Train Collision Research Articles

Математичне моделювання динамічної завантаженості головного вагона з системою пасивної безпеки при зіткненні ідентичних моторвагонних поїздів

Математичне моделювання динамічної завантаженості головного вагона з системою пасивної безпеки при зіткненні ідентичних моторвагонних поїздів

Elephant Intrusion Detection and Repulsion System using Matlab

Elephant intrusion across the railway track leads to Human-Elephant conflict, collisionof trains, elephant death and injuries. Railway tracks pass through wild life habitats in several Indian states. In India, due to railway cross lines,the accidents that resulted in the death of249 elephants during 1987-2018.The surveillance and monitoring the elephants in the railway line in the forest is very difficult. The speed of the train in India among forest areas is around 50-55km/h during day and 35km/h at night, the engine driver can’t stop the train once the elephant is seen. So, we develop a system to detect the elephant intrusion at a certain distance by using sensors and image processing using MATLAB, creates an alert to engine driver and forest officer of the region and repel the elephant from the railway line. Hence we are creating a prototype model for real time interaction of elephant intrusion across railway tracks.

Central threat register – a complex system for risk analysis and decision support in railway transport

Risk management is an important element in the operations of each organisation. In order to provide active support of risk analysis and decision making processes, a system was developed, called Central Threat Register. The goal of the system is to collect information about events and threats in the area of railway transport and to support the system users in risk analysis and decision making. The presented system complies with European and Polish requirements for railway transport. It consists of the following basic modules: knowledge base module, data exchange and anonymisation module, threat and risk assessment module, and decision support module. In addition, this study features two cases of the system's application: an analysis pertaining to preventing railway traction breaks due to icing and analysis regarding the prevention of train collisions.

Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and Signaling with Accident Avoidance System for Indian Railways

Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and signaling with accident avoidance system for Indian Railways is proposed in this paper which aims to develop p a prototype of a safety system for unmanned level crossing areas and to avoid train accidents due to collisions and obstacles. The system consists of two Arduino Uno boards, two IR Sensors, two traffic lights on both sides of the track, servomotor controlled gate and an ultrasonic sensor to stop the train in case of any obstacle in front of running train .According to the INDIAN RAILWAYS ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2014-15 [1] the main cause of accidents were carelessness on unmanned level crossings and the number of injured and killed were maximum due to this reason mentioned in [1]. The proposed system has automatic traffic light signaling on both sides of the track which indicates the traffic to stop while the train is moving and the gates on both sides of the track will automatically close to stop the transport and open after train crosses the other end. The proposed system will also provide safety for train collisions. This logic was applied in Embedded C and programmed to the Arduino Uno.

Adaptive Iterative Learning Control for Subway Trains Using Multiple-Point-Mass Dynamic Model Under Speed Constraint

In this paper, a new adaptive iterative learning control method (AILC) is presented for speed and position tracking of a subway train using multiple-point-mass dynamic model. A composite energy function technique is utilized to obtain the asymptotic convergence of tracking error in the iteration axis for the proposed controller for subway trains. Then a speed constraint adaptive iterative learning control algorithm (CAILC) is designed to avoid over speed, derailment and collision of the subway train for the subway train over-speed protection. Finally, two simulation examples are given for the subway train system to show the effectiveness of theoretical studies.

Intelligent computing hardware for collision avoidance and warning in high speed rail networks

One of the very important issue is safety of transport vehicle, particularly in increasing number of trains on the same tracks and collision avoidance warning system. We have successfully developed Linux based hardware, modules and software code for IoT enabled Train Tracking and Collision avoidance warning system. A strong tracking of the vehicle an entire system and their updates of data in database and analysis of the database from multi-angles may reduce the occurrence of an accident even in the critical failure situation. In view of this we have made two types of train tracking system using Linux based robust hardware, which simultaneously monitors the movement of train by two different mechanism and the data collected are instantaneously stored in cloud server. Based on the live data analysis, the signalling of trains to different tracks or halt can be estimated. The estimated computational results will be highly useful in providing collision avoidance alerts. Also, we have developed user interactive GUI screen for onboard train module as well as on various analytics utilizing server module data. This paper strongly recommends a secure & safety process purely depend on tracking of any device simultaneously by two different mechanism. The system developed in the present work is cost effective, hence this system can be added as an additional safety layer to the existing safety systems in the train.

