- trains go in tunnels or tracks are between houses. When train control systems were defined in the 1990's, there was no way to make them sensitive enough to record GPS positions. Instead there is a different location system based on so-called balises with a fixed position on the tracks. Every time a train crosses one, it knows where it is.
- Planes go in 3 dimensions, trains in one. If ATC wants to ensure two planes do not collide, they will assign them different headings and/or heights. Precise position isn't that important. Trains cannot avoid each other, that's why they move in blocks.
And yes, they do signal their position back to the control center, it's just a different protocol
The issue (at least in Europe) is that there are too many historical train control systems. There are more than 25 different, non-interoperable train control systems currently used across the European rail network.
That's where the EU came in and developed ETCS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Train_Control_System) as a modern alternative. Unfortunately, the EU doesn't have the legislative power to force member states to adopt it and also not the money to bribe them. So ETCS is still competing with the legacy systems.
However, the reason for that crash apparently was the dispatcher who greenlit the cab driver to go full speed ahead after the train control system on that track had crashed even though they knew that another train was reporting that it was unable to restart and get going. Procedures in case of a train control outage are clear: all trains can only move at a max speed of 40Km/h - slow enough to drive and brake on sight.
Instead, that train crashed into the stationary one coming from 200Km/h
> the dispatcher who greenlit the cab driver to go full speed ahead after the train control system on that track had crashed even though they knew that another train was reporting that it was unable to restart and get going
Apologies in advance for what may be a pedantic and possibly dumb question, but is there a failsafe or guardrail against such forced errors?
Not if drivers switch to full manual control. For the ETCS control system:
- in normal mode (Full Supervision) the driver's actions are monitored and unsafe operations lead to an emergency brake
- but there is a fully manual mode (Staff Responsible) which does exactly that - the driver is fully responsible for what they do. If they get bad instructions from the control center, no technical barrier against crashes exist.
Older systems like LZB usually are even more permissible.
The contract to make the line ERTMS compliant was published in 2020, with 2024 as completion target. Errors meant it had to be offered again, pushing it to 2025 and then 2026. The crash could have been avoided.
>In one recording, the controller tells the driver of the Renfe train to disconnect and reconnect the LZB mechanism that monitors train speeds, and then resume the journey at normal speed.
Wait, I thought Spain's high-speed rail network was all ETCS L1 or even L2?
They don't all use ETCS. Madrid–Seville still uses LZB and Adif awarded a contract in 2021 to upgrade it to ETCS L2, but the project is delayed/unfinished
More on the curse side, tbh. Mostly because RAM and flash chips have exploded in price and fabs get now booked by NVIDIA et al where previously Apple was the biggest dog and could demand better conditions.
But well, they'll survive :) Their M-series was a stroke of luck considering AI.
I have my reservations. The cats can also use AI to make their software less buggy or even formally verified.
If I had to venture a guess it would be that this is the last stand for hackers that are able to root all kinds of older devices, but companies like Apple will shell out the money to prevent this for their next-gen devices.
It's likely that low-cost device makers will not do that, so maybe rooting will still persist for cheap stuff.
I doubt it, tbh. How many people will install such a HackIOS in the best case, 1000? 10000? There have to be a billion or more iOS users out there, so the pressure on app vendors or Apple will be negligible.
- trains go in tunnels or tracks are between houses. When train control systems were defined in the 1990's, there was no way to make them sensitive enough to record GPS positions. Instead there is a different location system based on so-called balises with a fixed position on the tracks. Every time a train crosses one, it knows where it is.
- Planes go in 3 dimensions, trains in one. If ATC wants to ensure two planes do not collide, they will assign them different headings and/or heights. Precise position isn't that important. Trains cannot avoid each other, that's why they move in blocks.
And yes, they do signal their position back to the control center, it's just a different protocol
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