Seldom do railways have the resources to maintain their infrastructure at a level that ensures steady-state performance. Rather, they are faced with prioritizing maintenance actions to optimize safety and reliability under the burden of constrained resources. Given this reality, rail operators are finding the solution to working more efficiently lies in using information technology. Learn more »

By harnessing the vast amount of existing rail corridor data in a prioritized plan, and then assigning the work and monitoring the execution and results with technology applications, many rail operators are doing more with less resources. This strategy, Linear Asset Decision Support, not only results in steady-state asset performance under constrained resources, but can also improve the asset condition and provide a positive return on investment.

This white paper details the options for analysis of measurement data within Bentley’s AssetWise Operational Analytics (formerly Optram) application. It focuses on the analysis and forecasting of data trends that enable engineers to make better-informed decisions about maintenance and renewals. The white paper also covers the classes of data and issues related to this data. Download now »

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Automated driving technologies are set to provide many of the answers in the years ahead as rail operators and planners confront the conflict between the increasing demand for services and the limited potential for network expansion.

These technologies will range from semi-automated trains to driverless operation, and provide increased capacity, greater punctuality and reliability, improved energy efficiency and enhanced safety.

The move to automation is already well-established in urban mass transit systems and these networks will continue to be the early adopters of the latest and most advanced technologies. But automated driving also has a crucial role to play on regional and mainline routes, for both passenger and freight traffic. Working alongside new driver assistance tools, automation can provide invaluable benefits to the entire rail system, as well as to the broader transport infrastructure.

The White Paper “Signal at Green” describes benefits and challenges of automated driving in mass transit, mainline transport, as well as automated transport in freight and the role of advanced driver assistance technologies.

The White Paper is presented by Siemens and was supported by Longitude Research Ltd.

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In the rail transportation industry, sensors, on-board processing and other electronic systems have become more prevalent. As a result, bandwidth requirements for the technologies that connect equipment within a railcar – and that connect rail vehicles together – have been growing consistently.

This trend has put strain on the existing Train Communication Network (TCN) standard for data communication, and is contributing to reduced functionality and increased costs for rail operators. Recently, train manufacturers and system integrators have been making greater use of Ethernet technology to supplement TCN, with the ultimate goal of replacing the legacy technology entirely with an Ethernet standard.

For train manufacturers and system integrators looking to capitalize on the benefits of Ethernet train networks, there are three key steps to follow:

• Defining a network performance requirement
• Selecting the corresponding transmission hardware and Ethernet protocol
• Choosing the cabling most suitable to the application, such as copper or optical fiber.

However, applying Ethernet-based networks within the harsh on-board train environment poses technical challenges in terms of network configuration and component performance – the solutions to which include using the most qualified, high performance interconnects, capable of delivering a fault tolerant network that adheres to the unique topology of the train, even under severe mechanical and elemental stresses.

This white paper is a reference guide to help manufacturers navigate the process of implementing Ethernet train networks based on their own unique requirements and desired applications.

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This white paper discusses the functional safety standard EN 50128:2011 which applies to the software for railway control and protection systems. First the paper explores how EN 50128 compares with other process standards, and then it looks specifically at how PRQA’s tools can be deployed to help to comply with EN 50128.

Electronic equipment is increasingly being used in safety critical environments, and the associated software is becoming more and more complex. Exhaustive testing to ensure that there is no situation in which a failure could occur is rarely possible so systems must be designed in such a way to prevent failure or ensure controlled behaviour if failures arise.

The introduction of standards has been an important factor in ensuring the development of robust software in safety critical applications. The international standard EN 50128 mandates the use of improved development processes, including the use of coding standards to encourage further gains in software quality.

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Find out how to take control of situations using mission critical communications.

This essential guide is brought to you by TDM, the experts in mission critical communications, and covers all the aspects for a comprehensive rail security system putting the station manager at the centre of communications between:

Train Drivers using GSM-R
Emergency Services with TETRA
Platform Staff with radio
Station-wide Observation using CCTV
The Traveling Public through Help Points, PA and Customer Information (CIS)

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