NEW APPROACHES TO ACTIVE LEVEL CROSSING PROTECTION FOR CANE RAILWAYS

摘要

Active level crossing protection systems have been advancing rapidly within the sugar industry over the last ten years with the advent of new, cost effective technology. This technology has given the industry network operators the flexibility to activate a set of level crossing protection signals in almost any situation. Moreover, it has allowed the industry to install these signaling systems at a cost far beneath that of mainline systems. These innovative solutions and train detection systems have provided valuable economic benefits during a period when significant effort has been directed toward increased reliability and reduced maintenance. In particular, this paper reports on the use of hazard analysis (HAZOP) to increase the reliability of level crossing protection systems plus the use of remote communication systems to report failures or other aspects of system performance back to the mill.