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Howard Revell BA, FIRSE

Ansaldo Signal - Union Switch & Signal Pty Ltd Australia

Part 1: Innovative Systems Applications using Microlok II

Raphael Salson MSc

Ansaldo Signal - CSEE Transport Hong Kong

Part 2: Systems Integration using modern Computerised Technology

SUMMARY OF PART 1

Current trends in railway signalling system design and delivery are dictated by market forces and the flexibility of the products and services that are available to support them. Cost minimisation, increased system adaptability and functionality, technical innovation and engineering accountability all impact on the final system outcome and the customer's satisfaction. In Part 1 of this paper, the major factors that lead to innovative system application engineering and their impact on final system outcomes are presented and discussed.

Following this, the paper reviews a number of practical examples of such outcomes that have been implemented on main line railways in the Asia - Pacific region over recent times using Union Switch & Signal's Microlok II vital programmable controller. These examples represent a few of the unique circumstances cost effective and innovative system solutions have been delivered by the supplier. There are several other examples referenced in the paper that have been implemented by the customer alone. In these cases the customer has been totally responsible for the system innovation and application choosing simply to purchase product from the supplier.

SUMMARY OF PART 2

Part 2 of this paper presents how modern computerized technology can be used to integrate Signalling and Telecommunications technologies into a state of the art Central Supervision System and focuses on two examples deployed in Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR)

The first System presented is the MTR Operations Control Centre (OCC), commissioned in 1999/2000 which provides all Signalling,Train Radio and CCTV functions at the Operator's fingertips in a single integrated system: the Signalling Indications & Control Panel (SICP). With 8 servers and 51 operator workstations, the SICP is entralizing the information from the different Signalling interlockings of 4 running lines, the Regulation System and the Radio and Video systems, constituting a highly sophisticated and one of the world's most complex control centres.

The second part describes the Station Management System (SMS) installed in 37 MTR stations in 2001. In the same approach, the SMS regroups Signalling, Communication (Train and Telephone), CCTV & Station Management (Escalators, lifts operation, electricity controls, Gates, Platform Screen Doors, etc...) in one centralized system, with the information displayed on 4 screens to the Station Operator. Integrated with a Decision Support System (DSS), it eases the work and increases the efficiency of station staffs. The SMS has 25 subsystem interfaces and over 12,000 I/O points per stations.