Research,
Development
and Innovation
quarterly summary
Q3 2015-16
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Contents
Infrastructure
Knowledge sharing
p2
p7
• Making braking more reliable with university
research
• RRUKA Annual Conference brings industry and
academics together to showcase new solutions
• Innovative sensors achieve early detection of rail
faults to decrease delays
People
Rolling stock
• Supporting drivers on routes undergoing
significant change
p3
• Could Robotics and Autonomous Systems help
make a step change in rolling stock maintenance?
• Procedures for dealing with bodyside windows
broken in service
• Rolling Stock Library and Rail Vehicle Records
System being replaced by a single system
• New locating system leads to rollback solution
• RSSB Powertrain projects help to propel the next
generations of trains
Customer experience
p6
• Reaching the final stages of a 2 year project to
deliver the stations of the future
Whole system
p7
Benefits realisation
p9
• New gauging standards take us one step closer to
‘go-anywhere’ gauge
• Economic tyre turning trial goes live
• Industry health and wellbeing programme
informed by research
Awards
p10
• Routes into Rail video wins first prize at 21st
CinéRail Festival
• RSSB win at the Rail Executive Really Interesting
Awards
p7
• A catalogue of solutions developed through the
Future Railway Programme
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Introduction
The Research, Development and Innovation directorates at RSSB work to support the vision of the Rail Technical Strategy
to improve the railway, while continuing to support the industry by providing solutions to current railway problems and
opportunities.
There are currently 88 research and development projects and 67 innovation programmes at different stages of
development and delivery across the two teams. The following updates represent a portion of good news stories. If you
would like to find out more about any individual projects visit www.sparkrail.org and search for a key word or the project
number (usually beginning with T) or visit RSSB.co.uk
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Infrastructure
Infrastructure
In order to continue to deliver a highly effective service to
increasing customer numbers the infrastructure must be
simple, reliable and cost-effective but also able to adapt to
the changing requirements of the industry.
Changes to infrastructure are costly and affected by
many external factors. Programmes facilitated by RSSB
are dedicated to supplying new solutions to long standing
challenges and finding out more about how to deal with
external factors.
The projects which we have progressed over the past
quarter include: making braking more reliable, detecting rail
faults early and monitoring the railway environment.
Making braking more reliable with
university research
Lack of reliable and predictable braking results in significant
train delays and cancellations and can result in an increase
of safety related incidents.
The ‘Adhesion Riddle’ call for research, facilitated by Rail
Research UK Association, (RRUKA) led to the funding of
four academic-led feasibility studies which looked at new
approaches to promote a step change in the way the
industry manages low levels adhesion.
All four projects have now been completed and suggest a
number of possible solutions:
•
Non-contact ultrasonic cleaning to address the
adhesion riddle from the University of Southampton
•
A high resolution ‘Internet of Things’ moisture
detection system for railways from University of
Birmingham and Met Office
•
The use of dry-ice for rail head cleaning from
University of Sheffield
•
A theoretical study to understand the effect of water
on the rail by TRL and the University of Reading
The first three are now being taken forward to
demonstration on the operational railway.
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Innovative sensors achieve early detection of rail
faults to decrease delays
The Digirail project was to build a product which would
significantly improve identifying, monitoring and recording
surface cracks and the early signs of rail defects before they
cause substantial delays.
Jointly funded by Innovate UK and RSSB, Avonwood
Developments led the design, development and
manufacture of Digirail - the next generation in defect
detection systems for rail networks alongside University of
Birmingham and avanti.
Testing of Digirail at the Long Marston test track was
completed and has resulted in system which can show a
reliable picture of the current state of the rail. The system
is designed to be fitted on any existing fleet of passenger
trains to monitor the tracks on which they operate, has
customisable alerts and can be incorporated into existing
maintenance management systems.
Rolling Stock
Rolling stock
Over recent months we have focused on rolling stock
research projects, finding out whether robotics and
autonomous systems can help maintenance, how to
prevent delays caused by broken windows and how new
technology can improve efficiency and safety.
Could Robotics and Autonomous Systems help
make a step change in rolling stock maintenance?
During November RSSB, via the RRUKA, launched a
competition calling for academic-led feasibility studies
to apply Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to the
maintenance of rolling stock.
RAS technology has successfully been applied in a number
of sectors to replace or assist humans in activities that
fall under the “4Ds” - Dangerous, Difficult, Dirty and Dull but has yet to be used in rolling stock maintenance. The
use of these technologies has the potential to help the
rail industry make a step change in the way rolling stock
maintenance is carried out.
