Amey's rail team have partnered with Sella Controls and Network Rail Anglia delivery team for a three-month trial that focusses on an alternative method to managing level crossings signalling at Magdalen Road, Watlington near Kings Lynn, Anglia.

Last month (July 2022) the control of the Manned Crossing Barrier (MCB) Level Crossing at Magdalen Road was transferred from the controlling relays managing the level crossing to HIMatrix Programme Logic Controller (PLC) – a new digital signalling system, that if successful, could be rolled out across Network Rail.

The start of the trial was a major milestone for the project team, that has been in development for the past five years. Currently HIMatirx is compatible with a number of level crossing systems. This trail at Magdalen Road will bring HIMatrix one step closer to Network Rail product acceptance.

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Once the trail is completed, the MCB Amey and Sella Control will have product acceptance for a full digital PLC solution which can be transferred to all other types of level crossings, including future opportunities with Obstacle Detectors (OD).

Simon Fowler, Amey's Rail Account Director, said: "The teams are very excited to see this trial come to fruition. The benefits of having a digital system that we can roll out to other level crossing sites will see not only cost efficiencies but improvements to processes and reporting data.

"Working in collaboration with Sella Control and Network Rail Anglia's delivery team, we're able to bring together a number of expertise and knowledge to achieve ultimate results. I'm looking forwarding to seeing the outcome of this trial and the next steps that follow."

Improving level crossing signalling is just one part of the HIMatrix solution. HIMatrix has the capability of providing an end-to-end transmission solution which Amey's team, along with Sella Control, are exploring as an alternative solution when it comes to replacing Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) systems across the network.