A protecting element of railway wheelsets is described, the protecting element being constituted by a pad provided with a plurality of transversal grooves without which the pad could not be rolled up on the axle at room temperature. The pad is made of a material having high thickness or high strength, that is respectively between 5 mm and 10 mm and between 50 kJ/m.sup.2 and 80 kJ/m.sup.2. Thanks to the combination of thickness and resilience values, in addition to the grooves, the pad can be manually rolled up on the axle, without the aid of presses and without prior heating. Thus, the solution according to the present invention combines the advantages of ease of installation, such as the possibility of manually rolling up the protecting element on the axle, with the effectiveness of the protection provided by rigid protecting elements.

A railcar bogie includes a wheelset, a bearing rotatably supporting the wheelset, an axle box, and an obstacle deflector. The wheelset includes: an axle and a pair of wheels provided at both car width direction sides of the axle. The axle box includes: an upper axle box element covering the bearing from above; and a lower axle box element fixed to the upper axle box element and covering the bearing from below. The obstacle deflector includes an obstacle deflecting portion and a coupling portion. The obstacle deflecting portion is arranged at one side of the wheel in a car longitudinal direction and, when viewed from the one side in the car longitudinal direction, overlaps the wheel. The coupling portion couples the obstacle deflecting portion to the axle box. The coupling portion of the obstacle deflector is fixed to a receiving seat provided at the upper axle box element.

A railcar bogie includes a wheelset, a bearing rotatably supporting the wheelset, an axle box, and an obstacle deflector. The wheelset includes: an axle and a pair of wheels provided at both car width direction sides of the axle. The axle box includes: an upper axle box element covering the bearing from above; and a lower axle box element fixed to the upper axle box element and covering the bearing from below. The obstacle deflector includes an obstacle deflecting portion and a coupling portion. The obstacle deflecting portion is arranged at one side of the wheel in a car longitudinal direction and, when viewed from the one side in the car longitudinal direction, overlaps the wheel. The coupling portion couples the obstacle deflecting portion to the axle box. The coupling portion of the obstacle deflector is fixed to a receiving seat provided at the upper axle box element.

RailPods are an alternative personal rapid transit system that operate on and utilize existing railroad infrastructure. RailPods are one to two passenger vehicles that travel on one rail of a traditional railroad track. RailPods provide on-demand transportation to cities and towns where rail exists or can be built.

RailPods are an alternative personal rapid transit system that operate on and utilize existing railroad infrastructure. RailPods are one to two passenger vehicles that travel on one rail of a traditional railroad track. RailPods provide on-demand transportation to cities and towns where rail exists or can be built.

Methods and systems for operating a vehicle are provided. In one example, a method for operating a vehicle may include flowing compressed gas selectively through distinct orifice sizes depending on an operating condition of the vehicle. In another example, the vehicle may be a rail vehicle. In one example, the compressed gas may include compressed ambient air, and where the compressed gas is selectively delivered toward an upstream of a vehicle wheel riding on a rail via a nozzle. In another example, the compressed gas may be selectively delivered through a first orifice and not a second orifice to the nozzle during a first condition, and delivered through the second orifice and not the first orifice during a second condition different from the first condition.