National Rail Recycling Centre Helps Cut Cost of Britain’s Railways

 Britain’s biggest railway recycling centre opened its doors today – a move that will save hundreds of thousands of tonnes of materials going to landfill, remove thousands of lorry journeys from the roads and help cut the cost of Britain’s railways by more than £7m each year.

Network Rail’s new national track materials recycling centre (NTMRC) covers 40ha of formerly derelict railway land at Whitemoor Yard in March, Cambridgeshire. The centre – whose foundations were constructed using more than 125,000 tonnes of recycled railway ballast – will handle more than 40% of Britain’s used track materials annually, creating reusable products for the rail and construction industries.

Over 500 miles of used rail, 800 switches and crossings and 50,000 tonnes of contaminated ballast will be processed at Whitemoor each year. Recycling just the ballast will remove more than 2,500 lorry journeys from our roads and save Network Rail around £5m in landfill tax each year.

Martin Elwood, director of Network Rail NDS, said: “The new national recycling centre is at the heart of our efforts to drive down the cost of Britain’s railways and make the industry more sustainable. Rail travel is the greenest form of public transport so Network Rail must take the lead in making our industry greener still.

“Our work to maintain, renew and enhance the railway means we have to deal responsibly with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste every year. Our facility at Whitemoor Yard will play a massive role in minimising both the financial and environmental impact of this waste, creating new products which can be used on the railway or sold on at a profit.”

Principal contractor for the project was multi-disciplinary company, Spencer. Their project manager, Neil Hewitt, said: “Not only are we proud to have been involved in a scheme with such ambition – we are proud to have delivered it on budget and on time. Much of the work was carried out during a period impacted by heavy rains and a very difficult winter. Nonetheless the strong teamwork between all companies working on the site made sure this recycling centre became a reality by summer.

“We are proud to have worked closely with Network Rail in what I believe was a genuine achievement for all involved – no doubt this will make a huge difference to how railway maintenance affects the environment.”

In 2010/11, Network Rail’s National Delivery Service logistics function handled more than 1.5m tonnes of construction and maintenance waste, 90% of which was recycled at local depots and the company’s existing recycling centres at Westbury, Crewe and Doncaster. The NTMRC will help Network Rail achieve its goal to reuse, recycle or recover 95% of construction and maintenance waste by 2014.

Used ballast forms a large part of Network Rail’s waste products and around 200,000t is currently processed at an existing facility at Whitemoor Yard, which opened in 2004. Until now the dirtier ballast, around 50,000t per year, was sent to landfill sites. The new hazardous ballast washing facility in the NTMRC will remove contaminants to create further recycled products, with only a very small amount (around 2,000t) of residual materials required to go to landfill.

Each year around 650,000 used concrete sleepers are returned to depots. Around 130,000 of these are able to be re-used on the railway, with the rest sold or crushed to create recycled concrete and a commercial recycled steel product. All concrete sleepers to be crushed will be processed at the NTMRC.

Network Rail made the most of the on-site recycling facilities already available at its adjacent ‘phase 1′ facility at Whitemoor to reduce the environmental impact of the build. More than 125,000t of recycled ballast was used for foundations and base layers, and the internal roadways were constructed using 17,000m3 of concrete mixed on-site using recycled ballast – saving at least 6,000 lorry movements through the local area.

Source: Network Rail

 

ABB in Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has specially designed and developed power supply and power traction systems and products for China’s fast growing electrified high-speed rail network. Most recently, a variety of ABB systems and products have been deployed in the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, officially starting operation on June 30, ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the world’s longest high-speed rail.
Bernd Muehe, Senior Vice President of ABB China and Head of the Power Products Division, North Asia Region and China, said, “ABB is a world leading supplier of rolling stock and rail line infrastructure equipment, capable of delivering a wide variety of systems, equipment, and products backed by our advanced technology. We are proud of participating in the world class high-speed rail project linking Beijing and Shanghai. It marks the recognition by Chinese customers of the strength of ABB’s railway transportation technology. In addition, ABB has also taken part in a number of other key railway projects in the country, such as the Wuhan-Guangzhou and Shanghai-Nanjing, Zhengzhou-Xi’an, and Wuhan-Hefei high-speed lines, contributing to the fast development of the country’s railway industry.”
The substation is a key aspect of rail line infrastructure, ensuring the power supply to the locomotives, telecommunications and signal systems. In the Beijing-Shanghai railway, ABB GIS switchgears and circuit breakers were deployed in the power supply systems of the railway substations. ABB ZX 1.5 R GIS switchgear was specially developed for China’s electrified high-speed railway. It features a compact design using 70% less space and sealed high-voltage components for improved safety. ABB compact box-type substations and ring main units were used in the rail signaling system to secure reliable signal service.
Traction transformers are core equipment in the rolling stocks power system, supplying reliable power for high-speed locomotives. ABB traction transformers were used in CRH380BL electric multiple unit (EMU) trains specially designed for the Beijing-Shanghai line. ABB traction transformers feature a compact design and high temperature and mechanical shock resistance, while improving the energy efficiency of EMU trains. The CRH380BL trains run at a consistent speed of 350km/hour with a top speed of 380km/hour and boast the world’s top class standards in power, safety, and environmental performance.
High-speed railway projects include rolling stock equipment and rail line infrastructure construction. ABB is able to provide a full range of equipment for rolling stock manufacturers and rail operators, including traction system, power supply equipment, FACTS, network management solution and SCADA system.
ABB has also taken part in numerous high-speed railway projects in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, and Britain. ABB traction transformers and power supply system were deployed in the French V150 high-speed train to set a new speed record of 574.8 km/hour. ABB also provided a full range of traction transformers and power distribution systems to the world’s longest railway tunnel in the Swiss Lotschberg line, as well as a turn key traction power supply solution to the English-France Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 124,000 people. ABB has a full range of business activities in China, including R&D, manufacturing, sales and services, with 16,300 employees, 31 local companies, and an extensive sales and service network across 80 cities.

