Hi Guys!!!

[asrisaku]

I am a railway engineer from Bangkok who has worked in Bombardier since 2005. It's very challenging me to pass the exam. And I really have no idea how to start it.

My current responsibility is to design the signal software to light up the color aspects. My job also sometimes requires me to work with point machines to test their functions.

Over the last 7 years, it seems I still lack a lot of basics in Railway. I guess it might take a year at least for preparation. I hope you guys can give me the right direction. I found the webbrowser link to download GREEN IRSE books and I think I am going to read them all to gain my knowledge.

When I looked the IRSE exam in 2011, it seems too difficult to me to answer the questions. I would appreciate if someone could give me the study pack.

Another question about the exam location, because I am in Bangkok, I was wondering there is any place in BKK to take the exam. It's too expensive to fly for taking the exam. Any idea I would appreciate it?

Thanks for reading

[Peter]

I take it that you have had a look at the syllabus information on the main IRSE website and understand that you have to take module 1 and three other modules in any order, as many or as few at a time. You'll need to identify which modules would be best for you and start to look for the areas where you have the biggest gaps.

The Study pack is usually sent out to candidates when they register for the exam. This can be problematic if you are not sure yet that you want to sit the exam. I suggest that you speak to the exam office as they used to sell the study pack independent of signing up for the exam. There is a thread on the usefulness of the study pack and as you will see, some of the modules are better covered than others.

I am not sure if there are any study groups in your part of the world. Most tend to be "self learn and discuss" groups rather than outright teaching. This is very much the format of this forum and having a go at some questions and posting your efforts for comment may be a useful way of working out where you might want to concentrate. It would also give others some help in pointing you in the direction of specific relevant material - it is difficult to do this when you don't know what you don't know because you don't know what to ask for and we don't know you to tell you what your gaps are.

There are several threads in this part of the forum from people with similar starting out queries. Have a look and come back with any specific questions or even some posts with question attempts.

Peter

[PJW]

To add a little to the other Peter's reply:

1. yes it is challenging; it is meant to be! However it is more difficult for someone on their own rather than in a group. That said, I am afraid that is often the case in the UK as well. Of course you might find that there are several others in your company in Bangkok who might also be contemplating (one got in touch with me briefly last year), so do try to form your own group as mutual support helps.

2. However you have 7 years experience and as well as being in a design office you also have experience of working with point machines, so that is good. Too many are encourage inappropriately to attempt the exam without having the chance to gain requisite experience.

3. I guess you have not got a wide RAILWAY experience; hence suggest leaving mod 1 for now. Suggest that one or more from mod 2, mod 3 or mod 5 would be the best to start with. Certainly wouldn't recommend more that 2 modules per year- 2 & 3 or 3 & 5 make sensible pairings as there is an element of commonality of knowledge across the boundaries. Of course if you have knowledge of telecomms, then do remember to consider mods 4 & 6, but be warned there is no Study pack information and the best source of relevant railway related material is the IRSE Telecomms textbook.

4. The IRSE Green books are pretty old (I think they were all written before I joined the railway 30 years ago). So quite a lot has changed, BUT the fundamentals are the same, so they are worth reading provided you remember that they reflect their time. Signalling has been in constant evolution for 150 years and these books generally are set 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to current date. However the basic principles are sometimes easier to understand from simple electrics or mechanical than through the complexity of software and marginal considerations.

5. it is definitely a good idea to learn what you can from such sources; having the relevant knowledge is an essential part of being able to do the exam. However as you have realised, it is not everything; you need also to be able to fully understand what the specific question is asking and be able to construct and present an appropriate answer, all within the stringent time constraints. There are a lot of attempts and comments upon them on this website, so should be a good resource to draw upon.

6. The IRSE decide where to have exam centres depending on
a) where concentrations of candidates are based
b) where they can arrange the relevant facilities
c) the availability of exam invigilators (one of whom must be a FIRSE)
In this respect those in the UK are far far better off than anywhere else; in 2012 someone I know in China had a long train trip before a flight and therefore travelling to / from the exam took days. There is usually a centre in Singapore, but I appreciate that this entails a flight and almost certainly a night's accommodation prior to the exam so isn't cheap. Of course that is another reason for trying to get a group of your colleagues also interested in the exam; the more there are of you the better the chances of a convenient exam centre.

