📋 Tender Overview
ScotlandS Railway Is Investing Ps7.7M To Upgrade The Braking Systems On More Than 70 Scotrail Trains, Aiming To Improve Safety And Performance During The Challenging Autumn Season. Leaves On The Tracks Is The RailwayS Equivalent Of Black Ice On The Road. It Creates A Thin, Slippery Layer That Can Make It Harder For Trains To Accelerate And Brake, Leading To Longer Journey Times And, Occasionally, Service Disruption. To Help Tackle This, A System To Improve Adhesion, Known As Double Variable Rate Sanding (Dvrs), Is Being Fitted To ScotrailS Class 170 Fleet, With Single Variable Rate Sanding (Svrs) On Its Class 158 Fleet. Each System Automatically Adjusts The Amount Of Sand Applied Between The Wheels And The Rail According To The TrainS Speed, Improving Grip And Reducing Stopping Distances In Slippery Conditions. Dvrs Was Successfully Trialled On A Class 170 Near Inverness In July, Then Again In Edinburgh Earlier This Month In A Direct Comparison Trial Between A Dvrs Fitted Class 170 And A Non-Dvrs Fitted Class 170. The Trial Showed Measurable Improvements In Braking Performance Under Low-Adhesion Conditions, Which Will Help Trains Run More Smoothly And On Time Through The Autumn And Winter Months, Helping Give Customers Greater Confidence In The Reliability Of Their Journey. Kristian Peacock, Interim Head Of Performance At Network Rail Scotland Said: This Trial Is A Great Example Of What We Can Achieve By Working Together Across The Rail Industry To Solve Joint Problems. During Autumn, There Are Unique Challenges For Performance And We Always Like To Try New Things To Reduce The Impact On Train Services. The Data So Far From Our Dvrs System Is Really Encouraging. ItS A Simple Solution That Should Make A Real Difference. We Are Excited To See What The Future Of Managing Seasonal Issues Like Leaf Fall Will Look Like, And IM Confident That Dvrs Tech Will Play A Part In That. Installation Work Is Now Underway, With 12 Class 170S And One Class 158 Ready For This Autumn. Scotrail Will Monitor The Effectiveness Of The Technology. A Full Rollout Of The New Dvrs System On All 34 Class 170 And Srvs System On 40 Class 158 Trains Is Expected To Complete By Summer 2026. Mark Ilderton, Scotrail Service Delivery Director, Said: Slippery Rails Are One Of The Biggest Challenges We Face Every Autumn, And We Know How Frustrating It Can Be When Leaf Fall Causes Delays Or Cancellations. By Investing In This New Technology, WeRe Helping Our Trains Perform Better In Tough Conditions Which Will Improve Safety, Reduce The Risk Of Disruption, And Deliver More Reliable Journeys For Our Customers. ItS Another Example Of Innovation Making A Real Difference For Customers, And How Working Together Across ScotlandS Railway Continues To Deliver Improvements. The Investment Is Supported By The ScotlandS Railway Joint Innovation Fund, Which Promotes Safer, More Reliable, And More Efficient Services Through Cross-Industry Collaboration. It Follows Extensive Research Led By The Rail Safety And Standards Board (Rssb), With Successful Tests On Several Types Of Train Across BritainS Rail Network. Passengers / Community Members Network Rail National Helpline 03457 11 41 41 Latest Travel Advice Please Journalists Network Rail Press Office - Natasha Richardson Senior Media Relations Manager Network Rail 07701274676 We Own, Operate And Develop BritainS Railway Infrastructure; ThatS 20,000 Miles Of , 30,000 And The Thousands Of , Level Crossings And Stations. We Run 20 Of The UkS Largest While All The Others, Over 2,500, Are Run By The CountryS . Usually, There Are Almost Five Million Journeys Made In The Uk And Over 600 Freight Trains Run On The Network. People Depend On BritainS Railway For Their Daily Commute, To Visit Friends And Loved Ones And To Get Them Home Safe Every Day. Our Role Is To Deliver , So We Carefully Manage And Deliver Thousands Of Projects Every Year That Form Part Of The , To Grow And Expand The NationS Railway Network To Respond To The Tremendous Growth And Demand The Railway Has Experienced - A Doubling Of Passenger Journeys Over The Past 20 Years. Follow Us On Twitter: Visit Our Online Newsroom:
