Connect Project
 | This article reads like a press release or a news article or is largely based on routine coverage or sensationalism. (December 2007) |
| Connect Project | |
|---|---|
| Type | Radio |
| Location | London Underground |
| Operator | Citylink |
| Established | February 2006 |
The Connect Project is the project name for a radio communications system developed for Transport for London. The system introduced Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) technology to the London Underground.[1]The long term goal includes plans to connect all drivers on the underground with line control staff[2] and by 2010 Connect had delivered integrated radio service throughout the Underground network as a prerequisite for providing emergency services on the tube.[3]
Overview[edit]
The Connect project's intention was to "connect" all the London Underground staff via a radio and telephone network. Before Connect each line would have its own radio system. Some lines such as the Northern Line were recently upgraded to a radio system which covered all areas, while other lines had aging radios that failed often and provided poor coverage.
The Connect project contract was signed in late 1999 and work was due to be complete as early as the end of 2002. Delays to implementation were largely the result of installing the needed radio equipment on an ageing railway infrastructure in a safe way with no disruption to the operational railway. This meant for example that tunnel work could only take place when a safe system of work has been agreed and no trains were running during a four-hour window each night called 'engineering hours'.
All frontline LUL staff and all trains are supplied with the Tetra Digital Radio. This radio technology allows more users to use the same number of frequencies by use of digital multiplexing among other benefits. Integration with emergency services' communications systems was a requirement imposed by the report arising from the Kings Cross fire disaster. For example, fire staff must be able to contact each other and LUL staff during an incident in a tunnel or station by use of a radio (Airwave). In principal the Connect project is a private, secure, mobile radio system internal to staff and emergency staff.
On 5 June 2006 the London Assembly published the 7 July Review Committee reported which urged TfL to speed up implementation of the Connect system.[2]
Private finance initiative[edit]
Via the UK government's private finance initiative (PFI), London Underground procured funds for the replacement of its existing train, station and depot radio systems with a single trunked private mobile radio system and the installation of a new fibre optic transmission network to support services such as telephony, customer/staff information systems and IT as well as a video transmission network with capability to serve all operational sites.[4] The main drivers for the project were due firstly to the fact that many of the existing radio and transmission systems were beginning to reach the end of their useful lives and required replacement. Secondly, the legacy systems no longer provided the functionality and types of service required for a modern mass transit railway serving a large urban area such as London. The Connect project aims were to provide a fully integrated communications system which will serve London Underground well into the 21st century and support new types of services and more efficient ways of working, bringing benefits to both the customers and staff of London Underground.
The East London Line was chosen as the first line to receive the TETRA radio as it was the second smallest of the lines and is a mix of surface and sub surface. The rolling stock is also used on the Metropolitan Line. The TETRA network has been in use on the East London Line since February 2006. The same year it was rolled out across the District, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Victoria lines, with the Bakerloo Piccadilly , Jubilee , Waterloo & City and Central lines following in 2007.[4] The final line, the Northern was handed over in November 2008.
Citylink[edit]
Without the required £450 million capital investment available from government funds to do the work on a traditional install and commission system, Connect has had to be underwritten with private investment. It is funded under a private financial initiative through a consortium (special purpose vehicle name “Citylink”), who undertake to devise, procure, construct and maintain Connect for an initial twenty-year period.
The supply contract was finally signed in November 1999 with Motorola as the radio provider alongside Thales, although Motorola’s Basingstoke base softens the disappointment. A deciding factor was choosing a company that could deliver a transmission and radio system for LUL that satisfies the exacting and fluid standards of TETRA.
Citylink's shareholders are Thales Group (33 per cent), Fluor Corporation (18%), Motorola (10%), Laing Investment (19.5%) and HSBC (19.5%). The cost of the design, build and maintain contract is £2 billion over twenty years.
Various subcontractors have been used to do the install work. The two main firms being Brookvex and Fentons.
