Easy to maintain, easy to use, but how easy to implement?

摘要

RAIL research should shift in the direction of what it can do for passengers and freight use, rather than concentrating on the railway's various parts and functions. That's an overall message from the latest Rail Technical Strategy, published in October by RSSB (the former Rail Safety and Standards Board). It drops the nine functional themes of 2012's version (Control, Command and Communications; Energy; Infrastructure; Rolling Stock; Information; Customer Experience; Whole-System Approach; Innovation; People) and introduces five categories: 1 Reliable and easy to maintain. 2 Easy to use for all. 3 Optimised train operations. 4 Data-driven. 5 Low emission. Even these five could be boiled down further, to say that the railway should concentrate on being reliable, easy to use and environmentally friendly.