A method for actuating a track conditioning unit or a wheel flange lubricating system of a rail vehicle. The track conditioning unit provides auxiliary agent to sub-regions of a rail on which the rail vehicle is travelling, in order to increase friction between the wheel and the rail. A wheel flange lubricating system provides a fluid to a wheel sub-region of the rail vehicle or to a rail sub-region, in order to reduce friction between the wheel and the rail. A relative movement between a railcar body and a bogie of the rail vehicle is detected using path measurement, in order to detect a bend in the track. Based on the path measurement, the track conditioning unit or the wheel flange lubricating system is actuated in a targeted manner according to the bend, such that the auxiliary agent or fluid is applied in a resource-saving yet effective manner.

A system for preventing aquaplaning in a vehicle, said system comprising: a tank suitable for containing a fluid; sensor means configured to reveal the conditions of the vehicle and/or the environment in which the vehicle is found, and in particular, the conditions of a street surface; injector means configured to generate a jet of fluid on said street surface, said injector means being associated with at least one wheel of the vehicle; a control unit associated with sensor means and configured for controlling said injector means according to the conditions revealed by said sensor means. A unique feature of the system of the present invention consists in the fact that said injector means comprise at least one fan-type nozzle and equipped with a slit-shaped outlet opening suitable for creating a flat jet of fluid.

Methods and systems for operating a vehicle are provided. In one example, a method for operating a vehicle may include flowing compressed gas selectively through distinct orifice sizes depending on an operating condition of the vehicle. In another example, the vehicle may be a rail vehicle. In one example, the compressed gas may include compressed ambient air, and where the compressed gas is selectively delivered toward an upstream of a vehicle wheel riding on a rail via a nozzle. In another example, the compressed gas may be selectively delivered through a first orifice and not a second orifice to the nozzle during a first condition, and delivered through the second orifice and not the first orifice during a second condition different from the first condition.