the top 3 ways that embedded technologies increase rail safety

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Train and passenger safety has fast become the most

important issue in rail technology development today. According to

research from Global Industry Analysts, in 2015 the value of the

global railroad transport industry will reach $800 billion. As a

result, the cost of accidents and failure also increased. Each year,

human error causes a significant number of rail accidents. These

human issues related to communication errors, visibility and other

mistakes cause close to 50% of all rail accidents. The other 50% of

rail accidents are caused by faulty tracks or equipment. Because of

this, the deployment and utilization of embedded systems in the

railway sector has grown exponentially over the last decade thus,

dramatically increasing overall safety by significantly reducing the

number of human error-causing accidents and allowing for close

track and equipment monitoring to preempt wear and equipment

malfunction related incidents.

THE TOP 3 WAYS THAT

EMBEDDED TECHNOLOGIES

INCREASE RAIL SAFETY

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Content

How embedded technologies increase rail safety……...3

The segments of rail embedded technology……………..5

Vehicles………………………………………………………6

System Technology…………………………………….8

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………..10

The Top 3 Ways That Embedded Technologies Increase Rail Safety

Professional Software Associates, Inc.

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Embedded Technologies

Increase Rail Safety

There is no current foreseen

decrease in rail traffic; in fact, the U.S.

DOT expects total U.S. freight

movements to increase 61% between

2010 and 2040 ¹. Similarly, throughout

the globe, an increasing number of

people are moving to more densely

populated areas, causing passenger rail

to see a significant increase in demand,

with no foreseen decline. Places such as

the UK expect a 198% peak hour rail

passenger demand by 2023 ². With such

increases in passenger and freight rail

demand, it becomes more and more

imperative to increase safety in rail

operations.

The United States has taken an

old-fashion attitude to operating its rail

systems. Most of the country’s signaling,

switching, and train operation has been

handled manually, causing numerous

unnecessary inefficiencies and

vulnerabilities. These open up ideal

opportunities for embedded

applications to be implemented, in order

to increase safety and efficiencies within

the system. Ever-increasing Rail speeds

and denser traffic on the tracks

themselves have caused safety and

efficiency to be the primary industry

concerns.

The U.S. DOT

expects total U.S.

freight movements

to increase 61%

between 2010 and

2040.



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Safety

Last summer, a train derailment in

Spain caused by a speeding train

resulted in 80 deaths and dozens of

injuries. This and other accidents have

highlighted the importance of Positive

Train Control (PTC), which can help

prevent incidents like these. The PTC

wayside servers incorporate embedded

technology to communicate speed,

location, as well as automatically

stopping or slowing the train before an

accident occurs ³.

Though safety is largely

considered with passenger rail, it is a

fundamental concern of freight rail as

well. Because of this, the United States

Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008

was instated to require PTC technology

to be installed on most of the US

railroad network by 2015.

Embedded

Embedded systems are

microcontroller-based systems built into

technical equipment for a dedicated

purpose – also known as a single

purpose computer. Basically, an

embedded system is a combination of

hardware and software used to perform

a specific task either completely or

partially independent of human

interaction. The software used to create

the embedded system is the embedded

software - embedded software can be

used in anything from pacemakers to

airplanes for a great number of different

applications and can be controlled either

via human interface or machine-to-

machine (M2M) interfaces. While initially

embedded software was typically used

for the safety and business critical

applications such as security, process

controls and energy management

applications, we are continuously finding

new applications to incorporate

embedded systems into our daily lives.

Embedded systems are most

often utilized when the cost of

implementing a product designed in

software on a microprocessor and some

hardware, is cheaper, more reliable, or

better for some other reason than a

separate hardware design. It is possible

for one small and relatively cheap

microprocessor to replace many

hardware logic gates, timing circuits,

input buffers, output drivers, etc.



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Embedded in Rail

The growing number of electronic

systems being incorporated into trains

and subway systems are finding a home

on the back end of the computing

scheme, typically controlling specialized

functions that reside out of passengers’

view. The potential uses for embedded

systems in rail applications cover a

broad spectrum of functions, from

precise initial rail installation geometry,

to train protection and signaling

systems, to station management as well

as seen, and unseen, passenger

conveniences.

Embedded systems have allowed

for increased safety integrity over

manual applications through reduced

human interaction and error. To further

increase the safety integrity level (SIL),

the EN50155 standard for electronic

railroad applications places heavy

demands for the application success,

and assumes that electronic systems on

trains will need to operate 24 hours a

day for 30 years without failure. These

demands require that the train control

systems must be designed to withstand

the toughest environmental conditions:

temperature ranges -40°F to +167°F,

humidity, vibrations and power

fluctuations. Both critical (braking and

train control) and non-critical (heating,

infotainment, lighting) applications

should maintain the highest SIL to

maintain the safety of the passengers

and cargo.

