History

The first slow and cumbersome horse-drawn rail traffic posed few control problems not resolved by follow-the-leader principles. It was only after the development of swifter steam-driven trains, in the early years of the 19th century, that more frequent trains and their proximity to each other created dangers of collisions. The smooth contact between tracks and iron wheels allowed higher speeds and greater loads to be hauled at the same time that the low friction necessitated long stopping distances. Engines were fitted with brakes and, later, manned brake vans, whose guard could apply the brakes when the engine driver signaled with a whistle.

Trackside control also developed slowly with the first signalman, or “railway policeman,” located at passenger and goods depots, or stations, sited along the line. These men indicated, by means of hand signals, the state of the track ahead. Red taillights were mounted at the rear of trains at night to improve safety. Later, signal flags were often replaced by swiveling coloured boards, or disks, for daytime use and by coloured lights at night. Later, signals were located well ahead of stopping points, giving rise to the term “distant signal.” The first real method of control was the development of a time-interval system of train spacing. In the event of a breakdown or accident, however, there were no means of delaying a following train from entering a section of track except by a physical check on entry and exit by sections—e.g., a brakeman with a flag or lantern.

First introduced for railway use in England between Euston and Camden in 1837, the electric telegraph permitted communication between fixed signal points. Each signalman was responsible for a portion of track known as a block section. Bell codes were used to describe the class and route of the train to be passed by the signalman to the next block section or to accept or reject a train from the preceding section. Generally, only one train was permitted in a section at one time; under poor visibility conditions a section was normally kept empty between every two trains. Many decisions of precedence were left to the individual signalman, and, with only limited information at their disposal, signalmen often made incorrect decisions, causing excessive delay.

Because concise and standardized information was needed by the engineer, mechanical semaphore arm signals, operated remotely by wires from a lever in a signal box, were developed in 1841 as a principal means of communication. The angle of the arm indicated stop, proceed with caution, or clear ahead. For night use, coloured lenses, mounted near the pivot of the arm, were passed across a light source, thus displaying, for the different arm angles, either the familiar red for stop, yellow for caution (approach, reduce speed), and green for clear (proceed as authorized). The time losses due to poor acceleration and deceleration characteristics of trains were obviated, to some extent, by the increasing use of presignals, informing the driver that the signal ahead might be at stop and requiring him to reduce speed or to proceed slowly from a stop.

In the United States the railroads were provided land grants, which gave them ownership of lands adjacent to tracks as an incentive to expand service and access from the East Coast to the West. This led to a widely dispersed rail network, in private ownership with considerable duplication of service. Because the network was greatly dispersed, little congestion was experienced except in terminal areas. An unfortunate outcome of the land grant policy was oversupply of rail service and, in some cases, deliberate attempts to use rail expansion to acquire real estate. While these problems did not occur to the same degree in other smaller countries, they helped shape the scale of the U.S. system for years to come.

Traffic elements

Rail traffic control differs fundamentally from all other modes because the operator of the rail vehicle must exercise virtually all vehicle control through changes in speeds. Trains do not move vertically, and they are otherwise constrained to the guideway defined by the tracks. Rail’s principal mechanical advantage is the low friction between the wheels and the rails; this allows for efficient propulsion of the vehicle. Unfortunately it also causes rail’s chief control problem: very long stopping distances. In virtually all situations, the rail vehicle operator must anticipate events very far in advance in order to take appropriate action. Unlike the highway system, in which signs and signals largely supplement what the operator sees, in many cases the rail control system must provide the operator with information beyond the immediate visual scene. This places even greater importance on the control system. Further, because the operator can adjust only speed, no other evasive action is possible to avoid an accident. These constraints in physical operation add a different imperative to rail traffic control than to any other mode.

While the technology of railroading might appear uniform, it is not, nor is the service that rail companies provide. Railroads were initially in the business of moving passengers and freight long distances (intercity service). In some countries, this dual function has remained with some or all aspects of the passenger and freight carriage being subsidized by national governments. In the United States, the long-distance passenger service, with isolated exceptions, is now conducted by airlines. Rail service is almost exclusively long-haul transportation of heavy, low-valued goods because of the comparatively long time to ship products. Because of the size of trains and their length, most control problems in the freight sector occur near cities and other termini.

