uk train ind

7/28/2019 UK Train Ind

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onew era of high-speedrail will be ushered inlater this year whentesting of the fastest

production train in Europe finallygets under way. The BombardierZefiro V300, with its striking longnose and sleek aerodynamicconstruction , will set pulses racingas it hurtles along the tracks at aphenomenally rapid 360km/h.

Italian state-owned railwayoperator Trenitalia will be forgivenfor revelling in the glory ofunleashing such a state-of-the-arttrain. But, away from the spotlight ,in an office in Derby, a small groupof British engineers will also enjoy asense of satisfaction for the hugelyimportant role that they have playedon the ground-breaking project.

These engineers, 35 or so innumber, make up Bombardier's UKbogies division. And it is these men

and women who have developedthe active suspension-enabledbogies that wi ll allow the V300 toreach its top speed, whil'e handlingthe enormous loads involved.

Nathan Cartwright, head ofdesign at Bombardier's bogiesdivision, is rightly proud of theteam's achievements. He uses acomparison with motorsport tohighlight the challenges: "To put itinto context ," he says. "a FormulaOne racing car weighs about 650kgand achieves maximum speeds ofaround 300km/h. It carries oneperson and the engine is designedto last only for a few races.

"Each Zefiro bogie will travel forlong periods at 360km/h with a loadof up to 32 ,000kg upon it and haveits first major overhaul after fiveyears, during which it will havetravelled 2.5 mill ion km. Wh ile thedemands upon the two products are

obviously diife'e nt. the engineeringaccompl ishment is surely equal."

Chief enginee r Justin Keeleyputs it another ,!ay. "Th is ismechanical engmeering at its limit- in terms 0 ' fatigue. analysis andstructu ral design. And the greatthing IS that Ir s Botisn."

The story 0 1- 0\ ,. this world-classcluster of bog't; ex pen ise came tobe can be ex lafned by the fracturednature 0 ' railway hislOry. Some ofthe divis io" s engineers started thei rcareers at Brrt sh Rail. beforeprivatisatior and a series oftakeovers - In a ving companiessuch as ABS and Aduanz - ledeventuaJl :0 he bogies team beinghoused at 6ombard ier's LitchurchLane tram -manu 'acturing site inDerby. The 'acillty now boasts a raremix of peop le a d ski lls, and canproduce ccmple:e bogie designs,including ve ,cl e suspension,wheel-sets. drivetra in and brakes.

Histor icall . [nost of the bogiedivision's ' : ! o r ~ has supportedBombardier's 'T'ainline train-buildingprogrammes. such as the currentcontract to rr.ake 130 class 377veh icles for Southern at the Derbyplant. Typically, the work will includea full package of services - frominitial understanding of clientrequirements through to conceptand detailed bogie design, as wellintegration with traction andgearbox suppliers.

Cartwright says: "The detaileddesign phase often requires the use

of finite element analysis to definethe structural performance of all thecomponents, making sure all therelevant standards are worked to, allthe equipment has enough spacearound it, and all the tolerances arecorrect.

"Th roughout the whole process,we work with the trainmanufacturing team to ensure it canall be produced in the mostcost-effective way. It's a typicalconvergent process - it starts wideand tapers down quickly."

While the bogies division has acentral role in all UK train-buildingprogrammes at the Derby site , thequality of its work means it is alsowinning a strong reputationinternationally. Bombardier has sold

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- ,o f thousands of bogies to- - - 3. as the emerging economic

~ p o w e r rapidly expands its2Y network. Much of the design

_ Jevelopment work on those-'"acts has taken place at Derby.- je ed, it was a Bombardier

_ = designed for the Chinese'- e ! that acted as the basis for

n i t a l i a contract. Keeley says: ~ nltial product was designed in

- : :9 and manufactured in our- factory."

IS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AT ITS, IN TERMS OF FATIGUE, ANALYSIS ANDUCTURAL DESIGN - AND IT'S BRITISH

But the team had to do thingsdifferently for Italy, he adds. "Werealised the requirements for theItalian market were different fromthose for China. There weredifferences in the kinds of weldingaccepted, the supply base, and therequirements of the safety analysis.There's a different homologationprocess. The standards are different.We had to use an Italian wheel-setdesigner, and it might wallt tomanufacture in a different way

maybe shrink-fitting rather thanpush-fitting the wheels on."

The end solution offered forTrenitalia was an active lateralsuspension design - a bogietechnology that provides a way ofmanipulating the suspension,principally to achieve a better ridefor passengers. The design featuresa hydraulic actuator that sitsbetween the bogie frame and thecarbody, making it possible toinfluence lateral movement.

On straight track, the carbody"floats" on secondary suspension airsprings w l1"ich have a low lateralstiffness. When the train goesthrough a curve, the bogie followsthe curve first, bringing the carbodywith it. What controls this movementare the lateral bumpstops betweenthe bogie and carbody centre pin.The low lateral stiffness of thesecondary suspension allows thecarbody to move laterally duringcurving until there is bumpstopcontact, which then ensures the carfollows the bogie.

