A method detects a defect in an acceleration sensor. In order to be able to reliably detect a defect in an acceleration sensor, the acceleration sensor generates a signal which is checked during a test as to whether a variable dependent on the signal fulfills a predefined condition with respect to a reference value and, on the basis of the test, it is determined whether the acceleration sensor is defective.

A system includes an energy management system disposed onboard a vehicle system configured to travel on a route during a trip. The energy management system is configured to receive trip information from a second vehicle system that includes one or more constraints including at least one of speed, distance, or time restrictions for the vehicle system along the route. The energy management system is further configured to generate a trip plan for controlling movement of the vehicle system along the route during the trip. The trip plan is generated based on the one or more constraints. The trip plan has a plan speed profile that designates speeds for the vehicle system according to at least one of distance or time during the trip. The energy management system is further configured to control movement of the vehicle system during the trip according to the plan speed profile of the trip plan.

A vehicle includes an engine and alternator having a field coil and a plurality of output windings, a field current controller configured to receive an AC input and convert the AC input into a regulated DC output that is supplied to the field coil of the alternator, and a controller configured to monitor at least one operating parameter of the field current controller and to compare a monitored value of the at least one operating parameter to a threshold range.

A sensor system senses one or more characteristics of vehicles in a vehicle system with sensors disposed onboard the vehicles and communicate data representative of the one or more characteristics from the sensors to one or more of a controller or a control system of the vehicle system. The data communicated from the sensors onboard the same vehicle can be synchronously communicated with respect to the sensors onboard the same vehicle and asynchronously communicated with respect to the sensors disposed onboard one or more other vehicles in the vehicle system. The systems and methods can direct components disposed onboard a vehicle system to change operations, monitor data output by sensors operatively connected with the components, and determine which of the sensors are operatively connected with which of the components based on the operations of the components that are changed and the data that is output by the sensors.

A train braking control method and device supporting multi-stage deceleration, and a storage medium are provided. The method includes the following steps: calculating an initial value of kinetic energy of a train; calculating work of traction force of the train in a process from an initial position to traction removal; calculating work of gravity force of the train in a process from the initial position to a stop; calculating work of braking force of the train in a process from a braking application position to the stop; calculating maximum allowable kinetic energy of the train among all restriction points from the initial position to a stop point; obtaining kinetic energy of the train according to the following formula, determining whether the kinetic energy of the train exceeds the maximum allowable kinetic energy at the restriction point, if so, triggering emergency braking of the train, or else, operating the train normally.

An automated speed control system for a locomotive having a tractive effort mechanism for moving the locomotive along a track and a braking mechanism for reducing the locomotive's speed along the track. The system including a locomotive controller that includes a memory to store computer-executable instructions, and a processor in communication with the memory to execute the instructions to retrieve one or more track grade maps each indicative of a grade of at least a portion of the track along which the locomotive is travelling, retrieve train makeup, obtain a maximum distance to a specified stopping point of the locomotive along the track, and dynamically calculate a speed limit for movement of the locomotive along the track, according to the retrieved track grade map, retrieved train makeup data, and obtained maximum distance to the specified stopping point.

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.

A braking system for at least one railway vehicle is described, which is arranged to provide to either the at least one trackside signaling system, or the at least one on-board vehicle signaling system, or both the at least one trackside signaling system and the at least one on-board vehicle signaling system, information regarding respective factors affecting braking of the railway vehicle that includes information regarding a corrective factor to be applied to a predefined nominal deceleration value of the at least one railway vehicle in low-adhesion conditions, k.sub.wet. Information regarding respective factors affecting the braking of the railway vehicle is determined in real time by said braking system. An additional braking system is described wherein the information regarding respective factors affecting braking of the railway vehicle includes information regarding the available adhesion of at least one wheel of the railway vehicle and rail. A signaling architecture is also described.

A travel management device is configured to transmit a reservation request for a block section to be reserved based on track information indicating a plurality of block sections constituting a track on which a vehicle travels and a connection relationship between the block sections, the block section to be reserved being among the block sections included in the track on which the vehicle travels. A resource management device is configured to record the block section to be reserved indicated by the reservation request as a reserved block section of the vehicle which has transmitted the reservation request in case where the block section to be reserved indicated by the reservation request is not reserved by a vehicle other than the vehicle which has transmitted the reservation request at a time at which the reservation request is received.

System having one or more processors that are configured to (a) generate, as a vehicle system moves along a route, a plurality of different trial plans for an upcoming segment of the route. The trial plans include potential operational settings of the vehicle system along the route. The one or more processors that are configured to (b) select one of the trial plans as a selected plan or generate the selected plan based on one or more of the trial plans. The selected plan is configured to improve one or more system-handling metrics as the vehicle system moves along the upcoming segment of the route. The one or more processors are configured to (c) communicate instructions to change or not change at least one of the operational settings of the vehicle system based on the selected plan.