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W.B. Johnston Engineering Manager, Hawker Siddeley Rail Projects Ltd It is unlikely for an electrified railway system with such diverse elements as traction, power supply, signalling and telecommunications that there will be a "perfect" system. What may show tremendous advantages to the traction engineer may well create a situation within the system which is completely unacceptable to his sign alling, telecommunication or power supply counterpart. The introduction of power electronics for traction drives about 15 years -ago brought about new possibilities for energy efficient drives. Modern semiconductor technology gives the traction engineer the possibility of achieving, on an a.c. electrified railway, what is for him an ideal mechanism: a fast acting, notchless control of tractive effort. The control of tractive effort could be achieved by a single bridge (either fully or half controlled) operating over the full secondary voltage of the transformer. However, engineers from other disciplines may well object to the high magnitude of harmonic currents, poor power factor and gross supply voltage distortion. Increasing the number of series bridges to two, four or even more may show advantages to power supply, telecommunication and signal engineers, but from a financial and spatial consideration it is not an attractive solution for the traction engineer. It is therefore essential that the design and interface parameters are co-ordinated to ensure the compatibility of each element in optimising the system design, taking into account not only the financial factors involved, but also the important, though less easily quantified factor of practicability. The problems of compatibility are not unique to the NIMT Project but are similar to those of an a.c. electrified railway which has signalling and telecommunication networks either directly linked or in close proximity to the running rails and obtains power from a catenary system which is coupled via a transformer to a high voltage grid network.
Choo Siew Aun Senior Manager, Signals SMRT Trains Ltd. Singapore Mike Harris Project Manager Westinghouse Rail Systems Ltd. United Kingdom Which comes first – technology or business innovation? In the technological age, is necessity still the mother of invention? The technological approach would argue that organisations should embrace as much leading edge technology as possible to capitalise on expected emergent benefits. Traditionalists would argue that one needs to identify the business need first and then carefully fit the technology to a business case based on tangible foreseen benefits. There is, in reality a spectrum of approaches between these two extremes depending on the type of business, its market and its rate of organisational change. So how does a railway organisation balance its approach on this spectrum in terms of the risks and benefits? Recently SMRT Trains Ltd, with Westinghouse Rail Systems Ltd (WRSL) as its supplier, has completed the renewal of its Automatic Train Supervision System (ATSS) covering the North-South and East-West MRT lines. The solution to the technology introduction balance had essentially three main components. Firstly, identifying the needs of the operational railway, secondly, deciding on the optimum level of technology advancement to be introduced, and thirdly, managing the introduction closely with all the stakeholders.
Len Neist Chief Executive ITSRR Thank you for the invitation and opportunity to present a paper at your Annual General Meeting. One of the most significant safety risks that require constant attention and investment in improvement is the risk of a wrong side failure. Signalling and communications are the key systems that provide controls and defences to assure railway operations avoid a wrong side failure risk.
Norm Grady Comp IRSE, FIE (Aust) Manager, Network Planning & Development – Metro Trains Melbourne The purpose of this paper is to recount the author's experiences in the operation and maintenance of fully automated relatively modern guided transit systems in Singapore and compare those experiences with the Melbourne system.
R.T. A. STEPNIEWSKI MIRSE GEC ALSTHOM AUSTRALIA LTD. Many papers have been published on the subject of the British Railways Solid State Interlocking (SSI). It is, therefore, assumed that most signal engineers have some idea of what SS1 is and its basic operation. This paper focuses on describing the design and test process of applying SS1 to the Epping interlocking. It covers the areas of scheme design, SS1 location and circuit design, and in particular the customisation of the SS1 interlocking to the Epping requirements.