The problem with bumpstops isthat they have to be stiff to limit themovement of the heavy vehicleduring curving. This rise in stiffnessaffects the lateral ride quality of the

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vehicle, which makes things less from the Derby operation.comfortable for the passengers. At The first Zefiro V300 train forf-Jigh speeds , the force transferred to Trenitalia has now been built by,he carbody during curving becomes Bombardier in conjunction with itsl1uch higher, and the passenger ride partner, the rail transport engineeringcomfort deteriorates significantly. giant Ansaldo Breda, and will soon

At 360km/h, the bogie frame undergo slow-speed testing in Italy.undergoes violent forces and Keeley says: "When the first bogie

a c c e l e a t i o n s which are transferred was welded up in Poland, thisio the rubber bumpstops. So the complicated frame of 100plus::arbody goes from a position of low plates worked perfectly. It was aateral stiffness to a rapidly successful jigsaw that had an1creasing bumpstop stiffness, elegance and simplicity of form.'esulting in greater force There were some modifications in:ransmission to the carbody that the the wiring, but we were delighted:Jassengers can feel. with the mechanical side of things."

The Bombadier engineers have Later this year, a super:ackled this problem. "With active "The Chinese bogie didn't have s:ructural mechanics point of view." lightweight trailer bogie based on an3teral suspension," says Cartwright, that. We designed il in. It wasn't jJst The design and development of existing Bombardier design used forthe actuator software analyses a a case of exchanging the lateral t'1e active lateral suspension bogie the UK Voyager and Meridian trains

series of input signals from damper for a hydraulic actuator - ': ' '2 '::asn't the end of the work in Derby. will be manufactured for the;ccelerometers on the bogie and had to redesign the central section T'1e team's engineers were required 250km/h ICx regional trains to be:arbody. It then applies force inputs of the frame to take it. And because :0 ensure it was fit for manufacture, made by Siemens for the German' 0 the carbody to condition the ride it's a hydraulic actuator, it needed an and they got fully involved with railway operator Deutsche Bahn.;nd prevent bumpstop contact oil-cooling mechanism which had : 0 oroduction of the first prototypes. The concept for the ICx bogies was: Jring curving. It is this reduction in go in the middle of the frame. That These were manufactured at also piloted out of the Derby office ,:umpstop contact that improves the had implications for frame stiffness. 30mbardier's Siegen facility in with Deutsche Bahn being. de performance. There were challenges from a Germany, with full technical support specifically keen to tap into the

team s expertise in inboard bearingbogie technology.

This unconventional bogie layoutoffers a low-weight frame andInnovative flexible frame bogies Underground wanted something building the S stock for the wheel-set solution, and reducedthat can cope with challenging that could deal with track subsurface lines. This model is unsprung mass. The res'ult is atrack conditions have been irregularities while still being bigger than the deep-line

designed by Bombardier's steady, It didn't want lots of variants, and that has compact, lightweight but robust Derby division for London movement and sway," implications for the bogie design with significant operational Underground's deep-level The solution was a bogie that design. "The S stock for benefits, such as reduced energy Victoria and Northern lines, and has two halves, bolted together sub-surface is a lot bigger - the consumption and noise emissionfor its sub-surface Metropolitan, with rubber joints to axle load is higher, and it runs a and less track damage.District, Circle, and accommodate track twist. "That bit faster - but essentially it has The inboard bearing conceptHammersmith and City lines. design was developed the same design," he says. harks back to BR's days, saysJustin Keeley, Bombardier's specifically for London The London Undergroundchief engineer in the bogies Underground," says Keeley. work will sustain train-making at Keeley. "Much of the work was donedivision, says: "With a normal The Litchurch Lane train the Derby plant until at least in the 1980s, and the guys whobogie, you have four wheels factory in Derby has produced 2015, after which Bombardier developed it brought it with them towith a rigid H-frame . But London deep-line versions and is now hopes to win a 600-carriage Bombardier. It developed withincontract to build the Crossrail Bombardier from a concept totrains. But it faces competition something that works.from German rival Siemens.

An early day motion put "For 20 years, the only peopleforward by Chris Williamson, using it were in the UK, driven byLabour MP for north Derby, has track access costs. Then we soldcalled on the government to one to Norwegian railways. And nowmake sure the Crossrail trains everyone is starting to realise thatare built here. Williamson says this inboard bearing bogie designthe work would guarantee matches the needs of the world in10,000 jobs in the East Midlandsand in the supply chain. Without that it is light. doesn't destroy theNo-sway solution: The

Tube bogie deals with the work, the Bombardier plant track, and reduces overall costs."track irregularities will close, ending British train However, although the Deutschewhile staying steady manufacturing, he says. Bahn ICx will use a technologyhoned on British railways, the

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Bombardier's Litchurch Lanesite in Derby is the only trainmanufacturing plant in the UK.But that is se t to change soon,with Japanese giant Hitachibuilding an 82 million facility atNewton Aycliffe in CountyDurham where it will make theSuper Express trains for theGreat Western main line and theEast Coast main line.

