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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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2010 – July – Godber – Train Detection Principles

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

Tony Godber CEng, BSc(Eng) MIET, MIRSE Rio Tinto To perform its safety critical functions, a signalling system for a rail network needs to have timely information on the position of trains and the occupancy status of track sections. This is essential to perform its primary function of preventing collisions and derailments. The fundamental requirements of train detection systems are described, including proof of train absence for setting of points and operation of signals, proof of train presence for additional controls and updating of train position for network management and customer information purposes. Existing technologies for track based train detection, including track circuits and axle counters, are then discussed, including many limitations on their use and application and associated safety risks. The and complications arising from the interface with other engineering disciplines, in particular the permanent way and traction power supplies are briefly explored. Consideration of train and communications based alternatives is then covered, including a discussion of whether this is the future for train detection.

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2002 – April – Stepniewski – Blacktown VDU Signalling Control System “SIGVIEW”

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

Richard Stepniewski NSW State Manager for Signalling, Electrification & Communications ALSTOM Australia - Transport was successfully commissioned at Blacktown, in two stages as part of the Blacktown Resignalling Project: - Stage 1: control of Blacktown and Quakers Hill in December 1999. - Stage 2: control of Richmond Line and Quakers Hill in March 2000. The Blacktown SigView was the first VDU based signalling control system to be commissioned in the Sydney Metropolitan area. It controls four local SSI interlockings and remotely controls four relay based interlockings on the Richmond Line. Of these relay based interlockings, three are nx (entrance/exit) type and one is OCS type. For Stage 1, it controlled the existing unit lever interlocking at Quakers Hill, for Stage 2 Quakers Hill was converted to SSI. SigView provides a seamless and consistent operator interface to all these various types of interlockings. The Blacktown SigView features entrance/exit route setting control, train tracking, sleeving, a notepad facility, alarms and logging/archiving facilities. The system has been in operation for over two years now and has proved to be reliable.

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1989 – July – Blakeley-Smith – ATCS – The Universal Signalling System?

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

Andrew Blakeley-Smith MIRSE Systems Consultant Teknis International Railroad Systems "Signalling" to the average communications engineer normally means the process by means of which a telephone or data call is established, monitored and then cleared down between two or more parties. Any thought that there should be radical differences in procedures or basic philosophies that prevent or even make difficult this ojective is almost a contradiction of the requirement to communicate in the first place. We thus now have a world wide communications network in which a telephone call can be placed anywhere and without too much difficulty, at least in principle, end up in the right place. This has been achieved by specifying the interface points of the various telephone networks, at a United Nations level, to be compatible in terms of signalling information, levels and frequency allocations etc. A spin-off from this has been that many of the indiv'dual items of hardware kave become interchangeable - even if the packaging is not identical and thus a walk through a telephone exchange will reveal a veritable United Nations of equipment happily CO-existing for most of the time. Aircraft also need to communicate but unlike telephone exchanges also move around, thus when a piece of hardware fails a long way from home base, not only must the replacement meet the same electrical interfaces but it must also fit in the same hole as the failed equipment. Thus from the Communications and aircraft industries has developed a modular way of specifying and building complex systems on a "Form Fit Function" basis. ATCS - the Advanced Train Control System - has grown out of the objectives of the use of the appropriate design philosophies to use widely available hardware elements to produce a signalling system which is multisourced and facilitates all operational and maintenance aspects of interworking between the railroads in the USA and Canada. The specification documents for such a system are formidable and take up as much space as several telephone directories, it is not the intent of this paper to give a comprehensive summary of this documentation but to illustrate some of the more interesting elements in the design.

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2008 – March – Mindel – Interoperability of Radio Block Centres

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

Klaus Mindel Dr.-Ing. Thales Rail Signalling Solutions ETCS Level 2 is developed as a European standard and several projects are already in operation, mainly on a national basis but increasingly crossing borders. ETCS sparks more and more interest outside Europe, because of its maturity, functionality, flexibility and safety. For the long term perspective, customers value this public standard as a guarantee for multi sourcing, providing long term system availability and competition. Interoperability is a relevant property in itself and on top of that a prerequisite for multi sourcing. One major component of ETCS Level 2 trackside is the Radio Block Centre. This technical paper examines, to what extent RBCs are interoperable already today, how compatible they are at their interfaces, their level of functional standardization and how they fit into an existing infrastructure. As most important topic the paper gives an example of how interoperability can be tested.

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2004 – July – Traffic Management System – ILTIS

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

ILTIS is a traffic-management system (TMS) which integrates all the essential functions required for the management of a railway network. Its main focus is to simplify all aspects of railway management (from ergonomic operator input to the optimization of the track reserveration periods), resulting in a consistent level of punctuality with train services. As ILTIS was conceived from the beginning as a totally integrated system (and not as a loosely coupled collection of independent systems), there is a great synergy between all of its components. An integrated system also benefits from the simplification of a control center's infrastructure and significantly reduces operating and maintenance costs. ILTIS consists of a network of several computers, which can be tailored to satisfy each customer's individual requirements. It provides a 24 x 7 service with a built-in redundancy that avoids system outages due to hardware faults that may occur.

