Recently, China Pingmei Shenma Railway Transportation Department organized transportation tests of the moving block system in the Jiukuang-Baofeng section, and carried out on-site rehearsal on the function, performance and transport capacity of “Beidou Positioning-based Train Autonomous Control System” (hereinafter referred to as “TACN”) developed by CASCO to ensure the smooth commissioning of the system, thus laying a solid foundation for improving the railway’s transport efficiency and safety.

As the freight demand of Pingmei Railway continues to rise, the railway’s inter-station passing capacity can no longer meet the transport requirements, especially in the two sections of Jiukuang-Miaopu and Miaopu-Baofeng, where the problem is particularly prominent. However, traditional renovation solutions for capacity expansion, such as increasing underfloor resources or upgrading the automatic block system, are prohibitively expensive.

In order to solve the above problems, CASCO conducted in-depth on-site research on the Pingmei Railway. According to the characteristics of its train organization and the R&D results of the new CTCS-N train control system, CASCO developed a TACN train control system for dedicated freight railways, which can help clients complete capacity expansion and renovation in a more economical and efficient way.

From August 10 to August 17, under the careful organization of the Railway Transportation Department, CASCO tested the TACN’s transport capacity in two sections among Jiukuang, Miaopu and Baofeng stations. The departure interval, one-way tracking transport, up and down tracking operation tests were carried out to verify the system's maximum reception, departure, and passing capacities.

Station, equipment room and dispatching center

Departure interval is the key indicator of transport capacity. The test shows that the departure interval of Jiukuang is 4 minutes and 13 seconds, and that of Baofeng is 4 minutes and 10 seconds. In the up and down tracking operation test, a total of 4 trains passed up and down the line in 42 minutes, indicating that the train meeting capacity has been greatly improved, which will promote further increase in transport volume.

In addition, the application of the TACN system will also help the enterprise save trackside signaling equipment, realize less maintenance of station equipment and zero maintenance of section equipment, and reduce maintenance difficulty and workload, and achieve the purpose of reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Some system cabinets

In addition to the test of transport capacity indicators, CASCO also specially organized failure emergency drills, simulating common fault scenarios such as wireless communication interruption, ground center equipment failure, on-board equipment failure, etc., and optimized the emergency response procedures to improve the user’s ability to use and ensure adequate preparation for the official opening of the system.

This test is of great significance in that it not only verifies the positive effect of the TACN system on improving the efficiency of dedicated freight railways, but also points out the direction for the future renovation and upgrading of technology and equipment of dedicated freight railways. CASCO will continue to sufficiently leverage its advantages in technological innovation and use digital intelligence technologies to boost the vigorous development of China's dedicated railways.