Rail Technical Strategy

[whole diary]

[Trowres]

The Rail Delivery Group has published a Rail Technical Strategy Capability Delivery Plan on the RSSB^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board) website:

Content page
https://www.rssb.co.uk/rail-technical-strategy

Summary report
https://www.rssb.co.uk/rts/Documents/2017-01-27-rail-technical-strategy-capability-delivery-plan-brochure.pdf

It lists 12 key capabilities:
1. Running trains closer together
2. Minimal disruption to train services
3. Efficient passenger flows through stations and trains
4. More value from data
5. Optimum energy use
6. More space on trains
7. Services timed to the second
8. Intelligent trains
9. Personalised customer experience
10.Flexible freight
11.Low-cost railway solutions
12. Accelerated research, development and technology deployment.

This brief introduction doesn't do justice to what is a fascinating report. I will not prejudice discussions by cherry-picking, but I encourage you to have a look.

[JayMac]

The Rail Delivery Group has published a Rail Technical Strategy Capability Delivery Plan on the RSSB^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board) website:

Did none of the key capabilities include coming up with a snappier report title? 

[grahame]

Expanding that initial listing - from page 10 of the 38 page summary report:

£242 Million
01 Running trains closer together
Running trains closer together will increase the capacity of the railway.

£194 Million
07 Services timed to the second
Knowing the exact location and speed of all trains in real time will improve situational awareness, increase operational flexibility and allow for faster recovery from disruption.

£458 Million
02 Minimal disruption to train services
Predictive and preventative maintenance, plus faster repair times, will improve the reliability and availability of the railway.

£342 Million
08 Intelligent trains
Intelligent trains will be aware of themselves and their surroundings, knowing where they need to be and when, and able to automatically adjust journeys to meet demand.

£258 Million
03 Efficient passenger flow through stations and trains
Smarter ticketing and human-centred design will make moving through stations and trains easier and quicker reducing overcrowding at busy stations.

£40 Million
09 Personalised customer experience
Providing customers with tailored information and services so that travel by rail becomes a seamless part of their overall journey.

£725Million
04 More value from data
Data collection and real-time information that helps rail staff to make better decisions and provides customers with useful and up to date information.

£264 Million
10 Flexible freight
Trains designed to carry varying loads, combined with better planning and tracking capabilities, will increase flexibility and capacity for freight customers.

£228 Million
05 Optimum energy use
Intelligent distribution and energy storage technologies will deliver more cost effective use of energy on the railway.

£157 Million
11 Low-cost railway solutions
Railway lines and trains which are designed built and operated at low cost will make lightly used lines viable and allow rail to compete for new transport links.

£282 Million
06 More space on trains
More generous and flexible train interiors that better meet the different and changing demands of customers.

£210 Million
12 Accelerated research, development and technology deployment
Enabling technologies to be more readily and rapidly integrated into the railway system by creating the environment for increased R&D investment, technology demonstration and removing barriers to the adoption of new technology.

[SandTEngineer]

A very snappy presentation that will lead to.........err, nowhere 

[Bmblbzzz]

"Intelligent trains
Intelligent trains will be aware of themselves and their surroundings, knowing where they need to be and when, and able to automatically adjust journeys to meet demand."

I think the Rev Awdry invented these more than 50 years ago. 



Edit note: Thanks, Bmblbzzz - this has to be an entry for 'best post of the year!' CfN 

[Tim]

"able to automatically adjust journeys to meet demand."

What the hell does that mean?  A train the speeds up because it is aware that Mrs X is late for a meeting?

[grahame]

"able to automatically adjust journeys to meet demand."

What the hell does that mean?  A train the speeds up because it is aware that Mrs X is late for a meeting?

Dunno.   Some ideas:

1. Automated trains will have buttons for passengers to press if they want to get off at places like Barry Links, Sugar Loaf, or Shippea Hill.   Dilton Marsh will be excluded from the stations covered as by that time it'll have a service calling every hour on the Swindon to Romsey via Southampton Airport route, and at that's sufficiently attractive to attract lots of users for every train.

2. Trains will comprise units of class 193.    They're like 153s in being capable of running single vehicle, and if the train's a bit quiet going north but trains are packed coming south, carriages will slip off the back and attach themselves to trains going the other way.

3. Trains will only depart Llanberis when at least 1000 kgs of passengers have joined the train

In all seriousness, Driver Advise Systems already offer suggestions to drivers to help them optimise fuel (or to make up time) rather than going too fast for the timetable from station to station then having long stops. With electronic ticketing at the platform gate, systems will know ahead of time the sort of numbers waiting to join and the the trains will know the sort of numbers leaving at stations, and the trains will be able to plan their dwell times versus fuel economy based on passenger volumes.

[stuving]

"able to automatically adjust journeys to meet demand."

What the hell does that mean?  A train the speeds up because it is aware that Mrs X is late for a meeting?

Ah, you want meaning too? Unfortunately the Meaning Delivery Plan isn't ready yet.

I too find the vacuous text written in Hypelish irritating. I did wonder whether there was a proper report that the pretty pictures in the brochure were based on, but no. If you follow the link for "further information", it leads to www.rssb.co.uk/rail-technical-strategy, where you can find a list of RSSB^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board) (and collaborative) projects under each "capability". However, most of them bear little relationship to the text in the brochure.

