SOLUTlONS railway Composite overhead line catenary system for light rail A composite overhead line catenary system for light rail utilising carbon fibre provides increased aesthetics through a 50% reduction in support poles and no requirement for a tensioning system. Samantha Bunyan, Head of Industry Engagement Cecence Ltd. T he innovative design incorporates a carbon fibre catenary cable and a fully-integrated glass fibre support system. The cabling has cleverly-designed end fittings that can interface between the current system when hooking up to a curved section of cabling. The uprights and cantilever poles are filament wound using non-conductive glass fibre to take the same loads as traditional metal poles. A series of composite clips and support cables are produced using carbon, glass and other composite fibres, with clamps and clips manufactured through the process of hot compression moulding. Additional fittings and fixtures utilise 3D printing, harnessing rubberised and high-strength materials that are now possible to produce through recent advances in additive manufacturing. 56 Project start in 2014 Cecence is responsible for the design, engineering, product development and manufacture of the carbon overhead line catenary and composite structural support system. The company has been committed to the development of the system since first proposing the idea in 2014, with the team at Cecence being responsible for turning the idea into a full-scale product, and supplying a demonstrator section that will help promote the increased uptake of composites as a key part of the infrastructure of both light and heavy rail going forwards. The company proposed a carbon overhead line cabling system in 2014 at a Rail Forum at the National Composites Centre. This led to interest from Atkins and UK Tram, with whom Filament wound glass fibre support poles (8.4m long) with steel connection flanges and industry standard fixing holes jec composites magazine / N°136 September - October 2020