SIGNALLING & TELECOMS
GNGE completes phase four of five W
Neil Lindley, delivery director for the GNGE project, gives RTM an update on the phase four works.
ork on the Great Northern Great Eastern (GNGE) Joint Line upgrade has passed
another major milestone, with 15 miles of signalling and 15 modernised level crossings brought into service during phase four of the project this summer.
During the commissioning period, 25 July to 11 August, Network Rail engineers worked round- the-clock to deliver the work from Sleaford North Junction to Gosberton.
Throughout the 16-day temporary closure of the railway, 1930s mechanical technology was replaced with modern electronic systems now controlled from Network Rail’s Lincoln Signalling Control Centre (SCC).
Network Rail’s GNGE Alliance partners have been delivering the works along the route of the £280m scheme: Siemens has been delivering the signalling works, Babcock the track works, and Carillion the civils elements.
These will collectively allow the GNGE Joint Line to become the primary route for daytime freight traffic and permit parallel growth in
passenger services on the core ECML route.
In view of the size of the scheme, and its geographic and operational coverage, the programme has been split into five phases. Phases one and three of the work, between Sleaford and Gainsborough, were completed earlier in 2014.
A multi-disciplinary renewal
Speaking about the recently completed fourth phase, Neil Lindley, delivery director for the GNGE project, told RTM: “We have delivered a multi-disciplinary renewal, approximately 15 miles worth of infrastructure, which includes signalling, telecoms, level crossings and track works across that section delivered by a range of our Alliance partners and sub-contractors.”
He added that during the latest works, the fact that the team delivered 15 upgraded level crossings was quite an achievement. “Annually, Network Rail LNE would only commission around 20. So in this phase, we’ve done three- quarters of what usually would be done in a year,” said Lindley.
The level crossings modernised in phase four
• Blotoft (Old Forty Foot Drain, Helpringham/Donington) – MCB OD • Maltings Lane (Ing Drove, Donington) – Automatic half-barrier • Golden High Hedges (Bull’s Bank/Cowdale Drove, Donington) – MCB OD • Church Lane (Church End Drove, Quadring) – MCB OD • Quadring (Town Drove, Quadring) – Automatic half-barrier • Brewery Lane (North Gate, Gosberton) – MCB OD • Gosberton (B1397 – Station Road, Gosberton) – MCB OD • Cheal Road (Cheal Road, Gosberton Risegate) – MCB OD • Water Drove (Gubbole’s Drove, Surfleet) – MCB OD • Burtey Fen (Burtey Fen Lane, Pinchbeck) – MCB OD • Flax Mill (Langhole Drove, Pinchbeck) – MCB OD • Cherry Holt (Mill Green Road/Cherry Holt Lane, Pinchbeck) – Automatic half-barrier • Blue Gowt (Blue Gowt Lane, Pinchbeck) – MCB OD • Mill Green (Woolram Wygate, Spalding) – MCB CCTV • Park Road (Park Road, Spalding) – MCB CCTV
92 | rail technology magazine Aug/Sep 14
Achieving all this in a single commissioning window was quite a challenge, Lindley told us, especially as 10 level crossings were upgraded to MCBOD (manually controlled barrier with obstacle detector) types. “This has been the largest MCBOD commissioning in the UK,” he said. Two of the remaining five level crossings were upgraded to MCB CCTV (manually controlled barrier with CCTV) and three to automatic half-barriers.
“By removing the old Victorian mechanical system, this moves the old methods into the 21st century,” said Lindley. “The benefits it brings are that the new signalling system all ties back centrally to Lincoln SCC, which reduces operational costs significantly on the route. The new signalling system will convert the old manually controlled switches and crossings into power-operated points, and also enables an improved overall journey time across the entire route for train and passenger performance.”
On top of this, Network Rail has installed and commissioned a brand new FTN (Fixed Telecoms Network) communications network across the whole system that supports the new signalling. It is expected that the new, fully- automated signalling systems should reduce barrier down-time at level crossings and help reduce congestion at these locations.
Challenges
As well as carrying out the signalling upgrades, there were challenges to keep the existing railway running while trying to install the new technology that sits alongside the existing equipment and infrastructure.
The Alliance partners also had to upgrade 15 miles of route during the commissioning period. Lindley said: “It has been important to communicate with all the local stakeholders, including parish councils, farming communities
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