In a method or apparatus for transporting bulk goods by rail cars on a rail network to a rail car handling terminal where the handling terminal includes a loading and/or unloading system with a metering device for measuring an amount of the bulk goods loaded or unloaded. At the terminal there is a center control data hub connecting to a plurality of portable hand held field computers and a communication system for communication with the rail network to obtain a Car Location Message (CLM), a way bill and mechanical data for each of the rail cars. The center control hub generates data indicating a current stage of each of the railcars and a signal indicative that a rail car can be transferred from one stage to another stage to the portable computers to control transfer of the rail car from one stage to the next stage.

A method determines a duration of an embarking process and/or a disembarking process of at least one autonomously movable object conveyable by a movable unit. The method includes determining the duration of the embarking process and/or the disembarking process of at least one autonomously movable object embarking and/or disembarking the movable unit by using a model describing the embarking process and/or the disembarking process of at least one autonomously movable object embarking and/or disembarking the movable unit spatially discreetly dynamically. The determination method provides a flexible, reliable, time and cost saving operation of a travelling network.

Intelligent railway station platform enhancement includes acquiring contextual information informing of a context in which movement of passengers through an area of a railway station is to occur. The area includes railway station platforms spaced apart by track(s). A decision model is applied to the acquired contextual information, and a determining is made whether to temporarily bridge together platforms using a bridge component between edges of the platforms. The bridging extends across track(s) to provide a route for passengers to traverse the track(s) and move between the platforms. The temporarily bridging is then initiated if it is determined to bridge the platforms together in this manner.

A system and method identify vehicles to be included in a multi-vehicle system that is to travel along one or more routes for an upcoming trip, and determines plural different potential builds of the multi-vehicle system. The different potential builds represent different sequential orders of the vehicles in the multi-vehicle system. The system and method also simulate travels of the different potential builds for the upcoming trip, calculate a safety metric, consumption metric, and/or build metric for the different potential builds based on travels that are simulated, and generates a quantified evaluation of the safety metric, consumption metric, and/or build metric for the different potential builds for use in selecting a chosen potential build of the different potential builds. The chosen potential build is used to build the multi-vehicle system for the upcoming trip.

A control system and method determine an energy demand associated with delivery of cargo in a trip. The energy demand represents how much electric energy is needed to move cargo vehicles that carry the cargo through the trip. Locations of energy tenders and states of charge of the energy tenders are determined. A schedule for the cargo vehicles to deliver the cargo to a delivery location within a delivery time slot is determined. This schedule is determined based on the energy demand, the locations of the energy tenders, and the states of charge of the energy tenders. The system and method direct which of the energy tenders that the cargo vehicles are to couple with, be powered by, and move with for powering the cargo along routes to the delivery location of the trip within the designated time slot.

An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a diagram processor configured to calculate, based on a first diagram of first to n-th train lines including at least one time of: times of departure of a vehicle from stop positions, times of arrival of the vehicle at the stop positions, and times of pass of the vehicle through the stop positions, an adjustment amount of the time; and an output diagram creator configured to create a second diagram based on the calculated adjustment amount and the first diagram.

A distributed control system includes a remote control system configured to be communicatively coupled with plural separate vehicle systems. The remote control system is configured to remotely control operation of the vehicle systems and/or communicate with the local vehicle control system or operator. The remote control system also is configured to one or more of change how many of the vehicle systems are concurrently controlled by the remote control system or change how many remote operators of the remote control system concurrently control the same vehicle system of the vehicle systems.

The present invention makes it possible to supply transportation capacity suitable for movement demand in numerous circumstances. A timetable modification device for changing a timetable representing a train control target, in accordance with a movement demand prediction result indicating, for each time period, the number and destination of passengers at each station at which the train stops, the timetable modification device having a violation position extraction program P01a for calculating the degree of congestion of a train on the basis of predicted demand information representing a movement demand prediction result and extracting a violation position at which the degree of congestion is outside a predetermined allowed range, and a timetable correction program P01b for changing a timetable so as to include a change in the destination of the train so that the degree of congestion of the violation position is within the allowed range or so that the degree of congestion of the violation position approaches the allowed range.

A control system and method determine an energy demand associated with delivery of cargo in a trip. The energy demand represents how much electric energy is needed to move cargo vehicles that carry the cargo through the trip. Locations of energy tenders and states of charge of the energy tenders are determined. A schedule for the cargo vehicles to deliver the cargo to a delivery location within a delivery time slot is determined. This schedule is determined based on the energy demand, the locations of the energy tenders, and the states of charge of the energy tenders. The system and method direct which of the energy tenders that the cargo vehicles are to couple with, be powered by, and move with for powering the cargo along routes to the delivery location of the trip within the designated time slot.

A method of generating an improved transit schedule is described that incorporates real-time arrival time data, such as actual minutes of lateness for each stop for each train in a train transit district. Lateness data is collected over a time period, such as a year. After sorting the collected arrival times for each stop for each route, the list is sorted for ascending lateness. A performance percentage is used to select a time from the list such that the performance percentage of trips would have been on time. This is a proposed arrival time for a new timetable. Finally, a change threshold is applied so that changes below the threshold, such as two minutes, are left the same as on the initial schedule. The final new timetable is published or printed, or otherwise made available.