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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

In this paper, we would like to introduce an innovative proposal based on the research conducted by the Hitachi Rail Innovation team to further improve the existing available tablet application, particularly


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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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1994 – March – Moore, Topfer & Dwyer – CityRail Control Centre for the State Rail Authority, NSW

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

Mr T. G. Moore, Train Control Systems Manager CityRail Signal Renewal and Modernisation Programme PART A - CONTROL CENTRE ARCHITECTURE AND FUNCTlOlN Mr A. Topfer, Project Engineer Telemetry CityRail Signal Renewal and Modernisation Programme PART B - INTERFACE TO SIGNALLING Mr A. Dwyer, Train Control Systems Engineer CityRail Signal Renewal and Modernisation Programme PART C - SYSTEMS INTERFACE AND GATEWAYS CityRail serves Sydney and a population of 4.6 million people. The CityRail network extends over 150 km from Sydney to the North, South and West. It is intended that this network be controlled from one Control Centre for all Operations and Infrastructure functions. A two step strategy has been adopted to develop the engineering and organisational changes required for the final Control Centre. The CityRail Control Centre at Central will consolidate the operations of signal boxes at Sydney, Strathfield, Sydenham, North Sydney, Hurstville, East Hills, Glenfield, Campbelltown, Liverpool, Sefton, Bankstown, Canterbury, Rhodes, Epping and Thornleigh. Operations Controllers, Mechanical Defects Officers and Passenger Information Officers will also be included in the Control Room. The Control Centre will control over 2,000 train movements daily. The Control Centre will cover 35 signal interlockings and 11 4 stations. The signalling includes 1,900 signals, 400 points and 2,900 track circuits.

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2010 – March – Robinson – Growing a Good Safety Culture in Railway Signalling

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

Dr. Neil J Robinson, CEng, PhD, CITP, MBCS, BSc(Hons) Head of Systems Assurance, Ansaldo STS. Adjunct Professor, School of Information Technology & Electrical Engineering, The University of Queensland. An organisation's "Safety Culture" is generally defined as "the way we do things round here" with respect to safety. There are several human-factor driven frameworks [5,6,14], available for describing the Safety Culture concept in much more detail. Many of these frameworks define levels of Safety Culture that can be used by organisations as paths for an improvement program. All the definitions of Safety Culture agree that a Safety Culture is more than just a safety management system. It emerges from the systems, practices and people that make up an organisation. But, if having a safety management system, even one that includes controls designed to encourage a good Safety Culture, is not enough to create a good Safety Culture, then what should an organisation do? And specifically, what should a railway signalling organisation do? In this paper we briefly define what is meant by a Safety Culture, with reference to the literature. We review the work that has been done in the UK, Australia and elsewhere on reviewing and improving Safety Cultures in the railway industry, and comment on how that work relates to railway signalling. For example, many railway organisations in Australia have already used the UK RSSB railway Safety Culture toolkit [6] to conduct surveys and report on the maturity of their Safety Culture. We consider how these Safety Culture models apply to engineering of safety-critical systems, and, more specifically, how they apply to railway signal engineering.

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2003 – November – Lyons – Resignalling the NSW Country Network

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

Mark Lyons Rail Infrastructure Corporation The NSW country network is a patchwork of signalling systems built between 1900 and 2000. This mix of signalling systems and the age of the signalling has led to a system that does not and cannot meet the operational needs of the Rail Infrastructure Corporation. The Rail Infrastructure Corporation has commenced a project to increase Rail Business throughout the NSW country network. This paper describes the broad objectives of the resignalling project and describes in detail the Bathurst Resignalling Project, one of the first of 37 projects to be completed over a three year period. The scope of works and functionality for the remote control of the Bathurst, Kelso and Newbridge signal interlockings will be covered, including the new technologies introduced on this project and the interfacing between these technologies. This paper will describe in detail the method of operation introduced for the single line block section between Bathurst and Newbridge, including the use of the US&S Pheonix Train Control System. The aim of this paper is to also provide a greater insight into Microlok II Coded Track Circuits and factors to be considered when adopting this technology.

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2014 – March – Oliver – MPLS Based Networks in Railway Deployment

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

Adam Oliver Bachelor of Engineer Calibre Global Safe and reliable communications are a critical component in operating modern railway networks. Voice radio, signalling, asset protection, CCTV, station services and alarms form the basis of a typical rail system, with telephony, data and internet connectivity between offices shaping corporate requirements. These services are traditionally provisioned through a combination of separate Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH), Ethernet and legacy analogue circuits, resulting in increased maintenance and support requirements. As more railways move towards Communications Based Signalling (CBS) systems bandwidth requirements increase, with a corresponding focus on reliability and resilience. Coupled with growing focus on Ethernet connectivity for hardware, an opportunity exists to explore alternate network arrangements that are more holistically encompassing of all supported technologies and their requirements. Implementation of an IP/MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switched) network allows convergence of these disparate networks into a single unified system. Key infrastructure can be shared between different facets of an organisation on a single physical network, whilst maintaining completely independent circuits for the various services being transported. In contrast to an IP-only implementation, where scalability and traffic engineering can be challenging as network size increases, an IP/MPLS solution allows a network to grow as needed, while providing excellent load balancing to make better use of existing network infrastructure. This in turn can lead to savings in both OPEX and CAPEX, as both infrastructure and maintenance costs are reduced. Ideally suited to both green and brown field rollouts, an IP/MPLS based network is a viable solution for any network rollout.

