A leading OEM in the railway industry partnered with ALTEN India to support the end-to-end development of embedded software for its Head-of-Train (HOT) and End-of-Train (EOT) systems. Leveraging our strong expertise in Linux-based embedded systems, ALTEN India played a key role in the design, development, and integration of advanced control functionalities, ensuring robust performance and high quality for safety critical software.

In modern railways, the HoT (Head of Train) and EoT (End of Train) devices are essential for ensuring train integrity, safety, and operational efficiency. These devices communicate wirelessly to monitor critical parameters such as brake pipe pressure, rear location status, and emergency alerts.

Challenge:

• Unreliable Wireless Communication: Maintaining stable HoT–EoT connectivity was difficult due to interference and data loss risks.
• Emergency Signal Delays: Timely transmission of emergency events was critical to ensure operational safety.

Solutions: 

• Reliable Communication Protocols: Used redundant protocols, low-latency messaging, and data integrity checks to ensure stable HoT–EoT connectivity.
• Prioritized Emergency Handling: Implemented message queuing to prioritize emergency signals and validated performance under stress.
• Standards-Compliant Development: Ensured traceability with IBM DOORS.
• Streamlined Collaboration Tools: Leveraged Git, Jira, CI pipelines, and regular syncs to manage distributed team workflows effectively.

Benefits Delivered:

• Enhanced train safety through robust emergency communication handling
• High system reliability with tested performance across various operational conditions