Location
Bayerhammerstraße 16, A 5020 Salzburg
Year
From 2012 to the present
Products
net-line FW-50
Protocol
IEC 60870-5-101, IEC 60870-5-104, IEC 61131-3
In the Salzburg local rail network approximately 52 sets of points are equipped with points heating systems. For each set of points, two heating rods are used, which are up to 5 m long and emit heat at a temperature of 65 – 75 °C. Power is supplied via the public 50 Hz network. The heat output of the electric points heating systems is 3.6 kW (2 x 1.8 kW). The points heating system is controlled with net-line FW-50 telecontrol systems, which have a codeIT soft PLC (IEC 61131-3).
Three-conductor temperature sensors, which generate an analogue 4-20 mA signal by means of measured value transducers, are installed on the rails. The analogue signal is scaled in setIT and then transmitted to the MAS4 control system for display and logging and also sent to codeIT for processing. This processing provides for the points heating system to be switched on when the temperature falls below certain measured values and to be switched off again when a maximum permissible temperature is reached.
Compared to the previously customary continuous operation of the points heating system, the average rail temperature is considerably reduced while the functionality of the points is guaranteed. The use of telecontrol technology/control meant that it was possible to reduce the energy consumption by 60% compared to manual operation.
Connection to the on-site ABB central control system is made via the in-house LAN network using FO cables. The entire configuration, PLC application programming, installation and commissioning work was carried out independently by Salzburg AG employees.