Who's watching your crossing? Inspection and testing of grade crossing warning systems—always an onerous task—is getting easier, thanks to the efforts of suppliers

Railway Age, August, 2004 by Tom Judge

Last month's investigative reports on grade crossing accidents in the New York Tunes focused a harsh light on just how problematic the highway/rail interface can be for railroads as well as the motoring public. It's not just the difficulty of dealing with occasional, if inevitable, collisions, the overwhelming majority of which are caused by inattentive or careless motorists. For railroads, FRA-mandated inspection and testing of warning devices has always been a time-consuming, costly--and absolutely essential--task. The railway supply industry, as vividly evidenced at the most recent RSSI exhibit in Nashville, has been diligently working behind the scenes to develop cost-effective new technologies that will make inspection and testing far less problematic. Following are several examples of the latest technology.

Automating monthly tests

The Crossing Performance Monitor from GE Transportation Rail reduces the time and cost to perform government-mandated monthly, quarterly, and annual testing of grade crossing warning and control equipment. "The big focus of the product is to automate the monthly tests, which have the largest cost impact," says Rob McKeel, signaling business leader. "The CPM interfaces with many of the main crossing systems--gates, rights, bells--to make sure they are functioning properly." The company expects to launch the complete package in the third quarter.

The basis for the CPM is the HAWK event recorder. Sub-systems such as the Mast Sensor Hub, Smart Bell, gate tip sensors, and the Light Intensity System all work together to communicate with a Power Line Network Interface using existing railroad cabling to provide real-time information to the HAWK, which is located in the bungalow. The CPM uses existing bungalow cabling that feeds power to the flashing lights. Information is aggregated mad transmitted over the wires supplying power to the flashing lights back to the bungalow to the Power Line Network Interface. This unit gathers data and passes it on to the HAWK, This is a continuous operation, carrying out tests as every train passes, as opposed to the FRA's every 30 days. "With this feedback, the railroad's ability to react and be proactive on crossing operation is greatly enhanced," says McKeel.

Medium- and high-priority alarms, as determined by the customer, get transmitted as they occur. Low-priority messages are logged in the event recorder. GE Transportation standardized serial outputs from the HAWK, which is a centralized aggregation point for the monitor.

CPM installation "is simple," says Product Manager Vince Burget, "giving railroads an opportunity for retrofitting existing crossings."

GE Transportation also offers an Integrated Wayside Platform. The wayside (track circuit and interlocking) portion was introduced last year, while the crossing controller portion debuted this year. The IWP, says McKeel, "integrates wayside and crossing functionality to give the industry a single platform to use in both applications. This provides cost savings for spares and chassis, because customers can use it in multiple places. Also, it reduces application costs for integrated signaling/crossing installations. You may need train detection or a small interlocking controller integrated with the grade crossing application."

"Crossing in a Box"

Safetran Systems Corp.'s Grade Crossing Protector 4000 System (GCP 4000) incorporates in one unit "everything needed to control, operate, and maintain a crossing." Safetran calls it the "Crossing in a Box." The GCP 4000 "reduces initial wiring and installation costs," says Safetran. "It eliminates interconnect wiring by integrating it with the chassis. The only external connections required are for track circuits, warning devices, and a d.c. power source." SEAR IIi, a version of Safetran's SEAR II event analyzer/recorder, can be included in the GCP 4000 to provide monitoring, recording, and remote reporting capabilities.

GCP 4000 modules (track, CPU, crossing controller, SEAR If, etc.) can be used in various chassis configurations, from a basic single-track GCP through a redundant six-track GCP that includes the recorder and crossing controller. Remote GCP 4000 units may be directly connected via spread spectrum radio, eliminating HD modules. Because of the system's compactness, much smaller enclosures are required for crossing control systems.

Safetran simplified the design of its Model WT/F Cantilever to reduce field installation time. The Cantilever is available as a basic structure or as a complete, wired unit, and is fully AREMA and AASHTO compliant. An optional auxiliary mast allows a gate mechanism to be mounted directly on the cantilever.

Safetran also offers a Wayside Alarm and Management System (WAMS), a PC-based tool that can be Internet-based. It gathers operational information from multiple highway crossings, generates trouble tickets, schedules inspections, and stores results, reducing program maintenance time and problem response. Ultimately, WAMS can reduce crossing downtime and the resulting delays to both vehicular and rail traffic.