HS2
Left and bottom left: Early concept designs for HS2 carriage interiors
HS2 – the trains, the route and the connections
The Institution of Engineering and Technology and Parsons Brinckerhoff held a technical seminar in Manchester exploring how to turn the HS2 ‘Vision into reality’. Speakers included HS2 Ltd phase 2 director Ian Jordan, Network Rail’s senior programme manager for HS2 phase 2 Clive Woods, and head of engineering and operations at HS2, Tim Smart.
T
he engineers and project leaders shaping the future high-speed rail network gathered in Manchester on 18 March for the HS2 ‘Vision into reality’ technical seminar, hosted by the IET and Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB).
The event at the town hall was held the day after Sir David Higgins’ speech and report launch of HS2 Plus at the same venue the day before, giving speakers and attendees plenty to mull over.
Tim Smart, head of engineering and operations at HS2, kicked the day off by setting the scene: why HS2 is needed, how it was planned, the development so far, and the key issues to be tackled, while Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) chief executive Dr Jon Lamonte discussed the context for HS2 in the city-region, including the wider transport picture and Network Rail’s Northern Hub works.
The audience got fresh insight into the HS2 team’s planning and design concept from David Watts of PB/CCD Design and Ergonomics Ltd and Thomas Williamson, HS2 Ltd traction and rolling stock engineer.
Train design
Williamson explained that the designers know that passenger and commercial expectations will change over the next decade as the project is developed, so they need to adapt alongside those.
He spoke of the central challenge of delivering a high-capacity service (necessitating short station dwell times and lots of seats) but one which also delivers a “step-change” in the
passenger experience.
He said it was important to start by focusing on the basics: safety, reliability, punctuality, ease of use, trust, value for money, comfort, cleanliness, organised spaces, and facilities.
“It means treating customers as individuals,” he said. Commuters know what they’re doing and want a reliable, predictable journey, while infrequent leisure travellers might need more help or assistance and care more about facilities. Early design ideas include on-board children’s play areas and entertainment, a design ensuring passengers stowing luggage don’t block doors, and perhaps even private meeting rooms for business travellers.
One intriguing suggestion – being explored via the FutureRailway and Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) ‘Next-gen train interiors challenge’ – is the idea of reconfiguring trains during the day to make them more facility- focused during the quieter off-peak periods, and more capacity-focused during the peak. Flexibility in the design will be key to achieving the target capacity of 550 seats for a 200m train, and 1,100 for a 400m train.
HS2 engineers are often asked about the scope for double-decker trains,
typically by those
enthused by the European railway experience. He said that while the proposal is feasible, there are three drawbacks: double-deckers add to dwell time, which is already squeezed; they only actually add about 10% capacity, according to some studies; and they cannot continue off the high speed network because of obvious infrastructure incompatibility with the classic network. So single-decker it is.
Dwell time and drivers
Dwell time is important: two minutes is not much time to let up to 400 people on and off at a hub like Old Oak Common. Williamson called it “achievable but challenging”, but noted that school groups, luggage and other factors can eat into dwell times and hurt punctuality.
The answer is to optimise the whole railway system: the station layout, passenger
58 | rail technology magazine Apr/May 14 Route design
Amanda White, senior route engineer for the north west at HS2, joked that trying to summarise three years’ work in 20 minutes would be nigh-on impossible, but she gave it a good go.
She made it clear that the amount of work that has already gone into planning the route – and ruling out alternatives – is extensive. It has involved balancing a host of different requirements: cost, markets served, topographical constraints, geohazards and landfill sites, floodzones, the cost and complexity of tunnelling versus community impact, national parks and protected sites, onward travel and many more.
It has meant difficult decisions, such as having to avoid a protected salt marsh at the expense of
information, and the platform-train interface. This is one area where the European standards are problematic: platform height requirements are low compared to train floor heights. He said: “That’s not an ideal passenger experience solution, so we’re looking to justifying higher platform solution so there is level access – a step-free path from street to seat.”
He added: “HS2 will be the first automatically operated railway of its type. Whilst we’ll have drivers on the trains, the trains will be controlled by computers, which will give us a far better degree of regulation, punctuality during normal service, and that will help also during disruptions.”
He said the need for maintenance and future upgrades is being planned in now to ensure there is no need for future disruption or haggling over possession windows.
© HS2 Ltd
© HS2 Ltd
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