The benefits of these rail supplier services for transit operators includes lowering their risk, saving money and working with companies with an array of expertise in all facets of operating a rail system.
Alstom has knowledge in all activities of a rail system, including infrastructure, track laying, electrification, electric and mechanical equipment, rolling stock, signaling and maintenance.
With sustainable transportation in mind, Alstom Transport develops and offers a complete range of systems, equipment and services. The company is present in more than 60 countries and has 26,000 employees.
Alstom's services to public or private rail operators include maintenance, renovation, spare parts management and technical support, with its objective being to guarantee global, safe and optimized management of rolling stock — whether it is manufactured by the company itself or not - as well as equipment throughout its operating lifecycle.
Alstom has knowledge in all activities of a rail system — infrastructure, track laying, electrification, electric and mechanical equipment, rolling stock, signaling, depots, maintenance and more — enabling the company to implement a turnkey solution for everything from tramway projects and metros to main lines and very high-speed lines.
Meanwhile, Alstom's maintenance of rail equipment and infrastructure systems helps guarantee the network's continuous availability and performance for optimum operating costs throughout the network's lifecycle. Alstom's offerings include renovations and short or long-term maintenance contracts for all fixed installations on the rail network.
"Our Supply Chain service offering is very flexible and is designed to meet the individual customer needs; this is based on a review of the current 'as is' situation and identification of areas for improvement for added value," says Tommy Aspinwall, Alstom Transport's vice president of operations, train life services, U.S. & Canada.
The company's maintenance operations cover all types of installations and rail equipment, including workshop equipment, track, electric traction sub-stations, overhead wiring, third-rail or APS ground-based power system, signaling and telecommunication systems, and station passenger equipment. These maintenance operations are carried out in specialist workshops.
Alstom's experts prepare specific maintenance programs for each project based on proven methods, such as its all-inclusive maintenance programs, which provide regular preventive maintenance — revisions or maintenance — and permit the rapid implementation of corrective measures — repairing damage — when required. Other programs include simply replacing spare parts, on both Alstom products and those of other builders, with a computerized management service (parts folio) that enables the customer to rapidly and easily enter into contact with the various maintenance providers via a single entrance point.
"We have spent time developing our CBM (condition based maintenance) approach, to extending the life of components and avoiding catastrophic failures, this has helped reduce costs and heavy overhaul, which results in higher utilization of customers' assets," Aspinwall says.
In addition to several other services, Alstom also provides electrical and mechanical solutions for stations and tunnels, and provides ergonomics, design, supply, installation, entry into service and centralized control for electromechanical equipment.
Bombardier
Aside from building railcars, Bombardier provides rail services that are broken down into five areas: Operations and Maintenance, Overhaul, Material Solutions, Technology Solutions and Whole Life Asset Management.
"The services are offered independently as well as part of an integrated solution," Matt Byrne, vice president, Services business unit, for Bombardier Transportation North America, says. "Also, these services are not just available for Bombardier-built products; the expertise is applicable across all product lines whether they are Bombardier-built or not."
As part of its Technology Solutions, Bombardier worked with agencies both in North America and around the world to create its eLearning Web training product, Sentio Fault Diagnostic Tool, and TrackSafe, a product in the testing stage that will significantly improve the safe working environment for track maintenance personnel through an early warning notification to both train and track workers based upon RFID technology.
"If you look at training, the major needs and concerns from transit agencies are cost, consistency of delivery and business disruption," says Byrne. "So, after extensive market research and consultation with the industry, [our] eLearning product was developed. This product allows training to be provided on an individual basis at a time when an employee is available, without causing disruption to the agency's requirements."
Byrne explains that Bombardier's eLearning training program is successful because it ensures a level of consistency in the training experience the employees receive and take away. As the program is interactive, the learner can also go at his or her own pace, while having their knowledge retention tested at various points throughout the specific training program. It also enables a person to expand their job knowledge on their own time should they decide to undertake training for their own personal development, at no additional cost to their employer.
"If those being trained want to take on more courses for their own personal advancement, it means that courses can be taken on their own time without any cost to the business, because eLearning is not only available at the work site, it is also available wherever and whenever people have online access," says Byrne.
One of the newer offerings for the North American market is Bombardier's set of Whole Life Asset Management services where, in essence, the company manages assets for their entire lifecycle, while also taking on the risks for those assets.
"We design, build, maintain and support a vehicle for its entire life, with the client potentially only paying a defined price per mile, or, per year, so they get certainty of cost base, which in this economic climate offers a lot of advantages," explains Byrne.
