Electronic safety systems used on a vast railway area – operational problems

Abstract

The article presents issues related to the use of electronic security systems (ESB) on a vast railway area. These systems are operated in very different environmental conditions. Due to the fact that electrical and electronic systems coexist on the extensive railway area for various purposes - e.g. power supply systems for railway traction, rail traffic control systems (SRK), electronic security systems - fire alarm system (SSP), CCTV system (CCTV), access control system (SKD), a significant operational problem in addition to environmental changes in which the above-mentioned technical facilities are used, there is also the issue of electromagnetic compatibility. Depending on the area extent of the railway area, construction, technical configuration, way of alarming, safety classes of these systems may be different. In SSP there is another factor that affects the configuration of these systems, namely the so-called fire scenario and how to notify the State Fire Service (PSP) about an existing fire risk or damage. There are several different ESB structures - focused, distributed and mixed. The type of ESB used in a given railway facility - construction or open area is conditioned by its cubic capacity [m3], terrain extent [m2 or km2] and the number of supervised facilities. The use of a given type of ESB to ensure safety and fire protection in a given railway area also depends on the requirements of legal provisions for the object(s), the fire scenario that must be implemented by the system, legal requirements for the given protected area, the accepted scope of protection and the reliability and operational requirements to be met by these installations. The article presents basic issues related to ESB operation that are used in the selected railway area. The review of technical solutions of selected ESBs and the methodology of conducting the analysis for the purposes of developing, e.g. fire scenario or hazard analysis, presented in the article, will enable railway facility designers to properly develop design assumptions.