Driver Advisory System (DAS) now in use

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

I have it from a reliable source that its not great and doesn't take into account trying to make it to the destination on time

Not sure who your reliable source is, but the sole purpose of the system is to take into account trying to make it to the destination on time!

[The SprinterMeister]

I doesn't seem to be perfect on the gradient front, but it definitely does take gradients into account, at least that what I was told, and in my own (fairly limited) experience it tells you when to coast (virtually to the second) at the summit of hills near Culham and Chipping Campden.

It seems to be ok on routes East of Exeter but it gets into a right tizzy West of there to be honest. I find that I can usually out-DAS^▸ (Driver Advisory System) the DAS on the economy front on the Exeter - Plymouth section. In general on the B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) I find that its sugested course of action and what I do (based on what drivers taught me when I learnt the road) pretty much coincide exactly. I know one of the drivers who was co-opted to work with the DAS engineers while the system was being set up so that doesn't unduly surprise me.

[IndustryInsider]

Let's hope the situation west of Exeter is tweaked then - though the proximity of the stations, especially when you get into Cornwall might limit its usefulness anyway.  I can see how on the B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) it would come in very useful with the extended gap between station stops.  Thanks for the analysis on the fuel consumption by the way.

[The SprinterMeister]

Can it tell how far the train in front is/ whether there is a clear path ahead? Otherwise, one train could be doing 115 and another doing 125, with one catching up with the other.

DAS^▸ (Driver Advisory System) doesn't have that capability. What it should do is assuming both trains are running correctly in their booked paths is advise the driver on the second train to also run at 115mph which allows both trains to reach their next calling point on time. If the second train is out of course / late and running off its booked path behind the first one, DAS on the second train will be showing 'Advice unavailable late running' anyway.

You can't really drive trains on the basis of what you think might be behind you, you have to concentrate on driving the one your sat on. Train regulation is the signallers responsibility.

[The SprinterMeister]

But we should be identifying slack and tightening the schedules not driving slower! This will just make early running a thing of the past, and the slack will never be axed.

Which means that if you have a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) with power notches locked out or worse still running on one engine you garantee that the train will run late and be much later than it would if a degree of recovery / pathing time was allowed. As well as Pway TSR^▸ (Temporary Speed Restriction)'s, signal checks etc etc.

The 10:06 PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains)-PNZ will keep time (or at least not loose further time) Reading - Exeter on one power car providing traction power. I know, I've done it....

[Btline]

Yes, but power cars locked out should be a rarity. Do the WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) schedules assume the tilt will be broken? No, they assume the train will run at 125mph. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should timetable the trains to assume no technical problems. Obviously some is needed for recovery time, but 60 minutes to Oxford is a joke!

That fact about the B&H^▸ (Berks and Hants - railway line from Reading to Taunton via Westbury) is shocking. How much slack is there?

[The SprinterMeister]

Yes, but power cars locked out should be a rarity. Do the WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) schedules assume the tilt will be broken? No, they assume the train will run at 125mph. FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should timetable the trains to assume no technical problems.

I bet if you went into the specifics of WCML timetabling you'd find you were wrong and the 390's don't have to run flat out everywhere to keep time. Last one I went on, Warrington BQ, right away Euston contrived to get into EUS about 12 early which suggests there might be a bit of slack in their timetabling too. Customers prefer a railway that gets them there right time (or early) most of the time than some half assed numpty railway that delivers them right time about 10% of the time and with varying degrees of lateness the rest of the time. It's easier to plan your life around that...

I'm afraid if you assume that there will never be power cars missing power notches, Temporary Speed Restrictions or signalmen with finger trouble and timetable on the basis of full bifters everywhere you will end up with a raliway with shocking punctuality / relaibility figures and one which uses about 15% more fuel as the drivers charge around flat out.

[bobm]

Sounds a good system and thanks IndustryInsider for posting it and to The SprinterMeister for adding to it.  A fair few times I was on the 15:00 from Plymouth to London Paddington when it used to have a restaurant on it and it would belt up the Berks & Hants only to sit outside Reading because it was up to 10 minutes early and there wasn't a platform for it.

As for Power Cars not being at full efficiency there is a timing run on the newly doubled Coltswold line reported in the latest Railway Magazine using a Turbo and an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) - with the HST driver reporting that notch 5 seemed to perform the same as notch 4.   If there was no slack in the timetable the temptation would be to cancel such a service to prevent it delaying other trains.

[Timmer]

That explains a lot as to why the other week between Paddington and Reading on the 8am to Bristol on a Saturday morning instead of thrashing it to Reading we cruised and I was wondering why this was. Now I know.

[The SprinterMeister]

Coltswold line reported in the latest Railway Magazine using a Turbo and an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) - with the HST driver reporting that notch 5 seemed to perform the same as notch 4.   If there was no slack in the timetable the temptation would be to cancel such a service to prevent it delaying other trains.

That would probably be due to N5 being locked out on one or both power cars.

There are maintenance procedures which require N5 to be locked out, ie traction motor issues such as worn brushes or for a period of 24 hours after the brushes are replaced to allow them to bed in.

[IndustryInsider]

The Didcot Herald, courtesy of 'WillC' has published an article:

http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/hsdidcotnews/9690476.Hi_tech_device_puts_train_operator_on_track_to_fuel_savings/

[Temple Meads]

The Volo screens only show the moving map for about a minute or so before going back to default so you'd need to be pretty keen to follow progress that way. 

Not anymore! A message pops up and asks 'Is the screen still in use' You just tap the screen to remove this and the map remains.

Definitely a good thing!

Does anyone know where in the cab these new screen are situated?

[BerkshireBugsy]

Out of curiosity are these only fitted to HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train)? At the other end of the scale I have noticed the journeys on the north downs line seem to involve alot of coasting . I remember noticing this before this (very interesting) article on DAS^▸ (Driver Advisory System) was posted.

[IndustryInsider]

Just HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s (and eventually the 180s).  Though more and more emphasis is being made to drivers to coast where possible to save fuel as a general good driving technique.  Depending on the profile of the route there are many occasions where coasting has to be done to avoid speeding anyway.  The North Downs line, whilst not having many really sharp gradients still has a number of areas where the gradient and prevailing linespeed mean that coasting is a sensible thing to do.

[The SprinterMeister]

Definitely a good thing!

Does anyone know where in the cab these new screen are situated?

Right hand side between traction ammeter and Driver guard handset  / ATP^▸ (Automatic Train Protection) data entry keyboard.