GB2557623A - Railway monitoring systems, apparatus and methods - Google Patents

Abstract

Monitoring a railway vehicle travelling along a railway track using apparatus comprising a radio frequency receiver for receiving radio frequency signals from one or more RFID transponders (fig 1, 37), a global positioning satellite receiver 9 for receiving wireless signals from one or more global positioning satellites to determine the coordinates of the apparatus, an odometer 13 for measuring revolutions of a wheel of a railway vehicle, and a controller 17 for determining at least one of the position and speed of a railway vehicle based upon information from the radio frequency receiver or the global positioning satellite receiver or the odometer. The controller is operable to activate an event upon determination that at least one of the determined position and speed fails to conform to acceptable predetermined parameters. The system may comprise a database containing speed limit information for different sections of the railway tracking allowing the controller to limit the vehicle speed based on its position. The database may also contain position information associated with the RFID transponders. The controller may be also determine a deceleration profile required for the vehicle to meet the speed limits of subsequent sections of the track based upon speed, driver response time and potential acceleration information.

Description

(71) Applicant(s):

MTR Corporation Limited

MTR Headquaters Building, Telford Plaza,

Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China (72) Inventor(s):

Shing Kai Chan Ho Wing Chan Wai Pan Tam Shing ah Desmond Lo (56) Documents Cited:

WO 2014/035268 A2 US 20150081214 A1 KR 1020120013859

WO 2013/009555 A2 US 20130060520 A1 (58) Field of Search:

INT CL B61L

Other: WPI, EPODOC, TXTA (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Withers & Rogers LLP

More London Riverside, LONDON, SE1 2AU, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: Railway monitoring systems, apparatus and methods

Abstract Title: Railway vehicle speed and position tracking using GPS, RFID and Odometer measurement (57) Monitoring a railway vehicle travelling along a railway track using apparatus comprising a radio frequency receiver for receiving radio frequency signals from one or more RFID transponders (fig 1,37), a global positioning satellite receiver 9 for receiving wireless signals from one or more global positioning satellites to determine the coordinates of the apparatus, an odometer 13 for measuring revolutions of a wheel of a railway vehicle, and a controller 17 for determining at least one of the position and speed of a railway vehicle based upon information from the radio frequency receiver or the global positioning satellite receiver or the odometer. The controller is operable to activate an event upon determination that at least one of the determined position and speed fails to conform to acceptable predetermined parameters. The system may comprise a database containing speed limit information for different sections of the railway tracking allowing the controller to limit the vehicle speed based on its position. The database may also contain position information associated with the RFID transponders. The controller may be also determine a deceleration profile required for the vehicle to meet the speed limits of subsequent sections of the track based upon speed, driver response time and potential acceleration information.

-11GB 2557623 A

Fig. 2

1/16

Fig. 1 r2/16

Cl

L0

CM d

CM

Fig. 2

Cl

Cl

3/16

Fig. 3

4/16

ECO

ECO

ECO

ECO

dP.

Q co

5/16

6/16

S3

Fig. 6 »w Wt

S3 k ·:ψ»ί '$s

O

A»i o

i«T

X3

IB

X3 <Xs si>

C

O c

o

T33

}.„ s«->

o &<

£5

Φ

WA'

S3 £3

KS a

o £3

7/16

Sjiw ο

Fig. 7

8/16

Fig. 8

9/16

Fig. 9

10/16

Q)

C

Over-speed Pre-warning

Warning

11/16

CD δ

12/16

O) s~

When the LRV passes the commencement of the prewarning position

13/16

Platform Platform

Tatlwah HeadwaH

ECO

ECO

Fig. 13

14/16

When the LRV enters the platform area

β

O u

MW o

3*

JNM I •W F^Pl

Q 0> _ X ' *** j? C? ‘22 5 0 ~ ~ •w·* [Π «eeee °|

4S ίβ

A kk

Ik

Ik

III» will li k

/ F \N

Ik

III

IF s · ¢/ *) m

X3

Ε ΟΪ β

E ’£ o >» Ξ § >1 S’ w

li ro c u © d. *5 Φ O >

jg ^O

11.

*g ί3 „ 03 T? C \

ζΠ A ζ*» \ „ '5. 2 \ re, cl ™ .> w Ϊ o/

->

2*

Q) .E

Έ ro

©) g

IL ix

Φ

Ό > 9 cl ro _i ©0

15/16 <««

light position

Warning Warning

16/16

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No. GB1621121.1

RTM

Date :17 May 2017

The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document:

3G, GSM, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee - Pages 10, 14, 15, 18, 19

Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo

RAILWAY MONITORING SYSTEMS, APPARATUS AND METHODS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to railway monitoring systems, apparatus and methods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A railway network comprises a number of interlinked railway tracks so that one or more vehicles can travel to different locations along the tracks within the network as desired. The tracks comprise pairs of substantially parallel spaced apart rails which extend between two or more locations. To enable passengers to enter and exit a vehicle, a number of designated stopping points are provided along the railway network. Since railway vehicles are often large and since vehicle doors can be at relatively elevated positions, the designated stopping points often comprise raised platforms to enable passengers to enter and exit the vehicle without excessive difficulty.

Owing to the requirement of railway vehicles to travel along specific tracks, passengers are often in close proximity to the railway vehicles at designated stopping points. In addition, due to the requirement of railway vehicles to operate within a timetable, the vehicles are usually stationary at designated stopping points for limited periods of time to enable passengers to quickly enter and exit the vehicle. Furthermore, since railway systems are often implemented in dense urban areas, the railway systems are often integrated such that they come into close proximity and even cross other transport infrastructure such as highways, walkways and roads. Each of these typical characteristics of railway networks present safety challenges.

Accidents are increasingly likely in light rail systems which are operated in manual driving mode under an open system environment, often, with close interaction with road vehicle users, particularly at junctions. Manual driving mode requires high vigilance by the railway vehicle operator in observing the dynamic traffic situation and traffic signs to drive safely and perform safe platform duties. Various fail safe mechanisms such as automated signal mechanisms have been implemented to try and improve railway safety. However, even with these safety measures in place, human error can cause accidents

Human errors such as negligence, lapses of attention, poor physical condition or misjudgement by the railway vehicle operator can lead to safety and service related issues such as:

• Over-speeding • Passing a stop signal without authority, also known as signal passed at danger (SPAD) • Over-carry at platforms

Coupled with the increasing patronage, service intensity and traffic density, the above issues can lead to increased likelihood of disruptive and potentially fatal events such as derailment and service interruption.

Attempts have been made to improve the safety and service levels of light rail systems.

