2018 – March – Detering – 70 Years of IRSE Australasia {Presentation]
Author(s):
Date presented:
Bob Detering FIRSE Retired A look at at IRSE Australasia over the last 70 years
Technical Meeting Papers
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2024 – March – Zhu, Lauro & Nardi – Innovative Tablet Solution for Improving Rail Operation
By: Dr Bin Zhu, Gianluigi Lauro & Federico Nardi
Date Presented: March 12th, 2024
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2024 – March – Sudholz – Passively Active – Warning systems for passive & occupation level crossings in agricultural settings
By: Thomas Sudholz
Date Presented: March 12th, 2024
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
By: Neil Robinson
Date Presented: March 12th, 2024
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?
By: Trevor Moore
Date Presented: March 12th, 2024
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
By: Obaid Khan & Khairulzaman Kamarulzaman
Date Presented: March 12th, 2024
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
By: Rodrigo Alvarez
Date Presented: March 13th, 2024
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
By: Peter Burns
Date Presented: August 21st, 2024
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
By: John Boss
Date Presented: August 21st, 2024
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
By: Patrick Youle
Date Presented: November 1st, 2022
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
By: Hugh Hunter
Date Presented: November 1st, 2022
Cybersecurity is a hot topic worldwide with regular attacks being performed against multiple domains.
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2018 – March – Moore – Track Circuit Activation Issues for DMUs
Author(s):
Date presented:
Trevor Moore Signals Standards Engineer, Australian Rail Track Corporation The first track circuits were developed in the 1870s. These were used on US Railroads. Over the following years theywere used on railways around the world. There have been substantial developments in the engineering and technologyused in track circuits through to the present time. However, after one hundred and forty five years we are still havingproblems with reliable operation of the track circuits in some applications.This paper will examine the type of trains, track circuit configurations and infrastructure conditions that contribute to theperformance limitations of the track circuit. The paper will cover engineering solutions and recent testing to address thereliable performance of the track circuits.The issue is complicated and involves the signalling equipment, rollingstock and the track infrastructure. Anunderstanding of these issues will assist the signal engineer in addressing solutions for reliable operation.
2018 – March – McGrath – Redundancy vs Resilience: The hidden vulnerability of installing two of everything [Presentation]
Author(s):
Date presented:
Alex McGrath Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA) The field of resilience engineering explores the mismatch between a system-as-designed, and the actual system as itoperates in the real world, in the presence of shocks, stresses and resource constraints. In signalling systems, themodelling of component availabilities into system availability leads to the belief that more redundancy is always an asset;while in a real operating railway, redundancy has at times been an asset to the system and at other times has increasedcost while also decreasing performance and whole-system safety margins.This paper explores the justification for component and link redundancy in signalling system design alongside thelegislation and body of research on system resilience. It draws on a series of ideas from the field of resilienceengineering, and real-world rail and signalling examples, to explore the issues. Alarm architecture, lifecycle maintenanceplanning, and criticality assessment are provided as concrete guidance for how to design a resilient signalling system.However, true resilient behaviour depends on the context, organisational culture and human behaviours, and the realrailway as an evolving complex system.
2018 – March – McGrath – Redundancy vs Resilience: The hidden vulnerability of installing two of everything
Author(s):
Date presented:
Alex McGrath Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA) The field of resilience engineering explores the mismatch between a system-as-designed, and the actual system as itoperates in the real world, in the presence of shocks, stresses and resource constraints. In signalling systems, themodelling of component availabilities into system availability leads to the belief that more redundancy is always an asset;while in a real operating railway, redundancy has at times been an asset to the system and at other times has increasedcost while also decreasing performance and whole-system safety margins.This paper explores the justification for component and link redundancy in signalling system design alongside thelegislation and body of research on system resilience. It draws on a series of ideas from the field of resilienceengineering, and real-world rail and signalling examples, to explore the issues. Alarm architecture, lifecycle maintenanceplanning, and criticality assessment are provided as concrete guidance for how to design a resilient signalling system.However, true resilient behaviour depends on the context, organisational culture and human behaviours, and the realrailway as an evolving complex system.
2018 – March – Flinders – The Digital Point Machine {Presentation]
Author(s):
Date presented:
Richard Flinders Siemens Ltd. This is a paper exploring the concept of the digitalpoint machine, or more correctly the effects theDigital Railway may have on the development ofand requirements for trackside equipment!The move to a connected system for railwaycontrol will certainly open up opportunities to alsoconnect the current ‘dumb’ devices but what willthe new scope for this connected equipment be?Will changes be driven by digitalization or willcommercial and social changes have moreimpact?Will there be significant changes at all?
