Systems and methods for testing wayside units

1. A testing system for testing a wayside unit of a railway transportation network, the testing system comprising:

a communication module configured to be operably connectable to the wayside unit of the transportation network, the wayside unit being arranged to communicate with an on-board system of a vehicle moving on the railway transportation network, to one or more of control the movement of said vehicle or to control equipment associated with a crossing of said transportation network with at least one route of a transportation system, the communication module being configured to transmit a simulation message to the wayside unit, the simulation message being a message configured to appear as emanating from the vehicle and simulating at least one of a request or command from at least one transportation network element corresponding to a wayside action to be performed by the wayside unit, the simulation message being configured to elicit a wayside message from the wayside unit upon receipt of the simulation message; and

an analysis module, the analysis module being arranged:

to confirm an action performed by the wayside unit responsive to receipt of the simulated message,

to obtain the wayside message, and

to provide a display corresponding to the wayside message.

2. The testing system of claim 1 , wherein the communication module is configured to transmit the simulation message as one of plural simulation messages, the communication module configured to transmit the plural simulation messages concurrently, the plural simulation messages simulating at least one of requests or commands from corresponding plural elements of the transportation network.

3. The testing system of claim 1 , wherein the communication module comprises a connection module configured for at least one of a hard-wired or wireless connection to the wayside unit.

4. The testing system of claim 1 , further comprising a hand portable housing, the communication module and the analysis module being disposed in the hand portable housing, and the analysis module being operatively connected to the communication module.

5. A method for testing a wayside unit of a railway transportation network, the method comprising:

developing, with a testing system operably connected to the wayside unit, a simulation message configured to simulate at least one of a request or command from at least one transportation network element for a wayside action to be performed by the wayside unit, the simulation message being a message configured to appear as emanating from a vehicle and being configured to elicit a wayside message from the wayside unit upon receipt of the simulation message, the wayside unit arranged to communicate with an on-board system of the vehicle moving on the railway transportation network to one or more of control the movement of said vehicle or to control equipment associated with a crossing of said transportation network with at least one route of a transportation system;

transmitting, from a communication module of the testing system, the simulation message to the wayside unit;

receiving, at the communication module, the wayside message from the wayside unit;

confirming an action performed by the wayside unit responsive to receipt of the simulated message;

obtaining the wayside message; and

generating a display corresponding to the wayside message.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising transmitting the simulation message as one of plural simulation messages transmitted concurrently, the plural simulation messages simulating at least one of requests or commands from corresponding plural elements of the transportation network.

7. A tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium of a testing system for testing a wayside unit of a railway transportation network, the computer readable medium comprising one or more computer software modules configured to direct one or more processors to:

develop a simulation message configured to simulate at least one of a request or command from at least one transportation network element for a wayside action to be performed by the wayside unit, the wayside unit being arranged to communicate with an on-board system of a vehicle moving on the railway transportation network, to one or more of control the movement of said vehicle or to control equipment associated with a crossing of said transportation network with at least one route of a transportation system, the simulation message being a message configured to appear as emanating from the vehicle and configured to elicit a wayside message from the wayside unit upon receipt of the simulation message;

transmit the simulation message to the wayside unit;

receive the wayside message from the wayside unit;

confirm an action performed by the wayside unit responsive to receipt of the simulated message; and

provide a display corresponding to the wayside message.

8. The computer readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the computer readable medium is further configured to direct the one or more processors to transmit the simulation message as one of plural simulation messages transmitted concurrently, the plural simulation messages simulating at least one of requests or commands from corresponding plural elements of the transportation network.