La Vie du Rail
About 80 dead, at least twice that number wounded, the rail disaster that occurred in Galicia (northwest Spain) Wednesday, July 24 at 20:42, raises many questions, especially on the components of the high-speed Iberian and equipment.
In fact, the accident was caused by excessive speed (190km / h according to initial information), but the exact cause remains to be defined: failure driver of this train Madrid - A Coruna / Ferrol and / or malfunction of the signaling ?, or trouble on the automotive involved on the braking system
The disaster occurred at the end of a large new line speed with brand new material: long 88 km, Ourense - Santiago was set Service on December 10, 2011, and the train that derailed was an articulated train Talgo S-730.12 (or HSP 250) at Bombardier engine, a hybrid train, both electric and diesel, just out of the Iberian manufacturer factories.
Ongoing investigations will reveal whether, as stated by the driver, "the convoy escaped control" and / or if the signal does not work well. Accuracy of importance since the derailment ultimately, the approach of Santiago, where the convoy then left a section where the maximum speed possible is 250 km / h to approach a curve limited to 80 km / h, and a classic way fit. So as we passed the signaling system ERTMS 2 to switch to the Spanish system ASFA (considered ERTMS level 1). Justice should hear the train driver on Friday acknowledged that, according to the headlines Spanish Friday: "I screwed up."
This disaster occurs in the native region of Mariano Rajoy, President of the Spanish Council of Ministers, which is also his Transport Minister Ana Pastor. And it comes at a time when the country implements a restructured Renfe on July 31st 2013.
CER - The Voice of European Railways
Full steam ahead for the Fourth Railway Package’s Technical Pillar
Friday, 26 July 2013
The Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) and the European Rail Industry Association (UNIFE) emphasise their support for the Fourth Railway Package’s Technical Pillar and appreciate the European Parliament and Council intensive work to improve it. They therefore encourage the Council to assign the agreed principles of the Interoperability Directive to the Safety Directive. Building on what has already been achieved, the railway sector calls upon the European institutions to adopt the Technical Pillar of the Fourth Railway Package before the 2014 European elections.
CER and UNIFE appreciate that the Irish Presidency managed to reach a General Approach in the Council and hope the Council of the European Union will make similar progress on the Safety Directive and the European Railway Agency (ERA) Regulation during the Lithuanian Presidency. Both associations hope that the European Parliament will keep its ambitious timetable and that the Members of the European Parliament will make an early adoption of the Technical Pillar possible. The railway operators and the railway manufacturing industry have called for a reform of the authorisation regime and the safety certification since 2010. Both demands have been discussed extensively over the past three years with the European institutions and in the member states. After years of detailed and careful discussion CER and UNIFE call upon the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to act now.
Concretely, CER and UNIFE jointly support the approach which underlines that ERA should issue the vehicle authorisation as a one stop-shop with the Agency being the decision making authority and supported by the national safety authorities (NSAs). Furthermore, both associations consider that the European vehicle authorisation should indicate the ‘area of use’.
Moreover, CER and UNIFE support the European Railway Agency being the authorisation body for trackside ERTMS whereas the NSAs should act for the authorisation on energy, infrastructure and CCS (class B systems). In future the streamlined European authorisation process should be based on a clear set of rules integrating technical specifications for interoperability and notified national rules exclusively. The key elements of the Interoperability Directive should apply reciprocally to the Safety Directive.
Finally, the railway and infrastructure companies and the railway manufacturing industry fully back the concept of the single safety certificate with ERA as one-stop-shop for the safety certification clearly indicating the ‘area of operation’, supported by cooperation in clusters of NSAs. In addition, without prejudice to civil liability, it shall be ensured that railway actors are each in charge for their own part of the system and its safe operation.
