commuters apparently spend an average of £89 per week using their mobile devices, with London commuters spending £153 per week The report says that, in total, commuters spend an astonishing £23 billion per year via their mobile devices while on the move So, the bandwidth demand is there and growing, but how can it be delivered?

The required track-to-train connectivity will involve many different considerations, such as determining the business model on which such a service would be run, how the deployment would be funded, and potential interoperability across multiple routes or TOCs The UK rail network is a complex one, with lots of stakeholders - Network Rail, train operators, rolling stock providers and mobile networks - so making the change to deliver the required connectivity requires a high level of co-operation But, at its heart, a high-bandwidth fixed trackside data service bearer will be required, irrespective of whether the radio system is FRMCS or relies on public mobile network operators, as of today

FRMCS is likely to be based on a private or shared LTE/5G platform and telecommunications specialist Nokia has already successfully deployed private LTE networks in other transport industries, including networks to control autonomous vehicles and freight shipping ports It is also one of leading players in the development and deployment of the next generation of 5G radio networks all over the world

25

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

Telecoms network requirements

To support a modern railway with its data requirements and truly drive productivity gains, the telecoms network must be fundamentally more It must be:

Accessible: Networks must provide deeper reach and extend everywhere there is a business

or operational requirement Regardless of access medium, dedicated network connectivity is a must Various wireless, fixed, IP, optical and microwave technologies must work together to ensure that no site, signalling controller, sensor, worker or customer is left behind and they are all provided with the right priority of service

Elastic: Networks must be dynamic and programmable As new control and command digital signalling is rolled out, and as new sites are added and demands fluctuate, the network should adjust in an automated fashion

to optimise resource utilisation and meet application needs in accordance with the railway’s requirements The signalling supplier will require access to the telecoms data network

in order for him to safely test the overall train signalling system This may also require the telecom node to share the domestic mains electric supply with the signalling system, with no outage to either the signalling or telecoms equipment Dynamically optimised connectivity should be established wherever it

is needed Programmatic handling of changes

in the connections to (and between) local, edge and hybrid clouds will be essential to the performance of the applications and the viability

of key use cases

High-performance: The network should deliver seamless, deterministic performance across all the applications it supports While the requirements of each set of applications may vary, performance against stringent guidelines must be independently guaranteed and demonstrated for each application

Resilient: For applications critical to both business and railway operations, downtime can have catastrophic consequences Networks must

ensure availability at all costs to deliver safety and meet business objectives, with 99.9999 per cent uptime a requirement That last decimal place is important - 99.999 per cent reliability brings about five minutes downtime per year, with 99.9999 per cent - it’s only 30 seconds Train delay costs and reputations are at risk and,

in some cases, human lives and safety may also

be at stake

Secure: As business perimeters expand and devices proliferate, so does the threat radius Railways know they are at risk from cyber-attacks and cyber security is an essential part of every safety-case approval Data networks should be

a part of the enterprise security solution, rather than the problem A smart network fabric can play a role in minimising certain threats and ensure that changes are in strict accordance with enterprise policy

Scalable: Richer data provides deeper context and higher value A simple move to video for surveillance or for scene analytics necessitates higher bandwidth at each site Critical real-time video images are considered to be an effective mitigation measure in relation to hazards that may not be detected otherwise by the train control system In addition, real time video images can enhance operational performance

of the railway system when used to support the end user within the target environment For example, a video application could be used for automatic train operation (ATO), automated detection of objects on or near tracks in the context of autonomous train operation, supervision of platform and tunnels (either

by a remote human user or in an automated way) and monitor the situation in the event of

an alarm (supervision of railway track, doors, train, smoke detection) It could also be used

to transfer a video image in parallel with voice communication (for example, during Railway Emergency Communication) The FRMCS functional working group has just signed off User Requirements Specification (URS) 4.0.0, which includes real time video as a service for the next generation of train radio, so higher fixed bandwidth for video will be an operational requirement

