75475 irse news watermark 204 v6.qxd:layout 1 news 204 oct 14 with... · ppri n titi n g o or re-p...

IRSE NEWSISSUE 204 OCTOBER 2014

Front Cover: Exit signals at the Batu Gajah Maintenance Depot, on the KTM Intercity route between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh in Malaysia,taken in October 2011.

Photo: Ian James Allison

TENCONI steel construction department has a reputation of excellence also for the manufacture of special steel hollow sleepers, low friction slide chairs, insulated base plates and many other railway products.

TENCONI SAMechanical workshopCH-6780 Airolo

For more information contact:Sales manager: Fabrizio LucchiniTel.: +41 91 873 30 00Mobile: +41 79 435 59 84E-Mail: [email protected]

Manufacture of Insulated Rail Jointsin Hardomid for Railways and of special hollow sleepersTENCONI plastic division is the only manufacturer of the high quality insulatedrail joints also called "BENKLER" joints. The pieces are produced also in smallbatches, according to customers' specifications and needs.

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

IRSE NEWS | ISSUE 204 | OCTOBER 2014 1

IN THIS ISSUE PageResignalling the Great Western Main Line 2Andrew Free and Peter MartellA Word with Christian Sevestre 12

Dawlish Repairs 15Mark O’Neill

IRSE Matters 17 Australasian Section Article 17Minor Railways Section AGM Article 22Exam Help Article 23

ObituaryStuart Angill 24Raymond Blakey 25We need mentors – Lead Article 25

IRSE NEWS is published monthly by the Institution ofRailway Signal Engineers (IRSE). The IRSE is not as abody responsible for the opinions expressed in IRSENEWS.

© Copyright 2014, IRSE. All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission in writing of the publisher. Copying of articles is notpermitted except for personal and internal use. Multiplecopying of the content of this publication withoutpermission is always illegal.

EditorIan J Allison102 Beacon Road, Loughborough, LE11 2BH, UKTel: +44 (0) 7794 879286e-mail: [email protected]

Deputy EditorTony Rowbotham36 Burston Drive, Park Street, St Albans, AL2 2HP, UKe-mail: [email protected]

Assistant EditorsHarry Ostrofsky (Africa)e-mail: [email protected] Howker (Australasia)e-mail: [email protected] Thurston (N. America)e-mail: [email protected] Dutta Chowdhury (Asia)e-mail: [email protected] Coenraad (Europe)e-mail: [email protected] Patel (Younger Members)e-mail: [email protected]

ContributionsArticles of a newsworthy or technical nature are alwayswelcome for IRSE NEWS. Members should forwardtheir contributions to one of the Editors listed above.

AdvertisingFor advertising rates and deadlines callAndrew Walker at DVV MediaTel: +44 (0)208 652 5214e-mail: [email protected]

Advertisements are accepted on the basis that theadvertiser and agency (if any) warrant that thecontents are true and correct in all respects.

Web SiteFor up to date information about the Institution or itsactivities, or to download a membership applicationform, log on to the IRSE Web Site: www.irse.org

London OfficeIRSE, 4th Floor, 1 Birdcage Walk, Westminster,London, SW1H 9JJ, United Kingdom

EnquiriesMEMBERSHIP OR OF A GENERAL NATURE

Tel: +44 (0)20 7808 1180Fax: +44 (0)20 7808 1196 e-mail: [email protected] DEVELOPMENT

Tel: +44 (0)20 7808 1186 e-mail: [email protected]

Tel: +44 (0)20 7808 1190 e-mail: [email protected]

www.facebook.com/IRSEUKwww.facebook.com/IRSEOzwww.facebook.com/ian.allison

NEWS VIEW 204

NEWS & VIEWS REQUIREDThe signalling and telecommunications industry world-wide currently has a highdemand for experienced engineers to work on many projects around the world.Are you looking to change roles, companies or even countries?

The many differing roles that now exist in the signalling andtelecommunications industry, need now to be highlighted and shared with themembership, to identify their individual importance to the differing projects orinfrastructure owners. As a member, are you prepared to tell us what you do andhow you do it?

We are always on the lookout for any articles about cutting edgetechnology and the various technical solutions from around the world, but it ismost important that we understand the membership and their involvement. So wewant to hear from you, however large or small the information that you have maybe!

The editorial team are continually interested and keen to hear and learnfrom the world-wide membership. This being the case, please send your articles,comments and thoughts direct to [email protected].

Please remember that language is no barrier to our team. We can usuallytranslate most languages. There is just one thing though. When you send anarticle for potential publication, please DO NOT embed your pictures within it.Please send all your pictures as individual JPEG files separate to your article, whichshould be in a Word file.

The editorial team always look forward to receiving your feedback andcomments. Thanks for your continued support, but please remember that this isyour magazine for your Institution. Make your balanced contribution today.

The Editor

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

RESIGNALLING THE GREAT WESTERN MAIN LINE

CONTEXT FOR RESIGNALLING – ASSET TYPE, AGE AND CHANGE HISTORYThe Great Western Railway has a rich heritage. Much of thenetwork was originally constructed by pioneers of railways,including Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This part of the UK railwaynetwork is now managed by Network Rail and for the purposesof day to day management is split into two regional units knownas Western Route and Wales Route.

Following nationalisation and the Modernisation Plan of 1950s,much of the Great Western Route was resignalled using astandard route relay interlocking design, with ten major powersignal boxes opened between 1958 and 1973:

• Plymouth;

• Old Oak Common;

• Slough;

• Reading;

• Oxford;

• Swindon;

• Bristol;

• Newport;

• Cardiff;

• Port Talbot.

The modernisation of signalling continued through the 1970sand 1980s with the addition of Gloucester, Westbury and Exeterpower signal boxes as well as smaller schemes to modernise andamalgamate signal box areas in West Wales and South WestEngland. Although the design standards (known as E10k)evolved over time and are maintained even today by NetworkRail’s Signalling Design Group, the principles of operation andproducts used were remarkably consistent over time. This hasresulted in a relatively homogeneous design of signallingequipment across the Western and Wales Routes.

E10K SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE DESCRIPTIONAll these schemes shared a number of common features.

• Free wired route relay interlockings (RRI) constructed using P series or Q series safety critical relays, mostly in brick builtrelay rooms, centred around junction areas, with RRIautomatic signalling between junctions wired in WesternRegion location cases. All these installations followed theWestern Region E10k typical circuits which, although theyevolved over time, were substantially consistent;

• Multi-aspect colour light filament signals and electro-mechanical point machines, often fed over significantdistance from interlockings via line circuits calling at locationcases. Train protection was via a variety of track circuittypes, predominantly Aster U type jointless, Western RegionQuick Release (low voltage a.c. on rails, rectified to d.c. atthe relay) and low voltage d.c. types;

• A non-vital route calling and indication interface at eachinterlocking using British Post Office 3000 type relays;

• Non-vital remote control of interlockings via either directwire or Time Division Multiplex operating the PO 3000relays (except at Exeter);

• Route selection and indications managed in non-vital PO3000 relays at the controlling power signal boxes (except atExeter);

• NX panels with integral train describers. All except Westburyand Exeter were Henry Williams “Integra” domino panels;

• At Exeter, a bespoke GEC combined panel processor andTDM stem was used.

None of these installations were designed to be immune toelectric traction, except for a small area around Reading stationwhere d.c. electrified lines provided a connection to the thenSouthern Region and London Waterloo.

The power signal boxes on the Great Western Main Line fromPaddington to Bristol and Swansea remained largely unalteredthrough the 1970s and 1980s save for some local permanentway remodelling and rationalisation schemes, but significantchange occurred in two areas during the 1990s.

• Between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport, therewas substantial remodelling between 1991 and 1996, andthe lines were electrified in preparation for the opening ofthe Heathrow Express. A new branch line was constructedinto Heathrow and electric passenger services operatedfrom Paddington to Heathrow Airport four times an hour,substantially reducing the journey time from central Londonto the airport. The remodelling and electrificationnecessitated complete renewal of the signalling system inthe area, resulting in closure of Old Oak Common powersignal box which was replaced by new SSI signallingcontrolled from a new Integrated Electronic Control Centre(IECC) with Automatic Route Setting (ARS) in a new buildingadjacent to Slough power signal box. This control centrewas known as Slough New IECC;

• In preparation for privatisation of the electricity supplyindustry, a number of related schemes were implemented tofacilitate the delivery of coal to Didcot power station from theRoyal Portbury Dock near Bristol. This included remodellingof the Didcot area and the addition of dynamic passing loopsbetween Swindon and Didcot, resulting in resignalling of partof the Reading power signal box area, again using SSI andIECC with ARS, this time controlled from a new signallingcentre at Swindon known as Swindon B IECC.

At the time these two schemes were undertaken, a vision wasdeveloping for a single control centre for the route known as the“Swindon Mega-box,” and as a result the control centrebuildings for these schemes were seen as only semi-permanent.Although the plans did not come to fruition, this foresight hashelped in the development of the current programme of work.

By the mid 1990s, the main lines between Paddington andBristol had also been retro-fitted with ACEC TBL variantAutomatic Train Protection as one of the two trial projectsinitiated after accidents involving serious train collisions in thelate 1980s. Figure 1 shows the geographic extent of the routeand the control centres prior to the current programme of works.

2 IRSE NEWS | ISSUE 204 | OCTOBER 2014

Resignalling the Great Western MainLineBy Andrew Free and Peter MartellPaper to be read in London on 8 October 2014

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


WESTERN ROUTE - ASSET RENEWAL PLANSBy 2010, many of the installations on the Western Route werealso over 40 years old. The condition of many of the assetsremained serviceable although some, e.g. line side cables, weresuffering increasing failure rates. Progressive renewals ofindividual assets had extended the life, including for examplespot cable renewals, replacement of some signals with DormanLED types, conversion of some Aster track circuits to Ebitrack200 and renewal of point machines with re-serviced or newmachines.

Signalling Infrastructure Condition Assessments (SICA)indicated that renewal of remaining installations would need tobe completed in the next decade, resulting in the developmentof a programme for renewal.

However in two areas where network enhancements had beenannounced, early development of schemes was necessary.

