Today, the networking of transport systems is an important task to meet the requirements of the future.

In this context, level crossing management is no longer an isolated task restricted to a specific location, as was the case with the predominantly mechanical signalling installations of the past. Today ‘s concepts of open communications in the field of signalling, which go hand-in-hand with highly centralised planning, control and maintenance and decentralised actuation, call for new intelligent system components. These components enable the provision and processing of system information for transmission, acquisition and evaluation at appropriate central locations. All the resultant tasks can be performed and coordinated wherever the responsible employees and specialists are located.

Scheidt & Bachmann’s railway maintenance and servicing concept supports you in all service areas relating to level crossing installations. Our concept is based on tried and tested standards, open systems and modern technologies.

Various transmission media can be employed for data interchange between the level crossings and the central maintenance and servicing location.

Data acquisition and evaluation

The integration of a diagnostic system in the nucleus of the level crossing system enables data acquisition and evaluation to be carried out directly at the level crossing. Event, malfunction and error data are available, together with statistical data, to enable optimum maintenance and servicing.

Event-oriented data interchange

When public networks (telephone networks, GSM networks) are available for data interchange, a standard dial-up modem is used. When an error or malfunction occurs, a link to the central maintenance and servicing location is established and a data transmission process is initiated. In addition to this event-driven data transmission, current data can also be obtained from any location at any time, by means of a mailbox-like dialogue with the user. The standard Z-modem protocol is employed as the communications protocol for this purpose.

Leased-line-oriented data interchange

When no public networks are available for data communications, a leased-line variant is deployed. A standard two-wire half-duplex dial-up modem is employed for this purpose. This modem is optimised for the so-called party line method, whereby a control centre scans several level crossings for information in cyclic mode via only one two-wire line (multidrop mode). When an error or malfunction occurs, the transmission of detailed data is initiated during the next scanning cycle of the central maintenance and servicing centre. When no errors or malfunctions apply, only changes of status at the level crossing are transmitted.

The monitoring centre

Monitoring of all the level crossings assigned to a monitoring centre can be modified by means of software options, according to the selected data interchange variant. The data are output not in encoded form, but as plain text or in graphic form. This means that no special knowledge is required to carry out evaluation of the data, and monitoring can be carried out independently of the types of connected installations. Here again, the employed hardware is comprised solely of standard components, and essentially consists of a personal computer.

Hot-line service

Apart from verbal telephone support from the maintenance and service personnel, it is also possible for Scheidt & Bachmann to provide remote diagnosis within a networked structure by means of PC-assisted data interchange.