Five electrified railway lines at risk from climate change

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Not sure if this will get merged ...

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/five-electrified-railway-lines-at-risk-from-climate-change/66950.article

UK^▸ (United Kingdom): The 25 kV 50 Hz overhead equipment on five sections of railway needs ‘immediate assessment and renewal’ to address the threat to reliability posed by climate change, according to electrification engineering company Furrer+Frey.

The latest update to the company’s Climate Resilience in Rail Electrification report summarises the climate threats facing British railways and makes five strategic recommendations.

The sections of line most at risk are:

[snip]

London Paddington to Heathrow Airport.

In the case of the latter route, the report says sections of the Great Western Main Line wired during the route modernisation programme of the mid-2010s have performed ‘exceptionally’ in recent heatwaves. However, the initial section of wiring west of London, completed in the early 1990s for the launch of the Heathrow Express, was not designed for today’s service patterns and is a weak point in the network.

The report recommends:

existing systems’ temperature ranges be reviewed, as base set-up temperatures are too low;

immediate assessment and renewal of vulnerable legacy assets;

implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change resilience;

a cultural shift within risk-based maintenance to increase remote asset monitoring and data collection;

further investigation into climate change impact on overhead electrification systems.

‘If we want to avoid train delays, cancellations and disruption, particularly on the hottest days of the year, we really need to look at renewing outdated equipment’, said Noel Dolphin, co-author of the report and Managing Director of Furrer+Frey GB^▸ (Great Britain). ‘There are still sections of track using equipment built before the 1990s which cannot withstand our increasingly volatile weather.’

[Electric train]

Not sure if this will get merged ...

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/five-electrified-railway-lines-at-risk-from-climate-change/66950.article

UK^▸ (United Kingdom): The 25 kV 50 Hz overhead equipment on five sections of railway needs ‘immediate assessment and renewal’ to address the threat to reliability posed by climate change, according to electrification engineering company Furrer+Frey.

The latest update to the company’s Climate Resilience in Rail Electrification report summarises the climate threats facing British railways and makes five strategic recommendations.

The sections of line most at risk are:

[snip]

London Paddington to Heathrow Airport.

In the case of the latter route, the report says sections of the Great Western Main Line wired during the route modernisation programme of the mid-2010s have performed ‘exceptionally’ in recent heatwaves. However, the initial section of wiring west of London, completed in the early 1990s for the launch of the Heathrow Express, was not designed for today’s service patterns and is a weak point in the network.

The report recommends:

existing systems’ temperature ranges be reviewed, as base set-up temperatures are too low;

immediate assessment and renewal of vulnerable legacy assets;

implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change resilience;

a cultural shift within risk-based maintenance to increase remote asset monitoring and data collection;

further investigation into climate change impact on overhead electrification systems.

‘If we want to avoid train delays, cancellations and disruption, particularly on the hottest days of the year, we really need to look at renewing outdated equipment’, said Noel Dolphin, co-author of the report and Managing Director of Furrer+Frey GB^▸ (Great Britain). ‘There are still sections of track using equipment built before the 1990s which cannot withstand our increasingly volatile weather.’

Or is it Furrer+Frey just trying to market itself?

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are aware of the climate change risks on a wide range of its assets

[TaplowGreen]

Not sure if this will get merged ...

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/five-electrified-railway-lines-at-risk-from-climate-change/66950.article

UK^▸ (United Kingdom): The 25 kV 50 Hz overhead equipment on five sections of railway needs ‘immediate assessment and renewal’ to address the threat to reliability posed by climate change, according to electrification engineering company Furrer+Frey.

The latest update to the company’s Climate Resilience in Rail Electrification report summarises the climate threats facing British railways and makes five strategic recommendations.

The sections of line most at risk are:

[snip]

London Paddington to Heathrow Airport.

In the case of the latter route, the report says sections of the Great Western Main Line wired during the route modernisation programme of the mid-2010s have performed ‘exceptionally’ in recent heatwaves. However, the initial section of wiring west of London, completed in the early 1990s for the launch of the Heathrow Express, was not designed for today’s service patterns and is a weak point in the network.

The report recommends:

existing systems’ temperature ranges be reviewed, as base set-up temperatures are too low;

immediate assessment and renewal of vulnerable legacy assets;

implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change resilience;

a cultural shift within risk-based maintenance to increase remote asset monitoring and data collection;

further investigation into climate change impact on overhead electrification systems.