The European railway sector needs the Technical Pillar urgently in order to remain competitive in and for Europe – as a sustainable transport mode and as an industry. The sector needs to preserve and constantly improve its environmental advantage and increase the number of passengers and goods carried to fulfil the goals set in the European Commission’s 2011 Transport White Paper. The Fourth Railway Package’s Technical Pillar is a fundamental milestone on the way to create a Single European Railway Area and needs to be put on the right track by all parties involved. Putting the Technical Pillar on the right track means full steam ahead for the European railway sector and the creation of the Single European Railway Area. Therefore CER and UNIFE hope that the Lithuanian Presidency will find its way to a General Approach on the Safety Directive and the ERA Regulation.
CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said: “The principles of proposals of the European Commission and the General Approach of the Council of the European Union on the Interoperability Directive shall be supported – in fact they reflect what has been discussed for the last three years”.
UNIFE Director General Philippe Citroën stated: “The European industry needs a strong and large home market to develop. In this sense the Technical Pillar is not purely technical; it is an important element of competitiveness for our industry and of industrial policy”.
Network Rail
Read about (and view video)
European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)
This tried and tested system will replace traditional railway signals with a computer display inside every train cab, reducing the costs of maintaining the railway, improving performance and enhancing safety.
It will offer a host of benefits to the railway and the application of its cab signalling component, the European Train Control System, ETCS, will spell the end for traditional signalling.
It will offer a host of benefits to the railway and the application of its cab signalling component, the European Train Control System, ETCS, will spell the end for traditional signalling.
Timeline
- 2013 - Testing begins at Hertford National Integration Facility test track
- 2015 - Operational ETCS begins on Hertford Loop
- 2016-2019 - Roll-out on Great Western main line from Paddington to Bristol
- 2019-2020 - Roll-out on East Coast main line from King’s Cross to Doncaster
- 2021-2022 - Roll-out on Midland Main Line from London St Pancras to Leicester
- 2021-2024 - Roll-out reaches Scotland, including Stranraer-Ayr, Glasgow, Dundee-Aberdeen and Edinburgh West
Image gallery
A signaller training on the new controls for the Hertford National Integration Facility at King's Cross signalbox
The driver of a Class 158 on the Cambrian with the ERTMS screen - also called a Driver Machine Interface - showing target speed
Rebuilding Nottingham’s railway: significant progress made in first seven days
One of the most important milestones was achieved on Monday morning, when the new signalling system controlling trains in the Beeston area was wired in and switched on.
This allowed trains to begin to run into Beeston, including Network Rail’s own engineering trains being used in the relaying of track outside the station.
Network Rail’s senior scheme sponsor, Kevin Newman, said: “We may only be a week into the project but already we have seen some important milestones and work taking place.
“People passing by the station will have seen some of the really big work going on, including the new platform, which is progressing well, and new track to the west of Carrington Street.
“This work will have a major impact on the reliability of the railway and we all really appreciate the patience passengers have shown while it is going on.”
Engineers are currently relaying the track near the station, working from south to north across the four lines, replacing infrastructure that was installed in the 1960s.
Equipment for constructing the new platform and doing other work at the station was carried over the tracks on temporary bridges built from expanded polystyrene blocks. These structures were then removed to allow Skegness trains to run.
Meanwhile, redundant equipment was (and is) being recovered, including miles of signalling cable and signals themselves.
Network Rail chief executive David Higgins and director of network operations Robin Gisby visited the project yesterday (Thursday), arriving on the bus service from East Midlands Parkway.
After the first few weeks of the project, there will be less heavy engineering, and more technical work, as the signalling aspect takes shape.
The work will bring a faster and more reliable railway infrastructure to complement the Nottingham Hub project. This will deliver bigger and better station facilities at Nottingham railway station, and will open in early 2014.
Funding for the scheme comes from Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation.
The resignalling is part of a wider scheme, which will see the station’s historic porte cochere turned into a new entrance hall, and a southern entrance constructed. This will link to the Nottingham tram station, being built on a bridge over the railway.
