Serco’s Derby based Rail Technical Services (SRTS) has completed the delivery of a contract for Network Rail (NR), to undertake a programme of validation testing on the newly electrified section of the Midland Mainline from Bedford to Corby. Electrification of the route was completed in August 2020, with testing concluding in March 2021.
SRTS engineers delivered and fitted instrumentation to three East Midland Railway (EMR) operated, Siemens-built Class 360 units equipped with Brecknell Willis HPS MkII pantographs. This allowed for real-time monitoring of the contact force at the pantograph-Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) interface as the units travelled over the whole route. The SRTS engineers worked as an integrated team with NR, EMR and Siemens to a very tight schedule, to undertake collection, collation, and analysis of on-track test data to support system and construction validation of the newly installed OLE.
This work is the latest project between SRTS and Network Rail for electrification validation testing across the UK, including Gospel Oak to Barking (GOBE) in London, the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP) and the Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa Improvement Programme (SDAIP).
Of the recent success with Network Rail, Richard Hobson, Director, SRTS said, “Serco is delighted to have been invited to support Network Rail with this key enhancement project for the UK rail industry and participate in what has proved to be a great example of how collaboration can produce positive results.”
Paul Cater Senior Project Manager of Network Rail said “Serco formed part of a cross industry team that delivered Infrastructure testing to enable authorisation in time for the timetable change on the 16th May 2021, which forms a key milestone of the Midland Main Line Upgrade Programme. “
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Contact:
Charles CarrCharles.carr@serco.com++44 (0) 7718194381
About Serco Rail Technical Services (SRTS): SRTS is part of Serco’s Transport business, which operates various transport services around the world (primarily rail but also air, sea and road related). A specialist provider of Rolling Stock Testing & Commissioning (T&C) and technical assurance services, it is uniquely placed to provide a deep technical and practical insight into GB railway operations. Today it has over 50 years’ experience across a broad range of rolling stock and infrastructure technical services through the rolling stock development lifecycle. SRTS provides engineers at client depots and routes across the GB rail network. SRTS works closely with train manufacturers to successfully deliver extensive and complex rolling stock testing programmes at sites and other worldwide test tracks and depots.
About Network Rail: Network Rail owns, operates, and develops Britain’s railway infrastructure.
That’s 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. Network Rail manages 20 of the UK’s largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are managed by the country’s train operating companies. Network Rail exists to get people and goods where they need to be and to support the country’s economic prosperity.
Every day, there are more than 4.8 million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain’s railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Network Rail’s role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so they carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation’s railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced – a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
About Serco
Serco is a leading provider of public services. Our customers are governments or others operating in the public sector. We gain scale, expertise, and diversification by operating internationally across five sectors and four geographies: Defence, Justice & Immigration, Transport, Health and Citizen Services, delivered in UK & Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. More information can be found at www.serco.com
