S. Pinte, M. Palumbo, E. Fernandes, R.

Grant HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF TRACK CIRCUITS FAILURES

ERTMS Solutions/NxGen Rail Services

HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF TRACK CIRCUIT FAILURES

Stanislas Pinte, Maurizio Palumbo, Emmanuel Fernandes, Robert Grant
ERTMS Solutions/NxGen Rail Services

Summary
Every year, thousands of track circuit failures are reported by railway infrastructure managers in Europe
and worldwide, resulting in significant delays which can also lead to substantial economic costs and
penalties.
For this reason, the ability to detect and diagnose the health of track circuits to prevent or provide a fast
response to these failures, can generate a significant benefit for infrastructure managers.

In many countries, a process of periodic manual inspection of wayside assets (including track circuits)
is in place, but the benefits of this strategy are limited by several factors related to safety, the time
required to perform the inspection, and difficulties associated with making manual measurements.
With the purpose of minimizing economic loss and operational delay, as well as offering railway
infrastructure managers a tool that can provide an automated and effective maintenance strategy,
ERTMS Solutions has designed the TrackCircuitLifeCheck (TLC).

The TrackCircuitLifeCheck is a track circuit measurement instrument that can be installed on track
inspection or commercial trains to automatically diagnose AC, DC, and pulsed track circuits, thus
enabling a preventive maintenance strategy, based on the analysis of multi-pass data from each track
circuit over time, and the application of standard deviation analysis.
KEYWORDS: Track Circuits, Preventive Maintenance, Train Detection, Train Protection, In-Cab
Signaling, UM-71, TVM, TrackCircuitLifeCheck.

INTRODUCTION This paper presents a high level functional and

architectural description of track circuits, with a
In order to detect the presence of trains on a special focus on AC track circuits. It will also
railway network, railway tracks are divided into introduce a real case study (UM-71 and TVM
blocks of varying length. These are separated technologies) with the aim of presenting an
from each other by means of a physical (or innovative maintenance solution.
electrical) separator called a joint. As a conclusion, we will show the advantages
A track circuit is an electrical device (powered of using an automated maintenance tool for
by an AC or DC source) which is used to detect track circuit condition monitoring and we will
the presence of a train on any one single block suggest the requirements for a tool that can
and, optionally, to transmit information to the meet this need adequately.
on-board system for the purpose of controlling
the train’s speed.
Because they are a safety-critical asset, track Notation
circuits need to be fail-safe; therefore, a failure AC Alternating Current
in a track circuit will result in the block being BSP Boucles à Saut de Phase
indicated as occupied to eliminate the possibility DC Direct Current
of an accidental collision. Though this is a EPI Emetteur Ponctuel d’Information
necessary safety feature, it can have a severe FSK Frequency Shift Keying
impact on track availability and service GPS Global Positioning System
operations. IMU Inertial Measurement Unit
LC Inductor-Capacitor Network
With an average failure rate of around 45% per MTIE Maximum Time Interval Error
year per track circuit, railway infrastructure JES Joint Electrique de Séparation
managers have a strong incentive to implement OBU On-Board Unit
an effective maintenance strategy for track TLC Track Circuit Life Check
circuits that prevents failures from happening. TVM Transmission Voie Machine

AusRAIL 2018
27 – 28 November 2018, Canberra
S. Pinte, M. Palumbo, E. Fernandes, R. Grant HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF TRACK CIRCUITS FAILURES
ERTMS Solutions/NxGen Rail Services

1. WHAT IS A TRACK CIRCUIT?

A track circuit is an electrical device used to
detect the absence of a train on one single
segment or block of track.
1.1 Train detection
The operational principle of a track circuit is
based on an electrical signal transmitted
between the two running rails. The presence of
a train is detected by the electrical connection
between the rails, conducted through the
wheels and the axles of the train.
When no train is present, the current supplied
by the power source is transmitted by the Figure 2: Shunted Current diagram with and
running rails to the relay and the track circuit is without compensating capacitors
unoccupied.
1.2 Train Protection
When a train enters the block, its front wheels
Coded track circuits are inductive systems that
and axles connect the two running rails together
use the running rails as a trackside-onboard
shorting the power source and thereby reducing
information transmitter.
to zero the current flowing through the relay.
This causes the relay to “drop” (Figure 1), Alternative means of transmitting information
turning off the green signal light and turning on from wayside to the train are inductive loops,
the red light to indicate that the block is that use a changing magnetic field to transmit
occupied by a train. information to the train.
The on-board system interprets the decoded
command with the aim of controlling the speed
of the train and implementing an “In-Cab”
signaling system for train protection.

