Sheffield Tram Train Pilot One Year on – Lessons Learned

TECHNICAL ARTICLE AS PUBLISHED IN The PWI Journal January 2020 VOLUME 138 PART 1 #thepwi thepwi.org PermanentWayInstitution @PermWayInstit Permanent Way Institution @the_pwi If you would like to reproduce this article, please contact: Kerrie Illsley JOURNAL PRODUCTION EDITOR Permanent Way Institution [email protected] PLEASE NOTE: Every care is taken in the preparation of this publication, but the PWI cannot be held responsible for the claims of contributors nor for the accuracy of the contents, or any consequence thereof. Sheffield tram train pilot One year on – lessons learned AUTHOR INTRODUCTION AND 3. Gauge passenger perception and BACKGROUND acceptance of a light rail Tram Train service; 4. Determine the practical and operational Ian Ambrose In 2006, the DfT and Network Rail set up an issues of extending Tram Trains from the Senior Engineer initiative to explore innovative vehicle options national rail network to a tramway system; Light Rail for urban and rural services as part of the 5. Devise a business case to support the long- Network Rail replacement programme for the current fleet. term operation of Tram Train services in During this exercise, the Tram Train concept was Sheffield/Rotherham and the wider UK; Ian entered the railway revisited following earlier attempts to apply it by 6. Deliver the project within an agreed budget; industry in 1985 as an BR Research in the 1990s. 7. Gain direct experience of the processes that IT specialist involved in would allow Tram Train technology to be the design of vehicle, A Tram Train vehicle is best defined as a tramcar utilised elsewhere in Great Britain infrastructure, operations and commercial capable of running both on street tramway and systems. heavy rail networks. It is differentiated from other The trial has been a collaboration between tramway vehicles through being equipped with Network Rail, South Yorkshire Passenger Ian joined AEA Technology Rail in 2000 to technology to interface with heavy rail systems, Transport Executive (SYPTE), South Yorkshire develop emerging light rail and tram-train particularly those related to signalling, control Supertram Ltd (SYSL) and the Department for schemes. In 2006 he was invited to join and telecommunications. An on-street tramway Transport with additional engagement from Network Rail where he has seen the tram- is defined as a steel rail guided transport system Northern Rail in the early stages. train pilot through from its inception in 2007 to that operates in a street or reserved environment delivery in 2018. under highway traffic regulations and with line of Following extensive research in Germany where sight operation (ORR, 2006). the concept was originally developed, the project team concluded that Tram Train works best A trial programme funded by the Department for when it links a street tramway with appropriate Transport commenced in 2007 with the following sections of the national network. This led to the objectives. (Objectives 5-7 were added in 2009): pilot scheme between Sheffield Cathedral on the SYSL network and Parkgate on the national 1. Understand the changes to industry costs of network which commenced in 2009 based on the operating a lighter weight vehicle, with track Karlsruhe model. brakes, on the national rail network; 2. Determine changes to technical standards THE KARLSRUHE MODEL required to allow inter-running of light weight tram-type vehicles with heavy rail passenger Karlsruhe is a city in South West Germany and freight traffic and to gain the maximum (Baden Wurttemberg), with a population of 1.3 cost benefit from Tram Train operation million. It has an extensive tramway (70km) within the city that is operated by Verkehrsbetriebe Tram and train pass at Rotherham Central (image: Ian Ambrose) 40 Karlsruhe GmbH (VBK). In the late 1950s the private narrow gauge Albtalbahn was taken over by Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft mbH (AVG), rebuilt to standard gauge and connected to the Karlsruhe tram network in 1961. Although the Albtalbahn has through running on to the tramway and uses both line of sight and heavy rail signalling, it is not true Tram Train as it is dedicated to tram vehicles with no freight or heavy rail passenger traffic The first true Tram Train service was opened in 1992 between Karlsruhe and Bretten using an underused heavy rail line (see figure 1). Prior to conversion there were 6 stations on the 19km route. After conversion there were 20 not including those on the original tramway. The number of passengers increased from 2000/ day before conversion to 8000/day immediately after conversion and to 14000/day by 1997. So successful has the concept been that extra lines have had to be built alongside the original route to accommodate the extra traffic Figure 1: The Bretten line before and after Tram Train introduction towards Bretten. Tram Train has also been extended to other locations. The current Tram Train network is 561 km of which 287 km is on tracks owned