This page will display all public deliverables and documents.

Videos

Work Package 4 (Track monitoring innovations & results) training workshop
https://youtu.be/Blg6tSdbZAc

Video #1:
Overview of the NeTIRail-INFRA project

Overview of the NeTIRail-INFRA project - YouTube

Video #2:
NeTIRail-INFRA WP4 demonstrations

NeTIRail-INFRA WP4 demonstrations - YouTube

Video #3:
Overview of NeTIRail-INFRA WP4 - Monitoring and Smart Technologies

NeTIRail-INFRA WP4 Monitoring and Smart Technology - YouTube

Video #4: Retour ligne automatique
NeTIRail-INFRA Track and Overhead line accelerations monitoring

NeTIRail-INFRA Track and Overhead line accelerations monitoring - YouTube

Video #5:
NeTIRail-INFRA Smartphone monitoring of train accelerations and passenger comfort

NeTIRail-INFRA Smartphone monitoring of train accelerations and passenger comfort - YouTube

Video #6:
NeTIRail-INFRA ABA Axle Box Acceleration System

NeTIRail-INFRA ABA Axle Box Acceleration System - YouTube

Video #7:
NeTIRail-INFRA Interlocking devices

NeTIRail-INFRA Interlocking devices - YouTube

Video #8:
NeTIRail-INFRA High speed video camera analysis of overhead line dynamics

NeTIRail-INFRA High speed video camera analysis of overhead line dynamics - YouTube

Video #9:
NeTIRail-INFRA Switch and Crossing monitoring

NeTIRail-INFRA Switch and Crossing monitoring - YouTube

Deliverables

WP 1 - Contrasting market needs, and business case

D1.1 Report on Selection of Case Studies
Seven case studies have been selected, covering the three business cases considered in the Project: busy routes, underutilized secondary lines, and freight-dominated routes. Slovenia and Turkey provided all three cases, whilst the Romanian case studies were limited to just a secondary line.
All these case studies have in common:
  • Routes with distinctive features (context or purpose), so these are not arbitrary line sections;
  • A good availability of technical, financial and operational data, pertaining to the infrastructure and operations.
D1.2 Database of economic data on case study lines
The overall purpose of NeTIRail-INFRA is to identify interventions that will reduce costs for maintaining railway lines as well as improve quality of services. More specifically, the idea is to identify interventions that will reduce costs for infrastructure condition monitoring and maintenance at the same time as overall performance is improved. The first task (T1.1) in WP 1 – Contrasting market needs, and business case – was to select case study lines which fit the three line categories set out in the application. These are busy capacity limited passenger railway; under-utilised rural/secondary lines; and a freight dominated route. Seven case study lines were selected that fit these three line categories from countries with industry representation in NeTIRail-INFRA (Romania, Turkey and Slovenia).
The present deliverable concerns task T1.2. The purpose of this task is to start identifying and collecting relevant economic information about the selected case study lines. As noted in the description of work, the data needed for assessing the impact on costs as well as on reliability, capacity and the environment will be in focus for the relevant technical work packages. T1.2 therefore primarily identifies the nature of the interventions addressed in WP2, WP3 and WP4.
Based on this description, the need for economic information and related data is specified. In addition, collection of information about demand (number of users etc. on the case study lines) has been initiated. This is an important statistic for computing user benefits of technical infrastructure improvements.
The collection of demand data has proceeded according to plans. There is, however, still some scope for improving the understanding of the precise interventions that are being considered in each technical work package. This must then be combined with a mutual understanding of the type of information about costs and related information, such as interventions, delays and failures that will be needed in order to implement a comprehensive understanding of the impact of each intervention. Ultimately, such information will be required if we are to demonstrate the overall net benefit of the innovations and thus establish the business case.
The production of D1.2 has generated a strategy for closing this gap: As part of WP1, an example database has been produced that comprises data from another country (Sweden). This template will be used in the next phase of to communicate requirements within the consortium and to identify similar information for each case study line.
D1.3 Cost model development report
This deliverable should be read in conjunction with D1.1 and D1.2. It outlines the cost modelling research that is being undertaken within WP1, which has two parts:
1. The development of a high level strategic cost model that will draw life cycle cost (LCC) information from the technical work packages (WP2-WP4) and incorporate them within a cost-benefit-analysis (CBA) framework to establish the business case for the relevant innovations.
2. Econometric modelling aimed at pushing forward the research frontier in the area of rail marginal cost estimation.
In addition, qualitative research will be carried out in the area of incentives: that is how different incentive mechanisms (track access agreements, franchise agreements, performance regimes and the wider regulatory and government funding regimes) operate and interact / contradict.
In respect of the high level strategic cost model, the inputs required will derive from the LCC analysis that will be done within WP2-WP4. It is therefore very important that there is close interaction between WP1 and WP2-WP4 to ensure that the required information is provided. The LCC will consider how maintenance practices and asset lives will change as a result of the proposed innovations, such that an estimate of costs, with and without the innovations (and with different assumptions about future traffic and service growth) can be estimated. These cost estimates will be integrated within the overall cost benefit analysis (CBA) framework to establish the business case.
The data gaps established in Deliverable 1.2 will need to be closed and the first step is a session at the Consortium meeting in Istanbul in July 2016. One important consideration at that meeting will be the extent to which the involvement of staff involved in costing / budgeting within the railway organisations might become more closely involved with the project.
In respect of the econometric research, an ambitious research programme has been set out. This will feed into the high level strategic cost modelling by providing a high level cross-check against the bottom-up engineering LCC analysis, and also for scaling the results (e.g. making estimates about how costs change with increased future traffic levels). It also pushes forward the research frontier in a number of areas: (1) cost variability with respect to quality and climate; (2) the impact of aggregation of datasets on marginal cost estimates; (3) and methodological aspects relating to functional form and obtaining improved estimates of cost elasticities and marginal costs1 . Whilst the research is ambitious, datasets have already been collected from non-case study countries (due to lack of data in the case study countries). Preliminary literature reviews have been carried out.
