Where are electro-pneumatic brakes in service?

Hi there-

Quick question for anyone who can answer it: what railroads, subways, light rail systems, etc., use electro-pneumatic (EP) brakes? I'm especially interested to know on what railroads outside the U.S. will you find them. I understand that some passenger trains in the UK and some ICE trains in Germany have them--what other services have them? Are they common on metro trains?

I'm not referring to the ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED PNEUMATIC (ECP) brake systems developed by WABTEC and NYAB that are being tested on NS and BNSF and have been deployed in South Africa, Australia, and Canada. I understand that some people distinguish between EP and ECP systems--I'm interested in finding out about the older EP systems.

If you'd like to reach me off-line, feel free to send me a note at [email protected].

Thanks,
Robb

Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Railroad's EMU's use EP brakes. As does the NYC Subway. The brakes systems are blended which means both dynamic and physical brake applications.

NJT uses them, and Im 99 percent sure Septa has them as well on their cars too.

I recall reading somewhere, but im not 100 percent sure, that the Pullman Standard cars built for the Erie Lackawanna (the current NJT Comet 1 car series) were the first heavy rail cars to use the EP brakes directly from the factory. The brakestand used on them the NY Airbrake PS68 - the cars are roughly 1971 vintage. Im not sure if that is true or not, I just think I remember seeing that in some book (Maybe the "MOTH" book?)

The basic EP system goes back to the 1920s and was a faster way to operate train air systems for passenger service. Thia later developed into the SMEE straight air system used on most older subway cars. Hybrid systems serve commuter rail cars.