Characteristics of event recorders in automatic train control systems

The development of railway transport in the current times is very noticeable, it is connected with the growing needs of movement as well as the development of information engineering. The increase in the demand for transport requires the implementation of solutions that increase the efficiency of the transport system. Both long-distance, agglomeration and metro railways can use different systems due to their specificity. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable trend in the development of systems supporting or even replacing the driver by the automation of selected activities. Such systems allow to reduce trains headway and thus increase the capacity of the line. CBTC class systems (Communications-based train control) belong to automatic train systems and are based on wireless transmission. The main purpose of using such systems is to increase the frequency of running trains while maintaining the level of safety. Computers that are on the system equipment record, process and analyse very large amounts of data. An essential element of such systems are recording units. The parameter recorders can be divided into technical and legal ones. However, for CBTC class systems, there is no obligation or requirement to use legal recorders as it is in the case of ETCS. However, it is necessary to use event recorders, and these are subject to the requirements set out in the PN-EN 62625-1: 2014 standard. The recorders are a very important component of safety systems, which is why they were analysed in this article. Both the driver, the vehicle and the infrastructure should be subject of continuous monitoring. The occurrence of an adverse event (not necessarily leading to an incident or accident) should be analysed and used to improve safety procedures. Currently, automatic systems are still developing and we are not able to accurately assess what the causes and effects of certain events may be, which is why data collection and analysis is particularly important. The article presents the general specification of the CBTC system. The parameters and properties of driving recorders should be presented. This article is cofinanced by the European Union POIR.01.01.01-00-0276/1