Peterborough Train Describer

The request was refused by Network Rail Limited.

Clive D.W. Feather

Dear Network Rail Limited,

Please provide the detailed stepping tables for the Peterborough PSB Train Describer.

Files of the form found in response FOI2015/01202 or FOI2016/00103 are acceptable provided that all codes are explained. Track circuit and route names need not be further explained, but an explanation of any other object identity code will be required.

Yours faithfully,

Clive D.W. Feather

FOI, Network Rail Limited

Reference number: FOI2017/00010

Dear Mr Feather

Information request

Your correspondence was received by Network Rail on 31st Jan 2017. I can confirm that your request is being processed under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). I will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible and in any event by 31st Jan 2017

On occasion we may need to consult with third parties about requests, in line with the recommendations in the Code of Practice issued by the then Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please remember to quote your reference number in all future communications.

Yours sincerely,

Joanne West
Information Officer

Freedom of Information Team
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/FOI/

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

3 Attachments

Reference number: FOI2017-00010

Dear Mr Feather

Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Joanne West
Information Officer

Freedom of Information Team
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/FOI/

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Clive D.W. Feather

Ref: FOI2017-00010

Dear Ms West,

Thank you for your response to my FoI request.

Firstly, I understand the reason for the redactions and have no objection to it.

Secondly, I asked for all codes to be explained and you stated that you do not hold this information. I have difficulty in accepting that since this is information that would be required to verify, test, or modify the train describer. The codes in the information you have provided fall into two groups:
(1) Triggers and conditions in the stepping table, such as "TB10A19" on line 0002 (that is, the line beginning "0002:" or "TB10C16" on line 0141. From comparison with (say) line 0386 or line 0416 it is clear that these represent track circuit, signal, points, or other similar identifiers. I note that in response to FOI2015/01202 you supplied a file "Signalling Output Table.txt", and in response to FOI2016/00103 a file "K2 SClassBits 10Mar14.pdf". Examining those files suggests that there will be a similar file for Peterborough which maps these codes to real objects or states in the same way.
(2) The miscellaneous codes found in the table such as "N,S" on line 0001, "N" on line 0002, "C" on line 0005, "H" on line 0245, "JKV" on line 1089, or "R" on line 1091. I would expect there to be a manual describing these codes and their meanings.

In each case, this would appear to be data that you will already hold and not new data that I am asking you to create. On the assumption that this was a miscommunication between us, please re-check as to whether you hold that information and, if not, how maintenance staff are able to understand the intended behaviour of the describer.

Yours sincerely,

Clive D.W. Feather

FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Clive

Thank you for your email, I am looking into this and will respond with the next few days.

Yours Sincerely

Joanne

Joanne West
Information Officer

Freedom of Information Team
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/FOI/

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Clive D.W. Feather

Ref: FOI2017-00010

Dear Ms West,

I have been informed that the second group of codes mentioned in my previous email, such as "N,S" on line 0001, are all described in a Network Rail document number NR/PS/SIG/00012. If this is correct, then supplying that document would satisfy that part of my request.

Yours sincerely,

Clive D.W. Feather

FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Mr Feather

Thank you for your email.

I have also just been advised of this document's existence and understand that it contains the explanations you were looking for. This document is readily accessible (for a fee) on Network Rail's Standards Publication site (see link below).

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/...

I hope that this helps you to interpret the information we previously provided. If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Joanne West
Information Officer

Freedom of Information Team
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/FOI/

Appeal Rights
If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, please write to the FOI Compliance and Appeals Manager at Network Rail, Freedom of Information, The Quadrant,
Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, MK9 1EN, or by email at [email address]. Your request must be submitted within 40 working days of receipt of this letter.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF

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Clive D.W. Feather

Ref: FOI2017-00010

Dear Ms West,

On 1st February 2017 I wrote to you concerning the codes used in the train describer data you supplied. I divided the codes into two groups. The second group was addressed in my email of 7th February and your reply on the same day. However, I am still waiting for a reply to the first group. To repeat:

"you stated that you do not hold this information. I have difficulty in accepting that since this is information that would be required to verify, test, or modify the train describer.
[...]
(1) Triggers and conditions in the stepping table, such as "TB10A19" on line 0002 (that is, the line beginning "0002:" or "TB10C16" on line 0141. From comparison with (say) line 0386 or line 0416 it is clear that these represent track circuit, signal, points, or other similar identifiers. I note that in response to FOI2015/01202 you supplied a file "Signalling Output Table.txt", and in response to FOI2016/00103 a file "K2 SClassBits 10Mar14.pdf". Examining those files suggests that there will be a similar file for Peterborough which maps these codes to real objects or states in the same way. "

When can I expect a reponse to this?

Yours sincerely,

Clive D.W. Feather

FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Mr Feather

I am looking into your email and will respond with an update as soon as possible.