For example, light rail system operators have the ability to apply non-engineering control to 10 mitigate the risks of human errors. Reminders can be issued to railway vehicle operators to remind them to observe traffic signs and speed restrictions, “fingering” instructions are issued to remind railway vehicle operators to perform certain hand gestures before proceeding through traffic signals. A problem with this solution is that it is largely dependent on the driver’s own consciousness and compliance. Therefore, such control measures cannot eliminate the problem.

Attempts have also been made to install fixed speed cameras. Similar to controlling behaviour of road vehicle drivers, fixed speed cameras that employ radar technology can be installed to monitor driving speed of light rail vehicles passing particular positions where the camera is installed.

A problem with this solution is that only fixed point detection is possible and it is also affected by limited coverage (i.e. discrete monitoring of speed). There is also limited feedback to the train operators (speed can be shown but the status is momentary due to incapability of continuous monitoring). Further, speed cameras operate in the frequency ranges that typically require permits from communication authorities (due to interference with other communication devices) and police (due to interference with speed cameras for traffic rule enforcement).

Additionally, calibration is required periodically to ensure accurate detection of speed. The speed camera approach also does not address the problems of SPAD and over-carry at platforms.

There has also been a move to introduce automatic train protection systems. On many train systems, automatic train protection is available for applying automatic control under unsafe scenarios such as over speeding and passing a dangerous signal.

However, automatic train protection systems require the train to operate in a closed system where the interfaces with road traffic can be segregated permanently (e.g. no road junctions) or temporarily (e.g. by applying barriers). This condition is not fulfilled in many light rail or tram systems where interfacing with road traffic is inevitable.

Other ‘track-to-train’ communication devices have also been implemented. RFID tags/balises are typical devices for locating trains along the railroad. The information can be picked up by trains so that the train can be aware of its position. Alternatively GPS can be applied for positioning of trains.

A problem with RFID tracking is that the positioning is discrete since RFIDs are installed at 10 fixed, discrete locations. Furthermore, some products may not be able to meet the service/reliability/fault tolerance requirement for railway applications.

A problem with existing GPS solutions is that the trackside status (e.g. status of signals) cannot be passed to the train. In addition, some products may not be able to meet the service/reliability/fault tolerance requirement for railway applications. These technologies were not intended for railway use and require customization efforts and the meeting of certain relevant standards in order to be applied on railways.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved railway monitoring system for increased safety.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for monitoring a railway vehicle travelling along a railway track, the apparatus comprising:

a radio frequency receiver for receiving radio frequency signals from one or more RFID transponders, a global positioning satellite receiver for receiving wireless signals from one or more global 25 positioning satellites to determine the coordinates of the apparatus, an odometer for measuring revolutions of a wheel of a railway vehicle;

and a controller for determining at least one of the position and speed of a railway vehicle based upon information from one or more of the radio frequency receiver, the global positioning satellite receiver and the odometer, wherein the controller is operable to activate an event upon determination that at least one of the 5 determined position and speed fails to conform to predetermined parameters.

Advantageously, the system enables continuous supervision of train operators. The triple set of information (RFID, GPS and odometer) achieves higher reliability at a reduced cost, enables timely alerts to railway vehicle operator and helps to correct their driving behaviour.

The real time location and status of each railway vehicle equipped with apparatus according to the invention can be transmitted over a communication network to a central monitoring system. Advantageously, this enables real time supervision and awareness of cases of over-speed and SPAD. Additionally, it enables collection of data for analysing a train operator’s driving pattern. Advantageously, the system proactively warns and detects occurrence of SPAD to avoid such cases.

The apparatus may further comprise a database containing speed limit information for different sections of railway track and the controller may be operable to determine the speed limit of a section of track along which a vehicle travels based upon determined position information. The database may further contain position information associated with one or more RFID transponders arranged along the railway track.

The controller may be operable to activate an event when the determined speed of a vehicle exceeds a speed limit of a section of railway track along which a vehicle travels based upon determined position information and speed limit information contained in the database.

The controller may be operable to determine the speed limit of one or more sections of track that are subsequent to a section of track along which a vehicle travels based upon determined position information and speed limit information contained in the database. The controller may be operable to determine a deceleration profile required for a vehicle to meet the speed limit of a subsequent section of track based upon determined speed information, driver response time and potential acceleration, and the controller may be operable to activate an event when a determined deceleration of a vehicle fails to conform to the determined deceleration profile.

The apparatus may further comprise a receiver for receiving status information from one or more signal lights associated with a railway track.

The controller may be operable to activate an event if the determined speed and/or position of a vehicle corresponds to an unsafe manoeuvre in relation to the received status information from one or more signal lights.

The event may be an audible alert, a visual alert or a mechanical event. The mechanical event may be actuation of a vehicle braking system or actuation of a vehicle inhibition setting.

The controller may be configured to determine the speed of a vehicle depending upon the number of revolutions of a wheel of a railway vehicle as measured by the odometer. The controller may be configured to determine a position of a vehicle along a length of railway track depending upon the distance travelled by the vehicle based upon the number of revolutions of a wheel of the railway vehicle as measured by the odometer.

The controller may be operable to calibrate position information based upon information from the radio frequency receiver, the global positioning satellite receiver and the odometer. The controller may be operable to determine whether or not doors of a vehicle are in an open or closed state and to activate an event if the door status, speed information and position information corresponds to an unsafe manoeuvre.

The apparatus may further comprise communication means for communicating with a remote electronic device to transmit and receive speed, positional and/or status information.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a railway vehicle comprising apparatus according to the first aspect.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a railway monitoring system comprising:

a railway network comprising one or more sections of railway track;

a railway vehicle according to the second aspect on the railway network;

one or more RFID transponders arranged along the railway track for transmitting information to the apparatus of the vehicle;

wherein the apparatus of the vehicle is operable to trigger an event upon determination that at least one of the determined position and speed of the vehicle in the railway network by the apparatus fails to conform to acceptable predetermined parameters.

The system may further comprise a database containing identification information for one or more of the RFID transponders and speed limit information associated with the one or more RFID transponders, wherein the apparatus is configured to determine the speed limit of a section of railway track based upon identification information received from one or more RFID transponders.

At least part of the railway network may be demarcated into one or more sections by one or more RFID transponders, the database may further contain position information associated with one or more RFID transponders, and wherein the apparatus may be configured to determine the section of track in which the vehicle is located based upon identification information received from one or more of the RFID transponders.

The system may further comprise one or more designated stopping zones and wherein one or more RFID transponders may be arranged relative to the one or more designated stopping zones to provide positional and/or speed limit information associated with the one or more designated stopping zones to the apparatus.

One or more RFID transponders may be active RFID transponders. One or more RFID transponders may be passive RFID transponders.

