A railroad car condition monitoring/analyzing includes: a car factor estimation unit configured to estimate car factor evaluation data from car data and evaluation data; an infrastructure factor extraction unit configured to extract infrastructure factor evaluation data from the car data, the evaluation data, and the car factor evaluation data; an infrastructure factor estimation unit configured to estimate individual infrastructure factor evaluation data from the infrastructure factor evaluation data; an infrastructure factor DB construction unit configured to store the individual infrastructure factor evaluation data in an infrastructure factor database; an infrastructure factor analysis unit configured to monitor the individual infrastructure factor evaluation data stored in the infrastructure factor database so as to analyze infrastructure factors; and a car analysis unit configured to analyze a car condition in consideration of analysis information on the infrastructure factor.

A system and a method includes one or more processors to control operation of an air brake system having plural braking devices each disposed on a different vehicle of a vehicle system and configured to control braking efforts in the air brake system via the braking device disposed onboard the corresponding vehicle. The one or more processors may communicate one or more command messages to the braking devices to control one or more of a rate of a braking effort propagation along the vehicle system or a direction of the braking effort propagation between the plural braking devices.

A vehicle control system and method receive vehicle makeup information from multiple vehicles in a multi-vehicle system. The vehicle makeup information represents one or more characteristics of the vehicles. The vehicle makeup information is received at a controlling vehicle of the vehicles in the multi-vehicle system that controls movement of the multi-vehicle system. The controlling vehicle also receives locations from location-determining devices respectively onboard the vehicles in the multi-vehicle system. The controlling vehicle controls operation of the multi-vehicle system using a combination of the vehicle makeup information received from the vehicles and the locations of the vehicles.

A system that includes a lead locomotive in communication with one or more remote vehicles, and the lead locomotive including one or more processors configured to execute program instructions to perform functions based on the program instructions. These functions include determining a first characteristic related to the lead locomotive or the one or more remote locomotives, receiving historical data related to the first characteristic, comparing the first characteristic to the historical data to determine a change in first characteristic value, and determining a second characteristic related to the lead locomotive or the one or more remote locomotives. In response to the change in first characteristic value exceeding a threshold percentage, the one or more processors ignore the change in first characteristic value exceeding the threshold percentage based on the second characteristic.

A system and a method includes a monitoring device disposed onboard a first vehicle of a vehicle system. The monitoring device may obtain information about one or more of the monitoring device, the first vehicle, the vehicle system, or a route along which the vehicle system moves. The system includes a communication system having one or more processors configured to wirelessly activate and communicate with the monitoring device. The communication system is configured to wirelessly activate the monitoring device by controlling the monitoring device to establish a communication link between the monitoring device and a control system disposed onboard another vehicle of the vehicle system. The communication system is separate from and disposed a distance away from the monitoring device and the vehicle system.

A system is provided that include at least one positioning system that can detect a location or position of a vehicle or a portion of a vehicle group that includes the vehicle, at least one sensor positioned on or associated with the vehicle that can generate sensor data of a determined parameter or condition, and a controller in communication with the sensor and the positioning system. The controller can determine that a hazard event has occurred based at least partially on sensor data, and can communicate a hazard event notification based at least in part on the location data and the sensor data to a remote server.

An end of train device (100) suitable of use on a railway vehicle includes an enclosure (110), one or more accelerometers (180) positioned inside the enclosure (110) and providing accelerometer data of a railway vehicle (230) when travelling on a railway track (240), and a tracking device (185) positioned inside the enclosure (110) and providing location data, wherein the accelerometer data and location data are analyzed to determine a condition of the railway track (240). Further, a track monitoring system (200) and a method (300) for continuous monitoring of railway tracks (240) are provided.

A method operates a first and a second vehicle. Accordingly, on the vehicle side, it is checked whether a new coupling with another vehicle has occurred, and after establishing a new coupling, a respective configuration signal signaling the coupling status is transmitted to a track-side switching unit. If there is a configuration signal of the first vehicle and a configuration signal of the second vehicle, a communications connection is established between the two vehicles via the track- side switching unit or an already existing communications connection between the two vehicles is reconfigured.

A warning device and system for a rail vehicle includes at least the following components: an error detection apparatus, designed to detect at least one error condition of the rail vehicle, an image memory containing a number of images which indicate an actual condition of a rail vehicle, a first selection unit for selecting at least one of the images from the image memory in accordance with a detected error condition of the rail vehicle, at least one user interface with at least one display unit, a display control unit for controlling the display unit such that the image selected in accordance with the detected error condition is output on the display unit. There is also disclosed a corresponding method for warning a vehicle driver of a rail vehicle and the use of a warning system of a rail vehicle for displaying an actual condition of a rail vehicle.

A system that allows an electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) railcar to be optionally selected as the ECP End of Train (EOT) device when that car is positioned at the end of a train regardless of its physical orientation. This eliminates the requirement to use and install a traditional End of Train (EOT) device at the end of an ECP train while maintaining the same train integrity monitoring functionality that is typically provided for train brake-in-two detection and closed cut-out cock detection. The system also eliminates the requirement for a dedicated EOT device at the end of the train for ECP “RUN” Mode operation, and allows any ECP car to function normally as part of the train or act as the EOT device when selected.