Development of a Radical Track Switch System for Enhanced Performance

Track switches are safety-critical assets on a rail network that direct rolling stock from one track to another depending on the route set by the signalling system. As a huge percentage of failures in a rail network are caused by switch failures, maintenance of these systems is critical for the safety of the network. In order to reduce and eliminate the sources of failure of the system, a new radical track switch system, REPOINT has been developed. In this system, the switch rails are lifted from their initially locked position associated to a route, then moved and dropped to the opposite locked position for a new route. This new switch system is designed to overcome two challenges of the existing systems. Firstly, the new actuation mechanism eliminates the failure caused by the actuation system, and secondly the high-redundant actuation system improves the overall reliability of the system. This paper summarises the development in the areas of modelling, mechanical design, controller development of the REPOINT system.