• In the July 2007, UK Government White Paper “Delivering aSustainable Railway,” plans were announced to redevelopReading station and remove many of the conflicts whichexisted in the layout on the approaches by constructing newgrade separated junctions. Reading power signal box stoodin the way of station re-development, and early plans weredeveloped to allow it to be replaced. They involved aninitial resignalling of the Reading station area (because therelay interlocking was co-located with the power signal box)and recontrolling of 18 remote interlockings using IECC fromThames Valley Signalling Centre or TVSC which was openedfor this purpose at Didcot. This phase of work wascompleted at Christmas 2010, and thereafter the ReadingStation Area Remodelling (RSAR) project has assumedresponsibility for ongoing alterations to signalling as newinfrastructure has been built;

• In July 2008 the Crossrail Act was given Royal Assent,granting powers to construct a new line across London from

WALES ROUTE – RESIGNALLING LEVERAGEDFOR MODERNISATION In 2005 a £400m programme of renewals was announced acrossSouth Wales to replace the signalling in the area, much of whichwas by then 40 years old. The plan involved progressiveresignalling of the Port Talbot (East), Newport and Cardiff powersignal box areas to replace aging assets, resignal the layouts tomodern standards and use the opportunity afforded byresignalling to leverage other improvements to the layouts,many of which had seen little change since the days of steam.

For example, at Port Talbot the number of signalling assetswas reduced by around 25% while a higher performing layoutwas delivered, with point ends significantly rationalised toremove redundant assets and improve reliability. This resulted ina highly cost efficient project – the final cost was 48% less thanthe original estimates for like-for-like renewal.

In the Newport area, significant permanent way rationalisationwas achieved while enhancing the capability of the network.Through remodelling, almost 100 life expired point ends wereremoved and replaced with less than 40 new units, in a layoutmuch better suited to high speed multiple unit operation,removing bottlenecks around Newport station and at SevernTunnel Junction.

In the Cardiff area, the resignalling project has been thecatalyst for more remodelling to enhance capacity on the Valleylines which provide a commuter network around Cardiff. Themain Valley line network capacity will be increased from amaximum 12 trains per hour to 16 trains per hour while providingnew through journey opportunities. So this resignalling projectincludes construction of new platforms at five stations,redoubling of little-used lines, new and enhanced passing loopsand construction of two new high-profile station entrancebuildings (see Figure 2). This programme will be completed in2015.

Figure 1 – Great Western Main Line Signalling Centres 1995 - 2009

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©



Figure 2 – Station buildings at Cardiff

Paddington to Stratford. New services were planned to usethis route from Maidenhead and Heathrow to Shenfield andAbbeywood. Accommodating these extra services on theWestern section necessitated significant layout alterationsbetween Paddington and Maidenhead, with electrification ofthe route between Maidenhead and Airport Junction. Acomplex programme of signalling alterations betweenPaddington and Airport Junction and resignalling of theSlough power signal box area to beyond Maidenhead wasthus developed to support this work. This programmestarted with a re-locking of the existing SSI (like-for-like) intonew Alstom Smartlock interlockings controlled from newIECCs at TVSC, to replace the equipment at Slough IECC.Major layout alterations will continue until 2016 with furtherworks beyond this.

Beyond these areas a programme of progressive resignalling wasconceived, to be delivered by the end of life predicted from theSICA assessments in 2018 to 2020.

THE MEGA-BOX REINVENTEDThe 1990s plan for a route-wide control centre at Swindon,covering the former Western Region, was partially re-inventedduring development of the asset renewal plans for ControlPeriod 4.

A key element of the South Wales resignalling plans was theconstruction of a new control centre at Cardiff, initially known asthe South Wales Control Centre. This building was opened in2009, coinciding with the first commissioning of the NewportArea Signal Renewal, and now has eight workstations in service(and one supervisor desk). Coverage of this control centre is

now planned to include all of Wales, with the Crewe toShrewsbury modular scheme recently commissioned and plansbeing developed for the resignalling of the North Wales Coastline and the Newport to Shrewsbury route. Under the NetworkRail National Operating Strategy, this signalling centre is nowknown as the Wales Regional Operating Centre (ROC)

Similarly, as part of the asset renewal plans for Western Route,the TVSC was opened at Didcot in 2010 as part of the projectdescribed above to clear the site of Reading power signal box.Initially planned to cover the Thames Valley Area, this signallingcentre is now expected to control most of the Western Route.At the time of writing, it already controls most of the route fromPaddington to Uffington (milepost 0 to milepost 66, except forthe former Slough power signal box area), and by the end of2015 it is planned to control the entire route to Bristol (seeFigure 3). This signalling centre is now being known as theWestern ROC.

WESTERN ROUTE – MODERNISATION PLANSIn July 2009, it was “all change” again for the route, when it wasannounced that the Great Western Main Line would beelectrified beyond Maidenhead to Newbury, Oxford, Bristol andCardiff, with electric passenger services introduced in December2016. At around the same time, as plans for commissioning ofthe Cambrian ERTMS project were being finalised, wider roll outof ERTMS was announced including plans for an overlay systemon the Great Western Main Line to allow the ATP equipment tobe retired from the network by 2020.

The plans for electrification coincide with rolling stock renewal.Together, these investments present a rare opportunity to

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


address capacity constraints. A series of enhancements areplanned along the route, some of which had their inception atthe time of the electrification plans and others which haveemerged since then. Each has specific interdependencies to thesignalling renewal programme.

CROSSRAILCrossrail will link the Western Main Line with the Great EasternMain Line and a South Eastern spur to Abbey Wood via a centraltunnel section, and was originally planned to run fromMaidenhead to Shenfield and Abbey Wood. The western end ofCrossrail has now been extended to Reading and, while thewider electrification work goes to Reading (and beyond) and thesignalling is all being modernised, the change fundamentallyalters the facilities that are required at Maidenhead. There is aresultant change to layout at a time that the signalling renewalwas late in the construction phase.

Crossrail Ltd will deliver the central section infrastructure, andNetwork Rail have been contracted to provide the On Networkworks for infrastructure suitable for up to 24 trains per hour intothe central core. This gives rise to the need for an engineeringand operational interface between the two infrastructuremanagers’ systems. The Crossrail system will have a CBTCsystem, so the signalling fringe between Network Rail andCrossrail will eventually have to deal with a transition from ETCSto CBTC.

As well as layout changes on the approach to Paddington tofacilitate the link to the Crossrail tunnel, there are alterations todepot entrances at Acton, Old Oak Common and North Pole forthe Intercity Express Project – Super Express Train (IEP – SET).There is also a new flyover at Stockley, to give a link fromHeathrow Airport to the Up Relief line.

READING STATION AREA REMODELLINGThe first major milestone and key enabling activity was thecommissioning of the three Westlock interlockings and the re-control of the former Reading PSB to TVSC in 2010. Theoutlying E10k interlockings remained in place, controlled byIECC via a relay interlocking interface. The further remodelling

of the main station area continues to be undertakenincrementally, with four significant stages taking place all whilethe station continues to operate. Some of these stages haveabolished further relay interlockings, and the remainder withinthe area to be immunised for electrification will have newinterlockings in late 2014 and early 2015.

GREAT WESTERN ELECTRIFICATIONThe key requirement to support electrification is the immunisationof the signalling system, requiring replacement of the legacyrelay-based systems. There is a significant amount of telecomsand retail equipment which also needs to be immunised. Thedetailed development of the electrification design was not as welladvanced as the signalling works. The final decision on the autotransformer feeder system and the location of the feeder stationshas led to some initial assumptions being invalidated. Oneprincipal area is around the Didcot area. This was resignalled inthe 1990s largely to classic electrification standards. Theelectrification bonding requirements have led to significantalterations to the length of otherwise electrification compatibletrack circuits. A review is currently under way to convert this areato axle counter train detection – an obvious choice in hindsight,but only clear now as a result of several incrementaldevelopments and design decisions.

The state of the railway on to which the electrification itself willbe overlaid is also a complex matter (too much for the scope ofthis paper). Clearly, waiting for a stable layout before runningthe wires would be desirable; but in some cases, thecommitments made for the operation of electric trains area arewell ahead of the delivery of layout changes. The fact that someof the new electric trains will have the ability to operate inelectric or diesel mode gives further options for avoidingelectrifying limited sections until the layout is stable.

While one of the main reasons for the signalling renewal is toprovide immunity for electrification, the majority of signals arenot moving or changing their form (see below). The positioningof electrification equipment therefore has the potential to affectsignal sighting significantly. It is for this reason that thedevelopment of the electrification design has a significant signal

Figure 3 – The Western and Wales Regional Operating Centres

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

sighting input. Through the use of virtual reality modelling,conflicts can be identified early and changes made to designthem out. In situations where this is not possible changes to thesignalling may be required, and each of these cases is beingdeveloped on its own merits.

INTERCITY EXPRESS PROGRAMMEThis includes the introduction of the Super Express Trains as areplacement for existing High Speed Trains (see Figure 4), andhas a target introduction date of December 2016, with therequirement for proving trials before this date.

There will be electric and bi-mode versions of the trains. Theelectric version will work from the overhead electrification, butwill also carry a small diesel generator set capable of moving thetrain in an emergency. The bi-mode version will be able tooperate at full line speed under diesel power beyond theelectrified areas.

The trains are sets of up to 10 cars with a total length of 260 m. They can be operated as four and five car sets at certainlocations. The formation of the trains and the increased numberof locations served mean that there are a significant number ofplatform extensions, some with resultant signal position moves.

There are two new train care depot locations - at North Pole inWest London and Patchway in Bristol. The layout alterations andprovision of signalling facilities have been integrated in theworks for Crossrail and Bristol Area Signalling Renewals.

BRISTOL AREA DEVELOPMENTSThe additional requirements for the IEP service, the fact thatBristol City Council have set in place a redevelopment plan forthe area around Bristol Temple Meads station and asset renewalplans for permanent way at Bristol East Junction combine tocreate a programme of work for the next four years aroundBristol Temple Meads. The northern approach from BristolParkway known as Filton Bank will see four tracks reinstated andBristol East Junction will be re-modelled as part of the

permanent way renewal to speed up the approach to the stationand provide access to new platforms for terminating IEP trains.An additional platform will also be constructed at Bristol Parkwaystation.