or leased by AVG but on which freight can run and 274 km on track owned and controlled by DB. (Source AVG 2016). The extension of Tram Train to Heilbronn 68 km away has led to the construction of a tram network there. Tram Train has now been implemented in the German cities of Kassel, Saarbrucken, Braunschweig and Chemnitz with further projects planned in Bremen and Rostock. Germany has federal regulations (LNT Richtlinie), that control the operation of light rail vehicles on heavy rail infrastructure. The relevant ones are: • Tram Trains must not operate at speeds higher than 100 kph (62 mph); • Tram Trains must not operate on lines where other trains operate at speeds higher than 160 km/h (99 mph); • Brake performance must be according to The Sheffield Tram Train Pilot Scheme tramway (BOStrab) requirements; Figure 2: Route of the Sheffield Tram Train pilot service 41 • Tram Trains must feature all on-board equipment required for safe train operations (ATP with speed control, wireless communications, automatic vigilance device); • Lines must be equipped with block operation and ATP; • Operation only on lines with ATP where all heavy rail vehicles are equipped with ATP (both standard in Germany). It should be noted that exceptions to all regulations are possible if the operation remains safe. To summarise, the essentials of the model are to provide high frequency services, connecting the rural suburbs to the city centre, by connecting the railway to the tramway and avoiding the need to change from train to tram or bus. THE TRAM TRAIN PILOT SCHEME Figure 3: Innovation on Network Rail (Image: Network Rail) The service operates from Sheffield Cathedral stop on the Supertram network in Sheffield City centre to a new stop, Parkgate, at a shopping centre, about 1 mile north of Rotherham located on the former Great Central line from Woodburn Junction to Mexborough (Engineer’s Line Reference (ELR) WME). (See Figure 2). The tramway and national network are linked by a new chord at Meadowhall South Junction on the Supertram network to Tinsley North Junction on WME. The transition from tramway operation to railway operation takes place on the chord. Rotherham Central station was provided with tramway height platform extensions and the terminus at Parkgate is on a turnback spur operated under line of sight rules, with a refuge for an additional tram if required. The service is operated by SYSL as part of the Supertram network. SYSL operate the service as an open access operator. The service operates three times an hour, a clockface 20 minute service being unattainable Figure 4: Train platform interface due to fitting the service between the existing Northern services. The service operates for 17½ hours each day except Sundays, when a reduced hours service is in place. Journey time is 27 minutes enabling the service to be run with three vehicles and an operational spare. The route is electrified to 750V DC in line with the tramway. Passenger service commenced on 25th October 2018 and the service has carried over 1m passengers since then. INNOVATION IN DESIGN/ CONSTRUCTION To enable tramcars, which are essentially a road vehicle subject to highway legislation and running under unregulated line of sight operation, to venture onto the regulated, signalled national network, a number of innovations were required: Network Rail Infrastructure: • Overhead electrification at 750V DC using the Series 2 design to enable Figure 5: Trespass protection fence at Rotherham Central (Image: Ian Ambrose) 42 compatibility with 25KV AC in the future. This was supported by one substation located at Ickles, which is approximately in the middle of the Network Rail Overhead Line Electrification (OLE) section. The changeover between the SYSL and Network Rail OLE is located on the Tinsley Chord • A signalling interface between the two networks with communication between the Network Rail and SYSL control centres to detect and accept Tram Trains plus TPWS at all signals on the route to prevent SPAD related collisions. Additional wrong routing protection is provided using the SYSL Vehicle Identification System (VIS) loops at the signals protecting Tinsley North and Parkgate Junctions. This only allows the route to be set on to the tramway if the loop is triggered by a Tram Train vehicle. • Raised check rails provided at all turnouts to enable the Tram Train wheel profile to steer through Network Rail switches and crossings (see figure 3). Swing nose Figure 6: Citylink Class 399 (Image: Ian Ambrose) crossings can also be used to overcome this problem but were not used in Sheffield to reduce cost. • Low level platforms were required at Rotherham central and Parkgate. The low-level platforms are Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR) compliant for the Tram Train vehicles (see figure 4) highlighting two potential risks: • Exposed lower sector gauge on heavy rail vehicle increasing risks to passengers waiting on the low-level platform from turbulence etc.

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