Concrete plans for HS2

To achieve HS2’s target of 18 trains per hour, Anderberg says that detailed plans and simulations are needed to understand how to design the ERTMS system to handle this ambitious train frequency. While he admits that it presents a challenge, he says that the standards and any requirements for further development have been discussed, and that this is where Alstom will excel. “We have been working on this for 15 years. We built the first ERTMS very high-speed line (Rome-Naples) in 2005, celebrating ten years of successful operation now in December. We also built the first ERTMS cross-border line, and we should be the first choice for this. We have a proven and tested strategy. HS2 is due to start in 2026 and we will be ready. We are not just the first to the market - we also have, by far, the most operational experience.”

When it comes to the trains, Alstom’s high-speed trains are, of course, already established in the UK - with 31 Class 373 Eurostar trains on HS1 and 56 Class 390 Pendolinos in traffic on the West Coast Main Line. The Pendolinos use the proven tilting mechanisms, developed from the Advanced Passenger Train, and can run at up to 125mph (200kph) on curved track. They have helped Alstom develop innovative ideas for an HS2 fleet, which will need to be created specifically for the new railway, along with a ‘classic compatible fleet’, which can run on HS2 and elsewhere on the national network.

Anderberg says: “Through our fleet we understand the UK’s particular needs and we have been enhancing the tilting train technology for the past 25 years. We have sold over 300 tilting high-speed trains around the world and all operational experience has been fed into further product development.

“Achieving good journey times on the rail network is important. Currently, the journey time from London to Glasgow, as an example, is four hours and eight minutes. The HS2 plan is to reduce that to three hours and 38 minutes when Phase 2 is complete in 2033. This can further be improved by using tilting technology and minor infrastructure updates making sub-three hours travel time possible, and as early as 2026”, says Anderberg.

“This means it would be able to compete with air travel, where a journey time of three hours or less is seen as the threshold where railway gains substantial market share over air travel.”

Faster trains are all well and good, but the services must be reliable, comfortable and pleasant. Speaking at the NRC, Anderberg spoke of recreating the experience of air travel from 40 years ago, when people were excited to arrive at the airport and travel in an aircraft. He wants to re-create this experience with HS2, but the design and quality of the train have to be right.

“One example is our unique articulated trainset design, which means each car is supported by the next car through robust articulation, and bogies are placed under the supporting end of each car. We build both articulated and non-articulated trains, but for very high speeds we prefer articulation. While the main reason is safety, it also provides smoother and better ride, less noise for passengers and wider interiors. 

“Our articulation allows for fewer bogies, which implies less maintenance costs for the operator, but it also provides better aerodynamics and reduces the weight of a train, resulting in significant energy savings.

“Our articulated Euroduplex, the only double-decker in the world reaching 320kph, when fully loaded, still weighs less than an empty non-articulated single deck train.”

Alstom would also offer its HealthHub, which enables technicians to remotely monitor and predict train performance and ‘health’. It comprises various monitoring subsystems, such as Train Tracer and the innovative Train Scanner, which uses fully automated measurements via lasers, 2D and 3D cameras. Train Scanner checks items like wheels, brake pads, carbon strips and train integrity.

It is accurate to within 0.5mm, and it can complete the diagnostics of an 11-car Class 390 Pendolino in 45-90 seconds. Automated monitoring increases the inspection frequency of the trains by as much as ten times more than manual methods and is used daily by Alstom’s technicians as they perform the maintenance of the Class 390 fleet.

To develop these trains, Alstom is using its Virtual Reality Centre. This enables the company to define concepts, validate technical options, incorporate passenger feedback into the design and create more immersive training. Says Anderberg: “We use this system for determining seating layouts, and how the trains should look inside to create the very best passenger experience. It means that travellers’ needs are incorporated into the design. Plus, we can examine the technical details and work out how to optimise maintenance requirements and eliminate problems before the trains are even built.

“One of our development efforts focuses on total cost of ownership, including maintenance and energy efficiency,” he says. “We have a wide variety of train configurations to match each customer’s needs. For speeds above 300kph, three articulated architectures provide different capacities: single-deck concentrated traction (350-400 seats in typical high-speed train layout), single-deck distributed traction (450-500 seats) and double-deck concentrated traction (550-600 seats in the same conditions). Many of our customers are asking for adequate capacity and an optimisation for the whole lifecycle cost per passenger. Today we already provide lower energy consumption, but nevertheless we have set up new initiative to reduce energy consumption by at least 20% for all our trains. For the double-decker, the ambition is even greater, aiming for 30% energy savings per passenger. 

Alstom has been working extensively in very high speed innovation and solutions for the last 40 years, and has been at the core of existing high-speed success stories in the UK. When it comes to HS2, Alstom is aware of the project’s high ambitions and challenging specifications, and is ready to put all of its expertise at the disposal of HS2 to help provide a high-speed railway system that will be the envy of the world.