Procedures for dealing with bodyside windows
broken in service
Damaged side windows on passenger carriages cause delays
or cancellations as staff make them safe or trains have to be
withdrawn from service. With around 800 occurrences per
year this is an issue for train operating companies.
Research undertook practical trials of a range of damaged
windows and window repair films, replicating the pressure
pulses that they are subjected to when trains pass each other.
The findings have been made available to operators, enabling
them to take informed decisions on when window repair films
are required and the type and method of application given
the nature of their operations.
Adoption of the findings from this highly practical research
will reduce the time taken to address broken windows
decreasing the disruption caused when incidents occur.
Proposals funded through this ‘call for research’ will
develop blue-sky ideas about how to make use of robotic
and/or autonomous systems to carry out rolling stock
maintenance, servicing and inspections in order to reduce
maintenance time and cost, and increase the reliability of
inspections.
A range of interesting proposals have been received, the
successful bids will be announced in February.
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Rolling stock
Rolling Stock Library and Rail Vehicle Records
System being replaced by a single system - R2
In the past, information on rolling stock has been held in
two separate systems known as the Rolling Stock Library
(RSL) and the Rail Vehicle Records System (RAVERS).
The two systems are due to be replaced by one modern
on-line system called R2. This will provide a single location
for identification and maintenance records for the GB
train fleet.
The first stage - bringing across the Rolling Stock Library went live on 28 November.
Modernising the way rolling stock records are kept and
maintained is a crucial step in helping to ensure that rail
journeys in GB are carried out safely and efficiently. The
new system reduces costs to user organisations, saving
the industry £3.5million over 5 years when compared to
the two legacy systems it replaces, and will continue to
integrate with key industry systems for managing
railway operations.
New locating system leads to rollback solution
A new system developed in conjunction with the Future
Railway programme has helped solve a second railway
problem.
GobotiX GoTRAX* infrastructure free locating system was
developed to determine the precise position of a train on
the rail network without the use of GPS or trackside objects
as part of the FuTRO programme.
A second use was found with a variant of GoTRAX, GUARD
- GoTRAX Used as Anti-Rollback Device which has been
developed as a safety device to fit to trains to detect
unintended movement or “roll-back”.
GUARD sits behind the windscreen of the driver cab and
communicates with the vehicle’s braking system sending
a current state of movement message, such as reversing/
not reversing.
The system uses pre-defined parameters to determine
whether any movement is acceptable and intentional and
if not, will cause the vehicle’s brakes to be applied.
GobotiX, Chiltern Railways and RSSB have worked together
to develop the system which will shortly be fitted to a
sub-set of Chiltern Railways trains, and is anticipated to
meet the criteria required for trains running on the London
Underground Network. Later in 2016 the system will be
available to other rail operators considering updating their
safety systems.
(*patent pending)
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Rolling stock
RSSB Powertrain projects help to propel the next
generation of trains
Eight projects aimed at decreasing costs incurred by
electrifying the railway in difficult areas by supplying
alternative solutions have now begun as part of the RSSB’s
Future Railway programme.
The ‘Powertrain’ competition challenged organisations to
develop new options for self-powered vehicles.
The two phase challenge focuses on achieving two of
the industry’s objectives to decrease cost and the level of
carbon emitted.
Eight applicants were chosen to develop their projects
and investigate the feasibility of taking the potential
solutions further.
The eight finalists and their projects are as follows:
•
Artemis, ‘Digital Displacement® Hybrid Rail
Transmission’
•
University of Birmingham, ‘Fuel Cell Electric Multiple
Unit (FCEMU)’
•
Dynamic Boost, ‘Low Cost Flywheel for Efficient Railways (LoCoFlyer)
•
Entropea, ‘Adapting Waste Heat Recovery Technologies for Diesel Multiple Unit Vehicle’
•
G-volution, ‘Demonstration of G-volution’s
dual-fuel technology for improving operating costs and emissions of DMUs’
• Vehicle Projects Inc., ‘Reversible-Fuelcell Tender’
•
University of Warwick, ‘High Efficiency Diesel-Electric Hybrid Rail Vehicle Power-Pack’
•
Woolley GMC Eng Co Limited, ‘Project HARVEST’
To find out more about all of the projects taking place as
part of the Future Railway programme visit :
www.rssb.co.uk/future-railway-programme
RSSB Powertrain
projects help to
propel the
generations
of trains
Customer experience
Customer experience
Delivering customer experience excellence for users of
the railway is one of the principal elements of the Rail
Technical Strategy and the work carried out by the research,
development and innovation teams at RSSB.
