Safety First - Track to Cab technology
We have been promoting TrackMaster, a device that would considerably reduce if not eliminate accidents caused by obstructions on the line, a simple solution at minimum cost.
The Problem
1. Obstructions on the track make rail travel unsafe. That is a fact. But it is not a 'fact of life' we need to endure, because it is possible - cheaply, simply and quickly - to remove 99% of the risk element.
2. The union has argued that the solution to accidents caused by track obstruction is to use technology to relay electronic messages warning of obstructions from track to cab. The idea has never been challenged, but it has always been treated as a 'visionary' solution: something out of Star Trek or Tomorrow's World.
ASLEF's case in brief
3. The point of this briefing is to refute this view entirely. The system is not 'futuristic'. In fact, it is historic. A firm based in South Wales has been providing exactly this technology for the track between Hong Kong and its international airport for the last eight years. There is empirical evidence that it works. The company is Global Laser Technology Solutions Limited, Mediallion Technology Centre. Abertillery. Gwent. NP13 1LZ telephone 01495 212213. Their website contains further information on the TrackMaster products, www.global-lasertech.co.uk
The Solution
4. The product it developed for the Hong Kong authorities is called TrackMaster. Basically it is a track-to-train surveillance system that gives the driver real-time video information about passenger safety in the station and on board the train, as well as giving advanced warning of any hazard points on the track ahead. The basic system transmits pictures from one or more cameras to a monitor in the train cab via infrared laser. The laser beam is relayed via an optical fibre to a remote transmitter that can be placed up to two miles down the track. This briefing is concerned with obstructions, but there are clearly other safety issues that could be addressed by a system such as that marketed by Global Laser.
5. For our purposes, the driver is made aware of an obstruction two miles before the train arrives at that point. That is, three quarters of a mile before a 125 train travelling at 125 miles an hour can come to a full stop. The driver can receive high quality pictures of potential hazards such as level crossings and any vulnerable road/rail or busy rail intersection. The system does not need local power sources, and it has night vision capability.
6. The Hong Kong rail authorities originally wanted the system - eight years ago - for practical as well as safety reasons. They wanted to maximise the efficiency of their station air conditioning, so they looked for a way of keeping doors closed until the final moment before the train was ready to depart. They also sought security improvements, to enable staff to ensure passengers were not trapped in doors and to ensure that baggage - mounted at the back of the train - was not offloaded unofficially. A further development came with the introduction of CCTV within the train. The project by that time had given the driver 'eyes' not only to see the exterior of the train, but also throughout the entire length of its interior.
7. The next logical step was to extend the system to give the driver 'eyes' to see along the track. This was achieved by positioning transmitters by the side of the rails that could withstand interference, vibration and weather. The other half of the equation was to fit the train with devices that look like headlamps, but are in fact video or audio receivers. This was developed successfully and efficiently - a fact proven by its eight year Hong Kong 'trial run'.
8. The driver of the train is given the ability to see - separately on a single flat screen or globally on a screen split into eight - the whole of the interior of the train, the outside of the vehicle, and the track two miles ahead. This offers the potential for massive increases in safety and security. The evidence is overwhelming.
The Costs
9. The next question is cost. It need not be restrictive for three reasons. Firstly a negative reason. Last year the number of prosecutions linked to rail safety doubled, and total fines for rail firms exceeded half a million pounds for the first time. All the signs are that the public is becoming increasingly litigious: this is the amoral case for rail safety, but it confirms the financial sense of an initiative such as the one ASLEF advances. Secondly, a positive reason. If the optic fibre technology were introduced, it would enable other messages to be introduced into the train and extend a vast potential for the transmission of advertising from each base - or station - along the route. Thus local advertising would become possible and feasible, targeted by companies along the line. Finally, the technology is not complex in itself: for the most part it involves the adaptation of existing systems.
Our Demands
10. ASLEF believes our case is irrefutable, morally, financially and practically. ASLEF therefore calls on your support to commit the government to l call for an immediate and full report on the Hong Kong initiative l receive a full presentation of most recent developments (including costings) from Global Laser and/or a similar company in the market; and l commit itself in advance to at least part-funding a UK experiment of this technology in two distinct geographical areas of the UK unless the two reports above prove the ASLEF initiative seriously flawed.
