Projects Ride on time With DLR ‘Black box’ project Monitoring part of the train fleet on London’s Docklands Light Railway in real time is becoming a reality, thanks to an innovative SNC-Lavalin project that showcases both technical skills and close partnership working Words Andrew Bennett Two-hundred-and-seventy channels of information available 24/7. Ninety- four vehicles running on a network spanning 45 different stations. There are a lot of numbers – not to mention complexity – involved in SNC-Lavalin’s latest project to help improve the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) service in London. This project has been a true collaboration for Rail & Transit, working with the rolling stock engineering and maintenance teams of DLR and KeolisAmey Docklands, along with the lead contractor Arrowvale Electronics and communication supplier Nomad Digital. The combined team are delivering a challenging and innovative scheme that will help improve reliability and availability of the DLR passenger services. The DLR, which carried around 117 million passengers between April 2015 and March 2016, asked the main contractor to replace obsolete on-train monitoring equipment on two-thirds of its rolling stock fleet. The client also wanted to upgrade the equipment on its B92K rolling stock to enable remote, real-time monitoring of this fleet – a new capability. At the time of writing, about a third of the fleet has been fitted with its new rail-equivalent ‘black box’ recorders (which are, in fact, orange in colour) and associated electronics, with the whole upgrade due for completion by December this year. Virtual monitoring on board Already, the trains carrying this upgrade can be monitored all the time they are in service, wherever they are on the DLR network. Information is sent back to monitoring screens in no more than three seconds. SNC-Lavalin Project Manager Mark Zawisza, who has been co-ordinating the project work, says the immediate real-time availability of information and ‘status changes’ of different on- board factors is a real bonus for the DLR’s operators and other interested parties. ‘The control centre knowing where a problem is occurring on a vehicle – for example, an imperceptible passenger door fault – immediately reduces dwell times at stations, improves availability and therefore, from an operational point of view, the service is much enhanced,’ says Mark. It has been quite a challenging and complex project; trying to monitor 270 different channels of information in itself is quite difficult Mark Zawisza Project Manager ‘It is the first real outing for our Diagnostyx product, so that is a big win for us,’ he adds. ‘It has been quite a challenging and complex project; trying to monitor 270 different channels of information in itself is quite difficult. ‘The volume of data we are getting off the trains is quite high. We have had to overcome quite a lot of challenges. The fact that we (SNC-Lavalin) can see the train, in the virtual sense, where it is and what it is doing in real time, for me, is very rewarding.’ Skills are ‘second to none’ Richard George, SNC-Lavalin’s Group Managing Director for Rail & Transit Engineering, has been impressed by the results of the project and his teams’ work. ‘The DLR work is a superb project that demonstrates our technical skills are second to none when it comes to technical development and innovation on an existing railway operation,’ he says. ‘Arrowvale is supplying most of the electronics, communications control units are being supplied by Nomad Digital and SNC-Lavalin is helping in several ways, including providing the installation design of the equipment, providing installation teams, assurance and software – work that involves many teams at the company. ‘The DLR’s new virtual ‘eyes’ are helping people in its control room monitor factors including: trains’ brake pressures; whether doors are open and shut; and the performance of the traction control system. The Diagnostyx package used on the DLR’s automated train may – in future – benefit other train operators running services in the UK, or other parts of the world.’ viewpoint@snclavalin.com snclavalin.com Projects