Feature: Rail
Minding the gap: Embedded computing bridges the distance between tracks and technology
By Louisa Rochford, Marketing Executive, Impulse Embedded M
odern railways are getting improvements in terms of efficiency, safety and overall performance
thanks to technology advancements. At the heart of its ongoing progression are embedded PCs, compact computing systems that drive the railway industry to new levels of automation and intelligence, for seamless operation and management. Tese ruggedised PCs provide real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, optimised logistical operations, improved passenger safety and a lot more.
History of rail We all know about the horse-drawn carriages before the rails entered the transport realm. Among the oldest continuously working railways in the UK are Tanfield Railway in County Durham, with a section of its track dating back to 1725, and Middleton Railway, founded
in 1758 in the city of Leeds. Middleton Railway was initially built with wooden tracks before being upgraded in 1799 with iron edge rails. It was the first railway to successfully use Salamanca, the first commercial steam locomotive in 1812. Years later, electrical power was
introduced to the railway, with the first known electric locomotive built by chemist Robert Davidson in 1837, powered by galvanic cells. Tis was then followed by the diesel-powered locomotive in 1912. Te first high-speed rail was introduced in 1964 in Japan, between Tokyo and Osaka. Since then, high-speed rails have been integrated into countries worldwide. Here in the UK, High Speed 1 (HS1),
also known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed rail between London and the Channel Tunnel that spans 68.3 miles and splits into two sections. Section 1, covering 46 miles from the Channel Tunnel to Fawkham Junction in North Kent, opened in September 2003. Section 2 opened four years later,
40 July/August 2024
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in November 2007, stretching 24.5 miles between Ebbsfleet station in Kent to London St Pancras. Te success of this railway line saw the
travel time between London and Paris reduced to only two hours and 15 minutes, leading to plans for a second UK rail link, the High Speed 2 (HS2). Initial plans for the new rail were investigated in January 2009, with confirmation in 2012 that plans would be going ahead, comprising two main phases. Despite the success of HS1, HS2 proved
controversial due to environmental and economic concerns, leading to the cancellation of its entire second phase. To this day, only phase one – a link between Birmingham Curzon Street and Old Oak Common in London – is planned for completion between 2029 and 2033. When we look at our history, it is hard
to believe how far modern railways have come. And yet, this is oſten overlooked due to how readily available and commonplace these innovations have become, leading
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