Capacity through

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Capacity through Access to the
Track Presentation to AGGRI Seminar 28 November
2003 Stephen Barber Technical Director - First
Engineering Ltd
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• Structure
• Current position
• access provision - actual and an ideal
• cost drivers
• Work in progress
• national system level
• route and area specific
• key lessons
• Opportunities
• Implications for planning and delivery
• Conclusions

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• Current position - access provision
• Network has finite capacity, yet over time
  increasing demands have been placed upon it
• A small number of critical junctions routes
  need more access
• in Kent gt70 of delay minutes attributed to key
  junctions - only 3 of access available at those
  sites
• But globally, current engineering access not
  fully utilised

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• Current position - compared to an ideal
• General Characterisation of Existing ROTR Work
  Pattern 

• Characterisation of Ideal ROTR Work Pattern

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• Current position - cost drivers
• Short possession access not effective or
  efficient
• Long possessions give most efficient use of
  engineering resources - optimum length driven by
  engineering activity
• Performance regime incentivises under-planning
• Clear need for industry business case
  optimisation
• value of running incremental trains vs.
  incremental cost of engineering work in shorter
  access windows
• Unconstrained Projects - major impact on
  maintenance and renewal plans
• Renewals - item / scope change - and then
  programme slip

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• Work in progress - national system level
• Network Access Unit (Leeds) established to
  co-ordinate delivery of engineering access
• Integrated Planning Units (IPUs) taking overall
  view of possessions use within Network Rail
  Regions
• Area planning Teams - local ownership from T-46
• Collection of industry KPIs on possession
  performance
• Maximise use of individual possessions
• Optimum value tools - e.g. POET (possession
  optimisation efficiency tool)

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• Work in progress - route specific
• Targeting best industry outcomes for a particular
  route
• London-Norwich
• London-Brighton
• Bristol-Birmingham
• Southampton West Midlands Action Team
• Scotland RSSB
• 2004/05 timetable wins in 2003/04 where
  possible
• cross industry teams developed plans
• NR, IMCs, TOCs, FOCs and RSSB

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• Work in progress - key lessons 1
• Tri-partite meetings between IMC/NR/TOC are
  essential to achieve best results for possession
  requirements
• Annual workload should be assessed to identify
  cyclical maintenance for key junctions and plan
  engineering access accordingly
• Renewals plan should be fixed when cyclical
  maintenance is planned - at the latest
• Resource utilisation should be considered over
  wide geographical scope main trunk routes at
  weekends, suburban commuter routes in midweek
  nights

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• Work in progress - key lessons 2
• Treat cyclical possessions and work within them
  as a project
• plan, monitor and control work accordingly
• Main routes with 3 tracks - access for
  patrolling inspection is problematic
• must work with TOCs to achieve optimum value
  solution
• Look at safety and efficiency of site access
• provide additional and improved access points
  where these would give significant extra site
  working time

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• Opportunities
• SWAT has identified real efficiency savings for
  2003/04
• 58 increase in track mile hours, 32 fewer
  possessions
• weekend blocks are c100 more productive c20
  of work currently done at the weekend
• Scotlands plan for maintenance from 2005
• reduces total engineering access hours
• increases work hours whilst keeping paid hours
  constant
• weekend work moves to 11 hour shifts, weeknight
  access to 7 hours shifts
• unlocks increases in output efficiency, volume
  and quality
• facilitates reductions in delays and TSRs

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• Implications for planning and delivery
• Need clear view on projects and renewals
  workbanks
• and plans that are stable within industry
  planning horizons
• Need to consider broad patterns of access
  relevant to different types of route
• site optimisation model gives best possession
  times for mtce renewal work - but needs better
  train value info
• but also optimise overall demand for resource
• Blockades often necessary and most efficient
  solution
• pre-determined formula giving visibility on cost
  of blockades would remove significant levels of
  risk

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• Conclusions
• Finite capacity - used for train paths or
  engineering - two issues cannot be separated
• Utilisation strategies must balance effectiveness
  and efficiency of engineering access against the
  value of the transport opportunities foregone
• Access optimisation needs clear view of costs and
  values of passenger traffic, freight traffic and
  engineering work
• Maintenance, renewal and project work is
  fundamentally linked - planning across all 3 must
  be integrated
• Optimal practical solutions come from tri-partite
  dialogue between engineers, network controllers,
  and TOC/FOCs