With no less than 3 illustrated volumes, in French and in English, this publication directed by Walter SCHÖN can rightly be called “the Bible of railroad signalling in Europe”.
In the beginning, there were 11 professors from the Railroad ad urban transport system Master’s degrees (Ecole nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, which trains young recruits for the SNCF), Alstom, the RATP, Bombardier, etc.
The professors in fact were all professional engineers from the ranks of the companies named above, Walter SCHON himself having spent 10 years with Alstom and Matra. “The Master’s degree provides a general cultural, insight in railroad transport systems, and has a professional dissertation to obtain the diploma”, details Walter SCHON. “Given the excellent level and reputation of the group of lecturers we have, the background d information on the subject is extensive: indeed, that is how the idea to produce a book-form emerged”.
After 3 years’ work, the total edition will be presented in 3 volumes, the first of which came out in March and the 3rd and last is planned for Autumn 2013. The subject matter covers signalling systems, railroad automats, major rail systems and functions, and their applications in France and abroad. The examples are chosen from France, the UK and Germany which are “the three principal rail cultures in Europe.” “Many rail safety systems were installed following accidents, but we chose not to show these in the publication. Rather than show photographs of the scenes, we placed miniature trains in similar mock-ups”, stresses Walter SCHON. “What we wanted was a book that would be reader-friendly, to skim through at leisure, for professionals but also for railroad fans.”
1 500 copies of each volume will be printed and the Parisian transport consortium, RATP, has already acquired 200. “The books will become a reference text-book, adding visibility to the UTC, which already has recognised skills in rail signalling and safety measures.”