The system may further comprise a signal light having different status for providing operational instructions to the vehicle, and the system may further comprise at least one transmitter associated with the signal light and configured to transmit status information of the signal light to the apparatus of the vehicle.

The apparatus of the vehicle of the system may be configured to activate an event when the determined position, speed and received status information corresponds to an unsafe manoeuvre.

The railway monitoring system may further comprise a remote electronic device for transmission and receipt of speed, positional and status information between the remote electronic device and the vehicle. The remote electronic device may be configured to display the speed, positional and status information of the vehicle for monitoring purposes.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of monitoring a vehicle travelling along a railway track comprising the steps of:

measuring the number of revolutions of a wheel of the vehicle to determine the speed and distance travelled by the vehicle;

determining a position and speed of the vehicle based upon received global positioning satellite signals;

determining a position of the vehicle based upon received signals from one or more RFID transponders; and activating an event when at least one of the determined position and speed fails to conform to acceptable predetermined parameters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained in further detail below by way of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a system according to an aspect of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of tracking and monitoring apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention used in the system shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of part of a system according to an aspect of the present invention comprising part of two tracking and monitoring apparatus shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows a schematic representation of part of a system according to an aspect of the present invention comprising a different part of two tracking and monitoring apparatus shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 shows a conceptual diagram of different operations of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 and the features of the apparatus associated with each operation;

Fig. 6 shows selected highlighted parts of the conceptual diagram shown in Fig. 5 that are used for position tracking;

Fig. 7 shows selected highlighted parts of the conceptual diagram shown in Fig. 5 that are used for speed determination;

Fig. 8 shows selected highlighted parts of the conceptual diagram shown in Fig. 5 that are used for alert activation through interaction with signal lights;

Fig. 9 shows selected highlighted parts of the conceptual diagram shown in Fig. 5 that are used for door status monitoring;

Fig. 10 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle, the speed profile of the vehicle in relation to defined speed limits and a flow chart depicting alert generation as the vehicle moves along a track;

Fig. 11 shows a graph of differing speed limits for given sections of track and the speed of a vehicle at different locations of track;

Fig. 12 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle, the speed profile of the vehicle in relation to defined speed limits and a flow chart depicting alert generation as the vehicle moves along a pre-warning section of track defined by RFID tags;

Fig. 13 shows a schematic plan view of a monitored platform section and turnout section of a railway network;

Fig. 14 shows a schematic representation of a vehicle and a flow chart depicting alert generation as the vehicle passes through an event trigger point associated with the platform section shown in Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 shows a schematic diagram of the vehicle shown in Fig. 14 and associated flowchart depicting alert generation when passing through a further event trigger point associated with the turnout section shown in Fig. 13; and

Fig. 16 shows an illustration of a mathematical proof relating to a pre-defined region from GPS coordinates of designated stopping positions of selected stops.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Fig. 1, there is a shown a system 1 for determining the speed and location of a railway vehicle in a railway network, and for activating alerts and other railway network related events. The system 1 comprises a railway vehicle borne monitoring and tracking apparatus 3, a trackside network 5 for transmitting location and railway network status information, and a central monitoring system 7 for monitoring operation of the railway network.

The railway network comprises a plurality of different routes each defined by pairs of substantially parallel lines of track. The various routes may be interconnected such that a vehicle can move from one route to another, or the routes may be independent. A plurality of designated stopping zones are located along each route to permit passengers to embark and disembark a vehicle travelling along the route. Each route is of known length with a designated starting point and end point and the platforms or stopping zones are arranged between the two end points.

With particular reference to Fig. 2, the monitoring and tracking apparatus 3 comprises a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver 9, a pair of radio frequency identification tag (RFID) readers 11 arranged either side of the vehicle, an odometer 13 and a signal light status receiver 15. The monitoring and tracking apparatus 3 includes a controller 17 comprising a central processing unit 19, a memory 21 and a memory controller 23. The central processing unit 19 runs various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in the memory 21 to perform vehicle control operations, calculate the speed of the vehicle, determine the position of the vehicle and generate alerts.

The apparatus 3 further comprises a vehicle operation control 36 which is operable to control functions of the vehicle such as the braking mechanism and the doors. The vehicle operation control 36 is coupled to the controller 17 so that vehicle status information can be sent to the controller 17 from the vehicle operation control 36 and so that operational signals such as brake activation can be sent from the controller 17 to the vehicle operation control 36. Thus, the controller 17 is configured to generate an output to operate other vehiclebome systems such as the braking system to automatically trigger the vehicle brakes upon detection of an unsafe manoeuvre.

In a preferred embodiment, with reference to Figs. 5 to 9, the software programs comprise a position module, a speed module, a signal light status module and a door status module. The position module determines the location of the vehicle using data received from the odometer 13, the GPS receiver 9 and/or the RFID readers 11. The position module also calibrates the position of the vehicle using data from the GPS receiver 9 and the RFID readers 11. The position module also identifies speed restriction zones and designated stopping zones. The speed module determines the speed of the vehicle based upon information received from the odometer 13. It will be appreciated that the speed module may also be configured to determine the speed of the vehicle based upon GPS position information over time. The signal light status module determines the status of upcoming signal lights using information from the signal light receiver

15. The door status module determines whether the doors of the vehicle are open or closed using data from the vehicle operation control 36.

The apparatus 3 further includes a user interface 25 for interaction between the vehicle and a vehicle operator, and radio frequency circuitry 27 for the wireless transmission and receipt of data to and from remote electronics devices. The various components of the apparatus 3 communicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines.

The controller 17 is configured to process information received from each of the different components and to exchange data with one or more remote devices via the radio frequency circuitry 27. In the embodiment depicted, the radio frequency circuitry 27 is operable to communicate over third generation (3G) digital cellular networks. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the radio frequency circuitry 27 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using any of a plurality of communication standards, protocols and technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Long Term Evolution - Advanced (LTE-Advanced), Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), ZigBee or any other suitable communication protocol.

The user interface 25 comprises a touch screen display 29 for interaction with the system, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 31 for indicating various scenarios such as signal light status or over speeding, and a loudspeaker 33 and corresponding audio circuitry 35 for generating an audible alert.

The odometer 13 is arranged to monitor a wheel of the vehicle and is configured to detect the number of revolutions of the monitored wheel. The odometer 13 is configured to generate N pulses for every wheel revolution and to transmit each pulse as an electrical signal to the controller 17 for processing. For example, the odometer 13 may be configured to generate six pulses every revolution so that if a wheel completes one and a half revolutions, the odometer 13 will transmit nine corresponding electrical pulse signals to the controller 17. The odometer 13 is configured to generate pulses at regular rotational intervals so that the distance travelled by the vehicle between each pulse is substantially the same. Due to manufacturing constraints, the diameter of the monitored wheel may vary between /),1,,,, and D_max. In the embodiment depicted, the minimum diameter of the wheel, is 680mm, the maximum diameter of the wheel, D_max, is 720mm and the number of pulses, N, is 110.