‘If we want to avoid train delays, cancellations and disruption, particularly on the hottest days of the year, we really need to look at renewing outdated equipment’, said Noel Dolphin, co-author of the report and Managing Director of Furrer+Frey GB^▸ (Great Britain). ‘There are still sections of track using equipment built before the 1990s which cannot withstand our increasingly volatile weather.’

Or is it Furrer+Frey just trying to market itself?

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are aware of the climate change risks on a wide range of its assets

Being aware of something is one thing, doing something about it quite another.

[Electric train]

Not sure if this will get merged ...

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/five-electrified-railway-lines-at-risk-from-climate-change/66950.article

UK^▸ (United Kingdom): The 25 kV 50 Hz overhead equipment on five sections of railway needs ‘immediate assessment and renewal’ to address the threat to reliability posed by climate change, according to electrification engineering company Furrer+Frey.

The latest update to the company’s Climate Resilience in Rail Electrification report summarises the climate threats facing British railways and makes five strategic recommendations.

The sections of line most at risk are:

[snip]

London Paddington to Heathrow Airport.

In the case of the latter route, the report says sections of the Great Western Main Line wired during the route modernisation programme of the mid-2010s have performed ‘exceptionally’ in recent heatwaves. However, the initial section of wiring west of London, completed in the early 1990s for the launch of the Heathrow Express, was not designed for today’s service patterns and is a weak point in the network.

The report recommends:

existing systems’ temperature ranges be reviewed, as base set-up temperatures are too low;

immediate assessment and renewal of vulnerable legacy assets;

implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change resilience;

a cultural shift within risk-based maintenance to increase remote asset monitoring and data collection;

further investigation into climate change impact on overhead electrification systems.

‘If we want to avoid train delays, cancellations and disruption, particularly on the hottest days of the year, we really need to look at renewing outdated equipment’, said Noel Dolphin, co-author of the report and Managing Director of Furrer+Frey GB^▸ (Great Britain). ‘There are still sections of track using equipment built before the 1990s which cannot withstand our increasingly volatile weather.’

Or is it Furrer+Frey just trying to market itself?

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are aware of the climate change risks on a wide range of its assets

Being aware of something is one thing, doing something about it quite another.

With Network Rail its being able to do something about it.  Some of the things that get in the way, funding, access to the line to do the work, are the 2 main ones

[TaplowGreen]

Not sure if this will get merged ...

https://www.railwaygazette.com/uk/five-electrified-railway-lines-at-risk-from-climate-change/66950.article

UK^▸ (United Kingdom): The 25 kV 50 Hz overhead equipment on five sections of railway needs ‘immediate assessment and renewal’ to address the threat to reliability posed by climate change, according to electrification engineering company Furrer+Frey.

The latest update to the company’s Climate Resilience in Rail Electrification report summarises the climate threats facing British railways and makes five strategic recommendations.

The sections of line most at risk are:

[snip]

London Paddington to Heathrow Airport.

In the case of the latter route, the report says sections of the Great Western Main Line wired during the route modernisation programme of the mid-2010s have performed ‘exceptionally’ in recent heatwaves. However, the initial section of wiring west of London, completed in the early 1990s for the launch of the Heathrow Express, was not designed for today’s service patterns and is a weak point in the network.

The report recommends:

existing systems’ temperature ranges be reviewed, as base set-up temperatures are too low;

immediate assessment and renewal of vulnerable legacy assets;

implementation of nature-based solutions for climate change resilience;

a cultural shift within risk-based maintenance to increase remote asset monitoring and data collection;

further investigation into climate change impact on overhead electrification systems.

‘If we want to avoid train delays, cancellations and disruption, particularly on the hottest days of the year, we really need to look at renewing outdated equipment’, said Noel Dolphin, co-author of the report and Managing Director of Furrer+Frey GB^▸ (Great Britain). ‘There are still sections of track using equipment built before the 1990s which cannot withstand our increasingly volatile weather.’

Or is it Furrer+Frey just trying to market itself?

NR^» (Network Rail - home page) are aware of the climate change risks on a wide range of its assets

Being aware of something is one thing, doing something about it quite another.

With Network Rail its being able to do something about it.  Some of the things that get in the way, funding, access to the line to do the work, are the 2 main ones

When it comes to funding, NR sound quite bullish........

https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/regulator-confirms-networks-rails-gbp-43-1bn-2024-29-funding-plans