For the sake of this paper, we will

divide rail into two segments of rail

embedded technology – Vehicles and

System Technologies – which will be

discussed below.

Modern trains are

becoming more and

more technologically

advanced and

computerized each and

every day. Because of

this, the standards of

safety, automation and

interoperability are

consistently improving

throughout the

industry.



6

Vehicles

While safety and operational

functions are at the forefront, embedded

systems also can control convenience

functions such as heating, air

conditioning and infotainment.

The vehicle of the train refers to

the actual car which is transporting the

passengers and/or freight.

With PTC, equipment onboard

the train integrates command, control,

communications and information

systems intended to control train

movements securely and safely. The

train receives signal information

regarding where it is allowed to safely

travel, then acts through preventing

movement to any location not deemed

as safe, therefore, reducing the

likelihood of speeding, possible

collisions between trains, roadway

worker casualties and equipment

damage. The PTC system uses GPS to

determine the location of trains and

transmits radio frequency data between

the train and the other entities.

Additionally, other benefits are

sometimes associated with PTC are

increased fuel efficiency and locomotive

diagnostics.

The Federal Railroad

Administration (FRA) and the railroad

industry are working on the

development of Intelligent Railroad

Systems that would incorporate the new

sensor, computer, and digital

communications technologies into train

control, braking systems, grade

crossings, and defect detection, and into

planning and scheduling systems as

well. The new Intelligent Railroad

Systems are key to making railroad

operations - freight, intercity passenger,

and commuter - safer and more secure,

reducing delays, reducing costs, raising

effective capacity, improving customer

satisfaction, improving energy

utilization, reducing emissions, and

becoming more economically viable. The

systems can be implemented as

independent systems, in which case their

benefits will be limited, or they can be

implemented as integrated systems, in

which case the benefits will be

compounded ⁴.

The United States Rail Safety

Improvement Act of 2008 was

instated to require PTC technology to

be installed on most of the US

railroad network by 2015.



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Rail Vehicle based embedded technologies can be further broken down into the

following 3 main areas of focus:

Tilt Control

Tilt-control technology uses

sensor-controlled actuators to adjust the

railcar body in relation to the “bogie” or

wheel truck on which it rides, depending

on the centrifugal forces encountered.

This allows safer operation and greater

passenger comfort in turns, with fewer

compromises in high-speed

performance. Efficient bogie control also

leads to lower energy consumption and

again, all of these elements are

controlled by embedded system

technologies.

The centrifugal forces of high

speeds lead to the deviation of the

wheel flange with respect to the track.

Embedded tilt-control systems are used

to control the rail car body and minimize

this deviation. This increases safety on

the rail and passenger comfort that is

especially important for high-speed

commuter trains. An additional benefit

of tilt-controlled embedded systems is a

more efficient use of energy by the train.

Passenger Information Systems

In addition, the system entertains

the passengers with the help of weather

forecasts, TV, music, movies and news

broadcasting. All the data is collected on

external servers that transmit

information on screens with the help of

wired LAN or WLAN. The data on servers

is updated in real time via different

types of wireless standards.

Embedded information systems

are an important factor of passenger

satisfaction. They provide such valuable

information as:

Optimal route generation;

Advise on train change;

Information about forthcoming

stops;

Warnings about train delays or

unforeseen situations.

Other Communications

Functions

Embedded systems also allow

Railways to monitor passenger cabins

and provide up-to-date information

about the situation taking place in the

compartments. The system also controls

train doors, subways, records video with

the help of capture closed circuit

television (CCTV) and stores all the data

on a server for later retrieval if

necessary.

1. Tilt Control

2. Passenger Information Systems

3. Other Communications Functions



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System Technology

The rail system technology

encompasses traffic management and

train protection as well as passenger

information and passenger safety.

Embedded technology has advanced the

technologies used in all facets of rail,

and continues to spread as rail systems

are being improved and built to

accommodate for the expected increase

of traffic, while decreasing the

probability of disasters. An example of

this is how railroad signaling relies on

embedded systems which allows for

heavier, safer and faster traffic. Another

example is how fleet management

companies are utilizing M2M systems to

monitor performance, location and

service efficiency using real-time fleet

tracking.

