ECP Locomotive Maintenance

Target cohort

Locomotive maintainers, supervisors, and reliability staff who maintain ECP brake equipment.

Course Overview

The course covers the principles and functions of ECP and its relationship with train brake operational criteria. This is important for understanding the programmed behavior of ECP, fault diagnosis and repair, and maintenance and inspection criticality. The course also looks at ECP component functions and their relationship with other locomotive control systems.

Course duration

The course duration is normally 2 days. This can be extended for ECP train testing.

Costs

Course costs will be based on the booked course and the number of participants after requirements are finalised. Call us for a quote.

Performance criteria/outcome

1 Introduction to ECP. Demonstrate an understanding of ECP concepts for:

1.1. What ECP is.

1.2. The development of train brakes - a brief history, understanding the basic function of train air brakes, the evolution and enabling factors of ECP.

1.3. The difference between air brakes and the ECP train brake system.

1.4. ECP functional overview

2 Locomotive ECP controls and components. Demonstrate an understanding of the ECP system for:

2.1. Train brake operational modes.

2.2. Trainline power and communication functions and operation.

2.3. ECP locomotive components and functions

2.4. Trainline components

3 ECP operation modes

Understand and operate ECP screens and controls for:

3.1. ECP locomotive operation controls and components

3.2. ECP operation

3.3. ECP power, status and logs (theory and practice)

4 Trainline power and communication. Understand the operation, function and fault modes of the ECP communication and power systems for:

4.1. Trainline communications and power system operation.

4.2. Trainline power modes.

4.3. Trainline ECP and WDP signalling and polling.

4.4. ECP/DP monitoring parameters and failure protocols.

4.5. Trainline faults, comms failure modes and causes - signal interference, crosstalk, signal degradation and reflection.

4.6. Failsafe programming and the relationship to comms, monitoring parameters and safe train brake operation.

5 ECP testing and fault-finding. Demonstrate an understanding of ECP fault-finding and decision-making processes for:

5.1. Utilise log and train diagnostic, log and status screens for fault diagnosis.

5.2. Control and communication cabling and interaction with ECP and locomotive functions and components.

5.3. Cable identification.

5.4. Trainline testing and test parameters.

5.5. Control cable testing and test parameters.

5.6. Component programming.