FC Cockram Corporate Relations Manager Tranz Rail Ltd
Noel Samaan, PhD Senior Member IEEE (USA), Member IEE (UK), CPEng R&D Software Systems Group Ansaldo STS As the reliance on software is significantly increasing in railway industries replacing electronic, pseudoprogrammable electromechanical devices and wayside signals (in the future), the demand for quantifiable and traceable techniques to determine the trustability and dependability of software is becoming more critical. Given the pressures on delivering projects on-time with inherent heavier contribution of software to decision– making dynamics of train operations whether related to train control, routing, database-driven scheduling or issuance of train orders and, given the rather fluidic nature of software development and change in requirements (when compared with hardware domain), validation of software applications for railway at relatively high confidence levels and low cost is a challenge that has become a significant ingredient to project over-run and higher than estimated project costs. This paper reviews the requirements for safety-critical systems for railway, highlights the main differences between software and hardware approaches used to determine product reliability and presents a case study to illustrate how modelling and metric-driven approaches to software validation can lead to high assurance levels whilst reducing the validation cost. The paper concludes with a few recommendations where railway industry can benefit from other industries where software became a core activity at later stages of business evolution which demanded the delivery of faster, cheaper and better quality software applications.
Johnson Mariapon MIEAust, CPEng, RPEQ, Assoc.MIRSE Aurizon As contemporary railway signalling adopts more and more sophisticated electronics, incorporating communication subsystems like network switches, modems and diagnostics for overall train control, the need for high performance power supplies to feed these items is a paramount. The sensitive Signalling & Telecommunications (S&T) devices cannot even tolerate a momentary break in the power supply because these breaks affect its normal functioning and can reduce its designated life expectancy. This tutorial paper discusses techniques for designing a reliable power supply for signalling and communication systems using modern power equipment. Details on current electrical safety practices specific to S&T are also provided. In most signalling training, subjects discuss the signalling design and general power supply concept but do not focus largely on the unearthed power supply systems adopted for railways (Floating Supply) and requirements for feeding the signalling equipment in a traction electricity environment. This paper addresses this gap by exploring, explaining and outlining the floating signalling power supplies and the associated usage of Earth Leakage Detectors (ELD) in signalling power supplies in detail. This paper also emphasizes the application of AS/NZS 3000:2007 standards in signalling power design.
Scott Riedel B Eng (Hons) R. P. Eng Manager Trackside Systems, Regional and Systems Support, QR. In response to customer expectations of reduced costs and increased safety and set against a backdrop of an increasingly litigious society, Trackside Systems has established a framework for maintenance which it hopes can meet or exceed customer requirements, while detailing a process which demonstrates a duty of care. The framework QR has adopted is one of competency based training and assessment, combined with a maintenance regime consisting of a comprehensive suite of defined maintenance tasks and ongoing asset condition and performance review. National competencies are listed in position descriptions which define roles. These National Competencies are tailored to QR requirements by familiarisation training, which can be provided in the field by suitably qualified staff. All maintenance tasks have been defined by a check sheet and maintenance periods. These check sheets are underpinned by competency training and together with an equipment database form the basis for a maintenance scheduling system. These schedules are base on Failure Modes & Effects analysis or historical maintenance methods, but in either case are subject to ongoing review for effectiveness. This review is performed by correlating real time fault data for equipment with maintenance records. This is part on an ongoing asset condition and maintenance performance review. This data review is integral to improving data integrity, thus allowing a basis for sound business decisions on network investment. The above framework and its on-going nature is believed to be the key to maintaining safety in a justifiable manner, in an environment where cost reduction is expected.
L.Y. Lam MSc, CEng, MIEE, MIRSE, MIEAust The Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation The Mass Transit Railway employs a speed code fixed block signalling system which is a derivative of the British Railway main line signalling system in which at least one clear block is maintained between trains. This system imposes a number of limitations on design flexibility. The block length design has to cover all types of rolling stock running on the line and it is difficult to optimise the line capacity. This paper describes a signalling system which employs the distance-to-go principle with on-board intelligence and - using continuous bidirectional communication between train and trackside equipment. It provides an effective means of continuous train regulation control, condition based maintenance as well as improved system availability and safety.
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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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
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
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
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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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
Cybersecurity is a hot topic worldwide with regular attacks being performed against multiple domains.