Source: ABB

UK Rail travel recuperate to 2008 point

The UK business travel sector displayed recovery in 2010, with rail travel reaching back to 2008 levels, according to the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) annual transaction survey. The survey showed a general upward trend across most categories. The final quarter was however impacted by the adverse weather conditions in December particularly on car hire, which shrank by two per cent against the same quarter in 2009. Business travel transactions across the board increased by nine per cent over 2009. Rail travel increased in every quarter of 2010 and thus showed a ten per cent growth year on year. Air travel also grew by ten per cent over the year showing that business travel, so often the barometer of UK Plc, is leading a fragile but consistent recovery for the business sector.

Passengers presents East Midlands with best satisfaction score

Passengers have given East Midlands Trains its best ever rating. The latest National Passenger Survey results show that 88 per cent of customers have been satisfied with their service. The Passenger Focus study, held in autumn 2010, shows satisfaction with East Midlands Trains services has risen a further four per cent year on year – the biggest improvement of any UK rail operator. Satisfaction is up across 23 different categories, with significant increases in customer ratings on value for money, train cleanliness and comfort, and the overall station environment. For the first time this year, Passenger Focus has published the breakdown of passenger satisfaction by route. The survey shows that overall customer satisfaction with the heavily used Liverpool-Norwich services has surged 11 per cent year on year to a remarkable 94 per cent. Highlights of the survey include: — Once again, many passengers who said their ticket represented good value for money increased, marking a nine per cent year on year improvement — As a direct result of East Midlands Trains’ ongoing £30 million fleet refurbishment programme, a number of train factors showed significant improvements. — Satisfaction with the overall station environment increased to 77per cent, marking a three per cent year on year increase and signifying East Midlands Trains’ ongoing £10 million investment programme which is currently delivering improvements at stations right across the network. — East Midlands Trains’ employees continue to receive praise from passengers, with the survey showing a ten per cent increase in the availability of staff on train, and a three per cent increase in the helpfulness and attitude of staff on train.

Deutsche Bahn’s international plans

Deutsche Bahn has plans to offer services between London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam by 2013 using the Channel Tunnel. As an ICE3 train arrived at London St Pancras for a demonstration y, the German national rail operator stated it would also offer services to Brussels, Cologne and Rotterdam. In order to proceed, Deutsche Bahn must secure safety approval from Channel Tunnel safety authorities. It is confident of doing so ahead of the proposed launch. Eurostar is presently the only passenger service operating in the Channel Tunnel. However, Eurotunnel – which operates the facility – has confirmed it is presently running at just half of its maximum capacity. Deutsche Bahn plans to offer passengers direct services from London three times a day. All trains would depart from London before splitting at Brussels. With trains capable of over 200mph, the journey to Amsterdam would take around four hours, with Frankfurt around five hours away. Safety: The proposed new services would use the Siemens ICE3 inter-city express trains, are now on display at St Pancras. Deutsche Bahn has been carrying out safety tests to assess the feasibility of the proposals. An ICE3 train operated by Deutsche Bahn entered the Channel Tunnel for the first time on October 13, while an in-tunnel evacuation took place on Sunday. Deutsche Bahn needs approval from the Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission to operate services in the tunnel – with concerns over access to service tunnels paramount. Passages to the service tunnel are placed every 375 metres in he Channel Tunnel, which means a 400 metre Eurostar train can position itself to allow passengers to get off at either end and immediately access the escape route. The ICE 3 trains are each 200m long and two of them would be joined together for the journey through the tunnel.