D1.4 Cost and User benefit report
This deliverable presents the analysis of the effects on costs and user benefits of the innovations
developed in the NeTIRail-INFRA project. The report can hence be described as a detailed economic
assessment of the NeTIRail-INFRA railway innovations. Cost-Benefit Analysis is the central
methodological framework utilised for this task.
D1.5 Wider economic effects (intermediate report)
Task 1.4 (Wider Economic Benefits) in NeTIRail-INFRA is concerned with the development of tools required to estimate the wider economic impacts of the case study rail lines.
Before wider economic impacts can be valued in a cost benefit analysis it is necessary to predict the scale of the impacts on the economy – e.g. in terms of productivity, employment and output. The estimation and valuation of these impacts will form part of the business case for the innovations developed in work packages 2, 3 and 4 and will where possible be incorporated into the decision support tools being developed in WP6.
The purpose of this deliverable is to identify the evaluation studies and the econometric methods to be used in estimating the relationship between historic rail investment and changes in employment.
The results from evaluation studies will be used to support the estimation of the wider economic impacts of the case study lines in WP1.
The literature is developed in the context of changes in productivity and output and chosen supporting models for economic output, productivity and the valuation methods for all the economy impacts will be described in the subsequent deliverable associated with this task.
However, the literature remains fairly embryonic in terms of estimating employment impacts from changes in transport quality. This task addresses this evidence gap and involves the development of a model regarding the relationship between rail infrastructure and employment–focused around the NeTIRail-INFRA interests (busy commuter line, low trafficked line and freight line in the East European countries Slovenia, Romania and Turkey). Having reviewed data availability and historic rail investments, we find there to be insufficient potential evaluation studies in the three case study countries and here we describe the methods used to create a long list including additional historic investments in Sweden and the UK. We then describe how we have whittled these down to a short list of seven evaluation studies covering the three NeTIRail-INFRA line types (busy commuter, low trafficked and freight).
We explain how the effect of these investments on employment will be evaluated using a “Differences in Differences” evaluation method and the reasons underlining this choice of approach.
Finally, we set out the remaining steps of Task 1.4.
D1.6 Wider Economic Benefits Final Report
The overall aim of this deliverable is to set out the methods to quantify and value the wider economic impacts of the NeTIRail-INFRA interventions which form the basis of the business case for the case study lines in task 1.6.
Within this there are three key objectives:
1. The presentation of appropriate models for quantification of economic output and productivity impacts as derived from a survey of the literature
2. The development of a model to quantify the relationship between rail infrastructure and employment focused around the NeTIRail-INFRA interests (busy commuter line, low trafficked line and freight line in the East European countries Slovenia, Romania and Turkey).
3. The presentation of appropriate valuation methods for all the economy impacts as derived from a survey of the literature.
Before wider economic impacts can be valued in a cost benefit analysis it is necessary to predict the scale of the impacts on the economy – e.g. in terms of productivity, employment and output. This is the quantification stage and is addressed through objectives 1 and 2. As part of this process we identify the market failures that are relevant to the analysis, as this determines the scope of the wider impact analysis to be employed in the NeTIRail-INFRA case studies.
Through objective 2 this deliverable also addresses one of the main evidence gaps in the quantification of wider economic benefits – that of quantifying the employment effects. Within this deliverable we present new evidence on the relationship between rail infrastructure and employment. Whilst we were unable to identify suitable historic investments within all the NeTIRail-INFRA area of interest, we proceeded with a detailed examination of four historic rail investments: Murska Sobota- Hodos (Slovenia), Mansfield to Nottingham - the Robin Hood line (UK), Manchester metro (UK) and Stirling to Alloa (UK) which covered busy commuter lines and low trafficked lines.
Our analysis of these case studies in this deliverable has given interesting but mixed results. We do find evidence of employment impacts in certain contexts but these have been hard to interpret in the context of the NeTIRail-INFRA innovations and thus objective 2 is not entirely met. This deliverable nevertheless sets out the principles for quantifying employment impacts based on existing evidence and guidance necessary to estimate such effects where relevant for the innovations, utilising the general evidence from the literature as well as the new econometric work undertaken.
In terms of the valuation stage addressing objective 3, economy impacts are only included in a cost benefit analysis in addition to transport user benefits in certain circumstances. In these circumstances transport user benefits do not capture all the social benefits of a transport investment. For the NeTIRail-INFRA business case studies we identify the relevant conditions as agglomeration economies; some degree of imperfect competition in the general economy; income taxes in the labour market; and the potential that high levels of unemployment exist. This set of conditions is driven by an understanding of the NeTIRail-INFRA innovations which are primarily aimed at improving the efficiency of operating the rail network rather than expanding the network
per se.
In order to fully address objectives 1 and 3 related to the quantification and valuation stages we have transferred models used elsewhere to capture the agglomeration impacts and imperfect competition effects. Suggested model parameters pertinent to Eastern Europe have been drawn from the literature and presented to give a set of models that can be used to estimate the wider economic impacts of the NeTIRail-INFRA innovations when tested in the case studies.
D1.7 Incentives final report
This deliverable draws together a significant body of research undertaken as part of the project.
D1.8 Final business case synthesis final report
This deliverable synthesizes and brings together all the elements of the economic and social assessment of the NeTIRail-INFRA railway innovations, which have been developed in previous Deliverables D1.4, D1.6, D1.7, D5.2 and D5.3. Hence, this deliverable brings together the Cost Benefit Analyses (D1.4), the societal analyses (D5.2 and D5.3), the wider economic impact research (D1.6) and the investigation on incentives for the implementation of innovations (D1.7).

