The railway tech blog

Railway Automation

Generic principles of railway automation

Railway grades of automation

Railway grades of automation

There are 4 levels of railway automation: from manual driving supervised by an automatic train protection system, to fully automated and unattended operation. To distinguish the levels of automation, one possible definition is the Grade of Automation (GoA) from 1 to...

Automatic Train Protection

Automatic Train Protection

Railway operations present 5 types of danger: derailment, head-on collision, rear-end collision, side swipe and collision with an obstacle. Because humans can make mistakes, operators have introduced systems to limit some of these risks: these are Automatic Train...

Automatic Train Operation

Automatic Train Operation

Automatic Train Operation is a function that controls the traction and brake of the train, respecting the signalling and following the timetable for the mission to be executed, while controlling the train in the best possible way, thanks to the knowledge of the...

ERTMS

European Railway Traffic Management System

ERTMS : the european rail traffic management system

ERTMS : the european rail traffic management system

ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) is the European train traffic management system, consisting of interoperable systems allowing for train protection, automatic train control, and ground-to-train radio communication. ERTMS is the cornerstone of a more...

ERTMS/ETCS : the european train control system

ERTMS/ETCS : the european train control system

ERTMS/ETCS is the European Train Control System. As a safety system, ERTMS/ETCS supervises train movement based on signaling information, track data, speed, and train properties. It is a fundamental system for making the European railway area more integrated and...

ERTMS/ATO: Europe’s Interoperable Train Autopilot

ERTMS/ATO: Europe’s Interoperable Train Autopilot

ERTMS/ATO is the European interoperable system enabling automatic train operation in the presence of a driver. This autopilot works together with the European signalling system ERTMS/ETCS, whose constraints it must comply with, while also respecting the train...

Migration to ERTMS/ATO: Lineside Signalling Interpretation

Migration to ERTMS/ATO: Lineside Signalling Interpretation

ERTMS/ATO is the European interoperable solution for automatic train operation. It is designed to work together with ERTMS/ETCS, which provides the train protection layer and transmits the signalling constraints that automatic driving must respect. However, ERTMS/ATO...

DATO

Digital & Automated up to Autonomous Train Operation

Railway Automation: From Automatic Driving to Autonomous Operation

Railway Automation: From Automatic Driving to Autonomous Operation

ERTMS/ATO is now the European interoperable solution for automatic train operation. In GoA2, it allows a train to be driven automatically, while the driver remains in the cab and continues to supervise the operation. The ATO system manages traction and braking,...