Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional and urban trains along with trams.
Railway signalling (BE), or railroad signaling (AE), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormous weight and inertia of a train, which makes it difficult to quickly stop when encountering an obstacle. In the UK, the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 introduced a series of requirements on matters such as the implementation of interlocked block signalling and other safety measures as a direct result of the Armagh rail disaster in that year.
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. In North America, a set of signalling appliances and tracks interlocked together are sometimes collectively referred to as an interlocking plant or just as an interlocking. An interlocking system is designed so that it is impossible to display a signal to proceed unless the route to be used is proven safe.
Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a centralized train dispatcher's office that controls railroad interlockings and traffic flows in portions of the rail system designated as CTC territory. One hallmark of CTC is a control panel with a graphical depiction of the railroad. On this panel, the dispatcher can keep track of trains' locations across the territory that the dispatcher controls. Larger railroads may have multiple dispatcher's offices and even multiple dispatchers for each operating division. These offices are usually located near the busiest yards or stations, and their operational qualities can be compared to air traffic towers.
Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver does not react to a signal at danger. ATC systems tend to integrate various cab signalling technologies and they use more granular deceleration patterns in lieu of the rigid stops encountered with the older automatic train stop (ATS) technology. ATC can also be used with automatic train operation (ATO) and is usually considered to be the safety-critical part of a railway system.
Automatic train stop or ATS is a system on a train that automatically stops a train if certain situations occur to prevent accidents. In some scenarios it functions as a type of dead man's switch. Automatic train stop differs from the concept of Automatic Train Control in that ATS usually does not feature an onboard speed control mechanism.
Union Switch & Signal was an American company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which focused on railway signaling equipment, systems and services. The company was acquired by Ansaldo STS in 1988, operating as a wholly-owned company until January 2009, when US&S was renamed "Ansaldo STS USA" to operate as a subsidiary of Ansaldo in the Americas and Asia.
Automatic equipment identification (AEI) is an electronic recognition system in use with the North American railroad industry. Consisting of passive tags mounted on each side of rolling stock and active trackside readers, AEI uses RF technology to identify railroad equipment while en route.
Signaling and operation on the Washington Metro system involves train control, station identification, train signaling, signage, and train length. As with any working railroad, communication between train operators, dispatchers, station personnel and passengers is critical. Failures will result in delays, accidents, and even fatalities. It is therefore important that a comprehensive signal system operated by a central authority be in place. This gives individual train and station operators the information they need to safely and efficiently perform their tasks.
Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals, track locks and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Usually located in the signal box, the levers are operated either by the signalman or the pointsman.
The Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee (NORAC) is a body of railroads that establish a set of operating rules for railroads in North America. The NORAC rulebook is used by full and associate member railroads, located mostly in the Northeast United States.
Automatic block signaling (ABS), spelled automatic block signalling or called track circuit block (TCB) in the UK, is a railroad communications system that consists of a series of signals that divide a railway line into a series of sections, called blocks. The system controls the movement of trains between the blocks using automatic signals. ABS operation is designed to allow trains operating in the same direction to follow each other in a safe manner without risk of rear-end collision.
North American railroad signals generally fall into the category of multi-headed electrically lit units displaying speed-based or weak route signaling. Signals may be of the searchlight, color light, position light, or color position light types, each displaying a variety of aspects which inform the locomotive operator of track conditions so that they may keep their train under control and able to stop short of any obstruction or dangerous condition.
Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System (ACSES) is a positive train control cab signaling system developed by Alstom. The system is designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, protect against overspeed, and protect work crews with temporary speed restrictions. The information about permanent and temporary speed restrictions is transmitted to the train by transponders (Balises) lying in the track, coded track circuits and digital radio. It was installed beginning in 2000 on all of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston, and has been fully active since December 2015, a few months after the 2015 Philadelphia train derailment which it would have prevented.
Hitachi Rail STS SpA or Hitachi Rail STS is a transportation company owned by Hitachi with a global presence in the field of railway signalling and integrated transport systems for passenger traffic and freight operations. Hitachi Rail STS plans, designs, manufactures, installs and commissions signaling systems, components and technologies for the management and control of newly built or upgraded railways, transit and freight lines worldwide.
Interoperable Communications Based Signaling (ICBS) is an initiative backed by the Federal Railroad Administration to enhance interoperability and signaling procurement in the railway system of the United States by creating a single national standard for train control and command systems. The concept was launched in 2005 and an interoperable prototype system was successfully demonstrated in January 2009.
The Federal Signal Company was an American manufacturer of railway signaling equipment in the early 20th century. It was located in Albany, New York.
The Alstom Metropolis C830C is the second generation of communication-based train control (CBTC) electric multiple unit rolling stock in operation on the Circle line of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. 24 trainsets of 3 cars were manufactured by Shanghai Alstom Transport Co Ltd, with deliveries from end June 2014.
The Alstom Metropolis C751C is the second generation of communication-based train control (CBTC) electric multiple unit rolling stock in operation on the North East line of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. 18 trainsets of 6 cars were manufactured by Shanghai Alstom Transport Co Ltd, Deliveries began in July 2014. All 18 trainsets were delivered by 2015.
The intermittent inductive automatic train stop is a train protection system used in North American mainline railroad and rapid transit systems. It makes use of magnetic reluctance to trigger a passing train to take some sort of action. The system was developed in the 1920s by the General Railway Signal Company as an improvement on existing mechanical train stop systems and saw limited adoption before being overtaken by more advanced cab signaling and automatic train control systems. The system remains in use after having been introduced in the 1920s.