OXFORD CORRIDORThe line through Oxford is a key freight corridor and the FreightLengthening project is making improvements to the loops andfreight facilities. The upgrade of the line to Bicester by the East-West rail project on top of the IEP works gives rise to furtherchanges to Oxford Station. The signalling renewal will initiallyallow electric trains to run to Oxford but makes provision forsome of the enhancements and, crucially for increased capacity,gives the ability to upgrade the area to four aspect signalling.

WESTERN RAIL ACCESS TO HEATHROWIn very early development at the moment there are plans for anew link to Heathrow Airport which will allow direct access fromthe west. This will give the opportunity for direct connections tothe airport from Reading and beyond, and also opens up thepossibility of through trains from London to the West viaHeathrow Airport.

ACCELERATING THE PLANS FOR RESIGNALLINGModernisation of the Great Western Route throughelectrification and capacity enhancements necessitatedsignificant acceleration of the resignalling plans. A new plantherefore had to be developed to achieve accelerated renewalof the signalling assets and signalling immunisation of thefollowing PSB areas, all within six years including projectdevelopment:

• Reading Outer (parts of the network beyond the RSARproject to be electrified);

• Swindon PSB (all);

• Bristol PSB (all except areas south of Bristol Temple Meadsthat are not to be electrified);



Figure 4 – Rendition of an IEP-SET train at Paddington Station in London

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©

NO

©OT FO

©

©


• Oxford;

• Swindon B IECC (re-control of the SSI from TVSC andimmunisation of some non-immune lineside assets).

The accelerated requirements, to renew more of the signallingassets in less time, were going to require a change of approachto allow a step change in the rate of delivery of the projects.Figure 5 demonstrates the increased rate of delivery ofcommissioned “Signalling Equivalent Units” (SEUs) required onthe Western and Wales routes in the period 2014 - 2016 (SEUsare a standard measure which are used in the UK to measure therate of asset renewal and the cost efficiency).

One of the most significant challenges was the volume ofscheme development required to allow such significant volumesof renewals to be released to construction. It was clear that therate of development of schemes (GRIP 3 - 4) would have to beaccelerated. A further constraint existed in the fundingdetermination for Control Period 4 from the Office of RailRegulation. Within this determination it was assumed that,where ERTMS was planned to be overlaid, 85% of the cost ofeach SEU would be expended on asset renewal while 15% wouldbe held back to pay for the ERTMS overlay. This was on thebasis that the lineside signalling assets would require littlerenewal since ERTMS would allow them to be removed once alltrains on the route were equipped with ERTMS.

WMSR COMPLIANCE APPROACH The response to these challenges was the development of plansto re-lock the existing layout with only limited renewal of linesideassets where justified by:

Figure 5 – Signalling Asset Renewal Rates

• asset condition;

• electrification immunisation;

• reliability improvements.

The premise for this re-locking was that the existing signallinglayout did not contain significant deficiencies to currentlyexpected safety levels. An analysis of publicly available in-service data showed that the safety performance of the existinglayouts remained commensurate with SIL 4, and that the safetyperformance of the Western network was comparable with otherparts of the country. Thus the premise was established that theexisting layout was performing at “Acceptable” safety levels.

A Safety Plan was presented to the Infrastructure SafetyReview Panel (I-SRP) making the argument that it would beacceptable to re-lock the existing layout rather than undertakescheme development from first principles to modern standards.The basis of this justification was that the accelerated renewal ofassets also facilitates earlier deployment of ERTMS across theroute so that wide scale use of automatic train protection wouldbe achieved earlier. This argument was accepted with a caveatthat further work should be undertaken to describe the rules tobe applied to how the existing layout would be re-locked (seeFigures 6 and 7).

Network Rail has a standard covering the management oflayout compliance during re-locking (NR/L2/SIG/30009“Signalling Principles Handbook,” Module E810), but it waswritten on the expectation of replacing just an existinginterlocking while retaining existing lineside locations andtrackside apparatus. Such an approach was not viable for theWestern Route because lineside equipment, location cases andcabling formed part of the asset renewal scope and requiredimmunisation prior to electrification. However, Module E810formed a good basis for analysing how the existing interlockingsand scheme design principles compared to modern standards.

An expert group was convened to analyse how individualelements of the pre-existing signalling system operated andwhether it was appropriate to replicate this functionality or toundertake the re-locking to more modern standards. This expertgroup included skills in:

• Network Rail asset policy and interlocking rules;

• Safety management and European interlocking rules;

• British Rail Western Region E10k implementation andsignalling principles;

• British Rail Western Region E10k implementation andproject delivery;

• asset policy, standards compliance, interlockingimplementation and general railway signalling;

Figure 6 – Re-locking Safety Gains

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

• British Rail Western Region E10k detailed design andimplementation;

• signalling layout design, interlocking implementation andsignalling principles generally;

• UK signalling industry Solid State Interlocking applicationbest practice;

• signalling principles testing;

• signalling risk assessments.

This group concluded that the application of the existing routelocking controls on the existing signalling layouts would remainbroadly acceptable, maintaining the capability of the existingnetwork, but that the detailed application of signallinginterlocking data should where practicable follow modernstandards. In most detailed areas of interlocking operation, itwas concluded that current design practices are compatible withthe old layout and safer than historic design practice. Thisdecision also avoided introducing new risks associated withunfamiliarity of designers and verifiers with novel dataconstructs. See Figure 8 for an example of interlocking controlanalysis.

Thus a programme of works was developed which wouldevolve the generic states of the signalling system on WesternRoute, as shown in Table 1.

EQUIPMENT SELECTION AND TENDERINGNational Signalling Frameworks were tendered for much of thenational work bank of signalling renewals in 2010 - 2011.However, procurement of some of the works could not await theconclusion of this tendering process. As a result, some of the



early projects on the route were tendered competitively outsidethe National Frameworks as follows:

• Reading area relock & recontrol: Siemens Rail Automation(then Invensys Rail) using Westlock interlockings withDeltaRail providing a new IECC Classic with ARS.(commissioned Christmas 2010);

• Relocking of the former Slough IECC area: SignallingSolutions Ltd using Smartlock interlockings with DeltaRailproviding replacement IECC Classics with ARS(commissioned Christmas 2011);

• Relocking of the former Swindon B IECC area: SiemensRail Automation (then Invensys Rail) using Westlock withDeltaRail providing new IECC Scalable with ARS.(commissioned Christmas 2012).

Note that following the successful market introduction of IECCScalable as part of the project to replace Swindon B IECC, it hasbeen decided to retrofit IECC Scalable to the other areas byEaster 2015 because of the reduced whole-life cost of ownership.

Following the award of the National Signalling Frameworks in2011 - 12, the selected suppliers for future projects on theWestern route were Signalling Solutions Ltd. for works on theGreat Western Main Line using Smartlock, and Siemens RailAutomation for other lines using Westlock.

In order to balance the workload between these suppliers asmuch as possible within the constraints of the frameworks, it wasagreed with them that the remainder of the works in the formerReading PSB area would be delivered by Siemens RailAutomation and the other projects in the Swindon, Bristol &Oxford PSB areas would be awarded to Signalling Solutions Ltd.

Figure 7 – Re-locking Safety Justification Methodology

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


Table 1 : Configuration States

Configuration State

1 2 3 4 5(Pre 2010) (2012-2015) (2014-2016) (2018-2020) (2025+)

Pre-existing state Relocked Immunised ETCS Overlay ETCS Only

Interlockings E10k RRI with SSI derivative CBI SSI derivative CBI SSI derivative CBI SSI derivative CBIsome SSI

Control Systems Multiple Power Centralised control Centralised control Centralised control Centralised controlSignal boxes and at TVSC at TVSC at TVSC at TVSC

2 IECCs Isolation sections added.

Signals Filament signals, All LED All LED, All LED, Signals removedsome converted to structures modified structures modified

LED type.

Points Mixture of Point Mixture of POE, All POE immunised, All POE immunised, All POE immunised,Operating progressively progressively progressively progressively

Equipment (POE), renewed when renewed when renewed when renewed whenprogressively permanent way permanent way permanent way permanent way

renewed when renewed renewed. renewed. renewedpermanent way

renewed

Train detection Predominantly Axle Counters Axle Counters Axle Counters Axle Counterstrack circuits (except Paddington (except Paddington

(axle counters at to Airport Junction to Airport Junctionsites where track and Didcot Area) area)

circuit reliability waspoor)

Train protection BR AWS and TPWS BR AWS and TPWS BR AWS and TPWS ATP provided ATP providedwith ATP overlay with ATP overlay with ATP overlay universally through universally through

on some lines on some lines ETCS. AWS and ETCS. AWS andTPWS retained. TPWS removed.

Figure 8 – Example of Interlocking Control Analysis

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

Tendering of the projects in Wales all pre-dated the NationalSignalling Frameworks and all three of the major projects hadbeen previously awarded to Atkins with other suppliers such asAmey Rail undertaking smaller schemes in the area.

Network Rail’s Train detection policy has been to resignal usingaxle counters. Thales had established itself as the main supplierof axle counter systems to UK projects, supplying their AzLMproduct range. This equipment had been successfully applied tothe Newport Area Resignalling, but as part of the tender for theCardiff Area Resignalling in 2010 Atkins had proposed the use ofFrauscher axle counters as an alternative. The Cardiff project isnow successfully deploying Frauscher equipment, but at the timeof technology selection for the Western Route this was anunproven solution. At around the same time, Thales wereintroducing upgraded lineside equipment for detection points(Zp30K and Sk30K) and it was decided to complete thedevelopment of the projects based on an assumption that Thaleswould be used because of the accelerated project timescales.

Control centre equipment was selected as follows.

• For the Wales ROC, initial selection was through competitivetendering of the signalling contract for the Newport AreaSignal Renewals Scheme. For the Cardiff Area SignalRenewal Scheme, competitive tendering of the signallingcontract resulted in an alternative proposal using GETS MCSequipment with Signaller’s Assistant Automated RouteSetting, which was accepted following analysis of the safetyimplications of intermixing control systems;

• For the Western ROC, IECC with Automatic Route Setting(ARS) was selected for the Reading relocking commissionedin 2010, and replacement of the existing IECC at Slough in2011 was undertaken “like for like” using IECC with ARS.The plans for Swindon B were similar, but an alternativeproposal to use IECC Scalable and ARS was eventuallyimplemented. It is now planned to replace the existingIECCs (now called IECC Classic) with IECC Scalable duringresignalling commissionings by Easter 2015. Resignalling inthe Bristol, Swindon and Oxford areas will also use IECCScalable with ARS.

