Acceleration and braking profiles for various trains

Jessika Venn made this Freedom of Information request to Network Rail Limited This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was refused by Network Rail Limited.

Dear Network Rail,

I am writing to you seeking copies of the acceleration and braking profiles for several passenger rolling stock types (i.e. graphs that show the Speed vs Time that the train can achieve in model conditions, or data sets from which such a graph can be produced). I am specifically interested in the following units:
- Class 800, under diesel propulsion (both 5-car and 9-car versions)
- Class 800, under electric propulsion (both 5-car and 9-car versions)
- Class 800, when modified for operating up to 140mph
- HST 8-coach sets
- HST 4-coach "Castle" sets
- Class 166
- Class 165/1 (both 3-car and 2-car versions)
- Class 158
- Class 153
- Class 150/0
- Class 150/2

I understand that NR have a timetable planning team which will have these data of the acceleration and braking of train configurations.

I would be most appreciative if you could relay this request to the appropriate persons and furnish me with the relevant data. Please do contact me if you need further information in order to fulfil this request.

Yours faithfully,
Jessika Venn

FOI, Network Rail Limited

Reference number: FOI2019/00263

Dear Ms Venn,

Information request

Your correspondence was received by Network Rail on 29th February 2019. I can confirm that your request is being processed under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)/Environmental Information Regulations (EIR). I will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible and in any event by 29th March 2019.

On occasion we may need to consult with third parties about requests, in line with the recommendations in the Code of Practice issued by the Cabinet Office.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please remember to quote your reference number in all future communications.

Yours sincerely

Rebecca Lindsay
Senior Information Officer

Freedom of Information Team
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/foi/

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

3 Attachments

Reference number: FOI2019/00263

Dear Ms Venn

On behalf of my colleague Rebecca Lindsay, please find attached a letter and documents in response to your request for information.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [email address]
Web: www.networkrail.co.uk/foi

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Dear Network Rail,

I would like to get a clarification of your answer to a FoI request I submitted. If this qualifies as an internal review, then please treat it as such.

(A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: <https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a...>.)

In the response I received, it was stated that the data I am searching for falls under a Section 21 exemption as it is already 'published' (only) via the "Capability & Capacity Analysis" / "RailSyS" / "NWR Delay Data Request" scheme. And that each request has a charge of £750 levied.

Firstly, I would like to reiterate that what I am searching is simple data on the expected design acceleration and service braking performance of the listing rolling stocks, i.e. for each stock / case either;
- a spreadsheet table with the distance vs speed or time vs speed data,
OR
- a graph (such as PDF, JPEG, etc) of such data.
For ultimate clarity I have uploaded a spreadsheet where I estimated the performance of the Class 800 from reported timings by the public, at <https://www.dropbox.com/s/xl18jh649sciro...> as a example.

So, I would like to ask–

1) is a request to the "Capability & Capacity Analysis" / "RailSyS" / "NWR Delay Data Request" scheme literally the only way to get what appears to me to be very simple and small pieces of data?

2) Regarding the mentioned '£750 per request', would that be one £750 payment all the rolling stocks and propulsion/configuration cases I listed, or would it occur multiple times in order to cover all listed elements? (If so please state your subdivision of my request into payment blocks.)

Yours faithfully,

Jessika Venn

FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Ms Venn

Thank you for your email of 30 April 2019 in respect of the response that you received to request FOI2019/00263.

We will carry out an internal review of the handling of your request.

The purpose of the internal review procedure is to provide a fair, thorough and independent review of the handling of your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

We will endeavour to respond to your request for an internal review by 30 May 2019. We will write to you if an extension is required.

If you have any queries about the internal review, please contact me quoting reference FOI2019/00483.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [email address]
Web: www.networkrail.co.uk/foi

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Ms Venn

I am currently working on the internal review of your request.

I have been advised that the requirements for braking systems of rail vehicles are set out in a Railway Group Standard, GMRT2045 Issue Four, which is available on the RSSB website at this link: https://www.rssb.co.uk/rgs/standards/GMR...

The braking performance requirements are set out in appendix A of the standard, which starts on page 29 of the document. The requirements differ, depending on the type of route on which a train operates.

Please can you review the information in the standard and let me know whether this would help to meet your request in relation to braking profiles?

It may also be helpful if I explain that the journey times shown in timetables may be affected by the Timetable Planning Rules, which may include provisions for factors such as attachment and detachment of locomotives/units, dwell times, adjustments to sectional running times and headway. The Timetable Planning Rules can be viewed on the Network Rail site at: http://archive.nr.co.uk/browse%20documen...

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [email address]
Web: www.networkrail.co.uk/foi

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Dear Mr Bendall / Network Rail FOI,

Unfortunately the data referred to in GMRT2045 does not answer the braking elements of my request as it would constitute regulatory minimums, whereas I am seeking information of the specific performance of specific Classes, which one assumes exceeds the aforementioned regulatory minimums by individually varying ranges.

As for the Timetable Planning Rules you linked to, unfortunately I can't seem to get that link to work right. It only takes me to a one page pdf in which the embedded links fail to respond at all in Chrome or Safari, and which do respond when the pdf is downloaded, but then produces an error as the links appear to be 'relative' and no longer work outside the host server.

Yours sincerely,

Jessika Venn

Chris Hogan left an annotation ()

Could I suggest this request might be better directed to the Office of Rail & Road as it approves the introduction of new trains rather than Network Rail? Network Rail's principal interests are whether trains fit into its infrastructure (rolling stock gauge etc.) and whether it affects the operation of signalling and other systems through electro-magnetic interference.

FOI, Network Rail Limited

20 Attachments

Dear Ms Venn

Thank you for your email of 19 May 2019.

I will make further enquiries in relation to the requested information and will write to you again as soon as possible and by 30 May 2019.

I am sorry that you were unable to access the Timetable Planning Rules for 2019 and 2020 from the Network Rail website. I have attached the 2019 Timetable Planning Rules for reference and I will send the 2020 Timetable Planning Rules on a separate email.

As explained in my earlier email, the journey times shown in timetables may be affected by the Timetable Planning Rules, which may include provisions for factors such as attachment and detachment of locomotives/units, dwell times, adjustments to sectional running times and headway.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [email address]
Web: www.networkrail.co.uk/foi

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Bendall Colin, Network Rail Limited

20 Attachments

Dear Ms Venn

Please find attached the 2020 Timetable Planning Rules.

I will make further enquiries in relation to the requested information about acceleration and braking profiles and will write to you again as soon as possible and by 30 May 2019.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [cyfeiriad ebost]
Web: www.networkrail.co.uk/foi

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Ms Venn

Our reference: FOI2019/00483

I am writing to advise you that I am still working on the internal review of the handling of your request and considering whether we handled your request in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I am therefore extending the time for response to 40 working days in line with the Information Commissioner’s guidance. I will respond by 27 June 2019 at the latest.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [email address]
Web: www.networkrail.co.uk/foi

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Venn

Our reference: FOI2019/00483

Please find attached our response to your request for an internal review.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [email address]
Web: www.networkrail.co.uk/foi

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