Electronic trip registration

The electronic trip registration (EFR) records the condition parameters of a train in the railway sector. A data storage cassette (DSK) serves as an exchangeable storage medium , which, in addition to optimizing rail operations, also serves as an accident data memory . It is comparable to flight recorders on airplanes, colloquially called black box .

history

The first mechanical tachographs were introduced to the railways . Initially, they were used only for speed measurement, the Daniel tachometer for locomotives from 1844 onwards did not have a circular display, but a cardboard disk with a pin - a centrifugal pendulum lifted the pin and a clock mechanism turned the disk. The speedometer dials could be collected in order to detect irregularities in train traffic. Gustav Adolf Hasler succeeded in making a significant improvement, developing his own tachograph from 1887 and patenting an odometer with paper tape in 1891 ( known as Teloc from 1920 ). The tape recorder, on which the pens were running, was driven by a clockwork and, in addition to the minute and speed diagrams, also recorded the boiler pressure - the 12 m long recording strip was enough for about 2000 km. With a note of train number and route, these could now be collected and evaluated in a central point for optimization.

Indusi I60 ER24 control device

With the advent of train control systems, automated braking was also recorded. Initially, this was done on the paper strip of the separate speed measuring and recording device (GMR). During the revision of the I60R , a data recorder with internal paper rolls was added directly to the Indusi control device. When the Indusi switched to electronic punctual train control (PZB) in 1984, an electronic registration function was also introduced. The recording then took place on an electronic data storage cassette designed with flash memories. Instead of DSK10 serial port is now also the variant is DSK20 with connection to the MVB field bus used.

The electronic data storage cassettes are read out as part of the maintenance of the trains. The Deutsche Bahn Group operates a central evaluation point (ZAS) in the area of quality and safety management (TQS 3) of the technology department to evaluate the data from its traction vehicles . In other private railway companies it is common for the evaluation to be carried out directly by employees who are qualified to perform PZB deadline work. Detected incidents are then tracked according to a process defined in the railway company's safety management system .

Juridical Recording (orange) black box as part of the ETCS equipment

Other train control systems also have comparable devices. In the English-speaking world, they are generally called Train Event Recorder (event memory for trains), embedded in an On-Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR) for monitoring train operations. At the French KVB they are called ATESS ( Acquisition et Traitement des Evénements de Sécurité en Statique ), which also work consistently with flash memories.

In addition to optimizing train traffic, the data memories represent valuable information when reconstructing accidents on railways . The format of the data storage is essentially standardized at national level, see IEEE Std. 1482.1-1999, FRA 49 CFR Part 229, IEC 62625- 1. The ring buffers of the PZB DSK record about 5,000 to 15,000 km and with newer devices about 30,000 km with general status data in the "operating data memory" and detailed event data of the last 50 to 90 km in the "short-path memory", which especially help in the investigation of error states (the Short-path storage must be locked after an accident according to regulations, this is only done automatically with newer models).

In the ETCS / ERTMS area, there is a specification in subset 027 for juridical recording in the sense of accident data storage, which is provided by the manufacturers by a Juridical Recording Unit (JRU) which, in addition to the events of the ETCS main computer ( European Vital Computer ), also provides the Stores signals from the Class B systems . The focus here is on the data memory's security against forgery. In addition to all external events such as recognized Eurobalises and internal events such as activated brakes, general status information is saved at least every five seconds (with time stamp, train position, speed, operating system version, ETCS level and mode).

Magnetic data storage was also available in North America. Since these are quite susceptible (despite the high demands on insensitivity to magnetic fields and heat), they were discarded. The new "Final Rule 49 CFR Part 229" (revised June 30, 2005) allowed a transition period until 2009 and then another four years for replacement of old locomotives. Overall, in North America (Canada, USA, Mexico) all trains with more than 30 mph (50 km / h) must have an event memory (except for commuter trains on their own tracks). In contrast to other countries, the data memory must be able to record events for at least 48 hours after an accident so that the locomotives involved can still be used in the recovery process until they are parked for further investigations.