A new solution for impact energy dissipation during collision of railway vehicles

Following an initial design published earlier, the authors propose in this paper a new solution for passive energy absorption during train collisions. The energy that should be absorbed is first calculated based on the masses and usual speeds of the railway stock in Romania. Considering the energy that is absorbed in the buffers mounted on each wagon or locomotive, the remaining quantity that should be taken by the new solution is found. Then, the newly designed structure is described in detail. It has four different elements that could absorb the impact energy: a deformable pipe, a penetrator, a flange with cutting knives and a bending flange. The quantity of energy absorbed by each element is calculated based on the mechanical work of the forces acting during deformation following the impact. It is shown that the total energy is higher than the necessary one. Implementation of the proposed solution has a relatively low cost compared to the benefits obtained in an unwanted case of collision and it does not involve any special technical and logistic problems. Thus, this element can be successfully used as a solution that can diminish the consequences of train collisions.

Artificial Intelligence Enabled Road Vehicle-Train Collision Risk Assessment Framework for Unmanned Railway Level Crossings

The study focuses on the artificial intelligence empowered road vehicle- train collision risk prediction assessment, which may lead to the development of a road vehicle-train collision avoidance system for unmanned railway level crossings. The study delimits itself around the road vehicle-train collisions at unmanned railway level crossings on single line rail-road sections. The first objective of the study revolves around the rail-road collision risk evaluation by the development of road vehicle-train collision frequency and severity prediction model using Poisson and Gamma-log regression techniques respectively. Another study objective is the collision modification factor implementation on predicted risk factors, to reduce the road vehicle-train collision risk at the crossings. The collision risk has been predicted to be 3.52 times higher and 77% lower in one direction while in other directions it is 2.95 times higher and 80% lower than average risk at all unmanned railway level crossings. With collision modification factor application on higher risk contributing factors i.e. `crossing angle' and `train visibility, it predicts to reduce the road vehicle-train collision risk to 85% approximately.

Analysis of human-factor-caused freight train accidents in the United States

Human factors are major causes of train accidents in the United States. Understanding the safety risk of these accidents can provide insights into safety evaluation and improvement. This paper focuses on analyzing the train derailments and collisions due to human factors using 2000–2016 accident data on mainlines from the US Federal Railroad Administration. This research methodology involves three main sections. First, we analyze the statistical trend of annual accident rates by accident type and year. Based on the cause-specific distribution of accident frequency, the major causes are determined for each common accident type such as derailments and collisions. Next, we calculate accident severity (e.g., derailed cars, casualties) due to each specific human-factor accident cause. Finally, we compute annual accident risk and cause-specific accident risk using mean and alternative risk measures. The detailed accident data analysis approach herein can also be adapted to other types of train accidents, in support of decisions for rail safety improvement. The analysis of human-factor-caused train accidents can provide key information for the development and evaluation of potential safety improvement strategies.

Prediction of injury to passengers of railway rolling stock based on modern physical simulation methods

A technique for assessing the levels of injury to passengers and train crew members in emergency collisions is proposed. It is based on the use of physical methods for simulating fast-flowing non-linear processes of material deformation in emergency situations and anthropometric dummies. Based on the analysis of world and domestic experience in the study of injuring people in emergency situations in transport, an anthropometric 50 percentile male Dummy Hybrid III was adopted as a research tool. Its mathematical model is developed. It was verified by data from field experiments. The developed dummies are integrated into mathematical models for the development of emergency scenarios. As objects of study, the most promising types of rail car layout and two locomotive options were considered for the domestic rolling stock. Based on the simulation results, the values of the criteria for injuring passengers and members of locomotive crews in emergency situations are obtained. The most dangerous positions of passengers in the car during longitudinal collision of trains for the considered layout options are determined. It has been established that the most serious injuries are suffered by passengers and members of locomotive crews as a result of their interaction with car interior items and controls of the driver’s cab.

