The innovative Four Track Cantilever (4TC) overhead wiring structure is the first of its kind on the Melbourne metropolitan electrified railway network. This paper presents the design of 4TC slender […]
The requirement to ensure that railways are safe So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable (safe SFAIRP) is critically important and is the primary objective of Australian Rail Safety National Law […]
Given the critical role of the rail sector in society, railway managers and operators must prioritize traffic and maintenance costs. While current track wayside monitoring systems can detect wheel defects, […]
This paper highlights a concerning trend in industry wherein a system is deemed “safe” if it is accompanied by a large amount of paperwork which has been completed to achieve […]
The latest Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Better Life Index found that 34% of women do not feel safe when walking alone at night [1]. A 2019 report […]
SFAIRP (so far as is reasonably practicable) is the ‘modern’ definition of ‘safe’. Shrouded in the legal concept of the ‘safety case’, it is actually the legislated implementation of the […]
Over the past 50 years, changes in cab, technology, and job design have minimised the requirement for rail drivers to move, creating calls to redesign the job to decrease the […]
Several railways have adopted a strategy to replace track circuits with axle counter technology. Track circuits have the ability to detect some types of rail breaks which is lost with […]
Trams have operated continuously in Melbourne since 1884 on a network which has progressively grown to become the world’s largest, with 25 different routes covering 250km of dual track. However, […]
This paper is a continuation of the work presented in Light Rail 2019 Conference titled “Creating crashworthiness standards to protect light rail passengers”. The increasing popularity of low-floor-height light rail […]
Wagon running safety and stability issues, such as wagon rollover, wheel climb, body pitch, bogie pitch and wagon lift, are more prominent in long heavy haul trains due to larger […]
Rail-Structure Interaction (RSI) has gained attention within the rail industry due to some significant failures and poor service performance of structures around the world. In short, RSI arises due to […]
While the implementation of fully autonomous trains continues to expand, most train operations remain dependent on train drivers and their actions to achieve safety and efficiency outcomes. A single train […]
This paper provides an overview of the engineering and operational safety case strategy successfully applied by Northwest Rapid Transit (NRT) in support of the commencement of passenger operations on Sydney […]
Rail vehicles including locomotives and self-propelled passenger trains have been equipped with event recorders for many years. Wi-Tronix provides the event recorder information along with additional inputs to the rail […]
When reviewing the combined probable and contributing causes of railway accidents investigated by safety officials, human factors failures represent approximately 70% of the findings. Many of these failures are aggravated […]
Track worker safety is of paramount importance within the heavy rail industry – however the introduction of new technologies can have unforeseen consequences on track worker safety. UOW is engaged […]
While the implementation of fully autonomous trains continues to expand, most train operations are still dependent on train drivers and their actions to achieve safety and efficiency outcomes. A train […]
This paper discusses some of the challenges faced with achieving functional safety compliance of railway tunnel automated systems and provides some suggestions on how to avoid unnecessary cost and effort. […]
There are Rail Safety legislative requirements covering the safety of rail signalling and control systems. There are also Safety in Design requirements under the Work Health & Safety legislation. The […]
Believe it or not, I get paid to crash trains, albeit on the computer using finite element analysis technology. This paper discusses an actual project example to demonstrate the process […]
The crashworthiness of rail vehicles is an important design consideration, particularly for high capacity passenger vehicles. The unified European crashworthiness standard EN15227, released in 2008, brought together the existing research […]
Bombardier Transportation constantly works on and researches into new, innovative concepts to increase the safety of the daily operation of light rail vehicles. The objective in this particular development is […]
Australian rail and workplace safety legislation places specific duties on rail system designers, including the requirement to eliminate or (failing that) reduce safety risks so far as is reasonably practicable […]
Business cases need to resolve many different aspects of a project whilst retaining a focus on system wide emergent properties, and ensuring decision makers and leaders of organisations have a […]
For more than 100 years train control systems have been progressively updated to apply new technologies, with each new generation building on the safety and efficiency of its predecessor. Systems […]
In 2010 the Worksite Protection Program was established within RailCorp to improve the safety of workers on track and to address the unacceptable level of worksite protection incidents being reported. […]
Historically, train safety in NSW has relied heavily on the progressive evolution of driver safety systems based on lessons learnt from various incidents. This has led to a safe and […]
The third edition of the Australian Standard AS1742 Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Part 7 provides a method of calculating the sighting distance required to safely proceed at passive […]
One of the most dangerous areas in Australasian Railway Networks are level crossings. Maintenance activities in this area add to this risk and these activities to a large extent have […]
For many years now, instrumented revenue vehicle technology has been utilised to report track locations where standard rollingstock experiences either dynamic instability or excessive wheel-rail impact [1, 2]. The vehicle […]
Track access time to maintain the railway has generally declined over time. Today, it is common practice for corridors to be shut down in order to be maintained. This tends […]
Modern light rail (LR) transit networks offer an efficient and reliable mode of public transport, particularly in congested urban conditions where there are frequent interactions between various road users. But […]
The long-term goal for accessibility for Public Transport Victoria (PTV) and Metro Trains Melbourne Pty Ltd (MTM) is to provide unassisted access for all passengers at all accessible train doors. […]
The Rail Safety National Law [1] and the model Work Health and Safety Act [2] both require safety risk to be eliminated or minimised so far as is reasonably practicable […]
Railways are known for their safety and efficiency with a strong dependence upon rules, regulations, engineering solutions, technology and skilled employees. Integrating all these components in a complex transportation regime […]
Improved safety can be achieved through utilising modern technology; however, this often comes at increased cost. Today’s systems in rail are very safe, so the challenge exists to achieve maximum […]
There is a definite trend to install ATP systems across suburban railway networks in Australia, primarily to improve safety. However, there is a concern that the lower levels of the […]
Road Rail Vehicle (RRV) operations have gained significant attention and concern across the industry in recent years. Nationally, a spate of incidents provides indicative indication that RRV operations has not […]
Intelligent Transport System (ITS) technology is seen as a cost-effective way to increase the conspicuity of approaching trains and the effectiveness of train warnings at level crossings by providing an […]
A recent study into the design processes used to create new rail technologies and associated business processes, and rework existing systems, indicated a serious disconnect between designer, client and end-user. […]
Aurizon is continuing to seek to improve the safety of public and private level crossings across the Central Queensland Coal Network, through a multi-pronged attack to prevent level crossing incidents. […]
The purpose of this paper is to present a thorough review of experiments and research into passenger train fires with the aim of providing an increased understanding of the development […]
The derailment of the Genesee & Wyoming Australia Pty Ltd (GWA) owned and operated mixed freight train 7AD1 occurred at the Edith River rail bridge, near Katherine, on the Adelaide-Darwin […]
ARTC TASS project is progressing towards and innovative solution that contributes to the mitigation of strategic safety risk by enhancing situational awareness
Competitive forces between road and rail, and the perception of progress in safety and productivity, continue to drive political and commercial decision making on investment. This paper compares the two […]
The objective of this paper is to describe the calculations that were carried out by Interfleet Technology (“Interfleet”) to assess the safety against flange climbing derailment for KiwiRail’s SA and […]
Safeworking systems such as the European Train Control System (ETCS), the Australian Advanced Train Management System (ATMS) and Positive Train Control (PTC) in the USA are designed to, amongst other […]
PB were engaged by Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) to participate in a tour of the United States of America’s locomotive and car (wagon) maintenance facilities and process automation equipment suppliers. […]
Tests were conducted using track circuit shorting-out devices (TCSODs) in order to ascertain if an electrical hazard was present in the use of these devices. In some cases it was […]
