Vägskyddssystem i Sverige - En jämförande studie av dagens och framtidens system för vägskyddsanläggningar

Sammanfattning: The railway makes an extensive barrier in the landscape. To lower the impact of this barrier, and to allow people to easily pass it, level crossings are implemented. A level crossing is an intersection in the same plane between railway and road. Here traffic of all sorts meet with railway vehicles, which is why level crossings are one of the most distinct points of conflict in the entire railway system. Accidents between railway vehicles and road users are comparatively rare, but when they do occur the consequences can be very severe. Different kinds of security solutions are implemented to lower both the risk of confrontation, and also its consequences. Warning systems, consisting of light and sound alarms, and barriers are used to make road users aware of an oncoming train. Level crossings with a high amount of rail or road traffic requires a higher level of security, relative to those with less traffic. Grade separation, where traffic is separated with the use of bridges or tunnels, offers the highest level of security, but are more expensive to construct than an intersection in the same plane. For this reason, level crossings will be a part of our railway system for the foreseeable future, despite its security limitations. Today’s level crossing security systems where designed in the 1940s, and are built using relay-based technology. Spare parts are expensive and many have gone out of production, making effective maintenance work difficult. Today there are security systems for level crossings available for purchase off the shelf on the open market. For this reason and more, Trafikverket has decided to phase out the existing, relay-based, level crossing technology, and replace them with a new and modern system called Alex. The product Alex will be provided by the Alex-providers. They will provide both the product but also technical support, and give Trafikverket long-term access to spare parts and more. Up until today, when a level crossing system is to be constructed, one engineering firm is hired to do the entire pre-engineering and construction planning. This includes placing signs and signals on their correct geographical points, calculation of signalling distances and more, but also designing the logic circuits and components that are placed inside the level crossing cabins. With Alex, this single process will be separated into two. Most pre-engineering work on the logic components will be performed by the Alex-contractor. The rest of the process will be perfomed by the same engineering firms that are doing the pre-engineering today. This report aim to answer a few questions, including the following: - What are the reasons behind the Alex project, and what is Trafikverket expecting to gain from it? - What are the main differences between today’s level crossing security systems and Alex, from a technical and pre-engineering point of view? - What is the interface between the included parties in Alex, and is it clear where their respective area of responsibility begins and ends? - Do the Alex-providers see any potential conflict-areas in the Alex-project? To answer these questions, tender documents from the producement of Alex has been used, in conjuction with Trafikverkets documents regarding technical construction requirements for the railway signalling system. Interviews with possible Alex-providers has been performed, and engineers at Sweco Rail has contributed with their knowledge regarging the engineering process. This report shows that the technical differences between todays level crossing systems and Alex, are mostly in the control system components located inside the level crossing cabinet. The outer parts of the railway signalling system, e.g. track circuits, will at large remain the way they are in today’s system. Keywords: Railway, level crossing, level crossing protection system, Alex