Re: Y2K Fears to Stop Cityrail Trains

[matthew@mail.usyd.edu.au (Matthew Geier)]

craigd@lios.apana.org.au (C. Dewick) writes:

>In <379cde6a.0@newshost.pcug.org.au> "David Bennetts" <davibenn@pcug.org.au> writes:

>>The NSW Transport Minister Carl Scully has announced that trains will stop
>>at 11.45 pm on New Years eve and resume at 12.15 am in the city underground
>>area, probably quite a sensible idea if one is not sure about the
>>reliability of power supply and signalling, particularly with underground
>>stations.   He's more confident than me that they will resume at 12.15, if
>>there's a bug about it will take more than 15 minutes to find it and fix it.

>I don't see why this has to occur. All Tangara trains are already y2k-ok (I
>know - I've tested a few myself). Somehow I think there will be a very large

>If the train describer in Sydne signal box is not already y2k-complient,
>then it just shows that the people who control the operation of that (and


 Its not the trains, or the signals, or the supervisory computer systems in
Sydney Box.
 Sydney Electricty, the wholesale distribution companies and the generation
companies up the supply chain are not guarenteeing continuty of supply.

 Your Tangara might be y2k ready, but if something in the power supply chain
between your Tangara and Eraring Power station isnt, you will have a y2k OK
train that is completely useless.

 Pacific power is actually worried that stopping every train might actually
trigger a massive failure event. The sudden shedding of load on the grid
could cause more problems than a couple of non-y2k switch yard computers that
short out their yards and blow the circuit breakers for that zone.

 AC power systems is a subject I know just enough about to know I dont want
to work in that area. It's a complex field.