Railway signalling and control systems technical training course

Chair: Harvinder Bhatia, Head of Central Engineering, TfL
Chair: Martin Fenner, Director, Flare Technology

Session 1: Keynote

Rod Muttram, President, IRSE

Session 2: A Brief History of Railway Signalling – from the Bobby to the Balise.

John Alexander, Principal Engineer, MB Rail Consultancy

• Understanding what these duties are and how organisations engage with the regulator will be beneficial to all who enter the rail industry.

Maya Petkova, Head of Train Control Systems, Office of Rail and Road

• recognise the range of potential purposes of a railway enterprise
• recognise the contribution of signalling systems to the operational and business performance of a railway system
• recognise how signalling affects capacity, reliability and customer experience on a railway system

• Understand foundational safety principles and concepts of safety management in engineering contexts (including hazard identification, risk assessment, and safety culture).

• Be able to give an overview of Human Factors/ Ergonomics and the role in rail
• Describe user-centred design principles, covering
  • Human/ user
  • User interfaces
  • Workstation
  • Organisation
  • Environment

Chair: Arvind Bali, Principal Engineer, Network Rail
Chair: Andy Bourne, Senior Technical Director, Arcadis

• Develop a high level understanding of Traffic Management and Driver Advisory Systems.

• Why the railway needs Operational Telecommunications
• What Operational Telecommunications within the railways are​
• What the significant Operational Telecommunications Applications are in today’s Railway​
• Have an idea of the future direction for Operational Telecommunications

• Gain an awareness of the principles of moving block and understand how it compares with conventional fixed-block signalling systems
• Understand the generic system architecture of a moving block system, including the rationale for each system element, and will be introduced to a sample of available supporting technologies

• Explain how the train on-board signalling systems works within the rail environment
• Understand the common constituents that provides train protection and associated automation
• Understand the key interfaces between train and signalling systems
• Common challenges associated with delivering such systems
• Some of the practices adopted by the presenter that may aid the attendees in their future roles

Chair: Thulasi Karunakaran, Technical Director - Head of Systems Engineering, Arcadis
Chair: Martin Fenner, Director, Flare Technology

• The purpose of train detection in signalling and control systems
• The main types of train detection
• The way in which the main types of train detection work, and their pro's and con’s
• The future of train location

• An introduction to the building blocks of train path route design
• It will provide a spring board into the vast subject of British route signalling practice
• The session will introduce some of the changes made by NR with due cognisance that lineside signals still have a lifetime prior to ETCS

• Understand how to take a whole systems approach to the delivery of projects and how to ensure that requirements are managed throughout the lifecycle of the project

• Teams confidently present their detailed signalling proposals and receive feedback. Through this collaborative review, they gain valuable insights to refine their designs and ensure optimal safety and performance

Technical Visits available:
Stratford Market Depot
Romford ROC & Elizabeth Line Control Room
Alstom in Hatfield

Technical visits have minimum and maximum numbers. Please choose your preferred option when registering for the course. You can only attend one technical visit. We may need to transfer you to a different technical visit depending on demand.

Chair: Arvind Bali, Principal Engineer, Network Rail
Chair: Martin Fenner, Director, Flare Technology

• Understand the background and reasons for the three signalling systems used on the Elizabeth Line.
• Understand programme management approaches to software maturity and risk management through the Crossrail Programme experience delivering and opening the Elizabeth Line. 

• Attendees will gain an appreciation of the problems associated with newer signalling systems, learn some asset management concepts & terminology, and benefit from the experience gained with TfL's systems including its newest additions on the Elizabeth line.

• Teams refine their chosen signalling approach, delving deeper into technical specifics and optimising infrastructure plans. They prepare to face expert scrutiny and emerge with a robust strategy.