System Case Study

Brisbane Rail Transport

System

Word Count: 1596 Words

Executive Summary
This report provides an analysis of the Rail Transportation services in
Brisbane, a complex engineering system designed to facilitate population
with transportation services. The report utilizes figures, diagrams, journals
and official website to support the analysis of the system. The report
analyses the systems key elements, its interaction and contexts. The
Brisbane Rail Transportation system comprises of various elements which
contribute to the system as a whole. All elements play a specific role in
system, however they interact with other elements of the system directly or
indirectly to ensure that the system serves the required purpose. There are
four main elements or issues that impact the behavior of the Brisbane rail
transportation system. These include social, economical, technical and
environmental issues that have profound effects on the system. Although the
current Brisbane rail transport system is successful in catering the day-today needs of population, it does present a host of serious problems. Overall
the system satisfies the basic needs of commuters however improvement is
needed for proper functioning of the system.

Introduction
The aim of the report is to carry out an analysis on Brisbane Rail
Transportation. Rail Transportation in Brisbane is one of the most important
and more preferred modes of transportation. Brisbane has an extensive and
complex rail network covering the major areas of city and is an integral part
of day-to-day life of people. A rail transportation system can be classed as an
engineering system because it has a high degree of technical complexity,
social intricacy, and elaborate processes, aimed at fulfilling important
functions in society. The rail transport system consist of different
components related to different disciplines (mechanical, electrical and
software engineering) which combine together to function as a whole
system. The components that make up the system have varying complexity
and follow elaborate processes some of which include trains, gates,
machines and computers. More importantly, the system needs to adapt to
the changing external environment, be it a sporting event, public holiday all
have a significant effect on the system. To fully understand how this system
functions, it is essential that interactions among different components of
system are analyzed.

System Overview
The Brisbane Rail Transportation system consists of many key elements
which contribute to the system as a whole. Some of the key elements that
make up the system can be identified as passengers, government agencies,
service providers, physical elements, trains, technology providers as shown
in Figure 1.The Rail Transportation System in Brisbane is owned and operated
by Translink which is a division of the Department of Transport and Main
Roads. Translink is the acting body that is responsible for providing the
necessary funding required for smooth functioning of the system and it also
initiates any major changes or upgrades to the system [3]. The trains which
are used in the system include passenger train and freight train. The main
purpose of these trains is to facilitate passenger transport, livestock
transport and transport of goods. The system also provides various services
to the passengers whilst they are using the rail transportation which caters
to the needs of passengers, some of which include car parking, catering, etc.
It is crucial that these services function properly within the train station to
attract more people to use rail transportation. There are two main categories
of passengers which use the rail transportation in Brisbane. These fall into
the category of domestic passengers and international passengers which can
be further classed as regular users and non-regular users. It is observed that
the system serves a varying range of commuters which are the demand of
the system, as the main purpose of the system as seen is providing the
commuters with transportation facilities. Every train station in Brisbane is
equipped with different technologies as per the requirement and necessity of
the system. Electronic time tables, Go card machines, etc. are some of the
more common technologies which the passengers interact with. All elements
of the system play a specific role however they interact with other elements
of the system directly or indirectly to ensure that the system as a whole
serves the required purpose.