With particular reference to Fig. 3, the GPS receiver 9 is configured to receive wireless data signals from one or more global positioning satellites 10 in the GPS frequency band, for example civilian FI band (1575.42 MHz), to calculate the GPS coordinates of the receiver 9, GPS speed, the associated GPS time and other data available from GPS. The GPS receiver 9 continuously transmits in real time the GPS coordinates and corresponding GPS time to the controller 17 for processing. Since the apparatus 3 is incorporated into the railway vehicle, by determining the position of the GPS receiver 9, the approximate position of the railway vehicle is also determined.

To improve positional accuracy based on GPS signals, the controller 17 is operable to use differential GPS through receipt of error information from a remote GPS receiver 9 having a more precisely known location. Through experimentation it has been determined that the enhanced location tracking using GPS and odometer data achieves a position accuracy within 3m along all tracks (open areas and under podium areas) and an average accuracy of 1.2m, which is the distance between the actual position on the track and the position determined by the system 1.

With particular reference to Fig. 4, in the embodiment depicted, the RFID readers 11 operate in the RFID license-exempted frequency band, for example 2.4GHz, and are configured to transmit to and receive wireless signals from the trackside network 5. The trackside network 5 comprises one or more trackside RFID transponders 37 arranged at intervals along the railway track.

In the embodiment depicted, the trackside RFID transponders 37 also operate in the RFID license-exempted frequency band, for example 2.4GHz, and store data including identification information. Upon interrogation by an RFID reader 11, the RFID transponders 37 are configured to transmit an encrypted wireless signal including a unique identifier for the RFID transponder 37 which may include the battery status for battery powered RFID transponders 37.

The RFID transponders 37 are arranged in pairs and installed at the trackside on opposite sides respectively of the track to demarcate sections of track into different speed restriction zones. For example, one section of track may have a speed limit of 50km/h and a second section of track immediately after the first section may be designated as a speed restriction zone with a speed limit of 40km/h. In this example, the speed restriction zone may be defined by a first pair of RFID transponders 37 arranged at the start of the second section of the track and a second pair of RFID transponders 37 arranged at the end of the second section of the track. Pairs of RFID transponders 37 effectively form gates through which the vehicle passes along the track. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the RFID transponders 37 need not necessarily be arranged in pairs and that one or more RFID transponders 37 could be arranged in isolation within the railway network.

With reference to Fig. 13, one or more transponders 37 are electrically coupled to a signal light status module associated with a signal light at locations in advance of and adjacent the signal light. The RFID transponders 37 are configured to broadcast the signal light status to oncoming vehicles so that appropriate warnings and necessary vehicle operations, such as braking, can be activated.

RFID transponders 37 are also positioned in locations along the railway network where simple location tracking is required. For example, again with reference to Fig. 13, a pair of RFID transponders 37 is located at the start of a platform along the railway network so that as the vehicle passes through the imaginary gate formed by the RFID transponders 37, the controller 17 can determine the vehicle is entering a designated stopping zone. By determining the location of the vehicle in relation to the RFID transponders 37, the controller 17 can provide feedback for positioning of the vehicle along the platform so that the doors of the vehicle can be more accurately positioned at designated regions of the platform.

The position of each trackside RFID transponder 37 within the railway network is determined and stored as a database locally in the memory 21 of the tracking and monitoring apparatus 3 for interrogation by the controller 17. The database comprises a list of unique identifiers for each RFID transponder 37, the corresponding location of each RFID transponder 37 within the railway network and speed limit information for each RFID transponder 37. The database is also stored locally at the central monitoring system 7 and synched with the database in the memory 21 of the apparatus 3 so that the data in each database corresponds.

The on-board controller 17 is operable to decode the RFID message received when the vehicle passes the RFID transponder 37 so that the location of the identified RFID transponders 37 can be looked up from the database by the controller 17. As discussed above, the commencement of a speed restriction zone is defined by a pair of RFID transponders 37, while the termination is defined by another pair of RFID transponders 37.

Thus, in the above example, when a vehicle passes from section one of the track to section two of the track, the RFID transponders 37 arranged at the start of section two transmit identification information to the RFID readers 11 of the vehicle. Based upon the RFID transponder 37 identification information, the controller 17 looks up the speed limit in the database for the identified RFID transponder 37 to determine that the speed limit for section two is 40km/h. Upon passing the RFID transponders 37 at the end of section two of the track, the RFID transponders 37 transmit unique identification information to the RFID readers 11.

Based upon the RFID transponder 37 identification information, the controller 17 looks up the location and speed limit information in the database to determine that section two has ended and also to determine the speed limit for the next section of track. The RFID transponder 37 location information can also be used to determine speed limit information for further sections of the track based upon which RFID transponders 37 are expected to be passed next in sequence according to information from the database.

The trackside network 5 further comprises one or more pairs of RFID transponders 37 installed within demarcated sections to designate the commencement of a ‘pre-alert’ zone leading up to an end of a demarcated section of track as defined by a pair of end RFID transponders 37. The length of the pre-alert zone, and hence, the required position of the RFID transponders 37 at the start of the pre-alert zone is calculated by the deceleration profile from the maximum permissible speed without additional speed restrictions (also known as line speed) and is expressed as |/2 ———, where Vn_ne is the line speed. As discussed further below, the pre-alert zone enables

2&min activation of a pre-alert signal when the vehicle is within the pre-alert zone but the current deceleration profile of the vehicle exceeds a calculated maximum deceleration profile required to slow down sufficiently to meet the speed limit of the next anticipated section of track.

The RFID readers 11 and the RFID transponders 37 operate as a pair using suitable channel access methods. For example, the RFID readers and RFID transponders may use Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) as the channel access method to avoid co-channel interference between the two pairs of RFID reader 11 and RFID transponder 37. Furthermore, the physical layer communication between RFID transponders 37 and RFID readers 11 conform to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. In case the controller 17 successfully receives and decodes a message from both RFID transponders 37 at the same location, it will only process the first received message and discard the second one. A timeout is applied in case any of the three parts of a location, namely commencement of pre-alert zone, commencement and termination of speed restriction zone, is missing due to a pair of RFID transponders 37 at a location going undetected.

In the event a pair of RFID transponders 37 going undetected, the controller 17 is configured to determine whether or not the vehicle is in a speed supervision zone based upon previously identified sections of track, distance travelled measurements, and anticipated sections of track so that vehicle monitoring and alert activation can still be performed.

