Railway Operators and Manufacturers Have Standardized a Data Communication Network That Interconnects Programmable Equipment between and within Rail Vehicles. This Data Bus Architecture Offers a Basis for Standardization of Future Railways

0272-1732/01/$10.00  2001 IEEE Automatic coupling of railway vehicles has existed since the mechanical Jenny coupler at the turn of the 19th century. The railway industry’s next challenge is automatic coupling of the vehicle’s electronic equipment through a data bus. This requires a worldwide standardization of onboard data communication. A joint effort by the International Railways Union (Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer, or UIC), Utrecht, Netherlands, and the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC), Geneva, Switzerland has laid the groundwork for this standardization. The UIC groups all national rail operators worldwide and ensures cross-border traffic by standardizing track profiles, pneumatic hoses, traction voltages, operating procedures, and so on. The IEC is well known to IEEE members for its impressive collection of standards in the electric world, and as the “electric sister” of the ISO. Deputies from over 20 countries, including many European nations, the US, Japan and China representing major railways operators and manufacturers, worked several years within the IEC’s Working Group 22 (WG22) on the definition of the Train Communication Network. The TCN was adopted as the international standard IEC 61375 in 1999. The IEEE Rail Transit Vehicle Interface Standards Committee Working Group 1 contributed to this work in the late phase and adopted TCN as IEEE Std. 1473-1999 Type T with no modifications the same year. An international standardization of data communication is necessary at both the train and vehicle levels. Trains with varying composition during daily service—such as metros, or suburban and international trains—need a standard form of data communication for train control, diagnostics, and passenger information. Such communication should configure itself when vehicles are coupled on the track. At the vehicle level, a standard attachment of equipment would serve manufacturers, suppliers, and operators. Manufacturers could assemble pretested units, such as doors manufactured by subcontractors, which include their own computers. Parts suppliers who interface with different manufacturers could reduce development costs by adhering to one standard. Railroad operators could reduce spare parts and simplify maintenance and part replacement.