Annotation:
The article provides an overview of the means used to monitor the state of a track
section occupation along a network of domestic and foreign railways. It is noted that the
main means of monitoring of track sections occupation along the network of Russian
railways are track circuits that detect the fact of a break or removal of the rail, i. e. performing integrity monitoring mode. The article also notes that axle counting systems
on Russian railways are of limited use, which is explained by the lack of the ability to
detect the fact of a break or removal of a rail. The problem of ensuring the safety of the
transportation process by the rail circuits during the integrity monitoring mode is
considered: during the integrity monitoring mode of the rail circuits, the electrical
integrity of the rail is monitored, but existing damage on the rolling surface and in the rail
body is not detected, which poses a direct threat to traffic safety. Based on the review of
the use of axle counting systems on foreign railways as the main means of monitoring the
track section occupation state and taking into account the fact that existing means of
monitoring the condition of the track section do not reveal highly defective rails, the
article proposes the partial replacement of track circuits to axle count sensors at the station
facilities of Russian Railways.
The economic efficiency was estimated based on a comparison of the required
capital investments and operating costs for servicing the compared devices, and the
dependences of the change in capital investments on the parameters of the stations’ track
development were revealed.
Key words:
capital investments; operating expenses; tonal track circuits; axle counting systems; the complexity of the service; highly defective rails