As a retired IT Director that horrifies me. All the operational data should be in a database with strict controls and auditing of changes. The programs should then apply that data. By analogy your Sat Nav system is not re-issued when a speed limit changes, there is just an updated map file.
Agree completely.
What the report describes for
PSRs▸ is that they are kept in non-volatile memory, but it doesn't say what process is involved in changing that. It could be similar to flashing the BIOS in a PC - take
RBC‡ out of service, load loader and data, burn into NVM, restart RBC processor and run read-back mode to check data, restart in service - something like that.
For the first user of the equipment, on the
LGV▸ to Alsace,
TSRs▸ were also held in NVM, because they were managed by track maintenance staff not signallers. The report does not say whether this was the same memory as for PSRs, or another one, nor whether there were different change procedures. I imagine the work methods for this task will be those familiar to signalling technicians, which might not be how IT would approach it.