We need to identify good practice and
effect a significant change across the
industry in the way projects are delivered,
from initial business case to energisation.
The delivery proposals would call for a
minimum ten-year rolling programme
of electrification to enable the industry
to deliver schemes at significantly lower
cost, retain learning skills and incentivise
investment.
The industry must heed a health warning
that this is not a blame game, accept that
the whole industry is culpable in the cost
escalation seen in some recent projects,
and remember that many projects have
been successfully delivered. David ran
through the story of how electrification
ran and came to where we are. Now,
those lessons learned need to be acted
upon so the industry can go forward with
a revived railway traction philosophy.Delivering the projects
Next came a report from the ‘front line’.
Brian Sweeney is a senior project engineer
within the Scottish delivery team and
he gave a most valuable account of the
construction of the various schemes north
of the border. He showed how expertise
was gained as installation progressed and
methods were refined, culminating in the
very effective delivery of the latest stage
from Stirling to Dunblane.
He was confident that the abilities so
developed could be applied further afield
and looked for new work packages to
attack.
The seminar then moved to the views of
a delivery contractor. Within the session
entitled “Confidence in Electrification
Delivery”, we were given a very positive
presentation from Steve Cox, Alstom’s
engineering and technical director,
accompanied by his colleague Livia
Serafini, operations director for systemsand infrastructure. The session illustrated
how the industry was willing and able
to innovate and draw experience from
successful projects within and outside the
UK.
Alstom has a very important
development and innovation plant in
Italy, contributing to the company’s
continuous product development, and
has multiple capabilities. It produces
a modular OLE system (overhead line
equipment, called OCS on the continent- overhead contact system), which can
be used for maintenance replacement in
situations where heritage UK-designed
equipment is to be replaced, and it also
has a maintenance and high-productivity
construction process.
Steve and Livia summed up their
presentation by emphasising the need
to maintain competence right across
Europe and develop the maintenance
capability. There was a real drive to refine
the method of delivery so that, when
electrification returns to favour, innovative
solutions can be delivered. The threat is
that expertise is lost with any hesitation,
and Alstom are keen to retain resources in
the UK, possibly as part of a multi-skilling
process.Bi-modes, bridges and hybrids
Much has been made of the possibilities
of bi-mode trains and a presentation from
Mark Hopwood, director of Great Western
Railway, continued that discussion.
He has been with the company since
2008 and has watched and lived the
electrification and its various scope and
form changes. He was able to illustrate
the current situation with the audience
and give a personally experienced view of
the current solution of mixed electrified
and non-electrified routes, together with
the challenges mounted by timescales
not emerging as originally predicted and
integration with Crossrail works onto the
Western infrastructure.
Mark left a powerful message that, in
his view, a series of overly risk-averse
standards had been imposed on the
Great Western programme based on
experiences from the past - twenty years
had passed since the last major high-
speed-route electrification.
Although electrification brings benefits,
it also brings a level of disruption in the
delivery and he did voice a view that
large-scale improvement work might
be better served by the application of a
transport and works act process.
Richard Stainton delivered a general
electrical engineering view from the
Network Rail angle. Having had wide and
varied experience of electrification power
systems, including the conversion of the
West Coast route to auto transformer
mode, he was able to demonstrate how
standards could be safely developed in8080 FE ATURE