Proceedings 2002/2003 - IRSE
Proceedings 2002/2003 - IRSE
Proceedings 2002/2003 - IRSE
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132 SOUTHERN AFRICAN SECTION<br />
at Spoornet) enlightened the guests as to the current<br />
role of women in rail in South Africa and related this<br />
to a highly successful locomotive preparation<br />
project. A female colleague of Shulami managed the<br />
project. Shulami also had a significant involvement<br />
in the project. The award for the best paper in the<br />
2001 session was announced at the dinner, with the<br />
winner being Ernst Swanepoel of the SARCC for his<br />
paper entitled “Management of Rail Assets – Art or<br />
Science”.<br />
A strategic session was held during the year to<br />
review the role and focus of the Southern African<br />
Section and to decide on the positioning of the<br />
Section with regard to the proposed formation of a<br />
Rail Safety Regulator in South Africa. The conclusion<br />
of the session was that the Southern African Section<br />
is doing most of the things it should and that it<br />
should continue to:<br />
• Ensure a presence in the environment<br />
• Define a training strategy<br />
• Actively market the services it can provide to<br />
possible members.<br />
The Southern African Section still labours under a<br />
decrease in the number of members arising from a<br />
number of retired members suspending their<br />
membership during this session and the ongoing<br />
overseas recruitment that continues to attract<br />
signalling expertise from Southern Africa.<br />
Vic Bowles<br />
General Secretary<br />
Western Section<br />
COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE<br />
Chairman<br />
Vice-Chairman<br />
Hon Secretary<br />
Hon Treasurer<br />
Members<br />
Mark Glover<br />
Peter Duggan<br />
Doug Gillanders<br />
Mark Brookes<br />
Chris Napper, Ed Gerrard<br />
Peter Martell<br />
TECHNICAL MEETINGS<br />
It was disappointing start to the session when it<br />
was necessary to rearrange at relatively short notice<br />
the first paper of the session because the original<br />
planned event had no response whatsoever. The<br />
original event was to have been a short papers<br />
evening where the prize for the best was to have<br />
been a Section-sponsored place on the <strong>IRSE</strong><br />
Convention in Birmingham. No papers at all were<br />
submitted.<br />
We again had a varied range of papers which, by<br />
the attendance figures, suggests that the choice is<br />
generally of the correct interest level but could be<br />
improved.<br />
As no April/May visit could be arranged, as we<br />
were either declined or received no response, the<br />
AGM is to be convened before the first paper of the<br />
next session.<br />
The first paper of the session which took place in<br />
Amey Rail’s offices in Bristol, was presented by<br />
Simon Chadwick of Westinghouse Rail Systems and<br />
was entitled “Westlock – The Next Generation<br />
Interlocking”. Simon introduced his topic by giving<br />
an overview of what he was going to present and<br />
stressed the recurring theme would be evolution not<br />
revolution with a system based on the tried and<br />
trusted SSI.<br />
SSI is very good but had reached its limits. More<br />
was required of SSI and there were issues of<br />
obsolescence. The object was to recreate-use the<br />
concepts and the technology and make use of the<br />
extensive experience of staff within the rail industry.<br />
The plan is to build on the data structures and recreate-use<br />
the TFMs and datalink modules where<br />
appropriate. The new interlocking will connect to an<br />
existing SSI one, but as it is around four times the<br />
size of an SSI, the designer can determine the optimum<br />
position of the boundary.<br />
He then moved on to explain the system architecture.<br />
There were three safety critical bits – the CIP<br />
(Control Interlocking Processor), the TIF (Trackside<br />
Interface) and the SII (SSI Interface). In future instead<br />
of the TIFs together with the TFMs, the method of<br />
control may change to OBs (Object controllers). The<br />
OB may also replace the Radio Block Control<br />
systems. Currently SSI uses LDTs (Long Distance<br />
Terminals) where in future these would be replaced<br />
and have remote TIFs. The Westlock interlocking<br />
can be so configured to either have local TIFs,<br />
replacing the MPMs of SSI, feeding out to LDTs<br />
changing only the “centre” or it can be configured to<br />
have remote TIFs doing away with LDTs and<br />
changing the lineside configurations.<br />
The data preparation and testing tools are being<br />
designed to make it easier to do both activities. The<br />
data structure is similar to SSIs but will be able to be<br />
compiled in a PC environment rather than a<br />
workstation. The process from design to commission<br />
remains identical as is now used. Data is<br />
generated for the new interlocking using the PC<br />
environment or it is converted from SSI data to<br />
Westlock data for an existing interlocking. The interlocking<br />
can then be fully tested off-line using either<br />
actual equipment or a fully simulated set up. This will<br />
have the effect that stageworks will be tested more<br />
efficiently. However, at some point, when the actual<br />
control and indications have to be tested, more of<br />
the working railway will have to be turned off!<br />
The way forward now is pick a trial site for some<br />
parallel running. The most suitable in terms of SSI<br />
interfaces is the Euston/Willesden project but the<br />
scheme is too big for one Westlock interlocking.<br />
Consequently, a section of the Willesden area has<br />
been chosen where the Westlock can be connected<br />
to all the different possible interfaces. The section<br />
chosen will use 199 TFMs, 126 signals, 140 points,<br />
254 track circuits and have 431 routes.