Technical Meeting Papers

Technical Meetings are held three times per year.
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2000 – March – Detering – Transport Reform in Victoria

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

R.H.Detering FIRSE Rahden Pty Ltd The provision of government owned rail transport facilities within Victoria has undergone significant reform during the last decade. The pace of change accelerated upon the election of the Kennett government in 1992 culminating with a number of separate franchised operations being put in place during 1999. This paper largely focuses on passenger transport and does not attempt to canvas the commercial aspects of transport reform. The paper describes the organisations and processes that were put in place to effect the franchising of the businesses, particularly the processes by which decisions were made and approved. A summary description of the two key documents that give legal effect to the privatisation, namely the Franchise Agreement and the Infrastructure Lease Agreement is included to enable a better comprehension of the Victorian Transport Reform.


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1998 – March – Fullerton – AWARE – Australia Wide Augmented Radio Environment

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

John Fullerton Chief Operating Officer National Rail Corporation Ltd  


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2008 – Nov – Skilton & Clendon – Signalling Considerations for Electrification of the Auckland Metropolitan Rail Network

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

John T Skilton, CPEng, BE (Elect) Hons, MIRSE, MIPENZ, ONTRACK James D Clendon, CPEng, BE (Elect) Hons, MIPENZ, Booz & Co. By 2013 it is proposed that the Auckland Metropolitan Rail Network (AMRN) will be electrified with a 25kV AC electric traction system. The existing signalling system in Auckland is predominately in excess of 30 years old and not immunised against the effects of electric traction. This paper examines the resignalling requirements for the AMRN to provide electrification immunisation and also provide a control system which meets the operational requirements of the railway. A background to the Auckland network and the resignalling requirements is provided along with a description of the procurement process undertaken. A high level description of signalling and telecommunications considerations for the project is provided along with a more in depth analysis of the requirements for train protection and train detection.


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1994 – March – Abbott – Integrated Transport Control System for the Kowlo

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

Victor G. Abbott, B.E. (Elec), Grad. Dip. Bus (Mat), Project Engineer, KCRC ATP Project Leeds+Northrup Australia This paper provides a technical overview of LeedscNorthrupls Integrated Transport Control System (ITCS) for the Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation's Automatic Train Protection Project. The ITCS is a fully integrated control and communications system that provides train control, electrical power control, passenger information, voice communications and train radio communications. This system integrates both new and proven technologies for controlling the future!


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1996 – July – Thornton – Australian Submarine Corporation – Logistic Support in a Commercial Environment

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

Jock Thornton Australian Submarine Corporation In June 1987, the Royal Australian Navy let a contract to the Australian Submarine Corporation (ASC) to design and build six Collins Class submarines to the Type 471design by Kockums of Sweden. All submarines are now under construction and the first 'COLLINS' is due for delivery in July of this year. In addition to designing, building and delivering the submarines between now and the Year 2000, ASC is also contracted to provide Integrated Logistic Support to the submarines up to the end of the construction contract and beyond into the operational life of the submarine force.


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2013 – Oct – Heibel – Quantum Leaps in Train Protection and Control

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

Frank Heibel PhD MSc (Hon) CPEng MIEAust FIRSE Doc Frank Pty Ltd The signalling systems of the metropolitan rail networks in the major Australian cities face their most prominent technology upgrade for decades, the introduction of modern Automatic Train Control (ATC). Key drivers for this introduction are: Increase signalling safety by introducing train protection or replacing existing train protection solutions that have become obsolete and insufficiently reliable; Increase the capacity of railway lines without major infrastructure investment, e.g. for building additional tracks or lengthening station platforms to run longer trains; Reduce cost for operation and maintenance of signalling field equipment by replacing it with in-cab signalling technology; and Enhance efficiency of train operations by substituting the “human error element” with increased levels of automation. For selecting the most suitable technology, railway operators have a fundamental choice between an overlaid ATC system over the existing signalling infrastructure with fixed block signalling, such as the European Train Control System (ETCS), or an independent solution introducing virtual or moving block signalling, such as Communications Based Train Control (CBTC). This paper outlines some considerations for selection between those two types of ATC systems. Two topics specifically addressed are the implementation risk of those technologies and the much discussed subject of interoperability from a practical application viewpoint. The analysis uses case studies from current ATC introductions in Australia and aims to draw commonalities for providing some strategic guidance to the arguably most influential signalling technology decision for at least 20 years.


