Rail Signaling & Wayside Equipment worked example

Track Circuit Test Load with test rig connected electrical load of 6 kW: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop test rig connected electrical load to 6 kW, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate track circuit test load for rail signaling and wayside equipment using production-ready inputs so teams can budget energy cost, compare equipment settings, or include electricity in the quote.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Test rig connected electrical load: 6 kW (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 12)
  • Test run duration: 8 hr (held at the documented default)
  • Blended electricity rate: 0.12 $ / kWh (held at the documented default)
  • Track circuit units tested during the run: 1,000 units (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Total track circuit test load energy cost = track circuit test load connected load × track circuit test load runtime × blended electricity rate.
  • Track circuit test load energy used works out to 48 kWh at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Total track circuit test load energy cost works out to 5.76 $ at these inputs.
  • Energy cost per kWh works out to 0.01 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Hourly track circuit test load energy cost works out to 0.72 $ / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where test rig connected electrical load sits at 12 kW and the headline result is 96 kWh, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 48 kWh.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to test rig connected electrical load, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes the rig draws its full connected load for the whole run, so intermittent or partial-load testing will overstate the energy and cost.

Results at a glance

  • Track circuit test load energy used: 48 kWh (headline result)
  • Total track circuit test load energy cost: 5.76 $
  • Energy cost per kWh: 0.01 $ / piece
  • Hourly track circuit test load energy cost: 0.72 $ / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Track Circuit Test Load calculator, set test rig connected electrical load to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.