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10 Helping to improve
GB rail winter operations
Jane Dobson, Head of the Delivery,
Research and Standards Department,
Rail Safety and Standards Board
ZAUGG AG EGGIWIL
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WINTER OPERATIONS
Credit: Gran Flt
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port system for vehicle, rail, sea and air transport as well as for
transport for the Swedish railway network, with 45 having applied for
and railways.
Risk factors
Snow and cold temperatures are the main factors that make rail
All rail companies that fulfil the requirements for safety and
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early as mid-October. In Stockholm, there may be winter conditions
Strong wind
Extreme cold
the New Year. But there are, of course, great variations in the weather
from year-to-year.
weather. Disruption plans are in place, but if we get a severe winter with
Detailed snow removal plans play a pivotal role in the winter works.
difficult to cope.
and rail operators can, with sustained effort, operate with en-
hanced cooperation.
Detailed snow
removal plans play a
pivotal role in the
winter works
winter maintenance:
To reduce the risk of trains standing on the tracks, for example during
which means some trains are discontinued to allow others to run. The
Class 2 warning from the SMHI, with large amounts of snow (Class
level of risk)
high water levels and heavy snowfall. This can involve removing fallen
trees, clearing snow, repairing overhead
contact lines that have been brought down in a
storm, etc.
Works
Great care is taken to ensure that the
switches function properly, even in severe
winter weather. Special snow removal zones
have been arranged to enable the switches
to function.
During heavy snowfall there will be a
different approach to using the switches.
The Snow Removal 700 can remove snow from 700m of track in 20 minutes
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WINTER OPERATIONS
the tracks to be switched outside on the tracks,
will be locked in the straight position. Fewer
than 100 prioritised switches have been
selected and optimised for winter. These have
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The brushes on the Snow Removal 700 extend over 5m in width. The snow is sucked into the
machine and melts
surface area free of snow so that rail traffic is not hindered. Dealing with
ant actions to take ahead of the winter season with regard to the
the snow only once saves a huge amount of time. With this in mind, an
switches are:
Resources
Trafikverket can employ around 1,500 people and 300 vehicles for
winter maintenance. In addition, we can demand that contractors
Great care
is taken to ensure
that the switches
function properly,
even in severe
winter weather
of the carriage.
2 SR100 smaller snow melters, designed for the removal of ice from
original volume. After two or three rounds, the water is emptied out.
machine (Stockholm)
the centre. A main brush sweeps up the snow that is sucked into the
machines first carriage, where the snow collects in a melting vat with
the end of November 2015 and will be tested during the winter
2015/2016.
The two side brushes extend 2.5m in both directions from the
huge resources and the right working method to be able to keep the
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The SR 200 enables ploughing in both directions without turning
the carriage around. It is driven by a locomotive, which is available.
not as much space for large amounts of snow at the sides as there is out
on the tracks.
The SR 200 has a very special plough blade, which is divided into four
with a large broom mounted at the front. Switches may also need to be
cleaned manually with a hand tool so that sensitive materials in the track
Its better to
have a small number
of trains running
than a lot of trains
standing still
Overall strategy
By reducing the number of trains on the tracks in the event of heavy
snowfall, we are freeing-up space for the people and machines that
remove snow. We make sure that specific sections of the track are
completely cleared of snow, which means that trains can reach their
destinations. Its better to have a small number of trains running than a
large, heavy snow masses and ice. It has very wide plough blades
advised of the situation in good time, and will be able to make their own
WINTER OPERATIONS
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dual voltage EMUs alongside Class 172 DMUs, with fleet ages ranging
from six years to 35 years old. As a metro service in and around London,
top speeds are restrained, but the duty cycle is high with in excess of
this sentence proves that Mr Therouxs relationship with the railway has
20,000 door operations per day across the fleet. The winter mitigations
we practice vary hugely between fleets and routes and build on the
many years of lessons learned and in the case of the newer fleets
lessons incorporated in vehicle design.
Core principles
on a number of factors.
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successfully navigated winter. The moment we
do, the results will make the front pages when
our next record winter arrives.
From a fleet management perspective,
winter planning can be effectively divided into
three forms of mitigation. In order of preference they are:
Different rolling stock maintenance activities and plans is important for preparing for winter
The fleet have an Ice Mode which compensates for expected supply
problem to the remaining life of the fleet. One thing, however, is always
spikes due to arcing on icy conductor rails, ensuring that the train is
on unit set-up. Should the driver err, or forget to turn it on, the train will
from 2009 onwards, this mixed DC-only and dual voltage fleet has been
LOROL operates five different fleet types and each has to go through its winter preparation checks
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the following summer. In instances like this,
a pragmatic approach is required. Limiting
speed drastically reduces snow incursion,
and as such, LOROL has devised an
emergency snow timetable for the routes
on which these trains operate, with lower
speed running. This presented a secondary
opportunity. The Class 317 and Class 315
fleets routinely operate diagrams with
high levels of coupling and uncoupling
before and after peaks. Ice build-up on
couplers, and snow dropping into electrical
boxes whilst coupling is a risk for all units
that split/join. Our emergency timetable
consists of fixed formation units, meaning
no coupling is carried out unless under
controlled conditions at the start of the
day. A constrained but reliable service is in
preference to an unreliable attempt at
delivery of a normal service. Whilst it is not
ideal, we see service management as a
pragmatic solution to a complex problem.
