Client: West Midlands Trains
When: 2020 – 2023
Figure 1 - Wythall station activated LED lights
Railway Project Services (RPS) project managed the development and delivery of a complex portfolio of LED lighting rollouts across the West Midlands Trains (WMT) network. Our WMT LED Station Lighting Project provides enormous sustainability benefits, enhances the resilience of railway station lighting systems, and is a pioneering example of cooperation, collaboration, and innovation between transport operators and market leaders. The system we have developed can also be adapted for railway stations UK-wide.
Key Accomplishments
This project commenced development in 2020 and was completed in 2023. The key benefits of the project have been:
A reduction of nearly 50% in light energy usage, and over 70% at some stations
Carbon savings of over 65%
We have increased lighting levels at many stations by over 500% to achieve compliance with standards
Annual energy cost savings of £700,000/year ∙ Maintenance cost savings are over £300,000/year
Total cost savings (including energy, maintenance and repairs) are in excess of £1,000,000/year
Background
The aim of the project was to replace the lighting in all 150 of WMT’s stations. This enormous task involved replacing over 12,000 old, inefficient incandescent lights of which the Government has prohibited the manufacture and import of from August 2023. Rather than replace the lights with cheap LED luminaries, WMT sought to unlock greater benefits and set themselves the following objectives:
Provide reliable lighting at WMT stations
Achieve compliant lighting levels to the latest standards which meets our philosophy of lighting – “the correct lighting levels when required”
Reduce energy consumption
Reduce lighting and emergency lighting maintenance costs
Enable condition based monitoring and maintenance
Deliver through a low-cost and efficient installation
Our commitment to improving sustainability or reducing the environmental impact of rail services or projects through technical or process innovation
We gained agreement from the Client – WMT – that the best technology should be deployed to drive innovation which enhances sustainability and efficiency – with a goal of futureproofing the railway and addressing global energy challenges. Our solution was SmartScan - a revolutionary wireless lighting control system refined and developed for railway stations through a collaborative partnership between RPS, WMT and Thorlux. Whilst a straight replacement of the luminaires would be cheaper, this approach would still be reliant on time clocks, monitored by inspection and unable to be remote controlled.
Projects to improve operational resilience or mitigate the impacts of climate change on the rail network
To achieve our objectives we had to find the right lighting supplier to implement a never-before-seen solution on the UK’s railway network. We approached Thorlux, a midlands-based company which has been carbon neutral since 2012, with a strong reputation for quality products and innovation. They had a wide and unique range of products to suit the varying types of old lighting systems, and we undertook a trial at a test site - Redditch Station – local to Thorlux.
Through research and development, the SmartScan lighting system was manufactured with intelligent software connected to a live, online portal. This ensures the installed assets can adapt to real-time situations of changing light levels and need depending on the occupation of areas in the station, including platforms, concourses, toilets, store rooms, waiting rooms and access routes. At any time, these settings can be monitored or changed as required remotely
Screenshot examples of the SmartScan system can be viewed in figure 2. The system enables users to view the LEDs at all 150 stations on the network. The luminaires are linked to the SmartScan gateway which remotely collects operational status information and transmits it to the web portal. Information is then displayed on the portal which can be accessed from anywhere using a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Figure 2 - Screenshot detailing the Smarscan system and LED light outages
The features and benefits of the system are:
Stations with faulty LEDs are easily recognised by the red warning triangle on the main screen
Status option shows the location of all LEDs in the station with red dots signifying faulty LEDs for easy identification ∙ Station information is easily accessed by clicking the map symbol next to the station name
All station LEDs are displayed via a birds eye view interactive drawing
Option to change dates and view historical data
Occupancy profile enables the user to see how often the lights are triggered and the duration of use, giving a clear indication of which LEDs are most frequently activated
Group lighting indication to show which LEDs have been grouped together. Lights are grouped by colours, all lights in the same group will trigger when movement is detected near one of them. This function enables us to assess passenger routes through each station and effectively group LEDs to provide enough lighting for safe passage from point A to point B without the need to illuminate whole stations.
SmartScan monitors energy performance and operational information for linked standard and emergency luminaires. The luminaires contain a discrete integral sensor which monitors ambient light and occupancy, controlling output to the correct level and only illuminating when needed. The luminaires are equipped with LUX Guard, a patented current-sharing PCB and circuit design philosophy. If an LED fails, then its current is shared via neighbouring circuits, with the brightness of each LED increasing slightly to compensate. LUX Guard ensures that a luminaire continues to provide its designed lumen performance, even in the case of nuisance LED failures, and reduces maintenance costs.
Building a workable solution through the survey / planning stage
Whilst SmartScan offered an innovative solution, the challenge of planning the installation began with surveys at all 150 stations over a vast geographical area between London, Liverpool, Hereford and Leicester. Site visits with various contractors were required at each station to ensure they understood the challenges around the existing infrastructure, heritage concerns, access limitations and safety challenges posed from installing lights close to the operational railway. Whilst a complex and time-consuming task, this familiarization exercise de-risked the project during delivery.
During the survey stage, the LED requirements for each station were individually listed, then the lights manufactured to order by Thorlux, and delivered by the RPS and WMT project teams. In many scenarios, it was found that by replacing the old lights with brighter LED's less luminaires would be needed overall to maintain safe lighting levels. An example of this is at Acocks Green Station, where 95 incandescent lights were replaced with 72 LED luminaires.
