Jingyu Du1,2 Peter King1 Andy Gardiner1 Jian-Ping Li2

CEng MIET MIEEE

Electrification and Plant
Maintenance Engineer
jingyu.du@networkrail.co.uk
Jingyu Du (CEng MIET) works
as an Electrification and Plant
Maintenance Engineer with
Network Rail’s East Coast route.
Before joining the industry, he
received his Electrical Engineering
BEng degree from Hong Kong
Polytechnic University in 2015
and a power systems MSc
degree from Imperial College
London in 2016. His focus is on
risk-based decision making for
intelligent asset management
that maximises infrastructure
reliability via optimal and cost-
effective combination of asset
renewal and maintenance
intervention.
1
Network Rail East Coast Maintenance - Electrification
& Plant, Hitchin, United Kingdom, SG5 1RS
2
University of Bradford Faculty of Engineering &
Informatics, Bradford, United Kingdom, BD7 1DP
Section Supervisor
[Distribution & Plant]
peter.king2@networkrail.co.uk
Peter King works as a Supervisor
for the plant and distribution
section on Network Rail’s East
Coast route. Peter started in
the department in 2011 after
completing the company’s
advanced apprenticeship
scheme. Following that Peter
achieved HNC Level 4 in Electrical
and Electronic Engineering and is
currently looking at furthering his
education with Level 5 & Level 6
Rail & Rail Systems Engineering.
Senior Electrification and
Plant Maintenance Engineer
andy.gardiner@networkrail.co.uk
Andy Gardiner is a senior
Electrification and Plant
Maintenance Engineer
responsible for the railway high-
voltage electrification and low-
voltage fixed plant maintenance
between King’s Cross and
Dalton on the East Coast route.
Andy started his railway career
as an apprentice with British
Rail in 1981. Over the past 42
years, Andy has accumulated a
substantial amount of experience
from a variety of technical,
engineering, training, and project
management roles across
the country. Andy’s expertise
includes but is not limited to 3rd
rail electrification, high-voltage
switchgear and transformers,
protection testing and other
aspects of substation assets
management.
Assistant Professor
j.p.li@bradford.ac.uk
Jian-Ping Li (MIEEE) received
his MSc degree in Mechanical
Optimisation from Nanjing
University of Science and
Technology in 1989, and
PhD degree in Mechanical
Engineering from the University
of Manchester in 2004. He is
currently an Assistant Professor
in engineering optimisation with
the Faculty of Engineering and
Digital Technologies, University
of Bradford. He has published
more than 100 papers in leading
journals, such as Evolutionary
Computation and IEEE
Transactions on Reliability. His
current research interests include
modelling complex systems,
reliability and failure analysis,
the development of modelling
and optimisation system, and
the application of optimisation
algorithms.

RAILWAY ELECTRIC POINTS HEATING:

FROM DESIGN TO MAINTENANCE

A
bstract: Electric points heating
has been installed on Britain’s
railway for decades. It assists
the normal railway operation in
adverse weather. The heating
operates automatically and can
be controlled and monitored remotely,
which has improved its maintenance.
This article reviews the current state
of points heating design, installation,
and maintenance. It proposes
further improvements of points
heating operational performance, by
continuously developing a more robust
and cost-efficient maintenance regime
and adopting risk-based maintenance
and new technologies.
Keywords: Railway Points Heating;
Design & Installation; Maintenance &
Performance
Originally, electric points heating was a
INTRODUCTION heating pad underneath a rail chair. The
electrical power rating of the pad was
Points heating plays a significant role
about 100 Watt. Because of the low wattage
in supporting the railway’s normal
and the heat transfer to the rail taking a
operation in adverse weather. The
lengthy period, pads had to be turned on
heating helps to prevent switch rails
a number of hours in advance to provide
freezing at the point end and snow
rails with enough heat. A system of cartridge
accumulating between the switch and
heaters installed at every sleeper was then
stock rails (Figure 1a and b). In the early
developed. A stainless-steel heater bar was
days, this was achieved by using flame
inserted into a drilled slot at each chair
guns, locomotive-mounted steam lances,
or clamplock body. However, after a long
and compressed air from a nearby
period of time in service, the heater bar
pneumatic point operating installation.
was very hard to remove from its slot due
In the 1960s, gas burning heaters for
to rust, etc. This brought difficulties when
points were popular in certain areas in
the heater bar needed to be replaced.
the U.K. and the first trial site was at the
Some of the mitigation was applying
north end of York Railway Station. Since
heat-resistant grease and drilling the
the 1970s, electricity has been used for
heater bar out of its slot.
points heating in the U.K. (Dow, 2014)

