UK: The 25 kV 50 Hz overhead equipment on five sections of railway needs ‘immediate assessment and renewal’ to address the threat to reliability posed by climate change, according to electrification engineering company Furrer+Frey.
The latest update to the company’s Climate Resilience in Rail Electrification report summarises the climate threats facing British railways and makes five strategic recommendations.
The sections of line most at risk are:
- Manchester to Hadfield and Glossop, which is ‘by far the most impacted’ with regular speed restrictions;
- London Fenchurch Street to Tilbury, where remaining fixed termination equipment is life expired and highly vulnerable to temperature increases;
- West Anglia Main Line;
- Crewe to Glasgow;
- London Paddington to Heathrow Airport.
In the case of the latter route, the report says sections of the Great Western Main Line wired during the route modernisation programme of the mid-2010s have performed ‘exceptionally’ in recent heatwaves. However, the initial section of wiring west of London, completed in the early 1990s for the launch of the Heathrow Express, was not designed for today’s service patterns and is a weak point in the network.
The report recommends:
- existing systems’ temperature ranges be reviewed, as base set-up temperatures are too low;
- immediate assessment and renewal of vulnerable legacy assets;
- implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change resilience;
- a cultural shift within risk-based maintenance to increase remote asset monitoring and data collection;
- further investigation into climate change impact on overhead electrification systems.
‘If we want to avoid train delays, cancellations and disruption, particularly on the hottest days of the year, we really need to look at renewing outdated equipment’, said Noel Dolphin, co-author of the report and Managing Director of Furrer+Frey GB. ‘There are still sections of track using equipment built before the 1990s which cannot withstand our increasingly volatile weather.’
Commenting on the report, Ellis Shelton, Senior Policy Advisor at business group Logistics UK, said ’modal shift and dependable infrastructure have been demonstrated to be delivered by electrification.
’Extremely rainy spells followed by hot, dry periods greatly exacerbate railway embankment instability which is a developing problem on the UK rail network. Weather changes also lead to increased cyclical loading on electrification equipment, resulting in shorter lifespans.
‘While climate resilience is ingrained in both renewed and new electrification installations, equipment installed prior to the 1990s is most at risk of failure, as it is not designed to endure the UK’s more unpredictable weather. And the quick evaluation and replacement of susceptible legacy assets is necessary to combat this.’