[asrisaku]

Thanks Peter!

Yes I had a look on main IRSE website several times and tried to find out what I need to know. I googled it about IRSE exam and finally I found this community very useful. I have sticked and gathered information from the posts and I realise this is not going to be easy for me to pass any module without well preparation.

You are definitely right about the difficulties I don't know what to ask for. That's why I would like to start as a beginner.

Hung :/

I take it that you have had a look at the syllabus information on the main IRSE website and understand that you have to take module 1 and three other modules in any order, as many or as few at a time. You'll need to identify which modules would be best for you and start to look for the areas where you have the biggest gaps.

The Study pack is usually sent out to candidates when they register for the exam. This can be problematic if you are not sure yet that you want to sit the exam. I suggest that you speak to the exam office as they used to sell the study pack independent of signing up for the exam. There is a thread on the usefulness of the study pack and as you will see, some of the modules are better covered than others.

I am not sure if there are any study groups in your part of the world. Most tend to be "self learn and discuss" groups rather than outright teaching. This is very much the format of this forum and having a go at some questions and posting your efforts for comment may be a useful way of working out where you might want to concentrate. It would also give others some help in pointing you in the direction of specific relevant material - it is difficult to do this when you don't know what you don't know because you don't know what to ask for and we don't know you to tell you what your gaps are.

There are several threads in this part of the forum from people with similar starting out queries. Have a look and come back with any specific questions or even some posts with question attempts.

Peter

---

Thanks a lot PJW for your recommendation.

I would follow on your suggestion; I'll leave module 1 and I would take module 2&3. My work sometimes need to involve with control tables, signalling layouts and circuit which interfaces with wayside objects. I would try to form a group in BKK if possible.

It seems I have no choice to find the exam location in BKK. That's pretty bad for me!

I would study hard to get what I want!!

Hung

To add a little to the other Peter's reply:

1. yes it is challenging; it is meant to be! However it is more difficult for someone on their own rather than in a group. That said, I am afraid that is often the case in the UK as well. Of course you might find that there are several others in your company in Bangkok who might also be contemplating (one got in touch with me briefly last year), so do try to form your own group as mutual support helps.

2. However you have 7 years experience and as well as being in a design office you also have experience of working with point machines, so that is good. Too many are encourage inappropriately to attempt the exam without having the chance to gain requisite experience.

3. I guess you have not got a wide RAILWAY experience; hence suggest leaving mod 1 for now. Suggest that one or more from mod 2, mod 3 or mod 5 would be the best to start with. Certainly wouldn't recommend more that 2 modules per year- 2 & 3 or 3 & 5 make sensible pairings as there is an element of commonality of knowledge across the boundaries. Of course if you have knowledge of telecomms, then do remember to consider mods 4 & 6, but be warned there is no Study pack information and the best source of relevant railway related material is the IRSE Telecomms textbook.

4. The IRSE Green books are pretty old (I think they were all written before I joined the railway 30 years ago). So quite a lot has changed, BUT the fundamentals are the same, so they are worth reading provided you remember that they reflect their time. Signalling has been in constant evolution for 150 years and these books generally are set 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to current date. However the basic principles are sometimes easier to understand from simple electrics or mechanical than through the complexity of software and marginal considerations.

5. it is definitely a good idea to learn what you can from such sources; having the relevant knowledge is an essential part of being able to do the exam. However as you have realised, it is not everything; you need also to be able to fully understand what the specific question is asking and be able to construct and present an appropriate answer, all within the stringent time constraints. There are a lot of attempts and comments upon them on this website, so should be a good resource to draw upon.

6. The IRSE decide where to have exam centres depending on
a) where concentrations of candidates are based
b) where they can arrange the relevant facilities
c) the availability of exam invigilators (one of whom must be a FIRSE)
In this respect those in the UK are far far better off than anywhere else; in 2012 someone I know in China had a long train trip before a flight and therefore travelling to / from the exam took days. There is usually a centre in Singapore, but I appreciate that this entails a flight and almost certainly a night's accommodation prior to the exam so isn't cheap. Of course that is another reason for trying to get a group of your colleagues also interested in the exam; the more there are of you the better the chances of a convenient exam centre.