Re: FreightCorp Radios

[mauried@commslab.gov.au (Maurie Daly)]

In article <694skt$1gd$1@news.iinet.net.au> "Paul" <boss@opera.iinet.net.au> writes:
>From: "Paul" <boss@opera.iinet.net.au>
>Subject: Re: FreightCorp Radios
>Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 17:53:58 +0800


>Maurie Daly wrote in message ...
>>  8< snip
>>The SRA Train Radio System or whatever it is now called is / was / always
>will
>>be a total disaster.


>I have trouble understanding how, nearly 29 years after we put a man on the
>moon, we haven't sorted basic stuff like this out. I mean really, this is
>1998!  The technolgy needed isn't even particularly new. Out here in the
>remote west it's still copper wires, and telephones attached to poles, ala
>steamdays. They talk here about upgrading to CTC, when this day and age we
>shouldn't even have signals. It should all be in the cab, along with a
>telephone to simply pick up and talk to a controller.
>I'm sure Maurie could come up with a system in less than a week, which is
>better than anything in Australia today.

>My 2c worth, that's better...
>Paul P.


Part of the problem , and its not only with technology associated with 
Railways,is that while there is plenty of hardware available to provide modern 
communications , there is a huge lack of understanding,especially from senior 
managers and people who have to commit funds to buy it , about how it works 
and what it can do.
As a result what usually happens is that a turnkey contract gets written to 
provide some sort of system which the senior managers think will solve the 
particular problem.
The contract will usually be moderated by bean counters , ie accountants ,who 
will think its not needed or too expensive,with the result that eventually 
what gets purchased doesnt do what it was originally designed to do.
These days , buying anything that doesnt immediately increase profits ,like 
comms gear or decent safeworking systems is hard to justify, hence we see in 
the Railways area the reverse of this , like Driver only operation, Train 
order working without any failsafe , longer hours etc.

Maybe , just maybe , and Im not hopeful , is that at least , if we get a 
common National Crowd to run trains in this country,and they have to address 
issues like safeworking and comms , what we get wont be the lowest common 
denominator.

cheers
MD

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Maurie Daly
Department of Communications Lab.
Canberra
Australia
mauried@commslab.gov.au
ph 6 2791331
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