Signalling Failure

[52A]

East Coast at a stand! Notwork Fail strikes again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-yo ... e-12871897

[52D]

Do'nt we have pilotmen these days, couldnt the trains have been moved using a staff/token system?

[Blink Bonny]

Basically it is actually cheaper to hire half a dozen buses than run trains even when all is running smoothly. Such is the manner in which a few organisations have made large amounts of money out of Privatisation...

[Kestrel]

So much for modern technology. Did we have problems in the days of signal boxes and semaphore signals? Apart from the odd crash, I should imagine no.

[52A]

Difference is now Notwork Fail don't have the men with the necessary skills to keep things moving during failures. People like this were "Old Railway" and no longer required, it is much easier to throw your hands up in despair and run buses. Passengers? Who cares about them as long as the balance sheets look good to the bean counters.

[giner]

You just have to wonder when one of these "software failures" results in a catastrophe claiming human lives. It HAS to be a case of not 'if', but 'when'.

[Mickey]

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[strang steel]

You just have to wonder when one of these "software failures" results in a catastrophe claiming human lives. It HAS to be a case of not 'if', but 'when'.

I know very little about the inner workings of software, but I do know that it cant just 'fail' unless the program has been badly written in the first place; but this should have been discovered during the testing period - assuming there is one and the software is not just installed on a "lets try it and see basis".

It tends to be the hardware that fails, and if there is no backup system which can be instantly switched in then some very senior heads ought to be rolling.

I notice that the idea of cable theft has been denied. Sorry for being so ignorant, but am I to believe that in the 21st century on high speed main lines in this country, the signalling continues to use copper wire? What happened to fibre optic cable, or wi-fi communication?

[Trestrol]

The link between the interlockings and the panel failed causing the delay. There are two links A and B. A failed so they swiched to the B link which caused a power spike and the interface system went bang.

[61070]

Reading this discussion's just reminded me of an RAIB report I was reading through a few weeks ago. It relates to a review of the railway industry's investigation of a signalling software programming error on the WCML (the effect of which had been noticed and reported by a driver). Seems there may have been an attempt to 'draw a veil'.
If anyone's interested it's here:
http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cf ... Keynes.pdf

[Mickey]

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[52D]

I think we all would like it to be like Mickys post above.

[strang steel]

If your info is right Micky then just imagine if one of the super power boxes experiences a electrical 'spike'.

But there are organisations whose computers need to be operational 24/7 (nudge nudge, say no more) through thunderstorms, power surges, power cuts etc

They have invested in surge protection equipment, but I suspect that the cost may prohibit its use on the railways - http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Surge-Protecti ... ion/112062

[Mr Bunt]

My idea of signalling is a lever frame, block instruments and a track diagram with trains going by outside the s/box window

Don't forget the handwritten train register as well though, if only for visitors to leave you their autographs

[Mickey]

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