A method for assessing contamination of a rail, in particular for a railway vehicle, comprises the steps of imposing a first sliding value lower than a first threshold between the wheels of a first controlled axle and the rail, the first controlled axle being the head axle of the railway vehicle, imposing a second sliding value greater than a second threshold between the wheels of a second controlled axle and the rail, the second axle following the first axle and the second threshold being greater than the first threshold, and determining the trend of an adhesion curve between the wheels belonging to a plurality of controlled axles and the rail, based on a first adhesion value between the wheels of the first axle and the rail, and a second adhesion value between the wheels of the second axle and the rail.

Systems, methods, and non-transitory machine-readable media for tracking the state of a rail car are disclosed. In one or more example embodiments, a device may use sensors such as a spring height sensor or a time of flight sensor to determine a status of a load car, which may be associated with a location. The system may determine a delivery event at the location. This data may be correlated with spring usage data.

A control method for supporting dynamic coupling and uncoupling of a train includes: step A, acquiring stored coupling status information during an initialization phase; step B, loading an off-line configuration of a corresponding composition according to the stored coupling status; step C, collecting three sets of input signals related to the coupling; step D, determining whether a train coupling status is proper according to the collected signals, then turning to step E if yes and turning to step F if no; step E, determining whether a current coupling status is consistent with the off-line configuration used in step B, then performing step H if yes and performing step G if no; step F, requesting emergency braking, and reporting an alarming error; step G, requesting emergency braking, re-writing coupling status information with codes after determining that the train is stationary, and then turning to step A for re-initialization.

A rail vehicle is configured for extracting electrical energy from a power supply external to the vehicle and has at least one electrical energy storage unit. In a first operating mode, the rail vehicle travels by means of energy extracted from the power supply and without energy from the energy storage unit. In a second operating mode, the rail vehicle travels, at least in part, by means of energy from the energy storage unit and/or at reduced traction power in comparison to the first operating mode. The rail vehicle includes a controller set up for activating the first or the second operating mode, as a function of an upper consumption limit, which defines the permissible upper limit of the power that can be extracted from the power supply. The upper consumption limit is established in a variable manner so as to prevent power peaks in the power supply.

Included are a CN serving as a communication unit that receives a screen information item request from an OCC serving as a ground-based central command device, a CCU serving as a controller, and a VDU serving as a display unit. The VDU includes an onboard image display unit that displays the screen information item on the basis of the control performed by the CCU, an image processor that generates first image data by putting the screen information item displayed by the onboard image display unit into image form, and an information adder that generates second image data by adding an identification information item on an operational component to the first image data when an image represented by the first image data includes an image of the operational component that receives an operation from a user. The CN transmits the second image data to the OCC.

A communication system and method receive, at an energy management system disposed onboard a vehicle system formed from a lead vehicle and one or more remote vehicles, trip data that represents one or more characteristics of an upcoming trip of the vehicle system along a route. A selected portion of the trip data is communicated from the energy management system to a distributed power system disposed onboard the vehicle system. The selected portion includes identifying information and one or more orientations of the one or more remote vehicles. Using the distributed power system, communication links between the lead vehicle and the one or more remote vehicles are established using the identifying information and the one or more orientations.

A method is provided that may include obtaining image data related to a route from a imaging device associated with a vehicle. The method may also include determining an environmental condition based on the image data, and operating the vehicle or communicating an alert signal based on the environmental condition that is determined.

A system is provided that includes a detection circuit having a first and second sensor. The first sensor is configured to measure a rotational speed of a first wheel. The second sensor is coupled to a vehicle chassis and configured to measure a position over time of the vehicle chassis. The system further includes a controller circuit configured to determine a shock frequency based on the position of the vehicle chassis. The controller circuit is further configured to determine a condition (e.g., an anomalous condition) of the first wheel based on the shock frequency and the rotational speed, and may be further configured for vehicle control based on the determined condition.

A system for exclusive track resource sharing is provided. Some embodiments provide an exclusive track resource sharing system including onboard control units and a resource manager. Onboard control unit is provided in each of trains and is configured to communicate with another onboard control unit in another train. The resource manager is configured to record ownership status information of track resources of the plurality of trains, to provide the ownership status information of the track resources to the onboard control unit, and to generate and deliver a resource entitlement or resource authority to the onboard control unit. The resource authority is configured to be owned by a single onboard control unit. The onboard control unit possessing the resource authority is configured to seize or release the track resources corresponding to the resource authority and to control the track resources corresponding to the resource authority.

A system, method and assembly for detecting the operational status of one or more discharge gates on one or more railcars. The system and method monitor parameters that include whether the discharge gate is open or closed, whether the railcar is in motion or not, and whether the railcar is in a location where it is acceptable for the discharge gate to be open. Sensors carry out the monitoring, and the information obtained by monitoring the parameters are used to determine if a notification event has taken place and if so, a notification of such event can be transmitted to a remote receiver. A change in the status of any one of the monitored parameters can trigger the determination of whether a notification event has occurred.