An apparatus for switching multiple communication channels having a redundant configuration, includes a fault determining section configured to determine an occurrence of a fault of data received from a transmitting apparatus via one of the multiple communication channels having the redundant configuration, the data being set with one of multiple classes; a class control section configured to switch the data in one of the multiple classes being determined as having the fault, to one of the multiple communication channels having the redundant configuration being unused for transmission of the data in the class; a switching control section configured to generate switching information including information about the class determined to have the fault and a destination communication channel for the data in the class to be switched to; and a transmission section configured to transmit the switching information to the transmitting apparatus.