Christopher Whiteside and Heather Moody

Siemens Ltd

Dr. Rhena Helmus

Siemens AG

Rail-based systems are exposed to various operational demands brought about either by high mechanical loading or
external influences. At the same time, billions of passengers and freight goods rely on rail systems every day. Safety,
availability, and reliability are key for a competitive rail-based transport. To capture any abnormal behaviour during
operations, data is generated by various sources for a better understanding of interacting phenomena and to prevent
component failure in advance. In order to move forward to a smart infrastructure, insights gained by the analysis of
historical and real time data have to be turned into actions.

Julian Danton

Bombardier Transportation

Delhi Metro is a greenfield development of a 58km heavy metro system with 38 stations and 2 depots, for
which Bombardier Transportation are currently introducing a CITYFLO 650 communications based train
control (CBTC) signalling and control system. The line is a mixture of above ground and tunnel areas,
leading to design consideration of system functionalities required to be able to handle operations in either
environment.
The vehicles on the line are designed to be operated in both UTO (Unattended Train Operation) and nonUTO modes, both above ground and tunnel. The CBTC system functionalities and integration with the
rolling stock have therefore been designed to be able to operate with or without a driver across the different
line environments.
The introduction of UTO requires a CBTC system with a higher degree of automation, including fully
automatic depot storage and dispatch, automatic jog and creep at platforms and automatic handling of
emergencies between platforms including evacuation. It also requires increased remote visibility and control
through the provision of remote access to onboard CCTV at the OCC (Operational Control Centre) and
stations to provide the ability to remotely handle onboard issues for a train in UTO.

Julian Danton

Bombardier Transportation

Delhi Metro is a greenfield development of a 58km heavy metro system with 38 stations and 2 depots, for
which Bombardier Transportation are currently introducing a CITYFLO 650 communications based train
control (CBTC) signalling and control system. The line is a mixture of above ground and tunnel areas,
leading to design consideration of system functionalities required to be able to handle operations in either
environment.
The vehicles on the line are designed to be operated in both UTO (Unattended Train Operation) and nonUTO modes, both above ground and tunnel. The CBTC system functionalities and integration with the
rolling stock have therefore been designed to be able to operate with or without a driver across the different
line environments.
The introduction of UTO requires a CBTC system with a higher degree of automation, including fully
automatic depot storage and dispatch, automatic jog and creep at platforms and automatic handling of
emergencies between platforms including evacuation. It also requires increased remote visibility and control
through the provision of remote access to onboard CCTV at the OCC (Operational Control Centre) and
stations to provide the ability to remotely handle onboard issues for a train in UTO.

Hugh Hunter

Certifier Australia

Serge Joseph

French and Algerian Ministry of Transport

Regulation of Australian Railways in standardised across Australia and is administered by the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR).
The ONRSR Major Project Guidelines [21] states that ONRSR expects major projects to engage an Independent Safety Assessor who:
• Is independent from the delivery organisations
• Resources the project based on the scale and complexity of the task
• Use Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with an appropriate mix of competency, qualifications and relevant
experience for the project scope
State government organisations such as Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) state in their Guide to Independent
Safety Assessment [17], that new or altered assets requiring “safety significant changes” should be subjected to
Independent Safety Assessment (InSA).
There is a general lack of understanding in the railway industry regarding areas such as:
• What is Independent Safety Assessment, why is it performed and what is its role in a project
• The types of independent assessments that are required to be performed for the fulfillment of different
regulations and standards. This includes the usage of multiple assessment types within a project.
• Can any safety assurance body perform independent safety assessments or do these entities have to be
accredited to perform their various independent assessment types?
• Who performs the accreditation of an ISA and how is this accreditation recognised in different states and
countries.
• Where in the project lifecycle does the ISA become involved?
• How much of a project does the ISA assess, and how does the ISA ensure that the InSA provides a suitable
focus on the areas of higher risk
• How does the ISA work together with the project with regards to observation management and the generation
of ISA reports?
• What does the ISA expect the project team to provide for assessment?
• What are the tools and techniques utilised by an ISA
• The usage of multiple ISAs in project and how an ISA can accept the results provided by other ISAs.
This paper addresses this lack of understanding, providing descriptions of the different independent assessment types,
detailing the role of the ISA, describing the InSA process, and describing the use of accreditation for an ISA and how this
accreditation is recognised throughout the world.

