MML Electrification: progress updates

[59CosG95]

OK., and there's no one working off a 6m ladder!

WAO

Good. Much better safety case for using MEWPs than ladders.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Good. Much better safety case for using MEWPs than ladders.

Exactly. Safety improvements all the time and incrementally

Certainly is, they can work independently on multiple headspan assemblies concurrently, over the best part of half a mile. Not all of the work was on adjacent headspans, those that I saw today were spread over a couple of miles.

Great flexibility

OK., and there's no one working off a 6m ladder!

WAO

 

[John Webb]

Picture from yesterday should have been dated 2025, of course! Have amended. I wonder how much of the carpark was used to park these up after use!

By the way, the strange white object on a pole in the corner of our site contains the two 'Railcam' cameras - these can be accessed on the Railcam website but only by subscribers.

 

[59CosG95]

In news further north of the Soar, SPL have set up a little compound in the Trent East Jn area, between the Erewash lines and the Trent High Level intersection bridge on the Down side.
Pegs have now extended further west from the Trent Triangle, sporadically reaching as far as Spondon (and slightly beyond too). Still a few patches here & there without pegs, but the gaps are indeed closing.

 

[Trainman40083]

Are RRV's really more efficient and cheaper than the old ex-501 car wiring train? (Yes I know it was short of guard rails etc..)

WAO

And a road rail vehicle can be ready to go far quicker. If you think of an electrification train, it had to be kept locally and hauled to site. RRVs can be driven by road and use the nearest road access point, so be close to the point of work when the possession starts

 

[edwin_m]

And a road rail vehicle can be ready to go far quicker. If you think of an electrification train, it had to be kept locally and hauled to site. RRVs can be driven by road and use the nearest road access point, so be close to the point of work when the possession starts

However, the RRV is limited to a low speed when on rail. An electrification train could operate as a normal train and follow the last service train with the possession being taken around it. So this particular benefit may not be as big as it first appears.

 

[WAO]

IIRC, an electrification train could service its own length of track simultaneously, allowing multiple foundations etc to be drilled'/driven, in parallel. When these had been completed, the train simply moved forward to the next group of sites/pegs. This was highly productive and therefore cheap, compared to the GWEP record of low single figure completions, each possession.

The secret of low cost is serial production with division of labour, and Japanese style elimination of waste time, materials, effort and operative time.

I defer to my betters' experience of course and the above may be being achieved with the RRV's.

WAO

 

[edwin_m]

IIRC, an electrification train could service its own length of track simultaneously, allowing multiple foundations etc to be drilled'/driven, in parallel. When these had been completed, the train simply moved forward to the next group of sites/pegs. This was highly productive and therefore cheap, compared to the GWEP record of low single figure completions, each possession.

The secret of low cost is serial production with division of labour, and Japanese style elimination of waste time, materials, effort and operative time.

I defer to my betters' experience of course and the above may be being achieved with the RRV's.

WAO

A fleet of RRVs could do the same thing, but also has the flexibility to work on several more widely separated sites. With the train, some problem with one activity stops the whole thing from moving on.

With their high output train the GWML scheme was aiming at just that sort of serial production technique, but it clearly didn't work as planned.

 

[GraphitProjekt]

The relevant section from Garry Keenor's book (p296) may be of interest:

Projects involving modification of existing OLE will take a more traditional​

approach using RRVs, since it is necessary to thread the new wire between existing wires, a process known​

as flaking. Projects may also choose a mixed approach, with wiring trains used in open route areas, and RRVs​

used in complex junction areas.​

​

The order of wiring is another consideration, regardless of the plant used; some projects will install wires in​

descending order of height, which (dependent on the system design) can mean:​

1. Crossover catenaries;​

2. Running lines catenaries;​

3. Crossover contact wires;​

4. Running lines contact wires.​

​

However this is not compatible with wiring a complete wire run at full tensions in a single shift, in which case​

running lines wire runs will be installed first, followed by crossover wire run installation using RRVs. Wiring​

trains are however capable of wiring simple crossovers if a tangential arrangement (section 12.5.6) and boom​

anchors (section 12.10.10) are used, so that no flaking is necessary.​

 

[WAO]

With their high output train the GWML scheme was aiming at just that sort of serial production technique, but it clearly didn't work as planned.

