Proceedings 2002/2003 - IRSE

130
SCOTTISH SECTION
He drew comparisons from his experience of Health
& Safety management in other industry sectors,
which gave background to some of the changes in
the approach. He explained how improvements had
been made in liaison and protocol between the
HMRI, Police, Train Operating Companies,
Infrastructure Controller and other affected
organisations after accidents occur. (Attendees 30)
Two lectures were held in February. Firstly, Liam
Regan, of Thales, presented “Delivering Telecomms
for the London Underground Connect Project”. In
this lecture Liam outlined the communications
strategy for this project and went on to describe the
transmission and copper cable installation methods
used to interconnect the various major operational
centres on the Underground. He also described the
Private Finance Initiative strategy and the minimum
service levels specified for this telecomms infrastructure.
(Attendees 13)
Our other February lecture was held jointly with
the IMechE (Railway Division) at Caledonian
University. Mike Corbett, TPWS (Trainborne) Project
Director, Joint ROSCO Working Group, presented
the trainborne aspects of TPWS installation. This
was of particular interest to all who have been
involved in the provision of TPWS. Mike very helpfully
introduced the topic by explaining the history
up to the implementation of TPWS and went on to
describe the activities of the Joint ROSCO Working
Group. He also explained details of the trainborne
equipment, the implementation strategy, various
‘interface’ issues (and some teething problems)
along with some lessons learned.
In March John Bryant, of Bentley Systems,
presented “The Unified Railway Model”. This lecture
incorporated a presentation on the use of virtual
reality within the railway environment. A desktop
signal sighting exercise was simulated where signals
could be ‘placed’ at various possible locations to
assess visibility. The software also has the capability
to calculate the distance/time that the signal is
visible to the driver. Attendees were impressed by
the realism of the 3D images and the powerful
impact this facility could have on assessing
proposed alterations to infrastructure before
construction. (Attendees 10)
In a departure form normal tradition, our AGM was
held in April and for the first time, combined with a
quiz night in less formal (and licensed) surroundings.
Some of us discovered just how wide the gaps in our
knowledge were during the signal engineering round
of questions! However, the evening was a great
success and enjoyed by all. For the session 2003/
2004, the Section intends to continue using the
premises of Glasgow Caledonian University for most
meetings.
Alan King
Secretary
Southern African Section
MEMBERSHIP
At the end of the 2002 session, the membership of
the Southern African Section stood at 51. This was
made up as follows:
Companion 1
Fellow 9
Member 27
Associate Member 5
Accredited Technician 9
The membership per country within the Southern
African Section is:
South Africa 47
Zimbabwe 4
OFFICERS FOR THE 2001 SESSION
Chairman
Dr Bennie Steyn
Vice-Chairman
Rod Kohler
Secretary
Vic Bowles
Treasurer
Johan van de Pol
Committee Members
Derrick Marais
Graham Paverd, Phil Meyer,
Craig Mathys
Co-opted Member
Bob Woodhead
FUNCTIONS
On 14th February 2002 the Chairman led a
discussion addressing “Communication Based
Signalling”. As background to this discussion it was
recognised that ETCS has received a lot of attention
in Europe and an enormous amount of money is
being spent on the development of the requirements
for different levels. The testing and evaluation of the
concepts are well on the way and implementation is
expected soon. In the UK, a huge amount of money
is being spent on CBS for the West Coast Mainline
and the installation of TPWS. In the USA, on the
other hand, the most notable effort is that of the
NYCT with the development of the so-called
Communication Based Control system. The above
developments are earmarked for lines with extensive
passenger traffic. The major freight railways are
looking at the implementation of add-on systems
such as warning systems (EPWS) and Positive Train
Separation systems (PTS), which would improve the
safety of existing, line side systems.
In South Africa we have pioneered very cost
effective lineside signalling systems including hybrid
interlocking, points and remote control systems, to
name a few. In the midst of these developments
throughout the world, we in South Africa are
implementing, or about to implement various forms
of communication based signalling systems such as
RTO, Track Warrant and CBA.
The discussion concluded that the conditions in
South Africa dictate that communication based
signalling is destined to become the preferred
technology of the future, but the currently
constrained capital resource will contain the rate of
implementation.