26 SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

Each additional use will require

the deployment of additional

computational power Control

of automated vehicles, for

example, may ultimately require

the processing and coordination

of data from a wide spectrum of

sources, including surveillance

cameras, in-vehicle sensors and

other devices

The use of high-fidelity

information from a range of

sensors will improve automation

decisions made across a

wide spectrum of industrials

As a result, business-critical

infrastructure must operate and

grow for periods of a decade or

longer

Networks should be designed

in a manner that anticipates

and adapts to expansion of

bandwidth, processing and other

capabilities Within the duration

of the life of the telecoms

network there will undoubtedly

be many compelling new

applications that are unknown

today, all of which will require

higher bandwidth

Transport layer

Fundamentally, it is an

optical-to-the-edge architecture

that would use DWM (dense

wavelength division multiplex)

technology to deliver very tight

services from an operations and

maintenance perspective (fibre

break detection and location,

lambda performance, fibre

degradation and prediction) All

railway services will be separate

(on their own lambda, or optical

channel) with full resilience

Each lambda can support (on

Nokia silicon) up to 400Gbps

and, with over 96 lambdas per

fibre pair, one can see how this

will scale!

Nokia has addressed the

problem by introducing a

common bearer (transport

layer) in multiple-use cases This

addresses both legacy problems

and the safety requirements

for fibre-based sub-access

connectivity, together with

the growth and low latency

characteristics required by

LTE/5G transport, which will

form the basis of the next generation of train radio system

The solution provides the opportunity to bring all of the data networks together whilst both maintaining security and separacy and also providing for the possibility of huge expansion over a 30-year timeline

Some major rail operators are already embracing FTTE (fibre

to the edge) to great effect

One example is Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB - Swiss National Railways), which is moving to a fibre underlay with IP/MPLS overlay, to be delivered, managed and operated by Nokia

SBB, Switzerland’s largest transportation operator that moves both passengers and freight throughout the country,

is upgrading its 8,100km communications network

of transmission cables and more than 8,500 components

to an advanced, converged communications network by

2020

SBBs synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) operational communications network has supported all mission-critical applications, including CCTV, train control, signalling and GSM-R while a separate business

IT LAN, similar to the Network Rail Fixed Telecom Network (FTN), has handled non-vital services SBB seeks to realise efficiencies by upgrading and rationalising the technologies used for both networks and to gain flexibility in the deployment

of new services, such as passenger connectivity, as well

as advanced applications for growth

Targeted to be fully operational in 2020, the new nationwide data network will consist of more than 10,000 active elements at over 1,300 sites adjacent to the railway and

at approximately 500 offices

SBB’s existing SDH infrastructure and separate IP platform will be migrated to

an integrated IP/MPLS and optical network An innovative architecture will address all

of SBB’s needs and support

a future-proof networking solution This encompasses

a fully redundant fibre-optic communications wavelength division multiplex (WDM) transport layer that will carry data from different sources Two different IP/MPLS networks will run on top: one full redundant network for all mission-critical applications, including train control and signalling, GSM-R, interlocking and other applications; and another for services and applications such as CIS, ultra-broadband passenger connectivity, ticketing and a LAN/WLAN for SBB employees

Nokia service routers and service aggregation routers, with end-to-end network management provided by Nokia Service Aware Manager, will also be deployed

The SBB network utilises the same Nokia common-bearer architecture outlined in this article - so if other railways were to adopt similar, they would not be in uncharted territory and therefore would

be able to deploy the heart and veins of the digital railway with minimal risk

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS 27

One of

the main safety requirements of a train control system is that, before a train is given authority

to move along a section of line, it has to be proved to be clear of other traffic

Thus, the ability to detect the presence of a train on a particular stretch of track is a

key enabler for automatic signalling, and hence modern train control

There are two types of technology

generally used for train detection, a track

circuit or an axle counter

The track circuit continuously proves the

absence of a train from a given section

of track in a fail-safe manner It cannot

absolutely prove the presence of a train,

since any failure mode will give the same

indication as if a train is present, but, by

proving the absence of a train, a clear

track circuit can be used to confirm that

it is safe to set a route and permit a train

to proceed

As its name suggests, with an

axle counter system track mounted

equipment counts axles entering and

leaving a track section at each of its

extremities This information is evaluated

to determine whether the track section is

occupied or clear

Fundamental design principles

With a track circuit system, a section

of railway track is normally electrically

defined by the provision of insulated

rail joints (IRJ) in the rails A source of

electrical energy is connected, via a series

impedance or resistance, across the rails

at one end, and a detector is connected

across the rails at the other end

If there is no train within its boundaries,

the detector senses the transmitted

electrical energy and energises a

repeater circuit This conveys the

absence of a train to the signalling

system (track circuit clear) The metal axles of a train within the track circuit will cause the rails to be ‘short circuited’

such that the detector no longer sees sufficient electrical energy and it changes state, informing the signalling system (track circuit occupied)