Through experimentation, it has been determined that the RFID location tracking feature achieves over 99% detection success rate and a position accuracy of up to lm.

In addition or as an alternative to the RFID transponders 37, the trackside network 5 may comprise one or more Wi-Fi access points 39 located along the track and operable to transmit and receive Wi-Fi signals. The signal light status modules associated with each signal light are operable to transmit status information via the Wi-Fi access points 39 for receipt by the signal light status receiver 15. In the embodiment depicted, each light signal has three different states, namely, go, stop and prepare to go/stop. Therefore, the signal light status information may be one of the above identified three states. It will be appreciated that the signal lights may have other states such as turnout or straight on.

In the embodiment depicted, the signal light status receiver 15 is a Wi-Fi receiver which is configured to communicate with the trackside network 5 to receive signal status information. However, it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that any suitable wireless technologies and protocols may be used for communication between the signal lights and the railway vehicle, such as RFID, Bluetooth or ZigBee, in which case the signal light status receiver 15 is configured to communicate using the appropriate wireless technology or protocol.

In addition to signal light status, the Wi-Fi access points 39 located at intervals along the track can provide location information to the vehicle through implementation of a Wi-Fi positioning system. The Wi-Fi positioning system can be used in addition to or as an alternative to the RFID tag positioning system. The Wi-Fi positioning system includes a database of Wi-Fi access point positions which may be interrogated by the controller 17. The position of each Wi-Fi access point 39 is determined and stored in the database using positional information from one or more GPS enabled wireless communication devices such as smart phones which connect to the Wi-Fi access points 39.

In the embodiment depicted, primary location tracking is conducted based on the distance travelled information calculated by the position module from odometer pulse counts and the monitored wheel diameter, where ri_odometer(f) is the distance travelled at time t. In other words, ^odometer(0 = c(t) X

The actual distance travelled at time t, denoted by d^/t), is defined by d_actuai(t) ⁼ 10 ^odometer(0 ~b d_error(t), where is defined by d_srior(t) ^_whggi(0 + dsiip/siideCO ~b ^stop(t)·

The error denoted by d^/t) is due to the difference between the actual diameter of the monitored wheel //actual and the wheel diameter used in the system /Aystcm and is expressed as d_wheei(t) ^{= c}(0 ^{x 7T}^^Dactualw^Dsystem\ yhe _{error a}t time t due to wheel slip/slide is given by t/siip/siide(7/, while dsto/t) denotes the error in the actual stopping position compared with a stopping mark of a designated stopping zone, which is bounded by δ.

The location of the vehicle within the railway network is determined by the controller 17 based upon the actual distance travelled as calculated above in combination with stored information relating to the route along which the vehicle is travelling. For example, if it is known that a particular route is 50km in length, in the event the actual distance travelled by the vehicle is calculated to be 25km, the controller 17 can determine that the vehicle is halfway along the track.

The accuracy of the determined location is enhanced by the received GPS coordinates and detected RFID transponders 37. The determination of GPS coordinates allows continuous location tracking in open areas where the GPS signal can be received unhindered. Location tracking using RFID transponders 37 as reference points complements the odometer 13 reading at ‘under podium’ areas of the railway network where GPS signal is sporadic or unavailable. For example, the position module accuracy may be enhanced through the introduction of RFID transponder 37 reference points into the trackside network 5 at critical locations such as turnout areas where over-speeding can have more drastic consequences.

The apparatus 3 is configured to determine the speed of the vehicle in real-time based upon pulse frequency as generated by the odometer 13. The real-time speed of a vehicle at time t denoted by v(t), is calculated based on Proposition 1.

Proposition 1:

r(t)

At ^nDsystem

N (1) where c(t) denotes the accumulated odometer pulse counts at time t, At denotes the time interval over which the speed is calculated, and D_system is the wheel diameter used in the system.

Proof: The result follows from the following definition of real-time speed:

v(t) = —x(t)= lim dt x(t) — x(t — Δί) Δί

At (2) where x(t) denotes the accumulated distance travelled at time t.

Under the design and specification of a vehicle, the distance calculated from the odometer pulse counts should be an approximately continuous and smooth function over /, and At is chosen to balance between the accuracy and the processing performance. In the embodiment depicted, At is chosen to be 1/60 seconds.

The controller 17 is configured to generate an over speed alert when the calculated vehicle speed exceeds the speed limit of a given section of track as determined by the detected location of the vehicle in the railway network. The alert may comprise a visual alert via the display and/or LEDs 31 of the user interface 25 and/or an audible alert via the loudspeaker 33.

In addition to an over speed alert, the controller 17 is configured to generate a pre-warning alert based on continuous location tracking of a vehicle. The alert may be depicted graphically by the controller 17 on the touch screen display 29 and/or the LEDs 31. Additionally or alternatively, the alert may be an audible alert via the loudspeaker 33 and audio circuitry 35. The pre-alert warning is intended to remind vehicle operators to apply braking in order to avoid over-speeding when entering the next determined speed limit zone, even if there is no over-speeding currently.

Whether or not to generate a pre-warning alert is based on the next determined speed limit having a different speed limit from the section of track on which the vehicle is currently determined to be located. If the next section of track has a speed limit lower than the present section of track, the controller 17 calculates the minimum distance required in order to decelerate the vehicle to the lower speed limit.

The calculation is based upon the determined speed of the vehicle v(t) at time t, the maximum a_max and minimum a_mm acceleration capabilities of the vehicle, the distance d_remamm_g(t) of the vehicle to the next speed limit zone (having a designated speed limit Vn_mit) and a vehicle operator’s notional reaction time T_reaction. A pre-warning alert is generated when d_remainmg(t)

T_reactj_on, Vlimit), ^{where D} minimum is the minimum deceleration distance required if assuming maximum acceleration is maintained during reaction time and minimum acceleration is applied during braking, given by Proposition 2. In the embodiment depicted, amax is 1.3 ms'² and minimum amm is -1.3 ms'².

Proposition 2:

n . . — τ ^minimum ¹ reaction

A » ^max^rcaction + rii²mit-(^vd) + ^amax ^reaction)²

2CLrnin (3)

Proof. Dminimum is the summation of two parts, namely the distance travelled during the reaction time at maximum acceleration, which is given by 7^,reactionr(t) + - dmax^reaction ^and the distance travelled during minimum acceleration from the speed at r(t) + ctma-Xeaction to the speed at which is given by <it-(Ht)+a_maxr_reaction)²

2&min

With reference to Fig. 11, for completeness of the pre-warning alert calculation, subsequent speed limit zones that are determined to be within the minimum braking distance to zero-speed are taken into account to avoid “hidden speed limit zones”. Such hidden speed limit zones may occur in a subsequent section of track where the speed limit of the hidden zone is lower than the current section of track and the next section of track but close enough to the current section of track such that deceleration must occur in the current section of track if the vehicle is to have sufficient distance to decelerate to the speed limit of the hidden zone. The minimum braking distance is given by (4)

D;

minimum = T, reaction r(t) + max¹ reaction (v(t) + ^αηιαχΤ re action)² ^^amin

In the event the conditions for an over speed alert and a pre-warning alert are both satisfied, the over-speed alert has the higher priority and will override the pre-warning alert so that the overspeed warning is brought to the attention of the vehicle operator by the controller 17 via the user interface 25.

