Technical Meetings are held three times per year.
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Noel Burton BSc MIRSE Westinghouse Rail Systems Australia The title of this technical paper may be a little misleading but like all good attention grabbing headlines has at least some connection with the story. The content of this paper details the re-interlocking of the Hornsby station area. As the layout at Hornsby is extremely complicated as well as compact, previously four Solid State Interlockings (SSIs) were required to control the area. To need so many of the relatively large SSI interlocking in an area small enough to be bridged by a single freight train, indicates that the original resignalling project was quite a challenge. The paper includes an overview of the original SSI implementation and the engineering journey to commission the new WESTLOCK interlocking to eventually reduce that number.
Peter Symons, F.I.R.S.E. Manager N.S.W. Operations Westinghouse Brake Rr. Signal Co. (Aust.) Ltd. Tony Vaz, F.I.R.S.E. Project Manager Signal Renewal Rr. Modernisation Programme North State Rail Authority of N.S.W. This paper details the rationale behind the decisions governing the signalling arrangements for North Sydney and describes the system installed and the ways in which problems were succesfully ercome during the :velopment of the project. The SRA, after investment appraisal, selected North Sydney for resignalling and track rationalisation. Subsequently a contract was awarded on the 17th of July 1992 to Urestinghouse Brake L% Signal Company (Australia) Ltd (WBA) . 'T'he selected interlocking system was SS1 allowing eventual control fiom the City Rail Control Centre and ir! the interim fro111 a temporary panel in the Sydney Signal Box.
J.E. Chambers Ferranti Computer System (Australia) Pty. Limited To provide a Train Describer and Telemetry System with high reliability capable of ready expansion with minimal modification to both software and hardware, using technology which will be supportable and maintainable for a minimum of 15 years.
GC Lawson BSc(Eng) Project Manager, DML Engineering Pty Ltd C Sagar State Rail Authority of NSW In the mid 70's a study of Main Line Upgrading "Evaluation of a Range of Options for the Melbourne - Sydney Rail Link" was completed by the Bureau of Transport Economics, the study was initiated by the N.S.W. Public Transport Commission. The Bureau examined the single line portion of the Melbourne - Sydney rail link between Junee and Albury. The growing congestion problem along the track was investigated and a range of upgrading options evaluated, including centralised traffic control, selective line doubling and additional crossing loops on sections where the existing loops are widely spaced. The single track portion between Junee and Albury had evenly spaced, relatively short mechanically controlled crossing loops, and the longer freight trains could not fit into many of the loops, thus reducing the line capacity. By lengthening all existing loops between Bomen and Table Top to 915 metres the line capacity could be considerably increased. However, since loops of this length (915 metres) can no longer be controlled mechanically, the introduction of power signalling becomes essential and for "little" extra cost the power controlled signals and points can be operated from a centralpoint. The Bureau of Transport Economics concluded that the simplest way of upgrading the Junee - Albury portion of this line was to extend all crossing loops and introduce Centralised Traffic Control.
Dwayne Allan B Eng (Hons), PGradCert (Railway Signalling), AMIRSE, MIEAust, CPEng Siemens Ltd. Distributed control systems have their heritage in manufacturing, process or other forms of dynamic systems in which the control of sub-systems is distributed throughout the system but controlled by one or more programmable logic controllers (PLC's) in a central location. This philosophy is often applied in process environments with equivalent SIL requirements to railway signalling systems. This paper will outline the use of distributed architectures in a railway signalling context, in particular the system flexibility and resultant changes in system design and requisite cost implications for railway authorities when used as vital interlocking systems. Sample system layouts using traditional and distributed architectures will be reviewed as well as the benefits and limitations of the each system application. The advancements in PLC technology its application in safety-critical systems will be reviewed. The open data communications functionality and the streamlined programming techniques used as part of industrial automation applications will be outlined. How these advancements and techniques are used in a railway signalling interlocking application will also be discussed. In particular, the use of function blocks and function calls to create a library of signalling principles will be addressed. An overview of the significant benefits of applying industrial automation philosophies to railway signaling projects will be provided. The impact of these benefits on the Total cost of Ownership of distributed architecture systems using industrial automation technology will also be discussed.
