Novel Actuation Mechanism for Railway Track Switch System based on Maglev Technology

This paper presents a concept of a novel mechanism for railway track switching based on Maglev technology. The main advantage of using this technology is the lack of contact between the actuator and the movable parts of the physical system and thus no wear and friction. This increases efficiency, reduces maintenance costs, and increases the useful life of the track switch system. The proposed new idea is based on using several Maglev actuators to switch the track that makes the new concept more reliable than the conventional switch form the point of view lacking the mechanical link between the actuator and the switch rail. The rail could be switched simply by magnetic principles by attracting the switch rail towards its appropriate location. A control algorithm is developed to achieve the rail track switching mechanism and validated to demonstrate the proof of the novel proposed technology of railway track switching.