Railway Vehicle Simulators

Machine Testing and Monitoring Center

The Machine Testing and Monitoring Center is a modern facility established by the Railway Transport Office. The center is equipped with 3 simulators based on motion platforms with payload up to 1350 kg dedicated to heavy full-cockpit applications such as an electric locomotive, a shunting locomotive and an electric multiple unit. The simulators are built on PS-6TL-1500 6DOF motion platforms. The Center is both the main examination center for future drivers entering the profession of train driver and for applicants for train drivers’ certificates and licenses. All exams will be conducted using the latest technologies and IT solutions. The IT examination module has been designed specifically for the Railway Transport Office, thanks to which UTK has the opportunity to independently and innovatively check the knowledge and skills of candidates for train drivers on a European scale.

Especially at the beginning of a professional career, training on a simulator is a form of prevention against human errors. Consolidating the right reactions in train drivers and ensuring their knowledge and competence are equally essential guarantees of safe train operation, and the basis for improving railway safety. In Poland, training with the use of rail simulator is obligatory. This is a minimum of 3 hours of simulated driving per year.

Railway Vehicle Simulators

Previously, only drivers of railway vehicles at speeds above 120 km / h were required to conduct professional development with the use of simulators. From now, every driver will be subject to mandatory annual training. Training with the use of a railway vehicle simulator should enable the assessment of the driver’s handling of a railway vehicle, as well as his reaction in both standard and emergency situations. The training should be able to reproduce a variety of scenarios and should take place on devices that can simulate various conditions, failures and events. Equally important are the appropriate scenarios of exercises, taking into account the experience of training centers so far, as well as the situations that led to accidents on the railroad.

Various Training Scenarios

UTK has published 30 training scenarios covering various situations a driver may encounter during his work. In addition to standard activities, they also include unusual events and take into account any irregularities that may appear in the train composition. The simulator allows developing habits of action in situations that rarely happen in the real world. This is, for example, about the appropriate use of the radio. With fewer young people entering the profession, simulators also help train and attract the next generation of drivers.

Full Cabin Train Simulators

In UTK’s project Sim Factor (main contractor) used solutions which involve full cabin reproduction. The starting point was to build replicas of the vehicle cabins, with dedicated installations compliant with railway industry standards. The replicas have all the elements, just like the real vehicle. The 180-degree view means complete simulation of side windows together with virtual side mirrors. The cabin simulator has its own sound system enabling realistic rendering of sounds and vehicle surroundings. Each cabin simulator is also equipped with such elements as mechanical ventilation or the train driver’s chair and footrest adjustment to vehicle type. Moreover, in the cabins there are often driver’s assistant’s station and a touch screen presenting the rest of the locomotive elements which need to be operated by the train driver, such as low voltage boards etc. The cabin also has a virtual radio (with GSM-R) and intercom. Modulated contact with train dispatcher/instructor is ensured.

Motion Platform

Each of the three cabin simulators runs on a six-degree-of-freedom motion platform. The platform makes it possible to model the physics of the vehicle and all the forces which affect the train driver’s cabin while driving and during atypical events (such as train set derailment). Managing the platform gives an option of adjusting the forces affecting the vehicle depending on the chosen configuration of the virtual vehicle started at a given time by the instructor. The platform also adjusts itself in a dynamic way to the size of the train set and to multiple operations. The motion system is fully compatible with on-screen visualization as well as with VR. The motion platform has been personalized in accordance with the client’s guidelines and the corporate identity of UTK and Sim Factor.