Injuries to standing passengers using different handrails in subway train collision accidents

Subway collision accidents are inevitable, and if an accident occurs, it can cause injuries to passengers. In this study, the finite element method is used to compare four different situations with forward standing and lateral standing: back constraints with handrails I, II and III and hand constraints with handrail I. The results show that in the case of standing backward, handrail III can cause serious head, neck and leg injuries to passengers, while handrails I and II can cause only leg injuries. In the case of holding the handrail, standing in the forward direction will significantly reduce injury, while standing sideways will cause serious head and chest injuries to the passengers. This study can provide a reference for the safety design of the interior of subway cars and for passengers standing in subway trains.

Study on the head-on collisions of two-dimensional trains of solitons

The head on collisions of trains of solitons induced by a two-dimensional submerged elliptical cylinder at critical speed in shallow water are studied based on velocity potential theory. The boundary value problems are solved through boundary element method (BEM). The nonlinear free surface boundary conditions are satisfied. The mixed Euler–Lagrangian method is adopted to track the free surface through a time stepping scheme. The effects of thickness and velocity of the elliptical cylinder on the evolution of solitary waves have been investigated. Two sets of solitons are truncated from these trains of solitary waves. The head-on collisions of these solitons have been simulated. The wave profiles and velocity fields during collision have been analysed. The propagation of solitary waves is the transmissions of kinetic energy and the collision processes are the results of the dynamic balance of potential energy and kinematic energy.

Human and Organizational Factors of Positive Train Control Safety System The Application of High Reliability Organizing in Railroad

On August 20, 1969, two Penn Central commuter trains collided head-on near Darien, Connecticut, killing four and injuring 43. That tragedy 45 years ago began the NTSB's call for development and implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) systems. Since then, the NTSB has issued almost 50 PTC-related safety recommendations and has included PTC on its Most Wanted List every year from its inception in 1990 until enactment of the RSIA. Unfortunately, despite some progress in the four decades since that original recommendation, PTC preventable train collisions still occur. In this paper, we identify human and organizational factors that affect a successful PTC implementation and evaluate the application of High Reliability Organizing (HRO) characteristics in the implementation of this safety system.

TRAIN LOCALIZATION USING AN ADAPTIVE MULTISENSOR DATA FUSION TECHNIQUE

This work deals with the development of an adaptive multisensor data fusion technique for the accurate estimation of the trains position and velocity. The proposed technique will work with the Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) used in Indian railways during Global Positioning System (GPS) outages. The determination of accurate position of trains is a challenging task for the TCAS during GPS outages. The accuracy of the proposed Volterra Recursive Least Square (VRLS) based adaptive multisensor data fusion technique is evaluated by generating two kinematic profiles for a passenger train running between Silchar–Lumding broad gauge route in Indian railways. The effect of accelerometer bias is also considered during the analysis. It is observed that the developed technique can provide a better estimate of the position and velocity for the TCAS especially during GPS outages and without using any additional railway infrastructure. The simulation results indicate that the proposed technique is superior to the earlier works in terms of achieving better positional accuracy in presence of accelerometer bias.

Analysis of the crashworthiness design and collision dynamics of a subway train

In this study, the crashworthiness of a subway train was assessed by establishing a finite element model for the first three carriages of the train and the track using the Hypermesh software. By utilising the *MAT_HONEYCOMB material model, a honeycomb in an anti-climbing energy-absorbing device was simulated. Moreover, the process of a subway train – travelling at a speed of 25 km/h – colliding with another identical train in a stationary and non-braking state was simulated by employing the finite element analysis software Hypermesh and LS-DYNA. The process of simulation analysis was divided into two parts: (1) analysis of the anti-climbing energy-absorbing devices under static compression for the investigation of energy absorption and (2) collision analysis of the whole train. The contributions of the proposed energy-absorbing structure – at the end of driver’s cab, the coupler and draft gears on each section – to the overall energy absorption in a train collision were calculated. Furthermore, based on the EN15227 standard, the crashworthiness of the train with respect to the survival space for occupants, train acceleration and uplift of wheels relative to the track was evaluated. The coupler of the first carriage fails in a collision at 25 km/h, and the coupler and draft gear are the main energy-absorbing devices. *MAT_HONEYCOMB was used to define the honeycomb materials in anti-climbing energy-absorbing devices and could simulate the mechanical performance thereof. The crashworthiness of the train meets the relevant standard requirements.