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1998 – Nov – Grady – Jolimont Rationalisation Project

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

Norm Grady Project Manager, JRP The Jolimont Rationalisation Project (JRP) is a multi-element project which has permanently changed the operational characteristics of the Melbourne suburban rail system and will change the face of thecity. The project involves the removal of all train stabling and maintenance activities from the inner city, resulting in a substantial simplification of the infrastructure and train operations. It also allows the development of a number of key Government initiatives on the land released from railway requirements.  


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1989 – July – Hurford – Centralised Control on the London Underground

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

N . HURFORD F. I. R. S. E. LONDON TRANSPORT INTERNATIONAL Centralised control and allied supervisory and monitoring systems have been an essential part of the operational philosophy of the London Underground system for many years. The purpose of this paper is to outline the progressive development of systems and the expansion of the scope of installations made possible by technological and economic developments.


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1984 – March – Hamersley Iron – Railway Signals & Communications Departme

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015


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2014 – July – Naweed & Aitken – Drive a mile in my seat: signal design from a systems perspective

Date Presented: December 27th, 2015

Anjum Naweed BSc MSc PhD Central Queensland University John Aitken BE MIRSE SMIEEE Aitken & Partners Train drivers navigate conventionally designed railways using a keen awareness of their routes and by calculating likelihood predictions of future states. These processes have traditionally followed a model of signal-to-signal based running, which comprises the awareness of their static (location-based) and dynamic (aspect-related) properties. This paper reports findings from a study that examined the socio-cultural and technical ties between the signal and the driver in the context of SPAD risk management. It provides examples of how signal aspects are being interpreted on Australasian railways, how operational pressures are altering the driver-signal dynamic, and how the meaning of the caution aspect has evolved in today’s dynamic and productivity oriented rail environment. The paper seeks to describe the train drivers’ experience of interpreting and responding to railway signals, so that the signal engineering community may better understand the implications of introducing new variables and schemes into their signal design language.


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2024 – March – Zhu, Lauro & Nardi – Innovative Tablet Solution for Improving Rail Operation

Author(s): Dr Bin Zhu, Gianluigi Lauro & Federico Nardi

In this paper, we would like to introduce an innovative proposal based on the research conducted by the Hitachi Rail Innovation team to further improve the existing available tablet application, particularly

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2024 – March – Sudholz – Passively Active – Warning systems for passive & occupation level crossings in agricultural settings

Author(s): Thomas Sudholz

This Paper investigates the issues regarding use of passive level crossings for livestock movements in the agricultural industry. This unavoidable practice presents a different risk profile to the typical user, with livestock movement being

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2024 – March – Robinson – Barriers to innovation in signalling design, verification, and validation

Author(s): Neil Robinson

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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2024 – March – Moore – Signalling Principles – What are they and where do they come from?

Author(s): Trevor Moore

The term signalling principles is often referenced with regards to the design of a signalling system. It is also used as part of the title of a person ‘Principles Verifier’ or ‘Principles Tester’. Some rail managers also reference signalling p

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2024 – March – Khan & Kamarulzaman – FRMCS – Integrated Migration Strategy

Author(s): Obaid Khan & Khairulzaman Kamarulzaman

This paper offers a detailed FRMCS integrated migration strategy as a preparatory guide for current GSM-R users, particularly Rail Transport Operators (RTOs), as well as for projects in the planning and developmen

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2024 – March – Alvarez – Case Study – FRMCS Migration Path in Perth

Author(s): Rodrigo Alvarez

The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) is currently building a new mobile radio and backhaul transmission communications network across the Perth metropolitan electrified railway network. 

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2024 – August – Burns – Human Factors at Level Crossings

Author(s): Peter Burns

Today’s railway fatalities are arguably more likely to occur at level crossings than in the train collisions we tend to focus most attention on controlling. Designing for level crossing safety can be messy and grey, especially when the dependen

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2024 – August – Boss – Human aspects of managing cyber security in delivering ERTMS

Author(s): John Boss

The Netherlands is rolling out the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) across the national network. The government created a Programme Directorate to manage the rollout. Cyber security for both ERTMS as well as the transportation syst

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2022 – November – Youle – Qualitative analysis – the more efficient approach to managing risks SFAIRP

Author(s): Patrick Youle

To support the acceptance of safety risk for configuration changes to railways, systems engineering recognises both qualitative and quantitative hazard and risk assessment methods. Quantitative analysis can be perceived as objective and quali

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2022 – November – Hunter – Cybersecurity in the Railway Industry

Author(s): Hugh Hunter

Cybersecurity is a hot topic worldwide with regular attacks being performed against multiple domains.

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