Automated Verification of Signalling Principles in Railway Interlocking Systems

Abstract

In this paper we present a verification strategy for signalling principles for the control of a railway interlocking system written in ladder logic. All translation steps have been implemented and tested on a real-world example of a railway interlocking system. The steps in this translation are as follows: 1. The development of a mathematical model of a railway interlocking system and the translation from ladder logic into this model. 2. The development of verification conditions guaranteeing the correctness of safety conditions. 3. The verification of safety conditions using a satisfiability solver. 4. The generation of safety conditions from signalling principles using a topological model of a railway yard.