AUTOMATIC TRAIN PROTECTION AND THE END USER – A HUMAN FACTORS & OPERATIONS APPROACH

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) in Australia has adopted the European Train Control System (ETCS) as its preferred system for Automatic Train Protection (ATP). Arising from the Waterfall enquiry recommendations, its intention is to... [ view full abstract ]

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) in Australia has adopted the European Train Control System (ETCS) as its preferred system for Automatic Train Protection (ATP). Arising from the Waterfall enquiry recommendations, its intention is to improve rail safety by monitoring a train’s speed and position on the network, alerting the Driver to information about its supervision status and automatically intervening by applying the brakes when it detects deviations from its programmed supervision limits. Selected from among many ATP candidates, ETCS is a complex system which requires considerable attention to the manner in which it is integrated into a complex existing network and rollingstock. Factors to consider include those associated with the infrastructure, rules and procedures, existing on-board systems, maintenance, and current professional driving practices.

In each of these, Human Factors plays a major role in ensuring that the system demands do not exceed the capabilities of the users or the resources that the network has to meet these demands. As Drivers are one of the primary user groups, system design must particularly consider factors such as compatibility with current driving practice, operational consistency, error potential, and driving workload. Because ATP introduces new in-cab screen-based equipment in the form of a Driver-Machine Interface (DMI) which provides information to the Drivers to support their train control, its successful integration into the driving cab, and into rail operations in general, is essential.

This success relies upon ensuring, firstly, an integration pathway by making transitional modifications to existing screen-based train operating systems (TOS) and, secondly, that Drivers would be able to understand and effectively use the introduced and modified systems (both ATP and TOS) under normal and degraded conditions. To facilitate this process, the ATP Project’s Operational Integration team adopted a systematic step-wise approach to end-user knowledge elicitation and design development through user-centred workshops. These included a series of Human Factors methodologies comprising iterative user engagement and modelling, development of prototypes ranging from low fidelity concepts to full scale models of train operating systems and cab designs, and field trials.

Objectives of this work included re-design of the driving console, consolidation of the existing TOS displays onto a single screen to enable installation of the DMI, field trials of screen readability, and development and evaluation of a prototype adjustable housing for the DMI to provide reliable glare and reflection mitigation.

The issues that arose in these processes, the keys to their successful resolution and implementation, and their implications for further industrial applications in rail will be discussed.

NOTE: This paper has industrial application

Please include abstract in Special Edition of Journal of Rapid Rail & Transit.