GB Rail Research Articles

Investigating the effect of different adhesion materials on electrical resistance using a high pressure torsion rig

This paper presents an assessment of newly-developed conductive adhesion materials (Products A-E) in comparison to standard rail sand used in Britain. Current rail sand is an insulating material which can affect track circuits; newly-developed conductive materials could reduce the risk of this and allow for more material to be applied to further mitigate against low adhesion. The particles were characterised to determine their densities, and size and shape distributions. Bulk behaviour was assessed through three characteristics: angle of repose, bulk shear strength, and particle breakage index. Materials were then assessed using a high pressure torsion approach to measure their effects on adhesion and electrical resistance in dry, wet, and leaf contaminated conditions. It was found that all products produced better or equivalent conductivity compared to the currently used GB rail sand and that Product D and Product E should be considered for future field testing.

Inertia and Frequency Support From Britain's AC Powered Trains

The penetration of converter connected generation is increasing globally, bringing with it valid concerns over the stability of the modern electricity network. In terms of frequency stability, the provision of inertia and frequency support from converter interfaced generation has been the topic of significant research with a wide range of systems considered. One resource that has avoided significant attention is the GB rail electrical rolling stock. Everyday thousands of trains run on a strict schedule, travelling at high speeds with considerable mass all acting as one large energy store. The AC connected trains possess regenerative braking systems allowing for this energy to be harvested. With simple software modifications this energy can be extracted during large frequency events. This article investigates the power available for inertia and frequency response throughout a working day. A sensitivity analysis of parameters is conducted and the work looks to the future by considering increasing penetration of AC trains. A response between 300 – 850 MW is estimated for a one-minute frequency response. The calculated energy and response profile was then used to investigate the effect that the trains would have had on the 9 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">th</sup> of August power cut that occurred in the UK in 2019.

A feast-and-famine pattern of sleep: Do railway staff get the sleep they need?

The relationship between sleep and health and wellbeing is receiving increasing attention in our society, following decades of research that has demonstrated the impact of insufficient sleep on performance and health. Fatigue has been identified as a factor in 21% of high-risk incidents in the GB rail industry, and insufficient sleep and long periods of being awake are known to be two key contributors to fatigue. This paper presents evidence from a recent survey conducted in the GB rail industry, which enabled the sleep and wakefulness of railway workers to be quantified. There were 7807 responses to the survey, which represents a very large sample. Responses were primarily collected online, though paper copies were made available in some organisations. Respondents reported sleeping less when working nights, more when working days, and the most on days off, which suggests a feast-and-famine pattern of sleep. 41% were getting 6h of sleep or less when working days, compared to 63% when working nights. Getting 6h or less of sleep was associated with excessive daytime sleepiness. Although it is accepted that individuals' sleep requirements vary, the patterns that shift workers reported in this survey suggest that many are not achieving the amount of sleep they need. The findings of the survey presented in this paper highlight that there is work to be done to understand and address the causes of insufficient sleep in railway workers.

Blockchain-hosted Data Access Agreements for Remote Condition Monitoring in Rail

Advances in sensor technologies, remote authentication, and high bandwidth data networks mean that Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) systems are now an essential 'Internet of Things' (IoT) resource for the efficient operation of railway infrastructure. However, the full potential of the big data generated by these systems has yet to be realized. RCM data within the industry is typically collected and used in silos, with limited possibility of exploitation across system boundaries. In 2013, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), on behalf of the GB Rail industry, established a cross-industry research program, T1010, which aimed to build stronger cooperation between stakeholders and enable sharing of RCM data. Building on the outputs of T1010, this work explores the use of blockchains and smart contracts in the automation, in an auditable and tamper-proof way, of commercial agreements for RCM data transfers in rail. By removing the limitations of paper-based agreements, we aim to enable innovation in shared business processes and stimulate the market for RCM data in rail. Leveraging existing smart contract-based schemes for trading and sharing IoT data over blockchain networks, we identify suitable methods for the enforcement of agreements, and ensure fair cost attribution between stakeholders, without a Trusted Third Party. The outline of a blockchain-based RCM data audit framework is presented, appropriate data access agreements and accounting models are specified in detail, and three permissioned blockchain platforms (Hyperledger Fabric, Sawtooth, and Iroha) have been analysed for their suitability for implementation. Finally, the paper outlines planned future work around validation of the tools based on two industrial use cases: monitoring systems for unattended overhead line equipment and axle bearings.

A multifactorial approach to specify comfortable rail seats.

A robust rail seat comfort assessment can inform the GB rail industry when procuring new seats and identify areas for comfort improvement in the refurbishment of existing seats, improving the customer experience. To take a multifactorial approach to measuring comfort and to create a robust seat comfort assessment method for the GB rail industry. Seat comfort assessment scores were developed by identifying seat dimensions (e.g. Seat height, seat width, seat depth), seat pad thickness and hardness requirements, seat accessories and seat attractiveness components. Scores for each seat feature were verified by conducting a fitting trial and asking 7 participants to rank dimensions through a range of adjustment. The combined scoring of features was verified by asking 14 participants to rank seats in three configurations (<minimum comfort; minimum comfort;>minimum comfort). The seat comfort dimensions scores were then validated by ranking seven existing rail seats using the assessment method and comparing the ranks with subjective comfort ranks of 12 participants. The validation testing resulted in a moderate positive correlation, indicating an alignment between the seat comfort assessment method and subjective comfort scores. A multifactorial seat comfort assessment has been shown to be a good indicator of passenger seat comfort.

