Acmena is thrilled to announce that Rail Safety Systems’ innovative Rail Active Crossing System (RAXS) has been provisionally type approved and is currently being trialled by Queensland Rail for final type approval.
Currently in operation at a test site near Oakey, Queensland, RAXS is a high integrity, SIL 3 active control system designed to provide rail operators with a cost-effective solution to improve safety at level crossings in rural and remote areas.
Using a combination of wireless technology and solar power, RAXS substantially reduces installation time and cost by removing the need for mains power or cabling requirements that necessitate expensive earthworks.
Acmena was engaged by Rail Safety Systems (RSS) in 2018 to provide systems assurance and safety management support and is delighted to have played a role in helping RSS to develop the system and obtain acceptance for trial.
“We are hoping the trials will be completed by the end of November,” said Dagmar Parsons, Managing Director, Rail Safety Systems.
“We are really looking forward to commercialising the system and putting it in to the Australian rail network. A lot of time, effort and money has been invested in developing the system and we are hoping now that the innovation that has gone into RAXS will be acknowledged by the rail community, and we will see it being adopted as a cost-effective solution to keep communities safe in remote and rural areas.”
Queensland Rail has already committed to a second installation in Thallon, Queensland upon successful completion of the Oakey trial, while RSS is currently developing a boom gate version of the system for other markets, with Acmena continuing to provide support.
“Acmena’s contribution has been invaluable,” said Parsons. “They really have been tremendous; we couldn’t have done it without them. The team has been very responsive and is always there to help when we’ve needed it, so we have been very, very happy.
“The system is so novel. Nothing like this has been done before in Australia. We’ve had to find innovative solutions and approaches to demonstrate that the system is safe and compliant, and Acmena has been instrumental in doing that. They’ve been our trusted advisors and have guided us, while at the same time challenging us to think innovatively and help us find solutions.”
With the boom gate version of the system on the horizon, Rail Safety Systems is in talks with Australian rail operators to obtain certification for RAXS and is also taking interest from organisations in New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
“It has been a pleasure to work with Rail Safety Systems,” said Acmena Director, Katherine Eastaughffe. “They are so clearly committed to good engineering and safe engineering. It’s exciting to see this product come to market. These days most rail product development is done overseas, so it is great to see local capability in developing high integrity platforms such as RAXS.”
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