A system includes a route examining system and an off-board failsafe controller. The route examining system is configured to examine a route on which a first vehicle system is moving and to generate an inspection signal based on the route examination. The inspection signal indicates a status of a segment of the route as damaged or undamaged. The off-board failsafe controller is configured to receive the inspection signal from the route examining system. Responsive to a lack of receipt of the inspection signal within a designated time period which indicates communication loss with the route examining system, the failsafe controller is configured to generate a warning signal for communication to a second vehicle system. The warning signal is generated to direct the second vehicle system to (i) avoid traveling over the route segment or (ii) travel over the route segment or another route segment at a reduced speed.

A system includes a route examining system and an off-board failsafe controller. The route examining system is configured to examine a route on which a first vehicle system is moving and to generate an inspection signal based on the route examination. The inspection signal indicates a status of a segment of the route as damaged or undamaged. The off-board failsafe controller is configured to receive the inspection signal from the route examining system. Responsive to a lack of receipt of the inspection signal within a designated time period which indicates communication loss with the route examining system, the failsafe controller is configured to generate a warning signal for communication to a second vehicle system. The warning signal is generated to direct the second vehicle system to (i) avoid traveling over the route segment or (ii) travel over the route segment or another route segment at a reduced speed.

A system and a related method are for managing the movement of a vehicle travelling along a transport network and powered by a power line which is segmented into a plurality of power feeding segments. At least one power feeding controller is configured at least to control switching ON/OFF a predetermined number of power feeding segments. An on-board control system is installed on board of said vehicle. At least one trackside control system is operatively connected to the on-board control system and the at least one power feeding controller.

A system and a related method are for managing the movement of a vehicle travelling along a transport network and powered by a power line which is segmented into a plurality of power feeding segments. At least one power feeding controller is configured at least to control switching ON/OFF a predetermined number of power feeding segments. An on-board control system is installed on board of said vehicle. At least one trackside control system is operatively connected to the on-board control system and the at least one power feeding controller.

Systems for examining a route inject one or more electrical examination signals into a conductive route from onboard a vehicle system traveling along the route, detect one or more electrical characteristics of the route based on the one or more electrical examination signals, and detect a break in conductivity of the route responsive to the one or more electrical characteristics decreasing by more than a designated drop threshold for a time period within a designated drop time period. Feature vectors may be determined for the electrical characteristics and compared to one or more patterns in order to distinguish between breaks in the conductivity of the route and other causes for changes in the electrical characteristics.

Systems for examining a route inject one or more electrical examination signals into a conductive route from onboard a vehicle system traveling along the route, detect one or more electrical characteristics of the route based on the one or more electrical examination signals, and detect a break in conductivity of the route responsive to the one or more electrical characteristics decreasing by more than a designated drop threshold for a time period within a designated drop time period. Feature vectors may be determined for the electrical characteristics and compared to one or more patterns in order to distinguish between breaks in the conductivity of the route and other causes for changes in the electrical characteristics.

A monitoring method and system monitor a transmitted current that is injected into conductive components of a route traveled by vehicle systems, monitor a received current that represents a portion of the transmitted current that is conducted through the conductive components of the route, examine changes in the transmitted and/or received current over time to determine when the vehicle systems are on the route between a first location where the transmitted current is injected into the conductive components and a second location where the received current is monitored, and examine the changes in the transmitted and/or received currents. The changes are examined to identify (a) a contaminated portion of a surface on which the route is disposed, (b) a foreign object other than the vehicle systems that is contacting the route, and/or (c) a damaged or broken portion of at least one of the conductive components of the route.

A vehicle control system is provided for controlling adhesion of wheels to a route surface. The control system includes one or more processors configured to determine adhesion values representative of adhesion between the wheels of a vehicle and the route surface based on angular speeds of the wheels. The one or more processors are configured to generate a target slip value for the wheels that are coupled with at least two different axles of the vehicle by processing the adhesion values and modifying the target slip value continuously in time to maximize an average value of the adhesion values of the wheels. The one or more processors also are configured to control a torque applied to at least one of the axles based on the target slip value.

A drive arrangement for moving a body along a path with respect to first and second media guides, the first media guide conveying a medium at a first velocity along the path and the second media guide conveying the medium at a second velocity different to the first velocity along the path, the drive arrangement being configured to (a) interact with the medium of the first media guide so as to extract energy therefrom and thereby develop a reaction force against the first media guide for driving the body to move along the path, and (b) interact with the medium of the second media guide by means of energy extracted from the medium of the first media guide so as to develop a reaction force against the second media guide for driving the body to move along the path.

A system includes a route examining system and an off-board failsafe controller. The route examining system is configured to examine a route on which a first vehicle system is moving and to generate an inspection signal based on the route examination. The inspection signal indicates a status of a segment of the route as damaged or undamaged. The off-board failsafe controller is configured to receive the inspection signal from the route examining system. Responsive to a lack of receipt of the inspection signal within a designated time period which indicates communication loss with the route examining system, the failsafe controller is configured to generate a warning signal for communication to a second vehicle system. The warning signal is generated to direct the second vehicle system to (i) avoid traveling over the route segment or (ii) travel over the route segment or another route segment at a reduced speed.