Abstract

The aim of this research is to define a breakage limit for the fastening system of the "Eurobalise" device of the ERTMS/ETCS rail signalling system on the European railways. The widespread presence of the system along the European railway line and the increasing of high-speed lines have led the research to find design solutions able to increase the attack system strength, avoiding its detachment from the sleepers. Mechanical tests on tensile, shear and bending configurations have been carried out to evaluate the jointing systems between Eurobalise and sleepers. Additional full-scale tests allowed the definition of the load actions and of the breaking points. The connection between balise and sleepers is able to react to the train’s aerodynamic actions, confirming the system reliability even for the passage of high-speed trains. Through the experimental approach were defined standard test procedures useful to improve the sheet data of this kind of fastening system.

Abstract

This paper presents a 'CPN/B method' based process for railway systems safety analysis. Achieving interoperability through the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS/ETCS) is facing difficulties in railway safety assessment due to the interaction of national and European operating specifications. These specifications have been modeled using several formalisms, which makes it is extremely hard to preserve all requirements when switching between different formalisms. However, this problem, crucial for efficient progress in railway safety research, has received very little attention in the literature. In this respect, the purpose of this contribution is to provide a methodology to demonstrate safety in railway systems by converting CPN models, widely used in modeling, into B abstract machines. It aims at enabling a stronger combination of formal design techniques and analysis tools able to cope with the real complexity of systems and automatically prove that safety properties are unambiguous, consistent and not contradictory, considering an industrial railway context. Document type: Article