Modelling space weather impacts on UK railway signalling systems

Abstract

<p>Track circuits are widely used signalling systems that use electrical currents to detect the presence or absence of a train in predefined sections of a railway network, as such, they are susceptible to interference from geomagnetically induced currents.</p><p>This work aims to determine the impact space weather has on realistic track circuits across geologically different regions of the UK under various storm conditions by using the Spherical Elementary Current System method of geomagnetic field interpolation, a ground conductivity model of the UK, a 1D-layered model to provide estimations of the geoelectric field and track circuit modelling techniques developed by <em>Boteler (2021)</em>.</p><p>Early results of a modelled section of the West Coast Main Line in North West England will be presented.</p>