PWI TECHNICAL SEMINAR Utilising New Technology on Railways
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MANCHESTER UK - PWI TECHNICAL SEMINAR Utilising new technology on railways This seminar was held in the Manchester Gareth discussed how Network Rail maps AUTHOR Conference Centre on the 4 March 2020. PWI out their ‘Line of sight from risks to solutions’ CEO, Stephen Barber, welcomed the delegates in bow-tie shaped road maps to improve risk Alison Waterworth and introduced them to the format of the day, management and inform their funding. CEng MICE before welcoming the first speaker to take the Gareth talked about the 2020 vision having three stage. main challenges: Alison is a Chartered Civil Engineer and KEYNOTE Challenge 1 - Safety challenge: Train accident Project Manager. With GARETH EVANS, NETWORK RAIL risk reduction. a career spanning over 10 years, Alison has Gareth talked about getting the “Best bang for Challenge 2 - Performance challenge: Trend worked in many sectors every pound” when explaining that the UK was is that performance is generally falling against of the transport industry including structures, pledging £550M, and the EU another £820M to increasing traffic. highways, airports and railways. She has research and innovation over the next four years. extensive experience leading largescale He touched upon how the full asset lifecycle of Challenge 3 - Innovation challenge. Gareth broke multidisciplinary engineering teams through the railway would be considered when deciding this down further into three key points: all phases of design and construction; from where to spend the budget. Network Rail will be early strategic business case to handover for targeting five key objectives during CP6 which Point 1 - There is a challenge to retain and operational use. Her most notable projects include: transfer knowledge which can be achieved include the M10 Moscow to St Petersburg through academia-industry collaboration. Motorway Construction, the Forth Road Safety: Bridge Cable Band Bolt Replacement project, • Making improvements in train accident risk Point 2 - There is a need to replace inspections HS2 Phase 2B ACI JV, and is currently the by 10% on track with desk-study data collection work as Project Manager for Northern Powerhouse • Improvements in level crossing risk by 13% much as possible. This data needs to be open Rail Manchester to Sheffield corridor. • Improving lost time injury frequency rates and transparent. To avoid the potential negative by 54% industry backlash, unions and people who work Alison is an avid promoter of equality and Reliability: on site will need to be brought along with them diversity in the industry; speaking at many • Improvements in delayed trains in 2019/2020 and engaged in discussions. The workforce can high-profile events including the Women in by 12% use this to gain new skills. The use of drones Construction Summit and UK Construction • Improvements in delayed trains by the end of should be adopted where possible to avoid Week. She is also the Mott MacDonald CP6 by 28% hazards. Advancing Gender Champion. Efficiency: • Incremental efficiency savings between Point 3 - The use of automation for monitoring 2019-2024 of £3.5bn assets; one version of an asset register is needed. Putting people first: With one version of the truth, knowledge can be • Improvements to the numbers of women transferred more easily and using a BIM set up for employed by 50% this will allow for data alignment and wisdom can • Improvements in occupation related mental be gained. Gareth talked about the use of Digital health absence by 25% Twins for training and inspection purposes. Environmental impacts: • Improvements in carbon emissions by 25% Point 4 - Climate challenge; Gareth mentioned • Improvements in energy consumption by possible issues with climate change including 18% track buckles, snow, gales, flooding, leaves and electrical component failures. He mentioned that Network Rail are drafting their CP7 track asset policy and this features heavily. 60 Point 5 - Vehicle related challenge – SET Ltd logistics” and suggested the greatest challenge cloud viewers). Time can be minimised on ActiWheel steered bogies can reduce the they face is around access and space site for inspections as these viewers enable weight of a bogie by 2 tonnes and allows for the limitations. There are eight main technologies measurements to be taken on screen, rather individual wheels to be steered independently. that assist in driving logistics used on TfL than on site. assets. These are: Point 6 - Weather resilience: 7. MANAGEMENT OF PLATFORM TRAIN • Drainage – Test facility can be used for 1. TRACK ADHESION MANAGEMENT (TAM) INTERFACE - Platform 2 at Baker Street, the training and system modelling. The TAM project is a three-year funded “Mind the Gap” platform, is approximately 