On 31/3/26 05:47, Stuart Keenan wrote:
>
>
> Now in the “bad old days” of humans operating trams, my tram would
> have departed Port Melbourne on time, I would have alighted in the
> city blissfully unaware of the issues at Kew and the tram crew would
> have been turned around at Kew Depot.
>
> But now it’s an automated system so based on recent events in Sydney,
> my tram can’t leave Port Melbourne because the control room has to
> uninstall the Port Melbourne to Box Hill program, install the Port
> Melbourne to Kew Depot program, run some tests and have them complete
> successfully before hitting “enter” and restarting the service.
>
> This takes about an hour, which is about the time it would take to
> walk from Port Melbourne to the city so now my question is: how does
> automation enhance my experience as a passenger?
>
It's not automation as such, it's a management methodology - technology
is just being used to implement it.
Sydney Tram drivers CAN NOT proceed 'on sight'. Next to the driver is an
AVLS screen - it shows their diagram and how late (or early) they are.
That screen is their operational authority. If that system goes down and
the instructions to the tram can not be delivered, operations stop. Even
if the driver can get the OCC on a handheld radio, with out the
supervision of the AVLS they go no where. It's been written into their
safety case.
Parramatta has it worse, the AVLS is even more tightly bound in, when
approaching a conditionally cleared traffic light (pretty well all of
them), the tram doesn't trip a transponder in the street that starts the
signal cycle. The AVLS which 'knows' the location of the tram sends that
to the master computer at the OCC, which looks up it's route database
and determines which road traffic light needs to change. It then sends a
message to TFNSW transport command, presumably over the internet, to
request that traffic light be changed. If ANY part of that chain of
tech fails, the tram driver is stuck there looking at a red light.
Sydney Trains - if the DTRS (Digital Train Radio System) crashes (it has
happened, botched software update), trains stop. Doesn't matter if the
interlocking are still working properly and the train has a green signal
in front it it, some one's decided that the DTRS is a safety critical
system (as it would be used to report an 'incident' and possibly get
emergency services involved). So no DTRS, no trains move.
Every one is so afraid of being sued if they make a call that doesn't
work out, paralysis takes over. Can't be sued for doing nothing.
Stopping is the 'safe' option.
