A system for alerting vehicles of upcoming hazards is described. The system includes a driverless alert vehicle which proceeds an ensuing vehicle on a route or track. The system includes two way communication between the alert vehicle and ensuing vehicle, and communication between the alert vehicle and other systems. Communication from the ensuing vehicle set the distance and speed of the alert vehicle. Communication from the alert vehicle to the ensuing vehicle warn of hazards such as damaged or missing track, oncoming vehicles, or other types of path disruption.

Systems and methods are provided for decentralized train control. A decentralized train system may include a plurality of wayside control units, configured for placement on or near tracks in a railway network, and one or more train-mounted units, each of which being configured for use in a particular train. Each wayside control unit may obtain information corresponding to each train that passes within its communication range, and provide obtained train-related information to each train-mounted unit passing within its communication range. Each train-mounted unit may configured to receive train-related information from each wayside control unit that comes within its communication range, process the received train-related information, assess based on the processing of the train-related information conditions relating to operation of train within the railway network, and when at least one condition meets one or more particular criteria, perform or cause performing one or more responsive actions.

An information transmission system includes a ground system provided to a track and an onboard system installed in a train. The ground system includes two (M=2) track antennae selected from N types of track antennae with different resonance frequencies. The two track antennae are arranged side by side in a left and right direction relative to a traveling direction of the train. When the train passes through a position where the ground system is provided, the onboard system detects the two track antennae at once and can determine the resonance frequencies of the track antennae.

A communications device connected between an automated single car test device and a cloud-based secure repository automatically reads air brake test results from the automated single car test device via a multipin connector designed to connect to a touch screen tablet and provides external interned based access to an automated single car test device.

A safety system and related methods for a train are provided. Sensors are located at axles and bearing of freight cars. Where a control system determines that data received from sensors located at axles and bearings of freight cars exceed safety parameters, safety devices for the train are activated which slow or stop the train, an alert is transmitted to at least two remote devices, one associated with a railroad operator authority and one associated with a local governmental authority, and deactivation of the safety devices is electronically prevented unless and until authenticated override authorizations are received from both remote devices.

A train control system controls an operation of a train by transmitting and receiving, between an on-vehicle wireless station mounted on the train and a ground wireless base station, information that includes train control information by wireless communication. General transmission information, which is information included in the information that includes the train control information and is transmitted only once from the ground wireless base station to the on-vehicle wireless station. The train control information is transmitted repeatedly a plurality of times from the ground wireless base station to the on-vehicle wireless station. Among the repeatedly transmitted train control information, the on-vehicle wireless station uses, for an operation of the train, a piece of train control information, which the on-vehicle wireless station receives without lack of data lack for a first time.

Provided is a computer-implemented method for determining a communication status in a train consist operating in a distributed power system, the train consist including a lead locomotive and a plurality of remote locomotives. The method includes, for each remote locomotive of the plurality of remote locomotives that receives the command message directly from the lead locomotive, setting the message source indicator of the remote locomotive to a first state representative of a direct receipt of the command message, incrementing the message source counter for each response message received by the remote locomotive from other remote locomotives in which the respective message source indicator is set to the first state, generating a response message including a value of the message source indicator and a value of the message source counter, and transmitting the response message. A system and computer program product are also disclosed.

This infrastructure includes a network MPLS; first and second groups of access points associated with each section of the track; first and second modems, on the train, communicating with access points of the first and second groups. The network includes pairs of local switches, each associated with a section of the track and including first and second local switches for communication with, respectively, the first and second groups of access points of the associated section, and first and second central switches, the switches being in series with one another and implementing a service for defining paths between each central switch and each local switch so the path between the first central switch and the first local switch of a pair and the path between the second central switch and the second local switch of this pair correspond to separate portions of the ring formed by the network.

To allow simple data communication between a vehicle and a cableway controller of a cableway, provision is made, during operation of the cableway, for a current collector of the vehicle to come into contact with a busbar through the movement of the vehicle, wherein a vehicle powerline modem of the vehicle is connected to the current collector and a control powerline modem is connected to the busbar and the cableway controller and, while the current collector is in contact with the busbar, a powerline communication connection is established between the vehicle powerline modem and the control powerline modem and is used to transmit vehicle data from the vehicle to the cableway controller or vice versa.

A communication device operating as a hub in a train network system that includes a plurality of hubs installed in train vehicles, each of the plurality of hubs belonging to both a trunk network in which a signal transmission range is not limited and a branch network in which a signal transmission range is limited, and adding, to a signal to be transmitted to a hub belonging to the same branch network as it does, network type information indicating whether the signal is a trunk network signal or a branch network signal. The communication device transmitting branch network information including at least identification information on a branch network to which it belongs at a predetermined timing, and based on branch network information received from an adjacent communication device, determining whether or not to add the network type information to a signal to be transmitted to the adjacent communication device.