Network-wide Help Point technology upgrade

TDM upgraded the Help Point estate of Southeastern, working with NG Bailey, after the BT analogue switch-off made its ISDN-connected units obsolete, managing design, consents, supply, installation, commissioning and configuration of the TDM Network Information System (NIS). TDM has maintained the estate since.

The requirement

The estate mixed ISDN, 2G, 3G and VoIP components, and each needed a different upgrade. The programme had to:

• Replace the ISDN components with 4G ahead of the switch-off.
• Bring the 2G, 3G and VoIP components to current technology, leaving one consistent set of internal components.
• Upgrade Help Point call management to TDM NIS at Puddle Dock KICC.
• Keep Help Point downtime to a minimum while NIS was configured.
• Remedy the service quality issues raised through the customer’s quality regimes.
• Reposition Help Points to the mounting heights in the DfT Design Standards for Accessible Stations.

What TDM delivered

• 193 TDM 4G Help Point replacement kits.
• 88 TDM VoIP Help Point replacement kits.
• 20 TDM Standard two-button Help Point enclosures.
• 300 Help Point vinyl graphics.
• TDM NIS upgraded and configured at Puddle Dock KICC, with a GSM gateway and a replacement operator terminal.

How the work was done

• Site-by-site scoping. TDM reviewed the estate station by station to decide whether each site needed 4G replacement, a 2G or 3G upgrade or a VoIP software update, then sequenced the programme from that.
• Phased NIS configuration. Server configuration at Puddle Dock KICC was phased so that Help Points stayed operational during the transition.
• Quality work in the same programme. Enclosure replacements and vinyl renewals answered the service quality findings alongside the upgrade.
• Accessibility repositioning. The repositioning covers 74 stations. Phase one, 58 Help Points at 32 stations, is complete. Phase two, 52 Help Points at 42 stations, is in delivery.
• Site safety. Qualified safety staff, including a Controller of Site Safety (COSS), were deployed at all live rail sites.
• Assistance Point maintenance. TDM carries out preventative, corrective and software maintenance on the estate’s Assistance Points, with spares held at its Crawley premises.

The result

• The ISDN estate moved to 4G ahead of the switch-off, with no disruption to passenger emergency communication.
• The estate runs on one consistent set of internal components, which simplifies maintenance.
• The upgrade was completed on time and within budget.