Adaptive speed controller with intelligent startup logic for remote control of mainline train locomotives

Abstract

The rail-road train operational companies globally, and particularly in Americas, have been facing a challenge of growing shortage of skilled human operators crew due to ongoing retirement wave of experienced aged operators combined with growing needs of crew for special slow-speed applications. This challenge can be addressed through development of advanced automation and control solution like Remote Control Locomotive (RCL) to help reduce the crew-size, improve train low-speed operational performance and productivity. This paper covers our R&D work towards a new mainline RCL product of Wabtec – one of the leading diesel-electric locomotives supplier from USA. This mainline RCL speed-controller solution is novel due to use of – i) model-cum-heuristics based intelligent open-loop startup logic & sequence control with smart exception-handling, and ii) the post-startup closed-loop adaptive speed control using novel self-adaptive formulation. This paper describes the RCL architecture, state-transition and sequence control scheme of intelligent open-loop start-up control, and the adaptive PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) speed-control algorithm. The performance of this novel RCL speed-controller is thoroughly evaluated and tuned using matlab-simulink framework using detailed in-house main-line locomotive-train simulator having real-life rail-track data and operational specifications. This novel RCL speed-control solution has been deployed on Wabtec's RCL Locotrol® controller product and field-validated on Wabtec's inhouse test-track at Erie, and some real-life tracks of mainline train operation customers including coalmine & other railroad applications. The performance of this novel RCL speed-controller is found satisfactory in terms of train and some exception handling, RCL speed tracking and regulation control behavior in the presence of realistic disturbances of grade-changes, train size and load changes across light & heavy trains. This solution is finally inducted and sold successfully as a new mainline RCL product offering by Wabtec.