Siemens Rail Automation achieves major GNGE milestone

On 2 September 2013, Siemens Rail Automation handed Phase 1 of the Great Northern Great Eastern (GNGE) programme over to test. The handover follows the successful hangar testing of the signalling equipment for Phase 1, which was completed off-site at the company’s Chippenham facility, and its subsequent installation during July and August.

The signalling work for Phase 1 (Stow Park Island) includes 27 signal bases and structures, 48 object controller installations and four modular equipment housings, as well as some 22 kilometres of power cable and 25 kilometres of signalling fibre, all of which was designed, procured and tested within 18 weeks of the contract being awarded.

Commenting on the handover, Siemens’ Project Director, Andy Titley said: “In the face of severe project delays caused by the Hatfield landslip, this is not only a remarkable achievement and a major milestone in the programme, but also a real reflection on the strength and commitment of the GNGE Alliance as a whole. It is only by sharing and integrating the project workload across the Alliance that we are able to deliver remarkable results such as these.

“The adoption of our modular signalling solution for this scheme has already delivered real benefits, with the use of hangar testing allowing us to both significantly reduce testing time and complete our own testing in factory-controlled conditions. The use of data templating, another key element of our modular approach, is also now bringing significant time savings to the overall programme”.

Hangar testing of Phase 3 (Rowston), which comprises three modular equipment housings and 39 object controllers, has also been completed, with installation work now on site.

The GNGE programme, which on completion in 2014, will provide an upgraded cross-country line between Peterborough and Doncaster, consists of five phases in total, four of which are based on Siemens’ modular signalling solution and therefore subject to hangar testing. Phase 1 and Phase 3 will be commissioned over Christmas 2013.