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Technical Meeting Papers

Technical Meetings are held three times per year.
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2022 – November – Fraser – Train Positioning in Tunnels using Ultra-Wideband
By: Aaron Fraser
Date Presented: November 2nd, 2022

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


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2022 – November – Bonassa et al – Tunnel Solutions for Modern Transportation Systems – A Holistic Approach
By: Stefano Bonassa, Giacomo Cernelli, Massimo Orsi, Federico Nardi & Anthony MacDonald
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.


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2022 – November – Boldeman – Systems Engineering – Myths and Realities
By: Steven Boldeman
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.


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2022 – April – Wagner – Implementing an integrated system delivery framework to enable successful delivery of complex, multidisciplinary projects
By: Thomas Wagner
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.


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2022 – April – Rahman – Reconnecting with Concepts of Collection, Verification & Maintenance of Accurate Geographic Data for ATP
By: Subrina Rahman
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.  


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2022 – April – Moore – Level Crossings – Controlling the Hazards
By: Trevor Moore
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.


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2022 – April – McGregor – Motor generators, 240V (MEN) and Isolated power supplies for signalling
By: Peter McGregor
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.  


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2022 – April – McGrath – The “Obsolescence Problem” in Signalling
By: Alex McGrath
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.


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2022 – April – Lemon – Can ETCS Level 2 help us reconnect the Australian rail networks and offer an interoperable and harmonised future for our railways?
By: Stephen Lemon
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.


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2022 – April – Cox – Trainguard MT Communications Based Train Control
By: Simeon Cox
Date Presented: October 21st, 2024

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.


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1987 – March – Uton – Wellington Proposed Resignalling

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

R.N. Upton Signals Project Engineer New Zealand Railways Wellington is the southern terminus of New Zealandts North Island Railway System handling freight and suburban, provincial and long distance passenger traffic. The suburban area of 90 route kilometres over three lines is electrified at 1600V dc via overhead catenary and is serviced by electric multiple units. The two double track main lines, the North Island Main Trunk and Wairarapa Line converge at Distant Junction, the access to the freight yard two kilometres from the Passenger Terminal. The 10km single track passenger only Johnsonville Line connects directly into the Wellington Platform Junction.

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1991 – Nov – Waller – Presidential Address – A Time of Change

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

J. Waller International President of IRSE J Waller's Presidential Address to the Australian secion of the IRSE, to be read in Brisbane on Saturday 30th 1991.

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2005 – March – Dalton – Redeveloping the Sydney Network

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

David Dalton BE (Civil), MBA Transport lnfrastructure Development Corporation The Transport lnfrastructure Development Corporation will deliver projects which will significantly redevelop the Sydney rail network over the next five years, with the opening of the Epping to Chatswood Rail Line, implementation of the Rail Clearways Program and the opening of new transport interchanges at Parramatta and Chatswood. The majority of the work required to realise these projects will be undertaken by the private sector.

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2015 – March – Moore – Standards and the Signal Engineer

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

Trevor Moore B Eng, MBA, FIRSE, FIEAust Australian Rail Track Corporation Signal Engineers are great users and drafters of signalling standards. This often means that each organisation has their own standard for a subject and national standards are ignored. This paper gives an insight into the process for developing Australian railway signalling standards by the Rail Industry Safety and Standards Board. It also provides an overview of standards developed and under development. The drafting and adoption of national railway signalling standards will assist the development of signalling practices in Australia and the portability of the signalling workforce.

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1989 – April – McCauley – Signalling for the Perth Urban Rail Electrification Project

