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A modern solution to the problem of improving the efficiency of the traction rolling stock maintenance and repair processes based on the use of new information technologies is the transition to a locomotives predictive repair promising system. The key element of the predictive repair system in the issue of operational assessment and management of the locomotives technical condition are onboard microprocessor control systems with built-in diagnostic, monitoring and monitoring subsystems. The onboard microprocessor control systems have the ability to carry out continuous or discrete measurement, registration, transmission and accumulation the values of large package analog and discrete locomotive equipment parameters. The functionality of the onboard microprocessor control systems based on information technologies makes them an exceptionally effective means of efficiently organizing maintenance and repair impacts on the locomotive park in order to ensure specified operational reliability and performance indicators.

The subject of the article is automated locomotive control functions on the example of electric locomotives in order to assess the current stage of development of the intellectual functionality of on-board control systems. The literature often talks about creating a «smart» or «digital» locomotive. However, it is more correct to talk about the introduction of cybernetic systems with feedback. Such systems were on the locomotive from the very beginning of their appearance and were designed to automate steam control, later to control automatic brakes. These automation systems were mechanical and pneumomechanical. With the advent of electric locomotives, electrical automation systems based on electrical devices, relay circuits are being introduced, which are eventually replaced by diode, transistor control circuits. Later, digital and analog chips were used. The current stage of automation development is associated with on-board microprocessor control systems. The author proposes to divide the intellectual functions of the locomotive into seven directions, for each of which to evaluate their implementation: train driving, drive and brake control, diagnostics, collection of emergency circuits, ensuring train safety, managing the comfort of the locomotive crew. The entropy of the space of intelligent functions is proposed to be estimated according to the modified Shannon formula, where, in addition to the probability of the function being in demand for one trip, the degree of automation of the control process is taken into account. As a result of the analysis, it is shown that the intellectual functions of the locomotive developed already in the 19th century, today the degree of their implementation can be estimated at 60 %, and full implementation can be expected by the middle of the 21st century. The calculation results are summarized in two tables and one dynamic graph. It is concluded that an "intelligent" locomotive is a stage in the evolutionary development of automated locomotive control systems.

Modern locomotive on board microprocessor-based control systems (MSU) can be used for not only controlling locomotive equipment, but for analyzing the process of their functioning too by means of mathematical statistics. It is confirmed by authors of this article. Through the article is offered method of nearby-failure condition diagnostic by the means of MSU data correlation analysis.

The influence of systematic failures to the functional safety of automated control systems of hazardous technological processes is considered. It is shown that stability ensuring of the process control system to systematic failures is an actual task for today. Approaches to increase the robustness to systematic failures recommended by IEC 61508 are presented. Special attention is paid to methods based on diversion. The functional diversity and technology diversity have been revealed in detail. Examples of using diversification in railway automation systems are given. The main problems of using diversification to increase resistance to systematic failures are formulated. The main advantages of using diversification are increased resistance to systematic failures and reduced risk of dangerous failures through the usage of diversified protection methods at the functional levels of the APCS. The disadvantages of using diversification are a significant increase in the costs of developing and automated process control system maintenance, the difficulty of confirming the different behavior of diversified channels in case of systematic failures, and the lack of an effective method to assessing the sufficiency of the obtained diversification for a given level of safety integrity.