Governme
nt
Agencies

Service
Providers

Passenger
s
Technolog
y
Providers

Trains

Key
Elemen
ts

Owners &
Operators

Physical
Elements

Figure 1: Key Elements of System

System Interactions
The Brisbane rail system has high level of interactions with different
elements of the system and also there is an interaction between different
stations within the city which contribute to the overall behavior of the
system. As shown in Figure 2, the major interactions that take place among
different elements of the system include passenger flows and queues, staff
flows, information flows, traffic flows and train flows, which affect the overall
operation and functionality of the system. Platforms, smart gate, Go card
machine, catering, car parking are some of the physical elements and
services which interact with passengers to provide passenger conveniences,
ease of access to services and ensure that the crowd flow is smooth. The
railway staff interacts with Government Agencies, Service Providers,
Passengers, Trains and Physical elements of the system to ensure that the
system is functioning in a correct and efficient manner and that it satisfies
the safety standards. Some of the sub-elements which interact with railway
staff include Electrical systems, Mechanical Systems, Security Contractors
and RISSB, enhancing the passenger experience and ensuring their security
[5]. Train flows play a pivotal role in the behavior of system as a whole.
Interacting with the tracks, passengers and platform, they provide the
commuters with timely transportation services thus satisfying the main
purpose of the system i.e., providing passengers with transportation
services. Information flow is important to system as it keeps the passengers
updated about the train schedules and also it helps the railway staff in terms
of better internal communication. The city and community make use of the

rail transportation system in a way affecting the overall behavior of the

system as the number of people using the system differs during different
times of the day. Environment plays a crucial role in the safety of system and
it can also alterthe proper functioning of system as the train schedule could
be delayed if the weather is not good or rail lines are not clear. Moreover, the
rail transportations in Brisbane utilizes vast amount of land resources, thus
limiting the availability of Rail Services in Brisbane. Clearly, it can be seen
that Brisbane Rail Transportations system has several interactions amongst
its different components which determine the overall behavior of the system.
Staff
Flows

Ingterfac
es within
station

Informati
on Flows

Train
Flows

Interactio
ns

Passenge
r Flows

Traffic
Flows

Figure 2: System Interactions

System Context
The rail transportation system in Brisbane is affected by social, economical,
technical and environmental issues, all of which have a profound impact on
the way in which system behaves. All social events, be it festivals, sporting
events or daily routines of people, affect the manner in which system
functions. The number of passengers using the rail services may differ on
different timings, to which the system needs to adapt accordingly. As such
during the peak hours travel time, there is a significant increase in number of
people using the rail transportation services due to which trains become
crowded, all of which results in delays affecting the time schedule of trains.
The system often responds to these situations by increasing the number of
trains during peak hours thus maintaining smooth flow of customers
ensuring that the trains arent overcrowded. Economical issues that affect
the system behavior include fare prices and the system expenses i.e., the
money spent on system for its proper functioning. The fare prices and
system expenses are directly related to each other as the fare prices are one
of the major sources of income for the system, providing system with the
funding it requires for its proper functioning. Technology plays a crucial role

in the functioning and overall development of the system. The Brisbane rail
stations are currently incorporated with appropriate technology some of
which include the use of Go-cards, but the system doesnt have appropriate
radio spectrum allocation, which the system uses for its telecommunication
networks [1].Environment issues that affect the way in which system
behaves include emission of greenhouse gases and fuel consumption. One of
the major issues that the system faces today is the emission of gases, trains
emit CO2 which leads to environment pollution. Although the trains used in
system are fuel efficient, they still consume a tremendous amount of nonrenewable fuel each year.

Social
Impacts

Environmen
tal Impacts

Economical
Impacts

Impac
ts

Technologic
al Impacts

Figure 3: Impacts upon Systems

Future Challenges
The Australian rail transportation system has come a long way from steam
locomotives in the early 18th century to electric trains in the 21 st century.
Although the current rail transport system is successful in catering the dayto-day needs of human beings, railways do present a host of serious
problems. Some of the key challenges faced by Australian Rail Transportation
systems include:-

Reducing transport emissions - Carbon emitted from burning fuel

to power trains imposes a cost on environment through its impact on
the atmosphere and climate.

Appropriate allocation of Radio Spectrum The system doesnt

have appropriate radio spectrum allocation, which the system uses for
its telecommunication networks which risks the efficiency, safety and
capacity of Brisbanes urban, regional and interstate passenger and

freight rail networks.

Level crossing safety On average, there are 100 level crossing
collisions in Australia every year. It may seem minor but these crashes
have the potential to cause multiple fatalities, serious injuries and
extensive damage bills. So the awareness must be raised amongst the

people to ensure level crossing safety [2].

