Rail Live 2024
Rail Live, the UK’s largest outdoor rail event, returned to Porterbrook’s Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre (LMRIC) on 19-20 June. With 280 exhibitors in attendance, the two-day exhibition saw over 7,000 visitors gather to marvel at the most up-to-date rolling stock and equipment and hear the latest from industry experts at the event’s many panels and presentations.
This is the tenth year that Rail Live has been held at the LMRIC which Porterbrook permanently acquired in March this year but operated since 2021. In that time, the firm has overseen the site’s transformation, upgrading and enhancing facilities across the centre. It recently announced plans to renew and electrify the centre’s 3.5km track and, once this is complete, the development will take the company’s total investment in the site to over £75 million.
Rail Live is a huge occasion, the vast space of the LMRIC packed full of plant, equipment, and vehicles of all shape and sizes. Unfortunately, your writer had but one day (19 June) to take in as much as possible but could easily have covered the remainder of the exhibition and still missed much that it had to offer.
Rolling Stock
Known for its wide array of rolling stock on display, 2024 did not disappoint, with an assortment of locomotives including GB Railfreight’s 66309 (above far right) “Charley Wallace”, a Class 66 which returned to service in May, as well as a number of South Western Class 701 Arterios, which went into service in January.
A key attraction this year was a Class 93 tri-mode locomotive (right), courtesy of Rail Operations Group and Stadler. Constructed in Spain, the Class 93 can run off the 25kV AC overhead system, rated at 5,360hp. It also has a 12-cylinder Caterpillar C32 diesel engine, rated at 1,205hp, and two LTO (lithium titanium- oxide) batteries.
The locomotive on display, 93001, undertook its first main line solo run on 28 May, from Worksop to Sheffield and back, and saw further testing throughout July on the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Carlisle. Once the results of the testing are analysed, locomotives 93002-010, which are all constructed and waiting to go, will be shipped to the UK to allow Rail Operations Group driver training.
Returning to the event was Porterbook’s HydroFLEX – the UK’s first heavy-rail hydrogen train, which has reached a number of significant milestones since Rail Live 2023, including travelling at over 90mph on the mainline during testing and travelling up Lickey Hill, the steepest mainline incline in the UK. The vehicle also became the first UK train to safely travel through a tunnel on hydrogen power.
Up to 277kg of hydrogen fuel is safely contained aboard HydroFLEX in 36 high pressure tanks. This is fed into fuel cells, where fuel cells convert the hydrogen and oxygen from the air to generate electricity. Porterbrook has invested over £12 million in the project, with over 30 UK companies and 250 people contributing to the train’s development.
Visitors were also welcomed to board a Mobile Maintenance Train (MMT) in the “Network Rail Village” area. Providing a ‘workshop on wheels’ for engineers and track workers, each Robel-built MMT boasts a workshop, two built-in 2 tonne cranes, multiple power points, and carries all the tools and supplies the engineers could need, alongside a welfare area with kitchen and toilet. Its key feature is the large, extendable work area that allows access to the track below, providing cover, floodlighting and protection from passing trains. In the safety of the work unit engineers can make repairs on a section of track and are even able to make rolling repairs. The ingenuity of the vehicle was really laid bare when given the chance to explore the vehicle.
Out and about
Wandering across the packed site it was hard not to bump into something of interest every few steps, and all the major industry names (along with many smaller players) were there to showcase their latest offerings and ideas.
Porterbrook’s marquee focused on its partnerships within the rail industry and with local communities. Its “Past Visions of the Future” exhibition was a collaboration with the National Railway Museum looking at the last 200 years of ideas for what the future of rail might have looked like. Visitors could also test out its Remote Conditioning Monitoring (RCM) technology.
The Network Rail Village was a returning focal point, and this year offered the latest in biodiversity and environmental thinking, and Network Rail was keen to demonstrate its new ‘hedgehog’ sleeper, developed with Lankhorst Engineered Products. The hedgehog sleepers are so named because the ends look like hedgehogs nesting under the rail.
The sleepers contain 90% less embedded carbon than wooden models and 78% less than those made from concrete. The sleepers are made up of 90% recycled materials and fully recyclable. As well as reducing carbon emissions, the composite design means for a longer lifespan, reducing the frequency with which they need to be replaced thus minimising line closures.
Protecting the environment also provided a key theme for British Steel which was eager to discuss how it is helping customers meet their sustainability targets. The firm had a section of rail on display, demonstrating the performance of products like Zinoco®, a zinc-rich alloy which extends the life of the rail in corrosive conditions. British Steel also promoted its £10-million rail storage facility currently being built at its Scunthorpe site and scheduled to open this summer.
Among the many other highlights were demonstrations by the British Transport Police firearms unit; safety sessions with RSSB Chief Operating Officer Johnny Schute; two dedicated seminar theatres ‘Policy & Leadership’ and ‘Engineering’, which boasted many well-known names and generated much food for thought; and many live equipment demonstrations such as that by Pandrol which showcased new tools to streamline the process of thermite welding.
Plant and equipment
Rail Live was originally established as a plant and equipment show and that is exactly what Rail Engineer was there to see. As ever, looking across the exhibition site, the gaze was met by a sea of yellow machinery, and equipment of all shapes and sizes was there to be wandered around, marvelled at, and discussed in depth.
A Menzi Muck Spider Excavator (centre left) stood pride of place at the stand of landscape and external maintenance services provider Ground Control Ltd. Aptly named, the Spider Excavator resembles a creature more than a machine, with four individually adjustable legs giving it unprecedented mobility and making it a highly versatile piece of equipment for use in challenging environments.
