The latest edition of IRSE NEWS has been published and can be accessed on line – click here to view or download it (you will need to log in).  As well as industry news, IRSE event information, local Section news, letters, etc, this edition includes the following articles and papers:

• Innovative simplified systems of signalling and operation in Portugal
• Swindon Re-signalling
• ERTMS Level 4, Train Convoys and Virtual Coupling
• EULYNX – Report on Technical Visit to Braunschweig
• Launch of the IRSE French Section

The 2016 Convention will take place from 10th – 14th October in Beijing, and the event is packed with interest for members and guests.  The programme and booking forms are now available and are being sent out with this e‑bulletin and in the February mailshot for those members who receive hard copies of IRSE NEWS.  The programme and booking forms can also be downloaded from the IRSE website – click here to do so.  We have also set up a dedicated Convention webpage on the website to keep you up to date with plans for the event.

We are offering a number of bursaries for younger members to attend the Convention, and information about is available with the booking details and on the website.  Do think about whether this might be appropriate for you.  We also encourage Sections around the world to consider which of their younger members might benefit from this opportunity.

The 2016 IRSE Australasian Section’s Annual General Meeting and Technical Conference will be held in Glenelg, a seaside suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, on 8-10 April. The Conference takes as its theme “Railways, Smart Technologies – The Way Forward”. Click here for more details.

The Annual General Meeting of the Institution will take place at 18.00 on Friday 22nd April at the IET in London, after which our incoming President, Charles Page of Siemens, will be giving his Presidential Address.  You are invited to come and hear Charles speak.

The AGM is followed by the Annual Dinner, taking place in the Savoy Hotel, London.  This is a highly popular event, and is always sold out.  The notice and booking form for both individuals and for companies who wish to host tables is now available, and is being sent out with this e-bulletin and in the February mailshot for those members who receive hard copies of IRSE NEWS.  It is also available on the IRSE website – click here.

The Younger Members’ annual International Technical Visit is taking place from 14th – 17th April in Lisbon, Portugal.  The event includes a number of visits to signalling installations and to depots on the networks serving the city, as well as social events.  There is no charge to attend, although delegates will of course need to pay for their flights and accommodation.  For further details, click here.

Places at this event are limited, so please register your interest without delay by e-mail to younger.members@irse.org.

Christopher Cox, Operations Manager for Copenhagen Metro will be giving a presentation about the metro’s CBTC system to the IRSE Irish Section on 15th February in Belfast. Note that the timing of the meeting is 12.00 – 14.00. Click here for more details.

The IRSE Swiss Section is holding its AGM on 11 March.  It will be preceded by a Technical Visit.

Click here for more information about the AGM, and here for the Technical Visit.

The sixth Technical Meeting in our Presidential Programme series for 2015-16 takes place on 15th March at the IET building, Savoy Hill, London.  Patrick Bossert of the UK’s Digital Railway Programme will be presenting his paper titled “Towards the Digital Railway”.  The meeting will commence at 18.00.  Click here for more details.

The IRSE French Section is holding its second meeting on 24th March in Paris, on the subject of modernisation and development of transport in Ile-de-France to meet growing demand. Note that advance registration is required for this event.  Click here for more details.

The newly formed French Section held its inaugural event on 13th January in Paris.  A report on the event appears in the February edition of IRSE NEWS, and there is a new webpage about the Section on the IRSE website – click here, where you can download the presentation given at the meeting (on the subject of NExTEO - Urban/semi-Urban re-signalling in Paris.

At the invitation of the UK Digital Railway Programme, and with the support of Siemens and Hitachi, on 8th April we are offering the opportunity to visit the UK ETCS National Integration Facility (ENIF) at Hitchin.  During the visit you will see a demonstration of ETCS on the Hertford Loop ‘test track’.  You will have an opportunity to discuss the success of the testing phase and the proposed roll-out of ETCS.  At ENIF, you will meet the ETCS supplier responsible for controlling the train during your demonstration.  You will have an opportunity to see and discuss the technology used and have a go at ‘driving’ a train on the ETCS simulator.  Click here for more details and the booking form.

The increasing complexity of train control and communications systems, and the growing extent to which they are integrated with other railway sub-systems, makes the need for a structured approach to engineering essential.  In this seminar, organised jointly with the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), expert speakers will explain how the fundamentals of systems engineering may be applied to train control systems projects, illustrated with case studies from ETCS in Europe, Docklands Light Railway and elsewhere.  The seminar will consider the people, process and product aspects of systems engineering.  Click here for more details and the booking form.

Every year the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers presents the Wing Award for Safety to an individual who has made an outstanding personal contribution to improving trackside safety, and we are now seeking nominations for the 2016 Award.

The Wing Award was initiated over 20 years ago to commemorate the life and work of Peter Wing, a Fellow of this Institution who was dedicated to making major improvements for the safety of people working on Britain's railway tracks during his career. The Award remains as relevant as ever, and improving track safety rightly continues to be a dominant theme both on the railways in the UK and in other countries as well.

To find out more about the Wing Award, and how you can nominate someone for the 2016 Award, click here.  Nominations must be received by 31 March 2016.