Methods and Systems for Implementing Drive Systems and Braking Systems on Railway Vehicles

Abstract

Example embodiments relate to implementing electromechanical drive systems and auxiliary braking systems on freight cars and other railway vehicles. Such motive systems can include electric motors and power sources that can be installed on new or existing non-locomotive railway vehicles to supplement and/or replace energy typically generated by one or more locomotives in the trainset. Some motive systems further include regenerative braking systems that can supplement existing braking systems and enable energy to be captured and stored locally at batteries onboard the railway vehicle for subsequent use by the drivetrain. A computing system may use sensor data from onboard sensors, route data, weather data, and/or other sources of information to determine and execute control strategies that leverage the drive system and auxiliary braking in ways that reduces the power required by locomotives and/or the stress impacting couplers between railway vehicles within the train.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.