The increased use and development of stations and
the idea of seamless journeys are seen as key to driving
improved customer experiences through improved facilities
and environments.
Reaching the final stages of a 2 year project to
deliver the stations of the future
A workshop outlining how a seamlessly smart and
connected station environment has been delivered as
part of the Stations as a Service (StaaS) constium project,
led by Cisco. The workshop took place at RSSB with over
120 attendees invited from leading UK Transport industry
firms, government officials, TOCs, as well as academics,
journalists, customers and partners.
Co-funded by Innovate UK and RSSB, StaaS was a 2 year,
£2m collaborative innovation project creating a new
technical, operational and commercial model for future
stations. Based on defined user scenarios, StaaS addresses
the connectivity demands of four groups in a unified
manner: Security Providers, Train Operators, Retailers and
Passengers. By converging various technologies such as
Building Management, Internet of Things (IoT) and Big
Data, StaaS to all groups involved. The StaaS IoE (Internet
of Everything) Transportation Lab is a permanent setup
for CISCO customers and partners to visit at Telent HQ
in Warwick.
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Whole system Knowledge sharing People
Whole system
Knowledge sharing
In recent months two catalogues have been developed to
showcase the programmes and projects which the Future
Railway programme has been involved in via RSSB and/ or
Network Rail. The new presentation shows the technical
solutions currently in development and helps to highlight
the scale of the innovation work taking place and progress
being made to address industry challenges. It will also be
used to influence the initial industry plan.
RRUKA Annual Conference brings industry and
academics together to showcase new solutions
The catalogue will now be under continuous improvement
ensuring that information about ongoing projects is
available to all, including those in the early stages of
planning capital projects or innovators with the abilities to
input into new solutions.
You can view the catalogues on the new Future Railway
programme section of the RSSB website:
www.rssb.co.uk/future-railway-programme
The annual RRUKA conference took place on 5 November
2015, bringing together representatives from industry and
the academic community to discuss opportunities in the
rail industry.
This year’s conference showcased some possible
solutions to the problem of wheels slipping on the rails
due to environmental factors such as leaves on the line
with demonstrations from Southampton University and
Sheffield University.
Another focus of the event was celebrating the success
of young researchers through the IMECHE Best Young
Researcher awards which were presented during the
conference. Three awards were presented. The winner,
from Loughborough University was part of the team that
invented an entirely new (patented) points system that is
much more reliable and lower cost than traditional points.
As point failures are one of the major causes of passenger
disruption, this is a significant development for the UK if
adopted on the network, and has major export potential.
See http://www.rruka.org.uk for details.
(Repoint http://www.lboro.ac.uk/enterprise/enterpriseawards/one-to-watch/repoint/ )
RRUKA Annual
Conference brings
industry and
academics together
to showcase
new solutions
People
People
As the pace of technological change accelerates, people
working in the rail industry must be equipped with the necessary
skills to adopt the new technologies and techniques.
Improving skills and capabilities across the industry is a
fundamental activity of RSSB’s research and innovation
programmes and the recent focus has been improving driver
training methods.
Supporting drivers on routes undergoing
significant change
Significant changes on routes require drivers to learn new
signalling schemes, layouts, signal controls and how to use
new technologies. Where complex, multiple changes are
taking place over a period of time, it is critical that briefing
information regarding changes is delivered in an effective way
so that drivers can continue to deliver a safe and reliable train
service throughout the change period.
A new good practice guide ( search www.rssb.co.uk RS800 )
has been developed to support the briefing process so that
it delivers what drivers need in a timely manner without
overloading them.
The guide has been endorsed by the Train Operations Risk
Group and is being used within significant change programmes
including those on the Great Western route. Given future plans
for significant changes to the operational railway including
Crossrail and ERTMS rollout, this new guide will continue to
be valuable in supporting drivers to deliver a safe and
reliable railway.
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“The revision
to the suite
of gauging
standards has
been published by
RSSB.”
Benefits realisation
Benefits realisation
New gauging standards take us one step closer to
‘go-anywhere’ gauge
Industry health and wellbeing programme
informed by research
The revised suite of gauging standards has been published
by RSSB. The new requirements enable rolling stock
designs to make the most of the physical space available
on the infrastructure. They also simplify the process for
validating gauge when vehicles are moved to new
routes, and in the longer term are a step towards a
‘go-anywhere’ gauge.