Jacques PORE, ALSTOM It is a real pleasure, and I have to confess that I feel a bit nervous, to be standing here in front of this distinguished assembly, being the fifth non-British IRSE President from the start of our Institution in 1912. To introduce this new Presidential Year, I should like to make an address that will include 4 parts. I shall start by giving an overview of my career and experiences, underlining for you all these items that have played some kind of role with rail transport and, as quite a few of you may know, not only with signalling. Most of these steps have probably contributed to my presence here. I shall then continue with the lessons that I have learnt ... so far. The third part of the paper itself will propose a vision and views about the future of the profession, and it will include ideas for this IRSE 2005-2006 year. And the address will be concluded by a sort of surprise, preceding my wishes for a fruitful year all together.
Anthony Godber BSc(Eng), CEng, MIET, MIRSE Pilbara Iron Signalling of any railway aims to meet the often conflicting demands of safety and operational efficiency in the most cost-effective manner possible. Heavy haul railways have some very different requirements to passenger and mixed traffic routes. Using the Pilbara Iron network in the remote north-west of Western Australia as an example, this paper traces the path from operational requirement to the layout and operation of the track and signalling. With long trains and high axle loads, the ability to maintain the railway also creates specific infrastructure configuration and capacity requirements. Some more recent challenges arising from the need to substantially increase the capacity of the railway are also discussed. The ability to build, test and commission additional facilities while continuing to meet the existing schedule is now a major consideration.
Tony Vaz, F.I.R.S.E. Project Manager Signal Renewal & Modernisation Programme North State Rail Authority of N.S. W. Peter Symons, F.I.R.S.E. Manager N.S. W. Operations Westinghouse Brake & Signal Co. (Aust.) Ltd This paper firstly details the rationale behind the decisions governing the renewal of the life expired signalling installations at Wyong and the provision of a bi-directional passing section north of Wyong for overtaking of freight trains, for National Rail Corporation (NRC). The second portion of this paper describes the WESTRACE interlocking system installed at Wyong.
Stephen Burrows CEng MICE Adelaide Rail Leader, Aurecon Peter Stringer FIRSE Signalling Accreditation Manager, Aurecon Since time immemorial, signalling systems have made use of stiff, upright, highly robust and immovable signal posts for good practical engineering reasons. They should be able to withstand environmental conditions like rain, wind and snow without excessive deflection and still remain upright to support that vital signal arm or head with the associated aspect. Back in the good old days, signal engineers didn't even bother with the mechanical or civil engineer to help with the signal post or foundation design! More recently, the mechanical and civil engineers have got involved and we now have good foundations and strong posts that satisfy the various railways' specifications. Times have also changed with regards to Operational Health and Safety (OH&S). Legislation hasn't always been so onerous and signalling personnel were routinely permitted to work two metres above the ground without a safety harness. It was nothing to expect a maintainer to climb a 12.5m tall lattice post to maintain or repair a piece of mechanical equipment such as pulleys or cranks or replace a light bulb which had expired. So in today's safety conscious environment and with the widespread introduction of 25kV overhead line equipment above the track, is it really desirable to have maintenance staff working at heights and in close proximity to lethal electrified equipment? Somewhat surprisingly, the answer to this question is "yes" and the vast majority of new signals continue to be installed on conventional straight posts. Several alternative solutions are available which allow all maintenance activities to be undertaken at ground level using folding, hinged or sliding posts. These solutions also provide significant safety benefits yet the signalling industry is slow to embrace them. Is there genuine justification for this reluctance to change or is the signalling industry simply intolerant to change?
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I started in signalling more than 30 years ago at British Rail, where I learnt how to design interlockings, initially in relay circuits, and then by programming Solid State Interlockings. This work sparked my interest in safety critical syste
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