Innovation in its many guises

Innovation continues to be one of the rail industry’s buzz words but can be used in many contexts. Some of these may be a plea for new thinking to solve a particular problem; a product or service that could improve a traditional system or work method; blue sky thinking that might revolutionise how the railway is operated; or a means of promoting companies who engage in creating ideas.
All of these ideas come together at some point but require an occasional forum to enable them to be put in front of potential clients and encourage collaboration between organisations who might have similar concepts to avoid the possibility of inventing the same thing twice.

The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has a track record of organising events that promote new thinking and is currently hosting four seminars around the UK with a common theme while recognising some regional differences in terms of need. A national conference held in Newport, South Wales, was reported on comprehensively by David Shirres in Issue 208 (May-June). This is being followed up by more regional events and Rail Engineer attended the recent London event, which focussed on some of the challenges relating to the South and South East areas. Others have or will take place in York, Manchester, and Glasgow.

Assembling ideas and requirements

The London event attracted a surprising number of both industry organisations and potential customers. Industry included companies large and small ranging from multi-national giants to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A number of 15-minute presentations were given to both describe some of the present challenges and also to consider how some of these might be solved.

Following this, each company was given a five-minute ‘spotlight’ to present themselves and their various offerings. Capturing all that was on offer became something of a challenge with stands spread over three floors. Some common themes emerged with condition monitoring of assets both infrastructure and trains, and the associated challenges of collecting data and intelligent analysis of the data being promoted by several companies. Recognising climate change and how it impacts rail assets was another hot topic. Some of the challenges were obvious but others were things that no-one really gives any thought to. Here are the topics from some of the organisations:

Network Rail. As the national rail infrastructure owner, with the challenge of keeping it in good order, one would expect a significant wish list for new ideas into the future. Robert Frith, the head of engineering for the Southern Region, explained the changes that rail travel has brought to communities over the years with the most recent being HS1 and how some people live in France and commute to work in England.

Network Rail wants happy customers and stakeholders, a safe and secure railway that is both affordable and profitable. An integrated delivery team of civil, signal & telecom, track, electrification & plant and minor works, all using common technologies, systems and methods, is the future ambition. Companies that can offer the tools to achieve this will be more than welcome.

Transport for London. Thomas Ableman, the director for strategy & innovation is looking and listening for challenges across all modes of transport which includes cyclists, bus optimisation, and the ever present demand for accessibility. Four main areas need attention:
The platform / train interface where over 1,000 incidents occur every year with a fatality every five years. The need for ‘smarter’ stations and the upgrading of CCTV monitoring are part of this.

Tube noise. New buildings are going increasingly deeper into the ground resulting in many complaints of intrusive noise from tube train movements. How to make the Underground quieter needs to be looked at.

Tube dust. Air quality is not improving underground and it needs attention. Too much braking with conventional brake technology is the main problem.

Asset theft and vandalism. Security of equipment to ensure correct functioning is an increasing requirement and has safety connotations. How to prevent unauthorised access is both a technical and social challenge.

TfL has an online portal for people to put forward ideas. Many of these will be rejected but it’s still worth doing as a small number will be taken forward or will lead to the generation of other ideas.

South Western Railway. Train Operating Companies (TOCs) are more in the spotlight for customer interfaces than other rail organisations. Dan Piner, design and innovation manager for SWR, quoted statistics for TOC performance with South Western achieving 84%, which is mid-range. Seven themes have been identified to improve this score.

• Punctuality.
• Seat comfort.
• On board environment.
• WiFi performance.
• Guard visibility and passenger interaction.
• Information provision during disruption.
• Station environment.

Add to these, safety, sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity, you have quite a shopping list. Some of these are already being acted on: guard visibility is being investigated by the Gamification project in conjunction with Chrome Angel; improved customer information using QR codes on seat backs is being trialled on Classes 158, 159, and 444 trains that, when scanned, will yield real time running data; on board occupancy software known as project Glimpse has several suppliers involved. Super-fast WiFi on the route from Basingstoke to Earlsfield (near Wimbledon) is installed to test customer reaction. This is known as EvoRail. There is also TOC Innovation Community and between seven to 12 TOCs are involved depending on the particular interest.

University involvement and UKRRIN. Many UK universities are engaged with industry in rail systems research under the banner of the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN). Rod Anderson from the University of Southampton spoke about its geomechanics lab which is investigating the impact of climate change, autonomous systems, and laboratory testing of structures.

