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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Full Moving Block Concept and Requirements Specification for Railroad Operations

Document Series
Technical Reports
Author
Federal Railroad Administration
Report Number
DOT/FRA/ORD-24/03
Office
RDI-23
Subject Communications, Train Control
Keywords
Full Moving Block, FMB, Interoperable Train Control (ITC), Overlay Positive Train Control (O-PTC), Quasi-Moving Block (QMB), Alternative Broken Rail and Rollout Detection/Alternative Broken Rail Detection (ABRRD/ABRD)
Document

In a research project funded by FRA from May 2020 to September 2022, Transportation Technology Center, Inc. collaborated with a railroad industry technical advisory group to develop 1) the concept, 2) the system-level, segment-level, and interface requirements, 3) the migration considerations, and 4) the initial safety analysis for an Interoperable Full Moving Block (FMB) method of train control. The fundamental objective of FMB is to achieve safety and near theoretical maximum capacity benefits without the artificial constraints inherent in fixed block operations. Through research efforts and guidance from the TAG, the team concluded that the O-PTC and QMB architectural foundations can be fully leveraged for the implementation of FMB with minimal incremental changes.


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Last updated: Tuesday, January 16, 2024