An electromechanical service and emergency braking actuator for a railway vehicle is described, comprising a safety unit arranged to regulate a first emergency braking control signal so as to indicate to first emergency braking energy release means to release the energy stored in first emergency braking energy storage means when an emergency braking request signal indicates a request for an emergency braking and a first electrical signal of actual braking force does not indicate, within a predetermined maximum delay time, a force value coinciding with a further emergency braking force value calculated by said safety unit or a force value that does not fall, within a predetermined maximum delay time, in a predetermined tolerance range including the additional emergency braking force value calculated by said safety unit. Electromechanical braking systems are also described.

A braking system in an at least partially autonomous vehicle, having one vehicle wheel brake per vehicle wheel, which is assigned to both the primary brake regulation system and a redundant secondary brake regulation system, wherein the primary brake regulation system has a primary control unit and one electromechanical primary actuator per vehicle wheel for actuating the vehicle wheel brake, and wherein the primary control unit generates primary positioning signals for activating the respective electromechanical primary actuator on the basis of a setpoint deceleration specification generated in a pilot system and/or a setpoint deceleration specification generated on the part of the driver by a brake pedal. The secondary brake regulation system has a secondary control unit independent of the primary control unit and one electromechanical secondary actuator, independent of the primary actuator, per vehicle wheel.

Disclosed are systems and methods for regulating application of an emergency brake configured to minimize jerk for riders' comfort while assuring safe application of the emergency brake. An emergency brake optimization module may be provided and positioned in fluid communication with a standard hydraulic brake system to regulate the application of the emergency brake through (i) providing an initial inflow of hydraulic fluid through a dead time caliper fill circuit to the brake supply line during a dead time period of fluid supply through the emergency brake valve to reduce dead time in emergency brake application, (ii) providing an oversized choke, or optionally no choke, in the emergency brake circuit with jerk being controlled through consumption of excess hydraulic fluid by a secondary volume consumption circuit, and (iii) providing both a dead time caliper fill circuit and a secondary volume consumption circuit to more precisely control reduction in dead time and minimization of jerk during application of the emergency brake.

An electronic control system of the braking of a railway vehicle is described, comprising an emergency braking module which generates a respective intermediate braking pressure signal indicative of an emergency braking and a service braking module which generates a respective service braking pressure signal; the emergency braking module is arranged to: generate a braking pressure control signal corresponding to the service braking pressure signal, when the higher among the one or more intermediate braking pressure signals indicative of an emergency braking is lower than a threshold; generate a braking pressure control signal corresponding to the higher among the one or more intermediate braking pressure signals indicative of an emergency braking, when the higher among the one or more intermediate signals braking pressure indicative of emergency braking is equal or higher than the threshold; and convert the braking pressure control signal by an electropneumatic actuator.

A compressed-air rack for an electric locomotive includes an electric assembly that is inserted between sheet metal walls of the compressed-air rack and is provided with electric modules which are accessible from the front. In order to be able to produce the electric assembly in a comparatively inexpensive manner and to mount the same with relative ease in the compressed air rack, the electric assembly includes a frame that has no rear wall and has open sides and reinforcing transverse members similar to a skeleton, and electric modules are mounted on the transverse members.

A system for monitoring usage of rail car brake equipment and determining whether the actual lifespan of the brake equipment is shorter than an expected lifespan had the brake equipment been used under normal or constant parameters. The system includes a sensor for collecting and outputting data indicating how the brake equipment has been actually used. A controller is programmed to receive the data regarding how the brake system component has been used and to calculate whether the brake system component has an estimated lifespan that is shorter than the expected lifespan. The sensor may comprise an ambient temperature sensor, a flow sensor that determines the air used by the braking system that includes the brake system component, and/or a pressure sensor that can determines how frequently and in what manner the brake system has been used.

A method controls a movement of a train to a stop at a stopping position between a first position and a second position. The method determines constraints of a velocity of the train with respect to a position of the train forming a feasible area for a state of the train during the movement, such that an upper curve bounding the feasible area has a zero velocity only at the second position, and a lower curve bounding the feasible region has a zero velocity only at the first position. Next, the method controls the movement of the train subject to the constraints.

A system for recharging a railcar air-brake system for a road-rail vehicle, including a rail-capable material handler, adapted or modified for transporting an at least one railcar that permits an air compression system to provide a near-constant low-volume airflow to recharge the respective air-brake systems without requiring the road-rail vehicle to be driven. The system can generally comprise a hydraulic pump, an air compressor, and at least one railcar air-brake system. The system can be adapted for recharging railcar air-brake systems for a road-rail vehicle adapted for transporting at least two railcars that does not significantly diminish the utility of the road-rail vehicle.

A method includes obtaining creep measurements and tractive/braking measurements from at least one vehicle system at different locations along a route segment while the at least one vehicle system moves through the route segment. The method also includes calculating tribology characteristics of the route segment at the different locations. The tribology characteristics are based on the creep measurements and the tractive/braking measurements from the at least one vehicle system. The tribology characteristics are indicative of a friction coefficient of the route segment at the different locations. The method also includes determining an effectiveness of a friction modifier applied to the route segment based on the tribology characteristics.

A friction-braking apparatus for a transportation system, having at least one caliper, at least one piston structured and arranged to move the at least one caliper; and at least one brake pad arranged on the at least one caliper. The at least one caliper is structured and arranged to selectively move the at least one brake pad into engagement with at least one rail of the transportation system.