A system and method for reducing the threat of derailment of a train during deceleration is provided. An individualized braking force for each rail car of a train, such individualized braking force being determined by the braking deceleration of the train's locomotive, may be calculated by the rail car's controller and is directly proportional to the mass of the rail car. The controller may utilize the various forces acting upon the individual rail car as measured by a plurality of sensing and measuring devices to dynamically adjust the braking force applied to the individual rail car's brakes. Such a system and method allows for the train to act as a single body mass when decelerating to eliminate rail car pile-up and reduce the threat of derailment.

A control system is described for a railway convoy, particularly for the transport of goods, comprising wagons, a master locomotive and at least one slave locomotive. The railway convoy comprises a brake pipe which extends along the entire railway convoy. The master locomotive is arranged to control the pressure in the brake pipe and to send traction and/or braking commands to the slave locomotive by means of a communication channel. The at least one slave locomotive comprises a transceiver means arranged to receive the traction and/or braking commands and to re-transmit them to a traction control unit and to a brake control unit of the slave locomotive. The control system includes a safety unit arranged to prevent a relay valve from supplying the pneumatic brake pipe when at least one malfunction condition of the control system for a railway convoy occurs.

A braking system and method control application of brakes disposed onboard vehicles using brake control devices. The vehicles are in a multi-vehicle system and are associated with different segments of the vehicle system. Brake commands are sent to the brake control devices. These commands direct the brake control devices of the vehicles to concurrently engage the brakes onboard the vehicles to different brake levels based on which of the segments that the vehicles are associated.

An electromechanical braking actuator for a vehicle, particularly for a railway vehicle, is described, which comprises a safety unit arranged to receive an electrical position signal, the value of which is indicative of the position of braking force application means along a translation axis; to determine an instantaneous position of braking force application means, based on the value of an electrical position signal; and, through first interruption means, to prevent a braking force control signal emitted by the service braking control unit, or a power supply signal, from reaching the electromechanical module, when: a) the safety unit determines that the braking force application means are in a position between a maintenance position and a rest position; b) the safety unit determines that the braking force application means are moving from the rest position to the maintenance position. A braking system is also described.

An electro-pneumatic control system for braking, an emergency pressure monitoring and control unit providing weight signals, an emergency braking request signal, actual pressure signals, and provides emergency braking request signals, an emergency pressure module generating an emergency braking pressure, a braking control unit providing control signal pairs to generate corresponding braking pressures as a function of a service braking request signal or the emergency braking pressure request signal dependent upon whether the emergency braking request signal indicates an emergency braking request, and an emergency switching device comprising contact pairs which allow the connection of the control signal pairs from the braking control unit to the braking pressure generating modules when closed and prevent this connection of the control signal pairs when open.

A monitoring method of a compressor for a railway braking system is described, the railway braking system comprising an air generation and treatment module AGTU which includes a compressor, a main tank arranged to supply a main pipe adapted to distribute compressed air to at least one braking subsystem which comprises an auxiliary tank arranged to supply a braking control system; the monitoring process being characterized in that it comprises the steps of: monitoring a behavior of at least one pressure value measured downstream of the main tank or measured at the outlet of the auxiliary tank; deriving the use and/or state of health of the compressor exclusively on the basis of the time behavior of the measured pressure value.

An electro-pneumatic service and emergency braking control system is described, comprising: a switching device arranged to allow the connection of a first group of control and feedback signals from an emergency braking control module to an electro-pneumatic emergency braking module when a monitoring device determines the correct operation of the emergency braking control module and to allow the connection of a third group of control and feedback signals from the service braking control module to the electro-pneumatic emergency braking module when the monitoring device determines the incorrect operation of the emergency braking control module.

A rail train brake control system, comprising: a single vehicle brake control unit, a train brake control unit, a traction control unit and a communication control unit; the single vehicle brake control unit is provided in each vehicle of the rail train, the train brake control unit and the communication control unit are provided in the vehicles at both ends of the rail train, and the traction control unit is disposed in motor vehicles of a plurality of vehicles; and the single vehicle brake control unit, the train brake control unit, the traction control unit and the communication control unit implement communication by means of the gateway. The system can realize flexible marshalling of a train. Further disclosed is a train comprising the train brake control system.

A brake system includes an electromechanical brake having a friction surface, a lining support, an electric motor for moving the lining support, a spring acting on the lining support, and a control and monitoring unit. A control and monitoring unit ascertains from at least one first value ascertained during a first movement of the lining support by the electric motor, an operating behavior value for a real operating behavior of an operating parameter of the relevant brake, and ascertains, by a comparison of the at least one real operating behavior value to at least one stored operating behavior expectation, a correction factor. The brake control system corrects by the one correction factor and activates a regulator of the electric motor using the corrected brake control signal. The control and monitoring unit is performs a calibration by a spring force of the at least one spring during the first movement.

A brake control system to be installed on a railroad car, the system including: a brake command unit that outputs a first brake command by a first communication method and outputs a second brake command by a second communication method, the first brake command indicating details of control of a brake, the second brake command restricting details of control of the brake; and a brake control unit that acquires the first brake command by the first communication method via a train control and monitoring system, acquires the second brake command by the second communication method, and controls the brake based on the first brake command and the second brake command.