The co-operation between 20 universities and 25 industry partners is led by University of Birmingham with funding of £28 million being received from government and £61 million from industry. Specialisation is allocated around the country with Birmingham focussing on digital systems and automation, Huddersfield on rolling stock, Loughborough doing track adhesion, Newcastle investigating pantograph monitoring, and Southampton majoring on infrastructure including field work. Product testing of sleeper materials and bridge beams are examples of the work being undertaken by the latter.

Industry involvement

Some of the more seemingly day-to-day situations that cause aggravation and distress were described by Dave Looney, head of product strategy at Telent. Trespass, vandalism, graffiti, and abandoned luggage are all things that can cause disruption to services and huge cost to the industry. Finding ways to combat these menaces is ripe for innovation.

The Telent system Management Integration and Control of Assets (MICA) system has been in being for some time, but its use and facilities have expanded in recent years. Bicycle thefts at Reading are a particular example, where, following a study to analyse the conditions, improved CCTV and fence security has significantly improved the problem. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to unlock the value of data together with automation of received data and images is part of the MICA package. Even the challenge of the Dawlish sea wall is benefitting from a LIDAR application to give early warning to drivers.

Safety, standards, and security

The Rail Safety & Standards Board (RSSB) was set up in 2003 following the Ladbroke Grove accident, to be an independent promoter of good safety practice and to establish and be custodian of national rail standards. Aaron Barrett, lead research analyst, told of RSSB’s involvement in the setting of rail technical strategy in terms of research and practical implementation, commensurate with changes to rail usage due to macro changes in society and rail funding within the control periods.

There is a focus on major technical problems and opportunities, but the functional priorities are: making rail easy to use for everyone; being freight friendly; lowering emissions; optimisation of train operations; and having efficient and reliable assets.

Using freight friendly as an example, innovation is required to:

• Increase network access, given the history of a mixed network railway.
• Shorten journey times by optimising passenger and freight movements.
• Increase modularity and ease of transfer from/to road transport.
• Improve freight train safety.
• Lower carbon emissions by reducing diesel usage under the wires.
• Track design that can support higher axle loads.
• Reduce gauge restrictions to maximise routes.
• Use digitised systems to understand availability and suitability of diversionary routes should a planned route become unavailable.
• Understand the cost of these requirements for both investment and maintenance.

Impact of politics on rail future

With a general election looming at the time of the event, Jez Smith from the Rail Delivery Group asked what is the likely prediction for rail? There has been all party support for an integrated rail body such as Great British Railways (GBR) and Labour’s intention to nationalise the remaining TOC contracts has been well publicised, although it is not expected to have any great impact on finance. However, it seems there will be no more money for rail, meaning the industry needs to do more for less, which is where the innovation bit comes in.

Data is the biggest untapped resource for rail. Other industries have harvested this more efficiently with better operational decision making, understanding of customer behaviour, and improvement of the journey experience. Innovation is required to: (i) use data instead of human intuition; (ii) be clearer on who owns data and be prepared to share it; (iii) recognise who the competitors are (the car and the lorry); and (iv) be prepared to ask for data if you think you need it. There is a Rail Data Market Place with 104 products already visible and available, with more to come.

Innovation pitfalls

Creating novel ideas is relatively easy, whether modest improvements to existing practice or completely new methods for operating or engineering the railway. Turning these ideas into a practical implementation is much more difficult.

First, the idea has to be seen to add value by the intended customer or recipient. A trial operation needs to be carried out at a low-risk site (often a heritage railway) to assess day to day usage benefits and constraints. Often an approval process will need to be applied for and progressed, which can take months or even years. Finally, the product may have to be manufactured on a commercial basis ensuring that a profitable outcome can be obtained. It can take years to maximise the full benefit, a good example being Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) where invention, testing, approving, and deployment took well over a decade. There is rarely a quick fix and companies need to be aware of this.

This is not to say that innovation should not happen. It is new ideas, methodology, and ways of working that will take the industry forward but please do this with your eyes fully open. Overall, an intriguing event day with lots of ideas being promoted. We will watch how some of these turn into reality.

