AUTOMATIC TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS ARE FEASIBLE AND COST EFFECTIVE

Automatic Train Control and Automatic Train Operation systems have been studied and evaluated by the Transportation Systems Center for the FRA. The case chosen was operational and cost savings of an ATO system on an average U.S. Railroad operating passenger and freight trains. Maximum safety can be found in the general environment where the train is operated by an engineer who is protected from making gross errors by an electronic monitor. Crewless ATO is a special case, generally in mining type operations. The principal technological deficiency in ATO is the poor understanding of the dynamics of long trains. It is convenient to think of ATO as divided into a subsystem for solving problems of train movements and a subsystem for reducing these solutions to detailed commands on board the individual trains. The principal motivations for ATO are to increase safety, more economical operation, or service improvement. The greatest improvement in safety would be the reduction of train collisions.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This article is an abstract of Transportation Systems Center report No. RR01, entitled "Train Control and Operations."
• Corporate Authors:

  Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

  P.O. Box 350
  Bristol, CT  United States  06010
• Publication Date: 1972-7

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 26-31
• Serial:
  • Railway System Controls
  • Volume: 3
  • Issue Number: 7
  • Publisher: Business Press International Limited

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic control; Automatic train operation; Railroad electrification
• Subject Areas: Construction; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00040998
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Railway System Controls
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 9 1973 12:00AM