A radar scanner at the Freimersdorfer Weg level crossing in Cologne, located at
the northern end of the former station Bocklemünd (on the line to
Mönchengladbach), seen on 11 December 2004. In the foreground is the
scanner itself, located at one corner of the crossing. At the three other
corners radar reflectors are placed (one visible in the background), which are
used for a self test of the device. Radar scanners are a relatively new
possibility to check if the crossing is free, by now this is normally done by
someone watching the crossing directly or by video. At least in Germany each
crossing with full barriers has to be checked if it is free after the barriers
were lowered. As this area is now controled from a central signalbox in
Duisburg, it is a big advantage that the check is automatic.
<p>
Digital photo by
<a href="http://www-users.rwth-aachen.de/christoph.schmitz2/index.html">Christoph
Schmitz</a>
(<a href="mailto:christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de">christoph.schmitz2@post.rwth-aachen.de</a>)