AUTOMATIC WARNING OF TRACK MAINTENANCE GANGS. LABORATORY TESTS AND CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING THE CHOICE OF THE OPTIMUM ACOUSTIC SIGNALS FOR WARNING TRACK MAINTENANCE GANGS

The report describes laboratory tests carried out concerning the possibility of perceiving acoustic warning signals in the presence of severe background noise. Those tests have been carried out under simulated operating conditions (anechoic chamber, magnetic tape recordings of the noise produced by track maintenance machines) with a large number of combinations of the following factors: characteristics of the warning signals used (fundamental frequencies, types, wave shapes, modulation depths and frequencies, frequency spectra), type of background masking noise, auditory qualities of test persons. The conclusion of the report mentions the characteristics which an acoustic signal should possess in order to offer the greatest efficiency as regards the intended object of this signal for the aural warning of maintenance gangs working on the track.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Restrictions on the use of this document are contained in the explanatory material.
• Corporate Authors:

  International Union of Railways

  Office of Research and Experiments
  Utrecht,   Netherlands 
• Publication Date: 1974-4

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 26 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acoustics; Human factors; Maintenance personnel; Safety; Warning systems
• Old TRIS Terms: Question a124
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00052647
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: International Union of Railways
• Report/Paper Numbers: A124/RP 5/E
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 13 1976 12:00AM