V/S SIC Seminar
Gauging Strategy – Is There One?
Mark Molyneux CEng BEng MIMechE
ATOC Head of Engineering
Gauging Strategy – Is There One?
Vision
Current Perceptions
Research Needed
Answer to Question
Vision - 1/2
Great Britain aspires to:
• Maximise Capacity on
Great Britain’s Rail
Network by adopting
European size
gauges / vehicles
over a core,
nationwide network
where there is a
business case to do
so
Vision - 2/2
Great Britain also aspires
to:
• Define and implement
standard infrastructure
and vehicle gauges….
• …whilst providing an
optimised Customer
experience at the
Platform Train Interface
• Lower costs of gauging
to the industry
Current Perceptions – 1/3
• Freight and passenger
gauging requirements are
incompatible
• Gauging Practice in Europe is
cheaper than Great Britain
• The Platform / Train interface
needs improvement
• Double deck trains provide
more capacity
• Standard European trains are
cheaper
Current Perceptions – 2/3
• Deployable footsteps are
expensive and unreliable
• A standard infrastructure
gauge would be beneficial
• Passenger vehicle floor
heights have to be at least
1m in height
• A standard platform height
and offset is beneficial
• It would be too expensive to
provide infrastructure that is
compatible with a standard
infrastructure gauge
Current Perceptions – 3/3
• Train seats need to be wider
due to increasing passenger
size
• The track interval constrains
vehicle width in Great Britain
• European gauging practices
do not make the most
effective use of infrastructure
space
• Fixed / slab track would
enable larger trains to run
• Brussels expects GB to fully
comply with TSI’s
Research Needed – 1/4
Rolling Stock Research
• What is the benefit of gauging Continental European
sized vehicles using Absolute Gauging or the “Swedish
Method” Techniques?
• Are Continental European vehicles cheaper (and by how
much) than an equivalent UK vehicle?
• What are the benefits of Continental European sized
vehicles in terms of both the seating capacity and the
ultimate capacity provided by a single deck and a double
deck train consist?
• What are the reliability implications of the use of
deployable footsteps?
Research Needed – 2/4
Infrastructure Research
• Is there any benefit of providing infrastructure that is
compatible with a Standard Infrastructure gauge?
• Is there any benefit of providing infrastructure that is
compatible with PG1, PG2, PG3 standard vehicle gauges?
• To what extent can the current network provide gauge
capability for Continental European GB, GB1 and GC gauges
(using UIC Principles)
• To what extent can the current network provide gauge
capability for Continental European sized vehicles (gauged to
the Absolute or “Swedish Method”)
• To what extent could improved track fixity alleviate the need
for NR to manage tight clearances and is there a business
case to address?
Research Needed – 3/4
Interface Research
• Is there any benefit of providing platforms at a standard
height and offset?
• What are the implications of the operation of Continental
European sized vehicles on the Platform / Train
interface?
• What costs are incurred in Europe in relation to their
gauging activities?
• What are the implications for the provision of “level
boarding”
Research Needed – 4/4
Business Research
• Where is the network currently at full capacity (both
passenger and freight paths)?
• Where on the network do these locations coexist with the
foreseeable need to provide more capacity in the next twentyfive to fifty years?
• What are the implications in terms of platform capacity to
accommodate increased ridership?
• What are the implications of the plans to implement the
European TEN-T Regulations?
• What are the implications of Great Britain’s respective TSI
implementation plans?
• What are the implications in terms of capacity and dwell times
of the operation of double deck vehicles?
Answer to Question
• So – Gauging Strategy – Is there one?
•
•
•
•
It’s definitely Work in Progress!
We are still grappling with scope….
….since it’s a multi-faceted problem……
…..that Gauging is actually only a small, but
important part!