ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses different technical and conceptual methods for achieving safety in communication and computation. Automation of local interlocking systems eases and gradually replaces the work performed by local dispatchers and enables train management on a large scale. The chapter describes communication paths in these systems and their properties. Railway systems share common aspects regarding their general properties, which define their architecture. The chapter also discusses different technical and conceptual methods for achieving safety in communication and computation. Apart from safety, high reliability and availability are essential for providing a quality railway service. This is equally true for applications, as well as for safe and nonsafe communication. Conformance to the Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) criteria is reflected by the architecture and behavior of a railway application and its components. The high-availability communication system within the Operation Management Center (OMC) is realized with a redundant network of switches and cables based on Ethernet.
