Interoperable Communications Based Signaling (ICBS) is an initiative backed by the

Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce rail saf ...

to enhance interoperability and

signaling In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

procurement in the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

system of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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.

Background

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, there is little operating consistency between railroads; each has its own signaling system, operating rules and equipment. When trains must traverse territory under the control of more than one railroad company, they usually must stop and change crews and equipment at each boundary between railroads. In Europe, similar situations have existed in that trains must change as they move from one country to another. This is being addressed with

European Rail Traffic Management System The European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) is the system of standards for management and interoperation of signalling for railways by the European Union (EU). It is conducted by the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and is the o ...

(ERTMS) and European Train Control System (ETCS) systems, which enhance interoperability.

Companies

Companies developing ICSB systems include

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

, Ansaldo STS, GE Transportation Systems and

Safetran Safetran Systems Corporation was an American company that manufactured switch machines, railroad wayside signal systems, rail transit signaling and rail-highway level crossing active warning systems. The company was a major supplier of freight/c ...

."Positive train control in transition"
''Progressive Railroading'', October 4, 2007 Alstom and Ansaldo STS have also developed ERTMS systems in Europe.

Timeline

2005

* Fall: Railroads ask the

American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(AREMA) to define an interoperable radio-based cab signal system. AREMA assigns this task to AREMA Committee 37.

2006

* AREMA Committee 37 meets to draft ICBS sections for the AREMA manual.

2007

* September: FRA obtains a $500,000 grant administered Railroad Research Foundation for a lab demonstration of ICBS. * October: GE Transportation Systems, Safetran and Ansaldo STS (US&S) release draft manual parts for ICBS. * November: The FRA Office of Research and Development and the Railroad Research Foundation (RRF) finalize a Cooperative Agreement ( DTFR53-07-H-00005)to allow for system demonstration through a lab test; and to verify the interoperability specifications provided in the AREMA Manual Parts. Critical Link of

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

begins work on Simulators and the demonstration test environment. * December: Kickoff meeting for a demonstration is held in Syracuse.

2008

* January: Alstom agrees to participate in the demonstration. * March: AREMA Committee 37 approves the AREMA Manual parts. * May: Status of the demonstration is presented at the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers North American Section Annual General Meeting in Grapevine, Texas. * August: Basic demonstration system is operational. This includes simulators, test drivers and the Safetran Wayside Appliance and Signaling Logic Processor subsystems."Safetran Demonstrates Signal Interoperability"
''Mass Transit'' magazine * September: Status of the demonstration is presented at the AREMA Annual Technical Conference in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. * October: GE Transportation Systems equipment is integrated into the demonstration system. * November: Alstom equipment is integrated into the demonstration system. * December: Ansaldo STS equipment is integrated into the demonstration system.

2009

* January: 50 attendees view the successful demonstration of the fully integrated ICBS system (all four participating companies) in a lab in Syracuse, New York."Highlights of R&D Activities for PTC Implementation"
, Federal Railway Administration Research and Development Program Review, March 12, 2009 (see page 11)

References

External links

"Highlights of R&D Activities for PTC Implementation"
Federal Railway Administration Research and Development Program Review, March 12, 2009 (see page 11), includes pictures of the demonstration
Report on "Interoperable Communications-Based Signaling (ICBS) Project"
Federal Railroad Administration, April 30, 2009 {{Railwaysignalling Railway signaling in the United States Train protection systems