UK Chapter

As part of the Public Private Partnership with LUL, Metronet are modernising the sub-surface lines comprising Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and District Lines. The Mayor of London has an aspiration to have a modern metro which is inclusive and accessible for all. Metronet have committed to support LUL in developing a step-free railway. Metronet’s contribution is to design and build a train and platform train interface that complies with Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations and the notion of a level access at the train doors.

So what is railway systems engineering?

Isambard Kingdom Brunel: Genius or Great Systems Engineer? 40, Melton Street, Euston, London, NW1 2EE 1700H for 1730H, Wednesday 6th June 2007 Although conceived as a tribute to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this illustrated talk by Associate Professor Felix Schmid, also deals with some of the achievements of his father, Marc Brunel. It was originally prepared for the bicentenary of Isambard’s birth but has been modified since to include new information received.

Systems engineering is being applied to the Public Private Partnership [PPP] delivery programme of Metronet for stations, signalling and trains. Within this wider context, Atkins has derived a Comprehensive Approach to Systems Engineering [CASE] which includes some novel interpretations of the traditional systems engineering methods to make them representative of the built environment of the railway. CASE was developed to meet a demanding delivery programme whose key drivers are station delivery dates.

While both the rail and space sectors maintain a transport infrastructure, at first glance they would appear to be very different indeed. In space passenger numbers are tiny, timetabling is trivial, vehicle reuse is patchy and for the space shuttle you have a ~2% chance of not coming home.

Sanjeev Appicharla of the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) will describe work in progress to develop a methodology to support the development and review of standards.

This paper describes case studies which show how Systems Engineering can deliver real benefit to rail projects, including the Concept Design developed for the Victoria Line Upgrade Service Control Centre.

Advanced technology train control systems represent a cost-effective means of improving the level of service offered to transit passengers in terms of safety, dependability and comfort, while providing increased capacity and reduced travel times on an existing transportation infrastructure. A number of rail transit agencies around the world have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, such systems and, while a number of these projects have been very successful, others have encountered significant schedule and budget overruns.