Rail passenger transportation in the United States is principally conducted within urban areas and cities by urban mass transit systems. While these systems also have evolved from private to public ownership, they must contend with traffic congestion that is endemic to large urban areas. This problem is dealt with in many large cities by burying the track and stations, creating a subway or underground service. In some cases, the tracks were elevated and run one or two stories above ground. The nature of the service provided within urban areas is very different from intercity service, and so the methods of control differ. Urban service contains frequent stops. Further, some rail service (streetcars, trams, or trolleys) runs on rails but in mixed street traffic with automobiles, buses, trucks, bicycles, and pedestrians. These rail vehicles use warning bells or buzzers to alert passengers regarding stops. They also contain all the lighting and signaling required of other road vehicles. Because of their importance in moving large numbers of passengers, urban rail transit vehicles are frequently given priority in their movement along the road network. The priority may take the following forms: separate right-of-way or lane in which other traffic may not operate; exclusively signaled turns at intersections, particularly those with heavy congestion; or portions of urban street space given to loading platforms to ease passenger boarding and alighting. Traffic signals at intersections may also be built to give priority to rail vehicles by interrupting or preempting the normal sequencing of the signals when a rail vehicle approaches. This allows the rail service to be more efficient while increasing the safety of the rail passenger. Frequent interruption of the normal signal sequence can, however, result in long delays for other road users.

Conventional control techniques

Modern railway traffic control techniques are principally automated developments of earlier systems based on timetabling, operating rules, and signals. The scheduling of trains in a working timetable predetermines the basic running patterns and the daily work pattern of personnel. Unscheduled operations require controllers to change the schedules. Minimum intervals between trains are determined on the basis of track conditions. Time-distance diagrams are often used to compare running conditions with those in the timetable and to indicate when and what type of regulatory intervention is needed.

Colour light signals have now largely superseded semaphore types. Because they are operated electrically, colour light signals can be sited at distances remote from the signal box. Combinations of colours are used to indicate different requirements to the driver. High-intensity lights, visible over great distances, are particularly advantageous in poor weather. Searchlights use a single lens and bulb with different colours displayed by means of panels on colour filters rotated in front of the lamp. Lights can be more appropriately sited in relation to the driver’s cab position and permit a greater variety of information to be efficiently displayed.

The basic element in automatic control is an electric circuit built into the track, which operates track signals. When a train enters a section of track, or “block,” it causes the current to detour through the locomotive’s wheels and axles instead of completing its normal circuit, altering signals ahead. When a train has passed a section, the signal behind it is automatically switched by a track circuit immediately ahead to indicate danger. As the train advances to the next section, the first signal can automatically be changed to a lower state of warning and so on until a full clearance signal is set at a given number of sections behind the train. The number of intermediate sections left behind a train is determined by train speeds and section lengths and influences the capacity of a track.

The first recorded moving-train, two-way radio was used by the New York Central Railroad in 1928. Radio offers a number of advantages in improving communications between train crews and control dispatchers or maintenance gangs on the track. It also establishes a direct link between trains and obviates the need for crews to use wayside telephones. Equipment failures can be reported directly, and because of this and other advantages, particularly in automated marshaling yards, delay is reduced. Most railways throughout the world are equipped to some extent with two-way train radios.

Sorting freight cars is a complex operation. Various control systems have been installed in marshaling yards, enabling cars to be pushed over a raised track, known as a hump, so that the car travels freely down a grade and over switching points to its correct berth. Automatic humping includes sensors to detect car speed and weight, from which car rolling resistance is estimated. Once the uncoupled car has been allocated a train and siding, automatic switching sets the points along its predetermined path. Simultaneously the computer calculates the speed required for the car to reach the end of the train. Automatic braking devices or boosters reduce or increase the car’s speed off the hump to that needed to reach its train coupling point in the siding.

