Curriculum Vitae - Paul Steane

Full Name: Paul John Steane

Location: Timperley, Altrincham, Cheshire, UK

Born: 24 September 1957

Marital Status: Single

Nationality: British - Full British Passport held

Own home owned

Clean Driving License held

Personal Track Safety Certificate held

Web Page: http://www.steane.com

Present Employment

• from February 1998 to present date: Solutions Engineer, ALSTOM Transport, Preston, UK (was Customer Services, GEC ALSTHOM Traction Ltd. until 21 June 1998)
• from 1989 to February 1998: Senior Design Engineer, GEC ALSTHOM Traction Ltd., Manchester, UK

Major Projects (in reverse date order):

• 2007: development of reliability improvements and extra diagnostic capabilities for Class 456 traction control software.
• 2005-2006: development of reliability improvements and extra diagnostic capabilities for Class 319 traction control software.
• 2003-2004: development of improved diagnostic software for 1980s/1990s GEC/ALSTOM traction equipment.
• 2000-2002: continuing development of camshaft control system for d.c. trains, including application to UK Class 442 e.m.u. and fitment to train 442409 (photo available).
• 1998-1999: final design of hardware and software for refurbished camshaft control system for d.c. trains, including commissioning in Melbourne, Australia (photo available).
• 1997-1998: design and supervision of design of items to allow the Traction and Auxiliary Convertor equipment of ALSTOM's Juniper train to more easily obtain its Vehicle Safety Case.
• 1997: design of PWM Encoder Unit - a self-contained unit to read the position of the driver's Master Controller, or the demand level from an Automatic Train Operation system, and transmit this Tractive Effort demand information as a PWM signal down a pair of train lines:
  • standardised design - used on many different contracts, using Lattice EPLD for control logic;
  • fully compliant with new BS EN 50155:1996 requirements
  • used on contracts such as Arlanda Airport Express (photo available)
• 1996: design of new propulsion control electronics for refurbishment of Kowloon Canton Railway (Hong Kong) vehicles (photo available), with the following features:
  • functionally identical to equipment provided some 15 years earlier, for inter-working compatibility;
  • single PCB, compared to original rack-based system, giving large cost saving;
  • use of more modern components and techniques, for example to eliminate select-on-test components;
  • actual reliability figures for 60 units as at August 1999: 2.5 million km between failures
• 1992-1994: design of hardware for Train Management System for Seoul Subway Lines 4, 7 & 8 in South Korea:
  • design of two Actel Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices as peripherals for ARM610-based microprocessor PCB;
  • design of Actel FPGA device as the peripheral controller for Input and Output Interface PCBs based on the Manchester Metrolink design but adapted for the new bus;
  • three visits totalling two months were made to South Korea to assist with commissioning trials.
• 1989-1991: design of Programmable Logic Controller for Manchester Metrolink Light Rail Vehicles:
  • hardware design of Input and Output Interface PCBs interfacing proprietary 8086-based bus system to the electrically noisy vehicle systems;
  • software design of the Application Programme, including Fault Logging and Reporting (written in PL/M and 8086 Assembly Language).

Previous Employment

• 1980-1989: Design Engineer, GEC Industrial Controls Ltd., Rugby, Warwickshire, UK
• 1976-1980: Student Apprentice, GEC Industrial Controls Ltd., Kidsgrove, Staffs., UK

Areas of expertise

• Analogue control system design.
• Digital logic design, including:
  • 4000 series, 74HC series etc. logic families;
  • complex Programmable Logic Devices such as Actel and Lattice.
• Interfacing with electrically noisy equipment:
  • RIA, IEC and EN standards;
  • EMC requirements.
• Microprocessor system design, including:
  • 8086, 8051, 8096/80C196 and ARM family devices;
  • dedicated peripheral device design.
• Software programming, including:
  • Assembly language for 8086, 8051, 8096/80C196 and ARM family devices;
  • Basic, PL/M, C, C++.

Academic Qualifications

• 1980: Bachelor of Technology 2.2 (Hons) Electrical & Electronic Engineering (‘Thin sandwich’ course with industrial training at GEC Industrial Controls at Kidsgrove)
• 1976-1980: University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
• 1976: 4 'A'-levels:
  • Grade A: Mathematics.
  • Grade B: Further Mathematics, Physics.
  • Grade C: General Studies.
• 1973/4: 8 'O'-levels:
  • Grade 1: Mathematics, Physics.
  • Grade 3: Chemistry, Additional Mathematics, English, French, Latin, Geography.
• 1969-1976: Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall, West Midlands, UK.

Professional Qualifications

• 1990: Member of Institution of Electrical Engineers
• 1990: Chartered Engineer

Computer Literacy

• Advanced knowledge of PC hardware.
• Advanced knowledge of DOS and Windows (including 95/98, NT and XP).
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Familiar with UNIX.

Interests and Hobbies

• Preservation and restoration of AC Electric Locomotives (active member of The AC Locomotive Group)
• Railways in the UK and Europe:
  • Travelling by Train;
  • Locomotives and rolling stock;
  • Study of closed railway routes;
  • Signalling systems;
  • Safety and Accidents.
• Listening to Classical Music.
• Computers.
• Photography.

See also my Home Page and my Personal Details for more information.

You can e-mail me at

Copyright © 1997 - 2007 Paul Steane.

Last updated on 16 December 2007 at 10:42.