FPGA implementation of a critical railway interlocking system

Abstract

An interlocking is a railway system that automatically controls that changes in routes are safely managed, avoidingtrain crashes and derailments. This article presents an analysis of the state of the art technology used in several commercial interlocking equipment. Based on this analysis, design and implementation of an interlocking system architecture in FPGA technology is proposed. Appropriate techniques are applied to achieve the required level of security. The scalability of the design is also analyzed and conclusions are presented.