WP2 - Tailored track infrastructure, design and maintenance

D2.1 Analysis of “big data”: geospatial analysis of costs, drivers of failure and life of track infrastructure
The research within this deliverable starts with an overview of the most commonly used methods applied in different European countries for the classification of infrastructure expenditures and the methods used to estimate capital costs. We looked at modalities for classification of infrastructure expenditures, and progressed towards infrastructure expenditures components to monitor infrastructure expenditures and costs and ultimately to the consideration of whole life cycle and whole system costs. These in turn acted as a stepping stone which allowed us to look at RAMS and LCC concepts from two distinct perspectives:
1) a general overlook of the concepts and
2) their detailed application into practice.
Although we observed that both RAMS and LCC are considered powerful tools these are not fully understood hence their development is slower than anticipated. We highlighted the fact that due to the limited number of available databases containing RAMS indicators, progress towards a unified European/ International system is still slow. Furthermore, lacking a clear RAMS programme plan, RAMS analyses are not carried out in all life cycle phases hence, lacking full RAMS-LCC integration. Generally speaking, there is higher propensity to consider inputs deriving from either track tests, meetings and questionnaires and past faults to carry out RAMS analyses which leads to a need to fully systemise RAMS in railway infrastructure.
Undeniably a RAMS and LCC analysis allows the optimisation of the maintenance strategy and allows to shorten decision times regarding maintenance/renewal. Even more interesting is the fact that any RAMS-LCC analysis indicates the consequences of under budgeting maintenance and renewal. This is why we conceptualised our own database starting from cost components to define the database structure and RAMS-LCC integration to define some database relations.
This data analysis task builds on existing rail industry datasets in two ways: (i) Addition of data from NeTIRail-INFRA countries and line types that have not been collected previously, and (ii) Through application of Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping to the failure data to reveal correlations and underlying drivers of cost and maintenance which have not been previously visible.
Based on the data collected and available so far in the database we provide several basic descriptions of the data by presenting the main statistics in terms of costs, failures and traffic volume. Various cost categories, failure type and incidence and, traffic volume information are presented in a comparative manner across case study lines. These first level analyses are accompanied by a correlation analysis performed on an aggregated country level and individual line level.
D2.2 Practices and track technology tailored to particular lines
In recent years, the amount of traffic that the railways have to carry has increased and this is expected to continue into the future, combined with higher speeds has meant that the duty conditions of rail have become more severe.
In this report are presented the main components and activities of a railroad network. Described are the achievement and installation possibilities which have the highest efficiency and reliability.
Among the variants of existing technologies and solutions in different geographic areas, comparisons are made and those that proved the best results are highlighted.
They address issues regarding the components and technologies used in the three main stages in the life of the railway line: installation, operation and maintenance.
For existing lines, the focus will be on the operational activities and maintenance, while for completely new installations or significant rebuilding are described multiple technologies and technical solutions as, their implementation in these conditions, are possible and necessary.
Information and results from previous projects conducted in this area of application, including the InnoTrack and Mainline Project, will be used.
The three categories of railway lines (busy passenger line, low density rural / secondary line, dominated freight route), need to be analysed in the project, and were identified as real lines. These lines belong to the infrastructure managers involved in the project and will complete a list of case studies.
T2.2 has benefited from the analysis result of T1.1. This task was completed in the fourth month of the project and defined, after a strict selection, a list with seven lines that may be included in the three categories as defined for the purpose of analysis and improvement in the NeTIRail Project. All these lines contain common characteristics that made them candidates for selection.
For Slovenia, SZ selected railway lines were: Divaca - Koper (as freight dominated route); Pivka - Ilirska Bistrica (as low density rural / secondary line); Ljubljana - Kamnik (busy passenger line). For Romania, from RCCF-Brasov, was selected the railway line Bartholomew - Zarnesti (as low density rural/ secondary line). For Turkey, INTADER selected the railway lines: Kayas - Sincan (as busy passenger line) Divrigi - Malatya (as low density rural / secondary line) Malatya - Iskenderun (as freight dominated route).
Existing components and practices used in the operational and maintenance activities for the case studies, covering all the three categories of lines, have been analysed and solutions to improve the current situation have been proposed.
D2.3 Cost/benefit data and application methodology for lean in railway S&C
This report provides a collection of items that will be useful for applying analysis of lean and automotive techniques in railway switch and crossing (S&C). The data used in this deliverable were collected from various source, including real data from IMs, datasheets from infrastructure manufactures, scientific publications (journal, conference and workshop articles, research reports, dissertations, etc.). Some comparable data are organized in the form of figures and tables. Other detailed data in the form of spreadsheet or pictures are also attached with this report.
This report also provides the data regarding S&C characteristics, additional fittings for S&C, fastening system and maintenance tasks for S&C, and some new techniques that may improve the performance of S&C and/or optimize maintenance procedures.
The data collected include:
• Existing lubricants and lubrication techniques for S&C;
• Layout of S&Cs at stations with their detail parameters;
• Debris-proof systems that can prevent avoid or clear the obstruction of S&C;
• S&C fasteners with great integrity;
• Detail procedures for S&C maintenance;
Climatic conditions along NeTIRail-INFRA case study lines that impact S&C performance.
These data will be mainly used in Task 2.3.2 (Application of lean and automotive industry techniques to railway S&C) of the NeTIRail-INFRA project.
D2.4 Application of lean and automotive industry techniques to produce a step change in railway S&C life and costs
Based on the data collected in T2.3.1 and additional inputs (technical visits, state of the art, etc.), firstly this report provides an overview on the main features pertaining to safety in general and RAMS analysis (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Safety) of S&Cs. Then, the application of lean techniques and automotive techniques will be demonstrated as applied to S&C renewal activities in accordance with a number of impacting factors, such as for instance the traffic type/density, location, manpower, etc.
D2.5 Corrugation reduction strategies for NeTIRail-INFRA track types, with estimates of costs and benefits
The deliverable D2.5 presents the research efforts of the NeTIRail-INFRA project in the understanding of the phenomenon of short pitch corrugation. In the Section 1 of this deliverable, the literature review is presented and main challenges in terms of the physical understanding the origin of the phenomenon are discussed. Section 2 describes how the use of axle box acceleration measurement can support the detection of already existing short pitch corrugation. In Section 3, due to the fastening system being believed to importantly contribute to the phenomenon, a parametric study is presented. In the railway industry so far, the only corrective measure for delaying the growth of corrugation is grinding; thus, in Section 4 a review of the effects of grinding operations is discussed. Finally in Sections 5 and 6, the current situation of corrugation in Turkey and Slovenia are discussed.
D2.6 Tailoring track to avoid corrugations: Traffic dependant selection of rail cross-section, clips and pads to avoid or delay corrugation
The deliverable D2.6 presents the research efforts of the NeTIRail-INFRA project in the understanding of the phenomenon of short pitch corrugation.
D2.7 Lubrication systems and data available, with estimates of costs and benefits
