New rule on GSM-R and assistance protection
RSSB’s Barbara Smith takes you through new rules on GSM-R use when dealing with a failed train.
Sometimes, change can bring problems. But most of the time, a change will be made for very good reasons.
In December, a change to the Rule Book came that’s very much in the second camp. Specifically, a new rule has been introduced on GSM-R and assistance protection. In practice, this means that a signaller will connect the driver of a failed train with an assisting one using the GSM-R call forwarding function.
It’s about avoiding the use of detonators, which require the driver of a failed train to leave the cab to place them. This puts them in the way of all the risks that go with being trackside. On top of that, as the driver of the failed train is best placed to describe to the driver of the assisting train where the failure actually is, the conditions, traction type, and so on, why not use GSM-R to let them?
Obviously, where the failed train can be clearly seen by the driver of the assisting train, it won’t be necessary to link them via GSM-R. But in both cases, the Rule Book provision for the assisting train to proceed at caution—at a maximum of 25 mph—will come into play.
Where visibility is poor, the driver of the failed train will need to walk along the cess, 300 m away from the failure, to display a hand danger signal to bring the assisting train to a stand. The driver of the failed train will then ride back to their own train in the cab of the assisting one.
The Rule Book doesn’t include the need to give the length of the failed train to the driver of the assisting train. But it’s important that you mention it – if you give your exact location from the front of a 10-car formation, say, the rear will appear to the assisting driver sooner than if they’d been expecting a four-car unit. It’s also important to remember that, once the GSM-R conversation ends, the assisting driver must ensure any authority to pass a red protecting signal (if appropriate) has been obtained from the signaller before proceeding.
All well and good—except there seems to be a bit of confusion about how this should be done. Part of the problem might be to do with briefing cycles. In our post-Covid world, many briefings are being done in groups, meaning that some staff wait longer than others for updates. But you needn’t get left behind.
Go to our website to learn more about the September 2023 Rule Book changes. The first video explains the changes described in this article.
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