Railway Signalling Principles
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Jörn Pachl Railway Signalling Principles 2 Railway Signalling Principles Published under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence Author: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörn Pachl, FIRSE Professor of railway systems engineering at Technische Universität Braunschweig Braunschweig, June 2020 https://doi.org/10.24355/dbbs.084-202006161443-0 Railway Signalling Principles 3 PREFACE Railway signalling systems are complex control systems. As a result of the long railway histo- ry, there are a lot of specific national solutions based on different technologies. The key to learn how signalling systems work is to understand the fundamental control principles these systems are based on. By definition, the signaling principles are the underlying principles of a signalling-based safeworking system that are based on the national standards but are inde- pendent of the requirements of a specific railway operating company and of the technology used. This E-book explains the fundamental principles all railway signalling systems have in com- mon. It is done in a generic way that does not focus on specific national solutions. The inten- tion is to provide core knowledge of long-term value that will not be outdated just by the next generation of technology. The content of this E-book is based on the long-standing experi- ence of teaching railway operations and signalling at universities and higher vocational train- ing institutions in different parts of the world. Jörn Pachl https://doi.org/10.24355/dbbs.084-202006161443-0 4 Railway Signalling Principles CONTENTS Preface ..................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Basic Elements and Terms ................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Controlled Trackside Elements ....................................................................................... 6 1.1.1 Movable Track Elements .......................................................................................... 6 1.1.2 Lineside Signals ....................................................................................................... 8 1.1.3 Track Clear Detection .............................................................................................. 9 1.2 Basic Operating Terms ................................................................................................. 13 2 Spacing Trains .................................................................................................................... 19 2.1 Theory of Train Separation ........................................................................................... 19 2.2 Train Control Principles ................................................................................................ 21 2.2.1 Train Control by Lineside Signals .......................................................................... 21 2.2.2 Train Control by Cab Signalling ............................................................................. 30 2.3 Block Control Principles ................................................................................................ 32 2.3.1 Block Control by verbal Communication ................................................................ 33 2.3.2 Block systems for Fixed Block Operation ............................................................... 34 2.3.3 Block Control in Moving Block Operations ............................................................. 42 3 Interlocking Principles ......................................................................................................... 43 3.1 Interlocking Routes ....................................................................................................... 43 3.1.1 Route Classes ........................................................................................................ 43 3.1.2 Point locking ........................................................................................................... 44 3.1.3 Locking and releasing Routes ................................................................................ 46 3.1.4 Conflicting Routes .................................................................................................. 47 3.1.5 Flank Protection ..................................................................................................... 48 3.1.6 Overlaps ................................................................................................................. 51 3.1.7 Intermediate Points ................................................................................................ 53 3.1.8 Track Clear detection ............................................................................................. 53 3.2 Internal Logic of Interlocking Systems .......................................................................... 54 3.2.1 Tabular Interlocking ................................................................................................ 54 3.2.2 Geographical Interlocking ...................................................................................... 56 3.3 Generations of Interlocking Systems ............................................................................ 58 3.4 Handling Interlocking Failures ...................................................................................... 60 4 Automatic Train Protection .................................................................................................. 63 4.1 Classification of ATP Systems ...................................................................................... 63 https://doi.org/10.24355/dbbs.084-202006161443-0 Railway Signalling Principles 5 4.2 European Train Control System (ETCS) ...................................................................... 64 4.2.1 ETCS and ERTMS ................................................................................................. 64 4.2.2 ETCS Levels .......................................................................................................... 64 4.3 Chinese Train Control System (CTCS) ......................................................................... 69 4.4 Positive Train Control (PTC) ......................................................................................... 70 5 Level Crossings ................................................................................................................... 72 5.1 Level Crossing Protection ............................................................................................. 72 5.2 Control and Monitoring of Level Crossings ................................................................... 73 5.3 Calculation of the Initiation Section ............................................................................... 75 References ............................................................................................................................. 76 Symbols in Diagrams ............................................................................................................. 77 Glossary ................................................................................................................................. 78 https://doi.org/10.24355/dbbs.084-202006161443-0 6 Railway Signalling Principles 1 BASIC ELEMENTS AND TERMS The purpose of signalling systems is to ensure safe movements of trains on a railway infra- structure by locking movable track elements in a proper position, checking the clearance of track sections, locking out conflicting moves, and control train movements in a way to keep them safely apart. This first chapter describes the trackside elements controlled by signalling systems and explains the basic terms used in the operating procedures for the safe control of movements with railway vehicles on a railway infrastructure. 1.1 Controlled Trackside Elements 1.1.1 Movable Track Elements Turnouts A turnout is an assembly of rails, movable points, and a frog, which effect the tangential branching of tracks and allows trains or vehicles to run over one track or another (Figure 1.1). Figure 1.1 Components of a turnout The movability of the points is provided by using point blades made of flexible steel. In older installations, there are sometimes still turnouts at which the movability of the point blades is effected by bolted joints. The points may be operated manually or by a point machine. Point machines are either electric motor drives or electrically controlled pneumatic cylinder drives. In case of a small angle of divergence, a movable frog (also called ‘swing nose frog’) operat- ed by an additional point machine could be provided. Movements on a turnout where the points face approaching traffic are called ‘facing point movements’ whereas movements in which the frog faces approaching traffic are called ‘trailing point movements’ (Figure 1.2). The angle of divergence is not stated in degrees but either by its tangent written as a frac- tion, e.g., 1 : 12, or by the so-called turnout or frog number, which is the reciprocal of that fraction. So, a 1 : 12 angle equals a frog number 12. The limit of occupation of the conver- ging tracks is called ‘the fouling point’. Many railways mark this limit with a trackside fouling point indicator. https://doi.org/10.24355/dbbs.084-202006161443-0 Railway Signalling Principles 7 Figure 1.2 Movements on points Note: The term turnout is mostly used in civil engineering. In railway operation and signalling, a turnout is usually referred