Rapid diagnosis of track circuits in a railroad station

Track circuits are an important part of traffic security installations which control the blocked or free state of railroad sections. Malfunctions to these installations are causes for slow train traffic and may lead to railroad events. The diagnosis of these traffic security installations is a process that necessitates a detailed knowledge of the installation and a well-prepared maintenance staff. We propose in this work a new method to diagnose failures to these installations, using a computer or a mobile device (tablet and/or smart phone). The diagnosis charts presented in this work are the result of authors´ know-how accumulated in many years of on-field practice. These charts have allowed the realization of a software package which assists the maintenance personnel, leading to shorter repair times and increasing the rail traffic security.