The Newton Aycliffe factorywill build 596 cars over thecourse of two-and-a-half years,with production commencing in2016. The greenfield-site facilityis being overseen by DarrenCumner, Hitachi's manufacturingand plant manager, who isresponsible for construction andfit-out. "It's an exciting time," hesays. "I have been responsiblefor new train plants before. Butthis is in the UK, so that makes ithigh-profile."

Cumner already has a goodidea of what the factory will looklike. Each train carriage will flowthrough a maximum of 51stations, with value added alongthe way. The aluminium bodyShells will gradually be filled outin a defined sequence, startingwith equipment such asinsulation and wiring, then floorsand ceilings, with largercomponents such as the heatingand ventilation added towardsthe end.

To meet output requirements,the plant will use a takt timemanufacturing approach, saysCumner. "Takt times will driveproduction of one carriage perday. Every cycle time on eachstation has to be completed inless than eight hours."

operational characteristics of theGerman rail network will meandesign changes for the Bombardierbogie being supplied.

"For instance," says Cartwright,"we had to upgrade the frame tohandle increased axle loads. Thebogie concept remained the same,but it had to be 'Europeanised'. Wehad to have a track brake, andadded an extra disc brake in themiddle of the axle. We uprated theprimary and secondary suspension.a4 .JULY 201.3 PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING

The plant will be based onHitachi's main production facilityin Japan, so stringent qualitylevels can be replicated. Cumnerhas been back and forth to theJapanese plant, learning fromengineering, manufacturing andlogistics teams there. "Hitachihas been making trains fo r manyyears," he says. "So we havebeen going through thingsstation-by-station, picking upwhere the quality controlpoints are.

"At the moment that is the keyfocus for me. Even though we

The focus many years ago was onlarge castings, but now it is onsmaller castings. So we redesignedthe frame to suit that."

The Deutsche Bahn project isnow at a critical stage. All the partsfor the first prototypes have beenprocured and fabrication will takeplace over the summer.Bombardier's engineers haveworked closely with their Siemenscounterparts on the project,dispelling any suggestions of

Platform for the future:The new Hitachi factorywill build Super Expresstrains and moremight position each station in adifferent sequence, we want tobe sure that our facility producesthe sorts of high-quality trainsthat we make in Japan. So thefacilities might look different, thematerials movements might bedifferent, but the quality gaugewill be the same."

The Newton Aycliffe plant isalso being "future-proofed,"says Cumner, in anticipation ofother orders. While it will initiallybuild the Super Express trains,Hitachi is also bidding to win theCrossrail rolling stock order and

adversarial rivalries. Siemens isresponsible for the main contract,with Bombardier providing the trailercars and the bogies.

"Deutsche Bahn likes buyingGerman, but we had the bogiedesign that it wanted," says Keeley.

Looking forward, there are othercontracts on the horizon that theDerby bogie division is keen onwinning. Its Flexx Eco bogie, withinboard bearing technology. is beingconsidered for railways in countries

contracts in mainland Europe."We are no t designing the

factory just fo r Super Express,we are designing it to maketrains forever," he says. "We'vego t to future-proof it. We knowwhat the UK rolling requirementlooks like, but we are also takinginto consideration Europeangauging and height of trains,for instance."

New manufacturingtechniques will be introducedover time. On Super Express, allthe train bodies will be frictionstir welded in Japan. But Hitachiis looking to transfer thattechnology to Newton Aycliffe.

"There is large-scaletechnology transfer already,"says Cumner, "but friction stirwelding here might have been arisk on this product. We arerisk-averse - that is key todelivering on time. But we havea friction stir welding resource inthe UK and we know whatinvestment will be necessary."

Construction of the NewtonAycliffe plant is expected to startat the end of this year. It willemploy 730 people. Fewer than2% of the workforce will comefrom Japan.

Recruitment of engineers willstart soon, adds Cumner. "Wewant to put some engineers inJapan in advance of the start ofproduction so they becomeexperts. In the next threemonths we will scope that outand we will be looking fo r thosepeople, particularly in the areasof quality and manufacturingengineering. There will also bea long-term mentoringprogramme with Japan."

such as Russia and Singapore. "Wealso have a launch customer inSweden, so there is a lot going on,"says Cartwright.

A Flexx Eco variant will also beoffered as part of Bombardier'S bidfor the train-building contract for theCrossrail project. That bogie willrequire space for the shoe-gear,which will mean reworking of thedesign. "We are in the final stages ofbidding for Crossrail, and it's fingerscrossed ," says Keeley. 0

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