Description of selected German designs

Strip-based registration for old buildings

In the case of the Indusi I54 , the writing strip made of tracing paper with a length of 25 m was sufficient for a distance of about 2500 km. Diamond nibs scratched the notes into the paper. The following were recorded: 2000 Hz, 1000 Hz and 500 Hz influences, operation of the vigilant , free and command buttons , the operational readiness of the Indusi system and the speed over path.

In the case of the Indusi I60 , the display has been compressed more. The writing strip made of metal paper was written on by means of short-circuit electrodes with which the metal coating was burned away. The typeface was thus sharper than on the I54. With a length of 45 m, it had a range of up to 9,000 km. Since the PZB-type of train was not hard-wired in the I60, the type of train set has now been recorded, also two new lines to forced braking for speeding in attached and 500 Hz speed tests to better assign the cause.

Strip-based registrations are not tamper-proof. For example, it is possible to subsequently cover up an emergency brake by simulating a paper jam.

DSK 10

The DSK 10 is used in PZB90 systems of West German origin and LZB systems without MVB. It is an embedded system , the essential part of which is a battery-buffered digital ring memory of either 512 kB (30,000 km range) or 1024 kB (60,000 km range). The memory is segmented into an operating memory, short-path memory and fault memory. Both short-path and operation memory record the data entered on Zugdateneinsteller with date and time: Personnel number of train drivers , train number , PZB-type of train, braking mode and braking percentage . During operation, PZB events (influences, PZB button operations), falling below the quick braking threshold for the main air line pressure, start and end of the journey are recorded with a time stamp. The main difference between short-path and operational memory lies in the speed recording. While the short-distance memory records continuously in 5 to 20 m steps, depending on the speed, the operating memory only records in 5 to 100 m steps. For further compression, the distances are added up in the operating memory as long as the speed has not changed by at least 3 km / h. After reading out, a marker is set in the operating memory so that the data that has already been read out is not read out a second time next time.

DSK 20

The DSK 20 is used in LZB systems with MVB. It is a COTS - PCMCIA memory card with mostly 40 MB capacity. With this design, the intelligence is located in the DSK gateway. The task of the gateway is either taken over by the central control unit (ZSG) of the locomotive or by the computer of the modular driver's cab display . The gateway receives the data to be recorded from the traction vehicle and writes it to the DSK. It is freely configurable which data are recorded in addition to data from the train control system. It is conceivable, for example, that the ZSG can log the operation of further driver's cab elements on the DSK.

See also

• Telemetry - ongoing monitoring of the operating status
• Accident data storage - cars
• Tachograph - Truck

Individual evidence

1. ^ [1] Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885–1890)
2. ^ Hasler story . Haslerrail. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
3. ↑ H.Roth and EGSchlosser: recording instruments . Jumper. P. 73. 1959.
4. ↑ Werner Jochim (DB Netz AG): Point-shaped train control system PZB 90 - registration and data storage . Bahnpraxis - magazine for the promotion of operational safety and occupational safety at DB AG. February 2004. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
5. ^ ^{A b} Jürgen Janicki and Horst Reinhard: DB textbook: rail vehicle technology . Bahn Fachverlag Heidelberg. SS 262. 2008.
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Directive 481.0113 punctiform train control systems operate on vehicles with LZB facilities . Deutsche Bahn. April 15, 2009. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ^ Josef Stoll (Head of Department): TQ - Safety and Quality Management of Deutsche Bahn . DB Mobility Networks Logistics. September 13, 2013 .: "TQS - evaluates the electronic trip registration for the DB Group in the central evaluation point (ZAS)"
8. ↑ ETCS SUBSET-027 3.1.0 - FIS Juridical Recording . European Railway Agency . May 12, 2014.
9. ↑ FRA ruling ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ FRA press release ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.