The research within this deliverable starts with a brief description of the importance of lubrication for railways. It is emphasized that to stay competitive with other transport modes, cost and capital investments should be reduced. Reducing wear will be paving the way of reducing costs.
The benefits of effective lubrication, lubrication effect including the effects of the elements of the systems, and the cost benefit of lubrication on railways will be described. The universal benefits of lubrication such reducing noise, wear, increasing asset life of rails and wheel, energy savings, reducing derailments are already known by IM and train operators, manufacturers... etc. In this report studies that have been carried out by infrastructure managers will be highlighted. Also, the cost benefits will be proven with the experiences of IMs.
As well as describing the existing lubrication systems, lubricators and lubricant, the systems under development will be analysed. To build a base for the next task of defining the tailored lubrication systems, the experiences of IMs in their countries will be examined. Best practices and bad practices will be highlighted. Also, on-board and on-track lubrication will be considered to reduce rail wear. Lubrication practice should be different for different lines/traffic density and weather conditions. therefore, the climatic information of the countries will be defined. This report will build a base for the next deliverable “Tailoring lubrication to duty and climate: Safe, effective and eco-friendly avoidance of track wear and damage”
As TCDD prefers not to nominate the companies that it collaborates or collaborated with, the experiments conducted by using different systems was separated into ANNEX-1. Also, the names of the lubricant companies that were nominated by TCDD was separated in ANNEX-1 too. For fine tuning of some text was rewritten. Also the annexes containing the results of the questionnaires have been excluded from this public deliverable.
The deliverable D2.7 relates to task T2.5.1 “Lubrication systems and data”. This task had the following aims or objectives which were achieved:
• Research and test the rail-wheel lubrication and appropriateness for different lines/traffic density of operations and weather conditions
• Consider on-board lubrications vs track side lubrication to reduce rail wear
Task description of T2.5.1 predicts that INTADER will lead the task based on the experience and needs for lubrication on their network. USFD have experience of the effect of lubrication on rail-wheel contact, especially wear rates of track and effect of reliability in lubricant application on fatigue life of rail steel, and will input this expertise. UIC will contribute knowledge of standards and their application in rail-wheel interface management across their member countries. The project will also consider the existing UIC Wheel Rail Conditioning project led by ProRail. The work will particularly consider lubrication systems appropriate for low density lines.
There were some differences from description of work where UIC was supposed to contribute knowledge of standards and their application in rail-wheel interface management across their member countries. Because this data was not received on time some manufacturers contributed their standards and certificates. The project is supposed to consider the existing UIC Wheel Rail Conditioning project led by ProRail. This will be provided in the second deliverable. The work particularly considers lubrication systems appropriate for low density lines. This will be performed and explained more detailed in the deliverable D2.8.
There was one deviation related to date of completion. Delivery date of the D2.7 was M18 and there was about two-month delay on this deliverable. The deliverable D2.7 needed additional data of the standards about lubrication and lubricators. Unfortunately, at this time data was not available from UIC and therefore only the case studies in Turkey and Slovenia were considered. With the input by some other participating manufacturer the deliverable was completed.
D2.8 Tailoring lubrication to duty and climate: Safe, effective and eco-friendly avoidance of track wear and damage
The deliverable 2.8. is continuation report of the deliverable D2.7 “Lubrication Systems and Data Available, With Estimates of Costs and Benefits”. This report approaches the lubrication and the existing systems considering several aspects. The report prepared under NeTIRail-INFRA project for tailoring lubrication to duty and climate.
D2.9 Preliminary transition zone model and detailed modelling plan
transition zones are the locations where discontinuity occurs at the track supports, like where the track reaches the bridges, culverts and tunnels. These locations often need substantial extra maintenance to retain the track geometry and its ride quality. Transition areas are important, however their poor behaviours are still not fully understood [1][2]
Transition zones have higher rate of degradation compared to other parts of the track [3], and the reason behind this problem is the changes in the track alignment which exacerbates the variations in dynamic axle loads applied the track in those areas[4].
Many different suggestions and recommendations currently exist based on careful design and construction to mitigate this problem, however research based on maintenance records of high speed lines indicate that degradation of tracks associated with stiffness variations of the soil is far from being solved [4].
It is hard to understand the fundamental causes behind the performance of transition zones and as much as it is very important to railway infrastructure owners, the behaviour still not fully understood [2].
One of the best options on studying the behaviour of transition zones is to develop a finite element model of these tracks and validate it against real-life measurements of these areas. This report provides the steps on how these finite element models been developed and how they are going to be validated, also a plan is provided how these models will be used to understand the behaviour and give some recommendations to improve the performance of these transition zones.
The method of finite element modelling to study the behaviour of transition zones has been used by different studies, like Coelho et al. [2] or Varandas et al. [3] which used field data obtained from an extensive field survey conducted in two transition zones in Netherlands. Their results show that the forces were vary significantly both in time and space on a transition zones, especially due to the developing of voids under the sleepers. Shan et al. [5] modelled a railway tract subgrade system using finite element methods and studied two different transition zones between the ordinary subgrade and bridges which was used mainly for high speed passenger lines. They have found out that the dynamic response of the track subgrade system changed sharply after the first 3m of the transition zone section, measured from the bridge abutment.
As Coelho et al. [1] pointed out a fair agreement between the experimental and numerical results are necessary. And validated numerical analysis allows the analysis of the behaviour of transition zones at critical train speed and they suggested some recommendations on the shape and combination of concrete slabs and sleepers.
To be able to validate the finite element models, a case study of a transition zone on a new Portuguese railway line been provided from design and construction. The importance of this study was to provide the results from conventional laboratory and cyclic load triaxial testing on granular materials and in situ mechanical characterization of the different layers are presented. At last the measurements obtained at different substructure level indicated that the design was successful in reducing the settlement and achieving a gradual stiffness increase as a bridge is approached [4].
Within task T2.6.1 we have continued the development of the transition zone finite element models, and a working model has been created and will be used further in the project, in task T2.6.2, to optimise transition zones and identify low cost remedial actions which can be carried out to improve their performance. Remedial actions to be studied further centre around but are not exclusive to sleeper design and spacing.
D2.10 Cost effective transition zone design tailored to line type and traffic
This deliverable provides the details of “Cost effective transition zone design tailored to line type and traffic”. University of Sheffield is the lead partner in this task and undertook the development of the finite element model and validate this model. After validation this model used to study different arrangements of sleepers. Study on sleepers is on how varying their mass changes the dynamic behaviour of these transition zones. Despite this, it must be pointed out that there are other methods
to manage the transition areas with the sleepers, such as the spacing distance between sleepers, or the layout of guard rails on then, as well as actions on other elements like gluing ballast or special design of the support layers of the track, in sub-ballast, backfill or intermediate/foundation layers.

