Firstco Undertake Study for TFL Tramlink
TFL is investing in the future of Tramlink and is developing a comprehensive programme
of enhanced maintenance, renewals, upgrades and capacity enhancement for implementation
between now and 2018.
Firstco were approached by Transport for London (TfL) to undertake a study into
the London Tramlink Communications and Controls (C&C) systems. The study comprised
three workstreams and their associated deliverable.
1. Principal Requirements Document (PRD). Firstco facilitated a
series of stakeholder workshops with representatives from the client, the tram operating
company and the respective maintenance contractors. At these workshops Firstco elicited
user requirements, ensuring that discussions remained focussed by using targeted
questions. Firstco took the outputs from the stakeholder workshops and created a
Principal Requirements Document (PRD) outlining all of Tramlink's high-level user
requirements for the C&C systems. All user requirement statements in the PRD
are atomic, testable, solution independent and uniquely identified for traceability
through any future design process.
2. Gap Analysis. Firstco undertook a series of site surveys to
assess the status of the existing Tramlink C&C systems. Firstco compared the PRD
requirements to the functionality of the actual systems witnessed during the surveys
and created a Gap Analysis report of the findings. The Gap Analysis highlighted
all PRD statements that were not met and provided a graphical breakdown by system
so that the systems in greatest need of attention could be easily identified.
3. System Mandates. Using the data gathered during the Gap Analysis,
Firstco researched the various technical options to upgrade the C&C systems
in order to meet the PRD requirements in full. Firstco presented these options in
a System Mandates report. The System Mandates highlighted Firstco's recommended
option and course of remedial action for each system, along with budget costs and
timescales so by the end of the study TfL clearly knew:
- The course of action required for each system.
- How long it would take.
- How much it would cost.
The C&C systems covered by this project were:
- Fibre Optic Transmission.
- Tram Management System.
- Traction Power System.
- Closed Circuit Television.
- Passenger Information Displays.
- Passenger Help Points.
- Telephony.
- Control Room.
- Server Room.
- Ticketing.
- Uninterruptible Power Supplies.
- Radio.
- Vehicle Location System.
- Public Address.
Firstco are delighted to be working on this opportunity with TFL Tramlink. Firstco's
Jim Taylor, design manager, said "Tramlink have a clear vision of where they want
to be, and Firstco are helping them to achieve that vision".
Image courtesy of transport-illustrated.blogspot.com