COMMISSIONING PROGRAMMEThe commissioning programme associated with the resignallingof the Great Western is challenging. Between Christmas 2009and the end of 2016, approximately 3600 SEUs will have beenresignalled or re-controlled on the Western and Wales Routes aspart of the modernisation of the Great Western Main Line. Thisrepresents a substantial programme of work, with all three of themajor UK signalling system suppliers involved as well as severalother companies delivering smaller schemes or as sub-contractors. The programme of work is depicted in Table 2 andFigure 9.

SUMMARYThe Western and Wales routes of Network Rail which encompassthe Great Western Main Line have a rich history. Following theBritish Rail Modernisation Plan, the routes were resignalled usingvery homogeneous design and equipment provision principles.

Other than in two areas where network enhancement wasundertaken in the 1990s, there were few changes to thesignalling on the route until systems were approaching the endof their life.

Whilst a programme to develop relatively conventionalresignalling has been implemented for the Wales route, plans formodernisation and electrification of the Great Western Main Lineforced a new approach to be developed for renewal of assets onthe Western route.

This approach recognises that resignalling is only one step onthe overall migration path for the command and control systemon the route over the next 20 years. It has sought to maximisethe early gains for safety and performance, to meet the objectiveof immunising the railway ready for electrification and to supportfuture remodelling, while providing a platform for futuredeployment of ERTMS on the route.

In a little over ten years, over 3600 SEUs will have beenrenewed, the route will have been electrified and capacityenhanced, and the Great Western Main Line will be ready for thenext generation.



Figure 9 – Commissionings 2009 - 2016

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©

NO

©OT FO

©

©


Christmas 2009 Newport Area Signal Renewal 1a - Severn Tunnel Junction remodelled and resignalledLead Signalling Contractor: Atkins with Invensys Control System

2010 Reading outer interlockings recontrolled (multiple commissionings)Lead Signalling Contractor: Invensys with DeltaRail Control System

Christmas 2010 Reading station area resignalled (Reading PSB closed)Lead Signalling Contractor: Invensys with DeltaRail Control System

May 2011 Newport Area Signal Renewal 1b - Newport StationLead Signalling Contractor: Atkins with Invensys Control System

Christmas 2011 Slough IECC area recontrolled from Western ROCLead Signalling Contractor: SSL with DeltaRail Control System

October 2012 Newport Area Signal Renewal Phase 2 - Chepstow to Awre (Newport PSB closed)Lead Signalling Contractor: Amey with Invensys Control System

Christmas 2012 Swindon B IECC area recontrolled (Swindon B IECC closed)Lead Signalling Contractor: Invensys Rail with DeltaRail Control System

Christmas 2012 Layout alterations in support of Crossrail to 2016 Lead Signalling Contractor: SSL with DeltaRail Control System

March 2013 Cardiff - Vale of Glamorgan Line Resignalling Lead Signalling Contractor: Atkins with GETS Control System

Easter 2013 – Layout alterations at Reading and resignalling of Reading outer areasEaster 2015 Lead Signalling Contractor: Siemens Rail Automation with DeltaRail Control System

September 2013 Cardiff - Vallley Lines Resignalling Lead Signalling Contractor: Atkins with GETS Control System

June 2014 Cardiff - Barry ResignallingLead Signalling Contractor: Atkins with GETS Control System

2014 Swindon Area Signal Renewals (2 stages) (Swindon PSB closed)Lead Signalling Contractor: SSL with DeltaRail Control System

Easter 2015 Slough Area Resignalling (Slough PSB closed)Lead Signalling Contractor: SSL with DeltaRail Control System

2015 Cardiff Main lines & Cardiff Central (2 stages) (Cardiff PSB closed)Lead Signalling Contractor: Atkins with GETS Control System

2015 Bristol Area Resignalling (4 stages) (Bristol PSB closed)Lead Signalling Contractor: SSL with DeltaRail Control System

Early 2016 Oxford Area Resignalling (Oxford PSB closed)Lead Signalling Contractor: Siemens Rail Automation with DeltaRail Control System

Table 2 - Programme of Work

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

IRSE NEWS yet again has another exclusive interview withthe President. Christian Sevestre took over the reins at theAGM in London on Friday 25 April. We posed a number ofquestions to him regarding his personal opinions and this iswhat he had to say on numerous subject matters.

What and when was your first contact with theIRSE and when did you join?I had my first contact with IRSE in 1980 by Roger Rétiveau whowas my boss at that time. Jacques Poré convinced me to joinIRSE later in 1997 as a Fellow when I became Head of theSignalling Department. In the meantime, I helped Jacques ondifferent occasions to organise technical visits in France.

How are you finding your year as President of theInstitution?My year as President of the Institution is a little bit complicated.I must assume my job as Technical Director in the EngineeringDirection of SNCF including an active participation in thepreparation of the future Unified Infrastructure Manager in thecontext of the railway reform in France. At the same time, I mustplay as well as I can my role as President and visit different IRSEsections, which is a very interesting and fascinating task.

This gives me the chance to discover different practices,different countries and different people and to note how thesignalling industry is living and dynamic.

I appreciate very much the role of IRSE in creating professionaland personal links between S&T community members ofdifferent races, religions, way of life and thinking.

What do you personally want to achieve asPresident during your year in office?I should like to start or to pursue in 2014/2015 the followingitems:

• to go on actively recruiting more IRSE Members world- wide;

• to take an active part in elaborating the IRSE Strategic Planfor the 5 years to come on the basis of the Survey preparedand launched by Claire PORTER and Peter SYMONS;

• To promote the idea inside IRSE that the railway signallingand telecoms are not an end but a part of a global systemwith many complex interfaces not limited to the infrastructureand that IRSE must be more active in system engineering;

• To promote IRSE at each convenient occasion in my SNCFinternational activities but also by visiting some localsections. For instance, I have been already invited by theYork, the American and the Swiss IRSE sections;

• to help IRSE to be less Anglo centric and continue todevelop further its international outlook;

• To have reflect and to take the opportunity of the Conventionto create of a local IRSE section in France.

What has been the biggest influence to youduring your career?I was strongly influenced from my first job as local chiefmaintainer of Electrical Installations by my deputy who was anexperienced signalling engineer (Joseph Lacroix). He taught mewhat safety means concretely in the signalling field and moregenerally in the railway system. He showed me how the qualityand the safety of signalling depends on the competency of yourstaff and the way you manage it.

Later, I learned a lot from different Chief Signalling Engineerswho were my managers or with whom I had close contacts(Roger Retiveau, Jean Pierre Auclair and Bernard Guilleux).They taught me particularly the complexity and the high level of integration of the railway system and the importance of thehuman factor.

They taught me that, even if you are totally right, you are wrongif you do not convince your partners, your colleagues or yourboss. It obliges you to adopt a very pedagogic approach. This isessential as far as S&T problems are concerned. They are usuallyperceived as opaque by non S&T people and we are oftenaccused of maintaining this complexity on purpose. To be ableto explain simply complex problems is vital to obtain decisions.


A WORD WITH CHRISTIAN SEVESTRE

A Word with Christian Sevestre

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


What has been your finest moment during yourcareer?I had many fine moments in my career.

I think that the finest moment during my career was thecreation from scratch of the first dedicated construction unit inFrance for the modification of existing installations in the areafrom Paris Est to Noisy le Sec for the EOLE Project and the threeyears during which it was my privilege to manage this unit (900people).

During this period, I had to tackle all the technical domains ofthe infrastructure (platform, track, bridges, signalling, catenary,telecommunications …). I did it with a great pleasure and Ilearned a lot, not only technically but humanly.

Have you had any low points during your career?Not really.I was truly fortunate that SNCF gave me differentinteresting jobs mixing technical matters and peoplemanagement, what I like to do.

I had never had, exclusively managerial nor technical missions,and I always had managers from whom I learned more or lessbut always learned something.

What are your thoughts regarding the governanceof the IRSE?I consider that the existing governance is efficient and a goodcompromise between a lot of contradictory constraints. I amdeeply convinced, even if it’s not accepted by all, that the CEOplays a major role in this governance and in the continuity of thisgovernance between successive Presidents under the Councilcontrol, and that it is a very good thing.

I have nevertheless the intuition that this governance will beobliged to evolve in the future to take more into account theinternationalisation of the Institution and that it will probably benecessary to distinguish a worldwide Council from the Council ofthe” British Section.”

Do you think that Signalling andTelecommunications Engineers are fullyrepresented within the Institution?I think that engineers involved in the design and thedevelopment of new signalling systems (hardware, software andsystem engineers ) and engineers involved in traffic managementdesigners and operators) are not fully represented .

They already play a major role in the performance of signallingand railway systems. Their role will increase in the future withthe increase of centralisation and system integration (on boardand trackside).

I also sometimes have the impression that our Institution ismore focussed on main line railways than on mass transit. I amconvinced that in the future the growth of the railway transportwill come more from mass transit and that the most significantinnovation will appear in the mass transit world.

How do you see the ongoing role of the Sectionsaround the world?The role and the size of the sections around the world willincrease, especially in the South East countries.

Even if I am not convinced that it is a good thing, thefragmentation of the railways is in progress everywhere. Theneed of skilled and competent signalling engineers is recognisedin many parts of the world. It was obvious during our visit toIndia.

There are a lot of countries which are waiting for organisedsupport from IRSE in personal development, for instance.

How can we get and encourage younger peopleto become engineers?We must promote our profession in the universities.

We must show that railway S&T use the latest technology andthat the need for sustainable and ecological means of transportand investments in railway transport infrastructure are growingeverywhere in the world .

How can the IRSE Examination be improved tomake it more appealing to the world-wideindustry?I have got the impression that the quality of IRSE Examination israther high and very well appreciated.

If some improvement is needed, I think that a “regionalisation”of these exams under the control of the Central ExaminationCommittee would be a good way to explore and that the IRSEshould provide a bigger support to the candidates using moderntechnology such as e-learning, for instance.

What is your message to the world-wide industryregarding the value of joining the IRSE?To join the IRSE is good for your reputation, for the quality ofyour production and finally for your business and thesustainability of your company.

It is the only place where the manufacturers and the railwaypeople from all over the world can speak frankly and in a friendlyway out of any contractual or financial pressure and chauvinisticbehaviour.