Yours Sincerely

Joanne

Joanne West
Information Officer

Freedom of Information Team
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/FOI/

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Juhani left an annotation ()

I shall remind that the Peterborough Train Describer does not currently report any signalling items through TD.net, so there isn't a Signalling Output File.

Clive D.W. Feather left an annotation ()

Thanks. So it's not the Signalling Output File.

I just want Network Rail to tell me what "TB10A19" and "TB10C16" etc. mean. They're not track circuit IDs. I don't believe there is no document saying what they are; that would imply that the meanings are only ever passed down by word of mouth!

FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Mr Feather

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding. I am still making enquiries within the business and will have a response for you by early next week.

Yours Sincerely

Joanne West
Information Officer

Freedom of Information Team
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/FOI/

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FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Mr Feather

Please accept my apologies in the delay in responding to you. I have been consulting with colleagues in the business.

You noted that we previously provided S Class Bits files and a SOP file for other train describer areas and have requested on for Peterborough.

Peterborough, I have been informed, is what is known as a "legacy train describer system" provided by the Siemens' predecessor and does not have any train describer data. Therefore we do not hold a sclass file or a SOP file for this area nor any similar file.

There may be some files held by our signalling department which will contain some of this information, and you may wish to make a request for these. As your are aware there may be security concerns regarding the release of signalling information

Yours sincerely

Joanne West
Information Officer

Freedom of Information Team
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

Telephone: 01908 782405
Email: [Network Rail request email]
Web: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/FOI/

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Clive D.W. Feather

Dear Ms West,

Ref: FOI2017-00010

Thank you for your email of 3rd April.

You state that Peterborough "does not have any train describer data". You have either misunderstood or been misled on this, since you provided me with train describer data on 31st January. I accept your statement that there isn't a sclass file or a SOP file for this area, but this is not relevant: those were suggested as possible sources for the data I asked for but aren't, of themselves, the information I am requesting. You have provided me with part of the information I requested originally but not all of it, and I am still waiting for the rest or a credible explanation of why you can't provide it.

You write "There may be some files held by our signalling department which will contain some of this information, and you may wish to make a request for these." I am unable to accept the possibility that this information is not held by Network Rail. In the file you sent me it states that the data was checked by some person (whose name was redacted for reasons which I accept). That person could not have carried out a proper check of the data without knowing the meanings of codes such as "TB10A19". Assuming even a basic level of systems assurance, this information exists in writing. As for making a request for these, I requested this data on 3rd January ("but an explanation of any other object identity code will be required"), on 1st February, and on 3rd March. This is therefore the fourth request for this specific information in whatever form it is held.

You mention security concerns, but these are clearly not relevant given the information you have already released both to me in this case and to others in FOI requests such as those I have already cited. To demonstrate this, consider the step on line 0376 from berth 0398 to berth 0396: this is triggered by "TB6C17" on condition that "TB6C16" is true. Now consider the step on line 0394 from berth 0413 to berth 0417: this is triggered by occupation of track circuit T7411 when track circuit T7312 is already occupied. Similarly, the step on line 0397 from berth 0417 to berth 0421 is triggered by occupation of track circuit T7413 when route 417(1)M is set. I can guess from other information available to me that "TB6C17" is occupation of track circuit T7022 and "TB6C16" is route 398(1)M being set but, whether or not this is the case, the security risks of the stepping conditions on line 0376 cannot be different to those on lines 0394 and 0397. In any case, since a train describer is not a safety-critical part of the railway infrastructure, I am sceptical that there are any security concerns that apply to it all, let alone any that apply to Huntingdon station but not Peterborough station.

Since this requested information is at least 27 working days late already, please expedite this request. If it will help, I can make myself available to discuss this directly with the relevant technical experts by telephone, email, or Skype.

Yours sincerely,

Clive D.W. Feather

FOI, Network Rail Limited

Dear Mr Feather

Thank you for your email of 10 April 2017 querying the explanation which has been provided to you by Ms West.

I confirm that we are treating your email as a request for an internal review of the handling of your request, in accordance with our process for dealing with complaints. The reference for the review is FOI2017/00481.

I note that you have suggested that you could contact the relevant business experts directly; I will take this suggestion forward as part of the internal review. We will aim to complete the review by 11 May 2017 and will write to you if an extension of time is required.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

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Bendall Colin, Network Rail Limited

Dear Mr Feather

Internal review
Our reference: FOI2017/00481

I am writing to advise you that I am still working on the review you requested. I am making further enquiries in order to determine whether we can provide you with the requested information.

I am therefore extending the time for response to 40 working days in line with the Information Commissioner’s guidance and will respond to your request by 9 June 2017 at latest.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer – Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

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Bendall Colin, Network Rail Limited

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Feather

Please find attached our response to your request for an internal review.

Yours sincerely

Colin Bendall
Information Officer - Compliance & Appeals
Freedom of Information Team
Network Rail
The Quadrant
Elder Gate
Milton Keynes
MK9 1EN

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