Patent ID: 8649916

Claim:
A system comprising: an off-board control unit configured for communication with an on-board transceiver mounted in a rail vehicle, said on-board transceiver being operatively connected with at least one traction power system of the rail vehicle for controlling the at least one traction power system; and an operator control unit operatively connected with the off-board control unit and including a selector manually movable to a plurality of pre-determined positions each position corresponding to one of at least the following modes of operation: FORWARD, REVERSE, and COAST, such that for each pre-determined position of the selector, the operator control unit sets the off-board control unit to the corresponding mode of operation, wherein the off-board control unit is configured to send to the on-board transceiver at least one signal indicating at least one of the ordered speed or, for each pre-determined position of the selector, the corresponding mode of operation, and the off-board control unit is configured, while operating in the FORWARD mode or in the REVERSE mode, to periodically increment the ordered speed.