Technical Meetings are held three times per year.
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Aaron FraserUltra-Wideband (UWB) technology is a radio frequency technology that uses a very large bandwidth to transmit and receive small pulses that are used to calculate precise locations. UWB has been proven to provide industry-leading positioning wit
Stefano Bonassa, Giacomo Cernelli, Massimo Orsi, Federico Nardi & Anthony MacDonald Typically, the integration of the Signalling System, Platform Screen Door PSD, Tunnel Ventilation System TVS, Automatic Train Operation ATO, SCADA and other particular equipment, which interact with Signalling in and around the Tunnel, create new requirements to be allocated to innovative signalling systems like ETCS or CBTC.
Steven Boldeman Within the last decade, Systems Engineering has been used with more and more industries, and has been adopted within the rail industry. This paper discusses the reality of practice for systems engineering in Australia, and in particular for the rail industry. Systems engineering is a relatively new field in Australia for rail and the application of the field to the rail industry is developing and improving as time progresses. There have been hard lessons.
Thomas Wagner The aim of this paper is to propose the use of an Integrated System Delivery framework approach for the implementation of complex, multidisciplinary projects. The paper summarises the current spending in the Australian rail market and the industry trends and practices related to the delivery of megaprojects. It looks at traditional design and construction delivery approaches for such projects and investigates their appropriateness compared to the proposed integrated approach. Key changes in approach such as the impacts Covid has had on project teams, common factors that contribute to project failures and the existing use of systems and digital engineering are discussed. The paper provides an overview of the proposed Integrated System Delivery framework for projects and outlines key aspects of the framework that support a new approach to design, construction and implementation phases of complex, multidisciplinary projects.
Subrina Rahman When presented with a set of flawed input data, the best-case scenario a system designer can hope for is that the system will recognize the flaw and stop working; and in worst case it will keep working with the erroneous data and produce an unpredicted outcome. This is true for simple systems being designed by university students to safety critical complex systems like the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system currently being rolled across the greater Sydney’s heavy rail network. Only in the latter case, flawed input data could cost lives.
Trevor Moore Level crossings encompass many hazards including the uncontrolled hazards associated with motor vehicles and pedestrians. This paper examines a variety of hazards impacting on level crossing safety. There are also references to incident reports which are a good source for hazards and their consequences.
Peter McGregor In NSW country areas we have historically used diesel motor generator sets to provide 120V AC power to operate signalling equipment in the field. With new technologies with electronics/inverters and the drive to use COTS (Commercial off the shelf) equipment we are using 240V commercial generator sets as opposed to the customised (e.g., Lister brand) old style generator sets at 120V AC.
Alex McGrath The ‘obsolescence problem’ in signalling is a topic of much discussion and consternation. This paper focuses on the different types of obsolescence and the system elements and forces which drive the ‘problem’, to get a deep understanding of the landscape.
Stephen Lemon As a result of Australia’s colonial history the state railway networks have evolved very differently, and whilst differences in track gauge have been largely resolved, there remain major differences between the signalling and train control systems that continue to present significant challenges for interstate and inter-network train operations.
Simeon Cox The backbone of large cities is their mass transit, supporting the needs of the population and providing a dependable pathway between nerve sites. Over the next 30 years, several Australian capital cities will be approaching ‘Mega City’ levels of population and will need to consider high-capacity metro systems to move their population as they ‘re-open’ following the COVID 19 pandemic. Access to efficient public transport provides greater equity in access to employment and educational opportunities across the population of the city as people return to the office, workplace, and classroom. Since 2006, Siemens Trainguard MT CBTC has been at the centre of high-capacity metro railways operating at GoA2 and GoA4 in cities worldwide.
Katherine Eastaughffe & Gary Foster This paper provides an overview of the Australian development of an innovative low-cost solution for the provision of active signage at rural and regional level crossings. The development fundamentally sought to achieve low cost without impacting safety.
H Zhu, H Li, A Al-Juboori, D Wexler, C Lu, A McCusker, J McLeod, S Pannila & J Barnes A comprehensive approach has been implemented in Sydney Trains railway network to control and minimize the rail degradation, especially squat defects. The popularity and severity of rail degradation were analysed, followed by the evaluation of different techniques in rail surface crack measurement. A detailed metallurgical examination on the ex serviced rails was carried out to understand the mechanics of squat initiation and growth, and correlation between squat and presence of white etching layer on rail surface. The finite element modelling was introduced to investigate the wheel-rail contact with the consideration of white etching layer. A two-step of rail grinding strategy was proposed and commissioned.
Richard Roberts Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) is established with many suppliers providing systems compliant to international CBTC standards. The key principles are familiar to railway signalling and control engineers. CBTC is operated by several railway authorities across the globe. With such a well-established, widely available system with international standards how much difference can there be? In fact quite a lot, perhaps no great surprise considering the similar variety which has developed in signalling and control in general. This papers sets out to explore the differences and similarities in CBTC solutions: a) Across system implementation; how it works b) Across operational implementation; how it is used c) In comparison to conventional signalling
Zdenka Wright In an age of ever increasing capacity demands and increased operational time pressures, so too we see an increased risk of Category ‘A’ SPADs associated with traditional lineside signalling systems such as in the Melbourne metropolitan network.
Neil Popplewell Safe communication of information between railway signalling systems has always been an essential part of signalling system design. This has primarily been driven by the need to safely and accurately communicate the state of the railway to the various subsystems and end users of the system, over typically very large geographical distances imposed by the topology of railway networks.
Hugh Hunter We have all suffered railway services being delayed or cancelled, and read about railway systems and operational services being criticised for being unreliable. In his paper, Alex Landex [1] states that delays in a railway network are one of the biggest problems in the daily operation of a railway company, and to deal with this issue attention to transit efficiency and reliability is increasing.
Robert Baird and Alistair McWhirter Most CBTC implementations are typically on high throughput metros or rapid transit lines where an at grade road rail interface (level crossing) would not be appropriate. The methodology and treatment of level crossing protection under CBTC is therefore not considered to be the norm and would generally be treated as a bespoke add on to CBTC core functionality customised to the rules and the requirements of the specific railway.
Peter Burns The train queue in its most familiar form – the timetable – has been around since the dawn of railways. From time to time rail authorities have sought to use it as the basis for their safeworking systems. This occurred even in NSW up till the late nineteenth century.
Ian Hume This paper examines the development of the SigView Train Control System (TCS) that has been deployed for VLine under the Regional Rail Link (RRL) Project.
Marcus Chadwick Construction of the Regional Rail Link, a new regional rail line from Melbourne’s West to the City, has been completed. The Regional Rail Link project has been Victoria’s largest ever public transport infrastructure project. This paper will summarise the project objectives, identify the high level project outcomes delivered and provide some project insights arising from the delivery of a large multidiscipline rail infrastructure project.