Network Rail is working in partnership with Nottingham City Council and East Midlands Trains on the Hub station project itself. Construction will conclude in early 2014. Nottingham’s tram project is due for completion in late 2014.
Nottingham Resignalling at a glance:
1 new platform in the station.
143 new signals.
6 miles of new track.
3 signal boxes and Trent power signalbox closed and replaced with 2 new workstations at Derby signalling centre.
2 level crossings renewed
2 level crossings closed and replaced with footbridges.
All signalling is designed with electrification in mind so disruption will be reduced when the wires come to Nottingham.
This allowed trains to begin to run into Beeston, including Network Rail’s own engineering trains being used in the relaying of track outside the station.
Network Rail’s senior scheme sponsor, Kevin Newman, said: “We may only be a week into the project but already we have seen some important milestones and work taking place.
“People passing by the station will have seen some of the really big work going on, including the new platform, which is progressing well, and new track to the west of Carrington Street.
“This work will have a major impact on the reliability of the railway and we all really appreciate the patience passengers have shown while it is going on.”
Engineers are currently relaying the track near the station, working from south to north across the four lines, replacing infrastructure that was installed in the 1960s.
Equipment for constructing the new platform and doing other work at the station was carried over the tracks on temporary bridges built from expanded polystyrene blocks. These structures were then removed to allow Skegness trains to run.
Meanwhile, redundant equipment was (and is) being recovered, including miles of signalling cable and signals themselves.
Network Rail chief executive David Higgins and director of network operations Robin Gisby visited the project yesterday (Thursday), arriving on the bus service from East Midlands Parkway.
After the first few weeks of the project, there will be less heavy engineering, and more technical work, as the signalling aspect takes shape.
Notes:
From July 20 until August 25, Network Rail will be working on a £100m project to completely renew the railway around the city, relaying more than a mile of track and a series of junctions, constructing a new platform, closing three signal boxes and two level crossings, and erecting more than 140 new signals.The work will bring a faster and more reliable railway infrastructure to complement the Nottingham Hub project. This will deliver bigger and better station facilities at Nottingham railway station, and will open in early 2014.
Funding for the scheme comes from Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation.
The resignalling is part of a wider scheme, which will see the station’s historic porte cochere turned into a new entrance hall, and a southern entrance constructed. This will link to the Nottingham tram station, being built on a bridge over the railway.
Network Rail is working in partnership with Nottingham City Council and East Midlands Trains on the Hub station project itself. Construction will conclude in early 2014. Nottingham’s tram project is due for completion in late 2014.
Nottingham Resignalling at a glance:
1 new platform in the station.
143 new signals.
6 miles of new track.
3 signal boxes and Trent power signalbox closed and replaced with 2 new workstations at Derby signalling centre.
2 level crossings renewed
2 level crossings closed and replaced with footbridges.
All signalling is designed with electrification in mind so disruption will be reduced when the wires come to Nottingham.
National train performance for period 4 is 91.1%
Punctuality on the railways reached 91.1% during period 4, according to monthly performance data released today by Network Rail.
The data for Britain's train services covers the period from 23 June 2013 - 20 July 2013. This compares to 92.7% for the same period last year. The moving annual average is now at 90.9%.
