Electrical heating rods are state of the art heating systems to keep railway turnouts clear from ice and snow. Installation, maintenance and procurement is easy. Operational experience of several decades show good efficacy up to moderate wintry weather conditions. However, the energy efficiency is low. A significant amount of heat does not contribute to snow and ice removal but is transferred directly to the environment. Anthropogenic climate change will most likely lead to less days with snowfall but increased short-term snowfall intensity. Future turnout heating systems therefore would need increased capabilities of snow and ice removal. In contrast, overall energy efficiency must be increased to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, explicitly required by the EU energy efficiency directive. Inductive heating of railway turnouts is considered a potential heating method to achieve higher energy efficiency in railway infrastructure. To obtain a well-founded overview of the current scientific knowledge and for future decision-making, this paper presents a scoping review of scientific publications of the last 14 years about inductive turnout heating systems. Technical design approaches and operating parameters of several inductive heating systems are compared. Expressed drawbacks of inductive heating used in railroad infrastructure and so far unanswered topics regarding electromagnetic exposition and health safety as well as electromagnetic interference are pointed out. Additional investigations need to be carried out before inductive heating can be considered as a preferred future heating method for railway turnouts.

inductive heating; railroad turnout; energy efficiency;