System and method for computing rail car switching solutions in a switchyard including logic to re-switch cars for block size

• US 20070156307A1
• Filed: 03/23/2006
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canadian National Railway Company
• Original Assignee: Canadian National Railway Company
• Inventors: Morency, Vincent, Pathak, Anshu, Doyle, Gordon, Muinonen, Kari, Barker, Matthew
• Granted Patent: US 7,792,616 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 17/00 Switching systems for classification yards

Abstract

A system for computing car switching solutions in a railway switch yard. The system is computer based and has an input for receiving data conveying information about one or more arrival trains arriving at the switch yard and data conveying information about departure trains to depart the switch yard. A processing entity processes the data and computes car switching solutions for the railcars.

Claims

1. A system for computing car switching solutions in a railway switch yard containing a switch, a plurality of classification tracks and a reswitching track, said system comprising:

a) an input for receiving first data conveying information about a size a given train block to be assembled at the switch yard;

b) a processing entity for computing a switching solution for one or more cars of the given train block, wherein a computation of a switching solution includes a selection of at least one switching option among a set of switching options, one switching option of the set including switching the car of the given train block to a classification track and another switching option of the set including switching the car of the given train block to the reswitching track, wherein the processing entity uses as a factor the information about the size of the given train block in selecting between a switching option to switch the car to a classification track and a switching option to switch the car to the reswitching track;

c) an output for releasing second data conveying the switching option selected by said processing entity.

2. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein said output includes a user interface allowing communicating to a user the car switching option selected by said processing entity.

3. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein said output is intended for connection to a car switch control system that derives car switching commands from the second data.

4. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein said processing entity computes an expected switch time for a car that belong to the given train block and uses the computed expected switch time to compute a car switching solutions for the car.

5. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the railway switch yard has a switching queue containing a plurality of cars that belong to the given train block to be sequentially switched, said processing unit computing multiple switching solutions for the plurality of cars as the plurality of cars progress through the switching queue.

6. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein said input receives data indicative of an ETA at the switch yard of a car that belongs to the given train block, said processing unit computing one or more car switching solutions by using the data indicative of an ETA as a factor.

7. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the switch yard is a hump switch yard.

8. A system as defined in claim 1, wherein the switch yard is a flat switch yard.

9. A method for computing car switching solutions in a railway switch yard containing a switch, a plurality of classification tracks and a reswitching track, said method comprising:

a) receiving at an input first data conveying information about a size of the given train block to be assembled by the switch yard;

b) computing with a computing entity a car switching solution for one or more cars of the given train block, wherein a computation of a car switching solution includes a selection of at least one car switching option among a set of car switching options, one car switching option of the set including switching the car of the given train block to a classification track and another car switching option of the set including switching the car of the given train block to the reswitching track, wherein said computing uses as a factor the information about the size of the given train block in selecting between a car switching option to switch the car to a classification track and a car switching option to switch the car to the reswitching track;

c) releasing at an output second data conveying the car switching option selected on a basis of said computing.

10. A method as defined in claim 9, including communicating to a user the car switching option selected on a basis of said computing.

11. A method as defined in claim 9, including communicating the second data to a car switch control system that derives car switching commands from the second data.

12. A method as defined in claim 9, including computing an expected switch time for one or more cars that belong to the given train block and using the computed expected switch time to compute car switching solutions for the one or more cars.

13. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein the railway switch yard has a switching queue containing a plurality of cars that belong to the given train block to be sequentially switched to classification tracks, said method including computing multiple switching solutions for the one or more cars as the one ore more cars progress through the switching queue.

14. A method as defined in claim 9, including receiving at said input data indicative of an ETA at the switch yard of a car that belongs to the given train block, said method further including computing one or more car switching solutions by using the data indicative of an ETA as a factor.

15. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein the switch yard is a hump switch yard.

16. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein the switch yard is a flat switch yard.