[grahame]

There's just so much in this report and so abstract it's hard to digest.  Let's take another:

£194 Million
07 Services timed to the second
Knowing the exact location and speed of all trains in real time will improve situational awareness, increase operational flexibility and allow for faster recovery from disruption.

With "trains closer together" that can certainly help get more trains through and cut the gap between conflicting movements over junctions.  But isn't one of the biggest unknowns passenger loading and unloading time?  You just need the odd passenger with a stick who for their own safety waits in their seat until the train has come to a complete halt, pickups up their luggage on the way out of the carriage colliding with new people getting on (who hadn't realised there were still people getting off) and the needs assistance in minding the gap between the train and the platform edge ... and you're a minute or two down.

[grahame]

And another

£157 Million
11 Low-cost railway solutions
Railway lines and trains which are designed built and operated at low cost will make lightly used lines viable and allow rail to compete for new transport links.

Lovely idea ... yet you see spiralling costs and oft-lengthened schedules for what on the face of it appear relatively simple schemes to re-open lines.

Tramway and light rail systems which are isolated operationally from the network, perhaps? Avoiding the need for such heavy rail stock; I remember in Switzerland local rail / tram solutions running from a bay platform or the station forecourt.

[Tim]

  But isn't one of the biggest unknowns passenger loading and unloading time?  You just need the odd passenger with a stick who for their own safety waits in their seat until the train has come to a complete halt, pickups up their luggage on the way out of the carriage colliding with new people getting on (who hadn't realised there were still people getting off) and the needs assistance in minding the gap between the train and the platform edge ... and you're a minute or two down.

Even the average passenger with no particular mobility problems is slower today than in the past thanks to obesity, too much luggage and a general lack of oomph..  If you look at old films of busy railway stations before about 1975, the average passenger will be male, skinny, wearing a hat, of working age and carrying no more than a newspaper and umbrella.  He will have opened the door got off the train and will be holding his ticket out for inspection at the barrier before the train has even come to a complete stop.

[ellendune]

  But isn't one of the biggest unknowns passenger loading and unloading time?  You just need the odd passenger with a stick who for their own safety waits in their seat until the train has come to a complete halt, pickups up their luggage on the way out of the carriage colliding with new people getting on (who hadn't realised there were still people getting off) and the needs assistance in minding the gap between the train and the platform edge ... and you're a minute or two down.

Even the average passenger with no particular mobility problems is slower today than in the past thanks to obesity, too much luggage and a general lack of oomph..  If you look at old films of busy railway stations before about 1975, the average passenger will be male, skinny, wearing a hat, of working age and carrying no more than a newspaper and umbrella.  He will have opened the door got off the train and will be holding his ticket out for inspection at the barrier before the train has even come to a complete stop.

Ah yes no laptop bag to do work on the train or at home.

[stuving]

Guess what: Mick isn't keen on some of this technology, even at its current nebulous stage. From the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers):

21 March 2017

RMT Press Office:

RMT warns of co-ordinated Government plans to axe rail staff, compromise safety and run trains on the cheap.

Rail union RMT warned today of a co-ordinated Government plan to axe thousands of rail jobs including all drivers from Britain's trains.

The Rail Capability Plan, just issued with Government and RSSB^▸ (Rail Safety and Standards Board) support, sets out proposals to further compromise and dilute the current safety regime and run ‘Autonomous’ trains on the cheap.

The plan states:
“Given the pace of development in Information and Communications Technology a completely new operational concept and train control and regulation capability can be developed over the short to medium term”.

The Department for Transport have launched a new innovation competition with up to £9 million to support UK^▸ (United Kingdom) businesses in developing technological solutions for the railway.

Inviting applications that “create high-value, low-cost railway innovations, which increase the value of rail services to passengers while driving down operational expense”  it goes on to say “Innovations in this theme need not be constrained by existing railway standards” but will “help deliver optimal staffing for a high-value, low-cost railway”.
 
One of the themes (No_8) is called Intelligent Trains and says “Intelligent trains will reduce the reliance on complex and expensive rail infrastructure and control systems and through automation transition the role of railway staff from direct control and operation to supervision”
 
It goes on to say “Intelligent trains will be aware of themselves and their surroundings, knowing where they need to be and when, and able to automatically adjust journeys to meet demand”
 
Four milestone’s including Driverless trains predict a bold future of Autonomous Trains capable of regulating their own passage through the network and is laid out clearly for everyone who works in the industry on page 27 of the plan:
 
Milestone A
Semi-automatic operation
Milestone B
Driverless operation
Milestone C
Unattended operations
Milestone D
Autonomous trains
 
Mick Cash RMT General Secretary said:
 
“The cat is well and truly out of the bag now. The Government are working hand in glove with the private train operators and the RSSB on a long-term plan for rail in this country that would axe thousands of jobs across the industry, hammer down on safety and run services on the cheap in the name of fatter profits – the majority of which will be shipped abroad by overseas state rail companies to subsidise their own domestic transport operations.
 
“The rail capability plan sounds innocuous enough but is, in fact, a blueprint for automation with the long-term objective of a faceless railway where passengers are left to fend for themselves without any human contact whatsoever. It is scandalous that this whole drive towards the faceless railway is being smuggled through without any serious scrutiny whatsoever.
 
“RMT is blowing the whistle on this disaster in the making and will continue to fight for a properly staffed and resourced railway where public safety comes before private profit.”
 
Ends.