| Franchise |
Punctuality %
Period 4, 2013/14 |
Punctuality %
Period 4, 2012/13 |
Moving annual
average (MAA) |
| Arriva Trains Wales |
92.4
|
94.7
|
93.3
|
| c2c Rail |
96.6
|
97.2
|
97.3
|
| Chiltern |
96.2
|
94.1
|
95.4
|
| Crosscountry |
87.6
|
87.6
|
87.3
|
| East Coast* |
84.6
|
85.0
|
83.9
|
| East Midlands Trains |
89.6
|
91.1
|
92.4
|
| First Capital Connect |
89.7
|
92.9
|
88.4
|
| First Great Western |
87.6
|
89.6
|
88.9
|
| First Scotrail |
90.4
|
93.4
|
92.4
|
| First Transpennine Express |
90.1
|
92.6
|
91.7
|
| Greater Anglia |
92.1
|
94.5
|
92.6
|
| London Midland |
85.7
|
89.7
|
85.3
|
| London Overground |
96.3
|
96.6
|
96.8
|
| Merseyrail |
95.3
|
97.4
|
95.4
|
| Northern Rail |
91.5
|
91.2
|
90.6
|
| Southeastern |
93.2
|
92.9
|
91.3
|
| Southern |
91.9
|
92.9
|
88.0
|
| South West Trains |
89.9
|
93.0
|
91.5
|
| Virgin Trains* |
84.6
|
86.5
|
83.3
|
| Total |
91.1
|
92.7
|
90.9
|
Notes:
- Delays attributable to Network Rail (this includes external factors such as fatalities which made up around a quarter of these delays) accounted for 66% of delays to Virgin services during the period and 64% of delays to East Coast services
- For Virgin, the major incidents for the period have been trespass, a fatality and several signalling and track faults
- For East Coast three big incidents undermined the entire month. A signalling power failure at Doncaster, a bridge defect at South Kirby and a trespass incident where a man climbed onto an overhead line mast at Darlington and delayed services for several hours
- Nationally around 60% of delays to train services are attributed to Network Rail. As well as infrastructure faults, these also include external factors such as weather, trespass and vandalism, cable theft etc, which make-up about 20% of all delays and therefore around a third of the delays attributed to Network Rail
- Arrived on time - the measure of train punctuality also known as PPM (public performance measure) means trains arriving at their destinations within five minutes for commuter services and within 10 minutes for long distance services.
- This measure of punctuality is commonly used throughout Europe
- National train punctuality is measured for all trains across the whole network, including cancelled services and delays caused by external factors (such as vandalism, extreme weather, suicides etc).
- Punctuality did not start to be recorded in this vigorous and thorough way until 1997. Before then Railtrack, and BR before, did not measure all services and also excluded external factors and other items from their numbers
- These figures represent provisional data for the period and individual operators' performance data may vary slightly from the full period performance report that
- Network Rail publishes on its website every month
- Network Rail and the train operators run more trains across Great Britain than are run in most European countries - almost 20% more than in France and 60% more than in Italy.
- Great Britain's 24,000 trains per-day is also more than Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Norway combined
Shedmaster Railway News
Locomotive traverser at the Port of Felixstowe - Railway Gazette
Delhi Metro orders BEML cars - Railway Gazette
NetworkRail_New - News Releases - Rebuilding Nottingham’s railway: significant progress made in first seven days
World Heritage & Railway News
BBC News - Willington waggonway found next to River Tyne
Exmoor Rail 2013 « West Somerset Railway
Volunteering | North Yorkshire Moors Railway :: Staff and volunteer site
Railway Engineering News
The electric system of tomorrow - | GE Look Ahead
Locomotive traverser at the Port of Felixstowe - Railway Gazette
Railway Herald - Railtours.
Listing offered in good faith. No guarantees offered or implied.
Please confirm runnings with operators.
Please observe Network Rail photographic guidelines.
Thank you.
