971740Minimising disruption of overhead line renewals via novel headspan assembliesClosedSmall Business Research InitiativeInnovate UKCurrently 42% of the UK’s routed rail network is electrified, with 4,238km using Overhead Line Electrification (OLE) infrastructure (Office of Road and Rail 2018/19 data). The use of flexible headspans ha been a common approach to support the wires supplying power to the train pantograph, with significant economic advantage in most scenarios, particularly for multi-track sections of line. Span wire clamps are a key component of headspan OLE infrastructure, but with most of the existing infrastructure having been in situ for over 40 years, corrosion-related degradation of existing assemblies is common, with other failure modes arising from outdated designs, materials and manufacturing methods. Whilst most current headspan infrastructure therefore requires comprehensive renewal over the next 3 control periods, existing span wire clamp assemblies are complex (having 31 components), unwieldy (weighing over 3kg) and challenging to install or adjust, and therefore not fit-for-purpose. As a result, the technologies currently available to Network Rail do not overcome the perceived operational barriers to practical integration, performance, resilience and future availability requirements, despite the vast majority of OLE failures being caused by problems with aspects beyond the span wire assemblies themselves and overall approach of using headspans. In response, Associated Utility Supplies Ltd. (AUS) has developed a disruptive first-of-a-kind span wire clamping system with multiple unique attributes underpinning a compelling business case for rapid, low-cost OLE headspan renewals with minimum network disruption. Optimised parametric design has yielded an innovative modular mechanical clamping solution with only 14 components, enabling a 4-fold reduction in installation time and simplifying operations to install the span wire clamps at height. The new clamp can be oriented with full directional freedom, negating misalignment loads and other failure modes. Use of new materials in this domain with increased strength, toughness and fatigue life, enables a 66% reduction in mass and part size, with unconditional corrosion-resistance. To be formally approved for use on national railways, AUS' new system must now be validated through Network Rail's Product Acceptance Process in terms of availability, maintainability, and safety. The funding provided will be used to demonstrate and prove that requirements set within these safety-critical standards are met. Building on technology proven at prototype level, AUS will partner with the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Railway Research (OLE-pantograph team) to analyse impacts on the whole catenary system, to transfer technology, as well as transfer knowledge. Direct support from Network Rail and their supply chain, including rail operations partner VolkerRail, will ensure that the new system is fully integrated and proven at system level, with data and feedback collected from the 2-phase demonstration cutting across off-infrastructure and live trial environments. Actively engaging stakeholders responsible for the installation and ongoing maintenance of the system, outputs therefore underpin AUS’ commercialisation strategy, building on over 20years’ relationship supplying electrification