Brookville Liberty Streetcar

BACKGROUND

In 2015, Brookville Equipment Corporation (BEC) introduced their first Liberty Modern Streetcar. This streetcar, equipped with state-of-the-art off-wire capable technology, features three articulated sections, two onboard energy storage systems, and a low floor to increase accessibility and decrease dwell time for loading and unloading of passengers. These Streetcars have been implemented in multiple cities with over 20 vehicles currently in use today.

THE PROJECT

BEC contacted AETA to develop a control system to be used in their Liberty Streetcar. The purpose of this control system was to communicate with the various subsystems onboard the streetcar via a CANbus / Profinet network, and perform control procedures based on operator input, as well as display important information to the operator. 

PROJECT EXECUTION

AETA designed, a Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) based off of Siemens S7-300 PLC’s with the newest cars featuring the state-of-the-art S7-1500 PLC. The VCU connects to the cars communication network, monitors the various subsystems, and initiates control responses from logic that was developed by AETA. Additionally, this information is relayed to two Train Operator Displays (TOD) such that it can be displayed to the operator. AETA has been able to update/maintain the VCU software among the streetcar fleet by remotely accessing the network via their onboard internet connection.