JR East to install ATACS on Saikyo Line

[bikkuri bahn]

Equivalent to ETCS level 3.

 

 

JAPAN: East Japan Railway has confirmed its intention to introduce its Advanced Train Administration & Communications System on the Tokyo suburban network in the autumn of 2017.

The company announced on October 8 that the moving-block train control system will be deployed on the 37 km Saikyo Line between Ikebukuro and Omiya, replacing the existing lineside signalling and the ageing ATS train protection equipment.

The decision follows two years of successful operation with the pilot ATACS installation on the Senseki Line in Sendai, which went live in September 2011. JR East had always envisaged that its ATACS would be used to increase capacity in the Tokyo area, and it has selected the 19-station route linking the Tokyo and Saitama prefectures to investigate the challenges of introducing moving block in a dense metropolitan area.

http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/urban/single-view/view/jr-east-to-install-atacs-on-tokyo-suburban-line.html

Edited October 20, 2013 by bikkuri bahn

[miyakoji]

Was the Saikyo Line JNR's last big project? It didn't open until 1985, says English wikipedia. The page also says that when it first opened, the signaling couldn't manage the traffic. For some reason, I'd like to have seen this . Seems to me that they'd be able to think this out. "Ok, we've got X trains Y kilometers apart going Z km/h, we'll need the signals to be here, here, and here."

[bikkuri bahn]

Re. the signal problems, apparently it was the unique-to-this-line Programmed Route Control (PRC) system which was the problem.  It was installed in conjunction with the ATC Type 6 cab signal system, which was the state of the art at the time (also used on the Yamanote and Keihin Tohoku Lines).  Eventually the PRC system was replaced by ATOS, but the ATC Type 6 remains today, the only system of its type left today on JR East (the Yamanote and K/T Lines now use digital ATC).  This orphan will be replaced by the ATACS system.

[bronzeonion]

Even more reason for me and my friend to ride the Saikyo line alot when we are there! 205 series and old school ATC!

Question, is D-ATC a moving block system?

[bikkuri bahn]

@bronzeonion

No, it's fixed block.  It's different form conventional analog ATC in that the use of digital signals allows performance characteristics of individual trains to be utilized to generate more precise braking patterns- stepless actually, though for cab speed indicator purposes, in E233 units they are displayed in 1km/h increments, while other types are in 5km/h increments. The more precise braking pattern in turn increases capacity on a line by increasing throughput.

[miyakoji]

Are the brakes applied by the motorman or by the train control system?

[bikkuri bahn]

Are the brakes applied by the motorman or by the train control system?

They're still controlled by the driver.  On segregated systems and where platform approach speeds are low like the shinkansen there are the automatically controlled brakes.

 

Here's a video that shows the ATC stepless system in operation (around 1:05), you can see the arrow glide- one of the advantages of glass cockpit instruments.

[bronzeonion]

@bronzeonion

No, it's fixed block.  It's different form conventional analog ATC in that the use of digital signals allows performance characteristics of individual trains to be utilized to generate more precise braking patterns- stepless actually, though for cab speed indicator purposes, in E233 units they are displayed in 1km/h increments, while other types are in 5km/h increments. The more precise braking pattern in turn increases capacity on a line by increasing throughput.

 

Thank you, I was wondering what the difference actually was between normal ATC and D-ATC

 

Another question. If the train is for example travelling at 80kmh and the target speed drops to 65kmh, will the driver get any warning of the speed decrease or will the ATC system automatically brake down to 65kmh? The reason I ask is because on Densha De Go, when the ATC system brakes the train automatically to the new target speed, you are given a penalty point.

Edited October 17, 2013 by bronzeonion

[bikkuri bahn]

I assume the driver is given a few seconds to brake, before a warning buzzer goes off and brakes are automatically applied. 

[bronzeonion]

I assume the driver is given a few seconds to brake, before a warning buzzer goes off and brakes are automatically applied. 

 

How is the driver warned of a target speed decrease?

[bikkuri bahn]

How is the driver warned of a target speed decrease?

By the arrow that moves around the speed indicator. You can see it in the latter half of the video above, there is a moment when the speed is greater than the braking pattern arrow, before the driver adjusts.