train protection warning system (tpws)
Client: Railtrack and Amey Rail Ltd
Date: 2001 - 2005
Project Value: £120m
Services Provided:
- Programme and Project Management
- Planning
- Design Management
- Data Asset Management
Project Overview:
Following the tragic accidents at Southall and Ladbrook Grove and the resulting Public Enquiries, strong public opinion called for the Government and Railtrack to do more to ensure that such incidents would not happen again in the future. With this in mind Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) represented a high profile safety project for Railtrack with a national role-out that would improve safety for rail customers through the reduction of potential train collisions at junctions and other high-risk locations..
In essence the system was designed to reduce incidence of signals passed at danger (SPAD’S) i.e. when signals are on red, and at other locations such as buffers and permanent speed restrictions where the automatic application of the train’s brakes would prevent potential accidents. This safety system uses a track transmitter, which beams a signal to an aerial on a passing train. If the speed exceeds a pre-set limit, the brakes are automatically applied.
The Southern Region alone represented 20% of all fitments installed nationally and was by far the most complex region in the UK.
Delivery:
Schofield Lothian played a pivotal role in this project from initial design to ‘hand back’ of the completed fitments to Railtrack’s maintenance organisation. This involved co-ordinating a number of key contractors and suppliers to deliver over 2,600 fitments across an area from Kent in the East to Dorset in the West, London and Reading in the north and South to the coast. It involved dealing with five of the main termini in London and some of the most heavily trafficked lines in the country. Contracting alone was split across a number of companies including AMEC SPIE, Amey Rail and Westinghouse and responsible for the design, installation, testing and ‘hand back’ of the fitments.
Schofield Lothian eventually took complete control of the project, installing our own Project Manager to deliver one of the most demanding national projects that Network Rail has undertaken. Each fitment required a bespoke design determined by the need to report fitment condition to the signal box. Set against the background of a national programme closely monitored by Government organisations and a commitment by Railtrack to deliver the fitments a year in advance of the originally required date, this project was particularly demanding and required close collaboration between client and contractor and the client’s various operational departments to achieve the required results.
Our initial finding identified that many of the installation problems that the project initially experienced came from contractors’ unwillingness to take ownership of project plans. By moving the responsibility of the planning process to the contractors, this problem was soon solved. Interestingly, Schofield Lothian had people working for both client and contractor, a position only made possible due to a reputation for honesty and integrity.
With a final commissioning deadline of 31st December 2003 successfully reached, a staggering total of 2643 fitments were installed to signals, buffer stops and permanent speed restrictions across Sussex, Wessex and Kent.
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