R A I LT R AC K - The Railways Archive

sustaining
We have concluded
from our analysis
that whole-life costs
of signalling assets
are optimised
through targeted
renewals rather than
renewal of entire
installations
38
4.4 continued
Renewals work is car ried out in accordance with Standards,
to provide W10 gauge and 25.4-tonne axle-weight capacity.
These standards are regular ly updated to reflect best
practice and to take into account developments in other
industries.An important means of improving the
effectiveness with which structures renewal work is
performed is to combine packages of structures work
together with renewal and repair activities performed on
other assets.
We are pursuing various opportunities to reduce the
whole-life cost of renewal.Among them are standardised
designs which can be constructed more cheaply, and the use
of polymers both as structural members and as corrosion
protection.We are intensifying our pursuit of lower-cost
solutions.
Signalling renewals. Our policy and strategy on
signalling equipment renewals have developed over the past
three years. We have concluded from our analysis that
whole-life costs of signalling assets are optimised through
targeted renewals rather than renewal of entire installations.
We are working,therefore, to reduce signalling renewals
costs significantly by ensuring that the scope of the renewals
work is optimal and fully justified.
We use a structured and numerate means of assessing
asset condition,together with a national expert review
process which ensures that our renewal plans are robust,
justifiable, and nationally consistent. We are refining the
processes by which we determine the appropriate and
precise scope of the work in each case.This will enable us to
target renewals of individual components or complete
installations as appropriate, thus avoiding premature renewal
of parts of installations,and ensuring that existing assets are
used to the fullest possible extent.
This emphasis is likely to lead to smaller and less costly
renewal schemes targeted at those parts of the system that
are approaching the end of their useful life. Many of the
technology changes that we are already implementing as
part of our overall signalling strategy are well suited to this
type of work,particularly for extending the life of many of
the installations of the 1960s and 1970s which are prone to
localised degradation.
There will still be cases,however, where the best option is a
conventional wholesale renewal.This might be justified where
we are able to enhance the network simultaneously by, for
example, increasing capacity or reducing journey times,or
reducing maintenance costs through the introduction of
modern technology.
We are working closely with our signalling suppliers to
optimise our maintenance and renewal activities.Closer
relationships are producing opportunities for innovation to
drive productivity up and costs down.
Long-term signalling strategy and Network
Management Centres (NMCs). We are developing the
new Train Control System (TCS) for initial application on the
West Coast Main Line (WCML) in partnership with Alstom
Signalling.The TCS will enable higher speeds,greater route
capacity and better reliability at a lower whole-life cost than
conventional signalling.The TCS is based on the European
Rail Traffic Management System specifications being
developed as the European standard for interoperable
routes.
The TCS comprises control centre computers which
communicate continuously with trainborne computers via
digital radio. Each train determines its position by a
combination of odometry and fixed beacons (balises)
mounted in the track.The central computer is aware of the
locations of all the trains in its area,and computes safe limits
for a train’s movements,which are then transmitted to the
train and displayed to the driver. If the driver fails to react
correctly to the instructions, the inherent Automatic Train
Protection (ATP) system intervenes and applies the brakes.
After the WCML, we are considering the deployment
of the TCS on the East Coast Main Line and the Great
Western Main Line – the next two longest-distance and
highest-speed routes. We have also been able to
demonstrate its potential for subsequent cost-effective
application to some other routes.The strategy for rollout of
the TCS across the network will be refined as the unit costs
of implementation become clearer, and as we gain
experience with the installation and operation of this new
system.Our renewal activities,in the meantime, will aim to
maximise the potential for future large-scale TCS installation
by life-extending some current equipment where practicable
so that the largest possible geographic and route area