New OLE training plan welcomed by UKTram Engineering Group

Members of the UKTram Engineering Group have welcomed a plan to develop a training package on overhead live equipment which is said to be “hugely beneficial”. The plan is aimed at raising levels of OLE competence across the country’s tram systems and was unveiled at a meeting of the group in Manchester.

At the meeting – organised to coincide with UKTram’s annual summit – the group also welcomed UKTram’s recently appointed Lead Engineer, Phil Terry, with Tony Marsden from Blackpool Tram also taking up the position of Vice Chairman of the Group.

Phil Terry said: “The September meeting also generated the highest turn-out of the year for what is already a well-attended group. Almost all of those taking part attended in person, with the remainder dialling in online. The gathering also gave an opportunity, after the flurry of guidance documents developed by LRSSB over the past year, for members to give feedback on their impact and discuss how this process can be further refined going forward.”

The group also discussed the need to further explore the asset management aspect of light rail and to formulate a working group to share best practice. There were also further discussions and updates on UKTram’s rail renewals research project.

Further discussions points included a focus on two recent RAIB reports with consideration for the implications for the design of tram/highway interfaces, a recent trap and drag incident with a debate over whether there should be an industry wide remit for a project to explore improved object detection and there was a discussion on whether further research was required into potential track defects following the detection of a fault on one network which could prove to be a one-off or a sector-wide issue.