Flawless Communication for Cab Signaling System
Highlights
Our world-renowned railway client used their in-house cab signaling system for almost 20 years. Over time, the system became obsolete, and the cab-to-wayside communication technology no longer met modern standards. This posed both safety and cost risks and failed to comply with current PTC standards and FRA requirements.
Challenge
Client Challenge
Ensure reliable, PTC-compliant train-to-ground communication to enable instant crew notifications on speed restrictions and automatic train stops.
Project Objective
Advance the communication technology to ensure rapid and error-free cab-to-wayside message delivery.
Solution
To enable seamless transmission of speed restrictions from the wayside to the cab, we modernized the communication service to support message delivery over TCP – one of the most widely adopted protocols, which provides ordered and error-checked IP-based data transfer.
The PSA team modified the message definition and modernized all units involved in train-to-ground communications to receive and transmit cab signaling messages via TCP protocol. Key enhancements included:
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WIU application builder updates to execute wayside operations by TCP-delivered command
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WIU web interface updates, including web pages, schemas, and parameters handling updates for remote control
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CPU firmware adjustments, including vital code, for uninterrupted WIU communications
The upgraded messaging system enables wayside devices to reliably communicate with the cab signaling system, providing train crews with real-time speed restriction alerts and enabling automatic penalty stops in case of overspeed.
The upgraded system fully aligns with the definition of a PTC system.
Development Included
- Requirement clarification
- Software updates
- Firmware updates
- Testing & Bug fixing
Results
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An enhanced messaging service for cab signaling
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Full compliance with PTC & FRA requirements
Technology Breakdown
Further Cooperation
For this client, PSA team performed high volume of projects related to connectivity for safety-critical railway equipment, such as Wayside - CTC Communication Service and High Availability fro Mission-Critical Connection.