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1997 – July – Clenick – Cirebon-Kroya-Yogyakarta – Resignalling Project

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

Own Clenick B.E (Hons). MIRSE. RPEQ and Reg. Eng. NZ Westinghouse Signals Australia The Indonesian Government railways are operated by PERUMKA which is currently a semi Corporation contained within the Directorate General of Land Transport and Inland Waterways (DGLT) which is itself under the Department of Communications. PERUMKA has an extensive railway network in Java but most of the signalling is still mechanical and up to sixty years old. Over the last twenty-five years relay interlocking have been installed at the larger stations to increase operating efficiency. The planning of DGLT and PERUMKA has been to resignal the main lines in Java to increase the traffic capacity. WSA began investigating the resignalling of the railway between Cirebon-Kroya-Yogyakarta in 1987 in cooperation with AusAID under the Development Import Finance Facility (or DIFF) program. Under this program the Australian Government makes a grant which allows the Indonesian Government to obtain a loan with lower than market interest rates to finance the project. The review of railways signalling technology to be used in Indonesia by the Indonesian Government and other factors deferred progress and the preliminary joint site surveys with PERUMKA took place in June 1992. After the tendering and evaluation process the contract to resignal this section of line was signed between DGLT and WSA on 13 April 1993 for a value of A$115.318.000

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2004 – July – Clenick – WESTRACE In Malaysia

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

Owen Clenick BE(Hons), MIRSE, RPEQ Regional Manager Invensys Rail Systems Australia Westinghouse Signals Australia Division This paper overviews two WESTRACE computer based interlocking projects in Malaysia. It covers all aspects from concept, through design, installation and commissioning to the review of project success several years after the projects were completed. Both applications of WESTRACE were different from usual signal applications but have been proven to be highly reliable with "stand alone" (not "hot standby") interlockings.

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1991 – Aug – Hyland – Ranking of Signalling Infrastructure Renewals within a Suburban Railway Environment

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

D HYLAND, BE, MIE Aust, Director, Hyland Joy & Wardrop Pty Ltd J R KENNEDY, ARMIT, MIE Aust, Principal, Interlogis Consulting This paper summarises the assumptions used and the methodology developed to rank projects to be included in the Signal Renewal and Modernisation Project. The application of risk analysis techniques using as a comparative measure the loss exposure that could result from not doing the work was used to rank projects to provide the maximum return on investment and to ensure that only work that would have a significant impact on the operation of the system was done. The evaluation method allows management to:- identify the safety and service risk that could be eliminated by doing specific projects assess the cost to provide a specified level of service and safety or alternatively the levels that can be provided for the funding available.

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2010 – March – McGregor – Using Six Sigma to Improve Track Circuit Reliability

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

Peter McGregor BEng(Elect) Grad Dip (Systems) MIRSE Head of Signalling Design – Professional Services Division, RailCorp Is Six Sigma just another management fad? Is it just another business opportunity for the consultancy industry? Yes, it could be if you let it. For RailCorp our six sigma journey has commenced with an initial number of projects in the Asset Management group focusing on reliability improvements which were being sought by the organisation. In the first part of the paper I give a brief introduction to six sigma and what it is. I than go onto describe how we commenced using six sigma and how it was applied to our reliability improvement projects. In the third part of the paper I describe in more detail a project where we used some of the six sigma tools and methodology to improve the reliability of FS2500 jointless track circuits in a critical area of the RailCorp network and how using a simple clip on ferrite solved a problem with Receiver (RX) lockup.

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2005 – Oct – Moore – Signalling Code of Practice – An Australian Perspective

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

Trevor Moore FIRSE, FIE Aust Endeavour Management & Engineering The railways in Australia developed on a state basis before federation. Significant differences including gauge and engineering practices abounded in the early days and have continued unabated until the start of this century. With the development of national train operators and infrastructure owners crossing state borders, there is an opportunity for common engineering practices and standards. We has already seen the development of a National Code of Practice (NCOP) for Operations and more recently a Track & Civil NCOP has been developed and is gaining acceptance in multiple states in southern Australia. The paper examines the issues, opportunities and threats to the development of a Signalling Code of Practice.

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1999 – March – Ingwersen – Impact of Freight Brake Equipment on Signaling

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

Michael Ingwersen Institute of Engineers Railway Technical Society Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical Knorr Brakc Australia Pty Limited Railway brake technology has changed little this century but market demands and technology advancements are forcing necessary changes. These changes will affect signaling infrastructure and require signaling design engineers to consider the current developments and those proposed for the future. These latest braking developments will decrease the stopping distances required for long freight trains and allow trains to run closer, with decreased headways. This will allow more trains to run on existing tract infrastructure, increasing the number of pathways available thus decreasing the environmental impact and cost of providing additional tract infrastructure.

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