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

How do we encourage the next generation ofSignalling and Telecommunications Engineers tojoin the IRSE?I think that there are two major axes:

• To convince them that it is a very good thing for their career;

• To convince their managers that it is a good thing for theirbusiness to have competent, motivated and faithfulengineers and that it’s a good investment to pay IRSE fees forthese young people, for at least the first years.

What are your thoughts regarding systemintegration of signalling, telecommunications andsecurity systems already in operation around theworld?System integration is a fact. The question is not to fight againstthis evolution but to control it for the best benefit of the railwaycustomers without taking excessive risks.

It is not easy. It requires skilled and experienced engineers,conscious of their limits, with a deep perception of the interfacesbetween all the parts of the railway system.

It requires convincing our board people who may come fromfinancial field, civil works or administration that they mustevaluate the impacts of their decisions on all the aspects of therailway system before the decision is applied, and not after.

What are your thoughts regarding the ongoingroll-out of ERTMS in Europe and around theworld?I think that ERTMS will become the standard control commandsystem for the main railways in Europe and will be deployed incertain countries outside Europe.

I am sure that in Europe the roll out will be slower than theEuropean Commission wishes, unless the EC decides to help thisroll out financially and manufacturers find solutions to dramaticallydecreasethe cost of this system both on board and trackside.

Where do you see the world-wide industry in 25years?I hope that we will come back to less complicated and moresustainable systems.

There will be a convergence between ERTMS and CBTCtechnologies.

The Automatic Train Protection and Automatic Train Operationtechnology will be largely used in the main railways.

Driverless systems will be the standard technology in masstransit transport.

There will be a severe concentration in the railway industry:some of the existing signalling manufacturers will disappear and,in Europe, only the biggest railway operators will remain.

The main railways industry (manufacturers, infrastructuremanagers and railway undertakings/operators) will be obliged tomake significant progress:

• In increasing the quality of service, the security in the stationsand in the trains and the real time information of passengersabout any disturbances;

• In decreasing the impact of the maintenance and investmentoperations on the transportation capacity of the network;

• In decreasing the cost and the delay in developing,deploying, operating and maintaining new signallingsystems.

Where do you see the IRSE in 25 and 100 years?

To answer such a question would transform uncertainty in error.

What do you think about IRSE NEWS?

I like reading IRSE NEWS. There is a good variety of articles. Iam not always interested in the description of very old signallingproducts and I do not appreciate very much the polemics in themood ”it was better in the past” but IRSE NEWS must pleaseevery one.

I would appreciate very much reading more articles from youngengineers describing their projects, their innovations, theiranswers and their successes.

During our visit in India, Colin and I had very interestingtechnical presentations by young engineers. I am sure that someof them might provide very good basis for articles in IRSENEWS.


A WORD WITH CHRISTIAN SEVESTRE

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

During damage inspections following the storm, Network Railidentified that the axle counter heads used for train detectionalong the sea wall, between Dawlish Warren and Teignmouth,had been significantly damaged. The type of axle countersystem in use was the older AzL-70 type that was no longeravailable. Network Rail decided it would be unfeasible to re-instate the existing axle counter train detection sections.

Therefore, Amey assisted the Network Rail Signalling DesignGroup (NR SDG) in the review of their design proposal and theagreement of an action plan that would allow the railway to beput back into service as soon as possible while a final solutionwas developed.

The NR SDG design solution to get the railway back inoperation was based on the experience gained from the earlierflooding problems between Maidenhead and Ruscombe on theGreat Western Main Line. Here a long block section was createdon each line past the failed equipment. This provided a safe butsimple solution to get trains moving without requiring drivers tobe talked past red signals. The safety approvals for theMaidenhead solution greatly simplified the safety approvalsrequired for Dawlish.

The existing axle counter arrangement in the Dawlish areaallowed a long axle counter block solution to be quicklyimplemented as an interim measure. Amey would refurbish theaxle counter heads that were still usable and provide anextended block section between Dawlish Warren andTeignmouth on both the up and down lines to provide a reducedcapacity signalling system. This reduced capacity signalling isshown in figure 3, where four signal sections are combined intoone on the Up and three signal sections are combined into oneon the Down.

In parallel with Network Rail’s own repairs, Amey supported onsite teams with installation, SMTH/SWTH testing andcommissioning, to mitigate the impact on headway timing andlack of reversible working on the up road. All site works werealso run concurrently with the ongoing Civils and P-ways worksto reinstate the sea wall and track.

Amey’s work included re-installing the axle counter equipment,both cess and four foot, to provide the reduced capacity


DAWLISH REPAIRS

Figure. 1 - Sea Wall damage

Figure. 2 – Hanging track

Figure. 3 – Interim Layout with combined axle counter sections

Dawlish RepairsBy Mark O’NeillTechnical Director, Amey

Earlier this year, Amey was approached by Network Rail to assistin the reinstatement of signalling in the Dawlish area followingsevere storms that hit the coast. This resulted in severe damagealong the sea wall and resulted in a stretch of the railway beingwashed away, leaving approximately 60 m of track dramaticallyhanging in mid-air (see fig.1 and 2).

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


Figure 4 – New Multi-section Axle Counter equipment in the space of theexisting single section equipment

Figure 5 – Amey/Cablecraft/NR GRP Dis-box

Figure 6 – Final Layout with re-instated axle counter sections

extended axle counter train detection section, running out newcable and replacing damaged four foot equipment (AWS/TPWS).

In just a few weeks, revised signalling arrangements were putinto action and the Dawlish line finally re-opened shortlyafterwards.

During this expedited works process, Amey worked inpartnership with Network Rail to map out the scope of a finalscheme to reinstate the full capacity signalling. Amey’s role wasto design, install and commission new axle counter equipmentbased on the latest Thales multi-section AzLM axle countersystem. The new multi-section axle counter system design wasunique in that it had to interface to the existing reset and restorecontrols already provided for the previous single section AzL-70system, and was designed to fit in the limited space available inthe relay room where the previous equipment was located.Introducing the reduced capacity system also allowed theredundant AzL-70 equipment to be removed and provide spacefor the new AzLM multi-section axle counter equipment. This isshown in figure 4.

Amey’s engineers made use of the existing blockade for thesea wall reinstatement to start works and then used the usualpossession arrangements, line blockages and normal day-timeworking once trains started running again.

Within five weeks, Amey had carried out considerable repairsincluding the new axle counter system (using 11 heads on the up

track and 7 heads on the down track) and used the award-winning dis-box design to provide a robust asset which couldwithstand prevailing seaside weather conditions (a collaborationinvolving NR, Cablecraft and Amey, see figure 5) .

The replaced axle counter layout is shown in figure 6.

Thanks to the enormous efforts of the team, in collaborationwith Network Rail and its principal contractors, the finalarrangements were entered into operational service just over 12 weeks since the collapse of the sea wall.

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


IRSE MATTERS

AUSTRALASIAN SECTION

Technologies and Solutions for Mixed Traffic RailwaysNewcastle (NSW) Technical Meeting – July 2014

The second national technical meeting of 2014 was held inNewcastle, NSW, on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 July. The Fridaymeeting was spent listening to presenters giving their papers inthe Harbourview Function Centre on Newcastle Wharf. A fullprogramme including partners was organised for two days, withtechnical visits for the members of the Saturday and a social dayfor partners on the Friday and Saturday. A formal dinner forMembers and Partners was arranged at the Function Centre onthe Friday evening, with a joint lunch at a local small brewery onthe Saturday to end the meeting.

INTRODUCTIONNewcastle is a large port on the east coast of New South Wales(NSW), about 160 km north of Sydney. It is the major port forexporting coal and wheat from the Hunter Valley region of NSWand presently ships about 150 million tonnes per annum (MTPA)of coal all of which is carried from the mines to the port by rail.In a good year wheat exports can rise to 20 MTPA, again most ofit shipped from inland NSW my rail. Add to these major flows

the heavy freight movements between the north, south and westof Australia plus the many passenger trains from the area to andfrom Sydney, it can be seen that Newcastle sits at the centre of amajor railway network. The theme of the conference was“Technologies and Solutions for Mixed Traffic Railways” andmany interesting papers were presented to the assembledmembers. There were 106 members in attendance.

FRIDAY 25 JULYMorning Session 1The Technical Meeting started with a welcome by theAustralasian Chairman, Peter McGregor, who made to openingremarks and introduction. Peter then went on to welcome andintroduce the key-note speaker Wayne Johnson who was theManager Capacity Planning for the Hunter Valley Coal ChainCoordinator (HVCCC).

Wayne started by explaining who HVCCC was. It is anorganisation made up and funded by all the companies that

Picture taken of the map in the reception of HVCCC showing the mines, railways and ports forming the HunterValley Coal Chain Coordinator

Pictures by Les Brearley and Tony Howker

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


have an interest in the export of coal through theport of Newcastle. It is a legal entity by itself withan independent CEO and is the largest coalexporter in the world. It serves 35 coal minesowned by 11 coal producers, organises the haul ofcoal up to 380 km from pit to port, controls 31coal loading points for loading trains, plans for 4rail haulage providers delivering to 3 coalterminals and overseeing the movement andloading of 1400 coal vessels per year from thecoal terminals through the Port of Newcastle. Aswell as being owned by the coal producersHVCCC is also owned as well by the trainoperators, the Infrastructure owner (ARTC), theport authorities and the three loading termini: ofwhich two are owned by Port Waratah Coalservices (PWCS) and the other by Newcastle CoalInfrastructure Group (NCIG). The average vesselsize is 84 000 tonnes loaded with multiple cargos(i.e. different chemical compositions of coal). ThePort is tidal which constrains access but with theplanning and organising by HVCCC this has minimum effect onthe shipping. Wayne went on to tell the meeting that there wereapproximately 34 end buyers in 12 countries with about 85% ofall exports going to Japan, Korea and Taiwan. As an average,turn round time of the coal from mine to ship is under 14 daysusing a cargo assembly process and dedicated stockpiles ofdifferent coal combinations. There are 16 independentorganisations required to move each tonne of coal and thecomplexity of the whole operation is done with only two weeksvisibility and highly variable volumes. It takes on average 5 daysto assemble any one cargo. All of the coal shipped from themines is carried by rail with approximately 44 trains providing 22 000 trips per year. (the Hunter Valley infrastructure alsocarries general freight – long distance container traffic, wheattrains, and passenger traffic such as the Sydney Train’s XPT highspeed train serving the mid and outer western NSW pusinterstate traffic to Queensland). The gross weight of a fullyladen coal train is approximately 9600 tonnes with an axleloading of 30 tonnes per axle.

