The project for the Glasgow Subway was the result of
co-operation between Henry Williams Ltd, Hyder Consulting UK Ltd and
Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) and involved the replacement of a
traditional Electro-Mechanical Trainstop System, which is used to stop the
trains on the subway if they should try to pass a signal at danger. Whilst the
exisiting trainstop system has been successfully operating for many years, it
was becoming increasingly onerous to maintain and was resulting in 150 disruptions
a year to the travelling public.
The new system is based on an electronic beacon mounted in
the track and a sensor on each train to achieve the same protection but, as it
effectively has no moving parts, the reliability and maintenance are
dramatically improved. In practice, there have been zero failures and a saving
of 5000 man-hours of maintenance in the first 12 months of operation.
The IEE award was won by three engineers who work for the
organisations involved in the project, Ed Gerrard (Hyder Consulting UK Ltd),
David Hughes (Henry Williams Ltd), and Watson Peat (SPT), and recognises the
considerations given to the functionality required, the whole life costs,
simplicity of approval and ease of maintenance.
A high definition photo to accompnay this release is available here
Photo Caption:
The photograph shows John Armitt presenting the award to
representatives of the three participating companies:
(left to right)
Jim Douglas, General Manager Subway, Strathclyde Passenger
Transport
Alan Puddick, Managing Director Electrical Projects, Henry
Williams Ltd
John Armitt, Chief Executive, Network Rail
Ed Gerrard, Principal Consultant, Hyder Consulting (
Technical Information
The beacon mounted in the track contains two rare-earth
permanent magnets and two aerials. A remote transmitter feeds a specific signal
to one of the aerials when the corresponding signal is set to green. The second
aerial is used to “prove” the signal is present by returning a signal back to
the relay interlocking signalling system.
Each train is fitted with a sensor installed under the car,
connected to a small control rack and interfaces inside the train. When the
train passes over a beacon, the sensor must detect both of the magnets (which
are inversely orientated) and the correct signal from the aerial in order to
proceed. If all of these conditions are not met, then the system will override
the train driver and automatically apply the brakes to stop the train.
Testing and automatic logging facilities were also provided
to ensure that the system is operating correctly prior to, and whilst in
service.
The system gained HMRI approval and was given an independent
Safety Integrity Level of SIL 2.
Henry Williams Ltd
Henry Williams Ltd was founded in 1883 in
Strathclyde Passenger Transport
For more information please contact:
Alan W D Puddick
Henry Williams Ltd
Tel: 01325 462722 Ext 228
Email: awdpuddick@hwilliams.co.uk
Web: www.hwilliams.co.uk
Issuers of news releases, not Targetwire, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.