WP3 - Tailored overhead line power supply infrastructure

D3.1 Power supply technologies and practices of low and high-density railways, identifying learning points and future opportunities
In this report the existing power supply systems around the world were identified and characterised, but this report focuses mainly on the power supply infrastructures in European countries.
Information is detailed on components and subsystems that are included in the infrastructure of power supply systems.
The technical and quality characteristics for various existing power supply system solutions have been analysed and those that have outstanding performance in terms of reliability, security in operation and safety have been highlighted.
Where applicable, technological solutions are presented as new alternatives to existing systems.
These technologies have led to superior results although these are not yet sufficiently known and promoted. We also present the technical differences between the systems used for high transport density compared to those with low transport density.
T3.1 assumed analysis result of T1.1, related to the list with case study lines selected. This task considered a list with seven lines that could be included in the three categories (busy passenger line, low density rural/secondary line, freight dominated route) defined as purpose for analysis and improvement in the NeTIRail Project. All these lines have in common characteristics that made them candidates for selection: they are routes with distinctive features (context or purpose) and for this reason there are specific characteristics to be studied; they have good availability of technical, financial and operational data, related to the infrastructure and operations.
From the list of seven, five lines are electrified and will be included in a comparative table with components and technologies used, with respect to their power supply system; these power supply systems will be a focal point for improvements in the next tasks. These case study lines are the following:
Divaca – Koper: Freight dominated route (SZ – Slovenia);
Pivka – Ilirska Bistrica: Low density rural / secondary line (SZ – Slovenia);
Kayas – Sincan: Busy passenger line (INTADER - Turkey).
Divrigi – Malatya: Low density rural / secondary line (INTADER - Turkey).
Malatya – Iskenderun: Freight dominated route (INTADER - Turkey).
In the final part of the document, were described the structure of the database, which will contain the types of main components of power supply systems for the case lines taken in consideration, for the future analysis.
D3.2 Analysis of “big data”: tailoring overhead line infrastructure specification and needs through geospatial analysis of duty and life of equipment
In this task, factors which influence the performance of overhead line power infrastructure including climate-weather changes, materials, interconnections between different components were identified and the influences of the factors on the performance of OHL power structure were divided into two main categories as INTERNAL and EXTERNAL factors.
EXTERNAL factors were explained as the failures due to climatic condition and weather changes, and the climatic factors were explained as climatic factors as: temperatures, wind speed; ice accretion; active and corrosive substances in the air; lighting voltage surges.
Challenges which lead to delay through unreliable performance of overhead line power supplies were identified. The fact that, the effects of climatic conditions are for large areas. Therefore, climatic information were identified at country level also that would be linked to GIS mapping to become the provide evidence of the correlations between climatic factors and electrification failures; maintenance volumes; temporary speed restriction.
INTERNAL factors were addressed as the failures due to the grades and quality of component, electrical design configuration and mechanical parameters. Mechanical, electrical, operational, architectural and environmental requirements as well as life cycle costs affect dimensioning, material and design of the products. Design specifications should be specific to the busy passenger, underutilized rural/secondary line and freight dominated lines, so tailored (need-based) solutions for improving the quality and performances of OHL power infrastructure. Internal factors with categories of materials and components used, is focused on case study lines,which had been chosen within Task 1.1, since a database of all the components and elements used at nationwide is very difficult to obtain but also, the influences of these components are locally, at railway line behavior.
On the basis of data collected including grades of components, the electrical configuration, and mechanical parameters such as the spacing of masts and choice of wire tension and climatic conditions linked to GIS mapping to correlate with failures and speed restrictions for each country to generate understanding of the drivers behind power system failures. This understanding will be used to guide tailoring of the power supply to needs of a specific line, reducing overall costs by identifying the factors really controlling the life of the power supply.
D3.3 Model To Support Increasing The Resilience Of Power Supply Infrastructure To Changing Climate
The research within this deliverable starts with an overview of impact of internal and external factors on overhead line infrastructure. Since the external factors were identified as the environmental factors and the internal factors were identified as grade and quality of components within the Deliverable D3.2, Task3.2.
Climate has considerable impact on the reliability and availability of railway system.
The failures that are mainly caused by variation in climatic condition are characterised as temperature, wind and precipitation. Similarly, mechanical factors of safety which will be used in overhead line design should depend on, to some extent, the importance of reliability and continuity of operation for the line under consideration. In general, the strength of line should be such as to provide against the worst probable weather conditions.
To generate an understanding of the root causes of failures analyses were conducted including influence of mechanism of climate factors and the weather changes against OHL power supply infrastructure as whole system but also as components. Solutions that minimize the negative impact of climate factors on OHL power infrastructure were presented and evaluated.
The quality and the grade of components as well as mechanical requirements and design specification needed for installing equipment for power supply system also took place in the scope of the analysis which made up power supply system against failure rate and the LCC for system. The analyses were conducted also for presenting and evaluating the solutions minimizing the negative impact of internal power supply factors on OHL power infrastructure.
The analysis on the influence of internal and external factors focus on case study lines which were chosen within the Task1.1. The specific data became more of an issue related to environmental factors and internal factors were processed to propose solution minimizing the influences on OHL power infrastructure.
D3.4 Modular packages of component grades and design specifications for new installations of power infrastructure tailored to traffic and operational Document needs
NeTIRail-INFRA has the intent to develop and demonstrate technologies and best practice tailored to the needs of different categories of rail systems, for example developing options to increase economic viability of lower capacity and underutilised lines. Solutions provided will improve reliability and availability of these categories of railway lines.
With these strategies, the project will follow to achieve the objectives:
• To support society by improving the productivity and economic viability of rail transportation.
• To provide tailored solutions for different railway infrastructure types. These solutions will be linked with the business and financial case and in this way will become an overall net benefit for society.
The solutions are addressing the growing demand for already busy services, and future growth of underutilised (“low density”) lines. Technical solutions will focus on railway track, power supply systems and support of new services.
The project brings together railway operators, infrastructure managers and research organisations to develop infrastructure tailored solutions. For increasing the efficiency, NeTIRail-INFRA restraints the area of interest to specific railway line types: busy capacity limited passenger line, freight dominated route, rural or secondary and “low density” line.
