Equipping signal technology railway infrastructure systems with lightning protection Particularly high safety requirements must be taken into account when integrating surge protection into signal technology railway systems. Find out more now in our application example for safe railway operations.

Application

With the introduction of electronic and digital signal boxes into railway infrastructure, sensitive devices are increasingly being used in control command and signaling technology. In order to reliably protect them against lightning strikes and transient overvoltages, surge protective devices are essential. Because lightning protection is looped directly into the signal circuits, it is imperative that certain safety aspects are taken into consideration.

Requirements for surge protection:

• Impact-free operation: The surge protective devices operate in an impedance-neutral way in a parallel path to all signal lines.
• No energy is drawn from the signal path.
• The status indicator functions independently of the signal status.
• There are no residual currents that impair operation.
• Installation and removal of the surge protective devices does not interrupt the signal circuit – ongoing operation remains safe.
• The manufacturer provides all relevant parameters for safety documentation.

Phoenix Contact provides solutions that satisfy these requirements and comply with the relevant Deutsche Bahn directive, DB RIL 819.0808. The surge protective devices suitable for this purpose are impact-free and can be removed without affecting the signal circuits.