In message snipped-for-privacy@candehope.me.uk>, at 15:33:38 on Fri, 13 Sep 2019, charles snipped-for-privacy@candehope.me.uk> remarked:
That's a question for the people who approved the software update.
<sigh> yes, currently that is the situation, and arses should be kicked until is is no longer the situation. Requiring a fitter to visit a stranded train full off passengers is just bollocks.
I fully agree. If a product is designed so it fails in a way that is "irreparable" by the end user, because the mains frequency varies by 2 Hz, and doesn't at least enter a limp-home mode until the root cause is righted, then that is a very poor design. Thus the *cause* of all the delays to rail passengers in my view is not the slight reduction in mains frequency - it's the failure of the product to tolerate that and recover gracefully from it. The designers of the train have a much bigger case to answer than the designers of the UK mains grid system. If really necessary, the trains should have cut power to the motors for the time that the mains was out of spec, but should have reapplied it as if nothing had happened once the mains gets back to spec.
Sadly, leaving passengers stranded on a train away from a station, or leaving drivers trapped on a motorway without being able to turn round or take another route, is regarded as socially acceptable, instead of being regarded as "we must move heaven and earth to get things going as soon as possible".
No the software should know it was an external event and that it has been fixed so a restart should just be something the driver or guard can do.
After all the system spotted the problem and went "safe" so restarting should still be OK even if it detects the same fault and shuts down straight away.
but that's a fault on the train, the grid failure wasn't a fault on the train.
No it should not have, the driver may have been investigating what had happened and it would be bad to start the train without him being there. It didn't need a technitian to visit to check if the software was working which is the only reason I can think of why they would need a technitian to restart the system.
Indeed it nothing to do wqithntehgrid,, just rotten train software.
The balance ahead of time is in the main determined between the generators and a party operating on behalf of the 'consumers' i.e. the utilities, based on NG demand forecasts and those of the utilities
The actual balancing in 'real time' is purchased on a commercial basis by NG from the generators
The operational margins are determined to cover the largest generation / transmission system loss.
The actual margin is achieved by reserving system support generation for frequency/reactive purposes, normally with 'headroom' above the actual plant output, this could be as little as 2% across the conventional plant fleet.
Maintaining the generation is the function of the generation supplying party.
NG is not permitted to own, operate or directly despatch generation. It can only instruct a generating party to supply at a particular time on the basis of a previously agreed price.
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Thanks mike
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