FAILURES AND SAFETY IN THE CASE OF RAILWAY SAFETY SYSTEMS

The final object of the above study is to find an answer to the following questions posed by the UIC. Can electronic components be used in railway safety installations? If so, which, and under what conditions? The above report, which is the 3rd, is divided into two parts. In the first, it is shown that research into safety necessarily implies the establishment of a system of detection of failures. In this part, an analysis is contained of the effects of failures in the case of railway safety systems. An examination is carried out of the basic mechanisms required for the detection of the probable effects of failures prior to the appearance of a danger to railway operation. Details are also shown of the ability of a system to react when it detects a failure. In the second part, a description is given of a method of calculation using the Markov process, and enabling an evaluation to be made of the availability, the reliability and the safety of a system. This description is accompanied by a study of the concept of the "probability of an accident", taking into account not only breakdowns of the equipment, but also in its surroundings (e.g., the effect of the human factor).

• 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: 1972-10

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 38 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Electronic components; Electronic control; Markov processes; Reliability; Safety; Technology
• Geographic Terms: Europe
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00053872
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: International Union of Railways
• Report/Paper Numbers: A118/RP3 Report
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 7 1974 12:00AM