I think that the HOP train was a bought out item not one put together by a C C M & E E's staff. Its failings necessarily followed.

WAO

 

[edwin_m]

I think that the HOP train was a bought out item not one put together by a C C M & E E's staff. Its failings necessarily followed.

WAO

You're probably right. CM&EE had ceased to exist over a decade previously and I've lost track of which successor organisation would have employed any of their staff who hadn't given up and left the industry considering their skills weren't needed any more.

The loss of that expertise, and the sudden change of government policy in favour of electrification in 2009-2010 were two of the main reasons the GWML scheme was such a mess. Hopefully the MML teams have found a way of improving efficiency by other means.

 

[Kneedown]

Hopefully the MML teams have found a way of improving efficiency by other means.

I would say so as, pausing apart, the actual MML work has proceeded quietly, efficiently, and competently.
Hats off to the guys and gals of SPL.

 

[InTheEastMids]

the actual MML work has proceeded quietly

More quiet progress...
Application for prior approval to extend bridge parapets at Church Yard Footbridge in Sutton Bonington (Rushcliffe 25/00516/PA18)
The earlier application to create access to a compound from the A6006 Rempstone Road has been approved (Rushcliffe 25/00164/GDO18)

Curiously, NR applied for and then almost immediately withdrew a prior approval application for the A46 bridge parapets (Charnwood council P/25/0629/2)
This might be because this bridge is part of National Highways' network and may mean the process is different.

 

[bib]

MML south will be shut for 5/9 of the upcoming weekends for OLE 125 work. Must be a lot of buses runing to Hitchin.

South of Bedford Upgrade - Network Rail

South of Bedford upgrade will see us upgrading the overhead line equipment (OLE) from Hendon to Luton South and Luton North to Bedford

www.networkrail.co.uk

Over nine weekends between Saturday 22 February to early June, engineers will be carrying out essential infrastructure work south of Bedford to upgrade the overhead lines that power trains between Bedford and London. Thameslink and East Midlands Railway journeys between London St Pancras International and Bedford will be significantly altered, likely involving a bus.

We are upgrading the wiring on this part of the Midland Main Line so that the bi-mode trains will be able to travel at up to 125mph on this section of the line.

 

[londonmidland]

The electrification between Kettering and Wigston has been delivered both on time and under budget and is now officially ‘ready’ for electric trains.

Let’s hope the wheels keep in motion in terms of further electrification of the MML!

Full article here

The railway line between Kettering in Northamptonshire and Wigston near Leicester has reached a major milestone by being officially declared ready and safe for electric trains.

The testing phase also explored how the Midland Main Line could be made even more efficient in future, such as having masts further apart to reduce costs and construction time.

 

[John R]

I wonder does “within budget” mean within the base budget or once the contingency margin is added. As the margin is often quite a large percentage it would be less impressive if the latter.

 

[InTheEastMids]

The electrification between Kettering and Wigston has been delivered both on time and under budget and is now officially ‘ready’ for electric trains.

Let’s hope the wheels keep in motion in terms of further electrification of the MML!

Full article here

Thanks. The last publicity photo that shows new housing, which if they'd panned back/around a bit I think you'd be able to see Grayling Road. I think it could've led to a good caption.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

The electrification between Kettering and Wigston has been delivered both on time and under budget and is now officially ‘ready’ for electric trains.

Let’s hope the wheels keep in motion in terms of further electrification of the MML!

Full article here

Fantastic news. I really hope this helps give government/DfT and most importantly HMT, the confidence to carry on.

 

[GraphitProjekt]

you'd be able to see Grayling Road.

how on earth did it come by that name

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Apr 2025 ==

more relevantly though, what's going on with the 810s these days?

 

[eastwestdivide]

how on earth did it come by that name

Grayling is both a fish and a butterfly. Roads near the MH one include other butterfly names.

 

[Bald Rick]

I wonder does “within budget” mean within the base budget or once the contingency margin is added. As the margin is often quite a large percentage it would be less impressive if the latter.

There’s contingency and contingency.

The base price assumes everythign foes perfectly snd there sre no surprises.

