A system for improved intermodal freight transportation is described herein. Improved carriages and support trusses are provided that beneficially move the load-bearing structure to interconnected support trusses forming a top-end spine of the train with freight containers equipped with wheels hanging underneath. Upon entering a terminal, the floor adjacent to the rails may be configured to gradually rise until the container's wheels are supporting the container's weight. When properly aligned with a container exchange station, the container's connections to the train may be configured to release the container from the train, and the container's wheels may be configured to pivot, allowing the container to be rolled to the side of the train and replaced by another. This may allow the container to be replaced without having to lift the container or disconnect any of the rolling stock components.

Various methods and systems are provided for a railyard system. In one example, a method for managing a railyard comprises, within the railyard, positioning a cargo unit on a multi-directional pad and moving the pad multi-directionally based on a requested order for the cargo unit relative to other cargo units, where the requested order corresponds to an order of cargo units on railcars of an outbound train. The multi-directional pad may operate within an arena, where the arena includes a concrete surface depressed into the ground such that a surface of the pad is level with a surface of the ground surrounding the arena, thereby allowing railcars to be pushed onto the pad by a locomotive of a train.

A method and system for the flexible combined transport of persons and/or freight via rail or road. A coordination system coordinates the total transport capacity and the specific demand for transport of passengers and freight in real time and dynamically. The coordination system registers the existing capacity of persons and freight of a transport means, determines a residual capacity, defined by the difference between the passenger capacity and the passenger transport demand, and determines a transformation capacity, which is determined by the size of the residual capacity that can be transformed for the carriage of freight. The freight capacity is determined by the transformation capacity and the existing freight capacity. A multi-functional transport modality for rail or road and other support means for the realization of an efficient and resilient mobility system for passengers and freight.

Methods and systems for automatically tuning control parameters for operations of a classification yard. In embodiments, production predictions for car events at a segment is made using current tuning coefficients. Analysis on real-world measurements associated with the car events is used to obtain a set of candidate tuning coefficients. Backoffice predictions for the car events are made using the candidate tuning coefficients. The production predictions and the backoffice predictions are compared against the real-world measurements. If the backoffice predictions are found to better approximate the real-world measurements at the segment or device, the candidate tuning coefficients are accepted and the current tuning coefficients for the segment or device are replaced by the candidate tuning coefficients. In this manner, the present disclosure provides a system with functionality that allows the system to automatically adjust the tuning coefficients to real-world conditions.

Methods and systems for managing operations of a classification yard. In embodiments a release speed, coupling speed, and/or a predicted speed at one or more points of a route along which a cut is being routed is determined. A set of event messages of events that occurred during the traveling of the cut is generated. Real-world measurements associated with an actual speed of the cut at the one or more points of the route are obtained. Coefficients associated with the predicted speed of the cut at the one or more points are autotuned based on the real-world measurements, a status of one or more devices used to route the cut is determined based, at least in part, on thresholding analysis applied to the real-world measurements, and the set of event messages is stored in an event log for subsequent replaying in a graphical user interface (GUI).

A locomotive wireless multi-heading remote distributed power traction operation control system. A set of differential multi-heading control unit (8) is added to a train control and management system of an original locomotive, and is combined and fused with a train control and management system (21), a brake control unit (24), a train safety monitoring device (20), a locomotive logic control unit (23), and a locomotive third-party device (25) to implement wireless multi-heading distributed power traction control operation of locomotives in a heavy haul combined train, and adapt to train multi-heading traction control operation of differential locomotives of a heavy haul combined train or multi-heading operation of different railway locomotives. Also provided is a multi-heading locomotive.

A transportation system (100) based on a plurality of pods (110) without any prime movers is disclosed, having a plurality of main tracks (102) having flexible drives to engage with the pods (110) and move the pods along the main track. The pods (110) can be carried by a last-miler vehicle for providing a seamless connectivity between a starting point of a commuter and a destination location without any change. The transportation system includes stations (150) having diverter belts (104), accelerator/decelerator paths (106) and diverter patch (114), where the pods (110) can be transshipped between the main track (102) and the last-miler vehicles.