Open HSI menu
Subscribe Login

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Article / Railway Safety

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Open HSI menu
Subscribe

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Article / Railway Safety

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

MORE

  • Press Releases
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

CATEGORIES

  • Article
  • Press Release
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat and Flame
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Wellbeing at Work
  • White Papers
  • Working at Height
  • Working Rights

Article

Railway Safety

By The University of Huddersfield

| Read Bio

Published: October 25th, 2016

Share this article

NETWORKS of tiny wireless sensors could not only improve safety at railway crossings but would also be much less costly to install and maintain, drawing their electrical power from track vibration. These are among the findings of a UK Government-funded project carried out by rail experts at the University of Huddersfield.

The Institute of Railway Research (IRR) won funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) to investigate new methods of crossing control. The successful bid was drawn up by Research Fellow Dr Farouk Balouchi, an electronics engineer with special expertise in “energy harvesting” – meaning that electrical power is drawn from sources that could include track vibrations caused by an approaching train.

This would provide a “free” power source for relatively inexpensive sensors that could be attached to tracks in the vicinity of a crossing. They would then form a wireless network to send a message to lower or raise the gates.

Now that they have demonstrated the feasibility of using wireless sensors to control automatic level crossings, researchers based at the University’s Institute of Railway Research (IRR) are to hold talks with industrial partners who can help bring the project to fruition. Peter Hughes, a specialist in level crossing safety who has supported the team states: “The UK alone has 6,599 gazetted level crossings and the technology would have global potential.”

Current train detection devices are costly and disruptive to install. “These detectors are expensive because they are made to be failsafe”, said the IRR’s professor in Railway Safety, Dr Coen Van Gulijk. “But we have shown that we can use many cheap sensors and still guarantee fail safety.”

Savings could be massive. In some locations, a conventional detection system could cost up to £500,000, with high running costs. But a wireless sensor network in the same situation could be installed for less than £20,000. It would be self-powered by vibration and the network would also be “self-healing”, said Dr Balouchi.

“If one sensor fails, the others talk to one another and create another network, creating another route for the information to travel,” he explained.

He added that wireless sensors could be fitted quickly, with no requirements for conduits or wiring that was vulnerable to theft or problems such as being gnawed by rodents. Disruption to rail services caused by installation and maintenance would therefore be minimised.

Another boon would be that the wireless sensors would not only detect trains but, because they respond to vibrations, they could also be used to monitor the condition of the track and the track bed.

The IRR is proposing a completely novel use of wireless sensors, especially with the innovative proposal to harvest energy from track vibration, but the technology has been tried and tested in the oil and gas industry and some safety-critical applications such as medical devices, said Dr Balouchi.

In carrying out the DfT-funded research project, the IRR carried out extensive testing and modelling at its fully-equipped rail research labs at the University of Huddersfield.

Share this article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The University of Huddersfield

Successful, innovative and modern – welcome to the University of Huddersfield.

Whatever you aim to do in life, it pays to get a good education. And with high standards of teaching and learning and excellent facilities that’s exactly what our students can expect from the University of Huddersfield.

The University is growing its reputation as a leader in the field of Enterprise. In 2012 the University was awarded the prestigious Times Higher Education Entrepreneurial University of the Year and followed this up in 2013 when we were awarded two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. We have helped a number of graduates to set up their own successful businesses and have a fantastic Enterprise Team who are here to help you with your ideas and make sure they get off the ground. Our state-of-the-art 3M Buckley Innovation Centre is a great hub for students who wish to set up their own business and provides a great opportunity to network with other students and local businesses.

Connect with The University of Huddersfield

Visit Website

POPULAR POSTS BY The University of Huddersfield

- hsi -

Article

Railway Safety

Get email updates

Sign up for the HSI newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with Europe's largest audited safety magazine - delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Press Release

The 6 Most Frequent Questions About Fall Protection, Answered Succinctly

Article

Working at Height Hazards and Control Measures

Article

Major Hazards on Construction Sites

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSI on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/HSIMagazine/

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSI on Twitter

Twitter feed is not available at the moment.

Advertisement

SIGN UP

Stay up to date with our newsletter

    • Keep up-to-date with Europe’s largest audited safety magazine

 

    • Delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs

 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Sign up to HSI

SIGN UP TO HSI MAGAZINE

Get our newsletter

  • Stay up to date from anywhere in the world, with instant access to the latest issue straight from your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Trust that you’re getting the best content from our range of internationally accredited authors.
  • Get full access to our archives and see how occupational safety has evolved with us over the years.
  • Enjoy our monthly newsletter curated with up-to-the-minute news and a selection of editor’s top picks.
Sign Up View Subscription levels

STAY SAFE & INFORMED

Subscribe to the best health & safety articles, news, products and regulations

Find out more

Stay up to date with our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT

  • About HSI International
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

YOUR ACCOUNT

Sign In Register Account Subscribe to HSI

RESOURCES

Request Media Pack

CONNECT

ACCREDITATIONS

Copyright Bay Publishing 2023. All Rights reserved.

Designed & Built by:
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT