Full Moving Block Concept And Requirements Specification for Railroad Operations

In a research project funded by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) from May 2020 to September 2022, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. collaborated with a railroad industry technical advisory group (TAG) to develop (1) the concept, (2) the system-level, segment-level, and interface requirements, (3) the migration considerations, and (4) the initial safety analysis for an Interoperable Full Moving Block (FMB) method of train control. The fundamental objective of FMB is to achieve safety and near theoretical maximum capacity benefits without the artificial constraints inherent in fixed block operations. Through research efforts and guidance from the TAG, the team concluded that the overlay positive train control (O-PTC) and quasi-moving block (QMB) architectural foundations can be fully leveraged for the implementation of FMB with minimal incremental changes.

• Record URL:
  • https://railroads.dot.gov/elibrary/full-moving-block-concept-and-requirements-specification-railroad-operations
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Cover title: January 2024.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Technology Center, Incorporated

  55500 DOT Road
  Pueblo, CO  United States  81001

  Federal Railroad Administration

  Office of Railroad Policy and Development, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Federal Railroad Administration

  Office of Research, Development, and Technology
  Washington, DC  United States 
• Authors:
  • Khasenye, David
  • 0000-0003-3622-7664
  • Polivka, Alan
  • 0000-0002-6424-5846
  • Vieira, Paulo
  • 0000-0002-3617-9490
  • Khater, Mohamad
  • 0000-0002-1288-9906
  • Li, Xu
  • 0000-0003-2777-2214
  • Yepez, Jose Rosales
  • 0000-0001-6825-3010
  • Kindt, Joel
  • 0000-0002-8065-763X
• Publication Date: 2022-8-31

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 24p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Block control systems; Positive train control; Railroad safety; Specifications
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01906511
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT/FRA/ORD-24/03
• Contract Numbers: DTFR5311D00008L
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 31 2024 9:11AM