Doors
Different components of rolling stock have to be checked before, during and after the winter months
The modern KBRS door system fitted to the Class 378 and Class 172
fleets along with the very high metro duty cycle means that they
require little specific preparation for winter, with the exception of a light
and as such they have been retro-fitted with a more novel solution a
The future
to combat ice build-up after the event. Over recent years, however,
On both Class 315 and Class 317 fleets, this includes application of a
plans, but we are not only introspective. Whilst the UK railway has
the surfaces and hindering smooth operation of the doors. This activity
Operation
throughout the night to ensure diesel fuel doesnt wax and steam
railwayman, I have grown to hope that all seasons are just tepid.
And as a realist, I know the rail industry must hope for the best but plan
Focussed resource
Winter is a severe resource drain, it is imperative, therefore, that all
resource is focussed in the correct places. Passenger feedback on
heating means operators are beset by complaints of trains that are too
hot or too cold. Whilst some of these are genuine, others are caused by
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Steve Mann / Shutterstock.com
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Helping to improve GB
rail winter operations
The members of the UKs RSSB (the Rail Safety and Standards Board) include infrastructure companies, train and
freight operators, rolling stock owners and suppliers to the industry. Head of the Delivery, Research
and Standards Department at the RSSB Jane Dobson tells European Railway Review what the organisation are
doing to help this industry tackle winter challenges.
Extreme weather events in the last few years have shown that the rail
our rail infrastructure. A prime example of this is the Dawlish Sea Wall
60 times. The findings have raised serious doubts about the lines
on the line, ice and frost, happen year-on-year, causing major disruption
from severe winter weather to be circa 280 million per day in England1.
While there will be reductions in snow days across the UK, cold weather
reliable railway, increased capacity, value for money and a predict and
prevent ethos.
plus snow and ice impacts the whole railway system. A 2003 RSSB
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For passengers and staff, the main impacts include:
cold temperatures
Slips, trips and falls account for 46.8% of the safety risk to passengers,
Environment Agency and since 2009, the mainline network has been
winters and more frequent and intense extreme weather events will
most certainly affect the resilience of the entire railway system now
key questions:
Tunnel during winter 2010. The cause was an ice-build up falling onto
tracks which resulted in train and minor track damage with closures
for 24 hours.
coming decades?
extreme weather?
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Simon Ward
Thierry Guinard
Christoffer Forslind
Keolis
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During Phase 1 of the project, we surveyed the possible effects of
of such incidents
water a problem not just restricted to the winter months. The aim of
and braking it has developed for its freight pipeline, which carries
the Review of the rules for the operation of trains through flood water
but contact of the wheels with flood water when trains pass through at
The work we have carried out over the years serves to show that we
are building a strong evidence base. This evidence base will then
issues during extreme weather events and develop that predict and
Further information about these projects can be found via our free,
interactive web tool SPARK2.
References
1.
2.
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The drivers cab for the two operators is damped by spring suspension and the windscreens
are fitted with heating wire
two minutes.
journeys, the snow blower units are driven together and positioned just
The two snow blower units are adjustable together in height and
above the tops of the rails to ensure compliance with the UIC standard
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WINTER OPERATIONS
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The Zaugg-Matisa self-propelled snow blower locomotive made in Switzerland for Trafikverket, Sweden
The drivers cab containing the electronic cabinets is supported on
driving and the other for snow blowing; although the roles can be
start the engine, one of the engine drivers must blow into an electronic
7,790mm
Bogie wheelbase
1,800mm
Overall length
16,470mm
Operating weight
70t
Weight of superstructure
47t
Weight of chassis
20t
3,000l
90m
7,500t/h
Maximum speed:
self-propelled
snow-blowing operation
20km/h
on tow
100km/h
70km/h
For the comfort of the personnel there is a table with two folding
seats attached to the side wall, a refrigerator, a microwave oven and a
coffee machine.
In the second half of October, snow blower 99 74 9491 001 left
Switzerland on its own wheels bound for Rostock, from where its
journey continued by sea. Prior to that, three test drives took place
although without snow from Bussigny to Brig and Yverdon-les-Bains as
well as in the shunting station in Lausanne.
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The Zaugg snow clearing vehicle comprises two independent snow blower units at the front, each of which is fitted with an ejection chute for accurate
snow ejection. During the first snow blowing pass, the two blowers are retracted together. During the second pass, each one is extended to either side.
Between the windscreens there is a high-performance xenon headlight; all other lights are LEDs.
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