Patent ID: 7578485

Claim:
A method for reducing data traffic between track-bound vehicles traveling along a route and devices along the route, comprising: registering a vehicle request to be allowed to travel along the route; assigning permission to the vehicles to travel along the route according to predefined rules, where each of the vehicles determine a respective location on the route; and monitoring train integrity within each of the vehicles and transmitting messages to one of the vehicles selected to communicate with the devices along the route, wherein the vehicles traveling on the route are moved within braking distance of one another such that the vehicles are virtually coupled to form a virtually coupled train, the virtually coupled vehicles move together under independent operation performed by a vehicle-mounted distance-maintaining system, and the devices along the route communicate with the virtually coupled vehicles, such that a front of the virtually coupled vehicles is determined by a front most vehicle and a rear of the virtually coupled vehicles is determined by a rear most vehicle.