Train Service Management and Fleet Control

Allocating resources for train services
Funkwerk IT's ResourceManager is a powerful tool for the efficient vehicle management in a real-time environment. It ensures that the most appropriate locomotives and coaches available are allocated on the day so that train services operate effectively and reliably. ResourceManager helps the vehicle controller ensure a train service is fully resourced by quickly identifying uncovered trains and matching available rolling stock to them. The system keeps track of work actually done and the distance covered by the rolling stock, even when vehicles are switched between services. This allows vehicle maintenance to be scheduled, and helps ensure that they are in the right place at the right time for both operational use and maintenance.

ResourceManager comes into its own when the service is disrupted. For example, the impact of route blockages can be quickly assessed, thereby enabling trains to be cancelled or replanned and resources reallocated to deal with any incident. The need for extra trains can also be identified and added to the schedule easily.

Optimised vehicle maintenance
A key strength of ResourceManager is that it tracks the distance or time until the next maintenance is due and gives a visual warning when this is exceeded either in reality or in the plan. A sophisticated search tool then enables the controller to find suitable replacement vehicles quickly. A sophisticated messaging system allows remote sites to register interest in a group of vehicles and receive automatic updates when there is any change to allocations. This is ideal for maintenance depots to see the impact of changes hours, or even days, ahead.

New developments of ResourceManager are now bringing similar benefits to the management of train crews, thereby providing a uniquely powerful operational management tool.