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Article: Train control should move into the communications age:;it is time for the railway industry to embrace the systems that are now proven to be superior in terms of safety, availability, and life-cycle cost and move their train control and signalling systems into the communication age.(Signalling & Telecoms)
- Article from:
- International Railway Journal
- Article date:
- February 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WITH the increasing acceptance of advanced communications-based train control (CBTC) systems for urban rail upgrading projects and new line construction, we see more and more references to moving block operation. But exactly what is it and what does it mean?
The concept of moving block is, in principle, simple. A protection zone or overlap block provides protection to the train and its passengers in case of failure on board. It ensures that a train can be brought safely to a stop through the use of its emergency brakes without hitting any obstruction, or derailing on a switch point that is not properly aligned. In the case of the obstruction being a train, this ...