Many rail agencies in the U.K. and Europe, as well as certain areas of Asia, due to more private investment in those continents' rail systems, have started to procure railcars using this total Asset Management formula, says Byrne.
"North American agencies are starting to also consider this innovation when they are purchasing railcars, as the significant benefits it entails address many of their short and long-term financial and operational challenges," he explains. "[Using this method], you are designing, building and maintaining for the full life of the asset, therefore, you can optimize your design to be more cost and performance-efficient in terms of maintenance, operation, energy usage, et cetera. This approach, combined with long-term technical, supply chain and fleet performance support, addresses the traditional worries, such as long-term maintenance costs, software and hardware obsolescence, spares and supply chain continuity, and long-term sustainment of reliability and availability growth."
Byrne says that there are many factors to be taken into account by Bombardier to help determine which or how many of these services will suit their customers' needs best, most importantly, their output requirements. The result has been customers switching their mentality from not just how many vehicles they need, but how to get the best bang for their buck, so to speak.
To work with the client, Bombardier typically assigns a designated resource to make sure their needs and requirements are fully understood from the initial stages all the way up to the actual delivery of the services.
"We try to tailor it such that the client has got a personal touch but, also, a very professional approach, so that he/she has a single point of contact and feels that there are sufficient resources behind that point of contact to deliver on the commitments and requirements of the project," Byrne says.
He adds that among Bombardier's strengths is its ability to recognize that the market is constantly changing; thus Bombardier's focus is not only on achieving its clients' current needs, but equally importantly, on understanding the clients' long-term goals and being sufficiently flexible to ensure Bombardier is planning and acting today to help its clients to achieve their vision.
[PAGEBREAK]
L.B. Foster Co. offers an array of services, including engineering and testing services, lubrication and concrete rail ties.
L.B. Foster Company
L.B. Foster Company provides a variety of products and services for global rail transit systems.
Its Transit Products Division delivers products customized to meet specific needs, constraints and schedules. For the heavy rail transits, L.B. Foster offers direct fixation fasteners and contact rail systems. The bonded or non-bonded direct fixation fasteners offer the best balance for noise and vibration dampening, electrical isolation and ease of installation. The systems can be utilized in turnouts, crossings, expansion joints, restraining rails and many other applications and can consist of steel; aluminum; or steel/aluminum clad rails.
For the light rail transit markets, the company provides embedded track systems in addition to direct fixation fastenings. It also supplies hybrid products, including two-block ties, ballast mats, direct fixation fasteners and concrete anchoring assemblies, among others, that apply across the light and heavy rail transit and freight railroad markets.
In addition, L.B. Foster offers engineering and testing services, as well as rail lubrication and concrete rail ties.
Its KELTRACK® top of rail friction modifier unit is useful for transits trying to quiet a curve and decrease wheel and rail wear, as well as prevent anti-wheel climb.
"Our wayside equipment senses a train is coming, and, through electronic controls that are very adjustable, you can precisely dial up or dial down the pace or distribution of these substances to exactly what's appropriate to the site," explains Ward Powell, engineering manager and senior product manager. "Everything we do in friction management, we try to customize to exactly what an operation is trying to accomplish and to the specific site. Every curve is a little different; it's sharper or longer or constructed differently, so we take all that into account as we create the solution."
To determine how its solutions can specifically be applied, L.B. Foster's team visits with a potential client to go over what issues they are trying to address, says Powell.
"We like to go out and see the site, take photos and notes about exactly what we're seeing, and, if it's to curb noise, for example, we may decide to run trials to try to capture exactly what some of the details are," he adds.
While the lubrication substance isn't brand new, the company's top of rail solution was launched in the 1990s. Powell says that sometimes rail operators have to be convinced it is both safe and effective. The company also offers traditional gauge face lubrication and onboard lubrication solutions.
Technical Sales and Service Manager Steve Fletcher explains that the initial consultation helps not only determine the issues the rail operator is facing, but also which solution will work best and how the overall system can be improved.
"We pride ourselves in being impartial and dealing with the facts. We can come in and make an assessment on somebody's system, how well they're doing or not doing, and how they can be doing better in regards to not just lubrication, but managing the wheel/rail contact, because lubrication is only a portion of it," he says. "If we see something that we think they can be doing better but we're not the experts in, we will point them in the right direction."
