LED and Incandescence Lamps in Railroad Repetitive Light Signals: A Comparative Performance Analysis

In this work we study the efficiency of LED light sources compared to the incandescence light sources used in repetitive light signals of railroad traffic safety installations. For the two light sources we determined the luminous flux values, the energy efficiency and the illumination, in laboratory conditions. Afterwards we made field measures on locations where repetitive light signals are installed with the two types of light sources. Our results show that it is necessary to find resources and design solutions to replace the glowing light bulbs with LED ones for all luminous components of traffic safety installations.