Researchers to improve train tracking systems

René Rütters and Thomas Engelhardt from the Institute of Automatic Control at Aachen University are working on a method to examine the integrity of satellite signals for potential use in the European Train Control System (ETCS).

In ETCS the speed of a train is compared with the maximum speed of the track. The train is automatically slowed down if the latter speed is exceeded.

To judge the speed, it relies on a combination of the use of on-board systems, such as wheel pulse generators and speed radars, as well as on-the-track devices, including electronic beacons that provide their position.

Rütters said: ‘The lack of GNSS in this application is partly due to the poor accuracy of the signals, which have a range of around 10m. What we hope to do is improve that accuracy to 2m by integrating on-the-track measurement devices with GNNS signals.’

The team at Aachen hopes to be able to correct errors in the GNSS-positioning information by calculating the range between the train’s antenna and each satellite as it passes an electronic beacon on the track.