The research within this deliverable focuses on achieving two objectives. One objective is to propose performant options for new designs of railway power supply systems but also for upgrades, where radical changes can be made. The second objective is that the information presented in the deliverable, with comparative performances for elements and components, will help infrastructure managers to take beneficial decisions; in this way, can be achieved optimal performance, appropriate to the line type.
Together with previous deliverables (D3.1, D3.2, D3.3), D3.4 identified factors that influence the performance of power system failures. These are internal factors (the grade and quality of the power system components) and external factors (environmental factors as climate and weather changes and extremes situations). As a novelty, GIS mapping techniques were used and correlations developed to reveal the drivers behind power system failures, and their dependence on the environment and the grade of overhead line components.
In this deliverable, the most important components and the infrastructure elements will be identified, with specificity for the three line categories analysed in the project. After that, the power supply equipment will be tailored for specific use based on its efficiency, reliability requirements, ease of maintenance, but also including the trade-offs of the solutions. As an optimisation, this deliverable will avoid over-specification for the case study selected lines types and will provide optimal capability at lowest cost.
eTIRail-INFRA tailoring, deals with the most important component of any railway power supply system: OCS - Overhead Contact Line System. OCS comprises: overhead contact line, cantilevers, poles, foundations, lightning protection, feeder lines monitoring and protective equipment return conductors to supply current for use by electric railways. OCS represents the most important ensembles of components that railway power supply system can be direct influenced like performance and reliability.
Continuing in detail, the overhead contact line (OCL) consists of contact wire, catenary wire, droppers, stitch wires, fixed points and tensioning devices. In this regard, the project deliverable will follow the components which will define, through optimisation and tailoring, the performance of the new or upgraded installations.
Special attention is applied to the interaction of the pantograph and the overhead contact line as the pantograph is the most important external component which influences the performance and the life cycle of the contact line system.
When designing new power supply systems, tailoring solutions means selecting components and technologies to be used: selection of the overhead contact line design; selection of conductor cross sections and tensile forces; selection of span lengths; selection of system height; design of contact lines in tunnels; adoption of contact wire pre-sag; selection of dropper spacing; using or not of a stitch wire; selection of tensioning section length.
Continuing, it is dealing with restrictions from environmental influencing factors because the overhead lines are subjected to electrical and mechanical loads resulting from climatic environment. External influencing factors have been considered in the models, to support increasing the resilience of power supply systems to changing climate: ambient temperature, wind velocity and wind loads, icing and ice loads, lightning strokes, industrial pollution, etc.
The content of deliverable is structured with a presentation of the important components and elements which are used in the composition of a power supply systems for railways; different technical solutions are presented for each component category and the optimal solutions are considered. Where there are major differences in investment and operational costs for the most advanced technical solutions, optimising variants are indicated for the three lines categories analyzed in the project.
D3.5 Tailored combinations of wire tension, pantograph collector strip material and upload force for optimum performance
T3.4 - Controllable factors for existing overhead lines: Maintaining performance at lowest life cycle cost, which is described in this deliverable, has the following objectives.
To analyse and propose solutions for
i) On-board monitoring of voltage, power spikes and other electrical properties that
inform about the state of substations and overhead line.
ii) Instrumentation of overhead line to measure accelerations.
iii) High speed video data gathering from pantograph and overhead line.
iv) A finite element model to explore the relationship between controllable factors (line
tension, materials, pantograph up-force).
All of these objectives have been achieved and are described within this report, there are no deviations in this deliverable from the Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement. ADS have lead the work on developing the on-board monitoring of the electrical supply, instrumentation to measure overhead line accelerations and high speed video data to gather further dynamic data from the overhead line. And USFD of have developed the finite element model.
This deliverable, D3.5, makes a presentation of activities and technical solutions adopted in this development stage of overhead measurement systems and defining the models for controllable factors (line tension, contact line materials, upload force) to provide better understanding and tailored solutions for overhead power supply systems.
In the first part of the report the theoretical information for the developed system are presented and for the models adopted in relation with controllable factors. The theory and research of these subjects is vast, therefore, the documentation is focused on the technical requirements and specifications, needed for the NeTIRail-INFRA project.
In the second chapter, solutions for developing the requested systems are presented; describing technical characteristics and the most important components which define functionalities of the systems.
These systems are represented by the three categories of devices and applications.
1. On-board monitoring of voltage, power spikes, other electrical properties of the overhead line. On this system, the devices and applications developed are represented by one complex equipment: ECVM - Equipment for Current & Voltage Monitoring and an application running on the Laptop with role of receiving and storing data
2. Instrumentation of overhead line (not pantograph) to measure accelerations of overhead
line. This system is represented by three types of hardware and firmware devices:
WSDO (Wireless Sensor Device for Overhead Lines)
WCDO (Wireless Concentrator Device for Overhead Lines)
WLRCD (Wireless Long Range Communication Device)
There are also one software application running on the PC Desktop, for receiving and saving
data.
3. High speed video data gathering from pantograph and overhead line contact. The high speed video system consists mainly of one high speed video camera and accessories for . Also in this system should be included the video post process modelling application, which has to have only a minimal list of properties and functionalities for our objectives.
All these systems are presented with technical details inside the report.
The third chapter describes the development of the overhead line model and the initial results from the parametric studies of controllable factors, as well as a model of a simplified overhead line system based on a trolley wire system more commonly used for trams.
The fourth chapter present the tables, provide the information on cable tension and its geometry at different temperature and wind loading which is used currently in Turkey’s overhead line system.
And fifth chapter provide the SWOT analysis based on the systems been developed by ADS and analysis been done on finite element analysis by USFD.
D3.6 Data on system damage for different combinations of wire tension, pantograph collector strip material and upload force.
The Task T3.5 is the direct sequel of the T3.4, which provided tailored solutions for improving operational performance and optimal life cycle cost for existing overhead line power infrastructure. The reasons for these choices result in more constraints and restrictions for existing overhead contact line systems than for the new build; this represents a challenge for designing useful systems.
Task 3.5 provided validations and evaluation, using tests and experiments, for the power supply solutions elaborated in the WP3: T3.4 task.