22 | THE JOURNAL | January 2024

 TECHNICAL ARTICLE

Figure 1: Points heating in snow: (a) heaters on both sides were functioning and (b) heater on one side was not functioning;
points heating thermal images, (c) heaters on both sides were functioning and (d) heater on one side was not functioning

Nowadays, points heating is a mix of electric
strip heaters on rails (Figure 2) and cartridge
heaters for clamplocks. Heat retaining
covers can be used on the strips to prevent
unwanted heat dissipation to the ambient
air. To provide heat as close as possible
to the toe end of a switch rail without
interfering with track circuits, electrically-
insulated strips are preferably used on
switch rails. Where uninsulated strips are
used, a gap needs to be maintained between
the end of the strip and the point toe to
prevent the track circuit being compromised.
Alternative to heater strip plug terminations,
long leaded strips can be directly wired into
a trackside transformer, eliminating the need
of a 4/8 way connector block on the centre
of the track and reducing the number of on-
track connections and the need of on-track
maintenance.
To pass around adjustable stretcher bars,
bends have to be formed in the heating
strip. Although efforts have been focused on
fitting a strip tightly to a switch rail, the bend
may result in a small gap between the rail
and the strip. This gap affects the efficiency
of the heat transfer from the strip to the
rail. In thermal imaging cameras (Figure 1c
and d), white spots indicated that heat was
not efficiently transferred to the rails and
accumulated on the strips. Discolouration
on strips may occur at the place of heat
accumulation. On points where tubular
stretcher bars are installed, instead of being
bent over the bar, the heater strip can go
straight through the bar.

Figure 2: On-track points heating installation

23 | THE JOURNAL | January 2024

RAILWAY ELECTRIC POINTS HEATING FROM DESIGN TO MAINTENANCE
a precipitation sensor usually on top of the cubicle, up to 12 trackside
DESIGN, OPERATION AND CONTROL transformers, and two rail temperature sensors, (Figure 4). The two
temperature sensors are fitted on the track to provide the controller
The most common rating of strip heaters on Network Rail’s East
with the rail temperature. The ‘hot’ rail sensor is fitted to a heated rail
Coast route is 200 Watt/metre, and for cartridge heaters it is 200 Watt
so as to measure the operation of heating, while the ‘cold’ rail sensor is
per single heater bar. The voltage supplied from a trackside points
fitted slightly away from the heaters to read the unheated ambient rail
heating transformer is 110 V (230/110 V step-down). High-speed rail
temperature. The controller has pre-set thresholds to automatically
has long switches and hence long heating strips. For a 3-6 metres long
turn the heating on and off. The precipitation sensor detects rain or
heating strip, the operating current is in the range of 5.45 A-10.91 A,
snowfall and adjusts the thresholds. This enables a wider window of
theoretically. Clamplocks also need to be heated. A heater cartridge,
the heating in severe weather and reduces the risk of freezing points.
with a 60 ohm heating resistance which is also supplied from the
secondary winding of a trackside points heating transformer, is During the design stage, site visits are carried out to confirm the
inserted inside each of the clamplock bodies. The nominal current topography of the site. This information is then used so the “hot” and
reading should be 1.83 A for each heater cartridge. Figure 3 briefly ‘cold’ temperature sensors and precipitation sensor sited at the most
shows an example of electricity supply from a Distribution Network appropriate location to mitigate any future environmental issues such
Operator (DNO) to a points heating installation. as any sunspots or shadows on the temperature sensors, which could
result in incorrect operation of the heating.
The majority of points heating installations on the East Coast route are
designed and installed with a controller in a trackside control cubicle, Points heating operates
automatically. Two critical
factors affecting points
heating performance are
(1) heat being generated
when needed and (2)
how efficient the heat
is transferred from
the strip to the rail.
Most of points heating
performance issues are
attributed to its operational
condition (e.g. unequal
distribution of sunshine,
large pieces of ice falling
in between switch and
stock rail, clips falling off
due to vibration when
trains pass), design, and
technological limitations.
Effective maintenance is
of great importance for
points heating and the
Figure 3: Schematic diagram of electricity supply from a DNO to a points heating installation; TDBs: Trackside
Disconnection Boxes, PHCC: Points Heating Control Cubicle, EPR: Ethylene Propylene Rubber, railway’s high-performance
PCP: Polychloroprene, XLPE: Cross-linked Polyethylene, SWA: Steel Wire Armour, PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride operation.

