An Examination of Factors Affecting APM Conductor Rail System Reliability

Conductor rail systems (CRS) typically comprise less than 5% of an APM system’s total cost, yet they can have an outsized impact on an APM’s reliability. Critical variables to conductor rail performance include performance specifications; design, development, and testing; interface coordination with other subsystems; installation quality; and maintenance. Interface coordination between the conductor rail system and other APM subsystems such as the vehicle, guideway, guideway switches, and power distribution system must receive proper attention in the specification and design stages of a project. This paper identifies a sampling of critical aspects of interface coordination and draws upon specific examples of incomplete or incorrect interface specifications and their consequences. The author provides recommendations for interface specifications between the CRS and the associated APM subsystems.