The technology and business of rail freight has remained the same for decades. Until now, to perform a brake test on a freight train, workers would walk through the train and hit each axle with a special hammer to check that the braking system was working properly. Austrian rail transport systems specialist PJM is working on a digital transformation of this process and is working with Pilz to develop safety technologies for automated braking tests. The challenge lies in the lack of power to the cars, coupled with different technical equipment in the construction of the trains, which usually consist of 25 to 30 cars and vary greatly depending on the type, origin and age of the vehicles.

About PJ Monitoring GmbH

Founded in 2006, the complete supplier of Austrian rail transport operates in two business areas worldwide: PJ Messtechnik GmbH conducts measurements and tests for vehicle certification as an inspection authority for IEC/ISO 17025 certification. While PJ Monitoring GmbH advances the automation of rail freight transport through forward-looking solutions such as intelligent load monitoring.

PPC907BE 3BHE024577R0101

PPC907BE 3BHE024577R0101

PPC907BE 3BHE024577R0101

PPC907BE 3BHE024577R0101

PPC907BE 3BHE024577R0101

Certified, complete model solution

Pilz’s automation system, the PSS 4000, contains a rail-compatible input/output module that incorporates Pilz’s sensor technology to record brake cylinder pressure. The control solution is connected to carrier systems via local wireless systems and to network-based back-end systems via LTE. Instead of having to manually test the brakes in each car before each departure, train drivers use tablets to get information on the current status and function of the brakes at all times. Such a solution would reduce the source of error; Speed up train preparation. The whole system is certified by TUV Sud and can be adapted to different carriage and brake types. Today, the automated solution is the European reference system for automatic brake testing and is used by SBB Freight in Switzerland, contributing to a more efficient process for rail freight.

Overview of advantages

The PSS 4000 meets the railway standards for safety tasks in SIL 2,3 and 4
The input and output modules can be used to extend the system retroactively.
Future use cases have been considered, such as electronic hand brakes or digital automatic coupling