Hugh Hunter

Certifier Australia

Serge Joseph

French and Algerian Ministry of Transport

Regulation of Australian Railways in standardised across Australia and is administered by the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR).
The ONRSR Major Project Guidelines [21] states that ONRSR expects major projects to engage an Independent Safety Assessor who:
• Is independent from the delivery organisations
• Resources the project based on the scale and complexity of the task
• Use Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with an appropriate mix of competency, qualifications and relevant
experience for the project scope
State government organisations such as Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) state in their Guide to Independent
Safety Assessment [17], that new or altered assets requiring “safety significant changes” should be subjected to
Independent Safety Assessment (InSA).
There is a general lack of understanding in the railway industry regarding areas such as:
• What is Independent Safety Assessment, why is it performed and what is its role in a project
• The types of independent assessments that are required to be performed for the fulfillment of different
regulations and standards. This includes the usage of multiple assessment types within a project.
• Can any safety assurance body perform independent safety assessments or do these entities have to be
accredited to perform their various independent assessment types?
• Who performs the accreditation of an ISA and how is this accreditation recognised in different states and
countries.
• Where in the project lifecycle does the ISA become involved?
• How much of a project does the ISA assess, and how does the ISA ensure that the InSA provides a suitable
focus on the areas of higher risk
• How does the ISA work together with the project with regards to observation management and the generation
of ISA reports?
• What does the ISA expect the project team to provide for assessment?
• What are the tools and techniques utilised by an ISA
• The usage of multiple ISAs in project and how an ISA can accept the results provided by other ISAs.
This paper addresses this lack of understanding, providing descriptions of the different independent assessment types,
detailing the role of the ISA, describing the InSA process, and describing the use of accreditation for an ISA and how this
accreditation is recognised throughout the world.

David Ness

MMRA Rail Systems Alliance Package Director

The Owners Persepective - details of the complexity of the project

Evan Tattersall CEO

Melbourne Metro Rail Authority

Transforming Victiorias Rail Network - Presentation

Jeff Wimberley BE, Associate Member IRSE

Aurizon PTY LTD

As technology changes, modern railway signalling systems are becoming more and more reliant on IP Data networks for both their day to day operation as well as for their supportability. For example we now have processor based interlockings at one end of a yard being connected to object controllers at the other end of the yard using IP based data networks. We also have a need to remotely access interlockings and associated systems such as axle counters as well as the data network elements from a central location or a location remote to the organisation to monitor and maintain service of these systems. Whilst all of this takes a level of discipline and rigour to implement, it can also provide a less than secure pathway for an unauthorised person to gain access to the systems if Cyber Security considerations are ignored. This paper will discuss Aurizon’s recognition of the Cyber Security threat to the company as a whole and the signalling system in particular and what has been done to reduce the risks for both.

Federico Nardi BCompE (Hons), RE(OIGenova)

Ansaldo STS Australia Pty Ltd

Howard Revell BA, CEng, RPE (Elec), RPEQ (Elec), HonFIRSE MIEEE


Ansaldo STS Australia Pty Ltd

This paper focuses on the differing aspects of the migration processes and methods involved in transforming existing legacy metro and mainline signalling systems over to CBTC or ERTMS based systems. Three of Ansaldo STS’s current European brownfield projects have been selected to provide scenarios, with each scenario offering a specific approach to a migration methodology that satisfies the particular nature of the project and the needs of the customer organisation funding the project.

The three scenarios relate to three different customer organisations:

• Stockholm Metro Red Line - CBTC for Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL) 

• Haparandabanan, part of the ESTER Project - ERTMS L2 for Trafikverket 

• Florence – Rome HSL upgrade - ERTMS L2 for Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI.


These scenarios provide a useful background concerning the need for effective system planning to support efficient design and implementation tasks, without causing disruption to revenue service traffic. However, despite this approach being very well established and practiced in our industry, it is very costly in terms of time, effort and funds and perhaps there is an alternative migration mitigation approach that could be investigated and adopted. These scenarios raise a number of points that may be usefully heeded by others involved in similar migration projects.

