On track for compliance [railways, EMC]

Railways provide a good example of the importance of achieving compatibility between electrical and electronic systems. It is all too apparent that interference from traction power equipment may affect signalling systems with potentially dire consequences. So in the UIC, EMC is one of the requirements to be included in the safety case for the introduction of new rolling stock, locomotives or track maintenance vehicles. The author discusses the key EMC problem of the multi-functional role of the rails and then discusses the way in which the railway EMC standards and compliance issues work in practice. The examples of the class 57 locomotive, the Plasser+Theurer Flashbutt welder, track maintenance vehicles, and electric multiple units, are discussed.