The controller 17 is operable to regularly transmit data via the radio frequency circuitry 27 to the central monitoring system 7. The data includes information containing the identification number of the vehicle, the date and time of transmission, the calculated speed, the determined location of the vehicle, and the route along which the vehicle is travelling.

The central monitoring system 7 has three main functions, namely real-time monitoring, report 10 generation, and track-speed profile updating. The central monitoring system 7 comprises one or more communication devices and/or network devices for communication with the trackside and/or trainbome devices through the 3G network or other suitable wireless protocols. The central monitoring system 7 further comprises one or more servers and workstations for fleet monitoring, logging, report generation, administrative and maintenance functions.

The central monitoring system 7 is configured to transmit and receive data via the 3G network. Each workstation is operable to graphically represent the railway network on the display and the position of each operational vehicle in the network in real time based upon received location information from each respective vehicle. The workstation is also operable to display speed information for each vehicle and an alert status based upon the received information from the controllers 17 via the 3G network. Thus, any issues with the railway network can be quickly identified by an operator in the central monitoring system 7 so that intervening action can be taken, if necessary.

The received information is stored locally and can be retrieved and exported via a report generation function. Report generation is facilitated by the workstations which retrieve stored data such as current GPS coordinates of a vehicle, vehicle speed and location of vehicle within the railway network for display and exportation based on the user requirements.

The track-speed profile for the railway network can be updated locally via a workstation by updating the speed limit database with revised speed information for each RFID transponder 37 along the railway network. The revised track-speed profile can be uploaded remotely to the controller 17 of each vehicle operating in the system 1 via the 3G network. Moreover, the workstation is configured to synchronize the time for the controllers 17 of each of the vehicles in the event the GPS time is not available so that each vehicle is operating on the same time.

The system 1 is configured to calibrate the GPS location tracking by comparing the calculated GPS coordinates determined from the received GPS signal with known GPS positions. In the present embodiment, the railway network comprises GPS ‘reference’ coordinates at each designated stopping zone. The controller 17 is configured to carry out a calibration calculation when the speed of the vehicle reduces to zero and when the GPS coordinates of the GPS receiver 9 are within a pre-defined region from the GPS reference points calculated as the centroid of GPS measurements (lat, lori) using the following formulae and based upon the following assumptions:

• The drivers will enter the platform areas and stop at the designated position for that route only when the designated position is available. Otherwise, the drivers wait outside the platform areas.

• If the designated position is not the first position of the platform, the drivers will depart the platform directly without stopping at the other positions ahead.

The centroid of the GPS coordinates flat, lori) are calculated using the following formulae:

Xi = cos(Zati) cos(Zoni), y_t = cos(lati) sin(Zoni) and = sin(Zuti) (5) lat = tan ¹

^(_ηΣη*ί) +(„ΣηΧ;)

and Ion = tan ¹ \ ^^nyi (6) where x,, y, and z, are the normalized Cartesian coordinates of the z'th measured sample and n is the sample size.

The GPS reference point and the pre-defined region are chosen using the following “R³ Principles”:

Reliable: The accuracy of a GPS measurement at a selected reference point should be within 20m root mean square (RMS). The GPS distance is calculated using the formula below:

12742000 sin ¹ Jsin² ^^ati^^lat2^ + cos(Zat₂) ^siⁿ² ^^oril(j) where 12742000 is the diameter of the Earth.

The bearing from (lati, loni) to (/ate, lonf) is expressed as:

sin(lon₂-lon₁) cos(lat₂) λ \cos(lat, ) sin(lat₂)-sin(lat, ) cos(lat₂) cos(lon₂-lon, )/ ' ' which is mapped from the domain -180° to +180° to the domain 0° to +360°.

Robust: The pre-defined region and reference point are selected such that (i) the pre-defined region contains over a pre-defined percentage of GPS measurements of the GPS receiver 9 when the vehicle is stopping at the reference point, and (ii) the error probability for GPS measurements falling within the pre-defined region while the train is stopped outside the platform end should be below a pre-defined value, assuming the distribution of the GPS measurements at the end of the designated stopping zone is identical to that at the reference point. The relationship between the pre-defined region and error probability is expressed in Proposition 3.

Proposition 3: Given that the pre-defined region is R and the track distance between the reference point and the platform end is D, the error probability is upper bounded by tan^-1 (, ^R \y/(D-R)(D+R)J (p

D+R

Pd-r) (9) where Pd+r and Pd-r are the probabilities for a GPS measurement to be contained within D+R and D-R, respectively.

Proof: The error probability is the probability that the GPS measurement falls into the predefined region, which is upper bounded by the differences in the probabilities for a GPS measurement to fall within D+R and D-R from GPS coordinates beyond platform areas over the minimum sector that can cover the pre-defined region. The result follows from the cumulative distribution functions of GPS distances and the bearings and the results of coordinate geometry for circles. In particular, the distribution of the bearings is close to uniform distribution from 0° to +360°. Fig. 16 illustrates the idea of the proof.

Repeatable: The designated stopping zone for a given reference point should not have the following special cases:

· For the same route, there may be different designated stopping positions due to the presence of a trailer car for a particular railway vehicle or during a period of time of the day.

• At the route terminus, the vehicle operator may stop at a second position designated for picking up passengers if there is another vehicle in front at the platform/designated stopping zone. After the vehicle ahead has departed, the vehicle operator may move the vehicle to the first position for passenger boarding/disembarking if the target departure time has not yet been reached.

The controller 17 is also configured to carry out a wheel calibration procedure. There are three types of data involved in the wheel calibration procedure, namely, pulse counts, actual stopping position, and actual distances between the designated stopping positions. In the calibration mechanism, three consecutive reference points are used for the calculation, which are called reference points 0, 1 and 2. The following notations set out in Table 1 are used in the calibration procedure.

Dp	Distance between reference points i and i-1
di.	Distance in stopping positions between reference points i and i-1
Ci-	Increment in pulse count between reference points i and i-1
D®:	Wheel diameter based on the data between reference points i and 0
Sf-	Deviation between distance from reference points 0 and i and distance in stopping positions from reference points 0 and i
δ:	Tolerant in stopping position with respect to actual stopping mark

Table. 1. Notations involved in calibration of wheel diameter.

