Two ScotRail innovations – heated train “skirts” and “polytunnels” – have been recognised for helping to keep Scotland moving during the coldest and most prolonged winter for 100 years.
The train operator won the Operations and Performance category at the Railway Industry Innovation Awards 2011 held in London.
The extreme heavy snowfall, ice and sub-zero temperatures had a profound effect on trains and rail infrastructure between November 2010 and January 2011.
Three tonnes of snow and ice could gather under trains during a day’s work because the constant sub-zero temperatures meant that snow which repeatedly fell on tracks did not melt on contact with the undercarriages.
Some 70 trains were damaged by the frozen blocks of packed snow and ice falling from the undercarriages and then bouncing back upwards. They had to be withdrawn from service until safety checks and repairs were carried out.
However, ScotRail’s innovations – believed to be a worldwide first within the railway industry – saw a 30% rise in the number of trains returned to service compared with the first two weeks of the unprecedented conditions.
Innovation 1 – ‘Skirts’ were fitted around undercarriages, with powerful pumps used to blow hot air to warm up the undersides and effectively defrost them in less than four hours – even when standing outside depots.
Innovation 2 – ‘Polytunnels’ – traditionally used to protect young fruit and vegetable crops and designed to trap heat – were literally wrapped around trains, allowing hot air blowers to disperse ice and snow more quickly.
Steve Montgomery, ScotRail’s managing director, said:
“The innovations were of huge benefit in defrosting trains more quickly – which meant trains were back in passenger service more quickly.”
