Digital electrification design

In a sector growing at an unprecedented rate and historically lagging behind in its adoption of technology, how is Atkins addressing today's challenges by embracing tomorrow's technologies? Atkins Transportation division is developing a number of software tools to assist the design of railway electrification overhead line equipment. The interlinked suite of programmes, known collectively as TADPOLE (Tools Aiding the Design and Production of Overhead Line Equipment), uses automation and common data sources to meet current technical and programme demands in the UK marketplace. Additionally, Atkins was joint lead partner with Laing O'Rourke in the Digitally Enabling Electrification (DEE) Research Project, along with dhp11 and Imperial College London. The project was funded by Innovate UK to research applying Digital Engineering in the Railway Industry. The two year project, which is part of the Government innovation strategy for digitising the railway, focused on railway electrification. The team has developed approaches that increase the efficiency and validity of data through all stages of the asset lifecycle. By exploiting digital technologies the project team has demonstrated how the industry can achieve and benefit from an integrated BIM compliant environment through common methods of exchanging and structuring data throughout the lifecycle of an OLE asset.