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1987 – Nov – Clarke – Aberdeen – Werris Creek CTC – The Project

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

J.R. Clarke S.R.A. Although the obvious benefits of a C.T.C. type signalling system are well know, the documented, I feel it was with some misgivings that Executive of the S.R.A finally gave their blessing to the awarding of an approved contract. I base this statement of a number of items which have come to light :- 1. The Executive was somewhat alarmed at the number of failures which initially occurred on the North Coast C.T.C. 2. The susceptibility of the electronic equipment to lightning strike. and 3. The overrun in time and funding which occured on North Coast C.T.C. In November 1984 the submission for approval was submitted with the following documentary evidence of performance. 1. Staff Savings: North Coast C.T.C.                   195 individuals Junee Albury C.T.C.                   46 individuals  

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1995 – Nov – Nikandros – Trusted Suppliers

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

G P Nikandros FIRSE Safety is fundamental to a railway business. Railway signalling and telecommunications are very important elements in the systems used for the safe working of trains and consequently have a significant safety role. It is therefore important that railway signalling and telecommunications systems are designed, constructed, tested and maintained so as to provide the level of safety expected by the public, the rail industry and regulatory authorities.

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1995 – March – Talbot – Safety & Quality for Railways

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

W. Talbot Major rail operations safety incidents such as collisions can be reduced, using railway signalling technology, by controlling the speed and spacing of trains. This provides the essential safety engineering system. The installed signalling system will only provide it's safe control functions if their built-in fail safe properties are continuously monitored and maintained at predetermined and measurable levels of reliable performance. The operations safety and engineering reliability requirements can be achieved by the implementation of quality assurance systems which are focused on the signalling system which are vital to the maintenance of the operating system. Quality assurance systems provide a methodology for the undertaking of work practices to a standard. Quality systems are employed to ensure routine work practices are carried out consistently and to a procedure but how does this apply to safety and safety systems used in the ranway industry and in particular signalling. In this paper we explore the statement "Safety is the Quality Imperative for Signalling" and what it means to the development of quality systems, with some helpful hints towards developing a quality system.

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2007 – July -Eyre – Signalling of the Southern Suburbs Railway

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

Paul Eyre Project Manager Ansaldo STS / Union Switch & Signal Pty Ltd The 71 km extension of the Perth electrified rail network from Perth through to Mandurah, commonly referred to as the Southern Suburbs Railway (SSR), commenced in 2003 and is due for completion towards the end of 2007. The SSR project is divided into several packages, namely A-G, involving numerous engineering disciplines and various contractor skill sets. Package "A" comprises all new railway infrastructure including earthworks, track and traction overhead works (except for the new bored tunnel and associated systems constructed by Package "F") and all the signalling and communication works. Packages "B", "C" & "D" cover the construction of 8 new stations. Package "E" covers alterations done by Mainroads WA to the Kwinana Freeway to accommodate the new railway line in the median from Perth to Thomas Road. Package "G" covers the train control works for the SSR. Package "A" main contractor and electrical systems subcontractor (Rail Link Joint Venture and ODG) employed Ansaldo STS to do the signalling system design, procurement of all signalling equipment, and testing and commissioning of the signalling system from Perth to Mandurah including the section through the bored tunnel section. Installation of the signalling equipment and "setting to work" were excluded. Package "G" main contractor is Ansaldo STS. Package "G" comprises replacement of the original system installed in 1989 when Perth was electrified by a new Phoenix Train Control System, and responsibility for the design, implementation and testing of modifications to the Phoenix Train Control System to incorporate the new Mandurah line, and design and supply of the Customer Information System for both the new and existing network. The construction of the SSR will be introducing new systems architecture, technology and practices to that previously used by the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA), the owner and operator of the Perth rail network. This paper identifies some of these innovations, and addresses challenges faced by Ansaldo STS to complete their works under Packages "A" & "G".

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2010 – July – Tan – Rapid Modernisation of Urban Passenger Rollingstock

Author(s):
Date presented: December 27th, 2015

Jason Tan Bach of Eng (Elec.), Bach of Com (Management, HRM) Electrical Engineer (Public Transport Authority) The availability of railcars and the ability to meet the growth in public transport patrons in Western Australia over the long term has been an important topic of discussion in the past few years. While the mechanical and even the traction systems of the railcars may live to their design life, the technology of the auxiliary control and communications equipment on board will become obsolete. This paper discusses the 'RAPID' project that the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia embarked on in order to completely overhaul the communications systems on board their existing 15 year old fleet of Electric Multiple Units. It demonstrates how the project was able to quickly modernise the aging look, feel and control of the railcars with state of the art technology and functionality, allowing the railcars to be available for use to the extent of, and even beyond, their design life.

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