150 • Embankment monitoring; Using track project aimed at predicting the likelihood of years old. Half the platform is straight, the quality data to understand the vertical low track adhesion using Predictive Adhesion other half is curved, leaving quite a challenge and lateral movement and to assess the Management Software (PAMS). This is an with the changing gap. Over the years, TfL number of false positive readings. in-house software which incorporates live have introduced bright blue light strips at the Met Office weather and leaf fall forecast edge of the platform, but people on phones Point 7 - Tools and technology: data, as well as internal line-side vegetation, don’t seem to notice these, so other fail-safe • Track decision support tool; Builds a topography and rolling stock characteristics. ideas are needed. Active and passive gap holistic review of track data and plots The benefits of this software include the fillers are being trialled in the next year which traces from track recording vehicles. prevention of excessive occurrence of signals will stroke the edge of the platform and allow Track maintenance engineers can use passed at danger (SPADS), station overruns the train through. Watch this space… this data to predict cycles on the track and rolling stock wheel flats. by wavelength and can make decisions 8. CONCRETE STRENGTH MONITORING on where to carry out inspections and 2. SURELOCK POINT MACHINE Real time monitoring has been trialled as maintenance. PERFORMANCE MONITORING - Another part of the renewal of the crossovers at • ESR/TSR design visualisation tool; real-time monitoring system developed in- Paddington on the Bakerloo Line. Nodes were Boards can be placed in the software house which provides text alerts to specific installed through the layout and the concrete which runs cab driver video footage and maintenance staff and Technical Officers when temperature and strength was transmitted conflicts can be highlighted before people the system is operating outside the thresholds to the monitoring system as soon as the go onto site. The software produces of calibration data. Each site is independent concrete contacted the nodes. The use of this images for where markerboards need to and processes its own data, avoiding single- technology will enable works to commence be placed. point failures in the system and removing the quicker within the limited timescales available. • Improved rail management technology: reliance upon people to view and analyse data. CATER ultrasonics / Sperry E-Scan / Rail Future developments to this software include Andrew closed with a hint that TfL are also milling / Induction Welding / FELIX switch adding improved filters to detect more failure looking into composite materials for their asset profile measurement system / Robel modes, predicting failures more accurately and renewals. modular grinder. avoiding false alerts. • Composite materials: The use of composite materials in track can 3. LIGHTWEIGHT MODULAR TROLLEYS USING TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE eliminate decay, reduce inspection and Due to the limited space inside the Tube, RISK NICK MILLINGTON, NETWORK RAIL maintenance requirements, increase modular trolleys can be broken into parts asset and whole lifecycle costs, have and are lightweight for easy handling. These Nick explained that in the last 13 periods, non-flammable properties and have the trolleys also use lithium battery technology Network Rail reported 58 near misses involving workability and durability of concrete. All which are much lighter and provide a longer 158 track workers and 146 operational close beneficial factors. life. calls involving 584 track workers. The riskiest • Cast crossing additive manufacturing; times are between midnight and 11am, with Benefits include tighter tolerances, 4. Q-RAIL TUNE MASS RAIL DAMPERS Sundays and Wednesdays seeing higher eliminates tri-metallic welds, has better TfL are currently trialling Q-Rail tuned numbers of near misses. Nick stated that it is performance under degraded track and mass rail dampers between Kentish Town better to work with facts rather than anecdotes. has increased fracture toughness. and Camden Town, which are designed to He said we should “Delete anecdotes; remove • Discrete defect repair: The use of suppress rolling contact noise and corrugation risk.” Referring to the Margam incident, automatic defect milling and automated growth by reducing vibration from the rails. Network Rail has responded by setting the weld repairs enables an increase in These dampers utilise 14 oscillating masses following three key goals: efficiency, quality and repeatability of of different sizes which are free to oscillate repairs. This also means an increase in in both vertical and lateral directions. This 1. ELIMINATE UNASSISTED LOOKOUT productivity