The point of contigency is to allow finacial providion for the risk that something that might happen (but not a certainty), does happen. If done properly, the Quantified Cost Risk Assessmnet will give a figure for the probability that the cost will not exceed various points on the probability curve. On average, projects should deliver at their P50 price (50% probability that that price will not be exceeded). The base price - P50 contingency is part of the budget, and that is what is authorised. That still means that 50% of projects will end up going back for reauthority, even if the scope is unchanged.

 

[WAO]

A good indication of the health of a project is it being completed in the planned time. Overshoots run away with staffing, plant leasing costs and interest payments, and leave Gantt (progress) charts in tatters. Civil work is possibly the least predictable but so is ordering products which are not state-of-the-art and so have dubious added development costs. Think 769, 701 and 442 programs. Software is additionally a dark art and only proven packages are really trustworthy. A competent contractor also makes sure the main risks stay with the purchaser.

I think that the present indications look favourable - a credit to all concerned.

WAO

 

[edwin_m]

Civil work is possibly the least predictable but so is ordering products which are not state-of-the-art and so have dubious added development costs. Think 769, 701 and 442 programs. Software is additionally a dark art and only proven packages are really trustworthy.

As a systems engineer I'd say systems integration issues are the least predictable. With civils it's relatively easy to see if the concrete isn't there on time, but visualising in advance if something doesn't work when connected together or there isn't the evidence for a critical approval is much more tricky (even if the components themselves are proven). Also it takes place right at the end so there's much less time left to recover. Look at Crossrail where everyone thought it was on plan until a few months before commissioning, or in an earlier era the Channel Tunnel.

 

[Bald Rick]

Look at Crossrail where everyone thought it was on plan until a few months before commissioning

I know for certain that not everyone thought it was on plan until a few months before commissioning. There were pretty obvious signs some time out. Although obviously, how the delay messaging was to be handled in public must have taken some time to agree.

 

[Peter Sarf]

The electrification between Kettering and Wigston has been delivered both on time and under budget and is now officially ‘ready’ for electric trains.

Let’s hope the wheels keep in motion in terms of further electrification of the MML!

Full article here

+

The railway line between Kettering in Northamptonshire and Wigston near Leicester has reached a major milestone by being officially declared ready and safe for electric trains.

The testing phase also explored how the Midland Main Line could be made even more efficient in future, such as having masts further apart to reduce costs and construction time.

My bold - oh dear.
Is the spacing of the masts not an ongoing weakness in the overhead line equipment for the East Coast Mainline ?.

 

[londonmidland]

Is the spacing of the masts not an ongoing weakness in the overhead line equipment for the East Coast Mainline ?.

I think it's more to do with the fact that a lot of the ECML uses head span OLE, which tends to become quite vulnerable when there is a de-wirement, often affecting multiple lines. The MML electrification uses more newer, sturdier and independently tensioned OLE equipment. So it being more spaced out shouldn't be an issue here compared to older OLE schemes.

 

[themiller]

I think it's more to do with the fact that a lot of the ECML uses head span OLE, which tends to become quite vulnerable when there is a de-wirement, often affecting multiple lines. The MML electrification uses more newer, sturdier and independently tensioned OLE equipment. So it being more spaced out shouldn't be an issue here compared to older OLE schemes.

However, once you start increasing the distance between masts, you increase the wire deflection due to wind effects unless the wire tension is increased. With storm effects increasing due to climate change, increasing the distances between masts may be another East Coast waiting to happen.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

However, once you start increasing the distance between masts, you increase the wire deflection due to wind effects unless the wire tension is increased. With storm effects increasing due to climate change, increasing the distances between masts may be another East Coast waiting to happen.

I hear what you are saying but money has to be saved because His Majesty’s Treasury has the final say.

 

[themiller]

I hear what you are saying but money has to be saved because His Majesty’s Treasury has the final say.

Yes, exactly. Penny wise, pound foolish.

 

[WAO]

With civils it's relatively easy to see if the concrete isn't there on time,

I was thinking of the Moses Gate collapse and the Farnworth Tunnel saga.

I agree integration is important; I always imagined my projects as a jigsaw, with each piece many-sided, although I was cautious with items that had not fitted together previously.

WAO