DIGITAL ATC SUPPORT FOR THE RAMS STANDARD

Abstract

This paper analyzed and organized the development process surrounding the digital Automatic Train Control (ATC) system developed jointly by East Japan Railway and Hitachi in accordance with the Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety (RAMS) standard. This is possibly the first attempt anywhere to actually adjust such a large-scale system as whole to comply with the RAMS standard. In place of the present analog system, the new digital ATC system is going to be applied for the most important commuter lines in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. East Japan Railway has taken a leading role in the safety and reliability field from the system develop phase. Thorough documentation in 1996, prior to the establishment of the IEC standard. The digital ATC realizes shorter train headway and improves riding comfort. Its train control functions are as follows. (1) An ATC logic control generates stop point information based on areas such as the position of the preceding train, and transmits it to the following train through the rails as a digital ATC signal. (2) An on-board ATC device monitors the position of the train, retrieves the parabolic train deceleration profiles and applies the brakes if necessary. The design, manufacture, and installation have been underway since 2000, with operation on the Keihin Tohoku Line scheduled to begin in 2003.