Huddersfield team to keep Tram-Train vehicles on track

The Tram-Train concept allows a railway vehicle to run in two operational modes; as an on-street tram serving city centres and as a commuter train running on existing local rail network.  This dual operation concept provides great flexibility and efficient use of railway infrastructure and connections.   

The Sheffield-Rotherham Tram-Train scheme represents the UK’s first trial of the concept and has provided the project partners, the Department for Transport, Network Rail (NR), Northern Rail, Stagecoach Supertram (SST) and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive with a number challenges.

Dr Paul Allen, assistant director of the IRR and project manager, said: ‘One of these challenges is the wheel-rail interface, key to the vehicles’ safe operation and a major driver for the ongoing life-cycle maintenance costs of the system.’

By applying advanced computer modelling techniques, the team at the IRR has been able to predict vehicle dynamic behaviour on the tight radius curves (<25m) of embedded city centre track and also the higher speed but less curvaceous sections on Network Rail mainline.