DAWN OF THE SMART TRAIN
DAVE HOOPER, Thameslink Programme Director for Siemens, explains why the National Rail Award-winning Class 700 is the most advanced train of its type on the UK rail network
Govia Thameslink Railway will have introduced an extra 400 train services a day across its network when May’s new Thameslink timetable takes full effect in December, making it the largest timetable change for a generation.
Across GTR’s network, a new higher frequency timetable is creating capacity for an additional 50,000 passengers to travel into central London each day from a wider range of destinations, including Peterborough and Cambridge.
It also means that the number of Thameslink services now travelling through the network’s Central Core section between St Pancras International and Blackfriars is gradually rising, with the aim to eventually move to 24 trains per hour or a train every two to three minutes.
This capacity boost and increased connectivity are being enabled by the Government’s £ 7 billion Thameslink programme, which includes the £1bn redevelopment of London Bridge station and the introduction of digital in-cab signalling and Automatic Train Operation throughout the Core.
But key to the transformation has been the procurement of 115 new Class 700s from Siemens, representing one of the largest ever train orders in UK history.
In total, 1,140 vehicles have been built since 2013 at the company’s Krefeld manufacturing plant in Germany, at a rate of up to ten new cars a week. Despite the logistical challenges posed by such a large order, in partnership with GTR, the trains were delivered and commissioned on time before the end of June. The trains are formed of eight and 12-car formations, which can accommodate 1,146 and 1,754 passengers respectively.
As part of Siemens’ Desiro City platform, more than 50 million euros (£43.8m) was spent by the company on developing the trains for the UK market, and to fulfil a demanding specification that required not only increased capacity but improved safety, security, comfort and economy.
The ‘700s’ also had to be fully digitally enabled, becoming the first main line trains in the world to operate using both ATO and ETCS (Level 2) in-cab signalling, to improve the passenger experience, and to increase both reliability and performance through datadriven technology.
Thameslink Programme Director Dave
Hooper tells RAIL: “This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding projects I have ever worked on because of its volume and intensity, and need for close collaboration with our customer GTR. But everything was delivered on time with the scheduled amount of 110 trains being available for the May timetable change, and the remaining five delivered on time by the end of June.
“By combining the benefits of a commuter and a metro train it is a train for the digital age and, as well as all of the passenger benefits, we have helped, along with our industry partners, break new ground by putting ATO and ETCS together for the first time on the UK main line. Digital signalling may have been done on the Tube, but this is a world first and sets the precedent for what can be done on other parts of the network.”
The train’s innovative physical design means that it is 30% lighter than previous Desiro trains which has, in turn, delivered reduced energy consumption, lower carbon dioxide emissions and significantly less wear and tear on infrastructure.
2+2 seating and wide entrance doors have also led to dwell times being reduced to as little as 45 seconds, and up to 40% more passengers being carried per train than on the ‘319s’, in increased comfort and safety.
But it is in the train’s intelligent software design where some of the most impressive advances have been made, including fully automatic climate control, and a passenger information system that displays real-time main line and London Underground travel information, plus individual carriage loadings.
Diagnostic data is also constantly sent from the train to Siemens’ service centre, enabling preventative action to be taken if required - and a new regime of predictive maintenance to operate at Thameslink’s two depots at Three Bridges and Hornsey.
Hooper explains: “The train has been designed around a new and sophisticated IT system which allows thousands more data points to be installed than on previous trains, and for every system to be monitored.
“This data allows you to completely change how you do fleet maintenance, and around 20% of corrective work now comes from predictive maintenance. This will continue to rise as the software becomes more established, enabling you to increase fleet availability.”
Diagnostic data has also enabled Siemens technicians to increasingly operate in a paperless environment at the depots, where they are equipped with handheld devices rather than the toolkits of old.
This facility allows them to view relevant technical drawings through the company’s Train Care portal, and refer back to a 3D Vehicle Maintenance Instruction portal to quickly diagnose and remedy any reported faults.
With more than one million miles of service accrued since the first train entered service in June 2016, the Class 700 fleet has already achieved an MTIN figure (miles between a technical incident causing a service delay) of over 10,000, but Siemens’ ambition is to strive towards achieving zero faults.”
To achieve this continual improvement, faults and items for improvement are logged and then stored in a database if they have occurred before. They then enter a ‘Performance Pipeline’ in which remedial action is taken either through software or hardware modification.
“Our target is fault-free running by following this very simple process,” adds Hooper. “Punctuality and fleet availability on the classic Thameslink Route have reached best ever levels because we’ve introduced the ‘700s’, and in time will lead most tables for reliability and performance.”
According to Hooper, introducing such an advanced train did not come without its challenges and that it has been necessary for fault finding to continue after entry into service to allow software time to fully bed in.
He says this is all part of a robust testing and commissioning process, and points to adjustments made to air-conditioning units as a prime example.
“We’re doing things which are new to UK rail, and no matter how much you test things beforehand, the passenger factor adds a new dimension.
“The HVAC system, for instance, is highly sophisticated and was optimised on delivery to be as energy-efficient as possible. But we noticed that when lots of passengers joined the train at peak times and at certain times of the year, recirculating the air wasn’t sufficient so we changed the parameters to draw in cooled air.
“The amount of data the train gathers allows you to make those sorts of changes far more quickly, however, compared to a hardwarebased system, and it allows for continual improvement.“
He adds: “A software-driven train is no different to a smartphone - it will be continually updated throughout its asset life. That is exactly what we’ll be doing for the next 30 years, so that improvements do not stop during the lifetime of the train.”
Finally, Hooper says the research and development to design Siemens’ next range of trains is ongoing and is building on the successful ‘700’ platform. So successful, in fact, that it was named this year’s Train of the Year (Passenger) at RAIL’s National Rail Awards on September 13 ( RAIL 862).
Hooper concludes: “We are already working on the next platform of train for future franchises and operators, which will be based on what we learn from the development of the ‘700’. We must continue to improve hardware and software because there are things we can do now which we couldn’t have imagined five years ago. It’ll be an exciting journey.”
A software-driven train is no different to a smart phone-it will be continually updated throughout its asset life. DAVE HOOPER, Thameslink Programme Director, Siemens