TETRA is not test-bed; it is in operation in Copenhagen and Oslo, with the Netherlands, Singapore and is ready for commission in Hong Kong. However, it is the largest installation of this technology ever made, anywhere. The cost is significant too – an approximate lifetime cost of £1.2 billion. The new radio transmission network covers the whole of LUL – every single station, depot and office – carrying anything that requires transmission around LUL except signalling. For safety reasons signalling is designed as a stand-alone system.
There are obvious benefits of intercommunication between Tube Lines by using radio, allowing that member of staff to be mobile and contactable at all times rather than stuck to a seat. Kings Cross station exemplifies the need for this improved efficiency. With five Lines passing through, in an emergency situation under the new Connect system the Supervisor would simply go to his computer screen, press the broadcast button and every single staff member on the station, all the trains and the line controllers would all be told the emergency message at once. A second tangible benefit is direct to the traveller. With the new system, staff will have accurate information available to them when it matters, enabling them to keep customers fully updated – avoiding a major source of frustration for customers and staff alike.
Thirdly, staff, who in the past only carried personal safety alarms, will be able to secure assistance with a direct radio link to the control centre via the new handsets. This not only adds to their personal safety, but also allows the set up of special incident rooms and improved efficiency in the event of an incident. The new efficiency of Connect is unlikely to instil complacency. A severe culling of the information channel restricts the potential hazards of the wrong people being able to talk to each other, whilst staff are also aware that every call is recorded. Although the traveller is unlikely to be aware of the impact of Connect the internal philosophy is that Connect is driven by the needs of the operational railway and its justification is crucial.
Commercially the benefits are easily quantified: A train requires radio to operate fully and if the radio doesn’t work, the train is removed from service until it is replaced. A new radio system equals less cancellations and more trains available for the consumer. In fact 99.6% system reliability.[citation needed][clarification needed]
Also added is an upgrade to allow the O2 Airwave radios in use by the emergency services to be used underground. At present only the British Transport Police (BTP) can use their radios on the Underground. This is despite recommendations made by Mr. Desmond Fennell QC after inquiry into the Kings Cross Underground fire in 1987.
All LUL lines are now working on the new Connect radio and transmission systems, with the final line handed over at the end of 2008. Reliability is at an all-time high now that all the project issues have been ironed out and the system is settling down to be a reliable and useful addition to the LUL operational railway.
The Airwave basestations have all been installed ahead of programme.
Roll out[edit]
After some initial teething problems on the radio system, the project issues have now been ironed out and the system is proving to be a reliable network which is a vast improvement on the aged legacy systems it replaced. Major system failures are few and far between. The 2010 TfL investment programme included the project "LU-PJ231 LU-managed Connect communications", which provided Connect with a new transmission and radio system comprising 290 cell sites with two to three base stations, 1,400 new train mobiles, 7,500 new telephone links and 180 CCTV links.[3]
Control[edit]
The Connect Network is controlled from eleven core sites at various stations on the Underground. The main infrastructure is Motorola Centracom.
The Network Management Centre (NMC) was originally at Thales' site in Waterloo, but has since moved to a purpose built facility within Transport for London's Palestra House in Southwark. Each line controller at line control centres has a dispatcher terminal to talk to trains. Station staff use a combination of fixed mobile units, desk-top mobiles and hand-portable radios.
References[edit]
- ↑ "TfL accepts part of the blame for slow 7/7 response". New Civil Engineer. 8 June 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2104. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "TfL keeps schtum on underground radio plans". The Register. 6 June 2006. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "TfL investment programme - London Underground" (PDF). Transport for London. 2010. p. 10. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Response from the Chief Engineers' Directorate of London Underground to the OFCOM Consultative Document "Spectrum Trading Consultation"" (PDF). Ofcom. November 2003. p. 1. Retrieved 19 June 2014. line feed character in
|title=at position 82 (help) Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "OFCOM" defined multiple times with different content
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Article on the Connect Project at Mobile/Cellular Technology website
- Backgrounder on TfL communications systems
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