A method for reliability analysis of railway signal equipment at the station level based on universal generating function

Reliability analysis of railway signal equipment is pivotal to ensuring railway transport safety; however, current research lacks a holistic grasp of the operation of station signal equipment. This paper addresses the comprehensive reliability of railway station signal outdoor systems and establishes a station-level reliability analysis method based on a multi-dimensional universal generating function. The proposed method converts the complex station signal topology into an end-to-end multi-layer topology structure, utilizing a universal generating function model to derive a reliability model for the complex station-level railway signal equipment system. Subsequently, the system reliability is used as the measurement function to calculate and analyze the Fussel-Vesely importance of each signal point device in the station. Finally, experiments at a railway station demonstrated that the method described in this paper could effectively characterize the overall reliability of railway station signal equipment and reveal the differences in the importance of each signal point equipment. Furthermore, the method provides a theoretical foundation for decision-making processes related to inspection activities by visually depicting the operational status of the station to on-site railway operation and maintenance personnel.