Figure 1: Track Circuit

Figure 3: In-Cab Signaling System
It is worth mentioning that the longer the track
circuit, the greater the physical distance 2. CLASSIFICATION
between the power source and the relay (or the
train’s leading axle). 2.1 Power Supply
Due to the resistive characteristics of the rail Depending on the nature of the current
and to the low conductivity through the ballast generated by the Track Circuit voltage source,
between rails, this distance usually causes a track circuits can be classified as DC (Direct
signal attenuation that can lead to a wrong, or Current), first generation of track circuits, AC
at least poor, current measurement. (Alternative Current), and pulsed track circuits,
Given the serious consequences of this which operate by applying a short high voltage
attenuation, many AC track circuits are pulse to the rails at relatively long intervals.
equipped with compensation capacitors, placed In a DC track circuit, the signal source is
between the circuit’s edges, with the purpose of generated by a direct current coming from a
periodically boosting the generated current (this battery or an AC signal rectifier, connected to
is the case for the CSEE/ANSALDO UM-71C the rails at one edge of the block section.
track circuit technology).
AC track circuits are energized by an alternating
electrical current with a frequency ranging from
50 Hz up to 10 kHz (the range of Audio

AusRAIL 2018
27 – 28 November 2018, Canberra
S. Pinte, M. Palumbo, E. Fernandes, R. Grant HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF TRACK CIRCUITS FAILURES
ERTMS Solutions/NxGen Rail Services

Frequencies), to avoid interference from the

50Hz traction current.
Excepting for the type of current and apparatus
used, the AC and DC track circuits are similar in
operation, although AC circuits are
progressively replacing the older DC ones due
to improved robustness, reliability, and more
efficient track-to-train data transmission.
2.2 Block Separation Technology
For detecting the presence of any trains along a Figure 5: UM-71 frequency-based track
railway network, railway tracks are divided into separation
blocks of varying length, separated from each
other by means of a physical (or electrical) The JES (Joint Electrique de Séparation)
separator called a joint. electrical joint between two sections is achieved
by electrical impedances (see Figure 5, above).
Originally, when just the DC track circuits were
available, this separation was realized by
3.2 In-Cab Signaling TVM
cutting one rail and inserting an insulated joint
whereas the other rail used to remain The TVM (Transmission Voie-Machine) is an In-
continuous to handle the traction power return Cab signaling system originally deployed
(in the case of electrified track). in France and implemented on the top of UM-71
track circuits.

The information from track to train is transmitted

either:
- continuously, at any time when the train
occupies the section, by modulating the AC
track circuit carrier frequency with some bits
(from b0 to b27) of information present in the
modulating signal as very low frequencies,
Figure 4: Insulated track joint and each bin in the spectrum representing
By moving from direct current to alternating each different bit. Every 28-bit word has a
current circuits, the blocks have been divided by specific signaling meaning that the train
means of electrical joints made of tuned LC driver, as well as the on-board system, will
circuits (consisting of an inductor L, and
need to process to ensure a safe journey.
a capacitor C, connected together for
generating signals at a particular frequency)
avoiding the need for insulated joints. These are
called jointless track circuits.
3. A CASE STUDY: CSEE/ANSALDO UM-71
and TVM
3.1 Track Circuit UM-71
The UM-71 from CSEE/ANSALDO is a jointless
AC Audio Frequency track circuit, which divides
the track into electrical segments, using
different carrier frequencies.
Four frequencies are used for the carriers (from
1700Hz to 2600Hz) and each carrier is
frequency modulated by a sinusoidal signal.

AusRAIL 2018
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S. Pinte, M. Palumbo, E. Fernandes, R. Grant HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF TRACK CIRCUITS FAILURES
ERTMS Solutions/NxGen Rail Services

