NETHERLANDS: Local company Raillighting has developed a low-cost lighting assembly for illuminating walkways and other work zones which can be rapidly installed by hand.
Branded Railpuck Luminaire, the lights are primarily intended to illuminate the paths and walkways used by staff to access depot buildings and stabled trains. The company says Railpuck can prevent light pollution through the use of energy-efficient dimmable LED bulbs and a directed ‘grazing light’ with shielding to ensure no light escapes. This helps to minimise visual pollution and preserve the night environment. The luminaires can also be supplied with motion sensors to minimise unnecessary energy use.
Raillighting found that the conventional floodlights typically used to illuminate depots and sidings often failed to ensure that enough light reaches the ground. This could lead to dark areas between parked trains which would pose a safety risk to staff.
‘The Railpuck system was designed with a strong focus on simplicity and effectiveness’, explained Raillighting Managing Director Marco Rooks. ‘Our approach was to focus on the specific function of the walkways to be illuminated, not simply adapt an existing system to the situation.’
Noting that the complexity of securing access to operational railway sites often hinders investment in equipment such as floodlights, Rooks added that ‘we have addressed this by making Railpuck fully plug and play. The system can be installed by hand without any need for machinery or lengthy downtime.’ In one project, he said two of the company’s staff were able to install lighting to illuminate almost 500 m of walkways in a single day.
‘By looking from the perspective of a technician and the environment in which they work, we designed the Railpuck system to make installation simple and intuitive. This results in a reduced probability of errors during installation, which in turn leads to increased reliability and guaranteed results.’