Monday 29th July 2013
The Heart Of Wales Scenic Rambler (Compass Tours)
- WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Nottingham (pu) - Langley Mill (pu) - Alfreton (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - Grindleford (pu) - Chinley (pu) - New Mills Central (pu) - Marple (pu) - Denton (pu) - Stockport (pu) - Wilmslow (pu) - Crewe (pu) - Shrewsbury (pu) - Craven Arms - Knighton - Llandrindod Wells - Llandeilo - Pantyffynnon - Hendy Junction - Swansea District Line - Port talbot - Cardiff Central (break) - Cardiff Central - Newport - Abergavenny - Hereford - Shrewsbury (sd) - Crewe (sd) - Wilmslow (sd) - Stockport (sd) - Denton (sd) - Marple (sd) - New Mills Central (sd) - Chinley (sd) - Grindleford (sd) - Chesterfield (sd) - Alfreton (sd) - Langley Mill (sd) - Nottingham
The Jacobite (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
The Jacobite: Afternoon Train (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
Tuesday 30th July 2013
The Welsh Mountaineer (Railway Touring Company)
- 45305 or 61994 Preston (pu) - Warrington (pu) - Frodsham (pu) - Chester (pu) - Rhyl - Llandudno Junction (sd) (rev) - Blaenau Ffestiniog (break/rev) & return
The Jacobite (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
The Jacobite: Afternoon Train (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
The Scarborough Spa Express (West Coast Railway Company)
- WCRC steam pool York (pu) - Normanton (pu) - Wakefield Kirkgate (pu) - Wakefield Westgate (pu) - Woodlesford (pu) - Castleford (pu) - York (pu) - Scarborough
- WCRC Steam tbc Scarborough (pu) - York (sd) - Normanton (sd) - Wakefield Kirkgate (sd) - Wakefield Westgate (sd) - Woodlesford (sd) - Castleford (sd) - York
Wednesday 31st July 2013
The Forth & Tay Bridges Express (Compass Tours)
- WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Blackpool North (pu) - Poulton-le-Fylde (pu) - Preston (pu) - Lancaster (pu) - Oxenholme (pu) - Penrith (pu) - Carlisle (pu) - Beattock - Carstairs - Motherwell - Cumbernauld - Stirling - Perth - Dundee (break/rev) Dundee - Tay Bridge - Leuchars - Kirkcaldy - North Queensferry - Forth Bridge - Dalmeny - Linlithgow - Falkirk - Cumbernauld - Motherwell - Carstairs - Beattock - Lockerbie (sd) - Carlisle (sd) - Penrith (sd) - Oxenholme (sd) - Lancaster (sd) - Preston (sd) - Poulton-le-Fylde (sd) - Blackpool North
The Dorset Coast Express (Railway Touring Company)
- 34067 or 34046 or 30777 London Victoria (pu) - Barnes - Staines (pu) - Woking (pu) - Basingstoke (pu) - Eastleigh - Southamptonb Central - Bournemouth (sd) - Poole - Wareham - Dorchester South - Weymouth
- To be confirmed Weymouth - Dorchester South - (steam banker from Weymouth to Dorchester South)
- 34067 or 34046 or 30777 Dorchester South - Wareham - Poole Bournemouth (pu) - Southampton Central - Eastleigh - Basingstoke (sd) - Woking (sd) - Staines (sd) - Barnes - London Waterloo
The Fellsman (Statesman Rail)
- 46115 or 45699 or 44932 Lancaster (pu) - Preston (pu) - Blackburn (pu) - Clitheroe (pu) - Long Preston (pu) - S&C - Carlisle (break/rev) & return
The Jacobite (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
The Jacobite: Afternoon Train (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
The Scarborough Spa Express (West Coast Railway Company)
- WCRC steam pool York (pu) - Normanton (pu) - Wakefield Kirkgate (pu) - Wakefield Westgate (pu) - Woodlesford (pu) - Castleford (pu) - York (pu) - Scarborough
- WCRC Steam tbc Scarborough (pu) - York (sd) - Normanton (sd) - Wakefield Kirkgate (sd) - Wakefield Westgate (sd) - Woodlesford (sd) - Castleford (sd) - York
Thursday 1st August 2013
The Jacobite (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
