Abstract
The electrical energy that powers the signal systems for railways is typically provided by commercial services adjacent or near the enclosures housing the signal equipment. In remote or areas of challenging terrain, railways have installed their own signal power lines to maintain a high level of reliability while lowering the cost of energy supply. These power lines are typically fed from a commercial power source and fed to the railway at a lower voltage (< 1KV). These lines are controlled from local manipulation of fuse cutouts and do not provide for any redundancy. When there is trouble on the signal power line, the response requires railway staff to go to each site on the line to investigate the trouble and provide corrective or temporary measures to restore service.
This paper proposes to utilize existing infrastructure to control and indicate the signal power lines that includes sectionalization, remote stop/start of standby generators, and other function. Most signal power lines are concentrated at Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) points. These locations have connectivity to the central dispatching office via “Code Line” that can be expanded to incorporate a separate controls and indications for the signal power systems. Just as Dispatchers have software to help manage traffic on the railway; the new separate controls for the power system can be created to mimic safety protocols for system operation.
