Long-term Specialist Testing Programmes
Battery-electric locomotives for Tube Lines have been tested at MyTestTrack.com's facility at Wirksworth as part of the upgrade of the Jubilee Line to use the revolutionary Transmission-Based Train Control (TBTC) System. TBTC uses train and track-based sensors to detect the location of trains with higher accuracy than existing methods, leading to reduced headways and an increase in capacity.
Wirksworth was selected as a test site for Engineers Trains being equipped with TBTC and this was installed on a dedicated line during the spring of 2007. Vehicles are converted at LH Group’s Barton-under-Needwood works where a Vehicle On-Board Computer is fitted, before moving to Wirksworth where the installation is tested over a three to five-day period.
The benefit of this approach is the use of an environment which is representative of actual service conditions, allowing snags to be exposed and rectified on-site. As the programme has developed, it has been possible to reduce the testing period and ensure greater reliability when the vehicles are returned to service.
The TBTC system is being designed for Tube Lines as part of a consortium which includes Halcrow, TransPlant and LH Group Services.