Track Failures per Failure Delay impact

Circuit Number year rate (min)
AC TC 3643 1264 0.347 158000
TI21 1326 524 0.395 65500
FS2600 528 241 0.456 30125
HVI TC 952 390 0.410 48750
Reed TC 1895 1304 0.668 163000
Overall 8344 3723 0.446 465375
Table 1: Track Circuit failure rates in the UK
According to a recent study “Condition
Monitoring of Audio Frequency Track Circuits -
[4] ” by the University of Railway Engineering of
Birmingham, there are nearly 80,000 track
circuits in operation on the mainline railway
network within the UK. Table 1 shows the
number of track circuits installed in Network
Rail’s Southern Zone together with typical
failure statistics.
The average failure rate is around 45% per year
Figure 6: Modulating signal and its spectrum per installation, and any track circuit failure can
showing the presence of bits cause significant disruption to rail services.
Over 12,000 track circuit failures were reported
or in the UK during one operational year, resulting
in 1.5 million minutes of delay. Typically, the
- pointwise, by using electrically independent infrastructure operators are penalized by £20–
active loops called BSP (Boucles à Saut de £60 per delay minute arising from infrastructure
Phase, for TVM-430) and EPI (Emetteur failure, but in the case of a heavily used network
Ponctuel d’Information, for TVM-300). These section, this can go up to £250 per delay minute.
Therefore, the ability to detect and diagnose
loops are able to send data to the on-board
track circuit failures to provide a fast response
system, taking advantage of the changing to failures/incidents has a significant economic
magnetic field created by AC currents in the benefit.
loops.
4.1 Failure Modes
4. FAILURES OF TRACK CIRCUITS
A “failure mode” is a way in which a technology
A failure is an (unwanted) event on a based system (like a track circuit, in this case)
technology-based system that compromises its might fail.
ability to operate correctly. Given the high frequency and heavy impact of
A track circuit is a safety-critical asset; track circuit failures, it is of interest to assess the
therefore, it is designed to be fail-safe. causes of these failures.
A fail-safe in engineering is a design feature or There can be many reasons for a track circuit
practice that in the event of a specific type failure, so key measurement parameters need
of failure, inherently responds in a way that will to be constantly monitored to minimize the
minimize or eliminate the possibility of harm to probability of these failures.
other equipment, the environment, or to people. Although it is almost impossible to document
This means that a failure in a track circuit will every type of track circuit failure, the following
result in it being shown as occupied, regardless are the most common types of failures which
of whether or not this is actually the case, as the may occur over the life of a track circuit.
status of the block in question is uncertain. This The following failure examples can be critical
has a significant impact on track availability and either in terms of availability and/or safety.
day-to-day operations.
Given the gravity of a track circuit failure, the 4.1.1 Shunt Failure
next question is: how often does it fail? A Shunt Failure (safety critical) occurs when the
short circuit current cannot be measured

AusRAIL 2018
27 – 28 November 2018, Canberra
S. Pinte, M. Palumbo, E. Fernandes, R. Grant HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF TRACK CIRCUITS FAILURES
ERTMS Solutions/NxGen Rail Services

correctly; therefore, the device is not able to - Sending teams onto the tracks significantly
perform its main function. increases the safety risks associated with
This type of failure might occur for a number of inspection.
different reasons. For example, a broken or
- The number of track circuits measurable
oxidized rail, or a failure in transverse
impedances (for TC equipped with electrical per inspection is quite low.
joints) are among some of the most frequent - It’s very labor-intensive, and therefore
causes of shunt failure. costly.
- Manual measurements are error-prone.
4.1.2 Frequency Drift
They can only detect a limited range of
Frequency drifting is an unintended and failure modes, which makes them an
generally arbitrary offset of an oscillator from
unpractical and costly approach to TC
its nominal frequency, due to component aging,
changes in temperature, or problems with the maintenance.
voltage transmitter. 5.2 TC Remote Condition Monitoring
It is a common problem in AC Audio Frequency Remote Condition Monitoring (RCM) is the
track circuits, since it impairs the correct process of monitoring a number of parameters
operation of all frequency tuned elements, in a device, in order to identify any significant
creating track availability issues. changes which may indicate that a fault is
4.1.3 Leaking Electrical Joints (Tuning developing.
In the case of track circuits, a common form of
Units) RCM is to constantly measure the current levels
In the case of jointless AC track circuits, one of at the track circuit receiver for free and occupied
the most common failures takes place in segments. Unfortunately, this cannot guarantee
electrical joint components, such as the LC a preventative approach, because the
tuned passive components which are affected relationship between the Track Circuit
by drifting capacitance. parameters along the track and the current
value at the receiver and transmitter ends is not
The tuned LC components fail to properly filter
linear. This means that they are not good
and separate adjacent frequencies from the
indicators of a potential failure.
side segment, producing a leak (also known as
longitudinal crosstalk) from one track circuit
5.3 Key Parameters
segment to another.
This can severely impair the correct detection of To be defined as comprehensive and effective,
the train, causing the segment to look occupied each measurement session should be able to
when it is not. detect and assess the quality of the following
parameters:
5. MAINTENANCE OF AC TRACK CIRCUITS
- Icc (shunt current) levels for each relevant
5.1 Manual Inspections frequency
Due to the significant impact of track circuit - transversal elements (electrical joints)
failures, railway infrastructure managers are - compensating capacitors, if present, along
required to implement an effective maintenance the track
strategy. - data transmission modulation and
For this reason, periodical TC manual verification for both pointwise and
inspections are in place to minimize economic continuously transmitted data.
loss and operational delays. This is done by
using the following portable test equipment: 6. THE TRACKCIRCUITLIFECHECK
- multi-meter and AC probes, able to
The TrackCircuitLifeCheck (TLC) is a track
measure the voltage and c of the circuit measurement instrument that can be
devices mounted along the track installed on track inspection or commercial
- frequency counter, able to measure trains.
frequencies It performs an automatic diagnosis of AC and
However, a number of important limitations DC track circuits, allowing its users to adopt a
clearly affects this approach: true preventive maintenance approach.

