electrification focus
Steve Cox reports...
From concept to completion:
TV4 Overhead Line Design
Balfour Beatty Rail Projects' (BBRP) arrangements. infrastructure to be eliminated or
overhead line design team, based in Once the outline design had been mitigated in advance of the actual
Stephenson House, Liverpool, has worked developed and was accepted by Network construction taking place.
to support Network Rail's December 2008 Rail, the BBRP design team was awarded The 4D simulations also have the benefit
timetable target for its Trent Valley Four a contract to develop the detailed design. of allowing the construction operatives to
Tracking (TV4) project. BBRP's efforts on Due to the complex nature of the project, visualise the work before it's undertaken
the project recently resulted in an the BBRP team had to work closely with thus minimising the opportunities for
accolade from Network Rail who, Network Rail's project team, the West misunderstandings and potentially
expressed their gratitude for the Coast Route Modernisation engineering providing a safer working environment on
performance of the team in delivering the team, Network Rail's multi-functional site. The 4D toolkit was extensively used
design and construction support required consultant and the various other by the project team to develop efficient
to successfully carry out the project. contractors involved in the construction of construction processes and de-risk the
Network Rail's TV4 project is one of the the works. project.
largest overhead line design projects
undertaken by BBRP in recent years. The Development of the 4D toolkit A system with a certain
BBRP team consisted of in excess of 20 As the main elements of the project visual symmetry
engineers and draughtsmen at its peak were being developed in parallel with the The overhead line was developed as a
and, to date, has delivered in excess of overhead line design, regular 25kV auto-transformer system and utilised
6,000 design documents to Network Rail. interdisciplinary design reviews were the UK1 range of overhead line
In total 95km of overhead line was necessary to ensure that designs were co- equipment suitable for a 125mph line
designed by the BBRP team and installed ordinated and any spatial conflicts were speed. The overhead line support
on the project. To support the overhead avoided. Signal sighting evaluations were structures were mostly gantries that
line system, in excess of 650 new conducted using a 3D model of the spanned all four tracks. The use of the
overhead line structures were required to overhead line equipment, which was multi-track portals provided both an
be introduced into the existing system to produced by BBRP's engineering team at efficient design and a system with a
support the wiring. Stephenson House. The 3D model of the certain visual symmetry when
system was also used by the Network Rail constructed.
Developing the key criteria project team for train driver training. The overhead line structures were
BBRP was commissioned by Network Additionally BBRP provided general 3D constructed, for the most part, upon
Rail in June 2003 to develop the overhead technical support to Network Rail's TV4 610mm diameter tubular steel pile
line outline design for the TV4 project. project team by basing engineers at their foundations. The range of ground
Even at this early stage of the project, project offices at Lichfield. These Lichfield conditions and construction plant used to
BBRP used its construction and planning based BBRP engineers assisted Network drive the piles presented the BBRP design
expertise to ensure that the initial designs Rail in the development of the 4D toolkit. team with some interesting challenges.
developed were practical and The 4D toolkit consists of a 3D model of Concrete side bearing, gravity pad and
constructible. The outline design activities the railway infrastructure to be mini-pile overhead line type foundations
involved surveying the site, developing constructed, set against the dimension of were only used on the project for special
the key criteria upon which the detailed time, hence the name 4D. applications where tubular steel piles
design would be based such the type of The 4D toolkit allows the construction could not be used.
foundation i.e. concrete versus steel pile, build sequence as depicted in the project
the overhead line design range of Gantt chart to be plotted against time in a High speed wire configurations
equipment that would be employed, 3 dimensional virtual world. This A special feature of BBRP's overhead
preparing overhead line concept designs essentially creates a film strip of the line design for the TV4 project was the
for bridges and civil structures and construction sequence allowing conflicts development of high speed wiring
developing the electrical sectioning between plant, equipment and configurations at crossover locations.
30 | the rail engineer | october 2008
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