One goal, many game plans - ECP brakes - electro-pneumatic braking systems - Industry Overview

Railway Age, March, 1998

A progress report on supplier response to the electro-pneumatic brake challenge.

A veritable explosion of technology is rocking and reshaping the railroad industry. The latest manifestation of this is the quickening though still-cautious move toward electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) braking systems.

Railway Age has assembled this progress report on some of the major players on the supply side of ECP braking.

* Far and away, the TSM element of Rockwell has the most electronically controlled/assisted systems out there in revenue service, and its story is most impressive when it comes to improvements in stopping distances that permit higher speeds on shorter headways. Rockwell TSM's EABS[R] technology has been deployed on a host of unit trains (intermodal and coal), and Amtrak has decided to equip its two extra-long, extra-heavy Auto Train trainsets with EABS (p. 8).

To date, Rockwell has completed nearly 150 million car-miles in revenue service with TSM EABS[R] ECP brakes. "Though no connector failures have been reported," says Rockwell, "our latest design incorporates an AAR-recommended connector with improved shielding and mechanical protection. Based on dependable hardwired technology and single-source, head-end power, the EABS[R] `open architecture' design allows interoperability with other manufacturers and can accommodate a wide range of on-car sensors and monitoring devices to meet the requirements of individual railroads, car fleet owners, and shippers."

Rockwell has developed a new head-end control unit "that eliminates the need for making up the train manifest manually. Upon power-up, this unit sends out an `all-call' to the train. As the cars respond, the manifest is automatically loaded into the head-end unit's memory. At the same time, car data is evaluated for system operation, air supply, and electric power supply, thus improving efficiency in the class yard and reducing start-up time."

Rockwell says that EABS[R] ECP systems "have contributed to dramatic reductions in car maintenance costs. In April 1997, two 133-car unit-train consists were compared during 30,000 miles of service. The trainset with EABS[R] required replacement of 14 brake shoes and zero wheelsets. The trainset without ECP brakes required replacement of three brake shoes and 11 wheelsets. At an estimated cost of $6 per shoe and $1,500 per wheelset, out-of-pocket expense for the EABS[R]-equipped train was $78 vs. $16,518 for the conventional-air-equipped train--not to mention any increase in average track speed, lower fuel consumption, and improved ride quality for the EABS[R]-equipped consist."

Another feature of the Rockwell TSM design is an air brake emulator, which allows for unrestricted use of ECP-equipped cars in mixed-consist service. The emulator senses the absence of electronic controls and functions as a conventional brake system. "With as many as 500,000 freight cars in regular unit-train service nationwide, the economic benefits of ECP brakes can be realized short-term when incorporated into new car fleets," says Rockwell.

* GE Harris Railway Electronics says it is the only systems developer/integrator committed to RF (almost all wireless) technology for delivery, although the company says it can work with elements of both wireless and wired technology on the Union Pacific-Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Pacific Northwest test bed. GE Harris' latest attempt at a breakthrough is the EPx[TM] Direct Braking system, which uses the wireless TrainTalk system for intra-train communications.

The Florida-based joint venture touts its ability to provide integrated solutions, PTS to Precision Train Control[TM] to remote control on a mining railroad. GE Harris says that imprecise operating systems depress asset utilization and create high labor and capital requirements. Its solution is a platform that will support the next generation of advanced CAD (computer-aided dispatching) systems.

Creating Precision Train Control involves optimizing a plan that accounts for schedule commitments as well as for network and rolling-stock restraints. Then it involves enforcing the plan.

With Precision Train Control, a.k.a., Precision Traffic Management, GE Harris is convinced that the system can pick up a 15-minute gain for 95% of traffic and an improvement of up to four hours for 50% of traffic for an overall average gain of 35% in trip time. GE Harris's question: How important are minutes and miles per hour? Very important, it's convinced, and GE Harris is trying to sell this concept to the railroads--many of which are not used to dealing in such small increments of time and speed.

As it developed its RF-based ECP brake system, GE Harris was moving to fill a gap in its lineup by acquiring the license to the TDPro Computer Aided Dispatch System from California-based Train Track Computer Systems, Inc. The system is in use on a number of North American properties, and GE Harris has renamed it Train Navigator[TM] Dispatch. Present installations are on Wisconsin Central and on transit fines in Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. GE Harris notes that this advanced CAD system "serves as the basis for large CAD installations recently contracted for by UP and Norfolk Southern. Train Navigator[TM] Dispatch provides automated dispatching technology for smaller applications."