Managing the challenge posed by ‘grey assets’ has been put under the spotlight by light rail engineers during a recent best practice day organised by UKTram.
For various reasons, such assets may not be subject to clear ownership, presenting
difficulties for tramway operators and their engineers when it comes to funding and
scheduling essential maintenance.
Phillip Terry, Lead Engineer at UKTram, explained: “One example highlighted was a
traction substation, where the electrical apparatus was managed and maintained by
the system operator’s engineer, but responsibility for the fabric of the building was
unclear.
“Unless these areas of responsibility between the power engineer and infrastructure
manager can be clearly defined, it risks becoming a grey area of responsibility when
attention is required, without any budget or plan in place to address the issue.”
“Another typical issue for the sector is where trams share the highway with other
road users. In these cases, areas of responsibility are usually defined using a
Highways Interface Document between the owner/operator and local highways
authority.
“However, if this is not implemented properly, responsibility for repairs to the road
surface between and outside of the rails could become ‘grey’, leading to poorly
maintained and potentially unsafe highway.
“In both the construction and operation of tramways and similar transit system, there
are many different interfaces, and assets may not have been identified, or have an
unknown owner due to undocumented change until it requires attention. This can
result in unexpected delays, rework and costs in later years.
“The meeting was useful in that it indicated that identification, documentation and
continuous update of asset ownership and condition is essential during all parts of a
project and once operational a system is operational.”
Held in Birmingham and organised by UKTram alongside its first Light Rail
Engineering Group meeting of 2025, the discussions followed presentations from
SBS Transit (Singapore) and Midland Metro Alliance, which also provided a tour of
the Birmingham East Side extension works.
Phillip added: “As always, both the LREG meeting and the best practice day were
well attended, with 34 engineers and a couple of apprentices attending in person and
online, with some international representation too.”
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