Smart At Work - SMARTFENCE Railway Safety Barrier

Various European directives stipulate that certain safety measure must be taken when any work is being carried out on railway tracks: there must be no risk to any passenger. As it is not economically or practically feasible to close the railway tracks and halt services every time maintenance work is required, physical barriers are the ideal solution. SMARTFENCE is one such barrier.

SMARTFENCE® RAILWAY SAFETY BARRIER

The SMARTFENCE railway safety barrier, developed in co-operation with VolkerRail SAFAC in the Netherlands, aims to provide a railway safety barrier that can be erected and removed in record time. SMARTFENCE's installation can be carried out very quickly, saving valuable time and increasing the deployment of safety fences.

With existing systems it takes eight workers eight hours to install approx. 500m of safety fence whereas 500m of SMARTFENCE can be easily installed within two hours by only three workers.

PATENTED CLAMP FIXED ON THE RAIL’S WEB

The secret to SMARTFENCE lies in the patented clamp. In contrast to existing clamps that are fixed under the rail onto the rail foot, SMARTFENCE is fixed onto the sleeper and into the rail's web. Therefore, it is not necessary to remove any ballast. This saves a lot of valuable time, aside from the ergonomic aspects or the savings to cost of expensive machinery. Installation of the SMARTFENCE-clamp is simple and fast compared to other clamping constructions.

TIME-SAVING RAILWAY SAFETY BARRIER

The SMARTFENCE barrier is safe, fast and ergonomic. The system has been tested in accordance with EN13774 as well as being approved by PRORAIL (01/03/06). It is also expected to be approved by Deutsche Bahn & RFI in late 2007.

BENEFITS OF SMARTFENCE PHYSICAL BARRIER

No heavy digging is required to install the SMARTFENCE railway safety fence and the time savings the system allows ensure:

• An increase in staff productivity
• Faster lead time for projects
• Increase in safety
• Improvement in working conditions
• Enhanced competitive position.

"Everyone within our company is full of praise for SMARTFENCE. It is light, it is fast and we no longer need to dig underneath the track. It is so much quicker than the safety fences known up to now. It is such a simple and clever product! It is a SMART fence!", says Evert Bos of VolkerRail SAFAC.