Centre of Excellence forges new partnerships as it looks to the future
Closer ties between the light rail professionals and academics have a crucial role to play in securing a sustainable future for tramways and similar modes of mass transit, writes Colin Robey of the UKTram Centre of Excellence.
Over the past few months, the Centre has focussed on a range of projects aimed at overcoming some of the hurdles to the future expansion of the sector and adapting existing technologies to help it meet the challenges it faces.
Recent meetings featured updates on initiatives that have the potential to benefit both new and existing light rail schemes, including a project by the Institute of Railway Research at the University of Huddersfield that’s looking at ways of standardising embedded rail.
The initiative, which was funded from a Government Innovation Grant, feeds into work being undertaken by the by the UKTram Centre of Excellence on what has become an increasingly pressing challenge to develop areas of standardisation for the sector.
As second-generation tramways mature, they are now entering a period of infrastructure and rolling stock renewals, and ensuring that networks benefit from advances in technology and best practice has become a key priority for our members.
One example of the collaboration that is now at the heart of our work was a study aimed at improving a vital transport route in the Highlands of Scotland that came under the spotlight at a presentation to a CofE meeting earlier this year.
Known as Skyefall, the project by Network Rail, HI TRANS and Mainspring could see the introduction of a rail/road share scheme utilising new, more resilient, track technologies that have been developed utilising an Innovation Grant secured by UK Tram.
In a presentation to the Centre, Alex Dodds of Network Rail explained that it could be used on land adjacent to the Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh line, where a section of track alongside the A890 road between Cuddies Point and Ardnaff is prone to damage and disruption due to frequent rockfalls.
Using trackform suitable for trams, tram/train, or heavy rail, the project is not only looking at shared physical infrastructure but also the unification of the control systems.
Now project partners are looking for further funding streams, and to meet with other interested parties to further advance a project that has significant cost-saving potential for both heavy and light rail schemes.
Other projects we’ve been working on over the past 12 months include a study into tram rear bogie derailment detection, also in partnership with academics in Huddersfield, and we will continue to support a range of innovative research projects while renewing our focus on delivering support for a host of proposed light and very light rail projects across the UK.
Made up of numerous sector experts who give their time on a voluntary basis and members of other UKTram working groups representing light rail engineers, operators, safety experts and owners, the Centre is actively engaged with sponsors of proposed schemes in towns and cities across the country.
These include considerations for light and very light rail projects in Bristol, Stoke-on-Trent, and Folkestone, as well as more developed proposals, including the ambitious multi-modal proposals for a new transport network for West Yorkshire.
These are all included in our detailed project tracker document, which provides our experts with up-to-date information on the status of the projects, their viability, and the support that may be required to help them reach a more advanced stage of development.
Looking to the future, the CofE has also set up a Tramway Design Working Group, and a paper has now been presented to the UKTram Board to examine how we prioritise and progress this work, with a further update expected early in the New Year. Along with this work, a separate group is looking at the development of proposals to increase recruitment and retention within the sector.