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NEWS
Rail Engineer • September 2016
Capacity enhancement – Isle of Man style Over on the Isle of Man, the Manx Department of Transport has just taken delivery of a pair of Ternkey digital train despatch machines. Linked by the Island’s internal telecoms network, these devices, supplied and commissioned by TERN Systems, form part of a wider scheme to improve the flexibility and reliability of the 15 mile long, three-foot-gauge railway. Within the branch, there are five passing loops, only one of which is staffed permanently at present. The Ternkey system, along with ancillary point and train detection works, will allow all the loops to be made available at short notice so that the timetable can be maintained in the event of late running services. Opening the loops will also allow the running of the special meal and themed trains which are becoming more and more popular. The Ternkey equipment will run in parallel with the existing staff and ticket working until such time as the system as a whole has been safety validated. Ternkey has been designed to avoid having any electronics installed in a rail vehicle, something that is a challenge on a conventional railway let alone in a fleet of vintage steam engines!