Railway Switch Control Equipment
Problem
Modern railway systems use computers to manage the flow of train traffic. The hard disk drives within these computers are typically the lowest reliability component of the control system. This manufacturer of railway control systems was concerned that the safety of rail operations was compromised with the use of hard disk drives, motivating the effort to seek a more reliable storage technology.
Application
The railway traffic control system controls rail switches and traffic signaling devices to maintain the correct distance between trains. The monitoring function checks traffic routing, speed, priorities, signaling and interchanges to avoid collisions. These systems can be found on railways for mining trains, trams, light rail, and high-speed intercontinental trains. Environmental issues such as temperature extremes and vibration are common at installation sites.
Solution
The customer qualified an Adtron 3.5-inch SCSI drive with flash media as a drop-in replacement for the hard disk drive. This solid-state storage system provides a dramatic increase in MTBF as compared with the hard disk drive, virtually eliminating the reliability and durability issues. The form-fit-function design of the Adtron flash drive allows for easy production line implementation and field retrofit.
Benefits
The obvious benefit of improved rail travel safety is passenger safety, which is immeasurable in financial terms. Additionally, system failures cause economic repercussions when passenger and cargo trains are delayed. The critical storage function of these control systems has been greatly enhanced with the durability and reliability of the Adtron SCSI flash drive.
Adtron Product
S35CF -- 3.5-inch SCSI Storage System with flash based media (enhanced temperature).