Access to rail services for people with disability or limited
mobility In many areas, the rail services are not accessible by
disabled people, thus limiting the access of rail services. So the
operators should ensure that the services are accessible by people
with disability or limited mobility.

Future engineers and scientists should realize the value of clean, fuelefficient and non-polluting railway systems and designing them for a
green future.

Conclusion
It can be clearly seen that the Brisbane Rail Transport is a complex
engineering system, which aims at providing population with transportation
services. The components that make up the system have varying complexity
and follow elaborate processes some of which include trains, gates,

machines and computers. More importantly, the system needs to adapt to

the changing external environment, be it a sporting event, public holiday all
have a significant effect on the system. There are lot interactions in the
system which affects the overall behavior of system some of which include
passenger flows, information flows and other interfaces. The major factors
that have influence on the system include social issues, technical issues,
environmental issues and economical issues. Future challenges that the
system needs to resolve include reducing transport emissions, appropriate
allocation of radio spectrum and facilitating the rail transportation services to
people with disability or limited mobility. As a result of this analysis, it is clear
that Brisbane Rail Transportation is a complex engineering system with
various interactions in it, which needs to be understood to resolve the
problems that the system is facing.

References
[1] Australian Railway Association (2013, Jan-01) Radio Spectrum,

http://www.ara.net.au/Radio_Spectrum
[2]Australian Railway Association (2013, Jan-01) Level Crossing Safety,
http://www.ara.net.au/levelCrossing
[3]Translink (2013) Who We Are
http://www.translink.com.au/about-translink
[4] Ric Simes, The True Value of Rail, Deloitte Access Economics, Barton,
ACT, 2011
[5] Australian Railway Association (2013 April) Track Safe Organization
Chart
http://www.ara.net.au/UserFiles/file/About_ARA/ARA_RISSB_trackSAFE_org_
chart_April_2013(1).pdf
[6] Australian Railway Association (2013) ARA Overview
http://www.ara.net.au/UserFiles/file/About_ARA/ARA_Overview.pdf
[7] Infrastructure Australia (2013) Australian Digital Train Control System
http://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/public_submissions/published/fil
es/Australian_Railway_Association.pdf

Interactio
ns

Context

Elements
Brisbane Rail
Transportatio
n System

Future
Challenge
s

Figure 4: Components that affect Brisbane Rail Transportation System

Elements

Owner and
Operators

Government
Agencies

Trains

Service
Providers

Passengers

Technology
Providers
(Eg: Smart
Gate)

Physical
Elements

Private

Freight Trains

Safety Board

Security
Contractors

International
Passengers

Tracks

Council

Interstate Trains

Federal Police

Car Parking

Domestic
Passengers

Platforms

Passenger
Trains

Office of
Transport
Security

Catering

Trains

Express Trains

Other Agencies

Retail,
Commercial

Infrastructure

Locomotives

Electrical
System

Mechanical
System

Figure 5: Elements of Brisbane Rail Transportation System

Interactions

Passenger
Flows &
Queues

Information
Flows

Staff Flows

Interfaces
with Train
Stations

Traffic Flows

Rail Traffic
Control

City &
Community

Environment

Transportatio
n

Land Use

Figure 6: Interactions in Brisbane Rail Transportation System

Train Flows

External
Impacts
Social
Issues

Environmen
tal Issues

Economical
Issues

Technologic
al Issues

Special
Events

Fuel
Consumptio
n

Fare Prices

Radio
Spectrum

Daily
Routine

Emission of
Gases

System
Expenses

Use of Gocard

Festivals

Figure 7: External Impacts of Brisbane Rail Transportation System

Future Challenges

Reducing
Transport
Emission

Appropriate
allocation of
Radio Spectrum

Level Crossing
Safety

Access to rail
services for
people with
disability or
limited mobility

Figure 8: Future Challenges of Brisbane Rail Transportation System