Typically, with a failure of automated tech, there's a human being or three
in the chain that led to the failure. So, yes, technology is great, until
humans start interfering in it, from setting up through to operation. It's
interesting that. of the very few accidents involving automated trains
since their inception some decades ago, all of them are a result of a human
sticking their nose into the process somewhere (second article below).
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-31/driverless-trains-embraced-around-the-globe-what-could-go-wrong/11155858
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_train_operation
Compare this with the accident record of human-operated trains, about which
many entire books have been written.
Tony P
On Friday, 10 March 2023 at 04:38:52 UTC+11 Stuart Keenan wrote:
> "... a failure in a piece of technology..."
>
> Yeah, technology is great - when it works....
>
> On Thu, Mar 9, 2023, 15:02 Tony Galloway a...@...> wrote:
>
>> So David Fat Controller Idiot thought “industrial sabotage” might have
>> been responsible - what an odious and despicable grub :
>>
>>
>>
>> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/09/sydney-trains-running-uber-refunds-surge-pricing-after-nsw-train-rail-network-down
>>
>> Sydney train commuters to get free transport day after rail network
>> outage causes chaosCybersecurity attack ruled out as rail shutdown puts
>> pressure on NSW government before state election
>> Natasha May <//www.theguardian.com/profile/natasha-may>
>> [image: Commuters waiting for light rail services after Town Hall station
>> was closed]
>> Commuters wait for light rail services after Sydney’s train network was
>> shut down. Those who turned to Uber will have surge pricing refunded.
>> Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
>>
>> The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet
>> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/dominic-perrottet, has
>> apologised for a peak-hour meltdown of the Sydney rail network less than
>> three weeks out from the state election.
>>
>> The shutdown on Wednesday afternoon
>> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/08/sydney-train-network-trains-down-rail-delays-halt-communications-fault-update
>> left tens of thousands of passengers stranded, with Uber fares spiking to
>> hundreds of dollars in surge-price fees.
>>
>> Amid a backlash on Thursday, Uber promised to reimburse customers who
>> were charged the surge prices.
>>
>> Perrottet apologised for the system shutdown and said he had ordered a
>> fare-free day be instituted as a result. “These challenges occur from time
>> to time,” he said.
>>
>> “What’s most important is when they happen they get fixed immediately.
>> I’ve been assured by the secretary of the Department of Transport
>> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/transport that this won’t
>> happen again.”
>>
>> Immediately after the network shutdown the retiring transport minister,
>> David Elliott, said it was most likely the result of a “glitch” but also
>> suggested it may have been caused by “foreign interference or industrial
>> sabotage”.
>>
>> -
>>
>> Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email
>> newsletters for your daily news roundup
>> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/oct/29/email-newsletters-guardian-australia-best-daily-news-emails-newsletter-free-sign-up-inbox-subscribe-headlines?CMP=copyembed
>>
>> Those concerns were dismissed by transport chiefs on Thursday, who blamed
>> a fault in the network’s communications.
>>
>> Transport for NSW said the network had been shut down for safety reasons
>> after the digital train radio system on the network failed about 2.45pm.
>> The system was back online within about an hour but delays ensued into the
>> peak period.
>>
>> The head of Sydney https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/sydney
>> Trains, Matt Longland, said “based on the detailed review overnight” the
>> delays had been caused by a failure in a piece of technology and were not
>> “related to any suspected issue in terms of any cyber activity or any
>> anything of that nature”.
>>
>> The failure came in the network’s emergency system, known as Frequentis,
>> which Longland said was managed by a third-party “technology partner”.
>>
>> A backup system supposed to kick in in the event of a fault had not
>> worked, he said, something Sydney Trains was still investigating. Asked on
>> Thursday whether the system should be run in-house, he said the agency made
>> case-by-case decisions.
>>
>> “The decision that we made at the time in 2016 was really about buying a
>> proven system that operates internationally,” he said.
>>
>> “That’s the system that we’ve got. It has been operating very reliably
>> but certainly it’s a case-by-case basis in terms of technology.”
>>
>> The shutdown – that followed months of chaos on the network last year,
>> stemming from an industrial dispute with the state rail union – was seized
>> on by the NSW Labor party, with the shadow transport minister, Jo Haylen,
>> saying the government had failed to manage the city’s rail network.
>> Sign up to Guardian Australia's Afternoon Update
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>>
>> “The lights were out across Sydney trains but they were also out in the
>> retiring transport minister’s office,” she said.
>>
>> The Greens MP Sue Higginson encouraged those stuck in Sydney’s “train
>> chaos” to send their rideshare or taxi receipts to the premier, Dominic
>> Perrottet, and the NSW Liberals.
>>
>> Elliott said the glitch could have occurred under any government. “The
>> comments made by the Greens and Labor MPs simply reinforce the point that
>> both are desperately trying to score political points from a highly
>> operational transport issue,” Elliott said.
>>
>> “The fact is that this operational issue (glitch in router/modem) could
>> and would have occurred under any minister or government. Unless of course
>> the Greens and Labor parties know something we all don’t.”
>>
>> Uber said it had not been alerted by Transport for NSW about the outage,
>> and people who were charged above the surge cap would be refunded within 48
>> hours.
>>
>> “While in the past we have been alerted by Transport for NSW when there
>> were Sydney-wide transport issues, in this instance we had no warning that
>> there would be such a complete outage on the NSW trains network,” the
>> spokesperson said.
>>
>> Uber said that as soon as it became aware of the situation, the company
>> had “immediately” lowered the surge and communicated with driver-partners
>> encouraging them to come online.
>> *... as 2023 gathers pace, we have a small favour to ask.* A new year
>> means new opportunities, and we're hoping this year gives rise to some
>> much-needed stability and progress. Whatever happens, the Guardian will be
>> there, providing clarity and fearless, independent reporting from around
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>>
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>