Somnath Banerjee B. Tech, FIRSE, MIEEE, MIRSTE, RPEQ

The history of “Byte by Byte” Railway signalling is also the history of new technology for Railway Signalling.  Any discussion on this subject will remain incomplete unless we know how to manage new technology bite by bite.

The introduction of new technology in Railway Signalling systems, more often than not, is a challenging exercise. This assumes significant importance because compared to the investment and its physical visibility its impact is very high. This paper discusses how the challenges can be managed in a structured manner.

Some important steps can help reduce the labour pains of introduction of new technology in a Railway signalling system.
    .    a)  Clear understanding of the operator’s need for the new technology. 

    .    b)  Choosing the right technology to match the operator’s expectations . 

    .    c)  Structuring the development to match the operator requirements using several independent blocks. This is 
again an important step and if not thought out properly, it can make changes to the design difficult and costly. 

    .    d)  Designing the sub-systems with enough resilience to allow with minimum effects to other sub-systems. 

    .    e)  A strategy for testing the sub-systems to ensure minimum changes to it once the sub-systems are integrated into a single system

Peter Burns MBA, BAppSci (Elect), FIRSE, CPEng, FIEAust

PYB Consulting

As signalling technology moves from the world of the fixed signal to the world of Communication Based systems, one major issue which arises is how to deal with the legacy unfitted train.
Traditionally, the available answers to that issue have been:
    •    Don’t allow non-fitted trains to run on the relevant part of the network (the captive fleet option); or 

    •    Build the Communications based System as an overlay on traditional signalling infrastructure including its 
fixed signals. 
This second option in particular denies the railway any of the cost benefits associated with the new technology and acts as a barrier to its use. 
This paper will explore the alternative – to make the signalling for the unfitted train an overlay on the underlying Communication Based Signalling, rather than the other way around. 
The method for doing this will be explored via the example of the Electronic Virtual Trainstop. We do not have one of these right now, but we are in a position to develop its specification.


In a world where the signal engineer has involvement in defining the train’s on-board systems, this paper will explore three specific subsystems and the interfaces between them needed to achieve operability. One subsystem is part of the infrastructure, associated with the communications based signalling itself. The second is conceptually portable, but operationally part of the equipment taken on board the train. The third is the electronic virtual trainstop itself – the core on-board system. 
The issue with defining an on-board system for an unfitted train seems apparent just looking at the terms. In reality, “lack of fitment” covers a range of possibilities, ranging from no fitment whatsoever, through a very basic system-independent facility (here we find the Electronic Virtual Trainstop) to a train fully fitted with somebody else’s Communication Based signalling. Each possibility will be discussed. 
By defining the intermediate system and some basic open interfaces, the paper will show how the issue of interoperability can be managed for the full range of possible trains.

Cassandra Gash MIRSE, MIEAust, MAIPM, BEng(Hons), GDSignalling & Telecommunications,

CPPM Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, Senior Signalling Project Manager

This paper highlights the requirements and likely challenges a graduate engineer will encounter in their professional formative years, and provides recommendations on how to fast-track a career in the rail signalling industry.

The gap in professional engineering competence is assessed through comparison of the competence of a graduate en- gineer from university compared to that required for the rail signalling industry. The commonly used 70:20:10 learning and development model is reviewed, in the context of the industry, so that graduate engineer learning, development, and experience can be tailored to address these gaps and support career advancement.

The paper concludes with an examination of competence related Australian legislation and Rail Transport Operator’s requirements that an engineer must comply with to progress from a state of unconscious incompetence to conscious competence. This paper draws upon numerous sources and highlights the commonalities and some of the inconsisten- cies in approach to achieving competence.

Jacek Mocki PhD, MSc, BEng CPEng MIRSE NPER

MOTZKY

Shane Curtin MBA, BEng

AURIZON

Yulan Liu MSc, BEng MIRSE, RPEQ

AURIZON

This paper is focused on one of the strategies that could be undertaken when approaching innovative areas in rail engineering. It describes an adoption of developing rail standards e.g. EULYNX and railML. Authors aim to look into an example of engineering process, describing ways to improve the process by applying some predictable innovation (innovation that delivers an expected outcome) techniques. An improved outcome from such development could be applied more efficiently to the benefit of reducing uncertainty of a designer, optimising asset usage, reducing the operational cost and many more.

