ZÖLLNER Signal GmbH
Trackside Product Innovations
- This article first appeared in the Railway-News magazine Issue 3 2022.
COBRA: Remote Control of Eurobalises Thanks to New Solution
COBRA stands for ‘Control of Balises with Remote Assistance’ and serves the purpose of being able to influence (to brake) a rail vehicle with the help of the additional components (Euro)balise and (mini) LEU depending on the dangerous situation (for example in front of a worksite). The system is designed in such a way that the status OK prevents a train from passing and the operator must actively confirm that the track is clear. The confirmation is carried out by operating the control unit, which switches the telegram of the balise by radio. The radio range of the system is at least three kilometres, and up to six kilometres when repeaters are used. This system works autonomously and independently of higher-level (train control) systems.
Control Unit COBRA-CU
The control unit (COBRA-CU) can remotely control up to four receiver units / COBRAR (and thus balises). It communicates with the COBRAR via radio. The COBRA-CU is equipped with a replaceable battery. With a reaction time of less than one second, the COBRA-CU is able to process the information safely and in a timely manner (send and receive to COBRAR and evaluate and control the LEU and balise).