Therefore, the wheel diameter measured between reference point 0 and 1, and reference point 1 and 2 can be calculated as = and D® = ^resP^ech^vely· Assuming there is no wheel slip/slide between the reference points, due to the deviation in stopping position with the stopping mark, D® and D® may not be identical. The difference in circumferences is given by = N I— - ^±^1 = N I - - + δ₂1.

^{1 1} I Cy Cy+C₂ I I Cl ^Cl+^C2 I

Lemma 1: The feasible region for δι and δ₂ is expressed as δ_± — δ₂ — 25 < 0, — 5_X + δ₂ — 25 < 0, δ₁-2δ < 0, -<$! - 25 < 0, δ₂ - 25 < 0 and -δ₂ - 2δ < 0.

Proof: Based on the distance between reference points i and i-1, we have — 25 < δ_± < 2δ and —25 < δ₂ < 2δ. For —25 < δ₂ < 0, we have δ₂ < δ_γ < 2δ + δ₂. For 0 < δ₂ < 25, we have δ₂ — 2δ < δ_± < δ₂. By symmetry, we have δ_± < δ₂ < 2δ + δ_± for —2δ < δ₁ < 0, and δ₁ — 2δ < δ₂ < δ_χ for 0 < 5_Χ < 2δ. Finally, the result follows by combining them as {(δ_ΐΛ δ₂) |—2δ < 5_X < 25, —25 < δ₂ < 0, δ₂ < δ_χ < 25 + δ₂} U {(δ₁₍ δ₂) | —25 < δ₁ <

25,0 < δ₂ < 25, δ₂ — 25 < δ_χ < δ₂} U {(δ_χ, δ₂) | —25 < δ_χ < 0, —25 < δ₂ < 25, δ_χ < δ₂ <

+ δ_χ} U {(δ_χ, δ₂) |—25 < δ_χ < 0,0 < δ_χ < 25, δ_χ — 25 < δ₂ < δ_χ}.

Proposition 4: The maximum value of the difference in circumferences ΙττΖ)^¹-* — πΏ®! is

2δπ0„ where d_mm is the minimum distance between two reference points.

Proof: The objective is re-written to maximize ’ for (Cl + c₂)rii - qri;, <0 ^Ν(/^δι for-GT + cJrii + qri;, < 0 (10) and is the maximum of optimal values of the sub-problems. Sub-problem 1 is the maximization 20 of N δ_± + _c +_c δ₂) with constraints stated in Lemma 1 together with (q + c₂')d₁ — c/₂ < 0. While Sub-problem 2 is the maximization of N δ_± ~ _c +_c δ₂) with constraints stated in Lemma 1 together with — (q + c₂')6₁ + c/₂ < 0. Each sub-problem is a linear programming problem and is hence a convex programming problem. The optimal solutions of both sub-problems satisfy the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions, which both 2N give a maximum value of—δ. As a result,

Ιπ//¹·* — πΰ^I ^~δ <

2Νδ

2δπϋ_η ^(^min ² *5)

TFDmax

-2δ

If the difference in circumference is within ^2δπΕ>™* the value of D® is trusted to be consistent and is adopted as D_system. At the same time, the position is adjusted to the position of the reference point 2 for compensating d_errOr(t), in which the accuracy is within δ.

When a railway vehicle starts its service along a particular route, the controller 17 automatically determines the desired route, designated by a route number, the number of cars of the vehicle (to determine the length of the vehicle) and the vehicle starting position on the route without the need of user intervention. The controller 17 looks up the specified route information from memory 21 including route distance and number of stops and stores the starting position in the memory 21. The controller 17 is configured to automatically determine the starting position as defined by the desired route terminus (which indicates direction of travel), the stopping zone at which the vehicle is located and the stopping position of the stopping zone (specified by the stopping mark at the stopping zone).

During the start-up process, the controller 17 synchronizes its time with the central office system

7. When the controller 17 is in operation, it regularly transmits to the central office system 7 vehicle status and operation data including the date and time, the route number, vehicle identification number, detected vehicle speed, determined track position, GPS coordinates, pre20 alert status, over-speed alert status and wheel diameter used by the controller 17.

During operation of the vehicle, the user interface 25 displays the real-time speed as determined by the speed module, the current speed limit of the section of track as determined by the position module and track section information, the speed limit of the next anticipated section of track and the remaining distance to the next speed limit change. The apparatus 3 also displays the status of the 3G connection, the GPS reception and any alerts.

With reference to Figs. 11 to 15, while the vehicle travels along a section of track, the controller 17 continuously monitors the speed and track position of the vehicle and also the speed limit of the track section on which the vehicle is located. If the speed of the vehicle at a track location is determined to be above the designated speed limit, the controller 17 activates an over speed warning in the form of a visual and/or audible alert to instruct the vehicle operator to apply the brakes and slow down.

If the vehicle is approaching a section of track with a speed limit lower than the current section of track, and if the vehicle deceleration profile is determined by the controller 17 to be above the recommended deceleration profile to reduce the current speed sufficiently to meet the speed limit of the next section of track, the controller 17 activates a pre-warning in the form of a visual and/or audible alert to instruct the vehicle operator to apply more aggressive braking so that the vehicle’s deceleration profile is within acceptable limits.

If the vehicle is not, or is no longer, above the speed limit and if the deceleration profile is within, or no longer outside, acceptable limits, the controller 17 will not raise an alert or will cease raising corresponding alerts.

If the vehicle passes through a pre-warning gate as defined by a pair of RFID transponders 37 and into a pre-warning zone of the track, the controller 17 determines if the vehicle speed is above the designated speed limit and, in the event the vehicle speed exceeds the speed limit, activates an over speed warning. As above, if the determined deceleration profile of the vehicle is above the required deceleration profile to reduce the speed of the vehicle to the speed limit of the next section of track or reduce the speed to zero at a signal light or designated stopping zone, the controller 17 activates a pre-warning to alert the vehicle operator to slow down and apply additional braking.

With particular reference to Figs. 13 to 15, if the vehicle passes through an initial signal light status gate defined by a pair of RFID transponders 37 and receives signal light status information such as a stop sign via RFID and via wireless communication technology the controller 17 determines whether or not to activate an over speed or pre-warning alert. By comparing the current determined speed, current determined position and the status of the signal light, the controller 17 continuously calculates whether braking will be required before the signal light and alert the vehicle operator accordingly. If the vehicle passes beyond a final signal light gate, as defined by two RFID transponders 37 and corresponding to the position of the signal light, and if the signal light is set to a stop status, the controller 17 activates a signal passed at danger (SPAD) warning.