Brett Baker BE, MBA, MIRSE, MRTSA

Queensland Rail

The principle form of train protection for the metropolitan rail region of Queensland has been the Automatic Warning system. In 1988 the ERICAB 700 Automatic Train Control system was introduced onto the regional North Coast Line of the Queensland Rail network. It was followed in 1994 by the WESTECT Automatic Train Protection system, which now provides train protection for over 2500 route kilometres on the regional rail network within Queensland. The Automatic Warning System remains the train protection system stalwart for the metropolitan rail network, ERICAB is no longer in use and the WESTECT Automatic Train Protection system is all but life-expired, so Queensland Rail now looks beyond these systems for the future application of train protection for the rail network – European Train Control System.

Trevor Moore Hon FIRSE FIEA Aust

Australian Rail Track Corporation

We often design a signalling system and continue its operation even though there are significant changes in train operating conditions. Do we assume that is still as safe as the day it was commissioned into service?

Some cases are self-evident that safety has changed. If we increase the train speed over a level crossing we know that the approach warnings have to be reviewed and updated. Do we check and update if they have changed the road traffic classification to B double trucks?

When and how should we review the signalling system for safety of operations? What should be the catalyst to undertaking a review? Should this be part of the standard practice for signal engineers managing infrastructure and for signal designers on new works?
The paper addresses some of the situations that can arise leading to a change in the safety of the signalling system.

Wayne McDonald BE (Elec) FIRSE

Siemens Limited

Railways are required to operate safely and one of the methods to demonstrate this is type approval of signalling equipment. That approval must include documentation of high RAMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety) when applied in vital and even non-vital applications. Suppliers have provided such values, in some form or another, for electrical, electronic and programmable electronic equipment for many years. The limitations and applicability of these values have not always been well understood and they have often been misapplied. The decisions for product comparison or maintenance plans could therefore be compromised or invalid.

More recently, purchasers, and personnel assessing type approval are demanding values such as SIL (Safety Integrity Level) and MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) for electromechanical equipment and systems. The standards currently used for programmable electronic systems clearly state that using them to derive values for electromechanical is inappropriate.

This paper delves into the importance of understanding and applying meaningful RAMS values for signalling equipment and addresses the inappropriateness of SIL and MTBF for Electromechanical Equipment. It continues to offer some suggestions for how RAMS can be used for Electromechanical Equipment.

Steve Boshier FIRSE, FCILTA

Auckland Transport

Asset Management is an area that continues to develop through innovation, technical developments and through new ways of looking at whole of life management. In tough economic times, businesses often take short cuts with asset management in a bid to remain profitable. Its usually one of the first areas whose budget gets cut back for a whole range of reasons. Such a decision only provides a short term solution to a problem that ultimately gets worse and comes back to bite even greater.

Technologies such as BIM, Mobility, Analytics, and a suite of ISO standards represents a coming of age for rail systems asset management. They are transforming the rail sector and are helping to drive a long term approach to maintenance with benefits. One that is now allowing staff to do more with less whilst allowing them to improve the asset reliability, availability and system safety.

Dr Olivier Leveque

Alstom Signalling – Australia New Zealand

The advanced features over ETCS detailed in this paper are Virtual Block Sectioning and scalable Automatic Train Operation. These features can be incrementally implemented to meet the current and future business requirements of a suburban railway operation. A case study is presented to illustrate the performance benefits of a scalable ATO overlaid onto an ETCS solution for a suburban application.

Malcolm D’Cruz M.E. Mechatronics


Public Transport Authority of Western Australia

David Lim  MSc. Telecommunication Management

UXC Ltd – A CSC Company

Railways are always increasing the number of network services to cope with emerging technologies. The success of Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) depends on the ability of the backbone communication system to guarantee high bandwidths and reliability. Thus the traditional railway communication network is gradually moving towards a carrier grade network servicing both internal as well as external clients.

The aim of this paper is to show how Software Defined Networks (SDN) adopted by telecom service providers as a common platform for all network services can benefit the railway networking environment to cope with constantly emerging technologies.

Rob Gillespie NTD Elec Eng.


I&E Systems Pty Ltd

Modern railway signalling systems now incorporate computer-based interlocking, and the wiring is predominantly simple input/output functions, so, is CAD really the best way to design these high integrity systems?