SIGNAL+DRAHT | Issue 04/2007
Checkpoint: Solutions for automatic supervision
The new operating management system of Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) aims to raise quality and -safety and at the same time to reduce operational costs. However, this cost reduction leads to station inspectors being withdrawn from the field and concentrated at a limited number of locations. This in turn entails a reduction in manual train supervision. To ensure an increase in safety despite this effect, an automated technical replacement is needed; these are the so-called Checkpoints. Significant added value is achieved by networking these Checkpoint stations, offering numerous possibilities for additional users, such as the optimisation of maintenance intervals for rolling stock. The world’s first Checkpoint was installed and put into operation at Himberg near Vienna in the autumn of 2004 (Fig. 1).