When the railway vehicle enters a designated stopping zone as detected by passing through a pair of RFID transponders 37 at the start of the stopping zone, the controller 17 compares the detected vehicle speed with the speed limit of the stopping zone and, if appropriate, raises an over-speed warning alert. When the speed of the vehicle has reduced to zero and is positioned within the designated stopping zone such that it is berthed, the controller 17 determines whether the vehicle doors are open or closed. If the doors are determined to be closed, the controller 17 activates an over carry warning to alert the driver and also activates a traction inhibition operation to prevent the vehicle from moving. If the doors are open, no over carry warning or vehicle inhibition is activated. Advantageously, the system 1 ensures platform duty is carried out and enhances integrity of train service.

The integration of GPS and RFID technologies, together with the odometer 13, other train borne systems and wireless communication technologies achieves a complete set of operational needs with higher integrity and effectiveness. The use of GPS positioning provides continuous monitoring and supervision of the vehicle. Additionally, the use of RFID technology supplements location and speed tracking at critical locations and under podium locations where GPS reception is poor. By using GPS and RFID technologies in the same system, the number of required RFID transponders 37 can be used more strategically and economically at key points of the railway network rather than throughout the entire railway network, thereby reducing cost whilst achieving high integrity of positioning. Thus, the apparatus 3 facilitates more accurate speed and position monitoring, signal passed at danger (SPAD) detection, over-carry avoidance and improved fleet management.

Advantageously, the above described solutions help improve the driving behaviours of drivers which in turn enhances manual driving safety and improves the end-to-end user experience.

The above embodiments are described by way of example only. Many variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (24)

1. Apparatus for monitoring a railway vehicle travelling along a railway track, the apparatus comprising:

a radio frequency receiver for receiving radio frequency signals from one or more RFID 5 transponders, a global positioning satellite receiver for receiving wireless signals from one or more global positioning satellites to determine the coordinates of the apparatus, an odometer for measuring revolutions of a wheel of a railway vehicle;

and a controller for determining at least one of the position and speed of a railway vehicle based

10 upon information from one or more of the radio frequency receiver, the global positioning satellite receiver and the odometer, wherein the controller is operable to activate an event upon determination that at least one of the determined position and speed fails to conform to predetermined parameters.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a database containing speed limit

15 information for different sections of railway track, wherein the controller determines the speed limit of a section of track along which a vehicle travels based upon determined position information.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the database further contains position information associated with one or more RFID transponders arranged along the railway track.

20

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the controller activates an event when the determined speed of a vehicle exceeds a speed limit of a section of railway track along which a vehicle travels based upon determined position information and speed limit information contained in the database.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the controller is operable to

25 determine the speed limit of one or more sections of track that are subsequent to a section of track along which a vehicle travels based upon determined position information and speed limit information contained in the database.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the controller is operable to determine a deceleration profile required for a vehicle to meet the speed limit of a subsequent section of track based upon determined speed information, driver response time and potential acceleration, and the controller is operable to activate an event when a determined deceleration of a vehicle

5 fails to conform to the determined deceleration profile.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a receiver for receiving status information from one or more signal lights associated with a railway track.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the controller is operable to activate an event if the determined speed and/or position of a vehicle corresponds to an unsafe manoeuvre in

10 relation to the received status information from one or more signal lights.

9. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the event is an audible alert, a visual alert or a mechanical event.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the mechanical event is actuation of a vehicle braking system or actuation of a vehicle inhibition setting.

15

11. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to determine the speed of a vehicle depending upon the number of revolutions of a wheel of a railway vehicle as measured by the odometer.

12. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the controller is configured to determine a position of a vehicle along a length of railway track depending upon the distance

20 travelled by the vehicle based upon the number of revolutions of a wheel of the railway vehicle as measured by the odometer.

13. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the controller is operable to calibrate position information based upon information from the radio frequency receiver, the global positioning satellite receiver and the odometer.

25

14. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the controller is operable to determine if doors of a vehicle are in an open or closed state and to activate an event if the door status, speed information and position information corresponds to an unsafe manoeuvre.

15. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising communication means for communicating with a remote electronic device to transmit and receive speed, positional and/or status information.

16. A railway vehicle comprising apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim.

5

17. A railway monitoring system comprising:

a railway network comprising one or more sections of railway track; a railway vehicle as claimed in claim 16 on the railway network;

one or more RFID transponders arranged along the railway track for transmitting information to the apparatus of the vehicle;

10 wherein the apparatus of the vehicle is operable to trigger an event upon determination that at least one of the determined position and speed of the vehicle in the railway network by the apparatus fails to conform to acceptable predetermined parameters.

18. A railway monitoring system as claimed in claim 17, further comprising a database containing identification information for one or more of the RFID transponders and speed limit

15 information associated with the one or more RFID transponders, wherein the apparatus is configured to determine the speed limit of a section of railway track based upon identification information received from one or more RFID transponders.

19. A railway monitoring system as claimed in claim 18, wherein at least part of the railway network is demarcated into one or more sections by one or more RFID transponders, the

20 database further contains position information associated with one or more RFID transponders, and wherein the apparatus is configured to determine the section of track in which the vehicle is located based upon identification information received from one or more of the RFID transponders.

20. A railway monitoring system as claimed in any of claims 17 to 19, further comprising

25 one or more designated stopping zones and wherein one or more RFID transponders are arranged relative to the one or more designated stopping zones to provide positional and/or speed limit information associated with the one or more designated stopping zones to the apparatus.

21. A railway monitoring system as claimed in any of claim 17 to 20, further comprising a signal light having different status for providing operational instructions to the vehicle, wherein the system further comprises at least one transmitter associated with the signal light and configured to transmit status information of the signal light to the apparatus of the vehicle.

5

22. A railway monitoring system as claimed in claim 20, wherein the apparatus is configured to activate an event when the determined position, speed and received status information corresponds to an unsafe manoeuvre.

23. A railway monitoring system as claimed in any of claims 17 to 22, further comprising a remote electronic device for transmission and receipt of speed, positional and status information

10 between the remote electronic device and the vehicle, wherein the remote electronic device is configured to display the speed, positional and status information of the vehicle for monitoring purposes.

24. A method of monitoring a vehicle travelling along a railway track comprising the steps of:

15 measuring the number of revolutions of a wheel of the vehicle to determine the speed and distance travelled by the vehicle;

determining a position and speed of the vehicle based upon received global positioning satellite signals;

determining a position of the vehicle based upon received signals from one or more

20 RFID transponders; and activating an event when at least one of the determined position and speed fails to conform to predetermined parameters.

Go?

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB 1621121.1 Examiner: Andrew Isgrove