Use PC-based RAILSIM Signal Designer to:

• Generate designs for new lines and line extensions (conventional wayside, Transit ATC and ATO, and Mainline Railroad ATC),
• Evaluate safe braking distances and operating capacities,
• Resignal existing systems, and
• Generate design changes to improve existing systems' safety factors and system throughput.

RAILSIM Signal Designer Features

RAILSIM Signal Designer is regularly updated and enhanced by SYSTRA Consulting based on the needs and experience of its rail system users throughout North America, with the latest features including:

Conventional Wayside Designs: Signal Designer develops new wayside signaling block layouts based on design and optimization criteria developed by the user. The signal design process is graphical and interactive, with Signal Designer proving the design's validity at each step. Conventional wayside capabilities include:

• Automatic and interlocking signaling,
• Automatic block layout based on train braking curves, including dynamic calculation of grade, curve (optional), and tunnel effects (optional) on braking, using a train performance calculator with a 0.1 second time step,
• User-specified train performance capabilities, braking reaction times and train lengths,
• Support of (4+G)/4 and (6+G)/6 equated distance methodologies, as well as "laws of physics" methodologies,
• Automatic block layout to satisfy user-specified design headways, including signal preview time requirements and the effects of passenger station stops and dwells,
• Signal designs optimized to require the fewest wayside signals and insulated joints,
• Support of transit system grade time signaling for civil speed enforcement, station time signaling for control line cutbacks and headway improvements, and blind train stops for storage tracks, and
• Horizontal and vertical design print screen functions, as well as automatic CAD drawing generation (see below).

Transit ATC and ATO Designs: Signal Designer supports all ATC and ATO systems with design options contained in pop-up menus. ATC/ATO features include:

• User-defined speed commands, overspeed tolerances (for braking distance calculations) and underspeed tolerances (for practical headway calculations),
• Enforcement of civil speed restrictions, with speed commands established by rounding down (ATO) or rounding up (ATC),
• User-defined vehicle braking curves and graphical confirmation that all safe braking distance requirements have been satisfied,
• User-defined safe braking distance models, including reaction times, braking reaction modes (acceleration, maintain speed, coast and/or braking), jerk rate limiting and passenger loading,
• Variable design headway goals with color bars graphically showing clearing times to each available speed command,
• Optional alternative sets of available speed commands for high and low density station spacing (reducing the number of different speed commands used where stations are spaced far apart), and
• Optional use of wayside signals at interlocking locations.

This Signal Designer screen image cutout shows control lines (each color representing a different speed comand), signal locations, actual and equated distances and safe braking plots (in brown) for a mainline railroad ATC design. Click the cutout to see the complete screen shot.

Mainline Railroad ATC Designs: Signal Designer supports all mainline railroad ATC systems with design options contained in pop-up menus. These features include:

• User-defined cab signal aspects/ATC speed commands, overspeed tolerances (for braking distance calculations) and underspeed tolerances (for practical headway calculations),
• Transponder/beacon and/or cab signal system enforcement of some or all civil speed restrictions,
• User-defined vehicle braking curves for up to 10 different types of rolling stock (high speed passenger, conventional intercity, commuter rail, freight rail, etc.) and graphical confirmation that all safe braking distance requirements for all train types have been satisfied,
• User-defined safe braking distance models, including reaction times, braking reaction modes (acceleration, maintain speed, coast and/or braking), jerk rate limiting and passenger loading,
• Full support of wayside signals at interlockings and automatic signal locations, and
• Full support of step-down and step-up cab signal timers.

Existing Signal System Evaluation: With design procedures and train braking distance methodologies changing, Signal Designer allows the user to evaluate existing signal systems for safety and throughput. These capabilities include:

• Evaluation of safe braking distances and safety factors for existing wayside, ATC and ATO systems,
• Design of signal system modifications required to bring existing systems into compliance with new design procedures and safety requirements,
• Evaluation of capacity improvements that could be achieved by converting wayside systems to ATC or ATO,
• Optimization of ATC or ATO design characteristics for new applications, including selection of speed commands and evaluation of alternative braking curves, braking reaction times and vehicle performance modes.