The thorough nature of these surveys allowed for an accurate picture to be formed for the project and presented the opportunity to create huge energy savings. Analysis of data gathered from Acocks Green station evidences the overall energy usage for lighting dropped by over 73% after installation and commissioning. The data was directly compared to data for the same 392 day period prior to the LEDs being commissioned.
Involvement of both senior management and staff in implementing sustainability initiatives
The many complexities and dependencies of the project, including the need for Department for Transport (DfT) approval, necessitated the involvement of senior management from WMT, RPS and Thorlux. WMT’s strategic investment was supported by WMT senior leadership and aided Thorlux’s research and development. This provided a strong business case to implement production of SmartScan.
The lighting system had to be approved by the Department for Transport, Network Rail and various rail unions because of the aspiration to have “the correct lighting levels when required.” Other stakeholders included station user groups, other TOCs and the Railway Heritage Trust.
There was an initial concern that lights becoming suddenly brighter when approached by passengers, station staff or train drivers could cause a potential hazard. We completed thorough and detailed trials and testing of the system to mitigate these concerns and gain approval.
Delivering the project safely and sustainably whilst considering stakeholder needs
RPS, WMT and Thorlux worked closely in an integrated approach to manage the large number of stakeholders and contractors. RPS led the complex challenge of overseeing the installation. This involved numerous contractors, and required the skills and experience to install the luminaires and the control systems, and knowledge around the programming and software ahead of Thorlux commissioning the completed stations. This process was supported by workshops at Thorlux’s headquarters to understand the different lights.
RPS delivered stakeholder management across the scheme, addressing the sensitivities of stakeholders, including local residents, who were concerned that lighting previously turned off with a time clock would now only dim down. Through demonstrations and continued engagement our team were able to demonstrate to stakeholders that the lighting would only activate when required, making the areas around the station and their homes safer.
Other challenges included heritage constraints involving engagement with the local authority and other stakeholders, and working on old infrastructure with some lights fed by gas, where bespoke lighting had to be developed and installation was more challenging.
We also successfully navigated the complexity of working on the operational railway and the need to take ‘possession’ of the lines and isolate overhead line equipment to protect teams working on platforms.
Old incandescent lights were removed, and many donated to heritage collectors or offered to other train operating companies who weren’t in a position to replace with LEDs. The LED project itself has gone further than we had initially anticipated. Through the use of savings from the project we were able to extend LED lighting installations to our car parks at Berkhamsted, Bletchley, Kings Langley, Leighton Buzzard, Tamworth and Nuneaton stations, further improving passenger safety and providing greater energy efficiency. We shared this positive result with the wider business through our July 2023 newsletter.
The impact of initiatives on operational effectiveness and commercial performance.
Passenger safety was at the forefront of many of the decisions made throughout the process of developing, installing and commissioning the LED and SmartScan system. We carefully considered the placement of LEDs at all of the stations to create deterrents and mitigate against the risk of crime. The aim was brighter stations with a wider dissipation of light.
Some LEDs have been strategically placed close to CCTV cameras to help provide clearer footage. The ability to set time limits and movement triggers on the LEDs has enabled us to limit the amount of light pollution affecting the local wildlife at each of the stations. Before and after photos and video footage of idle vs activated lighting can be viewed via the link on the first page.
Calculations by RPS and WMT have shown higher than anticipated energy savings at many stations. These calculations are based on the assumption that all LEDs in the station have been properly commissioned. Examples include Bletchley station where energy usage dropped more than 39% over a period of 109 energy saving days, Chester Road station where it dropped more than 68% over a 344 day period and Wylde Green station where the saving was over 48% within a 310 day period. The above data can be obtained by request to us.
The carbon savings and environmental benefits have stretched further than the immediate savings from the luminaires. The innovation of SmartScan has enabled WMT to create a new role dedicated to energy saving within their property team, and they have since appointed an experienced Energy Manager to monitor the data on the SmartScan portal and conduct site visits where necessary.
The remote operation of the system has also led to fuel savings by eliminating the need for routine visits to each station to conduct health checks on the old lighting. This has also freed up resource - enabling their time to be allocated on other energy saving schemes such as water savings and the reduction of gas use. It also means the property team can arrange for multiple works to be undertaken at the station on the same day, saving on call out fees and multiple maintenance visits to the station for different undertakings.
Lasting benefits and positive impact of this project
The annual savings of the project are currently around £1m a year with the initially predicted energy saving of £420k a year rising to £700k a year following the rise of global energy prices. Maintenance cost savings are also over £300k a year as a result of the ‘smart’ lighting and ability to use the online portal to check lighting health through WMT’s ‘always compliant’ approach and plan efficient maintenance interventions ahead of any failures.
Network Rail, as the landlord of our stations, was continuously involved through the planning and roll out of the project, from reviewing the designs to signing off on the lighting. As owners of around 2,500 stations across the country, they have seen other TOCs choose like for-like replacements of lighting, and are now witnessing the issues these replacements are causing their operators. NR have been so impressed by the success of the LED project that they have started installing the SmartScan system on their own projects.
Transport UK - the owners of WMT - have also shared the success of the project with WMTs sister TOCs, with some of them also now installing SmartScan across their networks.
The delivery of this project was a first in UK rail. The size of the project serves to display our commitment to continual sustainability improvements across our network and improved air pollution through reduced carbon emissions. Meanwhile, the revolutionary technology implemented and innovated by Thorlux makes this project a triumph of collaborative businesses working towards a common goal with unique and innovative solutions. It will continue to significantly reduce carbon emissions and air pollution within the UK transport network long into the future.
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