NRA Innovation of the Year 2024: Rail Electrification Alliance

The Innovation of the Year award in the 2024 National Rail Awards went to Rail Electrification Alliance (Static Frequency Converters).

Highly Commended awards in this category went to: Amey (Discontinuous electrification of the Core Valley Lines), Purple Transform (Enabling better human outcomes in rail and beyond with SiYtE), Siemens Mobility (Variable Rate Sanding).

The judges were “blown away” by this use of the UK’s first multi-lever modular static frequency converter for Phase 2 of Network Rail’s East Coast Main Line Power Supply Upgrade programme (PSU2).

Instead of the traditional method for delivering power upgrades that relied on a new connection being established with the National Grid’s central electricity distribution network, the SFC offered a new way to plug directly into the neighbouring domestic network that supplies power to lineside homes and businesses.

The SFC takes the local 132kV supply and passes it through digitally controlled power electronics to convert it to 25kV AC for use in overhead wires.

SFCs have previously been used in this way in Australia and Germany. However, this application by the Rail Electrification Alliance (comprising NR, Siemens, J Murphy and Sons, VolkerRail, TSP Projects and Jacobs) is understood to be the largest directly connected railway SFC in the world.

The judges quickly recognised this innovative technology’s potential to minimise cost and disruption by delivering power precisely where it is required.

The PSU2 programme had initially been costed by NR at £1.2bn using the previously accepted auto-transformer approach, compared to a project budget of £300m. The fresh approach is believed to have slashed the cost by more than £500m

The successful deployment on PSU2, which commenced in 2020, has resulted in a SFC being considered at Ravensthorpe near Dewsbury for NR’s in-progress Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade.

“Not only is cost radically reduced but project timescales are slashed through not having to wait for National Grid planning processes to take place,” added the judges.

“There is also the exciting prospect of connecting sources of renewable energy directly into the system, and it is flexible so capacity can easily be upgraded if required.”

Go to our results story for a list of all the winners at the 2024 National Rail Awards, together with more pictures from the event at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House hotel, Park Lane, London on 12th September.