The Jacobite: Afternoon Train (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
The Scarborough Spa Express (West Coast Railway Company)
- WCRC steam pool York (pu) - Normanton (pu) - Wakefield Kirkgate (pu) - Wakefield Westgate (pu) - Woodlesford (pu) - Castleford (pu) - York (pu) - Scarborough
- WCRC Steam tbc Scarborough (pu) - York (sd) - Normanton (sd) - Wakefield Kirkgate (sd) - Wakefield Westgate (sd) - Woodlesford (sd) - Castleford (sd) - York
Friday 2nd August 2013
The Scarborough Flyer (Railway Touring Company)
- 60009 Crewe (pu) - Wilmslow (pu) - Stockport (pu) - Denton - Rochdale (pu) - Hebden Bridge - Brighouse (pu) - Wakefield Kirkgate (pu) - York (sd) - Scarborough (break/rev) & return
The Jacobite (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
The Jacobite: Afternoon Train (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
Saturday 3rd August 2013
The Heart Of Wales Scenic Explorer (Compass Tours)
- WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Peterborough (pu) - Stamford (pu) - Oakham (pu) - Melton Mowbray (pu) - Leicester (pu) - South Wigston (pu) - Hinckley (pu) - Nuneaton (pu) - Coleshill Parkway (pu) - Craven Arms - Llandrindod Wells (break) - Swansea District Line - Cardiff (break) - Newport - Chepstow - Gloucester - Coleshill Parkway (sd) - Nuneaton (sd) - Hinckley (sd) - South Wigston (sd) - Leicester (sd) - Melton Mowbray (sd) - Oakham (sd) - Stamford (sd) - Peterborough
The British Pullman Circular Luncheon Train (VSOE)
- 35028 London Victoria (pu) - Barnes - Staines - Virginia Water - Woking - Guildford - Shalford - Reigate - Redhill - East Croydon - Selhurst - Clapham Junction - London Victoria
The Jacobite (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
Sunday 4th August 2013
The Weymouth Seaside Express (Railway Touring Company)
- 5029 or 34046 Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Keynsham (pu) - Bath Spa (pu) - Trowbridge (pu) - Westbury (pu) - Frome (pu) - Castle Cary - Yeovil Pen Mill - Dorchester West - Weymouth (break/rev) & return
The Waverley (Railway Touring Company)
- 44932 and 46115 and 45699 York (pu) - Leeds (pu) - Shipley (pu) - Keighley (pu) - Skipton (pu) - Hellifield - S&C - Appleby (sd) - Carlisle (break/rev) & return
The North Wales Coast Express (Railway Touring Company)
- WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Crewe (pu) - Wilmslow (pu) - Stockport (pu) - Manchester Piccadilly (pu) -
- 45305 Manchester Piccadilly - Stockport - Altrincham (pu) - Northwich - Chester (pu) - Rhyl - Colwyn Bay - Llandudno Junction (change for Llandudno Town by service train) - Bangor (sd) - Holyhead (break/rev) - Holyhead - Bangor - Llandudno Junction - Colwyn Bay - Rhyl - Chesters - Northwich - Altrincham (sd) - Stockport - Manchester Piccadilly (sd) -
- WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Manchester Piccadilly - Stockport (sd) - Wilmslow (sd) - Crewe
The Torbay Express (Torbay Express Ltd)
- 70000 or 4464 or 34046 Bristol Temple Meads (pu) - Weston-Super-Mare (pu) - Taunton (pu) - Exeter St. Davids - Newton Abbot - Paignton (sd) - Kingswear (break/rev) & return
The Shakespeare Express (Morning Train) (Vintage Trains)
- 4965 or 5043 Birmingham Snow Hill (pu) - Birminngham Moor Street (pu) - Tyseley (pu) - Shirley - Henley in Arden (pu) - Stratford upon Avon (break/rev) - Stratford upon Avon - Claverdon - Hatton North Junction - Dorridge - Solihull - Tyseley (sd) - Birmingham Moor Street (sd) Birmingham Snow Hill
The Jacobite (West Coast Railway Company)
- To be confirmed Fort William - Glenfinnan (break) - Arisaig - Mallaig (break/rev) & return
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