REGISTER

Katherine Eastaughffe BSc (Hons), DPhil, CPEng, FIEAust, RPEQ Acmena

Gary Foster BEng Electrical & Electronic (Hons) Rail Safety Systems

This paper provides an overview of the Australian development of an innovative low-cost solution for the provision of active signage at rural and regional level crossings. The development fundamentally sought to achieve low cost without impacting safety.

The Rail Active Crossing System (RAXS) has been designed from the ground up to drive down the costs of installation, commissioning and operation through a range of innovative technologies, including: integral solar power subsystem and optimised power management; integral dual band encrypted wireless communications; integral frangibility for possible road vehicle impact; integral detailed monitoring and reporting capability; patented Fail-to-Safe capability whereby the normal RX5 “active” warning sign (flashing lights) can be automatically replaced by a passive RX2 style “STOP” sign in the event of any critical system failure.

The solution has undergone extensive independent safety assessment and at the time of writing Queensland Rail is finalising Type Approval pursuant to AS7702. It meets SIL 3 CENELEC standards.

This paper describes the key elements of the project and discusses some of the lessons learnt during development and associated observations.