Figure 4: (a) Inside of points heating control cubicle and sensors; (b) Trackside view and (c) Inside of 230/110 V transformer; (d) rail-mounted temperature sensor

24 | THE JOURNAL | January 2024


FAILURES AND MAINTENANCE
On the East Coast route, the preventive maintenance of points
heating is schedule-based (Table 1) with the tendency towards
condition-based.
In busy areas like the East Coast route approaching London, line
blockages for staff working on track may only be available at night,
and thus darkness, fatigue, task monotony, and adverse weather
are to be considered in controlling the quality of the maintenance
delivery and staff safety.

The C1 Exam is an on-track

check for points heating
mechanical condition and basic MONTH ACTIVITIES
functions. The clips of a heating
strip may be off due to track
vibration etc. and the strip
End of September Pre-season C2 Exam (Remote)
becomes loose (Figure 5a).
The strip may also not cover October C2 Exam (Remote)
sufficiently to the point toe,
(Figure 6).
November C2 Exam (Remote)
It is important to identify
missing clips, and then reattach
the strip tightly to the rail and
December C2 Exam (Remote)
remove extra detached clips
as the small metal piece may January C1 Exam (On-track) or C2 Exam (Remote)
compromise the track circuit
(Figure 5b and 5c). On heavily-
trafficked junctions, for example
February C2 Exam (Remote) or C1 Exam (On-track)
near Peterborough railway
station, incidents like track March C2 Exam (Remote)
circuit occupation by a detached
clip may result in 500-2000
delay minutes.
April – August F/G Exam (On-track)
TABLE 1: Points Heating Maintenance Schedule. C1 Exam is on-track condition check; C2 Exam is remote
condition assessment and test run on the RADAR system; F Exam is annual load current and transformer’s
secondary voltage measurement; G Exam is 2-yearly insulation measurement. If a site is ‘C1’ examined in January,
then its next exam will be a C2 in February. The 5-yearly electrical inspection according to BS7671 is not listed here

b c
Figure 5: (a) No clip was installed at each side of a sleeper; (b) and (c) Detached clips may affect track circuit

25 | THE JOURNAL | January 2024

RAILWAY ELECTRIC POINTS HEATING FROM DESIGN TO MAINTENANCE
Since 2015, points heating installations have been remotely controlled
and monitored on Network Rail’s Realtime Asset Data Analysis for
Rail (RADAR) system. Figure 7 shows a user control interface. The
remote monitoring is set to alarm at different thresholds of electrical
current, and these are usually first picked up by the route operating
centre’s engineers who analyse the alarms and decide to mobilise
maintenance engineers to site for further investigation. The remote
control and monitoring reduces the need of the regular on-track C1
Exam which used to be monthly during the heating season between
October and March. Electrical failures are identified by maintenance
engineers during the remote C2 Exam analysing the sensors’
readings. Figure 8 shows graphs depicting (a) normal working and
(b) a faulty “cold” temperature sensor. These graphs are analysed
by maintenance engineers to assess the points heating’s condition
prior to a site visit. This enables the engineers to prepare spares and
equipment for a quick and efficient repair.
FUTURE MAINTENANCE DEVELOPMENT
A. Risk-based Maintenance
Figure 6: Insufficient heater cover on left-hand-side stock rail
26 | THE JOURNAL | January 2024
Risk is generally prioritised according to its impact and probability
to occur (Khan & Haddara, 2003). According to the “Bathtub Curve”,
the probability of an asset failure varies with the asset’s age (Brown,
2008). On the railway, the consequence of an asset failure also
varies with the asset’s location. A ‘one-size-fits-all’ points heating
maintenance regime may not be robust or cost-effective for all points
heating installations distributed along the East Coast route.
Risk-based elements can be added to modernise the existing
points heating maintenance regime. This requires points heating
maintenance engineers, with the assistance from document
controllers and computer experts, to analyse the historical
maintenance records and costs, and together with the maintenance
engineers’ practical experience, to investigate points heating failure
modes, causes, rates of occurrence, and effects. After the risk being
assessed, with a detailed consideration and predication of cost,
maintenance engineers may redesign certain routine activities to
make them more bespoke according to the age and location of points
heating equipment or vary their maintenance frequency.
 Figure 7: Points heating remote condition monitoring webpage on Network Rail’s RADAR system

