Train Integrity Monitoring System for Freight Trains

Modern railway operating systems require ETCS L3 technology. The core technology of the ETCS L3 system is train integrity monitoring, which continuously provides the current location and states of running trains without full dependency on track-side equipment. ETCS L3-based train integrity monitoring methods for passenger trains based on fixed train formations already exist in present systems. However, freight trains lack a feasible solution because they do not provide electrical power supply to other vehicles except the front-end vehicle and operate under non-fixed train formations. In this paper, we present user requirements, system structure, and system implementation to realize the train integrity monitoring system for freight trains based on ETCS L3. We also propose an algorithm for detecting vehicle separation in freight trains. Additionally, performance analyses were conducted by installing the freight train integrity monitoring system on an actual freight train. As a result of these analyses, we confirmed that the proposed system could be applied as a train integrity monitoring solution for freight trains.