Development of a very light rail vehicle

The collaborative very light rail project involves the development of a novel railcar designed to revolutionise the rail industry: a self-powered, very light rail vehicle. Each of the two bogies contains a complete diesel–electric series-hybrid drive system, while the whole vehicle has undergone significant lightweighting activity to realise a target weight of less than 18 t, or 1 t per linear metre. The target cost is £500 000, which is to be achieved through the use of standardised, modular components, and appropriate materials and structural design methodologies. The research covers several aspects of the GB Rail Technical Strategy chapter relating to rolling stock. Lightweighting leads to a reduction in the propulsion requirements and reduces the infrastructure installation and maintenance costs. The use of higher-efficiency drive systems achieved through on-board energy systems enables a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. These hybridisation activities improve the passenger experience through quieter operation, decreased vibration and the possible elimination of exhaust emissions in stations. Combining new drive systems with modular lightweight structures will lead to lower life-cycle costs and thus could enable the economical reopening of lines.

Risk analysis for GB rail: today and tomorrow

This chapter describes how data and risk analysis support safety-related decision making on Britain’s mainline railway. It describes ongoing work to redevelop the industry’s Safety Management Information System and explores opportunities for improving safety monitoring and risk modelling by extracting intelligence from new sources of data. Some of the challenges associated with the use of larger and more varied data sets in risk analysis are also discussed.

GeoSRM – Online geospatial safety risk model for the GB rail network

RSSB and the University of Southampton's GeoData Institute have collaborated to research and develop a toolkit for managing large volumes of rail risk data. The pilot system encompasses concepts of highly complex geospatial 'big data', open standards, open source development tools and methodologies, and enables stakeholders to filter, analyse and visualise risk across the rail network, for a range of risk models. These include train derailments, suicides and passenger slip, trips and falls, and feature a wide range of spatially dependent parameters that affect the causal, escalation and consequence mechanisms. The risk has been calculated to a high resolution, splitting 2,100,000 m of track typically into 10 m sections. By creating geospatial representations of risk, the tool can help to identify risk hotspots and in this way contribute to the improvement of rail safety. Once scaled up to a National level and full range of risk models, the tool will deliver a powerful capability, unique across Europe. Further research is extending the prototype to incorporate live and historic environmental and related rail incident data to augment and improve the risk model.

Stop, Thief! [railway engineering

At its peak in 2011/2012 the cost of cable theft to GB rail infrastructure operator Network Rail was estimated at over £18m. There were 844 separate incidents, resulting in delays to passenger and freight services that totalled more than 5,743 hours. Although Network Rail has not cracked the cable theft problem fully, the operator feels it is heading in the right direction. Its initial success was attributed to various factors, including the British Transport Police's Operation Tornado enforcement initiative, backed by the Home Office funded Metal Theft Unit set up in 2011. The paper discusses how wireless monitoring is helping Network Rail improve safety and cut service disruptions.

7.2.1 UK Railway System Reliability ‐ Modelling the Future – a Case Study

AbstractIn the 15 years since privatisation, the British railway has undergone a major transformation: investment has increased 60% since 1996/97; ridership has increased by 60%; and reliability has grown to over 90% ‐ all this on one of the most complex and congested mixed traffic railways in the world.Building on this success, the railway is now being challenged further to become even more reliable and to provide better value for money for both taxpayers and passengers. In response to this challenge, the national cross industry Technical Strategy Leadership Group has set strategic targets for doubling capacity, halving costs and carbon emissions and significantly improving the passenger experience over the next thirty years.Capacity, Reliability and Cost in the railway are interrelated and represent the principal pressure factors in the UK Railways. It may be relatively easy to improve two, at the expense of the third, however improving all three factors at the same time is a major challenge.This paper presents the results of a study whose main objective was to understand the implications of doubling capacity on the existing infrastructure. Whole system level modelling has been applied in order to study the relationship between capacity and reliability and thus further assist the research into practical solutions for the future railway development.TRAIL, a system level modelling tool, has been used to simulate the southern end of the West Coast Main Line (WCML), one of the most congested parts of the GB rail network. The study comprises two phases: Building the base case for the future railway – a double capacity railway with current operating approaches and asset reliabilities. This is a full network model that replicates the actual railway operation, including the signalling control logic. Simulating a range of different incident prevention, control and mitigation measures to enable identification of ‘optimum’ asset reliability requirements beyond which any further asset reliability improvement ceases to have a significant impact on rail service performance The results show significant deterioration from current performance levels with the implementation of the high capacity future timetable. System performance can be returned to an acceptable level if infrastructure and rolling stock reliability improvements, identified in the study were to be realised. The study also identifies several mitigation measures related to the operation of an ‘on‐time’ railway including boundary presentation, sub‐threshold lateness and timetable recovery.A number of overall conclusions are drawn relating to the use of systems models generic to the analysis of performance within any industry characterised by the presence of a large volume of legacy assets and performance monitoring arrangements.