From Luisa Moisio, Director of Research and Development
Safe and efficient running of the railway involves a huge variety of factors, and our research ranges just as widely. In this issue of the Quarterly Update alone we cover many engineering topics, including overhead lines, suspension, and wheel/rail adhesion. But the best technical innovation means nothing without skilled railway operators to make it work on the ground.
We are hugely grateful to the many operators who work closely with us on so many projects; defining and looking at problems from an operational perspective. They provide essential input to research, and to trialling findings and solutions.
If you work in operations and support train service delivery, this issue has many updates relevant to you. Findings on train regulation decisions are starting to be rolled out, and reaping their benefits will depend on the continued commitment of signallers, controllers, and performance teams. Research has just started on how route knowledge requirements will change once ETCS is deployed.
The importance of the front line in delivering a safe railway is highlighted by two recent projects. These look at the drivers’ use of train horns in emergencies, and the impact of human error on the railway.
Data analysis can allow a much more granular and useful understanding of performance in safety critical roles, to promote continued improvement. Our trial of Automated Driver Competence Indicators used anonymised train data to validate insights that can be gleaned from OTDR data at scale. This gives a more complete view of driver competency and performance. It could also flag wider issues with driving policies and sections of routes.
All our articles include the contact details of the lead person within the R&D team or wider RSSB, who will be delighted to tell you more about the research and help you to put new findings and solutions into practice. We recently spent a day at the Scotland’s Railway offices in Glasgow, talking through several recent findings and tools to support operations and service reliability. Both sides found the day fruitful and interesting, and we would be delighted to hold a similar session for your organisation. Please get in touch to discuss the idea further.
Luisa Moisio, Director of Research and DevelopmentLuisa.Moisio@rssb.co.uk
Much of our research supports the Rail Technical Strategy, which comprises five key priorities. We also research topics to help improve the health and wellbeing of railway staff and those who use the network.
Where our research specifically feeds into any of those, we use these icons.
