As I have noticed in this forum and on any DTG live stream with a German route, many (especially non-german players) have problems with understanding and using german safety systems. Therefore I am creating this thread so you can bundle your questions in one thread and I'll try to answer them. Please post specific questions and not generic ones as "How does PZB work?". There are many tutorials out there and the English Wikipedia articles are very detailed about these systems. Video with german safety systems in use (turn on subtitles / timestamps in the video describtion): German safety systems: Sicherheitsfahrschaltung (SiFa) Punktförmige Zugbeeinflussung (PZB) Linienförmige Zugbeeinflussung (LZB) Geschwindigkeitsüberwachung Neigetechnik (GNT) European Train Control System (ETCS) Zugbeeinflussungssystem S-Bahn Berlin (ZBS) Induktive Meldeübertragung (IMU) [german article]
Hopping in here for two reasons. Anyone with questions about PZB - specifically the acknowledgement of speed restrictions between 80-160 km/h can take a look at the website in my signature. Very useful resource. I do have a question concerning LZB myself. What exactly does resetting AFB at the end of LZB control actually entail? What I mean is, do I just need to put the AFB lever back to zero and/or turn it off and on and then continue using it or does AFB need to stay off until PZB control is re-established? I‘m specifically asking about the real rules on this, not necessarily how it works in the sim if there‘s a difference.
As in the game as in real life, the AFB lever has to be set to 0 and then reset to a given speed before the train applies power when exiting LZB. This is a safety measure. When running under LZB the AFB lever usually set to its max setting because LZB is controlling the speed. Without LZB surveillance the max. allowed speed is 160km/h in Germany. Without resetting the AFB the driver might forget this speed restriction. It also reminds the driver that he must set the speed by himself from this point on.
I don't know why in the stream Matt went through the whole business of going into the MFD and turning AFD off and on. It's not necessary, in RL or in the sim. All you have to do, as Jo says, is set the lever to 0 and move it back up. -------------------- Query, Jo: why ETCS? It's not implemented in the game. And not only is GNT not implemented, there aren't any tilting trains!
ZBS and IMU aren't implemented in the game as well. But who knows what may come in the future and with this list you'll see all safety systems that are implemented in Germany at one spot. These are also the systems where I have the most knowledge and to which I will answer questions in this thread. I also know many other European signaling and safety systems but these are not in the game yet and I want to keep this thread simple. If we get more European routes (e.g. Czechia or Denmark) I'll probably make extra threads only for these countries.
If I may put out a follow up question - can you move the AFB lever fast enough in real life to do this before the brakes are applied? I imagine you‘d get quite the sharp spike of de-acceleration when putting the lever up again which is something I imagine is not ideal for passenger services.
Well, I just found the most curious thing. I was looking through the Zusi-forums, as there's usually good advice on there, and found this: Source: https://forum.zusi.de/viewtopic.php?t=16551 post number #8 Rough translation for those not speaking German: For a few seconds after PZB control is re-established, AFB doesn't react to inputs. Therefore, you can put the AFB lever to zero and back to line speed with no brake application. Did anyone here hear about that before? I never saw it mentioned in the DB manuals (LZB manual: https://fahrweg.dbnetze.com/resourc...c0fa2dddb8742d443cc146b2/rw_483-0202-data.pdf). Does anyone happen to know whether this is correctly modelled in the sim?
Zusi is mainly a training software for real train drivers that happens to have a hobby version. So I think this is realistic. In Zusi the feature is as mentioned in the forum post.
As soon as LZB turns off, the AFB control handle is disconnected. Pulling it back is not going to cause braking, any more than pulling it back to, say, 40 km/h will slow you down (if that worked, it wouldn't be necessary to do anything!) It doesn't brake the train or do anything at all, because it's been deactivated. Only after returning it to 0 and advancing it to a positive setting does it re-engage.
This is what I meant with the sharp braking; it's gonna brake as soon as I move the lever forwards (or higher; you know what I mean) again, but as that post from the Zusi-forum pointed out, AFB is still completely disconnected for a few seconds after PZB control is resumed. I just need to figure out if TSW modelled that correctly which I'm going to do as soon as I can.
Just wanted to report back that the AFB lever being cut-out (for lack of a better term) for a few seconds is not correctly modelled in TSW. I am of course open to any more input on this matter, but I think my question has taken up enough of this thread. I don‘t want to end up discouraging others from asking their questions here.
Here's my question how Do I Acknowledge PZB with Both SiFa & PZB On? For further details on my problem head over to my Xbox discussion on Main Spessart Bahn PZB Zwangsbremsung.The PZB Zwangsbremsung does occur 19:18 in the video.
PZB and Sifa acknowledge are different buttons in RL, in the cab model and on PC (End and Q respectively); I don't know how they're mapped on an XBox controller. If the Sifa lights up as you pass a 1000-hz magnet etc, you need to press them both. (It's helpful to press Sifa anyway right before starting a PZB sequence, which buys you 30 seconds of time)
You forgot to acknowledge the 70km/h restriction indicated at the signal (Hp1 + Vr1 + Zs3V "7"). You have to acknowledge every speed restriction below 90km/h. To end the emergency stop demanded by the PZB press "PZB Frei" (middle switch of the PZB controls).
On the Xbox Controller, it's B button to acknowledge SiFa & PZB. Doing so there's this voice that Says Zugbeeinflussung when you acknowledge PZB with Sifa turned on. In my video that's the first 18 minutes before the PZB Zwangsbremsung
Jo_Kim signature brought me here \o/ ZUSI \o/ And a very good question - It has always intrigued me too: Thank you for your answers, gentlemen!
Those two events are simultaneous- you are never not under the control of a safety system! The first LZB announcement and illumination of the "Ende" button are a warning- LZB has not disengaged yet (as you can see by the U and thermometer still being illuminated). LZB remains in control until the buzzer sounds, at which point PZB instantly takes over. It is the second event- the actual disengagement of LZB - which disconnects the AFB control lever.
Yes, I am aware of that. I just wanted to differentiate between the false end (the one you acknowledge) and the actual end in case AFB does some weird things I‘m not aware of. Of course you‘re always under the supervision of a safety system.