Any electrical short-circuit between the rails, whether caused by a train or not,

or any disconnection within the circuit (for example a cable being cut or falling off the rail), will ‘fail’ the track circuit and inform the signalling system that the track circuit is occupied This means that any fault will cause the system to ‘fail safe’ - a good thing However, it can also lead to spurious results and unreliability if the track circuit is not maintained or set up correctly How many times have we heard the announcement “Trains delayed due

to a track circuit failure”?

Correct operation of a track circuit also depends upon good electrical contact between a train’s wheels and the rails, together with a continuous low-impedance path between each wheel via the connecting axle on the train

DC, AC and coded track circuits

Simple as the track circuit may seem - detecting a train is just a question of monitoring a short circuit between the rails - there are various ways of powering and controlling the system, and all have their benefits and weaknesses

The source of electrical energy may be

DC, AC at power frequencies (typically 50Hz), AC at audio frequencies (several thousand Hz) or a series of impulses or complex waveforms as used by coded track circuits

PAULDARLINGTON

Train detection

28 SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

Similarly, the detector may be a simple relay, a simple AC

‘vane’ relay or a more complex receiver tuned to a particular

frequency or pattern of signals

On electrified railways, the track-circuit equipment must also

work despite the large return currents passing through the

rails from the electric traction systems Some track circuits,

therefore, have to be either AC or DC traction immune, or, in

some parts of the network, both at once

In addition, the two rails on a railway are not perfectly

insulated from each other There is always a leakage path

between the two through the rail fixings, the sleepers,

the ballast and the ground itself This is called the ballast

resistance Its value is dependent upon the condition of any

insulation, the cleanliness of the ballast, and the prevailing

weather conditions It is inversely proportional to track circuit

length, with lower values in wet conditions where there is bad

drainage and/or contamination from conductive materials In

simple terms, if the track is flooded, the track circuit will show

occupied and the signal controlling the section will remain red

Wet tunnels can be a particular problem, as the conditions

can vary quite significantly, and higher values (the lower the

resistance the worse the problem, the better the insulation the

higher the resistance) may be obtained in dry/clean conditions

or during frosty weather A reliable track circuit must therefore

be able to operate over a wide variation of ballast resistance

One difficulty with adjusting track circuits is knowing the

prevailing value of ballast resistance If a track circuit fails due

to wet weather, it may be possible to remedy the situation by

reducing the feed resistance But it is important that the track

circuit is re-tested after it has dried out, otherwise a ‘wrong

side failure’ may occur with trains not being detected

This adjustment and testing has to be carried out manually,

putting staff out on the railway and, therefore, at risk

Structural Precast for Railways

Rust films and contaminants

The resistance through the train’s wheels and axles is also important, as it is the train which shorts out the track circuit The presence of a light rust film on the rail head and/or wheel results in

a high resistance which may prevent the short circuit, and therefore the train detection, from occurring Very heavy rust films, from prolonged disuse, can result in many track circuits being incapable

of detecting trains, especially lightweight trains as they are not heavy enough to penetrate the layer of rust

The mechanical strength of light rust films is much reduced by the presence of moisture, when the contaminant tends to be squeezed out from the wheel/rail contact patch Therefore, lightly rusted rails will only be a problem when dry

This problem is most severe when conditions combine showers with a drying wind, or after prolonged periods without trains Care needs to be taken after track relaying, when track circuits must not

be restored to full operation until a reasonable surface has been created

Other contaminants that increase the electrical resistance between the rails and the train’s wheels can cause the same problems Those associated with falling leaves are generally limited to autumn and confined to particular locations, although even some built-up areas can be affected Leaves are drawn into the wheel-rail interface by the passage of a train where they are squashed into a pulp This contaminates both the rail and wheel, causing wheel-slip problems

as well as reducing electrical conductivity

In simple terms, reasonably dry weather with little wind will cause the leaves to fall gradually over a long time period and to be reasonably sap-free when they do fall But gale conditions will lead to a sudden fall of sap-laden leaves, giving rise to the worst conditions

