Abstract Braking control techniques for railway vehicles have seen significant advancements over the past few decades, with notable developments in recent years. Due to the complexity of railway vehicle systems, these techniques span a wide range of tasks. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the latest braking technologies, organized into an integrated framework across three levels: vehicle, carriage, and wheel. The focus is placed on their mathematical formulations and practical relevance. At each of these levels, the key functionalities are braking trajectory optimization, braking force distribution, and braking torque distribution, respectively. The review covers both theoretical progress and real-world applications, with an emphasis on the common braking mode rather than emergency braking. Additionally, it highlights recent advancements in validation platforms and explores potential future directions for braking control techniques.
Wang et al. (2026) studied this question.