A Petri-net modelling approach for renewal prediction of railway switches and crossings

To ensure passenger safety and minimise unnecessary maintenance costs, it is vital for track engineers to accurately predict when railway assets require a renewal. This research aims to create a Petri net methodology that models the behaviour of an S&C component, with the implemented renewal strategy dependent on a choice of five criteria - the total number of recorded faults, the amount of maintenance completed within a set period, the frequency of interventions, the total cost of operating the component, and the condition of the component after maintenance. Simulating the model using industry data will predict the average lifespan of the S&C component, with results finding that the switch panel requires renewal more frequently than the crossing panel.