3 minute read time.
If you didn't make it along to the IET Railway North West Electrification Programme event in Crewe, have a read over what you missed.

The North West Electrification Programme
The engineering team from Network Rail give an overview of the background to the programme, how the option development and designs has been progressed, and  what the next steps are for the programme.

Background
The electrification programme in the North West will see over 300km of lines electrified, improving connections between towns and cities in our region and beyond. The first two phases of electrification are now complete with passengers enjoying new electric services from Manchester Airport to Scotland, Liverpool, and between Huyton and Wigan with subsequent phases well underway. 

The talk covered Phase 3, 4 and 5 of the project and covered the key outputs, key quants, resignalling/recontrol, civil and structural challenges, OLE Technology, Signal sighting, electrical clearances, transmission lines and time for some Q&As.

·         Phase 3: Preston to Blackpool
A fully electrified route between Preston and Blackpool will connect the area to the West Coast Mainline, the key rail artery linking the North West with London and Scotland.
From May 2018 passengers travelling between Preston and Blackpool North will benefit from better journeys on more spacious electric trains.
Find out more.




·         Phase 4: Manchester Victoria /Orsdal Lane to Euxton Junction

Upgrading the railway between Manchester and Preston via Bolton as part of a £1bn investment in the North to deliver faster, greener, quieter and more reliable journeys from December 2017.
Find out more.




·         Phase 5: Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge and Ashburys
An upgraded and electrified route to Stalybridge will then be taken forward to Leeds and beyond by the Transpennine Route Upgrade.  This includes improvements to tracks to speed up journey times, and a new power supply feeder station that will help provide the electricity needed for the wider programme of electrification.
Find out more about the railway upgrade to Leeds, Selby and York


More information can be found:
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/network-rail-delivers-first-phase-of-north-west-electrification
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/lnw/north-west-electrification/

 
Speakers:

Ryan Duff (Phase 3) is as Designated Project Engineer managing the rail systems integration for the Preston-Blackpool electrification and re-signalling project. Ryan obtained an MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College London and graduated in 2006. Ryan joined the rail industry from university working for numerous design and construction organisations before joining Network Rail in 2010 to work on the Northern Hub and North West Electrification programme. 


John Thompson (Phase 4) is a Designated Project Engineer managing the rail systems integration for the Manchester to Preston electrification, journey time improvement and re-signalling project. John obtained an MSc in Railway Infrastructure Engineering from Sheffield Hallam University in 2013 having previously gained a BEng (Hons) in Telecommunications Engineering from Lancaster University in 2005. John joined the rail industry in 2007 having previously operated as an electrical engineer in a range of industries including, automotive, defence and utilities. John joined Network Rail in 2009 working on various enhancements schemes prior to the Northern Hub and North West Electrification programme.


Pete Sommers (Phase 5)  is a Designated Project Engineer providing engineering support for the traction power aspect of the North West electrification schemes and managing the rail systems integration for the Manchester-Stalybridge electrification. Pete obtained an MEng in electrical engineering from the University of Sheffield. After graduating he completed a graduate scheme with E.ON working across a number of thermal power stations. He joined Network Rail in 2013 and has supported the West Coast Power Supply Upgrade project before working on new electrification schemes in the North West.
  • Some further information can be found here -


    -  Third facility for overhead line electrification opens in Crewe - https://www.globalrailnews.com/2017/04/13/third-facility-for-overhead-line-electrification-opens-in-crewe/ Volker


    -  Rail invests in steel mast manipulator technolgoy for NWEP3 project https://www.europeanrailwayreview.com/33642/rail-industry-news/volkerrail-steel-mast-manipulator-nwep3/


    -  Electrification fabrication facility to support just-in-time delivery - http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/electrification-fabrication-facility-to-support-just-in-time-delivery.html