METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENSURING THAT A TRAIN DOES NOT PASS ANIMPROPERLY CONFIGURED DEVICE

摘要

A train control system includes a positioning system and consults a database to determine when the train is approaching a configurable device such as a switch or grade crossing gate. The system continuously interrogates the devi ce to determine its status as the train approaches the device, and forces an engineer/conductor to acknowledge any detected malfunction. The train is forced to come to a complete stop before proceeding past the device or may b e slowed down to a speed that will allow the engineer/conductor to visually determine whether it is safe to proceed past the device if the engineer/conductor acknowledges a message warning of the malfunction and wil l stop the train if the engineer/conductor fails to acknowledge the warning message.