ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ... - Railweb.ch

ERTMS Regional and North AmericanDark Territory: A ComparisonDick TinderGeorge RaymondRon LindseyJörn PachlIndependent ConsultantRailweb GmbHSwitzerlandIndependent ConsultantCommunication ArchitectureUSAProfessorBraunschweig Technical UniversityGermanyIRSE ASPECT conference, London, 11 September 2012

Recent advances in traffic controlRecent advancePrincipal rationaleTransmission ofmovement authorityEnforcement ofmovement authorityEuropeEuropean Train ControlSystem (ETCS)Interoperability betweennational rail networksETCSETCSNorth America(later ?)Positive Train Control (PTC)Increased safety bypreventing driver errorsLegacy traffic control systemPTC, as overlay systemLondon, 11 September 2012 2ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonG. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl

North American signalled operations• About half of North American route-km• Track circuits prove train integrity• Dispatchers manage signals under centralised traffic control (CTC)New: Positive train control (PTC) enforces movement authorities from 2015London, 11 September 2012 3ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonG. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl

Dark territory operations• About a third of North American route-km• No lineside signals (except for simple status e.g. of turnouts)• No track circuits• Dispatcher issues track warrants (movement authorities) by voice (or data) radioNew: Positive train control (PTC) enforces movement authorities from 2015(3) David W. DuplerLondon, 11 September 2012 4ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonG. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl

DispatchingSignalled territory in EuropeNorth American dark territory(and half of North America’s route-km) • Conflict-checking software• Photo: Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad(1300+ km)Siemens Switzerland LtdBob CurrieLondon, 11 September 2012 6ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonG. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl

ETCS LevelsETCS Level 1 ETCS Level 2• Track circuits or axle• Track circuits or axle counterscounters• Passive transponders• Active transponderstransmit authorities• GSM-R radio transmits authoritiesSilvan WyssSwiss Federal Office of Transport / SBBERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonLondon, 11 September 2012 G. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl7

ETCS LevelsETCS Level 3ERTMS RegionalFirst implementation on143-km Västerdalsbanan inSweden in February 2012• Passive transponders• GSM-R radio transmitsauthorities• No track circuits or axlecounters• On-board train integrityprovingSvenska Järnvägsklubben (Swedish Railway Club)ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonLondon, 11 September 2012 G. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl8

Rationale for automatic train protection (ATP)to enforce movement authoritiesEuropeNorth AmericaAverage train speed anddensityHigherLowerDominant traffic Passenger FreightOliver JaeschkeEric HaasAutomatic trainprotection (ATP)StandardJustified only on lines withsignificant passenger trafficStephen BradleyERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonLondon, 11 September 2012 G. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl10

Œ Movement authoritiesDesign philosophyEuropeNorth AmericaIssuance andtransmissionVital designŁEnforcementŁNon-vital designIn North America, the designers of positive train control (PTC) areseeking an optimal solution:Expected costs ofaccidents in the absenceof enforcementOptimal, leastcostmiddlegroundHigh cost of anenforcement functionwhose design is vitalLondon, 11 September 2012 11ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonG. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl

Evaluation of technologiesEnd-of-train devices prove trainintegrityTrack vacancy proving other than withtrack circuits and axle countersERTMS Regional /ETCS Level 3( )( )( )Satellite positioning Need Galileo’s self -checkingTurnout position helps indicate whichtrack a train is onDark territory withPTCGPS is OKTransponders between railsLondon, 11 September 2012 12ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonG. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl

A possible path for other continents (1)Compared to conventional signalling, the EuropeanERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territorywireless solutions for low-density lines offer:• Less line-side equipment needing maintenance andexposed to damage, theft and vandalism• Lower capital investment• Scalability as traffic growsLondon, 11 September 2012 13ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonG. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl

A possible path for other continents (2)Once wireless infrastructure is in place, a developing railway canimplement the following models without significant added investmentsas traffic grows:1. Dark territory2. Dark territory with PTC or ERTMS Regional3. Centralised traffic control (CTC) based on virtual positioningCo-author Ron Lindsey is structuring a Virtual CTC + Enforcementsolution for the Egyptian National Railways.London, 11 September 2012 14ERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonG. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl

Ken FitzgeraldGeorge RaymondRon LindseyJörn PachlThank you from bothsides of the Atlantic!Independent Consultant,Railweb GmbH, SwitzerlandIndependent Consultant,Communication Architecture, USAProfessor,Braunschweig Technical University, GermanyDavid W. DuplerSvenska JärnvägsklubbenSiemens Switzerland LtdERTMS Regional and North American Dark Territory: A ComparisonLondon, 11 September 2012 G. Raymond, R. Lindsey and J. Pachl15