Rail Coordination Application Area
Description
This center-to-center application area covers the interface between a traffic management center (TMC) and a rail operations center. The interface supports the following exchanges:
- From the rail operations center to the TMC - information about train movements and maintenance activities that could impact highway-rail intersections
- From the TMC to the rail operations center - information about conditions at or near the highway-rail intersection (HRI), including obstructions or equipment failure, that might interfere with passing trains.
National ITS Architecture Interface
This application area includes the interface between Rail Operations and the Traffic Management Subsystem (TMS). Rail Operations provides the TMS with train schedules, maintenance schedules, and other information concerning upcoming highway-rail intersection (HRI) closures. Rail Operations uses this interface to notify the TMS when a rail incident, stalled train, or some other obstruction may impact vehicle traffic. This impact could be the blockage of an HRI or it could be something happening near a roadway that may impact traffic. In turn, the TMS provides information to Rail Operations concerning HRI equipment failure, intersection blockage, highway incidents, or maintenance activities at or near an HRI that might interfere with the safe operation of passing trains. Finally, the health and/or status of the wayside equipment and field equipment can be shared between the centers.