The legs can be fitted with either wheels or tracks, depending on the terrain and specific model, and its design offers exceptional stability on slopes up to 45 degrees. It’s no wonder that the machine is also nicknamed “the mountain goat of earth-moving”.
Rail and forestry contractor Coombes also showed off its bigger pieces including its impressive, 34-tonne Sennebogen 728E Tree Handler (top left). With a reach of up to 21 metres, the 728 E fills a gap between Sennebogen’s smaller 718E and the 738E. Equipped with a 9.2-metre compact boom and a six-metre telescopic stick, it covers an impressive working radius and its separate hydraulic circuit can be used to drive other equipment, such as cutting devices, grabs and flail mowers, in addition to the grab saw.
Also on display was a SF02 road-rail milling truck, built by Austria’s Linsinger. With a MAN TGS tractor unit at the front, the unit can be deployed anywhere to provide solutions at small-scale works and support on large-scale projects. The unit switches into reverse, once in rail mode, with the self-propelled trailer milling and grinding the rails at up to 20mph.
SPL Powerlines showcased a wide variety of its machinery including its Doosan Ultimate 270 Teleboom crane (above) which bridges the gap between Road Rail Vehicle (RRV) cranes and excavators. Developed by G.O.S. Tool & Engineering Services Ltd, and owned outright by SPL Powerlines rather than leased, it can be set up in 60 seconds and can lift up to 12,000kg at 17 metres in full 360 rotation. SPL introduced the crane into operation in May, on the Midland Main Line, before it moved north to work on Scotland’s East Kilbride electrification scheme.
Also on show was SPL’s 33-tonne Colmar T10000FS rail loader (bottom left), which was fitted with a Movax DH-25 Piling Hammer attachment. Available in different models, sizes and configurations for different piling requirements, the Movax DH-25 is designed to work on all excavators as well as third party piling rigs or cranes. The tool is sure to prove its worth as SPL supports Scotland to forge ahead with its electrification projects.
Remote-controlled
Though the larger machinery dominated the event, there was much on the smaller scale to capture the imagination.
Belvoir Rail was proud to showcase the advanced quadruped robots (above left) and augmented reality (AR) headsets and tools it is working on with partners from WMG – University of Warwick.
Designed for rail and rolling stock inspection, Belvoir Rail believes it will revolutionise maintenance tasks. Capable of operating inside and outside trains, as well as on the tracks, they assist with maintenance, fault detection, and minimising failures. The AR technology showcased aims to transform training and maintenance tasks, offering an exciting glimpse into the future of rail operations.
A highlight of the event saw Belvoir Rail (in partnership with Primary Engineer, an initiative aimed at engaging young people with engineering) hosting groups of primary school children on the stand, giving them a practical lesson about its technology and letting them operate the robots themselves.
Earthworks and geotechnical services firm QTS was keen to show off its Bomford-built Flailbot, a wirelessly operated track mower for challenging terrains which drastically reduces operator risk. Powered by a 2.2 turbo charged Perkins diesel engine, the machine can track over rugged terrain without losing power to the cutting head or implement. Additionally, the Flailbot has a ground pressure of just 0.285kg/cm2 which reduces ground compaction. Coupled with its ‘hi-grip’ rubber tracks it is able to undertake work where tractors and ATVs cannot.
Rail handling and logistics firm McCulloch also showcased a range of remote-controlled equipment, highlighting its dedication to innovative solutions for rail maintenance and construction. Of the many items on display were its remote-controlled Panel Lifter System, Trac Rail Transposer (TRT), and Trac Cable Transporter (TCT).
McCulloch’s Panel Lifter is a unique system that removes and replaces rail panels swiftly and safely. The speed at which it works makes for a more efficient and faster process, an important consideration on projects with limited possession timescales.
With a track record of 15 years, the Trac Rail Transposer (TRT) is a secure and efficient solution for transporting, removing, and installing rail sections and associated ironwork while working under live Overhead Line Equipment.
The Trac Cable Transporter (TCT) (above centre) is designed to lift, transport, and dispense cable from pre-wound cable reels, safely and efficiently. The latest iteration of this rubber-tracked machine can lift and dispense reels of cable up to 1,600mm in diameter and two metric tons in weight.
Handheld
Rail Live also gives the manufacturers of smaller, handheld equipment the opportunity to showcase their wares and, over the past few years, this equipment has increasingly come to be powered by battery technology.
There was plenty on show from Milwaukee, which displayed a wide range of hand tools for vegetation management. The range included battery-operated hand tools including a pole strimmer which lasts up to 45 minutes on a single charge, and a battery-powered chainsaw which can make up 150 cuts per battery.
Husqvarna’s K 1 PACE rail cutter (above right) is one piece of equipment which stood out. Boasting the power and performance on a par with equivalent petrol-powered cutters, it is able to make between four and five cuts on a single charge.
Also of particular interest was the Hilti EXO-T22 tool balancer, which resembled a miniature crane worn like a backpack. The EXO-T can hoist and hold equipment up to 17kg in weight, reducing strain on the shoulders and lower back. The product is just a part of Hilti’s range of exoskeleton wear, and points to a future where wearable technology helps workers complete tasks more efficiently and with reduced risk to their health and safety.
Best of the industry
Rail Live 2024 was an excellent event, bringing together the very best of the industry. The day was made all the more pleasant by the excellent weather which added to the great atmosphere, though anyone who forgot to bring their suncream was certainly caught out. With so many sights to see over such a wide area, reporting on a single day does not do justice to the event, but hopefully this report gives a taste of what was on offer.
Preparations for the 2025 event have already begun and perhaps next year a reinvigorated industry will congregate with greater certainty for the future and confidence in Government’s plans for rail.
Image credit: Rail Media / Matt Atkins
