AUTOMATED TESTING AND REPORTING OF TIMELY ACTIVATION OF CROSSING WARNING EQUIPMENT BASED ON DATA ORIGINATED FROM A REAL-TIME TRAIN TRACKING SYSTEM

A railroad system including a wayside inspector system responsive to data originated from a real-time train tracking system, such as GPS or PTC is provided. The data from the real-time train tracking system includes data indicative of a respective train en route to a respective crossing. The data is further indicative of a respective direction of travel on a respective railway track of the respective train en route to the respective crossing. Disclosed embodiments offer a technical solution involving no physical sensing devices on the railway tracks for detection of the respective train en route to the respective crossing. This solution is effective for automated testing and reporting of timely activation of crossing warning equipment based on the data originated from the real-time train tracking system.