199103 – Lugsden – AUSTRAC: The Australian ATCS

This paper describes the design of AUSTRAC, which is the Australian implementation of the North American Advanced Train Control System (ATCS) series of signalling specifications. AUSTRAC is being installed on Australian National’s Trans-Australian and Central Australian lines. In particular, this paper focuses on the differences between AUSTRAC and ATCS, on some of the problems found with the ATCS specifications and on the unique features incorporated into AUSTRAC.