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conclude that it is not the initial capital cost of products that drives cost for several decades but expenditure on maintenance and repairing malfunctions. In this context, modern point machines can make a decisive contribution to reducing these costs. Turnouts and retrofit point machines need to be able to adapt to various interlocking systems. During the development of Ecostar, existing interlockings around the world were studied intensively and preconditions for the machine defined. As a result, several solutions for adapting to a wide range of existing signalling cabinets have been engineered and realised. Technically, Ecostar 4 would be able to connect safely to every known interlocking solution, and so far has successfully interfaced with interlockings in a variety of
applications: several mainline applications in Austria in combination with different
types of Siemens interlockings Thales interlockings in various mainline installations in Austria,
Bulgaria and Turkey Iskra interlockings in Turkey urban applications in Brazil with
Ansaldo interlockings, and Eliop systems in Bulgaria and Turkey. From an electro-technical point of
view, most interface requirements are straightforward and usually very simple to realise. Nevertheless integration has to be implemented carefully to guarantee the overall safety of the interlocking.
Ecostar 4 can also be used to refit point machines on existing turnouts as it is compatible with most other lockings, power transmission and monitoring systems. This enables the customer to replace assets that are no longer state-of-the-art. For a moderate
investment, the customer can gradually optimise the life-cycle cost of the turnout.
Developed, approved and produced according to Cenelec norms, Ecostar 4
represents a state-of-the-art system for vignol-rail turnouts of any design which is not only ready to operate existing turnouts, but also those of the future. IRJ
Above: Ecostar 4 installation on an external support (Figure 2) and, below, in a hollow steel bearer (Figure 3).
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IRJ August 2012
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