Wayne ended his presentation with some interesting statisticsas of midnight the previous day. The inbound target for coalarriving at the stockpiles is aiming for 162.5 MTPA for the year,and the average totals for the month of August to date (25 August) were 454 000 tonnes per day (KTPD) with totalsshipped during the same period equalling 341 KMPD. In thelast 24 hours, 457 KTPD were unloaded and 429 KTPD wereloaded. These figures are at 97% of the plan. Also at Midnightthere were 11 ships in the queue waiting to be loaded with 1 508 000 tonnes of coal in the stockpiles. Four ships were nowloading and the average turnaround time was 4.5 days. These figures give an overall picture of the size and scale of theoperation. The Chairman then thanked Wayne for hispresentation and presented him with a unique plaque as amemento of the day.

The next speakers were Ashaya Malaviya and David Sweeney,both from the Australian Railway Track Corporation (ARTC) – theinfrastructure owner of the railway between the mines and theport as well as the main lines to the west, north and south toSydney. Their paper was called “Economic SignallingEnhancement – Providing capacity Improvements on a mixedtraffic railway”. Their presentation focused on the terminalcongestion between Hexham and the coal dump stations atKoorang Island and explored the difficulty of designing

Peter McGregor presenting the engraved memento to Andrew Allison ofSydney Trains for his part in the presentation “Kiam-Bomaderry Staff LineReplacement”

A general view of the members attending the meeting

Peter McGregor, the Australasian Chairman giving the welcome address

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

sections to allow higher speed entry/departure and simultaneousentry). They also explained that the strategy also included theconcept of a running aspect on some signals instead of lowspeed signals where the driver had to only drive at a speedsuitable for line of sight, plus the minimisation of signalclearance delays in the block sections caused by electroniccoded track circuits (in some instances up to 48 seconds). Thepresentation then went on to describe in some detail some ofthe improvements that were being planned all to give a generalheadway of 8 minute minimum. The presenters concluded theirpresentation by stating that signalling systems were a key factorin determining the network capacity. The existing signalling thathad been designed a long time ago and enlarged piecemealdevelopments were relatively conservative. New modernsignalling and new technologies were providing alternative waysto increase operational operability at low costs compared withlarge track upgrades.

Morning tea was then taken which allowed members to inspectsponsors’ displays and network amongst old and new friends.

Morning Session 2The second session started with Peter McGregor introducingTrevor Moore from ARTC who gave his paper “ConceptSignalling Plan – Rest in Peace”. Trevor explained that theConcept Signalling Plan was often used to allow scoping andcosting of a project for approval at an early phase in the projectprogramme. Whilst it was a cut down version of a SignallingArrangement plan, the compromises in producing the ConceptSignalling Plan often resulted in significant differences in the finalverified plan. These differences led to many variations in scope,rework, cost increases and project delays. Trevor went on to saythat the advantages were vastly overshadowed by thedisadvantages, and explained the advantages of designing theSignal arrangement Plan at an early phase in the project anddeleting the requirement for a concept plan. He also stressedthe requirement that the operations department produce anOperational Requirement Specification before starting theproject, a fact that some people miss thinking that S&Tengineers are competent to carry out!

The next paper to be presented in the morning session was byJohn Aitken of Aitkin & Partners. This was called “In all Normaland Reasonable abnormal Conditions…”

John stated by reading out a statement that had been includedin the latest Specification for NSW rolling stock:

“New rolling stock or electrical/mechanical equipment to beused in rolling stock modifications must be designed, built andmaintained with regard to EMC in order that they operatesafely throughout their operational life. This applies to allnormal and reasonably foreseeable abnormal situations,including failures”.

John then went on to state that such a statement is easily madebut compliance is not readily demonstrated, particularly whenthere is little or no definition of what might make somethingElectromagnetically Compatible (EMC). Signalling systems weregenerally poorly defined from an EMC viewpoint, such thatforeseeing abnormal situations could require considerableinsight into the design and failure modes of that signallingsystem. He then went on to discuss what was normal andconsidered some of the failure modes and vulnerable areas intrain detection systems with some examples. He also talkedabout threats posed by traction systems and some of theforeseeable abnormal conditions.


A view of the control room at the Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group –Koorang of the stackers, conveyers and loading berths


A general view of the miniature lever frame in Newcastle Signal Box – thoughtto be a Westinghouse style B originally installed in the Sydney area circa 1910

View of the training area at Competency Australia Signalling Training Centre.Some of the Members seen taking a keen interest are Andrew Blakey-Smith,Glen Miller and Steve Boshier

signalling for mixed traffic. ARTC were responding to a strategydeveloped by the HVCC to increase the tonnage on the networkto 200 MTPA. This is going to be achieved by a mixture of trackupgrades to increase capacity (duplication/triplication of tracks,higher speed turnouts with both directions having equal speeds,realigning and providing new crossing loops on the single line

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

authors described how the last sections were life expired andhow after extensive research for a modern replacement werechanged to computer based interlockings with electronic codedtrack circuits. These were installed with some novel featuresincluding interfacing to a mechanical interlocking at Bomaderryand automatic working through an intermediate station at Berrywhen it was unattended. Improved capacity has already beenrealised with time savings from elimination of manual staffexchange and level crossing waiting times in the vicinity of Berry,a crossing loop in the middle of the overall section.

Afternoon Tea was then taken which allowed the members toinspect the trade stands for the last time

Afternoon Session 2The last presentation of the day was given by Brett Hillcoat ofParsons Brinkenhoff and Michael Clancy of ARTC. Their paperwas titled “Increasing capacity in the Hunter Valley Network –Streamlining Train Control”. The authors started by explaininghow the Hunter Valley Network was a mixed traffic railway thatwas managed by ARTC and had seen significant growth in thedemand for coal export via the Port of Newcastle. Traffic hadincreased from around 90 million tonnes per year (MTPY) in 2007to 150 MTPY in 2013. This growth is set to continue up to 200MTPTY over the next few years with notional prospectivevolumes currently indicating growth to 280 MTPY. Non-coaltraffic (passenger and freight services) which currently accountfor more than 50% of the network operations is also expected togrow. To facilitate these growths, a number of projects(predominately track infrastructure projects) have been or aregoing to be implemented to provide the additional capacitywithin the ARTC Hunter valley network. The presentation thenwent on to describe some of the measures that have alreadybeen carried out, not just on infrastructure, but including somesmall information technology integration projects to facilitateautomatic data transfer which in turn have reduced the workloadand assisted in resolution of live run issues. Most of the InternetProtocol work is centred around a project called ARTC NetworkControl Optimisation (ANCO). This project (which is ongoing)will give a high degree of automation of the Train Control plusintegration into the HVCCC system for forward planning.

Closing Remarks from the ChairPeter McGregor then closed the meeting with thanks to all theauthors, presenting them individually with a plaque as amemento. He also thanked the organising committee for theirefforts which was greeted with much acclaim from the audience.The committee members (in no particular order) were:

Stewart Rendell, Akshaya Malaviya, Brett Hillcoat, JeanetteAitken, Stephen Lemon, John Gifford, Heman Janu, SundarKaniyur, Peter McGregor and Michael Lynn-Devere.

Convention DinnerAs is usual at all technical Meetings, a formal dinner was held onthe Friday evening at the same venue as the meeting with drinksand the dinner sponsored by CRN (John Holland-Country RailNetworks). The usual amounts of fine Australian wines weresampled whilst conversing between eating!

SATURDAY 26 JULYTechnical InspectionsOn the Saturday the members were split into two groups andtime was spent in visiting various technical sites by coaches and


The final paper to be presented before lunch was written byPhillip Baker, Kaniyur Sundareswaran and Trina Chan from Auricon,Australia. They gave a tutorial and discussion paper titled“Signalling Design for Passenger and Freight Railways”. Thepresentation for discussion was again one of a series of educationalpapers that the Australasian Section tries to give for youngermembers at technical meetings as part of their basic education.The paper used as its basis the Transport for NSW’s AuburnJunction Project which was part of the Lidcombe to GranvilleCorridor Upgrade (Sydney Suburban Area) programme of works asa case study to examine some of the challenges and issues thatwere faced when mixing freight and passenger trains on the sameset of tracks. The authors discussed operational problems such asdiffering train lengths, braking characteristics and required trainmovements. They then showed some of the solutions appliedincluding complete separation of freight and passenger trains anddiffering applications of signalling, showing examples used atAuburn Junction including differential line speeds and aspects.They concluded with an exploration of some of the traps andpitfalls involved including their experience of the solutionsimplemented. These solutions were complex in themselves andwere to some extent dependent on value for money, operationalrequirements and land availability. They hoped that the tutorialwould raise awareness in the minds of younger members and thatinnovative solutions could be postulated that would in the futureeliminate some of the difficulties with mixed traffic railway lines.

Lunch was then taken with more time to inspect trade standsand exhibits.

Afternoon Session 1The first session of the afternoon was started by Dr. AnjumNaweed from the Central University of Queensland. His paperwas entitled “Drive a Mile in My Seat”. Anjum started byexplaining from a simplistic point of view how drivers navigateconventionally designed railways using a keen awareness of theirroutes and by calculating likelihood predictions of future states.These processes have traditionally followed a model of signal-to-signal based running, which comprises the awareness of theirstatic (location-based) and dynamic (aspect-related) properties.He then went on to give the meeting a report of findings from astudy that examined the social-cultural and technical tiesbetween the signal and the driver in the context of SignalsPassed At Danger risk management. He also showed examplesof how signal aspects are being interpreted on Australasianrailways, how operational pressures are altering the driver-signaldynamic and how the meaning of the caution aspect has evolvedin today’s dynamic and productivity oriented rail environment.He concluded by stating that the paper had broadly describedthe rail system as it exists from a human factors perspective andrelated the driver’s experience of interpreting and responding tosignals. The intention of the paper is to raise awareness for thesignal engineering fraternity to better understand (andappreciate) the complexity of the train driving task and theimplications of introducing new variables and schemes into thesignal design rhetoric.