Figure 8: Points heating asset trending function showing rail temperature readings in a period of no heating on: (a) normal operation that “hot” and
“cold” temperature sensors had the same readings, (b) faulty “cold” temperature sensor that reported abnormally low rail temperature.

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27 | THE JOURNAL | January 2024
RAILWAY ELECTRIC POINTS HEATING FROM DESIGN TO MAINTENANCE
Reassessment shall be carried out regularly to check the effectiveness
of the updated maintenance regime. Any updates of regulations ACKNOWLEDGMENT
and standards shall be considered during the reassessment. Risk-
The authors would like to thank James Freemantle, Ashley Randall,
based maintenance is a continuous and dynamic process to achieve
Sean Harris and colleagues from Network Rail’s track, signalling, and
equipment’s maximum safety, environmental and functional
fixed plant engineering and air operations for their input and support.
performance at minimum cost. Reassessment plays an indispensable
role in managing the risk’s development. In the short-term future,
hopefully a combination of schedule-based, condition-based and REFERENCES
risk-based hybrid maintenance regime for points heating will be
Brown, R. E., 2008. 4.2 FAILURE RATES AND BATHTUB CURVES. In:
developed.
Electric Power Distribution Reliability. 2nd ed. s.l.:CRC Press, pp. 165-
B. New Technologies 167.

In recent years, helicopter and train on-board thermal imaging Dow, A., 2014. The Railway: British Track Since 1804. s.l.:Pen & Sword
cameras have been increasingly used to detect failed heating strips. Books Ltd..
Figure 9 shows an image taken from a helicopter. Maintenance
Khan, F. I. & Haddara, M. M., 2003. Risk-based maintenance (RBM):
engineers remotely switch on points heating via the RADAR system
a quantitative approach for maintenance/inspection scheduling and
slightly before the helicopter flies through the area. The heating strips
planning. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 16(6),
raise the rails’ temperature which are shown white in the thermal
pp. 561-573.
image.

Drones may be considered to examine points heating operation

during winter days. The pictures are expected to be closer to track
and reveal more details than pictures from helicopters. Drones are
generally operated on the railway by a minimum of two competent
staff members. Extra care shall be taken for drones to fly safely in
overhead line electrified areas.

The points heating remote monitoring can be further improved by

installing advanced sensors and transducers to detect any mechanical
defects, and to convert the information to electrical signals in the
remote control and monitoring system. Weather forecasting can
also be used in conjunction with the system to achieve improved
efficiency. For example, linking existing lineside weather monitoring
stations and cloud database to the points heating remote system
for forecasting and automatically pre-empting adverse weather
conditions that could result in rail freezing.

CONCLUSION
Electric points heating warms rails and helps to prevent the rails
from freezing in adverse weather. With the successful roll-out
of the remote control and monitoring system and continuous
improvement of its maintenance regime, points heating maintenance
has been greatly improved. In the short-term future, emphasis can
be placed on implementing risk-based maintenance and adopting
new technologies to further improve points heating operational
performance.

Figure 9: Points heating thermal imaging check on helicopter

(courtesy Network Rail Air Operations)

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28 | THE JOURNAL | January 2024

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