A first locomotive that includes a control unit is disclosed. The control unit may receive a power demand, determine a first power limit of the first locomotive, and receive a second power limit of a second locomotive and a third power limit of a third locomotive. The control unit may proportion the power demand into a first power allocation for the first locomotive, a second power allocation for the second locomotive, and a third power allocation for the third locomotive. The control unit may adjust the first power allocation based on the first power limit, adjust the second power allocation based on the second power limit, and adjust the third power allocation based on the third power limit. The control unit may cause an action to be performed in connection with the first power allocation, the second power allocation, and the third power allocation.

A timetable planning system 1 includes a storage device 13 and a computing device 11. The storage device 13 stores evaluation index improvement degree information 320 that stores relations between a change of each constituent element of an operation timetable on one hand and a change in quality of the operation timetable resulting from the change of each constituent element in terms of each operation timetable viewpoint on the other hand. The computing device 11 performs a changeable timetable element selection process of selecting the operation timetable constituent element that most improves the quality of the operation timetable, in reference to the evaluation index improvement degree information, an optimization model selection process of selecting, from among multiple timetable generating models each capable of generating the operation timetable, the timetable generating model that most improves the quality of the whole operation timetable through the change of the selected constituent element, and a timetable optimization process of generating a new operation timetable based on the selected timetable generating model.

A method and a control device determine a position-related braking ability of a vehicle. A first vehicle determines at least one piece of position-related information of a route section, the at least one piece of position-related information of the route section being information relating to the braking ability on the route section. The first vehicle transmits the at least one piece of position-related information to a receiver, the receiver being at least one second vehicle, whereby the braking curves of at least one rail vehicle are adapted according to the situation, thus allowing safety on the route section and the utilization of the section to be improved.

A method is provided for operating a railway network having a number of trains, the method comprises operating a scheduling machine that is in communication with the railway network over a data communication system, to receive time separated state data defining states of the railway network at respective times. The scheduling machine accesses a model of the railway network that is stored in an electronic data source. The model defines locations in the railway network that allows for passing of trains and paths for journeys of each of the trains. The method includes operating the scheduling machine to apply the state data to the model to determine, at each of the respective times, controls associated with each trains' path for each of the trains. The scheduling machine is operated to determine the controls by optimizing a objective function for the trains, such as minimizing total travel time of the trains, taking into account the locations in the network, positions of the trains and paths of each of the trains. The controls are transmitted, via the data communication system, to control movement of the trains, for example by operation of railway network switches (points) and signal lights, through the railway network based on the controls.

A method is provided for operating a railway network having a number of trains, the method comprises operating a scheduling machine that is in communication with the railway network over a data communication system, to receive time separated state data defining states of the railway network at respective times. The scheduling machine accesses a model of the railway network that is stored in an electronic data source. The model defines locations in the railway network that allows for passing of trains and paths for journeys of each of the trains. The method includes operating the scheduling machine to apply the state data to the model to determine, at each of the respective times, controls associated with each trains' path for each of the trains. The scheduling machine is operated to determine the controls by optimizing a objective function for the trains, such as minimizing total travel time of the trains, taking into account the locations in the network, positions of the trains and paths of each of the trains. The controls are transmitted, via the data communication system, to control movement of the trains, for example by operation of railway network switches (points) and signal lights, through the railway network based on the controls.

The present disclosure provides a method and apparatus for determining coupling and decoupling positions between trains. In at least one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method performed by an apparatus for determining coupling and decoupling positions between trains, the method comprising collecting performance data, simulation data, and real-time data, calculating a first parameter and a second parameter, and determining the coupling and decoupling positions between the trains.

Exemplary embodiments are disclosed of vision-based systems and methods for locomotive control and/or location determination. In exemplary embodiments, a system includes at least one camera positionable onboard a locomotive for capturing one or more images of trackside signage including location data corresponding with location(s) along a track. The system also includes at least one processor configured for communication with the at least one camera for receiving the one or more images of the trackside signage captured by the at least one camera. The at least one processor is configured to analyze the one or more images and visually recognize the location data of the trackside signage in the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, thereby enabling the system to identify the locomotive's location along the track via the at least one processor's visual recognition of the location data of the trackside signage.

Exemplary embodiments are disclosed of vision-based systems and methods for locomotive control and/or location determination. In exemplary embodiments, a system includes at least one camera positionable onboard a locomotive for capturing one or more images of trackside signage including location data corresponding with location(s) along a track. The system also includes at least one processor configured for communication with the at least one camera for receiving the one or more images of the trackside signage captured by the at least one camera. The at least one processor is configured to analyze the one or more images and visually recognize the location data of the trackside signage in the one or more images captured by the at least one camera, thereby enabling the system to identify the locomotive's location along the track via the at least one processor's visual recognition of the location data of the trackside signage.

A system for railroad directive management is presented. The system can receive a myriad of data related to a directive, track segments, and/or vehicle events on the track and/or track segments. Vehicle- and/or event-specific data can be compared with one or more thresholds, including force thresholds, temporal thresholds, environmental thresholds, and/or event thresholds to determine whether and what kind of directive modification should be instantiated. Specialized algorithms can be implemented to trace vehicle paths along the track to determine whether directive-related segments are traversed, and specialized clustering algorithms can be utilized to cluster data unique to a particular segment on a per-segment basis. The system can be integrated with existing track infrastructure and can further generate alerts to notify coupled systems and/or personnel of directives and/or modification thereof.

A system for railroad directive management is presented. The system can receive a myriad of data related to a directive, track segments, and/or vehicle events on the track and/or track segments. Vehicle- and/or event-specific data can be compared with one or more thresholds, including force thresholds, temporal thresholds, environmental thresholds, and/or event thresholds to determine whether and what kind of directive modification should be instantiated. Specialized algorithms can be implemented to trace vehicle paths along the track to determine whether directive-related segments are traversed, and specialized clustering algorithms can be utilized to cluster data unique to a particular segment on a per-segment basis. The system can be integrated with existing track infrastructure and can further generate alerts to notify coupled systems and/or personnel of directives and/or modification thereof.