The main objective of the Train Project was to pave the way for decentralised control and automation in a railway system with lesser reliance on centralised systems. Examples of decentralised railway automation and control include:

• Trains observing signals locally, rather than responding or relying a central controller.
• Signals states reflecting the transmission of state from neighbouring signals and junctions, rather than the instructions of a signalling centre.
• Junctions changing on the command of trains and with signalling data from adjancent signals.

Decentralised control could be useful in a railway. Elimintating or supplementing regional control could provide better resiliance. Widespread disruption from equipment and communication failures in small areas can be avoided in order to keep the railway running.

The First Steps

To evaluate decentralised control, and any algorithms that might be applied using it, it is useful to have a testbed. Simulation can only go so far and cannot replicate some real life issues. In addition, the risks and practicalities of using a real railway network prevent a full size trial with a complex network.

This project therefore involved the creation of a lightweight train control network in a model railway. Since traditional model trains are simplistic, dumb, and controlled from a central point, some fundamental changes had to be made to the architecture of the system.

> Read about some of the Solutions proposed.

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