SAFETY AND FAULT-TOLERANCE IN COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SIGNALLING SYSTEMS

This paper presents safety and fault-tolerance technology of railway signalling. First, the type of faults to be handled and the required level of safety and reliability are given. Next, two types of microcomputer architectures with hardware redundancy are shown. Fault-tolerant system structures with triple-modular-redundancy and duplex, which have been applied to signalling systems in JR are also described. Further, software approach to fail-safety and fault-tolerance is discussed. Field data on 4 kinds of microcomputer-controlled signalling systems are shown. Since 1985 about 650 sets of fail-safe microcomputers have been operating in JR. An endangering failure has never occurred and the safe-side failure rate up to now including an initial error period has been in the order of 0.00001/h to 0.000001/h.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/3127232
• Corporate Authors:

  Railway Technical Research Institute

  2-8-38, Hikari-cho, Kokubunji-shi
  Tokyo 185,   Japan 
• Authors:
  • Akita, K
  • Nakamura, H
• Publication Date: 1990-6

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 95-103
• Serial:
  • Railway Technical Research Institute, Quarterly Reports
  • Volume: 31
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Railway Technical Research Institute/Tetsudo Gijutsu Kenkyujo
  • ISSN: 0033-9008
  • Serial URL: http://www.rtri.or.jp/eng/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Control systems; Faults; Microcomputers; Safety; Signaling; Tolerances (Engineering)
• Old TRIS Terms: Tolerances
• Subject Areas: Highways; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00496908
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 31 1990 12:00AM