Assenta Rail
Driving Innovative Engineering Solutions Further
This article first appeared in the Railway-News magazine, Issue 1 2023.
From setting new objectives, to understanding your industry’s emerging needs, a new year presents a prime time to reflect on achievements, capitalise on opportunities and embrace change.
At Assenta Rail, we are proud to have developed a range of rail engineering solutions since our inception in 2001. Innovation thrives throughout our organisation, and we have developed cutting-edge products that will continue to play a dominant role in 2023.
Developing Innovative Central Door Locking (CDL) Solutions
As mandated by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), all rail vehicles must now be fitted, and retrofitted with central door locking (CDL) solutions. Affecting primarily heritage railways and operators of historic trains on main lines, the ORR launched an industry-wide consultation on the application of the Railway Safety Regulations 1999 (RSR 99) to Mark 1-type and hinged-door rolling stock, when operated on railway infrastructure where line speed exceeds 40km/h.
RSR 99 was introduced to deal with safety risks, as highlighted by a series of accidents from trains passing signals at danger and collisions involving Mark 1 rolling stock. As a result, it is imperative that the industry implements reliable and efficient CDL solutions to achieve the above. This is where Assenta Rail comes in.
Over the past two years, we have collaborated with a diverse range of clients to deliver bespoke CDL services that can be adapted to different vehicle types. It was a core part of our business in 2022, and looks poised to grow even further in 2023, honed, in part, through our close client collaboration and engagement with the ORR. We look forward to evolving this along with our other products this year.
Creating Products Fit for Change
Developing products that deliver positive change for our customers is crucial. We have developed controlled effluent tanks (CET), in essence, tanks for toilet waste, to support the rail industry in removing waste safely and hygienically. Historically, train carriage waste was deposited on the tracks. However, this is no longer permitted, thanks to the developing green agenda that is coming into play.
