"The increased use of electronic systems in rolling stock and rail infrastructure undoubtedly improves operational efficiency and safety for the rail operator as well as enhancing the passenger experience. For the rail engineer, however, these electronic systems come with the added challenge of managing obsolescence.
Most component and equipment manufacturers are focused on their next-generation products and on emerging technologies. This reliance on research and development to provide new revenue streams means that today’s hot new products quickly become commodity and then legacy parts as the manufacturers follow timescales which are driven by fast- moving consumer markets.
Consider the mobile phone industry for example. Mobile-phone users will expect to upgrade their handsets every 18 to 24 months, whereas the planned lifecycle for rolling stock usually stretches to 30 or 40 years.
There is also a significant difference in the volume of units shipped to the consumer and rail industries. Analysts predict that global shipments of mobile handsets will reach 2.5 billion units in 2014. Compare that to the amount of components used in rolling stock, signals, rail infrastructure and passenger information systems and the difference in the production volumes of the two sectors becomes apparent."
One way to attack obsolescence is to make sure obsolete PCBs are well documented. A useful tool for doing this - and even recreating the board - is ABI Electronics' RevEng.
Here's an article dealing with the recreation of undocumented PCBs.
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