User Interface: Signal Designer provides convenient data editing, signal design and report generation in the same program. Signal Designer's easy-to-use features include:

• A help key (F1) to provide specific information to the Signal Designer user, such as data formats, program commands and output interpretation,
• A powerful input editor that checks that data is in the correct format and within reasonable user-definable ranges as it is entered,
• Support of both American and metric measurement systems,
• Extensive user documentation, including on-line help and a detailed user manual with graphic "snapshots" of all Signal Designer menus and displays,
• Compatibility with RAILSIM Network Simulator databases, providing fast evaluation of a new design's effect on system operations,
• Compatibility with the RAILSIM Graphic Editor which supports aerial survey, Global Positioning Satellite System and Drawing Exchange Format GIS database sources for signal locations, track horizontal and vertical profile.

CAD File Outputs: Signal Designer generates AutoCAD® Drawing Exchange Format (DXF) files of finished designs, which can also be used by Microstation® and other CAD programs. Signal Designer's CAD file generation features include:

• All design information, including signal locations, available signal aspects, signal control lines, grade time and station time timing sections, station time control line cutbacks, curves, grades, switches, and station platforms -- all identified by the line's chainage (engineering stationing),
• CAD file coordinate system based on the rail line's chainage,
• Inclusion of chainage equations (gaps and overlaps) with chainage shown in feet or meters,
• Text displays of required braking distances, provided braking distances and safety factors (percent) for each signal location in the design,
• Automatic generation of multiple drawings at user-defined scales, divided into separate "D" size drawings, which can be assembled into continuous design rolls, if desired,
• Velocity versus distance plots of train braking curves for each speed at each location, reflecting braking reaction time, vehicle characteristics, grades, curves and tunnel effects,
• Time versus distance plots of two trains separated by the design headway, with graphical confirmation that the headway can be achieved, including the effects of station stop slowing and dwells,
• Flexible CAD file layering for color plotting control and subsequent drawing modifications, and
• Support of three different CAD styles of signal control representation (straight line, branching and Amtrak nine-aspect branching styles).

Signal Design Reports: In addition to its print screen functions and CAD drawing generation, Signal Designer is packaged with the RAILSIM Report Generator, which features five types of signal design output reports. Each report can be specified for a desired design region and can be displayed on the screen, stored in a file or sent to a printer. These reports include:

• Compare designs report, which compares up to 10 different signal designs for the same region, including minimum and maximums safety factors, signal equipment required, and achievable headway for each design. Each design is summarized by design segment and for the entire design region,
• Aspect clear report, which shows the clearing times (in minutes and seconds) and distances required for each wayside aspect at each signal location in the design. This report highlights the minimum train interval supported by the signal system, which defines same-direction line capacity,
• Signal clear report, which shows the clearing time (in minutes and seconds) for each ATC or ATO speed command at each bond location in the design. Also included is the achievable maximum speed of trains at each bond locations so that the minimum speed command required without slowing trains can be determined,
• Timed signal report, which lists all grade time and station time locations in the new design, including recommended timer settings (in seconds and tenths), timing sections, enforced speeds and recommended posted speeds, and
• Safe braking distance report, which shows initial velocities for all aspects/ATC speed commands at each location, required braking distance for each initial velocity, provided braking distance, and resulting safety factor (in percent).

Typical Signal Designer Applications

North American rail systems are using Signal Designer to optimize new signal designs and to speed the signal design process. This includes designs for new lines, line extensions, yards, and interlocking reconfigurations. Signal Designer is equally powerful in evaluating the safety factors and throughput of existing designs and in designing changes to bring existing systems into compliance with new design criteria.

Signal Designer's input data is based on databases generated by RAILSIM Network Simulator. This compatibility allows the development of new signal designs and incorporation into larger RAILSIM databases. The effects of new signal systems on overall rail system performance can be quickly assessed using the Network Simulator.

Support Services: SYSTRA Consulting offers a complete range of optional signal design and software development services to rail systems, including:

• Capital projects and operations analysis,
• Automatic, interlocking and grade crossing circuit design,
• Field investigations and database development,
• Training, and
• Software maintenance and support.

The professionals of SYSTRA Consulting offer comprehensive planning, design and construction management services, including train control, communications, software development, track, power, vehicle and facilities engineering.

Click here to view RAILSIM System (Computer) Requirements

Additional Information: Contact SYSTRA Consulting, Inc., for licensing information and more details about RAILSIM Signal Designer, and the entire RAILSIM Simulation Software Suite.

RAILSIM is a registered trademark of SYSTRA Consulting, Inc. All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.