The second paper of the afternoon session was called “Kiama –Bomaderry Staff Line Replacement”. This paper was writtenjointly by Adam Greaves and Andrew Allison both from SydneyTrains (the latest name for the organisation that owns theInfrastructure and operates trains in the Sydney Metropolitanarea – formerly known as RailCorp). The presentation describedthe removal of the last sections of electric train staff on theSydney trains network. This was the 33 km stretch of railwaybetween Kiama and Bomaderry on the south coast of NSW. The

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

receiving lectures on the equipment and systems that were ondisplay.

Newcastle Signal BoxThe first site was an inspection of Newcastle Signal Box – a fineexample of a Westinghouse style B electro-mechanical miniaturelever frame. The frame had been originally been installed inSydney in 1910 and recovered from there when Sydney CentralStation was enlarged in 1924. There is no record of where it wasthen installed (it may have just been stored) but it was relockedand re-conditioned for use at Newcastle in 1936. It originallyoperated upper quadrant 3-position signals and ground bannersignals plus EP point machines but now the only use of air is tooperate point machines and train stops. With the coming ofelectrification (1500 V d.c.) all of the signals were changed tocolour light (NSW double head system) and nearly all trackcircuits became Jeumont Schneider Impulse type, with a few 50 Hz type still in use in the platforms. The relay room under theframe still contains shelf relays and old wiring which is becomingsomewhat brittle and will need to be replaced very soon. (Thereis talk of removing the railway from the centre of the CentralBusiness District - a very desirable development area - to a sitefurther out of the city with a light rail link between the two sites.In that case the Newcastle Signal Box will not need re-wiring!).The original functions of the Signal Box have been rationalisedover the years such as closure of Market Street level Crossingand minor yard re-modelling in conjunction with electrification ofthe line from the south in 1984. Remote control of the LevelCrossing at Civic using CCTV was included in conjunction withfurther alterations as well. It will be interesting to see whathappens to the Signal Box if the Station is closed as both theframe and the building are heritage listed!

Hunter Valley Coal Chain Co-ordination CentreThis visit gave the members the chance to observe the workings ofthe HVCCC, the subject of the key-note speech on the Friday. Thecentre co-ordinates the movement and loading of more than 14coal vessels per year through the Port of Newcastle from 35 coalmines via 44 trains making 22 000 trips a year. The total to beshipped in 2014 is expected to reach 184 MTPA. Members wereshown the many computer displays available to the operatorsranging from trains planned to arrive, actual live train running plusGPS position and signalling information. (The actual Signalling iscontrolled by the ARTC control centre at Broadmeadow followingthe timetable requirement set by the HVCCC)

Competency Australia SignallingTraining CentreMorning tea was then taken at Competency Australia’s signallingand telecommunication training Centre where members had theopportunity to look around the bespoke training centre inBroadmeadow. This centre had all the usual facilities available

for training including various interlockings (relay and Computer-Based Interlockings), track circuits and location cases. Faultscould be simulated on or off at will to allow training to be carriedout on various types of equipment.

Newcastle Coal InfrastructureGroup – KoorangThe Newcastle Coal Infrastructure Group (NCIG) has been inexistence since 2010 and has established itself as the premiercoal export facility. The terminal is an integral part of Australia’scoal export chain and exports thermal and metallurgical coalfrom the Hunter valley, Newcastle, Gloucester, Gunnedah andWestern Coalfields to destinations around the world. It has aninstalled capacity of 66 MTPA and the members were shownaround the facility including a state-of-the-art control centrewhere most operations were automated including the operationof the dumpers, stackers, reclaimers and conveyor beltoperations leading to the ship loaders. All operations could beoverseen by high definition coloured CCTV. Ships could beloaded with several grades and types of coal and automatedweighing systems made sure that the ship was evenly loadedwith the correct weight of coal.

Lunch at Murray’s BrewingCompanyA late lunch was then taken at the Murray’s Brewing Company,outside of Newcastle, where the local ale was tested and lunchwas taken with the spouses.

The SpousesAlthough the meeting was not an AGM, enough spouses hadaccompanied their partners to allow for an organised day tobe spent on the Friday and Saturday morning. On the Fridaythey visited the Newcastle Art gallery and Newcastle Shipmuseum with lunch at the Custom’s House which is a heritagelisted building designed in the Italianate Renaissance styleand built in 1877. On the Saturday morning the spousesvisited the historic River Port, Morpeth, where they examinedspecialty shops, covering artwork, local handicrafts andantiques before meeting up with members at Murray’sBrewing Company.

Finally the group travelled back either to Newcastle orWilliamtown airport for transport back to their home states.

SPONSORSHIPNone of the meeting and social events would have taken placewithout the help of our sponsors. Many thanks are due to Aitkenand Partners, Ansaldo STS, Aurecon, Bambach, Electrix,Electronic Components, JMDR, ORAH Rail, Orion, ParsonsBrinkerhoff and Weidmuller.

Tony Howker



P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


MINOR RAILWAYS SECTION

Minor Railways Section 2014 AGMBy Major Ian Hughes TD Section Chairman

Pictures by David Helliwell

The fifth Minor Railways Section Annual General Meeting washeld courtesy of the Foxfield Railway and our sponsors GreenDragon Rail at Caverswall Road station, Blythe Bridge, Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday 14 June 2014, attended by 26 delegates. Themeeting started promptly at 10:30 in the spacious station diningroom with the official business of the day consisting of theChairman’s report where Major Hughes reviewed the previousyear and set out the objectives for 2014 in ten action packedminutes, the result being the general feeling of “how did we fit itall in?”. Major Hughes also asked the delegates to let the sectionknow if they wished to see the section put on any additionalactivities that would be of benefit to the section and to the widerMinor Railway Sector. This was followed by reports from theSecretary, Treasurer, Visits Secretary and the MembershipSecretary. There is a full programme of events planned for 2014which is available on the Section part of the main IRSE web site.With any other business dealt with, the official part of the day waswrapped up and the AGM business concluded.

The meeting was then given an update on the ongoingsignalling work at the Foxfield Railway by Mr Ron Whalley, atrustee of the railway and its S&T lead, (along with many otherhats Ron wears at the railway).

Ron’s presentation brought us up to date from the positionexplained to the section at the Minor Railway Technical Seminarheld at Loughborough in November 2013. Work has beengoing on apace and the new system, route indication andguard’s plungers located on the platform was explained in detail.Interestingly, as well as the route indication system beingadopted in the station area the single line has signals of thecontinental and high speed variety, signals chosen for their utility

and the needs of the railway rather than an adherence to theformer practice of the railway companies in the area.

With the presentation concluded, the section moved out on tothe layout and in to the box. Past Section Chairman Mr DaveHelliwell had prepared a new diagram for Caverswall RoadSignal Box and this had been put in to place ready for anunveiling ceremony which took place during the visit, with thesplendid new diagram being unveiled by Mr CharlesWeightman.

As ever in our section meetings the practice and procedure atFoxfield always generates a grand amount of debate and thisvisit was no different, a Q&A session was carried on in the boxand out on the track and ranged from signalling practice to thetypes of industrial relays used. As ever Mr Whalley was a mine ofinformation and was able to explain all facets of the system tothe eager interrogators.

As the debates and questions carried on the trip along the linewas nearly forgotten, but the delegates were eventually loadedon to the special train to take the trip to visit and discuss thevarious other aspects of this fascinating railway.

The day concluded at approximately 16:00 with signallingprocedures and practice discussions continuing over a convivialpint in the station pub.

I would like to thank our visits organiser, Mr Mike Tyrrell for theusual cracking organisation of the AGM and visit, Mr RonWhalley and his team at the Foxfield Railway for the wonderful

Control relays – Instead of using traditional signalling relaysthe Foxfield use industrial relays to great effect

Meeting – Major Hughes presents his report as Chairman of the section

Operations – Ron Whalley explains the operation of the signalling

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©


LOS – The limit of shunt in the foreground and the proceed if line clear signalin the back ground

Diagram – Charles Weightman unveils the new Signal Box Diagram atCaverswall Road

Signal Route Indicator left – Ground signals are used as route indications –this signal tells the driver to take the left hand route

hosting and splendid catering provided for us on the day and toall the attendees who make the section so worthwhile.

If you wish to get involved with the section and be included onour updates please e mail me at [email protected]. Wewould love to see you at our events.

Signal Route Indicator – Ground signals are used as route indications – thissignal tells the driver to take the right hand route

The Education and Professional Development Committee isrevising the syllabus for each of the IRSE Examination modules.This presents an opportunity to update the study packs whichexist for most of the present modules, and which were mostlyprepared over ten years ago.

We are looking for help from members who are knowledgeablein the various topics covered by the exam who would be willingto update the material both to reflect changes to the syllabus forthat module, and any changes in practice and technology sincethen. The examination is not UK specific and so an appreciation

of how to word information to make it as generic as isreasonable would be an advantage.

A fee will be paid for this work. If you are interested, pleaseemail me at [email protected] stating which module you areinterested in and why you think you could cover that module.Details of the existing study packs can be found athttp://www.irse.org/membership/members/examsupportmaterial.aspx.

Colin Porter

IRSE EXAM STUDY GUIDES

WANTED - TO HELP OTHERS!

P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

STUART ANGILLThe presentation to Stuart ofa hand-made locomotive androlling stock by his father forhis fourth birthday kindled anearly interest in railways. Thiswas further stimulated by theability to watch trains on thenearby Midland Main Line inhis home town of Harpenden,being impressed not just bythe crack expresses but byBeyer-Garratt locomotiveshauling long coal trains fromthe Midlands up to theCapital.

With an interest in allthings technical and armed with ‘A’ levels in languages followingattendance at St. Albans School to where he had won ascholarship, Stuart Angill left education but could only find worklocally with the General Post Office delivering mail inHarpenden. Past President of the IRSE, Tim Howard, whoworked in the Signal Contracts department of the WestinghouseBrake & Signal Company happened to be one of the residents towhom Stuart delivered the post. With an eagerness to pursue atechnical career it was not long before Stuart asked Tim whatrailway signalling was all about. The rest, so to speak is history.Stuart joined the Kings Cross, London headquarters of theWB&SCo. in 1967 as a technical assistant. He described thisinitial role as “an office erk”.