Other, more refined, methods remotely control the pushing locomotive. The spacing of cars rolling off the hump, the automatic control of the pushing speed, and the control of retarders or speed boosters are all directly controlled by computer. Identification of car destinations is an essential part of the process. Manual checking in the yard with radio links to the yardmaster have been displaced by closed-circuit television checking off the train against the makeup list that is forwarded by teleprinter.

The final scheduling and control of the freight train is integrated into the comprehensive rail control systems, and computers permit the computation of alternative strategies with an assessment of benefits. Finally, controllers impose their selection priorities.

Important traffic control and safety problems can exist where rail systems cross road networks at the same grade or level (i.e., without a bridge or tunnel to separate them). These areas, called rail-highway grade crossings, pose particular control and safety problems. Because rail trains are of substantial mass and often travel at high speeds, any collision with a road vehicle is likely to severely damage the road vehicle and injure or kill its occupant(s). Because trains cannot readily slow and stop in response to an emergency, the driver of the road vehicle is most responsible for taking appropriate control actions at crossings. A well-known problem in vision perception frequently operates at railroad crossings: road drivers underestimate the closing speed and distance of the train to the crossing, because it is a relatively large object moving across the driver’s field of view at a nearly 90° angle. The misperception makes it important that drivers be warned of the location of the crossing and whether trains are approaching.

Traffic devices at rail-highway grade crossings include signs, signals, and automatically controlled crossing gates. Simple warning signs advising the motorist of a crossing are the minimal type of control exercised. These may be supplemented with flashing lights that are activated by the train when it reaches a particular distance from the crossing. The signals may be supplemented further by crossing gates that block the road based upon train detection as with the signal lights. The signal light and gate control are expensive because they require the installation and maintenance of the train detection and communication system. Simple warning signs, while useful, have the shortcoming that the degree of hazard posed by the crossing is not well known. Drivers who frequently pass the crossing with no trains nearby can become conditioned to be less alert, increasing their accident risk.

Traffic control also must be carefully managed in terminal areas where trucks are used to carry traffic to and from a train. Traditional road traffic control techniques are used in these circumstances, but particular attention must be paid to accommodating the size and performance characteristics of trucks. Intersections must have sufficient turn radii; freeway ramps must be of sufficient lengths to accommodate the limited acceleration capabilities of large trucks, and lane widths must be adequate. Special accommodation may be needed to handle longer trucks (e.g., 60 feet or more) at rail-highway grade crossings.

New concepts

Just as advances in computers and communications technologies are facilitating advances in highway and air traffic control, so are they contributing to a new generation of automatic train control systems. These systems seek to make train schedules, and thus train service, more reliable. The technological infrastructure of automatic train control is particularly vexing for rail systems that are greatly dispersed geographically (e.g., in the United States, Canada, Russia, and China). There, the blocks used to control train movement may be 30 or more miles long, meaning that no train may enter these long blocks while another is within them. The long blocks seriously constrain the movement of trains in a network. Components of an automatic train control system must include a capability to monitor every train in a rail network and, associated with that train, the shipments contained in the railcars, including their expected arrival time at the destination. Vehicle location systems such as satellite-based global positioning systems are an important element in location tracking.

In order to be truly effective, automatic train control must reside within a broader companywide structure aimed at managing operations. The structure includes explicit long-term policy evaluation, which helps to plan resource allocations in support of operations.

The most basic decision that an organization must make is whether to schedule trains at all or whether it is adequate to dispatch a train when sufficient traffic is acquired (i.e., a tonnage operation). This type of operation may be most wise for short-line railroads that feed specialized commodities (e.g., ore or grain) to large railroads. The automatic train control system for the large railroad must be able to accommodate the movement of this train to a yard for subsequent dispatch. The tactical scheduling of trains occurs every two to four weeks, with real-time scheduling of tonnage loads in between. Computer-aided dispatching and automatic train control provide capabilities for real-time management of operations. They also provide evaluation data to use in modifying tactical or schedule policy decisions. The system, in addition to monitoring the location of all trains, must contain information on the status of every section of track and whether trains are complying with automated instructions. The system will thus use train control to improve efficiency but also improve safety by assuring compliance by train crews.