RailSET® – Railway Simulation Environment for Train drivers and operators

In the railway system, people interact in various roles with technical interfaces that influence the safety and efficiency of the railway system. The RailSET® laboratory enables a realistic simulation of workplaces for train drivers and dispatchers in order to optimise the interaction between people and the system. Find out how new technologies and design variants are tested to improve the performance of railway operations.

RailSET: train driver's workplace with original control desk (part of the RailSiTe laboratory)
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In the railway system, people interact with various technical interfaces as train drivers, dispatchers or schedulers - both on the train and in the control centres. The effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which employees perform their tasks influence the safety and performance of the railway system on the one hand, but are in turn influenced by a variety of factors in the interaction between man - machine - environment.

Optimum interaction between people and systems in the railway sector also requires adequate consideration of the users during system development. To this end, the user's requirements for the function, design and operation of the relevant interfaces must be determined and interim results checked. The RailSET® laboratory - Railway Simulation Environment for Train Drivers and Operators - makes a central contribution to all stages of such a human-centred development process. The railway-specific simulation environment enables a realistic representation of the task context at the workplaces of train drivers and dispatchers. This allows influencing factors to be varied as required and their effects on people to be analysed.

At the train driver's workplace, test subjects will find an original control panel of a traction unit integrated into a closed cabin. They experience a completely simulated route from the driver's seat. Track elements (e.g. signals and level crossings) are visualised along the route. These can be simulated in accordance with the control and safety technology on which they are based, with or without disruptions, making it possible to analyse various operating scenarios without influencing or even endangering real rail traffic. This makes it possible to evaluate new information and assistance systems or design variants for interactive systems at the driver's workplace as well as the effects of different safety systems.

The investigation options are complemented by a simulation workstation for traffic controllers.

Rail Human Factors

A comprehensive perspective in rail systems research requires an approach that does not focus solely on technology, it also considers humans as a crucial impact factor. The Institute of Transportation Systems defines the human as the starting point for its interdisciplinary research on the overall rail system. Whenever we examine the workplace of a train driver, a rail traffic manager or a control centre operator, we take into account humans with all their strengths and weaknesses. The aim is to develop innovative concepts of human-machine interaction in the railway sector.

Our research facilities and laboratories are at your disposal for tests and studies. Get in touch with us!

Contact

Lennart Asbach

Head of Department
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Institute of Transportation Systems
Research Verification and Validation
Lilienthalplatz 7, 38108 Braunschweig