Patent ID: 9008933
Filing Date: 2015-04-14
Classification: B61L

Abstract:
1. A system comprising: a monitoring module configured to monitor plural separate vehicles traveling in a transportation network according to a movement plan of the network, the separate vehicles including a yielding vehicle, a passing vehicle, and at least one other vehicle, the movement plan directing the separate vehicles to move through the network according to schedules associated with the separate vehicles, the movement plan including an original meet event between the yielding vehicle and the passing vehicle of the separate vehicles, the original meet event including the yielding vehicle of the separate vehicles being scheduled to move from a main line track in the network to a connected siding section track in the network and the passing vehicle of the separate vehicles being scheduled to continue moving along the main line track to pass the yielding vehicle at an original time and an original location of the original meet event; a congestion module configured to calculate a throughput parameter of the network that is representative of a statistical measure of adherence to the movement plan by the yielding vehicle, the passing vehicle, and the at least one other vehicle, the throughput parameter indicating how closely the yielding vehicle, the passing vehicle, and the at least one other vehicle are traveling through the network according to the schedules associated with the yielding vehicle, the passing vehicle, and the at least one other vehicle in the movement plan; a modification module configured to determine a confidence parameter representative of a probability that changing the original meet event does not reduce the throughput parameter of the yielding vehicle, the passing vehicle, and the at least one other vehicle traveling in the network, the modification module configured to modify the original meet event to an updated meet event when the confidence parameter exceeds a predetermined threshold, the updated meet event including the yielding vehicle being scheduled to move from the main line track to the connected siding section track at one or more of an updated time or an updated location, and the passing vehicle being scheduled to continue moving along, the main line track to pass the yielding vehicle at the one or more of the updated time or the updated location; and a communication module configured to transmit the updated meet event to one or more of the yielding vehicle or the passing vehicle as at least one of the yielding vehicle or the passing vehicle is moving toward the original meet event, for the one or more of the yielding vehicle or the passing vehicle to receive the updated meet event from the communication module and change a speed of the yielding vehicle or the passing rail vehicle to arrive at the updated meet event, wherein the monitoring module, the congestion module, the modification module, and the communication module include one or more processors.