2018 – March – Flinders – The Digital Point Machine
Author(s):
Date presented:
Richard Flinders Siemens Ltd. This is a paper exploring the concept of the digitalpoint machine, or more correctly the effects theDigital Railway may have on the development ofand requirements for trackside equipment!The move to a connected system for railwaycontrol will certainly open up opportunities to alsoconnect the current ‘dumb’ devices but what willthe new scope for this connected equipment be?Will changes be driven by digitalization or willcommercial and social changes have moreimpact?Will there be significant changes at all?
2018 – March – Whiteside/Moody/Helmus – Data Analytics for Rail Insights into the Digital Transformation [Presentation]
Author(s):
Date presented:
Christopher Whiteside and Heather Moody Siemens Ltd Dr. Rhena Helmus Siemens AG Rail-based systems are exposed to various operational demands brought about either by high mechanical loading orexternal influences. At the same time, billions of passengers and freight goods rely on rail systems every day. Safety,availability, and reliability are key for a competitive rail-based transport. To capture any abnormal behaviour duringoperations, data is generated by various sources for a better understanding of interacting phenomena and to preventcomponent failure in advance. In order to move forward to a smart infrastructure, insights gained by the analysis ofhistorical and real time data have to be turned into actions.
2018 – March – Whiteside/Moody/Helmus – Data Analytics for Rail Insights into the Digital Transformation
Author(s):
Date presented:
Christopher Whiteside and Heather Moody Siemens Ltd Dr. Rhena Helmus Siemens AG Rail-based systems are exposed to various operational demands brought about either by high mechanical loading orexternal influences. At the same time, billions of passengers and freight goods rely on rail systems every day. Safety,availability, and reliability are key for a competitive rail-based transport. To capture any abnormal behaviour duringoperations, data is generated by various sources for a better understanding of interacting phenomena and to preventcomponent failure in advance. In order to move forward to a smart infrastructure, insights gained by the analysis ofhistorical and real time data have to be turned into actions.
2018 – March – Danton – Delhi Metro Line 7 [Presentation]
Author(s):
Date presented:
Julian Danton Bombardier Transportation Delhi Metro is a greenfield development of a 58km heavy metro system with 38 stations and 2 depots, forwhich Bombardier Transportation are currently introducing a CITYFLO 650 communications based traincontrol (CBTC) signalling and control system. The line is a mixture of above ground and tunnel areas,leading to design consideration of system functionalities required to be able to handle operations in eitherenvironment.The vehicles on the line are designed to be operated in both UTO (Unattended Train Operation) and nonUTO modes, both above ground and tunnel. The CBTC system functionalities and integration with therolling stock have therefore been designed to be able to operate with or without a driver across the differentline environments.The introduction of UTO requires a CBTC system with a higher degree of automation, including fullyautomatic depot storage and dispatch, automatic jog and creep at platforms and automatic handling ofemergencies between platforms including evacuation. It also requires increased remote visibility and controlthrough the provision of remote access to onboard CCTV at the OCC (Operational Control Centre) andstations to provide the ability to remotely handle onboard issues for a train in UTO.
2018 – March – Danton – Delhi Metro Line 7
Author(s):
Date presented:
Julian Danton Bombardier Transportation Delhi Metro is a greenfield development of a 58km heavy metro system with 38 stations and 2 depots, forwhich Bombardier Transportation are currently introducing a CITYFLO 650 communications based traincontrol (CBTC) signalling and control system. The line is a mixture of above ground and tunnel areas,leading to design consideration of system functionalities required to be able to handle operations in eitherenvironment.The vehicles on the line are designed to be operated in both UTO (Unattended Train Operation) and nonUTO modes, both above ground and tunnel. The CBTC system functionalities and integration with therolling stock have therefore been designed to be able to operate with or without a driver across the differentline environments.The introduction of UTO requires a CBTC system with a higher degree of automation, including fullyautomatic depot storage and dispatch, automatic jog and creep at platforms and automatic handling ofemergencies between platforms including evacuation. It also requires increased remote visibility and controlthrough the provision of remote access to onboard CCTV at the OCC (Operational Control Centre) andstations to provide the ability to remotely handle onboard issues for a train in UTO.