Keen interest, matched with ability, saw him soon out on site inactive roles on a number of major projects. He gained valuableexperience testing on the West Coast Main Line RouteModernisation and was responsible for Westpac geographicalinterlocking circuit design at Preston. Having moved toChippenham in 1972 just prior to the closure of the Londonoffice, Stuart transferred to the London Bridge scheme as aProject Engineer putting his Westpac abilities to good use. Thisknowledge was tapped some sixteen or so years later when SSIswere introduced to control Cannon Street, requiring to beinterfaced to the Westpac at London Bridge.

Stuart was then enticed to support export projects which sawhim travel extensively and thus put his linguistic skills to gooduse. Amongst schemes he was involved with were themodernisation of the KCRC in Hong Kong and signalling inNigeria. Then, for 22 years he concentrated on marketing invarious roles, retiring in 2004 after 37 years from the post ofMarketing Manager (Europe). He once calculated that he hadworked in 68 different countries on behalf of the company.

Stuart took a particular interest in solutions for lightly used andremote lines. This led to his involvement with Westbloc andthen Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) before championingthe emerging electronic interlocking technology of Westrace intonew markets, including Germany and Norway. Such was theearly success of Westrace in Oslo that the company went on tosecure numerous follow-on contracts with the metro there.

The Railway Directory yearbook and Jane’s World Railwayswere prominent amongst the publications in the bookshelfalongside his desk. A visit to his desk to ask a question or toseek advice often meant a patient wait whilst he dealt on thetelephone, in one language or another, with an enquiry from adistant customer or Agent.

If anyone could be called European then Stuart certainly metthe criteria. His unrivalled knowledge of the industry in Europe,

coupled with the contacts and friendships that he forged, hisunderstanding of different cultures, plus his work and leisuretravel throughout the continent all underpinned hiscosmopolitan status. He once said “Through Westinghouse Ihave made friends all over the world and I feel myself to be atrue European”.

Even in retirement, Stuart continued to be a European bymoving with his wife Rosemary, first to Portugal and then tosouthern France whilst continuing to travel on a regular basis.Amongst his interests were theatre and opera, passions whichEurope’s cities could offer indulgence in. He, of course, had aninterest in railways but devoted time to many other activities too,including music, bird watching, photography, aircraft, solvingcrosswords, Formula 1 and DIY. Indeed many of theimprovements undertaken to their converted farmhouse inFrance were the result of Stuart’s efforts. Whilst still inChippenham Stuart indulged his love of fine wine by importingvarieties from around the world for himself and friends, theinside of his garage assuming the appearance of a victualler’swarehouse! One idiosyncrasy for which Stuart will beremembered was his ability to read a book whilst walking,something he did every day on his walk to and from work, evenwhen negotiating the busy Langley Road in Chippenham.

Stuart embraced the new fangled technology of the officecomputer from the outset becoming proficient in manyapplications, harnessing the benefits for marketing andtendering. In so doing he never lost opportunities to hone hismore traditional skills with print and cardboard. He dubbedhimself the Westinghouse “Chief Cardboard Engineer”.Responsible for some of the company’s iconic advertising andpublicity material during his tenure, he fronted exhibitions andpresentations in many places contributing to the success of thefirm and the global reach of the toasting fork W.

There was something special about every exhibition that Stuartattended but that in Bucharest in 2000 was particularlymemorable. It coincided with the 120 year anniversary ofRomanian Railways and formed a part of the historiccelebrations. The day was rounded off by a surprise specialtrain, headed by a splendidly restored 2-10-0 steam locomotive.This took everyone, including the Minister of Transport, off on atrip to the holiday resort of Snagov some 40km away where allwere wined, dined and entertained by a three-piece band andsingers. No wonder Stuart enjoyed his job!

A strong supporter of the IRSE, Stuart did much to promotethe benefits of the Institution, not just within Westinghouse butthroughout the industry. He had joined as a Technician memberin February 1972, transferring to Member in September 1990and then Fellow in October 2003. His commitment led him toserve on the Recruitment Committee for eleven years, theMembership Committee for seven years and as a CouncilMember from 1996 until 2004. He read a Technical Paper to theInstitution in London in 1988 on the subject of “Low CostSignalling for Developing Railways” and was a regular presenterat the Railway Industry Association sponsored S&T courses.Even in retirement Stuart’s computer flair enabled him tocontinue his active involvement in Institution affairs by joiningthe IRSE News team as Production Manager.

The untimely death of Stuart, the victim of a tragic roadaccident on 13 August 2014, occurred not far from his home inthe south of France.

Summing up Stuart’s character it has to be said that he wasalways fun, always cheerful, always smiling and always willing totalk to anyone in any one of a number of languages. He will beremembered with great affection.

John Francis & Mark Glover

OBITUARY


P

PRINTI

TING

T FO

ROR RE-P

PRI

©NO

©OT FO

©

©

RAYMONDBLAKEY

1940 – 2014Raymond (Ray) Blakeywas an active memberand strong supporter ofthe IRSE throughout hislong career with LondonUnderground. Heattended many

Conventions, Seminars and Technical Visits, and was a regularattendee at Technical Meetings in London. Ray was widelyrespected for his signalling knowledge and skill, and contributedto the work of IRSE and International committees. He joined theInstitution as a Student in November 1966, transferred toMember in March 1971 and was elected a Fellow in February1999.

Ray graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering fromQueen Mary College, London and joined London Transport in1964 as a Graduate Trainee. On completion of his training in1966, he worked on the design and implementation of the newVictoria Line signalling system. In 1971, Ray worked withWestinghouse engineers on a project to develop a computerbased version of the ‘programme machine’, which was widelyused on London Underground to automatically route trains totimetable through remote interlocking areas. A prototypesystem was successfully commissioned at Watford on theMetropolitan Line, and this project also trialled the use of avideo display system to indicate the status of tracks, signals, andpoints controlled by the Watford interlocking to a remote SignalCabin at Rickmansworth. This was pioneering work, and Raycontinued to take a leading role in subsequent ‘in-house’applications of mini-computer and micro-processor basedtechnology in London Underground’s signalling control systems.


In the mid-1980s Ray’s accountabilities broadened when he wasappointed to the position of Development Engineer.

As a result of the great emphasis the company placed on safetyafter the King's Cross fire, Ray was transferred in the late 1980sto a small team looking at all facets of signalling safety anddeveloping improved procedures. From this he developed aninterest in the techniques of testing. Other outcomes of thisactivity were the certification of a number of signalling groups toISO 9000 standard, and his pioneering role in promoting theconcept of licensing London Underground signalling engineersand technicians who were required to undertake safety criticalwork. Subsequently, he was actively involved in thedevelopment of the IRSE Licensing Scheme, and he will beremembered for his contribution to the success of the Scheme.

In 1992 Ray was appointed as the Safety and Quality Managerin London Underground’s internal contractor organisation, whichundertook signal installation, testing and maintenance. Heretired from the Underground in October 1999, but continuedhis studying for his Masters Degree in Rail Systems Engineering,which was awarded in 2000.

Those who worked closely with Ray will remember him not onlyfor his wide knowledge of engineering, but also for his greatsense of humour and the fun they had working with him. He wasvery approachable and his friendly helpful support and wiseadvice was much valued. He was a lateral thinker and hefrequently came up with ideas that no-one else had thought of.At technical meetings he would sometimes ask a searchingquestion which would often lead to some lively and enlighteningdiscussion. Ray was dedicated to doing the best job it waspossible to do. He believed in developing people by broadeningtheir horizons and tried to ensure that this happened.

Ray died peacefully in his sleep on 19 July 2014. He had beendiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2004. He is survived byhis wife Barbara and their son and daughter.

The Education and Professional Development Committee hasbeen asked by the Younger Members section of the IRSE toconsider whether the Institution could provide a mentoringservice for younger members. Some IRSE younger members arealready well supported by mentoring arrangements within theircompanies, but this is not always the case and therefore someare in need of mentoring by other, more senior/experiencedIRSE members who can give them advice and direction. Thepurpose of the mentoring scheme might include:

• General career development/advice;

• Helping those working towards higher levels of IRSEmembership or professional engineering registration.

This could take the form of face-to-face mentoring, but wherethis is not practical, advice and help by phone, email or socialmedia could be provided.

The IRSE could provide support and advice for mentors ongood practice, and possibly also provide good practice advice tocompanies on in-company mentoring schemes.

If we do establish such a scheme, it would be essentially a “bymembers for members” arrangement and dependent upon the

goodwill and contribution of more experienced members. Oneof the great strengths of professional Institutions is the help thatmembers who have the benefit of considerable careerexperience can offer to those who are much earlier in theircareer path.

We are, therefore, wanting to hear from any IRSE memberswho, in principle at least, would be willing to act as mentors foryounger members. We are not asking for commitment at thisstage, and we appreciate that there are many questions as yetunanswered. If you think you might be able to help youngermembers in this way, please drop an email to Francis How(chairman of the Education and Professional DevelopmentCommittee), via [email protected], with the words“Mentoring Scheme” in the subject/title field. Please indicate inthe text of the email any constraints or questions you may haveat this stage.

If you are a younger member and you might be interested inhaving an IRSE mentor, why not start thinking about how youwould want to make use of the scheme? If you have any specificsuggestions about what you would like to see the schemeoffering you, contact Francis.

WE NEED MENTORS


+44 (0) 1325 462722: [email protected]

www.hwilliams.co.uk

131years of experiencein the rail industry...

...has taught us well!Henry Williams 1883 - 2014

• Product approved signalling switch gear SafeBox

• Mimic panels• FSPs• Fully wired location cases• Fully wired REB's

• Control panels• DNO's, points and switch

heating• Fishplates• Treadles

Benefit from our experience and contact us today...

For all your engineering and signalling needs.

A sequel to Railway Signalling and RailwayControl Systems, this new 350 page bookprovides an essential update to these earlierbooks and covers entirely new subjects suchas ETCS, signal sighting, modular signallingtechnologies, updates on signalling standardsand the concept of systems engineering.Available in softback and hardcover versions:from theIRSE (www.irse.org/public/itemsforsale.aspx)Members £35 and £40 respectively,Non-Members £60 and £65 respectively.

RAILWAY SIGNALLING

AND CONTROL

A sequel to RailwaySignalling and

Railway ControlSystems

75475 irse news watermark 204 v6.qxd:layout 1 news 204 oct 14 with... · ppri n titi n g o or re-p...

Documents