WP4 - Monitoring and Smart Technology

D4.1 Data collection equipment in the laboratory environment, and plan for field trials
The deliverable D4.1 represents the first step of achieving the T4.1. It is considered an intermediary progress report outlining the actions taken to identify the optimized technical elements necessary for designing and construction of a vibration data acquisition category system, these vibrations being produced by the interaction between the railroad tracks and wheels rolling units.
In deliverable D4.1 was made a presentation of phenomena in this category, presentation based on studies and research conducted previously in other projects or individual activities.
In the first part it presented the vibrations of the railway as researching domain; are described the characteristics of this phenomenon and the factors that may increase the influence of the size and intensity of the vibration.
Further, are presented an analysis of the mechanism of generating the vibration and noise (this last is considered a vibration component).
Vibration effects are generated by the static axle loads moving along the track and by the dynamic forces which arises in the presence of harmonic or non-harmonic wheels and rails irregularities. From prior researches, most important frequency range of ground vibration, considering human perception, is approximately 5-80 Hz.
On a given location the vibration amplitudes will be strongly influenced by the properties of the ground and the vibration presence must be seen as an interaction between vehicle, track and ground.
Are presented also, the situation of the S&C as special case of vibrations and noise mechanism.
The importance of measuring and analyses of vibrations and rolling noise resides from the Environmental Noise Directive (END). The END requires European member states to produce and publish noise maps on a 5 year cycle.
In next chapter are presented the theory of MEMS sensor, used for converting accelerations into voltage level, and the design of the equipment realized for measuring sessions.
In the last part are described the initial conditions and the ongoing activities on the three sessions of collecting data: Cristianu Station from RCCF-Brasov; AFER Laboratory; Sabareni Station.
During data collection sessions, were acquired and saved in formats that can be further processed, large volumes of data. In deliverable are represented some sequences from these volumes of data, using representation of default interface of portable oscilloscope Pico Scope.
In the next period, these data will be analysed and compared with information already known about the occurrence of the vibration and the noise in the rail. Also, when necessary, further activities will be organized for data collection and testing, especially with the optimized and autonomously equipment, which will be achieved within T4.1.
D4.2 Low cost track based monitoring modules for plain line and S&C
The deliverable D4.2 makes a presentation of activities and technical solutions adopted for the development stage of one high performance and low cost monitoring system, which will be responsible for the acquisitioning of the acceleration data, from the rail level.
This represents the second step of achievement in Task 4.1 and it is considered a description report outlining the developed technical elements necessary for design and construction of this system.
In the first part of the report the theory of the mechanism of the vibrations and characteristics of the vibrations related to the different situations are presented. The theory and researches about railway vibrations are very vast, so the documentation has focused on the technical interest segment, needed for the system developed in the project.
On a given location, the vibration amplitudes will be strongly influenced by the properties of the ground and the vibration presence must be seen as an interaction between vehicle, track and ground.
In the second chapter are presented solutions for developing the acquisitioning system. The system is made up by three devices, working together, but having distinctive functionalities. The devices are named as: WSDR, WCDR and WLRCD.
WSDR (Wireless Sensor Device for Rail) – this type of device could be in how number of points of interest are necessary; so, for every needed point of measurement will be provided one WSDR device; WCDR (Wireless Concentrator Device for Rail) – has main role to collect data from WSDR devices; WLRCD (Wireless Long Range Communication Device) – will send data to a Control Centre Application for storing and analysing.
This report presents, with technical characteristics, the most important components which define functionalities of the system: acceleration data acquisitioning (WSDR); local storage of data for short time; sending data using radio short range protocol to the WCDR as concentrator device; long range sending data with WLRCD device.
The system developed has to deal with the set project objectives. In the following are briefly presented these objectives and how they were achieved.
The developed solution could be used equally for plain lines, but also for turnouts with S&C components. The developed solution should be in the low cost category and was a very important objective in designing stage. The component with the highest value is the photovoltaic cells area, the cost of which is comparable with all the others components and materials composing the devices. In this regard, the cost objective for electronics components and materials is 50 €/device, estimated at the price when at least 100 pcs produced.
The experiments in task T3.5 will determine the optimal surface for photovoltaic cells and more precisely the costs, so that the system’s devices are able to have total autonomy, in different and adverse conditions.
D4.3 Development of technology for track and ride quality monitoring
The deliverable D4.3 represents the first steps in the development of technology for track and ride quality monitoring. First a review on the most used current technologies is presented. Then, the axle box acceleration (ABA) system is presented and analysed in the direction to its implementation in the study lines of the NeTIRail-INFRA project. Feasibility and preliminary studies were conducted in Romania and Turkey. It also includes the principles of the measurement systems used in the Slovenian railways. Then, preliminary results in The Netherlands are presented and discussed. Finally, some conclusion and steps towards the measurement in Romania and Turkey are given, with the expected results.
D4.4 Track and ride quality monitoring technology based on train-borne measurements in standard vehicles
In deliverable D4.4, we present results on the development of smart technology solutions for lower density railway lines. The goal is to reach a cost effective inspection and asset management to minimize maintenance interventions time/cost without dedicated inspection vehicles.
D4.5 Development status of smartphone technology for track and ride quality monitoring
One of the objectives of Task 4.3 is the development of an application for Low Cost Smartphones, to estimate ride comfort and to obtain track inputs (e.g. vibration, speed, indoor temperature and rail unit GPS positions etc.). The application is:
• based on smartphone accelerometer and GPS receiver;
• designed for data collection in order to measure ride comfort and track inputs.
The general goal of this task is the development of a smartphone based technology for vehicle and infrastructure monitoring from within passenger vehicles, i.e. crowd-sourced data collection, to increase the regularity and granularity of the monitoring data available.
Expected results of this task are:
(i) Developing an app to gather data from the smartphone GPS sensor and its accelerometer. This will consider conservation of battery life as a priority to ensure viability of the app.
(ii) Developing a gateway to which the data is transmitted using the phone 3G or WiFi connection.
(iii) Developing an interface for querying of available data (e.g. relational database structure).
Research activities carried out under phase 1 of the Task 4.3 focused on the overall design of the Low Cost Smartphone system and the design of each local component to create a dynamic Web services and mobile platform support for data collection in order to measure ride comfort and to obtain the track inputs.
Design activity has mainly focused on the following actions:
• Design of the logical processing components (business logic) of the mobile terminal application;
• Design of the user interface for mobile terminal application;
• Design of the system Web services;
• Design of the database of the system;
• Design of the logical processing components (business logic) of the reporting web interface.
Functional and technical specifications and system architecture are developed by two sub activities namely:
• Design of the specifications involving demarcation of functional and technical requirements of the system in concrete terms (functions, processing, interfaces, etc.);
• Design of the system architecture that includes the reference model, data model consolidated, logical and physical architecture and design of the system warehouse.
D4.6 Low cost smartphone based track and ride quality monitoring technology
The general goal of Task 4.3 is the development of a smartphone based technology for rail vehicle and infrastructure monitoring from within passenger vehicles, i.e. crowd-sourced data collection, to increase the regularity and granularity of the monitoring data available.
Expected results of this task are:
(i) Developing an app to gather data from the smartphone GPS sensor and its accelerometer. This will consider conservation of battery life as a priority to ensure viability of the app.
(ii) Developing a gateway to which the data is transmitted using the phone 3G or Wi-Fi connection.
(iii) Developing an interface for querying of available data (e.g. relational database structure).
All of these results have been delivered and are describe in this report.
D4.7 Harmonised interface to transmit on-board monitoring data to the traffic control centre
The deliverable D4.7 makes a presentation of activities and technical solutions adopted for the development of one specialized interfacing system. This interface is focused on transmitting data acquisitioned by the ABA and SATLOC systems, from the on-board train vehicle to the centralized software application, running on the Control Center.
D4.8 Functional, operational and technical specification for simplified interlocking of user autonomous switches in low density lines
The NeTIRail-INFRA project sets as the main objective for the T4.4.2 task to provide technical solutions for integrating automatically operated devices into the old interlocking systems; these systems are still used for lower density lines, where shunting is a rare event. Presented in this deliverable is the documentation of this task being successfully completed as described in the Annex 1 Part A, of the grant agreement of NeTIRail-INFRA.
For achieving the requirement for integrating automatically operated devices into the old interlocking systems, one uniform system was developed to communicate monitored status data from all mechanical and electromechanical devices, which are involved in interlocking activities; D4.8 deliverable makes a presentation of activities and technical solutions adopted.
In the first part of the report the technical characteristics of the Mechanical (& Electromechanical) Interlocking system (CEM - Centralised Electro Mechanical) are presented for not only general cases but also presented are the particularities of this type of interlocking system used by RCCF.
In the second chapter technical solutions for developing one system for upgrading of the CEM interlocking systems are presented with additional new functions (i.e. real time CEM elements monitoring, creating of database with historical changes of the elements status, synchronisation of the CEM activities, etc.) and, most importantly, bringing a new level of safety and responsibility of the CEM operations.
The developed system aims to integrate user operated autonomously functional switches and trailable turnouts, into old CEM interlocking systems. To achieve this, a new feature has been created that has to be applied equally to all electromechanical devices. This feature is represented by the real-time monitoring of the functioning status for devices acting into the CEM system. The new functionality, in the interlocking systems, creates one uniform "umbrella" and allows the confirmation and synchronization of the commanding activities in the CEM systems. In other words, for the integration of functional autonomous switches and trailable turnouts but also other in future mechanisms, it is necessary to monitor all existing devices from the CEM system. The proposed system will acquire the status of traffic routing signals and autonomously switches.
Developed monitoring system is composed by electronic and automation devices, having some features that make it completely autonomous and non-invasive for existing CEM systems:
• Wireless communication, there are no wires for data transmission.
• Total autonomy, in terms of power supply.
• Specialized but very easy adaptive interfaces, for collecting the status of the signals and the autonomously operated switches.
In the document are presented, with technical characteristics, the most important components which define needed functionalities.
D4.9 Interface definition for input of GNSS (or ground-based train odometry) location data to monitoring technology
D4.9 Deliverable presents the technical solution adopted and the steps taken to develop it. The goal was to create a standard interface for connecting ABA and SATLOC systems, to transfer and concentrated data for achieving a complex and complete data acquisitioning message. This linkage, at the hardware but also the firmware levels, are focused to provide an update of the monitoring system developed in T4.2.
D4.10 Tailored decision support for track and vehicle maintenance through conversion of data to information
This deliverable presents the work completed in task 4.5.
D4.11 Validated monitoring equipment produced by testing of instrumentation in the real environment.
Task T4.6 is the last task from WP4 and it is a corollary of all developed or upgraded systems, which
have been done within this work package and results in this deliverable D4.11.