AusRAIL 2018
27 – 28 November 2018, Canberra
S. Pinte, M. Palumbo, E. Fernandes, R. Grant HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF TRACK CIRCUITS FAILURES
ERTMS Solutions/NxGen Rail Services

The TrackCircuitLifeCheck is designed and

manufactured at ERTMS Solutions. Its modular
design allows it to be configured to
accommodate whatever mix of Track Circuit
types need to be measured for each customer.

Figure 8: TLC/UM-71 Antenna for Eurotunnel

Once data has been collected, analysis can be

carried out to determine whether the track
circuits are working correctly.

6.2 Case Study: TLC in operation at

EUROTUNNEL
After one year of operation of the
TrackCircuitLifeCheck, Eurotunnel has been
able to reduce Track Circuit Failures by 25%.

The remaining failures cannot be detected by

Figure 7: ERTMS Solutions TLC On-board rack an onboard measurement instrument, as they
are either instantaneous or they occur on the
6.1 UM-71 and TVM maintenance: the trackside, which means that they are not
producing anything measurable.
TLC/UM-71
A customized version of the
TrackCircuitLifeCheck has been supplied to
French/UK railway lines to enable preventative
maintenance of UM-71C track circuits and TVM
In-Cab signaling systems.
The TVMLifeCheck is able to:
- highly reduce the safety risk associated with
manual inspections.
- measure hundreds of track circuits per hour.
- ensure real-time TC (TVM-300 and TVM-
430) analysis during each train journey.
- measure currents and audio frequencies
(1700, 2300, 2000 and 2600 Hz) with a +- 1
Hz precision.
- measure shunted track circuit currents |Icc|.
- detect and measure the quality of transverse
impedances (electrical joints).
- detect and measure quality of transmission
line compensation capacitors.
- detect and measure quality of the FM
modulation for track-to-train transmitted bits
detection.
- send real-time alarms to Traffic Control
Centers over GSM/GPRS network.

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 S. Pinte, M. Palumbo, E. Fernandes, R. Grant HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF TRACK CIRCUITS FAILURES
ERTMS Solutions/NxGen Rail Services

CONCLUSIONS &/or RECOMMENDATIONS [3] C. Bell, “Point, track circuit and level crossing
condition monitoring”, IEE Seminar on Railway
Condition monitoring of track circuits is a vital Condition Monitoring, 23 Feb, (2005).
aspect of railway operation and there are [4] P. F. Weston, J. Chen, E. Stewart and C.
several types of maintenance systems available Roberts, Condition Monitoring of Audio
Frequency Track Circuits, 2011
on the market.
The following table lists the ones described [5] J. Scalise, How track circuits detect and protect
trains , November 2014
above, as well as the type of maintenance
strategy they enable. [6] Alexander Walsh, “Audio frequency track circuit
reliability investigation”, IRSE News 185,
January 2013.
TC monitoring system Characteristics

Corrective maintenance only

Low measurements accuracy
Very slow maintenance
process
Manual Inspection
Trackside personnel required
Safety hazard
Continuous TC monitoring not
possible
Corrective maintenance
Unpractical for preventive
maintenance
Continuous TC monitoring
partially available
RCM Frequency drift, Leaking and
crosstalk information not
detectable
Needs a large quantity of
trackside measurement
equipment
Enables preventive
maintenance
High measurement accuracy
Key TC parameters
Onboard Track Circuit measurements
measurement No trackside measurement
instrument (TLC) equipment required
On-board automatic
maintenance
Continuous TC monitoring
capability
Table 1: Failure modes detection of TC
monitoring systems
Although manual inspections or remote
condition monitoring solutions can help
minimize the economic loss and operational
delays caused by track circuit failures, these
approaches can be significantly improved.
Using an automated onboard maintenance tool
able to perform an effective and comprehensive
measurement set enables railway infrastructure
managers to answer this need adequately.

REFERENCES
[1] Williams A., Kichenside G., “Two Centuries of
Railway Signalling”, Ian Allan, January 2009.
[2] Duffy, Michael C., “Electric Railways 1880-
1990”, Institute of Engineering and Technology,
2003.

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