The company will frequently sell installation, according to Powell, and believes there is no better way to get a unit off on the right foot than through a factory install, with L.B. Foster's large service team working in tandem with the sales force. The idea behind ensuring a new installation is working well, says Powell, is that it opens the door to future business.
Meanwhile, through its wholly owned subsidiary, CXT® Inc., L.B. Foster offers about 42 different types of concrete ties, standard concrete ties, specialty ties (including guard rail ties), restraining ties and grade crossing ties.
Concrete ties are easier to install, have a greater life expectancy, reduce maintenance and improve fuel economy as well as provide a much better gauge holding capability compared to traditional wood ties, according to Mark Hammons, national sales manager of CXT's concrete tie business.
Like the lubrication business, the company provides a hands-on approach to determining which application will work best for the rail operator.
"For example, we work very closely with the transit agency and their design engineering consultants to understand the track speed, axle loads, ballast depth and degree of curvature. That results in CXT providing them a concrete tie structural analysis," explains Hammons. "We actually design the concrete tie with the fastening system to meet their application and establish the correct tie spacing."
Concrete ties are spaced further apart than wood ties. For example, on a metro system, concrete ties can be spaced anywhere from 26 inches all the way up to 30 inches apart, Hammons adds.
When owners compare a new wood tie to a new concrete tie track, they recognize the installed price is very comparable. When you add in the other benefits of concrete ties, most transit and metro systems are looking to use concrete ties, according to L.B. Foster. In addition, contractors will install twice as many concrete ties in a day than wood, providing a better cost savings from an installation standpoint.
Siemens
Siemens Rail Services for the U.S. market offers light rail, heavy rail, commuter rail and locomotives a variety of services ranging from individual parts to complete assemblies, logistics concepts, overhaul of existing vehicles or subsystems, and accident/heavy repairs. The company also makes technical resources to resolve sourcing requirements and rolling stock and infrastructure maintenance available to its customers.
"Our maintenance service business is scalable up to full service, but it could also start as consulting or trouble shooting or everything in between," says Reiner Martin, director, rail services for Siemens. "Full service really means the customer is transferring the entire risk to us. We do all the planning and adopt all the risk coming with the planning, in regard to corrective actions that are needed and guarantee a defined vehicle availability."
Like Bombardier's Byrne, Martin believes these types of service agreements, where the risk is taken on by the company at a set price for the rail operator, are destined to grow in popularity here in the U.S.
"It's a trend that will grow over the years because it's also an indication for the customer of the total lifecycle cost of the vehicle," he says. "With every vehicle we have delivered in the U.K., we also have received a full service maintenance contract. That is normally more private companies who have purchased the vehicles in the U.K., and they understand the importance of the total life cycle cost and like the idea of taking the risk away from them, so they can focus on operating the service and providing availability to the passengers."
Siemens uses modern IT-infrastructure (remote data access) as a basis for predictive maintenance — evaluation of various data sources — from vehicles and infrastructure, which indicates upcoming events through pattern or trend detection of significant signals. In this way the supplier can further increase the vehicle availability and optimize the life cycle cost.
For its spare parts services, Siemens offers express check logistics, which means if the customer is interested in minimizing their assets, then they can take advantage of Siemens' ability to deliver every part within the U.S. within 48 hours. It also has electronic solutions available to the customer, enabling them to be able to see what Siemens has in inventory with pricing, and also, order parts directly from the company through their rail mall solution.
"The spare parts solution is also integrated in obsolescence management, which is getting more and more important, especially for the high electronic systems, like the communication systems, because the lifetime of the systems is getting smaller and smaller," explains Martin.
Siemens also can define packages and deliver parts to customers for pre-determined service intervals.
The company has a refurbishment and modernization solution for the complete vehicle, not only for Siemens vehicles, but also for third-party vehicles.
"This is getting more and more important for us because we are having more than 1,300 vehicles in North America delivered and, for sure, the vehicles are aging, so customers are looking for refurbishment solutions," says Martin. "However, we are also doing it for system refurbishment or system modernization, which means if a customer would like to have an enhancement on the HVAC system or would like to have an upgrade on the communications system, we are fully capable of supplying them with this service."
Additionally, Siemens is offering crash and accident repair support, adds Martin, where its engineering competence is a true asset.
"We are in the middle of opening a bogie service center, which is unique in North America, where a customer could send an entire set of trucks to us, and we could actually overhaul it within three weeks," he says. "This is something that we are still in the middle of launching, but we are also close to already receiving our first contract."
media brand
0 Comments
See all comments