FAdC at Vhodnaya Station

A large metro operator was researching ways to reduce bottlenecks that were causing significant delays at a busy station. With two routes dividing in close proximity to the station and a complex auto-routing system that required the use of a 30-second timer to release switches, trains would frequently back up when approaching the station.

The City of Calgary in Alberta, Canada was seeking an upgrade to the existing signaling system at a crossing near a station in the downtown area, to alleviate shunt issues caused by winter conditions. The Frauscher Advanced Counter FAdC and Wheel Sensors RSR180 were chosen to augment the existing system. During the eleven month trial period, the axle counter ran in shadow mode with the legacy system to gauge performance and compatibility. After the axle counter was proven during the trial with no faults or errors, the city was able to implement a hybrid crossing design using both the axle counting system and track circuits.

In this project, reliable and precise train detection was needed to automate the yard and significantly increase efficiency and safety. To meet these requirements, the Frauscher Advanced Counter FAdCi and Wheel Sensors RSR180 were selected for this automation project.

Frauscher was approached by a North American Class 1 railroad planning a major expansion of one of its yards, and the required time to completion was short. The scope of the expansion was to build an operational multitrack flat yard on vacant land within six weeks with a signalling solution to protect switches during operations.

At the Charlotte Area Transit System, frequent false red signal overruns resulted when electromagnetic interference caused “bobbing” of the line’s audio frequency track circuits. The Frauscher Advanced Counter FAdC was subsequently considered as an alternative to these track circuits to eliminate the occurrence of false red signal overruns.