RSSB2742 - ADHERE Quantifying the effects of Railhead Treatments on adhesion & Supplier Day Details

RSSB is holding an information event for this tender on Monday 22nd October at 15:15 at RSSB's offices in London.

Should your organisation wish to attend this event please email the following email address by COP Friday 19th October:

[email protected]

Low adhesion is an issue on the railways as it leads to train delays and cancellations due to unpredictable and inefficient braking and traction. The whole system industry costs related to low adhesion during autumn periods has been calculated at circa £345m p.a . Alongside the cost of delays, low adhesion also put the safety of the travelling public and staff at risk, with the increased potential for station over-runs (e.g. Stone Gate ), and Signals Passed at Danger (SPADS) (e.g. Chester Buffer Collision ). Additionally, poor adhesion damages wheels and rails which can lead to trains being out of service and costs the industry over an estimated £10 million p.a + . Each year, the GB rail industry invests a calculated £49m to mitigate and manage low adhesion problems . This investment includes £38m for the procurement, maintenance and operation of Rail Head Treatment Trains (RHTTs) + . In addition, manual scrubbers with citrus-based detergents also exist but are resource intensive and need to be targeted at hotspots (i.e. treatment sites) for poor adhesion. Other low adhesion mitigation measures include the use of Traction Gel Applications, the Adhesion Treatment Using Service Train (ATUST) system and specialist leaf fall timetables with reduced services during autumn. A previous RSSB research project T1107: Trial of Sander Configurations and Sand Laying Rates led by Ricardo Rail and ESG Rail, delivered conclusive findings of the relative performance of different sander configurations in low adhesion conditions + . This was achieved using a new approach to evaluate the underlying wheel/rail adhesion level experienced by the train. This novel approach offers a significant breakthrough to measuring real-time adhesion. Details of this approach including assumptions, correction factors and data sense checking are found in the appendices A to H in the T1107 report . RSSB are now working with West Midlands Trains and a consortium of suppliers on a follow-on project (IMP-T1107) to demonstrate these findings on 26 class 323 units running along the Birmingham Cross-City Line. Specifically, this research will monitor and compare braking distances and adhesion levels experienced by units fitted with enhanced sanders against unmodified "control" units. RSSB, in conjunction with West Midlands Trains and Network Rail will collect additional operational data including but not limited to primary delay minutes, driver perception to gain a system view on the effects enhanced sanders can have on mainline operations.