- The Name of "TrainMon5"
- TrainMon5 is an abbreviation of the words "Train Monitor HTML5". HTML5 is the 5th revision of the HTML markup language that is used to provide structure and presentation to most of the websites you see today.
- What It Is
- TrainMon5 is the next evolution of rail monitoring software for railfans. It provides access to data about the approximate locations of nearby trains to help give you the edge in your sport of train watching by allowing you to determine where the best spot to view, photo or record your next train.
- What It Isn't
- TrainMon5 is not commericial software but instead software for hobbyist and the like. It it not meant as a replacement or substitution for tools or services in any form. It's usage is also restricted to hobbyist purposes only and is not to be used in any operation that is even remotely considered "safety-sensitive". See the "Terms of Service" for more information about this usage restriction.
- How It Works
- TrainMon5 works by streaming available railroad traffic data from a collection of servers that receive the over-the-air radio transmissions. That data is then transformed it into a structure which then can be transmitted over the web to connected users. Once the data is received by the client, it is mapped to a graphical layout similar to what a real train dispatcher might see.
- Not Every Railroad Is Monitorable
- In a railfan's ideal world, all rail lines would be monitorable, but ideals are one thing and reality is another. TrainMon5 only works for railroads that utilize data protocols that operate over the public airwave frequencies. Some railroads use other means such as satellite and/or cellular communication systems (most notably CSX) for their traffic control systems and thus those railroads cannot be monitored.
- The Read-Only Nature
- TrainMon5 is a read-only application. It provides no method of outbound communication over any traffic control frequency and therefor absolutely cannot be used to perform any functions that could cause interference with real traffic control data communications.
- While the application does have an interactive interface that allows users to clear switch and signal indications, this behavior is only visual and only exists to allow end users to clear faulty data off of their display. Interfacing with the graphical layout has absolutely no effect in the real world.
- TrainMon5 only provides general data related to the "exterior" of trains and their routes. It cannot provide information related to the cargo of a train, crew information, or any other specifically detailed information that a person could attempt to use for unlawful or malicious means.
- Addressing Concerns with Public Safety
- Simply put, TrainMon5 poses no more of a safety risk than an at-grade railroad crossing. While some people might be led to believe that a program allowing you to know where a train approximately is and where it is set to go may make it easier for a person to malicious using such a tool, but this is simply a faulty assumption.
- TrainMon5's behavior falls along the same lines of applications like "Flight Aware © ®" which allows persons to track an aircrafts location in the sky (which some of the major airlines already provide customers also through their websites). Like TrainMon5, those applications do not provide access to crew information, cargo information, etc. If a person wanted to be malicious they do not need a program like TrainMon5 to do so.
