period, and a strategically positive view
had already been taken to reopen those
sections of the system. There had been
challenges all the way but lessons had
been learned and as the programme
‘rolled out’, these lessons learned were
taken on board to add success to the next
phase of installation.
The Scottish programme showed how
positive application of electrification could
succeed and provided a beacon for the
rest of Britain - that very positive story
then set the pattern for the day.
Learning for the future
Next, the assembled audience heard
from Phil Doughty, professional head
of contact systems at Network Rail. Phil
had presented at previous seminars and,
on the basis of the current situation,
decided this time to concentrate on a
headline of “Doing it better next time -
reflecting on recent experience”. A very
pragmatic view of where the industry
was given - costs had been too high - we
could do better but didn’t and there was
an awareness that there were “No more
second chances!”
This presentation looked, in particular,
at international comparisons, particularly
within Europe and the costs and progress
made. There was a contrasting attitude
to traction on the mainland of Europe,
with a more consistent workload and a
correspondingly lower cost per single
track kilometre, in striking comparison
with the UK.
Work flow, however, was not the only
issue, and Network Rail had been studying
closely the questions of standards, staff
qualifications, technical files and lessons
learned within the UK again. Phil pointed
out that the currently de-scoped Midland
main line electrification delivered, in fact,
a good news story with positive progress
in areas which had caused excessive
costs for the Great Western programme,
such as piling designs and positions and
structure spacing for example. This was
already showing significant savings and
could be a potential route to the desired
level of electrification cost per single track
kilometre appropriate to system delivery.Silver bullet
With the seminar having looked at the
technical issues, Stephen Kent, research
fellow at the University of Birmingham,
followed on with his element titled
“Electrification, the Silver Bullet”. This
looked at how much power and energy
trains needed and the different sources of
power available related to their respective
carbon emissions. He also looked at the
practicality of different power options for
different train types.
The subject of decarbonisation centred
well within Stephen’s talk and he
clarified some of the practical challenges
around the provision of traction energy- in the case of hydrogen, this was
notably storage capacity and refuelling
methodology.
Studies have shown that overhead wires
are the most efficient way of powering
a train - the technology is proven and
has lower operating costs than diesel.
His robust, and it seemed inescapable,
conclusion was that there was no other
solution for high-speed, high-performance
or freight lines than electrification.
However, he did comment that bi-mode
trains could use new wires as soon as they
were up!
David Clark, technical director of
conference sponsor the Railway Industry
Association, gave a forthright delivery
on the subject of “Making Electrification
Economically Viable.” He reflected
on the 2007 electrification strategy
and how the industry had reacted to
its output. From the arising national
electrification programme, what did
we learn? And how much should
electrification cost?
The history was one of significant
optimism through emerging high costs
to a ‘pause’ by government, followed by
the stopping of much of the proposed
works. David reviewed how the industry
had reacted and moved towards the
Electrification Cost Challenge report;
all in the light of the government’s own
challenge to remove all diesel-only trains
by 2040, but not including electrification
as the solution.
The purpose of the report was to assist
industry and government decision-making
on rail electrification; restore government
confidence in the rail industry and deliver
electrification schemes at an affordable
cost - on time and to budget. The
approach would be to highlight evidence
that electrification can be, and is being,
delivered for 33-50 per cent of the Great
Western scheme costs, using examples
from around the United Kingdom and
internationally.FE ATURE 7979