Modern Railways – April 2019

18 Modern Railways April 2019 http://www.modern-railways.com

Rail Freight

Sale of Valley Lines sets precedent

I

n late February, Network Rail

started the process of sale of the

Valley Lines, which are set to be

operated by Transport for Wales

(TfW) from later this year. The internal

industry consultation set out the

parameters of the sale, and sought

industry consent to the disposal,

in line with Network Rail’s licence

conditions. The transfer to TfW forms

a core part of its aspirations for a

South Wales Metro, with significant

plans for modernisation of the routes,

as a centre point of TfW’s rail strategy.

The Valley Lines were once of

course all about coal traffic, but

today the majority of the traffic

has ceased. However, there are

still some freight trains, mostly

conveying open cast coal from

Cwmbargoed to a number of

industrial locations. The volumes

are not significant – a handful of

trains a week – and operationally

there is no reason why this cannot

fit with the passenger service

perfectly happily. Yet the transfer

creates a new infrastructure

manager in TfW, and the

information to date has been silent

on how this will work, legally,

contractually and in regulation.

Such details are boring, and

it seems almost churlish to raise

them in the face of exciting new

developments for the railways.

Yet for freight operators it matters

absolutely, because they cannot

operate without legal certainty.

So, for example, will freight

operators now need a separate

access contract with TfW? Will it

be regulated? How will access

rights be aligned between the

TfW and Network Rail contracts?

Who will set the access charges

for the Valley Lines? Will they be

regulated? Will there be a TfW

regulatory review process? Who

will payment be made to? Will

the same standards still apply,

for example, in loading gauge

and rolling stock acceptance?

Of course, there are already other

infrastructure managers, including

HS1, Rail for London (for the East

London lines) and Heathrow Airport

Ltd for the Heathrow branch. Each

of these has a separate framework

which recognises the distinct nature

of their operations. The Office of Rail

and Road has helpfully summarised

this in its recent response to the

Williams Review, with an annex

GREEN LIGHT FOR TILBURY EXPANSION

FORTH PORTS Group has received

development consent to build a

new terminal at the Port of Tilbury,

which will include a freight terminal

capable of accommodating

775-metre trains.

A Development Consent Order

has been granted by the Secretary

of State for Transport for the

Tilbury2 development, to be built

on a site covering over 150 acres

which was part of the former Tilbury

power station. The terminal will be

adjacent to the current 930-acre

site and is expected to become

operational in spring 2020.

The group says expansion of

the port is required to cope with

rising demand for construction

materials and aggregates, imported

and exported cars and commercial

ferry traffic. A contractor to

build the terminal is due to be

announced shortly. The terminal

will offer roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro)

facilities for containers along

with a strategic rail terminal.

GBRf starts

new flows

GB RAILFREIGHT has begun

operating a new construction

service for S Walsh and Sons,

running from Cricklewood to

Barrington quarry. The service

transports inert waste to fill the

defunct quarry so the land can

be reclaimed.

The operator has also begun

a new service for British Gypsum, in

partnership with AV Dawson Ltd,

running from Middlesbrough to

East Leake. The company gained

the tender two years ago but

work has been delayed, and it

instead helped British Gypsum

move gypsum stock from Drax,

running it to Kirkby Thore; services

to East Leake began in February.

PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE FOR WAGONS

WAGON LESSOR VTG and

technology consultancy 3Squared

are working together on a

condition-based management tool

called ProActive Maintenance (PAM).

The companies say PAM

will collate and analyse data,

identify trends and predict

the optimum time for wagon

maintenance events, replacing

existing inefficient paper-based

management systems. The aim

is to create a solid and scalable

technology platform that can

grow and change as the demands

of the business change.

Phase one of PAM went live with

the first 350 wagons, and around

1,000 wagons in VTG’s current

fleet are now live in the system.

The remainder of the wagons

will be added in the first half of

2019, with more software releases

expected to boost functionality.

TRANQUIL CORNWALL

Winter sun: No 66164 toils through the landscape as it works the 11.00 Burngullow to Exeter Riverside aggregate

service over the Lynher (a tributary of the Tamar) on Forder viaduct on 14 February 2019. At left is the picturesque

village of St Anthony’s Passage, formerly home to a tide-powered corn mill, while Trematon Castle is behind

the train. The aggregate flow has built up and often runs six days a week now. Craig Munday

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