A research group is developing a rail track switch product aimed at reducing disruptions.

Loughborough University in the UK says that a consortium led by Ricardo Rail Ltd. will develop the first installation of the track switch product, known as Repoint.

Repoint’s design makes use of several actuators to operate the same points.The switch has the potential to help support increased levels of rail traffic. Repoint’s design makes use of several actuators to operate the same points. In the event of a single failure the remaining actuators are expected to continue to function safely. With this redundancy, Loughborough researchers say that rail traffic can still pass and remedial maintenance can be scheduled without causing immediate service disruption. Combined with condition-based monitoring and line-replaceable unit construction, the Repoint switches are fault tolerant and don’t require instant action in the event of a fault, the developers say.

Repoint also uses what the developers call a “lift, hop and drop” mechanism that eliminates the friction experienced by the slide chairs used in traditional point machines. Repoint can move a switch in less than half a second, compared to up to four seconds for conventional designs, which could support increased network capacity.

Repoint originated from a request by RSSB, the British rail industry’s independent body, to explore ways to increase network capacity. The limitations of switch machines, and the extent of disruption caused by a single failure, was seen by Loughborough researchers as an area of focus. The UK has more than 20,000 switch and crossing units. Even though they represent 5% of network mileage, they account for more than 15% of track maintenance budgets.

The development consortium assembled by Ricardo Rail includes Progress Rail, DEG Signal, and MPEC Technology. The group will help with the next stage of design, build, and trial of a switch. The research is supported by the UK Rail Safety and Standards Board. The first full-scale Repoint is scheduled to be integrated with London Underground infrastructure in early 2018.