Rail networks trust Tapex Industrial’s Dig Safe® range to warn, locate, and protect rail power, signalling and communications services.
A rail corridor needs protection crews can see, services they can find and barriers suited to the digging risk. Combine Dig Safe® warning, locating and physical protection products, with AP Sensing monitoring where intrusion or cable temperature needs a closer watch. Use Tapex’s product information and application support to carry the selected approach into the project specification.
Put a clearer protection choice on the drawing.
Start with product data, installation information and a documented rail application. Tapex helps you assess the relevant protection products so your specification explains what each layer does, where it belongs and what the delivery team needs to install.
From the drawing to the delivery.
Once the approach is specified, Tapex supports contractors with product guidance, project pricing, availability, delivery planning and installation information. Distribution across Australia helps reduce the gap between what was specified and what can practically be supplied to the project.
Warn. Locate. Protect. And monitoring where it matters.
A warning above the cable. A way to find its route. A barrier suited to the exposure. Build the Dig Safe® layers around the asset, then assess AP Sensing where continuous intrusion or temperature monitoring can give operators useful information between site visits.
Browse the Dig Safe® range
Questions?
Answered.
Specify warning, locating and physical protection around the buried rail asset and its excavation exposure. Warning tape alerts the crew; a locating system helps them follow the route; a cover or plate adds a barrier suited to the digging risk. For power, signalling and communications services, document the layout, electrical interfaces and future access requirements through the rail owner’s design process. A cable below the corridor can carry a whole timetable.
Overpipe® plates can form part of a rail cable protection design where normal cover is constrained. The HDPE plates provide a penetration barrier and visible warning, and can be removed for maintenance access. Confirm the plate layout, joints, cover and required performance through the rail owner’s acceptance process.
Non-metallic rail ducts and pipes need a locating method designed into the route. WAVELAY® detectable tape or a suitable Copperhead® tracer-wire system provides a conductor to follow; electronic markers can identify crossings and connection points. Resolve continuity, grounding, access and rail electrical interfaces, then verify the installed system and record its position. Leave a trace the next crew can use.
AP Sensing’s three technologies watch for different changes along optical fibre. Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) detects vibrations to help locate digging, cable theft and changes in track condition. Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) tracks heat in cable routes, ducts and tunnels. Distributed Temperature and Strain Sensing (DTSS) measures temperature and strain to monitor structures such as bridges, tunnels and tracks. Hear the digging. Track the heat. Watch for movement. Match the sensing fibre, installation and alarm response to the asset.
Existing optical fibre can be assessed for AP Sensing’s Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) railway monitoring. Suitable fibre along the corridor acts as a continuous sensor, helping locate digging, cable theft and changes in track condition. Check the fibre type, condition, route and sensing performance before committing the design. Give fibre already in the ground another job: keeping the corridor’s changes in view.
Download the Dig Safe® engineers Spec Kit
The Dig Safe® range is asset protection you can specify with confidence. We’ve brought the technical data, drawings and installation guidance together in one downloadable pack.
Get the detail you need to specify with certainty.