16.08.17
Atkins awarded £29m deal for innovative Anglia re-signalling programme
Network Rail today announced that Atkins has been awarded a £29m contract for re-signalling of the Norwich-Yarmouth-Lowestoft route.
The company will provide a full suite of GRIP 5-8 design, engineering, construction, testing and commissioning services for the project, which aims to bring in new digital interlocking technology to the Anglia region.
The works will extend across the 42km route and replace the existing mechanical interlocking system with bespoke, programmable ElectroLogIXS equipment. The new digital control centre will be based at the Colchester Signalling Centre.
Atkins claimed that it will revolutionise the way signalling is run along the line, as the programme will implement Safety Integrity Level software and also remove the bulk of trackside collaterals, such as cabling and relays, with all the new hardware remote-monitored and controlled from Colchester.
“This scheme will really benefit passengers by improving reliability on this line as part of our Railway Upgrade Plan,” said Huw Edwards, Network Rail’s programme director for signalling. “We’ll be taking out the old Victorian infrastructure and replacing it with modern equivalents.
“We’re also going to be improving safety on the railway by upgrading six level crossings and putting in technology to make the railway safer for all.”
Adam Parsons, programme director of transportation at Atkins, added: “The innovative new signalling system will provide a step-change in the way the railway runs; it will be safer, more reliable and cheaper to operate and maintain.”
The Atkins director argued that the move represents an “enormous shift in the right direction” when it comes to creating a safer working environment for staff.
“Using a digital interlocking system deployed with our overall system architecture significantly reduces the amount of time which track engineers will be required to spend in safety-critical environments, maintaining and repairing signalling systems,” Parsons explained.
“Having less equipment to maintain also enables the infrastructure owner to demonstrate enhanced value for money in terms of the capital and operational costs for buying and running the system.
“Moreover, the removal of life-expired assets from the railway means that passengers in the area will experience new levels of reliability in the services they use.”
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