29

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

Problems with coal dust on the rail head tend to be confined

to colliery areas, and so this is not the problem it once was

Sand contamination is not so much due to the seaside but is

usually associated with slow-moving locomotives using sanders

excessively In each case, the effect is similar to heavy rust

Problems can also occur with ballast condition issues associated

with carbon-based contaminants, and of course heavy rain

causing puddles and floods can short out the track circuits

completely

Train issues

Where a thin film of contaminant insulates the wheel from the

rail, this can often be pierced by a rough surface The older style

of tread brakes caused the tyres to be roughened at each brake

application, whereas more modern disc-braked trains allow the

tyres to be rolled into a very smooth surface condition Therefore,

older tread-braked trains provided better track circuit operation

than modern disc-braked trains

Similarly, the axle weight has an effect, as a heavy load will

pierce a film more easily Again, modern lightweight trains (and

not-so modern ones, such as Pacers), designed to keep track

wear down to a minimum, have more problems than old-style

heavy freight trains

One positive result from today’s crowded railway, however, is

that busy lines have little chance to rust, reducing the problem

However, seldom-used branch lines, particularly those in coastal

regions, are particularly at risk

To assist vehicles to shunt track circuits, a device known as

the ‘Track Circuit Assister’ (TCA) is fitted to modern trains to

induce an electrical potential between the wheelset and the rail

head Typically, a TCA consists of a control unit and aerial with

associated tuning unit, mounted between a pair of wheelsets

close to the rails

Insulation

As has been described, any direct metallic connection between

the two rails will be interpreted as a train and will cause the track

circuit to fail occupied Therefore, apart from the insulated rail joints

used to electrically separate sections of rail, the reliable operation of

track circuits requires the provision of other insulators

At a set of points, for example, there are many of these cross-rail

connections - stretcher bars, point motors and heating elements

- all of which need to be fitted with insulators, giving rise to quite

complex insulator and bonding arrangements

Damp concrete or wooden sleepers can behave as an electrochemical secondary cell, which can give rise to residual voltage problems with DC track circuits

Concrete sleepers incorporate a rubber pad under the rail foot and moulded insulations where the fixings bear on the top of the foot These increase ballast resistance to levels significantly higher than those obtained with timber sleepers However, the insulations can erode due to the vibration of passing traffic and, consequently, require inspection and periodical replacement - another

maintenance headache

Obviously, steel sleepers are even more of a potential hazard They are also insulated, but any degradation of that insulation will result in severe problems

Bonding

Bonding is the means by which the individual components of the railway track are connected together electrically for track circuit purposes The term also includes the additional electrical connections necessary for the proper operation of electric traction

In order for a track circuit to fail safe (to show occupied) in the event

of a bonding disconnection, it is necessary to bond all elements of the track circuit in series, so that any one failure breaks the circuit Insulated rail joints can be expensive, both to install and to maintain, especially on tracks subjected to high speed, high axle-weight traffic or where there is an intensive service Also, in areas of switches and crossings, it may not be physically possible to arrange total series-bonding of both rails

One solution is the use of audio-frequency AC track circuits which permits the physical limits of an individual track circuit to be defined

by ‘tuned’ short circuits between the rails, rather than by insulators

in the rails The track circuits operate at different audio frequencies and each tuning unit is designed to its own track frequency It is possible, with careful design, to arrange a short overlap in the centre of the tuned zone where both track circuits are effectively shunted

However, it is not always an ideal solution for complex switching and crossing layouts and, because of the additional complication of significant rail impedance with parallel bonding, audio-frequency track circuits are often unsuitable unless the layout is quite simple

Track circuits and electric traction

Track circuit arrangements in electrified areas are constrained by the need to ensure safe and reliable operation of both signalling and traction systems This means that the track circuit must be immune to both false operation and damage by the flow of traction currents through the rails

SIGNALLING & TELECOMS

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