WP5 - Societal perspective

D5.1 Societal and legal effects of transport decision: Stakeholder analysis
Deliverable 5.1 “Societal and legal effects of transport decision: Stakeholder analysis” identifies the stakeholder groups and the non-economic societal issues influenced by railway innovations, especially by the innovations planned in NeTIRail-INFRA.
The results aim to be complementary to the ones reached in WP1, which concentrates on economic aspects. The results of WP1 and WP5 will be integrated in D5.3 “Balancing societal effects and costbenefit of different infrastructure decisions”.
Section 1 of this deliverable introduces the topic and presents the structure of the deliverable. Section 2 identifies stakeholders and stakes. In NeTIRail-INFRA WP5 the following stakeholder groups are individuated as relevant: residents, employees, passengers and future generations, while the stakes at play include safety, health/environment, employment and accessibility.
Section 3 introduces the framework to assess the non-economic social impact of railway innovations, presenting theories and values that can serve this scope.
Section 4 focuses on the NeTIRail-INFRA planned innovations and on the case-study lines. It describes the lines and the surrounding areas highlighting socially relevant aspects and discusses how the planned innovations might impact on the stakeholder categories identified above.
The analysis conducted in sections 2-4 shows that the stakeholder category “passengers” and the stake “accessibility” are the most relevant for NeTIRail-INFRA WP5. Accessibility appears to be strictly connected with reliability, which is at the centre of the analysis carried out in WP1, thus offering a good basis for the integration of the results of WP1 and WP5 to be realised in D5.3.
Section 5 presents the design for the on-train survey with passengers to be carried out in the next months. The questionnaires are designed to investigate passengers’ needs and perceptions in the areas that will be affected by the planned innovations.
Section 6 presents the next steps of the work in WP5.
D5.2 Perception of different service options: User study and data analysis
Deliverable 5.2 “Perception of different service options: User study and data analysis” reports on key findings of the Passenger Survey carried out on selected case study lines in Romania, Slovenia and Turkey and on a smaller survey among freight users of Slovenian, Turkish and in general European freight lines.
It also develops a methodology to quantify the indicators from the survey’s findings and the expected changes of the innovations planned in NeTIRail-INFRA in order to carry out the social impact assessment (SIA) in the upcoming project tasks.
The SIA to be realised in WP5 aims to be complementary to the cost benefit analysis (CBA) done in WP1, which concentrates on economic aspects. The results of WP1 and WP5 will be integrated in D5.3 “Balancing societal effects and cost-benefit of different infrastructure decisions”.
Section 1 of this deliverable introduces the topic and presents the structure of the deliverable.
Section 2 gives a summary of scope and central aims of the Passenger Survey. It also provides relevant background and context information regarding the case study lines investigated.
Section 3 outlines the survey design (survey method and survey instruments used) and the data collection strategy chosen to collect relevant information for both non-economic social impact assessment (WP5) and economic cost-benefit analysis (WP1). It further presents technical information regarding implementation of the Passenger Survey and the subsequent steps of data entry, data management and preparation for data exchange with the University of Leeds.
Section 4 offers an analysis of socio-demographic (age, gender, socio-economic data) and railway use characteristics (e.g. purposes / destinations of railway travel) of the passengers interviewed on each case study line. Each of the analysed samples will first be described on the basis of socio-demographic characteristics: gender, age, employment status and personal income levels. Second, passengers’ railway use characteristics are analysed, i.e. current use of train, frequency of railway usage and the relative importance of railway services as compared to other means of transport.
Section 5 presents and discusses key findings regarding passengers’ travel preferences, needs and perceptions. The thematic focus of the survey was to investigate preferences, satisfactions and dissatisfaction in the areas that will be affected by the planned innovations and discuss how the planned innovations might impact on passengers using railway services on the respective lines.
Section 6 summarizes the results of the Passenger Survey and offers a preliminary overview of the areas in which innovations on the NeTIRail-INFRA case-study lines are expected to have the greatest social impact.
Section 7 compares selected findings of the NeTIRail-INFRA Survey with the results of the “Flash Eurobarometer 382a. Europeans’ satisfaction with rail services” for Romania and Slovenia. In particular, it compares the results of the two surveys regarding the purpose of journey and passengers’ satisfaction with railway aspects.
Section 8 illustrates the results of a small survey conducted among railfreight users, concerning in particular their perceptions of current services in Slovenia and, in one case, at the EU level.
Section 9 develops and presents the quantification methodology for the SIA to be realised in the upcoming steps in WP5.
Section 10 discusses limits of the SIA methodology developed in WP5 and possible mitigation strategies.
Section 11 looks toward the next steps in WP5.
D5.3 Balancing societal effects and cost-benefit of different infrastructure decisions
Deliverable 5.3 “Balancing societal effects and cost-benefit of different infrastructure decisions” presents the results of Task 5.3, namely the integration of the societal perspective with the cost-benefit analysis (CBA).

WP6 - Evaluation and decision support tools

D6.1 Confidentiality policy and agreements
The confidentiality policy and agreements dealt with by the present document are specific to certain project tasks under Work Package 6, “Evaluation and decision support tools” the data for which this agreement pertains to is end-user data and source code to demonstrate the decision support Tools and in itself this data will not form part of the deliverables for the NeTIRail Project, but will allow the demonstration of the decision support tools.
All other policies and agreements (e.g. consortium agreement) remain in force, if not modified by the present document.
D6.2 Data report on network-related technical and operational data
D6.3 GIS-based web application
D6.4 Decision support tools for implementation of technologies
D6.5 Case study line data scenarios playable in the web application
D6.6 Cost-benefit and societal analysis report illustrated by case study line data
D6.7 Status report on current design & maintenance criteria relative to needs, static illustration for case study lines

WP7 - Dissemination, training needs and influence on guidelines and standards

D7.1 Project Flyer
This document describes the project flyer which has been created for the NeTIRail-INFRA project. The design decisions, layout and the use and purpose of the flyer are discussed, however, it is
expected that this flyer will be updated throughout the project and later versions will describe the achievements of the NeTIRail-INFRA project, the flyer will also be complemented by regular newsletters.
D7.2 Project Website (public and private)
This document provides a record of the completion of the NeTIRail-INFRA internal and external websites and describes the background behind the design decisions and the structure of these sites.
Within this document the expected users have been identified and purpose of these sites for each user has been analysed, this has been coupled with the identification of the methods for drawing users to the website and their engagement with the project.
D7.3 NeTIRail-INFRA Newsletters (3 issues)
According to the project’s description of work, a newsletter has to be designed and published on an annual basis reporting on the progress of the work.
UIC is in charge of developing the graphic design and of collecting the content.
D7.4 NeTIRail-INFRA Final brochure
This deliverable describes the NeTIRail-INFRA final brochure which is summarising the main technical results achieved during the whole duration of NeTIRail-INFRA project.
The purpose of the final brochure is to disseminate the project results achieved within the NeTIRailINFRA project in an easy way to a broad public via online media such as the project website and twitter, as well as in printed version.
D7.5 Overview of technical developments and innovation with direct or possible future expected impact on existing guidelines
Considering the existing set of standards and technical standardised documents, the aim of deliverable D7.5 “Overview of technical developments and innovation with direct or possible future expected impact on existing guidelines” is to analyse the possible impact of NeTIRail-INFRA deliverables on future technology evolution and regulation. This deliverable also points out, in some cases, a need for developing a new standard or user guidelines where a gap was identified.
D7.6 Overview of project related recommended future development needs
Based on a list of deliverables representative of NeTIRail-INFRA’s main innovations, the present deliverable uses Technology Readiness Levels to quantify the level of innovations reached at the end of the project, as well as the level of innovations that would be reached after the recommended further developments are implemented. Only the immediate and realistic next steps have been
examined, as the developments suggested in this deliverable would themselves call for further developments until a full Technology Readiness Level of 9 is reached.

WP8 - Project coordination

D8.1 Project Management Plan
This Project Management Plan presents information for the consortium members of the NeTIRailINFRA project to understand the processes, procedures, roles and obligations of each partner.
The processes and procedures described are to ensure an effective and clearly define methodology for ensuring that the Project is delivered as efficiently as possible. This document complements existing project documentation including the Grant Agreement and Consortium Agreement and should be used in conjunction with these two documents.
D8.2 Project Quality Plan
The Quality Management Plan provides the framework by which quality will be implemented within the NeTIRail-INFRA project. The quality process proposed puts the customer and end user’s expectations of the Products from the project as the criteria against which the Products are assessed. The methodology described here clearly defines for the consortium members what is expected with regard to developing the quality plans for each task and the review process for the project’s Deliverable reports to INEA.

Downloads

Project flyer:

NeTIRail-INFRA project flyer
Project flyer

Project Newsletters:

NeTIRail-INFRA Newsletter #1 - June 2016
NeTIRail-INFRA Newsletter #2 - October 2017
NeTIRail-INFRA Newsletter #3 - May 2018

NeTIRail-INFRA final brochure:
NeTIRail-INFRA Final brochure