Current Students and Staff

// University News

9 Sep 2015

Loughborough University unveils breakthrough technology with potential to revolutionise the global rail industry

Professor Dixon with the prototype track switch.

A failsafe track switch designed to eradicate a 200-year-old problem on the railway has been created by engineers at Loughborough University.

The breakthrough technology known as Repoint is a robust and reliable points mechanism, which will improve safety, reduce maintenance costs and boost capacity on the railways.

Supported by the UK Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), Repoint is the result of work carried out with industry experts into improved switches to override track switch failures which can lead to train derailment.

Using safety concepts derived from aerospace and the nuclear industry, Repoint corrects a failed switch through a patented arrangement of interlocking rail ends which incorporate a sliding arrangement similar to a breather switch. A lift and drop mechanism allows for expansion and provides an additional locking mechanism with virtually no friction losses.

The mechanism can also move the switch in fractions of a second compared to the current four seconds for conventional designs.

Read the full press release for more information.