Railway Switch Heater Control System

The Railway Switch Heater Control System allows remote operation or the heating elements of the toe and heel of each point, avoiding before adverse weather conditions (ice and snow) the points from being immobilized, preventing decrease the capacity of the railway line.

ARCHITECTURE

  • A control cabinet in the interlocking Office for maintenance operators: It has touch screen 17 ” to represent and control the various elements of the system. This cabinet has an isolation transformer on the power and communications to secure the cabinets located in the trackside.
  • A Central Meteorological with snow ice detection that in the event of failure of the central wolf gives the information needed for activation of the resistors.
  • Monitoring unit of the heaters state located in the circulation cabinet with a selector of the operation mode.
  • A Cabinet of Energy: It has different power components, isolation transformer, protection (switch-fuse and circuit breakers)
  • Distribution cabinets: It has the corresponding isolation transformer. Phase of protection (Circuit breakers, residual current release). Phase control (power control relays responsible for controlling the consumption of resistance heating of the tip and heel of each needle), input-output node responsible for collecting the information of the consumption of points relays, differential relay, door open, state bypass contactor state, state-heating ventilation unit, collect information from the central wolf and activate the contactor control of the points heating remotely.
  • Heating unit responsible to avoid condensation.
  • The outdoor cabinets have fan heaters or heating resistors to prevent condensation; do not require forced ventilation in addition to having all its components with extended temperature range.
  • All necessary cable network for communications, power supply and secure energy supply.

CONTROLS

The System has four operating modes, ie, four different ways to act on the switch heater.

  • Automatic mode: In this mode, the activation or deactivation of the heating is performed automatically through a heating regulator for point (wolf central). This operating mode is possible in any of the three commands seen in the previous paragraph.
  • Manual Mode: In this mode, the operator forces the activation of the heaters, regardless of environmental conditions that exist and the indications of the wolf central. This operating mode is possible in any of the three commands seen in the previous paragraph.
  • Offline Mode:In this mode, the Operator forces the deactivation of the heaters, regardless of environmental conditions that exist and the indications of the central wolf. This operating mode is possible in any of the three commands seen in the previous paragraph.
  • Test mode: In this way, force the activation of the heaters for 15 minutes in order to verify that, during this time, the temperature of the rail increases. This mode is only possible in Remote and Local modes ACE.

MAIN FEATURES

  • The system allows realize a preventive maintenance test check carried out by the system elements (rail resistors, Central Weather and the Wolf, contactors, etc).
  • Friendly interface easy to understand and use. Screen display of the complete equipment status. Touch Monitor Local ACE to execute commands.
  • Historical events and faults.
  • Card access control to local control.
  • Control of the heaters remotely, Local or Local ACE ACG.
  • Touch Monitor Local ACE to execute orders.
  • Measuring the temperature of hot rail.
  • Measure temperature and relative humidity.

EQUIPMENT INSTALLED