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

D.E. McCauley FIRSE Manager Signals The existing Perth Urban Passenger Rail System consists of three double track 1067mn1 gauge lines radiating fron City to Fremantle, Midland trnd Armadale. (A eection of single track exists over the Swan River near Belmont Park). The Fremantle to City and Ouildford line was opened in 1681 and cxtc!nded to Midland in 1884, the Armadale line was opened in 1893. Trains on the existing system consist of diesel r a i l cars most of wltich are in a deteriorated condition, in peak hours locomotive hauled saloon car sets supplement the service. In 1984 the Government through the Co-ordinator General of Trana port commissioned an inquiry into the electrification of the Perth Suburban railways, the report, presented in February 1985 resulted in the Government announcing in September 1985 its intention in principle to electrify the suburban system. They then establiehed the Urban Rail Steering Committee comprising representative fron the key Government Departments involved. A project team comprising Westrail and Transperth officers with assistance of consultants was established by the Steering Commitee to produce a Master Plan, this was presented to the Government who accepted the plan and formally announced the commencement of the project on February 14 1988 concurrent with announcing the contract for the Electric Multiple Unit rail car manufacture. This paper describes the signalling system adopted for the project, other papers will describe the Train Control Concepts including the Interlocking Control system and Remote Interface Modules, Train Describer function and the Communications and Train Information Systems.

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1997 – March – Zhang – Simulink Models for Track Circuit System in Railway Signalling System

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

Dr. Jack Zhang Centre for Railway Engineering Central Queensland University The paper presents a Matlab/Simulink based simulator for tract circuit in railway signalling system. The sub-systems in this simulator includes the simulink models for running rails, transmitter, receiver, boosting unit, train occupation and termination circuit. Both time domain waveform and frequency domain spectrum in the track circuit can be observed on the computer screen. To investigate the impact of train position on the receiver signals, the running rail model for a fixed track length is implemented as two variable length track circuit, separated by the moving train. The impacts of track length, boosting unit, and carrier frequency can also be investigated by means of this simulator.  

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1989 – July – Byron – State Rail Data Network

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

JEFF BYRON, M. ENG. SC., B. E. COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEER Digital transmission of information for NSW Railways purposes dates back at least to 1857 when the NSW Electric Telegraph department installed a morse system between South Head,  Sydney and Liverpool. The telegraph department at that time was separate from both the Railways and Post Office, although it utilised railway telegraph system was set up in about 1876. A major purpose of the telegraph was, of course, train safe working. The next major step in NSW Railway data transmission occurred in 1949, when the morse  telegraph system between Sydney and Lithgow was replaced by a teleprinter system. Within the next few years, many more systems were updated, although it was not until 1968 that the last morse system was decommissioned. Teleprinters message switching system was introduced to save retyping messages destined for a location not directly connected to the originator. the teleprinter network remained in service until 1986 when the present message switch (to be discussed later) was introduced. The 1970's saw the introduction in the railways of remote terminals requiring connection to mainframe computers via a data communication network. It was to support this need that the Data Communications section was established.

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2013 – March – Baker – Keeping your eyes on the road

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

Philip Baker MIRSE Aurecon Australia Pty Ltd This paper will examine the challenges for signalling designers that follow from the move of signalling and control systems from the trackside to the cab. A case study will be drawn from the Llanbadarn incident where the train driver’s workload was such that he was perhaps distracted by looking at the ERTMS screen rather than out of the window. The signalling designer had not incorporated a level crossing warning into the ERTMS system so the train entered a level crossing where the booms were not down. Lessons learned and discussion about how we can avoid a similar situation.

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2006 – March – Traynor – Safe Platforms for the Integrated Control of Railways

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

Owen Traynor Technical Director, Westinghouse Rail Systems Australia Much of the material upon which the following discussions and descriptions are based has been produced and developed by the dedicated and talented engineers at Westinghouse Rail Systems Australia. Special thanks go to Brenton Atchison, Alex Boden and Shashi Anantharamaiah.

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2005 – Oct – Ishii & Saito – Technical Trend of Signalling System and Latest LRT Signalling System

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

NORIHIRO ISHII Deputy General Manager Yoshikazu Saito Engineer KYOSAN ELECTRIC MFG. CO., LTD. Railway safety can be said to be a history of troubleshooting. And the world has come to require railways to reinforce convenience and service quality while looking safety as a matter of course. In such circumstances, midsize cities and the suburban areas of large cities are faced with transportation difficulty that demand is not so great as to require railway but cannot be dealt with only by busses and other automobiles. As a new transit system like AGT (Automated Guide way Transit) that is safe and can meet such demand, has been introduced to play an important role in such regions. This paper analyzes the technical trend of signaling system and introduces the newest signaling system that was applied to Singapore Sengkang/Punggol LRT, or an advanced AGT.

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