Showcasing the ideas

Here are some of the ‘Spotlights’ from the various organisations present, not in any particular order or significance:

Telent. In addition to MICA, the Acumen asset monitoring system is used for all kinds of alert or alarm warnings in real time. Aimed primarily at building security and safety e.g., lift operation.

Gripple. Systems for overhead line equipment (OLE) and pantograph monitoring. Also, a new kind of OLE dropper that makes installation or recovery from contact wire damage quick and easy to install.

Sensonic. Landslide and rock fall monitoring using fibre optic sensing.

Tended. An ‘electronic fence’ to alert trackside workers who stray out of a safety zone that they are in potential danger. Achieved by persons using a wearable device that alarms if the ‘fence’ is crossed.

Omnicom (part of Balfour Beatty group). Rail data collection from mobile cameras that measure and monitor collected images, checking these against previous pictures for changes to infrastructure using intelligent data analysis.

Sicut. Design and manufacture of rail sleepers using re-cycled plastic material. Avoids deforestation of hardwood and is suitable for plain line and bearers for points and crossings.

Staytite. Improved fittings for PWay using the Hardlock Nut for fishplate fixings.

Jurnyon. Smart ticket using AI for self-validation.

Softech Rail. International company doing S&T and OLE design work including installation and testing of IP/MPLS data networks.

Findlay Irvine. Monitoring of adverse weather conditions with predictions for wind and snowstorms and potential damage impact. Also track temperature measurements in hot weather.

Helix Rail. Project management using digital tools for material supply and control by data capture of quality checks, shift reports and site surveys including video capture and photos.

LB Foster. Friction management expertise to reduce train noise and component wear.

Onwave. Geofencing systems and control logistics for improved site safety of workers.

Jnction. Decision support tools using AI for improved information to travellers when delay and disruption occurs with output to information systems, social media and frontline staff.

Complete Cyber. Expertise to provide security architecture patterns for both rolling stock and infrastructure including aftercare and staff training.

Plowman Craven. Infrastructure monitoring using drones. Typical periodicity of three months to distinguish changes without requiring physical access or a possession.

EeviFile. Evidence-capture to improve work activity and quantities tracking, also ensuring regulatory compliance and approvals.

Geoptic. Uses muon tomography (a type of X-Ray imaging) that exploits naturally occurring radiation to survey inaccessible objects such as tunnel shafts which may have been sealed off.

Siemens. Provision of Connected Driver Advisory System (C-DAS) information with display shown on the GSM-R cab radio screens.

Cordel. Lineside monitoring using video recognition and inertial navigation positioning of infrastructure with typical periodicity of six weeks. Used on the Network Rail national gauging train or as a low power portable unit on other trains. Measurement of vegetation growth and OLE regulation a speciality with customer portal access.

SempX. Project management and assurance processes to ensure compliance with regulations, standards, and legislation during the progression of a project including change control.

KONUX. Monitoring and planning of rail infrastructure management including predictive maintenance, network usage, and traffic planning, using AI techniques.

Tire Conversion. Design, engineering and manufacture of products using recycled tyre rubber crumb.

Integrated Human Factors (IHF). Digital monitoring of people fatigue factors aligned to improved safety of the workforce undertaking infrastructure and depot work.

FirstClass Safety & Control. Depot safety techniques linked to depot points and signals layout with automatic alerts when train movements are taking place.

MERMEC. Optoelectronic real time measurement of track geometry and other rail infrastructure.

Kokpits. Improving efficiency of road transport drivers waiting or dropping people at stations to reduce passenger wait time, congestion and emissions.

Centre for Modelling and Simulation (CFMS). Autonomous robotics to design, implement, and monitor major project work for maximising efficiency. An example includes HS2 civil works and optimisation of the mass haul of excavated material.

Ambient Vision. Intelligent CCTV and image processing to detect unauthorised persons at the lineside and thus combat trespass, vandalism and theft.

RailScape. Drone surveillance of rail infrastructure and stations for vegetation control, fencing, and environmental services.

One Big Circle. Automated Intelligent Video Review (AIVR) product using forward facing video for track and OLE scanning with data intelligence to locate, measure, and analyse images for planning, sighting, and reporting activities.

All of these represent considerable ingenuity and free thinking. There are repetitive themes, particularly in the need for better monitoring of infrastructure for natural occurrences and unwanted intrusion, so some combining of effort to establish best practice might be called for.

Image credit: iStockphoto.com / RIA