Application of sensor fusion to railway systems

Advanced automatic train control (ATC) and automatic train protection (ATP) systems form key elements in the moves to optimise the performance of new generations of trains and railway systems. In these systems, the reliable and accurate measurement of position and speed using on-board systems, plays a vital role in reducing the need for trackside equipment. This is combined with radio transmission systems to report the measured position and speed data to the control centre. New approaches in instrumentation, applying mechatronics technology and engineering and, in particular, sensor fusion, have opened up new paths for achieving better reliability and accuracy in measurement. The authors describe both old and current methods of railway odometry and discuss sensor fusion in general and its application to railway position and speed measurement in particular.