Just as it sounds, Automatic Train

Operation (ATO) is an operational safety

enhancement device used to help

automate operations of trains. It is most

often used with Automated Guideway

Transits (AGT), which are driverless, fully

automated transit systems such as those

in airports and other similar single-track

systems. Though AGTs are becoming

more common, still most systems elect

to continue to have an operator to allow

for immediate action in the event of a

system failure.

ATO linked with Automatic Train

Control (ATC) systems allow the train to

be automatically controlled when

starting, cruising, and precisely stopping,

along with opening and closing the train

doors. In addition, they can complete

operation regulation instructions such as

station skipping, train holding and

adjusting the running time in the inter-

station. The ATO and ATC/ATP systems

work together to maintain a train within

a defined tolerance of its timetable. The

combined system will marginally adjust

operating parameters such as the ratio

of power to coast when moving and

station dwell time, in order to bring a

train back to the timetable slot defined

for it. Safety-critical tasks can be

reinforced by building redundancy

within the system to ensure maximum

success.

Automatic Train Operation

linked with Automatic Train

Control systems allow the train

to be automatically controlled

when starting, cruising, and

precisely stopping, along with

opening and closing the train

doors.



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The 2 key areas of focus where embedded technologies are utilized in Rail

Systems Technology are Automated Train Protection and Maintenance Control.

Automated Train Protection

Embedded systems are used to

link trains with dispatch offices, grade

crossings and ensure the security of

railroad workers. These systems are all

part of PTC as well. By utilizing GPS to

determine the location of trains, this

data can be used to control the speed of

trains, prevent train-to-train collisions

and accidents involving railroad workers

and their equipment.

Designers new to automated train

protection can learn from European

implementations of a radio system

called Global System for Mobile

Communications–Railway (GSM-R).

GSM-R. This technology utilizes

frequencies reserved specifically for rail

applications to provide voice and data

communication between tracks and

trains. A train-based computer controls

speed according to various

characteristics of the rail equipment and

operational conditions of the track.

Maintenance Control

Embedded systems are used in

the process of Rail system development

and maintenance as well. Such systems

increase the accuracy and efficiency of

the track laying process. Additionally,

the systems control and visualize the

geometry of the track during the

tamping process with specified

maximum deviation equal to a few

millimeters in all three dimensions.

Moreover, the installation process is also

controlled by the embedded system and

it allows setting the perfect geometry of

the track. The system is designed to

withstand the vibration and to maintain

accuracy in rough conditions of

ballasting and tamping operations.



Embedded

technologies in Rail

Systems

Technology are

utilized in

Automated Train

Protection and

Maintenance

Control.


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Conclusion

In conclusion, while it is difficult to select just 3 key ways that embedded

technologies increase the safety in Rail systems, we believe there are three key areas

where we can pinpoint major benefits to embedded implementation in the Rail industry.

For purposes of this whitepaper we believe the 3 top ways are:

1) In-Cab Communication Systems – are the systems which automatically

control excessive speed and automatically enforce fail-safe control in the

event of human error, preventing most, if not all incidents related to these

causes.

2) System Wide Communication Systems – these systems prevent switching

mistakes and control the overall volume and flow on the tracks thus, creating

a much safer overall environment and almost no possibility of train collisions

which occurred previously in manually controlled environments.

3) Automatic Track Monitoring Systems - these monitoring systems ensure

that the effects of wear and stress don’t compromise wheel flange and rail-

gage face geometry which could lead to flange-climb derailments.

Each of these accomplishments represents great advances in technology that in

turn, have significantly increased the overall safety of the Railway industry in many

beneficial ways. Great strides and advancements at increasing security even further will

continue indefinitely into the future and undoubtedly embedded technology will

continue to play a key role in the future of Rail safety for many decades to come.



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Notes

1. FHWA - Freight Analysis Framework, version 3, October 2010.

2. Modern Railways. “Forecasts for rail passenger and freight revealed.” Published

April 26, 2013.

3. Embedded Computing Design. “M2M and embedded processing saves lives in

Positive Train Control.” Published March 31, 2014.

4. U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration. “Train

Control”.



To find out more about PSA’s Rail solutions fill

free to contact us:


414 Lake Nepessing Road

Lapeer, Michigan 48446 USA

Telephone: + 1 810 969 4222

Web: www.psa-software.com

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About Professional Software Associates, Inc.

Professional Software Associates (PSA) is a leading software,

hardware, and product engineering company that provides

comprehensive development services. PSA specializes in

developing innovative products and solutions for domestic and

foreign customers, using quality process standards to ensure

successful delivery of software, hardware, and turnkey products to

our customers.