Ever since she was a child, Yvette Griggs has been curious about how things work.
“My dad was an electrical engineer, and he was a great role model for me,” she said.
“I have a very mathematical brain, and I love problem-solving, and he always encouraged me to think about things more deeply.”
Griggs decided to follow in her father’s footsteps, studying maths and science in high school before going on to complete a degree in computer systems engineering.
She then applied for a general electrical engineering job at Queensland Rail.
“I interviewed with them, and they told me: ‘You’d be really great in signalling,’” she said. “So, I looked into it, and realised I absolutely agreed!
“One of the activities I quite enjoyed at university was where you had Field Programmable Gate Arrays (a type of integrated circuit that can be programmed) and its instantaneous logic – very similar to signalling, where you have a model of relay-based interlocking. It clicked in my brain as something familiar.”
After a graduate year at Queensland Rail, Griggs switched to the mining industry but soon realised signalling was her calling, and returned to work for Aurizon.
“There are a lot of things about signalling that I enjoy,” she said. “From problem-solving to making systems that suit how they’re going to be used, there’s a degree of creative freedom that isn’t possible in other areas of engineering.”
Upgrading the North Coast Line
Griggs now works as a Senior Signalling Engineer at Alstom, where she has recently finished delivering an upgrade of signalling equipment at stations between Caboolture to Gympie North along the North Coast Line.
The line’s signalling system was given an upgrade, with European Train Control System or ETCS Level 1 overlayed on the previous system.
“One of the reasons I joined Alstom was to work on this specific project,” said Griggs.
“Having previously worked for Queensland Rail and Aurizon, I have an understanding of their traditional interlockings, how they operate, and what equipment they use.
“That gave me a great opportunity to be a bridge between the old system and the new.”
For this project, the customer already had in place a mix of relay-based interlockings and processor-based interlockings. Rather than completely removing the previous interlocking system and starting from scratch, the team delivered more of a “refresh” an upgrade to the existing network.
Griggs explained: “Our approach was to add-on ETCS to the older system, rather than bulldozing everything.
“It might be tempting to start from scratch and to have everything new, but it’s also great to recognise the value in what’s already working well and to incrementally improve existing networks through technology like ETCS – an area where Alstom is an expert. These interlockings are functioning smoothly, so it’s a lesson in building on a solid foundation rather than reinventing the wheel. No project has infinite funding and these interlockings are all functioning well; it’s not time to replace them yet.
“You always adapt to the budget, listen to the customer and work together to find the right solution together.”
Griggs said this kind of flexibility is a necessary part of signalling.
“Our signalling solutions can be tailored to suit requirements,” she said. “In fact, they often have to be, because a lot of the time the biggest cost in a project will be your civil works.
“For example, you can’t change the landscape – like where a mountain is – you just have to be expert in working with others to find the best solution together.
“Once you have your track layout confirmed, you can tailor the signalling solution to suit it.”
The benefits of ETCS
The advantages of installing ETCS include improved interoperability, with Alstom’s trackside system working in tandem with Hitachi’s onboard system.
“Because ETCS is a standard, everyone who provides something that’s branded as ETCS should be able to work together,” Griggs said.
“So, you can have Alstom’s brand of onboard ETCS and another company’s trackside ETCS or vice versa, and it can all talk to each other.”
ETCS also offers safety and efficiency benefits.
“It’s got driver supervision, so the system knows when the train should be stopping next, and it has an in-built profile of how it should slow down, following a braking curve.
“If the train starts deviating from what the system knows to be safe, it will intervene. Particularly with higher levels of ETCS, it also allows for more efficient driving of the trains, because the driver has a more advanced view of the route rather than what they can see with their own eyes out the window.”
Working with Alstom
Griggs said she enjoys working with Alstom for many reasons.
“It’s a great place to work,” she said. “I’ve been over to Canada and to our headquarters in France, as well as our Centre of Excellence in Belgium, which have been amazing opportunities for me.
“As a market leader in Australia and New Zealand and one of the world’s leading pure play rail businesses, the company has unparalleled focus on the rail segment that others simply don’t have.
“Alstom has its own product line that it’s aligned to rather than being a floating consultant, which appeals to me.”
As a woman engineer in a male-dominated industry, Griggs is passionate about levelling the playing field.
She is the Employee Resource Group Leader for Alstom’s gender diversity group in Australia and New Zealand, and said the company doesn’t just talk the talk.
“We have five different diversity, equity and inclusion pillars in Alstom Australia with many global initiatives aimed at making a difference,” she said. “Alstom doesn’t have the corporate facelessness that you might expect from such a large company. It really cares about its people.”
