A control unit for a rail vehicle, comprising a braking control unit that contains an electronic braking control device for emitting control commands to brake actuators and/or comprising an anti-skid device, which controls the wheel slip of the wheels of at least one axle in accordance with at least one rotational speed signal from an anti-skid sensor. The control unit also comprises a roll monitoring unit with an electronic roll monitoring control device and at least one roll monitoring sensor for detecting the rotational speed of at least some wheels in the form of a rotational speed signal, and comprises a rolling gear monitoring unit for monitoring and/or diagnosing critical conditions of and damage to the rolling gear. The monitoring unit comprises an electronic control device for monitoring the rolling gear. The electronic control device for monitoring the rolling gear and/or the electronic anti-skid control device and/or the electronic braking control device and/or the electronic roll monitoring control device are combined to form a structural unit.