Tended has successfully completed a trial for the rail industry’s first ever worksite defined by Virtual Worksite Marker Boards (VWSMB) over the recent August bank holiday weekend. The aim of this trial was to test the effectiveness and safety of virtual boundaries in place of physical worksite marker boards.
Partnering with Siemens Mobility and Network Rail East Coast Route, Tended’s system was trialled during engineering works as part of the £1.4bn East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP).
The trial was conducted between Biggleswade and Potters Bar, where geofences were drawn around the worksite’s safe work limits. On-track plant operating within the possession were fitted with in-cab devices that provided real-time alerts to operators as they approached the worksite boundary, notifying them of their position.
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Early results from the trial validated expected efficiency and safety benefits, as well as one significant unexpected benefit. During the works, VWSMB demonstrated how possession overruns could be avoided or reduced. A third party that signed into the worksite had issues with their work, which delayed the possession handback and delayed the normal operational service by 18 minutes.
The Engineering Supervisor estimated that if physical WSMBs had been used, this possession overrun was likely to have been between 43 and 68 minutes, causing substantial impact to the start of service. Network Rail predicts that the cost saved as a result of this is a minimum of £130k, as well as improved passenger experience.
The trial follows recent approval for a deviation to the Rail Industry Rule Book, granted by RSSB's Traffic Operation and Management Standards Committee, to allow virtual worksites to be tested in a live rail environment. Siemens Mobility, renowned for its championing of innovative technologies to enhance efficiency, has taken a major step forward by trialling the system on one of their worksites.
Currently, worksite marker boards are placed by track workers at worksite limits to delineate the safe work area for plant, machinery and engineering trains operating within possessions. This manual process is not only time consuming but also introduces safety risks to workers. There are frequent reports of incorrect marker board placement as well as failure to remove them after works are completed, resulting in collisions, damage, and network delays while they are recuperated. This also has implications for worker safety if they unintentionally leave safe working limits to place boards or access open lines.
The efficiency benefits of using VWSMB have already been realised on the very first full trial of the solution, demonstrating its value to all involved with the possession, including East Coast Route operations.
Tended’s new digital system will vastly improve worker safety by eliminating the need for track workers to access railway lines to place or recover marker boards, reducing their exposure to hazards and potential to deviate onto open lines. It will also improve the efficiency of possessions by extending the available working time. By preventing delays associated with marker boards placed on wrong lines and being struck by oncoming trains, the system is expected to support the reliability of the wider rail network.
This digital system is set to change the way possessions are managed and is estimated to deliver cost savings in excess of £23 million per year.
Mike Sharp, Head of Construction at Siemens Mobility, said: “The first full trial of Virtual Worksite Marker Boards took place this August Bank Holiday. Happy to support such forward-thinking innovation, and great to see the Siemens team supporting Tended with these trials. Looking forward to what’s next!”
Emrys Warriner, Senior Programme Manager at Network Rail’s Technical Authority, commented that “this is an amazing step towards the future” and congratulated the team involved in developing the solution from Tended and Network Rail.
Phil Sadgrove, Senior Implementation Manager at Tended added: “Virtual Worksite Marker Boards presents a significant opportunity for the industry, and it was exciting to deliver the very first full trial in the early hours of the August Bank Holiday. Working closely with Network Rail to develop the solution, and with Siemens who continue to be a champion of our technology, means we are now able to demonstrate the value of geofencing through VWSMB to the industry as a whole.”