An industry health and wellbeing roadmap was developed
by over 100 industry professionals and health experts
in 2013 to improve health and safety, reduce costs to
industry and increase productivity. The roadmap has been
accepted by the RSSB Board, RDG, and ATOC and the
ORR have identified it as a positive focus area for industry
companies. The focus is now on delivering against the
priorities of the roadmap and the following R&D activities
are supporting the programme:
The new national technical rules are contained in
GE/RT8073 and associated guidance on gauging
methodologies in GE/GN8573. Their publication is a key
step towards realising the benefits of the work delivered
through Development of Passenger Standard Vehicle
Gauges PG1 (20m) and PG2 (23m) (T978), Development
of a revised lower sector vehicle gauge (T977) and
Gauging requirements for freight wagons under side
wind loading conditions (T1031).
Economic tyre turning trial goes live
A live trial of an economic wheel turning regime is
underway involving Virgin Trains and Alstom. Through
their Strategic Partnership with RSSB’s R&D programme,
the University of Huddersfield has been developing
a safety case and an economic case to enable train
operators to turn to a thinner flange in order to allow
wheelsets to remain in service for a longer period of time
before being scrapped, hence reducing whole life costs.
• Raising awareness of Health and Wellbeing risks and
opportunities to employees (complete)
• Using experts to improve health risk understanding
within health and safety professionals (in progress)
• Identifying the health data needed to improve health
management (in progress)
• Improving the health standards used within industry
(in progress)
The work is enabling companies to improve the numbers
of health professionals present within companies, provide
insights where they would not be funded as yet, and
provide tools to help them progress.
A deviation from Railway Group Standards was swiftly
agreed to enable the trial to go ahead. Once the trial
is complete in March, the full impact of running with
thinner flanges on both maintenance costs and railway
infrastructure will be better understood, enabling a wider
uptake across train fleets.
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Awards
Awards
The RD&I teams from RSSB have played a part in a wide
range of new technology developments over recent years
including some projects which gain wide recognition.
Routes into Rail video wins first prize at 21st
CinéRail Festival
The “Routes into Rail: What I Have Always Wanted” video
won the first prize in the corporate films category at
the 21st Festival International CinéRail on Thursday 17
December 2015 at the UIC in Paris.
The video produced by Picturascope for the Routes into
Rail group, supported by RSSB, RRUKA, IMechE, IRSE,
BIS and YRP aims to illustrate the career opportunities
within the UK rail network and show how organisations fit
together.
The video faced stiff international competition from over
400 submissions across three categories: documentaries,
corporate films and fiction. A total of 60 films were
shortlisted, with the finalists representing 22 countries.
Twelve films competed in the corporate category,
including one produced by the Iranian Railways titled
‘Quarrel with Sands’.
The recognition comes after yet another successful year of
Routes into Rail activities, which are aimed at encouraging
more young people to choose a career in rail.
RSSB win at the Rail Exec Really Interesting
Awards
Held at The Roundhouse in Derby the Rail Exec Really
Interesting Awards set out to celebrate and crown the
Most Interesting projects in Rail from 2015.
RSSB had five nominations for projects we have directly
run, funded or supported. Two projects walked away
with awards.
The Most Interesting approach to train operations was
won by IPEMU Battery Powered Train which brought
together a consortium from across the industry including
Bombardier, Abellio, RSSB, Future Railway programme and
Network Rail. RSSB and Network Rail were also nominated
for their COMPASS programme which will provide
signallers with a tactical picture of the railway, identifying
the position of trains at any given point.
RSSB also won in The Most Interesting Innovation for
their part in REPOINT the innovative switching system
developed by Loughborough University.
Other nominations were; The Most Interesting Original
Design for Tomorrow’s Train Design Today competition
and Most Interesting Training and Development for
RRUKA’s Next Generation Rail conference.
Follow the conversation on Twitter #Routes2Rail
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“Routes into Rail:
What I Have Always
Wanted” video won
the first prize in
the corporate films
category
Find out more about
RSSB research
projects and visit
www.sparkrail.org
Follow the
converstation on
Twitter
@RSSB_rail
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Email enquirydesk@rssb.co.uk
Tel
+44 (0) 20 3142 5300
Twitter@RSSB_rail
Webwww.rssb.co.uk
Twitter@FutureRailway
Webwww.futurerailway.org
Rail Safety Standards Board
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One South Place
London EC2M 2RB
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