New technologies are changing the face of mobility systems, and the world of railways. However, standards and regulations impose strict limits on technological solutions because they are still based on known and proven designs.
The usual safety assessment methods are therefore no longer fully adequate.
Safety demonstrations based on introducing limited innovations into already accepted designs (e.g. using the French “globally at least equivalent” (GAME method)) are only relevant in certain specific cases. New methods must be found to effectively assess the safety of systems, for example, using decentralised computing, artificial intelligence, sensor fusion, deep learning, and intelligent sensing.
Safety must not be sacrificed in the name of innovation; otherwise, systems which are innovative but also potentially dangerous may be introduced.
The objective of the UIC New Methods for Safety Demonstrations (NMSD) project is to examine, nominate and select potential methods for conducting safety demonstrations in a context of rapidly evolving technologies.
The International Union of Railways (UIC) is the global organisation for international cooperation between railways and for promoting rail transport worldwide. Founded in 1922, it currently has more than 200 members across all five continents, including railway operators, infrastructure managers and wagon keepers. The specific areas of UIC work are to:
- Promote railway interoperability, improving the overall harmonisation of the railway system, and creating new global specifications for railways (including common standards with other transport modes)
- Develop and facilitate all forms of international cooperation between its railway members, providing forums and platforms to share best practices
- Propose new ways of improving the technical and environmental performance of rail transport, with the aim of optimising costs and contributing to reducing its environmental impact
CLEARSY has partnered with UIC, and its Operations & Safety Department to carry out this research work. The project started in the last quarter of 2022 and is expected to last 3 years.
(Source: CLEARSY)