3현시 지상신호방식의 재래선 철도에서 안전성 향상을 위한 ATS 시스템 개선

Railway accidents during operation, such as derailment or collision of trains, can cause many casualties. To prevent such train accidents, automatic train stop (ATS) devices are used as the most basic safety devices on all railway lines. The ATS-S1, used on some Korea Railroad’s conventional railway lines, only sounds an alarm at the stop signal and is released by confirmation of the driver

3현시 지상신호방식의 재래선 철도에서 안전성 향상을 위한 ATS 시스템 개선

Railway accidents during operation, such as derailment or collision of trains, can cause many casualties. To prevent such train accidents, automatic train stop (ATS) devices are used as the most basic safety devices on all railway lines. The ATS-S1, used on some Korea Railroad’s conventional railway lines, only sounds an alarm at the stop signal and is released by confirmation of the driver

The Neoteric Solution for Addressing the fire Accidents and Train Collisions

Railways are one of the most commonly used modes of transport by a wide range of the population. Safety is an important factor in any transport system. Regular changes are being made to ensure safe and efficient travel of passengers. Yet, there are more problems need to be considered because of the high usage of railways. Fire accidents in rails are one of the major problems which threaten passenger's safety. To address these issues we propose a system in which the rail compartments are coupled electromagnetically whereas in the existing system the rail compartments are coupled mechanically. The foremost thing aim of the proposed system is to save the people life and the public assets. In this system, if a fire is sensed in a compartment, it will be isolated from other compartments by de-energizing the electromagnets in the coupling to prevent the spreading of fire. Then the location of the affected compartment is sent to the nearby railway station for rescue work. This system also aids in some emergency cases. Whenever a train is stopped in need of some external help, the location of the train is sent to the nearby railway station to address the emergency within seconds.

Train Collision Avoidance & Crack Detection using GPS

In this day’s people are using different transport systems from one place to another place. Among all the transportation people prefer public transport as their choice for safer journey. So the transportation department takes several checks to measure the safety of the people. The proposed system is for identify and avoid the cracks in railway tracks and collision in-order to prevent the accidents. In this paper to use crack detection and ZIGBEE sensor this will be placed in the train engine. By this if any train comes in the same track or if some crack is detected on the crack the rain starts to slow down and stop at respective point automatically and the place where the crack would be given to control room. In the train collision avoidance system if both the trains are in the same track the both ZIGBEE sensor senses the same signal from opposite train then it automatically applies break and stop the train at certain distance. The proposed system introduces trans receiver based technology, to prevent the trains accident. The ZIGBEE device is installed at each front-end of the locomotive. The main idea of the work is to avoid the train accidents and reduce the manual power.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Ultimate Vertical Bearing Capacity of U-Shaped Girder with Damaged Web

U-shaped girder has been extensively used for its excellent adaptability in the urban railway transit system. As an open thin-walled structure, significant difference of working mechanism exists between U-shaped girder and conventional section girder (e.g., T section or box section). The thin-walled web plays significant role in the flexural performance of U type girder particularly. Moreover, severe collision may occur between the moving train and the girder, and subsequently results in the decrease of the structural bearing capacity. In this paper, a full-scale test was carried out to examine the ultimate bearing capacity and the failure mechanism of the U-shaped girder, and a refined numerical model was developed to simulate the damage evolution and the failure process. It was shown that the flexural failure occurred on the U-shaped girder under vertical loads. In addition, the ultimate bearing capacity of the structure under different web damage conditions (e.g., web damaged region or damaged range) was studied by applying the displacement based lateral load on the flange of the U-shaped girder to simulate the damage caused by accidental train collision. The numerical results have shown that the damaged web greatly affects the ultimate bearing capacity of U-shaped girder, more severe bearing capacity descending occurs around the middle span rather than the beam ends. The damaged range (length) of the web has less influence on the falling amplitude of bearing capacity. It can be concluded that the major reason accounting for the bearing capacity decrease is that the original section is weakened by the web damage, and consequently results in the buckling of the damaged web and lead to the total failure of the structure. It is recommended that the lateral resistant design for the web should be taken into consideration to ensure the operation safety of the urban railway transportation.