CAN Bus on the Rail –
Maintenance Systems
German Railway’s maintenance vehicles for overhead catenary systems are particularly designed for use on high-speed lines to work efficiently when repairing overhead lines, bridges, tunnels and signals.
These vehicles have complex electrical equipment that monitors and controls almost all vehicle functions using a programmable logic controller (PLC). This helps to avoid operating errors as far as possible and to reliably maintain safety-relevant settings.
One example of the safety functions is that it is not possible to drive faster than 10 km/h when the spring lock is engaged. In addition, the mainline drive cannot be started if roof equipment such as working platforms or cable pushers are not in their transport position.
The CAN (Controller Area Network) is often specified as the digital interface for the technical challenges, and MicroControl is available as a reliable and experienced project partner in the field of CAN bus applications.
To improve monitoring of the hydraulics, the vehicles were equipped with additional measurement technology using the rugged BOX modules from MicroControl, each with 4 analogue inputs. These modules have already been used successfully in other railway applications and stand out for their reliability and ruggedness.
