Page 22 - Rail Express - September 2019

OPERATIONS

The all-seeing NOC

PhilMarsh visits Network Rail’s National Operations Centre, which monitors

the entirenetwork around the clock to keep passenger and freight services
running as smoothlyaspossible.

HE statistics of around 25,000 mechanics of the situation. The very Eastleigh –which has aTOPSreporting
trains aday operating across proactivepartnership between the facility –togotoanengineering
T20,000 miles of Network Rail track Samaritans charity and the rail industry worksite that does not.
every 24 hours arewell rehearsed, and wasvery much in evidence in this When engineering work hasbeen
the National Operations Centrecould sad process. completed, the empty wagons maynot
be described as the heart of these One area left to the police to return to Eastleigh, but theywillbein
operations. From its base in Milton manageisthe growing problem of the system as being thereand not at
Keynes, the NOC monitors all train ‘Person in precarious position’ incidents, the worksite,which is thereforesuitably
movements on a24/7 basis, split into wheresomebody is posing athreat to corrected by the relocation facility.This
apassengerteam and the Freight and themselves. Thereweretwo incidents function is also used when alocomotive
National Passenger Operators (FNPO) on July15–one near Potters Bar at is movedbyroad and is ‘virtually
organisation. 03.45 and one at Abercynon at 21.15 relocated’ when it reappearsonthe
To getafeelfor NOC operations, that collectivelycaused around 1300 network, and the NOC team sends afax
Ijoined the passenger team’s duty minutes' delay. confirmation to those involved foran
controller David WiltshireonJune28and Following the incident at Lewisham audit trail.
the FNPO’s freight service delivery TOPS also sendsvarious
managers (FSDMs) John Phillips “The team is sadlywell-rehearsed alerts to theNOC team, such
and Steve Dexter on July 15. in liaising with coroners, as seeminglyoverweightor
By 07.00, when Ijoined David unregistered vehicles, usually
Wiltshire, he had already spoken undertakers and police” caused by inputting errors. David
to every route controller to gain Wiltshire, demonstrating his
an overviewofthe network expertise gained overa47-year
situation inherited from the night shift, in March2018, when passengers on a railway career,said: “The net cargo
andwas monitoring every situation stranded train opted to open the doors weight can be confused with the gross
that had the potential to escalate into and climb down onto the trackswhile wagonweight, which might have been
serious disruption. the third-railwas stilllive, apolicyof erroneouslyinput into the system,
The NOC receives around assessing the risk to passengers on which in turn automaticallyassumes
100 emails every hour from route trapped trains wasintroduced. Trains incorrect loading and breaching of the
controllers, advising on incidents arenow held in platforms wherever axle weight limits.”
ranging from the ridiculous and the possible to avoid emergencyor Occasionally, spoiltrains are
downright tragic, but the policyisnot unplanned evacuations. incorrectlyloaded by filling onlyone
to intervene unless thereispotential to side of awagon. This increases the
affect overall network performance. GOING WILD axle loading on that side and creates
On July15at11.02, forexample, a The NOC is aone-stop shop forall the potential foraderailment, which
sombrero-wearing drunk wasreported route controllers, and uses 34 screens triggers aWILD alarm. Wetspoilalso
on the track in the Sheffield area, while to monitor everythingthatmoves (or does the same, as it weighs morethan
the tragic suicide of ateenager five does not move)using livefeeds from the dry variety.
hours later brought avery downbeat the TRUSTand TOPS computers, plus On June 28, aWILD activation was
mood to the office. safety critical systems like Wheel registered at 06.58 when the 06.12
Twosuicides occurred on both days Impact Load Detectors (WILD) and Hot Liverpool Street to Braintree service
Iwas in the NOC, and the team is sadly AxleboxDetectors. (operated by EMUs Nos. 321329+
well-rehearsed in liaising with coroners, The NOC has high-levelTOPS 321433) activated the Ingatestone
undertakers, police and the statutory permissions–suchasthe relocation Down Main line WILD with awheelflat ¬ The NOC’s goal is to keep services
rail authorities,such as the Office of facility,which is used severaltimes a registering atrack forceof412kN, running, which includes deploying
Rail andRoad and the Department for day. TOPS knows the location of every which is well overNetwork Rail’s limit ‘Thunderbird’ rescue locos when
Transport. This enables local teams to main line registered item of traction of 350kN. The train wasstopped, the necessary –such as on April25when
getonwith service recovery without and rollingstock but, forexample, an driver advised to proceed at 20mph No. 57308 wassummoned to the aid
taking on the sombreprocedural engineering train mayhave departed to Witham wherethe service was of No. 66423, which had failed at
terminated beforerunning empty to Washwood Heath on the 4V44 Daventry
Colchester sidings forexamination. to Wentloog. The rescued train is
Earlier that morning, atrack circuit seen coming off St AndrewsJunction
failure(TCF) near Bethnal Green was (Birmingham) and heading towards
discoveredinside aplanned possession BordesleyJunction. TomStobbs
that wasdue to be given up at 04.40.
The engineering work wascompleted were undertaken. David Wiltshireasked
to plan and Anglia Control advised if the NOC could help, but given that
of the TCF, not relatedtothe works, Anglia Control had implemented a
andthe morning peak service to sound recovery plan, further assistance
Liverpool Street waslooking to be wasnot required. The NOC investigated
seriouslycompromised. howlongthe dropped rail had been
The on-site teams discoveredtwo thereand found it had been left for
signalling cables had been crushed three years, graduallywearing through
by alength of rail laid on bearers that the bearers under the vibration from
had worn away,exposing the cables passing trains.
to the direct weight of the rail wearing This demonstrated what the NOC
through the insulation. Anglia Control is about, with local teams resolving
reduced MTRCrossrailservicestosix the immediate problems with train
The ‘Putting passengers first’ notice in Network Rail’s Quadrant building, Milton per hour terminating at and starting operators, while the NOC itself
Keynes. All photos by PhilMarsh unless stated from Stratfordwhile temporary repairs investigated the background. ❯
22 RAIL EXPRESS September 2019