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Technical Meeting Papers

Technical Meetings are held three times per year.
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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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2001 – March – Garrett – Brisbane Airport Rail Link Project – Overview

Author(s): Mike Garrett
Date presented: October 20th, 2024

Mike Garrett Airtrain Citylink is a Queensland company formed specifically to undertake the development and operation of a rail link between Brisbane Airport and the city of Brisbane on a build, own, operate, transfer (BOOT) basis. See attached Figure 1. Airtrain's shareholders are Colonial Group Staff Superannuation Scheme, Airtrain Trust (4 superannuation funds), Hyder Investments, GIO Australia, CDC Projects, Transfield & 26 smaller investers.

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2001 – July – Stepniewski – Blacktown’s VDU Signalling Control System “Sigview”

Author(s): Richard Stepniewski
Date presented: October 20th, 2024

Richard Stepniewski Alstom's VDU Control System, called SigView, 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.

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2000 – March – Furness & Clarke – Maintaining for Reliability

Author(s): John Furness & John Clarke
Date presented: October 20th, 2024

John Furness & John Clarke ABB Engineering Construction are responsible for maintaining various components of the Victorian Rail system on behalf of the newly franchised businesses. The transition from publicly owned railway authority to private industry, specialist maintenance provider has required considerable change at both the organisational and individual staff levels. The process has also uncovered a number of deficiencies in the pre-existing maintenance structure and practices that do not meet the needs and performance requirements of the new Operators. ABB are currently developing and planning for new procedures and practices, etc ,where necessary, to meet our client's expectations for continuos improvements in the overall railway system reliability to achieve and exceed the new performance benchmarks

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1999 – July – Blakeley-Smith & Webb – Queensland Rail’s Integrated Intelligent Hot Bearing and Wheel lmpact Detector Systems

Author(s): Andrew Blakeley-Smith & Paul Webb
Date presented: October 20th, 2024

Andrew Blakeley-Smith & Paul Webb This paper describes the background, evolution, design and construction of a network of Hot Bearing and Hot Wheel Detectors (HBD/HWD) and a Wheel lmpact Load Detector (WILD) and the associated data acquisition and analysis system installed, in its first stage, on the Goonyella line and associated mine branches.  

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1998 – July – Skilton – Tranz Rail’s National Train Control Centre

Author(s): JT Skilton
Date presented: October 20th, 2024

JT Skilton Signalling systems within Tranz Rail which require control from a remote location can be classified into three types, Centralised Traffic Control (CTC), remote controlled interlockings in Track Warrant (TW) territory and remote controlled interlockings embedded in Double Line Automatic (DLA) signalling. The CTC systems control the movement of trains in both directions over a single line section divided up into block sections and crossing loops. A field unit is installed at each crossing loop for the purpose of communicating with the control centre. TW control requires all trains to hold a warrant for the section of line being traversed. This warrant is issued to the locomotive engineer verbally over the train radio system and checked for correct reception by reading back over the radio system to the control centre. A selected number of crossing loops within TW territory are fully interlocked and equipped with a field unit which allows the Train Control Operator (TCO) to have full control over motor points and signals. Centralised control of interlockings in DLA territory is used where junctions between main and branch lines occur. Central control is used for movements to and from the branch line and, although it can also be used for signalling along the main lines, the interlocking can be switched to automatic for main line movements.

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1998 – July – McDonald – Today’s Interlocking – A World of Applications

Author(s): Wayne McDonald
Date presented: October 20th, 2024

Wayne McDonald Computer based interlockings today must be adaptable to the vastly different environments found in the many rail networks throughout the world. This paper overviews some of these environments where one such system, WESTRACE, has been installed and it highlights some of the special requirements essential to suit those locations.  

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1997 – November – Brock, Ebzery & McMurtrie – Homebush Bay Rail Link – Signalling Design and Management

Author(s): Peter Brock, Frank Ebzery & Bruce McMurtrie
Date presented: October 20th, 2024

Peter Brock, Frank Ebzery & Bruce McMurtrie The construction of the Year 2000 Olympic facilities and the relocation of the Royal Agricultural Show Grounds Homebush Bay requires the construction of a high capacity transport link. Heavy rail is the only transport system that will supply the required capacity. The new Homebush Bay rail Loop will connect Olympic Park and the new Homebush Bay Showgrounds with the rest of the Sydney metropolitan rail networkTrail loop is nearing completion and will be commissioned on the 22/23 November 1997.

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1982 – July – Mayne – Communications Aspects of the Tarcoola-Alice Springs New Railway

Author(s): AG Mayne
Date presented: October 20th, 2024

AG Mayne The preceding paper illustrates only too well how a railway was built fifty years ago and the changes in construction between then and now. By the same token the relative demands made on railway communications between then and now have also undergone considerable change such that now we are required to satisfy a constantly increasing demand from all our Branches for more and more communication channels - reliable channels of high quality and many dedicated for specific purposes.

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2023 – July – Boldeman – Definition, Concept, and Detailed Design, a comparison

Author(s):
Date presented: July 16th, 2023

Steven Boldeman The role of the signal designer varies significantly for designs generated at different stages of the product lifecycle. The development of a project, especially a large one, requires different project activities to establish the project, determine the benefits and resources, timeframes, risks and expected outcomes. Different project stages perform different roles within the design space for a project.

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2023 – July – Xu – Using Karnaugh Map in Complex NSW Overlap Design

Author(s):
Date presented: July 16th, 2023

Zhe Xu (David) An Overlap is a safety buffer beyond the end of a train movement authority to allow the train to come to a safe stop, it serves as a final safeguard for maintaining separation between trains, regardless of whether they are moving in the same or opposing directions 

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