A system of a leading locomotive with a reduced complement of onboard Positive Train Control (PTC) equipment leveraging a full complement of PTC equipment in a trailing locomotive, while operating in a PTC territory. The system can be applied to a push-pull passenger train, wherein the cab car has the reduced complement of onboard PTC equipment and the locomotive has the full complement, whereby the train is operable in both directions in a PTC territory. The system can also serve as an expedient repair of a leading locomotive with failed onboard PTC equipment by leveraging the functional PTC equipment in another locomotive in the consist. The same leveraging principle can allow a PTC-equipped locomotive to operate in a non-interoperable PTC territory. Considerable cost savings are achieved compared to the prior art practice of fully equipping all locomotives and cab cars with a full PTC installation.

A communication system includes a data manager unit, a private interface, and an open interface. The data manager unit is configured to be disposed onboard a vehicle and to manage a transmission of data from a control system of the vehicle to a plurality of applications. The private interface is configured to communicably couple the data manager unit to the control system of the vehicle, and to limit communication with the control system via a connection protocol, wherein the connection protocol is configured to prevent direct communication between the data manager unit and an application that does not use the connection protocol. The open interface is configured to communicably couple the data manager unit and the plurality of applications.

A system for the supraregional operation of a vehicle includes at least one control device. A first vehicle bus can be connected to the control device, wherein a defined number of first control apparatuses can be connected to the first vehicle bus; and a second vehicle bus can be connected to the control device, wherein a defined number of second control apparatuses can be connected to the second vehicle bus. The control device provides for a defined minimum functionality during a moving transition of the vehicle from a defined first region into a defined second region. The control device changes a functionality for the second control apparatuses during the moving transition from the first region into the second region, and the control device is configured to control the coordination of the changing of the functionality of the second control apparatuses.

In a method of controlling operation of an end-of-train unit (EOTU) of a train during travel of the train on a path, a GPS receiver of the EOTU receives first GPS data and a controller, based on the received first GPS data, sets an electrical/electronic device or system of the EOTU to a first mode of operation. After travel of the train on the path following setting the electrical/electronic device or system to the first mode of operation, the GPS receiver receives second GPS data. The controller, based on the received second GPS data, sets the electrical/electronic device or system of the EOTU to a second, different mode of operation.

Described are a device, system, and method for monitoring a distance between a first rail car and a second rail car during coupling. The device includes a fastener configured to affix the device to the first rail car and a distance sensor configured to detect the distance between the first rail car and the second rail car in a direction away from an end of the first rail car and toward an end of the second rail car. The device also includes a power source and a data connector to communicatively connect the device to a remote processor. The device further includes a local processor programmed or configured to repeatedly receive distance data from the distance sensor of the distance between the first rail car and the second rail car and communicate the distance data to the remote processor.

A train control system that can be integrated into a locomotive having a distributed power mode. The train control system includes a router interposed in a communication link between the locomotive computer and the distributed power module that is responsible for telling the locomotive computer whether distributed power mode is active or inactive. The train control system controls the router to obtain any locomotive operational data sent from the locomotive computer to the distributed power module for use by the train control system. The router may additionally intercept and block communications from the distributed power module to the locomotive computer and replace the communications with messages that cause the locomotive computer to provide locomotive operational data that is would not otherwise output in a particular distributed power state.

A vehicle air-conditioning apparatus includes a refrigeration cycle that performs air-conditioning in a vehicle interior of a vehicle; a controller that includes a plurality of operation modes with different continuous operation times for a compressor, and that selects one operation mode from among the plurality of operation modes according to an air-conditioning load in the vehicle interior and executes the one operation mode, during travel operation of the vehicle; a storage unit; and a fault diagnosis unit. The fault diagnosis unit performs, during travel operation of the vehicle, fault diagnosis for the refrigeration cycle, after the high-load operation mode from among the plurality of operation modes, in which the continuous operation time is equal to or longer than a time that is set in advance is selected and executed by the controller at the timing stored in advance in the storage unit and while the refrigeration cycle is stable.

A locomotive communication system includes a first communication device located onboard a first locomotive in a rail vehicle system formed from the first locomotive and at least a second vehicle in the rail vehicle system and a second communication device located onboard the second vehicle in the rail vehicle system, the first and second communication devices communicatively coupled with each other via a wired connection extending between the first and second communication devices. The first and second communication devices are configured to share a security credential via the wired connection. The first and second communication devices also are configured to establish a secure wireless network between the first and second communication devices using the security credential that is shared via the wired connection.

A robust system processor comprising three parallel processors, each configured to process in parallel an input and emit an output; and a reconciler that compares the three outputs, determines whether at least two of the outputs are equal, and if so validates the majority output and communicates the validated output via a network to at least one other system processor.

A vehicle control system includes a controller that communicates between a first vehicle and a second vehicle and/or a monitoring device in a vehicle system. The controller determines a communication loss and, responsive to determining the communication loss, switches to communicating via a different communication path. The controller also determines an operational restriction on movement of the vehicle system based on the communication loss that is determined, obtains a transitional plan that designates operational settings of the vehicle system at one or more different locations along a route being traveled by the vehicle system, different distances along the route being traveled by the vehicle system, and/or different times. The controller automatically changes the movement of the vehicle system according to the operational settings designated by the transitional plan to reduce the movement of the vehicle system to or below the operational restriction.