Crossrail contracts

NR awards signalling and power supply contracts worth £90m for Crossrail services between Reading and London Paddington.

NETWORK Rail has awarded £90 million worth of signalling and power supply contracts for Crossrail services between Reading and London Paddington.

Alstom will install European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 signalling between Reading and Paddington.

The company will design, manufacture, supply, install and commission the equipment, in what will be the largest ETCS installation in Britain so far.

From Paddington, Crossrail trains will switch to Automatic Train Operation under Communications- Based Train Control. NR and Alstom have refined the Smartlock interlocking range for the route. Works have already started and are due to be completed by the end of 2017.

The other contract for signalling power works between Paddington and Hayes & Harlington has been awarded to Amey.

Obsolete power supplies will be replaced and “fully resilient” new supplies for signalling equipment will be installed. This will allow the signalling to be automatically supplied from separate supplies anywhere between two points - a measure NR hopes will cut train delays and improve reliability on the approaches to Paddington.

NR Crossrail Programme Director Matthew Steele described the contract as a “vital step”, adding: “By ensuring the new trains can run seamlessly among existing rail services, and by building in resilience at the outset, we increase the capacity and reliability of the railway, meaning that passengers benefit from quicker and easier journeys they can depend upon.

“To deliver this work in the safest and most efficient way possible, we need to make the most of the huge potential within our supply chain. So we look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Alstom and Amey in the delivery of these crucial elements of the Great Western Main Line upgrade and our preparation for Elizabeth Line services.”

NR plans to complete an ETCS overlay on the Great Western Main LIne from Paddington to Bristol by 2019, with a view to removing all signals on the route by 2025.

Siemens won a contract in May 2015 to develop system architecture and a deployment strategy for ETCS to cover interlocking areas commissioned by Siemens for the Reading station area, Swindon and the Berks & Hants Line. @AndyRoden1

For a 32-page special supplement on Crossrail, see RAIL 801, published on May 25.